Trinity couldn't sink lower in her chair to escape the snickering from the people in front of her. She had found the furthest spot at the back of the crowd and settled herself there beside Kay Lee. The girl had apologized almost a million times to an elderly woman and man at the platform who chewed both of them out good and proper before they were sent to the back of the line. Trinity genuinely felt bad for her even though she was technically at fault for how the morning was going.

"I'm really sorry, Trin. I was in such a hurry I forgot to go left at the Great Hall," Trinity didn't really think it was a big deal in all honesty. Embarrassment was not a foreign concept for a loner like herself in life. But it was painfully obvious she was an unknown object with the glances and mocking sounds that were discreetly directed her way. She hadn't thought much about it since her waking up, but this was the first time she was nervous about being somewhere she had no clue about.

"It's fine. I just wish they'd stop."

"Don't mind them. Something more important will pop up and you'll be unimportant by lunch."

Somehow, Trinity couldn't find Kay Lee's sentiment as comforting but choose to ignore it altogether. She knew Kay Lee was not beating herself up for her failure. She was more livid at the fact that Trinity was undergoing this because of her actions. This girl greatly reminded her of her mother in more ways than one.

"... now, I'd like to welcome one of the Captains to have a word," the long drawn out speech finally drew to a close. There was an interesting assembly of individuals on that platform. There were six people, two being the male and female elders who chewed both she and Kay Lee out. The rest must have been the Captains the speaker was asking for a word, and the world of difference between the elders and the Captain sitting next to them seemed comical.

He was dark-skinned and well-toned, even from where Trinity sat. He didn't seem the kind of person who was interested in anything but a good fight and fast cars. He had on the same jacket as everyone, but it wrapped around his biceps so tightly that it looked like a shirt. His hair was cropped close to his head, making him resemble every military officer Trinity had seen in movies. His body seemed rigid and alert to a danger only he could sense. He must have seen many horrors people scarcely could imagine in this world. The scar that traced its way across his left temple was a clear indication of this.

The Captain shook his head, an indication he had less than little to speak on and the speaker turned to the boy to his left.

This Captain seemed, and Trinity didn't believe how stereotypical she was by thinking this, smart. It had largely to do with the fact that he was the only one to be less muscular, probably under 30 years of age and wearing glasses. His hair was fairly blonde, matching well with his ivory skin tone as he held it in a neat ponytail behind his head. The uniform jacket he had on seemed oversized for him, maybe something his parents lied he'd grow into since he was a child. He looked nervous at the stares from everyone and started fidgeting uncomfortably until the third Captain in the line laid a hand on him and spoke something that calmed him down.

The third Captain from the right seemed quite at home with his title. He had a refined kind of handsomeness to his physique. Even from the back row, Trinity could tell this was a man who was fairly versed with breaking women's hearts left, right and centre. He had a nice copper brown shade to his hair which he'd cropped just short of his neckline, letting it fall to his sides. His cool porcelain skin could rival any model and did nothing to tame his wild nature. He was definitely the only one of the four who would never follow orders correctly as long as the mission was accomplished.

His words must have been heard because there was a scowl on the fourth and only female Captain there as she stood to take the helm. Confidence didn't seem to be this Captain's problem. In fact, Trinity thought she had too much of it that it borders on arrogance dangerously. Her hair was obsidian in colour, a nice contrast to her honey brown skin. She wore a black glove on only her left hand but Trinity saw it as some sort of fashion trend she was going for. It was still a bit weird. She wasn't the most pretty girl in the gathering here. No one could be wherever Kay Lee was present in Trinity's opinion, but her face had its merits despite the hideous scowl it wore.

"Morning, Rookies. A few words; Logic is a trait few possess. My advice to you is to seek Logic. Thank you."

Wow. Trinity couldn't believe how spot on she was about the girl. What she was more surprised with was the round of applause that drowned the speaker's next few words to adjourn the meeting. This girl was adored and respected by not just her peers, but even the older folk. That was an interesting fact to keep in mind.

"This sucks. I thought the General would be here today. But considering our entrance, I'm actually glad he wasn't," Kay Lee's words roused Trinity from her thought process as they were making their way back into the castle with the rest of the rookies.

"Who was the girl who just spoke?"

"That's Captain Star. She's a pretty good Conjurer but a huge pain in the ass so I usually steer clear of her if I can help it. Don't worry. Our first session's with Captain L.J."

