Nightblade (Darkest night)

Scott roughly shoved Draco's fist away, sending him stumbling a few feet back.

Draco immediately began to shout.

" He's the one who attacked us first. I was only retaliating in self-defense." He yelled indignantly.

Scott raised an eyebrow in amusement.

" Is that right? This is a serious matter for the student council, then."

A solemn expression appeared on his face.

"Tell me in detail what happened. Leave nothing out."

Draco theatrically breathed a sigh of relief.

" I honestly don't know if I could have managed to stop him on my own if you hadn't intervened."

He let out a shaky breath.

A quiet snigger escaped Morgan as he stood watching on the side.

" We'd come to pay a visit to our friend Lucian since he had stopped coming to class when this mindless brute barged in and started attacking us. "

Morgan almost burst into laughter, reflexively biting his tongue to maintain a calm expression.

" Our friend, what a load of crap."

Scott nodded seriously as Draco continued his tale.

"He attacked those two from the back like a coward, violently bashing their heads together. I thought he'd killed them.

Draco sniffled to emphasize his point.

"When Lucian tried to intervene, he beat him down." He turned, gazing at Lucian compassionately.

"I was the only one left. I tried to defend myself, but I'd realized he was too strong for me to handle alone, that's when you entered."

The two other boys on the ground had sat up and were weakly nodding emphatically.

Morgan couldn't stop himself from trembling at this point. His eyes brimmed with tears of mirth.

Scott turned to him with a serious look on his face.

" What appears to be funny about this? Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Draco inwardly gloated, priding himself on his quick wits.

" Fool, you messed with the wrong person. Budging into matters that don't concern you. Now you'll have to face the student council, just the thought of the punishment you'll receive fills me with such joy." He thought gleefully.

Morgan coughed slightly then straightened.

" I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself." He said in a somber tone.

" But seriously, have you considered acting, both of you, I mean, what a performance!"

Morgan began to applaud them.

" Draco's eyes widened in disbelief.

" Has he gone mad from fear? What the hell is he doing?"

His eyes widened further when Scott started to bow dramatically.

" Thank you, thank you, I really, really couldn't have done this without you." He said. His eyes stared at Draco, his eyes hardening in fury.

"We know you've been tormenting Lucian here, even knowing that he's descended from a great house like you. Scions of the great houses should stand together but you instead chose to step on all that."

A hateful grin slowly spread over his face.

" You know, Draco, it truly is a shame. That a person hailing from a noble family like yours would stoop so low as to pick on those weaker than you."

Draco opened his mouth again to deny the accusations.

" Enough," Scott snapped.

" Just shut up, I've heard enough of your rubbish. The student council will hear of this, and you'll pay for what you've done."

Draco's eyes widened, then he broke into a grin.

" The student council," Draco sneered, " do you really think you can stop me from doing what I want? The student council can't touch me."

He laughed derisively.

"And you of all people, I've heard of you, Scott McAllister, you're just adopted, a filthy wannabe like you, you're just affiliated with the..."

Scott's features darkened, his emerald eyes going cold.

In the next moment, Scott's figure blurred. He moved so fast that Morgan didn't realize what had happened until he heard the crash.

Scott bashed Draco's head into the table, then lifted him in one fluid motion. Blood slowly trickled from a cut on Draco's face, slowly dripping onto the carpet.

" I dare you to say that again.

Scott whispered quietly, but it sent a chill down Morgan's spine.

Morgan had never seen Scott lose his temper before. His usual cool expression was nowhere to be seen. His eyes were so cold they could have frosted over a lake.

Scott stared expressionlessly into Draco's eyes.

Draco's eyes widened in terror. Then a slow, smug grin spread across his face.

" My father will also hear of this."

Scott unceremoniously tossed him to the ground in disgust.

" Get out."

Draco and his minions scrambled for the door.

He paused at the door, laughing nervously.

" My father will get to know of this, you hear me!"

Morgan rushed toward Lucian.

" Hey Lucian, you alright?" Morgan gently pulled him to his feet.

"Listen, man, I'm sorry I wasn't here when they came. But know this, you're not alone, not anymore."

Lucian smiled weakly, showing him a thumbs-up.

" It's alright, man. I'm glad you came when you did."

Morgan furtively glanced at Scott

" You alright, man?"

Scott smiled," I'm fine, I need some time to cool my head."

Morgan silently nodded.

"Hey Gloria, did you get all that?" Scott quietly whispered into his comlink.

A bubble popped in the background and a feminine voice spoke.

