Menacing Misfits: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (Darkthorn Academy Book 1)

by Robyn Wideman

  Jack raised his hand.

  “Come with me,” said the student.

  Jack followed the older student out of the classroom. “Did I do something wrong again?”

  The student turned his head and looked at Jack. “I didn’t know you did anything wrong the first time. I’m one of Professor Campbell’s students, I’m fetching all her first-year students that she wants to talk to.”

  Jack relaxed a little. He’d already been to the headmaster’s office once; he’d been nervous he’d managed to find a new way to get into trouble without knowing it.

  They entered a small office and Professor Campbell was reading what looked like an ancient tome.

  “Ah, there you are, Master Vance. Thank you, Todd. You may go now.”

  Todd nodded and left the room.

  “Have a seat, Master Vance,” Professor Campbell said.

  “Please, call me Jack.”

  “Very well, Jack. And you can call me Professor Campbell,” she said with a wink.

  Jack looked around the office. There was an impressive number of books stuffed into it. The shelves were full and her desk had a stack beside it, along with a number of scrolls piled on top.

  “Now, I suppose you’ve been wondering about your test results?”

  Jack nodded, it had been a few days since the tests and he was curious. “Yes, Professor Campbell.”

  “First, I’ll give you a little primer, you’ll learn more about magic in the next few weeks, but for now I’m going to assume you know nothing.”

  “Good assumption. I don’t know anything.” They’d started talking about it in his Magic Basics class, but he knew so little that nothing seemed the right answer.

  Professor Campbell ignored Jack’s quip.

  “There are three basic types of magic that we test your affinity for: earth, elemental and spirit. Now, there are other types of magic, and certain types of magic can be classified in multiple ways, there isn’t a black and white answer for all magics, but those are what we’re talking about today. You have a natural affinity for all three types of magic.”

  “I see. Does that mean I should be studying as a mage?”

  Professor Campbell shook her head. “Not necessarily. There are ranges, and to be frank, while you do have earth and elemental affinities, they aren’t particularly strong, and that would hamper you should you choose the path of mage. You certainly could choose to be a mage but if you were thinking battle mage, like most young men when they find out they have magical talent, you’d find your abilities weaker than many of the other students.”

  “You said I have all three affinities, but I failed a test.”

  Professor Campbell raised an eyebrow. “And what test did you fail?”

  “The third stone you had me touch. It didn’t light up or change color like the other ones.”

  “Ah yes. That was the spirit magic test, and you didn’t fail. Quite the opposite. Most students have an affinity for one or two types of magic. Elemental is most common, followed by earth. Spirit isn’t rare, but most students have a low level of it. The stone that you touched is very sensitive to spirit magic. It will light up to some degree with a small amount of spirit magic, however, it is only useful in measuring small amounts. It doesn’t register anything with strong magic. In your case, spirit magic is your strongest affinity.”

  “I see,” Jack said, but he really didn’t know what it all meant. “When I did my test, you seemed surprised by the results. You said it was intriguing.”

  “Yes, your test results certainly aren’t normal. Usually when a student has a strong affinity for spirit, they have almost none for earth or elemental. Or if they have strong earth or elemental, spirit will be light. It’s rare to see a student with all three at a level that can easily be developed, especially with such solid spirit affinity.”

  Jack frowned. “You’re saying I have really high magic affinity? But you just said I shouldn’t be a mage.”

  “I said you shouldn’t necessarily be a mage. Healers benefit greatly from having a strong affinity for spirit magic.”

  “Oh.”

  “You sound disappointed.”

  “I’m just not interested in becoming a healer. I’m not even sure if I want to be a mage either.”

  “Nobody is forcing you to do either. You are the master of your own destiny here. Although, if you actually want to graduate from Darkthorn Academy, those are probably your best bets. I’ve seen the rest of your testing. You have a lot of catching up to do with the other students when it comes to your academics. Perhaps your combat skills are good enough to get you success as a soldier, but the competition for those positions is fierce.”

  Jack knew his academics were far behind the other students, and he had no real combat skills, so maybe focusing on being a mage wasn’t the worst idea. “Thank you, Professor Campbell.”

  “You may return to ethics class now, although if you brought your books with you, I would just sneak outside and get some sun. Dreadfully boring class, that one.”

  Jack sighed. “My books are still there.”

  “Ah. Well, in that case, consider it an opportunity to work on your knowledge base. One must always look for the bright side.”

  Jack headed back to his ethics class. The conversation with Professor Campbell had been somewhat revealing, answering some of his questions about his own magical potential, but it didn’t really offer him any guidance about his future other than he had the potential to be a mage or a healer. It wasn’t bad news, it gave him more options and chances at success at Darkthorn, but neither skill really appealed to him. Perhaps that would change as he took more classes, but at the moment, he still had little direction. He’d just have to do his best at everything and see what happened.

  Entering the ethics class, Jack went to sit down at his seat but suddenly felt his feet slipping from underneath him. With a loud crash, Jack hit the ground.

  Professor Atkinson stopped reading and looked at Jack. “Do you mind?”

