White Hall (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 10)

by Donald Wigboldy

  “Well, I have been averaging about one new spell a day since I have been here. I have been trained on general magic and to a lesser degree that of a diplomat wizard. There have also been many hours of study as well as training to control my mind and body when dealing with others.”

  The last of which was on display for him, she thought. It was the truth, but Katya wished that she could avoid telling him that she was studying to deal with situations like these.

  “Have you had any slips with your magic since you have been here?”

  Katya shook her head. The buffer of first Darius' magic and then the training gem had been useful to prevent such things. She could use her magic certainly, but it couldn’t just run rampant with her emotions either. Training to strengthen her control and her mind probably helped with that as well, Katya thought.

  “So if your magic was used against any of your fellow students, you would say that it was with intent?”

  She didn’t like the tone of this question, but again the girl nodded as she agreed, “If it was used against another student, I can think of no time that it would have been an accident.”

  “Ylena told me of the incident with the bathhouse awhile ago. From what I gather, you nearly made the culprit confess when you used your magic to coerce him into confessing. When it wore off a little too soon, you used your magic on his brother and friend to make them agitated and paranoid enough to convince him that he was already on the verge of being caught by the teachers in charge of the incident.

  “Instead of having to be caught and forced to confess, the boy walked up to the teachers and told him he was guilty and why.

  “So you used your magic intentionally against those boys?”

  Katya wondered if she was being reprimanded or being commended, but the girl answered truthfully, “I caught Niklaus in his animal form in the ducts, but apparently my spell wasn’t strong enough to make him confess right away.

  “With Piotr and Job’s permissions, I used my magic to agitate them as you said so their performance wouldn’t be seen through by Niklaus. He might be a prankster and a cadet, but he is no idiot. I was hoping to put him through enough that he might learn from this and not play pranks like this again.

  “I mean, I don’t mind a joke, but peeping in on girls in the baths or changing room is going a little too far.”

  Gregor’s blue eyes looked to Ylena without giving away his thoughts. He was a master diplomat wizard, so it wasn’t surprising that he would be so good at hiding what he was thinking from a novice, though the man wasn’t completely impossible to get feelings from for Katya. Wizard Gregor was a master, but the young girl was better at reading people as a novice than he probably believed.

  Returning his gaze to Katya, he reviewed her words, “So you managed to catch someone through a venting grate and nearly made him confess. What was your order to the boy?”

  It had been a month ago and Katya could only reply with what she remembered from so long ago. “I wasn’t necessarily thinking hard on what I said, after all I was standing naked in a bathhouse where mice had just sent a bunch of girls screaming. While I can’t say how I knew which mouse was Niklaus when they scrambled into the room, I could hear movement in the ducts above my head.

  “When he decided to take another look,” she blushed slightly at the thought, “I ordered Niklaus by name to go back where he had come from and come back to confess. By the time he returned to the janitor’s closet, changed, put back the vent and walked all the way back to the door of the bath house; the coercion spell wore off. He confessed that to me as well.

  “If I had made him choose to return right away, it might have worked before it wore off.”

  It was Gregor’s turn to nod.

  “So did you have to use proper gestures or words of a spell to do this?”

  Her brow wrinkled in confusion at the odd question and Katya realized quickly another thing that she could possibly be in trouble for doing. “No, sir, I didn’t really have time to do a full spell, though I have to say Niklaus would probably have seen it coming and disappeared before I could have cast.”

  “There are other times where you have been seen accomplishing your work using simple words as if you were a battle mage, perhaps.” Katya wasn’t sure what to say and merely nodded as Gregor proceeded. “Now I hear reports of you using dragon mage magic as well. Are you trying to contradict our teaching methods for you, girl? Are you the expert who controls her power properly or the one who nearly caused a riot when her magic went out of control in Hala?”

  Shocked at the accusation, Katya blinked in surprise and kept her mouth shut long enough to compose her words. It wasn’t worth trying to protest immediately with no planned answer to such a question. Answering too quickly would only paint herself in a worse light. This was a question which verged on being rhetorical, but the master waited for the girl to answer.

  “I do try to follow the curriculum of spells as I am taught them, but sometimes I find my mind can’t grasp the exact way to do it. It is as if I have a block to the right way. If casting more like a mage works to get the feel, I still make sure to learn the proper wizard way to do so as well.

  “I have been warned repeatedly that shortcuts will only hurt me in the end, which is why I make sure to do it correctly as well once I understand how the magic feels. I don’t wish to cheat, but there are just times that it is the only way I seem capable of learning, at least learning it in a much shorter time.

  “Perhaps that is too much of a shortcut, but I do try to do it the correct way for quite awhile. Sometimes there aren’t any shortcuts that feel right, but other times it is close enough to what I have in mind that the other way makes sense first.”

  Having covered the first part of his question, Katya touched on the second worriedly. “Cheleya and Kel’lor allowed me to train once they realized that by sitting on the roof while they trained, I had figured out a couple spells. It is really more about being able to fly than magic in truth.

