The woman quickly sat, flushing red as she did so. Next to her, the man who’d entered with Sella stood, smiling as he nodded. “Hello, everyone! I’m Tadrick Daskar, second child of the Daskar family. I have a talent for light, nature, and water magic, but have been focusing on earth in the hopes of becoming a mage-knight. I look forward to the coming year together!”
Sella stood as her friend sat, smoothing her dress as she did so, and the woman spoke clearly, her voice stronger than most of the others had been. “I’m Sella Vintas, and I’m from Waterstone. My father is a knight who patrols the border of the Frostglades, and I’ve spent much of my life there. I have no exceptional talent for any sphere, but my training has been primarily in air magic due to that being my Master’s focus.”
Finally it was Ruethwyn’s turn, and as she stood, she felt the weight of everyone’s gazes as they took the excuse to stare at her disfigurement. She wished they wouldn’t stare, but Ruethwyn couldn’t blame them… no, she could blame them, but there wasn’t any way to stop them. She glanced around the room once before speaking.
“My name is Ruethwyn Sylaris, and I’m from Mellesyn. That should tell you plenty about my past,” Ruethwyn said shortly, smiling thinly as Korima’s eyes widened. “I only possess a talent for my deceased teacher’s unique magic of atavism, and my mana core has been sorely damaged. As such, I am focusing on artificing to attempt to compensate for my disability.”
“Atavism?” Sella asked softly, but Ruethwyn ignored the comment since it seemed rhetorical.
Master Mara cleared his throat and spoke. “Good, all of you have introduced yourselves to each other. This week, I’ll be going over the basics of magic with you to ensure everyone is operating off of the same assumptions. If you attempt to ignore it, you’ll be removed from the class. I don’t care if you’ve heard it before. Now then…”
As the teacher began to explain the basics of magical theory, Ruethwyn sat back and listened curiously, wondering how his explanation would differ from Sinera’s. She also was trying to avoid paying attention to the frequent sidelong looks most of the class were giving her.
Chapter 6
Eating dinner in the dormitory was odd. On the one hand, the food the cook served was enormously better than most meals Ruethwyn had eaten back home. Oh, there was something slightly lacking about the vegetables, but from things her mother had said growing up, Ruethwyn imagined it was the difference between cultivated and wild vegetables. She paused, closing her eye for a moment before going back to the vegetable soup, carefully sipping the broth since she’d found herself quite sensitive to heat since the attack. Sometimes it was the simplest things that brought her grief to the fore.
The dormitory for the first-year students wasn’t as large as most of the others, but it was still three floors, and had more than just her classmates in it. The other students all were housed on the third floor in the nicer rooms, and she’d overheard enough to learn that almost no one took the rooms that were part of tuition. After she’d seen one of the servants come out of one of the other second-floor rooms, Ruethwyn realized that she’d likely displaced one of the servants, which likely explained why they didn’t like her as much.
Ruethwyn was also isolated at meals, though that wasn’t intentional on her part either. Unlike with the rooms, only Madeline had chosen to pay for better food and private dining, but it was almost like there was a bubble around her, where people avoided her.
As Ruethwyn sat in the corner, most of the others were at a table, discussing the city and their classes vehemently. Only Lissa and Dana seemed to be avoiding taking part, while Madeline and Yalline weren’t in the room.
“Yeah, the best supplier of magical supplies in the city is Daven Emporium, but you have to either have a letter of introduction or a sponsor to even get in the doors,” Barthel was explaining, shrugging helplessly. “My father refused to get me one, saying that it isn’t worth the expense when I’m just starting out. He recommended that I shop at Ovara Imports or the Frostwater Guild.”
“Both have a good reputation with my family, though I personally lean toward the Frostwater Guild,” Delvin said, leaning on the table as he nibbled at a crust of bread. “While Ovara Imports usually is good quality, sometimes their suppliers try to pass off substandard goods. Frostwater gets their items from the Frostglades, and they’re much higher quality.”
“From the Frostglades? Do they gather them from there themselves?” Korima asked in fascination, then shivered as she added, “Though the thought of going into there myself… brr, I’d probably freeze my tail off!”
