by Dixon, TJ
Peter and the Elven Songs Book 2 of The War of Contractia by T. J. Dixon (part of The Chronicles of Contractia)
Author’s Foreword
Please note that all people, places and events in this story are purely fictional. Any resemblance to any real person, place or event (or anything else) is purely co-incidence. This is the second book in The War of Contractia, which is the first series in The Chronicles of Contractia.
This story is mostly told from the perspective of Peter as he begins Year 2 at the (magic) Academy of Contractia. As the cast expands though, you will walk into the lives of some of his friends, both new and old. His goals are ambitious and he cannot achieve them alone but, both for his own sake and for the sake of his friends, failure is not an option. You will meet powerful and sometimes truly evil new enemies. Should he be more concerned about an old foe though?
Chapter 1 (Peter)
It is the last day of the holiday and we decide to have a day off from training and work. The new term will be hard work and we deserve a chance to just have fun for a day before we enter the new school year. Rin and Elucia are spending the day together. I feel like Rin isn’t as close to me since Elucia came back, but they had been apart for a long time so it is only natural to spend time together. Yu Kii has something she wants to do with Jenny. Jimmy is working so that just leaves me and Hermes. I ask Hermes if there is anything she wants to do separately, because I don’t want to intrude on her time off if there is. She wants to spend it together though, for which I am grateful.
I fly with Hermes from the academy and find the same stream we flew along before. Back then we were arguing with the teacher about treating Hermes like a person and not just a slave. Lucy of course later resolved the issue but at the time Hermes and I were both feeling really bad about it. I miss Lucy but I am confident we will get her back, and right now we are here to relax. There is nothing quite the same as flying through the wind.
After a while we set down beside the stream and enjoy the breakfast we brought with us. Bottled fruit juice, cold meat and bread. It is simple but we enjoy eating it with sound of the gentle stream and the breeze in the air. It is a bit chilly but Hermes creates a small fire to keep us warm. It is definitely no longer summer so I am glad I am not still sleeping in a tent anymore.
After breakfast we just chat and relax for a while. Hermes is her old talkative self that I had started to miss. When we first met I found it irritating but now it helps to calm me. I had wondered with everything that happened whether she had lost that part of herself. I am glad that she hasn’t. Although we spend a lot of time chatting we don’t really talk about anything important. We want to have fun, not be depressed!
It is almost lunch time before we know it. I am considering whether to port back and grab something for both of us to eat, or for both of us to port to the Drake and eat there. Just as I decide to port back and grab us something to eat I notice singing in the distance. I listen to the wind with my senses and there is a small group of people mostly walking but there is also a cart being pulled by a ten legged creature. They are almost to us, so curious I wait with Hermes to find out who they are. Soon I can make out their words.
“The fire burns, the water churns,
The sire spurns whilst the mages learn,
Contractia, soon shall burn!
The dead shall rise and heavens fall,
They dread the rise, of angels who, from heaven fell!
The gods knew more, but they too fell!
Contractia, no more shall tell,
Our secrets or, which lives to sell!”
It sounds like a war song. I look at Hermes worriedly and ask, “Do you think they’re invaders?”
“No. It’s an old song from a play I saw when I was younger. They’re probably just practising for the same play.” Hermes says.
“What was the play about?”
“A war against the Fallen Angels. I think it was our first war against them, but I didn’t get to see it properly so I’m not sure.”
“Greetings, friends!” One of the travellers calls out to us. Now I can see them I can tell that they are certainly not mages or soldiers. Their auras are strong but not with magic. Their auras certainly seem well fitted to a band of travelling singers and actors. Their clothes are fancy and brightly coloured. Looking at them reminds me a bit of a rainbow.
“Good day!” I call back.
“Good day to you!” She calls back to me. Soon they have reached us and they come to a stop. Looking at Hermes she asks, “Are you a student at the academy?”
“Yes, we both are.” I answer. The truth is that technically Hermes, being my slave, isn’t anymore but I don’t see any point getting into that here.
“They let boys study at the academy now?” She asks in surprise.
“I’m the first boy at the academy, but there should be more tomorrow, when the new school year starts.”
“Times sure are changing. I guess the war must be going really badly if we are even training boys to use magic.”
“Regardless of how the war is going there is nothing wrong with my studying at the academy.” I say a little annoyed.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean any offence. We will be putting on showings of The First Angelic War just outside town for a week. Please feel free to come along and we’ll give you a discount as an apology. If you want to tell your friends about it, the more the merrier! Well, we must be getting along. I hope to see you at the show.” We watch whilst they start trundling along and singing again.
“I don’t feel like eating here anymore.” I say and Hermes nods in agreement. We port back to the Drake and both settle on a sweet and warming soup. We have some Happy Juice and port back to our room. We pass the rest of the day just chatting and relaxing. Now it is so close we are both nervous about the new school year. One thing we are sure of is that we don’t plan to watch the show.
