The bell chimed softly at dawn.
Not a clang, nor a horn but a ripple of sound through the air, like chimes on the wind. It passed through the academy grounds and into Caelum's bones, pulling him from sleep.
"First bell," groaned Lira from across the Umbra dorm hall.
"If I die during meditation, tell them I was a rebel," she muttered, face half in her pillow.
Caelum rubbed his eyes. His arms still ached from last night's sparring. His legs, sore from wind-stepping drills. But somehow… he didn't hate it.
Not yet.
---
7:00 AM — Aether Meditation
The Veil Chambers were cold and silent. Dozens of students sat in stillness, eyes closed, breathing in unison.
"Feel the current," intoned the monk. "Don't reach for the Aether. Let it find you."
Caelum felt it. A tickle in his chest. A whisper in the wind.
He almost fell asleep.
---
8:30 AM — Magic Theory I
Professor Alren was dry as sandpaper, but the topic was fascinating.
"The Aether Veil is not magic itself," he lectured, "but a conduit between realms. Our will shapes the raw essence our affinity filters it."
Caelum scribbled notes beside Eo, who offered him a quiet correction when he wrote "magic fog net" instead of "Aetheric filtration mesh."
The professor raised an eyebrow. "Caelum Varrow. Define resonance threshold."
"Uh… when magic… stops listening?"
A few snickers followed. Alren sighed. "Close enough. For a farmer."
---
10:00 AM — Element Control Class
This was chaos.
Students from all houses lined up in training rings, casting elemental spells into dummies or occasionally, into each other.
Lira ignited a scarecrow with a fire whip and grinned like a maniac.
Caelum tried to create a wind vortex but ended up blowing over a row of Lunaris students' notebooks.
"Control, not volume," scolded Instructor Maris. "You're not a hurricane."
---
12:00 PM — Grand Hall Meal
The Grand Hall buzzed with chatter and floating food trays.
Tables were divided by house, but Umbra's section only had five students.
Caelum sat between Ardyn, silent and slicing his fruit with unsettling precision, and Eo, who drank violet tea and hummed to herself.
"Where's Lira?" Caelum asked.
A sudden shout echoed nearby. Lunaris students ducked as a roast pheasant exploded in flame.
"…Found her."
---
1:00 PM — Weapon Forms and Footwork
Commander Feylor was ruthless.
"Blades *down*, Varrow. You're not harvesting crops."
Caelum grunted, adjusted his stance, and tried again.
He wasn't the worst in class but he wasn't far from it.
At one point, Ardyn stepped in without a word and demonstrated Caelum's form with flawless fluidity. The commander nodded.
"Study him. That's a sword dancer, not a sword swinger."
Caelum hated how easy Ardyn made it look. But he also wanted to try again.
---
2:30 PM — House Umbra Specialization
Back at their dorm's annex, the Umbra mentor a half-blind elf named Master Dorian lit incense and scattered sand across the floor.
"Umbra is not about winning," he said. "It's about surviving. Moving in the chaos. Being unseen, but never unprepared."
They practiced low-light combat, silent steps, and basic hybrid spell techniques.
Lira made a flame dagger. Eo made a light pulse that blinded half the room.
Caelum? He made the room colder accidentally.
"Wind obeys you when you stop trying to tame it," Master Dorian said.
---
4:00 PM — History of Magic & Arcane Ethics
Master Selric lectured like a wizard caught in a dream.
"Before Arcvale… before the kingdoms… there were the Arkanites. Wild. Untethered. Gifted. Cursed."
Caelum's pen paused.
Selric looked directly at him.
"Some say they still walk among us. Hiding their power. Fearing what it means."
Was he talking to him?
Or was that guilt?
---
After dinner, students returned to their dorms or practiced spells in the Trial Arena.
Caelum tried to sneak in a wind burst… and nearly knocked over a statue.
"Nice," Lira said. "Next time try not killing an ancestor."
They laughed.
Even Ardyn almost smiled.
---
Caelum lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. His body ached. His mind buzzed.
He hadn't failed.
He hadn't run.
He'd survived Arcvale's first week.
And the wind?
The wind whispered again.
"Awaken. Something waits. Beneath the stone. Beneath the storm."