said, “on the other hand, I was absolutely pants in pretty much everything else. I think that maybe this is supposed to tell us what we need to work harder on. I’m not really bothered really. I just want to find out what I can do with this ring...”
He made a flamboyant gesture with his right hand, finishing with a flourish as he dramatically pointed his ringed finger at Lee. Lee, however was oblivious to this as he was completely focussed on pinning his Ouroboros pin onto his robe. He was taking extreme care to ensure that it was completely straight, with the head of the Ouroboros perfectly centred at the top.
“So…” said Ash, still pointing his finger at him, “How was your report?”
Lee regarded him blankly and recited his grades with indifference as if they belonged to someone else. “Double A in Alchemy, A’s in Cognito and Magica and a B in Morphology.”
“That’s really good!” Said Auriel
“Yeah... that’s great” said Ash a little grudgingly “Looks like you’re a real all-rounder mate. Guess I’ll have to put in some work if I want to compete with those grades.”
“What does yours say?” said Ariel, turning to Rose, who was now wearing a golden vaulknut pinned to her left shoulder.
Rose shrugged, turning the open parchment around so that they could read it.
‘Lady Rose. This is your first ascent and therefore there is, of course, no formal report card. However, if the Sooth is correct, then you are born of four of our oldest, and most respected ascendants, the Rhodium Four. Lord Eldwyn, Lord Ruzha, Lord Ogin, and Lady Sevti, all excelled in Magica, and Alchemy. I, therefore, expect that you also are likely to excel in these areas.
This year will be difficult for you as a first ascendant, especially given the circumstances of your ascent. I will, therefore, be arranging for you to have extra classes with me so that I can prepare you for what may or may not come to pass.
Welcome to the Oratory of Aurum. Lord Bertram Dux, Prima Magister’
Auriel put an arm around her.
“Well, it looks like Arjan was right,” she said. “All of us seem to be very strong in our potentia and you my dear, are truly unique.”
She tightened her grip, giving Rose a quick hug before continuing.
“It looks like you were right too; there probably is a good reason for us all to have ascended as one cell. We all seem to have strong, compatible skills, which would be just what you would need if you were to put together an elite group for some sort of quest. You seem to be destined to lead us, so I guess that means that we’re probably destined to follow. We’re a team now and it would seem that our cells are our family here.”
Ash nodded, smiling warmly in agreement, but Lee frowned and sighed loudly.
“Really?” he said “Really? I don’t know how you can make statements like that, without the slightest bit of concrete evidence. What evidence is there that any such phenomenon as destiny even exists. I think it much more likely that we are all here due to some sort of equipment malfunction, rather than anything as dubious as destiny. Also, I see no reason why I should think of Rose as my leader. She hasn’t even got a report card, which means, of course, that there is absolutely no evidence that Rose is skilled in anything.”
“The prophecy is evidence,” said Auriel, “ It predicted Rose’s ascendance.”
“The prophecy...” Lee sneered. “I could prophesize that one day purple rain would fall from the sky, and if I waited long enough, it is statistically likely that there would, indeed, be a purple rain day. The prophecy also, I believe, predicted many things that have not occurred. The prophecy did not predict us did it? All of us, arriving together the way we did? Which is why it is much more likely that we are here because of a chance error of some sort.“
Rose smiled, “I really hope that you are right Lee, I really do. I can’t say that I feel much like a Djinn slayer or a great magician. In fact to be honest, the thought of all of this scares me to bits.”
They were distracted from their conversation by Lord Irwin as he began their first class.
“Novices,” He said as he lifted four small skeps onto the table, setting one out in front of each of the four cells. “It is time to begin, so please gather around here now, and pay attention.”
This request was entirely superfluous as the novices were instantly captivated by the mesmerising sound of the humming and buzzing of thousands of apis bees. The skeps were sticky, leaking their sweet smelling honey onto the table.
“Today you are going to learn one of the most important and vital, lessons of Morphology,” said Lord Irwin, he paused dramatically, “how to read the apis.”
