Chapter 234 School Tour
The guide was a tall woman, wearing a tour uniform of sorts and leading the group out of the dorm area, explaining things along the way.
“Please stay close to me at all times and don’t stray from the group. I will first show you where the student and administrative center is, as well as the landmarks around it. The student and administrative center is near the center of the indoor campus, right in front of a small circular park. The park holds a statue of Alcraz, the founder of Alcray and the person who helped create all the branches of Bloodhaven academy.”
The tour guide then walked them down a path toward the center of campus until they reached the statue in question. The trek took far longer than anyone expected, foreshadowing the true size and scope of the academy that they will now call home for at least the next five years.
“Here is the statue of Alcraz.” The guide said, standing next to the almost forty-foot tall life image of what Alcraz probably looked liked. But it was dwarfed by a large black and red spire about three times its height right behind it and seemed to be shooting a thin beam of energy that reached higher into the layered school of Bloodhaven.
“As you can see, there is a large obelisk right behind the statue. On the statue in glowing red and in ancient Niflan. Are all the names of great friends and allies that lost their life helping Alcraz overthrow our Nilfan oppressors. It also has many lessons about the things our great leader has learned over the years during the time of this obelisk's construction, as well as spells to protect this city and academy from any and all dangers.”
“One of the things everyone here should already be aware of, but I'll explain just in case. Is how the great Alcraz came to be. It all started-” And the tour guide went off in giving a quick summary of the birth and life of Alcraz and how he played a part in the creation of this school.
During this time, Van couldn’t help but notice how his group almost instinctively surrounded their foreign exchange guests, as if trying to prevent any prying eyes from a clear view, just in case someone put two and two together. It also seemed that they weren’t the only group here, others have come with their own tour guides, increasing the number of students in the central plaza by a lot.
While the guide blabbered away, he looked around, soaking in the sights of this amazing place. It was like its own megadome, he could see layers upon layers of floors going up and students peering down on them from above. The park was beautiful grassy and full of wondrous plants and more. There also seemed to be a few artificial waterfalls from higher floors that crashed down to their level. He noticed how there seemed to be people from all walks of life, vampire, demon, beast-kin, and more. Carrying goods and books and an assortment of other things from one place to another.
Another thing he couldn’t help but notice was the fact that all if not most of the males in the other groups were wearing hoods or cowls connected to their uniform. In fact, it seemed like most of the males just walking by had their faces hidden or were at least being accompanied by another girl or male. This made him a bit self-conscious, especially because a few of the girls from the other groups seemed to have taken notice of him and were taking quick glances at his face every so often.
Stealthy he did his best to put his own hood up. Only to realize he never had one. Though it did explain the small series of holes around the neck of his uniform, probably there to help add the extra feature of a hood or what have you. Now feeling a little out of place, he quickly thought on his feet and used his shadow magic to create a makeshift hood around his head. But though he looked silly and let it go. He could only hope there was a store along the way that he could buy a hood from and attach it to his uniform the next chance he got.
The tour guide then took them into the student and administrative center, explaining to them that this is the place where they would be handing off the school forms about what classes and clubs they would be taking for the rest of the year. She also wanted to make sure that they were aware that there were a few mandatory classes they may need to take. Unless they pass a certain test that allows them to opt-out of course.
After that, they left the building and had them follow the path down to the student store.
“This is where you can exchange merit and contribution points for goods and services. Or just hard cash in some cases. There is a bulletin board on the north side of the wall where the school as well as fellow students post problems that they may need help with. Sometimes it’s just people looking for a tutor, or someone looking for a certain item or two. The range of quests can be as simple as delivering a parcel of food to the frontline wall or hunting a few monsters that might have leaked into the catacombs beneath the city. School supplies are also sold here.”
“If you wish to do a quest, just pick it up and go to the counter right next to the job board and apply for it. Depending on your merits you can choose more and more difficult quests. In a way, it’s somewhat similar to how guilds operate. Students' levels range from one to ten stars. First bronze, then silver, and finally gold. You all start with one bronze star. This form of leveling system does not carry over or out of the school. It's just a Bloodhaven thing. Don’t think you can impress guilds or merchants with it. Also, there is a student’s bazaar around the corner, where students sell and buy the things they make by themselves. If you ever wish to buy something cheap or unique, I suggest you go there to check it out. With that in mind, I’ll give all of you a few minutes to check out the board and pick something up from the store if you need it.”
The group then split up a bit to take a look around. Most went to the board to see what was on it, and it wasn’t too dissimilar to what the tour guide explained it to be. From quests to help a student find a special pen for the righting of runes. To just flat out asking for sex from any males willing to get a quick Crava. There were even a few mentioning the catacombs the guide talked about, with a quest about getting rid of the corpse frogs that have migrated from the sewers, getting rid of them before the infest too far.
