The Doorway God

by Tom Early

  I shook myself out of it after a few seconds and headed back out to meet Aiden. If every professor at this place was as weird as she was, it was going to be an interesting year.

  “Well?” Aiden asked when I reemerged. “What was your result?”

  I gave him a sideways glance. “Why’s it matter to you?”

  Aiden fixed me with a look. “Because I’m in charge of helping you adjust, and that requires me to know things about you.”

  “No personal interest?” I asked teasingly. “I thought we were getting along so well too.”

  The resulting eye roll would’ve impressed even Sam. “I’m trying to be less standoffish, here, as you and Samantha requested. But that does not extend to pandering to your ego with false interests.”

  I shrugged. “Fair enough. I got the shield, which apparently means Infusion.”

  “Warding magic?” He huffed. “You know, somehow that doesn’t come as a surprise to me. Your ice magic was… impressive, but you never did seem like the aggressive type. Unless provoked, of course.”

  “You and Sam have more than enough of that for the three of us,” I replied. “I was told to find Speaker Alferon in the Garden. Do you know where he’d be, exactly?”

  Aiden nodded. “He spends an hour each day communing there, in the quiet section past the field. I can take you, or you can find your own way.”

  “I can probably find it on my own.”

  “Then I’ll find you when you’re ready to ask questions about scheduling,” Aiden said. “Just send me a message with your tablet.”

  “Will do.” I started on my way back to Obsidian to pick up my tablet before heading in search of the Speaker. Aiden headed off to another hall, and I lost sight of him pretty quickly after that.

  When I was back on my floor, I caught sight of Septimus stepping out from his room. He gave me a wave as I approached.

  “Just get back from your Form test?” Septimus asked.

  “Yep,” I said. “Infusion, apparently.”

  Septimus frowned. “Huh. I wouldn’t have expected that from your Trial.” He shrugged. “Ah, well. I’m Elemental and Summoning. No surprise there.”

  I thought back to dodging fireballs and crazy flame warriors during the Trial. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

  “I’ll see you around,” Septimus said before pulling a hood up over his glossy black horns. “I have some interesting talks to have about my classes.”

  I nodded and kept walking by. It still felt weird to not be on guard around people I’d had to fight before, but I was slowly getting used to it.

  Once I picked up my tablet, I made my way back out of Obsidian and headed for the Garden behind the Houses. There were a few students already in the Garden, taking advantage of the silent areas Sam and I had previously discovered. I didn’t recognize any of them, and most of them didn’t look human. I wondered idly if everyone in Verdant had a connection to nature, or if that was a stereotype to avoid.

  The practice area was empty, the circles and the grass untrodden. I followed the path farther than Sam and I had gone previously and saw it curve back into an area where there seemed to be more trees than flowers. The atmosphere was hushed, with no birds trilling or voices carrying over the air. The trees all had sturdy trunks, and seemed older, somehow, than the rest of the Garden. I kept following it and then stopped when I caught sight of a man standing still at the base of an old, gnarled willow tree. He was half-obscured by the leaves, but he turned around as I approached, though I was pretty sure I hadn’t made any real noise coming over.

  “Can I help you?” The man’s voice carried effortlessly through the air, and had a more musical feel to it than any human’s voice did. He stepped out from beneath the willow’s leaning branches, and I saw the pointed ears.

  “Speaker Alferon?” I asked, and my voice was swallowed up by the forest. The man nodded. “Um, Professor Amara told me to find you here. I’m Fay Hanson. I just tested for the Infusion Form.”

  The elf approached, his forest-green eyes sweeping over me. “I see. What shape did the orb take?”

  “The shield,” I said.

