Chương 15: Chapter 13 ~ Entrance Ceremony

26/10/1111 EotTS, 14: 39 Gysel returned from the cafeteria to find the common-room of room '54' occupied, with five people seated at a table with only enough chairs for four. Ardhy and Wyohla were sitting closest to the crackling hearth, and Visi, with Lyma seated in his lap, sat across from Lyvahn, the three all on the side of the table closest to Gysel.

"Hello, Gysel," said Wyohla.

"Hello," said Gysel, "Why is everyone here?"

"We are meeting here before the entrance ceremony."

"Then where is Thyres?"

"He said he would meet us there," Lyvahn answered.

"He slept in and is going to go eat first."

"All right. But why meet here?" Gysel asked.

"It's easier to meet somewhere beforehand."

"Yes, but why here?"

"You and my sister already live here."

"Oh, all right," Gysel walked off towards her room.

"Are you not going to the orientation?" said Wyohla.

"No."

"Why?"

"Too many people." Gysel unlocked the door.

"Sure," Ardhy said, "but you need your schedule." Gysel paused: this was true, the schedule was needed, but it could be obtained after orientation, allowing for the avoidance of being part of such a large gathering.

"I will get it after."

"They only hand it out at the orientation."

"That is stupid."

"I agree," Ardhy said with a shrug.

"But it means you have to go." Sighing, Gysel locked the door and walked over to the table. Ardhy gave her his seat; she thanked him. Gysel sat quietly as the group talked for a little while longer, and then they all left for the entrance hall.

26/10/1111 EotTS, 14: 55 The entrance hall had been completely altered for the entrance ceremony: the tables and chairs that were typically in both the northern left and right sections of the entrance hall had vanished, along with the other pieces of furniture and decorations (couches, tea tables, and decorations like, candelabras and potted plants), and replaced with hundreds of collapsible wooden chairs, most of which, had already found occupants, leaving only small grouping of empty seats in stochastic patches.

Staffed tables had been set up just before the board, and the students coming from the dorms, or from the cloisters, were being corralled into paths cut from brass stanchions and red velvet ropes, and funneled towards the desks. Slowly, but surely, students were spoken to, then dismissed into the sea of chairs.

"Name?" asked the woman behind the table when it was Gysel's turn.

"Gysel Neekhilst. G-Y-S-E-L N-E-E-K-H-I-L-S-T." The woman looked over her papers, going line by line with a ruler, before stopping, putting a tick in black ink, then pointing past Gysel with her pen.

"Tenth row, the seat on the outside." Gysel turned, walked to the seat, and sat down next to a woman who smelled like honey and flowers: the patches of barren chairs are not stochastic. She looked around for the others, but they were hard to spot in the sea of heads: with the exception of the twins, who were only a few rows back. The Headmaster appeared on the balcony of the landing above the board as soon as the final toll of the clocktower bells began to fade.

To-day, he was wearing a brown three-piece suit with a green tie tucked beneath the vest. The top of Yldhi's head was poking out from behind him, barely visible against the glass and the mist it displayed.

"I always look forward to orientation," said the Headmaster.

"All of the new faces remind me these practices are alive and well, even if they are falling out of public favor, and the few familiar ones remind me of the drive that man has to achieve one's goals, and fully understand themselves in a world that is increasingly viewing them as nothing more than a body."

"I will do my best to keep this brief, as I am sure none of you enjoy being crammed in here on temporary seating and would like to return to prepare for when your studies start."

"Many of you applied with portfolios limited to one of the five pillars, these being: Operative Alchemy, Operative Sigillography, Spiritual Magick, Ritual Magick, and—broadly—Philosophy, so I will cover them all now in a limited amount of detail, to ensure that you pay attention in class if you want to learn more." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"The First Pillar is Operative Alchemy. This is alchemy as most people know it: the transmutation of metals, spagyrics, and the ever-desirable ability to turn lead into gold. Operative Alchemy is where the other pillars stem from, because it speaks in both the language of symbols and material: it speaks in symbols that can be understood as Spiritual and Ritual signs, but also in the material languages of chemistry, botany, and pharmaceuticals—among others.

Most of you will be familiar with Operative Alchemy to some degree, as I know many of you are here to study it in the more material sense, hoping to earn a living from it, but I implore you to give the other pillars just as much dedication as you do Operative Alchemy. So, while one can seek the transmutation of lead to gold, or mercury to silver, it is important to remember that what you are seeking is not the great work, but a mere feat of chemical understanding."

"The Second Pillar is Operative Sigillography. Everyone here is familiar with sigils; they are your fireplaces and cooler-boxes, your lights, and your water faucets. Here we will be exploring them in much more depth, delving into their uses in transmutation, rituals, and warfare.

By the end of your first year, you will, at the minimum, be far more qualified than any repairman in your knowledge of sigils and their near-endless uses, and if you excel enough, and choose to stay for another year, you will learn just how much these sigils actually represent."