Lifting up another skep from under the table, he placed it down in front of him.
“Apis are our primary method of communication over long distances.” He explained “The message transmission requires two processes. The first process involves a Metamorph communicating the message to the apis, together with the identity of the person to whom it is addressed. This process is generally carried out only by Metamorphs and so will be covered in morphology major classes only.” He paused at the disappointed moans of some of the novices. “However,” he went on enthusiastically. “Any of us can receive an apis message, which means that you will all need to be proficient in the second process; decoding the message, which is what we will be covering today.”
His attention was taken by a commotion at the far end of the table. Cries and yelps of pain emanated from within the group of young Muds. One member of the group, Rowan, having pushed a forefinger into the hive in an endeavour to taste some of the honey, was nursing a red, swollen and visibly throbbing hand.
“Please do not interfere with the skeps,” Irwin said, a little too late, “the apis are very protective of their honey and they possess a rather painful sting” He seemed flustered.
Lord Irwin tentatively pulled a phial of liquid from a small leather bag hanging from his girdle. Taking the boy’s hand, he uncorked the phial with his teeth and poured some of the sticky golden liquid onto the wound.
“You won’t do that again will you?” he said shaking his head and placing his ringed hand over the boy's wound. “Veneno sanare,” he said, casting the healing charm.
The yellow stone in Irwin’s ring glowed brightly for a second, and the redness and swelling on the boy's hand instantly receded. Rowan breathed out a long sigh.
“Thanks,” he said, hesitating “Sorry.”
Lord Irwin, still appearing a little flustered, acknowledged his apology with a nod and then turned his attention back to the rest of the class. Nervously, he cleared his throat.
“If apis do have a message for you,” he said “then they will generally find you, wherever you may be. Then they will quickly make you aware that the message is addressed to you by forming a monitus. The monitus is a dynamic spiral formation that the swarm forms in the air, directly in front of you. I will illustrate, watch carefully now.”
He pulled open the small flap from the entrance of the skep and instantly hundreds of apis swarmed out of it. Flying up in front of Lord Irwin’s face, the swarm dipped, swerved, and formed into a swirling buzzing torrent, appearing to be a single entity. The monitus was round and wide at the top and then it coiled and narrowed as it spiralled downwards like water swirling down a hole.
Lord Irwin spoke to the monitus “ indica mihi” ‘tell me’.
Instantly the bees left the spiral, landed on the tabletop in front of him and then gathered into a seemingly chaotic huddle. Their movements rapidly became more organised, scurrying between each other in distinct figure of eight patterns.
“What you are watching,” said Lord Irwin, “ is known as the waggle dance, and if you wish to decipher it, you cannot simply use your eyes.”
He hesitated, his tone implying something mysterious and exciting was about to be revealed.
“As the apis rub their bodies together, they accumulate an electric charge. This causes them to emit a modulating e
lectric field. All ascendants possess an innate perception of these fields. This enables us to interpret their meaning with little effort, though it does take practice. All you have to do to perceive their message, is to listen, but not with your ears, listen with your potentia. You need to feel the magnetism. I would like you all to try this now and see if you can pick anything up from them.”
He paused, allowing the novices to concentrate. They quietened, and listened intently to the humming of the apis, which appeared to intensify as the room stilled. Irwin waited a few minutes, and then asked “Can anyone tell me what the message is?”
Noticing the lack of confidence on their faces, he attempted to encourage them. “Just let it come to you. You do not need to concentrate or even to think. In fact, it is better if you don’t think, empty your mind and the message should appear spontaneously as if it were your own thought. The more you empty your mind, the easier you will find it.”
Ash raised his hand, “ I think, well... It makes no sense to me but are they saying ‘the manna is in the green jar?’”
Some of the others were nodding in agreement, evidently having had a similar thought.
“Perhaps, Lord Ash,” said Lord Irwin, indicating a green jar on one of the shelves, “you would like check and see if you have made a correct interpretation.”
Ash sidled over to the large green jar, pulled off the cork lid and peered
Ascension of the Whyte Page 10