“Um, you don’t have a tail,” Sella pointed out uncertainly.
“Yes I do. I just shapeshifted it away since elven chairs tend to pinch and make it uncomfortable,” Korima explained brightly. “I’ll let it out when traveling or the like, but not when I might have to sit a lot.”
“I… guess that makes sense?” Delvin said, looking a little uncertain before shaking his head and continuing. “Anyway, they don’t gather the components themselves. Instead, they trade with the fair folk that live in the glades, and, to my knowledge, the agreement is pretty much exclusive.”
“Not quite. There are a few people who trade with them, but not many. The climate is inhospitable,” Sella interjected. “I’ve even heard that some people have seen a city of theirs in the depths of the glades.”
“They have a city?” Tadrick asked, his voice slightly incredulous. “I’d never heard of that!”
“Standing in a gate between two worlds is Valisair, city of ice. Its towers shine like glittering crystal beneath the morning sun, and its walls like the purest sapphires,” Ruethwyn said, a few tears welling up as she tried to blink them back. “Or so it was described to me.”
Most of the others fell silent, staring at Ruethwyn, but a moment later Dana spoke, her voice soft but precise. “You knew someone who saw it?”
“My teacher. Before we knew that I had magical talent, my love was reading about distant lands, and she was our librarian in… in Mellesyn. She shared so many books, and when we ran out of books, she shared her stories about the places she’d traveled when she was younger, and the things she’d seen,” Ruethwyn said, brushing an escaping tear aside. “Valisair was one of them. She didn’t tell me much more, save that they’d felt they owed her a debt, though she considered herself to be more in their debt.”
“Huh. Well, that would explain a bit, I guess,” Barthel said, looking at Ruethwyn speculatively. “Still that just makes me wonder—”
“Why’re you in the corner, anyway? You should come over and be sociable!” Korima interrupted, her ears flicking as she spoke. “My father always said that being alone is a quick road to despair.”
“I’m in the corner because I’m blind on my right side,” Ruethwyn said, a faint smile flickering across her face at the kitsune’s earnest expression. “I try to sit so I don’t have to turn around entirely to see people, and so that it’s harder to take me by surprise. The first few times that happened were unpleasant.”
“You should still come over,” Korima insisted, almost looking like she was pouting as she did so. “We’re your classmates! We’ll be together for a full year or more.”
“I suppose so,” Ruethwyn said, carefully scooting her chair out and pausing, debating on how to transport both the plate with her salad and the bowl of soup to the center table, let alone her cup. After a moment, she sighed and decided that taking three trips wasn’t worth it, so she began casting a spell, despite the pain it caused.
“What’re you—” Sella began, then stopped as the bowl, plate, and cup gently floated upward, then across the room to set down at a seat farther down the table, next to Tadrick, as it happened. Ruethwyn hoped no one noticed how she had to correct their course mid-flight to account for misjudging the distance at first.
“It was either take a couple of trips or the spell. I decided to use the magic, even if it isn’t as easy as it used to be,” Ruethwyn explained, follow
ing her food as she released the spell. She took a seat next to Tadrick and gave him a nod, which he returned a bit uncomfortably.
“I have to ask… why haven’t you been healed?” Barthel asked, looking slightly uncomfortable as he continued. “I’m assuming that you were… umm…”
“I was thrown out of the way of… Resvarygrath’s fire at the last moment. As you can see, my teacher wasn’t quite fast enough,” Ruethwyn replied, swallowing hard as she shook her head at the memory. “She didn’t make it. His fires were cursed as well, and the wounds he inflicted will only heal naturally. I’m told I’ll be stuck like this until either the dragon dies or I die, and it’s obvious they expect him to live longer.”
“That’s horrible,” Lissa muttered, flushing when people looked at her.
“It is, but there’s nothing to be done about it. Live or die, I can only do what I can,” Ruethwyn said, shaking her head. “I’d rather change the subject, though. This one might ruin the mood, otherwise.”
