Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Jul 24, 2007 16:17:13 GMT
"... correct, Mr Tyler, and what else where the Dutch goblin riots in 1807 were caused by...? Yes, Miss Kirkwood?"
"Unfair payment conditions."
"Can you expand on that?"
"They were getting paid really low wages for doing a lot of dangerous work," replied Naomi promptly. "They were mad about it, and the riots were a way of angling for a pay rise."
"Very good, Miss Kirkwood! Now the problem was that goblins were seen as scum- right at the bottom of the pecking order. A goblin trade had been flourishing in the Middle East at the time, and over here people were beginning to turn the same way. The goblins were- rightly so- angered by being given what they saw as 'slave wages'. Alright, so we've got dangerous conditions, low payment, the Redwood Degree of 1799... one more reason. Ah, yes, Miss Norris?"
It was a lazy afternoon, two periods after lunch, and many of the students were comfortably lying back in their chairs, full and dreamy. They were currently in double History with Professor Danton, a kindly young woman in her late twenties. Even if many students did not find History particularly interesting, Professor Danton was a very pleasent person, and she was very likeable. Many students had discovered an interest in History through her, and now- in the happy, sleepy mood that had descended on the classroom- they were happy enough to answer some goblin questions on what was proving to be a very easy topic.
Kira, however, was the exception to the class mood. She'd barely ate her lunch, swirling her soup absent-mindedly with her spoon as she read through all the books about spying she'd found in the library. There was one particular book Madeleine had recommended: Four Groups, One Resistance: Academics, Carers, Spies, Warriors, and as Kira read, she felt more and more ignorant in her knowledge of the war. She knew basic things of course- the war had been going on for 200 years, although the militant activity within the school only stretched back the last 50 or so. She also knew a lot of it was centred around the Hoodham family, but as she read about all the information past Spies had found, she felt lower and lower.
She knew nothing.
And Kira hated feeling that ignorant.
"Ever since the beginnings of the population explosion in Britain, the goblins had been feeling more and more threatened by the humans," Kira supplied easily. "Many felt that if they didn't rise up and strike back soon, the humans would crush them completely; the majority felt under threat of extinction."
"Exactly," beamed Professor Danton, as the school bell racketed around their heads. "Alright, that's all we have time for. Pack up everyone."
There was a general groaning of students and a scraping of chairs. Nobody really wanted to leave History, especially not when they'd been so comfortable; happy just to sit and listen. However, as the bell rang, Kira did not get up. Instead, she reached under her desk, pulling her heavy bag towards her and retrieving the book from it. As the door closed, and the final student, Kira stood up and cleared her throat.
Professor Danton turned in surprise. She'd been writing something about the Attack on Elf Rights by Goblins. "Funny, isn't it?" she smiled, nodding at the board. "They demanded rights, and yet a few years later, when the elves followed their example, they mocked it, and declared it would be a breach of the natural order, and all sorts of other nonsense..."
"Professor Danton," Kira said tentatively. "I was hoping I could ask you about... about the war."
"The Orchid War," Professor Danton said softly. "That's what they're calling it... And you have been enlisted to fight in it."
"It's why I want to know," Kira muttered, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "I never thought to really, you know, ask before... my parents didn't like me to, and it's been happening for so long now... it's a way of life, y'know?"
"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Miss Norris," smiled Professor Danton. "You're truly a child of the Orchid War. It's been getting worse lately, people just want to reach an agreement..."
Kira nodded fervently. "I... I want to know about... why..." She gulped. "Why people are dying; why families are being torn apart; why I'm meant to... meant to help.... why Macy's been taken."
Professor Danton's brown eyes were full of a strange solemness as they surveyed the young student before her. "Very well," she said heavily, sitting at her desk. "Take a seat, Miss Norris..."
Kira obliged, pulling a chair from the nearest desk across the room, so she sat across from Professor Danton, watching her over her cluttered desk. Professor Danton clicked her fingers, and the books fell off her desk, stacking themselves in a neat pile.
