Garland's here!

[zithan]

Garland's small toes lightly skimmed the damp sand, leaving a trail behind her of parallel ruts. The four light-green wings of hers were beating madly, trying to escape the tumultuous wind currents that threatened to carry her away into the sky. The white mange staff strapped to her back wasn't making flying any easier on her; it was slightly on the heavy side, and tended to catch the wind at odd angles and force her to swerve and blow around like a butterfly in a hurricane. The better she got to Twilight Moon Academy, the better. She dreaded what she would look like though. Her father had told her before she left that a good first impression would do a world of good.
"So much for that," Garland thought aloud. " The teachers will probably take one look at me and then chuck me right back into this dreadful wind." She wasn't quite as confident with her words as one might of thought though. The people at the Academy... they didn't seem like the kind of people who would do that. After all, they said themselves that they welcome all sorts into the school.
Garland's thoughts were broken by a sudden updraft of wind that caught her by surprise. Against her will, she found herself being pulled up wards in a powerful thermal.
"Oh no! Not again." Yes, this wasn't the first time this had happened to her. The last time, she had been blown backward and up about an hours worth behind her; she had had to fly the distance all over again. Hopefully, she could escape the thermal this time. Garland's little wings went into over drive, and started beating like there was no tomorrow. She leaned her body foreword, and tried to conquer the updraft, but the warm air kept rising her higher, until she hit something very hard. It was the mast of a ship. Very nice that it happened to be there.
Garland's first impulse was to climb down the mast onto the deck, but the boat was looking a little worse for wear, and she thought she could here strange noises coming from below ships. Garland had no choice than to wait out the wind, clinging on the half-rotten mast of a half-rotten ship.

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

The Ghost Shipyards was a vacation spot notorious for scaring away the tourists, what with the howling winds, raging surf, and skeletal haunts it housed. Actually, Gerro was one to wonder why they even made students come here in the first place. Long ago, they said that these shipyards were full of sun and welcome, their waters sparkling merrily around Twilight Moon Academy. Now you were lucky to see a few yards in the fog. That's how it always was: times change, traditions don't. Well, it was one heck of a rite of passage.

The teacher Gerro, appearing all of sixteen years old, ceased his walking and tried to ignore the squishy wetness of gray water that had invaded his soft leather shoes. Rather eccentric looking, his curly locks were a vibrant lime green, as were his baggy pants, which were loaded with pockets. A white tunic stuck to him damply from the squall, and his cherry red eyes were widened in distress. Where was his student? Surely she hadn't been eaten by the Woolly Gator?

The wind switched its direction like a mischievous child, puffing Gerro's hair suddenly in his face. Silver bells, like one would supposedly find on a reindeer, were tied with white ribbon all about his person, and they jingled merrily.

"Um... student?" he called uncertainly.

[zithan]

Finally, the wind subsided a little, and Garland was able to relax her grip on the mast. Her fingers had turned white from the pressure of locking her fingernails into it. They started to cramp as she flew down and away from the ghastly ship, back to the beach.
Oh, what a nice feeling the ground is after being suspended in the air against your will.

Garland continued on, but walking this time. Instead of ruts in the sand, she left footprints; it would be a nice way to tell where she had just been, for the fog wasn't very revealing. It would also let anything else in the vicinity know she was here. But Garland was not about to be eaten by any Woolly Gators.

After about five minutes, Garland heard a voice, being carried her way by the ever-increasing wind. She looked up, but the fog and sand the wind kicked up made visibility almost impossible. Instead, she followed her ears. It led her straight to her teacher; As a matter of fact, she almost ran into him, but stopped at the last moment.

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

Gerro was noticed at once the limber little student, who admittedly came only up to his kneecap in height. The teacher felt a surge of good-natured jealousy for her height though, for in his true form she would be fully a foot taller than him. Gerro was a meadow sprite, of much smaller stock than some other kinds. Gerro rarely took his true form, painful memories, but he supposed he could make an exception for such a little student. God knew she'd sprain her neck looking up at everyone all the time, if she wasn't flying.

