Arrival
A slightly aged, hulking man, whose beard and thick hair nearly covered his face, held up an oil lamp and spoke loudly: "Don't worry, youngsters. This school gate doesn't bite."
The enormous gate stood right before them, and the first-years looked up in awe. His name was Hurgie, the gatekeeper and guardian of the forest. He led them into the school. The school resembled a magnificent castle, possessing both an ancient and a mysterious charm. The eyes of the first-years lit up; they hadn't imagined the school could be more beautiful than they'd thought.
"It's gorgeous, isn't it? When I first came in, I nearly tripped staring up at the ceiling. Now hurry up, or the Deputy Headmistress will scold me for you slackers," Hurgie said loudly.
He led the first-years into the Great Hall. The flickering candles immediately drew their attention.
An elderly man with a white beard, seated on the hall's stage, stood up and announced solemnly: "Welcome to a new school year. Welcome, first-years, to the Regort School of Wizards. Here, you will learn spells to become fine wizards. There are a few rules to follow: First, you are forbidden from entering the forbidden forest behind the school; second, no one is allowed into the room behind the mystical classroom; and finally, at the end of each academic year, the school will tally the total points earned by each House throughout the year. Regort is divided into four Houses:
The Four Houses of Regort
1. PHOENIXES
"From the ashes, they are reborn more brilliant."
Core Values: Courage – Resilience – Rebirth – Loyalty.
Vibe: The house of the determined, leading the way in crises.
2. FOXLY
"Swifter than flame, spreading before the wind."
Core Values: Agility – Creativity – Cunning – Freedom.
Vibe: The quick-witted, living by instinct and walking wisely.
3. EAGLIE
"The higher they fly, the clearer the world below becomes."
Core Values: Wisdom – Vision – Discipline – Self-Respect.
Vibe: The house of strategists and scholars, cool but authoritative.
4. SERPENTIS
"Darkness is not scary, only those who don't know how to use it are."
Core Values: Ambition – Power – Cunning – Self-Control.
Vibe: The masters of controlling others and themselves.
And each House has a separate dormitory located in a different area:
Phoenixes Dormitory: Located at the top of the South Tower. The common room has hundreds of floating candles, each a 'memory flame' that lights up when a student does something brave or right. The central Phoenix statue has ruby eyes that sometimes blink if someone lies in the room.
Foxly Dormitory: Located near the forbidden forest, with walls covered in moss and glowing fungi. Always noisy and bustling, a cozy den for adventurous, slightly mischievous students.
Eaglie Dormitory: Located on the high floor of the North Tower. Clean, bright, disciplined, and serious—the place for sharp minds who like to prove themselves.
Serpentis Dormitory: Located in the deepest basement, with dark moss and glowing emeralds on the walls. Quiet and chilling, the atmosphere is of cold, refined deadliness.
"You will be sorted into your House through a small test."
The Regort Sorting Ceremony
On the stage of the Great Hall, a huge silver basin of water suddenly appeared, its surface as smooth as a mirror. As the new students stepped forward, the Headmaster chanted the ancient spell, "Veritas in Aqua" – "Truth in Water."
Each student placed their hand on the water. The moment they touched it, the water began to reflect an image different from the student—their true soul. From this reflection, four totems appeared, each symbolizing a House:
Phoenixes – Courage and Rebirth: A flame flared on the water, revealing a blazing red Phoenix wing. Core Value: "To be consumed only to be reborn stronger."
Foxly – Dexterity and Loyalty: The image of a golden Fox circling the water's edge, its eyes sharp and cunning. Core Value: "Cunning is not deceit."
Eaglie – Wisdom and Perception: The water reflected silver, sweeping wings spread wide, the ripples like wind gliding through. Core Value: "Knowledge is power."
Serpentis – Ambition and Control: The water swirled into the shape of a Serpent, olive-green light mixing with shadow. Core Value: "Control yourself, control the world."
After the reflected object disappeared, a stream of glowing letters floated onto the water, displaying the student's House name. The Regort bell rang three times, and everyone chanted the ancient greeting: "In Aqua Veritas — In the water is the truth."
Deputy Headmistress Annatrist stood up, holding a piece of parchment, and continued for him: "I will call out the name, and that person should come forward."
The Great Hall was flooded with orange-red light from thousands of floating candles. In the center was the Mirroring Pool, its surface seeming to hold fire—whenever someone approached, a wave of light surged up like a breath.