"I should do that more often," her teacher laughed, looking down at them fondly. "I just tend to forget... now then," she fixed her brown eyes on Kira's blue ones. "This may take a while. Please apologise to your next teacher for me."
Kira nodded, smiling. "I will, thank you."
"Alright then..." sighed Professor Danton, leaning back looking thoughtful. "I suppose you'd need to know a bit of background about Orchid first... Orchid Hill Academy for the Gifted wasn't just a school... it was a renowned world centre of learning. From when it was founded in 500 AD, it has been flocked to by citizens of the highest intellectual capabilities. It was built in the centre of the world on the Orchid Hill in No Man's Land, and from the day it opened the school was known far and wide. The most influential people came here, and the government met here often... The Grand Library was the largest around- nowhere else was there a more extensive collection of knowledge." Professor Danton's eyes had glazed over, her voice slightly dreamy.
" 'Go to Orchid Hill a peasent, and leave a half hour later a king,' they would say... Anyone who was anyone came here. No place was full of more magic; nowhere so full of learning; so steeped in history..." Suddenly, her face fell, and her eyes hardened.
"You know what No Man's Land is, of course?" she directed at Kira.
Kira nodded quickly. "It refers to two things. In a battle, it is the area between the two enemy bases where they fight. But the No Man's Land is the unclaimed territory in which Orchid Hill was built in the centre of..."
"You know, these days in refers to both," Professor Danton said darkly. "The trenches surround the barriers of the school, and all the land between them and the claimed land is the No Man's Land in this war, where battles take place. Nothing like irony, is there, Miss Norris?"
Kira wasn't quite sure how to reply, but Professor Danton didn't seem to really expect an answer. There was a moment's silence as her teacher gazed at the closed door of the classroom, then suddenly shook herself slightly and continued.
"The founder of this school, Sir Horace Hoodham, thought it best to put the school in No Man's Land, because then it would belong to nobody, and so would be open to all to come and benefit from its learning. It is not even certain where Sir Horace himself comes from, although many believe it was somewhere in Greece, although he was raised in Germany, and lived most of his life in Britain. Anyway, his aim was that by placing the school in such a location, people would not argue about ownership, and as the greedy human race goes, keep all the knowledge to themselves, and their own country." Professor Danton sighed. "By doing what he did, the very thing he hoped to prevent has been the source of this war...
"For many happy years, the school was passed through generation and generation of Hoodham- each new Head of the school bringing something new to its wonderful history. But it was too good to last. Soon, people began to grumble about the school's power and influence. Some believed it had too much. Others thought it had too little. Next came the Speciesism- the school should be limited to humans only; goblins only; lephrechauns only; elves only...
"After the Speciesism, it branched out a little more, so that races began bickering within each other. Around the time of the Slave Trade, heated arguments sprouted up about whether or not black humans should still be permitted to go to the school. But that wasn't the worst of it- religion started to come into it; is it a Christian school? Is it a Islam school? Is it a Buddhist school? Is it an Athiest school? The questions were endless.
"But aside from the question of who attended the school- what about the purpose of the school? It had grown to have so much influence- so why was its main purpose dedicated to educating young magicfolk? It shouldn't be a place for children- it should be for adults only! It should be used for government purposes only! It should be used for international magical co-operation only! It should be used by me, me, me for my purposes, and mine alone!
"Then, 200 years ago, the tension cracked. Around the time the goblin riots you have been learning about broke out, the Redwood Degree that'd been passed a few years ago began to take real effect on the school. You of course will know all about that- if you've been paying attention in class?" Professor Danton said sharply, fixing Kira with her beady brown eye.
Kira jumped. "Er... yes, of course."
"Tell me then," smiled Professor Danton.
Kira laughed nervously. "Em... well, Tennyson Redwood was Head of the International Inter-Species Co-operation Board. They met at Orchid Hill Academy for the Gifted twice a year to discuss new policies. He'd been the human candidate, and because humans vastly out-numbered a lot of other species back then, he was elected. He had... tough policies, because he despised goblins. Apparently, one had... em... robbed his grandfather of some family treasures when he was a boy..."
