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25
“So let me get this straight,” I say. “Green equals newbie. And newbie equals me, and probably nobody else. Which means, by wearing this hideous sweatshirt, I basically have a Caution: Student Driver sign stuck to my back.”
“It’s nothing like that,” Braxton says, but his voice, along with his energy, is starting to fade.
“Then exactly what is it? Has Arthur divided us into factions? Is this some sort of weirdLord of the Fliesscenario, where the different colors battle for dominance?”
“Do you have an actual question?” Braxton says.
“Oh, I have loads of questions.” I tap a finger against the strange image stamped on the front of the sweatshirt and the bag. “For starters—what’s this?”
Braxton’s face softens, as though I’ve thrown him a softball and he can let his guard down. “It’s the symbol for the academy.”
I stare back with dead eyes. He’s lucky I didn’t roll them. Does he really think I couldn’t figure that out on my own?
“It’s also the alchemical symbol for antimony. Lupus Metallorum—the wolf of the metals. It’s a corrosive or biting agent that unites with all the known metals, except gold, in which it serves to purify.”
“Okaaay…” I drag out the word. “What the hell does that have to do with the academy, or anything else, while we’re at it?”
“The Gray Wolf is the penultimate stage in the making of the philosopher’s stone.”
“The philosopher’s stone.” The statement hanging heavy between us. “So…this is a school for alchemy?”
“In a way…” Braxton leaves the statement unfinished and reaches for his coffee again.
“And which version of alchemy?” I ask. “Making lead into gold, the search for eternal life, or spiritual enlightenment? I mean, what exactly are we studying here?” My voice pitches unfortunately high.
Even though I sensed there was something very odd about this place, this has taken a turn I didn’t expect.
“You’re getting worked up over nothing,” he says. “It’s just a symbol—a metaphor—for the kind of personal transformation Arthur’s students experience here.” Braxton gestures toward the bag. “You’ll find today’s program inside. Though I’m afraid you’re getting such a late start, most of it no longer applies. Still, you’ll get some idea of what to expect.”
I pull out the schedule, along with a green notebook that also features that strange alchemical symbol. For a place so off the grid, they’re surprisingly big on branding.
Printed on a creamy, high-quality card stock with the Gray Wolf emblem embossed at the top, my name is printed below in a fancy black font:
Natasha Antoinette Clarke
Beneath that is a day of events so strange, I skim through it twice and it still doesn’t make sense.
07:00 – 8:50: Breakfast in the Spring Room
09:00 – 09:15: Orientation
09:20 – 10:00: Tour of the academy
Even though it’s way past the appointed hour, I hope the tour is still on, since, from what I saw of this place last night, I’ll never find my way around on my own.
But here’s where things take a turn:
10:05 – 11:00: Aptitude Test- Procurement
11:05 – 12:00: Aptitude Test- Equestrian
12:05 – 13:00: Lunch in the Spring Room
13:05 – 14:00: Aptitude Test- Swordcraft/Survival skills
14:05 – 15:00: Aptitude Test- Languages/Cultural norms