  “I love flying and flying with my friends is even better,” she finished forgetting herself and giving a grin as her green eyes lifted away from the man as if she could fly away from the room immediately.

  Crashing back to earth, the smile slipped and her eyes returned to the aging wizard. His hand brushed at his brown hair dusted with gray. A slight smile touched the edges of his lips and Gregor looked towards Ylena who smiled back giving the man a nod in recognition.

  “I mentioned that you have been here for two months with us now, to the day in fact. When I asked you if you knew why you were here, you did fail to guess why. It isn’t a pass or fail grade, but I was hoping with your other accomplishments you might figure it out.

  “You have been here two months and have had a chance to learn much. Growing in a student’s own particular way is inevitable. Not everyone learns the same way. If they did, we wouldn’t need to have individual mentors for the novices.

  “After two months, the head of each school of magic takes the time to evaluate our novices to see how they are progressing. This is your review.

  “No, novice will walk into these offices looking perfect. Until someone learns how to copy their minds and transfer them to another, there will never be a novice standing before me ready to be a full wizard after just two months. Wilders need to be broken of their bad habits and true wizards need to form them.

  “You did remarkably well, however. You control your breathing and think through what you will say. Pushed into a corner, you tend to sidestep the push.

  “While admittedly there are things to work on and things of concern, Ylena and I have looked at what you have accomplished and think that you are well on your way. A novice will be a novice for typically about a year no matter how good they are, but you already have a good start.

  “There are a few concerns I think we need to discuss first. You do have a bad tendency to push through when you are stuck on a spell with other ways of casting. Try to fight the urge for at least ten more tr
ies from now on. We don’t want you to build poor habits and have it stunt your growth down the line, Katya.

  “Second, you started training as a dragon mage. It can’t be your primary study. You have too much to do.

  “You will limit your time with that magic until the last hour of the day before dinner.”

  Katya wanted to protest the limit and asked, “Can I fly with Cheleya on our days off, if I am caught up on my studies?”

  The school worked for a full five days doing mandatory classes, but their minds needed time to digest what they had learned and be allowed to decompress as well. Often the students would study more on the sixth day, but the seventh was usually given to relaxing by walking into town or in other fun ways that had little to nothing to do with their magic studies.

  The head wizard nodded. “Your free time is your own, but don’t let me hear that you are falling behind or you won’t be allowed to study dragon magic or fly until you catch up once more.”

  “Yes, sir!” Katya agreed quickly trying not to get too worked up from that bit of good news. It was sad that she would have to limit her time during the week, but the afternoon was nearly winding down by then anyway. When the others were usually breaking from their practice and studies, Katya would talk Cheleya and Kel’lor into flying with her or teaching her new spells.

  Cheleya loved to fly and never got enough of it, so that was likely easy enough to establish that time with her friend.

  “Okay, you are dismissed, young lady. Just keep up the work and hopefully you will ready for more by the end of this summer.”

  He didn’t elaborate on what he meant by more and Katya didn’t ask, but as she turned the girl stopped to ask, “My older sister is getting married at the end of this month, sir. Would I be able to go? You said it yourself that I have been keeping up and haven’t had any slips.”

  Gregor’s face saddened and he shook his head. “Novices usually need to spend the entire first year here until we feel comfortable enough that they can be away from the school. Here there are mentors enough to contain any accidental uses of magic, but even chaperoned it isn’t safe.

  “You should send them a letter to let them know that you won't be able to attend this time. I am sorry, but that request is just too soon in your training to be allowed.”

  Katya’s shoulders dropped for a moment hearing the official denial, but she rebounded quickly since it wasn’t a complete surprise. She had asked and there was unlikely any way that the girl could come up with to change a diplomacy master’s mind. She wasn’t that talented.

  Ylena walked her out and closed the door behind them. Placing an arm around the younger girl’s shoulders, the taller wizard placed her head gently against Katya’s and offered, “I did try asking for you. I know you wanted to see your sister get married and to stand up for her, but Gregor couldn’t break the rules no matter how well you’re doing here.”

  “You think that I am doing well?”

  Surprised by the younger girl’s take from what she had said, Ylena stood straighter and their eyes locked for a moment. The wizard nodded. “If it were up to me, I would have let you go with an escort; which would have been me, of course, and I did offer to go with you. Gregor’s right though. It is probably for the best that you stick out the entire year.

  “You would fall behind even if I try to teach you on the way. It is just impossible to learn while you ride, or very nearly.”

  Katya shrugged her shoulders and answered, “It’s all right. I will write her a letter tonight, if you can help me send it tomorrow.”

  “Of course,” the dark haired wizard nodded as they walked.

  Katya noted Neira walking towards the office with her mentor. They had spent several afternoons learning in the same classroom over the last few weeks. Essentially, Katya had caught up enough to join the other girl. Two other diplomacy wizard novices from Neira’s year studied with them as well, so the girl knew the mentor’s face.