"Well done," smiled Professor Danton. "You have been paying attention."
Kira grinned back in relief, and Professor Danton continued with her story of the war.
"So Redwood made a Degree, limiting the powers of goblins terribly. After a few years, he managed to expand it, and made an outright statement against the goblins," she said grimly. "He banned them from attending the school altogether.
"But he was just the first in a long line. Haven't you ever wondered why only humans attend the school? Originally, the 'Gifted' in Orchid Hill's Academy was not limited to only humans possessing magical qualities. It referred to so much more... to intelligence, to the performing arts, to technology, to cooking- in short, it welcomed talents of all kinds, and celebrated them. At this school, you could learn how to hone your every gift, however little or insignificant it may seem, and make it great. But as I have already said, those days were over... and now, it is doubtful they will ever return.
"Uproar was caused amongst the different species as more and more of them were banned from attending the school, and benefiting from its knowledge. But in the meantime, where was the Hoodham family, who had guarded over the school for so many years? Well, for many, many years they were silent. What could they do, after all? It may be their school, but if they dared go against the government, it was feared the school may actually be shut down- and that would be catastrophic.
"About 100 years ago, it came under the command of Karise Hoodham. Miss Hoodham was the first- and only so far- female Headmistress the school has had, who consequently, is our current Headmaster's grandmother. As you may've noticed, the time she came into power lines up with the time woman were beginning to demand their rights. Well, as always, even now, Orchid Hill was quite a bit ahead of its time. Karise's father, Regis, had but two children. One was Karise, the other Jarl, her younger brother. However, Jarl was very rebellious, and his father was never very fond of him. In a rather daring move, he left the school to his daughter instead, causing a terrible riot amongst those who believed women should be banned from the school.
"That was when a wall was built around the school- the one where the trenches now are- to protect the Headmistress, who was very different from the past generations of Headmasters. She was like a breath of fresh air- or a bomb, depending on your view on the whole matter. She had a fiery spirit- perhaps installed in her by the campaign for Woman's Rights she felt she was a big step in winning. She never went by the rule book- and her son was born to her out of wedlock, which is why the name Hoodham has not disappeared. Goodness, that caused a terrible scandal. But it was just what people came to expect of young Miss Karise Hoodham.
"Now, as you know, the Hoodham family had been determinedly neutral in the war that raged around them, but Miss Hoodham was quite a change from that. She was determined that the school should be returned to its old ways- and made many a bold public statement. Once, she ran through China with a burning wooden likeness of Mr Redwood, who is still widely blamed today for causing the first violence to break out. She made many passionate speeches all over the world, and condemned the treatment of non-human species.
"It was she who first drew up the plans for the four Heads who would protect the school- the Academics, Spies, Carers and Warriors. She just wanted what was best for Orchid Hill. However, she was assasinated whilst in Egypt, and never got to carry out her plan. The culprit was never caught, but their murder backfired a bit, because she became a martyr amongst her supporters."
"There's a statue of her in one of the gardens, isn't there?" asked Kira suddenly, a vision of an fierce-looking woman with long, wild curls flashed through her mind.
Professor Danton beamed at her. "Glad to see you've been paying attention... Now, we can skim over her son, Jerome, a bit. Basically, he continued his mother's work by bringing into place the system of four student Heads. He believed in students fighting for themselves. Now then, although he died quite young of a heart attack- poor man- he did have two sons- one is our current Headmaster, Professor Major Hoodham, and the other is his twin brother, Marius. Now- "
"I know this bit," Kira said suddenly and hollowly. "I know all about the twins..."
Major and Marius- they were the reason her family had split so suddenly in two. Her parents fully supported Major, whilst her uncle and aunt- Lee's parents- supported Marius and his beliefs. The brothers had caused many arguments- but inevitably, people supported one or the other.
