The Academy for Gifted Children at Ellum was a sprawling complex nestled in tropical wilderness. Unlike the academy in Ildor, which was not too far from the city itself, the Ellum campus was distant from civilization. One would have to journey for an hour by highway to reach it from the nearest settlement. If one lacked a car, a dedicated underground rail system transported people in half the time. The wealthiest folk had been known to fly to school on occasion—helicopters would land on an open field, for there was no dedicated helipad.

Evening was creeping over the campus when Edin, Rowan, and Stefan arrived. The three ambled toward the entrance after getting off at a rail station. There was no way for Edin to peek into the compound from the outside—concrete walls encircled the school, and unlike in Irien, the gates that guarded the academy were composed of solid metal rather than iron rods. The concealment of it all made him more excited for their visit.

Once the three were much nearer to the school, the gates slid into the walls. Edin gasped.

A wide cobblestone lane bordered by lush tropical trees ran from the main gate to a stately main hall, whose architectural style blended classical and modern design. A multi-tiered fountain sprouted at the end of the lane in front of the main hall. Flanking the path were stretches of meticulously mowed lawns and beds of flowers in the school's colors: red, orange, and gold; beyond that, Edin perceived another row of buildings, most a few stories high, their pale concrete standing out from the deep greens of the trees and the flowers' bold hues.

Edin was too stunned to move. Stefan and Rowan had taken a few steps past the gates before they realized their friend had yet to set foot inside, so Rowan beckoned, "Get in!"

The privately tutored guardian moved his legs at last and followed them. His hanging mouth did not close itself until moments later. "Whoa," he breathed, drinking in his surroundings, "this school is huge."

"It's pretty average for an academy actually," Rowan said. "I think Laeten has the biggest one."

"Isn't it Læten?" Stefan jutted in.

"I'm pretty sure it's Laeten."

"No it's Læten. People from Laeten go to the one in Mittir since they're in Asdur."

"Oh, right," Rowan said. He paced more quickly to the right side. "Most of the academic buildings are this way!"

They strolled past the main hall and towards the right side of campus. The buildings they neared sunk into their silhouettes as the sun set behind them. Unlike the buildings in HQ, which had an assortment of styles, every structure appeared to be uniform. They were all mid-rise concrete masses with glass windows, which were closed and had red or gold curtains drawn behind them, and topped with sloped tiled roofs that were as dark as the bark of the nearby trees. Running down along one side of each building would be a set of emergency steps. Aside from their sizes, they were not distinct enough for Edin to distinguish between them. Only the plaques erected in front of each hall helped him to identify which was which. It reminded him of the times they walked through neighborhoods in Irien—there was hardly any variety. At least the surrounding greenery made the area look more vibrant.

"These are where most of the classrooms are," Rowan said, gesturing to the more rectangular buildings. "They're divided into levels. Primary school's in that building"—he pointed at the one nearest them—"secondary school's in that building"—he waved at the building directly behind himself, which was a little smaller than the previous one—"and the college is there"—he gestured at the last building, which was the smallest and furthest away—"right next to the lab and workshop hall, where we spend our last two years."

"And how many years do you spend in the others?"

"Six in primary and four in secondary," Stefan answered Edin. "That's why the primary school has the biggest hall. They also have a rooftop playground but the others don't."

"I'm still salty they finished that after I graduated primary," Rowan whined. "They said they'd finish in a few months but it took them a whole year instead."

"I mean, we still had the main playground. It's way bigger anyway."

"Still, it was so close to my classroom though! I could've just gone upstairs instead of walk all the way there."

"Can we visit it now?" Edin asked.

"Probably not. They lock all the academic buildings after school ends at five, and now it's"—Stefan checked his wristwatch—"five-o-six. I think we can check out the auditorium though."

They walked in the opposite direction. A circular, domed building entered their vision, and it sat squarely in the middle of the school. It did not have any windows—at least, no windows which Edin could see. Teak double doors lined its circumference. Edin counted them—one pair, two pairs, three pairs on one side alone. Why would they need that many doors? The building, though wide, was not that tall; it was only three stories high from the outside. It could not fit that many people such that they needed several entrances. Not too far from it was a sign which read: The Hall of Performing Arts.

