Hello readers! Information Notice
From now on, the characters' thoughts will be marked with sideways rather than 'between apostrophes'.
So it's easier to understand.
Happy reading!
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The following day, Alice, Adamas and Ambra went to the red tower to fill out the registration forms and all the necessary paperwork.
The road in the early morning was still noisy, filled with laughter and chatter from people heading to work.
To reach the Tower, they took a carriage, as it was quite far their home, situata nel distretto Nord est, and located at the very center of the capital.
Amid Adamas' yawns, and the soft chatter between mother and daughter, the trio arrived at their destination.
Considering that the structure of the Red Tower is visible from everywhere in the capital, seeing it up close is a different matter altogether.
As soon as they arrived, they were struck by the magnificence of the structure: a vast fence encircled an immense open-air park, framing the towering crimson spire that stretched upward, seemingly piercing the sky. Its Gothic-style windows and sculptures adorned the walls like silent sentinels of arcane power.
But upon crossing the gate's threshold, everything changed. The tower was not on the same level as the gate, a part of the earth was elevated, detached, and held the bases of the tower; around the floating rock there were reddish stones set in similar clouds, which held the floating rock. The structure was so impressive that it could be seen from every point of the capital.
Wow, so this is the red tower.
From our house you can see only the top of the tower, but this... Besides, since when is it floating?
Her brother Adamas was equally speechless, his eyes wide as he took in the glowing runes, hovering paths, and the intricate layering of magical mechanisms around them.
Upon crossing the outer gate, two guards approached, requesting their documentation.
But once the Alexander Rubino's recommendation was shown, the guards paled slightly and straightened their posture.
After a brief moment of verification, they handed the trio small red badges, unlimited-entry passes, and a guide to escort them wherever they wanted to go through the complex.
Their guide arrived swiftly: a man dressed in a wine-red suit, neatly tailored, his white shirt crisp beneath the jacket. The most striking feature, however, was his pitch-black helmet-like hair and his eyes red fire.
This guy... He makes my skin prickle. Looks like a reptile.
Ambra had a shiver down her spine when she saw the man.
Turning his head towards his brother, he noticed that he too had realized the oddities of driving.
Noticing his sister's gaze, Adamas turned around and said, moving only his lips, "What a cool thing!"
Uff... I'll never understand him.
Ambra put her hand on her forehead and sighed slightly.
"Welcome to the Red Tower, I'm Edwin and I'll briefly explain how the tower works and its functions, while I'll take you to the registration office."
The voice and tone in which he spoke surprised everyone. Too smooth and clean to be natural.
The eyes of the guide... the eyelids don't close?
Ambra was internally surprised, but did not give to see her expression, as always.
"The towersit was built to have several functions," Edwin began as the walked "It houses researchers and magicians devoted to magical study, but student training happens primarily at the Red Academy, located in Heartia, along with the other four Academies. So the mainly serves this tower is administration and advanced research hub.
"In addition, there are also shops, dorms, and study halls, but they're restricted to authorized personnel."
"Excuse me, so will my children have to travel back and forth between Heartia and here when do they have to go home or shop?" Alice asked puzzled.
"Not at all, milady. Her children will use the Academy's transportation services for free, the journey takes about 10 minutes, it's extremely fast." Edwin replied, his chest puffing with pride.
Alice raised an eyebrow and looked at the guide for a few seconds, amused and skeptical, but eventually smiled.
Adamas, meanwhile, was enthralled. The courtyard glowed with light captured by runes reacting to the position of the sun. It was like watching magic breathe.
"Excuse me, can I ask you a question?" Ambra said taking advantage of Edwin's silence
"Of course! Tell me, too" said the guide beamingly, evidently meeting few people asking for information.
"How is it possible that from the outside it is smaller than what this place actually is? Besides the fact that to contain all the things you said, the space of the tower seems to me little."
"GOOD QUESTION, MISS!" He shrieked Edwin, blowing Ambra and Adamas out of surprise and chuckling Alice.
