The room James entered was absolutely incredible. Windows stretched from floor to ceiling, showing the bright blue sky and a jungle spread out underneath and a large wooden desk sat in the center of the room. Images similar to the murals near the ship were hung all over, but their meanings were still quite incomprehensible. Captain Olar bowed while the man that opened the door went to stand against one of the walls, leaning without a care in the world, although his eyes never left James.

“Highlord, here is the boy as you requested. During the flight over, I looked up his name, but could not find any form of registration in the mage’s database. I had my team sweep the park but found nothing.”

“Thank you, captain,” an aged voice said. James looked towards the voice and saw a huge centaur walking slowly around the edge of the room. Although his coat was gray and his hair white, he had an unmistakable aura of wisdom and power. 

James stiffened and then bowed. “Um, hello Lord Eternius. I really don’t mean to be a threat and I’m sorry for making a mess of things…” 

“James,” Captain Olar muttered. “That isn’t the Highlord.”

“What?”

The parrot pointed at the man still leaning against wall, now possessing a massive grin on his face. “He is the Highlord. Now show some respect.”

James’ mouth crashed into the floor. “This guy is the great and powerful god? He’s barely older than me!” 

“You should watch your mouth. Remember this is the one who...” 

Lord Eternius laughed, cutting Olar off. “It’s fine. What’s your name, young man?” 

“James. James Newman.”

Eternius nodded. “Interesting. Have a seat.”

James glanced around briefly before realizing that there were no chairs in the room. The centaur gave a subtle cough.

“There was a slightly… explosive incident last week. We have not gotten anything replaced yet.”

“Ah,” Eternius said, nodding. “Well, let’s fix that.”

He waved his arm and 2 metal seats fizzled into existence. He sat down, gesturing for James to do the same.

“Now,” he said after everyone was settled in. “I’d ask you what you were doing in the park, but I know that you already gave the captain an answer. So instead, I’ll ask this. You said that you were falling and then was in the park. Do you remember anything that you saw? Anything at all that was out of the ordinary?”

James thought back to what had happened right after he was swallowed by the ground. “I was in a strange place, full of mist and specks of light. I was traveling very fast, only, I couldn’t feel anything unusual.”

The centaur frowned. “That sounds suspiciously like Aether Walking, but how would a boy his age know such an advanced technique?”

“Hm, I’m not sure.” Eternius shook his head before leaning back in his chair. “James, what’s your affinity? You wouldn’t happen to be an Aetherling, would you?”

“Excuse me, affinity? Aetherling?”

Eternius’ eyes shot open and he bent forward, staring intently at James before opening his mouth. “What planet are you from?”

James glanced around the room, a little unnerved by the man’s gaze. “Um, Earth?”

“Earth, Earth.” Eternius drummed his fingers on his knees. “It’s not ringing a bell and I have a very bad suspicion as to why. Kid, say something in your language for me. Pick something uncommon, a word that’s definitely not used every day.”

“Wait, aren’t we all speaking the same language right now?”

Eternius exchanged a glance with the centaur before looking back. “Humor me.”

James didn’t see the point, but he thought about it for a moment before picking one of the more obscure words that he knew. “Uh, boisterous.”

He paused after talking, not sure what to do next and getting more than a little creeped out by the way Eternius was staring at his mouth.

“Did see that?” he finally said.

“I am sorry,” the centaur said. “You know I’m not as perceptive as you.”

“Say something else. Talk for a bit longer this time. Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to make complete sense.”

“Um, alright. Anime characters fighting in a massive arena and working up the ladder to become the champion of the world. Brilliant flashes of fire that radiate heat across the stadium and set the opponent’s attacks ablaze. Soon, he’s forced to use a special attack, something that he was going to keep for the final round of the…”

Eternius abruptly stood up and walked over to the wall. He stayed there in silence for a long moment before smashing the wall with his fist, slightly denting the metal.

“Hells, this just got so much worse!” he yelled, practically seething with anger. “I was hoping that it wasn’t the case, but it is and now it got worse!”

