A week. Yes, I know a week isn't that long but after the first few days it was just practicing the various runes. Apparently today we would choose a school. I had thought about it hard, with those unknown dangers I decided the best way would to go with life. Death was also an option but it was more about manipulating the lifeforce rather than magic. Sure that did leave me the option to use my own life to do magic but that seemed a bit much.

  So I went with healing, that won't get me big damaging moves. But it mainly got me away from all the creepiness that was the undead. Don't get me wrong a cool skeleton wielding a sword sure was cool but not something I would want to have to interact with every day going forward. So the school of life for me it was.

  Interestingly the teacher that taught us the basics was just that, a teacher. The professors on the other hand taught their own branches of magic... Which happened to be by those magical trees I saw when I was spat onto the dirt floor. This marked my first time returning to that forest clearing/ path around the big tree.

  I shook my head deciding to push my wandering mind to the side, there was no use trying to wonder about things I should have done. Like say maybe asking for the names of these places.

  Stepping into the forest was just as jarring as when I left it, the magical city I had come to find familiar the last few days seemingly yanked away to be replaced by the sight, sound and smells of an old forest. I couldn't help but stumble a bit when I did so. None of the other students with me seemed to be bothered by it, or if they were they didn't show it.

  Still though, it was a feeling I could get used to with time and by the short time it took me to adjust I was standing alone everyone already going off no doubt having already chosen their own first picks of schools like I did.

  I still couldn't help but marvel at the place, it was crazy. Like that tree had storm cloud for a canopy and a perpetual drizzle of rain below it. I walked around passing what I knew the life school was, it wasn't going anywhere and I wasn't so impatient as to rush over and subject myself to more tutoring. Besides it wasn't every day you got wander around such a magical forest.

  That's what I would say if I didn't stumble upon a hole. Not just any hole, it was like whatever was there the entire forest behind it was missing. I started to understand just what they were saying about Wizard city not being a planet. Looking down into the hole I noticed that the forest behind the trees were fake, just an illusion in truth there was nothing behind each tree. But if this little cut of the world was still here one would have no idea that this forest was fake. Like really I could smell the scent of old leaves the sound of leaves rustling in the... wind... There was no wind.

  My admiring of the apparent hole in the world wasn't unnoticed. An older student spoke up with a dark robe that would in any normal society scream 'I am the evil guy' here it just marked him as someone from the School of death. "It sure is amazing right? Just a big hole into nothing huh?"

  I tried to find a word to say to him, but there really was no word for being confronted with the absolute truth. We were on an island made to look larger than it was. Luckily my loss of words wasn't something he seemed to care about. "Ah well, some years ago an evil professor decided to pull his school from the academy and ended up trying to split it off. It didn't work really, now its just harder to get to."

  Stolen story; please report.

  He seemed to realize something then. "Ah right! You're a new student. You looking to joining the Death school? I happen to be the one here to see if you're strong enough to actually get into the school. Its why I'm here really."

  I looked at him this time. He really was from the death school. "No no, I was just looking around. I've already decided on what I want. But really? You have to prove you're strong to be part of the Death school?" I mean I imagine with a name like Death it might be a more dangerous branch of magic-

  He suddenly went sheepish. "Ah- Well... You know. Some of the kinds can be quite hot headed you know. So I pretend its a challenge to get into the death school." Of course, it was just a recruitment ploy should have guessed. "Though to actually get the physical location is locked behind some interesting magic locks so it's kind of a right of passage now that one needs to have a certain proficiency before they can see the professor."

  Hmm, "This the same professor that tried to split from the Academy?" I doubted they kept them in charge if he was capable of tearing a chunk off the island and moving it... seems kind of dangerous.

  He was actually shocked as he waved his hands. "Oh! No. They don't talk about it much but he wasn't a good guy, he released a whole bunch of monsters in the realms as he was... doing something. I don't really know what, probably looking for something. But a wizard eventually caught up to him quelling the chaos he spread. I'm not one for history so I don't really know any details other than that."

  I gave a nod, that's good. It sounded like that was certainly some crazy times. "You said he tried to split it off and it didn't work? Where is it then?"

  I saw his car salesman grin and knew I stepped on a trap. "Ah well, hard to say really... Its a secret and all that, if you join though I could help you solve the mystery. Alright alright sorry I had to try. You know how hard it is to get more people into your school when you don't have a cool fancy setup?" I almost felt bad for him... almost.

  I shook my head at him. "Ah well, I guess I really can't blame you. Anyways, I'm Paul."

  That seemed to strike him, he suddenly straightened. "Oh right! I forgot to introduce myself. I am Cearous Deathclaw."

  "That- That's not a real last name is it?"

  I saw the flicker of something I could gather was amusement in his eyes before he grew a big grin. "Ah ha! Seems I ain't the worst one at not paying attention in history class. Wizards don't do traditional last names, we get one when we choose our school you'll see when you get yours. Go go, the first few spells are always the best. You'll see." His grin said I was sure of it too, I doubted what they did was spells since I thought of it more as summoning. What we learned before, during this week that was more along what I thought were spells...

  Despite having these cards to ease with summoning we were taught how to manipulate the magic as a prerequisite for today. I MIGHT have spent some extra time at night playing around creating a sword of mana or figuring out how to clean the scorch marks on the wall of the dorm room from when I definitely didn't almost set fire to my room practicing a whole lot of nothing. I was amazed myself, it was magic. Not like some kind of trick or anything like actual fire conjuring I couldn't help but get a bit excited.

  "Well, I should get going then. I wouldn't want to miss the first day because I was too busy talking to you." I turned around this time headed straight for the Life school.

  His voice picked up behind me. "Awe don't be like that Paul. Where would you be if you didn't have me to teach you some history." I didn't have to imagine his laughter as I shook my head again. That kid of was too much of a jokester for me, I am just lazy to keep up with his kind of energy.