  “Warding Magic,” Alferon said, then offered me a smile, changing his entire appearance from otherworldly to approachable. “Good. It’s been a few years since we’ve had a protector come along. Most Infusion mages focus more on enchantment and enhancement.” He offered his hand, and I shook it. “I’m looking forward to working with you, Mr. Hanson.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Now,” Alferon mused, “as an Infusion mage, there are some basic courses you’ll be required to take for mastery of your Form. Beyond that, your schedule is yours to fill as you see fit. For this year you’ll be taking Infusion Basics with Professor Klyne, and a special Warding course with me, as our resident Warding expert. Infusion Basics will meet twice weekly in the afternoon—forgive me, I don’t have the time memorized. You and I will meet Saturday and Sunday mornings, from nine to noon in the Garden. I’ll teach you how to master every form of Ward you can imagine.” He smiled. “Too many at this university are convinced that the best way to ensure victory is a strong offense. I’ll teach you to show them otherwise.”

  I grinned. “I’m looking forward to it, Speaker.”

  “Please. Just call me Alferon,” the elf said. “I tired of formalities centuries ago.”

  Every time I thought I was getting used to the whole magical world thing, something new tripped me up. “If it’s not rude to ask, how long do elves live?”

  Alferon looked surprised for a moment, and then his expression cleared. “Oh, you’re from Earth, aren’t you? I keep forgetting that some few of our students come in knowing next to nothing. Aside from the Fae, we’re the longest-living of Gaian folk, not including those who extend their life by arcane ritual. I’m just under a thousand years old, and that’s pretty old,” he said, the skin around his eyes crinkling as he smiled. “You’ll find that many of my people prefer to demand respect for their centuries. I prefer to show kindness and respect to the people I interact with, but perhaps that’s because I spend so much time seeing just what young people are capable of.”

  “I appreciate that,” I said, grinning. “Oh, uh—do you know any classes I can take to help with the whole ‘not knowing anything’ problem? I’d really rather not keep making mistakes or bad assumptions.”

  “That’s a good mentality to have.” Alferon chuckled. “There is a history of Gaia course taught here. I’d recommend taking that to get your bearings, as it were. Now I’m sorry to cut this conversation short, but I haven’t yet finished my commune, and it wouldn’t do to offend the trees. They have worryingly long memories.”

  “Thank you, Alferon,” I said, glancing around at the trees. I made a mental note to avoid stepping on any roots. “I’ll, uh, see you Saturday, then?”

  “I’ll be here” came the distracted reply.

  Chapter Nine

  I HEADED back out of the Garden, my mood significantly improved. Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn’t be so bad after all. One-on-one lessons with Speaker Alferon seemed awesome. I pulled out my tablet and examined it for a texting feature, relieved when I saw the familiar green-and-white icon. There weren’t any numbers inputted into it, though, so I went off a hunch and just typed Aiden’s name in. After about a half-second delay, a number appeared on the screen next to his name, and I sent him a text. The reply was immediate, and I headed back to Obsidian.

  “How did it go?” Aiden asked in lieu of a greeting, waving me over from a sofa in the lounge. “I’ve never actually spoken to Speaker Alferon. I’ve heard he can be quite strict.”

  I snorted. “If that’s the case, then you heard wrong. He was really nice.”

  “Really.” Aiden looked curious for a moment, then resumed his usual expression of mild disdain. “Well. Regardless, are you ready to begin planning your schedule?”

  “Am I deciding what to pick now?” I asked, sitting down on the sofa next to him, though I kept what I
judged to be a safe distance between us.

  Aiden shook his head. “Just seeing what there is for you. You’ll have the next three days to meet with those professors already on campus and make your decisions. Now,” he said, doing something with his tablet that pulled up a glowing list of letters into the air, “what do you think you’d like to do most with yourself?”

  I was too busy staring at the fancy-looking holographic display in front of me. “Uh… is that magic or technology?”

  “This?” Aiden said, waving his hand through the display. The image blurred momentarily, then snapped back into razor-sharp clarity. “Illusion magic worked into the tablet, I believe. We have some few talented faculty and students who are quite adept at melding magic and circuitry into one.” He shot me a sly look. “Rather impressive, isn’t it?”

