by Rick Field
Not to mention the nightmares. In fact, today was the first night she had slept uninterrupted through the night.
The nightmarish image of Florindra's body had been plaguing her subconscious ever since she had turned to that corner in the dueling chamber, and lost her last meal at the sight of the results of her battle.
She was a former Prime Student, and was expected to uphold academic excellence. It was difficult for her, to uphold said excellence when even the few hours of sleep she permitted herself were riddled with the images of her second duel.
Standing up, she walked to the bathroom and performed her morning rituals, feeling her refreshed magic invigorate her.
Today was the day that she would be asked to make her choices known for years six and seven, and she was glad her magic had decided on today to wake up. She could use the excited energy that dwelled in her chest to banish the dark clouds that had been hanging over her since that duel. Granted, everyone was far nicer to her now that they knew she would and could defend herself using lethal force. Yet, to Liane, she had still taken a life. A life that she had not wished to take.
Having completed her morning tasks half an hour later, she left her room and walked down to the courtyard of the Academy, where she met up with Milor near the strange silver fountain. It looked no longer like a mangled Florindra. Instead, it looked like a woman with arms outstretched toward the sun.
“If I may say, you are looking better, My Lady,” Milor said, not giving an indication of his inner thoughts, which was as much an explanation in itself as his choice of words had been. After the last few years of increasing friendship, he only ever used the overly flowery words when he was being humorous, or dead serious.
“Thank you, My Lord,” she answered calmly. “I have had a good night's sleep for the first time since the duel.” She had not told him about her troubles with her magic, not sure if he would understand or not. He had seemed to know that she had been hiding something, but Decorum did not allow him to pry into her personal affairs. It was the first time she had been glad for the restrictive social rules.
“I am glad,” he replied, dipping his head. “Please feel free to discuss it with me any time you wish to do so. As I have told you before, Warlocks receive extensive help on how to deal with death.”
She just nodded, remembering his offer. “Thank you, My Lord,” she finally said.
“Yet you will not take me up on it, My Lady,” he answered smoothly.
They walked in silence for close to twenty seconds. “It is... private, My Lord. Private, and difficult to talk about,” Liane finally replied.
He seemed to accept her explanation, and smoothly changed the subject. “Have you decided on your courses, My Lady?”
She smiled faintly at the sudden change of topics, to something far more comfortable for her. Academics. “I have, My Lord,” she answered in jest, waiting a few seconds to allow a smile to twitch on his lips before answering the implied question, rather than the stated one.
“As my courses in Alchemy and Runes are now finished, I will be taking two one-year courses to replace them, namely, Rituals & Ceremonies, as well as Blood Magic.” She looked at him. “Are you still planning on taking Hexes & Curses?”
Milor nodded. “I am, My Lady. A Warlock should depend on more than the basic Combat Arts taught to all; I believe Hexes & Curses will be a good expansion to that.”
They were silent while approaching the administrative building. “Would My Lord object to company in said class?” she finally asked
Now it was his turn to blink. “My Lady wishes to join me in Hexes & Curses?” His formality showed his surprise, and she was faintly happy that she had been able to surprise him.
She drew a breath, then sighed it out. “My fateful duel against the former Lady Florindra Earthcrafter has taught me that I seem to possess a volatile temper, and it is my hope that additional training in certain aspects of the fighting arts will help teach me control, My Lord,” she answered, adopting the same ultra-formal tone that he had taken in his surprise.
They entered the building, and made their way to the registration office. He smiled at her use of language. “I understand, My Lady. In answer to your original question, it would be my biggest honor should you choose to join me.” He glanced at her. “As my Lady was so very gracious in her tutoring of me in Runes, glyphs, and Magical Symbols over the last two years, I would like to offer a reciprocal arrangement for Hexes & Curses, should My Lady wish it.”
She turned to face him, seeing the smile tug on his lips. He was playing with the formality of his language, and she was glad to have a friend like him, who could make her feel better just by talking. The last month had been depressing, but it seemed that Milor was able to make her feel better. Even if it was just for a few fleeting moments.
She had honestly not considered that he would offer such an arrangement, however. She had seen it as helping a friend, a friend who wouldn't be in the course if it hadn't been for her in the first place. She was honestly grateful that he did not hold it against her, but rather, saw it as a favor she had done for him.
Finally, Liane nodded. “Should my course load prove too intensive, it would be my honor should My Lord consent to tutoring me,” she answered, maintaining the ultra-formality they had adopted at some point. She could see his lips thin into a smile and his eyes gain a mischievous crinkle before he relaxed into his usual blank mask.
*****
When the administrative worker exited the room to call the next person, she noticed Liane standing in line. “My Lady,” she stated to Liane, who started with surprise. “As Prime Student, you have the right of precedence. Would you like to go first?”
Liane honestly hadn't taken into account just how far the right of precedence went, and that she was still the de facto Prime Student until after she announced her classes for next year.
She shook her head. “Not at this moment. My thanks for your consideration, My Lady.”
The administrative worker dipped her head low, and allowed the next applicant in.
“May I ask why you did not use your right of precedence, My Lady?” Milor whispered to her.
