The Academy Journals Volume One: A Book of Underrealm (The Underrealm Volumes 3)

by Garrett Robinson

  There are other restrictions that can make mentalism difficult. A mentalist can exert force against a door, but they cannot manipulate a latch on the other side of a door to open it quietly. For this reason, it is common to see castle and city fortifications with locks that are blocked from outside view, to prevent a mentalist from trying just such a trick.

  Blindfolding a mentalist will cut them from the source of their power. When the King’s law sentences a mentalist to have their magic removed permanently, the eyes will be put out.

  OF THERIANTHROPY

  Therianthropy, or, inexplicably, “weremagic” to the common folk, allows the wizard to alter the form, size, and coloring of their own body. Some advantages of this branch are immediately apparent: the therianthrope can alter their appearance to avoid detection when being hunted; they can turn into a great beast to overpower a foe; they can turn into a bird and travel great distances at speed. But as with its sibling branch, transmutation, therianthropy has many subtler and potentially more powerful applications.

  In stark contrast to transmutation, color is one of the first things a therianthrope learns to control. In fact, when Academy testers work with children, they search for this branch by testing for response to a stimulus. If the child’s eyes are blue, for example, the Academy staff will say, somewhat forcefully, “I did not know your eyes were brown.” If the child is a therianthrope and does not expect the statement, their eyes will shift from blue to brown at once.

  The next easiest thing to control is size, and after that, form. Even very early in their education, a therianthrope can easily grow or shrink in height. But to change the form of their entire body is something that takes years of skill and practice.

  One restriction on therianthropy is the pain associated with the wizard’s changing body. When turning to a bird, for example, the therianthrope’s very skeleton is rearranged—some bones fuse together, while entirely new ones grow in other parts of the body. If one recalls the growing pains experienced in youth, and then imagines all those pains coming together at once in the space of a few heartbeats, one can imagine the pain of a weremage’s transformation.

  Therefore, when learning to change size and form, a therianthrope must learn how to deaden the pain in their own body. This is done by changing the structure of the nervous system—something the therianthrope must learn to reach out and feel inside their own flesh. Such magic is complex and difficult, but once it is mastered, therianthropes can make all sorts of transformations while applying the same basic principles.

  The transformed body—or the “destined form,” as instructors call it—provides another challenge. One cannot simply turn into a dog, for example, without learning just how a dog’s body is formed. The results of an inexpert transformation can be nightmarish, causing the therianthrope to panic and lose control. This will cause their body to revert to its natural form, but without the benefit of the pain-deadening techniques that require extreme mental focus, such reversion can be painful enough to cause permanent damage or madness.

  Therefore therianthropes must study their destined form rigorously. They practice changing one part of their body at a time before they can master the full transformation. It is thus common to find that each therianthrope has their own repertoire, a selection of beasts or forms that they have mastered, and to see them using only those forms while they study other forms that might be useful. Instructor Jia, as an example, transformed into a bear during the battle of the Seat, while Instructor Dasko turned into a lion. These are the forms they have mastered for battle. In order for Jia to turn into a lion, she would have to learn an entirely new transformation, and the same would be true for Dasko turning into a bear.

  Therianthropes use their powers like flexing a muscle, just as any person does to smile, frown, or draw their eyebrows together. Clouding a weremage’s mind or knocking them unconscious is the only way to prevent them from using their powers, and there is no method of permanent power removal—if a weremage’s crimes are too great, they are simply executed.

  OF TRANSMUTATION

  Transmutation is held by many to be the weakest of the four branches of magic; Ebon of the family Drayden himself often voices this opinion. Yet in so saying, he only reveals his ignorance of the vast complexity and potential of this most peculiar branch.

  Unlike elementalism, transmutation works on life as well as inert matter (although living flesh is much more complex and requires greater skill). Unlike mentalism, transmutation works on objects the wizard cannot see. And unlike therianthropy, transmutation does not cease to work the moment the wizard drops their concentration on the magic.

  The simplest description of this branch, of course, is that transmutation allows the wizard to change and shape matter external to their own body. But the full ramifications of this magic are rarely grasped. Sometimes even transmuters themselves underestimate their abilities through a simple failure of imagination.

  As Ebon learned very quickly, there are held to be three classes of substance. Kalem of the family Konnel described these as flesh, wood, and stone, for the sake of simplicity, but they would more aptly be called flesh, plant, and matter.

  Matter is the inert stuff of the world around us: stone, metal, and mineral. It also includes the gases and liquids of the physical universe. It can be complex, but it is, as a class, the simplest stuff that the universe has created, and therefore it is the simplest to alter.

  “Plant” encompasses all plant life. The material found in plants is far more intricate than that of matter, and yet it has not taken on all the properties of flesh. Life has begun to work on otherwise inert materials, transforming them into something less active, but still teeming with complexity.

  Flesh is the living stuff of all creatures that can move about the world of their own free will—humans, animals, and all the various creatures in between, such as satyrs, imps, carrocks, and so on. Flesh is immensely complicated, for life has developed combinations of matter that even the most advanced chemist could scarcely dream of. A transmuter’s abilities are therefore restricted by life (though not forestalled, as in elementalism) because the wizard must always understand, or at least begin to grasp, the substance they seek to transform.

