Star Trail

CHAPTER 2 : The Moonlight Academy

The Moonlight Academy was bigger than anything Rai had ever seen. The main building rose high into the sky with towers capped in deep blue tile. The courtyard was filled with enormous trees whose leaves glowed gold when sunlight touched them. And strangest of all, lanterns floated through the air like giant jellyfish, bobbing gently on currents that seemed to come from nowhere.

Rai stood frozen at the front entrance. There was too much for his eyes and mind to take in.

"First time here?" The voice came from behind him.

Rai turned. A girl his age stood there, black hair falling just past her shoulders, eyes sharp but warm. In her arms she carried a book so thick it looked ready to slide from her grasp.

"Nara," she said, stretching out her hand. "And you are?"

"Rai," he answered, a little nervous as he shook her hand. "I'm looking for the Moonlight."

Nara raised an eyebrow. "You're already inside it. If you mean the Academy, then welcome. I'm a second-year student. Want me to walk you to Headmistress Laila's office?"

Rai nodded. Nara led the way through long corridors lined with paintings that moved when you weren't looking directly at them. Other students glanced at Rai with curiosity. Some whispered. He kept his eyes on the floor.

Headmistress Laila's office sat at the top of the main tower. She was a tall woman with silver hair and a face that was stern but softened by kind eyes. Her desk was buried under stacks of books and rolled-up scrolls.

"Rai," she read from a scroll. "Son of Arwan and Sari."

Rai's breath caught. "You knew my father?"

Headmistress Laila looked at him for a long moment. "Knew him? He was one of the finest students this Academy ever produced. And one of the bravest." She rose from her chair and walked to the window, her back to Rai. "Your father disappeared eight years ago during a mission to the Crimson Desert. No one knows what happened to him there."

"Is he still alive?" Rai's voice trembled.

She turned to face him. "The letter you carry... that is your father's handwriting. He left it for you, knowing that one day you would find it."

Rai pulled the worn paper from his pocket. Headmistress Laila nodded when she saw it.

"This Academy will teach you what you need to know," she said. "But you must be patient. Becoming a skilled sorcerer takes time."

Rai nodded. He didn't know what it meant to be a sorcerer yet, but he knew one thing — his father was somewhere out there, and he was going to find him.

Nara was waiting outside the office. "So? You're a new student?"

"Looks like it," Rai said, managing a small smile for the first time that day.

"Good," Nara said, grinning. "You're going to need a friend around here. And lucky for you, I'm very friendly."

They walked together through the courtyard. The afternoon wind sent a few golden leaves spiraling down from the great trees. For the first time in his life, Rai felt like he was in the right place.