A World Of Decree: And The Seven Laws

The mornings always felt slow when the weather dropped to the negatives. The sun shined bright as if it were another day on the beach, but the scorching winds mixed with snow covered sidewalks said otherwise. Everyone was either dressed in coats, boots, or some type of warming utilities to keep them from freezing when walking through opened windows in the hallways. The Academy had a warm breeze emitting from the floors, but it wasn't enough for when the temperatures outside were drastically low.

Today was the last day for midterms and any unfinished work to be turned in before winter recess. Most were happy, but for Cartuja and Atlas, it was a disaster. Their last midterm was with professor El-Grah. A shady man, always having bags under his eyes with a cold heart for excuses and complaints. He was fairly tall, but his legs were quite short compared to his arms, making him look like a goblin of some sorts.

Atlas and Cartuja burst through the front door of Professor El-Grah's classroom, distracting the entire class from their half-completed midterm.

Professor El-Grah reached over to his desk, grabbed two packets, and slowly made his approach towards the two trouble makers. "Take your seats gentlemen, and see me after class." He said in a low, arrogant voice as he handed them the midterms, and strolled back to his desk.

A few classmates laughed, but most were already used to either Cartuja or Atlas being late, so they remained silent and focused on their exam.

After finishing their midterms, most students ran out as fast as they could after handing in their papers, while some just sighed and proceeded on with their day. Cartuja and Atlas were in the back of the short line of students right behind Faibel, who was the first to finish his, making him the most irritated as to why he couldn't just hand his midterm in from the start.

Faibel handed his paper in, waiting patiently for Atlas and Cartuja to do the same.

"Awww, Are you waiting for us too?" Cartuja said in his best attempt of a girl's voice.

"I was asked to stay after as well, moron." Faibel sighed, adjusting his glasses out of embarrassment.

"You three have a message I need to pass on." Professor El-Grah said as he was comfortably adjusting all the papers. "Professor Pride assured me to tell the lot of you to meet him in his office after your midterm. If this was any other day, you two..." He looked at Cartuja and Atlas specifically, "Would be in my office, serving detention for being late. However, winter recess is tomorrow, so I won't trouble you... This time." He gave a gremacing stare.

"Thank you very much professor," Atlas bowed in respect.

"Word." Cartuja shoved his hands in his pockets, and began to walk away.

"Have a good break!" Atlas yelled back to El-Grah as he caught up with Cartuja, who was already halfway out the door.

El-Grah watched them leave the classroom, seeing the empty seats and low volume fill his class once more. "What's your deal Calvin Pride." He muttered to himself, "You and those kids specifically…"

…

Heading through the cold hallways, Atlas zipped up his outer jacket, hoping to block the breeze pouring in through the tiny cracks in the windows. "What do you guys think this is about?"

"I don' know," Cartuja shivered, Prolly somethin' bout another threat. Seems common enough for him nowadays."

"I highly doubt that." Faibel butted in, "He said he had a surprise for us a month ago. This is most likely it."

"Only one way to find out," Atlas turned the doorknob to the office, walking in without a knock. To his surprise, everyone else apparently got the invitation as well, including the well-known strategist by the name of Mooks.

"Thank you for knocking." Calvin greeted them sarcastically. "But at least we're all finally here."

"Oh, sorry about that." Atlas scratched his head with a chuckle, sharing a shy smile with Rina.

Cartuja and Faibel walked in from behind Atlas, immediately leaning on the bookshelves with anticipation of Calvin giving them another half-hour lecture.

"It's about time you three showed up!" Leo howled at them from the back, "We've been waiting for like…" He paused as if trying to answer a question he didn't know the answer to. "15 minutes."

"15 minutes?" Cartuja exaggerated, "Wow, that's crazy."

"Enough please!" Calvin slapped the roof of his desk, dragging the attention back onto him. "There is no need for fighting today. Today is a day of surprises and excitement! I'm sure all of you remember about our Guild's Points right?"

"Nah, I completely forgot." Cartuja yawned.

"Great…" Calvin sighed, making everyone chuckle a bit. "Well, regardless, I put in a request for a little something behind your backs. And today is finally the day to show it." Calvin stood up from his desk, swaying his hand for everyone to follow.