During the time Van was looking around, he felt a quick tap on his shoulders and found Seral looking at him. He then handed Van a hood he just bought from the store, with one already loosely wrapped around the collar of his uniform.
“Oh! Thanks!” Van said, gratefully accepting the gift.
“No problem. Saw you looking around bored while the guide was talking about the statue and couldn’t help but notice you becoming aware of the other males walking around with hoods and cowls.” Seral replied.
“Yeah, sorry, didn’t mean to make you self-conscious to…” Van said apologetically, moving the offered hood to the back of his neck and simply using shadow magic to weave a fine strand that connected the hood to his uniform.
“Nah, it's not your fault. Honestly, we both should have thought about this before coming here. Just glad the store sells a few hoods and that it doesn’t cost any merits to get. Also, could you…” Seral motioned to his own hood.
Van noticed that it wasn’t as securely attached as he first thought it was, and used his shadow magic to weave a tighter and neater x stitch.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
The tour guide then called them all back and brought the group together before heading out to their next destination. Van and seral used this chance to wear their new hood to cover their faces so that they didn’t attract any more attention.
“Why are you wearing a hood?” Luna asked, noticing the new article of clothing.
“I was getting a few to many stares from the other girls. It didn’t feel comfortable so I decided to wear something to cover my face.”
Luna seemed a little peeved at that. “You don’t have to hide your handsome face just because a few girls look at you. If any of them give you trouble, just send them to me! I’ll teach them a lesson!” Puffing out her chest and giving him a look of determination.
“Thanks, Luna, appreciate that,” Van said with a smile.
Luna then held his hand and started looking in case any other girl decided to ogle her male. It was one thing to enjoy watching Van get it on with another woman. Another thing entirely if they thought they could snatch her male away…
Van thought her protectiveness was cute and appreciated the gesture.
Their next destination took them to a large stadium connected to the school called the Blood Hall Arena.
“This is the Blood Hall Arena. It is one of the largest stadiums in all of Alcray. Able to hold over five hundred thousand spectators. It has a track, a field, and a changeable landscape inside with atmosphere controls to help simulate any weather conditions imaginable. Attached to it is the training hall and the sports hall. It also has an indoor pool and many training facilities and amenities with programs to help teach swordsmanship and more. You will find that all your physical needs can be met right here and nowhere else.”
One of the students snickered.
“Let me correct myself.” Rolling her eyes. “There is one physical need you can't find there.” The guide said, looking somewhat annoyed as if this wasn’t the first time a student laughed at the implications of the guide’s explanation.
She then took them through a quick tour of the place, which actually took about an hour and still didn’t cover everything that was available considering how massive the place was. During this time she explained where each class, club, and program could be found. The general workout area that had the basic training equipment. Where to sign up for certain training sessions or gain one on one sessions with personal trainers and experts. As well as telling them how some males pull their merits and money together to rent out a pool area or two, so as to avoid prying eyes.
She then went into detail about the foundation of this stadium and finished it off with a questions and answers segment. Once that was done she took them back near the central plaza and showed them the school cafeteria.
“This is the place for if you have money to spend. There are about over three dozen restaurants here to choose from. And the tram system isn’t too far from here, meaning you can also go into the city if what they have here isn’t good enough for you. There are also several supermarkets and grocery stores as well as a few farmer's markets if you are looking for some fresh produce. The logistics center is also not far from here. In a few days, you will fill out a form asking you the number of troops you have as well as their basic needs for food. Fill it out and talk to the logistics officer and they will have everything sorted out for you in no time.”
“Remember, the school won’t foot the bill forever. Ethier figure out a way to pay for it yourselves in the future or work hard on earning merit and contribution points to help feed your girls. Because if it’s found out that you can’t pay for their basic upkeep, the school will take them away to do the odd job or two in exchange for keeping them fed. Any questions?”
A few of the students raised their hands.
“What kind of jobs are we talking about? What are you going to put our troops through?” one of the students asked worriedly.
“Usually some manual labor such as carrying things or helping put simple stuff together. It could also just be some cleaning or patrolling. Sometimes, though rarely and only if your troops are trained enough, they will be on the wall to help fend off any monsters that might try and climb over.”
“It should also be noted during your stay here. That your troops will go through basic training. There is a large training field next to your dorms, which is also not far from the Blood Training Hall. An officer will come by in a few days to help hand out the schedule for your soldiers. I should also mention. If you are willing to send off your troops to help clean the catacombs of monsters or to man the walls. You can get contribution points for that. Any other questions?”
A few of the girls asked a few more questions. To which the guide expertly answered them all as if she had been through this many times before. To which she may very well have.
With the final questions answered, she let them off to have lunch for the hour before heading off again.
