by V. St. Clair
“What are you doing awake already?” Asher blurted out as soon as he opened the door.
Aleric pursed his lips and said, “There’s a Council meeting this morning and it’s open to the public, so I’m expected to attend. Where did you run off to in your pajamas before dawn?”
Asher knew his friend well enough to decode his turn of phrase. “Open to the public” actually meant that a few prominent groups of people were invited to participate in the Council meeting, like highly-ranked Great Houses and Masters of the arcana. It was the sort of meeting Asher would probably never be considered important enough to attend, unless he could find a way to prove himself socially or politically important in the future.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he lied, trying to invent a story on the spot. “I thought I’d take a walk, but after running into Master Laurren I regret taking the notion,” he explained, deciding that telling as much of the truth as possible would make the story easier to remember and adhere to.
Aleric looked surprised at that and said, “Oh, yeah, I forgot to ask what you thought about him after hunting him down yesterday.”
Asher didn’t have to entirely feign a look of disdain when he said, “The man is a total hack from what I can tell, more interested in appearing mystical than in actually teaching.” He still didn’t know why he had to keep up this charade, but it had seemed so important to Laurren, and he had promised…
“Really?” Aleric’s eyes widened in surprise. “I ran into him last night and thought he was even weirder than you, and since you love strange things, I thought you were certain to like him.”
Asher shrugged.
“Maybe under other circumstances, but I also don’t want to waste my time here, and that’s what I gather his class would be. Where did you see him yesterday?”
Aleric blinked once before saying, “On the way back from the dining hall.”
Since Laurren had said he ran into him by the cliffs overlooking the Gawain Sea, one of them was lying. Looks like I’m not the only one keeping secrets from his friend…
Asher filed the thought away for further examination later.
“Oh. What did you think of him?” he trolled for information, genuinely interested in his friend’s impression of the man.
Aleric frowned and said, “He could barely remember my name, and seemed to either not know or care who my family was. I was inclined to write him off as a total waste of space, but there’s something about the way he carries himself…”
“Like he’s superior to the rest of us?” Asher interrupted. “I think it’s the Mastery Charm.” He sighed. “Well, now that we’ve established that neither of us will be taking Abnormal Magic anytime soon…shall we get breakfast?”
“The dining hall isn’t even open yet.”
Asher shrugged and said, “It will be in a few minutes. Besides, one of us can probably charm the cooks into opening it early for us.”
Aleric rolled his eyes but agreed, smoothing out his formal clothing as he stood up to prevent it from wrinkling and gesturing for Asher to lead the way.
“So, what’s the Council meeting supposed to be about today, or is it a big secret that only rich people can know?” Asher asked conversationally as they walked.
“Nothing secret,” his friend ignored his sarcasm. “Herewald Westerman is going to retire from the Council next year, which will leave an open position. The general election will be held in the next few months, so this is the initial chance for anyone of note to put in their name for consideration, if they’re interested. It’ll be fairly boring,” he sighed. “I’m only being asked to attend because my mother thinks there is much to learn from who puts their name in for the position and how they are received by the others.”
Asher shook his head in amused disbelief and said, “Remind me never to pit myself against your mother for any reason. She scares me even more than your old man, with all of her political acumen and a web of connections I could never hope to replicate.”
“She may not be the warmest of individuals, but I don’t see how she can scare you more than my father,” Aleric looked at him in disbelief. “He’s the powerful one, the one who can end my inheritance and crush me into a nonperson with a word.”
Asher silently disagreed that his father was the powerful one in the relationship, though he didn’t bother arguing with his friend about it. Aleric underestimated the value of having so many contacts and layer upon layer of social circles, agendas, and competing priorities. Juggling all of that brilliantly and making it look effortless was the true power of Adorina Frost. He doubted that even her husband knew who all of her sources were for information, which made her a valuable ally and a dangerous enemy. If he had to choose someone to model himself after, Asher would have picked Aleric’s mother. No question as to who Aleric would have chosen, as much as he claimed to hate the man.
“I don’t suppose anyone in your family intends on putting in for a spot on the Council of Mages?” Asher asked curiously.
“There’s no real need. We already have equal political influence just by virtue of our last name, so a Council seat would just be redundant, and in some ways inhibit our movements. The only real boon would be the allowed use of the Mastery Charm their members are allowed to wear.”
And that is no small thing to turn down…
Almost any mage would kill for a Mastery Charm, which amplified power, allowed for more rapid spellcasting, and allowed its members to communicate much more easily from all corners of the Nine Lands.
As they crossed the pentagonal foyer, they intersected the hallway that led to the back exit of the school, which Asher had just returned from minutes ago. He was unpleasantly surprised to see that Master Laurren was approaching them from that direction now. Asher frowned, but Aleric nodded politely to the man as they crossed paths briefly, and Laurren returned the gesture gravely.
