The Rise of Sigmund the Sorcerer

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Validation

I hopped off the train and took my bags from the conductor. I was most definitely travel lagged. The ride had been an overnight journey that we were informed would be physically taxing since most of the youth on board had never experienced portal jumping before.

Milkweed Academy was located in an other worldly location, one that couldn't be accessed by simple humans. They called it The Realm. The official name of the land was Veronstone. I'd materialized before, but that was nothing in comparison to a portal jump and the energy it stripped from you. Outside of the train, there was a man standing in front of a bus stop holding a letter board that read Milkweed Academy.

I tugged my bags over to him with an audible groan. I noticed he was wearing the colors of my new school, a deep purple blazer and wheatish, khaki pants.

"Hallo, excuse me." I managed.

He looked down at me and his eyes grew in surprise.

"Wow! It's you! You're the missing Nightbreed prodigy! Sigmund, right?"

I raised a brow at him. He knew my name already? That wasn't what shocked me the most though.

"Prodigy?"

"Your hair totally gives you away!" He chuckled.

With his thumb, he motioned to the dark colored school bus behind him.

"Go ahead and board that bus. Other students should be arriving on the next train in a couple of minutes, so grab a good spot!"

I nodded quickly and lifted my cases.

"O-okay, danke!"

I don't think he understood German because he gave me a puzzled look when I thanked him.

I tugged my bags to the bus and boarded, immediately taking the seat at the very back. I was the first to arrive, so now it was a waiting game. The waiting gave me too much time to think and panic set in again. I wondered what the upperclassman had been on about just then. How did my hair give me away? Were there others like me with the same issue? I was sick of overthinking. The snack my mother had given me before I left came in handy to chew away some stress. Pretzels.

I felt the bus bounce slightly and peeked over the seat. Other children. Students. Shockingly, some weren't human at all. I saw a youth with green scaled skin and another with the beak of a bird. I ducked down in my seat and pulled my knees to my chest. I wasn't used to being around others. Thankfully, the bus didn't fill and when it moved forward, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I could manage to stay hidden, at least to collect myself. For now.

We drove through a forest on the dark side of the town we were in. On the bus, some children spoke and laughed with each other. Most were returning students, from what I gathered, who'd finished their Autumn and Winter semesters and returned for Spring exit exams. So, they spoke about what teachers they hated, complained about the number of textbooks we'd received this term and though I wasn't part of the conversation, I was starting to understand what Milkweed life would be like.

After about an hour or so, the bus came to a stop at a high, metal gate. Slowly, the gates opened and allowed the bus to enter.

Milkweed Academy, to me, looked like a castle. The roofs peaked to a point and the large bricks made the architecture look ancient. A shadow covered the base of the school and it almost seemed to float over the gloomy cliffs it ultimately sat on. I was nervous. Beyond nervous.