Now Soren knew why those names seemed important, they were the originators of the great families, back before they used family names. They were cruel and uncivilized, killing for power and land.

  “Many centuries ago, before humanity built the veil, we fought and killed one another.”

  Hanami began pacing in front of the students.

  “We were like animals… Killing both humans and abominations alike, all for the sake of survival. With the scarcity of resources, humanity was split into seven regions. Each controlled by a powerful sorcerer, these were the ancestors of the great families.”

  Soren knew this story. War eventually sparked out between the clans, leading to a two hundred year long battle for control.

  ‘Everyone knows this story… So why is he ranting about it?’

  No one dared to ask, whatever it was that the professor had been doing, it kept them all too petrified to speak. This fear they all felt was unreasonable, it seemed even worse than during the examination.

  Before, the fear he made them feel was manageable, but now it was oppressive, suffocating. Even the sound of his voice made Soren’s heart race.

  “I’m sure you all know about this story, why the war started and how it eventually ended. But there is something about this time that we often overlook… The power the people of this time possessed.”

  For the first time since he entered the room, young weavers whispered amongst themselves. Though, it didn’t last long, as Mr. Hanami loudly cleared his throat.

  “Ahem… As I was saying, many scholars consider this time in history to be our golden age.”

  Some students looked around at each other, perplexed by what he was insinuating. The war was especially bloody, millions of lives had been lost. Yet, he suggested that the darkest era in human history was somehow the best we had to offer?

  ‘Why would a time like that gruesome be our golden age?’

  Returning his focus to the head of the class, Mr. Hanami continued on with his lecture.

  “During this period of history, we were pushed beyond our limits, forced to grow and adapt… Those who didn’t, died. In this world only the strong survive.”

  Soren looked to Amon, the poor boy was nervously shifting in his seat.

  ‘He’s not wrong, though…’

  Hanami’s words were cruel, but his message was spot on. Power was all that mattered. The more you possessed, the better your standing was. But if you lacked it, you were seen as a reject, even if you belonged to a great family.

  Killian was a perfect example. He didn’t come from a long line of powerful scholars, he built himself up from nothing. His raw talent is what led him to being one of the most recognized scholars alive… Until he went psycho.

  Professor Hanami suddenly stopped pacing back and forth, twirling the slender stick of chalk with his fingers.

  “History is full of individuals that surpassed what we believed possible, their understanding and power surpassing even that of the saints. Irina the builder, Grimslayer Kaiko, Lucian Nightwell and many more. The power and influence they possessed shaped humanity as a whole, all this greatness was because of their environment.”

  Reaching for a small folder on his desk, he began flipping through pages. His eyes darted between the paper and the students.

  “My goal is to break you all down, until only the strongest remain. We will start this process by finding where each of your talents lay. From what I saw during your tests, most of you lack proper control over your souls.”

  Stretching out an arm, radiant white threads slithered out from his palm. The threads moved with incredible precision, each of the dozen or so threads moving in perfect unison.

  “Whether you become a battlemaster, or a caster, your proficiency in weaving will determine your success. For the next few days, we will cover your basics. Building a proper foundation is essential to developing as a scholar.”

  The threads of soul retreated back into his hand, as he tossed the folder back down on his desk. His eyes carefully watching each and every weaver, his predatory gaze only made the fear they felt worse.

  “To start off, we must first understand the nature of runes… Tell me, does anyone know what we lost during the great war?”

  Before anyone had a chance to answer themselves, his eyes fell on a young girl sitting in the front row. She instantly sat up straight, her body trembling slightly.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “Well, miss Kiara?”

  Kiara’s long strands of auburn hair clung to her forehead, her orange eyes darted to the students sitting beside her. Most of them averted their gaze, leaving her with no one to fall back on.

  “Umm… The… uh, lives?”

  Exhaling deeply from his nostrils, Hanami turned away from the frightened girl, walking to the black board.

  “Countless lives were lost before that war ended, but something of even greater value had been lost along with it…”

  Some students looked around at each other, perplexed by what he was insinuating. The war was especially bloody, millions of lives had been lost. What could have been more important than that?

  “During that war, humanity lost a vast amount of their knowledge of runes. Ever since this knowledge was lost, we have been unable to regain it. Does anyone know why this is?”

