Asgard Academy of the Universe s Fundamental Laws

Chapter 1. Conversation

The evening in the office of the Director of Asgard Academy of the Universe's Fundamental Laws had taken an unexpected turn. Almit Beloyar sat at his desk, studying the laws of Beloria, which were changing at a frightening pace. Every new decree issued by the Supreme Witch drove another nail into the coffin she was prepearing for the counrty. The Beloria he remembered had been entirely different – bright, just, and full of life. Founded by sorcerers on the terrirory of Russia, it had been concealed from unwelcome visitors by ancient magic. What he saw now was hardly recognizable.

Asgard Academy was the only educational institution in the world where the sacred knowledge of the White Gods was still preserved. They were the distant ancestors of the Slavic peoples who had once inhabited the vast land of Oriana Hyperborea. Almit's family had been among the Academy's founders and had helped preserve this ancient knowledge. He had ingerited his potision from his father, one of the Academy's original founders, who had passed on everything he knew to his son. At thirty-five, Almit was still quite young for a director. Yet the constant strain had made him look older than he really was.

After scanning one of the articles, Almit frowned in displeasure. He rubbed his forehead with his fingertips, then ran a hand through his thick, wavy, ash-blond hair, pushing it back from his face. It was an almost automatic gesture, yet it betrayed the exhaustion he never allowed himself to show in public.

One of the latest decrees issued by Varvara Luchnay, the ruler of Beloria, handed her unlimited power and turned the council of the inner circle into something  lifeless: decocation for the eyes. In doing so, she shattered any illusions anout a bright, fair future - and made the people realize that a dark tyranny is coming, and soon it will take hold in their country.

"Things are bad"
Almit leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. Varvara was not merely reckless, not merely cruel, with no patience for criticism of any kind. She was a traitor to her own country. With every step, she erased what Beloria had been build for. And now many generations would have to live with the wreckage of her rule, paying for her choices, repairing what she had broken. The elders tried to soften the sharp corners when they spoke to her, to keep peace with careful words and careful silences - but Varvara could not stand compromise. She had seized power through deception, and now the people had to survive inside the trap she had build. 

Almit understood perfectly that the future of the country depended on ordinary people: those who worked in the fields and factories, and those he himself trained within the walls of the Academy. The students received more than an aducation. They were taught to love - to love one another, their people, their country, and the world of reality. These invisible lessons were sometimes more important than any textbook. The values passed down through the ancient bloodlines became as natural to the students as breathing, because Almit and other teachers lived by them. They didn't merely teach those values; they ambodied them.

The Supreme Witch saw the destruction of the Academy - and of the knowledge the ancient volkhvs had struggled to preserve and pass on to the younger generations - as the very purpose of her rule. To Almit, it was obvious that she served the forces of darkness. It was equally clear that war could not be avoided. If Varvara's destructive rule continued,Beloria would meet the same tragic face as its material - world counterpart: Russia.

A sudden knock at the door pulled the Director from his unpleasant thoughts. At the mage's silent command, the door swung open. As head of the Academy, Almit was always available to deal with any problem. Still, neither staff nor students usually disturbed him so late in the evening. He was therefore somewhat surprised to find Yasvena Kalinina, a sixth-year student, standing on the threshold.
"I wonder what she wants from me at this hour?"

He smiled and gestured fir her to come in, his gaze lingering on her for a moment. An evening dress, high heels. Her hair arranged in soft curls. She certainly hadn't dressed for classes - or training. She had come for something else. Yasvena was beautiful. He knew it, as everyone did. But tonight, her beauty seemed almost deliberate- as if she had chosen every detail with care.

-Good evening, Yasvena. Is there some occasions I haven't been informed about? the Director asked teasingly. He gestured toward the guest chair, set the newspapaer aside and leaned back in his own.

The girl sat down, but she didn't look at him. Instead, she thoughtfully wound a strand of hair around her finger, staring unfocused at something in front of her.

Almit watched the adept with interest.

-How can I help you at such a late hour?"

She seemed to come back to herself and gave an apologetic smile.

-I'm sorry… I was lost in thought. I wanted to talk to you. I have a question… questions.
- Questions?
A trace of uncertainty crept into her voice — something Almit had never noticed in her before. He merely nodded and pretended to search for something on his desk, giving her time to gather her thoughts. Something was clearly troubling  her. Even this usually quick-witted student was struggling to find the right words.

-I wanted to ask about the schedule for the electives - clairvoyance and hypnosis. Mark Grigorievich insists that I attend the additional classes every day. Is that really necessary?

Almit looked at the student in surprise.

-I understand that you want more free time. Your department is always burdened with training, even though the academic year has only just begun, but...

