“Yes, Grandmaster, but does that imply that Rannor outranks the headmaster?” I asked.
“Rannor is chief of medical operations here. He outranks everyone when it comes to his department, just like he did on the Dragon Claw,” answered Grandmaster Vydor. After that we exchanged our goodbyes and Master Kellyn took us back to the school.
From there we headed to a communication station so that I could call my mother and father. To my surprise, they both answered the call. Usually my father answered by himself.
“Hi, son. I am surprised to see you calling on an open channel,” said my father.
“Sir, the school was attacked today by a group of master sorcerers, and then after that Flame, er, Patty, was also attacked. Both fights were easily won by us, but it does spell the end of the peace,” I said.
“I am glad to see that she looks unwounded,” he said.
“Sir, I need to tell you that because of my particular set of gifts I am in the line of succession for the position of grandmaster, and since we are entering a time of war, you know what that could mean for our family,” I said.
“Yes, I do. Son, I am proud of you, and I understand now why you made this call over an open channel. We have been through this before, and I have confidence that no threat brought against us will deter you from your responsibilities,” he said.
Once that was out of the way we spent some time catching up with them and explained our new names to them. Flame was still very nervous whenever she talked with them but was growing a little easier with it. She never did call them “sir” and “ma’am” though. I guess some things are too much to ask.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Flame and I spent most of the summer working on the rehabilitation of my powers under Apprentice Rannor’s supervision. For a while I thought I would never get them back, but in time they did start to return, very slowly. In the end it took me almost half a year to fully recover.
That spring had marked the first official graduating class of student wizards. Fifty students were promoted to apprentice wizard, and in the fall all of them were elevated to professors. This brought on much shuffling amongst the staff at the school.
I was surprised to hear about so many of the students from the first generation of the school being promoted; it was much faster than predicted. When I asked one of the professors about it he said that was just the way it had to be, but did not explain further.
Another major change in the staff of the school was the addition of several elite wizards. They wore purple robes to signify their rank, which stood out against the red robes of the apprentices and the green robes of the journeymen wizards.
Every year the school always seemed to be exactly the right size for the number of students currently attending. This baffled me for a long time, as approximately one thousand students were added every year. One day, though, while out hiking I realized that every year my hiking trails started from a different place even though I used the same exits to reach them. I realized then that the school was not cold, dead stone but a living fortress that grew to accommodate the growth of the student body as needed.
Soon it was the first day of our new fall classes, and Flame and I arranged to be in the same Basic Powers class. When we arrived we saw many of our friends from our time as prospects. It was good to see so many familiar faces; we had missed them over the summer, due to our late return to the school.
We were sitting in the back of the class when the professor arrived. I recognized him as one of the recently-promoted students. I remembered that the headmaster had said the basic powers of our realm were different from those of his own. It made sense to move the new professors into teaching these classes, since they would actually possess the powers they were teaching.
“Greetings, class,” he said. “I recognize some of you, but most of your faces are new to me. My name is Professor Rocky. I have this name because both my primary and secondary powers are the same: Earth Elemental Mastery. Now some of you are no doubt wondering how that is possible, and in truth no one is sure exactly how powers are bestowed. With the exception of Spellweaver, the primary and secondary powers appear to be completely random. This can make for some interesting combinations. For example, Professor Smokey’s primary power is Fire Elemental Mastery, with a secondary in Water Elemental Mastery. Occasionally, a few lucky people like myself draw the same power for both primary and secondary.
“Now I am sure some of you are thinking ‘that stinks.’ Well, there are advantages to having the same power twice. You see, although most of you are not yet aware of it, you each have two pools of energy to draw on: one large pool for your primary power and a smaller one for your secondary power. In my case I can combine those two pools, giving me a greater supply of energy to draw from.
“Since everyone in here already knows their power set, you have probably discovered that there are things you are unable to do but others can. For example, I cannot cast a fireball. That can only be done by someone with Fire Elemental Mastery as their primary or secondary power. It does not matter how much I grow in my power, I will never be able to do that - unless I am to become a master-level wizard. Once a wizard reaches master level all other areas of magic are open to them, but they will always be strongest in their primary and secondary lines. Only a select few will ever reach that level of mastery.
“There are many different focus lines of power. They cover everything from utilitarian lines of power such as dimensional magic and warding, to powerful, offensive lines like Fire Elemental Mastery or Electrical Elemental Mastery. Each has its place, many of them overlap, and none is really superior to another. They are different tools for different jobs.
“Now, in this class this year we will be covering the basic powers possessed by all wizards of this realm. Each of you has the ability to perform basic telepathy, minor telekinesis, minor shielding, detection evasion, and short-range teleportation. Unlike your primary spell line, these powers are very limited so you will be able to master them fairly quickly. In fact, my intention is that before your summer break you will have mastered all of those. This will be one of the last classes that most of you will have together. After this, you will be divided up into classes that match your power set. This of course means that some of you may be fortunate enough to have me for a teacher again in an Earth Elementalist class.”
