The Announcement

Panting echoed in the hollow stone room as two females circled each other. The elder of the two was heavily armored, her violet hair coming out in a braid from beneath her helmet. She held an axe in a large hand. The girl she faced wore a loose gown, with the skirt split up to the waist on both sides. She was a mere child, perhaps eleven or twelve if measured by human growth. Her ears were pointed, and pierced eight times. Wings projected from her back, though they had yet to come out from their sheltered position. Her silvery hair was held in place by a gold band in the back, and a bone coronet, and her pink eyes glittered with triumph. "Give up yet?" she asked, her voice harsh.

The woman shook her head, attacking again, though her efforts were deflected by a magical shield glowing pink. The girl yawned, showing small fangs. "Such a pride," she said, grinning, "Too bad that you aren't very good with magic." The woman growled.

"You and your stupid puns, Inanna!" she snarled, "This time I will crush you!" Inanna raised an eyebrow, smirking. Her hand lashed out suddenly, striking Pride in the neck. The woman toppled over, helmet falling off as she lost consciousness.

The girl bowed to an audience standing around the circle, "Any other takers?" she asked with a wicked smile.

"Nah, I'll pass, Ina," said another girl, giggling. Her white hair was pinned in an elegant coil of braid that rose about four feet, and than the excess hair fell loosely down towards her shoulders. Her skin was a deep charcoal, unlike her pallid friend. Her name was Mihi.

An unknown voice said, "Might as well. Not like I've anything better to do." A boy stepped from the shadows. His skin was a moonglow, like Ina's, and messy black hair fell into his eyes, hiding their color. He wore the typical Academy male uniform, a black blazer over a white shirt and black pants, and shoes with a stripe denoting his Form*. His stripe was yellow, cataloguing him as a member of the Fifth Form, and the red dot added on that he was a Prefect for that year.

Mihi and Ina glanced at each other, than at Mihi's school shoes. Mihi and Ina were in the same year, and both had already been chosen for their future positions. Ina was the heir to the headmaster of the school – and the ruler of Hell, Satan. He was her grandfather, and at her father's death at the hands of his own mother, she had taken his position. Mihi was heir and apprentice to one of the Nine Great Devils/Sins, Envy. She was very pretty, veiling violet eyes with long, curly white lashes. Her shoes denoted this; the blue stripe had been embossed with a golden 'E''. Had Ina been in uniform, with the annoyingly short skirt, her shoes would have looked the same, but emblazoned with an 'S'. Neither of them was well behaved enough to make it through those examinations that led to becoming a prefect.

Ina shrugged, "Very well. What's your name?"

"Fade."

"Ooo...Isn't that kinda depressing?" Mihi asked. Both girls had heard of him of course, it was rumored that Satan, when he chose someone for Ina to possibly marry, would choose either Fade, or another boy known as Slade. Slade was apprentice and heir to Lust, so in all terms, every girl in school had advised Ina to go for Fade if he popped up on the list of suitors. Thus, at the moment this thought crossed both girls minds, Ina's cheeks visibly heated up.

Fade didn't seem to notice, and the two moved into the circle. He struck first, as the challenger, and Ina ducked as he somehow penetrated her shield.

"You're good; first person who's been able to do that," she commented, distracting him briefly. Her bare foot slammed into his chest, slamming him backwards and knocking the wind form him. He was up in a moment, shifting to a wolf-like form and tackling her. Suddenly, Mihi pulled him off.

"Are you crazy?!?" the girl demanded, looking at Ina, whose eyes were slowly turning red. She knelt, fastening a choker back into place, and glared at Fade, "You nearly released her!"

"She's a half-demon**?"Fade said, turning back to his human form, an expression of shock written upon his features.

"Yes!" Mihi snapped, "I thought the gossip was explicit about that much wolf-boy!"

"Don't listen to it," he said, shrugging.

Ina's eyes had returned to pink, and she sat up, "What happened?" she asked.

"I have to go," Fade muttered, vanishing.

"He's rude," Ina grumbled. Mihi nodded, helping her friend up.

"He nearly removed your seal," her friend whispered, "I'm not sure even he could save himself if that happened..."Ina nodded, and both girls traced a pentagram over their chest. ***

They both vanished, each appearing outside a door. The one Ina stood in front of was decorated with metal lightning. She placed her palm against the door, and it creaked open. She slipped inside, shutting it behind her, and a ball of white-hot light burst into life in her hand. Once she could see in the previously dark room, she found matches. She struck one, catching it alight, and touched it to several candles. Her room was lit in a flickering glow, not as substantial as the lightning in her hand. She smiled at it and it vanished, leaving her in the semi-dark.

