Inigawa Kaito had never seen so much magic in his whole life. This was the kind of place that just oozed with magic. You couldn't just feel it in the air, you could see it. The way the plants grew a little taller and a little greener, the way the trees seemed to sway perfectly in the wind. The buildings welcomed you, beckoned you to come inside, in a way nothing mundane ever truly could. Perhaps a regular bystander might first notice that the Imperial Academy sat on a dozen magical, floating islands but for Inigawa (or Ini as he was known by his mother and his few friends), it was that energy, the spark of magic and creativity that permeated the place that really appealed to him. He was dangerously curious about all of it, and the natural excitement of a place of learning only helped to heighten that feeling. This was his dream, to see the aspirations of thousands of people unlocked, thousands of people finding their spark. Some probably even literally.
Ini was an especially odd student to be enrolled at the Imperial Academy. He was older than the average applicant, somewhere in his mid twenties. He was a very tall young man with a scarred face, one eye, and a khaki trench coat that was someone even massive on a man of his size. His dark hair was tied in a large bun on the top of his head, and a dozen or so large bumblebees seemed to swarm around it at all times. None of this is what made him unusual. No, his really surprising trait was that he was human
You see, humans just really didn't do magic. They were the sort of hard working "modernists" that didn't really need to believe in something as frilly and whimsical as magic. And sure they were more "advanced" in their words but they were way less cool than the rest of the empire. Most people really just avoided the humans because they were kind of weird and a little self centered and sometimes they were just very hard to talk to. Not every human is like that, stereotypes do exist, but above all, the humans really had a thing for hating magic. And so humans at the Imperial Academy, the most magical place in the empire? Almost unheard of.
Ini realized, coming to his senses, that he seemed to be entirely alone. He'd arrived by bird and the bird had just sort of dropped him off and flew on its merry way. Now it was the middle of the night and basically anything rational was asleep or at least somewhere that was not the middle of the courtyard. Even Ini's trusty bee friends were dozing off on his head.
There were a couple of buildings on the Academy's main island, but there was only one that looked like a big official building. Well, the biggest official building anyway. Ini poked his head in through the open front doors (they left the door open, only fair he would be allowed to explore a bit, right?). Inside, Ini's face lit up as he saw what lay ahead. The hallway was enormous, every wall and surface being covered with staircases, doors, and the occasional obvious secret passage. The whole room was lit by bright, color changing candles, hung on huge, shining chandeliers. The flames of the candles danced, side by side with their beloved darkness. At the end of the hallway, a golden light leaked from the last door on the floor, and from across the room, he could hear a quiet voice, low and soothing:
"Do come in my friend. I'd hoped to greet you outside but it seems that I've lost track of the time."
Ini blinked twice. That voice was very low, quiet, and soothing for hearing a voice across the hall. Maybe he was a telepath. That'd be cool.
He hurried down the hall in pursuit of the golden leakage. Inside, a Vorosi* sat cross legged on the floor, their wings folded neatly behind them. What was not neat however, was literally everything else in the room. There were stacks of books all around (although heaps might be a better word to describe them). Papers were pinned to every wall, depicting random objects that ranged from the "inner organs" of a Lacecow** to what looked like a detailed schematic of a teapot. The only desk in the room was all but buried in the mess, only visible by the candle poking up from the top, precariously close to lighting the entire stack of books aflame.
The Vorosi seemed unperturbed by any of this and looked up with a smile as Ini walked in.
"Welcome to my office friend, and to the Imperial Academy. I'm Varakni, head professor here. And you are?"
"Inigawa Kaito sir."
Ini sat down hesitantly on what looked to be the only messless area left on the floor.
"Nice to meet you, Inigawa."
Varakni paused for a moment as he looked up for the first time, chuckling in surprise, his eyes glittering with recognition.
"Ohoho that coat brings back memories, why I'd recognize that old coat anywhere, lad!"
"You knew my mother?"
Varkni paused once again, closing his eyes in a wistful expression,
"Everyone knew Rari here lad, you can't forget a witch as wild as the Rat Queen!"***
"I wonder what she was like when she was here..."
"There are dozens of stories I can tell you someday, Inigawa. Right now though, you've very much piqued my interest... Rari chose a human boy as her child? You must be a very special one.
Why are you here? Following in your mother's footsteps? Or here to forge your own path?"
The Vorosi's many, many eyes shone with great curiosity
"I want to learn. And someday I want to bring magic to those without it. I want to give people the same spark that Rari gave me. I want to be an inspirer and a teacher and a scholar."
Ini added, a little more sheepishly,
"And maybe I'd also like to speak to animals."
"Ah, a bit of both."
Footnotes:
*Vorosi are a large winged species that resemble a mixture of a spider and a dragonfly. They usually have four flitting wings and several arms, legs and eyes. They're known for their ironic inability to multitask.