I shouldn’t be tired after having had such a restful day, but somehow I am. I look up at the stars before falling asleep but they are still silent. Will I ever hear them again? I hope so. There are lots of things I hope for but right now what I hope for most urgently is that tomorrow goes well.
I wake as the sun rises and feel refreshed. It is still a little early for class but I don’t see any point waiting here. I wake Hermes and then port to class. Naturally I am the only one here so far. Hermes arrives a few minutes later but having talked so much yesterday we don’t really have anything to say. After a while the rest of the class arrive. Rin and Yu Kii are later than I expected but still on time.
The teacher arrives and says, “Due to the war I have a few announcements. Firstly you should not leave the academy after dark, and be sure to be back by sunset if you leave during the day. This includes your days off. We will of course also be joined by the Year 3 students, who start tomorrow so please do your best to make them welcome, but if you see any rule breaking be sure to report it. Lastly, there is a play being performed in a tent just outside of the town gates. It depicts the First Angelic War and since we are at war with them again it would be worth watching. In fact it is required that every student sees the play.”
I look at Hermes and it is clear neither of us is very happy about this. Logically the teacher is right that we may learn something and we may even enjoy it. Just thinking about those actors though starts to annoy me. I put it aside though and focus on the lesson. Unfortunately being the first day it is mostly going over the basics again in case anyone had forgotten. Not that that is likely!
We have lunch together with Rin and Yu Kii and hear about how they spent their day. Like us Rin seems to have spent it mostly just talking and relaxing. Y
u Kii is a little secretive about what she was doing but it sounds like she had a good time too. Not wanting to intrude I don’t press for details.
The afternoon lesson is much more interesting and covers a new approach for combining elements quickly. It isn’t as effective as the method I normally use but it is quicker. It also makes me think about my normal method, and I have an idea how I may be able to make my own method quicker. I will need to practise it during our training.
As we finish our afternoon lesson Charlotte and Emma are waiting outside our classroom as we leave. Elucia and Jenny will not be attending the training today, because I want to see how well our new members work with our old student members first. We head off to our training but the arena is busy so we go to a clearing in the forest that we started using during the holidays.
I am considering groupings when Emma asks me, “Have you considered making this a formal club? You’d be able to attract new students much easier. Most students interested in joining a club will choose one by the end of the first week. All clubs are given a chance the first week to advertise once to each class in Year 3. You may even get some new students in our year too if it proves popular with the Year 3 students.”
“How do you make a formal club?” I ask very interested.
“The captain needs to sign a captain’s contract and the rest of the club members sign a member’s contract. All contracts need to be witnessed by an academy teacher. The captain’s contract is between the captain and the academy, and is written by the academy. The member’s contract is between the captain and the member, and is written by the captain. They don’t all have to be the same either. You need a member contract with at least four students to form a club, and slaves don’t count. Obviously you don’t count either.”
“Would everyone be willing to make this a formal club?” I ask hopefully.
“Yes!” Everyone answers enthusiastically.
“We’ll do the training and write the contracts afterwards. Rin, Hermes and Emma will work together. Rin will lead. Charlotte, Yu Kii and I will work together. I will lead. Good luck everyone!”
“So what will we start with?” Charlotte asks.
“What was your element?” I ask.
“Water.”
“Then let’s see what you can do. We aren’t great with water magic, but I’m curious how your skills compare to Rin.”
“Okay. I’ll try not to disappoint you.” Charlotte says with a smile and demonstrates her skills. She seems to have much more control than Rin but not quite the same raw power or speed. “So how did I do?”
“Like all of us you have your strengths and weaknesses. I’m curious though, are you able to hide your presence in water?”
“Yes but only my own. I’m not able to hide anyone else yet.”
“I will definitely have you work with Rin next time. You should both be able to teach each other a lot. Next what is your weakest element?”
“Definitely fire.” Charlotte says wincing.
“Luckily Hermes is quite good at fire. When Jenny is here she will be able to help even more but for today Hermes should be able to help. Start by showing us what you can do.” It seems that Charlotte can summon a small flame quite easily but is unable to strengthen it at all. Hermes seems to understand why she is having trouble so quickly shows her how to improve. The improvement for now is slight but by practising more she will be able to make good progress. Happy with how things are going here I check to see how everything is going with Rin’s group.
“Like this?” Emma asks Rin but Rin shakes her head.
“Use a little less energy at first and then increase it quicker.” Rin explains, and then looks at me. “It’s going fine. Emma is good at all the elements but we can teach her a fair amount of water and earth magic between us. We can probably learn a lot about how to combine elements from Emma too.”
“Sounds good. I’m going to head back and write some contracts for the club. I’ll get some help from Jenny. I’ll be back here before the training finishes.”
“You’d be better off asking my mother. She has plenty of experience writing contracts.” Rin says.
