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 Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:24 pm
Still and at peaceRead it here. Summery: All Nicolas want's is to have his mother back. But in getting all he wants, will he lose all he has?Author Notes:(10/20/09) I am not a great writer, I am very far from a great writer, so I will be doing editing a lot. If you happen to see any mistakes or have any complaints about this story, as they are bound to be, please post them. I will try and appreciate them.
Thank you and enjoy.
(12/31/09) Posted edits to the original four chapters, still working on the fifth
(01/11/10) Its two in the morning, ugh. Chapter 5 is up, yeah. Lost place reading Endless Sky, again, Boo. Chapter 6 on the way
(01/13/10) Some editing on chapter 4, most chapter's names changed.
(02/02/10) Chapter 6 is up, light editing to chapter 3 (and finished Endless Sky, FYI)
(02/04/10) Added a section to chapter 6
(02/05/10) Changed the summery
(02/23/10) Added Prologue.
(3/19/10) Chapter 7 is up, and no one has yet to read any part of it. QQ
(3/25/10) Another section added to chapter 7, altogether its quiet long.Prologue:
XXXXXIt was a blue and sunny day, and in the valley as a lone figure walked up its lip onto the hillside overlooking it. She was a Peer of Arc, a red haired woman wearing scale armor under a crimson tunic and carrying a long spear at the ready. It was impossible to tell by looking at her then, but she was a wizard. Now this wasn’t uncommon, there were almost one hundred thousand wizards in Gallia, but she wasn’t just a wizard, she a peer in the Order of Arc, Gallia’s supreme order of warrior wizards. As a Peer she was privy to the best in magic and weapons, and under the direct command of the Council to go on only the most important, and clandestine, of quests. Like the one she was on now.
XXXXXSome weeks before the Book of Sovereign disappeared from its sanctum in the Council’s Spire in the capital. It was the most powerful spell book in the nation, and probably the world, containing the most potent and dangerous magic from the pre-alliance kingdoms, with more some added to it by the council members current and past. When it was discovered missing there was uproar, the Council instantly rallied the whole of the Order of Arc, even the Champion himself, and set them to finding it.
XXXXXThere had been little to go on, so most of the Peers had gone to cracking down on the long list of suspects and chasing the many rumors that circulated around. This peer had followed rumor that had floated up from the under-city, and since then had been chasing the shadow of a man known only as ‘the Scholar’ by those who followed him. Then, after searching the underworld for weeks and turning over a number of lowlife addict gangs, she had come up with this, the supposed hiding place of the man who had committed the crime,
XXXXXAt the top of the hill where it began into several peaks, there was a tall, arched, stone doorway nestled in a small gorge. The Peer headed into it. It was a Crypt like many across Gallia, large and old, built, probably, by some king for his court and robbed in subsequent centuries by various treasure seekers. It corridors was tall ceilinged, all paths lead down into the hill, with many hall’s containing the vaults of long forgotten noble families. It was well built, considering, and easy enough to navigate around and search. But after centuries of disrepair and abuse some halls had collapsed and everywhere there were corpses from where thieves had broken into the graves. There were not was any sign of inhabitance, human’s or otherwise, but she remained vigilant and after continuing into what felt like the third level down, spotted the telltale sighs of firelight at the end of the largest and grandest of halls.
XXXXXAt the end of this she came upon what could only have been the original king’s tomb. It was a massive room, domed and pillared, with a terrace shrouded in darkness overlooking a large staircase leading down to a lower floor that was illuminated by torches. In the middle of this lower floor sat a large stone tomb, surrounded by stone columbarium walls on all sides.
XXXXXA man stood at the tomb, which now looked more like a desk than a resting place, with a number of papers, books, inkwells and scraps of things spread out over it. The man knelt over a large book, making notes on a number of blank papers beside it with a quill while resting his other hand over a small walking stick also out on the coffin. He was facing the peer, but his hood was up and it obscured his face. He didn’t look very intimidating though. He wore a long coat that was a worn sort of black that was greyer than the real color, over a shabby looking suit that wouldn’t have caught the eye of anyone in a crowd.
XXXXXFor a while the peer watched the man as he read from the book and made notes. When it was clear he hadn’t seen her she moved forward into the light at the top of the wide stairwell, her spear at the ready,
XXXXX“Are you the thief who calls himself the Scholar?” she demanded. The man froze in what he was doing, and after a moment he sighed audibly and spoke in a toneless voice that was barely more than a whisper but still managed to carry though the silent crypt,
XXXXX“Normally, you’re supposed to introduce yourself before asking a persons name, but I guess I can let it slide this once. Yes, I am the Scholar,” he gave her a short bow with this, and asked, “And you are?” He inclined his head to look at the Peer,
XXXXX“I am a Peer of Arc,” Said she in unflinching at his faceless gaze, “I am here to bring you to justice, thief. Give me the Book of Sovereign and come with me peacefully, and you shall be treated to a fair trail. Resist and you shall be restrained by the full force adequate to you.” The Man nodded, setting down his quill, and closing the book in front of him
XXXXX“That won’t work for me.” He said, flatly,
XXXXX“You choose then to fight me then?”
XXXXX“Not exactly,” said the man, “I honestly detest fighting. But if it is the only solution that would work in my favor, it would be the one I would have to take. And believe me, neither or us would like to see that.” Something about his apathetic tone infuriated the Peer,
XXXXX“You choose to surrender?” she said, her temper short,
XXXXX“I would much rather if you would, if you would so please,” He said politely.
XXXXX“Then you leave me no choice!” She jabbed her spear and shouted,
XXXXX“Consucoup!” and threw a large bright sphere of translucent red-white energy at the man as he stood stalk still, watching as the sphere flashed toward him, doing nothing to avoid it. Then it hit him, making a sound much like electricity lashing against something very solid and when it finally dissipated he was standing in the same place, looking as he did before, leaving the Peer holding their breath as they waited for it to take its effect.
XXXXXIt didn’t, the Scholar tilted his head slightly to the side, and refocused his face on the Peer,
XXXXX“Good attempt.” He said, casually
XXXXXThe Peer gaped, but it was only a momentary, she regained her composure, and pointed her spear again at the Scholar and charged down the stairs, muttering words of magic that caused more bright spheres of energy to appear in their hands. The Scholar lifted his cane lazily, pointed it at her, and with jerked his wrist sent a spiraling black spell towards the stairs that exploded into a haze of black smoke that moved like it was intent on enveloping the peer when she came too close.
XXXXXInstinctively she dodged to the side, shouting a spell of protection for herself, and sent a hail of shining sparks down towards the Scholar. He didn’t move, but the sparks stopped feet from him as they hit an invisible barrier that appeared to envelop each bolt with a black vortex. The Scholar cast another explosion at the Peer and sent her scurrying in another direction while she counterattacked with more bright, red-white bolts. The Scholar cast three more explosions by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, the last one punching a single wisp through the Peers protection spell, which left a thin layer of decay on her armor
XXXXXOn hitting the flat ground the Peer shouted a spell that cause the end of her spear to alight with a bright red-white light and with a flurry of movement sent a powerful beam of light shooting towards the Scholar. He stopped it with his twisting shield spell and held it at bay for several seconds until the Peer released her attack,
XXXXX “Your alone Scholar, you can’t win against me!” she shouted, showing no sign of exhaustion after casting such a powerful spell.
XXXXX“We’ll see,” said the Scholar, walking around from behind the tomb,
XXXXXThe Peer charged to the side and sent another volley of bright sparks at the Scholar. He blocked these idly and sent another spiraling explosive disc. She dodged this and, charged toward the Scholar, muttering a spell that would increase the power of her blade with magic, and stuck. The point of the spear hit the Scholars shield, but was forced to a stop centimeters from hitting its mark. She wrestled to force it in further as the Scholar worked his shield with his hands, forcing the vortex into a greater density around the spearhead then forced it forward with a step, ripping the spear out of the hands of the peer, sending it flying to a far corner of the room, and pushing her off her balance.
XXXXXShe jumped as the Scholar swung out with the back of his hand, sending a cloud of the same black smoke swarming towards her. She closed her eyes before it came into contact her and shouted another spell that teleported several meters back with a crackling noise and the feeling that came with standing close to lightning bolt. She stumbled back further caught sight of her spear near the other corner of the room, she reached out with her hand and shouted another spell that sent it flying into her grip then rolled back into a defensive stance, slashing the smoke into nothing, and pointing her blade at the Scholar who looked unimpressed.
XXXXX“Taking it to the next level I see.” He said, and with a slow motion pulled his walking stick apart, revealing the sword that was hidden inside, “I can work with that...”
XXXXXHe flurried his sword and suddenly the Peer felt her body erupt in pain and she felt o her knees, completely fatigued, with every muscle burning, and she head dizzy. She realized the scholar was causing this fatigue just in time to look up and see him sending another exploding disc at her with his sword, she teleported to the side by shouting her spell, and sent a bolt of energy. He followed with another disc, this time from his sheath, but she continued to teleport away.
XXXXXAfter the next strike she teleported behind him, and took a stab at his back with her spear, he brought up his sword just in time to save himself, but was pushed back by the force of her attack and forced off his balance. She raised her spear to follow up the attack, but before she could he made a movement with his cane-sheath and caused a wall of shadows to reach up from the ground to catch her attack.
XXXXXThe wall caught he blade of her spear, and reached out with distorted black as if it absorb the weapon. The Peer pulled back fighting against the Scholar’s fatigue and wrenched her blade out. It was dark in color, with dancing black rends reaching up to touch the wall and shapeless shadows moving within, looking rend in the world that showed a starless night. It was pretty in a bizarre sort of way, but the Peer shook away that thought and tried to look for the Scholar, but couldn’t see any sign of him behind the shadows.
XXXXXShe took a step back, taking the whole thing into view, she could be able to teleport across, but it wasn’t safe if she didn’t have a clear view of where she was going. She decided it would best to destroy the wall, so she muttered the spell that sent her hands alight and threw a bolt of energy at the wall. It cast away a small bit of the shield, but the shadows moved in to make up for what was lost. Sighing, she gripped her spear, said the magic words from before that lit up her spear, and made the movement to cast the beam. Then, just as she lifted her arms to cast it, a black disc shot through the wall and exploded against her chest.
XXXXXThe black smoke swarmed over her, eating into her armor and flesh. She swiped at the smoke as it sunk in, corroding her armor and rotting her flesh, casting a number of quick healing spells in reaction to the pain. She screamed and rolled over looking franticly for her spear and saw, the Scholar picking it up, with his own sword-stick joined and tucked in his belt, the wall was collapsing behind him. Her weapon began to sizzle and blacken, decomposition spreading from underneath his hands to encompass the whole spear. Then, he tossed it to the ground between them, where it shattered against the stone floor into smoking chunks. She recoiled and found herself with her back against the stone tomb.
XXXXXBehind him, coming from where the wall had been, was a group of hunched people, all of them unarmed and unarmored, all looking injured and emaciated. They lurched awkwardly toward the Peer, staring at her intently with glassy eyes, their rotted faces dumb and expressionless. She realized through the pain that the people were corpses, walking corpses. He walked to stand in over her while his minions circled them.
XXXXX“And to think this could have been avoided,” he said with a sigh,
XXXXXThen he lifted his cane, and slowly and deliberately pointed it between the Peers eyes. She resisted the impulse to flinch and close her eyes, thinking to face her death face on, but nothing happened. For several seconds the Scholar held his weapon with the Peer staring back at him, then he lowered it, turning his head to the side,
XXXXX“I know this may not be the best moment,” he said, “but have we met before?” The Peer gawked at the question, almost not noticing that the spell forcing her fatigue had gone,
XXXXX“What?” she said, incredulous,
XXXXX“Sorry, I just have this strangest feeling that I have met you somewhere before…” said the Scholar, continuing to stare at her face from under his hood. He shifted back as if to take her whole body into picture and said in a slow, unsure way,
XXXXX“Kylie?” The Peer, or Kylie as was her name, gaped,
XXXXX“It is you, isn’t it?” said the Scholar, relaxing. Kylie continued to stare at him, she had no idea who he was, she couldn’t even see his face without his hood on, but he seemed to know her.
XXXXX“Oh,” said the Scholar suddenly, “I forgot I was wearing this,” He reached up and pulled his hood down, revealing a lean, pale face, with dark hair combed cleanly to the side and dark, baggy eyes. Kylie mouth fell open, he did seem familiar in a way, but she couldn’t place it. Then with a dull shock, she remembered,
XXXXX“Nicolas? Nicolas Decameron?” she said.
XXXXX“So you do remember me… How flattering” said the Scholar, or Nicolas as was his name, with a small smirk,
XXXXX “But, I thought you went back to Magna?” said the Peer,
XXXXX“I did, but business brought me back” said Nicolas, taking a step back, “What has it been, ten years? It has hasn’t it? Amazing… You’ve certainly grown up, haven’t you?” He muttered, looking her body up and down and stopping halfway up her torso with a crewel little look of amusement, “Well, not everywhere…”
XXXXXThe Peer flushed angrily, but didn’t retort,
XXXXX“So, how’s the old gang been doing? Do you still talk to them? I bet you still talk with Richard and Michael… I’ve always wondered what happened to Paul and Maria. Or Sera and poor little Rachel…”
XXXXXHe smirked again, and that sparked something within the Peer,
XXXXX“How do you dare say those names you monster!” she shouted, “Do you think I forgot what you did! Forgot all the pain you caused!”
XXXXX “Of course not …” said Nicolas, “I tend to leave my mark on people…”
XXXXXKylie felt her flesh crawl,
XXXXX “So,” Nicolas continued, “you’re with the Order of Arc now? That’s nice… I guess you recruited out of school, right?”
XXXXX“Yeah,” said Kylie, quietly,
XXXXX“That fits,” said Nicolas, nodding, “Something similar happened to me…”
XXXXX“What?” asked Kylie, “Who do you work for?”
XXXXXNicolas didn’t answer, but walked around the tomb and out of sight, leaving the corpses to take his pace guarding her. She recoiled at their approach, but realized something.
XXXXX “By the Light,” she said, “Your working for the Empire, aren’t you?”
XXXXX“Let’s just say it’s a secret.”
XXXXXFor Kylie, that was as good as an admission,
XXXXX“So, you’re stealing our magic for your masters back at the empire! I can’t say I’m at all surprised.” She said, hearing the noise of papers being shifted from just behind her head,
XXXXX“What does it matter? You hunt people for your council?”
XXXXX“I hunt Dark Wizards like you!”
XXXXX“Oh, yes,” said Nicolas, levelly, “Dark wizards, I always liked that term, yet it’s so vague. I always thought of it as defining those audacious enough to stand against your council of worthless leaders.”
XXXXX“Is that your intent, do you mean to overthrow the council like Corsic?”
XXXXX“No,” said Nicolas plainly, coming back into view behind his minions, placing the Book of Sovereign into a leather shoulder bag that he now wore, “I’m just a scholar.”
XXXXX“And do you think that you’re better than me?”
XXXXX“No, I’m just more honest with myself.”
XXXXXKylie bared her teeth, as Nicolas clasped the strap on the bag shut,
XXXXX“Where are you going,” she said,
XXXXX“Where do you think?” He responded, not looking at her,
XXXXX“Magna,” she whispered,
XXXXX“Your words, not mine.”
XXXXX “You’re not getting away with this…” she said
XXXXX“Pardon?” Asked Nicolas, looking back at her through the corpses,
XXXXX“The Order will be here soon, and once they are we will find you. I know your name, I know your face, and I know were your going. And don’t think anything is going to stop us.”
XXXXX“I never did” said Nicolas. There was silence for a moment as Nicolas’s words sunk in. He stared at Kylie with his hollow eyes then walked over to kneel next to her, pushing his undead aside, she following him with her eyes the whole time.
XXXXX“It was good to see you again, Kylie,”
XXXXX“Nicolas, you don’t have to…” said Kylie, her face losing its color,
XXXXX“I know,” whispered Nicolas. Then, in a single fluid motion he put his cane against Kylies neck, pulled on the sheath to expose a small section of the blade, and raked it across before clicking the sections back together again. It wasn’t instantaneous. She kept on staring at him for a long while, until she closed them and it was all over. Then he stood, wondered whether or not he should get rid of the body, and decided against it. It would be nice to give his old friends a reason to get together.
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:32 pm
Chapter 1: Scholair. (Last Edited 12/31/09)
XXXXXFor a moment, everything was still and at peace. Through the window of his stagecoach, Nicolas watched as the thick greenery of the forest pass by without really taking in any of what he was seeing. In the past months, he had seen a lot of the countryside of Magna, Gallia and the Boarder Lands between them, and though it was his first departure from the home where he was born, he had already grown bored of the scenery. In part it was probably because of the speed at the trip was going at, the caravan could spend weeks traversing a region at a time, overexposing him to each area. Or, as it was more likely, it was probably because Nicolas was only twelve and had yet to develop an appreciation for anything, let alone nature.
XXXXXNicolas was a small boy, thin, with pale skin, short, dark brown hair and dark pine green eyes. He wore traditional clothes of Magnan nobility black trousers, a frilly white shirt, a black vest, and loafers with a white cravat. On the seat next to him was a black jacket he had taken off earlier despite the cold weather of early autumn. His expression was passive, though there was something inherently gloomy about it when taken in with the whole of his appearance. He looked like a porcelain doll, in a way, sitting perfectly still, unmoving, the only movement across his body came from the shadows of the trees as they rolled across him.
XXXXXSitting across from Nicolas, and watching him with an appraising look was an old, but imposing looking man in a dark navy suit of in the same fashion as Nicolas’s, with receding gray hair and friendly blue eyes. He leaned back in his seat regarding Nicolas, and rubbed his chin in a reflective sort of way, and asked
XXXXX“What are you thinking about, Nicolas?” his voice was dry, but level and strong in a very appealing way
XXXXXNicolas did not look away from the window, but simply shifted slightly in his direction, and said his own bleak voice,
XXXXX“Nothing sir, I am just enjoying the view…”
XXXXX“Nothing? Why aren’t you thinking about the Scholair? We will be there very soon.”
XXXXX“I just don’t want to think about it, sir.”
XXXXX“Anxious?”
XXXXXWas he anxious? He could not tell, he was feeling numb, but that nauseating sinking feeling he associated with anxiety was not there. At the beginning of the trip, he had felt a lot of despair, and anxiety, the crushing dread of an inescapable fate and anguish of self-disgust. But as time drew on, he lost those feelings, and all other feelings for that matter, becoming numb, inclined to the fate that was dealt to him. Though the horrid thoughts sometimes would dig themselves up in quiet moments despite Nicolas’s attempts to keep them buried. His detest for the Scholair where he would spend the rest of his childhood amongst other freaks like himself, of his subtle exile to Gallia from his homeland of Magna, of his father’s disappointment, of his mother and all the other who he hurt, and of being what he was, a monster, a wizard.
XXXXX“No, I’m fine, but thank you for asking…” said Nicolas with a small insincere smile and a nod to the old man,
XXXXX“Really?” said the old man with a frown, Nicolas got the feeling that he had seen straight through his lie, but didn’t really care, “Well nothing more can be asked for…”
XXXXXHe paused to look out the window on Nicolas’s side, smiled and nodded towards the trees, “Ah, look there”
XXXXXNicolas followed the old man’s gaze out the window of the carriage, through the forest, and up into the distance where a castle could be seen rising above the tops of the trees and into the skyline. It was an immense building, with a lofty limestone tower rising into the distance, surrounded by a group of smaller towers, each in itself castle like with several spires, jutting balconies and separate spires connected to the host by a ramps and bridges. What he could see through the forest was beautiful, but something about the angles and proportions that made Nicolas believe that magic was involved in making it stand, lessening the effect of awe slightly. Magnan buildings were cold, granite and square but for state commissioned monuments, but built for function and not for design, his thoughts were of his home and the capital.
XXXXX“The Scholair” Said the old man, drawing back Nicolas attention, “the construction was the first act of the Gallian alliance when it was first unified. The individual sovereignties were still hostile toward each other so the council commissioned the school so that the city-states could have a place to share their magical tradition and raise their children together. It predated even the founding of Deltalis, if you can believe that, the council choosing to build a school before the capital, but who can ever say they can understand the mind of a Gallian, let alone a whole council of them...” He looked out at the towers with a curious look that Nicolas could not place, maybe it was respect, one which he did not share.
XXXXXMagna and Gallia had never had a good relationship ever since the first Gallia-Magna war when one of The Emperors, in the tradition of their family, declared war on Gallia as to expand the Maganan sovereignty. Descending with his armies from the mountainous boarders of Magna, and into the then unexplored Gallian Highland. The resulting war was devastating to both sides, an immense occupying force of Magnans being pushed back by the then little understood forces of Gallia wizardry to foothills that formed the borderlands. The Gallia Council was formed in the aftermath, while the Empire of Magna retreated in preparation for the next strike.
XXXXXThe last war between the two powers had only taken place decade before, his father Lord Decameron had served the empire, as most nobles did, commanding over his choice regiment of soldiers from his own province, Decas, and had luckily survived. It had ended terribly for Magna, they had lost most of the borderland and the foothills, which they had never lost before, and a sixth of its population to the violence and desertion. For the first time in Magna’s History the Empire had been pushed to the mountain passes. No wonders why there was so much civil strife after it ended, even now people calling for the Emperor to resign.
XXXXX“You must be excited now?” said the old man, turning to give Nicolas a questioning look, but Nicolas continued to stare up at the Towers and felt a weight press down on his stomach.
XXXXX“Not really…”
XXXXXNicolas knew the carriage was approaching the Scholair when the trees became thin. Other people were walking the road, or riding on horseback, bringing students in for the school year. His was the only one in a carriage for miles. Commoners, he guessed, the old man had told him he was going to be going to school with them, and women and other lesser people. He wasn’t to happy about going to school in Gallia in the first place, but to think he was going to be going to school with filth and others who didn’t deserve a high class education was frustrating. Thankfully, the old man had told him that he was going to be placed in a dorm with other nobility like himself away from the others.
XXXXXSpires of the Scholair were ever present over the heights of the trees, becoming ever larger as they approached until the Carriage entered into a clearing where its full form came into view. It stood on a height point upon a hill, the towers surrounded by a wall encircling at the base of the structure. From what he could guess the towers rose higher as they came closer to the center of the school, the tallest being at the middle with the others towers arranged at equal distance from each other, the wall and the center spire. Everything made from a smooth, tan colored limestone and contained strange, smoky white windows imbedded into the walls. The whole of the thing reminded Nicolas of something organic, with its curvature, arches and a noticeable lack of more linear angles.
XXXXXThe carriage a large, semicircular space at the base of the tower, a large crowd of students with their escorts stood in groups here around a tall stairwell, waiting to get inside the school’s walls. At the top of the stairs, directing people thought he double doors was a tall, figure in red robes, who, at the approach of the carriage made its way down the stairs toward it. At the figures approach Nicolas saw it was a woman with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail that extended down to her shoulders. As they came closer she held out an arm to the air to draw the carriage drivers to a stop. When they did the old man got up from his seat and gestured to Nicolas to join him, and said,
XXXXX“Ready?”
XXXXX“No.” said Nicolas with a shrug. The old man chuckled lightly, and said serenely
XXXXX“Well that is unfortunate.” He patted Nicolas on the shoulder and Nicolas frowned.
XXXXXSaying nothing more, Nicolas waited as one of the drivers walked round the side of the carriage to open the door for Nicolas and the old man, before stepping back with a bow. The old man stepped out onto the stairs to meet the robed woman, followed by Nicolas. The robed woman, as Nicolas now noticed, was very young, his guess was that she was in her twenties, and was quite good-looking, well shaped, with skin a shade darker than either Nicolas’s or the old man’s, with long black lashes and full dark lips. Nicolas was taken aback, expecting to receive some wrinkled old headmaster. The Woman gave the two a low bow, came up with a warm smile, and said,
XXXXX“Nicolas Decameron, it is very good to finally meet you, I am Geraldine Jolie, the headmasters secretary, he asked me to welcome you to our school.” She smiled again at Nicolas who searched his mind for something to say but found he could not come up with any appropriate greeting and simply smiled, somewhat insincerely and returned her bow, muttering as he did so,
XXXXX“Um… Thank you…” He came up from the bow with the smile gone, then meeting Jolie eyes turned his gaze over to the old man and found he was also looking at him, and then realized he should introduce him,
XXXXXHe gestured to the Old Man, “This is Chekov Koch”
XXXXXThe Old Man held out gave Allison a short bow, held out his hand for her to take, and said,
XXXXX“Ambassador Chekhov Koch, Lord Decameron requested that I see Nicolas safely to your school”
XXXXXJolie opened her mouth in surprise before smiling again and taking Chekov’s outstretched hand and giving it a small improper shake. Chekhov was the ambassador from Magna to Gallia, a prestigious man, one of the authors of the current peace treaty and a personal acquaintance with the world’s most influential men, including members Gillian Council. Nicolas’s father had made a personal request, once Nicolas’s acceptance to the Scholair was assured, to Chekhov so he could accompany Nicolas to Scholair after his semiannual trip to Ernstadt, the Empire’s capital, from the Embassy in Detalis, Gallia’s capital.
XXXXX“Well, we should get on with the tour, Ambassador are you going to be joining us?” said Allison, who was quickly starting to look as nervous as Nicolas then felt.
XXXXX“I think I may,” said Chekov, clapping his hands together excitedly, and looking around at his surroundings, “I have not seen the halls of Scholair in almost a decade, and I would like to see how it has changed under Plagart’s rule.”
XXXXX“Ah…” Murmured Jolie, recomposing herself, “Well then, lets begin, ah.” Her eyes fell to the carriage where the drivers were undoing Nicolas’s chest and lowering it to the ground and she pointed her hand with a slight flourish and muttered a few words underneath her breath. The chest that the drivers were working on removing leaped into the air and came to float at her side. The Drivers caught unexpectedly by this display of magic, tumbled off the side of the carriage and fell with loud cracks to the ground.
XXXXXBlushing at the look the angry look drivers were giving her and the chuckle from Chekov, Jolie smiled at her own mistake and mouthed, “Sorry” to the drivers before taking a step back up the Stairwell.
XXXXX“Um… Well, you please follow me,” Said Jolie, leading the group up the tall stairway up, through the crowd and into Scholair. Chekhov and Nicolas following slowly behind her along with Nicolas’s trunk that bobbed along at the same pace as Jolie.
XXXXXThe group entered into the large entry courtyard, a large space lined with a complex web of limestone walkways leading around vibrant inner gardens and walls, which cut across the space from the ring wall, dividing, as Nicolas could guess, the inner section of the Scholair. The Walkway that Nicolas now seemed to be standing on leading towards a second rounded faced wall, leading to the inner most part of the Scholair and the center spire. Except for a number of statues and an unmanned guard post at the gate they just walked, this section of the Scholair seemed devoid of any notable structured and seemed devoted instead to gardens. Students were everywhere, going about their business in preparation for the school year or else wandering around the place.
XXXXX“These are the grounds, from here anyone can find their way anywhere within our school…”
XXXXXShe looked at Nicolas’s chest and gave a wave of her hand, causing it to soar off into the air, over the heads of some startled student’s, around a corner, then out of sight. Turning back to smile at Nicolas, Jolie said,
XXXXX“You things will be by you’re the foot of your bed in the dorms, don’t worry…”
XXXXXFrom there Nicolas and the others moved through the Scholair, through the main tower, through the grounds, subject towers and secondary structures. The first thing that Nicolas realized about the school is that travelling through it was impossible to predict where you were going. You could be in the Center Spire, and if you weren’t’ paying attention about the doors you were going through could end up in the Library building without even having to go through the grounds. Other times you could enter a tower, then without even taking a single step on a stair, you could end up on the top of the tower, looking over the grounds with a churning stomach. But Jolie knew exactly where she was taking Nicolas and Checkov throughout the school. She brought them through the labyrinth of the place, through stairwells, walkways, archways, chambers, classrooms, across the grounds and through hallway after unending hallway in a path so twisted that Nicolas could barely wrap his head around the path let alone estimated the distance travelled.
XXXXXFinally, after a journey that took a better part of two hours, the trio finally found walking along the inner part of the ring, where most of the smaller buildings were made part of the wall. Most of these reminded Nicolas of the high-class apartments he had seen in Ernstadt except for the distinct lack of windows in all but a few of them. Between these were larger cylindrical buildings, spaced, like guard barracks, where the inner walls and outer walls met and gave off the same feeling of a living structure. Jolie led Nicolas and Checkov around one of these buildings to a archway separating two of the Scholairs sections where its main door was located
XXXXX“This is will be your Dormitory, Nicolas, the Broadley house” she said, and the door open with a wave of her hand. She led him and Chekov into a large, circular chamber, filled with chairs, couches, tables and countless other pieces of antique style furniture. These were gathered in arrangements around greater set pieces, including a impressive fireplace on the wall opposite to the door, some wide ornate windows looking out onto the grounds and a wall of shelves filled to the ends with books and nick knacks. A tall board sat by the door which was barren except for a single banner which said, ‘Welcome Broadleys, New and Old!’. A metal, spiral staircase ran up at the center of the room to other floors above the main floor. No one else was in the room but for Nicolas, Chekov and Jolie.
XXXXX“Broadley house is a great place Nicolas, I am sure you will be able to make plenty of friends here, but make sure you remember how it looks now. It’s a boy’s dorm and I am quite sure you will never again see it so clean as after this point. Ah.” She strode to the spiraling stairs and climbed up it to the floor above and prompted Nicolas and Chekov to follow, though neither of them seemed happy at having to clime any more stairs. Following her lead they came to the second floor and strode a small corridor of doors with planks engraved the students living in that dorm. Until they came to one which included Nicolas name written in small gold letters under the sign
XXXXX“This will be the end of our tour here, make yourself at home and enjoy your rest, classes should be begin tomorrow. That will give you plenty of time to get adjusted” Said Jolie, with another smile and a bow. Nicolas now too tired from the tour to be nervous, returned the bow and muttered,
XXXXX“Thank you Miss Jolie” She returned this with a glowing smile
XXXXX“Well, it seems I have seen you safely to your place and beyond that Mister Decameron, I hope its won’t be too long until I see you again. Don’t be too afraid to write me. I will be by again to take you to the capital at the end of the year, I am sure I could give you a unique tour of the city. Now…” He turned his attention to Jolie and said in a passing tone, “Is there any way to get around without having run through this labyrinth, I am not young man miss Jolie, and I don’t even think I could survive a second trip if I were in my prime…”
XXXXXNicolas, finally happy to get some respite, it had been weeks since he had had some time to himself. He pulled open the door to the Dorm, slipped inside, and sighed in relief. It was a small rectangular room with a slight curve to its walls and had a number of four poster beds on either side of the room, all facing a small wood stove with the trunks and chests of the occupying student placed at the end of each bed. At the far end of the room facing away from Nicolas was a window looking out onto the forest with a large desk and several chairs set around it. But Nicolas noticed none of these things, instead focusing a group of three boys, all his age and all dressed in brown-black student robes, crowded around the furthest bed of the right, rummaging through what he recognized as his own trunk.
XXXXX“Look at these clothes, they foreign don’t you think? Everything looks like its been cut short eh, I mean, look at this?” said untidy looking boy with long black hair, wrinkled robes and pale, freckled skin as he pulled one of Nicolas’s vests out from the trunk and held it for the group to see. “Must be foreign… What do you two think?”
XXXXX“I think you shouldn’t be going through his things,” said a noble looking boy with curly dark brown hair watching as the untidy boy going through his things with obvious apprehension, “If he realized we did any of his stuff we could all get into trouble”
XXXXX“He’ll get in trouble, were aren’t the ones looking through someone else things…” said a lanky boy with short brown hair and spectacles scornfully, “And I wouldn’t let them push the blame on me, anyway…”
XXXXX“You know,” cut in the untidy boy in a relaxed tone, “I think I should take a few of these, I don’t have any of the required books of my own.”
XXXXXThe Noble boy half glanced back to the untidy boy, “Don’t have any books?”
XXXXXThe Untidy boy, shrugged a little and opened Nicolas’s brand new book of spells and flipped through the pages, “My mother used the scholarship money to by them, but I traded a few of them in for some fine art books”
XXXXXThe Lanky looking boy, looked over to Untidy looking boy with a raised eyebrow, “What did your mom do when she found out?”
XXXXX“She hasn’t” said the untidy boy in a cool tone, “I wonder when he’s going to get here, the owner of the trunk I mean. You think its going to take long for him to figure out we went through is things?”
XXXXX“Not long I would assume,” said Nicolas in his small voice.
XXXXXAt that point, all the boys turned their attention over to Nicolas who had remained unnoticed and almost at once, they all jumped in surprise, and took a step away from Nicolas and his trunk
XXXXX“Who are you!” said the Untidy boy, abandoning his calm tone
XXXXX“Nicolas, Decameron…” he paused, then added, “I believe the name is printed on the chest…”
XXXXX“Oh…” muttered the Untidy boy, frowning slightly and looking away from Nicolas in an obvious signal of guilt, then said, “We didn’t take anything you know”
XXXXX“A kind gesture, I am sure…” said Nicolas, “So, who are all of you?”
