White Hall (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 10)

by Donald Wigboldy

  “You really aren’t cold?” the younger girl asked as Cheleya surprised her and exited onto the roof of the school. Stone like the rest, just the handful of towers on each side of the building were taller. It was three stories, but Katya had to guess that they were nearly forty feet in the air as the dragoness led her to the battlements ringing the roof.

  Even though White Hall was far south of the che’ther city of Mar’kal, which was also located in the mountains making it colder than any point in Southwall, Katya thought it was still too cold to be on the roof without her jacket. She couldn't believe that Cheleya could be dressed like it was summer. Her story of her first day cast out into the snow outside of the dragon city made her wonder at the strength that couldn't be seen in the human like girl at her side. The younger girl also couldn’t imagine wanting to live in Mar'kal where it was colder than Southwall, and yet she had been told there were humans living there as well.

  Giving her a warm smile, Cheleya shook her head. “I am not cold. Now come on and we’ll see if you have the potential to become a dragon mage.”

  The dragoness led her to the edge of the roof and pointed for Katya to look out over the courtyard below. “Look down, if you can.”

  Katya rested her legs and stomach against the stone trying to lean as far forward as her height would allow. She was too short to look directly down at the ground below, but her view of the surrounding buildings made her wonder what Cheleya meant by a test.

  “Dragon wings,” the other girl called on her magic sprouting pink wings which apparently mirrored her humor and even matched her pink top. With a thrust of her wings, Cheleya jumped up to the top of the raised stone battlement above Katya and reached down to her friend. “Climb up.”

  Eyes going slightly wide at the idea, the younger girl looked at the height of the wall before her and thought that it was too high to climb, especially wearing a dress. That she was being asked to stand at the edge of a roof more than forty feet high didn’t really dawn on her at all.

  “You should have split my dress, if you wanted me to climb. I don’t have wings to jump as high as you,” the younger girl said looking unsure of the idea. Forced to hike up her dress, Katya felt the chilly air touching the bared skin above her stockings. With the dress pulled up to her waist so her thighs and hips could help keep it up while her hands held onto the stone to climb, the younger girl fearlessly worked her way onto the ledge and took Cheleya’s hand letting the cloth drop back down to block the chill breeze.

  “Look down,” the dragon mage stated pointing directly down. The tower closest to them blocked some of her view to the right, but Katya could see the roof of the blacksmith and laundry below her. It was shorter than the school like the dining hall which was partly blocked by the tower from her sight. The ground was certainly further away and the younger girl was glad that Cheleya held her hand. “How do you feel?”

  Katya looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “Are you dizzy or scared?”

  “I’m not dizzy and I won’t say that I would call it fear though it does make me a little anxious, I suppose. I mean, unlike you, I don’t have wings,” the younger girl giggled and was surprised that she truly didn’t feel too fearful. While she was certainly making sure to be careful so she wouldn’t fall, the heights didn’t bother her and Katya looked to the south seeing the battle mage and soldier dorms with the connecting bridge between them. The walls with its towers for defense should the need arise could be seen to either side and beyond them she could still make out much of the town of White Hall.

  Cheleya managed to step onto the ledge right behind her friend making sure her to have at least one arm around Katya to make sure that the girl wouldn’t fall. “Well, that is the first test. If you can’t look at the ground without getting dizzy or passing out, you can’t expect to fly.”

  Turning her head onto her shoulder, Katya’s hair still blocked her view of the dragoness, but she asked, “That’s the first test, what is the second?”

  Both of the dragoness’ arms wrapped around the younger girl and Cheleya said, “Well, normally a mar’goyn’lya takes the applicant and does this...”

  Without explanation, the dragon mage flapped her wings for thrust lifting them both off of their feet before the two fell forward. Katya gasped and watched as the ground rushed towards them for a moment before Cheleya used their momentum and her wings to sweep forward. The pink wings flapped as they flew towards the barracks opposite them even as other students began to cry out at the unexpected spectacle of the two girls flying so close to the ground.

  Turning as her wings also worked to lift the two high enough to clear the stables and the outer wall beyond it, Cheleya held tight to her friend and worked back towards the school in a short, sweeping curve. Her arms were fairly strong, but she knew her limitations and realized that for most of the tests they would have to rely on Kel’lor to do the heavy lifting.

  Even as the lightweight novice grew uncomfortable to carry, they were back crossing over the school’s roof where Cheleya used her wings to create a break and released Katya from just a foot above the stone below. A second flap of her wings kept the dragoness from running into her friend and backed her off a couple feet before landing on her bare feet. The stone felt hard and she winced.

  Perhaps she didn’t need shoes or boots because of the cold, but maybe they would be worthwhile to protect her soft skin from things like the stone roof. Still the pain was fleeting and quickly forgotten as Cheleya released her wings and checked on the other girl who turned with a big grin on her face.

  “That was so fun!” Katya exclaimed joyously to her friend who grinned in turn. “That was even better than the little floating we did before. What is the next test? Is it more flying?”

