I woke up to the soft chime of bells echoing through the hall outside my dormitory. The morning sun filtered through the wide glass window beside my bed, painting golden trails across the stone floor. For a moment, I just lay there—staring up at the wooden ceiling, listening to the distant murmur of footsteps, and letting the warmth of the new day seep into my bones.
This was it. The Academy.
The room I had been given was simple, but far better than anything I'd ever had before. Two beds. Two desks. Shelves carved into the walls. And a tall arched window that offered a view of the east training grounds, where students already moved in practiced forms, blades flashing in the sunlight. My side of the room was still bare, of course, save for Mira's map on the desk and my travel bag tucked under the bed.
The boy I had met yesterday—Cassian, as he introduced himself—was still asleep in the opposite bed, one arm draped over his forehead, breathing slow and even. His dark brown hair was messy from sleep, and the faint scars on his knuckles looked even more rugged in the morning light. I smiled faintly, especially with the fact that he was my roommate. He was sharp-tongued and energetic, but there was a sincerity in his gaze that I trusted.
I stretched, stood, and pulled on the clean academy-issued tunic I found folded at the foot of my bed. A simple white top with black edges and a sun-emblazoned crest over the heart—the mark of the Dawn Academy. Over it, I threw my travel cloak and tied my belt tight. My boots were worn from the road, but still held strong.
My reflection in the polished metal plate hanging on the wall gave me pause.
I was taller now than when I first arrived in the village, with shoulders that had grown broader through months of training and travel. My skin was fair, though sun-kissed from the journey. My hair was a soft silver-white, tousled from sleep and glinting faintly in the sunlight. But it was my eyes that always drew attention—deep, luminous silver, like metal, glowing faintly with a light that never faded. The villagers used to say they looked like the eyes of something not quite human. Maybe they were right.
On my chest, just below my collarbone, the mark pulsed faintly beneath my shirt. A spiral of golden light, like a sun with wings unfurled. The Mark of Divine Origin. My name might have been given to me by villagers who found me in the fields, but this mark—it felt like a part of who I truly was.
Cassian stirred.
"You're already up?" he mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his face. "We don't even have class today."
"We're in a new place," I said. "I want to see everything."
Cassian groaned, but he rolled out of bed anyway. "Fine. Give me five minutes."
He got dressed quickly, and soon the two of us stepped out of our dorm room into the bustling hallways of the academy. The stone walls were smooth and clean, adorned with glowing lanterns that radiated soft magical light. Other students passed by, some chatting, some yawning, all in the same uniform.
Outside, the academy revealed itself in full.
It was vast—wider than the village I had once called home, built in elegant tiers of pale stone and blue roofs. Spires rose like spears into the sky, and bridges crossed between towers like veins of light. Training fields stretched in every direction, some open for combat, others filled with mana resonance stones, elemental forges, and pools for water cultivators.
Cassian led the way toward the inner courtyard, where the grand fountain of the First Light stood tall. Around it, dozens of students gathered in small groups. I recognized a familiar face—Lyra, the girl I had spoken with the night before, her long golden hair tied into a braid. She waved as we approached.
"So, you made it through your first night?" she asked with a grin.
"Barely," I replied. "The beds are too soft. I'm used to the ground."
Cassian snorted. "He's not joking. This guy probably slept on rocks for a year."
We laughed together. There was something light about the moment—something real. For the first time in a while, I didn't feel like a stranger in my own life.
We spent the next hours exploring the academy grounds. The library was a towering structure filled with ancient books, scrolls, and soul crystal records. The dining hall was packed with students from every region—some loud and boisterous, others quiet and intense. The air was thick with ambition and power.
Cassian showed me the lightning training chamber—his element—and demonstrated his control with a casual snap of electric arcs between his fingers. Lyra, I learned, had awakened the Light element, and her spells danced with blinding radiance when she practiced. Me? I had none of that—at least, not yet.
Still, as I stood there, watching their abilities, I could feel something deep inside me stir. Like a river behind a dam. Like the elements themselves were waiting.
Later that evening, the three of us sat beneath the red-leafed trees in the outer garden. The sky had turned orange with sunset, and the bell tower chimed the hour.
"I think we'll make a good team," Lyra said, pulling her knees to her chest.
Cassian nodded. "Yeah. Let's stick together."
I looked at them—these strangers who had quickly become something more. I didn't know where this path would take me. But for now, I wasn't alone.
And for the first time since falling from the sky, I didn't feel lost.
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