“OK, thanks. I’ll see if she has time.” I say and port there. Rin’s mother is pouring a red liquid carefully from one vial to another so I wait until she has finished, because I don’t want to startle her. “Hi.”
“Hello Peter. What bring you here today?”
“Do you have time to help me write up some contracts to form an official club at the academy?”
“Sure. I just need to finish this potion first, but that shouldn’t take long.”
“I’ll wait over here then if that’s OK.” I say sitting down at the table.
“Of course.” Rin’s mother says. I watch as she crushes a leaf and pours a green liquid over it. It slowly dissolves and then she pours the liquid into the same vial as the red liquid. She then says a few words and taps the vial. Then smiling she turns to me and asks, “So what is your club going to be called?”
“Called?”
“Yes you need a club name and it needs to appear in the contract.”
“How about the Star Seekers?”
“Are you trying to put people off joining?”
“No. How about the Dragon Slayers?” I joke.
“Only the suicidal will join.”
“What makes a good club name then?” I ask more seriously.
“It needs to be something realistic that makes people see the benefit of joining and inspires those already in the club to work their hardest. It doesn’t have to be the same as your company name. Choose that when you form it.”
“That’s hard. What would you call it?”
“Is your plan to get these recruits to join your company?”
“Yes.”
“Then how about… The Independents?”
“I’m not sure. It doesn’t feel right.” I say shaking my head.
“Or Future’s Forge?”
“Future’s Forge?” I ask confused.
“Yes. You will be forging the future both for yourselves and the rest of Contractia. With the war many will be worried about the future, and at the academy many will be worried about their own future. In your company at least they will have a better chance of surviving the war, and of making a name for themselves. Independent companies often get more fame than regular companies. That said, everyone will give it their own meaning and you aren’t promising anything you can’t deliver.”
“I guess it works. I don’t have anything better. We’ll go with that.”
“I have a copy of a contract that we can use as a base. Wait there.” Rin’s mother says and then fetches the contract, which she copies but replaces the names with mine, Rin’s and Future’s Forge. At the end she writes a commitment to enter the independent company upon graduation. Next is Yu Kii, then Emma and finally Charlotte. I have the four contracts I need. “Be sure to read the contract that the academy gives you. You can challenge anything unreasonable. I would suggest asking Silmarion for the contract. She may be strict but she is also fair.”
“I suppose that makes sense. I’ll ask her in the morning. I’ll get these signed tonight though. Thank you for your help.”
“Don’t worry about it. Take good care of Rin.”
“Of course. We all look out for each other.”
“That too.” She says with a smile just as I port back to the training. I’m not quite sure what she meant but I don’t worry about it.
Rin’s group is taking a quick break so I ask, “Rin could you put these in your bag?”
“Sure. Future’s Forge? Sounds like something my mother would come up with.” Rin answers and puts the contracts in her bag.
“Do you not like it?”
“I do like it actually. Not sure if everyone will, but as leader you get to choose the name so if you’re happy with it then that’s fine.” Rin says.
“I like it.” Yu Kii says with a smile.
“It’s just a name. I don’t real
ly care what we’re called if we get to train like this each day, and get to form a company when we graduate.” Emma says with a shrug.
“Thanks.” I say and then head over to Hermes and Charlotte. “Future’s Forge. What do you think?”
“It’s good.” Hermes says enthusiastically.
“As long as it doesn’t mean we need to become great fire mages.” Charlotte says wincing slightly.
“Don’t worry, it just means we need to work hard for our futures, and everyone else’s. Of course we would anyway.”
“Then it’s fine.” Charlotte says. “Are you going to be going round the Year 3 classes to advertise?”
“I guess, but hopefully not alone.”
“Only one student is allowed to do so, and it is normally the leader. Some girls may be put off by the fact that you are a boy, and especially such a young one. I suppose some might join just because of it if you were just a member, but not with you as leader. If you were to demonstrate your magic and impress them it might help. Or you could get Rin or someone to advertise for you.”
“They’ll know the leader is a boy when they get the contract. Better they find out from the start. Either I impress them enough to join, or they don’t join.”
“Then how about practising now to see if you can impress us?” Charlotte asks.
“I suppose. Any suggestions?” I ask.
“You get a horde of goblins and kill them.” Hermes jokes but then looks darkly at the ground.
“Don’t tempt him!” Rin says and I realise we are all gathered together.
“Even I wouldn’t do that.” I protest but look away from Rin’s withering glare.
“The rules only state that you are limited to one student. Slaves are allowed to accompany you.” Rin says and looks at Hermes. “How about you demonstrate a mock battle?”
“That sounds good.” I say and nod enthusiastically.
“Go easy on me!” Hermes says a little nervously.
“It’s just a mock battle. We don’t hurt each other. To start how about you just attack me and I’ll defend?”
“Okay. Which element should I use?”