  Jack looked at his spot. Someone had put a magic spell on the chair and the floor in front of it, making it as slippery as ice, and as cold. “Sorry, Professor.”

  A few students around Jack snickered, but he couldn’t tell who was behind the prank.

  Jack was glad when the bell rang and it was time to move on. He couldn’t wait to get back to his room. School was starting to get a little overwhelming. It wasn’t the prank that bothered him. It was more like information overload; he needed to recharge and start fresh tomorrow. He wasn’t going to let pranksters or having to take Healing stop him from doing what he needed to do.

  18

  “Today, we’re going to spar with swords,” Instructor Brazee said.

  Jack looked over at Lana, his new training partner, and gulped. This wasn’t going to go well.

  Lana smiled as she saw the nervousness in his eyes. “Don’t worry, Jack. They’re just wooden training swords. I won’t hurt you.”

  “It isn’t getting hurt that I’m worried about, it is looking like a fool. I’m so awkward with a sword.” Jack had held his own during the hand-to-hand combat part of the training. His strength advantage over Lana had helped overcome some of her superior technique and speed. However, this was different. The last class, they’d practiced the different strikes and techniques against sand-filled dummies. The difference between Lana’s and his skill levels had been obvious even against an inert opponent. Now that they were going to be sparring, it was going to be worse, much worse.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll go slow to start. This isn’t about showing how good I am, this is about learning the techniques,” Lana said.

  Jack nodded. He brought his sword up into the guard position. “OK.”

  “You attack first.”

  Remembering the previous class’s lessons, Jack started with an overhead attack. He brought his sword up and then down towards Lana’s head. She deftly parried his attack.

  “Not bad,” Lana said. “Your movements are a li
ttle herky-jerky. You want to be fluid, like this.” She repeated the same attack Jack had done, but while his movements had been a series of steps combined together, her motion was like a wave, smooth and effortless.

  Jack tried again. He moved slower, focusing on trying to replicate Lana’s movement. She easily blocked his attack, but she nodded in approval.

  “Better.”

  Instructor Brazee walked over. He tapped Jack’s right leg. “You need to transfer your weight better, but that swing wasn’t as horrendous as your last one. Work on combinations of attacks. A single attack isn’t going to do much against a prepared opponent. You need to be able to move from one attack to another.”

  As Instructor Brazee went off to the next pair of students, Lana grinned. “That was almost a compliment.”

  “If that was a compliment, I’d hate to hear an insult,” Jack replied. He wasn’t sure if Brazee didn’t like him or was just repulsed by Jack’s swordsmanship.

  Lana shrugged. “He’s a weapons instructor. It’s his job to be a hard-ass. If you don’t learn this stuff and get into a battle, you die. It’s his job to make sure you can protect yourself. He isn’t going to coddle anyone or pretend they’re doing a good job if they aren’t. The fact he says your swing is improving means it really is. You might have a long way to go, but you’re improving.”

  Lana was right. He certainly felt the difference between the first few swings and the last. He’d just have to keep following her lead.

  Jack took up his position and attacked again. This time he tried a left-to-right slash followed up by an overhand attack. Lana easily blocked both attacks and then countered with an attack that smacked Jack on the leg.

  They kept working on attacks and defense. Every time Lana attacked it was all Jack could do to block her. She was fast and she transitioned from attack to attack with no wasted movement. It usually took about three attempts before she found a hole in Jack’s defense and landed a soft blow against his body.

  “Alright. That’s enough sparring for today,” Instructor Brazee said, addressing the whole class. “Aside from learning how to use a weapon, it’s also vital to learn how to care for your weapons.” He pointed to a pile of swords on the ground. “These were once-excellent weapons that have been used and abused. Each of you will pick one weapon and it is yours to keep. You’ll learn to care for your weapon. The difference between a sharp weapon and a dull one can be just as important as knowing how to use it. We’ll select weapons based on your current ranking.”

  Jack frowned. The rankings were based on the skills assessment of the sparring partners. He and Lana would be picking last because of his lack of skill. He turned to her. “I’m sorry. You’re getting stuck with a bad choice because of me.”

  Lana didn’t seem perturbed at all. In fact, she seemed pleased. “I was hoping this would happen.”

  “You wanted to get picked last?” Jack asked, confused by her answer.

  “No, I wanted it to be considered a team activity. We get graded on this individually and as a team, just like the sparring.”

  “Wait, we get graded as a team for sparring. That’s not fair to you.”

  Lana smiled. “They don’t grade our team based on your individual skill; they grade us on how much our team improves. Part of weapons training is teamwork. Me helping you to become a better swordsman gives us a better grade.”

  “OK. But I don’t see how getting the worst weapons is going to help us.”

  “Was your grandfather not a tinker?”

  “He was.”

  “Did you learn nothing from him? I would assume that you know a thing or two about caring for a blade.”

  “I did.”

  “So just like I’m going to help you become a better fighter, you’re going to show me the best way to look after my weapons. You being my partner is great.”

  Jack smiled. Finally, there was a part of the school where he wasn’t behind everyone else.

  “Liahorn, Vance, you’re up,” Instructor Brazee said. All the other students had picked a weapon. The pile of weapons was still large, so there wasn’t a lack of options.

