Chapter 21 - The Seven Houses I

Characters!

Cedric Cold: Combat professor at Camelot. Overeats at dinner. Uses a sword as his conduit.

Felix Sutter: Poor boy living in Sacramento, recently found out magic existed. Hard worker, knows the price of everything.

Lance Thalorien: Grandson of the headmaster. “Just wait until my grandfather hears about this!”

Erik Morsin: Heir to the Duchy of the Emerald Isle. Just wants to play his violin.

Alexandria Renard: Wants to be the next Morgana Le Fay. Can’t speak louder than a whisper. 

Vivian Merryweather: An expert on all things color, fashion, and of the heart. Gets seasick easily.

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 With ruin at every gate,
Even pride yielded to survival.
The lords of Logres,
The witches of the far north,
The grey bankers and blood-bound families -
All came to the table.
Even Bjorn.

Some whispered that letting Logres fall might summon Arthur,
King of myth and return.
Others chose the path of cold diplomacy.

The Saga of Bjorn, Verse 52

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He could tell the moment his foot stepped past the gate, the moment he entered the wards. It was like the air was shimmering, a cross between a mirage and a sparkle of fireflies. The air, the magic, lay thick on his tongue, and tasted faintly of honey. The magic all around him seemed to be purring, embracing him like a warm coat.

“Whoa.” He said to himself as he paused.

“Watch it.” Another boy viciously shoved him from behind, and stomped forward. Felix looked after his back in confusion.

Did he not feel it? Did he not want to take a moment to enjoy? Or was the feeling of raw magic so normal, so mundane to the wixen living here that it was just another thing?

How sad that must be, for magic to be so normal.

“Luggage off to the side here.” Professor Cold said, pointing to an alcove. “You will find it again in your rooms.”

Thalorien was loudly complaining to anyone who would listen. At least one girl was syncopathically hanging off every word.

“Who does that Morsin think he is, anyway?” He pitched his voice to carry. “Stepping up that quickly just isn’t the way things are done here. Proper deference needs to be given to the right sorts of people.”

Ah, one of those. Felix tuned him out, and took a look around at the magic castle.

The hallway was a thing of wonder. Suits of armor were patrolling up and down the hall, clanking along. They weren’t the dull silver of steel, each one was painted or had a tabard. $7,000 on the cheap end, $20,000 on the expensive end. For modern suits, he had no idea what the antique and enchanted modifier did. Felix would rather die than confess how many hours he’d imagined himself wearing one. Tapestries were animated, both in the pictures of thread moving along thread, and all the tapestries themselves moving along the hallway. Felix made a mental note not to use them as guidemarks… and was curious how much they cost. What could be on the first floor east wing one day might be on the third floor north wing the next. Or something like that, he had no idea about the layout or if it even worked like that. The artworks in the stained glass windows were moving, and a brief view outside of them showed sights not at all relating to where the window was pointing.

Weren’t they deep inside anyway? Shouldn’t there be no light?

Eh, it could easily be done with mundane means, nevermind magic. It was just an image.

Glowing lights hung around in the hallway, a mix of green and blue that reminded Felix of the ocean and nature.

The sheer opulence was agonizing. Felix couldn’t tell if he hated it, or was jealous and wanted it for himself. Just… fuck. Each window was probably worth what his mom made in a year. He knew a suit of armor was.

How many years, how many decades, could they live off just this one hall?

Fuck, life was so unfair.

Felix joined the lines, and rolled his bag into the alcove. It vanished, as did his backpack.

“Neat.” He said to Erik.

“Alright you lot.” Professor Cold’s presence easily cowed everyone back into silence. “You’ve had a long day.” 

It took Felix a moment to remember the whole timezone issue. He’d just woken up, and was feeling mostly fresh, if a little sleep deprived. For everyone else, they’d just had a heck of a long day. Yeah, alright.

“There’s a few things left to do. We’re going on a brief tour of Camelot, where I’ll be introducing you to the prospective houses you could join. Then we’ll Sort you lot, eat dinner, and you’ll go to your rooms to start settling in. Orientation is going to last this entire week, and next Monday is the first day of classes. Questions?”

Two hands went into the air, a girl and the same boy that shoved Felix. Professor Cold called on the girl first.

“Hi. State your name and your question, loudly so everyone else can hear you.”

“Su Song. I heard there’s an exam I can attempt for Unicorn house, and otherwise I can’t try?” She said.