"It's way bigger inside than it looks," Rowan told Edin. He pulled the door open and gestured. "After you."

"Thanks."

Edin set foot inside and nearly stepped back in amazement.

The auditorium may have looked modest from the outside, but its interior was as vast and grand as a city's main theater. Motion sensors activated the many lights as soon as the doors opened, from the dashed floor lights that lined the aisles to the cut-glass chandelier which hung from the center of a well-decorated dome. Scarlet cushioned seats filled the auditorium, and from what he could see, Edin supposed there were hundreds on the main floor alone, not counting the boxes on the second floor or the balconies occupying the third, fourth, and fifth floors. The stage, cloaked by curtains, occupied the opposite end of the auditorium, and two separate flights of steps led to its apron from the main floor. To its right was an organ that was covered with a dark cloth.

Rowan chuckled at Edin's awestruck expression. "It's huge, isn't it? You can explore if you want."

"Just don't go backstage," Stefan said. "It can be a bit creepy back there. There're music rooms in the basement by the way!"

Edin floated down the steps, his eyes not once glancing down. From what he gleaned from books and other media, school facilities were not all that special; an academy had no right to have a theater as grand as that of a city. Every detail did not escape him—the golden accents and decorations, the lifelike paintings on the ceiling, how the velvet curtains matched the school banners that were draped from the boxes... and they matched the school's colors too! The only objects that were out of place were the plain exit signs that hung near the doors.

Arden's sole student wandered like a curious child unaware that he was lost, and the academy alumni watched him with amusement as parents would at a playground. Edin climbed up the stairs to the apron, tapped his feet on the floors as if to test their sturdiness, and ran his fingers through every fabric he came across. He disappeared into stairwells, appeared in the balconies, and popped out of boxes. After a while, Stefan checked his wristwatch. "It's five thirty," Stefan said, "let's get going."

"We still have a lot of time," Rowan said. "They don't kick visitors out until curfew."

"But the last train to Irien leaves in two hours."

"Doesn't it leave at eight thirty?"

"I'm pretty sure it's seven thirty, let me check." Stefan pulled his phone out of his pocket. After a few seconds, he made a sharp tilt with his head. "You're right. But even then, curfew starts at six thirty for lower primary students and they might want us out by then. We haven't shown Edin half of campus yet."

"True." Rowan turned to his left side and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Edin! We gotta go!"

Light plops thumped in their direction until the blond guardian reentered their vision. He then followed the two out of the auditorium.

They exited from the other side and made their way eastward. There were only two buildings in that direction, but they appeared to be much larger than the ones on the western side, at least breadth-wise. The hall closer to them appeared more modern than the other ones they had visited so far, mostly because of its many wide windows, some of which spanned from the ceiling to the floor. Through them, Edin recognized racks and rows of gym equipment. A few teenagers who were working out at the time paused to glimpse the three visitors, then returned their attention to whatever exercises they were carrying out.

Rowan jogged towards the main entrance and pulled on the door handle, only to find that it had been locked. "Wait, they lock the gym now too?"

"It should be open," Stefan said, approaching the door. He pulled on the handle of the other door, which turned out to be locked as well. "Huh. Maybe that's a new thing."

"Well that sucks. I used to swim here after class all the time."

Stefan shrugged. "Maybe they just lock it from the outside after school; I saw some people inside."

"D'you think they'd let us in?"

"Doubt it."

Rowan tilted his head, and then said suddenly, "Wait, summon a shield!"

"What for?"

Rowan beamed at him like a sneaky schoolboy. It took Stefan a second before he shook his head at him, saying, "No, we're not carrying him on my shield."

"He'll just peek through the windows—"

"Ro, we can't use our powers outside of classes—"

"But we're not students anymore!"

"I guess, but now they lock the doors earlier than before. Why d'you think they'd be fine with peeking if we can't even get in?"