“Eternius, calm down,” the centaur said, walking over to him. “You are scaring James and all of still don’t know what is going on.”

“What’s going on?” Eternius pushed the centaur aside and flopped back down in his chair, suddenly appearing exhausted. “The translation spell’s taking almost a quarter of a second to translate his words. You know as well as I do that there’s only two possible reasons why that would be happening and the last time it malfunctioned was almost a million years ago, so that’s off the table.”

“Oh,” the centaur said with an odd expression. “That does change things a bit.”

Eternius chuckled dryly. “No kidding. Captain Olar, you’re dismissed for now. I’ll send a report to headquarters explaining everything, so don’t worry. In fact, take the rest of the day off.”

“Lord…” Olar stared to object but stopped when the centaur gave a small shake of his head. “Yes, Highlord. Thank you.”

He left, the double doors closing behind him with a small click, and Eternius stared at the opposite wall, mumbling to himself occasionally.

Finally, James couldn’t take the suspense anymore. “I’m sorry for being rude, but can someone please explain to me what is going on? What’s all this about a translation spell?”

Eternius chuckled again. “Of course, you wouldn’t know. There’s a translation spell surrounding this entire planet. It’s on practically every world in the universe, because it helps with interspecies communication. Languages of intelligent species are registered, either by mages or assimilated overtime by the spell itself. However, there’s a delay when you talk. It’s virtually unnoticeable but I managed to pick it up when you were talking just now.”

James was confused. “And what does that mean?”

Eternius stood up. “The translation spell is figuring out your language on the fly, which means that we haven’t encountered your planet yet.” He narrowed his eyes. “You’re from a nonmagical world, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” the boy said hesitantly. “Is that a bad thing?”

The centaur answered this time. “Planets are supposed to develop this sort of thing on their own. Outside interference is strictly forbidden.”

“And what’s more…” Eternius started to say something but stopped and shook his head. “I can figure that out later. We need to get you back to your home world before anyone realizes that you’re missing. And since you don’t know that spatial coordinates, or even what those are, this will be a little difficult. Stand in the middle of the room please.”

James did as instructed and Eternius waved his hand. Both chairs dematerialized and were replaced with a large purple sigil that spun with James in the center.

“Don’t worry, this won’t hurt,” the centaur said as he saw James tense up. “Eternius going to return you to wherever you were several hours ago, snapped to the nearest planet, of course, so you won’t land in space.”

“The spell will guarantee that you won’t land where someone can see you, but make sure not to mention this to anyone,” the Highlord said as he fiddled with several additional sigils floating in the air. “Otherwise, there could be unintended consequences.”

“Wait, you aren’t going to erase my memory or something?” James asked, a little worried.

“Mind magic is highly illegal due to several moral and logistical reasons,” Eternius said. “Besides, that’s not my area anyway.”

The sigils in the air vanished and the one on the floor glowed brighter. Eternius stood back and sighed.

“Alright, all done. Consider this to be just a fun memory from your childhood. You’ll probably forget about it when you get older, anyhow.”

“Will I see you guys again?” James asked.

Eternius shook his head. “Not unless your planet suddenly gets a massive boost to its development. Have a fun trip, kid.”

He clapped his hands together and yelled, “Relocate!” The sigil flashed and James felt a force take hold of him, causing his hand, and then his body, to begin vanishing in front of his eyes. But as he continued to disappear, he felt a great pressure envelope his entire body. 

“Somethings wrong. It’s like there’s something fighting me!”

James could barely hear Eternius’ shout over the ringing in his ears. The pressure increased tenfold, feeling like it would tear him to shreds.?

Dimly, he could make out Eternius yelling before the glowing sigil abruptly stopped shining. James felt the pressure on him vanish completely, but at that point he was simply too tired from his entire ordeal thus far. He collapsed, sinking once again into unconsciousness, and knew nothing more.

The centaur glanced at Eternius and the man waved an arm, making a bed for the kid. After laying him down, he didn’t say anything for a long while, just stared at the floor where the sigil had been. The centaur stood there as well, choosing to wait and not say anything at all.

