The afternoon sun shone brilliantly over the square, and the metal emblem atop the main teaching building gleamed with radiant light. Fendil walked among the students hurrying to class, crossing with everyone else the long, gentle slope leading to the main building. He wore the brand-new uniform of an Imperial Academy officer cadet, its decorative fine chains around the collar and brass buttons glittering in the sunlight.
Among the students coming and going on the slope, some wore officer cadet uniforms like his, modeled after regular army dress uniforms, while others wore the uniforms of different departments. The scholars strode proudly through this highest institution of learning in the Empire. There were young people like Fendil, middle-aged people with graying hair, and even elderly people whose faces were already lined with wrinkles.
"So you chose the officer cadet department after all," Eliven's voice came from beside him. "I thought you would at least try the magical studies departments again before this winter..."
Fendil turned his head and saw the son of the Duke of the West in the magical studies uniform. The new blue uniform, blending mechanical and magical symbols, made his longtime friend, who had always possessed something of a scholarly air, seem even more refined.
"Your new uniform isn't bad either," Fendil said with a smile. Then he shook his head self-mockingly. "I'd better forget it... I know what I have a knack for and what I'm hopeless at. If you asked me to fight people with magic, I could manage that, and less advanced mathematical knowledge would be fine too. But if you asked me to deal with machines... I'd rather hunt bears on the ice plains. My aunt must have known that when she sent me here. She didn't even make me take supplementary mechanical courses..."