Major- or Professor Hoodham- made a bold statement. He claimed that the school was no longer the government's ally. He believed in all Karise and Jerome had done, and insisted that the only way the school could do this was by breaking any bonds with the government, and stepping forth into a shining new era.
Marius, on the other hand, was insistent that the school should be selective about who it let attend. Separation was the key- Orchid Hill should be for humans, and humans alone. If the trolls or giants wanted to learn, they should start up their own schools, instead of causing such a fuss.
"The two brothers argued bitterly for years," Kira said softly. "And... eventually violence broke out within the school itself. That's how the wall was knocked down."
Professor Danton nodded fervently. "Marius did that- it was a direct attack on the school and his brother. Many thought it despicable he would attack Professor Hoodham- but others insisted it was the right thing to do. He was only defending his own, after all.
"Just 4 years ago, Marius left the school. He was tired of living under Major's unattainable fantasy of a united school. These years have passed in silence for the school, and now, this attack on Macy- most likely by one of his followers- is the long-awaited continuation of the direct attacks against the school- and against our Headmaster."
A silence elapsed on them both, each lost in their own thoughts. Kira had listened to Professor Danton's speech, growing bitterer and bitterer with each sentence. She cursed the world now- it was just full of hatred, stupidity and bitterness. All this arguing left her head pounding, and thoroughly sick to the stomach. And now, as Head of the Spies, she was taking up her place in the war.
She was a defender of the ancient ways of Orchid Hill.
But even now, as she sat there digesting all the information, she couldn't help wonder if the victory they were fighting for was worth so many lives. How could it be? This war was a tragedy, and she was grimly aware that it was part of her job to finally try and end it.
And if she didn't... she was a failure.
Suddenly, the clanging bell reverberated around the classroom, and Professor Danton jumped up as though she'd been scalded. "Good lord, an entire period!" she cried, aghast. "Go and apologise to the teacher you just missed- then apologise to the one you're meant to be with now! Go, go!"
Kira jumped to her feet and sprinted from the room, her sudden shock from her thoughts speeding her along. Thank goodness for this new power of her's- or she'd never make it anywhere on time!
"Unfair payment conditions."
"Can you expand on that?"
"They were getting paid really low wages for doing a lot of dangerous work," replied Naomi promptly. "They were mad about it, and the riots were a way of angling for a pay rise."
"Very good, Miss Kirkwood! Now the problem was that goblins were seen as scum- right at the bottom of the pecking order. A goblin trade had been flourishing in the Middle East at the time, and over here people were beginning to turn the same way. The goblins were- rightly so- angered by being given what they saw as 'slave wages'. Alright, so we've got dangerous conditions, low payment, the Redwood Degree of 1799... one more reason. Ah, yes, Miss Norris?"
It was a lazy afternoon, two periods after lunch, and many of the students were comfortably lying back in their chairs, full and dreamy. They were currently in double History with Professor Danton, a kindly young woman in her late twenties. Even if many students did not find History particularly interesting, Professor Danton was a very pleasent person, and she was very likeable. Many students had discovered an interest in History through her, and now- in the happy, sleepy mood that had descended on the classroom- they were happy enough to answer some goblin questions on what was proving to be a very easy topic.
Kira, however, was the exception to the class mood. She'd barely ate her lunch, swirling her soup absent-mindedly with her spoon as she read through all the books about spying she'd found in the library. There was one particular book Madeleine had recommended: Four Groups, One Resistance: Academics, Carers, Spies, Warriors, and as Kira read, she felt more and more ignorant in her knowledge of the war. She knew basic things of course- the war had been going on for 200 years, although the militant activity within the school only stretched back the last 50 or so. She also knew a lot of it was centred around the Hoodham family, but as she read about all the information past Spies had found, she felt lower and lower.
She knew nothing.
And Kira hated feeling that ignorant.
"Ever since the beginnings of the population explosion in Britain, the goblins had been feeling more and more threatened by the humans," Kira supplied easily. "Many felt that if they didn't rise up and strike back soon, the humans would crush them completely; the majority felt under threat of extinction."
