Everybody seemed busy. The teachers as well as the students were hustling about the college grounds. Some were still touching up the decorations.

Ermand and Odin strolled inside the foremost hall that greeted them with its decorated large arches.

"Where are the others?" Ermand asked Odin, his eyes wandered the tremendous hall.

"Your friends?" Odin raised a brow at Armand.

"Who else?"

Ermand glanced around. He saw numerous large inlets on both sides. Forward to them, a great raised platform stood with dwarf men decorating the wide stage.

"Let's go to the boys dormitory," Odin suggested. He walked forward to Ermand while slowly savouring the beauty of the hall. The transformation of the hall from what it looked like before to what it looked like then was unforeseen.

There were shiny bronze signboards with blue-black lettering on it that floated on every entry point. The first entry point showed 'Daller's Hall', 'The great assembling Hall' and 'The Hideous Garden'.

Ermand chuckled when he read The Hideous Garden but Odin did not.

"The garden is really hideous. Not by the look but by the plants grown there," Odin explained.

"Funny," he mused, his gaze upon the levitating signboard.

"I think we could find them there," Odin stated, pointing to one of the entries to their right.

Ermand read the signboard with the lettering - 'Mess hall and dormitory'.

Without wasting any of their time, both of them hurried toward the wide entry. They dawdled through a corridor brightly lit by the sunlight that peeked inside through the opened glass windows at the ceiling above, that opened into another big hall.

"I must say, the founder of this college enjoyed big spaces," Odin surmised.

"There they are!"

Ermand turned at two boys waving at them. It was Timothy and Charlie. Charlie was munching and had something edible in his hand. Both the boys walked toward them.

"You guys are pretty early. The decorations didn't seem to have finished yet," Timothy told them.

"Moreover, I'm not done with the breakfast," Charlie spoke while he continued munching.

"Where's Emile?" Ermand enquired, scanning around Timothy and Charlie.

"Oh well. He's totally out of our league. Since the time he received all the books for this year, he was busy with them," Timothy groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Even I read a bit. Curiosity."

Timothy gave Ermand an uncanny stare. "Are. You. Like. That. One. In. Our. Room?" He said, pointing his thumb backwards.

Ermand doesn't know. He hadn't been to school before. So he shook his head and shrugged with his lips pursed.

"We're going to have a feast tonight. The senior students were saying that there will be--"

"Uh..." Odin interrupted Charlie. "Sorry for cutting in but I need to go to the college office for a few procedures."

"What procedures?"

"My mother wasn't able to accompany me during the selection day. She was terribly sick. She's recovering now and will be able to come here by the day after tomorrow or so. Don't wait for me, I'll be at the celebration."

"Why bother your mummy with this? Ask your dad," Timothy suggested.

"Oh. I would've, if he existed..."

Odin gave them a miserable and forced smile.

"I-I didn't know. Sorry," Timothy stuttered, he bit his lip.

Odin nodded at him, keeping the forced smile on his face and slowly lurched out of the hall. The three friends stood there with awkward silence.

"You want to see our dormitory?" Charlie started.

"Of course!"

All of them walked into a large entry point with thick, huge colonnades of Rougiatum stone between. They ambled through one of the entries into another larger hall with innumerable large windows and hundreds of entries again. A large polished wooden table with its four corners decorated with some golden coloured design stood in the middle while numerous tiny wooden tables were arrayed in the rest part of the hall. Some students were having their breakfast while some others were spending their time chatting.

"This is our mess hall," Timothy extended his hand around.

Ermand's eyes travelled across the magnificent hall. He walked ahead of them and gazed all over the high ceiling.

"The food is delicious and our rooms are comfy for the winter," Charlie remarked.

"I wish I joined the dorm," Ermand said under his breath.

"You can still join. Our room can fill up to five people," Timothy suggested. "There are five beds. At midnight, it's fun except for Emile. He sleeps before ten."

"We shouldn't blame him. He must have been used to his own comfort. We all are."

"Ermand, don't tell me you're a dweeb like him?" Timothy asked.

"I don't think I would be. I never went to school but I don't think learning too much is my thing."

Timothy nodded curtly and walked in front of the two boys.

"Don't you want to see our room?"

Ermand inclined his head in agreement. They sauntered through one of the entry points that adorned the hall. It had a signboard saying 'D dorm (boys)'.

"Defenders?" Ermand asked. Charlie nodded in return.

"There are hundreds of dorms here. We've been only to a few!" Charlie chimed, his eyes were wide and protruded enough to show the lines of his green iris.

"There are a lot of rooms in here, right?" Timothy asked Charlie.

"Yeah. There are for all of the departments separately and numerous in number. Defense, Healing, Artistic and Aesthetic studies, Inventions and discoveries, Magical Literature, Philosophical and Ancient studies and finally, the Protectors department."

"What do the Protectors learn exactly?" Ermand asked. He has heard about the Protectors that they're people who safeguard and maintain their own special element in the magical existence they're extremely skilled at, but he doesn't have any idea about what was so much to learn about.

"Don't know. The Protectors only know what they're doing," Charlie guffawed. Timothy and Armand joined him.

After checking out the boys' dormitory and the surrounding area, the three boys heard their seniors shouting to the first years that they'll be having a meeting at The Great Assembling Hall before the celebration. Before they walk out of the dorm, Emile joins them.

"Had your breakfast?" Charlie asked him.

Emile nodded while his eyes travelled elsewhere through his spectacles.

"How? I haven't seen you around here."

"I ate breakfast in the early morning while both of you were sleeping like a log."

Charlie gave him an odd look. Armand smirked, only to be noticed by Charlie. He folded his hands to his chest and walked with them to the big hall that stood at the entrance point.

"There," Armand pointed at the levitating signboard.

Without any further delay, the four friends walked into the hallway. The hall looked like a large hexagon room since it had six protective walls and big chandeliers that hung on the high ceiling. The walls were adorned with many decorations. A wooden table, bigger than the one in the mess hall, with food and drinks on them was placed at one of the edges of the hall accompanied by a few stylish wooden chairs around them. Many benches like the saem one in their classroom were nearly oriented about the raised platform that stood opposite to the entryway.

Students were already hurrying in with the same face as that of Armand and the rest. Everybody looked astounded to see the large hall. It seemed to be the biggest hall in the building as far as the halls Armand had seen.

Professors with pine green cloaks with their hoods removed, over a white shirt and brown pants were climbing the stairs to the rostrum.

Senior students were trying to maintain silence in the hall. A man in indigo cloak with his greying manly beard walked forward. The hall sank in silence.

"Welcome to Agledon Magic University for Spellcasters..."

His voice sounded fierce and far less aged than his appearance. Armand felt his palm sweating while all the fine hairs on his body stood up.