XXXXXThe Lanky boy chuckled in a satisfied way to himself, the Untidy boy looked nervously at Nicolas and the Noble boy a little looked worried,
XXXXX“You aren’t going to tell the Prefect are you?” Said the noble looking boy, raising an eyebrow,
XXXXX“No,” muttered Nicolas, I just want to know who I am going to be living with.”
XXXXXThe Noble boy and the Untidy boy still looked unconvinced, but The Lanky boy shrugged took a step toward Nicolas before giving him a half bow, “I’m Michael Pierre, and I can give you their names if you want.”
XXXXX“Um…” said Nicolas, looked at the other two, who were looking reproachfully at Michael, “I’m fine with having them tell me their own names Michael, thank you…” Michaels frowned slightly but went to stand off to Nicolas side to watch the others with a hawk like expression of stern focus.
XXXXX“Well since that’s the case…” said the untidy looking boy, standing up and striding over casually with one hand in the pocket of his robe and gave Nicolas a short, carless bow,
XXXXX“I’m Paul, sorry about that trouble before…” Something in his voice seemed unconvincing, but as Nicolas looked into his wonderfully blue eyes, he realized it was a joke and shook his hand,
XXXXX “You aren’t going to say anything to the Prefect?” he then whispered
XXXXX“No, I don’t think so…” said Nicolas, Paul smiled then took a step away. Then, the noble looking boy, who had a flickering frown on his calm face and walked over
XXXXX“I’m Richard.” He said in a clear, kind voice while giving a proper bow, “Richard Tresses.” Nicolas extended his own hand forward, but just as he took it he looked around and noticed that all the other two boys were looking at him expectantly,
XXXXX“What?” he asked
XXXXXMichael perked up with a curious and surprised expression,
XXXXX“Aren’t going to say something?”
XXXXX“Should I?” Said Nicolas, a little confused as he looked around to see Michaels surprised expression echoed on the face of all the other boys in the room except for Richard, who was still smiling happily.
XXXXX“He’s Richard Tresses…” said Michael smiling incredulously and waving his arm at Richard, sighed, half smiling to before slinking away towards another bunk
XXXXX“Should I know who that is?”
XXXXX“Of course you should have, its Richard Tresses!” said Michael, smiling
XXXXX“You aren’t from around here are you?” said Paul in a tone of sudden understanding. Nicolas raised his eyebrow at the question and said,
XXXXX“No, I’m not, I’m from Magna” All the boys but gave a large jump
XXXXX“I didn’t know Magnans were allowed into the Scholiar?” exclaimed Michael,
XXXXX“I’m the first one I believe” said Nicolas, noting how all the boys were suddenly very still
XXXXX“That explains the lock,” said the Richard, “Magic isn’t very common in Magna is it?”
XXXXX“No, it isn’t” said Michael, before Nicolas could answer, still looking a little stunned, “Its frowned upon actually.”
XXXXXNicolas considered how very much that was an understatement as Paul walked around the stove at the center of the room and kicked open a trunk at the front of another bed and began rummaging around in it.
XXXXX“Are you sure you just aren’t one of those boys who likes to get peoples attention by saying stupid things?” said Michael, raising his eyebrow at Nicolas
XXXXX“I wouldn’t say so” came the voice of Paul from out of Nicolas’s sight who suddenly came running around them with a large book, “Look at this picture, painting of Magnan royalty, he looks just like them!”
XXXXXThe three boys crowded around Paul as he showed them the book as Nicolas stood and watched them,
XXXXX“He doesn’t look like these people, in the way he’s dressed maybe, but that can be imitated,” said Michael
XXXXX“You aren’t looking at it right then…” said Paul, “Imagine if you were to paint these people and then paint him, he has the similar stance, a similar structure if discounted age.” He pointed at whatever was on the page, obviously unaware that he was going over the heads of his friends, “I would say he’s a Magnan, anyway, what parent would allow his kid to go to school pretending to be one?”
XXXXXNicolas rolled his eyes, walked around to the side of his bed, and sat down without taking his shoes off, crossing his hands behind his head to watch the others argue.
XXXXX“If you’re supposed to be a Magnan, then why don’t you have an accent?” said Michael, frowning over the book in Paul’s hand at Nicolas, still looking unconvinced
XXXXX“Sorry?” said Nicolas, raising en eyebrow at the question
XXXXX “You just don’t sound like a Magnan, I have met a few and they have harsh accent’s, but you speak Gallian like you were raised here”
XXXXXNicolas frowned, slightly, then said, “Probably because I was tutored to speak Gallian, by a Gallian, since I started speaking anything at all…” Then said, switching to Magnan, “But if you need further proof.” The boys looked taken aback, except for Michael
XXXXX“He could just be saying random nonsense in Magnan…” he said, though he did not looked convinced in his own argument
XXXXX“At the least it is very convincing nonsense,” said Richard, who then responded to Michael’s stare with an innocent grin.
XXXXX“You could just wait a see,” said Nicolas in an offhand way,
XXXXX“What do you mean?” said Richard
XXXXX“Start of term,” said Michael before Nicolas could speak, “You think they will announce you being here?”
XXXXX“Why not,” said Paul, “I mean, if he is telling the truth and he is the first Magnan to be allowed into Scholair that would be something to commemorate.”
XXXXX“Give the class something to feel special about.” Muttered Richard, more to himself than the rest of the group,
XXXXX“Give them a target…” Said Michael, “How many of them you think lost relatives to the Magnans? Tons of kids here had to grow up without mother and fathers or even siblings because of the war and its aftermath, how many do you think are going to live that down?” Everyone gave him a worrying looks that Nicolas could not help but notice with some discomfort, though by the far off look in Michael’s face he doubted he had noticed at all
XXXXX“You’re going to have spells coming at you from all directions as soon as the news gets out, you’ll have to be careful, but even if you were a veteran Spellsword I wouldn’t give you a week…” hummed a little at his own thought then glanced around at the looks the others were giving him, “What?”
XXXXXPaul rolled his eyes, but still looked as perturbed as the others then met Nicolas gaze with a small frown,
XXXXX“He just got here and you tell him he’s going to be infirmed within the week,” said Richard, smiling slightly, “You could give a lesson in charm Michael…”
XXXXXThere was a long, uncomfortable silence.
XXXXX“So…” said Richard in falsely cheery voice, “Anyone care for a bit of dinner?”
XXXXX“I’m sorry, I just can’t get over how nauseating that is” said Nicolas, hunched over at a small round table at the back of the dining hall with the other boys eating beside him. The building, like so many large chambers in the Scholair, was tall, supported by arches and wide pillars and rounded in its edges in a way that made Nicolas think of something living, like a plant. Many thick wooden tables were scattered around the room, and a massive curved table, raised on a dais, on the other side of the room that the teachers sat at on regular days. Light poured into the room from glass windows placed between the arches of the roof, and several long windows in the wall showed the outside gardens. Currently the room was empty but for a few students other than Nicolas and the other boys.
XXXXX“The Way Doors? Don’t worry, you’re supposed to get used to it after a few full days here,” said Paul, taking a small sandwich off of a platter and taking a bit out of it.
XXXXX“Yeah, you just have to think a little bit less about what you are doing” said Michael, sagely between bites of his sandwich, “Think too much about the nonlinear distance you traveled compared to the linear distance and you’ll get nauseous, same thing for teleportation, the two different sets of information clashing against each other…”
XXXXX“Or you could just drink this…” said Richard, offering Nicolas his cup from across the table, it was full of some white, cloudy liquid that bubbled and stung Nicolas’s nose as he smelt it,
XXXXX“What is this?” he asked,
XXXXX“Ginger Beer, helps with nausea, my granddad suggested it to me before I left, said drinking it helps get you used to travelling around the school, I also have some Candied Ginger if you like.” Nicolas took a few sips of the stuff and found it too his taste, though it had not yet started working on his stomach. The boys had taken a Nicolas through a complex set of doors from within the Dorm, which had ended up taking them to the Dining hall within the Main Tower almost half the distance of the grounds away. That realization caused Nicolas some discomfort
XXXXX“Thanks Richard...” murmured Nicolas, sipping at his glass. He wasn’t too hungry at the moment, but felt he would be later, so reached for a sandwich on the large plate that sat at the center of the table which the other boys had taken from the kitchen counter at the back of the hall.
XXXXX“So…” said Richard, “What part of Magna are you from?”
XXXXX“If you are from Magna.” Said Michael between bites of his own food,
XXXXX“Didn’t we go over this already?” said Paul exasperated,
XXXXX“I’m from Decas Provence,” said Nicolas towards Richard, “Its in the south, near Mecredi and the Sterngaurd Mountians.”
XXXXX“Oh,” said Richard before glancing over at Michael who shrugged, he guessed neither of them knew what he was talking about, “What’s it like over there?”
XXXXX“Compared to here, oh…” Nicolas, glancing around for some inspiration on what to say, “its cold most of the year, the forests are a lot less dense, and it takes weeks to get anywhere through the mountains, but it can be nice. My family manor sits high on the foothills by the mountains and from there you could look out and see the whole of the Provence. Which is useful since my dad rules over all of it…”
XXXXX“Wait… You dad rules over all of what?” questioned Michael,
XXXXX“The province,” said Nicolas. He was raised learning of the achievements of his family and found them rather disinteresting, “my family has governed over Decas for generations. It was actually renamed after and given to one of my ancestor after they helped the Emperor conquer it…” the boys looked around at each other
XXXXX“Come on, you must have stories like that in your families, every aristocrat I have ever known has had a few…”
XXXXX“Uh, my father’s a artificer,” said Paul smiling,
XXXXX“And my mother’s a clerk,” said Michael, “We aren’t aristocrats.”
XXXXX“Right…” muttered looking around at the other boys expecting them to laugh at their own joke, but instead saw them all looking back at him with serious expressions,
XXXXX“None of you are nobility?”
XXXXX“Uh… No.” said Richard. Nicolas felt like he had been slapped in the face, Chekov had told him he was going to be in a house with Nobility.
XXXXX“None of you are Nobility! How re you able to pay the tuition?” said Nicolas, it was the first question to jump to his lips of the many that tore through is mind in his confusion
XXXXXPaul shrugged, “I earned a full scholarship”
XXXXX“Really?” said Michael, “I have one too, what did you do?”
XXXXX“Imploded a house,” Said Paul with a shrug, “you?”
XXXXX“Slowed down time,” Said Michael with a grin
XXXXX“Huh…” muttered Nicolas, his head spinning
XXXXX“Is this the first time you have ever lived with a lower class?” asked Paul, “or spoken to one?”
XXXXX“No, no, of course not, I have known plenty of Commoners, its… Well, they were always servants, never my equals, and never my age…” He leaned forward and took a large swig of ginger beer as if it would help his reaction.
XXXXX“You didn’t know anyone your own age?” asked Richard,
XXXXX“No, not really, but what do you expect when you’re living in a far off manor?”
XXXXX“At least you had your family.” said Richard
XXXXX“Not really, I have a brother but he’s four years older than me and has his own life, my father is too busy raising him to take the lordship and running the province to bother with me”
XXXXX“That must have been rough”
XXXXX“It wasn’t bad …” said Nicolas, taking a sip of his drink.
XXXXXHe didn’t think his childhood was bad, it could have been better, but then all thing could, but it wasn’t horrible. With his mother dead and his father grooming his brother to take on the responsibilities of lordship he never got to know his family aside from occasional dinners. His family manor was massive and built on a low mountain overlooking the province, it was a safe place, built like a fortress, with an amazing view, but it was remote, a days trip from the nearest village. The only other kids aside from himself and his brother were the children of the servants, who Nicolas was not allowed to play with, and those aristocratic children who occasionally visited the manor with their parents, who usually avoided Nicolas to suck up to his brother. Really, the only people really knew at all where the servants who took care of him, like the nurses who nurtured him and the tutors who taught him, though they never cared to bond with him.
XXXXX “Odd isn’t it?” said Paul, “A Renowned Hero, a Foreign Royalty and two full Scholarship earners all living in one room, do you think this is coincidental?”
XXXXX“I wouldn’t say so” said Nicolas, not fully absorbing what was said for a moment, “Wait, what was that first one?”
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:33 pm
Chapter 2: Feast (Last Edited 12/31/09)
XXXXXLater that evening, Nicolas, Richard, Paul and Michael were sitting in the common room of Broadley house at a small group of chairs facing the large round window overlooking the grounds next to common room’s largest bookshelf. They were all wearing the schools customary brown-black robes, though Nicolas found them uncomfortable and had chosen to wear his magnan undeclothes under the set. All the boys of Broadley House were in their common room behind them, waiting for their prefect to lead them to the Start of Term Banquet. The noise they made made it almost impossible for Nicolas’s small voice to speak over as they shouted greetings to each other and told loudly of their summers. Nicolas and his roommates were the youngest and smallest of the boys in the room, aside from a few other first years, with some of the oldest boys towering nearly doubling their height.
XXXXX“What is taking the Prefect so long? I’m starving” shouted Michael over the din of the boys,
XXXXX“Prefect stuff? How we supposed to know, its not like he is late” said Paul
XXXXX“Your not, you’re just supposed to humor me…” said Michael, “and I you, unless you aren’t hungry?”
XXXXX“Of course I’m hungry…” said Paul rolling his eyes
XXXXX“Were all hungry” cut in Richard, “And talking about it is not going to help”
XXXXX“Which brings me back to my original point, where in the Lights grace is the prefect!” said Paul
XXXXX“Broadleys!” boomed an abnormally loud voice from the stairway above. All eyes were drawn up to a big smiling teenaged boy, several years older than Nicolas, with short black hair that came down in a fine widow’s peak, a flat face and the slightly darker skin tone that Nicolas had come to connect with most Gallians. Next to him, leaning against the corner of the stiarwell, was a tall boy with messy blond hair, a long face and a similar dark skin tone, who smiled somewhat unenthusiastically. The black haired boy looked down at the assembly with a big friendly smile that light up his face and leaned over the railings to get a clear view of everyone in the common room then shouted, his voice the same from before but normal in volume,
XXXXX“Welcome and welcome back, I’m Brandon, I’m going to be your prefect for this year. Now, for those of you who don’t know me, I only have a few rules, but those rules I do have I live by. First, if you have a serious problem, don’t make it mine, I have spent enough time in detention as is. Next, if you are going to have people in the house make sure you give everyone sufficient notice ahead of time, and if your wondering what counts as sufficient, check the board, we have a scale. Finally, if you need help but don’t want to get the teachers involved, talk to me or my deputy Andy here, we’ll get your sorted out…”
XXXXXHe nodded to the blond haired boy standing next to him who gave the assembled crowd a small nod then went back to looking apathetic.
XXXXX“Now,” continued Brandon, walking around the spiraling stairs to the floor, “Unless you guys are feeling adverse on having some actual good food before the yearlong string of the usual crap, you can stay behind, the rest of you can follow me to the dining hall. First years with me, I don’t want to repeat the fiasco from last year, remember that Andy?”
XXXXXFor the first time since Nicolas had seen him Andy cracked a genuine smile and said, “Yeah, didn’t they find that kid in pieces all over the school?”
XXXXX“That they did!” said Brandon, now cutting his way through the crowd towards the main doorway while Andy stayed on the stairs to, as Nicolas guessed, follow behind the crowd. The din of speech that had filled the room before was back again, but on a much quieter tone now that everyone was filing out the door into the inner grounds. Nicolas started to get out of his seat when he caught Richard looking at him curiously.
XXXXX“What?”
XXXXX“Nothing, do you still think the headmaster is going to announce your being here?”
XXXXX“I hope not” said Nicolas frowning at the thought, “Do you think they are going to announce you being here?”
XXXXX“Like that would be a problem for him” said Paul
XXXXX“Word will get around either way” said Richard with a shrug, “just a matter of what people will believe, I guess.”
XXXXX“You know it is possible to walk and talk at the same time, do you?” said Michael, standing up in front of them and gesturing to the leaving crowd
XXXXX“Sorry Mike” said Richard, getting up from his seat and following him out the door with Paul and Nicolas following behind. Outside the boys of Broadley House stood on a walkway as Brandon shouted, “Come on first years up here, your holding up the group!” Nicolas followed behind Paul, who followed behind Michael, who followed Richard who was pushing his way forward through the crowd of older boys. Around Brandon a group of a dozen or more first years were already gathered, and when they joined them Brandon gave them all a smile and said, “Alright, looks like everyone is here, lets get going, remember to stay close and unless you want Andy to teach you his runt punting spell”
XXXXXWith that Brandon set off with the rest of the Broadleys following behind him over the walkways and through the inner gardens of the Scholair towards the center spire. The sun was falling, and though he could not see it or the horizon itself beyond the limestone walls and the tops of trees, Nicolas could see the sky painted orange by its setting. A weak light began to pour from the strage white windows as the darkness fell, growing slowly stronger as it was needed. The effect was nice, the light from the windows was tinted a yellow that blended well with the color of the sky in a way that Nicolas thought could only ever be achieved by classical painting and not nature.
XXXXXThe group was led toward the center of the Scholair where the tallest tower, or the Masters Tower as it was formally called, stood, through the inner gates and into the the quarter gaurdens surrounding the Masters Tower. There was depression that sat between each walkway where the inner gardens sat was nearly a foot deeper than in the rest o the Scholair
XXXXXA tall chapel like building attached to the spire that Nicolas estimated was the dining hall. Many robed figures in long lines were visible in the half-light filing their way through the open doors of the hall, but out in the gardens the Broadley line was the only one that could be seen.
XXXXX“Ah, Damn!” muttered Brandon to himself, though in a voice that was clear to the group around him, “We’re late, but not late enough to be humorous or late enough to excuse not showing up altogether. We’re only just late enough to look like idiots showing up a second after we were originally expected.”
XXXXX“And that’s a problem?” asked Richard, perplexed
XXXXX“When you’re a Broadley you always have to make an entrance.” said Brandon solemnly, “But what can we do, no point in waiting out there, lets go.”
XXXXXThe boys continued forward to the Dining hall, continuing down a walkway leading to the base of the Masters Tower and turned around its base towards the Dining Halls entranceway. Walking through the doorway to the Dining hall just then was a line the same length and age arrangement of the Broadley’s, but was made up of girls, some of whom turned at their presence and waved, smiled or gave some other of greeting. Most of boys around Nicolas in returned these gestures, but Nicolas stood rooted to the spot, until an older boy ran into him behind, forcing him forward again.
XXXXX“Something wrong Nicolas?” asked Paul, causing some of the other boys, including Richard and Michel, to turn around at the question. Nicolas gulped and shrugged off the question,
XXXXX“Oh, its nothing, just a little hungry that’s all” Most of the other boys turned back, but Paul, Michael and Richard continued staring, “What?” said Nicolas
XXXXX“You aren’t telling the truth” said Richard
XXXXX“How can you tell?”
XXXXX“You blush when you lie,” said Paul in an matter of fact tone
XXXXX“Hm… Well, I am going to have to work on that”
XXXXX“Just tell us what’s wrong already” said Michael as they turned into the Dining Hall doorway. Once inside they were hit by the low murmur of many voices and the strange light emanating out of the glass plates and windows in the walls and ceiling. Nicolas saw Brandon smiling, giving a little nod to an older girl at the head of the line, surrounded by bunch of nervous looking girls around their own age standing in the Archway. Nicolas’s eyes lingered a little on the group of girls as they passed each other, each walking down the Dining hall, with tables arranged on rows on either side, until Paul nudged him back to reality.
XXXXX“What’s wrong?” he repeated, a little impatience seeping into his tone.
XXXXX“Its nothing,” repeated Nicolas, this time being stared at with a considerable annoyance by the others. Sighing he turned again to look to the girls, who he now noticed were being seated at tables on the right side of the hall, which was filled up entirely with school aged girls. He frowned then turned back to the annoyed looks the others were giving him then finally submitted and said,
XXXXX“I’m just a bit bothered…” He grimaced at his own words and looked away to the left side of the hall, and realized that the line he was in was shorter, the older boys in the back of the line splitting off and taking seats at a row of tables directly to the left beyond which were a few similar rows already seated with boys. Checkov had told him about going to school with women along with men, but he didn’t really believe it until now. Still, it didn’t make sense to him, women getting an education. His roommates said nothing for a moment after he spoke, then Michael chuckled, drawing back Nicolas attention, and said
XXXXX“A bit bothered by what?” Nicolas opened his mouth to speak, but before he could their group reached the front of the hall to the table closest to the Teachers and Brandon turned to them
XXXXX“Alright first years, here is your table” he gestured to the empty table to their left, “Take a seat and relax, the feast should start very soon. Remember not to leave until I come to collect you when everything is over. I’ll be in the back with the rest of the seniors if you need me, and don’t make trouble in front of the teachers. Remember that Broadleys work hard and party hard, but were always classy doing both.” He, smiled again, snapped his fingers and walked around the group toward the very back of the hall where the senior students sat. Nicolas and the rest of the first years took a seat at the circular table, Richard and Michael sat at his side with Paul to Richard’s left. A bit of food was on the table, some sliced loafs of bread with some assorted meats and cheeses and two Jugs of water with a set of glasses.
XXXXX“So what is bothering you again?” asked Michael.
XXXXX“It’s nothing. All the differences between things here and in Magna, its just a lot to get used too.”
XXXXX“Like what?”
XXXXXNicolas shrugged and thought about the question for a moment before saying “Everything. Being around magic like its normal, having commoners as peers,” He jerked his head backwards towards the tables of girls, “And Women”
XXXXXThere was a pause where Nicolas leaned forward to pour himself a glass of water, realizing only after a second that Richard and Michael were looking at him with shock.
XXXXX“And what’s the problem with that?” asked Paul
XXXXX“Its just not the way I imagined things were going to be,” said Nicolas, shrugging
XXXXX“Well…” said Richard, looking a little uneasy, “What did you expect the school to be like?”
XXXXX“Hm…” murmured Nicolas, thinking over the question, “Honestly I thought it was going to be like one of the Noble schools I was meant to go to if I weren’t a magician. You know a private place where sons of nobles are sent to make connections and do something other than spend their fathers earnings…” He paused to take a sip of water, and then added, “Expect in Gallia, and with Magic.”
XXXXX“Heh.” chuckled Paul, “Sounds like you didn’t have too high of an opinion of the Scholair.”
XXXXXNicolas rolled his eyes, “I’m an Aristocrat. I don’t have a high opinion on anything, and I don’t need to, anyway…”
XXXXX“So,” said Richard, pressing the original point, “You though that the Scholair would be just some school for spoiled rich boys?”
XXXXX“All the best ones are” said Nicolas in a matter of fact way,
XXXXX“Not the Scholair…” continued Richard, “This place is for anyone who earns the right to learn here”
XXXXX“But wouldn’t you say that’s a waste?” said Nicolas
XXXXX“Why would you say that’s a waste?” said Richard,
XXXXX“Well, when are most of the people here actually going to use the knowledge they learn here? When the commoners are done here they will still be commoners, just commoners with an education, what will come of them? If they have some ingenuity, they could advance a little but there will always be someone above to push them back down again. And the women, when will they use what they learned? Women are meant to get married and have children, that’s all. They don’t need an education. At least when you give it to nobility you know its going to get used.”
XXXXXThere was a moment of silence as the others just stared at Nicolas, then Michael took a breath in to speak, but was again cut off when a massive, booming voice shot out from teachers table. The boys turned around in their seats to see a tall old man standing at the at a small podium at the center of the teachers table, overlooking the students in the hall. He was an imposing figure, though that could have been him being the only standing man in the room, with a long white beard, white hair and a noticeable widows peak. He wore long set of light blue robes trimmed with pale silver, adorned with a set of cloth Pauldrons that hung with long streams of cloth and a belt that crossed his waist, both of which shared the same coloring of his robes. He carried a staff that was taller than he was, made from a pale wood that, from what Nicolas could see, twisted and intertwined in a way that seemed artistic, but looked natural, and carried large, mercurial stone in its head held in by the weave of the wood. The magician seemed to glow with a light all his own, shining down from the whites of his robes and beard and from the head of his staff in a way that was friendly instead of imposing to the eye. He smiled and held out his arms in an inviting way to the assembly and said, his voice carrying powerfully across the crowd,
XXXXX“Welcome, students, teachers, and friends, welcome again to the Scholair, I am Evidi Plagart, your headmaster. I am happy to see you all for another year of life and learning in our exalted halls. For some of you this will be your first step on the journey to adulthood while for others it will be you final step, but for all of you I hope it will be satisfying one. Now, before we begin the feast, I have some reminders and announcements to make. First, the grounds outside our walls is forbidden to all students after sunset and all student’s are to be in their dorms two hours before midnight. All students above the age of sixteen can leave the grounds unaccompanied on weekends and on holidays while all others will need to have an adult for escort. Magic is only to be used when supervised and is never to be used on ones self or fellows unless approved and supervise by a member of staff. These rules are to be followed stringently for your own safety of those around you as for your own and their importance cannot be stressed. Finally, I am happy to announce that this year, for the first time in our history, our school shall be playing host to new students from outside the Alliance”
XXXXXThere were a few murmurs at before the hall was filled with sound of applause at the announcement, even Nicolas managed a few half-hearted claps. Plagart smiled down at the audience and continued with his speech
XXXXX“On that point I would like to remind you all that we should all put out best efforts to make those individuals feel welcome. They are far from their homes, surrounded by an unfamiliar culture and customs, with only rumor serving as their guide. For their sakes as much as our own should not seek to open old wounds or continue rivalries, but to seek to foster peace, friendship and understanding in the way that only youth are capable of achieving.” He paused, presumably for dramatic effect, then raised himself to his full height, lifted his staff and said, “Now, let the feast begin.”
XXXXXPlagart tapped the point of his staff on the ground twice, with an immense light flashing out of its head to engulf the student’s for a split second on its second tap. Nicolas raised his hand to shield his eyes and let out a cry of shock that was echoed by those around him. After a moments silence he lowed his hand again and gazed around to see that the few plates of appetizers on the table in front of him had been replaced by a mountain of food. Large hunks of preserved meats and roasts of game and poultry with brilliantly colored sauces, a collection of breads of various size and rigidity, many vegetable dishes and plates of fruits that Nicolas could not recognize. All were arranged carefully on a set of large silver platters, floating in mid air, slowly rotating around their table in a pattern with similarly floating silver jugs of drink.
XXXXXNicolas knew this cuisine as the typical Gallian fair that he had been eating since he crossed the boarder. Foods here were considered art, a concept that puzzled Nicolas, and were treated as such with intricate preparation techniques, a variety of sauces and flavorings he had never seen before, and garish presentations. This stood in contrast to the food he had eaten in Magna, simply prepared foods with no presentation or flair, with Snef, the Empire’s choice condiment, being the only flavoring anyone ever needed. Nicolas missed the food of his homeland, and would kill anyone at the table without thinking if a good-sized jar of Decas made Snef was the reward.
XXXXXThe boys at the first year’s table looked out, as Nicolas did, from behind their hands beheld the food in front of them with some and, after shrugging off the shock of Plagarts spell, began to eat. Michael stood, with his plate in one hand and his other piling slices of meats and rolls onto his plate, with a hungry smile on his face, whatever anger he had from before the speech apparently forgotten. Richard and Paul, also looking much less worried as they were before the speech, began taking food onto their plates, a little less ravenously than Michael, but still taking as much onto their plates.
XXXXXNicolas remained seated, looking around at the plates in front of him and found a small round bowl filled with clean water and a small porous stone for hand washing, but there was no cutlery. He quickly cleaned of his fingers, looking around to see he was the only one at the table doing so, and then stood to take some food. Sitting down last, with only very little food on his plate, Nicolas gave a final gaze around the table to see that, unsurprisingly, the boys around him were using their hands with nothing that he would consider table manners. He poured himself a glass of some red stuff that smelled good then started eating slowly with his own hands. The food was unsavory to Nicolas’s taste, as he knew it would be.
XXXXXFor a while there was nothing but silence as the boys at the table all ate, then a burly boy with thick arms from the far side of the table spoke out to the rest at large in a husky voice,
XXXXX“So, Forigners in the Scholair, who’d ever thought?” A few of the boys laughed and muttered agreement
XXXXX“Yeah, I know, I’m kinda exited about it” said a small, grubby looking boy sitting next to him,
XXXXX“You are?” said the Burly boy, “Personally, I can’t stand the thought”
XXXXX“Why’s that?” said Richard
XXXXX“Why? Just look at our history” Said the burly boy, leaning on the table with his elbows, “Outsiders have only ever meant trouble for Gallia. The Magnans tried to conquer us, The Mecredians try to steal from us, and those damn Chitauri. Gallia should be for Gallians only, the Scholair especially. Just thinking about anyone getting away with out secrets makes my sick.” There were a few murmurs of agreement from some of the boys around the table while others who looked enraged, Michael most of all, and a few who looked either unconvinced, or uncaring, Paul chief among them.
XXXXX“That’s a narrow way of looking at things,” said Richard, looking concerned at what the Burly boy was saying, “You make it sound like all foreigners are naturally evil.”
XXXXXThe Burly boy curled his upper lip, “I’m not saying they’re evil, I’m just saying we can’t trust them.”
XXXXX“Have you ever even met a foreigner?” said Michael in a condescending tone
XXXXX“No,” said the Burly boy, suddenly defensive, “but my dad and granddad fought in the army, and they told me all I need to know.” Michael snorted to himself and smiled.
XXXXX“What about you two, I bet have you ever met a foreigner.” Said the burly boy aggressively. Nicolas half glanced toward Richard, who half glanced toward him, and suddenly found himself wondering if was still offended over what he had said before the speech and what he would tell them based on that. But before he could come up with any sort of conclusion Michael said,
XXXXX“Yeah, for example this guy here.” He reached over and wrapped his arm around Nicolas’s shoulder, “He’s from Magna” A sudden silence fell around the table, all the boys stopping their small conversations to turn and stare in their direction. Nicolas felt stunned, both by having the rest of the Broadly first years staring him down and by the fact that Michaels arm was still around his shoulder, he had never been touched without giving permission.
XXXXX“He’s a Magnan?” said the Burly boy, staring at Nicolas in an appraising way, then, his eyes furrowed in confusion he said again with a mote of fury in his voice.
XXXXX“They allow Magnans in the Scholair?” The other boys at the table whispered to each other and shot Nicolas various looks that all seemed to reflect the Burly boys surprise and anger. Nicolas pushed off Michaels arm, opened his mouth to retort, but found he couldn’t think of anything to say.
XXXXX“Well he’s a Magnan, and he’s in the Scholair, bit of a given, don’t you think” said Paul. The Burly boy stared down him and snarled,
XXXXX“And who are you?”
XXXXX“Paul, you?” The two stared at each other for several moments, the Burly boy giving Paul a look of tense consideration while Paul looked back into his eyes unflinchingly. After a while the Burly boy tilted his head to the side and said in a much calmer voice
XXXXX“Joseph,” there was a moment of silence. Nicolas looked from him to Paul, wondering what had been done to calm down the situation so much, and watched Paul continued to look passively into Joseph’s eyes, then after a moment, look back down at his food and continued eating. Nicolas gazed back at Joseph who continued to look at Paul for a moment before meeting his gaze, he seemed remarkably calmer then after a moment said,
XXXXX“So, you are a Magnan then?” Nicolas was amazed to hear his tone was calm
XXXXX“Yeah, born and raised” They stared at each other for a moment, then Joseph simply shrugged and said,
XXXXX“You don’t have much of an accent.”
XXXXX“I’ve been told that, I was taught to speak both languages since I was born” They looked at each other for a moment, and Nicolas tried to follow Paul’s example by not flinching under Joseph’s gaze. Joseph considered him for a moment, then nodded and muttered,
XXXXX“Alright.” then turned away to speak again with the boys around him on his side of the table. The tension at the table suddenly gone Nicolas glanced to either side of him at Richard and Michael and saw his feeling of relief and amazement reflected on their faces, then Richard turned over to Paul to grab his shoulder
XXXXX“What in did you just do?” Paul looked up, a little bit of food hanging in his mouth and gulping it down in a way that made Nicolas cringe he said in a his indifferent tone,
XXXXX“I come from a mining village that’s full of guys like that, I know how to deal with them.” He grabbed his glass and took a sip of whatever he was drinking. Richard turned back to smile and shrug at Nicolas and Michael then continued to eat. Nicolas watched for a moment as his then gazed down at his own food in distaste then looked up to find something to eat. A small platter of soft rolls passed just across his sight and he stood to catch it before it passed out of his sight, grabbing a roll and catching the eye of a black haired boy, with sickly tan skin staring at him with an appraising look. Their eyes met and the boy’s expression changed to a friendly one with a deviant little smile,
XXXXX“What’s you name?” His voice was deep, and oddly breathy, which sounded to Nicolas like he was holding back a laugh.
