Chương 4: A Table of Misfits

A Princess… a real, honest to god, princess. My mind had struggled to register that. The past half hour alone was just about enough to overwhelm my head with an inundation of experiences completely removed from my reality. From magic, to mythical races, to talking birds, and an entirely alien civilization that I had no context for, everything here was just about pushing the limits of my sanity. But in a good way … A part of me thought to myself as I felt a mix of conflicting feelings bubbling up to the surface.

There was an intrusive excitement that came with the novelty of it all, of actually being in a place that should have been reserved for the pages of a fantasy novel or the fleeting hours of a DnD session. It was sickeningly nostalgic, and provocatively exciting, but I had to keep it in check. The reality I was in was nothing like those fantasies… despite my deepest desires to believe it.

I quickly pushed aside those intrusive thoughts as I attempted to focus on the task at hand, which at this point was just trying my best to fit in. Something that was much easier said than done given the obvious barrier that was the suit.

"You know, where I come from, stories usually start off with the knight saving the Princess, and not the other way around." I managed out with a chuckle, attempting to break the ice with my own off-brand humor which I think worked? It was difficult to really tell with a face that was dominated by a beak rather than a mouth or even a snout.

Combine this with what was perhaps years of whatever manners or social training Thacea had received as a royal and it was clear that I'd have to be laser-focused on all of our discussions, or risk being lost in the sea of social cues that existed for royalty and nobility.

"Well you'll be quite happy to know that those preconceived notions are quite well and alive here in the Nexus as it is in most adjacent realms." The Princess began. Her voice was sharp, but rich, somewhere between a parrot's mimicry and an owl's deep hooting. There was a certain restraint in the way she spoke, even with this little piece of banter.

"Are you…" The Princess continued, her eyes clearly fixated on my armor rather than the person inside it.

"If you'll excuse my presumptuous line of questioning of course, but am I correct in assuming you're a knight of your realm? Perhaps a squire, given how knighthoods are most usually bestowed well beyond the Academy's age of matriculation." I blinked for a few moments, feeling as if I was thrust into an interview or a social function reserved for the Director and her military brass.

If this were any other situation I would've just been done with it and answered with the first thing that came to mind, but this wasn't like any other situation… so whatever answer I gave had to be heavily audited. How would you even begin to explain the concept of an ROTC cadet to someone from an era that didn't even have a proper standing army… or did they? Wait, did they have standing armies in the medieval era?

Could the medieval era even be used as a point of reference for the Nexus and whatever the adjacent realms were? There certainly wasn't anything in the massive SIOP (Social Integration and Operations Protocol) manual that could've prepared me for a face to face interaction with royalty of all things. To the credit of the SIOP's authors though, no one could've ever expected any of this.

"Knights and squires aren't really a thing in my world anymore, actually." I replied confidently, puffing my chest up as if to compensate for my utter lack of understanding for what constituted proper social etiquette here. Though that probably didn't do much given the suit was in the way of any real body language to be read. This answer however proved to be… lacking, as the Princess raised a single brow in response, leaning forward in her seat as she allowed my words to linger in the air.

It was as if she was going through and dissecting the implications of my claims methodically, her eyes not even making the effort to hide the analytical mind behind it. A mind that was more than likely going to throw some curve-ball of a question back my way.

"A-""A realm without knights and squires eh?" The wolf looking creature finally interjected, completely cutting off what was probably going to be a carefully worded line of questioning from the Princess. This caught me off guard, as my attention was now squarely focused on this hulking mass of a creature. If Thacea was a Princess, what I assumed was a member of a royal household, then what right did this wolf have to interrupt her like that?

The only assumption I could make was that perhaps he was higher up the ladder than she was, and that thought alone was definitely something to be worried about.

"Yes, that's correct." I answered curtly, making sure to balance my dislike of his interruption with caution regarding his place in the social pecking order here.

"Hmmph." He scoffed back, as he sized me up again, his predatory eyes managing to lock with my own underneath those opaque lenses, sending shivers down my spine.

