The Highlands: Ashita Academy

Deep in the woods of Carcen, there's an enclave dug into a mountain.

This contains the warm halls of Ashita Academy, a school run by the Ashita family through generations. The classrooms are built from mats laid on top of the mountain dirt, holes piercing through to supply light and air. Several outcrops on the mountain provide pleasant places to go out and sit between classes, and the atmosphere is bright and welcoming, albeit studious.

Luthier sighed, flipping through his book nonchalantly.

"Dude, I'm so bored. When are you going to teach us something we can use? All of this is great, yeah, but what's the application?"

He waved his wooden sword in the air, groaning a little bit.

"I say we go on a field trip. I'm so sick of staring at those trees and these walls and not being able to do anything about it!"

He looked around at the small group of students around him, gathered before class started. Most of them just groaned. Dropping his sword, and moving his hand through his hair, he sighed.

"What do you say, professor?"

Vetiis stopped writing when Luthier stopped speaking and he sighed and closed his eyes, shutting the book and what can be seen on the top is two letters initialing it Z.Z. He looked up at him, and stared at him giving him what seemed to be an indifferent look.

"Luthier Locke is it?"
He said, in almost a monotone voice and he then opened up what only seemed to be a grade book and stopped where he traced his finger along his name. He noticed he had all high ranking grades and was pretty much the top of his class. The vibe Vetiis got from this student was so strange, and yet, very familiar.

"Alright Luthier, you want to go on 'fieldtrip' hm?"
He said and stood up and looked at the board behind his desk and began to draw a map of Carcen and then used a wooden stick as a pointer.

"We are here, ladies and gentelemen and all of this..."
He used the stick to point out everything around it.
"Is the scum of the Carcen government, and it's only full of thieves, cons, and nothing worth going to visit."

He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then began to speak in a calm tone, though obviously he was a bit irritated at Luthier's attitude.

"Everything you see around you is Reality. Everything you ever know, and will ever know may be one Reality, or a thousand Realities.That's all dependent on the Plane you are on. The powers most of you have..."
He moved his hands across the class room, gazing at all them as a whole
"Will act different in different Planes and different Realities. If you want to apply it, then that's your choice. This is a theory class, not a technique class. Any other questions Mr. Locke?"

Vetiis then held his hands behind his back and looked down at Luthier, waiting for a reply and looking at him curiously.

Luthier blinked, but was still thinking.

"If our world is so trashy, why don't we go out and fix it? Change something, you know? What's so bad about it anyway? We have food, good homes, and security here, last I checked. I want to get away from this stuff that I know. Here you are, talking about planes and reality, but we haven't even explored our own backyard yet!"

He sighed, shaking his head.

"I just don't get it."

Vetiis chuckled and closed his eyes and shook his head. Obviously Vetiis wanted to get out of the cesspool of this world, and to clean it thoroughly so he thought for a moment.

"Mr Locke, I completely agree that we do indeed, need to change our world. People have tried, but the energies of this world are not yet aligned yet but when they are, I assure you that most of you, including myself won't be coming back to this school and will be looking to fix everything. Though..."

He paced back and forth looking at the class, young eyes of curiosity always frightened him slightly for he didn't want them to get too curious.

"I want to ask you a question now Mr. Locke. Because none of our countries, really get a long all that well, that they have yet to raise their fists and voices to move forward into a war? Why haven't they killed each other off yet? Of what I believe, there is something in each of these lands that connects them all. Something each person is afraid of destroying."

He paced back and forth still tapping the stick against his forehead lightly while trying to explain his lesson.

"As a person is completely connected to the energy of their Universe or Plane, or what have you, they can better understand how their power works and how to use it in a good way. Though some may use it in a bad, which is unfortunate. I want you students to understand how the energy flows in this Plane of Reality, to try and find your path of how this planet is going to change. That being said, I want you to study the lands of Dilusion. Something is a little bit interesting about each one and I want you to respond whenever I see you next. You are dismissed."

"Alright."

Luthier wasn't content, but he understood. One of his father's most important rules was to know your surroundings before you immerse yourself. Back to the textbooks, he reasoned. He'd go exploring after he looked into the culture a little more.