"Exactly," beamed Professor Danton, as the school bell racketed around their heads. "Alright, that's all we have time for. Pack up everyone."
There was a general groaning of students and a scraping of chairs. Nobody really wanted to leave History, especially not when they'd been so comfortable; happy just to sit and listen. However, as the bell rang, Kira did not get up. Instead, she reached under her desk, pulling her heavy bag towards her and retrieving the book from it. As the door closed, and the final student, Kira stood up and cleared her throat.
Professor Danton turned in surprise. She'd been writing something about the Attack on Elf Rights by Goblins. "Funny, isn't it?" she smiled, nodding at the board. "They demanded rights, and yet a few years later, when the elves followed their example, they mocked it, and declared it would be a breach of the natural order, and all sorts of other nonsense..."
"Professor Danton," Kira said tentatively. "I was hoping I could ask you about... about the war."
"The Orchid War," Professor Danton said softly. "That's what they're calling it... And you have been enlisted to fight in it."
"It's why I want to know," Kira muttered, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "I never thought to really, you know, ask before... my parents didn't like me to, and it's been happening for so long now... it's a way of life, y'know?"
"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Miss Norris," smiled Professor Danton. "You're truly a child of the Orchid War. It's been getting worse lately, people just want to reach an agreement..."
Kira nodded fervently. "I... I want to know about... why..." She gulped. "Why people are dying; why families are being torn apart; why I'm meant to... meant to help.... why Macy's been taken."
Professor Danton's brown eyes were full of a strange solemness as they surveyed the young student before her. "Very well," she said heavily, sitting at her desk. "Take a seat, Miss Norris..."
Kira obliged, pulling a chair from the nearest desk across the room, so she sat across from Professor Danton, watching her over her cluttered desk. Professor Danton clicked her fingers, and the books fell off her desk, stacking themselves in a neat pile.
"I should do that more often," her teacher laughed, looking down at them fondly. "I just tend to forget... now then," she fixed her brown eyes on Kira's blue ones. "This may take a while. Please apologise to your next teacher for me."
Kira nodded, smiling. "I will, thank you."
"Alright then..." sighed Professor Danton, leaning back looking thoughtful. "I suppose you'd need to know a bit of background about Orchid first... Orchid Hill Academy for the Gifted wasn't just a school... it was a renowned world centre of learning. From when it was founded in 500 AD, it has been flocked to by citizens of the highest intellectual capabilities. It was built in the centre of the world on the Orchid Hill in No Man's Land, and from the day it opened the school was known far and wide. The most influential people came here, and the government met here often... The Grand Library was the largest around- nowhere else was there a more extensive collection of knowledge." Professor Danton's eyes had glazed over, her voice slightly dreamy.
" 'Go to Orchid Hill a peasent, and leave a half hour later a king,' they would say... Anyone who was anyone came here. No place was full of more magic; nowhere so full of learning; so steeped in history..." Suddenly, her face fell, and her eyes hardened.
"You know what No Man's Land is, of course?" she directed at Kira.
Kira nodded quickly. "It refers to two things. In a battle, it is the area between the two enemy bases where they fight. But the No Man's Land is the unclaimed territory in which Orchid Hill was built in the centre of..."
"You know, these days in refers to both," Professor Danton said darkly. "The trenches surround the barriers of the school, and all the land between them and the claimed land is the No Man's Land in this war, where battles take place. Nothing like irony, is there, Miss Norris?"
Kira wasn't quite sure how to reply, but Professor Danton didn't seem to really expect an answer. There was a moment's silence as her teacher gazed at the closed door of the classroom, then suddenly shook herself slightly and continued.
"The founder of this school, Sir Horace Hoodham, thought it best to put the school in No Man's Land, because then it would belong to nobody, and so would be open to all to come and benefit from its learning. It is not even certain where Sir Horace himself comes from, although many believe it was somewhere in Greece, although he was raised in Germany, and lived most of his life in Britain. Anyway, his aim was that by placing the school in such a location, people would not argue about ownership, and as the greedy human race goes, keep all the knowledge to themselves, and their own country." Professor Danton sighed. "By doing what he did, the very thing he hoped to prevent has been the source of this war...
