The students are gathered in the Headmaster's wood-paneled library, a sanctuary filled with ancient texts, exotic artifacts, and the smell of old wood and leather.

A few students sit on couches, a few in armchairs by the fireplace, and a few lean against the enormous reading table sitting in the middle of the room. Predictably, the students are grouped together, self-organized, by race.

Farid, running a few minutes late, spills into the room. He spots Sebastian sitting in an armchair at the far end of Headmaster Pierce's office, but he takes a chance and heads for the much closer Shifter couch instead.

Patrick, Ava, and Jake are sitting on the large tufted couch, and Jake's backpack takes up the last empty seat next to him.

Farid approaches. "Well, it looks like I slept through my alarm." He laughs awkwardly as the Shifter kids just stare at him. Then he nods towards Jake. "Is that seat taken?"

Jake looks up at Farid, then over at his backpack, then back to Farid. His eyes narrow, and he doesn't move a muscle.

Farid blows out a slow breath. Okay, then, message received. It looks like attending this school with Shifters and Enchanteds was going to be far more fun than he ever could've imagined.

Turning away from the Shifter kids, he rolls his eyes and shakes his head, trying not to take Jake's gesture too personally. Instead, he moves on, ending up on the other side of the room, where he takes a seat on the arm of the armchair his brother's currently occupying.

Sitting behind the desk at the front of the room is Headmaster Pierce. He's a tall, thin man--a senior mage--with a mop of unruly black hair, a wise but very stern face, and soft, playful eyes. Wearing a starched white shirt, a wool vest and trousers, and a bow tie that looked like it had been made over a century ago, he was the very picture of a proper academy headmaster.

Seeing that everyone's finally arrived, Headmaster Pierce stands.

"Welcome... welcome to the Otherworlder Integrated Academy." Smiling, he moves out from behind his desk and continues. "I hope that you've all settled in well. I have two quick announcements before we begin. First, we'll be having a formal meet-and-greet with the entire staff and faculty tonight in the dining hall at 6:00 p.m." He bends his head and peers out over his glasses. "Don't be late. Second, our final student will be arriving some time tonight, which means classes begin tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. sharp."

Now..." he pauses and steeples his fingers before him, "as to why we've brought you here." As many of you know, there have been a series of incidents involving Otherworlders from every community who have mysteriously disappeared. News of these disappearances has been spreading quickly throughout the realm. But what most of you don't know—what has not yet been made public—is that many of the missing bodies have actually been found, but they have been found mangled, eviscerated, and utterly destroyed."

Gasps of horror ripple through the room. Jake, in particular, seems upset by this revelation.

Acknowledging their shock, the Headmaster holds up his hands and continues. "I know it's awful, horrid in fact. But please stay calm." He takes a deep breath and then continues. "Over 1000 years ago, there was a demon race called The Fury that plagued our land," he states. "They were a constant torment to our people until one day they were lured up into the Great Arctic by a band of very brave warriors, made up of Vampyr, Enchanted, and Shapeshifter alike. Once there, the demon horde was imprisoned within the glaciers by Zandar, the Great Wizard of the North."

Clasping his hands behind his back, he begins to pace.

"It is due to the actions of these brave souls that all of our people have been able to survive, and sometimes thrive, on this great Earth. Unfortunately, times have changed. The planet is growing warmer, and the glaciers are melting fast. The demons are being freed from their icy prison at an alarming rate. "And we believe it's these demons who are behind the attacks," he reveals.

"Now, the High Council has come to the conclusion that, given the circumstances, it's time to put aside our grievances born from the Shadow Wars and band together to fight off this much greater threat."

Patrick leans forward, his elbows on his knees. "Excuse me, did you say grievances?" he asks, his body radiating with disbelief and anger. "If I'm not mistaken, it's because of the Shadow Wars that Vampyrs had Shifters enslaved and made Enchanteds their servants for over one hundred years. That's not a grievance, that's a frickin' war crime!"

"And here we go," Sebastian mutters from the other side of the room as he slumps down into the armchair. "Here's where we get the whole 'My people are so tortured' routine."

Patrick's head whips around, his eyes flashing with anger. "What did you say?" he asks Sebastian.

"I said," Sebastian quips. "This is the part where you cry 'Woe is me...' all because of something that happened over a century ago," he replies in a slow and taunting tone.

Quick as lightning, Patrick springs up from the couch and lunges at Sebastian. Jake and Farid instinctively spring up just as quickly and get in between the two before Patrick's fist collides with Sebastian's face.

"That's enough, Patrick!" Headmaster Pierce booms as he points to the couch. "Sit down! I will not tolerate this kind of behavior, do you understand me?"

Patrick gives Sebastian a "you better watch your back" glare as Jake pats his chest and calmly eases him back down onto the couch.

After a deep breath, Headmaster Pierce continues. "Look, all I ask is that you listen to what I have to say, and then if you don't think you can do what we're asking you to do, you're free to leave."

