Sci Fi & Fantasy / Conquered -- Chapter #2

Chapterv #2: At the Orientation Ceremony

      “I’m late! I’m late!”
      “Please finish your breakfast first, Young Master!”
      The tumultuous sound echoed through out the reception hall of a vast mansion. It was a grandiose mansion with three main buildings in the center of the area. The area around the mansion itself was bedecked with various kinds of flowers and plants which made the mansion look shady and cool. The sound of running and the pressure of briskness made the atmosphere of fresh and peaceful morning became restless. But this seemed to be normal to the insiders. Men in black suits and women in maid dresses were scattering to their works. Many of them stopped and stepped aside when a silhouette dashed out of the main building of the mansion.
         “Young Master! You haven’t finished your breakfast, yet!” A middle aged lady in maid dress hurried after the silhouette with displeasure. Her silky black eyes were fixed on her master. “And, you haven’t dressed properly!”
        “It’s only fifteen minutes till eight! I’ll be late for the Orientation Ceremony!” The master with a piece of bread in his mouth turned back to face her. He was a young male teenager in a neat white shirt and white trousers. His unkempt long blonde hair was blowing along with the soft wind. He looked so hastily that his white necktie and his shoes were even untied. His leather backpack was fully opened and untidy.
       “I’m in a hurry here, Cherish,” The boy jerkily spoke while he bent down to tie his shoes. The maid gave him a tired smile and helped him tied his necktie.
       “You cannot go to today’s Orientation Ceremony with an untidy look, Master Zuriel,” Cherish adjusted a bit of her master’s shirt and tied up his hair. “Where is your suit?”
        “In the bag,” Zuriel finally swallowed the last bit of the bread. He narrowed his eyes while Cherish brushed away his hair that covered his face. Then he pushed her hands off. “It’s okay! I can manage it later. ”
         “Young Master Zuriel, the coach is ready.” A low voice interrupted the conversation. A man in brown butler suit appeared beside Zuriel. Behind him was a small brown coach with two black horses for harness. Zuriel gave him a thank you smile.
          “Thanks Waldo, but I’ll go with my Sky Board.” The master snapped. A red metal board with a small engine appeared beside him. He jumped on it and stepped on the pedal to start the engine. The engine fired up and Zuriel began to drift. Then he abruptly darted to the sky away from the mansion.
         “See ya!” The boy turned back and waved to his servants. Then he dashed along the route and disappeared among the other buildings. Many maids and workers bent down to their master for farewell bows.
         “Such an impetuous boy, as always,” said Cherish with a big smile on her face. Then she turned towards the other maids and gave them a strict glance.
          “What are you guys looking at? Get back to work!”

         “Here you go, ma’am.”
          “Oh, thank you very much, young man.”
          A cream sunhat with a fuchsia ribbon was handed to a lady on the fourth floor’s veranda of a stylish restaurant by a lively boy in his untidy white uniform who was firmly standing on his red Sky Board. He moved back a little and bowed to her.
          “What is your name, my dear?” The lady gave him a lenient smile. She was gratified by his manners and politeness.
          “Zuriel von Emerson, ma’am,” The boy looked up a little then bowed again. “At your service,” He straightened up and smoothly hovered away from the restaurant’s veranda.
          “Did that boy just say ‘Emerson’?”
          “Is he the adapted son of the Emerson Noble Family?”

          Agilan City in the bright morning of September was a lovely place to be. The birds were conjoining singing the most beautiful songs as ever. The sky was blue and clam. Working people woke up early to have their fragrant morning coffee. Many stores were ready for morning greets to their customers. The crowds were leisurely walking to their offices, smiling for people who passed by.