He grinned, and waved to his professor. The guy probably wouldn't care if he skipped just a couple classes... Right?

"See ya next time!"

A strange glowing portal starts to slowly spread across the ceiling. Eventually it reaches about four feet in diameter, and a strong breeze seems to flow out of it. The breeze too starts to grow, soon a harsh wind is whipping about the room.
Out of the portal falls a short fat bearded man, followed by a large axe. The man lands square on his ass, looking quite confused, and the axe crashes down to the floor next to him.
In the blink of an eye, the portal is gone.

Everyone had left the class room, and when they did Vetiis looked up at the portal above him and instantly his eyes narrowed. He was expecting someone and he clenched his fists tightly and he stood their, though it did not seem like it, but in a defensive manner.As the portal opened, he believed it was about time he arrived. Though to his disappointing surprise, it was not the person who he thought it would be. Soon he would be staring down at this short fat man, and when the axe fell he looked at it carefully.
Who in the heaven's is this? He thought to himself

"Excuse me, but...who are you and how did you get here?"

Gilrim looked up at the man standing in front of him. Human by the looks of him. He hadn't met many humans, as they very rarely travelled to his mountain or fought in his wars.

He clambered over to his axe and used it to help himself stand. He positioned it in front of himself, almost ready for the stranger to charge at him.

"Who th' 'ell are ye? Ye ain't gonna git mah name, but if'n ye make the wrong move ye'll be gettin' a taste o' me steel."

"Don't be so hostile in a place that is foreign to you, and not to I." His voice was stern and he glared down at the fat man, looking over his features and it definitely didn't seem that he was from around this planet.

"My name is Vetiis Zephiel, and I am a Professor at this school. I teach Planes and Reality. If not your name, then where are you from?"

Vetiis had no idea what this man's intentions were, or if he was truly friendly or not but being aware that their might be possible danger was definitely apparent, so he stood their and waited for either an attack or a response.

Gilrim lowers his axe a bit, but keeps it in a position where it can easily be swung. He seems to have assessed that the human before him isn't much of a threat.

He pretty much ignores all questions asked of him, and simply asks "Whar in the bloodae 'ell am I?"

He starts looking around the room. He is visibly confused.

"You are currently on the planet of Dilusion, in a continent called Carcen, and these are the Highlands. This a school to teach people who want to learn how to tune their powers and fighting skills, and also to learn theories that are relative to them."
He spoke calmly, now trying to start a fight with this man because in Ashita Academy, nobody was able to use any sort of powers to do the enchantments placed all around the school.
"We have not had outsiders come in here in quite sometime, and it's even stranger that you were brought here through a portal. I haven't seen one in quite sometime."
He still looked at his strange attire and weapon of choice and began to pace around him.
"What type of being are you? Rather, what race are you?"

Gilrim peered at the man through narrowed eyes. At first he looked angry, but a large grin slowly spread across his face.

"Ye call yerself a professah lad? Ye ain't too broight fer one. Ah'm a damn dwarf ye git!"

He started to looks more closely around the room, and noticed some very strange things. For one, the man before him had no armor. He was clothed only in some strange foreign suit. Suddenly a realization came over his features.

He spoke more to himself than anything "Ock! Tha' basterd must've teleport'd mae!"

He looked again to the strange foreigner. "Wha's yer King's name, an' wot's 'is stance toward th' Mountain?"

Luthier froze as he heard a voice from the room that was foreign. Maybe there was something interesting going on after all...

He quietly moved back towards the room, peeking in at the conversation. Who the hell was that? It wasn't any professor he had seen before...

He coughed lightly, then swore to himself. The professor would probably have a couple choice words for him about this.

He groaned in reaction to the 'dwarf's' attitude.
"Ah, I see. Well we don't have any Dwarve's on this plane, or none that I know of."
He caught notice of the word 'teleport' and raised his eyebrows a bit and then responded to the dwarf's question while tapping the pointing stick in his hand and closing his eyes in thought, reopening them. What a strange strange man this was.

"King? There is no king of this Mountain. Though this continent is controlled by a dark force that nobody has yet found the beginning of. I have been studying these lands for awhile now and I have yet to find out myself. And also, you said something about someone teleporting you here. Is this someone from your home land?"

