The Four Kingdoms: Gemini City

Karl was always attentive when conducting the Perl Initiative Admission tests and the best part of it, to him, was that the students had leeway to surprise him. Especially in the creativity test since the tests were designed to have many methods to solve them. The method used could usually give a little insight into the person who used it and sometimes the method used to solve a certain task may not have even been anticipated by the examiner, however this was not one of those times. Both the Von Jaeger siblings had used common methods to solve the problem.

Nicholas had used his Dimensia to strengthen his physical body, allowing him to break the lock, whereas Emilia had used Dimensia to move the mechanisms inside the lock, unlocking it without having to even touch it. That required a certain level of control and understanding which was rarely found in even Growth level students so it was surprising to see it from an 8 year old girl. Nicholas' method was comparatively much simpler, and pretty average for a student in the Perl Initiative, but that didn't mean it wasn't impressive on it's own.

After a brief period of assessing the results, Karl walked back to the siblings who were seated at the table and informed them of the final verdict.

"Congratulations Emilia and Nicholas Von Jaeger, you have both been accepted into the Perl Initiative."

Nicholas jumped up in joy, he was both surprised and excited to be able to be part of something that could help him prove his worth.

"Emilia we did it!" He said as he almost jumped on his sister, being stopped at the last minute by Robert. At this he collected himself but he still couldn't hide the giddiness that shone through in his smile and his bouncing feet.

Emilia smiled at her brother, it was always so heart warming when she saw him react so animatedly to everything. A dark thought about how her sister used to be the same clouded her expression for a second before being wiped away. Only at the end of her life had she realised that her sister was not who she thought she was... and no that betrayal did not make her an expert in spotting fake affections like in so many other novels. This was why she was originally so reluctant to accept her current family. However, her reluctance was softened like the banks of a river over the course of the years.

"Yes, we did." Emilia said, aiming a beautiful smile at Nicholas and then Mr. Silverbach.

"Congratulations once again, I must be going now. I still have some other matters to tend to. Ms. Hathaway here will be your guide for the rest of the day." Mr. Silverbach said as he gestured to a beautiful brunette that was standing by his side. She had her, seemingly, long hair tied up in a bun and a pair of black framed glasses perched on her nose. Her rose-coloured eyes seemed slightly larger due to the magnifying power of the glasses. Emilia had once wondered about the strange hair and eye colours in this world but had originally chalked it up to being a game-world. However, since she found out that it most probably was not just a game world, she decided that she would have to revisit the thought.

"Thank you for your time." Emilia stood up and curtsied, Nicholas hurried to follow and bow "Y-yeah, thank you." he said.

"Please, there's no need to be so formal." Mr. Silverbach hurried to correct. "I shall be taking my leave now." he then bowed at them and left the room, his silver hair shining as he left the room.

"Greetings Lady Emilia and Lord Nicholas, my name is Morgan Hathaway and I will be your guide around the Initiative. There are a few things to inform you about so please have a seat and get comfortable." The two siblings greeted Ms. Hathaway and then took their seats as she had instructed them.

Ms. Hathaway was wearing a casual-work outfit made up of a white button up blouse with a blue tie and black slacks and a long blue coat. It looked comfortable, fashionable and professional. Another observation that Emilia had made about this world was that though it resembled old Europe on Earth, it was not the same. Here clothing was more flexible and ankles were not considered s.e.x.u.a.l. Women could wear pants and sports wear as well and some formal wear was form-fitting but not to the extent that modern Earth designs were.

"The Perl Initiative was started by Hubert Thornwell, a leading figure in Alfenheim's history. He also created the scholarship system to support students who are not as financially-able. The vision that Mr. Thornwell had was to create a haven for knowledge and innovation and he has succeeded through the creation of this prestigious program.

The Perl Initiative offers various privileges for it's members however it also poses a lot of challenges. I shall now elaborate on these. Some of the benefits that the initiative provides is the option to switch out courses that are mandatory for regular students with courses that are offered in the list of courses here." She handed two prints of a list, one each, to the siblings.

"This can be done in two ways, the first would be to show that you have a complete understanding of the mandatory subject that you wish to swap out through a test. If you do not wish to do this there is the second option of propositioning the Director of the Perl Initiative, that is Mr. Silverbach. You may present your reasoning for wanting the change and any other formalities, if he agrees then the change will be approved.

Another benefit is the chance to take up extra classes, this can be done in two scenarios. Every year students have a fixed number of classes, for this year you have 3 classes, if you wish to take an extra class the first way to do so would be to complete one of the regular classes ahead of schedule, through an exam. The exam may be scheduled at the perl information desk in your respective lounges. The second method allows you to take up an extra class beside your current classes, however, a restriction of only 1 extra class at a time is placed in this scenario.