“I couldn’t send him back,” Eternius finally said. “Me, the god of Space. This just got absolutely terrible.”

He walked over to the window and looked out at the jungle, the centaur following him.

“What now?”

Eternius shook his head. “For the first time in my immortal existence, I’m not particularly sure. Even disregarding the fact that a nonmagical being now knows about magic…”

“That has happened before,” the centaur pointed out.

“That’s not what actually concerns me,” Eternius said. “I know this isn’t the most secure place in the universe but it’s still protected by my magic. It should be impossible to teleport, Aether Walk, or use any other form of instantaneous transportation unless in permitted circumstances but he appeared like my spells weren’t even there. And not being able to send him back home?”

The man turned around and walked back towards the desk. “My powers are supposed to be absolute and now they’re being shredded like paper.” He glanced over at the sleeping boy. “A part of me is saying that we should eliminate him now to avoid anything worse happening in the future.”

“Hold on!” the centaur said, partially rolling his eyes. “Think about this for one moment. Whomever had the ability to pierce all of your protective spells could have sent James to any planet in existence, any planet with classified documents or valuable secrets. But what exactly is extremely rare here? Nothing comes to my mind.”

“Then what do you suppose I do?” Eternius said, looking over at the centaur. “You always seem to have sound ideas, Sherru.”

“If you ask for my opinion, I believe that you should enroll him in the Quintessium.”

“What!?! Are you serious!!!”

“I am,” Sherru said. “James was sent here, to a school. Furthermore, he does not appear to have any natural tendency to any one affinity, meaning he may surprise us.”

“And he might not even be able to use magic at all. Don’t forget that his world isn’t there yet.”

Sherru shook his head. “You might not have seen it, but I did. While you were casting your spell, his eyes locked onto the sigils. He could see them, Eternius, and that means he at least has a chance.”

“And if he turns out to be a threat?”

“Then he’ll be close enough to keep an eye on. Although, personally, I believe that he is just a kid, with no strings attached.”

Eternius sighed. “Your intuitions tend to be right, so I suppose that I’ll trust you once more. We’ll deal with everything when he wakes up. Speaking of which, you wouldn’t happen to have a room…?”

“I already had one prepared.”

Eternius shook his head. “Of course you did. We’ll both be busy tomorrow with inspections, but I’ll send a message to the captain. Let’s see how James reacts to a small tour when he wakes up. At the very least, it should help him process everything that’s happening to him.”

****

When James did awake, he found himself lying in a bed. For a moment, he thought that the entire thing had actually been a dream and that he was either at home or at the hospital, but then he noticed the ceiling. It looked like a beautiful image of space, except that it moved as well, creating an almost… magical effect. James rubbed his eyes and sat up, now fully aware that the events of the previous day did in fact happen. He was slightly worried and scared but at that moment, even after just waking up, he was still mentally exhausted by everything that had happened.

A person knocked on the door, which was small and wooden and inlaid with gold. “Hello, sir. Are you awake? May I be permitted to enter?” 

James hopped out of the bed, checked briefly to make sure he had clothes on, and then answered, “Yes, you can come in.” 

A creature made of pure water opened the door and walked, or rather slid, inside. “Thank you, sir. I am a butler assigned to your room by Headmaster Sherru in order to make sure you have everything you need this morning.” 

James blinked in confusion before he remembered the centaur that had been in the room with Eternius. “Was that Headmaster Sherru?” he wondered. “Odd name. What does the Headmaster part mean?”

“You have a meeting with Captain Olar in 1 hour. I would recommend taking a bath and there are fresh clothes in the wardrobe and drawers. Simply ring the bell next to your bed if you need anything. Will there be anything else?”

James shook his head. “I think I’m fine, thank you.” The water construct nodded and left, closing the door as it did so.

“Why does the captain want to see me?” James thought, spotting a door to his left. “Is it about what happened yesterday?”

