1 Night of Tragedy

The moon and stars hid in a gray stone blanket of clouds. The distant roar of thunder rang thru out the valley. The school had stood there over a hundred years and the stone walls of the ancient architecture would stand another hundred. The rain pounded down on the rock paths and brown grass below. The autumn leaves danced in the air while the wind howled between the cold buildings and naked trees. It was not the night to be out and about.

The nightwatch man pulled his black cloak tighter. He cursed under his breath. Sorcerer in training or not, most people would be inside curled up by a warm fire or bundled up in a nice warm bed. It troubled him that these students lacked such common sense (or that the headmaster deemed them so). He passed by the Amber Hall Dorm. The building resembled a king's tomb with golden windows in black stone. Most students had already closed their shudders for the night. The nightwatch man entered the building to "check on" the ones studying late; at least, for a moment he could get out of the cold rain.

He opened the old wooden door. The cast iron hinges squeaked and mice dashed across the orange marble floor. The Amber Crystal torches barely lite the halls and staircases, but did little to touch the chill that hung in the air. As the nightwatch man walked the halls, knocking on the doors where lights still shining under them. As he walked the halls on the top floor, he heard the sound of glass breaking and a once lite door went dark. The night watchman burst thru to find an empty room with rain and wind coming in thru a broken window.

The nightwatch man flew down seven staircases and to the small court yard behind the building. He kneeled by the limp body of a student covered in cuts in a pool of blood. He checked in vein for a pulse before covering the body with his cloak and cradled the dead boy. He whispered a prayer. Then, carried the body back into the building. The Headmaster wouldn't be happy, but even an ophan deserved some respect in death.