Head Master Naga
The field exam was always something the teachers and I looked forward to. I loved seeing how the students think and comport themselves in high-stress environments.
Some show signs of genius early on, while others need a bit more motivation. This year, I had the idea of something different. I invited the top twenty guilds in the world to watch.
An opportunity most would never get, and one that allowed me to learn what they appreciated and what they criticized in the students.
Walking through a sliding door, I entered a dark room with monitors plastered all over the walls. Each monitor is connected to a single student. At the center of the room was a large round table big enough for thirty people.
My entrance cut the tension like a hot knife through butter. The room was a microcosm of the world; clans that hated one another, forced to remain in a confined space for hours on end.
I could tell it made my staff uneasy. Taking a glance at the surroundings, I noticed that some of the representatives of the guilds were not the leaders, but their second in command.
With a small exhale, I greeted everyone. "Welcome, my esteemed guests. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to have a look at our new crop of students. Let's get right into it. Which students have caught your interest?"
"I think when I say this, I speak for all of us. Stravos looks to be a step above the rest. His battle acumen, his poise, and his leadership. All are positive traits a guild would want in a leader of Rift Runners." The woman said, her vermillion hair framing her pale face, her cold grey eyes locking onto mine as if peering straight into my soul.
"Of course, a member of the Blade Wardens would say that, didn't you train the boy?" A man with a scar running across his face shot back, representative of the Crimson Scale guild.
Her fist slamming on the table, "Well then, who else even looks close to his level. Because Stravos has posted the highest entrance exams and shown mastery of his cosmic energy that frankly no other student has."
The members of the Crimson Scale Guild just chuckled. He tapped his tablet several times, and the monitors shifted. "Stravos does look formidable. But that is to be expected of him, after all, he is the Prince of War. This plays to all his strengths. I, on the other hand, am taking a broader approach," he said as the screen showed a few kids from the Zmei clan, one from the Morphaelis, and two Brontarions– Jace and Sora.
"Despite his attitude, Jace has one of the highest reserves of cosmic energy I have ever seen for someone at that stage. I can understand the intrigue, but he doesn't have the work ethic to advance further than that." A man wearing an all-black combat suit, a representative of the Black Anvil said.
A wide grin lingered on the face of the Crimson Scale representative. "I think your people only see power in one way. A warrior is often never wiser than a dragon, and I see great potential in the brontarion twins. I'll even bet the rights of ten astral rifts on the fact that Stravos will lose."
"You have a deal," the Black Anvil representative gnarled back.
Taking control over the room again, I tried to steer the conversation away from the feud between the Zmei clan and Vortaris. "Outside of the prominent families, do any other kids stick out to you?"
"There are two others. That caught my eye." A lady with long light brown hair said, A representative from the Everspring Guild deep from the Valadar region.
"The girl, Mira Arvaith. The daughter of the late leader of the Twilight Obsidian Guild. She showed excellent promise so far."
"Yeah, until that Bennu kid showed up. He was brutal, manic almost. Didn't he score second in the cosmic augmentation test? Who would have known that the Pyrralis hid such a talent? Even took on five students from our clan along with the Mira girl." The family representative of the Kazehoshi clan and Whisper Wind guild chimed.
"Now that I think of it, I don't remember seeing such a child at the flare wind gala our families get together for."
A question everyone seemed to be wondering about, all eyes on the representatives from the Ash Feather and Emberwing Guilds. The representatives exchanged a glance, a look of concern. "Feather got your tongues?" The Whisper Wing member chirped.
"We weren't hiding him. We didn't even know he existed. Cyrus is his name right? Unless his family never registered him in the family branch records. But even that is a far cry. The Bennu is a branch that keeps to itself but still adheres to the law. Headmaster Naga, there doesn't seem to be much in his file besides his test scores. Is there a reason for that?"
"I know as much as you do on that matter." That response didn't seem to satisfy them. After a while, the conversation returned to their usual chatter. Disputing novelties of who had the better guild, along with sharing stories of their most recent journeys in the rifts.
It almost brought me back to when times were simpler in my life, when I didn't have as many responsibilities to juggle while also keeping track of the relic auction house.
Shortly, I informed everyone that I was leaving and needed to tend to other matters. But before I left, I decided to throw a new wrench in the mix. "Professor Harlowe, activate the fourth protocol."
The stout professor looked at me in awe. "Head master, we haven't used this in a decade. Why now?"
"There is something I need to see."