"Yeah, nah, not buying it. You got a better cover story or are we going to be dealing with a spineless liar and a charlatan for the rest of the school year?" He boldly announced. Catching me off guard as I noticed the princess mellowing back into the background as the tension grew. Part of me wanted to avoid confrontation, to just explain away the situation carefully. Another part of me knew however that yielding softly wouldn't help matters.

Especially not with someone who was clearly trying to assert themselves like this. A distant part of me wanted to demonstrate the utter obsolescence of knights in shining armor by pulling out my sidearm. This was, of course, a distant thought for a reason. Maybe another time…

"Those are big words to throw around, pal." I spoke, letting what little of a polite front I was putting up crumble away as I leaned in closer towards the table.

"You caught that much just from one sentence alone, did you? Listen… I don't take too kindly to being called a liar before I've even been properly introduced to the person throwing those punches, so why don't we clear up the air a little here, start with names and introductions, then address whatever lies you think I'm spouting?" I offered, trying my best to de-escalate the situation, but also making it clear that I wasn't about to take his crap lying down.

"I'll start. I'm Emma Booker, what's your name?"

"Thalmin. Prince Thalmin Havenbrok of the Lupinor court." The Lupinor spoke with little in the way of pomp and circumstance, but rather, with an air of underlying aggression that saw his maw curl up in a snarl with his rows of canine-like teeth brought to bare.

"It's actually Mercenary Prince Thalmin Havenbrok of the Lupinor court." The diminutive lizard piped up, finally deciding to enter the conversation, his eyes facing me with equal parts confusion, anxiety, and genuine intrigue.

"I must apologize for my ill-mannered friend here, this is very much typical of Lupinor court nobility, and even moreso with their royalty." He continued, as if trying to vie for my attention as it was clear now that all eyes were firmly on me.

"You will watch your tongue Ilunor, or you will find it, and the rest of the head it's attached to, missing from your shoulders by night's end." Thalmin shifted his aggression towards the small lizard, who fell short of impressed let alone intimidated by the Lupinor's antics.

"Let us not beat around the bush." Ilunor spoke, completely ignoring Thalmin's threats and focusing the line of questioning squarely on me.

"Squires and knights, court etiquette and chivalry, lies and whatnot, all of it can be discussed later. What we need to know right now-" His tone softened as he paused in the middle of his sentence to mutter out something under his breath. Something which caused my HUD to once again be assaulted by a barrage of warnings. ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 225% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS Warnings that disappeared within a few seconds just as it had been with Thacea's use of magic.

However, unlike the chair, I didn't notice any difference to me, or my immediate surroundings. That was until I noticed that my long range listening sensors were all but dead, as it felt as if there was an acoustic bubble that had enveloped our table. I assumed this probably worked both ways so while we couldn't hear what was happening on the other side of the bubble, so too would our conversations be completely inaudible to the rest of the room.

"-is what you're doing here in a full suit of armor. Armor that is clearly concealing your mana-fields. Tell us, Emma of Earthrealm, have your kind developed a way to hide the sickness of mana-field taint?"

"Ilunor, please-""Quiet princess, if we are to move forward as a peer-group, we mustn't hide such pressing matters from one another!" The lizard snapped, cutting Thacea off, as it became clear to me that these two were not above knocking her down at every possible turn despite her royal rank. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. It sickened me to my stomach.

"That must be the only reason behind your ridiculous insistence on wearing a full suit of armor to the Academy, why else would someone try to mask their mana-fields? In fact, I don't even think there's anyone underneath that suit at all. Are you perhaps a golem, or some artificed slave-soul trapped in metal? There's no other explanation as to why you are able to sit there, exuding nothing. Like a lifeless suit of armor!"

The lizard turned around to face Thalmin, then Thacea who sat there with a look of growing concern.

"You all feel it! I know you can! There's no mana-field within or around that thing! It's like a slave is sitting at our table! How else would this… this… thing feel so lifeless and dead?!" He reiterated, forcing Thacea to slink back further into her seat as the Lupinor grew quieter and quieter still.

"I'm just saying what's on everyone's mind." He quickly added." What the heck is your problem?" I shot back through my vocoder, the volume alone causing the diminutive lizard to slink firmly back against his seat. I stood up, the full 7'4" height of my suit easily surpassing the lizard's height twice-over. Whether it was the stress of the whole situation, or the fact that my hands were practically splintering the table at the seams, Thacea finally snapped back.