  They walked up to the pile. “What should we be looking for?” Jack asked.

  “First, we need to find blades that are the right length and weight, don’t worry about the way they look. Let’s separate the pile into ones we like the feel of, then pick the best blade. The advantage of picking last is we can spend a little more time than the others did.”

  Jack went through the pile. There were plenty of swords that he immediately dismissed. They were too long for him. He found four swords that were a good length and weight for him and put them in a pile. Lana did the same. She also added two swords to Jack’s pile that she thought would be good for him.

  When they had their piles, Lana looked at Jack. “Now I want you to pick us each a sword based on which ones you think are the best quality.”

  “You’re trusting me to pick you a blade?” Jack asked.

  Lana nodded. “You’ve more experienced in knowing what makes a good blade. Every one of the blades I picked is one I can use, but I can’t look at them and tell you which is the best. They all look old and abused to me.”

  Surprised at her level of trust, Jack got started inspecting the weapons. They were all rusty and had nicks and dulled edges. But as he got a closer look, he started to see some differences. He immediately removed a couple of the blades that were lower quality metal. He kept looking at the blades and realized that a couple of them were ancient blades. They had a slightly different rust color, but looked the same as the others because they were covered in a thick layer of dust and caked rust. He wiped them to confirm. They were the two ugliest looking blades in the piles, but he was confident that they had been the best, and would be the best again once they were given proper care and attention. He handed Lana her weapon and took his. It was a short sword, even shorter than the ones he’d been using for practice; it was barely larger than the practice dagger Ramy had made him use, and had sword-breaker grooves just above the hilt. It was one of the weapons that Lana had chosen for him.

  “Why did you pick this one for me?” Jack asked.

  “It was the right length and weight. You are short and have shorter arms, but you have strong shoulders and arms. You can wield a heavier blade, and the grooves add an extra defensive ability for someone with enough strength to use them properly. Also, you already have been learning with your dagger, so a shorter sword will be more comfortable for you.”

  Instructor Brazee came over. “Let’s see your selections.”

  Jack and Lana handed the blades over.

  “Awfully rusty. You sure you want these two blades?”

  Jack nodded. “We’re sure.”

  Instructor Brazee handed the weapons back. He walked back to the front of the group and addressed everyone. “Now that you all have made your choices, I can reveal that in that pile of weapons were six ancient blades. Out of all of you, only three picked an ancient blade. Congratulations to Craig Falconer, Lana Liahorn, and Jack Vance for being lucky or smart enough to pick the most valuable weapons in the pile.”

  Lana fist bumped Jack. “Good work, partner.”

  Jack smiled. It was the first time since he’d been at the school where he’d been singled out for doing something right. It felt good.

  …

  When the class was over, Lana approached Jack. “What are you doing later?”

  “I’m meeting with Cara Dale later to work on my magic skills, or lack of skills, as I should call it. Why?”

  “I was hoping we could work on our weapons together. You know more about weapons restoration than anyone else here.”

  “I’d like that. But first, we’re going to need a few things. We need rags, baking soda, hollinger leaf, and vinegar, lots of it, and something to submerge the weapons in.”

  “Why don’t you let me handle that while you work on your magic studies,” Lana said.

  “It’s a deal,” Jack s
aid. He already knew he’d be relying on Lana to get him through Combat Basics. The least he could do is make sure she had the sharpest blade possible.

  “Cool, I’ll come by after supper.”

  When he got back to his room after Combat Basics, Jack found Lord Scratches on the window sill looking out over the campus.

  “Hey, Lord,” Jack said as he rubbed the ridge behind the minidras’s ears.

  Lord Scratches closed his eyes and pushed his head against Jack’s hand.

  “Cara Dale is coming over to help me with my magic studies, I hope you are going to behave.”

  Lord Scratches replied by biting Jack on the thumb.

  “Ouch. Dang it, Lord, I don’t know what your problem is. Cara is a nice girl.”

  Lord Scratches squawked loudly and then flew out the window.

  Jack sighed. It was annoying that Lord Scratches was so finicky. Maybe it was better that he had flown off. Jack opened his Magic Basics book and started reading. He had done the first two chapters when a knock at the door told him Cara had arrived.

  Jack opened the door.

  “Is it safe to come in?” Cara asked as she poked her head around the half-open door.

  Jack opened the door even wider. “Lord Scratches isn’t here.”

  Cara walked in. “Good. That minidras isn’t very friendly. I feel sorry for you having it as a familiar.”

  Ignoring the comment to avoid an argument, Jack pointed out his book. “I’ve been reading more of the Magic Basics book. I think I have a better understanding of how it works now.”

  “Good. That really is the biggest step, just learning to access your magic. Shall we get to work?”

  Jack nodded and grabbed his stone. He closed his eyes and focused on trying to feel his magic. Nothing happened.

  Determined to make it work, Jack kept trying, again and again. He lost time as he tried to focus on his magic. After a while, he started to lose focus. He started thinking about his mother. Had she had these kinds of problems with magic? Had she enjoyed being at Darkthorn Academy? What would she tell him to do if she was here?