“Well, in that case, I can’t help but ask,” Delvin said, his eyes sparkling. “What’s this atavism magic you talked about? I’ve never heard the term before. Is it a sphere of its own?”
All the others looked at her expectantly, and Ruethwyn suppressed a sigh. She considered refusing for a moment, but there wasn’t really any point. She wasn’t going to tell them everything, but giving them an idea of how the magic worked wouldn’t be out of line.
“It’s not a sphere, but it’s strange in its own way. I’m trying to think of how to explain…” Ruethwyn paused, then continued. “We’re all magi, so you know how we advance through the circles of each sphere, increasing our understanding of the associated magic, yes?”
“Yeah! The early circles are easy, but it gets really difficult as you move on,” Korima said, and her ears all but wilted as she continued mournfully. “I can understand earth far easier than fire… fire’s hard to get a grasp of.”
“I… I can’t grasp earth. It’s just… we’re different,” Lissa said hesitantly, seeming intrigued, though.
“Yes, everyone has to deal with that. What does it have to do with your magic, then?” Delvin asked.
“Atavism is a variant on summoning, but a very specialized one that’s dangerous if you don’t have a talent for it. Sinera… she went through hundreds of candidates without finding someone with the talent. She used… used to laugh about how I fell into her lap.” Ruethwyn paused, taking another deep breath as she pushed back her tears again. “I learned it quickly, but it is dangerous. I can summon elementals, but not in the normal way. Instead of summoning them physically, I summon them into my mind.”
“What? What use would that have?” Barthel asked, looking taken aback. The others mostly looked confused.
“Atavism allows them to remain here for much longer, for hours or even days. More than that, it also allows me to wield their powers with my mana, melding their knowledge of their element with my mana and skill,” Ruethwyn replied, warming to the subject slowly. “It’s dangerous, because if you don’t have the talent, retaining control, even with a friendly elemental, is difficult. The true advantage is the insight into the elemental’s understanding of its element, though.”
“Insight? Wait, wait… are you saying that you can gain understanding of the element through this atavism?” Tadrick asked, his eyes going wide. “You can just…”
“It’s not some shortcut, Tadrick. I have to understand the element and the sphere, just like anyone else,” Ruethwyn corrected quickly, seeing the excitement in his gaze. “I don’t have a particular talent with any sphere that I know of, so I have a harder time learning normally than others do. My art allows me to glean insights that allow me to advance in spheres more quickly, and I’ve been practicing since I was fifteen. It’s a useful form of magic, but so few people have the necessary talent that the academy deemed it unwise to teach.”
“But if it could help me learn fire magic more quickly—” Korima began, looking excited as she practically vibrated in her chair, staring at Ruethwyn greedily.
Ruethwyn interrupted, her voice firm. “No, not unless you can convince Master Mara that it’s a good idea. The school has records of the art, so it isn’t like I’m the only person who could test you. I’m not going to risk getting other people hurt by sharing it.”
“Aww…” Korima’s ears drooped again, and Sella laughed.
“Don’t be so disappointed. I doubt that Master Mara would object to testing you, would he?” the woman said, reaching up and rubbing Korima behind the ears.
“Ack!” Korima’s eyes went wide, then she began to almost melt in her chair, her voice plaintive as she protested. “Not… not the ears…”
“It doesn’t hurt, does it?” Sella asked, pulling away in concern.
“N-no! It feels good! It just… just also makes me want to cuddle up in a pile by the fire,” Korima replied, blushing furiously as she did so.
The others around the table laughed, and Ruethwyn took the chance to start eating again. It didn’t escape her how quickly the others turned their attention away from her, though.
Still, it was progress.
Chapter 7
“Today, we’re going to be learning to coalesce mana into a physical form. We use the term ‘drops’ for units of mana because it’s the smallest amount of mana you can coalesce into a liquid,” Master Mara explained, a ceramic bowl in front of him, along with a small glass jar with a hinged copper stopper. The jar was covered in pale blue runes, and Ruethwyn could see the rainbow-hued drops of mana within it. “Before we begin, I want to remind you of something. Mana in liquid form is highly unstable and will evaporate quickly or even explode at a sharp impact. The explosion is not violent, except in excessive quantities of over a hundred drops, but it can light fires and cause other problems. As an example…”
The teacher uncapped the bottle and carefully poured a small amount of mana into his hand. Capping the jar, he gently tossed the mana at the bowl, and Ruethwyn braced herself.
