by J E Mueller
Every so often I would glance over at the professor and watch. It was clear when she was sometimes surprised at the potion working and others she looked rightly tired before she watched it fail. I had no idea what each one was supposed to do, but seeing plants die and paper catch fire was interesting from time to time.
Finally, Achworth yawned loudly. “You have about three and a half hours left on this. I trust neither of you will cause any trouble?” She looked directly at Aylum for confirmation.
“Of course not, professor.” He nodded solemnly.
The professor looked my way and sighed tiredly. “I am well aware you will be on your best behavior and you know everything is monitored.”
“Of course. It’s not a potions semester without at least one late night.” I nodded, having somehow done this every semester. I might have been a bit too eager to try new potions, but the learning curve was well worth it.
Achworth gave me a tired look. “Indeed. At least this one shouldn’t blow up.”
“I think that stage hasn’t been possible since day three this year.” I smiled widely.
With a tired sigh, she got up. “Please leave the completed bottle on my desk and remember to clean up.”
I watched her leave before turning back to my notebook.
“What potions did you possibly explode?” Aylum asked.
I glanced over, seeing his full attention was on me. “Oh, several my first year. Did you know that the basic energy potion can be created in half the time by switching Linwood mushrooms for Bentwood mushrooms? Of course, that causes rapid heating, and if not controlled properly before adding those three final drops of olive oil it will explode?” I smirked as his expression went from surprised to contemplative.
“I never considered switching them. Bentwood would only need a day to brew whereas Linwood takes three…” He stared off thoughtfully.
“I like mixing and trying different possibilities. That first year of lessons was rather informative.” And taught my teachers all they would need to know about me.
Aylum gave a small laugh before it turned into a yawn. “There is no way I can study or work on assignments anymore.” He dug in his bag for a moment before pulling out a small box and setting it on the table.
“What’s that?” I scooted closer to take a look.
Aylum shrugged and moved the box over so I could get a better look. “Material for Kelipse Day pendants.”
I took in the different small blocks of wood, the selection of small knives and sandpaper. “Never heard of pendants for it. I suppose it makes sense your home would celebrate it differently.”
“What do you all do?” He didn’t try to mask his confusion.
“Not much of anything. As kids we made cards and sweets for those we cared about, but that was all dropped sometime before we were teens. Occasionally someone may gift another something, but it’s usually to show interest more than not. Parents do like to use it as an excuse to go somewhere fancy for travel, though I have no idea if mine still do while I’m away at school.”
“That doesn’t even begin to cover the point of the holiday.” Aylum’s frown deepened.
“Well, what do you do that’s so much better? I’m sure we’re not very exciting here, but what makes your traditions better?” I raised an eyebrow, challenging him. Let’s see him deliver on this oh so exciting event.
“You should see it, the whole thing is truly lovely.” Aylum leaned back in his seat and sighed. “There’s a giant festival, a day off for most. There are food stalls and live music starting in the early afternoon. All music is voted on and picked months in advance. There are so many different activities, but the food and dancing are the best. Families start the day sharing a meal, talking about how to improve their time together and get stronger as a group. Gifts, usually pendants, are given to families and friends. Sometimes other things are bought, but handmade things are really prized and celebrated. We don’t do that Promised thing over there normally. No one is keen on arranged marriages. Instead, you probably spend days making just the right pendant.” Aylum looked off thoughtfully.
“That sounds really nice. So, everyone celebrates together?” There weren’t too many family-focused holidays here.
“Yes, it’s a very busy but fun day. It tends to go early into the next day since everyone is dancing, eating, and just having a great time so the day after is an unofficial holiday.” He chuckled at the idea as he picked up a bit of wood. “I have several pendants to make still.”
I frowned. “But that’s mid next week isn’t it?”
“Of course it is, and the trip is next week as well, which should have been the first sign no one here really celebrates it.” Aylum shook his head. “But I have the weekend so that should be more than enough.”
I wanted to ask more but sighed. “We have to get things added to this potion.”
Aylum nodded, passing over some of the ingredients to chop while he started on some of his own. “I could show you how to make one. It’s a process I think you’d enjoy.”
“Why do you think that?” I asked as I chopped away, trying to get everything as thin as possible.
“It involves magic, and what random thing involving magic isn’t fun?” From my peripheral, I could see him smirking.
“Is this rhetorical? Because history is full of magic and is rather dull at times.”
He chuckled. “But you are curious.”
“Of course I am. Now hush and get ready to add things.” I shook my head at him, as I threw my cuttings into the potion before stirring it slowly.
Aylum slowly added his, waiting for things to be absorbed before adding more. “I really do think you’d enjoy it. You’ll have to see the event for yourself next year.”
I continued to stir evenly, not letting my thoughts get the best of me. “Maybe. I still have no idea how breaking things with my Promised will go, and what will even happen from there. Traveling would be fun. I’ve never been away from Arix before.” The Land of the Blue Stone was considered a wonderful kingdom, but I had never left it. I had only been to a few places in Arix, my home kingdom, but mostly just my home at Idelworth Estate and here in Valenston.