“Excellent research.” The professor praised. “Go down that hallway, third door on the right. Be careful counting, one of the doors likes to pretend it’s a wall. I swear they set the test up in there just to make it hard. Try every door if you’re unsure.” He said.

“Thank you.” The girl curtseyed, then took the marked route. Professor Cold called on the boy.

“Thalorien, yeah?” The professor asked.

“Naturally.” The boy’s words were oily. Felix already disliked him, but he sounded posh, in a grating way.

“He couldn’t find his own shoes with two hands and a wand.” Erik muttered next to him. Sora snorted, and Felix was inclined to agree.

“Well? What’s your question?”

The boy glared at the professor, which was about as effective as a kitten staring at a doberman.

“What should we do if we already know which house we want to attend?”

Professor Cold shrugged.

“Well, I’m not your parent, you’re allowed to try and find your own trouble. Might not help you terribly much if you realize you’ve made a mistake, or if the door doesn’t open for you. I will advise you that disdaining educational opportunities is probably the worst mistake you can make.”

Thalorien sniffed.

“I grew up here, this is my home, I know my way around.” He proved the truth of his words a moment later by walking into one of the tapestries that lined the hallway. One of his minions tried to follow him, but ran face-first into the stone wall.

God, that hurt Felix. This was his fucking home!?

Maybe Salem wouldn’t be so overwhelming. Was it too late to transfer? He was a fish out of water here.

Oh god. Oh fuck. If everyone lived in places like this, just how stupidly expensive was everything going to be!? Paracelsus - pardon, Professor Paracelsus now that they were at Camelot - had given him the prices, but what if those were normal, non-inflated prices? They always viciously marked things up near the school.

Felix anticipated a lot of walking in his future, and the road through Camlann and the forest looked long.

Professor Cold did not look impressed.

“Right then. Anyone else want to make bad decisions? Get the Kraken door closed on them forever? No? Excellent, let’s get a move on. Follow me now!” The professor started to walk down the hallway. The first years dutifully followed him. The professor turned around, kept walking backwards, and started talking. No matter the twists, turns, or stairs he needed to take, he flawlessly navigated without looking behind him.

“What stinks?” A student near Felix half-gagged. The boy flushed in shame, and resolved to check first thing if magic could get the smell of heating oil out of his clothes.

“Camelot is divided up into seven houses. Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix, Kirin, Hydra, Thunderbird and Kraken. I’ll let the older students fill you in on the eighth house conspiracies and rumors later. While at Camelot, your house will be your family, and the people you spend most of your time with if you don’t make an effort to form your own covens and hang out with them. Now, I won’t pretend families are perfect. If you feel like you’ve picked wrong, you can get resorted at the start of each year. The resorts and transfer students are getting sorted right now, they don’t get the benefit of the tour I’m giving you.” He said.

They started to climb a staircase, Professor Cold walking backwards the entire time. Felix dropped back to hang out with Vivian and Alexandria. Part of him wanted to ask why he was just hearing about this now, the rest of him was listening to the speech.

“You’re only going to get into Phoenix, Kirin, Hydra, Thunderbird, or Kraken. Both Unicorn and Dragon are invite-only, and only Ms. Song did the research necessary to even attempt Unicorn house. Ah, now here we are at the Phoenix’s Roost.”

Professor Cold opened a pair of double doors into a warm and inviting common room. Reds and golds were everywhere, although Felix had a moment of terrifying vertigo.

All the walls were clear glass. At least, Felix hoped it was clear glass. The entire Roost looked out onto the rest of the castle and Avalon. There were no seams on the windows, nothing to suggest there was actually a stop between the common room and a terrible plunge, except for the fact that there was a ceiling and stairs leading up. A gentle warm breeze blew through the room, and a dozen students were busy moving in. Multiple fireplaces were throughout the common room, chairs around them. A couple were set up for cooking, and a trio of students already had a cauldron on one. One was preparing a roux with flour and butter, one was chopping up ingredients, and a third was consulting a cookbook.

“Fresh tadpoles!” A student exclaimed.

“Why don’t you explain what Phoenix house is about?” Professor Cold asked, then took a drink from his flask. The student brightened up.

“Sure!” He said. “Phoenix is the friendly house. It’s for people who value compassion, empathy, and teamwork to get ahead. Our academic specialty is cursebreaking and ancient runes. This year, we’ve got the runic puzzle room, although I voted for ward practice. We’re the best! Best friends, best parties, and best of all, we actually like each other and want to help each other. We’re starting a late night snack to get to know the new initiates later on already. Anything else I can answer?” A few other students popped their heads in to watch.