Rissy stepped up first. She placed her hand on the water; the silver streaks in her hair reflected in the firelight, causing the space to still for a beat. A glow ran down her hand, then suddenly flared up like embers caught by the wind. "The flame of steadfastness. Burning slow, but burning forever. Phoenixes." She smiled faintly, her gaze cold yet firm—the look of someone who knew where she belonged.
Juston went next, his blue eyes blazing in the red reflection of the water. He placed his hand down—the fire burst into a swirling vortex. A soft breeze swept past, slightly tossing his hair. "The leader's strength lies not in power, but in passion. Phoenixes." He offered a confident smile, the reflection making his self-satisfied look even brighter.
Neval nearly slipped as he stepped up. He offered a sheepish grin, stooped over, and his hand trembled as he placed it on the water. The fire did not flare immediately—it smoldered for a moment, then suddenly sparked into a warm glow. "Clumsy... but even a small flame is enough to light the way in the dark. Phoenixes." Neval breathed a sigh of relief, his face flushed with delight.
Lena went last, her red hair seeming to blend with the firelight around the hall. She placed her hand down—BOOM! The water exploded with light, causing some students to gasp. "A blazing heart, unafraid of burning the whole world down. Phoenixes." She raised her head, a smirk on her face.
...In the distance...
Detus stood with his arms crossed, leaning against a stone pillar, his lips curving slightly. When his turn came, the light from the water swirled into a silver-violet streak, thin and cold. "The one who controls darkness with darkness itself. Serpentis." He tilted his head, his eyes briefly sweeping over Rissy—like an unspoken promise.
"Eleran!" Annatrist called out. He placed his hand on the water; a soft, bronze light spread like a net of light. "Loyalty and unwavering will. Foxly."
[...]
Celine placed her hand down last. The water gently trembled, the wind sweeping through. A pale blue light flooded the surface, reflecting her calm eyes. "Wisdom lights the way, Eaglie." Everyone applauded, cheers echoing throughout the hall.
The ceremony ends
At the Phoenixes's table
Juston exclaimed excitedly: "I can't believe the four of us are in the same House!"
"Your sorting display was amazing, Lena," Neval told Lena with an admiring look. "Thanks," Lena nodded and smiled.
Sitting nearby, an older student struck up a conversation. "Hello, first-years. I'm Scaffil, the Phoenixes House Prefect. Nice to meet you." Rissy greeted back: "Hello!"
Juston told Scaffil: "You look so handsome!" Scaffil chuckled: "Thank you for the compliment."
After dinner
Scaffil announced loudly: "First-years, follow me to the dormitory!" The whole school was crowded, each House following their Prefect toward their dorms under the gradually rising moonlight.
At the Phoenixes Dormitory
Scaffil instructed the first-years: "This is the common hall. Beyond that door is the sleeping area for the students. The left side is for boys, and the right side is for girls. We've arranged your uniforms neatly next to your beds; you can go check them out."
One student exclaimed softly: "Oh, they look beautiful!"
Inside the Dormitory Room:
There were hundreds of floating candles in the air, each one a "memory flame" of a Phoenixes student, only lighting up when that person performed a brave or righteous deed. In the center was a statue of a Phoenix with spread wings, its crystal feathers reflecting the candlelight, making it look like it was truly breathing. Its eyes were rubies, occasionally blinking if someone told a lie in the room.
The dorm had a balcony facing east, offering a view of the entire academy in the morning. Red phoenix feathers lay on the railing—if anyone possessed true loyalty, the feather would glow when they touched it.
Each night, the ceiling of the room would turn into a starry sky, with a fire phoenix flying in circles in the middle, as if guarding them.
A while later, groups of friends formed in the Phoenixes common room. Rissy was curious about the bond between Lena, Juston, and Neval, as she felt they were closer and understood each other better than normal friends.
"I see you three are very close. Have you been friends since childhood?"
Lena smiled softly: "Our parents were a group of friends just like us, so we've been close since we were little."
Juston asked Rissy back: "What about you? Who was your best friend?"
Rissy pondered for a moment, then spoke with a slightly sad tone:
"I also had a best friend when I was little. A boy with blue eyes... I've forgotten his name."
Neval tilted his head: "Was it a long time ago?"
"Six years ago."