“It’s wonderful. Traveling is something I love to do every so often.” Aylum finished adding everything and sat back once more.
“Does your whole family travel?” I asked curiously as I continued to stir, making sure it was all well mixed before adding the thermometer.
Aylum leaned forward to watch the temperature. “We do. It’s normally all of us, but sometimes just a few.”
As it hit the right temperature I adjusted the flame and cleared my throat before pulling a thread of magic into the potion, coaxing it to bind together as the words with magic escaped from my lips. Once complete I smiled, satisfied the step was done and I was that much closer to this project finally coming to an end.
“That reminds me of a weird comment from earlier. We really aren’t supposed to be nosey, but growing up with half these people I already know their lives and titles, but not yours. What is it?”
“Who made a comment?” Aylum laughed. “Not that it matters, almost no one here aside from Soleia knows it.”
“So she did recognize you.” I smirked. “I could always bother her for the information.”
“Bother her all you like, she won’t say.” He grinned, tilting his head back. “I tell you what, if you can figure it out I will confirm it.”
“I don’t remember the entire political structure from Dustarn.” I sighed, shaking my head. “Not that it would be hard to research, there just isn’t time this coming week.”
He chuckled. “Not everything needs to be answered immediately.”
“But it's more fun being able to figure it out quickly,” I muttered, getting up to stretch and move.
“I'll tell you what.” Aylum smirked as he picked up a block of wood and a knife. “If you don’t figure it out by next semester, I'll tell you.”
“I can live with that
.” I agreed rather happily as I walked around the room. At least I wouldn’t have to mindlessly guess down a list until it was revealed. I liked making good, educated guesses. I vaguely wondered if he knew the title associated with my family. Tite wasn’t an exciting title, nothing like Tanza or Lari, but it did say a bit about my family.
“Now, would you like to learn how to do this?”
I teleported back to my seat, causing Aylum to laugh. “What?”
“You abuse that talent now that you’ve figured it out.” He continued to laugh.
“Why not when I can? It’s fun.” I smirked. “Now what’s this pendant magic thing?”
“It’s really neat.” He handed me a small woodblock and one of the knives. “To start, you must envision who you want to make it for.”
“Okay, that’s easy enough.” I nodded, waiting patiently for further instructions.
“Then, pull a thread of magic while concentrating on that person. Think of what they mean to you, and ask the wood what shape it should be. Start carving, letting the magic flow thinly as you do. Depending on how you view them, the magic added to the finished pendant will do different things. Usually, it adds a dash of light perfection, luck, a reminder of affection, and so on.”
“How does magic serve as a reminder of affection? I’ve never seen that before.” I felt my brows furrow, trying to think of anything I’ve encountered doing that.
He frowned but only for the briefest moment before explaining, “It depends. Sometimes touching it could make the wearer feel a pulse, or give them the same feeling of a hug. Really, anything of that nature is possible. Maybe it’s more prevalent in dragon magic.”
“Must be.” I agreed, not wanting to admit that maybe most families here were too formal to be loving.
I flipped the wood around in my hands, not entirely sure where to start. What to do, what to do… It only seemed right to start with Aylum since he was the friend who had introduced me to this. What did he mean to me though?
I decided not to dwell on the words of it, letting the feeling associated with him flow through the magic and into the wood. My hands itched with a desire to carve a certain way, the magic guiding me as I tried to figure out how to work the knife. Carving wasn’t something I had much experience with—this wasn’t going to be pretty. Still, a new craft with an amusing bit of magic was exactly something I wanted to do.
I glanced over at Aylum a few times when he checked the potion, letting the fire side of his destruction magic help keep the potion at the right temperature.
Before I knew it, the magic I was putting into the pendant seemed to peter out, a sensation of completion washed over me. I looked at the odd shape. The one side was a heart with what reminded me of two wings coming out of it. The other side, while heartlike, spiraled inward on itself. The creation was crude and rough, but I felt rather satisfied to complete it.
“Now what?” I looked over at Aylum.
He looked up from his own piece, his eyes going wide as he took in my pendant, but only for a moment before he turned back to the box. “You sand it. Then tomorrow if you’d like I can bring the wood finish and all it’ll need to do is dry.” He handed me the coarse cloth.
“Does this symbol mean something?” I asked curiously, wondering if that was part of his surprised expression.
“They do. They don’t all turn out the same, but the symbols are all documented. The magic sometimes combines different things, so they can be wonderful unique pieces too,” he replied, looking back at mine.
“What does this one mean?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.
“I am not going to explain them.” Aylum shook his head. “I’ll see if I have my book. If not Soleia might have one.”
“Can’t I ask her to explain or is this some weird dragon secret thing?” I laughed.
“Oh, you can ask, but I guarantee she will not explain.” He chuckled softly. “Some symbols are too weird to explain and are better just understood. Of course you don’t have that knowledge yet, but that’s more than fine. I’m sure you’ll have fun looking them up.”
He wasn’t wrong on that.