  Laughing at the younger girl, Cheleya shook her head in reply, “No, if you can handle even a short flight like that, then you would probably do well as a dragon mage. It would only be your ability to figure out the spells from this point.

  “You would be surprised how few che’ther can handle heights and flying. If you are too tense, it is hard to fly. If you are too scared, it is hard to maintain your magic. We don’t want someone to learn how to create wings jumping from a roof like this and end up dying because they shouldn’t have been allowed to try.”

  Katya grinned at the dragoness and asked, “Then can you teach me the spells I need to fly?”

  Suddenly realizing that the girl expected more than just seeing the main tests for suitable candidates, Cheleya looked a little shy as she pulled back with her shoulders. “Um, I don’t know. I mean, you are still learning how to use your magic. Without that stone for training, you might lose control.

  “You need enough control to keep your wings and wit about you to fly, Katya.”

  Looking a little disappointed, the younger girl sighed but still held the faintest of smiles on her lips. “Well, as soon as I can prove that I can control my magic, then maybe you will show me?”

  Cheleya nodded. “I would love to when you are ready.”

  A strong breeze gusted over the roof making Katya shiver as her skirt pushed against her legs. Even with the winter dress, it was a cold wind. “You really aren’t cold like that?”

  As the dragoness started to walk back towards the near tower, she shook her blonde mane and replied, “I barely feel it. I could walk around naked on a day like this without being uncomfortable.”

  Katya was thinking more of getting warm now that the adventure was over. Her adrenaline fading, the girl asked, “You enjoy the heat too right?”

  “What are you thinking?” the dragoness asked curiously.

  “Maybe a nice warm soak in the community baths before we need to get dressed for dinner would be nice?” the younger girl suggested.

  Cheleya smiled and nodded. The communal bath house for the girls was a large room with several large tubs. Most were kept hot and there were even a couple saunas for those muscles bruised by combat for battle mages
willing to cross from the barracks to the school baths. While there were showers and individual baths, many of the girls who were close friends would go to the house to hang out with their friends after a long day.

  “You don’t need to study?” the dragoness asked as the two went towards their room first for a change of clothes.

  Shrugging, Katya replied, “They keep giving us beginner magic that has nothing to do with what I can do naturally. First it was fire, but then we’ve gone through the four main elements’ basic spells. Little things like gusts of wind or trying to move some dirt. It is all fairly easy so far, so I think that I will be fine.”

  Neira was there and looked at the other two almost warily. “You two look a mess. Your hair needs to be brushed. What did you do?”

  “She took me for a quick flight, but now we’re heading to the bath house to soak, if you want to join us?” Katya asked the girl. From almost the very first day, she had been trying to get Neira to join them to get to know her; but the other girl continued to remain aloof so a shake of her head was no surprise.

  “I have studying to do. So should you I would think,” the girl sniffed.

  Rolling her eyes as she turned her back on Neira to pick out a skirt and blouse, Katya decided to mix in a skirt that she had brought along. A white novice shirt the girl had requested as a piece for spring would still keep her somewhat aligned with the typical dress code. She wasn’t going to be back in class until the next day, so for an evening meal it would do.

  “You could come with us for once, Neira,” the younger girl suggested without trying to sound accusatory. Not everyone would get along, she supposed, and often students coming in at the same time would tend to connect more than others; so it was hardly a problem if their roommate didn’t want to be her friend. She had several friends in White Hall already anyway, including Cheleya who had quickly become perhaps her best friend.

  The other girl didn’t even deign to answer as she continued to keep her nose in her book.

  Cheleya found a pretty dress that was one she often wore being among her favorites. Wearing underwear was still most often a mystery to the dragoness as to its need, but she knew what was considered proper thanks to her friends. She merely picked out a pair of silk bottoms, which made Katya look at the simple cotton she was stuck with everyday in disappointment.

  “If you are having trouble with your studies, I would be glad to help if I can,” the dragoness suggested to the aloof girl.

  Frowning slightly, Neira shook her head replying, “I am fine. Thank you.”

  Trying not to sigh, Katya led Cheleya back into the hall heading towards the larger bath house on the second floor.

  “I don’t know why she keeps doing that,” the younger girl stated as they began to descend the stairs instead of their route up earlier.

  Giggling at her friend, Cheleya replied, “Well, if you don’t know then I am unlikely to figure it out. I am new to being human after all.”

  “Well, you act more human than that girl most of the time,” Katya stated with a shake of her head. “I would guess that she has other friends already, but I am still surprised how she never wants to do anything with us.”

  The dragoness walked beside her as the door to the bath house was not far off. A woman sat on a chair beside the door and looked up at the girls’ approach. Katya had heard they had added a guard at all the women’s baths thanks to a few pranksters from the boys, especially in recent years. For a school often run with the belief that the teens should be given a certain amount of freedom as future wizards and the like, occasionally a merit system proved fallible in the face of youthful exuberance.

  Cheleya countered Katya’s answer and asked, “Perhaps Neira had not planned on being roomed with girls that were already friends when they arrived? If she hoped to befriend her roommates one at a time, it may have just been easier to continue with the friends she had already made.”