At the Serpentis Dungeon
The air here was cool. A faint green light shone through the stone walls. Rugi stretched out on a chair, poking his wand at the will-o'-the-wisp flying around. Rugi rested his chin on his hand, watching Detus deeply absorbed in his book, his hair covering half his eyes.
"Hey, did you see those new Phoenixes students?"
"Yes," he replied, his voice low, not cold but deep and steady. "There was that red-haired girl who looked pretty fiery. Oh, and the silver-haired girl, she looks innocent but a bit strange."
Detus looked up. "Yeah."
Rugi waved his wand: "What do you mean 'yeah'? You seem to know her?"
He fell silent, looking at the flickering blue flame. "No."
Regurn chimed in: "The little one's name was Rissy, I think."
"Don't tell me you two were friends,"- Rugi started to suspect.
"Of course not! No one would ever play with that 'half-blood' girl."-Detus snapped coldly.
"A Muggles-born wizard. But she's got guts, you know. Dared to stand up to our young master this morning." Rugi mocked the morning incident.
"Shut up! I only let her off to save time getting to know her."
Rugi laughed, apologizing: "Alright, alright, sorry, young master."
"You and your old brother are all the same, always worrying about other people's business," Detus glared at them.
Back at the Phoenixes Dormitory
Lena couldn't help but be curious about Rissy's old friend:
"Hey, can you summarize it a bit?"
Rissy mused for a moment: "We were friends for about five or six months. But he moved away, and we never saw each other again."
Juston frowned: "You still remember him after just a few short months?"
"You wouldn't understand. Back then, no one would play with me, because of my family and this hair. But he was the only one who dared to come near and talk to me. At first, he was cautious and shy when talking to me. But after a month, we became close. When he moved, I gave him a small cat. White fur, black ears, blue eyes. It was cute! It always followed me, but that day, it was willing to climb onto his shoulder. I remember that moment clearly."
Neval tilted his head:
"That sounds sad."
Juston remembered Rissy's earlier comment. "Blue eyes, you say?"
And a name popped into his head that was hard to accept: "Blue eyes, sounds a bit like that Detus guy from this morning, doesn't it?"
Rissy immediately frowned, finding that option quite strange.
"That arrogant name, being friends with someone like me?! He can barely even say my name, how could that be possible!"
Lena gave Juston a light glare:
"You always distort things."
Rissy changed the subject; she didn't want to talk about the name that had mocked her as a 'half-blood' this morning.
"So, wizards like me are called 'Muggles-born wizards' because we were born into a Muggles family, without a wizarding bloodline. What about wizards like you, born into a wizarding family?"
"That's a pretty good question," Neval complimented Rissy's query.
"We're called 'Pure-blood wizards,' people with the bloodline born into a wizarding family."- Lena explained carefully so the silver-eyed girl would understand more.
"So that means... your parents were also wizards?"
"Yes, that's right. They were even excellent wizards in the wizarding world. It's just a shame that their lives were too short."- Juston said with a slightly sad look, seemingly knowing a great deal about it.
"Oh... I'm sorry? I didn't know." Rissy quickly stammered an apology, seeing their expressions drop so quickly.
Juston gave a faint, cold smile:
"It's okay. It's something to be proud of, actually. If you want to know, I can tell you about them."
"Then... I'd like to hear a little."
Hearing that, Neval volunteered to tell the story:
"Can I tell it?"
"Sure." - Juston accepted his friend's naivete. Neval changed his posture.
He cleared his throat slightly to appear more serious:
"The story is, there was a group of wizard friends: Jasso, Jucy, Tigkin, Micheal, and Belliff. They were good wizards who played together. That Christmas, they decided to visit the school and attend the Christmas party after receiving an invitation. Because their children were too young, a kind mother named Jucy and her husband decided to stay behind to watch the children for their friends. Unfortunately, while the whole school was celebrating, a dark witch attacked them for reasons unknown. In the end, they sacrificed themselves in the place where they learned magic, the place that taught them to be talented wizards."
Hearing that, Rissy immediately wondered: "A dark witch?"
"Yes. She was very evil."
The story is not over yet,the call of the older students ended their conversation: "Time for bed, Phoenixes!"
The night fell. The question of darkness was not yet fully answered. The noises lessened... then silence. Perhaps sleep had fallen deep, and dreams were surrounding them.