**Lacecows are a very pink and very mysterious species of cow that explorers still seek to this day. Because of this, any kind of diagram of the cows, especially of their internal organs, is, most likely, entirely inaccurate.
***Rari "Rat Queen" Posikiyo was many things in her very long life. An urchin, a prodigy, a scholar, one of the most powerful beings ever to have lived, Ini's adopted mother, and the previous owner of a large, khaki trench coat.
•••
Ini was an especially odd student to be enrolled at the Imperial Academy. He was older than the average applicant, somewhere in his mid twenties. He was a very tall young man with a scarred face, one eye, and a khaki trench coat that was someone even massive on a man of his size. His dark hair was tied in a large bun on the top of his head, and a dozen or so large bumblebees seemed to swarm around it at all times. None of this is what made him unusual. No, his really surprising trait was that he was human
You see, humans just really didn't do magic. They were the sort of hard working "modernists" that didn't really need to believe in something as frilly and whimsical as magic. And sure they were more "advanced" in their words but they were way less cool than the rest of the empire. Most people really just avoided the humans because they were kind of weird and a little self centered and sometimes they were just very hard to talk to. Not every human is like that, stereotypes do exist, but above all, the humans really had a thing for hating magic. And so humans at the Imperial Academy, the most magical place in the empire? Almost unheard of.
•••
Ini realized, coming to his senses, that he seemed to be entirely alone. He'd arrived by bird and the bird had just sort of dropped him off and flew on its merry way. Now it was the middle of the night and basically anything rational was asleep or at least somewhere that was not the middle of the courtyard. Even Ini's trusty bee friends were dozing off on his head.
There were a couple of buildings on the Academy's main island, but there was only one that looked like a big official building. Well, the biggest official building anyway. Ini poked his head in through the open front doors (they left the door open, only fair he would be allowed to explore a bit, right?). Inside, Ini's face lit up as he saw what lay ahead. The hallway was enormous, every wall and surface being covered with staircases, doors, and the occasional obvious secret passage. The whole room was lit by bright, color changing candles, hung on huge, shining chandeliers. The flames of the candles danced, side by side with their beloved darkness. At the end of the hallway, a golden light leaked from the last door on the floor, and from across the room, he could hear a quiet voice, low and soothing:
"Do come in my friend. I'd hoped to greet you outside but it seems that I've lost track of the time."
Ini blinked twice. That voice was very low, quiet, and soothing for hearing a voice across the hall. Maybe he was a telepath. That'd be cool.
He hurried down the hall in pursuit of the golden leakage. Inside, a Vorosi* sat cross legged on the floor, their wings folded neatly behind them. What was not neat however, was literally everything else in the room. There were stacks of books all around (although heaps might be a better word to describe them). Papers were pinned to every wall, depicting random objects that ranged from the "inner organs" of a Lacecow** to what looked like a detailed schematic of a teapot. The only desk in the room was all but buried in the mess, only visible by the candle poking up from the top, precariously close to lighting the entire stack of books aflame.
The Vorosi seemed unperturbed by any of this and looked up with a smile as Ini walked in.
"Welcome to my office friend, and to the Imperial Academy. I'm Varakni, head professor here. And you are?"
"Inigawa Kaito sir."
Ini sat down hesitantly on what looked to be the only messless area left on the floor.
"Nice to meet you, Inigawa."
Varakni paused for a moment as he looked up for the first time, chuckling in surprise, his eyes glittering with recognition.
"Ohoho that coat brings back memories, why I'd recognize that old coat anywhere, lad!"
"You knew my mother?"
Varkni paused once again, closing his eyes in a wistful expression,
"Everyone knew Rari here lad, you can't forget a witch as wild as the Rat Queen!"***
"I wonder what she was like when she was here..."
"There are dozens of stories I can tell you someday, Inigawa. Right now though, you've very much piqued my interest... Rari chose a human boy as her child? You must be a very special one.
Why are you here? Following in your mother's footsteps? Or here to forge your own path?"
The Vorosi's many, many eyes shone with great curiosity
"I want to learn. And someday I want to bring magic to those without it. I want to give people the same spark that Rari gave me. I want to be an inspirer and a teacher and a scholar."
Ini added, a little more sheepishly,
"And maybe I'd also like to speak to animals."
"Ah, a bit of both."
Footnotes:
*Vorosi are a large winged species that resemble a mixture of a spider and a dragonfly. They usually have four flitting wings and several arms, legs and eyes. They're known for their ironic inability to multitask.
**Lacecows are a very pink and very mysterious species of cow that explorers still seek to this day. Because of this, any kind of diagram of the cows, especially of their internal organs, is, most likely, entirely inaccurate.
***Rari "Rat Queen" Posikiyo was many things in her very long life. An urchin, a prodigy, a scholar, one of the most powerful beings ever to have lived, Ini's adopted mother, and the previous owner of a large, khaki trench coat.
