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"Alright, I see. Only so much you can tell me before it'll change my trajectory," Aesir said, resigning to the fact they were not going to get much information on it.
"Do I have to pay for my accommodations here? I have some money, but not very much."
Their eyes swept across the room. Already much nicer than any inn they stayed at. If they had to pay, it was going to be expensive.
Vea raised their eyebrows faintly. "You don't have to pay for anything here, Aesir." they replied. "Not the bedroom, or the food. Or any necessities that you might need." their gaze swept over Aesir again, taking them in.
"Oh, wow- uh-um- okay," Aesir murmured, a bit surprised.
They let out a relieved sigh. There was no way they could have afforded it.
Aesir tossed their bag at the foot of their bed. It was a rugged backpack that had definitely seen better days, and it contained all that they owned.
"I will be on my way. If you need anything, do let me know. Whether that be clothing, or anything else." they said. They turned, and left the room, leaving Aesir alone. Their roommate should arrive sooner or later, but he wasn't there quite yet.
"Thank you, I will," Aesir replied. They would definitely take up the offer for clothes later. All they really had was what was on their back right now.
They sat down on the bed to wait for their roommate to return, afraid to really touch anything in the room before calling it home. Aesir glanced over the bookshelf, trying to read titles and see if they could figure out a little more about their roommate at a glance.
The books seemed to be an assortment of schoolbooks and…story books? Along with a few collections of old, fulfilled prophecies. On the bottom shelf was a small collection of notebooks that had clearly been well-used; likely it was preferred that Aesir stay out of those, they were probably personal.
It didn't take too long before Mazen came in, gaze landing on Aesir almost as soon as he entered the room. "Ah. You must be my new roommate, Aesir." he set his bag down on his bed, clearing their throat and holding out their hand to shake Aesir's, giving the other person a friendly smile. "My name is Mazen Raffield, I'm the seventh son of a seventh son, and I've been here for almost two years."
Aesir's gaze shifted away from Mazen as he came in. They gave a nod of acknowledgement.
"I'm Aesir. Good to meet you," they replied, carefully reaching out to shake the other’s hand.
Aesir's grip was very slight and hesitant, which was pretty reflective of how they still felt about everything here. They felt like their chipped nail polish, their tattoos, their rugged appearance, all made them stand out even more. They found themself wondering if they looked dirty or at least mostly presentable.
Maze's warm brown skin was clean and they had clearly been washing regularly, and their hair was shiny and healthy. His grip was firm, without being tight or painful, and he released Aesir after only a moment. "Good to meet you too. I'm supposed to show you around, I think. I was told we would have almost the same schedule, for now." they wore a button-up shirt tucked into a loose black skirt, a bright, emerald toned vest over the shirt.
Aesir found themself partially hiding behind the shadow of their cloak, way more self-conscious about how they looked than they ever really had been before.
"Alright, I appreciate you showing me around. If left to my own devices, I'd definitely get lost here."
They tried to be friendly, but they felt like their concern over the new situation clouded their ability to do so.
Maze nodded a little bit. "Alright. You can call me Maze, by the way. I would prefer he/they." they opened up their bag, pulling out some papers and a notebook and setting them on his desk. "Now then. I'll show you around for a bit before dinner. Sound good?"
"Alright, I'll remember that," Aesir confirmed, "I use they/them."
They shifted a bit.
"And yeah, that works for me. It's not like I have any other plans at all- well I did, but they're miles and miles away. They really had to drag me here. I fought back, probably harder than I should have."
Maze smiled softly. "Alright, I'll remember that." he replied. "And yeah. Come on, then." at Aesir's words, they raised their eyebrows very slightly. "Why? It's a prophecy. You're destined to fulfill it practically no matter what you do."
"You think I believed them when they told me I was the subject of some prophecy?" Aesir asked, tilting their head, "Clearly you've never had to watch your back for traps."
They followed Maze out of the room.
"Did they tell you anything about me aside from the whole prophecy thing?"
Maze shrugged, leading Aesir out of the room and closing the door behind the both of them. "Nah, not really. Why?" he asked, tucking a bit of hair behind his ears as they considered where to take Aesir first.
"I was just curious, is all," Aesir half-lied, "I'd rather you get to know me yourself rather than learning through some rumors or prophecy or whatever."
They glanced down at their feet. Maybe they could shirk the whole thief reputation.
Maze nodded a bit. "Alright. Well. I'll take you back to the entrance hall first; it's the easiest place to get to no matter where you are, so if you get lost, you head back there." he led Aesir down the hallway.
"Right," Aesir replied, "That's where we came in. I remember how to get there. But it's a good place to start."
They followed Maze, taking in every doorway, every little turn in the halls. Aesir was always good at directions and navigating even the most intricate of buildings; they always looked for at least three different ways out and liked to make sure they could leave if things ever went bad.
Maze led him back to the entrance hall; they were up in the second floor balcony area, looking down at the entrance door. "So, most of the hallways in the building eventually lead back here; different areas were built at different times, but the entrance hall and the east wing are the oldest areas. Though the, ah, east wing is mostly off-limits. It was burned in a fire about 15 years ago, and there are still portions of it that are unsafe for students to be in."
"Noted," Aesir said, turning their attention from the entryway and in the direction of the east wing. "Do you think they'll ever rebuild it?"
They kept looking, out across the many halls behind them. Aesir barely remembered which one they came from, and that was rare.
"It has been. Mostly. It's just that…" Maze trailed off, brows pulling together for a moment. "It's just off-limits. There's magical, ah…I don't know what it's called."
"Barriers or wards or something?" Aesir guessed, "In other words, stuff I'm not interested in messing with or approaching at all. Magic gives me the creeps- just a little. I've studied magic. Rather, I've studied about it. Not something I want to mess with if I can help it."
They shrugged.
"Promise you don't have to worry about me going over there, especially if there's weird magic shit going on."
"Not wards. Well, some of them are. But the fire wasn't entirely natural, and there is some magic…corruption, I suppose is the best word. So yes. Don't go there unless a Sentinel is with you." Maze said, looking over at them.
Aesir winced a bit. Definitely never going over there.
"…Accidentally?" they asked, "I don't think I want to visit, even with a Sentinel. I'll stick to these few halls, the dormitory, dining hall. You know how it is."
They followed after Maze a little further.
"Accidentally." Maze confirmed, and led Aesir down a hallway, down a flight of stairs, and opened a door. "Here's the library. All the books you'll need for your classes will be availible here for you to use."
Aesir let out a little gasp. They had spent a lot of time snooping around libraries and reading books. Seeing all of this knowledge in one place made their heart do a little flutter. Even better that all class materials would be right at their fingertips, too.
"Well, I know where I'm going to be spending most of my time," they joked, "This is probably nicer than most of the libraries I've been in. The lighting in here is gorgeous, and there are so many little nooks and crannies to curl up in and read. Is it open 24/7, or do they lock it off after a certain hour?"