-That's not the reason,- she interrupted then immediately seemed embarrassed by her own boldness. I... I simply don't see the point."

-Please explain it to me

-I do everything that's expected of me, but I can't do it. I don't understand how to search faster or how to induce hypnosis with a single command. These exercises exhaust me. It was the same last year."

-That's strange,- Almit murmured slowly, studying her carefully. Mark Grigorievich thinks very highly of you. He's always praising you for your progress.

- So he says,- she replied with a quiet, almost bitter laugh. But during class, he scolds me.

-That's a teaching technique,- Almit smiled back at the girl. He knows you're capable of more. Don't take it personally, and I strongly recommend you continue with the sessions.

Yasvena nodded in agreement and bit her lower lip — coquettishly, and far too deliberately. Then she rose slowly and walked around the desk without taking her eyes off him. Almit grew alert. Her gesture had nothing to do with a conversation about studies.

She came to a stop almost flush against him, forcing him to rise from his chair. Now they stood unacceptably close. Almit slipped his hands into his pockets, restraining a smile:

-Something else?

-Perhaps we could have some wine?,- the girl suggested unexpectedly.

-A bold proposal
He gave a quiet amused chuckle.

-Don't you get enough of wine at student parties?

-No. I simply want to spend some time with you. Do you mind?

"Does she really lack male attention?" The thought flashed through Almit's mind.

The girl was popular with the young men, so her behavior surprised him, though he gave no sign of it. Instead, he answered with a question of his own.

-Having trouble with guys?

Yasvena smiled before answering.

-No.

Almit folded his arms across his chest and watched the girl intently, continuing to ask questions.

-Having difficulties with your studies or with one of the teachers?"

-No.

-Do you need something from me? Some kind of special privileges?

-No.

-Did you lose a bet to your friends?

Yasvena laughed softly at his guesses. Without looking away from the man, she said playfully:

- You have quite an imagination. No. I'm not interested in asking teachers for favors or receiving special privileges.

-Then what do you want from me?

Yasvena suddenly leaned forward him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and whispered almost against his lips:

-Kiss me.

Almit froze.

-You… seriously?

For a long moment, he studied her eyes in silience, expecting to catch some hint of a trick - or at least some awareness of how inappropriate the situation was. But Yasvena didn't seem embarrassed in the slightest. On the contrary, the determination in her gaze left him baffled.

-I'll ask you again, he said, carefully prying her arms loose and stepping back toward the window.
-What do you want?
-I already answered. I want to spend time with you.

She wasn't giving up. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she tried once more to press her lips to his. This time, there was nowhere for him to retreat. She pressed her whole body against his, forcing him back against the window. Almit turned away gently but firmly, removing her hands from his shoulders and stopping her before she could try again.

"Something's not right"

Then it suddenly occured to him what might lie behind such inappropriate behavior from an otherwise diligent adept.

-Have you been smoking something? Taking something? — his voice hardened. He searched her eyes. Her pupils looked normal.

"I am not going to use Legilimency just yet"

-No.
-Then what is it?
- I like you. Very much.

"Ah, so that's it."

He exhaled in relief, almost laughing.

-Unbelievable. Is this some kind of student prank? Or did you try to use magic on me and it didn't work? Leave, Yasvena. I'm busy, and I don't have time for this this nonsense.

"What on earth has she got into her head? Instead of studying, she's decided to seduce the Director!"

He looked at her with poorly concealed disappointment.

The students respected him,and Almit knew that many of them - especially the girls - found him attractive. But he had never used his charm to his advantage. He kept everything under control: his voice, his gaze, even the energy he projected. He wasn't interested in female attention. His mind was occupied with his work, his responsibilities, and the running of the Academy. With his colleagues, he allowed himself the occasional joke - light, clever, sometimes even flirtatious - but everyone always sensed where the line was.

Yasvena refused to give up.
- I'm serious. I like you very much.

She moved toward him again, coming far too close. Almit deliberately stepped aside, irritation giving way to unease.

- Did you really drink something? Smoke something?
- No
- Why can't you understand that there's an age gap between us? A difference in status - and, ultimately, different faiths?
- The future isn't predetermined! - she cried, almost desparetely. It depends on choice. On our choice.

While he was still trying to decide how to answer, she closed the remaining distance and pressed her lips to his. It was a bold, desparate kiss.
Almit didn't return it, but neither did he push her away. Instead, he caught her hands, closed his fingers firmly around her wrists, and pulled her against him. Leaning toward her ear, he spoke so quietly that a shiver ran down her spine each word distinct and deliberate.

- Don't play with me. I might not be able to stop.
- Then don't stop, - she breathed against his neck.
In those words, there was everyting: desire, defiance and despair.