"They don't have to know."

"They will because they monitor everything here. Besides, it's not all that special anyway. What we really wanna show him is the training hall." Stefan took a stride toward the other gymnasium across them.

And so the three perambulated toward the training hall—officially known as The Gymnasium for Gifted Training—further east, close to the wall that enclosed the campus. It loomed up ahead like a haunted prison, its windowless walls blending into the growing darkness. Edin could not help but feel a chill raise the hairs on his skin. He understood the lack of windows: glass was so easy to shatter, especially by a group of children with no proper control over their abilities. It did not erase the eerie air hovering above the darkened hall. Edin hoped that it was like the auditorium: less than welcoming outwardly, yet dazzling past its doors.

When they got to the main entrance, Rowan curled his hand around the handle and pulled. The door shook in place.

"Aw, what?"

"Try the side doors," Stefan suggested. He paced to one of the smaller doors only to be met with the same response. "Nope."

"I can't believe they locked this too. We should've been here earlier."

"I guess. Maybe it's like the gym where they only lock it from the outside." Stefan looked to the side. "We can still show him the other stuff, though."

They set off northward. A cobblestone path, similar to the one connecting the front gate and the main hall, led from the auditorium to the residential side of the school. It branched three ways further up—the left path led to an expansive playground, where a dozen children were playing; the right path wound between outdoor picnic tables to a dining hall, which appeared longer than three halls put together; and the central path led to two mid-rise dormitories, where it later split into two smaller walkways. Along each path were lanterns set on the ground, and by the time the three had reached the fork in the road, they were fully lit, showering the grounds in radiant gold.

They traipsed down the right path to the dining hall. A man stood at the southern-facing entryway. From his mature face, Edin assumed he was a teacher at the school, but his eyes did not linger on the wrinkles lining his forehead.

It was on the prosthetic arm that hung from his right shoulder.

The man at the entryway caught sight of the three, his toffee-brown eyes twinkling with recognition. "You two!" he hollered. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Got caught up with work, Mr. Al!" Stefan yelled back.

When they were much closer, the alumni greeted their former teacher with handshakes, hugs, and heavy pats on the back—heavy enough that Edin almost worried the two would pop the man's metal limb off by accident. "Anyway," Mr. Al went on, "what brings you boys back?"

"Been a while, so we thought why not," Rowan answered. "Also he's never been to an academy so we wanted to tour him around here."

"Never been to one?" The man turned his attention to Edin, squinting in curiosity. "And who are you?"

"I'm Edin, I..."

"Hang on, Edin?" The teacher scrutinized him further. "I think I've heard of you from somewhere... yes, one of my old colleagues at the Guild told me there was this young man who saved Beor from the shadow raids."

"That's him!" Rowan jumped in. "I was there when it happened! It was unbelievable, like I was so scared we were gonna die and then he came in and then he went into the battlefield and I was scared he was gonna die but then he started blasting fire everywhere and killed all the shadow beasts by himself."

"Must be surreal," the educator remarked, his attention not leaving Edin. Awe pressed a smile onto his aged visage. "Whoever taught you taught you well."

"Arden was a good mentor," Edin said, just before Rowan could chime in on his behalf. "Also, old colleagues at the Guild? Were you—"

"Yes, I was a guardian. Nearly every teacher was at one point. I was a sentinel at Afesta two decades ago when I had a nasty battle with a næretor and lost my arm."

"Oh." Edin's heart sank to his stomach. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. It could've been much worse," he chuckled. "One of the newer teachers came here after losing both legs in battle."

Edin let out a nervous laugh. "It was nice meeting you, sir."

"Was nice meeting you too." He looked back at Rowan and Stefan. "You better not steal another cake while you're showing him around."

"I was a little kid!" Rowan excused himself, raising both arms. "I don't steal anymore, I promise."

"He's been a good boy."

"What Stef said."

The old man shook his head and muttered to himself, "Those two lads."

With a soldierly stride, he stepped aside to grant them entrance into the dining hall.