Entering into a large tiled space that he assumed was the bathroom, James decided to follow the creature’s recommendation and bathe before meeting the parrot. He was still wearing his dirty clothes from the previous day, after all.  

James ended up soaking for almost 30 minutes in the large tub, which had been set into the wall and was inlaid with the same gold as the door. After climbing out, James looked around for a towel but suddenly felt a warm air blow over him, drying him instantly.  

“Right, magical, alien world,” he said dryly. “Almost forgot this wasn’t Earth.”

He went over the drawers that the construct had mentioned, worrying briefly if clothing sizes were the same, but to his surprise there was only one outfit there, a close-fitting pair of a shirt and pants that were a single dark gray. They looked to be more like they went under something… there it was. James opened the closet, which was also quite large, to find a single piece of cloth hanging up. It was a bit drab, being again solid gray, but he tried to wrap it around himself in a way that made at least a tiny bit of sense. He was very much flying by the seat of his pants. 

However, as he wrapped it around him, the cloth shifted and flowed, changing into a brilliant blue coat embossed with gold around the edges. It was not clasped at the top but was held together by some invisible force, tight to James’ body. The bottom hung open past his waist and went down until just above his feet, wide in the front and completely closed in the bad. It fit like a glove. 

As James was internally freaking out over the change, another knock echoed through the room. “Hello, sir. May I be permitted to enter?” 

“Uh, yeah. Come in.” 

The water creature flowed into the room and appraised James’ coat. “Well, sir. I was instructed to assist you with your Arcian garb, but it appears you have fared well on your own. If we could make our way downstairs to the main hall, Captain Olar is waiting for you.”

“Ok. Shapeshifting clothing was a bit unexpected. Alright, lead the way please.”

The journey downstairs was uneventful, although the building was very bright, with light shining off paintings and the mosaic floor and walls. James did get to see how the elevator functioned, though. They stepped onto an outlined section of the floor, the construct pressed a spot on the wall, and a circle of solid light carried them downstairs after the floor underneath their feet dissolved.

As the elevator landed in the middle of beautiful open lobby, James caught sight of Captain Olar lounging in a chair against the far wall. The parrot stood up when they entered, putting away another holographic and appraising the kid with a curious expression before turning to the water creature.

“You can go. I’ll let the Headmaster know that I have the kid.”

“Understood, sir,” the creature bubbled and sped off down a hallway.

James looked a little apprehensively at the captain after they were left alone in the lobby. Olar gave him an amused glance and shook his head.

“Don’t worry, from what I understand, you’re largely out of trouble. Sorry for how I treated you yesterday, I hope you understand. Here, let’s start back over.”

He held out a hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Captain Olar of the Quintessium Defense Corps.”

James took the handshake. “James Newman. If I might ask, why did they send a policeman down here if I’m not a threat anymore?”

“Because both the Highlord and the Headmaster are busy today and they wanted you to have someone you at least recognized.”

James started to ask who the Headmaster was before remembering the centaur. “Headmaster? Is this like some sort of school?” he thought, deciding not to say anything.

Olar checked a watch before frowning. “Let’s hurry up. I have a table reserved and I’d rather not be late.”

“For what?” James asked as he followed the captain to the door.

“Lunch. It’s your first time on an alien world after all, and so I figured I’d treat you to some of our food.”

James gave him a glance. “I got the impression that you weren’t supposed to know about that. After all, Eternius made you leave the room.”

The captain shrugged. “It’s not a complete taboo, although it’s also not something you should go telling everyone you meet. Furthermore, it’s Highlord. Show some respect!”

 They emerge onto the expansive grounds, which were boarded by a thick jungle. A couple of different species walked between the different buildings, but it was largely devoid of people.

“Captain Olar, are we going to that shuttle hanger from earlier?” 

“Hm? No, we’re going a more normal way. Usually, flying ships in-atmosphere is forbidden and yesterday I only did it because I was working. Now, we’ll have to travel the way average people do.”

Olar pointed to a very large and slightly raised circular platform. They stepped onto it, but James didn’t see any shuttles or other vehicles. 