“As I have a friend with me in line, it would be rude to the extreme on my part to cut in line, leaving my friend to wait by himself, My Lord,” she answered in just as low a whisper.
Milor obviously had not considered that response. “Thank you, My Lady,” he finally replied.
“You are quite welcome, My Lord. It is what friends do, do they not?”
“It is indeed, My Lady,” he replied.
Only fifteen minutes later, Liane was seated in front of the administrative worker, looking at the same list she had seen before starting her fourth year. The form to fill in differed slightly, as she was now entitled to fill in courses for not just her sixth and seventh year, but also to denote whether or not she intended to apply for a Mastery and remain for her eighth year.
She started filling in the form, applying for Rituals & Ceremonies, and Blood Magic for year six, both of them being one-year courses. She was also applying for Hexes & Curses as a two-year course. As both one-year courses would be finished in her seventh year, she then added in Deep Secrets & Ancient Lore as a two-year course, for her seventh and eighth year.
Aware that all her courses would be finished then, her Master year would be filled with only her final remaining Elemental Magic course, and the Deep Secrets & Ancient Lore course, enabling her to devote as much time as necessary to her masterpiece, the application of magic that would show her ready to become a Master.
She handed the sheet and the form back to the worker, who read her application form, did not blink at what she had filled in, and filed it. “Your courses will be made available, My Lady. A book list will be made available to you, as will a recommended reading list. Class schedules will be determined in the next few days and the course list will be made available to you at the beginning of next week. Does My Lady have any questions?”
This time, the question wasn't nearly as rattled as it had been before her fourth year. It seemed that being either a Prime Student or a higher-grade student was worthy of more respect.
“What are the required procedures for procuring an athame and a wand, My Lady?” Liane asked.
“You may procure an athame and wand from your own supplier at your own convenience, My Lady. In case you do not have a supplier for these items, please notify the Academy and we will procure them for you,” the woman answered. The answer was well-rehearsed; it seemed that it was a regular question for those taking the courses that required them.
Liane nodded in understanding. “Thank you, My Lady. I have no further questions at this moment. My thanks for your assistance,” she said, standing up. She dipped her head to the woman once, and left the office. Again, she waited outside the administrative building for her friend to finish.
He walked out five minutes after her, and gave a small nod of appreciation when he saw she had waited for him. “Once again, you have chosen a heavier course load, My Lady,” he said. “I am not sure whether I should feel inadequate next to you.”
She allowed him a faint smile of amusement, recognizing his own humor. “It is merely a different outlook, My Lord. I enjoy learning about magic, and making it perform the way I wish it to. Your goal is to graduate and step into the role that life has laid out for you.”
He shrugged in acceptance. “Nevertheless, sometimes I feel inadequate when compared to you, My Lady. I did not become an Assistant, I did not choose an impressive amount of extra classes, nor did I become the Prime Student among my peers.” He looked at her. “Are you still planning on taking on an Assistant, My Lady?”
Liane nodded, and noticed that he was slipping into a more relaxed form of Decorum, and finally asking direct questions again.
She decided on responding in kind.
“I think I will accept an Assistant, My Lord. I feel that having an Assistant will help my understanding of my own classes, just as tutoring you in Runes, Glyphs & Magical Symbols has helped me in understanding that subject. At the same time, it will be my turn to give back. My own Proctor spent untold hours teaching and helping me, and her efforts were of tremendous benefit to me. Now is my turn to take a young Initiate, and help her as my Proctor has helped me. And perhaps, in six years, she, too, will think fondly of the time we spent together.”
Milor was silent as they sat down next to the silver fountain. Liane risked a glance up at it. It looked like a giant silver horse with angelic wings on its back. She blinked, and the image was lost to her, the fountain changing shape into a simple cube. Most curious.
“I do not know enough of your heavy course load, My Lady. I would like to point your attention to the prerequisites for Deep Secrets & Ancient Lore. Your Assistant will not fulfill those requirements,” Milor finally said.
Liane had given that a lot of thought as well. “She would be my Assistant, My Lord. She would not be the one who is taking the course,” Liane spoke. “It is not necessary for my Assistant to completely understand the course, but she will be required to take the required vows of secrecy.”
Milor shrugged. “I understand, My Lady. I still feel it is not the right course of action, but I will say no more on this. I will defer to your superior knowledge in this field.”
“Thank you, My Lord,” Liane answered, giving him another faint smile.
*****
Liane woke up a month into her sixth year, and stretched luxuriously. A faint smile appeared on her face as she slipped out of the bed, and looked around the room that had been assigned to her the day before, when she registered her intention to take on an Assistant.
Either through design or incredible coincidence, the room was the exact same one she had once shared with Cassandra during her own term as an Assistant. She had finally settled on taking the bed on the right, the bed that used to belong to Cassandra. She didn't feel it was right for any potential Assistant to take the bed.
After all, this could be temporary. If she did not find an Assistant, or if her offer was rejected, then she would move back into a single-occupancy room.