  Each branch has its great restriction, and for transmutation, that restriction is referred to as reversion. Transformed matter, if it is not magically turned back to its original form and composition, will decay with time. If a transmutation student were, for example, to bore a hole in a stone wall, the shifted stone would eventually crumble to dust. Depending upon the skill of the transmuter, this can take more or less time. Very powerful transmuters can change matter that will remain changed for centuries, but even so, it will eventually decay.

  Thus it is not uncommon for early transmuters to go about the Academy creating crumbling holes in walls. The Academy’s tuition pays for the repairs of such damage, and repeat offenders are punished as well.

  Transmutation, of course, may be used in some limited medical capacities. An alchemist could seal a wound closed to prevent a patient from bleeding to death, or they could close the skin over a broken bone jutting forth. Attempts at more permanent repairs are ill-advised, however, because of reversion. While permanent healing could theoretically be achieved by a powerful transmuter, it is incredibly delicate and tricky work, and only the very highest-level transmuters would even attempt it, and then only in the gravest need.

  Extremely advanced transmuters may be inducted into the High King’s Medicas. These healers are without peer in their transmutation, and it is only they who will attempt permanent healing with magic—but they will only do so when absolutely necessary, for mistakes can happen, and the effects of decaying flesh are horrible to behold (and experience). More commonly, they will use their spells to stop catastrophic injuries from killing the patient before their healing and apothecarial arts can save them.

  But the High King’s Medicas serve another purpose. There are in Underrealm, just as there are in all p
laces where humans dwell, individuals born into bodies that do not suit who they truly are—a child whose parents assume she is a boy, only to learn of their mistake when she is older, for example—and of course the same is true for some boys, and those who are neither, who are called in Underrealm the twixt.

  In any case, the High King’s Medicas will help such people assume the form they were always meant to have. This service has existed as far back as Underrealm’s historical records reach, but in more recent times, it has become an official duty of the Medicas. The Medicas are well-practiced in this procedure, to the point that they can usually ensure the flesh will not begin to decay for more than a century, at which point the patient, of course, will no longer care, having died already. If a patient ever begins to notice ill effects, they can revisit the Medicas to have any issues addressed. But their bodies usually take very well to the procedure, as though the spirit knows the body is finally the way it always should have been.

  Since antiquity, such people have been called in Underrealm “ander,” and if they ascribe themselves to either identity, an “ander man” or an “ander woman.”

  The High King who preceded Enalyn was a man named Trenter. Trenter was not a good ruler, but his failures came from ineptitude rather than cruelty. And one of his most enduring legacies was also one of his best.

  While Enalyn was still young, she visited the High King’s Seat, and in their conversations together, Trenter learned that she was ander. But her noble family had fallen upon hard times and lacked the coin to pay the Medicas the fee required to transition.

  Trenter had not realized until that moment that the Medicas even required payment for such treatment, but the moment he learned it, he abolished the practice at once and made their services available to any in Underrealm who wished for them. Medicas have long been stationed in all the great cities of Underrealm, there to oversee the health of all the High King’s citizens as best they can. And for near to a century now, any citizen of Underrealm may travel to see their local Medica and receive this service, or, if they cannot make such a journey, send a letter, at which point the Medica will visit them.

  It can be a lengthy process or a simple one, depending, but the Medicas are there to serve. Sometimes the ander requires many treatments, for their body can only withstand a little change at a time, but the necessary changes are substantial. This was the situation with Enalyn. In such cases, the Medica will meet with the ander and consult with them on the way they feel their body ought to be and gently guide them to the state that they can currently accept. After the first spell, the Medica will always revisit the patient to ensure that they are doing well and to see if any more work is required. In this way, many spells might be worked, one at a time, and never more than the ander can handle.

  Of course, sometimes a little change is all that is required, as in the case of Perrin of the family Arkus. She retained her considerable size and great mass of shaggy hair, only requiring a few minor modifications to achieve an appearance she found satisfactory.

  (It must be mentioned here, though it has little bearing on transmutation, that of course there are ander who are perfectly happy with the state of themselves, thank you very much, and are able to achieve their desired appearance with only clothing and careful grooming—or lack thereof.)

  Enalyn, for her part, never forgot Trenter’s actions, and though his rule was startlingly buffoonish in most ways, she refused to hear anyone speak ill of him. The two became fast friends (though Trenter always ignored Enalyn’s sensible advice in the running of the kingdom), and on his deathbed, Trenter recommended that she be chosen as the next High King. So it came to be, and of course Enalyn continued the policy that Trenter had put in place when it came to the Medicas and the ander.

  Transmuters must touch with their hands the thing they wish to turn. Once contact has been made, they can extend their magic through the object and even into other objects touching the first. A very, very powerful transmuter can extend their power from their hand through the rest of their body, so that they could work upon the floor with their feet, for example, but this degree of skill has not been seen since the time of the Wizard Kings.