XXXXX“What?” said Nicolas
XXXXX“What’s your name, we never caught it”
XXXXX“Its Nicolas.”
XXXXX“Nice to meet you Nicolas, I’m Tyler!” He held out his hand for Nicolas to shake, which Nicolas stared at for a moment, before dropping the roll on his plate and taking the boy’s hand. This all seemed a little too friendly to him, especially with the smile that Tyler was giving him, smiles weren’t supposed to look so strained. They broke off and Nicolas took his seat again, keeping his eye on Tyler as Tyler kept an eye on him.
XXXXX“So…” Tyler began, as if casting around for a topic, “Why weren’t you executed back in Magna. That’s what they do to wizards there right?”
XXXXX“What?” said Nicolas taken aback. There was a noise of wrenching from around the table as the other boys choked on their food, Michael had to spit into a napkin to keep from choking.
XXXXX“That’s what I’ve heard! That’s what a lot of people have heard, am I right, I know a lot of us are wondering it. If Magnan’s kill wizards, then how did you survive? And how did you get accepted here?” There was an awkward silence, Nicolas knew that everyone wanted to hear the answer to that, but he didn’t want to give it to them.
XXXXX“What does it matter?” asked Richard, coming to Nicolas’s defence.
XXXXX“It doesn’t” said Tyler, slyly, “I was just wondering that’s all.”
XXXXX“Well, that’s a great way of going about asking!” said Richard, leaning over the table angrily.
XXXXXTyler gave Richard a wicked eye and said in an aggravated tone, “Who are you anyway?”
XXXXX“Richard Tresses, and who the hell are you!” Again there was a silence, then Tyler said in a shocked voice,
XXXXX“Richard Tresses? The Richard Tresses?” There was a silence, everyone who could hear was listening
XXXXX“Yes.”
XXXXX“Oh…” Muttered Tyler, looking suddenly deflated, then, after seeming to think about it he said, “Prove it!”
XXXXX“And how would you expect me to do that?” Everyone’s face turned to stare at Tyler, who again looked overcome,
XXXXX“I don’t know!”
XXXXX“Well, he is,” said Paul, leaning in with a smile, “were with him all the time, and that’s how the teachers address him.”
XXXXXTyler frowned, skepticism etched on his face, but after a moment he shrugged and said, “I’ll believe it when real evidence shows up.” He turned away from Richard and the others and began talking amongst his group.
XXXXXNicolas leaned over to Richard and whispered, “Thanks…”
XXXXXRichard said, “No problem, better for people gossip about me than to speculate about you.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:39 pm
Chapter 3: The Oak. (Last edited 02/02/10)
XXXXXIt took several minuets for Nicolas to acknowledge the fact that he was awake, he knew it was morning, he could hear the sounds of his roommates about their business and see the morning light shining through the window, but he could not bring himself to get up. His head felt like it had a hatchet stuck in it, and he was all twisted up in his sheets, with his face down on his pillow covered in his own spit. Whatever he drank during the feast had come back to haunt him. Everything after the conversation with Tyler was a blur, with his few memories of the night intertwining with his dreams into a disturbing recollection. He groaned and shifted envisioning himself sitting stone still in his seat as the dining hall around him moved at a speed beyond comprehension, seeing it clearer than he could see the bed around him
XXXXXRichard pulled aside the curtains of his four-poster bed to shower in some of the brightest light he had ever seen in his life. With a loud cry he pushed out with his legs and forced his face harder into his pillow, Richard saying that sounded as if it where echoing a long distant to reach him,
XXXXX“You shou… in an hour an… Wake Up!” The final two words shouted brought Nicolas back to reality. He rolled over to look at Richard, who was in his full students robes, and soon joined by Paul who was pulling on a shirt.
XXXXX“How much did he drink last night?” asked Richard
XXXXX“About three glasses” said Paul indifferently,
XXXXX“Of what?”
XXXXX“Cooler.”
XXXXX“Cooler? But three glasses of that wouldn’t even amount to a glass of wine!”
XXXXX“They must not drink as much in Magna”
XXXXXNicolas tried to speak, but it felt as if his gorge was trying to force its way out of his mouth. Richard smiled, though the concern in his eyes was obvious,
XXXXX“Class starts in a hour and a half, you should hurry up and get ready, good thing you thought to wake us up early Michael” he said before turning to go back to his preparations.
XXXXXNicolas rolled onto his back and pulled at the ropes of sheets that twisted themselves around him and began to untie himself. Once that was over with, he crawled over to the side of the bed and threw his legs over but felt too woozy to try to stand. Michael was at the foot of his bed, going through his chest for his school things and putting them into a pack at his side, he turned at one of Nicolas louder groans and said,
XXXXX“If you think your going to vomit go to the bathroom, I don’t want to get sick too.”
XXXXXNicolas nodded slowly and stood up, stumbling over on to stand by the post of Paul’s bed then towards the door. Outside he walked around the stone hall that made the towards the floors bathroom where a small line of boys stood cued for occupancy. He sighed, then, as if at the sight of the cue, something rose in his stomach, his knees buckled and his head began to spin. He lurched around the group of boys, through the door into the crowded bathroom and vomited in the nearest water basin, where a large boy stood washing his face. Nicolas slumped to the floor heard the laughter and disgusted cries of the other student’s, and turned to see who he had vomited on and saw that it was Joseph from the night before. He was only wearing a pair of linen pajama pants, the effect was quite terrifying, his physical build larger than any student he knew. He looked from him to the Basin then back and quickly tired to think of a way out of this situation, but all he could manage with Joseph looming over him was a small,
XXXXX“Oh…”
XXXXXJoseph took a step toward him his face a contorted in anger and reached down to pick Nicolas up by the shoulder, dragging him to his feet and staring him in the eye for a moment while the rest of the bathroom behind them fell silent. Then Joseph’s face twisted into a smile, then he began to chuckle and then began to laugh wildly. Nicolas looked from this to the students around them, most of them were laughing or going about their own business. Nicolas forced a chuckle and edged slowly towards the door, lifting the handle, pulling the door inward, and turning to leave. Just as he was in the threshold of the door a thick arm passed around his neck and dragged him back into the bathroom, Joseph put him into a headlock, his arm was like a heavy stone vice. He didn’t saying anything, though he was still chuckling softly to himself, but dragged Nicolas along as he went back to the basin to wash his face.
XXXXX“What are you doing!” muttered Nicolas from under his arm. Joseph looked up into the Mirror above the basin to meet Nicolas’s eyes and said, “I’m finishing up washing, what are you doing?” There was laughter from around the Bathroom and Joseph put some more pressure on Nicolas’s neck, cutting off all but his hardest breaths. The door to the bathroom opened and Andy, the assistant prefect, stuck his head in and shouted,
XXXXX“Hey! I heard a first year cut in line! Fess up!” He gazed around quickly then paused when he saw Joseph with Nicolas in the headlock. He raised his eyebrow and said,
XXXXX“Ah, I can see you are already taking care of it… That is him right?”
XXXXX“I think so.” said Joseph, now rubbing water into his chest and shoulders. Nicolas tried to speak, but was only able to manage a choking noise, his head was starting to spin again, but this time he thought it was more because he was having trouble breathing than anything else.
XXXXX“Good enough.” Continued Andy with a little grin, “So, why’d you cut in front of the line kid? Let him go a little.”
XXXXXThe pressure released a little on Nicolas’s neck, but he still couldn’t get out of Josephs grip, so he took a deep breath and said
XXXXX“I drank a little too much last Night, got a bit woozy and, Egh…” before he could finish speaking Joseph bent over to splash some more water on his chest, tightening his grip on Nicolas. Andy hummed comprehension and said,
XXXXX“Ah, that always happens after the feast with one or two kids your year, you don’t have to worry too much about it.” Just as he finished the door burst in next too him and a thin, sickly looking boy who Nicolas recognized from the first year table burst in and vomited in the same water basin that Joseph was using before falling to his knees.
XXXXX“See!” said Andy, “that just goes to prove my point. Now, You” he pointed at Joseph, “splash some water in his face then let him go,” he pointed to Nicolas, “And then put him in a Headlock” then he pointed at the small boy on the ground
XXXXX“What? Why?” Said the sickly looking boy, turning, still looking woozy
XXXXX“If we don’t give everyone the same punishments then we are going to have anarchy aren’t we?” said Andy. Nicolas was able to manage a chuckle at this, but then had a handful of water thrown in his face Joseph’s free hand and was let go to fall back to the floor with a loud thump and a splutter. Wiping the water out of his eyes he saw Andy leave and Joseph putting the sickly looking boy into a headlock and turning again to face him, the thin boy making a hard, but useless, effort to get out of the hold
XXXXX“So, who’s your master going to be?” said Joseph in a suddenly friendly tone, as if Andy had only interrupted a casual conversation.
XXXXX“Uh…” muttered Nicolas, unsure on how to answer, until he looked at the boy he had in a headlock, that Joseph could probably still put him into the same hold with only one arm and decided to pay along,
XXXXX“Levefleur” said Nicolas recalling the name he was Assignment paper he received the day of the start of term feast, “My whole room is assigned to him”
XXXXX“Ah, I don’t have him, that’s too bad…” he passed into silent thought, prompting Nicolas to slowly stand, and tightening his grip on the boy in his arm,
XXXXX“You leaving?” said Joseph after he got to his feet
XXXXX“Yeah, I need to get ready for class.” Said Nicolas, suddenly uneasy,
XXXXX“Alright, see you later then.” Joseph smiled warmly and gave him a nod and he skirted passed, giving one last look to see the sickly looking boys face slowly turning a purple color.
XXXXXOutside the boys in the cue shouted at Nicolas to get out of the way of the door, which he did, making his way slowly back to his dorm room along the walkway. He headed through the door to his room and found they were still getting ready, Richard was the one nearest to him when he walked for his trunk to get changed and said in a cheerily,
XXXXX“You look better.”
XXXXX“I just got humiliated in front of the most of the house.” There was a bit of silence after Nicolas said this, allowing him to pull of his pajamas and put on his socks and trousers.
XXXXX“What? What happened?” said Richard,
XXXXX“Skipped to the front of the line to vomit in the water basin of that Joseph guy, he put me in a grab and kept me there until the prefect came. It was all rather emasculating, I don’t really want to talk about.”
XXXXX“Oh…” said Richard, behind him there was a little chuckle from someone in the room, Nicolas ignored it, put on his shirt and pulled out his student’s robe.
XXXXX“Is he getting a detention?” said Michael, his voice shaking to hold back laughter,
XXXXX“No, but he was made to put another kid in a headlock who had done the same thing as me” said Nicolas, throwing on his robe and smoothing down its edges as he spoke,
XXXXX“Well, at least they are being fair?” said Richard as Nicolas turned to face them, frowning as he put the last touches on his uniform,
XXXXX“That’s why the Prefect made him do it, but the strange thing is that after he let me go he acted as if he hadn’t done anything.”
XXXXX“He didn’t do anything” said Paul, who was laying fully clothed on his bed with his sketching book and a charcoal stick, “at least in his eyes it was… Didn’t you ever rough house as a kid?”
XXXXX“I’m a Aristocrat.”
XXXXX“Point taken.” muttered Paul, drawing something
XXXXX“Well did he have to do it in front of everyone else?”
XXXXX“No point in showing off if no one is going to see it.” Said Michael
XXXXX“Unless you’re that insecure.” said Paul. There was the sound of ringing from somewhere out in the school and Richard jumped,
XXXXX“Damn, that’s the hour bell, we got to go if we want to eat”
XXXXXAfter a short breakfast and an extensive search of the school for their classroom that took the better part of an hour despite the directions their Assignment papers, several older student’s and a few teachers, Nicolas, Richard, Paul and Michael filed into the lecture hall of Master Levefleur. It was small space, with nothing on the walls but a window that dominated most of the wall opposite the door, where a warm light flowed into the room. There was a platform at the by the center of the window where a man sat on a pillow below which was a small floor space with many seating cushions. Nicolas guessed the man was Levefleur, he was a fit middle aged man with medium length, graying hair and lightly tanned skin with premature wrinkles that looked the result of tension, his eyes were closed and his face had the expression of firm concentration. He wore a long, tight fitting, dark blue robes the cut short on the wrists and by the neck with a white undershirt with a few trimmings and decorations. Sitting in a stand at his side was a long wooden staff, with a simple headpiece in the shape of a cross with two horizontal bars. In a way, he looked more like a warrior than a teacher with his stern looks, broad shoulders and rough features, Nicolas made a mental note not to annoy him.
XXXXXThere were only dozen or so other student’s in the class besides Nicolas and his room mates, twenty possible in total, all of them sitting in little circles facing each other to speak to their friends. With Michael leading Nicolas and the others walked around the side of the room to take the seat of the four cushions at the front of the class and to the left. Once they took a seat Nicolas, at the front right pillow facing the teacher, turned to Richard to his left and whispered,
XXXXX“Any idea how long until class starts?” Richard glanced from him to the teacher and shrugged,
XXXXX“No, but it should be soon”
XXXXX“Are you sure we are even in the right class?” whispered Michael who sat behind him, “I still think that fifth year was lying to us”
XXXXX“He didn’t have any reason to lie to us Michael”
XXXXX“Unless…” said Paul, “It was for his own amusement.”
XXXXXMichael nodded in agreement and missed the thin smile that passed over Paul’s face.
XXXXXRichard and Michael began debating in whispers. Nicolas glanced around at the other students in the room and received a shock. Directly to his right sat a group of four girls his age chatting excitedly to each other, he had not recognized them at first with all the student’s wearing similar robes, but now he could see their figures and faces it was obvious. The thought that he would be going to school with women did not sit well with him, but he had no idea that he was going to be sharing classes with them. He thought they would be getting their own classes. He looked around to see if his roommates to see how they were taking, but they either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care. Each was off in their little world, Richard was watching the teacher, Paul was poking the corner of his cushion in boredom and Michael was reading a book. Then he remembered how they had reacted to his opinion during the feast and not to peruse the issue.
XXXXXHe turned back to stare at the women. A red haired girl saw him looking and gestured in his direction to her friends. A girl with long dark brown hair, who was sitting closets to Nicolas but was looking away from him turned and their eyes met. Automatically Nicolas felt uneasy about the girl, not because the way she was looking at him, she had an innocent expression of curiosity, but because of the way she looked. It wasn’t that she was ugly, actually she was quite cute in a traditional way, with a pretty face, physique, but her complexion was unfamiliar. Her skin was a beige color he had never before seen on anyone and her eyes were a bright auburn that was hard to meet with his own green. He could not recognize her ethnicity, though he combed all through all those he knew of none of them seemed to fit her appearance, he continued to study her face. The girl looked down at the ground between them then looked back up to give him a little smile. At that very moment, it came to him, Nicolas realized what she was and he felt his insides twist in revulsion. It was the first time he had ever met anyone of her kind, that’s why he did not see it right away, but now he knew it was impossible not to see. She was Chitauri.
XXXXXHer kind had come into the Enlightened World from the deserts of the southeast hundreds of years ago, and a rot spread across all the lands. In Magna they refused oaths to the empire, to pay the taxes, or to obey any law, especially magic restrictions. They lived as vagrants, travelling from province to province, looting what they could off the lands and leaving before they could be brought to justice. Some provinces refused to tolerate this and exiled them from entering their lands, or arrested them and forced them into serfdom if they refused to respect the laws of the empire or, as was in the case of Decas, executed any male Chitauri found in their lands. But this only caused the Chitauri to fight back, hiding and striking out at the empire like snakes, finding shelter in tolerant provinces to launch attacks against those who hunted them, using terrorism and magic against the empire on its own soil.
XXXXXWhen it went up to the senate, legislation was enacted, officially expelling all Chitauri from the land, subjecting all those who refused to forced labor and execution. Within ten years of the signing of those laws there were no more Chitauri living free in the empire. Nicolas had grown up with this story and several others telling of the guile and the stubborn irrationality of their kind. They were not only a blight, but they represented the complete antithesis to the ideals of Magna.
XXXXXSomeone tapped on his shoulder and Nicolas turned from the girl to see Richard nodding towards the front of the class. He followed his gaze and saw that Levefleur had opened his eyes and was now scanning the classroom. A silence filled the room as all the students came to realize this, until all were sitting at attention, facing the teacher, waiting for him to begin the class. For a long time he just sat there and watched the student’s, his face passive, then, just as Nicolas went to see how the other boys were taking this he spoke in a weary voice,
XXXXX“It seems like everyone is here. We better get started” He bowed down to pick up his staff then stood slowly up with a grunt look over the class, slowly pacing on the podium in front of them as he looked over each and every row. After one rotation in front of the class he stopped at the center of the podium,
XXXXX“Well, you made it, good for you. I am sure you all are proud of yourselves. You are in the Scholair, the most prestigious magical school in the enlightened world. Think of how hard it was for you to get here. Studying day and night, pushing yourself to new heights of power, fighting tooth and nail, using scrupulous cut throat tactics to earn your seat here. I mean, you all have earned the right to feel superior. Right?” He stopped again in front of the room again and gave the class a sweeping look,
XXXXX“Oh wait! That’s right, all of you had natural talent, you were recognized by our prestigious administration, none of you really had to do anything. Well, that’s not how you’re going to get ahead with me boys and girls. I am Jacques Levefleur, I am a sad, depraved, burnt out excuse for a wizard, but I am good at what I do and I will be your guide. I worked as a travelling scholar for a good twenty-five years, and in that time I saw a lot of extraordinary things, but I came out of it alive and with the unique ability inspire jokes like you to brilliance.” He turned and began to pace the length of the podium in front of all the students,
XXXXX“Now I am sure we are all going to be getting to know each other over the next six years so I doubt further introductions are necessary. So lets get stared. For your first lesson we are going to get the materials make your staffs, the instrument through which you will channel your magic, and the symbol of your progress here. To do this we will all go into the forest to collect a branch off a living tree, a tree that is remarkable to you. Doing so and bringing your work back to me here in will begin the next lesson for the day and begin the project we shall be working on for the next week, understood?” He stopped his pacing at the center of the podium and looked out at the class again. There was a general murmur of agreement from the student’s, but it carried with it an air of unease.
XXXXX“Good, now get to it!” With that Levefleur raised his staff and tapped its base to the ground. At that instant there was the sound like the rush of wind, and a great gust of air shot out from Levefleur podium to rush over the class, Nicolas closed his eyes, instinctively bracing himself against the wind, and then felt one of the strangest feelings he ever felt in his life. It was as if his whole body was vaporized, reduced dust by the blast and was now being carried with it to wherever the force was taking him, there was no pain involved, but a feeling of extreme displacement. He could feel his fingers stretching with the wind as he brought them up to protect his face, his legs soaring away from under him, his chest and stomach caving in and becoming nauseatingly twisted as the wind pressed into it. Then, just as suddenly as it began, the sound of rushing wind subsided and Nicolas felt like himself again.
XXXXXIt took several moments for Nicolas to move his hands away from his eyes and check his surroundings, but even before he did he knew he was no longer in the classroom. He could feel the sun against his skin, the light tingle of a cold breeze, the uneven ground under his feet and hear the quite noises of nature around him, like the chirp of birds and the rustle of leaves. Finally he brought himself to move his hands and saw that he was indeed standing in the forest with the Scholair’s towers standing over the trees far in the distance. He was alone, no other students were visible at all.
XXXXXLevefleur had obviously used some sort of spell on Nicolas and the others to propel them into the forest. Though how he was allowed to this Nicolas could not guess, all of it seemed a bit like reckless endangerment to him. He looked around and thought of what to do, while in the back of his mind he took count of thing that could have gone wrong with his situation. Of course he needed to get his hands on a piece of wood that could be made into a staff, but all of these trees had branches too high for him to clime too, and anyway none of them looked interesting to him in any way. He would need to head deeper into the forest to find a tree he could clime, though he did not like the thought of having to do so alone. He turned away from the Scholair and began walking down a small slope to the older sections of the forest.
XXXXXFor several minuets, Nicolas slowly walked through the wood, keeping an eye out for any branches young enough and low enough for him to remove. For him it was enjoyable the weather was cool with autumn approaching, which was fine for Nicolas, being more used to the more temperate weather of Magna. The path ahead of him was very gentle with low hills marred only by sparse trees, making the journey smooth on his feet. But more importantly he was alone, surrounded only by the silent voice of nature, and that felt the best.
XXXXXWhen he was young, there were long stretches of time where he was alone, without his caretakers around to tell him what to do, or his father to make him feel miserable or servants working about, and these were times he really felt happy. With no one around, he could sit around and read the collection of wartime memoirs he liked, or daydream, or play with his things, or leave the house and explore the wilderness around the manor, or just do nothing, all. Then there were those moments when he wanted to be away from people, when he could not stand the stress and the gloom and anxiety that hung around his home like a never-ending fog. He used to escape into the forest that surrounded his home from the ivy that hung outside his window. There was a tree with a large dry hollow under it that he would hide in when he needed to get away. That was probably why he felt so at home in the forests, so safe.
XXXXXAfter walking up what he thought was a small hill and around the tall Oak that swayed in the high wind, Nicolas found himself overlooking the expanse of the old forest from atop a tall steep, treeless slope. He swore silently to himself, the way looked like it was going to be much harder from here. The woods looked uncared for, the trees were closely spaced with thick patches of bracken and undergrowth between. He swung his eyes along the tree line that met the bottom of the hill, looking for any opening to the ground, or any other sort of path, but the closest thing he saw to that was a small patch where the undergrowth would still reach over his ankles. Still the trees beyond the initial barrier looked like great clouds of green, and would undoubtedly have a selection of branches he could choose from.
XXXXXHe started slowly down the hill, carefully choosing each step to make sure he did not lose his balance and fall. After walking a few feet down the slope, he heard the noise of a low crack and a scream from behind him. He shot around but saw there was nothing there but the tree topping the hill then, after hearing the rustle of leaves, he brought his eyes up to look into its branches. Just then a figure in brown black student robes with its hood up came falling out of the tree to hit the ground at the decline before it came tumbling toward him. Before he could even think to move the figure crashed into his legs and sent him falling backwards to the ground to roll several feet with the figure, their limbs locked together. Something hard smacked into the side Nicolas’s skull, jolting his head and making him go limp.
XXXXXThe next thing he knew he was sprawled, face up on the slope of the hill, with the grass tickling his ear. He slowly rolled over, got to his knees and put a hand where he had been hit then looked down to the bottom of the hill where the robed figure lay completely still on a thicket by the old forest’s floor. He felt worried for a moment, then felt a short, sharp pain in his mouth, he covered it quickly and yelped, then pulled his hand away to see some blood, the fall made him bite on his inner lip. Now he felt annoyed. He got to his feet and walked down to the figure, stumbling a little on the last meter or so until he was standing over the figure. It did not move at his presence, but he could hear a soft groan of pain coming from it.
XXXXXNicolas knew he would have to help. He ducked and grabbed one of the person’s arms and wrapped it arm around his neck then wrapped his free hand around the figures back under its other arm, there was something in its hands but he could not make it out. In the half-light under the canopy of leafs
XXXXX“You going to be alright, now lets get you up,” he murmured, then, after settling himself in a kneeling, position pushed up with his legs. He had expected the figure’s dead weight to make it hard to stand, but it was much lighter than he had assumed, and much shorter as well. There was a small shuffling sound, and loud groan from the figure, the hood had fallen off and whoever it was under seemed to be stirring, Nicolas looked down into the face and felt his gut twist. It was the Chitauri girl.
XXXXXNicolas let go over her arms and pushed the girl away and into a nearby tree where she fell to her knees with a cry. She shot Nicolas a hurt look and moaned,
XXXXX“What was that for?”
XXXXXNicolas didn’t know how to react, the refined side of him simply wanted to get as far away from her as quickly as possible, maybe have a bath when the first chance arose. Still, the sensible side of him knew that would be in bad taste and probably would not reflect well on him with others back at the school. Then he caught sight of what was in her other hand, she was holding a large branch. He stared at that for a moment until he realized that he still had not responded to her question,
XXXXX“Sorry, I was surprised to see it was you…” he murmured, reluctantly. The Chitauri girl gave him a curious
XXXXX“Your that boy who was sitting next to me in the class, aren’t you?” she said slowly, her voice changing from confusion to understanding as she spoke
XXXXX“Yeah” he muttered, his eyes still locked onto the branch in her hands. She followed his gaze to the branch then gasped as if she were surprised to see it there.
XXXXX“I got it down? I got it down! Yes!” She did a jump for joy and Nicolas took a step back, stumbling slightly on the undergrowth to stand in the sunlight by the base of the slope. The girl looked at him with a delight, then held up the branch,
XXXXX“It took me forever to get this down and when I fell I thought it slipped out of my grip but I guess I just don’t know my own strength!” She giggled blissfully, turning and lifting her free hand to cover her face as she did so. Nicolas took this opportunity to grimace, as she was distracted then contorted his face back to something neutral when she finished,
XXXXX“Huh,” hummed Nicolas, his mind working to find away out of this conversation and away from the Chitauri. Somewhere inside of him he felt this was all probably part of some elaborate rouse. Finally, he clapped his hands together said,
XXXXX“Well I should probably go find my own branch now, see you next class…”
XXXXXHe took a few side steps, keeping his eye on the Chitauri, who luckily seemed more interested in the branch than him, then walked as fast as he could over the undergrowth and away from the girl into the old forest. But as he was just about to pass around the tree and out of the her sight, she turned to him and said,
XXXXX“Do you want any help?” Nicolas frowned and slowly turned to face the girl who was looking at him with innocent curiosity, accented by her pouty lips in a way Nicolas did not like. This reminded him of stories he had heard when he was younger, of Chitauri women, who would seduce and trick Magnan, robbing them and leaving them to the wolves. He could not see how they did, nothing anything attractive in that face was attractive to him, all he could only see was a Chitauri.
XXXXX“No. I’ll be fine…” He forced a smile onto his face and saw a little look of surprise on her face then she gazed back in the direction of the school and slowly muttered,
XXXXX“Okay, good luck, anyway.” Nicolas kept his eyes on the girl and walked away from the Scholair again towards the old forest. Once she passed out of sight he turned away and sighed, relaxed now that the was alone again, then just as he slowed his pace a little he heard the ruffle of the forest floor from near the tree again and heard a voice shout,
XXXXX“Hey!” He turned to see that it was, unsurprisingly, the Chitauri girl again, having come around the tree to look at him with a smile,
XXXXX“I forgot to ask, what’s your name?” Nicholas closed his eyes, feeling a strong spike of annoyance pulse through him, then tuned to face her with as straight a face as he could make,
XXXXX“Nicolas.”
XXXXXShe smiled at him and gave him a sort of curtsy that made his face twitch with annoyance.
XXXXX“I’m Seraph, thank you for helping me Nicolas…” She gave him another warm smile,
XXXXX“All I did was help you up.” Said Nicolas, blankly, trying to hold back his scowl,
XXXXX“Well thank you anyway.”
XXXXXHis face twitched, he forced another smile, nodded at her, then turned away and headed off into the forest. Part of him was happy that he was finally getting away from the girl, while another part was regretting that he had had a conversation with her in the first place, it made him feel a bit filthy. He took the opportunity to wipe his hands with on his robes when he was sure he was far enough from where they had met.
XXXXXThe forest beyond that point began getting noticeably older and wilder the further he went, though from what he could see of the trees around him there were no branches that looked like they could make a staff that he could easily reach. The path too was getting harder the farther he went, with roots and foliage making it rough and the close distance between the trees covering the ground in darkness. There were also noises, loud noises aside from usual noises of nature that filled the forests. The loud cracking of old forest debris that made him stop to check that he was actually alone before continuing. After walking for what seemed like an hour, the woods began turning treacherous and murky. The forest floor was thick with plants to his knees, and long, old branches stuck out from the trees around him, too heavy to break off but just large enough to make barriers. He wandered through this semi lost, then stumbled into a clearing dominated by the greatest oak he had ever seen.
XXXXXIt filled the space like a hill, reaching up and up before him higher than any tree he had seen in the forest yet. Bunches of branches heavy with leaves shooting out in every direction giving it a complex shape like a raincloud. Very little of the soil beneath the thing was visible, lost under the wild tangle of broad roots spanning out from its mammoth trunk. He could not help stand in awe before the oak. Its proportions would have been unimaginable if he had not now seen it. After watching it sway in the breeze, Nicolas started moving over entangled path toward it, running his eyes up its trunk. There was no conscious decision making in his conclusion to take a branch the thing, he just knew that there were no the options than this. He had to get onto his hands up a small, rooted slope to get to the main body of the trunk. It was all very gnarled and it was not very hard to find a handhold, but he still went about climbing it carefully
XXXXXIt took nearly half an hour to make it up into the leaves, despite the help of the engorged and twisted nature of the tree. Nicolas was no climber, he was physically weak and tired already from the walk, having to rest several times on large nooks in the tree where he could sit. At one of those points thought, looking over the forest, that magic had some effect on the woods, and on this tree in particular, making them as titanic as they were. Stories of such things were frequent wherever you went, of enchanted woods housing strange sights and beasts, though in Magna such stories usually finished with them conquered by the might of a Magnan hero. Maybe in Gallia they sought to preserve such things instead of destroying them. He did not know how he felt about that, yes it was an amazing sight but such things, magical things, could not be trusted, they were always dangerous.
XXXXX He made his way onto the lowest branch jutting off the trunk, and crawled out into the tangle of branches, twigs. The bough was thick enough and sturdy enough for him to stand and out to the furthest reaches of the tree, but Nicolas did not trust his own agility, so he kept to a crawl. Pushing his way through a few yards Nicolas caught sight of the end of the branch and saw a meter long leafless stick, several centimeters wide at its thinnest point, twisting off the end of the branch toward a hollow in the canopy where the sun shone through to hit it. It looked perfect to become a staff, the right width, the right length, even shaped already like those staffs he had seen carried by the wizards back at the school, all it needed was to be removed from the tree. He crawled as fast as he could toward the stick, feeling the branch holding him up swaying as he went further and further forward.
XXXXXOnly when he was within arm length of the thing did he stop to consider how fortunate this was, maybe even too fortunate. Was this a trick? Would something happen to him if he tried to take it? Could he risk going further up the tree or go looking for another oak to climb? He though it over for a moment, weighing the risks and decided to test the branch with a tap of his hand, he leaned forward and tapped the stick quickly with his fingers. Nothing happened. After a while, Nicolas sighed and knelt up to grab the branch in both hands, and pulled it at an angle to break it off.
XXXXXThe first pull did not break it off, so he shifted his position and tried again, moving his foot to press where he wanted the branch to break and leaned back. Most of the stick broke off where he put pressure with is foot, but still held on to the bough by a few splinters. He shifted again, this time standing up to put greater pressure on the break, grabbed the lowest of the stick and pulled hard, kicking away with his forward foot. There was a loud snapping noise and the stick broke off, but the force of the pull knocked Nicolas off his balance.
XXXXXHe fell back with the branch underneath him shaking up and down, causing him to fall back onto the thick bough with a crack. For several seconds Nicolas could do nothing but lay as still as he could as everything around him quivered, paralyzed with fear. After what seemed like forever the branch became still, and for a long time Nicolas did nothing but clutch the branch he had taken from the tree to his chest while waiting for his heart to stop thumping. Slowly he sat forward and looked around, checking that it was safe for him to start moving again and sighed with relief when he saw it was.
XXXXXAfter double checking that he had the stick, he turned on the branch to crawl back to the trunk, but halfway through the movement a large gust of wind blew the tree overhead, sending the tree rocking to the side and Nicolas off the branch. He grabbed for the nearest brunch of twigs and leaves with his free hand, but only ended up scraping it as they fell through his fingers. He plummeted and screamed, staring wide-eyed in terror at the tangle of hard roots below him. He threw his arms, stick in hand, and his legs forward to fight the impact, imagining in that moment the pain he would feel when his limbs shattered.
XXXXXThen, a second before hitting the ground Nicolas felt himself coming to a sudden stop to float in the air. After shacking off the shock, Nicolas forced his arms away from his face, and saw that he was suspended in mid air by a cloud of golden mist that sparkled like stars and seemed create and capture its own light in a set of vertical rays. It felt warm against his skin, and made a noise like wind chimes as the light and mist danced rhythmically together. He wondered wonder if this was his magic? He had never done something like this before, his magic normally came out whenever he felt fear or anger and then he usually felt it. Then there were the results, whenever his powers manifested, well, it was like something out of a nightmare, quick, unstable, often unwanted. This in comparison was good
XXXXX He tried to will himself down to the ground, to tell the magic that he was ready to be lowered, but that did not work. He tried to move his arms forward, the mist yielded, dragging through the air behind his limbs but it was like moving through water. He fought with the mist, kicking his legs and swinging his arms until his body floated to a horizontal position in the air and saw that the ground was only a two meters or so from the ground. Relief washed over him, but just when he thought how he was going to get down the mist it suddenly disappeared and he fell to hit the hard ground with a smack.
