More Forms, Yay

Alessandra grabbed another sheet off of the stack to her right and placed it in front of her. "Alright, these ones start getting a bit more personal. Eye color?"

"Blue," Fate replied. When she didn't write that down, he asked, "Something wrong?"

"Your eyes are… how do I say this? 'Unique.' I don't think 'blue' will suffice here."

"What are the options?"

"None that would fit yours. But that's why they added the blank space underneath. Eyes like yours are a rare occurrence, but not one we haven't dealt with before. Describe them to me and I'll write it down."

"Um…. Blue pupils, with black where the white should be?"

"Okay. Hair color?"

"Black."

"Height?"

"Never had to measure it before."

"Alright, hand on this please." She brought out another, different-colored orb, this one filled with milky fog, and Fate placed his hand on it.

A jolt traveled down his arm, up his neck, bounced off the top of his skull, raced down to the soles of his feet, then exited back through his arm. He shook himself, the experience mildly uncomfortable, and the orb lost its foggy interior, revealing the numbers six and one.

Alessandra nodded. "Six foot one."

"Do you have a ball for every question on there?"

"No, don't be ridiculous. The obvious ones like hair and eye color don't have one."

"So you have one for *almost* every question."

"Just about, yes. What's your Mage Reach at?"

"I don't know. I haven't gotten a chance to test it yet. Orb?"

"Orb." Another orb later, this one a toned-down version of the pain-pleasure mix of Awakening that lasted for eight seconds, and he learned he had a Mage Reach strength of seven hundred pounds, classifying it as Mage Grasp, and a Mana pool capable of sustaining his Reach for eight seconds.

"Is that good or bad?" He asked.

"The strength is above average, which is four hundred pounds as an Apprentice. Your Mana pool is two seconds shorter than the average, though. Overall, I'd say you're fine. Now, onto the next question…"

Even though only five seconds passed in the world around them, both of them were there at that table for over five hours within the time trinket's bubble. By the end of it all, Fate was exhausted from and bewildered by the barrage of questions.

The multitude of questions included: measurements for his robes (which would be provided free of charge, something he was immensely happy about), which dorm room he would live in for the next four years, which classes he would take, and random things like what he had for breakfast that morning and when the last time he sneezed was.

As he stood, ready to jump into his newly-assigned bed, Alessandra stopped him with a raised hand. "Hold on," she said. Fate turned to her, struggling not to drop to the floor with his cramped and sleeping legs. "Illiteracy will be a big problem if you plan to study here."

"Illiteracy?" he asked dumbly. He'd never heard of the word. Then again, he supposed his knowledge of the Ziob language was as shallow as a puddle left after the rain.

"It means you can't read," she explained patiently. "I'd be happy to teach you. I have extra free time now that one of my classes is shelved." She said the last part with a trace of bitterness.

"I'd love to learn how to read," Fate said. "I've heard books are one of the greatest sources of knowledge one can use."

"There's truth to that. I can tell you're tired, so I'll find you tomorrow and we can discuss it then. Besides, we've run out of time. I need to help the next student," she told him, checking the time with a pocket watch she pulled a sleeve.

Fate nodded and stood, the time trinket winding down as he made his exit. Another student slipped into his place, and Fate used the map of the school grounds he was given to find his way to his room.

A small grey disc, the object projected a hologram above it that showed him where he was in the school, where everything else was, and even had a handy feature to chart a path to his destination, a staple in a school that relied heavily on Space-expanding enchantments, as he would learn soon enough.

Using this nifty device, Fate went through the enormous Royal Mage Academy with minimal difficulty, arriving at his assigned dorm twelve minutes after leaving the admission hall. He threw open the door, shuffling in and closing the door behind him as he dropped onto the bed in the corner. Rolling onto his side, he took in the details of the room he would call home for the next four years.

It held only two rooms: the room he was in now and a bathroom in the front left corner. There were no genuine windows, although there was a digital screen in the center of the back wall that simulated the outside day cycle. It even had a display in the top left corner listing the temperature, the weather, and the time.

There was a couch against the wall opposite the bed he was in; an empty eight-foot-tall bookshelf to hold his textbooks and possessions next to the bed; and in the front right corner was a kitchen, complete with a stove, cabinets, a fridge/freezer combo, and racks to dry herbs on.

The bathroom door was open, revealing the shower, sink, and toilet within. Next to that door was another, which Fate opened after his legs were rested to find a closet, already stocked with five sets of self-cleaning, flame-retardant, tear-resistant mage robes.

All in all, he could get used to this. Just the bed, completely bug-free and raised more than a foot off the ground, was the nicest thing he had ever been able to use, not to mention the robes and kitchen.

He felt like someone in one of those "rags to riches" stories, a feeling that evoked both excitement and apprehension. Ignoring those feelings, he slumped back into bed and drifted off to sleep, heedless of the fact that it was only four in the afternoon.