It took Van and the others to find a place to eat, not least of all because of the long lines that they had to deal with. When they finally got their meals, they found a seating area outside and decided that the nice cool air would do them right.
Sitting down with their meals, they found that they were joined by a few unexpected guests.
“Do you mind if we join you?” Avalyn asked, carrying a tray of food alongside her companions.
Van gave a quick look towards his friends to gauge their reactions but gave the go ahead and Avalyn sat down to enjoy her meal. The two chatted for a bit, mostly her asking him about what it was like to live in the vampire lands and if every school was like this one.
“I honestly couldn’t tell you,” Van admitted. “This is also the first school I've been to. I was homeschooled until this point. Alongside my wife.”
“Really?” Avalyn asked, looking a little surprised.
“For the most part. Noble houses don’t like the thought of their heirs or their spars being put in a situation where they could die. Vampires don’t have a lot of kids to begin with, mostly because they may not want to compete with them when they grow up, unless they are looking to retire.” Seral said.
“Interesting…” Avalyn said, and then began asking a few more questions about daily vampire life. Such as why it was always clouded here. Was the waste really such a big deal? Were vampires really so culturally behind that they still had their males wearing hoods to cover their faces? And a bunch of other questions that Van and Seral did their best to answer for her.
Before they knew it. Their lunch break was over and they were heading out again. Leaving only half of the food they bought was eaten.
The guide then took them to several other halls that surrounded the central plaza in a circular fashion. It was kind of funny because they were literal hallways, massive ones with large doors on either side that led to rooms big enough to be partitioned into several classrooms.
There was the magic hall for those who wished to learn magic. The martial hall, close to the stadium for those who wished to learn martial arts. The scholar school for those who just wish to learn math and science and a few other things. Arts hall, which taught everything about drawing to crafting. The vocational hall, which taught an assortment of things. The law enforcement hall, for rule breakers and the catching of criminals. The foundry hall for the creation of weapons and other magical items. And finally the general hall for everything else. Some of these halls you had to take an elevator or escalator to get to because they were on the second or third floor.
Each building-like structure was big enough to hold about a thousand to two thousand students. And when coupled with redundant halls to help take care of the massive amounts of people that come here every year. The school could easily hold and retain over a hundred thousand students. With the number fluctuating between ninety thousand to a hundred and twenty thousand every few years. There were even a few rare occasions that it reached a hundred and fifty thousand at its peak.
Finally, after hours of walking around and showing off each and every hall and what they did, where they were, and how you can find them on your own. The guide began to take them to their last destination. The East Branch Library…
The guide took them to the tram system and in about forty minutes a large looming building connected to the school, similar to the blood hall, began rising in front of them. When they got off, they could only stand and stare at the giant building in front of them.
“This is the east branch of the bloodhaven academy. It contains over five hundred million books.” The guide began.
Avalyn let her mouth open and her eyes widen at that mind-boggling number. Thinking she must have misheard. Astrid and Hilda mimicking her in sheer incredulity. As the guide continued on with her explanation.
“Sadly it is only the third largest library in Alcray. With the one in Nightfall academy holding around eight hundred million books, some of which are over a thousand years old. And… The west branch library holds over one point two billion books. There is also a bookstore here where you can buy and purchase books on anything and practically everything. I’ll give you all a quick tour inside.
Then began to show them the way in. revealing that the library was just as big on the inside as it was on the outside. It was like a freaking museum, with art, fossils, sculptures, ancient artifacts, and much more. The entire building was divided by genre and type. The guide made sure to emphasize that before they go exploring that they should always bring a map with them and to ask a librarian for help.
Van thought he had died and gone to heaven… He was now more glad than ever he was born a vampire. For a single human lifetime would never be enough to read all these wonderful books.
Sadly their time was cut short. And the guide had them leave since it was getting late in the day. Explaining to them that they could come back on their own whenever they wanted to. She finished off the tour by guiding them back to the central plaza and finished everything with a few last remarks.
“As you are students of Bloodhaven. Never forget all the sacrifices and foundations put in place to help you reach where you are today. When you come here you are naive, when you leave you will have become adults… that is all…”
And with that the tour was over.
When the guide left, Cerina took over and suggested that they all go to another restaurant she reserved for everyone.
With nothing better to do, everyone left with her and had a good time. Van and Seral having fun talking with Avalyn, enjoying the new things they were learning and the perspectives that come with it.
After their meal, Cerina suggested that they all go back to the dorm since it was getting late.
Hilda muttered something about wondering how they could tell. Considering how cloudy it always was.
When they reached their room, they found that it was strangely empty except for their troops in the back. It seemed the other students had decided to explore the campus as well during their time away.
Van set up a shadowy veil and changed, then snuggled with his wife and went to bed. Wondering what tomorrow would bring.
