Schools of iridescent fishes cheerfully swam about, blowing colorful bubbles, as a bright light flashed in their vicinity. Startled, the fishes scattered, clearing the region of light within seconds.
From the light, the figures of the female students appeared one after the other, landing on the white sand. The light flashed a few more times, before winking out. In its absence, the newly selected female apprentices were revealed.
"New Apprentices, welcome to the Sealand Academy." The recruitment elder declared in a proud, booming voice, his words reverberating in the area.
The new students curiously took in their surroundings, their eyes shinning, as their mouths opened wide in delight. The sight before them, was one of beauty and splendor beyond their imagination.
Beneath a purple dome shield, blue-green castles majestically stood on white sand floors, their iridescent glory spreading blue-green radiance within the vicinity of the Sealand Academy.
The palatial buildings perfectly blended with the mesmerizing, gorgeous sea environment, depicting a melody of life and love, harmony and peace.
Seahorses, jellyfishes, dragonfishes, starfishes, glow fish, squid, snails, sea urchins, fin whales, great hammerhead shark, giant moray eel, frilled shark, and oysters among many other indigenous sea creatures flowed and swam, glowed and swayed, or shone brightly within the glory of sea life.
Corals of pinks, oranges, reds, and purples littered the academy grounds, the translucent green seaweeds and plants highlighting their brilliance. White pearls of various sizes hung in streams of circles above the palaces, exuding pure light that brightened the underwater kingdom.
"Wow! Is this the Sealand Academy? It is magical!" Some girls were unable to contain their emotions upon seeing the academy, openly expressing their amazement and delight.
"I have never seen anything like this before." Another spoke in a daze, her eyes glossed with disbelief.
"Are we really going to live here?" A thin girl with brown eyes tentatively whispered.
As students from different realms and regions, there were many among them who had never witnessed or encountered such sights before. Their hearts shook in excitement as they took in everything with gleaming eyes and bright smiles.
Thinking of getting the chance to live in such magical environment, studying magic and broadening their horizons, tears of joy flowed down the faces of the more disadvantaged students from poorer regions.
With the Sealand Academy before their eyes, they began dreaming bigger, seeing better futures for themselves.
The others were just excited with the prospect of learning magic in a magical land.
The recruitment elder swept his gaze among the females, secretly sighing in his heart. Once, he too was just like them. Excited and hopeful for the bright future ahead. However, what no one ever bothered to mention was the fact great powers and ability came with great responsibility.
The new students were happy and excited for their future, probably even imagining going back to their homeland and making it big. Unfortunately, by the end of their apprenticeship, they would no longer be the same, for better or worse.
'Many things take time. Growing is one such time. So is learning magic. Well, at least they are excited about learning magic.' He grimly thought as his brows furrowed.
Discarding his distracting thoughts, the recruitment elder flung his sleeves, folding his hands behind his back.
At this moment, a group of green robed elders with blacked clothed students appeared before the dumbfounded students, their gazes skeptically skimming over them. They could not believe the survival of their realm's heart land depended on an ignorant girl among the batch.
'An important and significant matter such as healing the heart of the sea is placed on the shoulders of an insignificant girl?'
'What is her age, 17 at most? How could such a matter be left to an insignificant girl?'
'Could the Great Magician have been mistaken? Could what he saw in the Mirror of Truth really be referring to the savior of the heart of the sea?'
The more the elders scanned the girls, the more they felt the Great Magician must have been mistaken. How could the great savior of their heart land be an ignorant girl? Moreover, no matter how much they looked, they could not see any difference in the girls present.
One by one, their brows furrowed in displeasure, the impatience and disappointment clear in their sharp, scrutinizing eyes.
"Recruitment elder, where are the three girls selected as the Great Magicians apprentices?" A black haired elder could no longer hold himself back, directly asking for the three selected Marikeens.
He neither had the patience nor forbearance to act cordial towards the other elder. He wanted to see the answer to their life-long problem with his very own eyes.
The other elders beside him were similarly impatient. However, they kept their bearings as elders, not wanting to embarrass themselves before the new apprentices.
Jerom was not surprised by the black hair elder's manner of speech. Among all the elders of the Sealand Academy, he was most widely known for his bluntness and no nonsense attitude.
"Marui, Aarya, and Princess Qamari, would you please step forward? Our Head of Instructor would like to meet you." Jerom nonchalantly looked at the three girls as he raised the request that was more like an order.
Princess Qamari indifferently stood at the back of the crowd, her violet pupils silently observing her surroundings. Aside from the Amayan Empire, this was the second foreign land she visited. And just like the Amayan Empire, she was astounded by the beauty and prosperity of the land.
Both regions were one full of life and beauty. But while the Amayan Empire's beauty was one of majesty, glory, and reign, the beauty here was one of nature, learning, and magic. Both boasted of abundant lifeforms and natural elegance provided by their environment.
As she inwardly marveled at the beautiful sea life, she heard her name being called. Glancing over, she saw the recruitment elder and many of the apprentices' sights fixed on her. Slightly frowning in disapproval at the unexpected attention, she swept her gaze over the group of elders gathered in front of the glass like purple gates.
The gates leading into the Academy.
An idea pertaining to the elders identities formed in her mind, tensing her posture.
'Strange. Why do the academy elders seem so interested in the Great Magician's apprentices? Is it only because we are going to be the Great Magicians disciples?'
Her slight sweep caught the badly concealed expectations and anticipation in the elders eyes. What were they so expectant and excited about? It was more than just new apprentices joining the academy as the Great Magicians apprentices.
She could feel it.
'Is it perhaps connected to the Marikeen training?'
The thought unabatedly entered her mind, unsettling her heart, it resonated with her soul as true as her heart beat. Her eyes instantly turned sharp.
'As long as they have no ill intentions, I do not care what they are planning. If they are planning on harming me, however...'
She would not go easy on anyone who conspired to hurt or use her.
Slightly raising her head, Princess Qamari gracefully walked through the crowd of female apprentices. As she made her way to front of the elders, their envious and jealous glares fixed on her back figure.
The elders of the Sealand Academy were assessing the white and yellow robed girls. Seeing the two hardly injured from their stay in the dark forest, they saw potential for growth in their magical ability.
Feeling a bit satisfied, some of the elders amicably questioned the girls in attempt to determine their growth speed. After all, the faster they grew, the sooner the heart of the sea would be healed.
"When did you girls discover your magical abilities and how long did it take you to master it?" The black hair elder looked over the girls repeatedly, but was not able to bring himself to praise them.
He could not see which part of the girls were worth praising, considering the fact that they had been practicing magic for three years and were still in the fre***g elementary stage.
As possible Marikeen's, were they supposed to take that long?
He furrowed his brows in discontentment.
Such magicians' were the possible saviors of their heart land?
Impossible!
Swish!
Right at this moment, the soft rustle of clothing drew his attention. Turning, he saw a graceful young woman, cleanly and neatly dressed in purple-red clothing walk to the front of the female apprentices.
From her aura alone, she radiated majesty and power, seemingly outshining the two girls without even trying. Just by standing there, she garnered all the attention of the crowd.
"And, who might you be, little friend?" The moment the black haired elder's voice dropped, all the elders gathered in front of the glass gate had weird expressions on their faces, looking at the man as if he grew a horn on his head.
In all the years they had known the elder, they had never once heard him speak so amiably to another magician.. Not even to the Great Magician of the Southern Sea and Seven Order, elder Iiam.