A cough sounded outside and as Vetiis' eyes slanted in the direction of the doorway and he stood there, still holding the pointer. He could only guess who it was, because most of his other students wouldn't be caught dead eavesdropping on him. Professors always know their students more then they know.

"Luthier Locke, shouldn't you be studying to fill that need of curiosity you have about our land?"

Gilrim hadn't noticed the cough.

As soon as Vetiis spoke to someone outside though, the conversation was cut short and he made a quarter turn, now keeping his axe between Vetiis in the door. If anyone came at him from either direction he was ready to kill.

Luthier stepped out from behind the door.

"Who is this guy, Professor?"

He looked at the surprisingly short man wielding the axe between the two of them and blinked.

"Looks adventurous to me..."

Gilrim spun the axe around towards the student as he entered the room.

"Haven't any o ye 'eard of a gods damned dwarf!?"

He then peered a bit most cloesly at him.

" Ye as thick in the 'ead as this one o'er here?" he asked, motioning to Vetiis.

"Dwarf, huh?"

He smiled.

"My dad taught me a little about you guys. Like to dig holes in things and whatnot, right? I've never seen one in person, but I think there are actually some somewhere in the world."

His eyes narrowed.

"I get the feeling you don't know why you're here, either, then?"

"This is not going anywhere..."

He sighed and thought to himself what was the most logical way to get this man to drop his guard.His eyes were closed and he tapped his forehead with his pointing stick still muttering some foreign language under his breath. Something was beginning to dawn on him though he did not know what. He sat down behind his desk letting his A student talk to some fat man from what seems another Plane of existence. Vetiis looked through the black book with the emblem, Z.Z and then noticed something oddly peculiar. What...what is this? As he read through the text his eyes were focused, and further down the page his eyes began to widen and he then looked up at Luthier and realized why he seemed so familiar.

"Luthier, don't antagonize a stranger from an unknown Plane. Remember, whatever powers we possess don't work in the boundaries of the school. That's how your father set this school up."

A rush of thoughts zoomed through his head, and he now realized that most of his thoughts were definitely becoming to shine through. Something was odd about this land, and Vetiis wasn't going to figure it out while still being at school.

"Sir, could you please put down your weapon. I wouldn't want to fight you right now. I have other things to take care of."

"Whoa, wait... My dad set up this school?"

Luthier's eyes widened, and he blinked a couple times, speechless, while the thought processed.

"Actually, honestly, I'm not too surprised. I wouldn't imagine there was much he couldn't do. In any case, I'm not antagonizing him, I'm wondering what he's up to."

He shot Vetiis a glare.

"Jerk."

"That's a detention Luthier, though you probably won't go to it. Will you?"

He looked at Luthier with a look of curiosity. Vetiis had another thought in his head and he began to look wary, as he looked around trapped in his thoughts trying to comprehend what he just read in that big black book. He needed to find a way out of the school, without anyone knowing. Then he snapped back to reality.

"Oh, and yes. Your father did set up this school along with most of his friends. As the Headmaster, I'm sure he'll tell you all about it."

Gilrim narrowed his eyes at the pair before him.

"Ye wan' me ta drop mah axe? Nah a bloodae chance in 'ell lad."

He then began to scratch his chin. They had mentioned powers.

"Ye need these powers ta be useful eh? Good thing ah dwarf bae 'ard as nails. Dinnae need no damn power. Someone best bae explainin' wot the bloodae 'ell bae goin on here!"

With this last exclamation Gilrim slammed the shaft of his axe into the floor in frustration, a small crack spreading across the floor as he did.

His eye tweaked a bit as the large oaf cracked his floor. He then took a deep breath and then put down his pointing stick and looked down at the new comer.

"Regardless of how hard you are, people's physiology on this planet are much different then yours and being tough as 'nails' isn't going to get you to far. Some parts of this country you need a mask, to survive or the gases of the land will kill any normal being within an hour. Again, Sir, you have not the slightest idea of what is going on here. If you want me to show you what I mean, please try to attack me if you wish."

He glared at the Dwarf, and now he was beginning to get tired of his attitude and his lack of understanding.