I promised you a new story, did I not? This story will focus on a variety of characters, but La'gaan will remain the main focus throughout. This story could go on for a while, so get ready for some ups and downs. Oh, and special thanks to Erika for being my Beta reader for this story!

"I would like to make this conference brief, if at all possible," Queen Mera said as she took her seat. "My day has been rather busy as it is. But, even so, you each have my full attention."

In front of her sat the Conservatory's senior professors. On top of their duties as teachers, they decided which students were placed into which classes. Their decisions were based on placement exams given to each student on the first day of the semester. Age did not matter; in the Conservatory, you were put in the class that was best suited to your current skill level.

Professor Tullus cleared his throat. "We called this meeting to discuss one student in particular."

"And which student is this?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Another teacher, Professor Atella spoke up. "A young boy by the name of La'gaan."

Queen Mera sighed internally. She should have been expecting this. "If this is about his admission, I know it is…untraditional. But he has my seal of approval, and as headmistress of this school-"

"We are not questioning his admission," Professor Tullus interrupted. "But his placement exams show that the boy is clearly in over his head."

He handed Mera a small group of scrolls. She took them and began to unravel them. They revealed La'gaan's scores in each of the written exams. Each one – history, language, science, and mathematics – was a dismal failure. La'gaan had made an attempt to answer every question, but answered few correctly. Queen Mera furrowed her brow. She had plucked this boy from the streets, so it wasn't a huge shock that his education was extremely limited. But her professors would surely use this as an excuse to thrust him back out into the depths of poverty.

"So put him into the lowest class and have his teachers work with him," Mera sighed, accidentally letting her irritation show.

"Under normal circumstances, we would," Professor Calista broke in. "But there's the matter of his sorcery exam."

This, again, did not come as a shock to the queen. She had seen what La'gaan was capable of back in Nanauve, where he released a spell so powerful that he accidentally killed a man. "And what were the results?"

Calista sighed. "They were…shocking, to say the least. The boy has a natural aptitude for sorcery. He scored better than some of the older students. But his talent is very raw. If it is not directed and honed correctly, he could accidentally injure himself or his classmates."

Suddenly Mera thought back to the weeks after La'gaan's first display of magic. The poor child had been in the hospital for weeks, half-dead and unmoving. The thought of it made her shudder. No child should have to suffer that way. "He needs to be in advanced sorcery classes."

"And now you see our dilemma," Professor Atella interjected once more. "La'gaan qualifies – if not requires – advanced sorcery classes. But his academics aren't up to par. All attempts at reaching a compromise on this matter have proven fruitless. So we decided to take the matter directly to you."

They had come across issues like this before, where Mera was called in to make the final decision regarding a student. The process could take hours. Protocol required that she listen to each teacher that had something to say on the matter. And, since everybody had an opinion, she was forced to listen to all of them detail their points. The entire ordeal always left Queen Mera feeling exhausted.

She had already made her decision early on in the discussion of La'gaan's placement. Now she was just following proper etiquette. When the last professor finally finished, Mera felt a rush of relief.

"I have listened to each of your opinions on this matter," she began, "and I have ultimately come to a decision of my own. Calista, what class would you recommend for La'gaan, based solely on his natural aptitude for sorcery?"

"Class Epsilon, at least," Professor Calista answered.

Mera nodded. "Then that is my decision. Put him in Class Epsilon."

"But, my queen, his academics-" Professor Tullus began to protest.

She held up her hand, silencing him. "Alert his teachers that La'gaan will see each of them at least twice a week for extra help. They will need to arrange their schedules to accommodate him. I would also request that you select a tutor from among his peers. Preferably someone with a calm disposition and a great amount of patience," Queen Mera ordered. She could tell from the looks on her faces that none of them were happy with this decision.

Professor Tullus broke in again. "My queen, I mean no disrespect, but…it seems as if you are setting the boy up to fail. Even with all of this extra assistance, he will not catch up to his classmates."

"I mean no disrespect, professor, but I believe you are underestimating La'gaan," Queen Mera replied. "He will know that he's at a disadvantage. And that will make him work twice as hard. If you put an obstacle in front of him, he will do anything in his power to overcome it."

Before any of the other professors could protest, Mera rose from her seat. "The matter has been settled, and I will take my leave."

With that, she swam out.

xxxx

When La'gaan woke up, he found that his roommate Blubber had already gone on to breakfast. It struck him as odd, but he didn't give it anymore thought than that. When he swam into the Dining Hall, he saw that most of the students were crowded along one of the walls. They were peering over each other's shoulders trying to look at something. La'gaan raised an eyebrow at the commotion.

Everyone is acting strange this morning, he thought.

La'gaan got his breakfast and found Blubber sitting at one of the tables. He was staring over at the wall, his food practically untouched.

"What's up with you, chum?" La'gaan asked, elbowing his new friend playfully. It had been a long time since he'd had a friend. It was nice to finally have someone to joke around with.

