Chapter Six- Initiations

Aeryn readies himself for the first day of the Arcaeni initiation...

Aeryn woke up the next morning, and for a few brief moments he didn't know where he was. He stared in dull confusion at the room around him, trying to figure out the nature of what he was seeing. And then it clicked. All the conversations from the night before came back to him and he let out a long sigh, rolling over to his back and staring at the ceiling. This was it. Today the Academy would open and the applications to join the Arcaeni would begin. 
           

            The words of Dan, the cab driver from last night, came back to him. Only twenty would be accepted. But he refused to let this get him down. He was going to make it in there, and damn any one who thought otherwise. He'd show him for laughing. And with those thoughts he jumped up from the couch, stretching off the sleepiness and walking to the window. The blinds were already open and the very first lights of day were trickling through. He glanced over at a small wooden clock that sat on the desk behind him. Six o'clock. Two hours before the tests began. 
           

Aeryn's eyes drifted from the clock face to the rest of the desk. They narrowed as he saw a picture of two couples. Is that... He walked over, picking the picture up. It was a picture of all four of them! There was Margaret. She was still quite pretty, though the years had obviously taken some of the light from her. Next to her was a man with a neatly trimmed red beard. He was smiling right at the camera. ‘This must be her husband. Robert, wasn't it?’ Right next to him was his father. 
            He looked about the same, except for how he was dressed. Back home he usually sported a simple pair of work pants and a white shirt. Here he was dressed in what could only be described as a casual suit. And there, holding hands with his dad, was his mother. While Margaret was pretty, her older sister was gorgeous.

‘Why did you leave us?’ He asked, touching the picture gently. Her long blonde hair formed a sort of twist that lay over one shoulder. She was dressed in a skirt and a button up shirt with a scarf. 
           

Aeryn closed his eyes, pushing back the sudden flood of emotion as he sat the photo down. His eyes searched the rest of the desk, scouring for something else to take his attention away from the picture. The desk was neatly organized, except for a few notebooks that lay on the table, some opened and some closed. His eyes scanned the closest one. Suddenly his brow furrowed and his lips formed a slight frown. He slowly picked the book up from the table, reading the first set of words that came to him. 
            "...is a thorough description of certain magical properties of known natural objects. It is well known that the magical potential of objects can be activated with a combination of symbols or motions and the use of a magician's own magical potential. This is known as the magician's 'catalyst' and a very skilled magician can not only activate magical potential with this catalyst, but learn the nature of the magical potential this same way. This is what I have come to call scrying, a finding I am quite proud of and believe the Arcaeni will be pleased with. Now if only..." 
           

Aeryn stopped reading, his heart thudding. These notes were amazing! Aeryn quickly picked up several of the notebooks, flipping through pages and reading whatever came to him. There were formulas and instructions and explanations in all of these! Aeryn looked at the bookshelves, eyes scouring the titles. Almost all of them were books on magic!
           

"Is everything okay in there?" Aeryn stopped dead in his tracks as he heard Aunt Margaret's voice. 
           

"Umm...yes. Everything's fine." He waited, ears straining to hear what she'd say. His heart was running at a thousand miles an hour, though, pounding right between his ears.
           

"Okay then. I've made breakfast so when you're ready come down and get something to eat." Aeryn didn't say anything, simply listening as her footsteps faded away as she descended the steps. He looked around the room, trying to figure something out. This stuff was going to be extremely useful. It may very well be the information he needed to win this thing. But he'd have plenty of time to read through it later. Right now he had somewhere to go. He grabbed one of the notebooks and stuffed it into his backpack, before grabbing his stick and making his way down the stairs. 
           

Sure enough, before he'd even taken the last step, the smell of bacon hit him. He licked his lips as he entered the kitchen downstairs, sitting down at the small table there. Just as he did Aunt Margaret set a plate down in front of him with a glass of milk, before sitting down with her own plate across from him.
           

"You'll be needing plenty of energy if you're going to be trying out for the Arcaeni." She said, offering him a knowing smile. His eyes widened and he was about to ask her how she knew his plan before she cut him off. "I saw it in your eyes last night. And I knew it couldn't be coincidence that you show up in Euromeian the night before the tests begin." He couldn't help but smile. It did seem pretty obvious now that he thought about it. 
           

"I want this more then I've ever wanted anything. I'm gonna join the Arcaeni." He said. Margaret simply smiled, nodding her head.
           

"I believe you." She said. Aeryn looked up from his breakfast. "You have my sister and your father's blood in you. And every time they ever wanted something, they'd get that same look in their eyes. But..." He swallowed, nervous about what she'd say next. "...if you really want to make this thing I'd suggest eating quickly. Its a pretty decent walk to the Academy if you're not getting a cab and the tests start in an hour and a half." In an instant he was throwing food down his throat, not caring if he got to taste it or not. He jumped up from the table, grabbing his bag and making a short move towards the door, before quickly turning around to chug down his milk.
           

"Thank you Aunt Margaret!" He called as he rushed out of the room, barely hearing the shouted "good luck" he received as he burst out the front door. He had a generally good idea of which direction the Academy was in. He knew as well that it was in the northeast side of the city.            

Already by this time there were people filling the street, some giving short shouts or looking with interest as the young blonde haired boy ran by. He was quite good with direction and his years of running groceries back home for a job had made him quick, something he was quite proud of. So it wasn't long before he'd made it to the Academy.
            The Academy made its own little district in the northeast of the city. Every building here was extremely large, spanning whole blocks of the well paved streets. There were small, park-like areas here and there, with trees and gardens. And in the center was the largest building of all. There were already people walking from building to building here and Aeryn quickly walked up to one of them.
            "Excuse me. Could you show me to where you apply for the Arcaeni?" He asked. The person shot him a quick grin.
            "Easily. It’s at the Library, right over there. Good luck." He pointed in the right direction and quickly walked away. But Aeryn simply stood there, numb as he took in the sight before him. Surrounded by its own park was the Royal Library, one of the largest buildings in the area. But what caught Aeryn's eye was the line. 
           

A flood of people were there, in a line that stretched right out from the front doors and reached the nearest corner. The line was outside!? Aeryn ran across the street to be met by a loud bustle of sound. People talking and arguing and laughing. Aeryn numbly made his way to the end of the line, peering around the people in front of him. How many people could there be inside? He had the sudden feeling that this was going to be a very, very long day. And even as he stood there, he couldn't help but feel happy that he'd shown up when he did. For with each passing minute more and more people came, until there was a line that stretched all the way around the building. Aeryn could only wonder...what had he gotten into?

Author's Note

A focus on the content, style, and delivery of the work is what I'm looking for. Less on the grammar, unless something is just horribly wrong about it lol