Her room was simple, typical of a girl in the Fourth Form, Second Year. She yawned, flopping onto the simple bed provided and staring at the ceiling. Before she had come to the Academy, she had lived with her father. When he died, the King of the Werewolves' chief guardian, Crest, had adopted her though her duties in the Underworld were still a high priority as she learned the types of magic of the Above-Worlds.

The girl shook these thoughts, and looked over at her desk. Her desk was littered with things, including her uniform. She sighed, knowing it was almost class time and that she needed to change. Reluctantly, Ina got up and stripped off her gown. The wings, which were a simple shape-change, vanished, and she tossed the coronet thing into a corner. She had yet to develop, something odd for her age, and was more flat than most boys were. She pulled on the black skirt, grumbling softly as she zipped it, than her shirt. The shirt was a simple matter, large as it looked; it fit her small frame perfectly, shrinking to size. Than she pulled her blazer on and pinned a metal lightning bolt to the pocket. One thing was missing however.

"Where are my shoes?" she wondered softly, frowning. She finally found them, using a spell. They were hidden under the flooring and she had to pull up a loose floorboard. Stairs went down, but her boots were on the first step. Quickly, she pulled them on, blowing the dust off, and closed the opening, hurrying from her room.

First period was with Wrath, who led Dis's defenders and maintained order in the city if riots or war broke out. She was a pretty woman, bescarred as she was, and her face had managed to avoid most of the worst. She had dark skin like Mihi, and her hair had been dyed a deep red. She usually wore her armor, even at school, and talked quickly in her class, Self-Defense. Many of the students liked her, because she was one of the few teachers among the Sins who did not live up to her name. Indeed, unless Pride was involved, Wrath was slowest to anger.

Second period came, a monotonous lesson of history with Sloth, who spoke slowly and softly. Most students fell asleep during this class. Sloth was in charge of nothing, seeing as teaching had to be forced upon her. Her hair was gray and her girth immense and she typically wore a grey robe stained with grease and sweat. No one particularly liked her for anything, though she could be rather kind. The only time she had been seen to do anything willingly was to fight Pride and win. The school had talked of nothing else for days after.

Third period came and went, taught by Lust. Lust was a general, in charge of Satan's personal guard and those who guarded the school. She was a pert woman, with light skin and golden hair. Her eyes were tourmaline and large. Typically she would wear a blue gown, unless the school was in one of its all too frequent times of danger. Male students tended to get nothing from the class while they stared at her curves, and some girls had the same problem. Not that math of any sort could be called easy...

There would be a short rest period after Third, in which students would congregate in a large courtyard for announcements. Occasionally the headmaster would come to speak with them, bestow favors or whatnot. Most students would get something to eat at this point, a small snack or whatever, and work on homework from their first three classes.

Ina sat on a bench with Mihi and two other students. One, a girl, was named Lucky. She had pale skin like Ina and long blonde hair that easily touched the ground, kept in a neat braid. A green streak ran through it. Her eyes were mischievous emeralds framing a long, straight nose. The other, a boy, was named Koru. He had pale skin and white hair. His eyes were jet black, and he tended to be silent. Their shoes denoted that they were both members of the Eighth Form, the green stripes being hard to miss. Koru's red dot indicated that he was a prefect, while Lucky's was emblazoned with a 'W'', indicating that she was heir/apprentice to Wrath.

A quiet slipped over everyone as the sound of boots clattered, somehow silencing the crowd of over four-thousand students, and eight teachers. A tall man, straight-backed and elegant, marched to the center of the room. His eyes were red, his hair silver, and his skin was a moonglow sheen. He looked like an older, male, full-demon version of Ina. This was her grandfather, Satan.

"As you all know, this year successors have been chosen among Forms. I would like you all to know who they are. Inanna, Lucky, Mihi, Slade, Gossamer, Hereux, Parrasseux, Jolie and Chaud," he said, voice a loud boom. "And Fade."

Ina, Lucky and Mihi stood up. They were followed by Slade, a handsome boy with white hair, Gossamer, a pretty girl with vividly pink hair and fairy wings, Hereux and Parrasseux, twin brothers who looked like squirrels, Jolie, a pretty brunette who looked like a grid of scars if hit by the right light, and Chaud, a dark and handsome man in his last year of school. Fade stood last, looking confused. Everyone else looked equally confused. That made ten, not the usual nine...What had changed? Who had taken on two apprentices?

No one knew yet. They would know soon, very soon.

*-'Forms' are like grades. Basically, a Form has people of two ages. I.E. the Fourth Form would have twelve and thirteen year olds.

**-Half-demons, in this construct, may have a 'second form' they can take. However, unlike a full demon, they have no control in this form.

***-A pentagram to these characters is like a cross to Christians, or the 'Sign Against All Evil' from Tamora Pierce's Tortall books.