The Magic, Warped

by Rick Field

  The girl followed.

  Mariam showed Liane how the library had secluded work areas where a small group of students could isolate themselves and work together without interrupting the others. Soon, Liane was seated at a table in a small secluded corner, while Mariam went to gather some research material.

  Five minutes later, Mariam was back, carrying a large stack of books. After she sat down, she handed a small book to Liane. The cover had bright and cheery colors, and it seemed made out of hard-pressed cardboard rather than the leather the other books were bound in.

  “This is the most basic book I could find on learning to read,” Mariam explained. “Some Nobles start at this Academy and do not yet know how to read. It happens usually when a Noble is born to Common parents. Therefore, the Academy has some tools available to correct this. Please look through it, and ask me should you have any questions, Young Lady.”

  Liane accepted the cardboard book, and nodded. “Thank you, My Lady,” she said sincerely. Mariam nodded once, then scattered her books around the table.

  Liane cracked open her little booklet. The pages were sturdy, made of the same material as the cover, and Liane felt a hint of jealousy at the smooth pages in the volumes Mariam was looking it. Those books looked a lot better.

  She looked at the first page. She couldn't read what was written, even though the top had a single letter in a bright and friendly yellow. In the background was a picture of a monkey. Liane flipped to the next page. She couldn't read this one either, but it had a picture of a ball in the background.

  The next page had a cake on it, and Liane smiled.

  “You seem to be making excellent progress, Young Lady,” Mariam said, looking up from one of her books, hearing Liane flip page after page.

  Liane nodded. “I can't read what it says, but it has nice pictures, My Lady.”

  Mariam blinked, then seemed to sigh. “My apologies, Young Lady. It was my failure not to recognize the fact that you did not even understand basic letters. Allow me to assist you.”

  Liane blinked then nodded, not having realized that she was supposed to have read the words or letters printed in the book.

  Flipping back to the first page, Mariam pointed out the bright yellow letter. “This is the letter 'a',” she explained. “A as in ape.”

  Liane looked at the monkey picture. It made sense now. “There are a few other words with 'a' printed here. There is 'ape' printed here, and 'age' printed there.”

  The young girl followed the finger of the Prime Student, recognizing now the letter 'a' as it popped up. The simple three-letter word escaped her, however. “This is the letter 'p', and this is the letter 'e',” Mariam went on, seeing that she had lost Liane on the words. “You will see them explained later in this book.”

  Liane nodded. 'Ape' and 'age' differed by one letter, and she recognized how the 'e' appeared in both. So the missing letter in 'age' should be... “Then this letter is the 'g', My Lady?” she asked, pointing to the letter she didn't know yet, yet pronouncing it exactly as one would pronounce the sound in the word.

  “The letter 'g', correct, Young Lady,” Mariam said, correcting the girl's pronunciation. “Now, the next page has the letter 'b'.”

  “As in ball, My Lady?” Liane asked, getting things now.

  “Exactly, Young Lady. Can you read this word?” she asked, pointing to one of the words.

  “B... a... b... e,” Liane stuttered, spelling the letters. “Babe?”

  Mariam nodded. “Very good, Young Lady. You catch on quickly. Now, this is the letter 'k'. What word would this be?”

  “B... a... k... e. Bake, My Lady.”

  Mariam smiled slightly. “Good. Very good, Young Lady. Let's move on to the next letter. 'C' as in...”

  “Cake!” Liane said enthusiastically, hopping up and down in her chair. Reading was fun!

  Hours later, after Mariam had checked out the little cardboard book for her, Liane managed to find her room without too much difficulty. After tiredly changing into the night clothes that had been provided for her, she fell into bed. The many exciting events of the day had left her totally exhausted, and she was asleep within moments.

  The next morning, she was woken up by an incessant ringing coming from her nightstand. It was so totally unexpected and unknown to the young orphan that it scared her awake quite thoroughly. Not knowing how to turn the ringing off, she got more and more panicked at the thought of angering other people before she noticed a pulsing purple inscription flashing on the top of the nightstand, half buried underneath the papers and the book she had brought back with her yesterday.