XXXXXAfter a long dark moment Nicolas opened his eyes in a daze, unaware of everything for a moment, but came back quickly with the help of number of sharp pains across his body. He could still feel the branch in one hand, but all his limbs were splayed out in odd angles and felt sore. A greater pain came from a pressure in his chest, something hard like a root knot was pushing up into his solar plexus and was making it painfully hard to breath. Then there was the side of his head, which felt like someone had clubbed him. He wanted to move, at the very least get into a more comfortable position, but his body was stunned. He took a few stinging breaths and was able to shift slightly off the root making it hurt to breath, and lay with one side to the forest floor to regain his strength. When he finally got his senses back, he noticed for the first time since the fall he noticed the small pitter patter of feet.
XXXXXA shadow fell over his face and he felt a presence leaning over him, something tickled his exposed ear but he did not have the strength to swipe at it. Then the voice spoke, it was soft and concerned, feminine, but not recognizable.
XXXXX“Nicolas?” it said,
XXXXXNicolas groaned and turned his face to the ground and started to push himself off the ground onto his hands and knees. Whomever it was that was there grabbed onto his free arm, pulled up as he stood until he was on his feet, and could he used the stick too keep his balance, then took a step back. Nicolas tried to say thanks, but doubled over again as pain erupted in his chest. The girl asked again,
XXXXX“Are you alright?”
XXXXXNicolas straightened up, glanced into the girls face and froze. It was the Chitauri girl, Seraph, leaning over to look into his eyes with a look of genuine concern. Nicolas’s mind went blank and a wave of revulsion swept over him. He instantly forgot his pains and took a step back, took a step back, holding the branch in front of him vertically like a shield while his free hand instinctively grabbed at place where his chest hurt him. The girl took a step forward and said,
XXXXX“What’s wrong?”
XXXXXNicolas ground his teeth, both because of the pain and because of his dislike.
“Nothing” he groaned, sounding a bit more scornfully than he had meant to, “What are you doing here.”
XXXXX“I got a feeling that you need my help.”
XXXXXNicolas glared at her,
XXXXX“Did I ask for it?”
XXXXX“No, but sometimes its needed most where its not asked for.”
XXXXXNicolas’s face stayed straight, but he felt his blood froze, it killed his pain and he found strength again to lift his staff and pointed it at Seraph,
XXXXX“Well you wasted your time, I didn’t need your help…” said Nicolas, his voice was little more than a cold whisper. Seraph gave him an offended look and took another step forward,
XXXXX“What about when you were falling from the tree? If it wasn’t for me that fall could have killed you” Nicolas felt jolted, and took a step backwards,
XXXXX“That was you?” he incredulously
XXXXX“Yes, at least I think it was.” she said, she blinked once, twice, trying to meet his cold gaze then looked away and muttered, “When I saw you were falling I just…”
XXXXXHer voice trailed off. Nicolas lowered his staff and looked down at the ground, and felt the bitter disappointment for not having done the spell. Then a thought came to him that made his gut twist with humiliation. A girl, a Chitarui, a worthless low life mystic, had saved his life. In his minds eye he could see his father looking on in shame, he could hear his ancestors wailing in their tombs. He could see his status tarnished in the Magan Aristocracy, his name ridiculed. He would be Nicolas Decameron, second son of Decas, the magic freak who owes his life to a Chitauran woman, and what could he do to stop it?
XXXXXHe looked up into the face of Seraph, and all of his cold anguish turn slowly into a smoldering hate. It was her fault. She had ruined him, and what did she even know of nobility and reputation? She was an animal, stupid and senseless, like all her kind, what could she even hope to understand of him? She was a Chitauri, a parasite, and she wanted his thanks? She did not even deserve his presence.
XXXXXShe looked into his face again and he glared back at hers with the smallest of glares playing over his face. Then after several seconds of anguishing silence, Nicolas shrugged, straightened himself, and walked right past Seraph, without saying anything, back towards the forest. He could feel her eyes on him, making the back of his neck tingle as it always did when he knew someone was watching him. Then he heard her feet scraping on the root-covered ground as she came toward him again.
XXXXX“Where are you going?” she asked. Nicolas heard but he did not respond. The sound of footsteps came closer.
XXXXX“Are you alright?”
XXXXXThe forest wall was only a few meters away.
XXXXX“Nicolas?”
XXXXXHer hand reach out and touch his shoulder, with that something inside him broke. He felt something shoot through him as his anger fractured his heart, it energized, it made his fingers and skin prickle, and it took over. There was a short odd crackling noise, a loud high pitched yelp, the crash of someone falling to the ground, and the smell of charred flesh and skin. Then Seraph was on the ground curled up in a fetal position, one side to the ground, with her face screwed up in agony as she held her hand pulled close her body with her other hand clutching it at the wrist. Her staff lay on the forest floor next to her. Nicolas, his body moving by itself, took a step toward her until he was over her, then he pointed his staff into her face where she could not miss it. She opened her eyes, looked up at him with a look of unconcealed fear, and gasped loudly, either too terrified or too hurt to say anything. Nicolas saw the fear in her eyes, but felt nothing, no pleasure or pity, just hate and the static itch of power that filled him.
XXXXX“Don’t you touch me.” His voice was barely a whisper, but it managed to carry all of his scorn.
XXXXX“Don’t you ever touch me! You filthy Chitauri!”
XXXXXNicolas turned, lowered the stick again and headed off into the forest only feet away. His bitter hate had barely abated and the power he felt still coursed through him, though he now had it under some control. After a time of trudging through the forest felt an inkling of guilt felt like a ball of lead pressing down on his heart. It told him he should go back, undo what he had done, to do the right thing whatever that may be, whatever the cost. Then, just as soon as he had felt it, it was gone, lost in numb anguish.
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:42 pm
XXXXXBy the time Nicolas got back to the lecture hall, a process that nearly took an hour and a half after leaving the giant oak, most of the students had returned. They all looked worse for ware, covered head to toe in filth, their robes ragged, faces grimy and hair in a tussle, a few even carried injuries, but they all had their branches with them, either in hand or on the ground next to them. He felt a little sickened by the look them, then remembered he looked relatively the same, and moved around the room to his previous seat at the front. He saw Levefleur was sitting in the same position, with his eyes closed and head bowed, as he was before the lesson and in the same spot. It was an irritating sight after what he had gone through, but he shrugged it off when he reached his seat.
XXXXXPaul and Michael were sitting on the same pillows they had occupied before they were all teleported away and waved him over after Michael spotted him approaching. Paul looked a little more disheveled than his usual self, with his feet muddied and a few twigs sticking out of his hair, but still managed to look completely at ease, with his slender staff lying across his lap. Michael on the other hand looked completely the same, his clothes spotless, his face fresh, his hair flat, even his shoes seemed unsoiled, but he still had a long branch sitting next to him on the floor with one hand sitting over top it. Nicolas nodded at the pair of them as he approached and said,
XXXXX“Good to see you both survived.” They didn’t laugh, but Michael smiled and said,
XXXXX“Same to you.”
XXXXXNicolas took his seat and turned to face them again,
XXXXX“How was your trip into the forest?” asked Michael,
XXXXX“Fine.” said Nicolas, blowing off the question so to not relive the experience, “Yours?”
XXXXX“Same, as soon as I got into the forest I just whipped up the nearest tree to get a branch and got back in less than an hour.” Said Michael with a toothy smile, his spectacles seeming to shine with his grin
XXXXXNicolas raised an eyebrow, “How did you do that?”
XXXXXMichael was about to speak but before he did Paul cut in with an answer, “You can’t guess? He’s freakishly tall!”
XXXXXPaul as Michael’s faltered, then said before Michael could retort, Nicolas said
XXXXX“How did you do then?”
XXXXXPaul sat up, frowned and looked down the branch in his lap, “I landed in a more wild section of the forest than hoped, the trees were easy to clime, but the wolves that lived under them didn’t make it any easier to get down.”
XXXXXMichael laughed and Nicolas chuckled as Paul sat back on his pillow again, rolling his eyes. After calming down, Nicolas looked back at Michael and said,
XXXXX“Wait, if you finished in less than an hour what have you been doing all this time?”
XXXXX“What?” said Michael, he had missed most of the question as he snorted, “Oh, yeah. When I saw that the class was still empty I went to the dorm to get myself cleaned up, grabbed a little snack then came back here to read while the rest of you came back.”
XXXXX“All while the rest of us were fought mortal danger, how fun,” said Paul
XXXXX“Like any of you were in any real danger,” laughed Michael, “its not like the school was going to let anyone get hurt.”
XXXXXPaul sat silently for a moment, giving Michael an indignant look, then gestured to the rest of the class, several of who were heavily bandaged.
XXXXX“Have you looked around? Almost everyone is hurt. Even Nicolas is bleeding.”
XXXXXNicolas jumped, “Wait, what, I am?”
XXXXX“Yeah, from behind one of your ears,” said Paul nonchalantly, with his eyes still on Michael. Nicolas reached back and felt a small sticky patch of hair on the side of his head that trailed down to his neck and to the collar of his undershirt. He pulled his hand bank and saw his fingers covered in a sticky layer of old, rust colored blood. He blanked seeing this, trying to think of where he could have received the cut that caused this, but drew nothing. He stared for a moment more then lowered his hand again to the floor and tried to catch up in the conversation.
XXXXX“Think he could be at the student infirmary?” muttered Paul, looking away from the Michael and up into the windows behind the teacher’s platform.
XXXXX“Na, if Corsic and his host couldn’t leave a scratch on him then I doubt the forest would.” Said Michael, turning to look at the door into the room, a few people were trickling in, but not Richard, about who they were talking.
XXXXX“I wish he and the rest would get back, I don't want to be stuck in here all day”
XXXXX“Got any plans for the evening?”
XXXXX“I think some house is throwing a party later.”
XXXXX“Really,” said Michael, turning back to face, “What's the occasion?”
XXXXX“There isn't one.” said Paul.
XXXXX“So they’re just having a party to have a party?”
XXXXX“I guess so.”
XXXXXMichael considered this for a moment then shrugged and said, “Alright.”
XXXXXThere was a movement by the door and Nicolas's eyes turned just in time to see Richard, looking dirty and haggard but triumphant, walking through the door, and holding a long branch at his side. As he looked around the room his and Nicolas's gazes met and he quickly waved around the room towards where they sat. Michael and Paul did not notice Richards approach until he was only a few seats away, when he was did Michael turned and smiled broadly,
XXXXX“Richard, your late! What took you so long?”
XXXXXRichard smiled, but took to his seat before speaking,
XXXXX“I ran into a bit of trouble with a bear after getting this” he gestured to the stick he carried, “and then got lost in the forest, but then everything turned out fine.”
XXXXX“Sounds like fun.” muttered Paul,
XXXXXRichard sat up and looked around the room, “How many others are still haven't showed up?”
XXXXXNicolas gazed around to do a quick headcount and realized, with a small pinch in his stomach, that the only person who had yet to return by now was Seraph
XXXXX“Looks like there only one. Hm.” muttered Michael, more to himself then to the group, staring at the place, and then looked to the front of the class here his eyes caught something. Nicolas and the others followed his gaze to the front of the room where Levefleur was now staring out at the class with a vacant expression. The room soon became silent as more of the class realized Levefleur was watching them. The silence stretched out over a time as Levefleur watched the class and the class stared back at Levefleur. After several torturous minutes of silence he sat up on his pillow, the largest movement he had performed since Nicolas had returned, gazed over the class and said,
XXXXX“Does anyone know where she is?” All eyes fell on the last empty seat. Nicolas felt the color rise in is face but said nothing, after a moment he looked back towards Levefleur who gazed out at the class curiously and said,
XXXXX“Anyone? No one?” His eyes lingered on Nicolas for a moment, but Nicolas avoided flinching and stared back determinedly. After a time, Levefleur sighed, stood, and walked to the edge of his podium with his arms crossed behind his back.
XXXXX“I guess we will have to finish things without…”
XXXXXThere was a sudden noise at the back of the class, a slam and a clatter. Everyone in the room turned to see Seraph, leaning against the wall and breathing as if she had just ran a mile leaning against the wall, with branch hugged to one side of her body hand while the other pushed against the wall. Nicolas’s eyes were drawn to her staff arm and her exposed wrist, covered in fresh bandages in the exact same place he had hit her. She looked with an anxious expression at the class, then, after a moment to regain her composure, breathed,
XXXXX“I’m so sorry I’m late. I got hurt and then I was lost in the forest and I…”
XXXXX“Don’t worry” said Levefleur, cutting in, “Don’t worry, your just on time, just take your seat.”
XXXXXSeraph sighed audibly and started her way through the class towards her seat, most turned back to face Levefleur but Nicolas continued to watch her, feeling a mix of guilt and apprehension as she came over. She caught sight of him, flinched, grabbed her bandaged wrist with her other hand and nearly dropped her branch. Her skin seemed to pale and now that he noticed it, her eyes were red from crying. She shuttered then, looked down at the ground again and continued next to him to her seat. Nicolas followed her with his eyes until she was at her seat, then turned his attention back to the podium, feeling slightly relieved she did not make a scene. Levefleur was staring down at Seraph, then gazed his eyes over the rest of the class, lingering on Nicolas, giving him an irritated look before turning his eyes back to the rest of the room with a stony expression.
XXXXX“So, you all completed your first step in becoming a true wizard and lived. You have obtained an essential tool to your progress, but that is all a staff is a tool. What you really have to ask yourself is what have you learnt today? Did you learn to pick yourself up after falling, or to work as a team, or to trust or to distrust or anything at all? Well that is what will make you a great wizard. Magic is not just about collecting simple trinkets or memorizing spells, its about character, its about how you handle power, how you shape it and how it shapes you. I could teach you all the spells in the world and give you the tools to handle them, but would you know how to use it?” He paused and looked out at the class with a passive expression, no one made a noise. Nicolas doubted anyone was still breathing. Levefleur smiled and said,
XXXXX“That’s what I thought.” He returned to his seat and faced the class, “For the rest of the day I want you all to reflect on the search you each did today, think about the ways it could have gone better, the ways you could have improved, and keep those things in mind as we continue shaping your staffs this week. You can all have the rest of the day to yourselves…” He folded his legs and closed his eyes, resuming the same meditative pose he had at the beginning of class.
XXXXXThere was a silence, then the class broke out in muffled speech and slowly made its way out of the room. Nicolas blinked a few times, not moving, then turned his attention back to the others, who looked just as confused as he felt, even Paul. They looked at each other for a second, unable to hold each others gaze as they each lapsed into thought, then after a few seconds in complete silence they seemed to break out of it.
XXXXX“Well, that was interesting,” muttered Richard, trying to smile reassuringly and failing. Michael shot him a scathing look, out of place with his satisfaction from a second before. Richard wavered under the look, then frowned and looked back unaccustomedly annoyed. Paul rolled his eyes, though the movement seemed forced, then gazed back at the two and said,
XXXXX“Lunch?” Richard and Michael looked at him then, after a moment silence to let the awkwardness wash over them, they both shrugged and muttered
XXXXX“Alright.”
XXXXXNicolas met Paul’s gaze and nodded.
XXXXXIt was two in the afternoon by the time they got to the dining hall. Nicolas thought it would be earlier considering the class started at ten, but he guessed he simply lost track of time when he was out in the forest. The hall was crowded, though most of the students and teachers who were there were just finishing up their afternoon meal. He guessed that their class was held late, though with all the mentors having different teaching schedules this was impossible to tell. He and others took the first open table they saw, set their staffs to the side, got their hands on a plate of food and ate for several minuets in silence. He knew they were all thinking about their day to get some point to improve upon, or were trying not to think about it. Nicolas himself tried to avoid it, but the criticisms he had with himself were obvious, and didn’t make him feel good
XXXXXAfter a while, Richard looked up from his food, and with a shaky smile asked, “How did you guys find the class?”
XXXXXThere was a silence for a moment, and then Michael said, “I didn’t get it.”
XXXXX“What’s not to get?”
XXXXX“I don’t get what we were supposed to learn, that whole ‘a wizards tools does not make him a wizard’ thing. I don’t really get what being sent out into the woods to get a big stick has to do with that?”
XXXXX“I think its more about what we learned about ourselves,” said Richard, “Out there, in the wild, how did we deal with the problems, how does that define us?”
XXXXX“Well I didn’t face any problems, I just climbed the first tree I saw and was done with it.”
XXXXXRichard seemed to think about this for a moment, and asked, “Was that fulfilling?”
XXXXX“What?”
XXXXX“Was that fulfilling? I mean most of us got ourselves dirtied, faced some danger and had an adventure, but you took the easy rout. Could that be the flaw in itself?”
XXXXXMichael frowned, “Since when is simplicity a flaw?”
XXXXX“Its not, but life is rarely simple”
XXXXX Michael rolled his eyes, and muttered, “Then what did you learn?”
XXXXXRichard looked away, towards one of the windows, thinking about it and then said, “I think… If you run away from a danger you may get lost?”
XXXXXMichael laughed, but Paul looked up to glare at him, he also seemed to be in a fowl mood, then said,
XXXXX“How do you figure that Richard?”
XXXXX“I don’t know, when I was confronted by that bear I could have fought him …”
XXXXX“And probably would have been killed in the process” said Michael pointedly, but Richard ignored him and continued
XXXXX“But instead I ran, and because of that I got lost in the forest for hours, and why? Be…”
XXXXX“Because you had the common sense to run away from a bear!” Laughed Michael, “You see, was no point in the lesson, you didn’t screw up, you just followed your best instincts, where is the problem in that?!”
XXXXXRichard looked dejected, but instead of continuing to argue turned to Paul and asked, “What did you learn out of this whole experience”
XXXXX“That ignoring a problem won’t make it go away,” said Paul in an offhand way.
XXXXX“Sounds like you’ve already thought about it?”
XXXXX“I had the time to think about it while I was waiting for the wolves to leave.”
XXXXXRichard laughed, then stopped instantly when he saw that Paul wasn’t joking,
XXXXX“Oh, that must have been horrible.”
XXXXXPaul shrugged and muttered,
XXXXX“Don’t worry about it, I came out fine.”
XXXXXRichard looked impressed, then glanced over at Nicolas and said,
XXXXX“Nicolas, you haven’t said anything yet, what did you learn out there?”
XXXXXNicolas did not want to talk about it, he did not want to think about it, but he was on the spot and all he could think to do was avoid the question.
XXXXX“I don’t want to talk about it.”
XXXXX“What’s the problem?” said Richard,
XXXXX“Nothing, I just want to forget about today.”
XXXXXNicolas looked down at his food and continued to eat while the others fell silent, he wasn’t glad for it, he was enjoying listening to their conversation, it was distracting. After a few mouthfuls, he grabbed his glass of water and noticed the others were all staring at a place directly above and behind him. He turned around and saw a red haired girl, his age, in student robes standing with her arms crossed behind her back giving the boys at the table a bemused stare. Nicolas frowned at her and after an awkward moment of silence he said, “Um… Can we help you?”
XXXXX“Yeah,” said the girl in a bright, friendly voice, “I was looking for someone named Nicolas.”
XXXXXReacting to the question without really thinking he said, “I’m Nicolas.”
XXXXXThe girl smiled happily, bobbed up and down on her toes and said in a cheerful tone, “Oh, good!”
XXXXXNicolas didn’t catch what happened, but the next thing he knew he was doubled over, his face in his hands with blood pouring out of his nose. The sharp pain in his face dulled his senses, but he was somehow dimly aware his nose wasn’t broken, just badly bruised. He could numbly hear the girl shouting,
XXXXX“That’s for Seraph you b*****d!” Clearing his head with a shake he turned back to the girl, her expression was furious, her lips pursed and her eyes glaring, her fist still clenched from hitting him. He could hear the angry swears from the others around him and sensed their standing to aid him. He stood himself, but this was only to get a napkin to cover his still bleeding nose. Next to him Michael shouted,
XXXXX“What was that for!?”
XXXXX“Don’t try to defend him!”
XXXXXAfter dabbing at his noise several times Nicolas turned again to the girl, Richard, Paul and Michael came to stand by his side but the girl stood her ground, staring them down, looking fierce. The tension was rising and Nicolas could sense through his pain filled daze that something was going to happen if something wasn’t done right away. Richard raised his hands up with open palms to show in a peaceful gesture, took a step forward and said,
XXXXX“Look, I don’t know what’s going on here, but why don’t we just…” He was cut short when the girl shot him a scathing look and took a moved toward him threateningly. Paul, who was standing closest to Richard, moved to grab her before she could strike and only narrowly avoided a hit by her elbow. After a short, one-sided clash, where Paul seemed unwilling to fight but the girl seemed anything but, Michael shot forward to help overpower the girl, but before any real damage was could be done Nicolas strode forward and yelled.
XXXXX“Stop it!” Instantly the action froze, Michael looked like he was about to tackle the girl, Paul was holding the still girl, who seemed intent on hitting him, by both arms while Richard was several steps back looking flustered. All were staring at Nicolas, who cringed under the attention, but regardless pushed Michael away and with a gesture got Paul to let go of the girl, while keeping one hand over his bleeding nose. They continued to look at him and after a second, he realized they were waiting for him to say something. He looked at the girl again, who looked defeated but still nonetheless hateful and whispered,
XXXXX“Its not right to hit girls.”
XXXXXThe girl’s mouth fell open in a dumbfounded expression and with that, all aggression seemed to leave her stance. Nicolas said no more but marched around her, the boys and out the door to the grounds. From there he headed to the infirmary to get his nose healed
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:43 pm
Chapter 4: The Wraith. (Edited 01/13/10)
XXXXXThe rest of the week went by relatively smooth when compared to the first day. Each class was devoted to shaping the branches they had collected from the forest into usable staffs, while under the supervision of Master Levefleur, who advised them. They were not given any tools to do so, but were taught two basic spells, 'Abducoup' and 'Reparacillio' which made cuts to the wood and fixed cuts onto the wood respectively. Their overall goal was to make the branch into a smooth shaft by the end of the week, which turned out to be much harder than anticipated with clumsy nature of the spell work. Nicolas found that to make the exact cuts he wanted he had to align his thumb right where he wanted the cut and, along with saying the spell, had to slide down the shaft with his hand. Still, the sensation he felt every time he used magic, like some unknown static electricity coursing through his limb, made him convulse and resulted in uneven cuts.
XXXXXDuring the second and highly unproductive day of trying to shape the branch, Michael made the discovery that you could remove wood from any one area of the branch and reattach it to another section with the repairing spell, to augment the overall shape. The Richard and Paul liked it because it increased the speed of the work. Nicolas found it interesting because the lines of the wood attached would change to fit the rings of the staff, as if it were a natural growth. He pointed this out to his roommates but they seemed more interested in getting the work done than observing the results.
XXXXXOther students seemed happy to abuse their new spells, which hammered Levefleurs point of developing the character before powers home. Nicolas heard a student complaining on the third day of class that his roommate had cut one of the legs of his bed so it collapsed under him just as he got onto it at night. Another told, to great laughter all around his group, of sneaking into the common room at night to hollow out furniture. But after the fourth day, when another student made a gash in his own hand from his wrist up to the end of his palm and had to be rushed to the infirmary after a hasty healing spell by Levefleur, people stopped talking about abusing their own power and worked with much more care.
XXXXXDuring the week, Nicolas consciously avoided Seraph who, thankfully, seemed to be doing the same to him. They sat as far away from each other as they could while having their friends sit around them as a buffer zone. The redheaded girl who had punched him in the dining hall was, now that he noticed it, in the same class as he and appeared to be Seraph's roommate along with two others girls, a small girl with long brown hair that kind of looked like a dormouse and a pretty blond girl who always seemed to have this impassive expression on her face. He suspected the others had noticed them too, but had avoided talking about what happened in the dining hall ever since he had met them again after getting his nose fixed. He didn't know why, but he suspected it was because they simply wanted to save themselves the drama of confronting him. Only Richard seemed to have a problem with this and on occasionally tried to bring it up, but Michael and Paul, always changed the subject.
XXXXXBy the end of the class at week’s end, most of the class had reduced their branches to semi smooth, unpolished, staffs. Nicolas had reduced the larger twisted knots in the wood, and used Michael’s refitting technique to extend the branch several centimeters in either direction and despite a few uneven gashes in the wood was rather proud of his work. The boys had produced similar work and were happy with theirs, though Michael and Paul seemed happier that the work was done rather than with what he had produced.
XXXXXBy the end of the last day, Levefleur was off helping the stragglers who had yet to finish their staffs and inspecting the finished work of the students who had just finished with their own creations. Nicolas, Richard, Michael and Paul were sitting in their little circle by the front of the class having a quiet conversation, all of them had finished their work by that mid day and were waiting patiently for the end of class.
XXXXX“So the emperor doesn’t actually have any real power?” asked Richard, looking a little confused.
XXXXXOriginally they been talking about Gallian politics, but Nicolas knew nothing about the subject, so in an attempt to include him Richard had switched to asking him questions about Magna politics, Nicolas being schooled on the subject. Nicolas believed that was probably a bad decision on their part. They had this idea that in Magna the Emperor was some sort of nepotistic totalitarian psychopath who ruled the whole empire alone, which was very narrow-minded in Nicolas’s view. Now he was having trouble convincing them of the truth,
XXXXX“No, he has power,” started Nicolas, thinking that this was probably the third time he had explained since they had came onto the subject, “He just doesn’t have total power. The Emperor is the highest military authority the empire, all of them, from the armadas on the frozen crescent to the provincial militia men, answer to him.”
XXXXX“So who actually does everything?” asked Paul. Nicolas sighed, he thought it was a stupid question, probably because he had heard it already, but he answered it anyway,
XXXXX“Depends on the thing,” said Nicolas
XXXXX“Who makes the laws”
XXXXX“The Senate, they write laws and vote them in and out of the books.”
XXXXXThere was a humming of comprehension, though Nicolas doubted they actually got it.
XXXXX“Then what do the nobility do?” asked Michael, Nicolas sighed and closed his eyes, that was a complex question
XXXXX“Depends on the title, members of the Imperial family serves as the highest echelons of the Magnan Military and work throughout the army in command positions, but do nothing else. While Lords Governors like my father rule the provinces, and the senators of their province answer to them.”
XXXXX“That sounds simple enough to understand,” said Richard,
XXXXX“Well yes, but those are just high titles, but there are a lot of low titles. Dukes, Knights, Counts, Marquess, Earl, Barons, and those are the ones just on the top of my mind. Then ere are other formal titles that are unofficial nobility, Ministers, Senators, Ambassadors…”
XXXXXThey all stared at him blankly, Nicolas waited a moment, decided it was dead fro the start and asked,
XXXXX“So how do things get done here?” The question seemed shake the others out of their stupor,
XXXXX“Well each city state is run by its own government, usually a group of wizard elders.” Started Michael
XXXXX“And each government of selects a representative for the Council” Continued Richard,
XXXXX“And the council select people to run important branches have the alliance, and then those men and women also get to sit on the council themselves.” Finished Paul.
XXXXX“Wait, I thought the important branches selected their own representatives for the Council?” said Richard
XXXXX“No, I think Paul is right,” said Michael, “And I’m pretty sure the Council has to screen all new members as well.”
XXXXX“Now I know that’s not right,” said Paul, “My states representative left for Detalis just after he was elected, he didn’t have to get screened.”
XXXXXRichard was about to speak again, but Nicolas cut in,
XXXXX“You guys don’t actually know how your government is run, do you.”
XXXXXMichael flushed, “Of course we know how its run, its just that all the city states individual customs tend to interfere with the perception of how its run.”
XXXXX“And at the very least we know our system is free.” Said Richard
XXXXXNicolas thought about this for a moment, he could see an obvious fault in that thinking, but decided now was probably not the best time to peruse it. He looked toward the windows behind the empty teachers podium and asked,
XXXXX“Any idea what time it is.”
XXXXX“What’s the point in asking, we only get out when Levefleur decides it.” Said Paul
XXXXX“I would like to know how much time we have left in the day to relax, I don’t want to be stuck in here all day.” Said Nicolas, he looked around to Levefleur who stood inspecting the work of the boy who had cut his hand open earlier that week, then noticed that no one else was working.
XXXXX“Never mind, I think we are about to get out of here soon.” He turned back to the group, but in mid turn he spotted Seraph and her friends on the other side of the room. Their eyes met for a second, her expression then of fear reminded him of a doe realizing it’s been caught in the sight of a hunter, Nicolas frowned and made the final twist of to face the front of the room. When he came back Richard caught his eye and gave him a prying stare, Nicolas looked away from him to start a pointless conversation with Michael. He felt that Richard still wanted to talk about what Nicolas had done, but avoided it while the others were around.
XXXXXA few minuets later, Levefleur finished his inspection of the class’s work and headed up to the podium at front of the class. Everyone fell silent and waited for him to begin speaking. He walked to his seat, stared at it as if trying to decide whether or not to sit then shrugged, faced the class and slowly he began to speak,
XXXXX“When I was younger I traveled to Illyar to do some research on the local traditions, their magical studies and the correlations between the two. It took me weeks to get there, but when I finally arrived, I fell in love. Illyar is a place of mythic beauty, light sandy beaches, warm seas, and marble cities with fair grasslands between. At the very least I thought it was…” He paused for a moment, staring up at the ceiling in thought, then said,
XXXXX“To be honest I don’t remember most of it. Right when I crossed the boarder I ran into a hunting party who were having trouble lighting a fire for the night. I helped them out with a spell or two, they invited me to share in a bottle of this stuff called Lion’s Milk, and after that most of the journey was a haze, but what I do remember I was remarkable.
XXXXX“Illyarans are a deeply philosophical people and have belief that the most intense actions anyone can perform in his or her lifetime are to create and to destroy. In their eyes to destroy anything, be it animal or man, imparts a bit of that beings spirit into yourself, gaining you its qualities, its strengths and its weakness. Therefore, if you were to kill a lion you would gain its courage and its willpower, but also its arrogance. If you were to kill a wolf you would gain its loyalty, and its perseverance, and its feral nature. A bull its strength, its passion, its fury, so on. In addition, if you were to kill someone else, you would gain a bit of its spirit for yourself and a bit of whatever spirits that person had gained in his or her lifetime.
XXXXX“On the inverse, the Illyar believe that to create something, anything is to impart a similar bit of your spirit into it, your strengths, your weaknesses. To create any tool, or weapon, a shield, to build a home or anything, is to impart a bit of your soul, a bit of yourself into that thing. That means whatever you made, along with carrying your qualities, would work for you better than what anyone else could make. And if you were to keep it with you wile you grow, it would grow as well, gaining more qualities as you did, binding itself to you on a spiritual level.
XXXXX“Now this is this is only a very basic summery of a concept that truly shapes Illyarians, but it is a very important concept for you to grasp because, in a way its true. Your staffs are not just tools as you may believe, but something much, like a limb, they will learn as you do, grow as you do, and become as much a part of you as your hand or heart. Together you will shape magic in ways that will only be limited by willpower and understanding. Enjoy the rest…”
XXXXX“How?” Nicolas did not realize he had asked the question until the rest of the class and Levefleur began stare at him.
XXXXX“Pardon?” asked Levefleur, fixing Nicolas with his dark eyes. Nicolas shrunk under his gaze, but forced himself not to break eye contact, and managed to mutter,
XXXXX“I don’t understand how a stick is supposed manipulate magic.” The room seemed to become quieter though no one was speaking, like the student’s collectively decided to stop breathing. Levefleur smiled then said tone that suggested he was explaining something painfully simple,
XXXXX“The staff is not meant to manipulate magic, it is meant to channel magic, to keep it a safe distance away from your body and make it easy for you to control.”
XXXXX“But…” began Nicolas, after thinking this over, “Why is it bad to channel magic through ourselves?” Levefleurs expression seemed to falter, but only for a second.
XXXXX“Because Magic is a force that cannot be so easily controlled. If you were to use magic without a staff and get overwhelmed by the power you could end up hurt or worse, you could destroy yourself.”
XXXXX“But wouldn’t overusing the staff create a dependency on it in order to use magic?” said Nicolas
XXXXX“Are you dependent on your arms and legs for locomotion?” countered Levefleur,
XXXXX“Well, yes, but its not the same thing, I can’t remove my arms and legs while a staff could easily be removed from me.”
XXXXX“Do you expect someone to try and remove your staff from you, or are you afraid you might lose it?”
XXXXXNicolas frowned, he could see his the staff being taken from him if he ever tried to reenter Magna wit it, then realized that was not the point he was trying to make,
XXXXX“No, but I have seen people use magic without using a staff without any training, I have, we have, every wizard at one port or another has. I just think it’s a bit unnecessary if its possible to work magic without a staff.” Again, the silence in the room seemed to deepen, the heads of the student’s though Nicolas had yet to realize it, were bouncing back from him to Levefleur and back again with everything said.