Suddenly the ground rushed up to meet him, and he was a sprite again. His curled wings were a glossy black, veined with a maple-leaf green. Besides the his midgetness and wings, Gerro looked much the same. Geeze, he had forgotten how big grass was.

"A pleasure to welcome you... Garland, right?" he asked, pausing before continuing. "Our grand school of Twilight Moon Academy can offer you all your dreams, whether they be as simple as controlling your powers or as great as becoming a omnipotent master of magics and skills. We kind of frown on the world domination thing. It always seems to cause problems," grinned the diminutive teacher. The was a playful sarcasm about his voice, as if he knew he was being over dramatic and taking great joy out of it. "May I ask what your interests are, my fine Garland?"

[zithan]

'Well. I kind of consider myself to be something of a white mange. Um....I'm already skilled at some of the basics, but I'm sure there's much more to be learned here...uh...sir!." Garland paused to smile shyly. "Oh, I must say that I'm glad that it's a fellow sprite that's welcoming me. Somehow, I think I would feel much less comfortable if it was, say, someone six foot." She looked at her feet; Garland was extremely shy in nature, and didn't usually say a lot, except in front of her friends back home.

What other classes were offered at Twilight Moon? Garland's heart gave a small quiver of anticipation. Hopefully, she would be okay in these other classes; it would be embarrassing if she was to fail.

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

"Call me Gerro. You're looking towards a white mage? Not bad, really. This year's class certainly needs it, with all the black magic goths we've been getting. Don't worry though, I'm sure you'll find people with your interests." The sprite's elaborate wings suddenly whirled into life, propelling him onto a rowboat nearby.

"Not the type that gets seasick, I hope?" asked Gerro. Lucky him to get the cute little students! "I can't see us flying over the lake, with all of the wind currents. Have you ever flew through a ghost-- it's creepy," he laughed.

[zithan]

"Um...I can't say that I have ever flown through a ghost," said Garland following her teacher into the water-logged and none-too-safe-looking rowboat. "I haven't really been subjected to that many ghosts in my life." Garland sat down on a bench that sounded as though it might have collapsed if she weighed a few more pounds. They had a lot of gothy black manges at the school? Well, maybe her talents could be useful. Then again, Garland wasn't very strong physically, and it killed her inside to think of what would happen if she was to put her friends in danger because of her. But Garland forced herself to return to present times, and not worry about vague possibilities in the future. She was at the school to learn....right?

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

"This school's been here a while, so you see them now and then. Nothing really to worry about. But I bet you really want to choose your classes, right?" asked the lime-haired teacher. "There are the set classes for everyone, boiling Potionry, mystical Magic, and those others, but then there are electives. You have to choose one out of each: Music, History or Potionry. Holy, Flare, or Summoning. Then Dragoon, Samuri, and Thievery. Finally, it's Survival or Puppetmaster. Easy as that!" he finished, quite the happy type.

The boat had been moving as soon as Garland had settled, and as it made its journey through the waves the shore faded, making it seem like they were set adrift in a massive tossing ocean.

[zithan]

"Okay..." said Garland as she tried to get used to the rocking of the boat. It wasn't hard, but the whole rhythm was totally alien to her, seeing as she hadn't had the opportunity to be on any boats. "Um...I think I'll take Puppetmaster and...well, Holy would be the right class for a white mange. Also, Music and Thievery sound interesting. So...I guess I'll take those," she finished shyly. Those wouldn't be too hard, right?

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

(Gah, I'm sorry for all the time this is taking. >< My finals are really slowing me down, forcing me to study and other unnatural things. )

"Adventurous, adventurous!" exclaimed the odd little teacher, nodding approvingly. "Are you sure about Thievery? It doesn't sound very White Mange like, at least not morally. Not that I mind," said Gerro, smiling mischievously. He nevertheless retrieved a very tiny notecard and began marking it for her class decisions.