He realized he was only inflaming himself further. He loosened his grip and almost pushed her away.

-This is madness! Do you hear me? Madness! Please, don't lose your mind-and don't drive me out of mine.
- Leave. Go while there's still time, before I'm forced to punish you for behaving like this. I've known you since you were seven. You grew up before my eyes! When did you become so corrupted?"

The last word came out harsher than he intended.

-Corrupted?-she cried?,no longer trying to restrain herself.
-Since when is love a form of corruption?

There was no playfulness in her voice, no trace of enchantment. It was a genuine cry of pain. She truly believed every word she was saying. And that left Almit speechless.

"Enough".

- This is madness. Leave my office, Yasvena. Now. This could end badly, and you'll regret it later. Almit walked to the window, his hands clenched into fists. The girl did not move.
- Please, leave, - he added quietlty, without turning around. There was more exhaustion than anger in that plea.
When he heard the door close behind him, he finally allowed himself to breathe out. What had happened had thrown him completely off balance. Girls flirted with him often, and he was used to it. But what had just happened was something else entirely. He had no idea how to respond. He had removed his personal life from all his plans for the future.
There was no room for it - not now. He needed to speak with her before she did something foolish. Almit closed his eyes and scanned the Academy grounds with his magic. He found Yasvena by the lake, not far from the main building. Taking a blanket, he left his office with a firm sense of purpose. If Yasvena had no intention of going to bed, then he would have to make absolutely certain that she understood where things stood between them.

The girl was indeed sitting on the grass at the water's edge, her arms wrapped around her knees as she gazed into the lakes's black, glassy surface, where the reflected stars trembled. The autumn air was cold and damp, scented with rotting leaves and stagnant water. Somewhere in the distance, a tawny owl hooted, but Yasvena noticed neither the chill nor the sounds around her. She sat alone with her thoughts - and with that foolish, naive hope that had driven her to do all this.
Almit appeared almost without a sound. Not even the leaves stirred beneath his feet. Only the air seemed to grow denser, as though his very presence filled the space with the energy that always made her breath catch. He lowered himself onto the grass beside her and carefully draped the blanket around her shoulders.

- Why did you come?- she asked without turning her head. Her voice was quiet and hollow.

He paused, searching for the right words.
- I'm going to try to convince you to let go of these ridiculous fantasies about me. If you are confused, you can talk ti me about it. I'll try ti help.
The girl gave him a surprised glance, then turned back toward the water.
- I'm not confused. Looking into my mind wouldn't be fifficult for you< wouldn't it?
- No, I won't do that. Not yet,at least. I want you to tell me yourself whe you're really doing this?
- I've already told you everything.
Almit let out a heavy sigh.
"Stubborn"
- Is it really so difficult for you with young men?
- Everything is fine with them. They simply don't interest me.
- Then who does interest you, Yasvena? Someone who can give you something in return?
- Do you really think I'm that mercenary?- Yasvena snapped.
- I'm not making any assumptions yet. I'm only trying to understand your motives.
- What if it is persinal interest? Feelings? Does any of that matter?
- Listen to me, Yasvena. This is more complicated than you imagine.
- Maybe we're the ones making it complicated,-she interrupted, apparently unwilling to acknowledge the obvious truth.
- Do you understand what you're asking for? Do you understand the consequences?
She met Almit's gaze. They were sitting so close that his thigh almost touched her leg. Taking advantage of the distance - or rather, the lack pf it - she placed her palm against his chest.
- I understand.
The man froze, waiting to see what she would do next.

"If I don't stop her, what happens next? When will she finally become frightened by what she is doing?"
Almit realized that he had seriously underestimated the girl when, finding no obstacle in her way, she began gently but confidently undoing the buttons of his shirt. Holding his breath, he watched her palms - already hot from touching his body, began to caress his chest through the opening of his shirt. He closed his eyes. He knew he had to stop this now, but he gave himself one more second to savor what was happening.

- Yasvena, stop,- he made a half-hearted attempt to stop her. But when her lips touched his chest, he realized he had lost. Some inexplicable force compelled him to yield to her insistence, and he surrended, allowing her to take the lead.Gradually, a wave if desire swept over Almit as well. He touched her face with his fingertips. When she looked at him with an intoxicating gaze, he finally allowed himlesf to relinquish control. Her  soft lips found his, and he returned the kiss. Then he lay back, allowing her to lie on top of him, and pulled her close, savoring their intimacy.
Yasvena's fingers tangled in his hair as she breathed in his scent with rapture. A delicate trace of woody cologne filled her lungs.