“This is a bit easier than calling down a transport every time you need a ride. You’re from a nonmagical planet, so this should be interesting.” Olar put his hands together and green energy arced outwards, surrounding them both. Another symbol formed in midair, different from the one that Eternius had used, and a matching one appeared under their feet. James was just about to ask what was going on when the energy flashed, and the world blurred and shifted. Suddenly, they were in the middle of a crowded city with magnificent structures soaring into the sky. The platform was the exact same and people of all types walked on and off, creating symbols and disappearing or appearing in flashes of light. 

James fell backward, utterly stunned, and the captain laughed.

“Your expression is priceless! I’m glad I got to see that.”

“No way! You guys have teleportation!?”

“If that’s what your species calls it, then yes. Short range only, but it’s undeniably helpful in traveling from one side of the planet to the other. Now come on, we’re almost there.”

Olar led James into the city, filled with light and color. People bustled all around them, traveling on walkways that twisted and turned like roller-coaster tracks. There were pathways were different vehicles and ships of every kind zipped overhead. James even saw several people flying, either with wings or sometimes with no obvious tools at all. 

“Welcome to Synthesis, the largest city at the Arcane Quintessium.”

“That’s the 2^nd or 3^rd time I’ve heard that. What exactly is it?”

“The Quintessium is one of the largest schools in the entire universe. Almost every student dreams of coming here at some point to study and some are even allowed to enroll here full time.”

“What does it teach?” James asked, his lighting up as he looked around.

“Pretty much everything you can imagine. Every science and math course you could think of, plenty more you couldn’t, history, the list just keeps on going. Oh, and of course, magic.”

James froze and the captain looked back with a questioning glance.

“Hold on. Did you say magic? Like, actual bona fide magic!?!”

Olar raised an eyebrow, which looked odd considering he was a parrot. “Yes, magic. You’ve been hearing us talk about spells and magical planets for virtually the entire time you’ve been here.”

“I thought that ‘magic’ just had a different connotation in this world!”

Olar shook his head. “The translation spell takes care of all of that. And besides, you’re wearing shapeshifting clothing and just went through a teleportation matrix. What exactly did you think all of that was?”

“I thought it was some form of advanced technology, like the ship!”

“No, that was also magically-based.” He chuckled. “You’re trying to apply rules from your home world here. Trust me, it won’t work as well as you think.”

Olar pushed open the door of a building and James followed him inside to see another elevator.

As they stepped on, Olar glanced over. “Didn’t your world have some variation of stories that covered this sort of thing? Most usually do.”

“Uh, I guess,” James said, thinking back and remember the shows he used to watch.

“Good,” the captain said. “Then think of this like that.”

They stepped off the elevator and Olar led James around a corner to a large restaurant that overlooked a beautiful section of the city.

“This is one of the best places to eat in Synthesis. I’m good friends with the manager, so we were able to get a table. Otherwise, it would have been a long shot.”

Soon enough, a waitress took them to a table by a window that looked out over a vast expanse of trees and hills. They were given menus and then left alone to decide what they wanted to eat. 

“Captain Olar, can you help me with this? I have no idea what to get.” 

Olar chuckled. “Right, I forgot that you aren’t used to our food. Here, a grilled Ussoca steak should taste fairly good.” 

“So,” James said after they were finished. “How exactly does magic work here? Obviously, it can be used for technology, transportation…”

“And pretty much everything else. Every species that has reached a specific point in their development can use magic. It’s comparable to discovering fire, creating speech, that sort of thing. It’s also something that can’t be rushed naturally, which is why the Highlord had such a dramatic reaction.”

“But he said that there were others like me. People that had discovered magic before their time.”

Olar nodded. “Yes, others. As in individuals. He also wanted to send you home as soon as possible to avoid anymore problems, but… well, I don’t know what happened for sure. We’re meeting with Highlord Eternius later in the day, so I would assume he would tell you then.”

“So then, can you explain how magic works?” James asked again eagerly.

