The Hanged Man's Bargain

"How about a deal?"

It was a bargain. After feeling like she's goddamn useless Ekisha was offered a bargain, one she couldn't ignore.

Ekisha live with her only living relative, her brother, Everette. It is customary in their kingdom to select a representative of each families to enter the "prestigious" Academy of Occults, who will eventually take part on the battle between the Kingdom of Pharaphel and Zenon, in exchange the academy provide all of their families necessities for a decade and above all, safety. Ekisha was insistent on taking the role, however Everette refused to let her and enlisted himself instead. On her wits end she found herself lost in a district where she as a commoner could had never dreamed of going through, not just because she doesn't have the fortune, oh no not just that, but also because of the palpable discrimination of noblemen. By the time she noticed where she was, she was picking a fight and beaten to, well, half away from death. Fortunately or unfortunately for her, an old man saw her. He offered her a bargain to enter the Academy of Occults and she's not foolish enough to refuse that.