  Neira frowned slightly seeing Katya in passing. The older novice had actually gotten colder, even as they shared lessons. While the younger girl was unsure why that was, there was little she could do about it either.

  After passing the two headed for Gregor, the novice asked, “Is she being evaluated today?”

  “It happens seasonally so Gregor can make sure that you all are progressing smoothly. Like he said, everyone learns differently and at different speeds.”

  “Is Neira doing well?” Katya asked before glancing back down the hallway to see the two women entering the office.

  “I am not her mentor, so I can’t say,” Ylena stated but her slight frown let Katya know better. The wizard knew enough to know whether Neira was doing well or not. They had both been in the same classes as the other novices after all.

  Katya looked back a second time knowing that Neira wouldn’t be in sight, but for her own peace of mind. Maybe that was why the older novice disliked her. That first day, she had been a bit cold; but if the newer novice had caught up to her, that was likely to be a sore spot.

  With that now understood, Katya thought she might be able to work around the defenses being raised against her by the girl. It would have to wait, however, as Ylena told her of the next spell she was to work on for that day.

  Chapter 28- The Trail of Smoke

  The day was warm with the sun shining down on the small caravan moving towards the wooded lands east of the Cadhalla River. A ferry had brought the group of horsemen and women across along with a pair of wagons holding their precious cargo onboard.

  Piotr sat next to Zieran on the second cart with riders around them as guards. A grunt from Bo the bear behind him made the novice turn to check on the creature, who was lazily riding along watching the countryside seated on her haunches as if she were a human being enjoying a ride in her cart. The bear had traveled in the man made transportation before and despite being a wild animal acted more like a pet dog. Piotr had seen farmers with their dogs riding beside them to market before, so other than a protective cage around her, Bo looked as easygoing as one of those animals on a ride.

  “I’m surprised that we were chosen to go on the trip, Zieran,” the boy said forgetting to add the honorific of wizard or master as the man’s earned title. When they were together and not in public, the two tended to cut to the chase knowing who they were without need to continually call each other novice or wizard. “I’m just a novice after all, so I am sure there are other nature wizards who would be better at trying to release animals into the forest.”

  That had been the mission given to them. Piotr’s eyes went to the falcons and soldier trainees acting as guards. In fact, Niklaus and the other new cadets were there with their mentors. It was another surprise to him to see others without experience surrounding them.

  “Well, Piotr, there are a few reasons for that. First, you have a rapport with Bo that few others do, especially compared to the novices and even most of the apprentices. While that bear will probably refuse to acclimate again this year, she does seem as well behaved with you in charge of her as anyone.

  “Second, as a novice, we can hardly waste time sending you to the wall or to one of the towns for experience for any real length of time. This is a short trip through safe lands; so our guards, who are as green as you, will get used to riding as protection without the likelihood of actually needing to be guards.

  “It’s an easy job for you and the others to get used to the duties you will eventually be doing for Southwall in the future.”

  “So basically, we get out of the school for a field trip and get basic experience at the same time?”

  “Exactly,” the older man nodded. He gestured towards the men and women adding, “Taking them out of the dorms, we’ll also see if they can handle being around each other in a camp. The trip is just long enough to require a single night outside, so we can begin judging students’ maturity levels.”

  Piotr frowned and stated quietly, “Seeing if they can keep their hands off of each other isn�
��t exactly a measure of maturity. If a boy is old enough to think of a girl that way, and the opposite as well, they are both physically and mentally mature. Having restraint isn’t the same thing.”

  Looking at his student intently a moment, the wizard evaluated his novice’s answer before giving a nod. “I suppose that you are correct, though children are still more likely to jump into situations that they shouldn’t more often than adults. Again given that restraint is part of maturity, it is part of what their mentors need to see.

  “We need to know that we aren’t sending a bunch of children out on their own without the proper tools to be proper falcons and wizards. We have a reputation to uphold as protectors of Southwall after all. Any weaknesses in character should be hammered out or refined to make them proper adults.”

  “Now you are talking like this is for them and not me,” Piotr chided his mentor as the man guided their horses behind the other cart. It had other animals and birds which had been rescued that needed to be released now that they were healthy and the seasons were safe enough to risk their return. The boy had tended them all and wondered how many would remain safe and alive over the next season let alone the following years.

  Zieran snorted at his correction and retorted, “There are days where you make me feel like I am talking to an old man, Piotr. I won’t be rude and say that I think that you are safe, but as novices go, I believe that you are less likely.

  “Do you have any girls that you fancy?” he asked shifting the subject slightly as the wizard got a little personal.

  Unsure if he wanted to answer; at least Zieran was a fairly young man, who Piotr was pretty sure wasn’t even thirty yet and young enough to feel more like an older brother than a father figure. He had noticed that there were few gray haired falcons and wizards teaching in the school. Whether that meant they believed younger people could help new students transition to a new place in life or if the elderly simply didn’t want to be bothered by a bunch of children, the boy wasn’t sure.