"Enough!" It was at this point that my sensors reported another surge of magical radiation. Except this time it wasn't capping out or remaining fixed at a certain percentage over the background radiation, but was fluctuating wildly. Soon after the variable fluctuation of mana-field energy, I felt the audio-nullifying bubble around us pop, as the sounds of the room were once more audible, forcing all of us to step back from each other's throats before I heard yet more gossip from afar.

This time targeted towards the avian. Huh, seems like the tainted princess just had a little breakdown. I'm surprised they even sent her to the Academy. Only the Gods and Goddesses know when her taint will overwhelm her mana-fields. It will spell death for everyone here. May her peer-group find solace in their quick and timely demise.

"Wait, group?" I parroted out, which garnered the attention of everyone at the table.

"Are we-""Oh, so our knight in shining armor finally gets it. Yes, our group. The table you sit with at orientation will dictate your peer-group for the rest of the academic year." The lizard hissed back, as he refused to meet my gaze, instead, focusing on domed dishes in front of him.

"I believe this is why Prince Thalmin Havenbrok, and Lord Ilunor Rularia here are currently on edge. It is… a huge risk for the three of us to be paired with a being which we lack any knowledge of. As a result of this, and in addition to the great number of stressors we each faced prior to our arrival at the academy, there exists a great deal of tension which both Thalmin and Ilunor seem to be resolving with fear, anger, and frustration. For that I must apologize, Emma of Earthrealm."

The Avian gave me the slightest hint of a head nod that I reciprocated in kind. I wanted so desperately to punt the lizard across the room, perhaps even knock Thalmin down a peg, but I knew they were probably acting out of stress. I could empathize. Conflict de-escalation was what was keeping me back, although it was a bit harder to do with the lizard.

"It's fine. I get it. I literally just survived being turned into a pile of liquefied goop just a half hour ago. We all have our issues to contend with." I sighed, placing both hands on the table in front of me.

"I'm willing to answer any questions you have, but let's just try to be a bit more civil, okay?" I offered, putting that olive branch out there as the wolf seemed to be willing to play ball, nodding and leaning forward.

"The lizard has a point." He began.

"We need to know why the armor, Emma." His tone was far more subdued now, but still carried a certain severity behind it. I looked everyone dead in the eye, and despite them all being unable to see my eyes underneath the lenses, I tried my best to maintain eye contact all the same. Part of me wondered if I should evade the question, but I knew that if this really was to be my group for the rest of the year, healthy communication would be key.

"If I take this off I die." I stated bluntly, eliciting reactions I more or less expected." Dramatic." Ilunor whispered under his breath. The wolf however, didn't seem to mind as he gestured for me to continue with a single nod of his head.

"Go on."

"I'm not sure if the Academy told you this. I mean, judging from how gossipy this place is…" I gestured to the tables behind us to illustrate my point.

"It would be kinda surprising if you guys hadn't heard, but the previous human student who tried to cross the threshold just ended up melted. The suit is all that stands in the way between me and that fate." I shuddered, a tinge of concern dripping with every word as just admitting that fact made me acutely aware of just how precarious my position here was. The whole room looked so normal, yet for all intents and purposes it was effectively the vacuum of space to me.

"How is that possible-" Thacea began, only to have her line of questioning cut short by a series of three loud thumps. Each thump reverberated louder and louder as all eyes shot towards a part of the room that I could've sworn didn't exist just a moment prior. A quick look at my HUD revealed that a small spike of radiation was detected, hinting at the fact that there was probably some magic involved with all of this.

What appeared in front of us was an entire stage, elevated about 5 feet above the floor and connected to the floor via a series of levitating marble staircases.

"Attention! Students-to-be from the Nexus and Adjacent-realms alike! The orientation is about to commence!" A voice echoed throughout the room, belonging to none other than the blue robed professor who'd just apparated alongside a group of 25 similarly cloaked humanoids who stood at attention behind him. Each of them seemed to belong to a different race, most seemed elvish, but a scant few stood out as draconic, and even cat-like. My eyes focused on one figure however.

