pushing forward, now and then clinging with the sword to people, for which I received unflattering epithets in my address. Finally, pushing into the front rows, I joined the queue, stomping in one of the arches and waited for about thirty people to come forward. The guy in front of me stepped in and disappeared in the air, I felt a little shaken and froze, from the back they immediately heard angry cries, nobody wanted to wait for the extra ten seconds. I closed my eyes, stepped forward, did not feel anything, and turned back, looking at the crowd on the other side of the wall, the answer to me was envious, if not good looks.

- Boy, come on, what got up? - A middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed beard and a long gray mantle almost to the ground turned to me.

- Ah ... Yes ... And where to go? - Puzzled, I asked.

- Go into the building, and there you will not be mistaken. - He explained, pointing to the steps of the porch, I nodded my thanks and went in the indicated direction.

- Congratulations. - He chuckled in my back, when I turned around, he had already turned away to the wall, preparing to meet the new lucky one.

Behind the doors I was met by a young, strict-looking, lean woman. She was sitting in the hall at a wide table with several closed drawers on it.

- Entered? She asked coldly, as soon as I stopped in front of her desk, not knowing which corridor to turn into.

- Well ... Yes ... - I stretched out, turning my head.

- Name? - I threw it short, taking a sheet of paper and a kind of pen from the table.

- Lucas Harper. - Remembering my nickname, I introduced myself.

- Look, don't lose. - She said in a slightly grumbling voice and gave me three oblong steel plates on leather laces, pulled out one from each drawer.

- Um ... What is it? - I asked, twisting weighty, smooth pieces of steel in my fingers, they were slightly different from each other in shape and thickness.

- These are special Academic amulets, everything will be explained to you, the second floor is the first audience. - She said dryly and with her eyes made it clear that the conversation was over. I shrugged my shoulders, I didn’t want to hurt, not the most pleasant company for small talk. A wide stone staircase led to the second floor, with a green carpet spread over the center of the steps, I paced the steps at a pace, not wanting to be late.

Audience number one was at the very end of a long corridor, I reached the right door and pushed the doors, entering a huge room with high ceilings and stepped stands in the manner of an amphitheater. For a moment I froze in amazement, a good two hundred pairs of eyes stared at me in rows of curiosity.

“Hello ...” I croaked slightly, literally feeling the pressure of attention falling on my head.

- Hello, young man, hello. Come on an empty seat and sit down, selection will end in five minutes, and we will begin. - A calm male voice sounded to my left, I turned and saw a tall, handsome man in an expensive jacket, embroidered with gold and embossed edges, he patronized looking down at me, regular features were calm, he seemed to be saying with his own face, you can be by anyone, but in this audience I am the most important. I silently nodded and quickly ran my eyes over the ranks of the students scored, as luck would have it, only the lowermost, first row remained pain-less free.

Reluctantly, I sat down on a wooden bench, wrapping my cloak around me.There was a great desire to pull a hood over my head, but it would look ridiculous and terribly stupid, and I did not want to present myself as an eccentric on the very first day of my studies.

- Hey, what's your name? - Easily shoved me in the side of the guy sitting on the left, I turned to him.

- Lucas. And you? - He nodded, and I answered in the same whisper.

- And I am Kerman. - He introduced himself and held out his palm to me, I hesitated a little, but, deciding not to offend the friendly guy, shook his hand.

“I’ll ask you to stop talking.” - Suddenly, a man in the pulpit spoke in a loud and loud voice, and the quiet murmur was silenced in a flash.

- All of you, having crossed the threshold of this audience, became students of our institution. I think that explaining which one is not worth it. - Carefully looking at the gathered guys and girls, he said calmly, he was silent for a while.

- Now I will explain to you the rules of the Academy, I will not repeat twice, who did not hear, this is his purely personal problems. - Vesko he dropped in deathly silence and slowly began to roll up the sleeves of his jacket.

- All students of the Academy, from the first day of study should observe honor. For all your drunken fights, squabbles and scandals, the Academy is responsible. Do not flatter yourself, young people, the perpetrators of possible incidents will be immediately excluded and severely punished, according to internal regulations. - Slightly menacingly, he said, methodically glancing the ranks, the people became agitated.

- Do you understand me? - Again, having sustained a spectacular pause, he asked.

- Yes Yes. Yes ... - Shyly answered him from the stands, he nodded and with a deft hand movement fished out a neat notebook from the air in front of him, opened it on the pulpit and again looked up at us with strict gray eyes, I shifted slightly, this subject does not cause sympathy and in any way does not help to relax.

- As for organizational issues. Students are provided with a room in a dormitory on the territory of the Academy, but it is not forbidden to live in the city, if there are interested. From the capital to the Academy leads a network of teleports, they are activated by one of the medallions you received at the entrance, do not lose, otherwise you will be fined two gold. “Already he began to speak more calmly and quickly, a displeased hum ran through the rows, such money for some piece of iron ...”

- Uniform for students and teachers is free, everyone is free to put on what he pleases, but within reason. - This phrase pleased me, I could not bear the schools in which they were forced to wear a uniform, all the students in them were impersonal ...

- Classes will begin tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, lists of formed groups will hang on the wall in the main academic building. By the way, I do not advise skipping classes, each pass without a good reason, this is a reason to consider your candidacy for an exception. - I could not resist and smiled sardonically, my plans to visit couples once a week went downhill with a screech and a hum, which again began to grumble the hall.

- At this finish. Everything else will be explained to you by your leaders in the first lecture. - He smiled raptually and quickly, picking up his notebook, left the audience.

“They got in ...” Clutching at his head, pathetically stretched out Kerman, hitting me with his elbow.

- And do not say. - I grunted, slightly moving away from the sweeping boy. The people began to rise, I quickly got up and was among the first to walk to the exit, my mood turned bad and I wanted to deal with the questions that appeared more quickly. At the exit from the audience, a young girl slammed into me at full speed, recoiled and, with an absurdly waving gesture, landed on the fifth point, stunned at me, sitting on the floor.

- I apologize. - Slightly embarrassed, mumbled, helping the injured lady to rise, he suddenly recognized in her that very indignant person who trampled my boots on the square, she also recognized me and blushed, looking away.

“Excuse me ...” she sneered shyly.

- Forgive. Second time. - Noticing her embarrassment, I replied softly and walked on.

- Is it all over yet? - She asked, turning around.

“Exactly, but you didn't miss much.”- I shrugged shoulders and hurried to the exit, while in the same direction did not bring the crowd to the people.

The porch was empty, I looked around the square and noted with pleasure that the wall with arches had disappeared, people also became much smaller, now they were not jostled by a solid gray mass, but stood in small groups as if waiting for someone.

- Well, now you're a student again. - Sounded in the head of the voice of Vladimir.

- There is such a thing, not lucky me. - I answered sadly, leisurely going down the high ... Read more →