  A transmuter can be restrained by binding their hands with silk covers, as silk is highly resistant to transmutation. For a permanent removal of magic, the hands are cut off.

  THE CALENDAR OF UNDERREALM

  There are 363.5 days in an Underrealm year. In their calendar, these are divided into 12 months of 30 days each. To reconcile the extra days, at the end of each year there is a three-day holiday called, appropriately enough, Yearsend. It takes place in the middle of winter when the world is coldest, and after which the world “comes to life” again. Yearsend is often a time of celebration, when people of all the nine kingdoms take to feasting and revelry, bidding farewell to the year that has ended and readying themselves to greet the year that approaches.

  Even-numbered years have leap days, placed in the middle of Yearsend, so that it is four days long in those years.

  For the sake of ease, the twelve months of the Underrealm calendar have been given their Latin names from the Gregorian calendar. However, they are arranged in the original order of the Gregorian calendar, with Martis being the first month of the year, as follows:

  Martis — WINTER

  Arilis — SPRING

  Maius — SPRING

  Yunis — SPRING

  Yulis — SUMMER

  Augis — SUMMER

  Septis — SUMMER

  Octis — AUTUMN

  Novis — AUTUMN

  Dektis — AUTUMN

  Yanis — WINTER

  Febris — WINTER

  Yearsend* — WINTER

  Martis comes just after Yearsend. As with any calendar, the “assignment” of seasons is arbitrary, and the people of Underrealm saw no reason to make them fit the calendar symmetrically. Therefore winter stretches from Yanis to Martis. Spring is Arilis to Yunis. Summer lasts from Yulis to Septis, and autumn is from Octis to Dektis.

  In the strictest sense, then, the seasons do not truly fall where they are delineated on the Underrealm calendar. However, this assignment was seen as a neater solution than having the seasons begin and end in the middle of months, which would of course be chaotic and confusing to everyone involved.

  * Yearsend is included for the purpose of showing its order in the calendar, though of course it is a three- or four-day period and not truly a month on its own.

  THE COUNT OF YEARS

  “The Year of Underrealm 1” is held to be the year Roth, the first High King of Underrealm, ruling from the city of Rothton on the island capital of Dulmun, declared the nine lands to be under his dominion. Though some scholars enjoy debating the exact count, it is generally accepted to have occurred 1,311 years before the Shades attacked High King Enalyn on the Seat.

  (This is, however, an inaccurate counting, since Roth laid claim to Underrealm some eighty years before his granddaughter would mark the start of the Underrealm calendar. But this truth has long been lost to history.)

  Years are notated as The Year of Underrealm 1312.

  WEEKS

  The twelve months of Underrealm are further divided into three weeks of ten days.

  As we have done, the days were named for planets that the denizens of Underrealm could observe. But this presented a problem: only six planets were visible in the sky. These were named Taya, Yuna, Kina, Marama, Dal, and Kasay in the time before time, and gave Underrealm the day-names of Tasday, Yunsday, Kinsday, Marsday, Dalsday, and Kasday. Two more days were named for Underrealm’s twin moons of Enalyn and Merida, giving them Lynday and Meriday. The Sun led to Sunday, as it did for us, and that was also the Underrealm day of rest.

  It is said that before humans came to Underrealm, the tenth day (which always preceded Sunday) had various names among different peoples. And so, when the first High King of Underrealm, Roth, founded the nine lands, he named the tenth day after himself, calling it Rothsday.

&nb
sp; Thus the days are, in order:

  LYNDAY

  MERIDAY

  TASDAY

  YUNSDAY

  KINSDAY

  MARSDAY

  DALSDAY

  KASDAY

  ROTHSDAY

  SUNDAY

  A TIMELINE OF EVENTS

  THE YEAR OF UNDERREALM 1312

  OCTIS

  22 Octis: Ebon and his parents set out from their home in Idris, making for the High King’s Seat.

  NOVIS

  27 Novis: The Draydens arrive upon the High King’s Seat, seeking the High King’s favor to establish a new trade route traversing Dorsea’s western reaches.

  DEKTIS

  1 Dektis: Ebon of the family Drayden visits Adara for the first time.

  2 Dektis: Halab takes Ebon for a tour of the Academy, against his father’s wishes.

  3 Dektis: Halab tells Ebon he will be attending the Academy before she and his parents depart the Seat. Ebon arrives and meets Mellie and Jia, and later Isra. Lilith of the family Yerrin encounters him in the common room and torments him for starting his training so late.

  4 Dektis: Ebon attends Credell’s class for the first time and is later tormented by Lilith again. He meets Kalem of the family Konnel in the library. Kalem shows Ebon the book of the Wizard Kings and agrees to teach him alchemy. That night they leave the Academy to celebrate and meet Theren in a tavern. Lilith arrives to harass Ebon, but Theren defends him. Ebon, Kalem, and Theren spend the night drinking together.

  5 Dektis: Theren helps Ebon get revenge on Lilith by embarrassing her in front of the other students in Ebon’s common room.