While they were all walking down the halls towards the Guild Headquarters on the opposite end of the Academy, Paris quickly pulled Cartuja to the side, making sure no one else could see, or hear them.

"Aye, an odd time, but I'm always down," Cartuja smirked.

"What? No." Paris gasped, giving Cartuja an evil looking eye. "So Rina is acting normal now… Not that I care, but seeing her over the past month didn't feel right. Did you talk her out of it?"

"Oh that? Nah, I told Atlas to go talk to her."

"Atlas?! What did he say to her?"

"Don't know, I just told him to tell her how he feels."

"Are you two love birds done?" Calvin peaked in form the corner.

"WE WEREN'T DOING ANYTHING!" Paris yelled, blushing and running back to everyone else. Cartuja shrugged, doing the same.

…

With only a few partial detours and unnecessary stops, the group finally arrived at Princewood's Guild Headquarters, where the same woman always greeted the guests. Standing behind the large, crescent-shaped welcome desk, the blonde woman gave her usual greeting to the students, and a more formal greeting to Calvin.

"Professor Pride!" She said in a happy, dazzling voice. "I'm assuming you'd like me to escort these students to their Guild hall?"

"Correct." Calvin said, more excited than everyone behind him.

"Did she just say Guild Hall?" Leo jumped in, excited.

"Shh. You'll spoil the surprise." Calvin whispered.

The woman came around the welcome desk, and prompted everyone to follow her. The lobby mainly had three entrances and exits. The first came from the front, where an elevator would usually escort you in and out of the premises. The second was a back door behind the welcome desk, mainly leading to Guild missions and other utilities that are usually not accessible to students. The last, and final door was located towards the left side of the entire lobby. The door was large, but usually always closed. Atlas and the others sometimes saw upperclassmen enter and exit, but they always had some sort of access to it.

Leading everyone towards the left side of the lobby, the woman grabbed the handle to the large door, and swung it open to the other side. A cobblestone path came into view, followed by perfectly planted trees, bushes, and large house-like structures on both sides of the cobblestone path. Grass was placed perfectly across the ground, making corners and edges pop out from tall the grey stone. The sky was clear, but had another glass dome above it to prevent weather and other unnecessary aggravations to the Guild halls.

"Right this way," She said, taking the first step on the path in front.

Everyone had a look of joy as they felt the hard touch of polished cobble below them, and the glorious view of the Guild Halls on both sides of the path. The Guild Halls were no larger than a story tall, but were quite a sight to see regardless. They had an odd shape, but most were constructed out of finely placed bricks, wood, and other needed material to make them stand out from the rest.

After passing by 10 or so Guild Halls, the woman stopped, and turned to the right. "Here we are." She said delightfully, looking at the magnificent building in front of her.

The Guild Hall was one story, having a circle-like shape with defined corners on each end. Bricks laid the foundation, with melted rock and cement to cover the structure from top to bottom. The roof was pointy, almost like a pyramid with an empty flagpole on top. A large overhang was put over the entrance to block the sunlight, and right above it hung a sign that stretched from left to right across the overhang, reading, "Endless Sun."

Everyone shared a look of amazement, like seeing the first snowfall in the midst of November, or receiving news that everything they thought would go wrong, will be just fine in the end. Leo was the first to dash up ahead, waiting for the nod of approval from Calvin to open the front doors to their Guild. Calvin smirked, nodded and let everyone else follow.

As the doors swung open, a dark, wooden floor greeted their entrance like a red carpet of fame. Two circular tables were placed on either side of the area, with a few wooden chairs to accompany them. A crescent, wooden table was placed towards the far end of the room, almost like the one from the lobby, but a bit smaller. Empty glasses occupied the free space on the shelves behind the table, where cloth and other necessities were placed accordingly.

A large, board-like table was placed dead center of the entire Guild Hall, serving its purpose as more of a planner for discussions on future endeavours.

"This looks like a bar." Cartuja blabbered.

"Oh shut up." Paris nudged him on the shoulder.

Atlas glanced around the interior, seeing his own reflection in the windows, "It feels like a second home."

Calvin grabbed a couple stools, placing them in front of the crescent table, "Grab your seats boys and girls. I have more news you might want to know about."

"What could be better than this!" Leo shouted.

Calvin chuckled to himself, grabbing a pitcher of water, and beginning to pour it into an empty glass. "The Gilded Throne."