Rebirth

by Darkbringer

  “I,” he bowed furiously once again to indicate he was talking about himself, “have been here for three years now. Mongo has been here two, and Skeet has been here a year now. You’ll meet them both later, I’m certain – though they’re both gone on a school task together currently.”

  So two of my roommates are out on a task together, and they leave Dino behind. Makes sense to me. I’d leave him behind as well! Maybe they won’t be so bad when I meet them later.

  “For now, let me take you to the school and get you a meal. It’ll be my treat,” continued Dino.

  It annoyed me how he made it seem like he was being nice and going to buy me a meal when it was already included in the tuition cost. “Sure. I’m ready.” Breath in, breath out. I can’t let the dangerous idiot provoke me; I need to play his game if I want to be a nobody. But who knew I was going to be challenged so hard starting out!

  Laughing magnificently, Dino turned, walked over and opened the door, and then walked out it without ever looking back. I guess it was just assumed that I’d follow behind him obediently. Maybe I should’ve used my family name and not hidden who I was. It probably would’ve saved me a lot of hassle in the future, but I guess it’s too late for regrets now.

  “Yip. Yip.” I barked lightly under my breath, wagged my ass once for good measure, and then bounced along to catch up, like a good little puppy. If I can be a nobody around Dino, as annoying as he is, I can be a nobody anywhere! I guess I’ll have to consider this trip to be practice blending into my new role that I’d set for myself.

  I actually had to rush to catch up to Dino as he was already almost to the steps by the time I finished fooling around in the room. Apparently, those long legs of his take large strides and he can cover ground rather quickly. I was forced to lengthen my stride to keep up with him – and I suppose that was the first good thing I actually thought about him. Most of the wizards I’d met on the island were rather lazy, bookwormish, and slow. (With exceptions for De’Nara who was a blademaster as well as a wizard, and Le’Nara who just couldn’t seem to sit still for nothing – sometimes I even imagined that she probably used the bathroom while bouncing from foot to foot, she seemed to have so much energy!)

  It was actually nice to see that Dino appeared to be in good physical shape. He had a good stride, kept a steady pace, and his breathing – and talking – never faltered or slowed on our journey back to the school. Much like Sammy, he pointed out lots of different people and buildings and told me who and what they were. The problem was, Dino assailed me with so many names and specific details that my brain simply couldn’t process them all and was soon droning him out as nothing more relevant than background drivel!

  I’m certain that some of the things he told me, I’d probably want to remember – but he told me so much other junk as well! I couldn’t separate the wheat from the chaff, so I ended up just nodding and agreeing with whatever he said as we went back to the school and towards the cafeteria.

  A Meal With Friends

  Arriving at the school cafeteria, we worked our way through the small line and chose what we wanted to eat. The school cafeteria was set up in a simple pick-and-choose order. You walk in the door to the right and grab a tray, some woodenware (the forks and spoons were made of wood instead of metal, and I didn’t see any knives handy so apparently you supplied your own if you needed one of them), and a couple of glasses of whatever you wanted to drink. There was water, several different juices; apple, orange, grape, and a few mixed punches; milk, coffee, and a few different blends of tea to choose from.

  Once you’ve gotten your tray, eating utensil, and drinks, you simply slide the tray along and then pick and choose little dishes of various things to take with you. The variety of dishes weren’t bad; fish, chicken, pork, beef, and even some wild game was available to choose from for meat, and there was a large selection of fruits and vegetables also. The only thing I really didn’t see in the line was anything that I’d call dessert. I don’t know if the school doesn’t serve any, if they’re limited to certain meals or occasions, or if they’re in a different line somewhere, but I wasn’t going to ask Dino about it.

  I like my cake, but I don’t like it enough to listen to him ramble on for half an hour about which type he finds superior to the rest, about who invented them, and how the cake is only great because his magic makes it taste better or some such bull. Better to just remain ignorant and do without cake, than to ask Dino about it – at least that was my opinion on the matter. Once we’d gathered our meal, Dino led me to a set of tables in the far corner of the cafeteria where a few young women were already gathered.