I started to sand down the rough edges as I thought. I was curious what it could mean, and knew he wouldn’t give me any further clues, but wondered how the magic chose symbols. It would likely make more sense once I could see what everything meant. Certain angles and shapes probably lent to specific magics.
“It’s about time.” Aylum yawned as he added two drops of seaweed extract before putting the flame out on the potion. “And now it rests.”
“Finally!” I breathed out a sigh of relief. There was nothing more to do but wait, bottle it, and then sleep.
“You’re more than welcome to go off to bed. I’ve got it from here.”
“I’m fine,” I lied through a yawn. “Anyway, it feels wrong to abandon it now. This is the easiest part.”
Aylum chuckled. “You’re not wrong about that. The final wait is easy.”
I continued to sand the pendant, trying to ignore my eyes as they steadily grew heavier.
“Kareia,” I heard Aylum say as he nudged me awake.
I sat up straight with a start, surprised I had fallen asleep and slouched over onto him. “I’m sorry.”
He laughed softly before I could get another word out. “You’re fine. Clearly tired. We can start cleaning up. By the time we’re done, it’ll be ready to bottle.”
“Of course. Sorry.” I moved to start getting things cleaned, hoping to hide my blush.
“No need. Your company is always enjoyable.”
His words made me blush harder and I hoped the dim lighting of the room didn’t show off my cheeks. It was easy enough to keep busy, making sure everything was put away. Aylum poured the potion into the needed bottle and set it on the professor's desk. After cleaning out the small cauldron, we headed out.
“Thank you for showing me this new craft. Does it go by a certain name?” I asked curiously.
He shrugged. “It probably does, but I’ve just always called it making pendants.”
I nodded. “I’d like to make one for Soleia tomorrow if you have enough extra.”
“I have more than plenty.” He smiled. “I’ll go through my stuff tomorrow and get you a few pieces. It’s fun to practice.”
Now if only I knew what symbols were possible and what they meant.
Chapter Eight
The weekend flew by. I decided not to tell Soleia about the pendants, opting to surprise her with one instead. While it was a fun idea, it still annoyed me that I didn’t know what the symbols meant. I had worked on hers between practicing at night, horseback riding, and etiquette lessons with the other women during the day. It was more than enough time to finish and pocket it away.
The herbal spellcraft trip was supposed to be a three-day event, with four days leave after to visit family. I imagined it was set up that way since the teachers would need a lengthy break after dealing with the twenty of us in our final year. Right from the beginning, they were already tired of convincing us it would be most appropriate to have women in one series of carriages and men in another. It was their own fault for making us be out here at seven in the morning. I wondered if the four teachers would even be enough.
“You seem distracted. Or is that your normal now?” Soleia nudged me as we rode to the campgrounds.
I shrugged and glanced around the cramped carriage. Orabella and Keti chatted across from us while Professor Brentwood, one of the Spellsayer teachers, read.
“Possibly the normal.” I smirked, not wanting to say what was on my mind. “I’ve had some weird dreams this weekend. Nothing bad, just weird. They felt so real that it’s throwing me off.”
“Ah, I hate those.” Soleia nodded slowly. It wasn’t the first time we had talked about those sorts of dreams. “Anything you wish to discuss?”
“No. I think if I ignore them they’ll be easier to forget. We’re going to have plenty of distractions here very soon.” I shook my
head.
“Hopefully fun distractions.” Keti joined in. “Gathering and learning about plants is fun but the survival skills sound dull.”
“When would any of us really need them?” Orabella agreed. “Not to be too high and mighty, but we are never going to use this. There isn’t much that can mute magic and we have guards for that.”
Professor Brentwood cleared her throat, never looking up from her book. “Remember, there is a reason we have these particular trips. It’s not one we exactly enjoy, but it was deemed necessary for us to prepare you for things life may throw your way.”
We all quieted for a moment. The story spilled over into my thoughts. We heard it every year, though only the graduating class got to go on these types of trips.
Two decades ago there was a class who met an untimely, and very unfortunate, demise. Only twenty years ago. People our parents could have known. People we could have easily been related to. Someone broke into the class and stripped all of their magic. They never stood a chance. No one saw how and no suspect was found. We had all seen the original black and white photos, magic used to enhance and show the scene in color, exactly as it was.
There was far more blood than seemed humanly possible.
Orabella and Keti started talking about some potion samples they were curious to try and collect. The conversation came naturally and, after a few moments, our normal banter returned. For a time. After a short conversation silence fell once more. Dark, unsettling thoughts returned to my mind. Did the Sedimentary ever worry about someone stripping them of their magic? Of being hunted for reasons unknown? I hoped my scrying visions had nothing to do with this weekend either. The unease wrapped around me threatening to suffocate me as it blanketed my mind.
We were all too eager to get out when the carriages stopped, relieved to be free from the dark thoughts the ride presented us with.
The campgrounds were fairly nice, all things considered, though they weren’t real camping. There were two different small buildings on either side of the clearing with a large overhang and picnic area in the middle. The teachers were already shuffling us ladies to the right.