On impact, the mana exploded in a flash of white light and with a sharp crack. The other students mostly jumped at the sound, and Ruethwyn heard Korima yelp in front of her, the woman’s ears flattening abruptly. She couldn’t blame the other woman, considering how keen of hearing most kitsune had.
“I hope that makes it quite clear how unstable mana can be,” Master Mara said dryly, smiling at them. “Any mage can coalesce mana, and it’s used in enchanting, alchemy, and many other forms of crafting. Not being able to coalesce it isn’t acceptable. Now then—”
A knock at the door interrupted him, and Master Mara frowned, looking at it. A moment later, the door opened and a woman stepped through, a blonde elven mage in blue robes who smiled at the class then looked at Master Mara and spoke. “My apologies, Emrick, but I have a guest from the palace who wishes to speak with Ruethwyn.”
“What? Ruethwyn?” Master Mara asked, looking taken aback, then looked at Ruethwyn and frowned. “Were you aware of this?”
“I’m not sure what’s going on, Master Mara. I have no acquaintances in the palace, and every noble I know is here at the academy,” Ruethwyn replied, frowning in concern. She had no idea why someone from the palace would be here for her.
“If I may, I believe that the knight has questions for her. He mentioned that he heard that she’d seen some of the… the dragon’s servants,” the woman said, her tone delicate.
“I see. Can this wait, Vrenne? I was preparing to teach the class how to coalesce mana, and it’s a rather important subject,” Master Mara said.
“Master Mara? I know how to coalesce mana and would happily show you if you’d prefer. If it would save both your time and that of this knight, since I’ll readily answer his questions,” Ruethwyn offered, feeling almost like she had a headache forming.
“Hmm… well, in that case I suppose I can allow it. You’re to come back as promptly as possible and show me, Ruethwyn,” Master Mara directed, and Ruethwyn smiled, nodding to him.
“Of course, Master Mara. I hope to be back shortly,” Ruethwyn replied, standing and debating for a moment, then she decided to leave her things at the desk. She’d be back.
Nodding to Sella and Tadrick, Ruethwyn quickly headed for the door and followed Vrenne out as Master Mara began to speak again. As the door closed, muffling his explanation, Vrenne gave Ruethwyn a grateful smile.
“Thank you, Ruethwyn. Emrick takes his position as a teacher seriously, but I’d really rather not make a royal knight wait if there isn’t any other choice,” the mage said, beginning to lead the way down the mostly empty hallway.
“It isn’t a problem, Master Vrenne. I’ll admit to some trepidation about talking about my experience again, but if it could possibly help… I’d rather deal with the memories than cause difficulties for someone else,” Ruethwyn said as she followed, hesitating a moment before adding, “Besides, I spoke the truth about knowing how to coalesce mana. I’m slightly relieved to not have to listen to the explanation about coalescence again.”
Vrenne laughed as they reached the central tower and began up the stairs, the sorceress grinning as she replied. “I can’t say as I blame you. I’ve heard that you’re rather skilled, and I know that listening to the basics often frustrates me, particularly when someone isn’t understanding it.”
Ruethwyn nodded, glancing to the left as they reached the next floor, since she could see across much of the city from the second floor. It likely wasn’t as good a view as from the third or fourth floor, but—
The only warning Ruethwyn had was a soft creak, then something slammed into her and sent her sprawling into the wall. As she bounced away in a spin, Ruethwyn instinctively drew on her mana, despite the discomfort it caused, the words of a spell coming to her lips just before she hit the wall. Pain lanced out from the stump of her arm and all the other scars, causing Ruethwyn to gasp as she lost the spell, reflexively trying to hold herself up with her right arm, but only realizing it was missing too late as she finished falling to the ground.
The Avatar's Flames (Through the Fire Book 1) Page 5