As mentioned previously, early exams and tests are also one of the benefits along with various facilities like lounges, gyms, pools and other recreational areas. The initiative also allows you to propose a project for undertaking. It could be research or experimental however it has to be approved by the Academic Coordinator for the Initiative, that would be me, and sometimes the Vice Principle, Mr. Silverbach.

Moving on to the challenges, every year various competitions are held in the initiative including ones in magic, literature, the arts, economics, sports, etiquette, sciences and more. Another competition is held between all students who have proposed a project, this one has two categories, group and solo. If any member of the initiative does not place within the top 15% in any of the above mentioned competitions then he or she will be on probation for a month where they will have to prove that they deserve to stay. This is done to build competitive spirit and encourage students to constantly improve as well as to manage resources.

That is about it for the basics, the rest will be written in the guidebook here." Ms. Hathaway said as she handed one to each of the students. She didn't really expect them to understand most of what she said, they were only 8 after all, Perl students or not. The information was part of due process and would mostly be only for the attendants who will then help the students get accustomed to them.

As expected, Nicholas' eyes were hazy and unfocused. He had no idea about most of what she said and what he did understand, he was sure, he wouldn't remember. Thankfully Robert had a pretty good understanding of the whole explanation. Emilia, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised at how well thought-out this program was. Despite not having the option to skip a grade, it seemed very well-structured and allowed students to study at their own pace. As she was looking through the guide book she was very impressed by various things, one of them being that the initiative offered guidance counselling sessions where students will be advised on what might be the best course for them depending on their previous results and current preferences. This may even be better than skipping grades as it is more inclusive and customisable, despite the expected heavy administrative paperwork that came with such a program she found it hard to understand why such a system was not on Earth, as far as she knew.

"Now we will take a brief tour of the building and then I will show you to your dorms." Ms. Hathaway said as she pushed her glasses higher on her nose. "Please follow me."

The two siblings got up and followed her out of the room with Robert and Clara trailing behind them. After a long and tiring tour of the building they finally exited it to head towards the dorms. They exited the building through a door right opposite the one they used to enter it. This door lead to a large courtyard with two buildings on each side, presumably the dorms. The three buildings were shaped like a "U" with the main building being in the middle, the other two on the sides and the courtyard in the middle. The courtyard had a lot of table and chair sets with various decorations among the greenery such as fountains and lights, almost like an outdoor cafe. There was a walkway that wound around the park-like area and connected the three buildings.

"The building on the left is the male dormitory and the one on the right is the female dormitory. You are not allowed to enter the dorms of the other gender however you are allowed to visit in the visiting lounges that are present in both buildings. And finally, curfew is at 8PM for Foundation students and 10PM for Growth students once classes start. For this week the curfew for both academic levels is 10PM." Ms. Hathaway explained.

"Lord Nicholas, this is your Dorm Manager, Mr. Connor Scala." She introduced a man with mop-like blonde hair that had walked up to them.

"Good afternoon." He said with a slight bow. The siblings greeted the man both in turn.

"He shall show you to your dorm and I shall show Lady Emilia, please follow him." Ms. Hathaway informed Nicholas.

Nicholas was a bit nervous to be on his own in such a place, especially since it would be the first time that he was truly separated from anyone in his family. Having Robert was a slight comfort but did not help calm him very much.

Emilia noticed her brother's discomfort and spoke up to calm him down. "Nick, how about we have dinner together at the cafeteria after settling in? We'll meet here at 8:00 and then go there together."

Nicholas nodded rapidly. "Okay!" he said, a little more comfortable to be alone now that he was reassured of seeing his sister soon.

With that the two said their temporary good byes and headed to their respective dorms.

"The students from both Foundation and Growth stay in the same dorm and occupy all floors, the room that you are assigned will be yours for the rest of your academic life with Kleure Academy unless you request a change. Oh, here we are, room 403." Ms. Hathaway said, taking them up the floors in an enchanted lift-like device that was powered by magic and walking them down a hallway to stop in front of a door with a golden plaque with the numbers "403" on it.

After entering the room Ms. Hathaway informed Emilia that her luggage should already be here, along with her student necessities, including books and a student card which could be used to store currency as well as access doors, like a hotel key card and a debit card in one, it also acted as a proof of identity. She also mentioned that the dorm building for attendants were right behind the respective student dorms and there was a direct link between the attendant and student rooms in the form of a magic wall mounted phone-like device in every room to make communication convenient.

After Ms. Hathaway left, Emilia sat down at the tea table while Clara waited on her, she went through the list of courses that were available for Foundation students:

-Art

-Dance

-Music

-Nature Science

-Physical Science

-Strategic Thinking

-History

-Geography

-Sports

-Physical Wellness

-Basic Magic

After going through the list she decided on a few she would like to do and a few that she wanted to inquire about, making a note of them. She put the note away and went to her room where Clara had already unpacked all her things. She put on some more comfortable clothes and left the room to meet Nicholas and head to the cafeteria together.