Me, My Spirit, And I [Book 1 Complete]

It was amazing to Lusha how mundane Orientation Week at the magical Academy could be, and how similar it was to John's college experience back on Earth. There was paperwork, guided tours, meet and greets, dorm decorating, and all the other mundane tasks that enrollment in an institution of learning involved.

The Academy campus was a huge place. The Headmaster's Palace, the Five Towers Of Ascension, and an underground Stadium were the largest structures; there was practically an entire town within the inner walls of the Academy, which included shops, cafes, carters, and much more. Lusha rarely needed their Guide's mapping function, but was grateful for it while learning their way around campus.

"What is on today's agenda?" Westlin asked curiously as they left their multiple room suite.

"Looks like Assessment with the Academy Keeper after breakfast," Lusha said while referencing an information packet they pulled from their inventory.

They had just left their dorm and were standing in the hall outside their room. Westlin had his hands in his pockets, rocking on his heels while waiting on Lusha. "Are we eating in the dorm's dining hall, or one of the restaurants?"

"Restrurant; the few upperclassmen that have wandered in stare a bit too much when we eat at the dining hall. There is a Kopara restaurant I saw on the map they gave us. Really exotic spices, but I enjoyed what I ate with dad's people," Lusha replied.

Westlin closed his eyes in thought. "Alright, Kopara cuisine it is then." He then started walking without waiting for a response.

Lusha had to hurry to keep up with him. Teen boys, regardless of world or species, thought mainly with their stomachs.

"Do you like our suite?" Lusha asked Westlin. "It is a bit fancier than I prefer. Very Imperial, with all the straight lines."

Westlin shrugged. "It is a place to eat and store things. I doubt we will be there much."

"True. I would rather have stayed on the Skyship, honestly. Safer, better warding, and more like home." Lusha's voice was wistful.

Westlin patted Lusha on the back gently. "How can you miss it when we have barely been gone more than a few days and can return every weekend?"

"My family is there. I mean, your mom is right here with you acting as our bodyguard, but mom, dad, and my grandparents are hours away." Lusha shrugged. "I didn't expect to miss them yet, but I do. Kinda miss the old demon as well, but not the training."

Westlin laughed. "Well you haven't enjoyed combat practice since Raelis banned you from using external Essence. Being able to just disrupt the golems was cheating anyhow."

They stopped as Lusha glared at Westlin. "It wasn't cheating; all's fair in love and war, after all," Lusha said before continuing to walk towards the restaurant.

"Did you swallow a book on odd sayings back on Earth?" Westlin smirked at his friend. "You seem to have one for everything."

"What is wrong with having a gift for every occasion?" Lusha laughed. "Honestly, we were bombarded by sayings from various forms of entertainment and advertising. It becomes ingrained after a while. You are lucky more than half don't translate."

"Thank Sierra for small blessings!"

"We are here, by the way." Lusha said pointing to a Kopara floating barge that reminded them of a large food truck with outside seating.

"Order for us. You know I can't read that!" Westlin said while pointing the a menu written in Wyld Elvish and Eastern Imperial.

Lusha gave Westlin an odd look. "There is a translation literally right there on the sign."

Westlin shrugged. "So? Doesn't mean I want to read it! Now order us some food before I die of starvation," he said dramatically.

"Fine." Lusha walked up to the serving window where a Wyld Elf of indeterminate age was taking orders while dressed in an eye searingly eclectic mix of the Academy's five colors. "Well met cousin, long have I traveled and far have I wandered without a taste of the home fires." The Kopara Alfaran had a fondness of ritual speech and overdramatization.

The man, not being used to being spoken to in his native tongue, blinked in surprise before smiling broadly, showing off prominent canines that gave him a somewhat feral look. "Well met cousin, my fires burn hot and my food hotter. I am Teon of clan Spiroda. "

"I am Lusha of clan Drykus. I am happy to see a friendly face here."

"It is always good when we wanderers cross paths on the winding roads. What can I get for you today?" Teon said in a smooth and flowing voice.

Lusha proceeded to order for everyone before saying goodbye to Teon and taking a seat. "This juice is a must have. It helps cool the fire of the spices," Lusha explained as they went over the dishes they ordered. Teon had brought them out of his Inventory, where hot food was preserved after preparation.

Westline started eating a bit too enthusiastically. It was rare for him to meet a food he didn't like, so he didn't hesitate. Lusha watched in amusement as Westlin's face flushed and he started to sweat before taking large gulps of the juice.

"Whooo, that is very spicy!" Westlin exclaimed before diving back in.

Lusha ate at a slower, more civilized pace while watching Westlin cyclically eat, flush, sweat, and drink repeatedly. As a natural Shapeshifter, Lusha had a great deal of control over their body's reactions, and made an effort to look completely unbothered by the food that was burning their mouth.

