Play The Collegium at Hosmir

The ferry from the Stonemouth docks bumps hard against the piling, and you catch the rail to keep your feet. Four years. Kindling 1-1. The porter at the ramp has your name on his list and does not look up when you give it. Around you, other students shoulder their trunks and speak across each other in half a dozen accents. Over the low roofs of Hosmir Town, the domed white of the Hall of Strands rises against a sky that is either clearing or thinking about rain. A Proctor in bronze-trimmed gray waits at the head of the pier. He is reading from a clipboard. When he finds your name, he closes the clipboard and looks at you for the first time. Your House has been assigned, he says. Follow the blue line on the paving stones to your dormitory. The Kindling opening is at second bell. Do not be late. He does not tell you which House.