  Sniffing at the thought unhappily, the younger girl replied, “If she’s supposed to be inclined towards diplomat magic, you would think Neira would be better with people than that.”

  “She’s still young and don’t they also place some of the unknowns in our wing as well?”

  Katya raised a hand in greeting to the woman guarding the bath house. She was dressed as a cadet from the soldiers, though the young woman was likely older than Cheleya. They weren’t called on as children the way wizards and mages were. If the students came young, it was because their families wished it.

  The soldier smiled at the two pretty wizards. “Good afternoon, girls.”

  “Good afternoon... Nella?” Katya finished fishing for the cadet’s name. She had been on duty several times when the novice had come alone or with her friends. Since part of what made a wizard a diplomat was their ability to relate well with others and remember details, it had been easy for Katya to remember to get the names of those she ran into regularly.

  Nella nodded looking impressed, “Yes, that’s correct.”

  She could see that the guard in turn could not think of her name. Assisting her memory, the girl replied, “I’m Katya and this is Cheleya. Have you really needed to stand guard for the baths? The boys are that bad?”

  The guard laughed and shook her head. “Occasionally a boy might come this way, but I can’t say that I’ve needed to force one away. Though with those who can do magic, even a guard might just be a deterrent. I don’t know what I could do if a wizard were to work a spell on me either, but if there is someone that bad in the school we all need to worry, don’t we?”

  Katya gave a mock shiver and agreed before grinning, “See you later then, Nella.”

  Moving inside, the girls found a pair of cubbies to place their clean clothes and removed their old. She couldn’t help glancing at the smooth, hairless skin of Cheleya. Unlike a young girl, even her arms and legs were smooth, though she never had to shave. She had asked once if the dragoness used magic to look so smooth. There were certainly apprentices and wizards who would use their power to look the way they wanted after all.

  Cheleya took a cord from her clean pile and made a ponytail while standing completely bare. While both girls had gone before, it was still surprising to Katya how completely unabashed she was. The younger girl was bare and only somewhat comfortable because she felt like a sister to the dragoness.

  A cord of light blue bound her hair similarly before the two girls left the locker room to enter the baths. Despite the stone around them, the room felt very warm and even before they stepped into the warm pool that was unoccupied by the light crowd gathered there; Katya could feel the warmth entering her making her try to forget the cold of North Continent.

  Chapter 20- The Drawback of Spells

  Niklaus put his hand flat against the wires at the front of the cage and groaned. “Do we have to do this in here? It’s a nice day out last I looked. Of course that was over an hour ago since I was confined to this stone box you wizards call a zoo,” he complained.

  A nose nuzzled against his skin and the boy thought that it would be nice to let the animals out as well. He knew that they were all walked or otherwise allowed to get exercise regularly, but winter made it difficult for some of the creatures. Now that spring had come to Southwall, warming the land enough to at least rid them of snow; the nature wizards and their trainees would use their skills with the animals in the courtyard or outside the walls of the school.

  His friend in the cage was an older dog, who was often allowed to roam the zoo area and even in the courtyard outside.

  “Stop complaining and learn the next animal,” Falcon Elijah replied with an amused smile. “You already copied that dog. Try something else.”

  Piotr looked at his mentor, Zieran, and shrugged, “He’s kind of right though. It is pretty nice outside.”

  The wizard rolled his eyes and said, “Fine, I want to see your control spell used on an animal of your choice. You can take it outside and exercise it.”

  Piotr stood from the stool he ha
d felt planted on as he had practiced some of the new spells. He had been reading ahead, not just for himself, but for Niklaus. Some of the other wizards had been wondering if what he learned could be passed on to his twin, as if his work would be passed on without Niklaus doing any work himself. It seemed ludicrous after the time it had taken him to learn each spell and there were so many more to learn not just from nature books but the other elements as well.

  Surprising Zieran, who looked a bit alarmed by his choice, Piotr walked to Bo’s cage and linked minds with the bear. It wasn’t the full swap that left his body without control. The wizards had made sure to show him a more useful version of his spell, or more to the point, a bit of magic that wouldn’t leave him defenseless in the field.

  His fingers flipped the lock and he used a hand signal to the bear to have her follow. While she was as close to tame as a wild animal was likely to become, most apprentices or novices wouldn’t have dared to take her for a walk. A four or five hundred pound bear had both more power and several times his weight to throw around if she got out of hand, but Piotr always figured that was why Zieran was supposed to be his mentor. In case the student should lose control, the wizard was supposed to be able to help him. Piotr had never needed to be saved, however.

  Niklaus watched as his younger brother walked calmly towards the door leading out into the courtyard and chose his next animal. The spell barely changed in the wording. To the cadet’s mind, it was simply picking his subject and not a different kind of magic. Piotr had shown him the dozens of pages covering wizard versions of the spells and wondered why they had to work so hard to do the same thing he did as a mage.

  “Mind to mind, cat,” he ordered his magic and quickly discovered a problem that had not come up before. With all the larger animals including a dog of around eighty pounds in weight, the mage’s body had shifted back and forth altering his body and clothing at will.