CHAPTER 32: WELCOME CEREMONY

"Xenon! Xenon! Wake up!" Jeage whispered fervently into Xenon’s ear.

"What the... is it?" Xenon woke up with a start, his eyes darting angrily at his cousin.

"We have to go or we’ll miss our welcome ceremony. Hurry up! Let’s go!" Jeage dragged Xenon out of bed and through the maze of bunks.

They got out of the tent where a stern faced man shooed them away, pointing towards the tallest tower on the island which was the source of yesterday’s the orange light.

The cousins weaved through the bushes till they got to the edge of the forest where they were greeted by stone paved roads and numerous buildings. They would’ve liked to take all the sights in, but they couldn’t risk missing the welcome ceremony as they would be sorted into houses during the ceremony.

They ran along the streets, winding through buildings and roads as they had no idea of where they were going except for the black top of the tower that guided them. Xenon would’ve used his ability to get there faster if not for his cousin who disagreed because he didn’t want to puke in front of thousands of people in the hall after being hurled at speeds he wasn’t used to.

Eventually, they got to the tower. It was large, about as wide as eight Onyx mansions lined up, built entirely of some black stuff that neither Xenon nor his cousin could figure out and as tall as four Onyx mansions.

Xenon and Jeage stepped through a large open doorway into the enormous hall at the bottom floor of the tower. They were greeted by the sight of thousands of students seated on arranged seats that occupied most of the floor’s floor and around the walls, except for the space at the front where the academy’s professors and other important people were seated behind a single long, black table that spanned the whole length of it’s side of the hall from left to right, on a raised platform, facing the students.

A very old man stepped away from the podium behind which the long, black table –which is made of the same stuff as the tower– seated the professors, to take his seat after he finished addressing the students just as the pair of cousins walked in. Xenon quickly searched through the crowd with his eyes for a place to seat, when he noticed that there were exactly two free seats at the back row of a separated cluster of seats at the front, just opposite the podium.

He tugged at Jeage’s shirt and led him to the pair of free seats. Xenon muttered a quick curse when he saw a familiar face on the same free row, just beside the free seats safe for a blue haired boy who sat beside him. Xenon, after having a quick furious argument with his cousin reluctantly sat beside the blue haired boy because Jeage insisted at seating at the seat on the left edge of the row.

"Ah! I was beginning to think you would sleep through the whole ceremony." Jason said as Xenon and Jeage took their seats.

"Hello, I’m Aoi, Jason was just telling me about your match yesterday." The blue haired boy sitting in the middle of Jason and Xenon said to Xenon at his right.

"Oh, Hey, I’m Xenon..." Xenon had to hold in a retort to reply the friendly looking boy and almost cursed when Jeage interrupted him.

"Hey, I’m Jeage, his cousin." Jeage said and shook Aoi’s hand.

"What has that idiot been telling you, I’m sure it’s all lies of cou..." Xenon said before Aoi could reply Jeage but was interrupted by a girl seated in front of Aoi.

"Will you guys keep quiet!...You," She faced Xenon. "Just arrived after missing everything the proprietor said, just to come and disturb the rest of us with your stupid discussion! And you all! A really good example you’re making, four of the top ten seated at the back seats!" She said in a furious whisper, her blue eyes oddly shining before facing forward so quickly that her long pale blond hair whipped Aoi in the face.

"What’s with her?" Jason muttered, but they all stayed silent either way till it was time to be sorted into houses.

"The last programme for this morning before you are released to your dormitories will be to assign houses to each and every first year which as usual will be done by the runic octahedron, or as the Proprietor prefers, our own Fancy Dice!" Professor Arkham announced, chuckling.

Immediately the last words left his mouth a large octahedron configured of shining runes which changed colours dropped slowly into the hall from the ceiling. It came to a stop, levitating a few centimetres in air above the podium.

"Once you are called, you will be sorted into one of the six houses, Hifaruten, Puretanic, Phryne, Erythros, Sequalim and Hwita, as the Fancy Dice sees fit." Arkham addressed the new first years. "Let’s start shall we, Siris Houndjo!".

Siris rose immediately he was called and walked over to the podium.

"Stand in front of the dice, and touch it." Arkham instructed.

Siris nodded and moved to face the runic octahedron that had turned colourless except for it’s six tips –vertices– that shone in a different colour each, purple, blue, brown, red, green and white. He stretched out his hand to touch the runic octahedron which was a foot taller than him and twice as wide.

Once his palm touched the crystalline surface of the Fancy Dice he felt his energy deplete a bit, he withdrew his palm quickly. The dice began to spin very fast both vertically and horizontally. The spinning went on for some time before the dice slowed down and tip in blue came to a stop in front of Siris.