A tall, graceful, regal looking elf draped in a cloak that was pure white. So white in fact that I could swear it practically radiated light itself. Something told me this was more than likely the man in charge of the whole operation…

"The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts welcomes each and every one of you." The white-robed figure spoke, moving forwards to completely overshadow Vanavan.

"For those of you who do not know, I am Dean Altalan Rur Astur, the 2592nd dean of this Academy, and the 4th in my lineage to hold such an honor." The dean continued, as the rest of the professors behind him fell in line, standing in three distinct rows, with the black-robed Mal'tory and blue-robed Vanavan standing immediately behind him.

"Now, I expect most of you to have read up on your history, but because we are blessed with a new realmer amongst our ranks-" The Dean's eyes shifted towards me, and so did the entire room and three rows of professors. Thanks to the suit, no one could gauge my reactions, but underneath, I was practically melting alive.

"-I deem it best to provide a brief summary of the significance of this academy to the balance that is the Nexus-Realm accords."

"In the beginning, there was nothing. Nothing but the nexus itself. This Nexus however wasn't one any of us today would recognize, for it existed as a world of pure mana, where the gods existed in peace and harmony. This harmony however, was not fated to last. For out of this realm of mana came another being, a god in everything but name.

His taint and miasma infected the realm, and out of this taint came sin, and out of this sin came discord, and from that came the corruption of the old gods, and the eventual war in the heavens which forever shattered the perfection that was the Old Nexus. Yet from the ashes came the seeds of new life: The Adjacent Realms, born as but an afterthought, without purpose, without direction. Conversely, forged from the wisdom of the new gods came the New Nexus, a creation of love and commitment.

A commitment to forge a better world of enlightened beings. Beings which comprise up much of the Academy's faculty and staff." The dean gestured to himself, and the staff which stood unflinchingly behind him.

"The Academy was constructed to bridge the gap that exists between the Nexus and the Adjacent realms, to teach and enlighten those with the gift of mana, and to elevate the adjacent realms from its natural tendencies of barbarism to one of civility. We exist to bring the enlightenment of the gods to the lightless." The Dean's monologue was capped off with an unwavering smile, one that only grew in confidence as he went on.

"Students from the Nexus and Adjacent realms! By order of the Transgracia Accords of 10, 092, under the blessings of all the adjacent realms and approved by the holy decree of His Majesty the King, I hereby announce the official start to this academic school year and the induction of the Class of 29, 019!" Yet instead of the cheers and claps of any other such announcement, what I saw before me was a room filled with dread.

"He can't do that…" I heard several voices whisper throughout the room.

"The orientation still hasn't even begun." A few more spoke, before silence eventually dominated the entire room. The formerly chatty and well composed crowd had all but lost their composure at that proclamation, and what's more, quite a few began to fidget with their uniforms; specifically with something hidden underneath them.

Murmurs were heard from the faculty on stage as Vanavan stepped forward to the Dean, whispering something into his ear which only elicited the most dismissive of glares as he was forced back in line in the most passive aggressive way I could imagine. The whole room wreaked of something having gone terribly out of step, like the carefully choreographed and rehearsed lines of the past few minutes had been derailed without warning.

"So!" The Dean continued, the warmth in his smile was still there, yet I couldn't help but feel that it was completely out of touch with the mood in the room.

"Without further ado, we should get on with the ceremony of scholarly rites." The tone in his voice hinted that this was a request, or something optional, yet the way he phrased it made it clear that this wasn't just a passing remark. It was a demand. A demand that had clearly spooked all of the students in the room, and had caused the few that were fidgeting with whatever it was underneath their cloaks to begin uttering murmurs that caused small localized spikes in mana-radiation around themselves.

Mal'tory stepped forward, his eyes gazing across each and every one of the students in the room with a piercing, almost unfeeling look of apathy as he held something in his hands. It was a leather-bound case, an object that seemed too plain to be something issued by a school that exuded wealth and extravagance.

"The first student who steps forward for the ceremony will receive 20 points credited to their peer-group, 30 points to their house, and 50 extra credits to whichever class they see fit."