           Almost all the infrastructures were built from bricks and white marbles, adorned with colors from flowers and shrubs. The city surface was paved with polished rocks and granite. In the center of the city stood the Agilan Minster where the federal government office was. The building itself was made from white bricks and marbles in the shape of a dome. On the top of the dome was covered with glass plates. Beside the Minster was a huge train station where all the railroad tracks started. The tracks were not on the ground, but were shaped like parabolas through each train station around the city. The streets were adorned with splendid lanterns that engraved little angels on each of them. They also divided the city into eight sections. Each of them had many different shaped white buildings arranged in order.
           The whole area of Section Four was for schooling. There were book stores, stationery stores, clothes shop which most of them were school uniforms, and even parks for students to come and study. There were many elementary schools and secondary schools around Agilan but there was only one famous university here. There in the core of the Section stood Agilan’s Mens Mentis University, the place where all the elites of the city gathered.
          The first ceremony of this academic year was held at the Centru Point which was the main auditorium building of Mens Mentis U. It was also built with white marble, alabaster, and brick. All the buildings and hallways were decorated with vermillion ribbons and red flowers for the Orientation Ceremony. Many students in their colorful ties and white uniforms were following one after another into the building, chatting on the way. All the freshmen were gathered in the front of the entrance with their white neckties and white uniforms. They looked very excited and nervous. But there were two boys that secluded from the group who seemed to be worried about something else.
          “He’s so slow.” One raised his voice in a pungent tone.
          “Oh, come on, Harmeet. He’s always on time. Maybe there’s something on his way.” Another voice patiently broke his friend’s words.
          Harmeet turned towards his friend. He was a healthy teenager with black eyes and maroon hair. His tan skin and his muscularity confirmed that he was a true athlete, while his friend was in a completely different condition. He was a slim young man with a courteous posture. His light brown hair reflected the sun light as he searched the place. His malachite green eyes then stopped at a figure in the mid sky that speedily aimed at them.
          “There he is!” The boy pointed towards the sky. Harmeet quickly looked up. A figure glided down and stopped in front of them.
          “Am I on time, Alexei?” A blonde hair young man gave them a vexed smile while he jumped down from his Sky Board. He snapped and the Board disappeared.
          “Of course, you idiot Zuriel!” Harmeet rebuked at his friend the moment Zuriel’s feet touched the ground. “You made us waited! And the Ceremony will begin in three minutes! Suppose that you’re not making it in time. Suppose that Alexei and I have to get in before you come. Suppose that…”
           “What took you so long to dash from your mansion to here?” Alexei sensed a bad situation from Harmeet’s long babbling so he cut the conversation. Him too, looked relieve from the worries. “I mean, it’s not a long way.”
          “Yeah, I’m sorry for the trouble.” Zuriel avoided Alexei’s eyes with a wry face. The inkling friend gave him a suspicious look.
          “Don’t tell me you woke up late again?”
          “I didn’t!” Zuriel’s eyes widen. His gestures were no different than a kid that was caught because he broke his mother’s glassware. “It was Cherish’s fault! She forgot to wake me up so that’s why I’m late.”
           Alexei stood with his arms akimbo. Zuriel always had a problem with drowsily. They knew each other since they were children. Alexei shook his head and gave his friend a fresh smile.
            “Let’s just forget about it, okay?” Zuriel headed towards the auditorium entrance. “I think it’s time.”
           The three boys followed the other freshmen into the building. The huge white hall was furnished with red ribbons and many kinds of flowers. The rouged fabric was embroidered the crest of the university. The crest took a form of a silver blooming rose and the letters M.M.U. with golden ribbons surrounded it. Every student suits had the symbol of the university sewed within it. The hall itself was decorated with ornate Corinthian order columns that made of clear marbles. There were more than ten thousand seats arranged in order. The hall also comprised of the mezzanine for the professors. The freshmen were managed to sit in the front rows with the seniors behind. The boys chose to sit in the penultimate rows.
            “Isn’t it too grandiose, this building?” Harmeet glanced around the hall and then paused at the immense stage that adorned with many various kinds of flowers. A microphone podium was set up in the centre of the stage.