He paused there for a moment and then said, “Now, officially I know that none of you has been allowed to use magic of any kind before taking this class. As I was once a prospect, I can also safely assume you have all been playing around with your powers when you thought the professors were not watching. For most students, the basic powers come naturally and easily. Since we all know that is the case, our next class will be a test to see where each one of you stands in your understanding of how to use your powers. You cannot fail this test; it is just to let me know where to set my expectations for each of you.”
The rest of his lecture was centered on what would be expected from us this semester. At the end of the lecture he said, “Make sure you get your books from my warm and fuzzy assistants at the door on your way out. I will expect you to have read Chapter One before tomorrow’s lesson.” His assistants turned out to be large, stone creatures that were anything but warm and fuzzy.
The Basic Powers class took up most of every day, allowing time for only one other class in the fall semester. This class was our first free elective since we had started the school over a decade ago. Flame and I both chose Basic Wand Creation, as it was one of the few classes left that we could take together. We planned to follow it up with Scroll Scribing and eventually Gates and Runes. That selection would likely carry us all the way to our next promotion.
Flame, who is very competitive by nature, channeled her energy directly into her schoolwork. I could not let myself be beaten by her, so I too pushed as hard as I could. The two of us vastly outpaced the rest of the class, but I do not think either of us noticed at the time; we were
too busy trying to outdo each other.
The year passed without further incident, and I think many of the students had forgotten about the attack on the school the previous summer. For them, it was a brief event with little or no impact on their daily lives. It was not so for me. The words that the headmaster spoke were constantly in my mind: I was a primary target.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Hey, Bill, glad to see you’re okay,” was the greeting when I entered the conference room. A year had passed since the pirates had forced us to retreat from our own ambush. Since then, we had tried many hit-and-run attacks wherever we thought the pirates were weak enough for us to win. We did okay for a while, but the pirates seemed to be able to bring larger and more powerful ships to bear at an alarming rate.
At this point we were in a full retreat throughout the sector. The pirates were slowly taking over all major shipping lanes, and we had proven unable to push them back.
“Who, me? Bah, as if a little thing like that could hurt me,” I said. That “little thing” was our massive defeat on one of the last major trade routes. We were outnumbered by more than ten to one, and their ships were faster and better equipped than ours. We were in trouble, big trouble. The Navy was doing its best to keep these problems a secret from the citizens of Aleeryon, but that was practically impossible.
Morale across the entire region was at an all-time low. The major trade guilds were pulling out, and the local merchants were starting to suffer from lack of business. We needed a solution and quickly, or Aleeryon would fall.
The president of Aleeryon stood and raised his hand for attention. A hush fell over the room, and everyone found a seat. “I won’t bother with all the pleasantries. We are in trouble, and this meeting is intended to gather together the best minds of our region in the hope that they can come up with a solution. I don’t need to tell you how critical it is that we do something; that is plain to all.”
After that a moderator took over, and ideas were being called out left and right. Almost all of them were shot down quickly. After a while, I realized that either no one could see the obvious or they were afraid to say it, so I motioned that I wanted to speak. When the moderator indicated it was my turn I said, “Look, I’m just a simple fighter pilot, not really sure why you invited me, but I think the answer is clear. We’re losing the offensive on every front, and good servicemen and women are dying. It’s time to admit we’ve lost and pursue a different path.”
The room erupted into shouting and name-calling at that point. I continued to stand because I had more to say; eventually the moderator regained control, and I was able to continue.
“We need to pull back our forces and focus on the defense of our populated regions. We should temporarily let the pirates have the empty systems. This will buy us time, and time is something we desperately need. Then we need to recruit like mad and shoot for at least a ten-fold, if not fifty-fold, increase in the size of our navy. While that is being built up, we must call for help from our allies. What good are the treaties with the rest of the nations if we can’t get help when we need it?” I said and then sat down to let someone else speak.
For a while it was chaotic again as people argued about what I had said. I knew I had spoken only the truth, but I also knew something that my superior officer had forbidden me to say in this meeting: if we stayed on our current path, Aleeryon would fall within the next three months.
Eventually the president was given the floor and said, “There is wisdom in what we have heard here, but we have already tried to get help from our allies. We are too far from them to gain their assistance in time. No, we must do this alone.”
At that, I jumped up and without thinking called out, “With all due respect, we don’t need them to send any ships. We need them to send us technology so that we can start matching what we’re fighting. Every blasted nation out there knows we are at the bottom of the tech pool. It’s time they started sharing! What’s wrong with everyone? Is everyone blind to the blatantly obvious? Fall back, rearm, and regroup is the way out of this Emperor-forsaken mess!”
