Chapter 7

A split second after she left the room, Matron Splitsplat returned.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, your friend Sapphire has been assigned to the Ring of Falcon and is currently residing in the Tower. Each house has its own species of mascots. Your mascots will accompany you on your quest. Look at the pile of brochures on the table for further details. You two girls will be sharing a room, while Darren will be sharing with Dave. You will be responsible for the cleanliness and deco of the room.”

With that parting repartee, Matron Splitsplat marched out of the room.

“Huh? What quest?” asked a puzzled Azure.

“Who’s Dave? Will he like my War Zone toys?” asked an increasingly worried Darren.

“Well, we’ll find out sooner or later. Lets go check out those brochures.” Said Amber.

Amber picked up the stack of brochures with the title “A GUIDE TO LOTAHOLES ACADEMY” and started reading.

Mascots
Ring of Merlin: Shieldbubble – Shieldbubbles come in a variety of colours. The colour they are when conjured reflects on the creator’s personality. If the owner experiences a major personality twist and changes in nature, the colour of the Shieldbubble will also change accordingly. They are often friendly, but can become a dangerous opponent if its owner is faced with danger as they can assist in casting spells and hexes.
Matron: Bloodie Splitsplat

Ring of Vulture: Pile-o-bones – pile-o-bones come in 4 colours: grey, black, white and light blue. They are in the shape of the skeletons of various animals, and can use any bone from their bodies as swords or boomerangs. Some of the smaller bones are also used as toothpicks when out in the wilderness away from civilization.
Matron: Beady Mac Ice

Ring of Eagle: Harlin – Harlins are miniature guardian angels. They are white in colour, the only difference between them being the colour of their hair. Their abilities include sharp eyesight, good sense of direction, healing minor cuts and stunning victims for 10 seconds.
Matron: Goldie von Clawwe

Ring of Falcon: Darcmyste – Darcmystes are tiny figures shrouded in darkness and mystery. When seen, they are generally wearing dark coloured cloaks covering their body. No one knows their true identities and looks for certain except their owners. They can create and clear fog, proving their worth in hazy surroundings. They can also shield their owners from sight for a period of 10 seconds.
Matron: Misty de Haste

#all students must get their books, badges, name tag and ring symbol from their respective matrons.
~The End~

Underneath the brochures were 3 parcels, one addressed to each of them. Amber immediately ripped open her parcel, noticing that the others did so too. Inside was a badge made in the shape of the merlin, the namesake bird of their Ring, name tags, books, a badge in the shape of a silver star and a note.
The note read “Lessons start tomorrow at 9 sharp, you are required to gather at the study hall after breakfast. Breakfast starts at 7.30 in the dining hall. One of your peers will guide you to the study hall after breakfast.”

Darren stifled a yawn and said: “Well, I guess its time to meet Dave, I hope he’s nice. Why don’t we meet here again at 720 tomorrow morning?”

“Fine by me,” chorused the two girls.

“G’night”

“Good night”

Chapter 6

With wobbling steps, they followed Lady Radeyes down the corridor leading to the headmasters’ office. All too soon, they arrived at a door with a shiny gold plaque reading: Headmasters.

“Do you think there are two of them?” whispered Sapphire.

“You will remain silent outside while I inform the headmasters of your arrival,” said Lady Radeyes, all the while glaring at Sapphire with her piercing red eyes.

They stood in a straight line, discussing all the strange things that they had seen that day in a whisper, making a futile attempt at being quiet. Suddenly, Lady Radeyes was at their sides once more, saying “Amber, the heads would like to see you first.”

Amber nervously crossed the stretch of brightly polished floor leading into the office, knocked softly, and entered. Once inside, she stopped walking abruptly and her mouth dropped open, literally, for on the chair sat a genuine, two-headed person drinking ribena. Or was it blood? Anything was possible, considering his four pointed canine teeth. Suddenly, he took out a Gummy Worm… Wait a minute, was that a piece of dried meat?!?! And began eating it.

“Aah… Ms. Glassfire I presume? You must forgive my eating habits, I find it hard to control my hunger sometimes. Now, would you kindly sign your name here?” said the two heads simultaneously.

Amber took the quill nervously. “but… but… where’s the ink?”

“Nevermind… just write your name in the student record book. The ink is in the bowl.”
Amber dipped the tip of her quill into the bowl of rusty brown ink and began to write. The moment the quill touched the page, a piercing pain shot through her arm. It felt as though a hundred knives were slicing through her arm, making mincemeat of it. Droplets of blood appeared on her wrist, like dew on the leaves after a storm. An image of the meat pie she had just eaten rose unbidden into her mind, and she had to stifle a scream.

“Is there any problem, Ms. Glassfire?” enquired the headmasters, Lord Twinheads.

“N-no.” Amber resumed writing, gritting her teeth in an effort to ignore the pain. As soon as the letters of her name were formed in the book, the blood on her wrist mysteriously vanished, reappearing gleaming fresh on the pages of the book. Amber glanced at the names of other students written before her, now already faded a dark brown, and shuddered.

“Thank you, Ms. Glassfire. You can go now.”

Having been dismissed, Amber bowed and retreated to the common room through another door. Before long, the Darren and Azure joined her. They recounted similar stories about the blood. However, they were distracted by the dulcet tones of Matron Splitsplat’s voice as she entered the room.

“Hiya, new students! Welcome to the Tower of Merlin. Did you know that there are four different towers, each housing a different ring. We are called the Ring of Merlin, and you have the honour of joining us. The other Towers and Rings are called Vulture, Eagle and Falcon. I proudly announce that I, Matron Bloodie Splitsplat, am the matron of Tower of Merlin and the Guardian of the Ring of Merlin.
Puffing out her chest proudly, Matron Splitsplat left the room.