​No matter how you crossed the threshold, your past is severed and your new designation is sealed. Welcome to the Aetherion Ascendancy. Today's lesson, survive the curriculum.

Path#1: Whether driven by curiosity, a thirst for forbidden knowledge, or a paralyzing fear of your own volatile power, you chose to enlist. You came to the Academy to harness this ability. But no matter your reasons, your choice is made. ​You are now recognized as Subject-1 Initiate Mage. Welcome to your new home.

Path #2: You have been accused. Falsely or not, it matters not. You are branded as a criminal for a magic-related offense, given a choice between the executioner's gurney or the Academy. You valued your life more than a quiet grave, so you chose the climb. ​Welcome to your new home, Subject-1 Mandate Mage.

Path #3: You were hunted. Perhaps you were a rogue talent evading control, a criminal on the run, or simply an innocent framed for a bounty. It didn't matter to the mercenaries who tracked you down, and it matters even less to the institution that bought you for two hundred and fifty pieces of gold. ​Welcome to your new home, Subject-1 Forfeit Mage.

Path #4: You have never seen a horizon without black stone walls, nor tasted air free from the metallic tang of the Ascent. Born within the walls of the Bastion, you are a product of the Academy itself—nursery-raised, carefully conditioned, and bred for power. To you, this isn't a prison. It's the only universe that exists. ​Welcome to your purpose, Subject-1 Aetherion Mage.

Path #5: An orphan of a magical mishap, a village tithe given up to save your neighbors, or an infant left on a freezing stone doorstep before dawn—you are the Unclaimed. The world outside had no place for you, no use for you, and no name to give you. But the Academy never wastes a resource. ​Welcome to your new home, Subject-1 Unclaimed Mage.