XXXXX“It is possible, but it is impractical,” said Levefleur, there was a mote, however small, of annoyance in his voice, “doing so could easily kill you.”
XXXXX“How?” There was long silence, and the smallest of frowns came over Levefleur’s face. Nicolas frowned at not getting an answer right away, but now that he had voiced his confusion on one aspect of wizardry, he wasn’t able to stop himself from exploring the others.
XXXXX“For that matter, where do the words for spells come from? Why can’t we just say what we want to happen and have it happen? Why can’t we just think of what we want and have it work like that?”
XXXXXLevefleur’s face slowly became hard as Nicolas asked his questions, but he stayed silent as Nicolas released all the questions that had been floating around in his head for the last few months.
XXXXX“And what about magic itself? What is it? Where does it come from? How can it do all these things? What are its limits? How do we control it? Why do I have it? Why do any of us have it?”
XXXXXLevefleur and he stared at each other for a time as the class sat in silence while the air seemed to quiver with unease around them. Then Levefleur tilted his head to one side, as if considering Nicolas and said in a surprisingly calm tone,
XXXXX“Those are some of the questions that even the most intelligent wizards in the world strive to answer. Of course, there are many theories, though there is very little substantial evidence for any of them. The most common, and well known, would tell you that magic is a form of energy that for some reason we are able to control. For the spells and rituals we use are too a mystery, most were handed down over the centuries from one wizard to another and thus cannot be traced, though many believe that the language itself was the first created wizards to define their abilities. As for where our power originates from, who can say if they were passed down from our ancestors or were a random occurrence, we just have to accept the gift and the responsibilities.
XXXXX“Its interesting that you ask such questions, few do, I’m sorry I don’t have all the answers you may be looking for.” He at Nicolas, not the type of smile you would expect from a teacher to a new student. It was one of those diplomatic smiles, meant more to hide feelings of intense dislike while pretending to be friendly. Nicolas flinched, but said nothing more, though he felt that he wanted too. He didn’t feel any better than before hearing Levefleurs explanation of things, to him it sounded more like a snub than a real answer. In a way it hurt, like a hunger pain, he wanted to know these things, he wanted to know the real answers, answers he could use. He wanted an explanation for what he was, for why he could do these horrible things, most of all he wanted to know how to make them stop.
XXXXXLevefleur turned to the class at large and finished up what he was saying before Nicolas first interrupted him, “You may have the rest of the day to yourselves, enjoy your week end, spend your time wisely.” There was the sound of collective movement and Nicolas stood, picking up his staff, feeling suddenly weary. He looked back at Richard, Paul and Michael, but before he or them could say anything there was a call from the front of the class.
XXXXX“Nicolas, could you come here for a moment.” He turned to see that it was Levefleur and walked up to the front of the class while all the other students in the room filed out, feeling some apprehension as he did so. Levefleur stared at him when he approached, but did not speak for a moment until most of the student’s were out of the classroom. Nicolas felt his gut twist, and for a moment he saw himself receiving some punishment for speaking out of turn. It took a surprisingly long time for the door to clunk shut, and in that length Nicolas’s mind came up with more and more awful punishments that Levefleur would have for him so by the time it finally did fall close he was just about ready to turn and run for it. Finally, Levefleur, not having moved once since he had called up Nicolas spoke,
XXXXX“Have you ever studied magical theory Nicolas?”
XXXXXNicolas blinked, that was an odd way to start a scolding, “No sir, I haven't.”
XXXXX“Are you interested in it?”
XXXXX“I don't know what it is sir.”
XXXXXLevefleur looked away from him and with a flick of his wrist caused a piece of paper and a small stick charcoal to pop into existence on the floor in front in front of him. He picked the charcoal and began to write, speaking aloud as he did so.
XXXXX“Most wizards have their powers realized at an early age and are sent into apprentice under a local trainer before being sent here for more formal training. That way they can be taught the basics of magical theory, the reasoning behind what we do, our limits, the importance of the tools we use and so on. Considering where you come from I can’t say I’m surprised you’ve heard of it.” When implying Magna his tone seemed to darken. Then he looked up, his eyes grim, and handed Nicolas the slip of paper
XXXXX“This is the name and author of a book on the subject, its very comprehensive, I know we have several copies in the library. Its not required for study of course, but I think you would find it informative. Answer some of the questions you had today in greater detail than can provide.”
XXXXXNicolas stared at the neat handwriting on the paper in surprise, so he wasn't going to get reprimanded for speaking out of turn after all, just some schoolwork. He felt relieved he looked up from the paper and muttered quietly,
XXXXX“Thank you, sir.”
XXXXX“No thanks needed,” said Levefleur, nodding, “now go enjoy the rest of your afternoon.”
XXXXXNicolas turned away from the podium and headed for the door at the back of the class, his staff in one hand and the note in the other. Outside in the hall Richard, Michael and Paul were waiting for him, no other student's were in sight except for them. Richard stood closest to the door and when Nicolas exited said,
XXXXX“So, what was that about?”
XXXXX“Nothing, he just had a book he wanted to suggest.”
XXXXX“Is that it?” said Paul
XXXXX“Yeah.” Paul frowned, obviously a little disappointment, but before he could say anything more Michael stuck his head over Nicola's shoulder and asked
XXXXX“What's the name of the book?”
XXXXXNicolas took a step away from Michael and away from the door and said,
XXXXX“Meditations on the Arcane by Rene Vasser” There was a pause,
XXXXX“Never heard of it.” Said Paul,
XXXXX“I have,” said Michael, “Its famous”
XXXXX“What is it about?” asked Nicolas,
XXXXX“Don't know, never read it.”
XXXXXNicolas hummed and read the two lines on the paper again, folded it into his pocket, and left with the others on a walk around the grounds as they decided how they were going to spend the rest of the afternoon.
XXXXXWhen Nicolas woke the next day, he found himself alone in the room with only a small note on the writing desk. It was from Richard, it told him that he and the others had decided not to wake Nicolas and instead had gone down early for breakfast before heading off into the forest to practice spells for the day. Nicolas knew where they were, over the last few days they came to use the same hollow of trees by the castles outer wall as a sort of hang out when the common room was too full for comfort. Considering it for a minuet, he decided instead of heading down to meet them right away he would head down to the library and pick up the book Levefleur had suggested.
XXXXXHe wasn’t as enthusiastic about using magic as the others and hoped the book would calm himself a little or at least give him an excuse not to participate. After bathing himself and getting dressed in his school robes with his more comfortable Magnan style underclothes he grabbed his staff and headed through the set of way doors to the dining hall for a small breakfast before heading off to the library building. It did not take long and only thirty minuets after waking out of the dorm he was walking through the gardens and walled districts toward the library while eating a small scone.
XXXXXHe had yet to visit the library but he remembered it from Miss Jolie’s tour of the school. It was a tall circular building like many in the school, built from the same tan limestone with the same strange cloudy glass windows embedded into the wall with the same organic architecture to the building that was present everywhere. What set it apart was its wide girth which, compared to its height, made it much more seem a lot more squat than tall like the other towers of the school.
XXXXXHe walked through the courtyard to where he remembered it to be, but when he passed through the wall archway into the Library’s quarter and stopped. The Library seemed, though Nicolas could not say why, a lot more foreboding than the last time he saw it. The Verandah shielded by a series of pillars to provide the entryway with shade appeared from this angle looked like it was baring its teeth, and its deep-set windows gave the a lot more spaces for shadows to form, almost giving the Library the appearance of something sinister. Aside from that the walled area around the building seemed distinctly devoid of students compared to the rest of the school that day, the garden looked oddly still and an odd chill and silence hung over all of it.
XXXXXFor a long time Nioclas just stood there and stared at the building until a strong gust of cold wind blew past him. He reminded himself that it was early September and he was just picking up on the changes of the weather. Steeling himself he headed through the abandoned district garden, past the equally grim statues of school alumni and in through the Libraries entryway.
XXXXXIt didn’t as much as surprise him as disappoint him when he saw the library itself was almost as welcoming on the inside as it was outside. The first thing he noticed was a set of very tall oaken bookshelves with small glass lamps hanging like torches from their ends. These were emitting a soft candle like light that barely illuminated the ground and space between the book shelves and did not illuminate the ceiling at all, giving the impression of the ground floor being the only floor with an unending empty space going on infinitely above. Hanging from the unseen ceiling was something like a chandelier, except with the same light glass instead of candles. This illuminated two long desks that curved from either side of the doorway around the concave inner wall and up to two stone adjacent stone stairwells. The only other person he could see here was at one of the checkout desks. It was a young man, wearing brown-black students robes, reading a book by the light of a small lantern above him. Nicolas walked up to the student, pulling the piece of paper with the information written on it and said,
XXXXX“Excuse me, I was wondering if you could help me find…”
XXXXX“What’s it called,” said the student, before Nicolas could finish and without looking away from his book. Nicolas felt a little insulted, but continued anyway,
XXXXX“Meditations on the…”
XXXXX“Arcane by Rene Vasser?” Again the Student finished what he was going to say, without looking away from his book. Nicolas blinked and said, slowly,
XXXXX“Yes, have you read it?”
XXXXXThe Boy didn’t look up from his book but said, in a bored tone, “No, but I understand its very good… Wait here a moment.” Nicolas watched silently, as the kid stood up and without taking his nose out of the pages turned to the wall, which had a number of small shelves built into it and pulled a small card from one of these before tossing it to the desk in front of Nicolas and said.
XXXXX“Here’s the card, has the book location listed on it, get the book and bring both it and the card back to me so I can stamp it out.” Nicolas picked up the card and looked at the location on its inside, third floor, philosophy section, listed under V. He pocketed the card and headed for the stairwell before he heard the desk boy say,
XXXXX“Hey, if you see Tav up there tell him I was supposed to be out of here almost an hour ago.” Nicolas turned, his foot on the first step of the stairwell to look at the boy.
XXXXX“Who?”
XXXXX“Tav, he’s the Librarian, he’s been up there sorting out the books all day, does that a lot really, says they keep re-arrange themselves whenever he’s not looking.” There was an awkward silence as Nicolas waited for the boy to chuckle at his own joke. He didn’t.
XXXXX“Just give him the message if you see him.” Nicolas nodded what seemed like a too short number of stairs before reaching the second floor landing. When he got to there, he looked out onto the second floor and saw that where the place where the desks would have been on the first floor was a large reading area by a guardrail looking down onto the floor below. He walked up to the rail, looked down at the desk below, and saw that he had travelled up nearly four times the distance he had thought he did on the stairs. He returned to the stairwell, deciding that the stairs must have been enchanted and headed up another equally short flight of stairs up to the third floor.
XXXXXThe third floor was much like the second, but it didn’t have any view to the others below. Like the others there was a large reading area against the wall between the staircases and a set of tall oak bookshelves like the levels before. He walked out onto the floor and noticed how uncared for the place seemed. The air was stale and dry, and tasted weird in his mouth. Light poured in through the windows illuminated clouds of dust that sat suspended in the air. The glasses that hung from the walls that should have provide lights were flickering as if they were close to death, and seemed to all over the floor. Nicolas immediately decided he would move to get the book as fast as possible and get out of there.
XXXXXTaking the card out of his pocket he checked the book’s location against a map and cursed, it was the furthest point away from him at the far side of the library. He pocketed the card again and headed into the twisting maze of bookshelves. Reaching the end of the row, he turned the corner and headed down the isle between the shelves, staring at the small plaques that said the subject and alphabetical listings. The place well organized, but its darkness and emptiness, along with the similarity and curvature of its rows gave it the feeling of a maze. Like the rest of the Scholair all of the walls and shelves were curved, but instead of give it a more organic feel it gave it made it more claustrophobic, giving you the since you were walking down an endless corridor. If Nicolas stopped paying attention to where he was going and looked at a flickering light or down a vast row of books he could easily forget his headings. One time he walked several rows just before realizing he was doubling back again. The only thing breaking up the endless shelve lined corridors were small reading areas, with desks, displays and chairs as old, all as dusty as everything else on that floor. He never stopped at these but continued onward through the network.
XXXXXOnce or twice Nicolas’s nerves would get the better of him and he would become startled at nothing. A light would flicker and he would jump, or there would be a small noise that would come out like cannon blast in the silence that would only turn out to be nothing. At his very worst moments, he would actually think was seeing something, a shadow that would disappear as soon as he actually went looking for it. Every time this happened he told himself, he was being stupid and scared, that there was nothing here except him and the dust, but the further he went the more uneasy he would feel, and the more often he would jump at nothing.
XXXXXAfter what felt like a long time he reached the last bookshelf in the place, sitting in the wall the back corner of the Library. Nicolas went up and down the last row with his eyes, scanning the spines of books, looking for the name of the author he wanted. It was only until he got to the end of the row of books, where it opened up into another alley sided by a limestone wall imbedded with a bookshelf, that he spotted Rene Vasser’s name. He sighed to himself, strangely relieved that he got to the book without any incident and reached out his hand to take it. Then just as his fingers touched the spine froze, tensed, and the hairs on the back of his neck rising.
XXXXXHe knew with absolute certainty that something behind him, something silent, and big. He didn’t know how he knew this, there were no signs he recognized, no sound or shadow or anything, but some primal impulse told him this and be believed it. Fighting the terror he felt at that moment Nicolas gripped his staff tightly and thought what to do. He could turn and confront the person, if someone had bothered to sneak up on him he doubted it were there to talk. He wondered if he could get away. Then he realized that the longer he stood there the more opportunity he was giving the person a chance to strike and acted. With no other options coming to mind he allowed his instincts to kick in. He turned, his staff swinging like a club at the space behind him, but there was no impact no thud, just empty air and the adjacent bookshelf. It took several seconds for Nicolas to relax. Finally he looked up and down the isle, and told himself that nothing was there, that his own imagination was just adding to the creepiness of the place. Without turning he reached his free hand back for the book, keeping his eyes on the isle around before turning back to see what book he was really grabbing. Then he screamed.
XXXXXA face, a hideous, horrible, broken face in a ragged shroud of shadow stuff was sticking its head through the bookshelf, staring with blank, dead eyes that shone with an eerie blue light. Nicolas fell backwards on the ground and crawled away in absolute horror from the thing as it slowly melded the rest of its body through the bookshelf like some sort of living smog. The thing was vaguely humanoid in form, though only vaguely. In a way, it was more like the animated form of a human torso, which floated feet above the ground. Only rotted and wearing a sort of black ethereal shroud, frayed at the edges in long, ragged tatters. Whatever was inside the Shroud appeared and disappeared in pieces, each malformed body part showing up itself only when it moved, shimmering blue white it in the air before disappearing again under the shroud. But the most horrible, foreboding part about the creature was the sound it made in the utter silence. A mix of leaves thrashing about in a storm and that silent roar that came out of caverns and other deep places.
XXXXXNicolas didn’t think about what he was going to do next, he knew if he did he would die. Before the creature could free itself entirely from the wall he bolted to the side running down the back isle between the shelved wall and the line of bookcases. He ran until he ran out of breath, but not before he reached the opposite wall of the library. When he couldn’t ignore the pain in his side he paused to catch his breath, looked over his shoulder over his shoulder and saw that the creature, whatever it was, had not followed him. He sighed, relieved and leaned against a break in the wall as tried to get his barring. Trying to push the immediate thought of the monster out of the front of his mind, he decided that the best course of action would be to keep along the wall until he reached the stairwell. If the creature could move through the walls, then it could easily run circles around him amongst the rows of shelving.
XXXXXHe moved forward as fast as he could, disregarding the fact he was out of breath and cramping out of fear. He strained his ears to hear that metallic noise the creature made when it moved, his instincts telling him that would be the first thing he would notice if it were near. He tightened his grip on the staff, knowing that if it were to come at him again it would be his first and last line of defense, even though he only knew a few spells.
XXXXXLong after Nicolas reached a sharp corner in the wall where it rounded into the next. He stopped and felt some relief pass through him, halfway there. He started forward again, but just as he put he raised his foot he heard, like a thunder crack, the noise of scraping metal directly behind him. He swung around, threw himself up against the nearest wall and jabbed out with his staff, expecting to see the monster bearing down on him, but instead saw nothing. He sat there petrified for a moment, his heart pounding in his ears, wondering if the thing was there or if he had just imagined the noise. Then with a shocking pain in his neck he was hoisted up into the air, and was slammed against the wall with a crash that broke a shelf and sent a cascade of books falling over him to the floor. The Creature had come up out of the wall behind him and had taken him around the neck with its icy fingers, holding him up like he was weightless as it gathered itself from out of the wall, staring into Nicolas’s open eyes with its own glowing sockets.
XXXXXThe creatures face looked like when it first came out at him, but now as he hung in the air he could see it in every horrifying detail. It looked like the type of face you would see staring back at you from broken mirror. Everything was there, just fractured and out of place. If Nicolas could say it had an expression, it was slack jawed nothing, like that on a corpse. The only thing that seemed to be in its right place were the eyes, and only because the place they should have been shone with that eerie blue light. He couldn't breath through the ethereal thing's frozen grip and stars started to form in front of his eyes. He struggled and tried to grab at the cold, smoke like stuff that was wrapped around his neck, only he scraped at his own neck, and it stung the finger of his hand like he had stuck them into ice water. He was losing his strength and as his free hand fell to his side the fingers around his staff started to loosen. With the strength he had left he struck out at the beast with the last ounce of his power, feeling the strange, eclectic feeling of magic flowing through him.
XXXXXThe creature screeched a horrible, inhuman noise like metal dragging on stone and threw Nicolas to the side, away from his escape route. Landing on his back Nicolas rolled far on the floor, his staff landing only a meter or so away from where he came to a stop. Laying there he saw the Shrouded thing floating immobile where it had held him, staring at him with its shining blue eyes before slowly disappearing into the air. Nicolas shot up, ignoring the bruises in his body and breathing hard through a throat was burning like he had swallowed acid, then picked up his staff before running away from where he was attacked and into the rows of shelving. Whatever plan he had for escape was gone, now he was running on instinct, adrenalin and a will to survive.
XXXXXHHe ran to the end of the shelf and paused, looking around the curved isles, trying to decide the best rout. He flexed his free hand out of stress and felt an immediate pain. Looking down he saw, with another horrifying shock, that his fingers were blackened, blistered and swollen, as they were dead. He gasped, and a sharp pain cut in his neck, he reached up to feel it now it was free and realized that his neck too was necrotic. He felt nauseous for a moment, but fought it back so he could keep on moving forward and headed off to the right, thinking that it would lead him to the closest stairwell. A moment later something caught he corner of his eye and he looked to see the shrouded thing soaring at him from high on the bookshelves. Nicolas dodged, felt a cold pain shoot through his hip, like he was slashed by icicles. He came up to see the thing disappear into the floor, and saw four, long, blackened cuts in his thigh. He could tell the wound wasn’t deep from the dull pain it gave him, but it make moving slow and awkward.
XXXXXHe stumbled in the direction he was heading again and was able to make it past the set of rows, using his staff to support his injured side, before the shroud rose out of the floor in front of him, blocking his path. Nicolas stopped and stared at the thing, realizing that he wouldn't be able to outrun it with the speed it had attacked him before. It stood still, staring back at him with its blue eyes, then rose into the air and plummeted toward him, its claws outstretched in a downward cut. He raised his staff to block it, but the claws simply traveled through the wood and slid neatly into Nicola's shoulders.
XXXXXHe tried to scream, but the noise caught in his wounded throat. He dropped both arms, and fell to his knees as his face contorted in pain. There was nothing more in the world, just the pain of the claws and the biting cold now spreading through is body from his shoulders. The blades of the shrouded creature’s hands punched straight through him, crippling his arms. As they failed his hands opened and the staff fell to the ground beside him with a dull clank. Nicolas knew then that there was nothing more it could do, that the creature was simply going to kill him there and leave his body to lay undiscovered in this place. But after a brutal second the creature relented, and a sigh like noise dissipated into the air. Nicolas curled forward in pain for a long while before energy came back to him and he scrambled to his feet, abandoning his staff on the floor in a mad dash. He didn't think about what just happened just then, but kept on going forward, fighting unbelievable pain he felt up and down his useless arms as he headed toward the entrance. Once he started moving again the small part of his brain that could work through the terror, and pain asked why the creature did not kill him. Then he realized, with additional terror, that it was toying with him.
XXXXXHe ran for what felt like forever in the maze of bookshelves, dodging attacks from the creature as it popped out of the dark, jumping in random isles to avoid attacks, all while trying to find a way out of the place. Every time he saw the creature he would take a wound, everything ranging from small cuts and scrapes to deep slices in his fresh and heavy bruises, but with all the pain he felt all over his body he wouldn't be able to notice it until he was safe. The creature’s attacks seemed to becoming longer and more frequent with each passing moment, to the point where he was running away from it as it zigzagged after him down rows of shelves before vanishing again into nothing.
XXXXXFinally he stumbled into a row of shelves, avoiding a lunging, slashing attack for his head, only taking a long ragged cut across his cheek. He headed down this row for a moment before he realized what was in front of him. The windows at the front of the library were still shining bright with morning sunlight, and beside that was the twisting stairway leading down to the lower levels. He cried out, seeing this and ran with all his remaining strength for the end of the isle. Behind him he could hear the noise of the creature, slicing at the air as it came in for another attack. He jumped to the side and saw the creature soar past him before flying into the shelves with a metallic howl. He shot forward and again it came at him, this time from the side so he ducked and came out of it with only a thin slice in his side.
XXXXXThen, just before he was about to reach the end of the isle he stumbled and fell to the floor. He stirred, brain numb, and looked around for whatever had caused him to fall, forgetting for a moment what he was running from. Then he looked down at his feet and felt his heart stop. His left leg, which he had stumbled on, black with blood, mangled below the knee, long slices of rotted flesh peeling away from the bone, holding on to the rest of his leg by only flaps of skin. His shoe was gone, along with half of his toes and most of his foot. It took a second for his brain to comprehend this, but when they did he was filled with the most intense pain he had ever felt in his life. His mind broke down, there was nothing he could do now but scream, he was going to die, there was no way to fight it and he did not want to die. He tried to twist, he tried to turn, but the pain was too much for him to fight any longer. Then the noise of the thrashing storm, the noise of the creature, sounded far off started and coming louder and louder in a steady beat louder as it closer to him for the killing blow
XXXXXA shadow passed over Nicolas’s face, cast from the windows ahead the front of the library, Nicolas cast his head up and saw a figure of a standing in the light. An ordinary looking man in a black robe was standing there, looking down at Nicolas with his slightly mouth open, in obvious shock. Nicolas struggled to move his arm despite the shoulder wound and stretched out his hand toward the man, gurgling through is wounded throat as he tried to call for help. The man, seeming to get over his shock and spoke just as the noise of the creature reached its crescendo,
XXXXX“Don’t worry,” he said, his voice clear and calm, “everything is going to be fine.”
XXXXXThen the creature went silent and there was a slick, wet noise and a sudden pressure in Nicolas’s chest. He looked back and saw the creature floating flat right above his chest, its fingers sunk up to the knuckle in Nicolas’s rib cage. Nicolas expected his life to flash before his eyes or for time to freeze and to have some sort of revelation or calm at death, but there was nothing. Just as his eyes fell on the creature, it twisted its bladed hand, causing a final spike of pain to shoot through Nicolas before a dull numbing sensation washed over him. His head hit the floor, his senses sunk into a lucid dark. The last thing he saw was the shrouded creature, slowly fading into nothing. The last thing he heard was the squelch of the creature’s claws leaving his chest. The last thing he thought was of how, in so many ways, he could have been a better person.
XXXXXAnd then, nothing.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 1:51 am
Chapter 5 Chapel
XXXXXWhen Nicolas next opened his eyes he saw a flash so bright it was like he was seeing light again for the first time, in fact, it was like he was using all his senses again for the first time. Every noise clattered in his ears like thunderclaps. Every centimeter of his skin stung from every sensation from the clothes against his skin to the carpet beneath his fingers. He was trapped in this agonizing hypersensitive state for a time out of time then, he took his first breath, and the world resolved itself around him.
XXXXXHe sprawled on the floor, gasping for air, then instantly rolled over and tried to vomit, but only ended up gagged air. A hand patted the square of his back, and a man’s voice said,
XXXXX“Its okay, you fine”
XXXXXNicolas turned to see the unassuming face of a dark haired man, who was kneeling next to him and for some reason Nicolas though the recognized him. Nicolas shook his head it was still buzzing from the flash, and managed to push himself up a little onto his hands and knees. Everything seemed different now, though he could not put his finger on how. His clothes, from his robes to his shoes were clean, unmarked, and even warm, not at all bloodied or cut at all, though he didn’t know why they would be. His staff lay right next to him on the floor parallel to his body, and for some reason this surprised him too. Everything was where it should be, and out of place at the same time. Finally he managed to mutter,
XXXXX“Where am I?”
XXXXX“The Library” said man
XXXXXNicolas turned himself around to sit on the floor. He gazed around at the place, bookshelves on either side, a library, but how did he get there? Why did he feel so uneasy about being here? He shook his head, pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind, and then tried to push himself up. He had very little strength. He shook with the effort of getting to his knees and had to fight to continue standing. The man grabbed his elbow and helped him up onto his feet, then dropped to pick up Nicolas’s staff. When he was standing the man gave him the staff so he could support himself and said,
XXXXX“Here, we should get you back to your dorm” He walked to the end of the isle leading out onto the floor before the stairwells and gestured that Nicolas should follow. Nicolas looked out and instead saw the red sky outside the window and asked,
XXXXX“How, did I get here?”
XXXXXThe man was silent, then after a few seconds said,
XXXXX“I don’t know, I just found you here, you probably fell and bumped your head, the lights in here can be tricky”
XXXXX“Huh” muttered Nicolas, he tried to remember what happened but drew a blank, in fact he couldn’t remember how he got to the library, or much of anything before he went to bed the night before, everything was hazy. The man led him to the spiraling stairs and directed him down them, by the time they reached the second floor another question rose to the surface of Nicolas’s mind.
XXXXX“How did you find me?”
XXXXX“I found you when I was doing my inspection.”
XXXXX“Who are you?”
XXXXX“I’m Tav” said the man, “Eric Tav, the librarian.”
XXXXXA memory floated to the surface of Nicolas’s mind and he muttered, “You were up on the third floor rearranging books because they like to rearrange themselves…” Suddenly a number of memories started fly across Nicolas’s minds eye, a young man at a reading desk, the twisting maze of books, something black-blue coming out of the walls and pain.
XXXXX“No.” said Tav suddenly, stern note to his voice, “I was in my office doing paperwork all day”
XXXXXThis didn’t seem right, Nicolas could feel his fear growing, and with the fear his mind began to clear, and more memories returned to him,
XXXXX“But the boy said…”
XXXXX“He didn’t say anything at all,” cut in Tav, his voice slow, and soothing, and somehow, echoing in that small place “Best you don’t think about it.”
XXXXXNicolas’s mind was suddenly swept clean of thoughts and filled with a numbing cloud of calm. In this daze he missed a step but was caught by Tav who continued to directing him down the stairs with this hand gripping Nicolas’s shoulder. Nicolas allowed himself to be directed down the stairs and into the chandeliered entrance of the library. By the time they reached the doorway Nicolas was able to make think again, but not coherently. Tav led him through the doors and out onto the verandah behind the pillars, coming to a stop there,
XXXXX“Alright, I hope you know your way from here. I have to close up for the night.”
XXXXXNicolas opened his mouth, meaning to thank the man, but only made an unintelligible sigh. Tav smiled and said,
XXXXX“No thanks necessary young man. Just go to your dorm, go to bed and forget about today, okay?”
XXXXXNicolas nodded and turned to leave, but not before Tav put a hand on his shoulder and said, in a clear, calm tone,
XXXXX“Don’t worry…” The tone sparked a clarity in Nicolas’s mind and he saw for a second the moment right before the creature killed him, the face of the man who witnessed the act, and knew it was the man who stood with him now. Then Tav continued with his voice layered with power, “Everything is going to be fine”
XXXXXA powerful sense of ease rushed over Nicolas at Tav’s words and he instantly forgot what he had just remembered. Tav took his hand off Nicolas’s shoulder and let him to exit the Verandah into the late evening air with a small, but worried looking grin then set to work closing the library when Nicolas was out of sight.
XXXXXBy the time Nicolas walked into Broadly house night had fallen and most of the house was already back inside except for those who were visiting other houses. He was still filled with that strange sense calm and walked toward the staircase without thinking to look around. He almost halfway to the stairs when he felt a large hand slap his chest and he looked up to see Brandon’s smiling face looking down at his.
XXXXX“It’s Nick right?” Nicolas smiled back and said in a wholeheartedly cheerful tone,
XXXXX“Yes Prefect. What do you need?” Someone laughed, Nicolas figured it was Andy, Brandon shook his head,
XXXXX“Nothing, but those three over there has been calling you.” Nicolas turned around and saw Richard, Paul and Michael waving to him, by their usual sitting place by the window,
XXXXX“Oh, must have missed them, thanks Prefect.” There was another laugh
XXXXX“You can call me Brandon, you know” said Brandon, his smile faltering
XXXXX“Yes Prefect. Will do Prefect” said Nicolas, smiling, before wandering off in the direction of his roommates while there was another burst of laughter. Richard and Michael were both sitting on a couch looking back at Nicolas while Paul sat on a lounge chair with his sketching book in his lap. When he approached Richard stood,
XXXXX“Where were you? You’ve been gone all day!” Nicolas blinked once or twice, smiling to himself,
XXXXX“Oh, I went to the library.”
XXXXX“And you were there all day?
XXXXX“Yes, yes I was.” Nicolas smiled again and Richard took a step back, Michael exchanged a confused look with Paul then looked up and Nicolas and asked,
XXXXX“Why didn’t you just check out the book you were reading and come find us?”
XXXXX“I wasn’t reading anything.”
XXXXXAfter a second silence Paul sat up a little on his seat and asked,
XXXXX“Then what were you doing?”
XXXXX“I don’t know… Sleeping, I guess” said Nicolas, unconcerned. There was a small pause then Nicolas looked back at the staircase and said,
XXXXX“Well, I don’t know about you three but I’m going to go up and get some sleep, I’m kind of tired.”
XXXXXMichael and Paul nodded, both looking a little disturbed and went back to whatever they were doing. Richard, on the other hand, walked around the couch and said,
XXXXX“You know, I think I’ll go with you, I was going to grab a book from up there anyway” Nicolas hummed in a carefree way and walked with Richard towards the stairs,
XXXXX“So, how’s the library then” said Richard when they were on the steps,
XXXXX“Fine, I think, most of the day’s a blank. Well, not really a blank, more of a daze really. How was yours?” Richard paused his mouth open a little then muttered,
XXXXX“Good, yeah, it was great” They continued up the stairs for a moment then, Nicolas still humming tunelessly, then Richard said, in a slow, careful way,
XXXXX“Hey Nick? I was wondering, about that other day, when that girl hit you in the dining hall, do you know why she did that?”
XXXXX“Oh, that?” said Nicolas, not really careing, “I hit her friend the Chitauri girl, Sera I think, when she tried to help me the first day…”
XXXXXHe continued up the stairs for a bit then realized that Richard wasn’t with him, he turned and saw that he was standing on a lower step, with his mouth open. Nicolas raised his eyebrow and asked,
XXXXX“What?”
XXXXX“What? You assaulted someone! And all you can say is ‘What?’”
XXXXXNicolas didn’t see any problem with that, but couldn’t see anything in his brain as cloudy as it was,
XXXXX“So? I got attacked too.”
XXXXX“In retaliation! And what reason did she even give you to attack her?”
XXXXXNicolas thought about it, and said the first thing that came into his mind,
XXXXX“Well, she’s a Chitauri isn’t she?”
XXXXXRichard looked stunned. Nicolas smiled unconcernedly and continued up to the next floor. Richard followed as Nicolas strode lazily towards their room. Before he could open the door Richard said incredulously.
XXXXX“What’s wrong with you”
XXXXXNicolas stopped, and turned back around to Richard, with an innocent smile,
XXXXX“Nothing, I didn’t want her around, she followed me, so I hit her, anyone would have done the same.”
XXXXX“But you did it because of her race!”
XXXXX“Yeah, I did.” said Nicolas, Richard blinked once or twice then said blankly
XXXXX“But she was trying to help you.”
XXXXX“Well I didn’t want her help.”
XXXXXRichard opened his mouth to speak, seemed to decide against it, then shook his head and said,
XXXXX“That’s really, really sick Nicolas, really sick.”
XXXXX“Ha,” laughed Nicolas, turning back to the door, “That’s funny.”