"Yeah, I did. But you know, you shouldn't have let him get to you like that. There's going to be hell to pay."

Scott looked ahead with a determined glint.

"it's alright, I'll handle the backlash."

The next day, classes continued normally.

The air in the classroom was abuzz with excitement.

Fleeting murmurs erupted here and there mingling with the sound of laughter.

"Hey Em, why do you think the professor's running late?

Emily shrugged

"I've no idea, Sammie. Who knows, must be something important."

Just then, the chattering died down.

The professor, Lilia Snow, walked into the room with a tall youth in tow.

She quietly stood at the front of the class.

His brown eyes confidently swept across the room.

Draco shot up in his seat, glaring murderously at the newcomer.

"Good morning," She began.

"We have a new student, who will be joining us; due to some unforeseen circumstances he was forced him to join us rather late. I'll allow him to introduce himself."

He stepped forward, a faint smile playing on his lips.

" Hello, my name is Morgan Thane. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Morgan nonchalantly walked to the back of the room and sat in an empty seat.

Draco turned throwing him a scathing glare but Morgan ignored him and calmly focused on the professor.

" Did he say Thane?."

A chorus of murmurs rose, drowning the class in a cacophony of noise.

" Isn't Thane one of the great houses? "

" Do you think he's really connected to them, or it's just a coincidence?"

Talia's eyes narrowed.

" So it is a Thane, to think that after all this time, I'd run into a Thane and at the academy of all places."

" Silence."

Lilia Snow was a short, petite woman with a beautiful, round face and deep blue eyes. She was 4'9, her long black hair cascaded down to her shoulders and had tinges of red at it's tips.

She was one of the academy's experts in alchemy and chemistry, her specialty being the creation of poisons.

She also doubled as the homeroom teacher for the newly arrived students.

" You should all know by now that the time for the winter initiates exam draws nearer. By now, you should have picked three specialties that you'll choose to dabble in preparation."

Her eyes turned to Morgan.

" Morgan, since you've arrived a bit late, you may approach me if you need any guidance on choosing specialties. Refer to the data on your academy-issued comlink to view the different options you have."

At that moment Lucian arrived and stood in the doorway with a faint smile on his face.

A look of surprise appeared on Lilia's face.

" Lucian Ash, it's been a while since I last saw you in my class. While I don't appreciate tardiness, I'm glad to see that you're back." She said with a warm smile. Lilia had received word of why Lucian had not been attending classes.

Morgan smirked.

"Scott sure works fast."

Lucian walked in confidently and took a seat near Morgan.

" Is there anyone who would like to act as Mr Thane's guide for the remainder of the week?"

Lucian's arm shot up. Another hand slowly rose up into the air.

Lilia raised an eyebrow in amusement, her eyes shifting between the two.

" It appears that you're already a bit popular, Morgan."She said, eliciting a few hoots and whistling.

"I understand why Lucian would volunteer but Talia Varas, that is unexpected." She inwardly thought in puzzlement

She turned to Morgan.

" Morgan, I'll guess, in this case, you can choose who you'll be more comfortable taking you around."

Morgan blankly stared at her.

" I'm supposed to choose? Is she doing this intentionally?"

Talia casually turned around, then shot him a fierce glare.

" What the hell?"

Inwardly sighing, Morgan put on a smile.

" I think I don't mind Lucian showing me around, ma'am."

Talia pierced him with an icy glare, then turned around.

Morgan ignored her as well, focusing on the lecture.

Professor Lilia taught about different plants in Tenebris, focusing on which were edible and those that could be used for the extraction of potent poisons.

" Take the ochrabloom flower, for example, it's ironically found near Nexus veins, which are the source of the wondrous Nexus fluid and Darkstone crystals.

She slowly moved around, eventually walking to the center of the room.

"The ochrabloom plant uses the fluid as a potent fertilizer to thrive even in the barren regions of the Dark realm." She said

" But when carefully cultivated and prepared, we can obtain the most potent neurotoxin, shadowbane. This poison can be used to swiftly eliminate a target or a foe in Tenebris and the mundane world."

Morgan tapped his comlink, and a holographic screen appeared in front of him displaying the information about the ochrabloom.

It was a beautiful pale white flower. It only blossomed at specific times of the year, in certain conditions.

"Food laced with a small amount of shadowbane can instantly paralyse a target for hours on end and even kill instantly when used in high doses, but what makes it so fascinating is it's undetectability in the body after it's been used."

Morgan slowly shook his head. A faint smile briefly illuminated his face.

"It seems there's alot I have to catch up on."