“That was part of the Highlord’s orders,” the captain muttered to himself. “Alright, listen closely. Magic is basically just the ability to manipulate energy. People who can use magic can store energy in their bodies and control it at will.”

James’ eyes widened. “So, they can do anything?”

The captain laughed. “I’m sure most wish it was that way, but no, there are limitations. Every magic user, or a mage, has an affinity. Space, time, energy, and elements. Within those, there are further divisions and complications. It’s incredibly hard for a mage to train outside of their affinity, so that helps limit their powers.”

“So, cool!” James was ecstatic. “What’s your affinity?”

“I’m an Elementalist that focuses on air magic.”

“Show me!” James begged.

The captain sighed and waved his arm slightly in front of him. “Reach across the table.”

James was confused but tried anyway. Halfway across, he bumped into an invisible wall that was oddly flexible but didn’t break no matter how hard he pushed at it.

“What did you do?” he asked, astonished.

“I hardened the air to make a small barrier,” Olar said with a shrug. “It’s not terribly complicated or grandiose but anything bigger and we’d have to go outside.”

“Awesome!”

Their food came and James dug in. The meat was a bit like steak but cooked with spices that tickled the tongue. It was obviously the most exotic thing he had ever eaten in his life.

As he was finishing up, he thought of something interesting. “Captain Olar, what about Highlord Eternius? I heard you mention that he was a god of Space yesterday. What does that exactly mean?”

Olar hesitated before shaking his head. “That’s not something I can really answer right now. Depending on what happens, you’ll probably find out about him eventually. For now, just now that despite his looks, he could fight every mage within a million light years of this planet and win. Maybe even more. Now come on, we’re going to be late.”

They walked back to the platform and teleported to where James had woken up, which he learned was known as X-Solae, one of the dorms for the Quintessium. Normally, it would have been packed full of students, but apparently the year hadn’t started yet, which was why it was empty.  

James was led into a large meeting room, which was separate from the rest of X-Solae, to find Lord Eternius wearing a circle into the floor with his rapid pacing. James was surprised to see that the centaur was also there, standing by the edge of the room, trying to get Eternius to stop. 

Olar closed the door behind them and Eternius sat down in a chair, looking at James with an unreadable expression. 

“So,” he finally said. “How was your day?” 

“It was amazing. I’ve never seen a city so beautiful. And the fact that you guys have REAL MAGIC! That’s amazing!”

Eternius smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You sound excited.”

“Are you kidding? This literally fulfills every fantasy I’ve had since I was little. Real magic, like with spells and mages and everything! And even a magic school!” 

“I’m glad you had a good time but there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Why, what’s wrong?” 

The centaur and Eternius shared a look before Eternius turned back to James and sighed. “I can’t send you back to Earth.”

James couldn’t believe his ears. “What? Why? Is this a joke?” 

“No, unfortunately, it’s not. When I cast my spell yesterday, Reality fought me with everything it had, which is saying a lot. You could have died and I was forced to cancel the spell early. I spend all of last night and today working on a solution, but right now, the message is carved into stone. Reality itself is refusing to allow you to return home.” 

“That’s stupid!” James yelled. “Captain Olar just told me you were some sort of all-powerful being or something. You have magic!”

“Even magic has it’s limits, kid,” Eternius said. “And this is almost as bad for me as it is for you.”

“What?!?”

“When you came here, you managed to pierce through 17 different spells, all of them ones a master mage might have taken years to undo. I don’t know what to think about that, but it certainly can’t be anything good.”

“Well...!”

“What, kid?” Eternius said, standing up. “You’re one child. People on your planet might feel sad but I have an entire universe to keep safe! You think that when compared to that, your problems are…”

“Eternius!”

Both of them turned to look at the centaur, who was staring at the Highlord with a disapproving expression.

“Not right now,” he said.

Eternius let out an angry huff before turning and pushing open the doors. He walked out of the room and they slammed behind him, leaving the room in silence for a moment.

