Nightblade (Darkest night)

"Next week, we'll head to the underground alchemy laboratory," Lilia said.

" I'll be taking you through the process of safely extracting shadowbane from ochrabloom. That's all for today."

The students rushed out to enjoy the small break before their next class.

" Hey Lucian, you want to grab a bite before the next class?"

Lucian beamed in excitement.

" Sure thing."

The two headed to the cafeteria.

"You know, I'm glad you came to the academy when you did," Lucian began.

" I honestly don't know if anyone could have stood up for me the way you did against Draco and his goons the way you did."

Morgan thumped him on the back.

" It's alright, man, that's what friends are for."

Lucian abruptly stopped walking.

" Maybe if you'd come at the beginning, we'd not be friends, maybe you wouldn't know me, and I'd still be locked up in my room."

Morgan sighed and turned around, grabbing Lucian by the shoulders.

" Listen, man, you're overthinking it. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a bully. Even if I'd come in the beginning, I would have stood up for you."

He lightly punched Lucian in the shoulder.

" If you're done mopping, let's grab those snacks before we start running late."

A variety of mouth-watering aromas hit Morgan's nose as soon as they entered the hall.

They quickly grabbed a few snacks before settling down at a deserted table in the corner of the cafeteria.

Morgan took a huge bite out of his sandwich, then immediately gasped in shock.

"This stuff is legendary. What's this stuff? The taste is simply heavenly."

Lucian laughed good-naturedly.

"That's a kraken sandwich. It's named after the chef, his name's Donut Kraken, so kraken sandwich."

Morgan almost choked, coughing a few times.

" What kind of name is Donut Kraken?"

Lucian slowly shook his head.

" Beats me."

Morgan munched on his snack thoughtfully. His eyes slowly roamed around the room, observing the other students.

"Hey Lucian, what's with the emblems? On the lapels."

Lucian leaned forward and whispered.

" The emblems are identification; they help tell apart the talented from the rest of us."

Morgan slowly sipped on his drink, then leaned back with a satisfied sigh.

" What's the point of bringing us together if we're not even mixing?"

Lucian sighed and adjusted his glasses, his brown eyes flickering.

" It's not as simple as it may seem. From what I know, the talented and the assassins have been at each other's throats for centuries. From back when this continent was still ruled by monarchs and was split into kingdoms. But most of the information is vague as to why."

Morgan looked at him in surprise.

" You're quite knowledgeable, huh?"

A smug grin spread across Lucian's face.

" I just happened to do a lot of reading, you know, no big deal."

Lucian's eyes widened, and he stiffened suddenly.

" Oh shit, is this actually happening?"

He cast a furtive glance at Morgan.

" Morgan, don't look now, but we've got company," he whispered under his breath.

Morgan's eyes widened, then narrowed, and he subtly shifted his posture, sitting up straight.

" What's up? Who is it?"

" Ice princess."

Morgan stared at him in confusion.

" Ice princess? "

" What the hell is that supposed to mean? " He whispered furiously.

A faint sweet smell of lavender suddenly permeated the air, tickling his nose.

Most of the heads in the scions' part of the hall had turned, focusing on Morgan's table.

" Why is everyone staring?"

Morgan furtively checked if there was anything wrong with his uniform.

The fleeting whispers quickly turned into loud murmurs.

" Who is that guy?"

" I've not seen him around before, wait, I heard there was a late entry among the aspirants, you think that's him?"

A tall brunette circled the table and sat down next to Lucian, opposite Morgan. Her icy hazel eyes calmly stared into his.

Lucian shivered slightly, his face slowly turning red.

A blonde, blue-eyed girl calmly sat on Lucian's other side.

Her blonde hair was stylishly braided into pigtails. She cast him a curious glance. Lucian gulped nervously.

She quickly became absorbed with something on the comlink.

Morgan glanced at Lucian in amusement. His face had turned a bright shade of red.

" Sorry, Lucian, it'd suck to be you right about now."

Morgan quietly observed the brunette, his eyes slowly narrowing.

" We weren't expecting company." He said coolly.

Talia quirked up an eyebrow.

" Is that any way to talk to a potential friend and ally?"

It was Morgan's turn to be surprised.

" Friend, you say, I barely know you. You, on the other hand, at least know my name."

Talia's eyes softened

" Forgive me then, my name is Talia, Talia Varas."