            “I think it is customary for the Orientation Ceremony at an immense school like this,” said Alexei, looking around as well. “But I don’t really felt any different from Zuriel’s mansion when there is a party. It’s the same feeling here.”
            “It’s not like that.” The abashed Zuriel touched his face softly. “Those were my father’s soirees and they were ought to be arrange properly since he was an old aristocrat.”
           “Well, we didn’t say those banquets were extravagant at all.” The maroon hair boy patted his friend’s shoulder mimetically while he was looking at a group of female freshmen that approaching them. “Your father is a great man. He is clever and rigid while at the same time, is also a very generous man. I really like him.”
           “Excuse me, are you Mister Zuriel von Emerson?” A girl appeared behind Alexei. Her face was rouged when the name-holder glanced at her. “Ca…Can I have a picture with you?”
             The other girls were giggling when Zuriel gave them a little nod. He stood up smiling and let the girls took his pictures. Harmeet and Alexei were also forced to join the girls with Alexei’s unwillingly gestures and Harmeet’s most willingly postures. It took a few minutes for Zuriel to calm the excited girls and for them to agree to have their seats two rows ahead.
            “Why were they so addicted to you?” Harmeet gave a little sigh and took a seat where the cause of this small turmoil sat beside him.
             “Simple,” a soft chuckle came from the right hand corner. “He is handsome, smart, and is the beloved son of the Emerson Noble family.” Alexei sat up straight and sneered at his whining friend. “And the most crucial reason is that he is better than you in any way. You should realize that at the first glance at him.”
             The light in the hall started to get dimmer and dimmer. All the students and the faculties stood up in unison for esteeming the national anthem. They bowed simultaneously and quietly sat down. The spotlights then illuminated the podium on the stage. A figure rose slowly from behind the podium from under the stage, then it stopped.
               “There are many midget elevators set up on the stage,” whispered Alexei. “I read about it on the university’s web pages.”
               A soft wind developed within the podium throughout the whole stage. A man in a black suit stood dignified behind the podium. After gazing around the hall for a second, he then gave the audiences a warm smile. The hall fell silent.
            “Greetings, all faculties and students,” he spoke with his low calm voice which was in contrast to his immature appearance.
             “I am Argos Haral, the rector of this splendid Mens Mentis University of Agilan!”
           Haral seemed to be a young rector at the age of around or at least thirty. His silk mahogany hair was combed formally to the right. His face was adorned with cheerful smile. At first, they never thought of such a young rector like this before. However, as they conceived to themselves, anything was possible in the kingdom of Valerius.
          “Welcome to Mens Mentis University or M.U. as I would like to call it for short, my dear first-years, and welcome back all my charming sophomores and above. It’s a pleasure to see you all in your good conditions. I won’t say much so we can quickly finish this tiresome ceremony. Thus, we can go for our special lunch that our lovely housekeepers had prepared for us quicker than last year as you all perceive that I am already hungry.”
          The hall was echoed of laughter. Then again, fell silent within a few second.
          “Is he…mad?” asked Harmeet uncertainly. Its result was a snigger from his friends.
          “Mad?” said Alexei ardently. “Of cause he is mad, yes. All geniuses, I supposed, are all mad!”
           “Rector Haral, or in an official name, Professor Argos van Haral is a well known physician through out this kingdom,” said Zuriel airily. “In this world of magic and technologies, he was the first mage who used the nine-tailed fox’s blood for medical since its blood is good for healing anemia.”
His friend’s words made Harmeet lost for words.
           “As expected from the best notably student in Agilan,” Alexei proudly complimented his friend. “No doubt you passed that brutal entrance exam of the Faculty of Life Science with the full scores.”
          “Thanks,” Zuriel departed himself from their conversation to the rector.
           “Before we all get to feed and relax, I have a few this year start-of-term notices to give you.
           “I want to state and inform first-years about our M.U.’s rules. Students should wear their uniforms properly when they are in classes. Especially, first-years should wear their neckties correctly due to the colors of their faculties. However, you are given freedom of wearing your private clothing when your classes are adjourned.