XXXXXNicolas pushed open the door and headed inside, with Richard following silently behind. He headed to his bed, put his staff on the little stand attached to his headboard, then sat down and started to take off his shoes. Richard knelt in front of his own bed, opened it and started going through the contended with an annoyed expression. When Nicolas began to fumble with his robes Richard looked up looking gloomy,
XXXXX“Don’t forget to check your pockets, its laundry tomorrow.” Said Richard, sourly
XXXXX“Thanks, I almost forgot” said Nicolas,
XXXXXThough he didn’t remember putting anything in his pockets he stuck his hands into pull them out then stopped when he felt something poke his hand. Curious he pulled the small, flat, rigid thing out it out. It was the index card from the library, but it was warped, dark with dried blood, torn in three parallel cuts. Nicolas stared at it for a moment, confused, then with a shock like a lightning strike the spell over his mind broke. His breath caught in his chest, and his hands shook, along with the rest of his body. All the memories, every single one from that day came back to him within a single split second flash. The card dropped from his fingers, and fell to the floor.
XXXXXHe looked after the card and felt his stomach rise. His body, his robes everything was ruined. He covered in cuts, covered in blood, his leg was mauled, and blood surged from the wound in is chest, he knew he should be dead, but knew he was alive. He was choking on air, his heart was racing. His body was seizing, he bent double, hugging himself to keep the tattered remains of his body together and closed his eyes to block out the images of himself, but he saw the shrouded creature ripping into him through his eyelids. He could see his death over and over again in every excruciating detail, but his mind just couldn’t accept the fact. His own memories told him he should be dead, but he was alive. He could remember how it felt to have his life taken, but he was alive, it was impossible. Then, with the image of the blade fingers pressing into his chest still burned into his eyes, he was shaken out of his delusion.
XXXXX He was sitting on his bed with Richard in front of him, holding his shoulders, looking terrified.
XXXXX“You scared the life out of me!” said Richard, taking a step back, looking both anxious and relieved. Nicolas tried to speak, but his breath was coming in great gulps. He ran his eyes over his body, all the cuts and mutilations he had seen were gone now. He was the same as before.
XXXXX“What happened? You were sitting there, hunched over and I thought I heard you sobbing. You didn’t respond to anything until I shook you. I thought you were having a fit?” Nicolas felt paralyzed. He had seen so much in such a sort time and was still trying to process it all.
XXXXX“I don’t know,” said Nicolas, his voice deadpan, “I don’t know what’s wrong, I… I think I need some time to think Richard, alone.”
XXXXXRichard looked a little taken aback, but nodded anyway and said, “Okay, just remember me and the rest of us are downstairs if you need anything.”
XXXXX“I know,” said Nicolas, looking down at his feet, “Thanks”
XXXXXRichard slowly made his way out the door, closing it behind him when he left, all the while looking concerned. Right when the lock clicked Nicolas fell to the ground, looking for the Index card. Soon he found where it had slid under his bed and held it up, staring at it in utter astonishment. It was proof that his memories were real, it was proof he had died, and it was proof he had come back from the dead. Nicolas felt a shiver run up his spine and he sat down on his bed again, staring at the card and fighting the impulse to throw it away. There was no other way to explain it though he was afraid to think it. He had come back from the dead.
XXXXXTav had brought him back from the dead.
XXXXXNicolas didn’t know when he had made this connection, just now as he was able to reflect on all the events of the day clearly it was obvious, he was the last and first person he saw in that timeframe. But this knowledge only confused the matter more. How was he brought back from the dead? Was this sort of thing common in Gallia? What happened between his death and revival? Why didn’t Tav stop the creature from killing him when he had the chance? Why did Tav make him forget everything? What was the creature that had attacked him? What was it doing in the library? Was it connected to Tav? Was this a mistake, or something much more sinister? And could he do about it?
XXXXXNicolas considered these questions for a very long time before realizing, bitterly, that he couldn’t do anything, yet, not with so many unanswered questions. The only thing he knew right now was that the creature killed him and that Tav had brought him back to life. Everything else was a mystery, one he wanted to solve for his own sanity. His only option now was to gather information, and stay quiet as long as he didn’t know how people were going to react. Who knew, if he told someone they could tell him this sort of thing was normal, or they could try to execute him as some sort of abomination, or worse.
XXXXXNicolas carefully hid the Index cared, and prepared for bed. As an afterthought, he hoped that the magic to revive the dead wasn’t that unattainable, if it wasn’t forbidden outright. The very thought of it was exiting though Nicolas didn’t want to admit it. Reviving all those he had hurt in his youth with his then unknown abilities, meeting his mother, reuniting her with his father. Just seeing that would be worth anything.
XXXXXThe bright white cloud of magic hit against the wall and spread out against the magical barrier there like water splashing against the floor, becoming thinner and thinner until it disappeared completely against the enchanted limestone, leaving a faint sizzling noise.
XXXXXMichael clapped and shouted, “Good shot Paul, I think that was four seconds!!”
XXXXXIt was the next day, and Richard, Paul, Michael and Nicolas were by the small tree hollow by the Scholair’s wall where they could practice without being noticed by the staff. The others had made a discovery the previous day that the wall carried an enchanted protection against magic that made it possible to bounce spells off of, and had apparently made a game of throwing spells at it and timing how long the wall’s shield took to stabilize.
XXXXXPaul turned around on his heels at the firing position and bowed with his staff held loosely at his side and an atypical smile of satisfaction. Richard joined Michael in a applause while Nicolas watched silently and when Paul came back to join them asked,
XXXXX“Which spell was that again, I don’t think I’ve seen it before?”
XXXXX“Consucoup” said Paul when he took his seat on the ground again, picking up his sketch book, “It’s used to stun people”
XXXXX“Cool,” said Richard, picking up the open spell book that sat on the grass between them and flipping through it, “What page is it on?”
XXXXX“Oh, it’s not in there,” said Paul, “I saw some student’s using it on each other and thought I would try it out.” Michael chuckled and Richard paused holding a page in mid turn,
XXXXX“Were any of them hurt?”
XXXXX “Only by the fall.”
XXXXXRichard hummed and went to looking through the book for a moment before closing it setting it carefully back to the ground,
XXXXX“You want to try anything Nick?”
XXXXXNicolas wasn’t paying attention, he was staring at the wall looking like he was in a trance. Richard leaned toward him and said in a louder voice,
XXXXX“Nick?” No response,
XXXXX“Nick!” He continued to stare off into clouds
XXXXXRichard exchanged confused looks with Michael and Paul, who both looked similarly confused. They were only sitting a meter or more away from each other under an oak tree, there was no way he couldn’t have heard. Finally Richard shouted,
XXXXX“Nicolas!” For a second he didn’t seem to react, but after a moment he blinked and turned his head back down to the others and said in his usual tone,
XXXXX“What?”
XXXXX“I was trying to talk to you.” Said Richard
“Oh,” said Nicolas, turning away before looking back, “sorry.”
XXXXXMichael shook his head and Paul went back to his sketch book. Richard sighed and held out the spell book to Nicolas,
XXXXX“You want to take a turn with the spell book Nick?”
XXXXX“No, not really,” murmured Nicolas, looking away from the book, and back up at the clouds
XXXXX“Okay then…” said Richard, leaning back and opening the book, but keeping his eyes on Nicolas, “Is there something on your mind? You seem a bit distracted”
XXXXXNicolas didn’t move just then, but blinked once or twice before looking at Richard
XXXXX“Yes, actually, I have a question that’s been bothering me.” He paused for a second, thinking of the best way to phrase the question. Richard sat up and gave Nicolas his full attention, and Michael and Paul shifted where they sat to listen in
XXXXX“I was wondering,” began Nicolas, speaking slowly, “About healing magic, like that Reparacillio spell we used in class. What is the limit you could heal someone with magic like that?”
XXXXXRichard frowned at the question and slouched back in thought, after a long, quiet moment of thinking, shrugged and said,
XXXXX“I’m not entirely sure, but I think it depends on a lot of factors, the type of injury you’re talking about, the spells you’re using, and the experience of the wizard…”
XXXXXNicolas cut in, asking his next question, “Well, let’s say that I had my leg cut off here,” he tapped his left knee with his hand, “could it be healed?”
XXXXX“I don’t know,” muttered Richard, he seemed to consider it, then Michael stepped in.
XXXXX“Do you mean reattaching the leg or creating a new one?”
XXXXX“What?” asked Nicolas,
“Well, if you got your leg cut off but still had the leg you could reattach it easily with magic, but if you lost the leg you could heal the wound but not create a new leg.”
XXXXX“How do you know that?” asked Richard,
XXXXX“Probably, read it in a book somewhere” said Michael, unconcerned.
XXXXX“What if…” said Nicolas slowly, “What if you lost the leg, found it and then wanted it reattached?”
XXXXX“Sorry?” said Richard,
XXXXX“Well.” Began Nicolas, “Lets say you got your leg cut off, lost it, found it some time later, and wanted it to be put back on, could you do it?”
XXXXXRichard frowned, considering the question, then Michael spoke,
XXXXX“Has it decayed at all?”
XXXXX“The leg? Sure. Yeah” said Nicolas, in as casual a way he could fake
XXXXX“I don’t think you could reattach it if it has decayed.” Muttered Michael to himself,
XXXXX“Why not?” asked Nicolas, “You could reattach it if it was cut off, why can’t you reattach it if it is rotted?”
XXXXX“Well,” said Michael with a shrug, “the dead can’t be healed.”
XXXXXThat answered one of Nicolas’s questions, but he didn’t feel any better hearing the answer. If it is impossible to heal something that’s dead, then had he died? There was no other way to explain what had happened to him, his heart was stabbed. And if his guess was true Tav did try to make him forget the experience. Did that mean he wanted the power a secret? Or did he just not want an investigation into the library? He still had no idea what that creature was or what it was doing in the library or why it had attacked him. But that wasn’t important. He needed to know if what he guessed happened to him was even possible.
XXXXX“What would happen if you tried?” asked Nicolas. Michael paled a little and shifted a little uncomfortably
XXXXX“Well, I’ve never known anyone to try, but I’ve heard that people who did got dragged into death themselves.”
XXXXX“Huh.” Said Nicolas, “But there are legends right?”
XXXXX“Legends of what?” asked Michael,
XXXXX“You know,” said Nicolas, he really didn’t want to say it directly, “of miraculous healing and the like.”
XXXXX“Yeah…” said Michael, looking a little puzzled, “But those are just legends”
XXXXX“Legends do have some basis in fact.” said Nicolas. Michael sighed,
XXXXX“Well yes, but even then the people who are doing those things have powers beyond human, like the Gods or their Saints. The only people who could bring back the dead who were human were wizards practicing Necromancy, Black Magic.”
XXXXX“Black Magic?” asked Nicolas, “What’s Black magic?”
XXXXXThere was a silence, then everyone, even Paul who had no attention in the conversation up to that point, turned to stare at Nicolas.
XXXXX“You don’t know what Black Magic is?” said Paul, dumbfounded,
XXXXX“No,” Nicolas blinking under their combined gaze, “What it is?”
XXXXX“It is dangerous, illegal magic,” said Michael, scowlings, “Vile in its ends and means. Only criminals and evil wizards use it, if they dared. It’s supposed to be as harmful to themselves as those they use it on.” Nicolas blinked surprised, in Magna magic itself was seen as wrong and prohibited, he didn’t realize there was more than one form of it, and apparently bringing people back from the dead was possible, but illegal. So Tav was a criminal. One who brought him back from the dead, but still a criminal.
XXXXX“Nick?” asked Richard,
XXXXX“What?” said Nicolas quickly
XXXXX“You look like someone has just dumped water over your head?”
XXXXX“It’s nothing, I… I didn’t realize there were other forms of magic?” said Nicolas, saying the first thing that came to his mind
XXXXX“Yeah, there lots” said Richard.
XXXXX“That makes sense, I guess,” said Nicolas, looking off again into nothing. It didn’t matter then, he thought, if Tav had killed him or not, the act of bringing him back to life was a crime. A crime he had evidence to, though he didn’t see the crime itself. Bringing people back from the dead didn’t seem that evil, especially when applied to him. Why was it Illegal? And then how illegal was it for that matter? He hummed to himself and looked back at the others, Paul was back to his sketchbook, Michael was playing with the grass and Richard was looking up at the sky.
XXXXX“What do they do to people who use black magic?”
XXXXX“Huh?” said Michael, glancing back at Nicolas, “Oh. Most are exiled to the fortress on Heleba, where they can’t do any more damage.” Nicolas nodded, but stopped as he considered this,
XXXXX“What do you mean by most?” asked Nicolas. Michael looked a little uneasy, but answered anyway,
XXXXX“Well Black Magic is dealt with differently depending on the circumstances. Let’s say someone uses black magic, but it by accident and its not harmful, then its not punished as severely. Then if someone were to use black magic intentionally, to control or to kill people, or to disrupt the natural order, like to bring back the dead or see into the future, it would mean exiled. And if someone used that kind of magic repeatedly and without regard for the law, that could lead to the death sentence” Nicolas nodded, he could see how bringing back the dead could count as disrupting the natural order, but exile seemed a little bit extreme, though when compared to what would happen to you if you performed magic alone in Magna… Maybe it wasn’t that bad.
XXXXXMichael looked back up at the sky for an instant then said, “Why do you want to know so much about this anyway?”
XXXXXNicolas froze as he thought of the best way to answer this, he had expected the question, but had not come up with a response in the hope it could be avoided. Eventually, after struggling for several moments to come up with the best answer he said in as even a voice he could muster, “I’m curious. I didn’t grow up knowing I was a wizard, learning the laws of magic and all like you three. I grew up pretending that the abnormal things that happened around me were just coincidence. I just want to learn”
XXXXXMichael was silent for a moment then turned his head toward Nicolas, nodded and said slowly, “Well, that’s okay, but be careful with questions like that. Just talking about Black magic is something that most would want to avoid. Someone who didn’t know you might even get suspicious and, well, I don’t want to even think about what could happen if you were accused of practicing…” He shivered a little at whatever thought he had and looked away. For several moments there was no sound except for the wind in the trees, then Richard reached down, picked up the spell book and said in a falsely cheerful tone,
XXXXX“I guess I’ll take my turn then, what’s the time I need to beat? Four seconds?”
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 1:53 am
XXXXXThe game continued until the sun started to fall and the warning bell rang to get the student’s inside, Paul winning that day with his four second. There were still a few hours before all students had to return to their dorms but at that moment neither Nicolas or Richard, or Michael or Paul could decide what to do until then. They stood against the wall in the entry district, looking out over the garden from the walkway as the light glass slowly began to shine.
XXXXX“We could go back to the Dorm?” suggested Richard
XXXXX“With all the people there, no thanks” said Michael
XXXXX“The Dining hall?”
XXXXX“I don’t want to share a table with anyone I don’t know.”
XXXXX“Want to go for a walk?”
XXXXX“And freeze? No thanks”
XXXXX“What about our room?”
XXXXX“Nothing to do there.”
XXXXX“Where do you want to go then?”
XXXXX“I don’t know,” said Michael, “why don’t you come up with an Idea?”
XXXXX“That’s what I’ve been doing”
XXXXXPaul yawned, and Nicolas looked off into space. He wasn’t thinking about anything at that moment. Before all he could think of before was of his death and after it, of Tav, of the Library and of the Creature. But there were only questions he, he couldn’t answer. What was the creature? Was it working for Tav? And was his murder Tav’s intention? Only Tav could answer these questions, and so really they didn’t matter. Nicolas only had two options as he could see, and neither of them he liked.
XXXXXOne was tell the authorities, with the Index card as evidence. Tav did bring him back to life, but he was also witness to Nicolas’s initial murder and had attempted to wipe his memories of it after and that was evidence enough to prove he had some involvement in it. The problem with that was that Tav could have made some insurance when bringing Nicolas back to life in case something like that happened. It was only a possibility, but still Nicolas didn’t like it.
XXXXX The other was to not tell anyone, to keep or destroy the evidence and to go about things as normal. That solved the problem of Tav possibly killing him, but it also meant Tav would be getting away with one, if not two, crimes with him as the victim. Then, there was the fact that Nicolas didn’t know whether or not he would be able to go about his life with the knowledge that he had been killed and reincarnated and that the man who had brought him back was living in the same walls as he was.
XXXXXHe kept on weighting the options against each other, as he had been doing so for the last few hours, all while feeling a deep depression. He didn’t want to admit it now that he knew it was illegal, but he had hoped reviving people was something common. The idea of seeing his family united was the only thing that had kept him from suffering nightmares the night before. He sighed, flicked his eyes over at Michael and Richard, who were still arguing, then stared back at the sky. Only then did he realize he was actually looking at something.
XXXXX There was a light, a single shining pillar shooting up into the sky from somewhere else within the Scholair. Nicolas wondered what it was for a moment, and why he had not noticed it before, then turned to point this out to the others, but Michael and Richard were still speaking.
XXXXX“You choose.” said Richard
XXXXX“Why do I have to?” said Michael,
XXXXX“Because you disagree with every idea I’ve had so far”
XXXXX“So? I don’t see why that means I have to make the choice?”
XXXXX“It’ll make things easier,”
XXXXX“Then why don’t you get those two to choose?” said Michael, jerking his head toward Paul and Nicolas,
XXXXX“Because you’ll probably disagree with them too,”
XXXXX“You don’t know that,”
XXXXX“Come on Michael, just make a choice.”
XXXXX“I don’t want to.”
XXXXXNicolas sighed and stared back up at the light then said, more to himself than to the others,
XXXXX“I think I’m going to go for a walk”
XXXXX“That sounds good” said Paul, “Mind if I come along,” Nicolas hummed indifferently and started down the walkway with Paul following behind him,
XXXXX“Hey? Where are you two going?” said Richard,
XXXXX“Away from here,” said Nicolas then he and Paul walked down the straight walkway to the curved one that ran the length of the inside of the Scholairs wall. They walked silent for some time, until they passed under an archway leading into another of the tower districts, then Paul said,
XXXXX“Enjoyed the first week?” Nicolas blinked once or twice, he knew he couldn’t give the real answer, but shrugged anyway and said,
XXXXX“It was fine. Aside from everything that wasn’t”
XXXXX“Hm. alright,” said Paul, not really seeming to pay attention,
XXXXX“So, why did you lie to Richard earlier?”
XXXXXNicolas paused only slightly before asking,
XXXXX“What lie?”
XXXXX“The one about being ‘just curious’ about bringing people back from the dead?”
XXXXX“Oh, that one…” They continued walking in silence for another few moments, Nicolas tried to think of an excuse and realized, dully, that his was the first time he had ever been alone with Paul, without Richard or Michael around. He couldn’t think of anything right away, so said,
XXXXX“That wasn’t a lie. Why do you think it was?” Paul laughed, though it was more of a dry snort than a real laugh,
XXXXX“Let me think. You tend avoid magic like rot. You never cast spells unless you absolutely have to, and when you do you look like your about to s**t yourself. You didn’t even take a turn casting spells today. Then suddenly you want to know all there is to know about bringing people back from the dead. That’s a bit of a turn for simple curiosity don’t you think?”
XXXXXNicolas frowned, Paul paid attention, or he was bad at lying, he hoped it was the former, “was it that obvious?”
XXXXX“Kind of, but I think Richard and Michael saw it another way.”
XXXXX“And how was that?”
XXXXX“They saw it as you asking questions about black magic, which scares them.”
XXXXX“And how did you see it?”
XXXXX“As you asking questions about bringing people back from the dead.”
XXXXX“Ah,” murmured Nicolas, looking away, “Do you have a problem with that?”
XXXXX“No, a lot of wizards are interested in that kind of stuff when they start training and are put straight by their trainers, but your just getting started now, as you said, so its to be expected.”
XXXXX“Yet you still don’t believe I was just curious?”
XXXXX“Well you pressed the question pretty hard without asking it directly.”
XXXXXNicolas didn’t say anything, but looked up at the light again, Paul and he were getting closer to its source,
XXXXX“So why did you want to know?” asked Paul
XXXXXNicolas didn’t answer right away, he knew he couldn’t’ tell Paul the truth, but also knew he wouldn’t be able to lie to him without being caught. Finally, when the silence was getting uncomfortable, Nicolas some of the truth,
XXXXX“When I was growing up, people who got close to me tended to die. Even my own mother, it didn’t endear me to the rest of my family”
XXXXXPaul was quiet for a moment, then said, “I’m sorry,”
XXXXX“You don’t have to be,” said Nicolas, bitterly, “it won’t help.”
XXXXXThey continued on in silence for a while, passing from one district into another, with the source just beyond the next wall. There weren’t too many students out in the gardens at this point in the day, the night was getting chilly and most he could see were either heading for the inside.
XXXXXAfter passing halfway through this area Paul asked,
XXXXX“What really happened in the library yesterday?”
XXXXXNicolas jumped, but was able to hide the moment as a shiver. He thought about just lying and saying he did but decided to evade the question, “Why do you ask?”
XXXXX“Because, Richard thinks someone may have put a spell on you.”
XXXXXNicolas didn’t feel shocked to hear this, but wasn’t immediately relieved either, “Why would he think that?”
XXXXX“You were acting weird, you know, like you were…” Paul’s face contorted as he tried to think of a proper word, then said, “Happy, you were acting happy, almost carefree, which for you was rather out of character. Then Richard said you had some sort of mood swing when you got to the room. He thinks you may have been cursed or something and that was when it was lifted.”
XXXXX“Huh,” said Nicolas frowning, “So why doesn’t Richard say anything to me about it?”
XXXXX“Don’t know,” said Paul, with an apathetic shrug, “Guess he doesn’t want to put you on the spot since we have only really known each other a week.”
XXXXX“Right,” said Nicolas, just as they reached the archway to the next district,
XXXXX“So were you attacked?” Nicolas blinked and said, truthfully,
XXXXX“I don’t know.” There was pause then Paul said
XXXXX“Well, at the least you beat Michael’s estimation.”
XXXXXNicolas blinked again and said, “What estimation”
XXXXXPaul grinned at him and said, “You don’t remember when he said you would be killed within the week?”
XXXXXNicolas felt like he had walked into wall when Paul said this, but tried to contort his face into a smile and said with a false laugh,
XXXXX“Oh, yeah, right, ha.” Paul raised his eyebrow, but continued onward into the next district regardless. Nicolas frowned and looked into the sky, the light was emanating from a place directly on the other side of the wall, then followed.
XXXXXThe area was much smaller than any of the other districts Nicolas had seen in the Scholair, with a single, small building dominating the space, surrounded by a few statues and vine covered walls. Nicolas recognized it from his first tour of the school as the Scholairs Chapel, but when he saw it last it didn’t have been so amazing. A pillar of light reached out of the buildings domed roof, shining with a golden brilliance as it shot into the sky. Nicolas stared dumbfounded at the glow as he followed Paul into the place, then looked over at Paul to see how he had reacted and was surprised he was looking at it with his normal, impassive expression. At the front of the building Nicolas prompted Paul to a stop and just stared at it, and after a long moment said,
XXXXX“I’ve never seen a place like this before.”
XXXXX“Really?” asked Paul, “I always thought Magna was Enlightened?”
“We are enlightened, I’m talking about this,” Nicolas gestured to the place, “I’ve never seen a chapel like this before.”
XXXXX“It must be the magic then, Builders here place enchants inside the walls of churches here to give them luminance, that way the weary and the lost can always find their way to them.”
XXXXX“Huh” breathed Nicolas, taking in this new information slowly, his brain too amazed by the presence of the chapel to work at its usual pace. After a moment he said, “I think I’m going to go inside.”
XXXXXPaul shrugged, “Alright, if you want to, I’ll head back to the dorm then.”
XXXXXNicolas broke eye contact with the chapel to look at Paul and ask, “Why don’t you come in?”
XXXXXPaul frowned a little at the question and said, “I always believed that ones belief should be a private thing. Anyway, I’ve already done my prayers.”
XXXXXNicolas frowned and said, “Okay, I’ll see you back at the dorm then.”
XXXXXPaul gave Nicolas a short nod then turned around and walked out of sight. Nicolas wondered for a moment what Paul would pray for, then shook off the thoughts before heading into the empty chapel.
XXXXXThe building’s inside was beautiful. The glow was not as strong as it was outside but what was given off by the tan limestone walls still shone with its golden brilliance. The room was rounded and had an arched ceiling here as always in the school, but here it had a more grand effect than the rest of the Scholair where it came off as oddly organic. Either wall bore several prayer stalls between intricate stained glass windows depicting figures Nicolas didn’t recognize. There were rows of pews to either side, all facing away from the door and towards an alter, behind which were four large stained glass windows. Nicolas walked up to the front of the isle, took a seat in a pew, and staring up at the stained glass. It glowed back at him and for some reason it made him feel calmed, at ease, even warm in a way. He recognized the figures as the four gods of the enlightened
XXXXXOn the right was the Warrior, the mighty god who ruled the primal forces that continue to reshape the world. He was shown here standing tall, wearing a set of classical armor with an empty tabard, and holding his giant hammer at rest. Fierce, yet passionate, he was believed to bring strength and courage to those who prayed to him and his saints.
XXXXXIn the middle was the Mother, the caring goddess who tended over all of nature. Here she was shown sowing the seeds of life, in a simple, but elegant, dress with a tall herder’s stick. Gentle, but also severe, she and her saints were believed to bring love, fertility and growth to her worshipers.
XXXXXOn the left was the Seer, the silent god who looked out over all of time and space, and guarded its mysteries. He was shown here, wearing a long robe that obscured his face and covered his yes, while a celestial map in his hands that showed everything at present. Isolated, but controlling, he and his saints were believed to bring insight and hope to those who worshiped them.
XXXXXAnd above the other gods was the Light, the perfect god who existed only for an instant before sacrificing himself in the act of creating the universe. He was shown here not in human form, but as a giant star that’s rays became the stars, the planets, and even the gods below. Prayers to did not necessarily bring you anything, he technically not existing, but it was seen as prudent to at least give thanks to his martyrdom
XXXXXNicolas wasn’t very religious, he believed in the gods yes, but he never believed in their supposed love for humanity. Still, at that moment he could see the love and devotion that the builders of the chapel had put into it, and it washed though him, clearing away his thoughts. His mind drifted back to the church he used to visit on his families estate in Magna. It was a cold, utilitarian place, built solely for worship and for nothing else, but it served it purpose well. He could hear the voice of pastor Blessed reading from the Gottenbuch, the holy book collecting the gospels of Magnan saints. He liked these stories much more than the histories he normally read, not because of their fantastic elements, though they were present, but because they gave him hope. They told him that no matter whom you where, that no matter what you have done, that anyone could be forgiven. And that when you died you would join the Light, along with all the souls of the dead, in a time of harmony before the universe was again remade.
XXXXXBut that wasn’t true, was it? The sudden realization swept Nicolas’s feelings of warmth and ease away like a wave of ice water. Almost every gospel spoke of an afterlife, regardless of the saint. Even foreign cultures, before they had their beliefs assimilated into the light, spoke of an afterlife. They were different yes, but an important part of enlightened belief was to accept other cultures interpretations of the gods. Yet, he had died, he was dead for several hours and he didn’t see anything. No light, no paradise, no souls, just a blank void, a nothing. And what did that mean? It could have meant that Tav hid his memories of the afterlife like he had done with his other memories of that day, but that didn’t explain why he hadn’t regain them with the rest of his memories. What it really meant, Nicolas knew, that there wasn’t an afterlife, and that he had placed his hope, his faith, his very certainty something that didn’t really exist.
XXXXXWhen that truth finally sunk in Nicolas felt like he was lying on the library floor again, just before he was about to die, with that horrible truth pressing down on him like a lead weight. Nicolas tried to swallow the lump in his throat and tried to hold back his sobs and tears, but it was all too painful, he started bawling. There was nothing after death, nothing too look forward too, not for him not for anyone, and all those people he had hurt in his youth, none of them went to a better place, they just went into that dark dreamless sleep, because of him. It wasn’t fair, he didn’t mean too, they didn’t deserve it and there was nothing he could do about it, nothing. Unless…
XXXXXNicolas’s crying started to die down, and as it did a single, errant thought found root in his mind and began to grow, so as he steadied his breathing and wiped the last tears from his eyes he had a plan. It was a simple, stupid, and incredibly reckless plan, he knew it, but it would get things moving in the right direction, and that was all he needed. Then, with his name and his money, and a little bit of help from his father, he could get what he wanted, and keep it too.
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Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 8:07 pm
Ahem. You said my name. Now I simply must read. Just a memento, okay~? How about this weekend?
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 2:15 am
Chapter 6: Deal
XXXXXThe stone spun on its axis like a top as it rotated in a circle mid air, and Nicolas’s eyes burned. He found, over the course of that week, that it was easier to maintain its flight as long as he didn’t blink. The class was practicing the ‘Elesu’ spell, one that allowed you to pick up and manipulate objects with magic and magic alone. The idea then was to pick up small objects and to maintain their flight as long as possible while manipulating its flight. It was much harder than it sounded
XXXXXAfter the first day he, and most of the class, were not able to pick up the stones they had all been assigned. His mind couldn’t concentrate with the electric feeling of magic flowing through his, though he could not say the same for the rest of the class. The next day he was able to swallow his discomfort and pick up the stone, but was only able to maintain flight for a few seconds, like the rest of the class. Progress continued on this way for the rest of the week, until today when Levefleur encouraged the class to begin moving their stones in basic aerial patters. It was harder than the other practice and required greater concentration, but it was welcome.
XXXXXThe act of relaxing and clearing the mind in preparation for these practice sessions left Nicolas’s mind open and rejuvenated after, and sometimes during, class for his own private planning sessions. Most of the plan he had come up with when he was sitting alone in the peace of the Chapel, but some parts he had to hammer out, mostly how he was going to convince people to do what he wanted. So while he was his mind was clear, he would account for all the issues he believed he would face, and came up with suitable counters for them. Opposing actions and arguments, preparations for other eventualities and so on, it was easier than expected when he put himself in the shoes of those he would have to countermeasure.
XXXXXThe only flaw with these was with Richard. In class he would always whisper little reminders like to ‘concentrate’ and to ‘imagine the stone doing what you want it too’ at the most opportune moments to pull Nicolas out of his thoughts. And when outside of class he would insist that everyone practice the spell for at least an hour while giving advice straight out of Levefleur’s lectures, which seemed to annoy Michael and Paul as much as it did him, but they all ended up doing it anyway just to keep him from insisting. Still, Nicolas was able to steal enough time away to think about his plan, and how felt confident enough to move forward on it. The only thing now standing in his way was time.
XXXXXNicolas felt a bead of sweat drip down from his forehead down rest on his eyelash. Instinctively he wanted to wipe it away, but his hands balled up into fists, and he resisted what he knew would break his concentration. Then the sweat dripped into his eye and he blinked, and the stone clattered to the floor where it spun lazily away. Nicolas stared at it and sighed, that was his best attempt so far. Disappointed he looked around at the rest of the class. Most were concentrating too hard on their stones to notice, while the others were resting in-between spells. Of his friends Paul was probably doing the best, moving his stone in a quick motion like he were spinning around the surface of some invisible orb, while Michael and Richard were still moving theirs, like Nicolas, in a simple circular motion. It was interesting to watch, but Nicolas thought he might as well get back to his own work.
XXXXXHe turned back to his stone, lifted his free hand with the other holding onto his staff and muttered, “Elesu”
XXXXXThe stone lifted, but instead of flying toward him as he wanted it too, it flew straight up into the air where it hung in equal distance from the floor and ceiling. He felt a little shocked at first, then saw that all the student’s stones were doing the same, and then realized that it was Levefleur who was doing this. On his distal he pushed a small wooden box, from which he gave out all the stones originally, and opened it. At that all the stones flew down in a curved arch to land in the box before Levefleur closed it again. He looked back out over the lass,
XXXXX“Sorry about that,” he said, “Just thought I should show you what you all should be aiming for, hope you don’t think I’m just showing off…” He smiled and set the box to the side of his sitting pillow.
XXXXX“There will be many spells you learn over the course of your training, Spells that can reshape the world or tear through the fabric of existence, but the most useful spells you will ever learn are not those that are powerful or complex, but efficient. Like tools, spells like Elesu may be simple, but they are capable, and with practice and time you can find a thousand and more things to do with them. Enjoy your weekend.” Nicolas picked up his staff, and stood. He was at the front of the class, at Richard’s insistence, and furthest away from the door. That meant he would probably be the last out the door, but that didn’t matter, he had time. He turned looked around at Richard, Michael and Paul and asked,
XXXXX“So, what are you guys doing tonight?”
XXXXX“I don’t know,” said Richard, “but I was thinking of doing some spell training”
XXXXXPaul and Michael both groaned audibly, then Michael moaned, “Come on, we did that for like two hours yesterday,”
XXXXX“It was less than one hour.”
XXXXX“But think how long had we practiced in class before that?”
XXXXX“There is no such thing as too much practice.”
XXXXX“There is, when something more entertaining going on,” muttered Paul, just as they exited the room. Richard gave him a stern,
XXXXX“Well where are you guys heading now?”
