Crash-landing into another world through a portal with a thunderous boom, as sudden as a bolt from the blue, isn’t exactly like popping down to the corner store.
Only, there was no sky here—just an impenetrable darkness, dust mixed with cobwebs, and a jumble of objects that got in the way and clattered loudly with every move. To top it off, her bag slammed hard against her back, knocking the wind out of her.
Her hands fumbled in a panic, feeling around in the dark, while her legs, refusing to listen to her brain, kept stumbling over the scattered mess. The smell of dust irritated her nose, forcing her to sneeze a few times. Somewhere close by, a startled yelp rang out, followed by hurried footsteps. Moments later, her eyes were blinded by a bright light. In the doorway stood a short, feminine silhouette, staring at her with wide, deep coffee-colored eyes. The source of the light was a glowing orb hovering above the girl’s palm, woven from shimmering white threads of energy.
“Looks like I’ve arrived at the right place,” the interdimensional traveler exhaled, shaking the dusty cloud of her fiery red hair.
“Who are you? Where’d you come from?” the girl with the orb asked, her eyes still wide with astonishment. Oddly enough, her language was understandable, though there was a vague sense that it was somehow different, unfamiliar.
“Felicia Fulminarri,” the owner of the red cloud of hair introduced herself. That was indeed the name she’d been given at birth, though she’d decided to invent a new last name—her original one was far too ridiculous and didn’t match her beautiful first name at all. “I’m, uh… from another world. Does that happen a lot around here?”
“Um… not often, but it does happen,” the girl with the orb sighed, then belatedly introduced herself. “I’m Mayrenn Viral, a student at Lidevan.”
“And Lidevan is…?” Felicia latched onto the unfamiliar name.
“It’s the best magic academy in the entire empire. They teach all kinds of disciplines here. You’re within its walls right now,” Mayrenn said, gesturing to the side as if presenting her academy. “You must be here to study, right? We don’t usually have students just drop in on us like this, but I’m guessing you created your own portal instead of using the standard routes. That’s so amazing! I’d never have the guts to do that.”
“But…” Felicia started to protest, feeling like she was being mistaken for someone else.
Mayrenn didn’t listen to any objections. Grabbing Felicia by the hand, she dragged her out of the room. Felicia barely had time to take in her surroundings as the dimly lit corridors flashed by at a dizzying pace. She could only guess where she was being taken. Judging by the excited chatter of her new friend, they were heading to the admissions office.
A few minutes later, they slowed down in front of a massive set of doors made of oak or something similar in color. Sure enough, the word “Admissions” was engraved into the wood, glowing faintly.
Before Felicia could gather her thoughts, she was pulled inside. The small room was dimly lit by flickering lights of unknown origin. Countless bookshelves lined the walls, leaving just enough space for a window, in front of which sat a large desk and a couple of chairs.
“Good evening, Magess Elsivet. Sorry for the late hour,” Mayrenn said quickly. A middle-aged woman reading at the desk gave a friendly nod, signaling for her to continue, and set her book aside.
“I found a student in the training hall who just arrived. She traveled via her own portal. Here, please register her,” Mayrenn finally exhaled, looking expectantly at the magess behind the desk.
The magess studied Felicia for a few moments, as if assessing her abilities.
“You must be the Emperor’s protégé. We’ve been expecting you. Your name?”
“Felicia Fulminarri,” she replied. Clearly, they had her confused with someone else, but Felicia was too overwhelmed by everything that had happened in such a short time to say more than her name. She didn’t have the energy to argue.
“Age? Who are your parents?” the magess continued.
“I’m 23. My parents are gone—they passed away,” Felicia sighed. The memories still stung with a dull ache. Time doesn’t always heal.
“Everything matches.”
What matched, Felicia didn’t know. She sat quietly, waiting for the next question. The magess scribbled something intently in her books, likely recording the information, occasionally glancing at Felicia in a way that made her uneasy. She braced herself for the moment her deception would be uncovered and she’d be thrown out. But, surprisingly, luck was on her side.
“I’m Magess Elsivet Inadi, curator of the third-year students, to which you’ve been admitted per instructions. You’ve also been assigned the position of assistant to Master Mage Firniet Dimanni, as noted in the Emperor’s message,” Elsivet said, handing a stunned Felicia a piece of paper. Seeing her confusion, Elsivet explained, “It’s a job. You’ll be paid for it. I don’t know what the Emperor promised you, but he only reserves a spot at the academy—tuition, housing, and meals. You’ll need to cover any other expenses yourself. Hence the job. It’s not difficult, though Master Firniet might seem overly demanding at times.”
Felicia managed a grateful smile and nodded at Elsivet, showing she understood.
“You’ll be rooming with Mayrenn. She doesn’t have a roommate,” Elsivet continued. Turning to Mayrenn with a kind smile, she added, “That’s what you wanted, right?”
Mayrenn nodded enthusiastically, her face radiating excitement.
“Then you can show her around and explain everything. You’re free to go,” Elsivet concluded the conversation.
Mayrenn happily dragged Felicia toward the student dorms. Exhausted from all the commotion, Felicia didn’t even resist, letting Mayrenn lead her to their shared room. A cozy bed was exactly what she desperately needed right now.
Upon entering the comfortably furnished, spacious room, Felicia dropped her bag next to the empty bed and was about to collapse onto it fully clothed, ready to sink into a deep sleep, when Mayrenn interrupted her plans.
“So, how did you become the Emperor’s protégé?” Her roommate’s eyes sparkled with genuine curiosity mixed with admiration.
“I’m not the Emperor’s protégé, and I have no idea what’s going on here,” Felicia exhaled heavily, unable to keep up the pretense any longer.