  “Oh, Mageflame!” A young puppy-eyed blonde gushed when we sat down. “I didn’t think I’d see you in here this evening. You’re welcome to come sit with me, darling, if you want.”

  “No. He’s sitting over here with me instead,” another black-haired young lady countered, as Dino sat beside her. I took my seat across from him and near the first girl who’d spoken.

  Looking at the two girls, it was obvious that the blond was slightly poorer than the black haired girl – her clothes were more white and gray cotton, instead of the richer dyed cloth that the other girl wore. Neither was what I’d call an amazing beauty – but then again, perhaps I’ve simply gotten spoiled with beauties like De’Nara and Le’Nara and mother around the island – but I guess they both would be qualified to be called ‘cute’ by anyone’s estimation.

  “Michael, this is Jess,” Dino pointed over to the blond haired girl sitting beside me first. “And this is Sarah,” he told me as he pointed to the girl beside him. “Jess is learning to be a magical healer and alchemist, and Sarah is becoming a summoner. They’re both quite talented in their own way.

  “And, “ he finally pointed to me, “girls, I’d like to introduce you to my new roommate, Michael.”

  “Um…” It didn’t seem like it’d be possible to hold out a hand and shake or anything like that here at the table, so I simply nodded to both the girls instead. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” I told them.

  “Oh, it’s always a pleasure to meet a friend of Lord Mageflame’s!” The blond – Jess – gushed all at once while looking over at me and batting her eyelashes furiously, which confirmed my earlier suspicions: stupidity seeks the stupid. I’d imagine this girls breasts are probably larger than her IQ. At least she did seem to have a nice set of curves to look at, unlike the other girl who seemed a lot more flat chested. Now, I understood why Dino sat on the opposite side of the table – he’d chosen the side with the best view!

  “Happy to meet you, as well,” said the other girl, Sarah. At least she didn’t bat her eyes like me like a gnat had flown in them while she was talking. She might be the most normal of the bunch.

  “Sarah’s descended from a family of knights,” Dino informed me proudly. “She’s from a good bloodline, and her family is moving up in the world. Her father might even get to lead his own chapterhouse someday and become a commander of other knights.”

  “Well, that’s impressive,” I told her.

  “Well, it’s not set in stone yet. Mageflame brags a little too freely. There’re still a few others open for consideration for the post, so father hasn’t attained it yet. He’s still just a Knight of the Rose for now.”

  “Knight of the Rose?” I know I’d studied all the different knightly orders, but sometimes it’s a little hard to keep them all straight since each land seems to have their own titles and positions.

  “You probably don’t know the differences in the titles,” Sarah said a little condescendingly. “A lot of folks don’t keep up with the differences. A Knight of the Rose is a knight of the people; a Knight of the Crown is one sworn to the king; a Holy Knight is one blessed by the temple or Gods. There’re other orders and houses of knights, but those are the big ones. My father is a knight of the people, so he’s a Knight of the Rose.”

  “I see,” I told her. “It sounds like a very honorable position. You must be quit
e proud of him.”

  “She is,” injected Jess. “In fact, she’s so proud that her father has lectured her about it in the past. ‘Pride, envy, avarice - these are the sparks that set many a battle ablaze. Humility, dignity, self-respect – these are the weapons one must use to fight that battle for one’s self.’” She giggled empty-headedly. “Apparently Sarah doesn’t live up to her father’s expectations when it comes to humility.” Sarah just snorted lightly but held her tongue, which I thought showed a nice level of maturity and self-restraint.

  “But enough about her,” continued Jess, “tell us some more about you. Are you able to use magic like Mageflame?” Once again, she followed her speech with a furious flutter of her eyelashes. It reminded me of the struggle a butterfly would make trying to escape a spider’s web.