From the affectionate cooing that Kay Lee was making, Trinity could already guess who she was referring to out of all the four Captains she had seen. And sure enough, ten minutes later found her and the rest of the rookies in an open space with the wild Captain sans his uniform's jacket.

"Everyone here? Wonderful! Let's begin our first class!"

His voice seemed a perfect ragged pitch to match his appearance. Trinity couldn't deny his exquisite beauty now that he was up close with a better view. He had that morning stubble on his angle-cut jawline and such vivid hazel eyes that seemed to sparkle blue with the way the light hit them.

"For most of you, Conjuring is something you've been doing since you were young with your parents. But for the few who it's their first time learning about this, I'll have to take you all through the basics."

"Wait... there are new people here like me?" Trinity whispered to Kay Lee, who seemed to have completely forgotten Trinity was there with the slight jump she did.

"Well, not exactly. Everyone has magic in this realm. But using it is not a common practice. So you get people all over Sage who have never conjured anything in their life yet live with innate magical ability. Like you, actually."

"Really? Why would anyone not want to learn how to use their magic?"

"Because it's always a gamble with your life," the response to Trinity's question came from upfront, notifying the girls that they were not the only one's privy to their banter. Trinity was surprised how far L.J was able to hear from. He was at least ten meters away from her.

"You must be Trinity, yes?"

Trinity couldn't form coherent sentences in her head at L.J's pinning stare so she simply nodded. Why did he have to be so goddamn gorgeous really?

The moment her name was mentioned, there was an entire buzz in the gathering. Trinity didn't like the fact that now everyone knew her name to add to the morning's showing, but there was very little she could do. But the stares she was getting were completely different now. It wasn't the look of mocking she was used to. This was fear that was reflected from their stares. It seemed illogical from her viewpoint. She might have been different from them in that she was from Earth, but was she truly someone to fear?

"Well," L.J spoke over the murmurs trying very hard to act like that commotion did not just happen on the account of him speaking her name, "protocol dictates you code your name if you want to continue in the ranks. In fact, everyone who's new needs to do the same before we proceed. I'll give you all two minutes for that before we pick this up again."

There was a quick scuffle as everyone huddled together in groups, no doubt to discuss the new girl. It was the first day of high school all over again for Trinity. She sheepishly went back to Kay Lee's side who seemed quite at home with recent developments as she chatted with someone who immediately feigned a reason to leave as soon as Trinity was close.

"Why's everyone being weird?"

"Remember when I said you were a special kind of Conjurer? Well, by special I mean you can do what most people can't do. At least, that's what the General thinks."

"And what exactly can I do?"

Kay Lee seemed uneasy for the first time since Trinity had met her. It just went to show that even for a laid back person like her, this was a big deal.

"It's believed that you can conjure all five elements of Amargon, making you the reincarnate of the first-ever Conjurer, Tobias the Great."

Most of what Kay Lee said did not make it past Trinity's comprehension except for the word Tobias the Great. That name sounded too familiar. She was sure she had heard it somewhere, almost like she had been born knowing who that was. An impossibility because she'd have to be hundreds of years old to know the very first Conjurer of these lands or an habitant of these lands. And yet, she knew that name. How she did was the question she couldn't answer.

"And how does the General know about me?"

"Everyone knows about your name. You are the last thing the founder of our clan spoke of before breathing her last. She spoke of your arrival being the mark of darkness' decent on the lands."

It seemed so real now. Everything Kay Lee was saying seemed too real to Trinity. It felt more of a dream to her when they had been speaking about magic and wizards in the morning. It still seemed like a dream moments ago when there were at the parade. But now everything seemed too real. She was brought into a world she was not ready to join. It felt like she was being drafted into a world where nothing but death waited for her.

The realization of this sent a sharp pain to her head that made her cry out in pain. What she saw next in front of her was the creature of her dreams. Everyone had vanished from the clearing. Only she and the creature were there, the sun slowly being obscured by heavy dark clouds. It wasn't fighting the man this time. Its purple gaze was focused on her instead.

<Trinity... calm down,> Val's voice did little to pulsate her racing pulse. She knew what she seeing. This was no dream. This was real. The creature was here to kill her.

There was a wave of purple fire that blasted from the creature and there was nothing Trinity could do but scream herself into a black oblivion.