            “All members of Student Committee should report for duty by this evening. Mr. Heimrich Oswald, the president of Students Council had reminded me to gather up the meeting with the Students Council tonight so we can discuss the committee’s roles this year. Also, there are seats available for any students who want to join the council. First-years are welcome to, yes.”
           “Zuriel, why don’t you try for the Committee members?” asked Alexei smiling with Harmeet nodded seriously. Zuriel was the president of Disciplinary Committee back when they were in their high school. However, he was not famous only because he was intellectual, but he was also the most powerful high school mage in the area. That was how he kept everything in peace.
            “First-years are all welcome to enter all clubs for any interests. The clubs’ web boards will be ready and well informed for you by this Wednesday. Noteworthy on this, there are 120 clubs for students from 8 faculties to join and share ideas and abilities.
            “The National Pegasus Tournament will be held in the last week of the second term. For our first-year’s information, the National Pegasus Tournament is a tradition sport game among all the biggest universities and colleges in this Kingdom. This year the Pegasus Tournament will be held in the capital of Valerius kingdom, Celes City. Any one who interested in playing for our M.U. should contact Professor Finley. So, I guess we have to hurry seek for our new players since many are already gradated. Now, let me introduce the Captain of our Pegasus Team, Mr. Adlar. Please give him a hand.”
            A student in white suit and dark jade green tie stood up from his seat at the left side of the stage. Then he walked elegantly to the stage where the second podium was set up. He bowed to give respect to the rector before spoke with a confident gesture.
             “Greetings, Mr. Rector, faculties, and students, my name is Calixte Adlar, fourth-year student from the Faculty of Military Science. I am the current Captain of our Pegasus Team.” Calixte Adlar was a tall and wide-shoulder young man who was suitable for an athlete. His tanned skin matched with his golden brown hair that set up neatly. “As Mr. Rector has mentioned, the Pegasus Tournament is the most famous and important of any tournaments arrange among the well known universities. The place where the tournament organizes will be exchange every year. This year is also an important year for us since we have won victoriously for two years continuously. I hope that we wouldn’t have to stop our great records just for this year.”
            “This sounds interesting,” said Harmeet enthusiastically. “What do you think, Zuriel?”
           Zuriel didn’t answer. It was not because he had no interest in the tournament but the place where the tournament was to be held worried him.
          “For anyone who has no experience with this, the Pegasus is a team sport played outdoors on flying magical creatures’ back, mostly winged horses, in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Riders score by driving a white wooden or plastic ball into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet. Goals are only valid if the scoring rider is mounted. The traditional sport is played outdoors and each team consists of five riders and their mounts.
           “There are more to the rules of the Pegasus which all the members of the team will learn respectively. What you need to know right now is that magic are acceptable during the game. So, we need players that are proficient and dexterous in creating charms.
           “The trials for qualification will be held in next week. Any students who are interested including all first-years can see the information web board on our Pegasus Team’s web pages. We need at least five months for practices before the real tournament in March.”
             “Five months!? I don’t think this guy going to let his crew get some rest for their own sake!” Harmeet cried quietly.
            “At this moment, I would like to encourage any students to come and join us. The application for the trials will be held from this afternoon to this Friday. You can contact Professor Finley, our team’s advisor for any information in his room, the twentieth floor of Master Ciara Building. Thank you for your attention.”
            The audience applauded in unison while Aldar took his seat. Haral then took his podium and spoke to the hall.
            “So, that is our Pegasus Team Captain. As you all know that this Tournament is very important for us, I, as the rector will look forward to this tournament. For all the players who bring victory and pride to our M.U. will receive free education fee or other expenses for one whole year as you are studying in this university.”
Many freshmen started to chatter enthusiastically.
       “I will be glad if there are more than thousand names on the register list by next week. I also will be there to see the qualification trials. All the classes will begin next week. I hope you will have fun with your lives in M.U. and don’t forget to study hard. Thank you.”