“Was that Bonk on his shoulder?” Aleric asked quietly as they moved out of earshot, turning back to check.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Asher replied. “A weird dragonling for a weird guy.” He shrugged.
“True,” Aleric conceded, continuing towards the dining hall. “Well, at least we won’t be seeing much of him for the rest of the year, since neither of us are taking his class.”
We’ll be friends someday, but not for a while…
Asher fought back a frown at the words that came back to him again, saying only, “Yeah, I expect we’re done with him.”
12
The Council of Mages
Aleric hated attending Council meetings, and as a result, spent much longer than usual at the breakfast table to distract himself from the impending boredom. Asher didn’t seem to mind, staring off into space and turning his thoughts inward every time a lengthy silence fell between them. Aleric wondered what he was thinking about so intently, but if his friend wanted him to know he would surely tell him, unprompted.
A small herd of his peers (this was how Aleric thought of the quartet) approached their table, hailing him and Asher and asking if they could join them for the remainder of the morning meal. All four were from what Aleric’s mother labeled Level-B families, reputable and wealthy in their own right, but not quite important enough to be on the same level as a Frost or a Kilgore. These four, each rarely seen without the company of the others, clearly wanted to change their status, and often clung to Aleric like orbiting planetoids.
“Go ahead,” Asher snapped back into focus, his trademark cheerful smile back on his face as he motioned the others to sit down.
Asher was no fool. He got along with the others and counted them as friendly acquaintances, but he knew that they were here because of Aleric. If Aleric stood up and announced he had to leave, the others would find a reason to do likewise within the next five minutes. Not that they didn’t like Asher—Aleric believed they did—but there was no potential for social advancement by allying themselves with him.
“So, Aleric, I imagine you’re going to the Council meeting
today?” Eland asked with a smile. He had no idea that this was the very thing Aleric was trying not to dwell on at the moment, and Aleric smothered his annoyance at having it brought up immediately by these dolts.
Be nice…or Mother will have your head for throwing away a possible future ally in a moment of pique.
There was always a chance he would need to call in some favor with one of their families in the future, so Aleric returned the amiable smile and said, “Of course.”
Carter wasn’t able to conceal his envy at this simple response, because his own family wouldn’t be considered significant enough to attend such an event unless they were low on headcount and trying to make show.
“Who do you think is going to put their name in for consideration?” he asked, his sharp eyes laser-focused on Aleric, who knew better than to give away information for nothing in return.
“I’m sure I’ll find out shortly,” he answered neutrally.
Carter frowned and said, “But you must have some idea…there have to be rumors. Don’t tell me you don’t move in high enough social circles to hear them; people tell your family everything, whether they want to or not.”
He was referring more to Aleric’s mother and father, the ones who made a living off of spies, intrigues, and covert business arrangements.
“The man who counts rumor as fact is a fool,” he said bluntly, drawing surprised glances at this remonstrance. “If you’ll excuse me, I have something else to attend to before I leave for the meeting.”
He stood up amid a flurry of well wishes, farewells, and regrets that he had to leave so soon. Eland shot Carter a glare like this was all his fault, and they turned their attention to Asher as Aleric walked away. Asher had once again been focusing inward, and looked mildly annoyed by the interruption. Aleric wished he knew what was claiming all of his friend’s attention right now; Asher was rarely this distracted.
He put it from his mind and left the dining hall, walking the long corridor that connected it to the main part of the school and turning left before he reached the main foyer. He hadn’t been lying when he said he had business to attend to before he left Mizzenwald this morning, and the sooner he got this out of the way, the better.
He stopped in front of the Prism Master’s living quarters and knocked on the door, hoping he wasn’t waking the man up because that would make him less likely to support Aleric’s plan. Unfortunately, in order for him to officially work on a new research project while at Mizzenwald, using the school’s resources, he needed Master Antwar’s sponsorship.
Fortunately, the Prism Master was awake and dressed, his metallic red robes glinting in the morning light as he opened the door and greeted Aleric in surprise.
“Frost, what brings you here?” he reverted to using Aleric’s surname only, which he only did when he was caught off guard or angry.
Hopefully the former…
“I’m sorry to bother you so early in the morning, sir, but I have to leave soon for a Council meeting, and I wanted to talk to you first.”
He tried to sound humble and not demanding. Humility wasn’t one of his strong suits, courtesy of his last name, but it was a skill that was worth practicing for those occasions when it was called for.
“About what?” The Master pulled the door closed behind him and stepped out into the hall. Aleric would rather not talk about this where anyone passing by could casually overhear, but he knew better than to try and set conditions right now on their discussion. Besides, no one was in sight, so better to get this over with.
“I would like to begin a new research project in Prisms, sir, so I am formally petitioning you for approval and sponsorship.”
Master Antwar raised his eyebrows, considering Aleric thoughtfully. It was too much to hope for that he wouldn’t bring up their last discussion about research, when Aleric had reprimanded the man for deceiving him, sworn off Prisms research entirely, and stormed out of the room in a temper.