Sitting behind the desk she had used for so many hours during her first three years of studying at the Academy of Magic, Liane hoped fervently that she would find an Assistant that honored her invitation. She had so many good memories of this room, and did not want to leave it. She leafed once more through the aptitude test results of the potential Assistants.
As there were no pictures, she would still need to rely on first impressions and asking the name of the potential Assistants to match the faces to the names and results. She smiled faintly as she remembered giving her permission to allow her own aptitude tests to be made available to potential Proctors.
After her morning rituals, Liane left the room, and walked to a room she had only seen once, six years previous. It was the room where she had become an Assistant, and now she hoped to become a Proctor in that same room.
Waiting with the other Mages, Liane kept to herself. Her magic was anxious, and it in turn made her anxious. She settled for softly humming her favorite chant. It helped a little, and her nerves went away.
Finally, they were allowed entrance and the others hurried slightly, as if they were afraid that someone else would walk off with all the good Assistants. Liane walked in last, remembering how Cassandra had also come in as last, and how grateful she had been to see this kind Proctor choosing her.
Liane hoped that she would have the same impression on her own Assistant. She mentally reviewed the results lists, and calmly entered the room.
As she entered, she saw the six other potential Proctors stare at the ten hopeful Assistants. Shaking her head at the unbidden memory of watching people buy and trade horses at the local market, Liane walked forward.
Her eyes darted over the ten-year-old girls, all of them standing still, fearfully allowing the older students to inspect them as if they were mere cattle. She half-expected one of the potential Proctors to ask one of the young girls to open their mouth so her teeth could be inspected.
Liane's gaze finished her travel across the ten hopefuls. A few of them seemed rather self-assured, as if it were their gods-given right to become Assistants, and not to have to do too much work during it, too. They all looked so incredibly small and young. Had she looked like that when she had been in their place?
She dismissed the arrogant children immediately, and wished that her magic sight was able to look into a person's magic, rather than merely examine active magical effects. It would make this so much easier.
Her gaze travelled back, going for round two, not even looking at the arrogant girls that had not made the first cut.
She homed in on a girl, at the end of the row of hopeful girls, who looked sad and resigned, rather than arrogant, or fearful. This girl reminded Liane of herself before she became an Assistant, before Cassandra taught her to hold her head high, before she was taught how to stand on her own two feet, and walk.
Liane stopped in front of the sad-looking girl, and stared at her. The robes were ice-blue, designating an Iceworker. However, the robes were somewhat crooked, and the girl's hair, although combed, looked as if it hadn't been properly washed in days, and Liane thought it was highly unlikely the girl had ever even used a hairbrush.
The young blonde looked up at her, and ice-blue eyes met Liane's grey ones in a look that spoke of surprise. “May I ask your name, My Lady?” Liane finally asked.
“I am Amy Iceworker, My Lady,” the girl spoke softly, as if lowering the volume could hide the fact that she spoke in easy, self-assured tones. Liane's finely honed memory retrieved the girl's test results, and a thin smile appeared on her lips. She knew this girl's scores. Shooting a glance at the other potential Proctors, Liane stifled a grin. She had the girl with the highest test results of the entire class right here in front of her, and everyone had just ignored her because of her appearance.
She nodded, subconsciously mirroring th
e motions Cassandra had once made to her, and decided not to comment on the test results. She wasn't sure if Cassandra had ever looked at hers, but Liane was sure that they had never been mentioned between them.
“My name is Liane, The MagicWarper,” she said, making the young girl blink, look hurriedly at Liane's robes, her insignia, and looking back up at her face, an excited smile playing on her lips. “Do you wish to become an Assistant, My Lady?” she asked, remembering how Cassandra had asked her this same question.
“More than anything, My Lady,” Amy replied, her voice rising slightly in volume, betraying the girl's excitement.
“I have a question for you, My Lady,” Liane spoke to the younger girl, remembering her own aptitude test and wanting to find out for herself if this girl deserved the high scores that she had been given. “Please think quickly. Red is blue and blue is red. A circle is square and a square is a circle. If I asked you to draw a red circle, what would you draw for me?”
Amy Iceworker blinked twice, and smile slightly. “I would draw My Lady a blue square.”
Liane nodded. “Red is one, blue is two. A circle is one and a square is two. Add a red circle to a blue square. What is the result?”
Again, the younger girl blinked, and the smile widened. “Six, My Lady.”
“Good, My Lady,” Liane replied with a faint smile, the other Mages giving her a rather disdainful look for talking to a disheveled looking hopeful, and then asking her riddles that made no sense to them. Liane ignored them, and she was glad to see that the young girl in front of her also ignored them.
For a few moments, she stood at indecision, deciding whether to proceed, and realized that this was why Cassandra had also hesitated before extending her invitation. Finally, she nodded, both as reassurance to herself as to the young hopeful in front of her.
“I wish to extend an invitation to you to become my Assistant, My Lady. I have chosen you because you obviously do not care for some social conventions, yet you are willing to take a chance to get where you want, and are not afraid to face rejection over it. As my questions have shown, you are intelligent, and able to absorb information quickly, then apply it when questioned. As is requested of the Academy, please ask your questions of me, so you can decide whether or not to accept my offer.”