  Pushing on the rune stopped the ringing, and Liane let out a breath of relief, and the girl listened to try and hear if someone would be coming in to yell at her.

  Nobody came, and she let out a second breath of relief.

  Getting dressed was fun; especially when she found that her dresser was full of clothes her size, all of the highest quality fabrics. She dressed easily, although the many strange items in the bathroom confused her. A comb and a hairbrush were easy to figure out, but many of the other items, she had no idea what they were nor what their function may be.

  She couldn't hear the bell of the temple here, so she had no idea how much time she had left between eight and nine, and so she decided on doing some extra work, getting ready to meet with the Lady Mariam after dinner tonight.

  Liane hoped the Prime Student would be impressed with her. She had enjoyed the time they spent together, and was hoping for more.

  Taking out the example sheet Mariam had written for her, featuring the words she had learned to read yesterday, Liane awkwardly took a pen and tried to copy.

  When knocking came at her door, Liane jumped up and raced to let her visitor in.

  “Good morning, Young Lady,” the composed woman at the door greeted. She was about thirty, had hair as black as the night, and her face was devoid of any and all emotions.

  “Good morning, My Lady,” Liane said, following the lady's speech patterns.

  “You may address me as ‘Doctora’, Young Lady,” the woman said, her face and vocal inclinations not betraying what she felt. “I see that you are ready. Good. Please gather your equipment and follow me.”

  “Yes, Doctora,” Liane said, hoping that she hadn't angered the woman. Turning around quickly, she raced to gather the papers, the book, and the pen, and pushed them all in the bag the Lady Mariam had given her before sending her on her way from the library last night.

  Twenty seconds later, Liane was back with the teacher, and had the door to her room closed. The woman nodded. “You seem to have efficiency, Young Lady. We will, however, work on your Decorum and your overall cleanliness. For example, I believe you may have some crooked papers in your bag at the moment. One should always try and maintain Decorum, including in the impression given by one's possessions.”

  Liane blinked, twice, thrice, and then bit her bottom lip with worry. “I'm sorry, Doctora. I don't understand,” she half-whispered as they walked toward the entrance of the administrative building that was Liane's home at the moment.

  “Never be afraid to ask for clarification, Young Lady,” the stern woman said. “It is good that you asked. Perhaps an example of my earlier statement may help. For example, you have crooked papers in your bag. When we arrive at the library, and you take them out so that we may work, what would be the impression given to others?”

  Liane looked at her bag, and looked inside, to where she had shoved her papers. They were indeed all crooked, folded horribly.

  She felt terribly embarrassed, and had difficulty to look up at the woman. “I understand, Doctora.”

  The woman nodded. “Good. In this case, you should not worry, Young Lady. I will be able to straighten out your papers. However, allow me to teach you a first lesson in magic – simply because one can use magic to make up for an error does not mean you do not have to worry about making the error in the first place. Pay attention in the future and you won't ne
ed to use magic to make up for it.”

  The girl nodded. “Better not to make the mistake, than to have to clean up, Doctora?” she asked, quoting a life lesson she had learned at the orphanage.

  “Exactly. I am pleased to see that you are an eager student, Young Lady.”

  They walked to the library in silence, and the Doctora showed Liane to an unused corner. Not long after, she had straightened out the young girl's papers.

  “Good,” the Doctora said after looking at the papers and the book. “It seems that you have already started. Please tell me what you have already accomplished, Young Lady.”

  Liane nodded. “The Lady Mariam Firemistress helped me yesterday, Doctora. She showed me how to read words from the book,” she said, pointing to the book now in the Doctora’s hands. She followed up by listing the words she had learned to read the day before.

  The Doctora merely opened the book after the first five words and flipped through the pages as Liane spoke. When the girl finally finished, the Doctora nodded.