-If you want me to stop, you only have to say so. Understood? At any moment. - Almit whispered, breaking off the kiss. He was unwilling to go any further without her consent. By now, he no longer expected her common sense to reassert itself.
- I won't stop you.- Yasvena replied with the last of her strength, then pressed her lips to his again, urging him to continue.
- Are you sure you won't regret this later?
- Yes
With a groan, Almit turned her onto her back, making certain she was lying on the blanket, then covered her with his body. Her hands moved over him wherever they could reach, urging him to press her more firmly against the ground. She was so tender and yielding, responding to his every touch, that Almit reveled in their closeness, savoring the feel of her in his arms. Her body reacted painfully to his entry, but Yasvena ignored the discomfort, absorbed in the intensity of her emotions. His careful movements and gentle, caressing hands only deepened the passion burning inside her.

She surrendered herself completely to Almit, dissolving into the intimacy they shared. When he felt her body arch with ecstasy, he finally allowed himself to relax, and a wave of pleasure washed over him, coursing through his body. Drawing a deep breath, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the starry sky.
"All right. Better this than letting her try it at some ridiculous party with some half-drunk fellow student. It is strange that, with her temperament, she still hadn't taken that step. Most likely, this had been her main goal all along. How sad".

Yasvena's hair was spread across the grass, tangled among the autumn leaves. She, too, gazed silently at the night sky, unwilling to disturb the silence. Even though she had supposedly confessed her feeling to him, Almit's attitude toward her had not changed for the better. Almit rose from the ground and dressed un silence, watching her from the corner of his eye. She had already fastened her dress and gathered her disheveled hair into a hastly tied bun.

Undoing the buttons of his shirt, he said sarcastically:
- Congratulations. You got what you wanted in the end.
Yasvena smiled faintly and leaned toward him to kiss him, but he pointedly turned away, tucking his hands into trouser pockets.
- Go back to your room and go to sleep, - Almit said coldly. And I hope you have enough sense not to tell anyone about this - inless, of course, that was your goal.

Yasvena stood for a while longer, leaning against the willow growing by the shore and reflecting on what had happened. The fatigue that had built up over the day, combined with the heat of the evening, had taken its toll.
With a sigh, she picked up the blanket the dorector had thoughtfully brought and trudged toward the campus.

***

By Academy rule, students were forbidden to loiter around the grounds after curfew. The rule was only as universal as the student's audacity to break it. There was also the risk of running into Frol, the Academy's irksome house spirit. His favourite pasttime was spying on students wandering around after curfew and reporting them to the vice principal. That automatically meant being assigned cleaning duty- something Yasvena wanted least of all. Wisely, Yasvena took off her shoes so she could run to the dormitory on the fourth floor as quickly and quietly as possible.
Frol, of course, acted from the noblest of motives. Like all house spirits, he considered himself and his kind the only guardians of order in the madhouse known as the Academy. He obeyed and respected the director. He showed the same deference to his deputy, Eleonora Konstantinovna, but only at Almit's request.
He regarded everyone else as his charges and punished them for breaking rules he made up himself. His usual punishment was to hide their personal belongings, earing himself the victims' righteous wrath. He was so good at hiding things taht no locating spell could find them. And untill the hapless students stopped cursing his relatives and apologized - loudly, and, most importantly, sincerely - they wouldn't see their belongings again.

Once she had safely made it back to her room, Yasvena gently closed the door and tiptoed toward the bathroom, trying not to wake anyone. But one of her roommates, Kristina, cracked open her eyes and lifted her head slightly from the pillow.
- Where have you been?- she asked sleepily.
- Out for a walk.
Kristina seemed satisfied with the answer and drifted off to sleep again almost at once.
After her shower, Yasvena stood by the window for a while, admiring the bright moon and wondering what tomorrow would bring.

Chapter 2. Birthday

The Academy had three departments: Healing, Combat magic and Divination. This triad was not accident; it reflected the three highest castes in Slavic society: the laborers, the warriors, and the sages. Every twelve-year-old admitted to the Academy had a one-on-one interview with the director, who would decide which department best suited their gift. The student's own wishes matttered too- after all, you can't force someone to embrace what is alien to them.

Students lived three to a room, usually with others from their own department, though there were exceptions. Each room was furnished with everything they needed,and had its own bathroom for the students' convenience. The accomodation felt more like a modern hotel room than a traditional student dormitoty.
Education at the Academy was free and lasted seven years. Each year group consisted of twelve students - a number sacred to the Slavs, symbolizung the fullness and order of the universe.

The Academy also ran a school and a kindergarten. The school charged tuition and  taught children from the age of seven. Unlike the Academy, it accepted anyone interested in learning about the world of Prav, Slavic history, culture, and traditions. However, if a student struggled with the workload or showed little interest in their studies, their parents would be advised to withdraw them when they turned twelve, since they would no longer be admitted to the Academy.