Morgan's eyes widened, then his face became an emotionless mask.

" House Varas?"

She nodded quietly.

" And this is Xenia Mordrew."

" First Varas and now Mordrew?"

Morgan abruptly stood up. Talia's eyes widened in surprise.

" Listen, Talia, I'm glad you decided to join us for breakfast, but we were just about to leave."

He lightly tapped his comlink.

"You see, we're a little short on time. We have weapon smithing next, isn't that right, Lucian?

Lucian nodded fervently, getting up as well.

"Wait, I..." Talia began

" We'll talk later, wouldn't want to be late for my first weapon-smithing lecture, you see."

They briskly strode off with Lucian.

" Man, you talked to Talia Varas, the infamous ice queen. Do you know how cool that is!" Lucian whispered enthusiastically with a bright gleam in his eyes.

Morgan smirked.

" Says the guy who turned red as a beet just because two pretty girls sat next to him." Lucian's flushed red.

" I..I did no such thing," He stuttered in embarrassment.

Morgan cupped his ear with his hand.

" Hmmm, what was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of your stuttering. Don't tell me, you like her, Xenia, I mean."

" Knock it off, man, I do not," Lucian said, in a voice that was too high-pitched to be convincing.

Xenia curiously stared at the duo as they rapidly disappeared into the distance.

A small smile appeared on her face.

" Curious, curious"

She turned to Talia.

" Well, that was awkward."

Talia coldly stared at Morgan's retreating.

"'You can't elude me forever, Thane.

***

The weapon-smithing chamber occupied an entire building by itself.

The chamber was reinforced with a strange stone-like material and other alloys that were used to maintain the temperature within the large hall.

Several glowing furnaces were scattered throughout the hall, emitting different colours of flames.

Emerald, violent and violet flames burned painting the chamber in brilliant colours.

A strange volcanic glass alloy prevented the heat from escaping into the room, maintaining a steady temperature within the furnaces while allowing the weapon smith to observe the change in quality of materials in the furnace.

A complex system of pipes that brought in air and transported the molten slag after the metals were melted down zigzagged throughout the chamber, respectively leading into the furnace and to the work benches.

Professor Rundrik Ember was a short, muscular man.

His long black hair was tied in a ponytail and fell to his waist. He wore a sleeveless vestment and a black apron over his clothes.

His orange eyes gleamed with passion as he taught, gesturing with his gloved hands.

His eyes narrowed when two breathless youths stealthily slipped into his class.

" Being an assassin is not just about killing, murder, and bloody battles in Tenebris. A good assassin must also know how to choose his weapons and when necessary, how to make them."

He slowly walked to the back of the class until he reached one of the newcomers.

" Lucian Ash," He nodded.

" You must be the new student, have you chosen weapon smithing as one of your specialties then? He asked with a fanatical gleam in his eye.

Morgan hesitantly leaned back.

" Um, " He furtively glanced at Lucian, " I'm still considering..."

" So you have, welcome to weapon-smithing, Mr Thane."

Morgan's eyes widened in shock.

" He already knows my name?"

" You're probably thinking how I know your name, it's simple, I know all my students," He said with a wink.

" And while this is your first time attending my lectures, I do not tolerate tardiness."

Morgan and Lucian enthusiastically nodded.

" Good, now, can anyone answer me this. What is the essence of a good weapon?"

A hand shot up into the air. It was the redhead from Talia's group.

" Yes?"

A good weapon should be able to serve its intended purpose, to kill," she said enthusiastically.

" An interesting answer, Miss Snow," Rundrik said, nodding silently.

"Snow? Now that I remember, Marcus mentioned having a daughter and a son at the academy." Morgan inwardly thought.

" Hey Lucian, who is she?" Morgan whispered.

" Oh, that, that's Raven Snow, she's a daughter of the Lord of House Snow."

" Durability," Another student said.

" A weapon should be durable enough to survive a fight and be used again and again."

"It should be efficient," another shouted.

" It must be able to inflict the most harm with the least effort."

Rundrik's eyes twinkled as his gaze swept across the class.

" You're all wise for your ages, and I do not disagree with you; a weapon must have all those things; however, the essence of a good weapon is its bond with its wielder."

" But sir, aren't weapons inanimate objects?" Raven asked in puzzlement.

Rundrik's eyes gleamed.

" You're right, Miss Snow, but you're also terribly wrong."