XXXXX“I don’t know, probably down for dinner” said Richard with a shrug, then he paused and glanced at Nicolas,
XXXXX“What do you mean by you guys? You already got plans?”
XXXXX“Not really,” said Nicolas, “I just wanted to go to the library for a bit. I never picked up Meditations the last time I was there.”
XXXXX“Alright” said Richard slowly, then after a moment asked, “You want us to come along, its not that far out of the way?”
XXXXXNicolas had anticipated this, and tried to force a look of discomfort before saying, “No, not really… I was thinking of looking for the place where I fell asleep the last time I was there. You know, to see if it brings back any memories.”
XXXXX“Oh, Okay,” said Richard, frowning slowly, “But are you sure you don’t need he…” but before he could finish Michael cut in, stepping between Nicolas and Richard,
XXXXX“Good luck with that Nick. We’ll be in the dining hall when your done”
XXXXX“Yeah,” said Paul, just as they reached the stairwell that lead to the dining hall below, “Good luck with that. You know, I’d go with you of course, but I’d understand if you’d want to do that sort of thing kind alone. Right?”
XXXXXNicolas suppressed smile, and nodded, “Yeah, that would be best”
XXXXXMichael grinned, “Great, that library is freaking creepy if you ask me.”
XXXXXNicolas nodded and as the rest of the boys got onto the stairs and said,
XXXXX“See you”
XXXXXMichael and Paul nodded at him and echoed, “See you,” Then headed down the stairs. Richard gave him small nod, and followed behind them.
XXXXXNicolas continued forward as soon as he broke eye contact. It was later in the day, between two and three if the last bell was correct, the classes becoming longer and longer as the class got integrated into the scheduel. He knew the library would still be open, but he would want to have this done earlier sooner than later.
XXXXXIn a few minuets he was at the library. It was just as creepy as the last time he was there, with the buildings face still reminding him of a skull, the light bleak and the temperature cooler than normal. The gloomy aura stopped Nicolas for a second and in that time he felt, as he had done several times that week, some doubt and apprehension regarding his plan. Of how dangerous it was, and how much he could lose in this gamble if it went wrong. But this feeling was only momentary, he knew what he could gain, and he knew the odds were in his favor. All he needed to do was to go in, head held high, and try to keep his cool for when he needed it.
XXXXXHe headed through the pillared verandah, and into the library. It was the same as before, dark, with that sense of depth to the shadows, and completely empty aside from a single figure sitting at the checkout desk. It was eerie, and not just because of the atmosphere, but because how everything seemed exactly the same. It was almost like the only thing that had changed was himself. He turned and walked down the row of desks to the place where the figure sat and wondered for a second what would have happened if he had waited. What would have happened if he had not gone to the library then and instead waited for now? Would he have not died? Or would the shrouded creature have come for him now as it did then? The thought sent a shiver down his spine, but it did not stop him from continuing onward.
XXXXXThe figure at the desk was, disturbingly, the same boy he had seen there a week before. He didn’t move as Nicolas approached,
XXXXX“Um, excuse me, I was wondering if…” began Nicolas
XXXXX“What’s it called.” asked the boy, not looking away from his book. Nicolas frowned and thought how familiar that was.
XXXXX“I’m not looking for a book, I am looking for the Librarian, Tav.” Surprisingly the boy looked up from his book and raised his eyebrow questioningly,
XXXXX“Why are you looking for him?” Nicolas tried to keep his face impassive,
XXXXX“My master wanted me to deliver a message for him, personally.” The boy blinked once or twice then shrugged and said
XXXXX“Ah,” said the boy, nodding knowingly as if he knew something, “I’m sorry to hear, but, unluckily for you he just got back from finding the historical section.” Nicolas blinked once or twice, thinking he misheard this, and then asked slowly,
XXXXX“Finding the historical section?”
XXXXX“Yeah, it moved itself from the fourth floor to the third, again…” Nicolas waited for a laugh, but none came, “Anyway he’s in his office. Just head down those stairs,” he pointed to the nearest stairwell, “it’ll be the first door you’ll find”
XXXXXNicolas nodded thanks and the boy returned to his book, then walked over to the stone stairwell. He headed down a flight, which seemed oddly short compared to the actual distance travelled, and came to a small long limestone hall which ran right across to the stairwell’s twin. He gazed his eyes over the walls and saw that there was, in fact, only one door in the whole hall, on the side going towards the libraries center. Slowly he walked down the hall, straightening his robes and hair out as best he could, and tried to bring himself up into his most self-confident posture, repeating to himself mentally the dialogue he had come up with for that moment. He stopped in front of the tall oaken door marked ‘E.P. Tav; Librarian’ then knocked, he was ready for this.
XXXXX“It’s unlocked,” said a voice from inside. Nicolas took a reassuring breath, pushed through the door. He entered into a small, rather normal looking office, with a large desk covered in a rather impressive pile of paperwork, with a dozen or more quills dancing by their own accord over the self sorting papers. At the desk, leaning back in his chair with a number of papers held in front of his face with one hand while the other directed the paperwork currently going on at the desk was Tav, looking surprisingly relaxed despite the display of complex and silent magic going on in front of him. He didn’t look at Nicolas as he stepped in, but said in that same calm voice,
XXXXX“Take a seat. I’ll be with you in a moment.” Nicolas did so, walking across the office to a couple chairs in front of the desk without saying a word, temporarily mesmerized out of any hesitation by the dancing quills. Tav continued whatever he was doing for several seconds, then waved his hands in a way that made each quill return to its inkwell and said, without looking at Nicolas.
XXXXX“So, how long are you stuck here for?” Nicolas raised his eyebrow, and asked
XXXXX“Pardon?” Tav chuckled, and started to straighten the paperwork in his hands
XXXXX“The only reason a kid is ever sent to me is if they have to do disciplinary library work” He tossed the stack of papers onto the table and leaned back further in his chair, “So, how long are you going to be here for Mr.?”
XXXXXHe dragged on the question then looked down at Nicolas and his whole expression seemed to falter as he recognized him. Nicolas kept his own expression stern, met Tav’s gaze, and said,
XXXXX“Its Nicolas, and that’s not why I’m here, Sir. I wanted to talk to you about the last week,” Tav stayed still for a moment, then smiled, a bit forcefully and slowly leaned over his desk,
XXXXX“I remember you now, you were that boy who fell asleep in the third floor? I guess you wanted some questions answered then? Heh,” he chuckled a little, then stood and asked, “Would you like something to drink?”
XXXXX“No thank you, sir,” Tav smiled again, this time a bit more naturally, then walked around the desk to a small table in the corner of the room with a tea set.
XXXXX“So, what was it you wanted to talk about Nicolas?” Nicolas looked at Tav’s back and decided it wouldn’t help him to go about this indirectly, so he took in a deep breath and said,
XXXXX“I know something killed me here in this library, and that you brought me back to life.” There was a silence following this statement that seemed to drag on for a very long while, then Tav turned around, with a small steaming teacup in one hand, and his mouth slightly open. After a while longer he looked down at the ground and said,
XXXXX“ That’s… unfortunate.”
XXXXX“I would say so too, sir.” There was another pause,
XXXXX“So” said Tav, “What made you remember?”
XXXXX“ An index card in my pocket,” Again there was a long silence as Tav stared at the ground in thought, then he walked back his chair and took a seat, sipping at his tea, then he sighed, his eyes set on the desk between him and Nicolas,
XXXXX“I had to go back through the whole floor twice to clean up all the blood, and fix that bookshelf you broke and too find your staff. And then I had to put you back together and drag you somewhere else so you wouldn’t wake up and remember everything, and in the end I forgot to check your pockets...” He sighed again then looked up into Nicolas’s eyes.
XXXXX“Only one thing I can do now” continued Tav, he stood up over his chair and held out an open hand, then said, his voice echoing with power, “Give me the card.”
XXXXXAt his words Nicolas’s hand went right for the pocket where he had found the card originally, but it wasn’t there. He looked back up at the librarian, still fighting to keep his composure,
XXXXX“I don’t have it with me.” Tav drew back his hand and stared at Nicolas, who concentrated solely on not breaking eye contact,
XXXXX“Where is it?” asked Tav
XXXXX“I hid it, somewhere you won’t find it,”
XXXXX“Don’t need to. Go get it for me”
XXXXXNicolas felt a rush of fear before the wave of numb hit him. It didn’t force him to stand and to walk to the door, but he couldn’t resist. Some where deep in himself he fought as hard as he could against the haze that held his mind, and with a lot of effort he was able to regain some sense, and when his hand touched the door he felt it. And turned to face Tav and forced the door closed,
XXXXX“No,” he said in the most forceful tone he could muster without most of his body under his control. Tav was silent for a moment, then shrugged and said coolly,
XXXXX“Can’t blame me for trying.” He stared at Nicolas and Nicolas stared at him, then, once it was clear he wasn’t going to use any more magic on him, Nicolas stumbled back to his chair and sat down,
XXXXX“I want to make you an offer, one keep you out of trouble” Said Nicolas in his
XXXXX“Trouble? I brought you back to life.”
XXXXX“Using black magic”
XXXXX“Does it matter?” Nicolas frowned, and didn’t speak for a moment, then shrugged and said
XXXXX“Not to me, but I think others may have another opinion.” Tav nodded,
XXXXX“What’s the offer?” he asked
XXXXXNicolas continued to frown and took a few hard breaths few his nose, then said, “I want you to bring my mother and a few other people back from the dead. For that I will give you the Index Card and my word never to speak of what I’ve seen again.”
XXXXXTav’s expression remained hard for a while, then he asked,
XXXXX“When did you want me to do this for you?”
XXXXX“When?” said Nicolas. Tav smiled, and Nicolas thought back through his plans. It could be done at any time right, what was the importance?
XXXXX“I don’t know, I guess when the first opportunity arose?” Tav nodded, considering this, then asked
XXXXX“Where is she buried?” Nicolas frowned
XXXXX“What does that matter?”
XXXXX“It matters. I need a body for one thing, or what’s left of it.” Nicolas frowned, he had hoped to cover this later, but since it was being asked now,
XXXXX“In Habsburg, Decas,” Tav stared off in thought for a second, then said,
XXXXX“Magna?”
XXXXX“Yeah,” said Nicolas “Is that a problem?”
XXXXX“Yes, yes it is. It would take me months to get to Magna” He stared at Nicolas for a second and look of comprehension dawned on his face,
XXXXX“You’re the Magnan the staff has been talking about? I’m sorry I didn’t realize.” Nicolas frown furrowed further, this was the time,
XXXXX“Yes. And my fathers a Provencial Lord, so I can get the both of us over the boarder, and deal with any other problems that may stop us.”
XXXXX Tav leaned back in his chair and seemed to think about this for a long moment, then nodded thoughtfully and said,
XXXXX“No.”
XXXXX“Pardon?” Said Nicolas, he didn’t think he had heard correctly
XXXXX“No, no deal... Sorry”
XXXXXNicolas’s mouth fell open, as his mind went blank for a moment, this wasn’t something he had expected. After a second of trying to find
XXXXX“Why?”
XXXXX“If I go with you to Magna with you, I’ll be throwing away a decade’s worth of hard work. I’m not going to do that, not now.” Nicolas opened his mouth and closed it again, then took a deep breath and said,
XXXXX“I’ll tell everyone, everything.”
XXXXX“Alright,” said Tav in a matter of fact, “Then I’ll just have to kill you,” Nicolas froze, he didn’t think right away that he was being serious, but his expression, his demeanor, nothing about him changed as he said it,
XXXXX“Your lying,” said Nicolas, though he only partially believed it himself.
XXXXX“Am I?” said Tav, and with that the door to the room clicked as it locked itself, Nicolas felt his nerves freeze, but he continued to stand his ground
XXXXX“No, you can’t! Where would you hide the body?”
XXXXXTav shrugged, stood, and started rolling up the sleeves of his robes,
XXXXX“The forest I guess… It could take weeks for anyone to find you, and anyway, it wouldn’t be the first time someone disappeared out there.” Nicolas could feel his hands shaking, and fought the urge to run for the door. This was a bluff, he knew it.
XXXXX“But I told my friends I was coming here” said Nicolas in a rush, “and I passed the boy at the checkout desk and told him I was going to see you. If I disappeared this would be the first place anyone looked for me. And I don’t think you want that, do you?!”
XXXXXTav paused, then pulled his cuffs back down and smiled at Nicolas,
XXXXX“You put some thought into this? Didn’t you?” Nicolas’s whole body trembled as Tav took his seat again and leaned back in a relaxed sort of way. He picked up his cup of tea and took a sip, then looked at the cup in his hands and asked,
XXXXX“Are you sure you still don’t want anything to drink?” Nicolas continued to shake out of his own control, but stared at the glass,
XXXXX“Uh… No. Thank you.” Tav hummed, taking another sip of the glass, seeming to think, then said,
XXXXX“Here’s what I’m thinking,” began Tav, “You want me to bring back your mother, and I need to finish what I came here to do. Going now to bring back your mother now will ruin all my progress so far, along with you telling everyone I know Black Magic. But unlike doing what I came here to do, which I can only do now, bringing back your mother I can do at any time.” Nicolas didn’t say anything, but he could see where this was going, he just didn’t know how he felt about it yet,
XXXXX“This is your first year right?” asked Tav,
XXXXX“Yeah,” said Nicolas,
XXXXX“Well that gives us some time to work with,” said Tav, calmly. Nicolas frowned
XXXXX“How long will it take you to finish your work?”
XXXXX“Oh probably good eight years, but that’s only a rough estimation…” Said Tav calmly, taking another sip of tea,
XXXXX“But by the time your done be back in Magan!”
XXXXX“Yes… Too bad, then you’ll have to tell the authorities about all my little misdoings and we’ll both lose. If only there was a way to speed up the process… Oh well…” said Tav over dramatically, while staring at Nicolas and giving him a small smile,
XXXXX“Uh, what is it?” asked Nicolas,
XXXXX“Think about, if you can’t figure this out, then my thinking may be wrong…” Nicolas had no idea what Tav was talking about. Was he telling him to rat him out? Did Tav want him to speed up his work? Obviously the ladder, but he didn’t know what work Tav was doing in the library. The only thing he did know, and even then he wasn’t entirely certain about it, was that Tav was working alone. And what was he supposed to do to remedy that…
XXXXX“You want me to help you?” said Nicolas. In response Tav smiled
XXXXX“I’m blackmailing you, and you want my help?”
XXXXX“Technically its extortion,” said Tav, seeming nonplused by the incredulous look Nicolas gave him, “I’ve done it a few times before I started here.”
XXXXX“And you want me to help you?” said Nicolas incredulously,
XXXXX“It’s the only way to make things work. And, what’s a little bit of a trade for so much gain…” Nicolas’s couldn’t believe what was being said, for a moment, and then he actually considered it. If he helped Tav then he could keep tabs on him, make sure he kept his end of the bargain, and maybe even learn a bit more about him for some leverage. And if things did go according to plan, and Tav would finish his work when he finished his school, they would both go to Magna together, and everything would be smooth from there. It was a win-win situation, if it worked. Nicolas looked Tav straight in the eye, and nodded,
XXXXX“Deal,” Tav smiled and stood, prompting Nicolas to do the same, then stuck out his hand,
XXXXX“And it’s struck.” Nicolas stood, and after staring the hand for a moment, shook it, and reflected on how, compared to whole of the conversation leading up to this, how remarkably unremarkable it was.
XXXXX“Now,” said Tav, releasing his grip, “unless you want your friends to worry and send someone to discover our little endeavor, I suggest you head off and find them.”
XXXXXNicolas put his hand by his side and said, “How will I know…”
XXXXX“You’ll have the instructions by this time next week” said Tav. Without anything more to be said Nicolas turned and walked back to the door, which clicked unlocked at his approach. Then, just as his put his hand on the knob, Tav spoke again,
XXXXX“I forgot to ask, how did your mother die?” Nicolas froze and slowly turned back to face Tav, who had just taken back to his seat. He felt that was something he would rather keep private, but this man would be bringing her back from the dead, maybe it had some importance,
XXXXX“Childbirth” said Nicolas,
XXXXX“Alright.” said Tav, for the first time in something other than his casual tone. Nicolas looked down at the ground and, for the first time, told the whole truth
XXXXX“When having me.”
XXXXXTav nodded, slowly, looked back down at his paperwork, lifted his hand and with it the quills all in their inkwells and set back to work. Nicolas left, closing the door behind him and felt strange. He didn’t get what he wanted. He had his life threatened and his mind controlled. He had made a deal to help a necromancer in his work for the life of his mother, something he had not planned for originally. He had just given one of his closest secrets to said necromancer, complete stranger. And yet, he felt fine.
XXXXXIt was odd, Nicolas thought, but it was probably better not to question good luck
XXXXXWhen Nicolas walked into the dining hall his mood was still cheerful. Nicolas hurriedly took his seat at the dining table with Richard, Michael and Paul, without the three noticing his initial approach. They all blinked in slight surprise as Nicolas took the nearest glass and poured himself a random red drink from the pitcher on the table.
XXXXX“Hey Nick,” said Richard, his voice sounding confused, “Did you get to the library?”
XXXXX“Yeah.” Said Nicolas, pausing to down gulp down half of the drink in his glass, and relishing the taste of it,
XXXXX“That didn’t take long.” Said Richard,
XXXXXNicolas lifted the glass away from his mouth by a few centimeters and said, “I know… What is this?”
XXXXX“That?” said Richard, looking at the glass, “Pomegranate juice.”
XXXXX“I like it,” said Nicolas, finishing off the glass and pouring himself another.
XXXXX“So,” asked Richard in the air of someone trying to sound casual, “who attacked you?”
XXXXX“What?” said Nicolas, looking back at Richard and noticing that both Michael and Paul were also paying attention and remembered the excuse he had given them for going to the library. That he was trying to get his memories of the last time he went there back.
XXXXX“Oh,” he said, thinking for an explanation and saying the first one that came to mind,
XXXXX“I wasn’t attacked. I tripped and hit my head, no foul play, just an accident.” At that Richard seemed to deflate and Paul frowned and turned to Michael,
XXXXX“Damn, I guess the bet’s void then.”
XXXXX“Bet?” asked Nicolas. Paul glanced at him and shrugged nonchalantly,
XXXXX“Yeah, Mike and I waged on who was the one who attacked you,”
XXXXX“I’m glad to see you were so concerned,” said Nicolas,
XXXXX“We could move it on to who is next going to attack him,” said Michael to Paul,
XXXXX“What did you even bet? Gold or something?” asked Nicolas,
XXXXX“It’s a gentleman’s wager, whoever wins has the pleasure of winning” said Paul, before turning back to Michael, “But yeah, I think that could work, so whoever.”
XXXXXNicolas blinked, stupefied, “What even makes you think that I’m going to be attacked gain?”
XXXXX“Come on” laughed Michael, “You were attacked twice in on the first day.”
XXXXX“Well the first one wasn’t officially an attack,” said Paul, “Joseph was just kidding around,”
XXXXX“It sounded like an attack by the way Nicolas described it,”
XXXXX“Joseph didn’t intent to harm Nicolas,” said Paul, “that’s the important part. Kylie did.”
XXXXXNicolas was just about to take a sip of his drink when he heard this,
XXXXX“Who?” he asked,
XXXXX“Oh, Kylie’s the girl who punched you,” said Paul then he glanced at Michael and said, “And Michael’s bet on who attacked you.”
XXXXX“Ah,” said Nicolas as Michael shrugged, mentally recapping back on the past few weeks, “I don’t recall ever getting her name.”
XXXXX“Well yeah,” said Michael, “We only found out after Richard… Ouch!”
XXXXXMichael flinched randomly as Richard shuffled where he sat, and Michael tried to look as though he had not noticed something. Nicolas blinked and looked at Richard, who then tried to look inconspicuous.
XXXXX“What was that?”
XXXXX“Nothing,” he said. Nicolas raised an eyebrow and looked back at Paul who looked as if he were in some pain.
XXXXX“Did you just kick him?” asked Nicolas
XXXXX“No.” said Richard, a bit too quickly
XXXXX“Then what did you do?”
XXXXX“He,” began Michael, but before he could finish Richard shifted again and he flinched, “Ouch!”
XXXXX“You did it again!” said Nicolas,
XXXXX“No I didn’t,” said Richard, looking nervous,
XXXXX“Yes you did”
XXXXX“No I didn’t!”
XXXXX“He talked to Sera without telling you,” said Paul as he watched the exchange of words. Everyone at the table turned stared at him, he shrugged apathetically,
XXXXX“What? Like you three were actually getting anywhere.” Nicolas blinked then turned to Richard, who looked like he was steeling himself for an attack,
XXXXX“You talked to Sera?” said Nicolas, incredulous,
XXXXXRichard seemed frozen for a moment, then said, “Yes. I did”
XXXXX“Why?”
XXXXX“Well,” began Richard slowly, “I was a bit worried and wanted to clear everything up.”
XXXXX“Clear everything up?” said Nicolas, narrowing his eyes.
XXXXX“Yeah, you know,” said Richard, shrugging, “apologize”
XXXXX“Apologize?” said Nicolas, stunned momentarily as he realized what was being said. Then his calm mood broke away and he rose to his feet with his boiling anger, “You went behind my back!”
XXXXX“Look,” began Richard, “all I did was find her and explain to her why you made the mistake you made.”
XXXXX“Mistake?” said Nicolas, his voice quiet, “And what mistake was that?”
XXXXX“You hit her.” Said Richard
XXXXX“She followed me!” said Nicolas
XXXXX“She saved you!” said Richard. Nicolas flinched like he had been slapped, and felt as if he had been though he knew he hadn’t. Then he turned his gaze back to Richard and scowled,
XXXXX“I didn’t want her help.”
XXXXX“Well you got it anyway, and you repaid it by traumatizing her, just because she’s a Chitauri.” Nicolas continued scowling for a moment more, trying to think of something spiteful to say, but couldn’t think of anything. He sat down again, feeling then like there was something twisted in his throat, and just stared at Richard. After a moment Richard looked over at Michael and Paul, then back at Nicolas, and asked,
XXXXX“What’s the problem with her being a Chitauri anyway?” Surprisingly Michael snorted a laugh at that moment, turning everyone’s attention to him.
XXXXX“What is it, Mike?” asked Richard. Michael suppressed his chuckle then smiled at Richard, shaking his head,
XXXXX“Oh come on Richard…” he muttered, “What’s the problem with Chitauri?” He laughed again,
XXXXX“I don’t know where you’ve before you got here,” he continued “but Chitauri aren’t the kind of people you just trust outright.” At that Nicolas felt his anger cool down considerably, and his own approval for Michael grow equally. Michael looked around at Paul and Richard and continued,
XXXXX“I’m from Detalis, so I’ve met people from all over the world and a few you’ll only ever meet in that city. Now of all the people that I’ve ever met, Chitauri definitely take the award for being deviants. Now don’t get me wrong, all people have their faults. When at their worst, Mecredians are despicable, Lifthrasir are barbaric and the Magnans are despotic. No offence Nicolas.”
XXXXX“None taken,” said Nicolas, rather enjoying the discussion now, Michael nodded and turned his attention back to Richard,
XXXXX“You see, Chitarui don’t understand the way things like we do. Their like animals, they don’t understand law or things like property or sovereignty, they only understand the need for survival, so they do anything they want in order to get the thing they want. And they aren’t honest, or fair, and they don’t even try to work for anything. They’ll stab you in the back in the most underhanded way to get their hands something as simple as socks, and freak out whenever someone tries to call them out on it. Honestly, it’s just better not to associate with them.”
XXXXXNicolas nodded approvingly at Michael words as Richard shot him a disbelieving look,
XXXXX“That can’t be true,” said Richard, “It sounds to me like a gross stereotype to me Michael. Have you ever even talked to a Chitarui?”
XXXXX“Yes,” said Michael, looking as though he were about to laugh, “Yes I have, and he tried to sell me a bunch of broken junk outside of some backstreet shack while his kids ran around naked in the filth.”
XXXXXRichard gave Michael a sour look and leaned back in his chair while Nicolas poured himself another glass of pomegranate juice happily. Finally Richard turned to Paul, looking for a final save and asked,
XXXXX“Have you ever met a Chitauri?” Paul shrugged, obviously apathetic,
XXXXX“No. But I have met Lifthrasir before, and I hate all their drunken lot, so to call those two out on their gross overgeneralizations of an entire people would be a bit hypocritical of me.” Richard gaped and after a moment realized he was defeated and slumped back in his seat, looking sour,
XXXXX“I still thought that Sera was nice.” Nicolas snorted and said,
XXXXX“Chitauri sharpen their knives on their smiles.” Nicolas still felt content at than, and would continue to feel that way when he and the boys went to go hang out in the hollow. And after Michael deviated a way to practicing Elesu into a game of overpowering each others spells. And after heading back to the house for the day in for the day. And even after he went to bed that night.
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 12:08 pm
I swear I have this open in a tab okay? But I can't for a while. Especially not this weekend...................................
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 12:14 am
Chapter 7: Truth
XXXXXThe view of the ground from Broadley house was bad as the sun went down. The round dorm sat at the eastern side of the school so while they got a good view of dawn, they got no sunset. Darkness would fall early with the higher towers blocking the light and would result in premature night as the day as it fell over the schools walls. Currently all you could see was the black outline of the forest against a dark blue sky, with a small patch of green where the light from inside shined onto the ground, altogether a rather bleak sight, but Nicolas didn’t mind.
XXXXXHe was sitting on a chair, by the window looking out at the scenery while a few kids cheered around him at the game that Michael had created earlier that afternoon and that Paul had quickly mastered and was now teaching to the rest of the first year boys. The point, as Michael had explained several times that day, was to have players sit in a circle with a single rock between them. The players then would all pick up the stone with the Elesu spell and try and force the rock towards themselves with the other players doing the same, until they could take it from the air. Once you had it in hand you gained a point, and the one with the most points was naturally the winner.
XXXXXNicolas had tried a few rounds with, Paul and Michael and a less enthusiastic Richard earlier in the hollow, but quit after Michael released his grip on the stone and sent it flying right into Nicolas’s chest. That killed his good mood for the day. So he resigned then to thinking quietly while everyone else was too distracted to distract him.
XXXXXIt was Sunday, nearly two days since he had made his deal with Tav, and he had not heard back from him yet. It was concerning to say the least. Nicolas didn’t know whether or not he was should to check up on tomorrow if he hadn’t heard back. He knew he should, but felt he may not be able to. Tav had reacted to having his work threatened with a serious intention to kill, how would he react to someone disturbing his work? Nicolas didn’t want to think about it, and he wanted to see it even less.
XXXXXThere was a cheer from the round table where the boys were playing Michael’s game. Nicolas looked up to see Paul tossing the stone he had just one into the air and catching it again. He had about five stones so far, more than anyone else at the table. Michael was at the table sitting next to Paul with the next highest amount, along with Joseph and Tyler and two other boys Nicolas recognized but didn’t know by name. Richard was there too, but he was sitting away from the group, watching the game. He had become quiet since the beginning of the weekend when called him out. Serve him right, Nicolas thought.
XXXXX“What is this? The Third time in a row?” asked Tyler, looking annoyed, “You have got to be cheating,”
XXXXX“Why would I? It isn’t like there’s anything to win?” asked Paul,
XXXXX“Who knows? You could just like the sensation of winning?” said Tyler,
XXXXX“Possibly” said Paul, throwing the stone into the center of the table again, “But I don’t see how I even could cheat?”
XXXXX“Maybe he’s just had more practice than us? I mean, he did come up with the game” said one of the boys Nicolas didn’t know, a small, sickly looking kid sitting between Joseph and the other boy he didn’t know.
XXXXX“I came up with the game thank you very much” said Michael, adjusting his glasses,
XXXXX“That’s my point!” said Tyler, “Your both ringers! You’ve both had more practice and your both sitting next to each other, its unfair!” There was a small murmuring from the other boys at the table when he said this,
XXXXX“I don’t think that’s technically cheating.” Said the Sickly looking boy
XXXXX“Shut up,” said Tyler, offhandedly,
XXXXX“How about,” said Joseph, “You do something about this instead of just sitting there and complaining Tyler?”
XXXXX“I’ll move,” said Paul, standing, “see how fair it makes it,”
XXXXX“Wait a moment,” said Tyler, landing away from the table and looking at Nicolas, “Nicolas my good ol’ magnan buddy-pal, get over here, your joining the game!”
XXXXX“Why do you want him to join?” asked Michael,
XXXXX“Better to spread the ringers three ways than two.” Said Tyler
XXXXXNicolas shrugged and stood, “Why not. It’s not like I’m doing anything important,” He walked over and took a seat between the two boys he didn’t know,
XXXXX“Alright then, everything even now?” asked Paul,
XXXXX“Not exactly,” said Tyler, “but it’ll work,”
XXXXX“Okay, lets get started then,” said Michael, rolling his eyes, “on my mark, one, two, three, Elesu!”
XXXXXEveryone at the table, including Nicolas, cast their spells, and with that the stone rose to stand completely still several centimeters above the table top, where it started to tremble as everyone began to force it this way and that. It was hard to play, Nicolas could not feel the other forces on the stone, so whenever it moved significantly and took him by surprise it broke his concentration and it fell away. He knew that when playing the game with only two or three players, it all depended on breaking your opponents concentration long enough to take the stone but after several long moments here Nicolas realized that with more than one it was more a test of mental endurance than anything, waiting for your opponents to get frustrated, or to give up so you could scoop it the stone. With that in mind Nicolas formed his strategy, not to go for a point, but defending it from going to another player and keeping it close to the center.
XXXXXA minuet went by, then another, in that time the movements of the stone seemed to become more drastic as more players left the game, going this way and that with more obvious intention by others. So far, Paul, Tyler and he were still in the game from what he could tell by the stones movements, though Michael was still following the stone with his eyes. After a few moments more, Tyler sighed and leaned back in his seat, leaving the stone bobbing towards Paul. When Nicolas realized he was the only one still playing with Paul he switched back to forcing the stone back towards himself, fighting more to concentrate than endure. A short struggle later and the stone flying back and fourth over the center of the table in a span half a meter long, then it started to approach Nicolas.
XXXXXWhen he realized this it flew back, forcing him to keep control stifle his own emotions, but when it did it was clear he was winning. It flew back and fourth again, gaining a centimeter or two in his direction then it went back and fourth again, and again, and again until it was within arms reach. Slowly, still fighting to keep his concentration on the stone, Nicolas raised his arm up onto the table and opened his palm, and imagined then the stone flying into it. It flew once again towards Paul, then stopped as both his and Nicolas’s will wrestled over it, and then it started, slowly but surely, to struggle in the direction of Nicolas’s hand. A few seconds later it was within arms reach, only centimeters from his hand, but Nicolas knew he wanted more before he took it or else it might slip away. It came closer and closer, he could almost reach his fingers around it, he smiled and reached for it. Then the Stone shot back towards Paul, who lunged to catch it, but before he caught it vied to the side and was caught by Michael.
XXXXX“Ah Ha!” laughed Michael, holding up the stone. He was the only one cheering. Nicolas looked down at his closed fist that was meant to be holding the stone, feeling coldly disappointed.
XXXXX“How did you that?” asked Paul, practically laying on the table after his dive for the rock,
XXXXX“Well, I didn’t actually do anything did I?” said Michael, spinning the stone on the table, “I just waited until you were all to worn out to do anything before I actually called it over.”
XXXXX“Now that has to be cheating,” said Tyler,
XXXXX“Don’t start again Tyler,” said Joseph,
XXXXX“But it isn’t fair,”
XXXXX“I didn’t think this game even had rules?” said the grubby next to Joseph and Nicolas,
XXXXX“If it doesn’t, then it’s not worth playing,” said Tyler, standing and turning away from the table, “Come on Eric”
XXXXX“What’s wrong with him?” asked Michael, frowning,
XXXXX“Who knows,” said Joseph, “do we have time for another game?”
XXXXXAlmost as if to answer him the Ten O’clock bell rang, and Brandon’s voice rang out from the stairwell,
XXXXX“That the bell boys, its ten o’clock. Now you don’t have to go to bed, but none of you can leave our cozy little dorm until sunrise. As for me, I’m getting some sleep as I suggest the rest of you do, its long week ahead.”
XXXXXBoth Paul and Michael let out exasperated that drew curious looks Joseph and the sickly boy next to him, Nicolas knew too what to expect.
XXXXX“You heard the man,” said Richard, closing his book and coming to a stand. Everyone at the table turned to face him, “Let’s get to bed!”