"I don't know, it seems a bit mild to me," Lusha said in amusement as Westlin stared at them like they were mad.

"You are cheating again!" Westlin excused around a mouthful of food.

"Me, cheat? Never!" Lusha exclaimed.

The two teens ate more than several grown adults, much to Mina's amusement. When she was acting as bodyguard for the two, she tried to stay professional and aloof. This was in part to give the teens the illusion of privacy and in part to ensure she remained alert.

After breakfast Lusha and Westlin headed to the Academy's personal System Shrine where they would undergo Assessment.

"Did you find out how the Assessment works?" Westlin asked as they followed Lusha.

"You know I did. You would too, if you had read your packet."

Westlin gave a shrug and a carefree smile. "Why should I do that, when I have you to remember for me?"

Lusha rolled their eyes. "The System knows everything there is to know about us. It is really creepy if you think about it, but during the Assessment, the Keeper will look at our System records."

Westlin stopped walking. "Isn't that very dangerous for you?" he asked in concern.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Not at all; Keepers are so tightly bound by System Contracts that they barely even remember our information after they learn it, and can't tell anyone even if they could." Lusha shrugged and started walking while expecting Westlin to follow.

"Fine, I get that, but what is the point then?" Westlin's concern for their friend was strong and they couldn't understand why one would get Assessed if no one was gathering that information.

"To help us find the classes that are most likely to lead us to appropriate Paths, Classes, and Professions of course. Time and Essence are limited, so the Academy uses Keepers to help ensure each student makes the most of their opportunities to grow."

"Careful, you are using your pompous lecturing tone again, old man," Westlin teased.

Lusha sighed and gave Westlin an exaggerated eye roll. "Part of me is an old man you know."

"So? Right now you look like a ten year old shorty," Westlin said with a smirk while leaning over to wrap a friendly arm around their much shorter friend.

"I will grow…eventually. Dad is taller than you, and mom is hardly short for a Wylderfolk!" Lusha said with perhaps a bit too much heat in their voice.

"Keep telling yourself that!" Westlin responded with a cheeky grin.

The Academy's System Shrine looked identical to the Shrine in Westlin. The resemblance was so striking that Lusha took a few minutes to examine the structure before entering. Lusha suspected that the Shrines were identical down to the molecular level, and they could find no differences with any of their senses.

"Excuse me, hello!" A perky young Imperial girl said as they neared the entrance. "Are you here for the first year assessment too?" she asked Lusha.

It was Westlin who answered while Lusha studied the girl. "We are, yes." She looked to be an Imperial with fair features and blond hair. Nothing really stood out about her beyond her friendly and cheerful attitude.

"Both of you?" Her eyes looked a little big when she turned to Westlin. "But you are so tall!"

Westlin just smiled. "I'm big for my age."

Lusha laughed. "Hi there, I am Lusha, the big boy is Westlin."

"Oh, hi! I am Jeanna! It is nice to meet other first years!" She gave the duo a bright smile.

"We were just headed inside. Walk with us?" Lusha asked nonchalantly.

"Sure!" Jeanna fell in step with the other two teens and they all made their way inside the shrine.

The central area was filled with other teens and a few rare adults accompanying them. Lusha was far more interested in the intricate Systemic runes and enchantments that covered the building.

"It looks just like the one back home, but with more people!" Jeanna exclaimed.

Like at the Academy gates, there was a table with people sitting behind it to help guide people. Lusha walked up to the table, Westlin and Jeanna in tow. "Hello, we are here for our Assessments. What do we need to do?"

The woman in the green robes of the Mentalist's Tower looked up. "Names?"

Each of them gave them their names and the woman quickly sorted through her papers. "Ah how convenient. It appears that all three of you have been assigned to High Keeper Roejengo. You should all feel honored. The High Keeper only handles the special cases." The woman's eyes held far more interest than when they had introduced themselves. "When the Keepers come out, go stand next to the High Keeper. He will take you back individually for assessment. Good luck, and may your Paths become clear!"

After that, the three of them wandered away from the table and loitered, while waiting on the Keepers.

"It is really neat that you are both getting the High Keeper's attention too!" Jeanna said just loud enough to be heard, but in her excitable young voice.

"It is; I know the reason why Westlin and I got singled out, but what about you, Jeanna? What makes your case special?" Lusha was only mildly curious, but was just bored enough to make small talk.

"Oh, I don't know!" Jeanna's face took on a thoughtful look. "Could be any number of things. I had a partial Awakening before the Ceremony, I have a real talent for singing, and oh yeah! I have a Blessing from Sierra!" she said the last as if it were an after thought, then looked at Lusha and Westlin expectantly.