The centaur sighed. “James, please don’t look at him too harshly. This whole thing is weighing very heavily on him.”

“An all-powerful being…”

“Can become stressed, too,” the centaur finished. “Right now, he is just searching for a solution that will not come. Normally, he is much more approachable.”

“That’s all well and good, but what am I supposed to do now?” James asked, throwing his hands in the air and sitting down heavily in a chair. “I’m trapped who-knows how many miles away from my home, with no idea whether I’ll see my friends and family again. This either a complete nightmare or, considering the magic part, the most messed up dream ever.

“Well,” the centaur said. “I was talking with Eternius yesterday and believe that the best thing for you would be to enroll at the Quintessium.”

James looked up, shocked out of his earlier thoughts. “Wait, what?”

“I would recommend that you enroll at the Quintessium. Learning to use magic would most likely take your mind off of your situation and better immerse you in our world.”

“What about going back?” James asked, narrowing his eyes.

“We would have to cross that bridge when we come to it, but I believe that it still would remain a possibility,” the centaur calmly answered.

“Ok, but earlier Captain Olar said that the Quintessium was one of the most prestigious schools in the universe. There’s no way they’ll let me in, and even if they did, I don’t have any money.”

The centaur smiled. “There is a scholarship fund for students that cannot afford to normally attend. Considering your circumstances, you would be able to receive funding. And I do not think you will have any trouble getting in, if that is what you’re worried about.”

James was confused and raised an eyebrow, but his expression froze as he something clicked in his head.

“You’re… you’re the headmaster of the Quintessium.”

“Quite right,” the centaur said. “Headmaster Sherru, to be exact. And I am delighted to tell you that the Quintessium has decided to accept your application and offer full tuition, room and board, as well as an additional stipend, if you are interested.”

He smiled and James nodded slowly.

 “But, how are you sure that I can actually do magic?” he asked. “I’m from a nonmagical planet, after all.”

“Oh, I am quite sure that you at least have the capability to control energy,” Sherru said. “Do you remember how Eternius constructed his sigil yesterday?”

James furrowed his brow. “There were purple lines over the floor, and he was altering several things in midair, right? What’s your point?”

Behind James, Olar’s eyes widened and the headmaster smiled. “Nonmagical people cannot perceive sigils, James. And if that does not convince you, I found out from the water Elemental I sent to your room this morning that you didn’t need any assistance with your clothes. Nice robe by the way.”

Olar’s mouth fell open slightly, but James didn’t notice.

“Ok, so I can do magic, but Captain Olar also mentioned that every mage has an affinity. I don’t know what mine is.”

“You told him quite a lot,” Headmaster Sherru said, glancing at the parrot with mild amusement. “However, James, that is not a concern. At the beginning of their first year, all students go through a test to determine their magical affinity, so until then, I would advise that you. The teaching year will begin in about a week and you’ll get a room assignment with another student, so perhaps you will also make a few friends. I will also give you a feasible planet of origin, so you have an answer when people ask. Does that sound good?” 

“Yes, Headmaster Sherru,” James said. “Thank you.” 

“Not a problem. Now, I am sure that it has been a very taxing day for you. I would advise that you get some dinner from downstairs and then get some rest. Just ask any of the Elementals if you need assistance. You can stay in your current room until we receive the room assignments. Please, try to get some rest tonight.” 

“Thank you, sir.” James felt the urge to be a little more respectful now that he knew that Sherru was going to be his headmaster. He had always respected his teachers back on Earth, and he would continue to do the same here.  

“If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask.” 

“Yes, sir.” A water Elemental led James out of the room and down to get something to eat. Dinner was as good as lunch had been, but James was still distracted. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he couldn’t go home, that he might not see his family again. In the end, though, he decided that it was the best possible option, and that, if he would admit it, he was at least a little excited to learn magic. After finishing his meal and returning to his room from before, James was told by the Elemental that clothes would appear in the dresser and closet for tomorrow and that he should simply ring if needed anything. James thanked the Elemental, took another bath, and went to bed, still contemplating the events of the day.