"For many happy years, the school was passed through generation and generation of Hoodham- each new Head of the school bringing something new to its wonderful history. But it was too good to last. Soon, people began to grumble about the school's power and influence. Some believed it had too much. Others thought it had too little. Next came the Speciesism- the school should be limited to humans only; goblins only; lephrechauns only; elves only...
"After the Speciesism, it branched out a little more, so that races began bickering within each other. Around the time of the Slave Trade, heated arguments sprouted up about whether or not black humans should still be permitted to go to the school. But that wasn't the worst of it- religion started to come into it; is it a Christian school? Is it a Islam school? Is it a Buddhist school? Is it an Athiest school? The questions were endless.
"But aside from the question of who attended the school- what about the purpose of the school? It had grown to have so much influence- so why was its main purpose dedicated to educating young magicfolk? It shouldn't be a place for children- it should be for adults only! It should be used for government purposes only! It should be used for international magical co-operation only! It should be used by me, me, me for my purposes, and mine alone!
"Then, 200 years ago, the tension cracked. Around the time the goblin riots you have been learning about broke out, the Redwood Degree that'd been passed a few years ago began to take real effect on the school. You of course will know all about that- if you've been paying attention in class?" Professor Danton said sharply, fixing Kira with her beady brown eye.
Kira jumped. "Er... yes, of course."
"Tell me then," smiled Professor Danton.
Kira laughed nervously. "Em... well, Tennyson Redwood was Head of the International Inter-Species Co-operation Board. They met at Orchid Hill Academy for the Gifted twice a year to discuss new policies. He'd been the human candidate, and because humans vastly out-numbered a lot of other species back then, he was elected. He had... tough policies, because he despised goblins. Apparently, one had... em... robbed his grandfather of some family treasures when he was a boy..."
"Well done," smiled Professor Danton. "You have been paying attention."
Kira grinned back in relief, and Professor Danton continued with her story of the war.
"So Redwood made a Degree, limiting the powers of goblins terribly. After a few years, he managed to expand it, and made an outright statement against the goblins," she said grimly. "He banned them from attending the school altogether.
"But he was just the first in a long line. Haven't you ever wondered why only humans attend the school? Originally, the 'Gifted' in Orchid Hill's Academy was not limited to only humans possessing magical qualities. It referred to so much more... to intelligence, to the performing arts, to technology, to cooking- in short, it welcomed talents of all kinds, and celebrated them. At this school, you could learn how to hone your every gift, however little or insignificant it may seem, and make it great. But as I have already said, those days were over... and now, it is doubtful they will ever return.
"Uproar was caused amongst the different species as more and more of them were banned from attending the school, and benefiting from its knowledge. But in the meantime, where was the Hoodham family, who had guarded over the school for so many years? Well, for many, many years they were silent. What could they do, after all? It may be their school, but if they dared go against the government, it was feared the school may actually be shut down- and that would be catastrophic.
"About 100 years ago, it came under the command of Karise Hoodham. Miss Hoodham was the first- and only so far- female Headmistress the school has had, who consequently, is our current Headmaster's grandmother. As you may've noticed, the time she came into power lines up with the time woman were beginning to demand their rights. Well, as always, even now, Orchid Hill was quite a bit ahead of its time. Karise's father, Regis, had but two children. One was Karise, the other Jarl, her younger brother. However, Jarl was very rebellious, and his father was never very fond of him. In a rather daring move, he left the school to his daughter instead, causing a terrible riot amongst those who believed women should be banned from the school.