  “Oh no! I certainly don’t use magic like him,” I told her honestly. “Mageflame seems to truly be one of a kind. My talent isn’t anything like his. I’m just a simple man, hoping to learn a little more about the world while I’m here.”

  “Well,” she pouted her lip at me, “that’s a shame, but understandable. There aren’t a lot of male wizards out there, and Mageflame is the only one at the whole school! He really is one of a kind! Not that we aren’t always hoping to find another each year. It has to be hard on Mageflame not to have a guy to talk things over with and study with. We girls try and help when we can, but having another male wizard around would probably help him, you know.”

  “Ha!” Dino laughed sharply. “I don’t need another male wizard. My talents are great enough as it is already. If another man transferred here, he’d probably be intimidated by my prowess and drop out feeling inadequate. It’s probably for the best that there aren’t any other male wizards here currently. But, that aside, it still doesn’t tell us: what are you trying to learn here, Michael?”

  “Well,” I wanted to keep my story simple so I could always keep it straight, “to be honest, I’m not fully certain. I’m wanting to learn a craft of some sort, but I’m getting a late start since I needed to earn some coin to pay for school and live on before coming here. This semester I signed up for a variety of different things to see what might strike my fancy. I signed up for smithing, carpentry, and masonry to see if I’d be good at any of those things. And I signed up for a fighting class so I could learn to protect myself a little better, and a hunting class so I’d always be able to put food on the table in case everything else didn’t work out.”

  “Oh!” Jess half bounced and turned to face me. “While you’re out hunting, can you keep an eye open for different things for me? There’re a lot of herbs that grow in the wild, and I’m an alchemist. I’d be happy to give you a reward for gathering things for me.” She fluttered her eyelashes wildly again – I suppose she thinks it’s a cute way to flirt – and I had to fight hard not to laugh at how silly she looked.

  “Sure,” I told her. “I don’t mind. As long as I’m out in the woods or wherever, I don’t see any reason why I couldn’t bring back any herbs or such that I find which you might use.”

  “Great!” Jess wildly brought her hand to her lips and then tossed me a kiss. “It’s a promise then! I’ll be looking forward to whatever you can find!”

  “Leech,” mumbled Sarah quietly. Neither Jess nor Dino acted as if they heard her, but in some ways, I had to agree. Who pesters someone they just met into gathering things for them while they’re going to be trying to learn a new skill from a teacher? The request was somewhat rude and showed a lot of selfishness, to my way of thinking. I’ll bring back whatever I find for her; however, I simply won’t be looking very hard for anything, I don’t think.

  The rest of the meal after that was just a little small talk where the two girls both seemed to fawn over Dino. Jess was more obvious and extreme about it – I had the impression that if she’d been born on Earth, she would’ve been called a ‘gold digger’. By the time we’d finished supper, the idea of being around her much left a bad taste in my mouth. She might be good for Dino, but she made me nauseous.

  Jess will definitely go on my list of people to have as little to do with as possible, and I definitely don’t want her to be a healer for me. I’ll have to keep an eye out for a decent healer of some skill before I go and get myself hurt out on the practice field. I don’t like the idea of being treated by someone like her at all.

  Sarah, on the other hand, seemed a bit more respectable and reserved. I might be able to actually make friends with her, given time. I guess even an idiot can sometimes hang around with decent people. I’ll be cautious with her; just the simple fact that she hangs around Dino and Jess makes me hesitant to get too close, but I’ll give her a shot. My first impression of her at least wasn’t all bad. Only time will tell for certain if we’ll be able to become friends or not.

  After the meal, we all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Dino and I emptied our trays and went out together back to our room, and the two girls went off in separate directions to do their own things.

  The only thing I really regretted about the whole experience?

  I never did learn anything about where to find dessert. I miss my cake.

  Almost Busted

  The next week or so passed without anything too exciting happening. I settled into my new room without any problems and waited for my school schedule to arrive. I really hadn’t had much of an idea about what to sign up for, to be honest. Most people never bother to learn to read and write; and I didn’t want to show off that I’d had years of training with father, who’s a grandmaster swordsman, or that I had magic. Really, I was at a loss for what classes to sign up for during my first semester, so I tried to keep things simple when I preregistered.