Blubber nodded towards the crowd of students. "They posted the classes. They have everyone's exams sorted."

"What ex- oh." Just like that, La'gaan's mood soured. He speared a piece of fish with his fork. They'd taken exams the day before. La'gaan could barely read the questions, much less answer them. Everyone around him had finished, while he'd barely gotten halfway through. Apparently, the tests determined what class you were put in. There were seven: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, and Eta. Alpha being the best of the best and Eta being the worst of the worst. La'gaan was sure he'd get thrown in Eta, if they kept him at all. Part of him hoped they would just throw him out. It was obvious he didn't belong here. So maybe it would be better if he just left.

"I got here early to go see how I did, but I lost my nerve," Blubber sighed.

"I'll go look for you." La'gaan volunteered. He wasn't nervous at all. When all you expect is dismal failure, you're not exactly going to be let down by the results. He got up and swam over, pushing through the throng until he reached the front of the crowd.

He checked the Eta list first. Blubber's name wasn't on it, but La'gaan didn't expect it to be. Blubber had done well in all of his exams. Shockingly, his name wasn't on the Eta list either. Maybe they'd decided to throw him out after all. He continued on to the Zeta list. Still nothing. When he looked over the Epsilon list, he finally found Blubber's name. La'gaan couldn't help but smile. Most of the students in Epsilon were two or three years older than them.

Then La'gaan got the shock of his life.

Written down towards the bottom of Epsilon list was his name. He read it over at least five times, not believing what his eyes were telling him.

"Neptune's beard!" he yelled, still in disbelief. He swam back over to his table. The stunned look on his face made Blubber panic.

"No, no! Don't tell me! I got Eta didn't I? Oh, Neptune, my dad is going to kill me-" Blubber started to freak out.

"No," La'gaan said, too softly at first. He cleared his throat. "No, you didn't get Eta. You got into Epsilon. Congrats, chum."

This news cheered his friend considerably. "Really? That's…what did you get?"

"Epsilon." La'gaan spoke without any emotion. He was still trying to take all of this in. He'd arrived in Poseidonis not three days before. Now he was enrolled in the best school in Atlantis, and he'd just been placed into an advanced class. This was too much. He was just a kid from the streets. He couldn't do this. He couldn't. La'gaan could hear his heartbeat in his ears. This had to be a joke. Some sick, cruel joke. He could barely read, and they expected him to compete with kids that had been working at this for their whole lives?

Blubber sat there in complete shock. Neither of them spoke for a good minute. Finally, Blubber cleared his throat. "That's…that's great!"

"No," La'gaan growled. "It's not. Blubber, look at me! They're setting me up to fail!"

"You said you did really well in your sorcery exam!" Blubber protested.

"Neptune's beard, I do well on one exam and they put me in the same class as you?!" La'gaan snapped. He frowned down at his breakfast, suddenly not hungry anymore. "They just want to fail me and kick me out."

"Even if they do," Blubber said, "are you going to let them beat you?"

The words struck a nerve. La'gaan was a fighter to the core, and he hated being beaten by anyone. Facing defeat was absolutely humiliating. It made him sick to his stomach. Yet it was a feeling that he was very familiar with. In Nanauve, all that counted was your strength. Compared to most of the boys on the streets, La'gaan was nothing but a shrimp. Over time he learned to turn his weaknesses into advantages. He was small, but he was quick. But often it wasn't enough; he lost about as many fights as he won.

"No," La'gaan said with sudden determination. "I'm not. I'm not leaving this school until I graduate at the top of Class Alpha!"

Blubber grinned. "That's the spirit."

xxxx

After breakfast, students were sent to their class advisors to receive their schedules. This process was lengthy and involved waiting in a long line of other chattering students. But La'gaan finally received his schedule. For the second time that day, his courage faltered. To him, his classes seemed extremely intimidating:

Advanced Atlantean History I – Professor Tullus, Room 453

Advanced Sorcery II – Professor Calista, Room 601

Advanced Mathematics I – Professor Urc'hkin, Room 226

Advanced Science I – Professor Magro, Room 341

Advanced Atlantean Language and Literature I – Professor Corvo, Room 416

La'gaan swallowed his fear. He'd faced sharks, gangs, and war lords in Nanauve. He could handle a few stupid classes. Not long after receiving his schedule, Blubber informed La'gaan that he still had to sign up for two electives. This involved reading over a very long list of optional classes (all of which Blubber had to explain to him), signing up for the two that looked the most interesting (Surface History and Survival Strategies), and then waiting in another insufferably long line to get his final schedule approved.

The process took the entire day, and by the time dinner rolled around La'gaan was fed up with all of it. "Is it always going to be like this?"

"Just the first few days," Blubber assured him. "Tomorrow classes start, and after a week or so it stops being so chaotic. You'll get used to the routine."

La'gaan wasn't so sure.