Sure enough…
“I thought you were finished doing research in Prisms.”
Aleric had considered many possible versions of this discussion in his head last night while trying to fall asleep, so he was ready with a multitude of different answers in different tones of voice, depending on how the conversation went.
“I did say that, sir, though I think you know it was done in a moment of anger, for which I would like to apologize. I don’t care for surprises, and finding out that Asher and I had been hiding our work from each other for the better part of a year for no good reason was unpleasant, though that is no excuse for the way I vented my feelings at the time.”
The Prism Master was still scrutinizing him with that unsettling intensity. Now he said, “Your parents have trained you well. I almost believe you’re actually sorry, and not just angling for something you want.”
Stunned by this turn of events from a man who had always openly favored him, Aleric asked, “Sir? I know humility isn’t my crowning achievement, but I am sorry for the way I behaved that day.”
“I believe that you’re sorry for betraying so much raw emotion, likely because your family taught you it is unbecoming of a well-bred man to do so, but I think that day you stormed out of my classroom may have been the most openly honest you have ever been with me.”
Aleric clenched his jaw, uncomfortably aware of how on-the-nose the Master’s observation had been. He had called out, almost word for word, the lesson his mother had been drilling into him since childhood. Even now, he could hear her voice in his head.
It is unbecoming of a gentleman from a Great House to flaunt his emotions for the world to see. It makes you malleable, controllable…insignificant.
“I…didn’t realize you found me so disrespectful,” he answered hesitantly, thrown for a loop. In all the iterations of this dialogue with his mentor, he hadn’t considered this possibility at all.
“Oh, you’re as respectful as your upbringing allows,” Antwar explained neutrally. “It just took me a long time to realize that professional courtesy does not equate to genuineness. It was a strange feeling, that day…I gained a new appreciation for Asher and his blunt manner. He transitions through more emotions in one day than I do in a week and wears them all openly, but while he is not at all dazzled by authority figures, one always knows where one stands with him.”
Hearing his best friend praised by their mentor while he was put down made Aleric’s blood boil. It was a dizzying inversion of the way things were meant to be…I’m the good one who does everything right and plays by all their rules!
For a moment, he wondered how Asher had dealt with the crushing sense of failure and inadequacy that assailed Aleric right now, how he could stand to live in the shadow of it for years…
“I’m sure he’d be thrilled to hear that you’ve changed your mind about him,” Aleric responded slowly, trying to contain his feelings instead of flying off the handle again. “But your relationship with him has no bearing on your relationship with me—or it shouldn’t, sir,” he continued reasonably, hoping that the implied insult was veiled enough to prevent him from being called out on it. “I came to make amends and ask for your permission and oversight on a new project of mine. If your personal feelings towards me do not allow you to accept either of those things, then…”
He let the thought trail off, because there was no need to finish it. He hadn’t come here to threaten his mentor, but there seemed to be no other choice. He could claim that Antwar was taking out a personal grudge against him and impeding his education, which would bring the issue to a formal review by the other nine Masters. Most of the others liked him, and understood that they did not want to make an enemy of the Frosts…it would be messy and tedious, but he could probably force Antwar out his job if he pushed it hard enough through his mother and father.
He wasn’t sure how much of this the Prism Master understood, or how much he would ferret out later when he thought more closely on it; he would never accuse Antwar of the kind of intelligence it would
take to puzzle out all of the various implications this rapidly.
Whatever the reason, his mentor said, “I accept your apology, and I haven’t said I won’t sponsor your new research. You haven’t even told me what you want to pursue yet.”
Aleric exhaled softly in relief, forcing his features into something less stiff and unfriendly to try and salvage what he could from this.
“I intend to stop the effects of memory loss,” he said boldly, bluntly. The look of complete shock on his mentor’s face was so amusing he almost laughed out loud.
“You want to do what?” Antwar asked as though he hadn’t heard the words correctly. “That’s about the most impossible thing I’ve ever heard! You might as well announce that you intend to walk to the moon!”
Asher doesn’t think it’s impossible…
Then again, Asher believed anything was possible if he applied himself to it. It was a trait Aleric intended to copy for himself.
“Well, we won’t know for sure until I’ve tried. I’m sure I’m not the first to think of it, but obviously there hasn’t been much success in the past,” Aleric explained calmly.
“You can say that again…” Antwar trailed off. “Why do you think you’ll have any better success than any of your predecessors?”
Aleric shrugged and said, “They aren’t me. We won’t know what I am capable of figuring out until I make the effort.”
Narrowing his gaze, the Master asked, “Why the sudden interest in such a difficult topic? What does it mean to you?”
Aleric would sooner die than reveal his father’s secret, and immediately said, “Many of my friends have relatives who are beginning to suffer the effects of memory loss, and it is devastating to their families. I was looking for something new to research when one of them confided in me about it, and I took it as a sign that I should make this my new area of focus.”
