by Lexy Wolfe
Aughas smirked a bit. "Don't worry, Zevrin. I'll be an Edai's apprentice by the end of the sevenday," he stated with confidence. "Then you can be part of my circle."
"Apprentice Zevrin!" the woman snapped, her wintry gaze fixed on him. "Master Erlin is waiting. Do you require a switch across your backside to put some hop in your step, or do you think you can motivate yourself adequately without assistance?"
All the young people reacted, most averting their eyes or pulling the journals they had open up to hide their faces. Zevrin squared his shoulders, back snapped straight. "No, Apprentice Master! I am moving, Apprentice Master!"
After the Apprentice Master returned to her own intent reading and writing, Aughas leaned closer to his cronies. He reached into his pocket to pull out a handful of acorns and nodded towards the boy seated alone at the end of one of the tables. He lobbed an acorn to hit the boy in the head. When the boy did not react to the acorn or their sniggering, he lobbed another, hissed, "Hey! Hey, acorn farmer!"
The boy glared sideways at them. "My name is Marcus Kyrie, Aughas Oberlain." He flinched as another acorn bounced off just above his eye. "Knock it off!"
"What's the matter, acorn farmer?" Aughas asked with snide cruelty. "Forgot what you are supposed to do with an acorn?"
"You mean like you?" Marcus retorted, earning a chorus of ooo's from Aughas's cohorts as he turned back to writing in his journal. He tried to ignore the fourth acorn that bounced off his shoulder, thrown harder than the first three. "You should be studying if you want to earn a good master."
Aughas laughed loudly, drawing the others to laugh with him. They quieted when the woman seated by the door looked up with a glare and shushed them. "Check it out! I think the lowborn acorn farmer really believes he is going to get picked up by someone important!" Aughas flung another acorn at Marcus's back. "How stupid can you be? Everyone knows the only reason Illaini Magus Terrence was tapped was because Illaini Magus Ash Avarian didn't even know he was a highborn!" He stood to throw a sixth acorn as hard as he could at Marcus. "A lowborn Illaini is a freak of nature!"
Marcus turned with a glare, spitting out a spell as he swept his hands out in a wide gesture. All six acorns flew back at Aughas and his cohorts at high speed, forcing them to raise their arms to protect their faces. The boy stood with fists balled at his sides, shaking with anger, but not backing down as the other group all started advancing on him. "Don't insult Master Terrence! The great mother Herself—"
"I am an Oberlain! I will talk about any lowborn however I want, Lowborn!" Aughas shouted.
"Apprentice Marcus Kyrie!" The boys froze at the sound of the apprentice master's sharp voice. When they all turned to meet the woman's icy glare, she stated to Marcus, "Report to the Se'edai Magus in his office. You will be running errands for him again."
Marcus paused to blow the ink on his open page dry, then hurriedly corked his ink bottle and put everything away in his journal backpack. Aughas muttered as he passed, "Se'edai pet." Marcus stuck his tongue out at Aughas, hurrying past to dodge a flung acorn. He smirked when he heard the apprentice master tell Aughas to get a broom and sweep the apprentice hall while he waited for his day's assignment.
Sliding to a stop in front of the double doors into the Se'edai's office, Marcus ran his fingers through his unruly hair and brushed down his robes. Taking a deep breath, he reached up to use the knocker. When there was no answer, he hesitated, then knocked again. Still, Ellis did not respond. He unlatched the door and peered around the edge uncertainly. "Se'edai Magus Ellis Avarian?"
The man was bent over a stack of pages on his desk, muttering to himself. Without looking up, he beckoned with impatience. "Come in, come in. And shut the door behind you. You know if that door is open I'll have a cloud of servants trying to make up for the hours I forbade them from asking if I want my wine refilled, my dinner now or later or sometime after that, my boots shined, my pillows combed or my hair fluffed."
Marcus blinked at the last. "Don't you mean your pillows fluffed and hair combed, Master Ellis?"
"No," the man replied as he took the top page, sliding it into an leather pouch etched with elegant designs. "The academy chamberlain assigned a new servant to me. Young, sweet, so impossibly nervous she's distracting."
