On a bleak autumn Tuesday, in the halls of the School of the Arcane walked a gifted young boy. A boy with wide eyes and big dreams, a boy, merely eighteen year of age… a boy named Von; Von Grimm. His black hair was trimmed and neat, his long canine ears resting on his shoulders. He dressed in a dark cloak, as it was custom in this institute, and carried a number of volumes under his arm.

 

      The Estarian School of the Arcane had been Von Grimm’s home from the day he was born, located in a secluded mountain range north of Capita. His father, before passing away, had been a teacher there and luckily for Von had passed the bulk of his mystical talents down to him. He was considered the child of the institute, each teacher was like a parent to him. He walked down the hall, smiling, enjoying the cool breeze sneaking through the unsealed windows. He heard a number of conversations as he passed, bits and pieces mostly, but almost all he heard was rumors about the Elven war and talk of politics.

“I heard that the king sent a million soldiers to siege Aldera” said one student

“I heard it was two million” said another

“They say that the Elven eat beast kin” “I think the king is hell bent on genocide”  the gossip went on and on.  Nerves were higher than ever, the new High King Gigas had declared unrestricted war against the Elven nation of Aldera, sending siege after siege to the walls of the Elven kingdom. It was bizarre to see a king act so rashly so soon after his coronation, what would king Ludvig think? Well one can not seek council with the dead, the king said that the Elven threatened the expansion of Bestia and needed to be put down… whatever that meant… suddenly a voice pierced Von’s trance like thinking

“Hey Von!” Shouted a familiar voice

“Aria!” Von replied “Good morning” he smiled as he began to walk with her

“Did you hear the news?” she said excitedly

“What news?”

“Classes are canceled today” She said gleefully. Of course this excited her, she tended to slack off and ride Von’s coattails to make a grade, she was always so aloof… in truth Von envied that.

“Why is that? We had an exam today, I studied all night” he moped

“Lord Bianca is visiting” she said with a wide grin

“Bianca? The war general? Shouldn’t he be in the west fighting the elves?” Von asked

“Rumor has it that he’s collecting young mages to fight in the war, the gig comes with a huge salary and the potential of an estate!” she said jovially

“Assuming you survive the trip” Von replied “Remember Aria, suicide missions pay the most, because there’s almost no one left to collect it.”

“Awe come on, you’d totally survive, I bet you’d get a medal too” she said with glee, her long shiny amber hair bouncing to and fro, her freckled cheeks blushing. Aria was a very cute girl, likely one of the most attractive in the academy. She was a deer beast kin, with short stubby antler poking from her scalp and small dark freckles peppering her cheeks. She was from a wealthy family that lost much of their money with the coronation of the new king, yet it didn’t seem to dishearten her. The two of them had been best friends for years, and only the year prior had they become two passionate lovers;  secret they kept from the academy. after all, it was frowned upon for students to become too infatuated with eachother. Von was always calm, level headed and insightful while Aria was excitable, rambunctious and charismatic.

“Hey the general’s here!” a random student said as everyone ran to the windows, watching a massive ivory carriage park outside the academy, it was heavily guarded by elite beastmen soldiers and from the carriage stepped out a massive man with illustrious clothes adorned with jewels and medals.

“That’s him!” Aria shouted “Terian Bianca!” and the entire student body rushed to the audience chamber, to learn the nature of the general’s visit.

      “Students!” he commanded regally as faculty organized the students into the audience chamber. “Please settle down… as you may know your High King, Lord Gigas, has issued a declaration of war against the Elven for crimes against the progress of our great nation. It pains me to admit further that the humans have decided to aid the Elven in this conflict, making our need for talented soldiers all the greater” he said. “In this trying time we need the assistance of talented spell weavers to strike fear into the hearts of our foes. I am here to recruit an elite task force of mages to combat this scourge of heathens. I ask of you, an army of Imperial Death Mages”