"That was when a wall was built around the school- the one where the trenches now are- to protect the Headmistress, who was very different from the past generations of Headmasters. She was like a breath of fresh air- or a bomb, depending on your view on the whole matter. She had a fiery spirit- perhaps installed in her by the campaign for Woman's Rights she felt she was a big step in winning. She never went by the rule book- and her son was born to her out of wedlock, which is why the name Hoodham has not disappeared. Goodness, that caused a terrible scandal. But it was just what people came to expect of young Miss Karise Hoodham.
"Now, as you know, the Hoodham family had been determinedly neutral in the war that raged around them, but Miss Hoodham was quite a change from that. She was determined that the school should be returned to its old ways- and made many a bold public statement. Once, she ran through China with a burning wooden likeness of Mr Redwood, who is still widely blamed today for causing the first violence to break out. She made many passionate speeches all over the world, and condemned the treatment of non-human species.
"It was she who first drew up the plans for the four Heads who would protect the school- the Academics, Spies, Carers and Warriors. She just wanted what was best for Orchid Hill. However, she was assasinated whilst in Egypt, and never got to carry out her plan. The culprit was never caught, but their murder backfired a bit, because she became a martyr amongst her supporters."
"There's a statue of her in one of the gardens, isn't there?" asked Kira suddenly, a vision of an fierce-looking woman with long, wild curls flashed through her mind.
Professor Danton beamed at her. "Glad to see you've been paying attention... Now, we can skim over her son, Jerome, a bit. Basically, he continued his mother's work by bringing into place the system of four student Heads. He believed in students fighting for themselves. Now then, although he died quite young of a heart attack- poor man- he did have two sons- one is our current Headmaster, Professor Major Hoodham, and the other is his twin brother, Marius. Now- "
"I know this bit," Kira said suddenly and hollowly. "I know all about the twins..."
Major and Marius- they were the reason her family had split so suddenly in two. Her parents fully supported Major, whilst her uncle and aunt- Lee's parents- supported Marius and his beliefs. The brothers had caused many arguments- but inevitably, people supported one or the other.
Major- or Professor Hoodham- made a bold statement. He claimed that the school was no longer the government's ally. He believed in all Karise and Jerome had done, and insisted that the only way the school could do this was by breaking any bonds with the government, and stepping forth into a shining new era.
Marius, on the other hand, was insistent that the school should be selective about who it let attend. Separation was the key- Orchid Hill should be for humans, and humans alone. If the trolls or giants wanted to learn, they should start up their own schools, instead of causing such a fuss.
"The two brothers argued bitterly for years," Kira said softly. "And... eventually violence broke out within the school itself. That's how the wall was knocked down."
Professor Danton nodded fervently. "Marius did that- it was a direct attack on the school and his brother. Many thought it despicable he would attack Professor Hoodham- but others insisted it was the right thing to do. He was only defending his own, after all.
"Just 4 years ago, Marius left the school. He was tired of living under Major's unattainable fantasy of a united school. These years have passed in silence for the school, and now, this attack on Macy- most likely by one of his followers- is the long-awaited continuation of the direct attacks against the school- and against our Headmaster."
A silence elapsed on them both, each lost in their own thoughts. Kira had listened to Professor Danton's speech, growing bitterer and bitterer with each sentence. She cursed the world now- it was just full of hatred, stupidity and bitterness. All this arguing left her head pounding, and thoroughly sick to the stomach. And now, as Head of the Spies, she was taking up her place in the war.
She was a defender of the ancient ways of Orchid Hill.
But even now, as she sat there digesting all the information, she couldn't help wonder if the victory they were fighting for was worth so many lives. How could it be? This war was a tragedy, and she was grimly aware that it was part of her job to finally try and end it.
And if she didn't... she was a failure.
Suddenly, the clanging bell reverberated around the classroom, and Professor Danton jumped up as though she'd been scalded. "Good lord, an entire period!" she cried, aghast. "Go and apologise to the teacher you just missed- then apologise to the one you're meant to be with now! Go, go!"
Kira jumped to her feet and sprinted from the room, her sudden shock from her thoughts speeding her along. Thank goodness for this new power of her's- or she'd never make it anywhere on time!