"Another new servant?" Marcus asked. "Isn't that the tenth this month? Why do you keep getting saddled with them?" He stood straight, hands clasped behind his back as Ellis looked up with an arched eyebrow. "Not that it isn't an honor to serve the Se'edai Magus of the Edai Tredecima. Because it is a great and wonderful honor, and I am very grateful that you ask for me as often as you do, Master Ellis."
"Relax, Marcus," Ellis stated as he sat up, stretching briefly before taking a sip from his wine cup. "I suspect because I am far more… tolerant of the lowborn than most of the other masters. They can bear the coarser tempers of the rest of the Edai Magi once they get past their awe and shock being in my presence." He rubbed his eyes briefly. "However, their earnestness is… a little much to bear some days."
"Oh. I see." As Ellis returned to reading and sorting the pages in the stack in front of him, Marcus asked, "Where is Voice Zoe?"
"Horse riding lessons," Ellis replied absently. "She has a firm belief that Githalin Swordanzen Storm will permit her to ride her desert monster if she is learned in the equestrian arts. Thanks to Edai Magus Nolyn telling her how Storm allowed him." He shook his head as he muttered, "I don't know what I'm going to do with that stubborn boy. The goddess won't turn a blind eye to his stubbornness forever, no matter how fond of him She is."
Marcus was silent for many long minutes as he watched Ellis. "Are those the formal apprenticeship applications?" he asked, unable to conceal the hopefulness in his voice.
"They are," Ellis confirmed. "Master Nolyn balked at the deadline I had given him to choose an apprentice to be assigned directly to his responsibility. I am accommodating him partway by winnowing out the least compatible to be his first apprentice as Edai Magus to lessen the number he must review." The stack that had been a hand's width high stood at quarter of that. "It is too much to hope for that he'd choose more than one; he is terribly picky about the company he keeps."
Standing up and picking up the leather pouch to tap the pages within straight, Ellis closed the flap and secured the strap around it. He held it out to with both hands to the boy. "Now, if you are quick, you should be able to catch Master Nolyn at his home in the Illaini House. Remind him I expect to meet to discuss his selections this evening at Naveene's Rest."
Marcus held the pouch tight against his chest with one arm, making a proper gesture of respect with the other. "Yes, Master Ellis!"
As the boy left, Ellis walked around his desk to go to his balcony to stare out towards Ithesra. He sighed. "Whatever happens this day, Great Mother, I hope it ends with my giving my blessing to Nolyn's choice, whether or not it is ours as well."
Chapter 11
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting the forest floor in a wash of greenish gold light. The breeze that blew through the branches was a soothing, peaceful sound that carried the cries of the wilderness with it. The howls of lupine hunting a tri-tailed deer echoed hauntingly through heavy forest.
Seated on the log bench outside of the remote estate of the Illaini Magus, Nolyn jerked his eyes up from his reading at the howls. With a grimace, he shook his head to dislodge the memories of the lupine attack the sounds always revived and turned back to the stack of pages. After several minutes, he tossed the entire stack away with a snarl, watching them flutter as they spread out.
"Master Nolyn." Marcus approached and stopped to stand at a respectful distance behind the man. "The Se'edai does wish to discuss the roster of students eligible for formal apprenticeships with you this evening at Naveene's Rest." His eyes flickered to the scattered pages. "If none of those I brought please you, I can return to the Academy for a different set to review before the meeting."
Nolyn looked over his shoulder, then pointed somewhere aw
ay from him. "Look over there a moment, please."
Doing so obediently, Marcus asked, "Why? What is over there?"
"Nothing," Nolyn replied. "I just wanted to roll my eyes. The last time I rolled my eyes in exasperation at such open, excessive earnestness around Magus Academy students, it took the instructing masters a full sevenday to to soothe the distress my apparent disdain had caused."
"I would not be distressed, Master Nolyn." When he looked back to meet the man's gaze, he said, "Master Ellis rolls his eyes at everyone. I know it is not something terrible, even if it might be worrisome if we cannot figure out what we did wrong."
