The Fifth Guild - I
1089 Words
The wheels of the merchant carriage rolled steadily along the stone-paved road, each turn carrying Blairre farther from House Orthox.
She sat by the window, her luggage neatly tucked beneath the wooden seat. Outside, endless fields swayed beneath the morning breeze, while distant mountain ranges stretched across the horizon like sleeping giants.
It had been three days.
Three days since her father's funeral.
Three days since she unearthed an empty coffin.
Three days since she discovered the secret study hidden beneath his library.
The leather satchel resting on her lap felt heavier than it should.
Inside were the documents detailing the mysterious decline of Astral Stones.
And tucked safely between them...
A single folded note.
«"You're smart, Little Seer. Take care always."»
Blairre unfolded it once more.
She had already memorized every stroke of the handwriting, yet her fingers instinctively traced the familiar ink.
The man who wrote this...
Was the father she remembered.
Not the stranger who had disowned her.
"...Where are you?" she murmured.
The carriage rocked gently over another uneven road.
With a quiet sigh, she slipped the note back into her satchel before reaching for another envelope.
Unlike the first one, this parchment bore the crimson wax seal of the Royal Academy.
No...
Not merely an academy.
According to the invitation—
Allochrony Academy.
The institution jointly governed by the Four Kingdoms.
She broke the seal once again and reread its contents.
---
To Lady Blairre Otakar,
By decree of the Four Kingdoms and under the authority of the Academy Council, you are hereby summoned to enroll at Allochrony Academy as a registered mage.
Arrival Date:
Third Day of the Month of Veritas.
Meeting Location:
The Eastern Gate, Asterion Basin.
Time:
The ninth bell after sunrise.
Assigned Guild:
Obsidian Crow.
Failure to appear shall be considered abandonment of royal obligation.
---
Her eyes lingered on the final line.
Assigned Guild: Obsidian Crow.
She frowned.
"So..."
She whispered to herself.
"It was never Father's carriage."
The realization slowly settled.
Back in the manor...
The man on the bed had told her,
"The Academy carriage will arrive before noon."
Yet the invitation clearly instructed her to travel alone and report to Asterion Basin.
No academy carriage had ever been arranged.
Which meant...
He had lied.
Or perhaps...
He expected her not to use it.
Blairre leaned against the window.
"...Did you know I wouldn't stay?"
The question wasn't directed toward the stranger who wore her father's face.
It was directed toward the man who had left behind the hidden study.
The real Creed.
A faint smile appeared.
"You really expected me to investigate."
Outside...
The scenery slowly changed.
The roads became wider.
Stone watchtowers appeared every few kilometers.
Merchants from different kingdoms passed one another, their wagons carrying fabrics, books, livestock, weapons, and strange mechanical devices powered by glowing Astral Cores.
For the first time in her life...
Blairre found herself surrounded by people from beyond her own kingdom.
House Orthox had rarely allowed her to travel.
Most of her childhood had been spent within the estate.
When she wasn't studying...
Her father secretly taught her mana control.
Not history.
Not geography.
Not literature.
Magic.
Observation.
Politics.
Economics.
Mining.
Negotiation.
She used to complain about it.
"Father."
"Why don't I study history like everyone else?"
Creed had chuckled without looking up from his paperwork.
"Because history is the easiest thing to rewrite."
She hadn't understood those words then.
Even now...
She wasn't sure she did.
As far as Blairre knew, magic had always been feared.
The books she read spoke of the Great Mana Catastrophes.
Entire civilizations destroyed.
Cities swallowed by storms of living mana.
Countless lives lost because mages sought power beyond their limits.
Since then...
The number of mages had steadily declined.
People celebrated when children were born without mana.
Families prayed that none of their descendants awakened magical abilities.
And those unfortunate enough to possess magic...
Were sent to the Academy.
Officially...
It was to educate them.
Unofficially...
Everyone understood the truth.
It was easier to fear something kept behind walls.
Blairre herself had grown up believing she was an outlier.
An anomaly.
Someone cursed by fate.
She had never met another mage.
Never spoken to one.
Never even knew...
Her own father possessed mana.
The thought lingered.
"If Father truly used magic..."
"...then why hide it?"
No answer came.
Only the rhythmic sound of wooden wheels against stone.
Hours passed.
Eventually, the merchant slowed the horses.
"We're here!"
The old driver called cheerfully.
"Asterion Basin!"
Blairre stepped down from the carriage.
The moment her boots touched the ground...
She froze.
Before her stood a wall unlike anything she had ever imagined.
It stretched across the horizon, disappearing into the mountains on both sides.
Its white stone surface towered toward the heavens, adorned with enormous blue banners that fluttered proudly in the wind.
Countless travelers entered through a massive gate guarded not by ordinary soldiers...
But by mages wearing identical uniforms.
Above the archway...
Carved into polished obsidian...
Were two elegant words.
ALLOCHRONY ACADEMY
Blairre unconsciously looked upward.
"...So this..."
"...is where they gather us."
The academy resembled an independent city rather than a school.
Beyond the gates she could glimpse towering libraries, training arenas, bridges connecting enormous buildings, floating platforms suspended by Astral Engineering, and distant dormitories nestled among forests.
Students wandered everywhere.
Some wore swords.
Others carried books taller than themselves.
Some manipulated tiny sparks of mana while laughing with friends.
Nobody stared at her.
Nobody whispered.
For the first time since awakening her magic...
She wasn't the only mage in sight.
"...Lady Blairre?"
A gentle voice interrupted her thoughts.
Standing a few steps away was a young woman wearing the academy's black uniform.
Unlike the others nearby, her necktie was completely black.
She offered a polite bow.
"My name is Zeilda."
"I've been assigned to welcome you."
Blairre returned the bow.
"You were expecting me?"
Zeilda smiled warmly.
"Of course."
She produced a clipboard.
"You are Blairre Otakar."
"Assigned to the Fifth Guild."
She flipped through several pages before nodding.
"Everything seems to be in order."
Blairre glanced toward the black tie around Zeilda's neck.
"...The Fifth Guild."
Zeilda laughed softly.
"Yes."
"The infamous one."
There wasn't even the slightest embarrassment in her voice.
Instead...
She sounded strangely proud.
"Come."
"I'll show you your new home."
As they walked beneath the towering gates of Allochrony Academy...
Blairre unknowingly took her very first step into a place that would change not only her life—
but the fate of the entire world.
- Writer