  “No kidding,” I said, watching the words first run off the “screen” and be replaced by more, and then as the whole display rotated slowly in a circle. “Does everyone in Gaia have access to stuff like this?”

  “The civilized parts do,” Aiden replied. “To one degree or another, of course. Janus University always makes sure it stays ahead of the curve.”

  I frowned. “I keep hearing stuff like that. Just how much influence does this place have? It definitely seems to do more than just be a school.”

  “I’m really not the best person to ask that,” Aiden hedged. “There are several people here who could give you a better answer. But as far as the general view goes, Janus University keeps its edge to better serve as the eternal neutral party in the politics of Gaia.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means you have questions to ask a professor at some point,” he replied, a frown creasing his perfect features. “I do have other things to do, you know.”

  I needed to stop forgetting that Aiden didn’t just exist to answer my questions. “Right. Sorry. So, uh, what courses do people who get Infusion usually take?”

  “Let’s see,” Aiden said, tapping away. “Well, Infusion mages often take ‘Defense as Offense’ to help with their efforts in the Arena. It’s a primer course on using your talents to actually win fights, from what I’ve heard. It stands to reason, given that Infusion magic isn’t easily used to cause damage.”

  I thought back to watching Sam getting blasted away when my Ward reflected her attack. “Yeah, I can see how that’d be handy. What else is there?”

  “For actual directions,” Aiden said, staring at the display, “there are many who go the path of healing and building. Increasing the body’s natural talent to heal itself and making the foundations of buildings and the like just that extra bit stronger. And there’s enchantment, of course. If you want the sort of life that makes you easy money for a fair amount of your time, that’s a good one to consider.”

  “All right,” I said, frowning. “But that’s kind of confusing. Like, I get the enchantment bit, but wouldn’t making a house or healing someone be more like the Change Form? You’re making an injury disappear, and you’re making a house out of nothing. That doesn’t seem like Infusion.”

  “That’s because you’re thinking about this in the wrong way,” Aiden said. “Both Change and Infusion can heal a wound. Change would alter the very nature of the tissue, replacing what is damaged with what is healed. There is something of a risk in that method of healing, however, because if the caster does not picture every minute detail of the healing perfectly, the result can be—” He wrinkled his nose. “—less than ideal.”

  I tilted my head, my foot making a steady drum against the floor. “So what does Infusion do, then?”

  “Infusion is more subtle,” Aiden said, “and it cannot work from nothing. You do not repair the wound with magic; you coax the body to do it for you. You encourage the body’s natural healing process to incredible heights, to the point where it can heal what would take weeks in mere hours, minutes, even. And you do so in a way far safer and more energy efficient than Change magic, if sometimes less immediate.” He paused. “That’s a good way to think about it. Although basic Wards are something of an exception to this, as a whole Infusion is perhaps the most patient magic. You affect nothing directly, merely act by making something more than it normally is. Whether that is coaxing air to have a little push or helping a body to heal is up to you.”

  “So what about the house example?” I asked.

  “Perhaps not the best example to use,” Aiden admitted. “You cannot make something out of nothing with Infusion magic. Hardening air is one thing, shaping the earth into a building is quite another. But just like with healing, Infusion mages can make inanimate objects become more than they normally are as well. An Infused wall is quite a bit more than a normal wall, able to hold far more weight and pressure.”

  I grinned. “And here you said you didn’t know much about Infusion magic.”

  Aiden gave me a deadpan look and shifted the floating display to face me. Paragraphs hovered in the air, explaining Infusion magic in even more detail than he just had. Right. Yeah. That made more sense.

  “Now, I’m going to send all this over to your tablet,” Aiden continued. “Look it over for these next few days. You have space for five classes, not counting your private sessions with Speaker Alferon. Each semester you will progress to the next stage of those classes that have progressions, or you will select new ones.”

  “Thanks,” I said, looking down as my tablet gave a soft ping and downloaded everything. “What else do I have to deal with this week?”