"Heh." Nolyn put his hands on his knees with a sigh, getting ready to push himself to his feet. Marcus darted over and started snatching the pages from the ground. "Marcus, there is no need for you to—" The boy began to sort them deftly back into alphabetical order once more. The master looked bemusedly chagrinned. "I am well capable of cleaning up my own messes."
"A master has better things to do than picking up dropped papers." Marcus looked up with a twinkle in his eyes. "Like preparing to meet with the Se'edai Magus to discuss formal apprenticeship assignments. Unless you plan to skip out on the meeting? I can relay your regrets instead if you wish."
Squinting at Marcus, Nolyn stated dryly, "You have been around Ellis too much. You are picking up bad Avarian traits."
Slipping the last of the pages back in order, Marcus's smile faltered a little. "Oh. Mine isn't here." he whispered. He tapped the pages straight on his knee, forcing a smile. "Like knowing you have no intention of going to discuss formal apprenticeship assignments? It is not difficult to assume." He shrugged one shoulder as he rose, offering the stack back to Nolyn. "Master Ellis talks to himself aloud about his irritations. Your refusal to take even a single apprentice defies all tradition, especially as one of the Edai Tredecima. And he worries about you. He hasn't said he worries, but I can tell. He cares about you a lot."
"Gossiping about the Se'edai Magus? Tsk." The man snorted softly as he thumbed through the pages. "Ah, here I was. Aughus Oberlain." Putting the already reviewed on the bottom of the stack, he resumed reading. "I should point out his muttering habit to him."
Expression unwavering, Marcus stated, "I wish you wouldn't, Master Nolyn. It is very insightful listening to his concerns. Unlike most masters I have worked with, he is very difficult to anticipate."
"Unlike most masters, Ellis puts the good of Forenta before all else." Nolyn sighed as he looked at the page. "Aughas seems like an excellent candidate, but…" He shook his head, putting the page on the bottom of the stack to begin the next one.
After several moments of silence, Marcus asked, "May I ask a question, Master Nolyn?"
Nolyn arched an eyebrow. "You are a Magus Academy student. You need not ask permission—" He stopped himself. "Nevermind. You wish to ask a personal question." Marcus looked down at his feet and nodded. The man sighed and looked at the stack of papers again. "You wish to know why the Edai Tredecima's second is ducking his responsibilities."
"Not at all, Master Nolyn. You are a master, so you must have your reasons. Reasons I have been unable to deduce on my own. Which is what I want to ask you about." Taking a deep breath, Marcus continued. "Master Ellis knows you best. He chose each student assessment based on those who would be most compatible with you. Because you were very particular about the company you keep, he said. But even with the best students in the academy there, no one is good enough. I wanted to know why you hate us so much that you do not find even one of us worthy of learning from you."
Nolyn sat up straight, eyes wide. "What? Good goddess, I don't hate anyone, Marcus. Whatever has given you that idea?"
Marcus looked away. "I have tried to understand why you are so averse to taking even one apprentice. You are not irresponsible or careless of duty. You are probably the most responsible and dutiful Magus besides Master Ellis and both Illaini. A keen dislike of us is the only logical reason that makes sense of what I have read of you in the archives." He could not raise his eyes. "We were assigned to research the archives about those we wished to apprentice under, and I was looking through your journals—"
"You researched my background?" Nolyn found himself oddly touched by the gesture. "I thought most would seek to emulate one of the Illaini Magi. Especially Terrence, who was also unquestionably lowborn and proof enough that blood does not automatically equate to potential greatness." He looked at the stack of pages in his hands. "Though I suppose these days, I am the most eligible master for apprentices."
"My apprenticeship application preparation was quite thorough," Marcus stated matter-of-factly. "Some only research particular masters because they hear they are or are planning on seeking new apprentices, but that would risk missing a better match." He squared his shoulders proudly when Nolyn regarded him, impressed. "I had also researched both Masters Ash and Terrence as well as several others, and they are both very impressive! But their writings did not resonate with me as yours had, Master Nolyn."