  “You seem to have an excellent memory, Young Lady. I do not think that more than five percent of the students at the Academy would be able to summarize a lesson the way you have just done,” the woman said. “We will continue with your reading lessons, as well as writing lessons,” she said, looking at the paper on which Liane had been practicing her handwriting. “I will also teach you how to tell time, so that you may be prepared, avoiding what has happened this morning.”

  Liane smiled, and was practically hopping on her chair at the thought of learning even more new things. “We will also be working on basic mathematics, history, politics, and various other basic knowledge subjects that would normally be taught to you by your family. As this is not possible in your case, we will do so here. I will expect you to continue to be highly motivated, Young Lady.”

  The girl nodded eagerly. “Yes, My Lady!”

  “Good,” the Doctora spoke, and grabbed a fresh sheet of paper. With deft precision, she drew nine perfect circles on it. Looking up at Liane, she said, “As part of magical education, you will be expected to be able to draw runic circles and various other ritualistic circles. Do not concern yourself with being able to draw perfectly for now. I will be using these to teach you how to tell time.”

  Liane looked in awe at her teacher. Everyone here at the Academy was not only nice enough to teach her things, they were all incredible at what they did, and the young girl hoped to one day be as good as they were. “Now, a clock has two hands. The long hand is what we call the minute hand, and indicates the minutes. The short hand is the hour hand, and shows the hours, like this.” The Doctora proceeded to draw a short hand and a long hand on the first circle. “This is six o'clock. The long hand is pointing straight up, to the twelve o'clock position, which indicates zero minutes. The short hand is pointing to the six, indicating six hours.”

  Liane frowned. “Why is twelve o'clock zero minutes, Doctora?” she asked, confused.

  The Doctora nodded, and continued to explain how the clock was read.

  Sooner than Liane had wanted, the lesson was over. She had learned how to tell time – granted, it still took her some thought to figure it out – and she had learned a lot of new words to read. She had learned how to write better as well, the Doctora had showed her a better way of holding the pen.

  After a good lunch, which Liane spent alone in a corner somewhere, she went back to the library, trying to do some more reading and writing exercises. She didn't know when she would need to meet with one of the Doctorii, be they Lord or Lady, who would be working with her on her magic, so she kept herself busy.

  Before she knew it, the chime rang, announcing time for dinner. Closing the book and gathering her papers, Liane placed everything carefully into her bag, making sure not to make any messes. She didn't have the Doctora to straighten out her papers, after all.

  Making her way back to the dining hall, Liane grabbed herself a dinner that would have kept her fed for days back at the orphanage, including a juicy pear for dessert. She just loved pears.

  She was about to sit down in that quiet corner she had used for lunch when someone waved at her. Liane looked around for a few moments, making sure that the wave was meant for her and not for someone else, then made her way over.

  “Good evening, Young Lady,” Mariam said, motioning to a free seat. “Allow me to invite you for dinner.”

  Guessing that meant that the Lady Mariam wanted her to sit down, Liane sat. “Thank you, My Lady. Good evening,” she said.

  Mariam nodded. “May I ask how your first day at the Academy has been?” she asked, starting to eat.

  “It was very interesting, My Lady!” Liane said enthusiastically. “The Doctora this morning helped me hold the pen better, and she taught me a lot of new words. And she helped me tell time!”

  “I am happy to hear that you are enjoying your stay, Young Lady,” Mariam said. “And how was your afternoon?”

  “The Lord Master said he would try and arrange for a tutor to help with my magic, My Lady. But I never heard from him or her, so I was in the library all afternoon, working on my reading and writing.”

  The older girl nodded. It happened that Doctorii were busy and did not show. “Yesterday, I questioned for the first time my decision not to take an Assistant, as I discovered that I enjoyed teaching you. I need to do some more work in the library after dinner. Would you like to join me, Young Lady?”

  Liane's eyes lit up. “Sure!” she said, before remembering she was supposed to add, “My Lady.” It was just in time to still be respectful.

  “We will work on your Decorum in time, Young Lady. Do not worry,” the older girl said.