The Fancy Dice turned all blue and the word ’PURETANIC’ shone on all it’s sides.

"Puretanic!" Professor Arkham announced and the whole crowd clapped. "Kindly go back to your seat." Arkham said to Siris who was focused on his student band whose runes were changing from orange to blue.

Siris nodded and went back to his seat at the right edge at the back row. Professor Arkham called the next students in line and the sorting went on.

"Bèishù Bakudan!" Professor Arkham called after many others. Aoi immediately focused on Bèishù as he went to get sorted, he wanted to know where his opponent will end in.

"Erythros!" Arkham announced as the octahedron turned red.

"Hmmn, not bad. What house do you guys think you’ll be in?" Aoi asked Jason, Xenon and Jeage.

"Why are you asking?" Xenon replied.

"Just asking." Aoi replied.

"I don’t know," Xenon sighed and slumped into his seat. "But I do hope it’s one that doesn’t have her in it." He said and nodded towards the girl seated in front of Aoi

"Why bother, it’s not like you get to choose which one you want." Jeage replied to Aoi.

"Each house members have general characteristics so I can probably guess where we’ll be put," Jason said and everyone turned to him.

"Hifaruten, purple, is mostly filled with nobles and people related to them; Puretanic, blue, consists of boring guys who are all rigid in their ways, most of them come from ancient families like you Prasedymums; Phryne, brown, is full of not really normal people; Erythros, red, is a place for potentially dangerous but cool ones; Sequalim, green, is rumoured to be for those that don’t really fit in anywhere else; and Hwita, white, is packed with the most brilliant, I think." Jason lectured.

"So where do you think we’ll be?" Aoi asked.

"None of you are that bright, so Hwita is out of the question..." Jason replied.

"Hey!" Jeage jeered.

"What? It’s the truth. No one related to that human sized lightning bolt can be exceptionally brilliant." Jason replied.

"Jason, can you skip to the part where you tell us which houses we are likely to end up in." Aoi quickly put in as he felt temperature in the hall grow hotter.

"Yeah, yeah. You will either be in Erythros or Sequalim," Jason said to Aoi. "Jeage will most likely be in Puretanic and Xenon will either be in Phryne or Erythros."

"Why will I be Puretanic while Xenon isn’t, didn’t you say..." Jeage was saying.

"Yeah, I know what I said, but your cousin here is too unhinged to be in Puretanic, I’m betting he’ll be put in Phry..." Jason amidst replying was interrupted.

"Can you guys shut up, you’re distracting me." Xenon interrupted Jason and looked forward to watch Orion, the tentacle guy being sorted.

"Sequalim!" Arkham announced, people clapped, and the sorting continued.

"Regina Bestiarum!" Professor Arkham called after another long session of calling names. A hooded figure stood up and walked to the podium, glancing back at the crowd for a split second, but that was enough for Xenon to catch her green slitted irises.

"Erythros!" Professor Arkham announced as the octahedron turned red. Regina walked back to her seat swiftly, not taking her face off the ground once.

After a while the girl seated in front of Aoi rose up after Professor Arkham called "Elise Houndjo".

"Hey, dude, are you guys a twin?" Jason called to Siris who was seated five seats away from him.

"And so?" Siris replied coldly.

"Nothing." Jason replied swiftly and turned to the others. "I think it runs in the blood." He muttered to the others who chuckled lightly.

"Puretanic!" Arkham announced.

"Alright!" Xenon said a little too loudly, earning stares from people on his row.

"Now, it’s the turn of our fresh top ten. Arnetta Towe!" Professor Arkham called.

Arnetta walked up to the octahedron, touched it and withdrew a bit as it spun. The Fancy Dice spun faster and longer than before but eventually slowed down.

The octahedron turned purple as the purple coloured tip came to a rest in front of her, "Hifaruten!" Professor Arkham announced before calling...

"Jacquez Pascal!" And shortly after, "Hwita!" A number of students belonging to the same house cheered.

"Karmesínrot Leuchten!" Professor Arkham called. "Sequalim!" Students cheered.

"Uh! I expected her to be in Phryne or Erythros" Aoi said.

"Yeah, me too." Jason Xenon and Jeage all said before Jeage stood up to get sorted.

The Fancy Dice spun and spun, and slowed down until it came to rest. The octahedron turned blue and Professor Arkham, smiling, shouted "Puretanic!"

"Xenon Prasedymum!" Xenon walked towards the octahedron after his name was called, he pressed his palm against its crystalline surface and waited as it spun round and round before coming to a stop.