He begins to pace again. "For years, we have tried to convince our brethren to train together in preparation for the danger we knew was coming our way. Each attempt, made over the past 50 years, has failed. Finally, we've realized our mistake. We were asking adults to do something they simply couldn't do—put aside their resentment and work together as one. So now we have a new plan. You..." he points at all of them. "We're turning to you, the younger generation, in the hopes that you can transcend the pain of your forefathers and do what we simply couldn't manage."

"So you want us to fight your war for you?" Farid asks.

"No, Farid, that's not what I'm saying at all." Headmaster Pierce hesitates a moment as he tries to think of another way to position the situation. "Look," he says, "I realize this is a lot to ask of you all, and I know that it can feel like an overwhelming task. But what you need to understand is that this is not my war, or your war, or his war..." Pierce points at Patrick, then he points at Inez, "...or her war. This is our war."

He lets out a long sigh as the kids stare back at him, trying to process everything he's telling them.

"The threat the demon horde presents has no preferences or prejudices which puts us all in danger," he continues. "And they will not stop until they devour us, destroy us, take everything from us that makes us special. Mark my words," he says gravely as he leans back against his desk, "they will not stop until we're wiped from the face of the earth."

Pierce stares out the window for a moment, then turns back and pins his gaze upon the group. "We finally have a chance to stop them. We're certain we can teach you the necessary skills to defend yourself and your communities as well as help us lure the demons back into a trap that will imprison them for another 1000 years."

The room is silent as Headmaster Pierce's words hang in the air. The kids look at each other, and it's clear no one's quite sure what to say next.

Headmaster Pierce clears his throat. "I'm not going to try and convince you that somehow this is your destiny," he continues. "You have all been chosen for very specific reasons and because we believe you're up to this task. But I would never ask you to put yourselves in danger if you didn't believe in our cause. So please, take this time during your training to ask yourselves the tough questions about what we're trying to accomplish. If, after the training, you choose not to join us, you can go home, and your departure will not be held against you in any way whatsoever."

As Headmaster Pierce's words sink in, and the gravity of what the students are being asked to do hits them, Jake quietly stands.

"I don't need time, Headmaster Pierce. I'm in." he announces.

"Thank you, Jake." Headmaster Pierce says with a sad smile. "I know you have your reasons for joining us, but it's still very important that everyone take some time, given what we're asking of you, and make certain this is really something you want to do."

***

Murmurs ripple through the group as the students pour out of Headmaster Pierce's office into the hallway.

Sebastian reaches out and pulls Farid aside. As the other students pass them by, he says, "Hey, look, I just wanted to let you know that I had no clue this is what the academy was all about. I honestly didn't see any of this coming."

"Yeah, pretty heavy stuff, huh?" Farid says while casually leaning back against the wall.

Sebastian leans back as well. "Heavy doesn't even begin to describe it," he says as he rolls his eyes and laughs. "These people are nuts if they think that a bunch of kids can go out there and defeat a demon horde. But aside from that, what I really wanted to say was, I'm sorry you got dragged into all of this. You're only here because of me, and I feel shitty about it."

Farid, who's been grappling with his frustrations of constantly having to bear the consequences of Sebastian's actions, finally decides to let it go. "It's okay." He says quietly. "It is what it is for now."

"I know. I have to stick around, at least for a little while," Sebastian adds, "to keep Father off my back. But you, you can ditch this place any time, head out for Edinia if you want, just as you'd planned. I'll find a way to cover for you."

Farid considers it a moment. Gods it's so tempting, but then... "Nah," he interjects. "Father would have the Paladin Guard on me so fast, I'd never make it."

"Ah, yes, the fate of a Second Son--sworn to the First Son, for now and always. Kinda sucks, doesn't it?" Sebastian says with a dismissive laughter.

Farid looks over at Sebastian.

"Yeah, it kinda does." he responds, then suddenly, he smiles. In a blur of motion, he gets Sebastian into a headlock and furiously noogies his unruly, sandy brown hair. "It looks like I'm stuck with your sorry ass for a while," he quips.

Sebastian pushes Farid up against the wall and throws a few half-hearted punches as he wriggles to break free. "Gods, you're such a shit!" He playfully howls.

They break out into laughter and exchange a quick bro-hug before they begin to head off towards their rooms.

Just as they're rounding the corner, a girl with long, curly brown hair, cafe-au-lait skin, and stunning hazel eyes appears before them.

Farid and Sebastian stop dead in their tracks.

After a beat, Farid cracks a wide smile and throws his arms open to welcome her.

"Fiona!" he yells. "What the hell are--"

"Don't you 'Fiona' me!" she growls. "You.... you... you... ugh!" She throws up her hands then mysteriously bends over.

Still happy to see her, Farid takes a few steps closer, his smile fading when he suddenly has to duck as a size-six tennis shoe whizzes past his head.