The Merchant U dorms were simple yet
stylishly out of date, minimally furnished with rustic decor against glazed, roughly carved subterranean walls, illuminated by an old fashioned
neon lighting system that ran throughout the underground establishments. Nolan didn't have a view, but he had his own room, and that was rewarding enough. He
pondered his fortune for a moment upon awakening in his new underground world,
wondering why he was so lucky. Had he been placed in Panther U he would have
faced an entire life in
these dark dungeons of the Underworld, it was almost as if his fate had been spared for greater things...
He
stretched and got up out of bed, feeling hung over from the Initiation Feast
and festivities the night before. Like the students in Fina, a closet full of
new clothes awaited him. Curious, he sorted through the rack, there wasn’t much
to choose from. Black suits, white shirts, black slacks all hung neatly on the
rod. He reached in to reach the black robe at the back, complete with a
black satin sash, noticing the label. "Nolan" he smiled, fondling the
luxurious and heavy fabric in his hands. This was
a real Panther
robe, even though he didn't go to Panther U he
would still be recognized as a
Panther at the Temple of Medel...
Pleased
again, Nolan hung the robe on the rod and reached for a suit. The Merchant look suited him
well, he smiled in the mirror, ran his hands down the lapel and straightened
the collar, the suit fit him so well it was as if it had been tailored
specially for him. Was that why
they took his measurements at the pageant?
Nolan caught a glimpse of a framed portrait in the mirror and turned to look... A trio of god portraits graced the wall, paintings
of Atalon, Medel and Dell. He moved closer, already familiar with Atalon and Medel's images... Dell looked a lot
like Atalon, somewhat thinner, his eyes were a different color, more like a
dark yellow, not quite as frightening as King Atalon's electric chartreuse eye beams...
Below
the paintings stood a small table bearing a bowl of fresh oranges, a strange
and glossy black object lay to the right. He picked it up to take a closer
look, curious as to what it was. It was very exotic looking, like polished
obsidian, like a small vial of sorts with a very cool little gold dial embedded
in the side… He flipped it over, it had his name engraved on the side in fine
gold script; 'Nolan.' There was another clue, two small holes on
each end suggested this was some sort of device… He had used something
like this before in the Alchemy labs... He studied the dial, it looked like a flint was inside the hole... Was this a lighter? He spun the dial with his thumb and to his pleasure, a
flame flickered from the hole. "Ha!"
He was genuinely impressed now, tucked the lighter in his
pocket and picked up the business card, laying beside it. "Dion's Hair Salon?"
Nolan studied the card, wondering… It was
on Main St... He had perhaps walked past it on his way here... Curious, he flipped the card over and read the
text. It was a 10% off coupon for his first visit.
The notion of a hair
salon had never really appealed to Nolan before, there was an old Panther legend
which warned against cutting one's hair… He returned to the mirror and ran his
fingers through his locks, considering the idea of cutting them off for the first time in his life. He
didn't want to... He liked his long hair... It was flaxen… Did he have to?
As
a bell sounded throughout the halls of the institution, he tucked the card into his breast pocket, grabbed an orange and headed out to meet his group for the
Welcome Tour.
As all new Merchant students were, Nolan was outwardly impressed by the underground world so far. There was an entire unknown civilization living beneath Atlan and who knew? None of his classmates had known about the elaborate establishment beneath the mighty city, what was the catch? He gazed out of the reception lobby into the busy Hub as he waited with his classmates. The business center was bustling with activity, fogged by a layer of smoke that hung in the air. Through breaks in the trains, carts and aribu bustling around, he caught glimpses of a large plaque dominating the wall by the stairs, the positioning of which he sort of recognized from his text book… He couldn't make out what it said for all the traffic and trains in the way... Tempted to wander, he scanned the crowd of outwardly impressed students, Dell was nowhere to be seen, it would only take a minute to have a closer look.
‘As Below, So Above’ Nolan chuckled, recognizing it now, he should have guessed, it was the ancient slogan of the empire. Except, now it had new meaning! The truth about the Underworld was the first thing the new Merchant students learned about their new environment, but there was much more to discover than the mere existence of the Underworld.
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