Marcus looked down as he scuffed the ground with a toe. "You are the one trusted by the most powerful of our people. Even the goddess trusted you to make you second of the Edai Tredecima. Master Ellis, Master Ash, Master Terrence, and the Voice of the Oracle Stone Zoe... they all love you." He looked away, cheeks suffused with embarrassment. "That is what I want. I wish to be as trusted as you, as-as loved as you are by so many, but my application is not there. Master Ellis did not consider me good enough, probably because I failed even the most basic research—"
Setting the papers in his lap, Nolyn patted the bench beside him. He put a reassuring hand on Marcus's shoulder. "Do not feel ashamed. You must fully understand the nature of the archives to navigate them successfully. If the contributor lives and doesn't wish things of a personal nature discovered, the archives will not give up that information. You must be more determined than the author of the journal with what you seek. And if they hold a high enough position, they can choose to keep their more private journals in a personal library." He smiled faintly. "As you no doubt read about me, I grew up with Masters Bennu and Ellis Avarian as their ward, and they are some of the most stubborn people in Forenta. Ash Avarian is my best friend, who probably is the singular most stubborn Forentan alive and the second most stubborn being alive next to Storm il'Thandar. So, I learned to match the Avarian strength of bullheadedness."
Marcus looked up. "I... did not realize that the writings of living authors were different from those who passed." He looked away in shame. "I must have failed to learn that fact in my lessons. I should have known and tried harder."
Nolyn shook his head. "It is no failure. That trait of the archive journals is not a fact taught to standard students. Only those formally apprenticed to a teaching master, though some clever souls discover it for themselves. There are certain things that must be kept secret from even our own people. Some information could be blown so far out of proportion, it would start a panic. It wouldn't take long for things to dissolve into chaos when we must maintain order. It is part of the Edai that governs the mages."
"I... see." He was silent a moment. "May I ask what it was I did not find that would explain your reluctance to take on an apprentice? I wish to understand so I may serve the Edai Tredecima and the Great Mother better." He looked down at his hands. "And so I can understand why I did not make the cut so I can fix that. Or if I should expect never to be tapped to be a formal apprentice and just become a technical master. I could at least become part of a great mage's circle."
"Having spoken with you? I can see no reason why Ellis would have cut you from this roster of applications, but as for my reluctance…" With a heavy sigh, Nolyn closed his eyes. "Do you remember when the tainted lupine attacked Market Circle?"
"The ones that the Githalin Swordanzen, you and Master Terrence dispatched?" At Nolyn's nod, Marcus stated, "I remember, yes. All of you saved a lot of lives that day."
"The lupine that reached Market Circle were the last of a
pack of ten that my patrol encountered. We did our level best to stop them, but keeping to the trees was not an option to keep us safe. Without us directly in their path, they ignored us. So we had to face them on the ground. Just as I took one down, another came up behind it." He sighed. "My last student died drawing its attention away from me. Most of the patrol lost their lives as well." He looked into the distance, expression troubled. "Laura died saving my life. I should have protected her. Protected all of them. Just like when my master died saving mine and I should have been protecting him." Nolyn looked up towards the canopy of branches. "I have not been able to bring myself to choose a replacement."
"Oh. I did not realize..." Marcus watched Nolyn's profile for a time in silence. "Master Ellis would understand if you told him your reasons, I am certain. He is a very compassionate man. And he cares a great deal for you."
Nolyn looked over with a frown. "Ellis is also as old as the hills, even if he doesn't look it," he growled in irritation. "And he is a sneaky bastard." Narrowing his eyes, he demanded, "He put you up to this, didn't he?"
"Sir?" Marcus asked in honest bewilderment.
"He coached you in what to say and do to win me over. Find my soft spot so I would take you as my apprentice." The master mage stood, shoved the stack of pages into Marcus's hands, and turned to go back inside. "You can inform Master Ellis I do not appreciate duplicity or being manipulated."
"Yes, Master Nolyn," Marcus answered obediently. Just as the man touched the door handle, the student spoke with quiet gravity. "However, you should know Master Ellis did not coach me or 'put me up' to anything. I think he forgets I am even there unless he needs me to run an errand for him. Most people do." He met Nolyn's angry gaze without flinching. "You briefly considered me good enough to make me your apprentice. I am honored, but I understand why you reject me. I do not meet your standards."