I quickly realized I was speaking out of turn and sat back down, cursing under my breath. I couldn’t believe how dense everyone here was. To my surprise the room was silent, and I heard the president say, “I see. Then what would be your plan?”
I sat there for a minute wondering if he was speaking to me, but since the entire room was staring at me I eventually stood up and laid out a broad outline of a plan to retreat and fight another day. It sickened me greatly to promote retreat as the best possible plan, but we all needed to face reality.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Summer finally came to the Academy and with it our annual one-week vacation. This was only our second vacation since starting at the school, but everyone of student rank and higher received one week every year. Having worked so hard in Professor Rocky’s class all winter and spring, it was a much-needed and anticipated break. Everyone was talking about where they were going; everyone except Flame and myself, as we were still under orders not to leave the planet. A day before the start of the break, Flame approached me privately.
“Shadow, I’ve been thinking and planning. I’m pretty sure I can get us off this planet and back to my parents’ place without anyone detecting us,” she suggested.
“Flame, it has only been a year since I last followed one of your plans, not nearly long enough for me to have forgotten,” I said.
“Oh, Shadow, I just have to get home. I’m so worried about my family. What if another sorcerer has paid them a visit? What if …?” she trailed off.
I could see there was no easy way for me to talk her out of it. “Grandmaster Vydor is the one who ruled that we have to stay, so only he can overturn that rule,” I said, hoping that invoking that memory would be enough to remind her why we must obey.
“Then let’s go talk to him right now,” she said.
“We do not know where to find him, Flame,” I said. It was apparent that I had lost this argument, so it was time to get some help. “However, we do know someone who does. Come, we can talk to Professor Rannor and … ” Before I could finish speaking, she clutched my arm and took off down the corridor.
We found Professor Rannor sitting in his office working at his computer terminal. Unlike the professors from Mantis’ realm, he preferred all the modern conveniences which life here had to offer. His office was well-lit, spacious and highly organized. Drawers and cabinets all bore labels identifying their contents and even appeared to be color-coded, though I could not figure out the pattern.
On one wall he had a large viewing screen designed to resemble a window. The scene it displayed was obviously not of this world; it was a nice meadow with rolling hills and a small creek rushing by that could be heard gurgling along. Had his office been along an outside wall, any window would have shown only the barren, rocky surface of this dead world.
He looked up as we entered, but Flame and I remained silent. He was our friend but he was still a professor, and protocol dictated that we could not speak until he addressed us. I wondered if Flame would explode while we waited. It occurred to me that Professor Rannor could see how anxious she was to talk and was intentionally drawing out the wait.
“Hello, what can I do for you two today?” he finally asked.
“Shadow, you ask him,” said Flame with great intensity.
“Professor, Flame wants to know if you can talk to Grandmaster Vydor for us and obtain permission to visit her family next week,” I said.
“Ah, I see. There is really no need for me to ask; I already know his answer will be ‘no.’ It is much too dangerous,” he started.
“But I just have to know if they’re all right!” interrupted Flame.
“The only way to secure their safety is to keep you away from them, Flame. If the sorcerers think they can use your family to control you, they will do so. The best thing you can do for them at this time is to keep your distance,” was
his answer.
“But … ” she pleaded.
“No. No ‘buts’ about it. If you go to visit them, that guarantees that the sorcerers will strike there again. I assure you they are fine right now. We have someone watching them, and that will have to be good enough,” he said.
Flame huffed and threw herself down in one of the chairs in the room.
“Now, Flame, suppose you go there and shortly after you arrive, a master sorcerer shows up. That sorcerer then takes your family hostage and tells you he will kill them if you do not kill Shadow. Are you ready for that dilemma?” he asked. There was a long silence following this remark. I suspected that Flame planned to go regardless of any rules or advice given to her.
“Professor, what if we went to see my family instead? I know the school has a gate that can take us to the capital planet, so that would eliminate travel time. My family has survived this kind of problem before, so it is already well known that they cannot be used to blackmail me,” I suggested, offering a compromise. That would put Flame’s family completely out of her reach, I thought to myself.
“Well - I do not know if that is any better, really,” he said, considering it.
“Professor, I think you should explain the situation to Grandmaster Vydor and see what he says,” I said. I was fairly sure that the grandmaster would see my plan and accept it. A faraway look came over his face after my words. At one time I would have wondered what he was thinking about, but given the context of the situation I am sure he was contacting Grandmaster Vydor via a telepathic link-up.
“Flame, what do you think of that idea?” asked Professor Rannor.
“Well, it never occurred to me that was even a possibility, but it would be good because I worry about them too,” she said.
He sighed. “I do not agree with his decision, but Grandmaster Vydor says to let you go. Return here in two hours, and I will take you to the gate. By the way, Shadow, how did you know about the gate?” he asked.
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