  Once at the library, they found a secluded corner that would allow them to talk without interrupting anyone. After a quick rundown from Liane, explaining to Mariam what she had learned that morning, the Prime Student flipped to the back of the book. “Here are some easy texts, Young Lady. I want you to copy the first two, then we'll go over them and pick out any errors. They are quite basic, but should you have any questions, feel free to ask them.”

  Liane nodded, and went to work, her pen slowly making its way across the paper as she copied the text.

  Mariam, meanwhile, went to gather half a dozen books, spread them out across the table, and started her work. Every now and then, Liane would look up, only to see the older girl working, with furrowed brow, referencing things against each other in the books, and writing down her conclusions. She had no idea what the Prime Student was doing – but whatever it was, it looked impressive, and Liane couldn't wait until she could do things like this herself.

  Finally, she finished her task. Looking up, she saw that Mariam was still engaged in her own work. Not really wanting to disturb her teacher, Liane waited for a good moment.

  “Are you finished, Young Lady?” Mariam asked, not looking up from her work.

  “Yes, My Lady. I didn't want to disturb you,” she said, adding a small defense.

  “I thought as much,” Mariam said, looking up. “Please pass me your work and the original, Young Lady.”

  Together, they went over the original and Liane's copy of it. Much to Mariam's surprise, there were very few errors, but the young girl did have quite a few questions about words she did not know, or about the deeper meaning of certain things. With nearly infinite patience, Mariam explained the concepts.

  “What are you working on, My Lady?” Liane asked when Mariam was about to ask her to copy the third example text.

  “A bit direct, Young Lady,” Mariam said. “We will work on your Decorum. In any case, as you no doubt know, I am in my final year, my Year of Discovery. I am already a fully accredited Mage, and I am working toward my mastership. In order to receive my master's title, I must present a masterpiece as proof of my knowledge and skill. I have chosen to write a comparative text, relating the magic we study in Kiria and the magic used in the world beyond the Great Barrier that protects our coasts.”

  Liane lo
oked at the older girl with awe. If she hadn't wanted to be as good as Mariam before, she certainly would want to be as good now. “Incredible, My Lady.”

  Mariam's lips twitched. It was as close to a genuine smile as she had ever seen on the stoic Prime Student's face. “I am merely doing the ground work at the moment, Young Lady. I am relating the different runic alphabets, their uses, and their strengths and weaknesses to each other. It is a fascinating subject.”

  Liane looked into the book that was directly in front of Mariam, and found the text to be of a much smaller type than the one in the book she had been using so far, and she had to stop after the first sentence held no less than five words she could hardly spell, let alone read or understand. She skipped the rest of the page, and flipped through a few pages, seeing Mariam looking more amused than anything else. She found no pictures, but she did find a table of weird-looking letters near the front.

  “Those are basic runes, Young Lady,” Mariam said when Liane asked. “Runes are quite powerful, if slow in use.”

  “My Lady?” Liane asked, confused.

  Mariam looked around, and found nobody looking at her. She lifted her hand, and whispered a single word under her breath. A small sphere of light settled above her palm. “This is a standard light spell, Young Lady. It is useful, but limited in scope. This spell will always create the same ball of light, with the same intensity, on the same location: above your outstretched palm. This means that the spell is quick, but lacks versatility: you can only use it for a few set things. It is too bright to light your way at night, for it will blind you, for example.”

  Liane nodded. “Runes, on the other hand, can be used to create anything you want,” Mariam said, and pulled up a fresh sheet of paper, and wrote a bunch of the same weird symbols that Liane had seen on the entrance to the Academy. “This is a runic phrase, basically recreating the same spell. However, this rune,” she said, pointing to one symbol, “sets the intensity of the light. I can make it dimmer, so it doesn't blind at night, or brighter, to make sure there are no shadows, for example. This rune here sets the size of the sphere. Handy to create a single chandelier to light up a large hall, for example. And these runes govern the location, so you can attach your chandelier to the ceiling.” Mariam changed a few runes, then pressed her hand to the phrase.