"So these are the classes you want, no questions? We can always change them later if you're having trouble, but the stack of paperwork is easily taller than me," he told her blithely. The boat had almost completed its journey, and what very well could be a wide mountain loomed on the indistinct, misty horizon, if not for the pale yellow squares and domes of countless windows.

[zithan]

(It's okay! I've kinda been going through the same thing at my school....um, studying is unnatural?)

"I'm sure about the classes, sir," Garland said to Gerro. "What's life without a little fun?" she said, going way out of character. Thinking back, Garland never knew what possesed her to say that; but surprising things happen every once and a while. The comment made her blush, and she was all of a sudden glad that the chill gloom was masking her face. Not that it mattered; Garland was sure her teacher could see through the shifting fog anyway. She kept her head down for a while, listening to the scrating sounds of Gerro's writing utensil on the notecard. Eventually though, her neck began to cramp up, so she lifted it and looked out to the water. There wasn't a whole lot to see (the fog and the hair beeing blown into her face obstructed her view a bit), but it gave her something to do while her teacher wrote. The silence in the boat would have probably made any other person uncomfortable, but this was the way Garland liked her life: quiet, and not a lot of talk.

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

"Ah, Garland, you're after my heart," Gerro sighed, still smiling. At this point a fairly large, sucker-tipped tentacle sinuously slithered around boat twice, and a faint hissing could be heard over the wind. The Master Teacher winced, hating when this happened. It put such a damper on the wonders of the school, and the Ghost Shipyards had scared a few students away in the past. He managed to grab his student's wrist in a gentle yet firm grip, and they skipped the few dozen meters left by teleportation, landing in the damp sand of the far shore. Something like an invisible wall seemed to hurl the worst of the mist back, so anyone could clearly see the softly rolling emerald slopes to the school.

"Sorry about that," said Gerro, appearing sheepish. He tried to ignore the sound of cracking timber out in the fog, as what was their boat was reduced to more bleached driftwood. "If you ever intend to go swimming here, I would not chose this as your beach. Annnnnyway," transitioning, "here is your schedule, and also a bit of a gift from me." Crimson eyes agleam and bells ajingling, he withdrew a more formal version of her schedule, as well as a little orb.

***Garland receives Schedule***
1: Magic
2: Weaponry
3: Alchemy
4: Beastry
5: Master
6: BREAK
7: Music
8: Holy
9: Thievery
10: Puppetmaster

***Garland receives Sunglow Orb***
An orb that seems to glow from within, could also double as a light source in dark places...
The Sunglow Orb summons the Grail Guardian, a ferocious mixture of Angel and Demon. It has the power to inflict either marvelous Holy Magic or stupendous Dark Magic on the user's target, and can also find the way when the user is lost.
WARNING: Summoning can be tiring. Practice summoning before fighting, or it could leave the user too exhausted to continue the battle, causing him/her to lose.

[zithan]

"Um, thanks," Garland said to Gerro, turning around to look at the spot where the boat had been a few moments before. Nope....this was definitely not going to be her beach, not that she swam a whole lot anyway. Water is usually a bit too rough and deep for sprites. And then there are the fish, some of which can't tell the difference between an innocent swimmer and a bug. Oh, the horror stories she had been told as a child about poor souls that ventured into the water and ended up becoming fish-food.

At least the squid-thingy was having fun playing with their boat.

Garland turned her head back around to take the schedule and faintly-glowing orb from her teacher's hand. Then, after placing the orb in one of her pockets, she looked over her schedule to make sure every thing lined up. All was well.

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

(Congratulatons, you have completed the Ghost Shipyards. The school day has ended, so you may either set up your dorm room or just mingle with the students on other boards until a new day begins. There are also currently two plots going on, if you feel like fighting and some dramatic RPG deaths. ^^ Be sure to have fun, and I'm really sorry about my stupidity...)