Westling and Lusha shared a look that conveyed far more than mere words. The question, of course, was how much they could or should share with a near stranger.

"We both had partial Awakenings before the Ceremony, as well. We are also both Wylderfolk so have strong Vitality Attunements." Westlin shrugged as if that was all that made them special. There was so much left out of those two sentences that it could fill a book.

"That's awesome! I wonder if the High Keeper only sees those that have partial Awakenings?" she mused aloud. "You know, it is really quite rare. Something like 1 in a 1000, or even rarer!"

"I doubt it is that rare among Academy students. The majority of students are nobleborn and so have a lot more exposure to Essence than regular people," Lusha said distractedly while examining the runes on the wall.

Seeing where Lusha was looking, Jeanna chimed in again with a wistful look. "System runes are really something aren't they? I wish I could read them, but only Keepers can, and even then it is hard for them."

For some reason, the fact that only Keepers were supposed to be able to read Systemic was a surprise to them. They knew there were no reference books, and what little there was available was guarded tightly, but they were unaware that it was restricted to only Keepers.

"Are you sure only Keepers can read Systemic?" Lusha asked while fishing for more context.

"Oh, wow. You don't know? Ok, let's see if I remember what my mother told me. She is a Scholar, I grew up in a library by the way, anyhow what was it that she told me. Ah, got it." Jeanna's voice took on a whole new cadence and tone. With a surprising level of mimicry Jeanna began talking in her mother's voice. "Magical languages are special, my dear. They are hard to learn, because they actively resist being learned. It is as if they are alive and can choose who has the right to speak them. Take Systemic, for example. Only Keepers can understand, because the System only allows Keepers to understand it." Jeanna then took a deep breath after her lecture and smiled brightly at Lusha.

"Wow, it is really impressive how you can change your voice like that!" They said while trying to add the new information to what they already knew about magical languages. Thanks to Polyglotism Lusha had never struggled with any magical languages, including Systemic.

"Perfect Mimicry! It's one of the few Skills I unlocked during my Awakening Ceremony. It is great for bird song!" Jeanna proceeded to demonstrate by whistling in a way that made several people start looking around for a wild bird that had somehow gotten into the Shrine.

All three giggled at the confused looks on people's faces before Lusha spoke up. "I knew magical languages resisted being learned, but no one ever mentioned the languages choosing who can speak them."

"Who knows? I am just repeating what my mother told me. She has a tendency to research some rather obscure texts." She leaned in to whisper. "Between you and me, she also tends to over-humanize things. I have caught her talking to books while reshelving them before!"

"It is a good thing that books can't talk back. Unlike our Guides," Lusha said with a grimace.

"Oh, no I love that my Guide talks to me now! It is like having a friend in your head all the time," Jeanna said with a grin.

The look Lusha gave her clearly said that they did not agree.

"Attention everyone!" A magically enhanced voice said suddenly. The chattering group of first years all went silent and turned towards the speaker. On the other side of the atrium the High Keeper and several other lesser Keepers had emerged from the side rooms. "I am High Keeper Roejengo, special envoy to the Eastern Imperial Academy. The men and women with me are local Keepers gathered from all over the region. Each of you is assigned to a different Keeper. Please gather around your assigned Keepers when they call your names. Those assigned to me, please come forward while the other Keepers spread out!"

The trio looked at one another and started making their way towards High Keeper Roejengo along with a half dozen other students. The other Keepers had far larger groups than Roejengo's, which made the group gathered around him more noticeable by contrast.

In a remarkably short amount of time, everyone had sorted themselves by Keeper. Seeing that there were no issues, the High Keeper looked at his small group of 9 first years. "Please follow me. I will take you," he looked at Mina. "and your guardians, to a waiting room. I will then bring you back individually for your Assessment testing." He held up his hand. "Please hold all questions until your personal Assessment. There are a lot of people needing to be seen, and only so much time to see each of you. So, please come this way." With that High Keeper Roejengo turned quickly and headed through an arch and down a hall.

After a short walk Roejengo turned into a room just large enough to hold everyone comfortably. "Please wait here." He then pointed to the door opposite the entrance. "I will call you back; please listen for your names." After disappearing into the other room for a few minutes, he reappeared and started calling names while everyone waited nervously.

Each Assessment took 20-30 minutes. Lusha didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Lusha, Westlin, and Jeanna made small talk while waiting.

"Lucanarius Intarius Aseraelis."

With a deep, steadying breath, Lusha stood up and walked into the room with the High Keeper. They didn't know how the Keeper would react to what the System would reveal, but they were hoping they might learn something new.