Anxiety gripped Ash as the cold, sharp needle pressed against his skin. Ash had never much liked the needle. He preferred something he could smoke or maybe a good coke line. Not something that reminded him of going to the doctor's office as a kid. Regardless, to an addict it was worth the high. He shivered as he felt the needle break the skin. This was always the hardest part, his hands would began to shake and sweat. Nervousness swelled at the pit of the teenager's stomach. He pushed down on the plunger.<br/><br/>Relief spread through his body, spread by a vein in his arm. The heroin traveled through his blood stream sending an intense feeling of euphoria to his brain. A feeling he would share with everyone around him. A grin grew on Ash's face as he pulled the syringe from his arm and let it drop on the bathroom floor. He really needed to stay away from this stuff. He couldn't afford to add herion to his list of recreational drugs with his current financial situation. This was Ash's third time using something that required a needle. Every time he told himself it would also be his last. Maybe this time it would be true.<br/><br/>Ash went through his normal process of hiding the drug use. Hide the needle, wrap the wound, hide the make shift bandage with his long sleeve shirt, etc, etc. He then stood and made his way out of the bathroom.<br/><br/>Ashley was at an art gallery for a showing with a girl he'd met a couple of weeks ago. This was a fairly common experience for him. People would immediately like him, quickly grow attached and then he'd disappear before their feelings could get hurt. He constantly felt like the hero of an RPG, where everyone else was NPCs whose sole purpose in existence was to make his life more interesting. Truth be told he hated that. Of course part of him enjoyed the power but for the most part it just felt unfair. Those NPCs should be able to have lives and stories separate from him. If he wasn't so afraid of being alone he likely would have isolated himself a long time ago.<br/><br/>Stepping on to the showcase floor was brilliant, made even more so by the effect of the drugs. Ash decided to not meet up with the girl just yet. She needed time to interact with potential clients, those people would be a far more important part of her life than Ash would be. The teen skimmed the paintings along the one of the walls. Some were amazing depictions of battles and landscapes. Some were perfectly abstract representations of emotions that drew you in. Others looked like a child had thrown paint at a canvas and was now trying to sell it for 120 quid. These ones always made Ash chuckle. He knew, chances were, someone was gonna buy that piece of crap.<br/><br/>There was one painting in particular that caught Ash's attention through. Truth be told it wasn't that impressive in comparison to the work around it, though definitely better that your average person's work. It was a rendering of a what looked like an academy floating within the clouds.<i>"Pink, yellow and blue? What an ugly choice of color scheme."</i>Truth be told, Ash had no idea what it was that fascinated him about this painting so much. He looked around for an artist's name only to find it had been anonymously added to the showcase. While searching he found an engraved plate attached to the frame, covered it dust.<i>"Why didn't they dust this before showing it?"</i>Everything about this painting was suspicious. The teen quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching him then roughly blew the dust off of the plate to reveal the word written.<br/><br/><b>Welcome to Caldwell's Academy of Magical Talents and Draconic Arts. Please touch to enter.</b><br/><br/>Ash raised an eyebrow. What an odd engraving. Nonetheless, the drugs having beat away the better part of his self control, Ash reached forward and placed his hand on the painting.<br/><br/>He was immediately met with a falling sensation, a sensation that he would describe as "awesome!" Ash had gone parachuting once and loved the experience. This felt very similar. Nonetheless, about a second later fear gripped him as he realized he didn't have any landing gear. Then he felt the earth catch him. Catch was definitely the right word. It was as it the ground had reach up and gently put him down on a solid surface. As he lay in the grass he swiveled his head around to look at his surroundings. Only one thought was in his mind.<br/><br/><i>"What the hell am I tripping on?"</i>