  “There are several opportunities to familiarize yourself with your Form,” Aiden said, “and your professors. I suggest you make use of at least one of them. Beyond that, tomorrow is the Arena’s preliminary testing, to see where to place you in the brackets.”

  I must have flinched or something, because Aiden gave me a wary look that was almost—maybe—softened with something—possibly—approaching concern. “I wouldn’t worry too much. It’s just basic testing, not a match. And I’ve no doubt that whoever is testing you will be aware of your situation.”

  “Situation?” a voice asked brightly just behind my head, making me jump. “And what might that be?” Sofia flounced over to the sofa and sat delicately next to her brother. She gave me an inquisitive look that was only slightly ruined by the opportunistic gleam in her eyes. I shot Aiden a pleading glance.

  Aiden sighed. “Really, sister, I know that you delight in attempting to surprise me, but not everyone is likely to be so tolerant. And do please make some effort to keep out of business that isn’t yours to pry into.”

  Sofia pouted, rearranging her hair so that it cascaded over her shoulders in a wave of dark curls. “You’re no fun, brother dear. I’m merely curious for the sake of my classmate.” She turned her honey-amber eyes on me. “Fay, would you be a dear and tell me what’s wrong?” She leaned her body ever so slightly toward me, all innocence and a fair bit of cleavage. “I just want to know how I might be able to help.”

  I tried not to look too amused at her efforts, but to my surprise it was Aiden who ruined the moment by letting out a cough that sounded suspiciously like an effort to disguise a chuckle.

  Sofia’s mouth twisted slightly. “What?” she asked, turning toward Aiden.

  Aiden’s eyes were bright, and there was that unnervingly real-looking smile on his face again. “Oh, sister mine, have you ever heard the expression of ‘barking up the wrong tree’?”

  Sofia looked confused for a moment, and then her dusky cheeks reddened. “Ah.” She leaned back a little, all the seductiveness draining out of her in a moment. “Well.”

  I considered teasing her a little, but eh. Seemed like she was doing a good enough job embarrassing herself.

  “I’m going to depart now, before one of you does something to ruin my wonderful mood,” Aiden said and stood up. “Feayr, just check your tablet for the schedule of this week. I’m available for questions whenever you need.” He grabbed his tablet and waved away the illusion before bending down and pre
ssing a kiss to Sofia’s forehead. “I’ll see you for dinner, Sofia.”

  I sat there and watched him walk away for a few seconds before glancing down at my tablet. Sofia gave me a slightly off-balance smile and then quickly departed as well, leaving me to my thoughts.

  I’d definitely have to ask Alferon about the uses for Infusion magic. I liked the idea of Wards, but I doubted I’d be able to do all that well with only them. Maybe if I also tried to get better at Summoning? But that was as far as fighting went. I couldn’t see myself making magic items for a living. I couldn’t imagine doing that for more than an hour without getting bored. And healing someone sounded terrifying. If I ended up doing something wrong and hurting them when I was trying to help them, I’d never forgive myself. There had to be other ways for me to use my talents. I simply hadn’t learned about them yet.

  “You know,” Sam said from where she was sitting next to me, “you’re really oblivious when you’re trying to think.”

  I stifled a yelp and glared at her. “Was that really necessary?”

  She grinned. “If you’re not paying attention, it’s your own fault for getting surprised. Besides, you looked like you were planning things, and you know I’m not going to miss that.”

  “Just classes,” I said, sighing. “Infusion magic is weird.”

  “Is that what you got?” Sam asked, resting her feet on the table and stretching out. “Defensive stuff, right? That suits you.”

  I frowned and edged my tablet a little away from her feet. She had a habit of kicking. “You think so?”

  “Well, sure. You’ve spent your whole life avoiding fights, Fay. Makes sense your magic would want to keep you safe too.” Sam pulled out her sketchpad and started drawing the lines of what looked like a city. “I’m guessing you’re thinking about this wrong. Did you get the whole speech about what you can do with your Form too?”