  The room fell silent, no one willing to answer his question. Letting out a sigh, he gestured to a young boy towards the front row.

  “You Cardan, can you tell me why we haven't recovered that knowledge?”

  Stuttering, the boy shook his head.

  “N-no sir…”

  Mr. Hanami sneered lightly, clearly displeased by the lack of an answer. Picking up a dry rag, he erased the names he had previously written. Chalk in hand, he began to draw out a little more than two dozen symbols.

  “As I'm sure you all are aware, our modern alphabet was derived from the appearance of runes. The characters in these alphabets used to create words and sequences.”

  Moving to the other side of the board, he began to write several more characters.

  “But our initial understanding of runes was flawed. There are many more characters than the twenty six we believed… This alphabet worked for some sequences but not others, take fire for instance, or even any of the other elements.”

  In his hand threads of soul weaved together, followed by sparks of orange flames.

  “The twenty six character alphabet worked for almost every sequence… That was until we delved into more complex ideas.”

  In his hand, radiant threads formed into a simple line of runes, though, nothing happened. The simmering runes hovered in his palm, until they unraveled and returned back into him.

  “But when applying this alphabet to the word dark, nothing happens… These characters work until they don’t. But when I use the extra runes.”

  Just as before, threads of soul weaved into a string of four runes. But instead of floating there, the area around his hand became cloaked in a thick veil of shadows.

  “As you see, I used different runes to create this sequence. Both attempts were to spell dark, but the previous alphabet didn't work. Some scholars have a working theory as to why this is the case. Can any of you tell me why?”

  Once again the crowd was too frightened to answer him outright, leaving him once again to call on a student. His velvet gaze shot upwards to the very last row.

  “You, Soren. What is their theory?”

  Sitting up straight, Soren tried his best to choke down his fear. To the public's knowledge, there was no real clear answer as to why. All of the theories had been disproven, so what did he want?

  ‘Is this a trick question? How the hell am I supposed to…’

  There was something Killian mentioned a while ago. It didn’t make much sense, but in Julian’s journal he mentioned it as well. Even if it was wrong, it was all he had. Clearing his throat, he sat upright.

  “Um… There’s a second alphabet, sir.”

  Hanami stood frozen for a second, a look of genuine shock on his face.

  “Go on…”

  Gulping slightly, Soren looked at Amon next to him. The boy seemed to be a little surprised as well.

  “Well, the alphabet works… However, there are multiple instances of the same character. The only way it makes sense is if a second alphabet was present.”

  It was almost unsettling, a small smirk had appeared on the professor's face. He swiftly turned around, starting to erase the board.

  “That is correct… Well done, Soren.”

  Letting out a shaky breath, he felt a bit of pressure leave him. It seemed he had learned something useful from that damned journal. Watching as Mr. Hanami continued on with his lesson, the inexplicable fear that had plagued them all, felt lighter.

  Everyone seemed to relax slightly. Was it because they got used to it? What even was this feeling, It had to have come from the professor… No sequences were present though. Even if there was, why use it in the first place?

  The lecture continued on for a while, switching off the topic of weaving and moving into mathematics. Soren found the topics incredibly challenging. Even though he had spent a few years assisting Callagen, the material covered went mostly over his head. Most likely due to Callagen’s endless rambling, whatever he learned was quickly drowned out by angered gossip about old colleagues.

  Even so, Callagen had a strange charm to him. He was definitely a unique individual, but he was kind.

  ‘I wonder how he’s doing…’

  After a few hours, the lecture ended. Tired students crowded the halls, most of them returning to the dormitories. Some chatting in small groups, ranting about whatever gossip they heard. Soren and Amon swiftly left the building, both visibly exhausted.

  “Well… That was certainly something.”

  Soren silently nodded. Their professor certainly was… Interesting. But it would not sway him, in fact, Soren felt more determined than ever. Hanami seemed to possess a well of knowledge.

  “Yeah, I think we have a lot to learn. I just hope we can keep up.”

  Amon nodded solemnly.

  “Let’s hope.”

  They spent some more time exploring the academy grounds, before eventually returning to the dorms. They would need rest for tomorrow's lecture.