“What’s the worst part of Phoenix house?” Erik asked. Felix briefly wondered if Erik had cribbed the question off him from earlier.

“Good question! The stairs. Oh gods, the stairs. It’s not all terrible, we’re in fantastic shape, but thirteen flights of stairs only to climb another four to get to my room?” The boy slapped his legs. “I’ve never been in better shape, and I’m doing the bare minimum.”

“Thank you for your help.” Professor Cold said. “Unfortunately, we have quite a few more stops to make, and I’m sure everyone would like the tadpoles to arrive so we can all have dinner.”

The boy made a shooing motion.

“Get out of here, I’m hungry!” He joked. “I can’t wait to see how many of you join us! Phoenixes forever!”

“Phoenixes forever!” The other students took up the cheer.

Professor Cold left, and the first years obediently followed him. Felix saw Alexandria pull out her wand and focus on it, trying to push magic through it.

“There was an excellent point made about stairs, and we’re going to visit the Thunderbird Spire next.” He said. “The Phoenix Roost, along with most other house common rooms, are open to everyone. You’re welcome and encouraged to join. An interesting point was brought up. Every house has its own special room or chamber attached to the common room, and it’s voted on every year by the members. It’s a unique room that’s anchored to one place by the headmaster, and is part of the reason why Camelot is so well regarded. If you’re unable to get a particular room, don’t worry, it’ll be somewhere in the castle, but I’ll get to the unusual rooms later.”

A pair of laughing students raced by, running on the ceiling of all things.

“Fresh tadpoles!” One of them called out.

“No duh!” The other one shouted. “You’re just trying to distract me while I’m in the lead!”

The two of them tore around a corner, and were off down - up? - the stairs. They kept walking a bit further.

“Here’s the Thunderbird Spire! Please give me a bit of space.”

Professor Cold drew his sword-focus, and blasted a beam of raw magic at a bronze door with the picture of a thunderbird done in electric blue. The door slammed open, and the professor gestured.

“Thunderbird house has some interesting ideas about how to enter their common room.” He explained as the students entered.

The room was done in bronze, with electric blue accents. Instead of looking like they were on top of the world, it was much more clear that they were inside, with generous windows overlooking the view. Lightning crackled far overhead. Instead of staircases leading up, a spiral ramp went around the edges of the room, leading to dozens of doors. The furniture was far less inviting, more solid table and chairs in rows, as opposed to the cozy chaos of Phoenix house.

There were a few students hustling around, but apart from a few curious glances, none of them said hi.

“Thunderbird house.” Professor Cold explained. “The house of power. Political, magical, financial. The power of friendship, the power of blade and wand. There’s some interesting philosophy around it that you’ll be exposed to later on. I believe they elected for Praetorian chambers this year. Any questions?”

Alexandria thrust her hand in the air.

“Yes miss?” The professor asked. “Name and question please?”

“Alexandria Renard.” She hoarsely whispered at the top of her voice. “What’s the dueling situation?”

“Speak up please! I can’t hear you.” The professor said.

Alex looked murderous. Vivian spoke up next to her.

“Vivian Merryweather here! Sorry, that’s as loud as she gets. She asked ‘What’s the dueling situation?’” The girl asked.

“There’s inter-house competition, and enough dueling rooms scattered around to satisfy. Let’s try to keep questions about the houses though, we’ve got a lot of territory to cover and not a lot of time.”

Felix was close enough to hear Alexandria muttering darkly under her breath.

“That was house related, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t limited to one.”

“Let’s move along now.” Professor Cold called out. The students dutifully shuffled along.

“You want to get into Thunderbird house?” Felix asked Alexandria.

“Yes.” She hissed. “Magical power is my goal, and there’s no better house to handle it. I will be a Thunderbird.”

Vivian looked sad.

“Phoenix is so much nicer though.” She said. “Come join me there!”

“We’ll still be friends, no matter where we end up.” Alexandria declared. Vivian cutely pouted.

“You can be the next coming of Morgana La Fey in Phoenix house.” Vivian said. “Bronze and blue are not my colors, I’m absolutely a red and gold girl.”

“You’re going to choose a house based on the colors they have!?” Alexandria hissed incredulously.

“Yeah, why not!?” Vivian retorted.

Felix tuned out the argument between the girls. He had no idea where he wanted to be, but figured that was the whole point of the tour. It was just the color on his tie, right?