"Everything you said is right, but you're missing one detail: the magic of space. Thanks to it, our commander, Mr. Rubino, manages to deform the space and/or deceive the sense of sight. Let's take an example," said the guide, amused by Amber's puzzled face.
"If a house is 100 square meters in reality, with the aid of the magic of space I can make you believe that it is twice or half of what it actually is, so the subject does not actually know the size of the house until it enters the area of effect of the magic of space."
It makes sense... Now I understand what happened at the entrance
Ambra nodding in the meantime to Edwin during the explanation.
So you can do this too... fun.
Continuing the 'guided tour', other basic concepts were explained, like the distribution on the planes, the number of them and all the minor functions.
During the explanation, Ambra and Adamas continued to alternate with continuous questions, insatiable to know more than the guide actually knew, flanked by their mother Alice amused by the scene.
So they got to the base of the floating rock, the base where the tower was.
There were two cages, with two people each inside, and connected from above with what at first glance looked like an arch made of a dark material.
"Well, go through the two cages, then wait a few seconds and go up," said Edwin quietly.
The first to go was Ambra, who, after passing under the arch, felt the tiredness of the walk coming out of her body, while the obsidian above became clearer.
"Wow, I feel lighter. What happened?" she asked the guide with a nod of surprise.
"Nothing, the obsidian contained in the arc above you is a material as well as a magical conductor with properties of collecting impurities. Let's say it 'cleaned you up'." said Edwin with a slight laugh.
But to make the obsidian so clear when normally the change is not seen with the naked eye... who is this girl? he was surprised in his thoughts.
Immediately after the explanation, Ambra walked forward as she had indicated the guide, but stopped on the puzzled edge.
But there is nothing in front of us, except the void left by the rock... Ah, right, I have to wait a few seconds.
But just the time to formulate the thought that one by one of the stairs made of celestial flames appeared in front of her, ending exactly at the main entrance of the tower.
For the first time, Ambra showed her astonishment openly, observing the flaming stairs for a few seconds with wide-eyed eyes, and then hinting at a smile of excitement.
Turning to the duo of her mother Alice and her brother Adamas, she noticed that they were both stunned, as she was.
Waah, I've never seen mom make an expression like that...!
Ambra crossed first, followed by Adamas, then Alice, and finally Edwin.
Arriving at the entrance, Edwin finished his excursus of the tower: "Finally, on the top of the tower, there was the commander, the person in charge of protecting the region, as well as continuously monitoring the powerful barrier created to protect the Capitals, the cities where the towers resided. The power that a commander could exercise in his tower was on par with the emperor." He said, showing a friendly smile to the trio.
"Now we will enter the tower, please stay close to me, it's easy to get lost."
Saying this, Edwin showed to the sphere in the middle of the door a card in his pocket, which lit up with fiery red, and opened the door accordingly.
Strange celestial mechanisms appeared in front of the gate, which began to rotate, opening the interior of the tower to the view of the trio.
Ambra and Adamas were both enthusiastic, but for different things: if it was a sight for Adamas to be able to see so closely the mechanisms and runes used for the avant-garde of magical craftsmanship; for Amber it was a pleasure for the eyes to finally be able to admire the interior of the tower.
Ambra, Alice and Adamas entered the tower, but the view from the inside was completely different from what they expected.
Opened the door, the view was simply unlike anything they expected: waiting for them was the view of a magnificent interweaving of the wild nature, represented by the plants that surrounded what would then represent the human part of the 'picture', a white marble structure that stood out in the green foliage.
A majestic white dome highlighted a simply immense oak trunk, which most likely connected the first floor with the upper ones
and a tree-lined street accompanied the road that connected their position to the white marble structure in the distance.
All this under the beautiful sunlight, as if they were in the open air.
So, after giving the group time to be stunned, Edwin turned around and said proudly:
"Welcome to the Red Tower, 1st floor, also called 'the reception of nature' !"