"While alchemy originally started out as strictly Operative Alchemy and Operative Sigillography, adepts—in a move very unlike other professionals—quickly took to blaming themselves instead of their tools, and this led to the birth of the next two pillars."

"The third pillar is Spiritual Magick. This pillar is often confused with its secular counterpart, 'psychology,' but it is far different, as it hinges on the understanding of your unique relationship with the Primordial Deities, the Maidens, the astral body, and how they reflect into you and you reflect onto them—it is an understanding of you. The primary goal of Spiritual Magick is to achieve a proper hierarchy between individual parts of the lower quaternary and higher triad through inward reflection.

Throughout the years, I have found that students tend to neglect this. It is important to understand there is just as much depth inside of you as there is around you, and if you do not explore this and understand yourself, you will struggle greatly in all other pursuits—especially those related to Alchemy and Magick. The first thing any great craftsman will tell you is that you need to understand what can be done with the material, and the Body and Soul are the material to the Spirit."

"The fourth pillar is Ritual Magick. This is tied heavily to Spiritual Magick and focuses on how the adept can interact and build relationships with Deities and the flows associated with them, using astrology or decks for divination, and rituals to bend Yahldox to allow for outcome in your favor."

"Finally, we have the Fifth Pillar, which is Philosophy. This is the theory to the practice, for without theory, practice is superstition, and without practice, theory is phantasy. I hope you enjoy reading, as you will be doing a lot of it."

"I am sure you have noticed how these pillars interact with each other throughout my brief explanation of them. This is why it is important to find a balance between these pillars, as if you do not, you will never truly be able to thrive as an alchemist."

"As for our way of grading each of these pillars. We primarily evaluate based on practical exercises, but how these exercises are assigned is dependent on the professor; just know that all of these assignments will add up to one-thousand points per maiden. I know, or at least I hope, you have all made some friends and acquaintances—I cannot stress how important that is—but I can make no promises as to whether you will have your classes together or not."

"For your first year, each maiden will be broken up into four quarters, with five days of classes, then two days off. There will be no classes during the third quarter, to allow for proper isolation if it is needed for a practical, extra time to finish them, or extra time for focused reading. Classes will resume during the fourth quarter. Your score from the assessments will be counted at the end of the maiden, and the board will be updated on the twenty-eighth."

There were murmurs from the students: all complaining about how that is too little time to complete a practical assessment. The Headmaster heard these and addressed them.

"Yes, I am aware that this may seem 'unfair,' but keep in mind you are here to learn. The sign of one who is skilled in any work is not quality, but how quickly they can consistently achieve that quality. All of the first-year practicals are tasks that have been done before by thousands before you. All of the answers are in the required reading or in the library. I know for a fact that there are people in this room who have the answers to some of the practicals on their person at this very moment."

Ardhy snorted a laugh and hit the heel of his shoe against the ground.

"I would like to quickly address the board and its scoring, and a promise I would like to make in order to encourage some friendly competition. Firstly, the maximum points one can have is seven-thousand, the scores you have were decided between me, and the heads of each department, based on your portfolio, and conversations with people you have apprenticed under.

Now, as you can see, only the top fifty are here, which is a fifth of those who sit before me—if you are not on the board and wish to know your score or ranking, inquire with your professor, or myself. If you wish to continue into a second year, you need to be in the top fifty in any of the pillars, if you are in the top fifty of all pillars or in the top ten for one, that qualifies you for a scholarship for your second year.

And now for my promise: any student who can make it into the top ten of every pillar will be allowed to ask me one question during the closing ceremony, and I will answer it honestly, on that you have my word."

"In your second year, you will have more time to complete practical assessments. If you choose to specialize, you will have the whole semester to focus on one pillar. If you choose to generalize, you will have one practical every two maidens instead of one, but it will be more tedious and its answer more esoteric—but let us cross that bridge when we get to it."

"And for your third year—if you choose to stay for it—you will have all the time you desire, as the point of your third year is to do something new. You will be free to do whatever you please with our facilities."

"We would also like to say that Professor Hleenska will be taking an indefinite absence and will not be present this year. So his assistant from last year will be taking over all of your Operative Alchemy course. I have known him for quite some time, and I know he will do a wonderful job." Gysel ran her hand down her pants, fiddling with the corduroy beneath her nails—that is strange; the Headmaster has lied to everyone, why is this story different? is what he said in his office the truth?

but why is only one student trusted with the truth? is it because that one person had been hand-picked by Hleenska? maybe because the privilege of selection came with the privilege of knowing?

"You may now retrieve your schedule from a member of the faculty at the board. I bid you all the best of luck in your studies; my door is always open to all of you." The Headmaster waved and left the balcony. Gysel stood up, walked to the table where the schedules were being handed out, retrieved hers, and silently left.