  Besides, if I’m being honest, I really didn’t want that much of a schedule to start with. I wanted more free time to play around than anything else. I blame Le’Nara; it has to be her bad influence which rubbed off on me!

  In this world, a normal week was a nine day period called a “ninan”, and started with First Day and ended with Last Day. The rest of the days, from second to eighth, were generically known by either the number spot they fell in the week, or by a local kingdom name in honor of a hero or legendary figure.

  In Gondor, where I currently was, Second Day was generally referred to as “Moon Day” to give honor to the moons, and Eighth Day was generally called Sun Day to honor the sun. Fifth Day; the day that fell into the middle of the week was usually a “Monarch’s Day”; and since Gondor had a King as the highest authority, instead of a queen, it was generally called “King’s Day”.

  On Moon Days, I had a day in the forge with the blacksmith, undergoing basic smithing practice. Third days, I had a tracking class. Fourth days I had an archery class. King’s day was free, and Sixth day was hunting. First Days and Last Days there was no school for anyone, as the school allowed those days off as a ‘week-end’ so students could either earn some spending coin with part-time jobs or else have some extra time for independent studies and research assignments.

  Smithing honestly kind of appealed to me, as it was something I thought it might be nice to shaping and making things out of metal. I enjoy stone carving and woodworking; why not metalcraft as well? The other classes were really just something for me to play around in and goof off with. What did I need archery for, when I could shape the wind and toss it harder and faster than any arrow?

  Dino himself wasn’t so terrible of a roommate, once I started agreeing with him about how powerful and awesome he was. Someone had been feeding him a whole lot of crap about his greatness, and he was delusionally brainwashed. I’d been warned that male wizards often don’t live long, and now I can understand why. People butter them up to the point where they feel they’re invincible, and then they crash and die.

  The best I could gauge, he was a mediocre wizard, at best, but everyone kept stroking his ego telling him he was the best male they’d ever seen. When there’s nothing else around, even a mouse seems to impressively catch our
attention in an empty room. Dino was that mouse, and I honestly feared it was going to lead to him getting in serious trouble one day.

  Once I’d learned to just nod and agree with him, I was actually almost thankful of Dino’s presence. I’d never considered it before but if there were any talented people with magic like Mother around, they’d be able to sense the flow of energy into the room here. I could’ve given myself away just by getting rid of the bedbugs like I had if it wasn’t for Dino. I’m hoping that if anyone noticed, they’ll just mark it off as him using his talent in the room. At least no one showed up and acted like anything was wrong or out of place with our room. I’ll just have to be more careful from now on, and thus, I’ve developed the practice of only working small amounts of magic at night when Dino is sleeping. If anyone notices the energy flow, they’ll just imagine that he’s working it and practicing on his own.

  During the days, I wandered the town and got to know my way around better. After Sammy’s explanation of how things worked, I found I could navigate the city basically without any problems. Things had settled down. I was settled in and I was learning my way around town and starting to learn about this new place, and that’s when everything almost fell apart all at once.

  On the same day that I’d received my schedule, there was a sudden light knock on the door to our room. It was just a little before the time when Dino came back to the room from flirting all day at the school, and I figured it was just him having left his keys behind or something. Without a thought, I hopped off the bed which I was relaxing on and opened the door wide. “Come on in,” I invited while asking, “Did you forget your key?”

  “I will, and thank you.” A really stunning young lady, wearing an alabaster white robe stepped on into the room and walked right past me. She had flame red hair, a stunning oval face with green eyes with just the slightest slant to them. I couldn’t make out much of her figure due to the bulkiness of the robe, but that changed quickly when she opened it and dropped it, letting it cascade to the ground at her ankles. Her naked body, with all its feminine curves and charms, stood there on proud display before me.