XXXXX“Why?” asked Joseph, behind him Michael, put his hands in his face,
XXXXX“Joseph, this is the best magical school in the world, we have an obligation to learn to the best of our abilities, and part of that is a good night’s rest,” said Richard, not noticing that Paul was mouthing along to his words perfectly as he said them, he, Michael and Nicolas had heard it enough to do so. The Grubby looking boy laughed,
XXXXX“What?” asked Richard,
XXXXX“Nothing” said Joseph, smiling and waving the boy quiet, “You’re probably right and we did just lose two players, what’s the point of continuing?” He stood, along with the grubby looking and nodded to the rest of the table, “Goodnight,”
XXXXXThey watched him and the smaller boy leave. Then Richard turned back to Nicolas, Michael and Paul,
XXXXX“Well, are you coming,” They all knew better to say anything, like with practicing their magic, getting enough sleep was an issue that Richard was too determined to be argued with about. They followed him back up the stairs to the dorm while most of the dorm stayed in the common room, washed, dressed in their night clothes and got to bed.
XXXXXNicolas stared into the dark, he thought about the game they had played for before his mind inevitably wandered back to Tav. He decided to visit the library tomorrow, if not to find out what was keeping him, then to figure out if he was planning to deceive him. He wouldn’t put it past the librarian, even if he had come up with the compromise, to only be using it to bide his time in preparation for a trap. Thankfully if something did happen Nicolas still had the card, he checked its hiding place every day when he was alone to make sure it was still there. But he could only hope that if he was somehow disposed of by Tav that someone would find it before him. Before he slipped off to sleep Nicolas made a note to himself to work on that.
XXXXXIt was still night out when Nicolas woke up. There was no sun on his bed curtains, no song of morning birds or of waking bells, or of his roommates getting ready for class. In fact, there was no sound at all. This struck Nicolas’s groggy mind as odd, though he did not know why at that instant, so he sat up, yawned, and stretched. He thought about going to the bathroom for a moment, before realizing he didn’t have too. He thought about going for a stroll to tire himself out, then realized he was tired enough not to need one. He lied down again and settled in to sleep again, then realized what was odd.
XXXXXHe sat up again and looked around, sharpening his ears, searching for some noise or indication to what had woken him, but there was nothing. The silence was perfect. He lifted a shaking hand and pulled away the bed curtain, and swung his feet around to the floor, and looked out. Everything was normal, and quiet. He stood and walked to the heater at the center of the room, walking around it to gazing around in an effort to spot something abnormal, but didn’t spot anything. Finally he walked to the dorm room door and looked out into the hallway. It was empty except for the shadows
XXXXXNicolas sighed, reassured, and closed the door. Standing behind it was Tav, dressed in his usual black librarians robe, and leaning against the wall. At the sight of him Nicolas shouted and jumped backward into the room, then remembered his room mates and clasped his hands over his mouth.
XXXXX“It’s always good to wake up with a surprise,” said Tav, “Get’s your heart pounding and your mind buzzing for the start of a new day, or night as it is.”
XXXXXHe smiled as Nicolas froze, petrified at the thought that his room mates waking. After a second of silence that confirmed none of them had stirred he finally moved his hands away from his mouth and whispered,
XXXXX“What are you doing here?”
XXXXX“Getting you,” said Tav, his volume normal, “We’ve got work to do remember?”
XXXXX“Shh!” hushed Nicolas, motioning with his hands to lower his voice, “If my room mates wake up…”
XXXXX“Don’t worry about them,” said Tav, cutting him off with a Wave, “their blind to everything we do right now,”
XXXXX“What? Did you do something to them?”
XXXXX“I just cast a little illusion over the house, that’s all,” said Tav, reassuringly, “It won’t last long after we leave. Which we should do soon…”
XXXXXNicolas opened and closed his mouth several times in shock, as Tav stared absentmindedly around the room,
XXXXX“This is a nice set up,” he said, casually “I mean, I don’t have a four poster bed in my room, and I’m the head librarian…”
XXXXXNicolas finally closed his mouth and shook his head,
XXXXX“Okay, I’ll just get ready…” he said, moving towards his trunk,
XXXXX“Good, I’ll give you some privacy,” said Tav, slipping out the door. Nicolas got dressed quickly in his black-brown school robes and grabbed his staff, but before he went for the door his eyes caught on Richard’s bed curtain. Curiously he approached and opened the curtain enough to peek on eye in and saw Richard sleeping soundly under his covers. He looked back at the door where Tav had left then went back to Richard,
XXXXX“Richard, Wake up. Can you hear me? Wake up!” Hissed Nicolas, before shaking the bedpost and bed with it,
XXXXXRichard didn’t respond, but rolled over in his bed, and groaned as he fell further into sleep. Nicolas shook his head in astonishment, and went to join Tav in the hall,
XXXXX“Ready now?” asked Tav, who was leaning against the wall opposite to the door,
XXXXX“I don’t know,” said Nicolas, clutching his staff close to him and looking around, “Is there anything I need to bring?”
XXXXX“No, I already have everything you’ll need,” said Tav, leaning away from the wall, “so let’s get moving, we don’t have all night.”
XXXXXWith that he started off towards the stairs, Nicolas jogging a few steps just to catch up with him,
XXXXX“Wait! Where are we going?”
XXXXX“You’ll find out when we get there,” said Tav, reaching the stairs,
XXXXX“Alright, but what’s this work we’ll be doing?”
XXXXX“This not the best place for that,” said Tav, coming to the common room,
XXXXX“Oh,” said Nicolas, following behind him, “Can you at least tell me what time it is?”
XXXXXAt that Tav paused mid stride, and raised a finger in the air without turning back to face Nicolas and, after a short moment, waved it in a striking motion just as the midnight chimes sounded,
XXXXX“Does that answer your question?” asked Tav, sounding pleased,XXXXX
XXXXXNicolas didn’t answer, but reluctantly followed Tav out the common room door and into the school. Nicolas had never seen it at night before, but found it otherworldly. It was a moonless night, and the only light that illuminated the school came from those strange glass tiles inlaid into the school’s outer, district, and tower walls. But the light was so dim it only reached out the edges of the walkways where they fell into the gardens and the lowest reaches of the towers, and so pale in hue that it gave everything a faded, colorless look.
XXXXXAfter leaving the tall archway that contained the Broadley Dorm’s door there was a flash and a buzzing noise there that faded quickly to leave an invisible but gleaming force in the void. Nicolas jumped when he heard it and turned quickly to stare at where it had been before rushing to keep up with Tav,
XXXXX“What was that?” he asked,
XXXXX“That’s a barrier spell, the school builders inscribed them to keep students from moving around the school at night,” said Tav, without pausing,
XXXXX“How were we able to move through them?”
XXXXX“All the Staff and the prefects are given charms to bring them down” said Tav again, “Though I know that some student’s usually find a way around them, mainly by stealing the charms, but hey, no system’s perfect.”
XXXXX“But that can lock people out of their dorms?” asked Nicolas, “I mean, if they don’t get inside before the enchantment’s come up…”
XXXXX“That’s why there’re still night patrols,” said Tav,
XXXXX“Night patrols?” said Nicolas,
XXXXX“Yes,” said Tav, plainly, “here comes one now”
XXXXXNicolas followed his gaze and saw a single figure moving up ahead,
XXXXX“Their going to see me!” whispered Nicolas jumping, “if they haven’t already!”
XXXXX“Don’t worry,” said Tav, “just stay next to me and stay quiet, I’ll do the rest.”
XXXXXNicolas did what he said reluctantly, and walked with him towards the rapidly approaching figure. When they came into sight of each other Nicolas recognized her, it was Belle, the headmaster’s secretary. She smiled radiantly at Tav as he approached, but didn’t seem to notice Nicolas at his side,
XXXXX“Madame Belle, nice to see you on this fine evening,” said Tav with a short bow,
XXXXX“Hello Tav, I didn’t know you were patrolling the school tonight?”
XXXXXNicolas stared opened mouthed at her from Tav’s side, but she didn’t even glance at him,
XXXXX“I’m not,” said Tav, “I just out for a walk, couldn’t sleep you see,”
XXXXX“Oh, are you better now?”
XXXXX“I am, thank you, just on my way back to the library now.”
XXXXX“Would you like me to accompany you,” she asked,
XXXXXNicolas held his breath,
XXXXX“It’s not that far and no reason to keep you from your patrol. I mean, who knows how many first years could be waiting outside their dorms waiting to get in” said Tav. Belle nodded, glanced at Nicolas and did a double take.
XXXXX“Is something wrong?” asked Tav, leaning into her view,
XXXXX“I thought I saw something,” said Belle,XXXXX
XXXXX“Maybe you’re the one who needs to get some rest,”
XXXXX“I think you’re right,” said Belle, laughing
XXXXX“Well, we shouldn’t keep each other,” said Tav,
XXXXX“Yeah,”
XXXXX“Goodnight Belle,”
XXXXX“Goodnight Tav,”
XXXXXBelle continued on her way and Tav continued forward with Nicolas following behind. Nicolas watched her as she disappeared around the curve then turned his attention back to Tav,
XXXXX“What was that?”
XXXXX“I made her not see you,” said Tav simply, “at least I attempted to, she’s stronger than I expected.”
XXXXX“Is that going to be a problem?” asked Nicolas,
XXXXX“Not at all,” said Tav, with a little smile, “I love a challenge…”
XXXXXThey both walked on for a time, until they passed through another archway with another flashing barrier and walked into the Library district. The Library building looked as ominous as ever, with the low light bleaching the exposed stone and darkening even the shallowest line in the building’s face to give it an even stronger resemblance to a skull than it had earlier in the day. Nicolas faltered at the sight of this, reminded distressingly of his death by the sight, but continued forward reluctantly with Tav. There was another shimmering barrier in-between all the pillars on the verandah. These yielded at Tav’s approach along with the door behind them, which swung open automatically before falling shut when he and Nicolas were both inside.
XXXXXIt was pitch-black black inside the library, there was no light at all and the small windows let in almost none of the dim light from outside. Nicolas felt his skin crawl with the sensation that the darkness was pressing in around him, and thought he heard, though he knew it was only his own paranoia, the hollow cave breath of the creature.
XXXXX“Is this where we are going to be working?” asked Nicolas, keeping his back to the door for whatever comfort that brought,
XXXXX“Of course not,” said Tav, taking several steps forward into the inky blackness
XXXXX“Oh,” said Nicolas, with a relieved sigh, “Good.”
XXXXX“We’ll be working on the third floor.”
XXXXX“The third floor!” exclaimed Nicolas, “Where that thing attacked me?”
XXXXX“Yes,” said Tav, “but you don’t have to worry about that again, it should be contained now.”
XXXXX“What?!” shouted Nicolas, but Tav didn’t answer.
XXXXXSuddenly there was a flash that ended to show Tav holding a sparking cloud of lights suspended in a cloud of churning white mist that shone like snow in full moon. He inspected this for a second as it filled the entrance hall with light then tossed them into the air where, it burst to send each brilliant light flying wildly around them at a distance to illuminate everything in their range of sight, each leaving a small trail of pure white mist in it’s wake.
XXXXX“This will make things easier,” said Tav as if he had done nothing more than strike a match. Nicolas stared at the lights in wonder for a moment before he realized that Tav was already heading for the stairs. He ran after him, and the wild flying lights
XXXXX“Wait! What did you mean it should be contained?”
XXXXX“What I mean is,” said Tav walking into the seemingly to short stairwell, “I empowered its restrains before I came to get you, so it shouldn’t have gotten out unless by some chance”
XXXXXNicolas nodded, feeling uneasy and asked, shakily, “What is it?”
XXXXX“A little experiment I was working on,” said Tav, without breaking stride, “Unfortunately it got a bit out of hand for a while, but I got it under control again.”
XXXXX“Then, why not destroy it? You can, can’t you?”
XXXXX“I could,” said Tav, exiting out onto the third floor, ushering the lights and Nicolas with him, “but I wouldn’t want to waste it.”
XXXXX“But it kills people,” said Nicolas slowly, “It killed me.”
XXXXX“Yeah, but I can repair that,” said Tav, leading Nicolas a shocked into the row of bookshelves,
XXXXX “Is that what we’ll be working on?” asked Nicolas hoping against all that it wasn’t,
XXXXX“Not today” said Tav. Nicolas frowned but asked no more questions as Tav lead him through the shelves. It the place wasn’t as creepy as before with the dancing lights instead of the flickering glass. It was brighter for one, and now he could see it better Nicolas thought it almost looked like how he imagined the other floors to look like on a normal day, all it really needed was other people. Eventually Tav lead Nicolas exactly where he expected them to be going all along, the philosophy.
XXXXXTav headed to and down last row, Nicolas following him, and both came to a stop at the end shelf, but unexpectedly Tav turned left to the freestanding bookshelf instead of turning right to the bookshelf attached wall. He ran his hand along the spines until he came to Rene Vasser and pulled on one of the middle copies of Meditations on the Arcane. Nothing happened,
XXXXX“Here…” said Tav and tossed the large book into Nicolas arms before kneeling over and shoving one of his hand into the space he made.
XXXXX“We…” There was a series of low clicking noises, then Tav took out his hand and gripped the shelf.
XXXXX“ Go!” He pulled the shelf to the side to the side. Nicolas gaped and dropped the book. Behind the shelf, where there should have been nothing but the back of the other shelf in the row, was a room. Tav swiped the dust off the knees of his robes as his flying lights soared silently past he and Nicolas into the room then followed with a dumbfounded Nicolas at his side.
XXXXXIt was a modest space, obviously created by rearranging the library itself on some magical level. All walls were obviously halves of library standing shelves facing the other way and the lights that hung from them were the same Nicolas had seen throughout the library only installed the opposite way and the spacious floor had the same carpet style as the library. The long work table that dominated the floor in front of him was obviously multiple oak library reading desks and the number of storage fittings, like glass faced shelves, small display tables and wooden cabinets that it surrounding on all sides was taken for school storage. And the only two seats in the room, a flat couch on and a single wooden chair with a small bookstand both on the far end of the room, were identical to ones Nicolas had passed in the library reading areas.
XXXXXThe only things that obviously weren’t from the school were the items that lined every visible storage place, rows of books and loose papers, sharing spaces with eerie objects and alien looking devices. The first thing he noticed was a small cylindrical glass set into a plain wooden frame, sitting alone at the center of a small rune cared table, and filled with a twinkling sand. Then he swung his gaze from this around the room. His eyes caught a large set of strangely shaped, but delicate looking glass vessels and tubing filled with a variety of strangely colored liquids sitting at a small work cubby. Then a tall freestanding mirror that only showed a black void behind its glass. And a sort of iron smokestack with a large hole carved into its face that made Nicolas think of a forge, among other items.
XXXXXTav closed slid the shelf behind them closed again. Revealing a massive runic circle inscribed into the wood, but more complex Nicolas had seen throughout the school this one had a number of barebones devices that ran around the circle to a single control box low in the middle. Nicolas wondered what these where for a moment, but before he could ask Tav brushed past him into the room and started speaking,
XXXXX“Okay before we get started I have a couple of rules to get through. Firstly, don’t touch anything without my permission, secondly, do what I say no matter how insane it may sound, thirdly, everything that occurs in this room stays in this room and lastly, but most importantly,” He turned around to Nicolas, just emphasize the importance of this point, “don’t ever hesitate to ask any questions or speak your mind, it may very well save your life. You got that?”
XXXXX“Yeah,” agreed Nicolas, though he knew he would be lying if he ever dicested to turn tav in to follow the third rule
XXXXX“Then grab a seat and we’ll get started okay?” Tav headed toward one of the Cabinets and started fiddling inside of it. After a second Tav closed the cabinet and walked to the worktable with a stack of papers, inkwells and quills. Then went to remove some books from a shelf, he put these on the table, opened them and stared spreading the stack of papers over surface so he could have everything at hand. Nicolas watched him read and make notes for a while, then started strolling around the room, looking around at the things on the shelves for until his eyes locked with the empty sockets of a bleach white skull that sat on a pile of papers on a nearby shelf.
XXXXX“So, uh…” he started, hoping to tear his attention away from the skull that made his skin crawl, “What do you want me to do?”
XXXXX“Tell me all you know about magic.” said Tav, without turning away from his work,
XXXXX“Oh,” said Nicolas, feeling his stomach squirm as he gathered his undeveloped knowledge of magic in his minds eye, “I know a few spells. Like Abducoup and Reparcillio, and I have had a lot of practice with Elesu if that will help.”
XXXXX“No, no, no, that’s not what I mean,” said Tav, not looking up from the book he was reading but waving his quill free hand in the air, “What do you really know about magic? Where do you think it comes from does it come from, how does work and why can you use it while others can’t? Can you tell me?”
XXXXXNicolas frowned, and said
XXXXX“I’m sorry, I can’t,” Tav paused in his work, and looked up,
XXXXX“You can’t?” he asked, tone unchanged
XXXXX“I was raised in Magna, so no one has ever told me” said Nicolas, hoping that this wouldn’t force a change in plans,
XXXXX“That’s good,” he said, leaning up from his work looking pleased, “very good in fact! That’s going to save us a lot of time.”
XXXXX“What do you mean?” asked Nicolas,
XXXXXTav smiled, “Usually by your age most wizards think they have a good idea of what magic is, which they don’t, to be honest, and breaking them of those believes normally takes longer than it does to explain the truth. But since you don’t know anything about magic, we can just get started.”
XXXXX“You mean you’re going to tell me truth about magic?” asked Nicolas, standing with a rush of excitement that broke through the reluctance and anxiety that gripped him all that night,
XXXXX“Yeah,” said Tav, casually, “but before I did I think you might want to take a seat.”
XXXXX“Why?” asked Nicolas, taken aback. Tav smiled and returned to his work,
XXXXX“Because this is going to take some time…”
XXXXXWhat followed was the longest conversation Nicolas had ever had up to that point in his life. Tav started with a basic explanation of magic, of how it worked and why Nicolas and he were able to use it and branched off from there with every of Nicolas’s questions and Tav’s wild train of thought, running from the fundamental laws of the universe to the substances that make it up, to the rotations of the stars, the mechanisms of life and the unimaginable abnormalities that exist between them. It was all very interesting to Nicolas, though a few things seemed to extraordinary to be believed, especially Tav’s explanation on human body and how it was supposedly made up of countless miniature organisms that worked together like a culture to make the body function. Or that, in reality, the sun was actually a star like the ones Nicolas saw at night, each one with planets like ones Nicolas knew, circling them as well.
XXXXXFinally, long after Nicolas lost his track of time and began nodding off to sleep every few minuets, the discussion began to come to a close
XXXXX“So let me get this straight,” said Nicolas with a yawn, trying to get back to the original point, “everything in the universe, from the stars in the sky to the ground under my feet is made up of small, disks of energy?”
XXXXX“You got it,” said Tav, lounging on his couch, his work for the night long since finished and now piled neatly on one end of the table,
XXXXX“These disks move and vibrate, and these vibrations determine their properties, and depending on these properties, organize themselves into fundamental masses”
XXXXX“With each disk forming a different essential property of the masses” said Tav,
XXXXX“While others disks simply move between the masses,” continued Nicolas, “Making more complex compounds and or breaking them, acting and reacting with other compounds, becoming force?”
XXXXX “In all its forms,” said Tav, “simply the result of the reactions between bonds”
XXXXX“Then there are other disks,” continued Nicolas, “Ones neither bound to mass or interacting between the masses, and those are Magic.”
XXXXX“Basically,” said Tav
XXXXX“And we control magic,” said Nicolas, “Through reactions taking place within very small organisms living within other organisms which make up our… What did you call it, Nervous System?”
XXXXX“Yes,” said Tav, “Bio-electro-chemical-reactions inside sub-cells inside neurons inside nerves inside the nervous system inside people.”
XXXXX “Changing the vibrations of the disks temporarily to suit our needs,” said Nicolas “changing the world on its deepest level, with an infinite span potential…”
XXXXX“A good basic overview” said Tav, sitting up, “You remember that and we can delve into the greater complexities of Magic when its later needed.”
XXXXX“Huh,” said Nicolas, nodding, too tired question what he had been said any longer,
XXXXX“And we covered all the essentials of it in only five hours,” continued Tav,
XXXXX“Five hours!” exclaimed Nicolas,
XXXXX“I know. Great timing…” said Tav. Nicolas frowned. He was supposed to wake for class in a few hours, how he was supposed to get enough sleep now he didn’t know,
XXXXX“And we still have enough time to get you introduced into my work!” said Tav,
XXXXX “What? But I have class tomorrow?”
XXXXX“Don’t worry about it,” said Tav, getting up from his couch, “I’ve already got everything planned out, now come over here.”
XXXXXHe walked over to a cabinet and opened that covered it and began looking through its content. Nicolas stood from his chair, his whole body feeling as stiff as wood he had been sitting on and stumbled over to meet him.
XXXXX“Now Nicolas,” asked Tav, “Do you remember what I told you about magic’s existence as a substance when it is not being utilized by us?”
XXXXXNicolas could recall most of what Tav had said. It had been one of the more unbelievable parts of the conversation, or at least one of the parts Nicolas had been more awake for.
XXXXXBasically, Tav had said that standard matter and force have no effect on Magic in its neutral state and the only that could effect them were special chemical reactions created inside wizards that occurred constantly as long as the wizard was alive, not only when the wizard was performing spells. And that these passive reactions didn’t affect the perceivable dimensions but manipulated the movements of realm of magic itself to give the individual a greater stores and access to the power there. But since everyone who could was manipulating it to some degree, it was like a great torrential ocean, with no control and wizards standing on its surface
XXXXX“Yeah,” said Nicolas, “You said it like an ocean with currents and stuff.”
XXXXX“Currents shaped by the shaped by the wills every wizard whether they know it or not,” corrected Tav,
XXXXX“And why is that important?” asked Nioclas
XXXXX“Because,” said Tav, drawing a long piece of chalk from the cabinet, “It creates anomalies with unique properties. Anomalies like this library”
XXXXXHe turned and walked to the table center of the room with Nicolas at his side, and began to draw a small runic circle on the wood
XXXXX“Do you know runes at all?” asked Tav, not looking away from his work
XXXXX“No,” said Nicolas
XXXXX“Understandable. You see runes once inscribed will only work when activated with magic, which any wizard can do to any rune even if the did not write it. These runes will create a light, see?” He waved his hand over the runes, the chalk flashed bright momentarily, when Nicolas eyes finally adjusted he saw the chalk was glowing with the same strange light he had seen from the enchanted glass outside.
XXXXX “Now once the runes are active,” continued Tav, “it can only be deactivated by the one who activated them in the first place, or else until it run out of magic or the runes are destroyed. But this library is different. Watch this,”
XXXXXTav leaned over with his free hand, and began to rub the runes off the table top with the cuffs of his robe. His hand wasn’t large enough to cover all of them, so Nicolas could see the other runes began to blink and sputter as their fellows were destroyed. After the runes were gone, Tav removed his hand, but the smudged chalk still glowed though not as brightly as before. Tav gestured at this but Nicolas, not know what the significance was, only confusedly,
XXXXX“Don’t you see?” said Tav as if he was painfully obvious, “The light is still there even when I deactivated the runes.”
XXXXX“So?” asked Nicolas
XXXXX“So?” repeated Tav, “I destroyed the runes and removed my magic, and yet it persists, don’t you get what that means?”
XXXXXNicolas shook his head no. Tav sighed and said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world,
XXXXX“This library has as high enough concentration of Magic to maintain a spell by echoing the residual magic alone. That could mean it has the highest concentration of magic of any place in the world by a wide margin. If it’s true, then the potential discoveries that could be made by studying its effects could be momentous…”
XXXXX“Wait?” exclaimed Nicolas, “You’re only here to study the library?”
XXXXX“The magical properties, yes,” said Tav,
XXXXX“Huh,” muttered Nicolas, this wasn’t exactly what he had been expected a criminal wizard to be doing within the confines of Gallia’s top school of wizards
XXXXX“You sound disappointed,” said Tav, almost as if he knew exactly was on Nicolas’s mind,
XXXXX“Oh, no, I’m not,” said Nicolas, lying, “I just wasn’t expecting something so…” he paused as he tried to think of a good word, “…innocent?”
XXXXX“What were you expecting?” asked Tav, “Experiments on kidnapped schoolchildren? Plots to take over the world? Virgin sacrifices?”
XXXXX“Kind of,” said Nicolas. Tav started to laugh, but just then something occurred to Nicolas,
XXXXX“Wait, if your not doing anything wrong then why the secrecy? Why hide? Why not just go to the headmaster and ask for permission to study the Library?”
XXXXX“Why?” repeated Tav, stifling his laughter, “Well aside from the fact that I know and have performed enough black magic to be imprisoned in Heleba with consecutive life sentences. And that I would have to rebuild the whole Gallian magical discipline just to get the wizards in charge to understand the basics of my research. I guess I just don’t want to be shackled by their pointless ethics, and politics, and demands…”
XXXXXNicolas nodded, though he didn’t get what Tav was saying entirely,
XXXXX“Now that we got that out of the way we can get on to the work at hand,” continued Tav, clapping his hands together and turning to walk down the length of the worktable, “this way please…”
XXXXXHe walked down the length of the table toward the pile of papers he had been working on for that night. He turned and patted them,
XXXXX“Now, I have a very precise filing system you are going to have to learn. We’ll start by getting you introduced to how things are organized around here, and we’ll move on from there to getting these papers sorted and filed. Then we can get you back to your dorm. Good with that?”
XXXXXNicolas looked at the stack of papers then back at Tav,
XXXXX“You want me to file your work?”
XXXXX“Yeah” said Tav,
XXXXX“Is that all I’m going to be doing when I’m working with you?”
XXXXX“Of course not,” said Tav, “You’ll be keeping this place organized and transcribing my dictations and fetching me things and keeping this place tidy and whatever else I happen to come up with. I don’t want dealing my research and experiments until you get a firm enough knowledge of what I’m doing”
XXXXX“And how will I be getting that?” asked Nicolas,
XXXXX“Through these,” said Tav, waving his hand around at all the overstuffed bookshelves around the room to Nicolas’s horror, “Most of these are just for personal reference and future research. It shouldn’t take you too much time to get the important ones down.”
XXXXXNicolas nodded, still daunted by the idea of having to read so many books, but his attention broke when Tav shoved a handful of paper into his arms.
XXXXX“Now lets get working,” said Tav,
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:11 am
Okay, okay, it's Friday. I'll finish it tonight, all right? Please don't be angry! crying
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:07 pm
Serenity Reed Okay, okay, it's Friday. I'll finish it tonight, all right? Please don't be angry! crying I'm not angry, just a little sad that no one had read my work yet. I feel semi ignored...
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 3:44 pm
XXXXXAwake only through the desire to finish his work, Nicolas grabbed the last stack of notes, checked that they were in order, sat them on an open leather folder, closed it, bound it, marked it, then stood, half walked, half lurched over to a shelf, and got it sorted in with the rest of the work there. He turned to face Tav, who stood with his back to him on the other side of the room, checking the organization of his files, and leaned against the shelf behind him, feeling his exhaustion seeping through his body with him now he knew the work was done.
XXXXX“Are we finished?” asked Nicolas, an edge of longing slipping into his voice,
XXXXXTav swung around to look at the empty table then up at Nicolas,
XXXXX“Did you remember to edit the file’s glossary?” asked Tav,
XXXXX“Yes,” said Nicolas, feeling a spike of annoyance. When he was almost halfway done with his work Tav made him redo everything since he forgot to update the glossary for each study file, it had been frustrating to say the least. Tav nodded,
XXXXX“Then we’re good,” said Tav. Nicolas sighed in relief before sleepiness overcame him and he slid down to the ground, his legs giving out under him. His whole body began to relax pleasantly despite his uncomfortable positing sitting against the shelf. He sat here in a stupor before he was picked up by the shoulder and forced to his feet by Tav.
XXXXX“Now Nicolas you can do that later,” said Tav in a gentle tone, “we need to get you back to your bed. Don’t want your friends to wake up and see your not there”
XXXXX“What does it matter,” said Nicolas, “They’ll know I haven’t slept,”
XXXXX“Don’t worry,” said Tav, reaching into his robes “everything is going to be fine.”
XXXXXNicolas felt a shiver run up his spine at those words and looked up to see Tav holding a small, simple looking glass vial in front of his face, filled with a small amount of a light blue liquid that glowed softly.
XXXXX“This,” said Tav, giving the small bottle a small shake, “is Distilled Sleep.”
XXXXX“Distilled Sleep?” asked Nicolas, his curiosity perking him up,
XXXXX“Not literally of course,” said Tav leading Nicolas away towards the room’s library exit, picking up and handing Nicolas his staff along the way, “really it’s just complex liquid chemical compounds linked with stable magic partials. Or, in layman’s terms…” He paused here to put his free hand over the runic circle on the door, “a magic potion,”
XXXXXHe let go of the door, grabbed Nicolas’s arm and stuck the liquid sleep into his hand before moving to slide the self aside. Nicolas studied it, holding it gently between his thumb and forefinger, and noting its light weight and cold temperature,
XXXXX“This way please,” said Tav, holding open the shelf. Nicolas obeyed unconsciously, following Tav through into the library passageways before the shelf was slid shut then walked beside Tav through the library, still mesmerized by the Potion.
XXXXX“So what does this do exactly?” asked Nicolas, after passing out of the philosophy section,
XXXXX“You can’t tell by the name?” retorted Tav,
XXXXX“It leaves a bit to the imagination” said Nicolas, shrugging,
XXXXX“Good point,” said Tav, smiling, “Distilled Sleep will put you into the single most powerful sleep you have ever experienced in your life, allowing you to get a whole night’s rest in a matter of minuets instead of hours. That amount you’re holding, if my measurements are correct, should give you around eight to ten hours worth of sleep in about sixteen to twenty minuets.”
XXXXX“Huh,” said Nicolas, regarding the potion he held with a bit more esteem, “What if you didn’t get the measurement’s correct?”
XXXXX“You’ll probably go into a coma,” said Tav, casually, “That or you’ll never sleep again…”
XXXXXNicolas gave both Tav and the potion a horrified look, before Tav began to laugh,
XXXXX“I’m kidding, gods be damned… You need to develop a sense of humor, you know that? But seriously, if I it is measured wrong, you’ll either sleep too long or not sleep long enough. Nothing life threatening…”
XXXXX“Oh,” said Nicolas, frowning and clutching the vial, still shaken by Tav remark, “Is there anything else I should know about?”
XXXXX“There is one side effect that you should probably know about,” started Tav, “After you drink it, you can’t wake up until the effects of the potion are finished.”
XXXXX“Can’t?” asked Nicolas,
XXXXX“Can’t,” repeated Tav, “you could be talked too, yelled at, shaken, have water tossed on you and none of it will wake you. I mean, if you were set on fire, you wouldn’t know it until the potion wore off.”
XXXXX“That’s crazy!” said Nicolas, “why would anyone choose to drink this if it left them so vulnerable?”
XXXXX“Are you expecting an attempt on your life tonight?” asked Tav, chuckling. Nicolas stared at him pointedly in answer.
XXXXX“Really?” said Tav, smiling, “After explaining the full effects of the potion you still think I would use it’s to kill you? Even after all the other opportunities I’ve had to get rid of you tonight? I’ll honor our deal Nicolas. If not for the help you can give me, than for the evidence you have undoubtedly prepared to have uncovered if you were to disappear...” Nicolas nodded, and resisted the impulse to gulp, he was still working on a way to get his friends to discover the Index Card in case anything were to happen to him, but hadn’t worked out a method that would keep them from discovering it under normal circumstances.
XXXXXNicolas and Tav walked the rest of the way in silence, exiting the library into the night and winding their way through the garden’s back to the Broadly dorm. Thought Nicolas was groggy he still noticed a few things. Other than the Barriers up over the archways, there were no guards. Nicolas guessed that with the barriers up preventing student’s sneaking out, the night patrols stopped in the early hours of the night, though he didn’t feel like confirming this with Tav. It seemed darker as well, but Nicolas figured that without the patrols around the lights were dimmed. There was still enough light coming from the glass lanterns for Nicolas and Tav to walk by. When they finally reached the Broadley dorm, Tav stopped outside the door,
XXXXX“Now you have about a half an hour until the sun rises,” said Tav, “Ten minuets to get upstairs, change, and get the potion drunk. Is that enough time for you?”
XXXXX“Should,” said Nicolas, “As long as I don’t wake anyone. Are you going to cast a spell to keep people from seeing me?”
XXXXX“Can’t, I have to open it in a few hours.”
XXXXX“Alright,” said Nicolas, staring at the door, “are there any other things I need to know before you leave?”
XXXXX“Well,” said Tav, lapsing into thought, “the potions will take effect a few seconds after you drink it so be sure to be in bed when you do, and remember not to lose the vial it comes in, I’ll need it back.””
XXXXX“Why?” asked Nicolas, wondering what special properties the glass possessed,
XXXXX“Because it cost me ten copper,” said Tav, reproachfully, “Do you think I can just conjure money out of thin air?”
XXXXX“Can you?” asked Nicolas, attentively. Tav rolled his eyes,
XXXXX“There are better ways to make money,” he said,
XXXXX“Like what?” asked Nicolas,
XXXXX“Saving it,” said Tav, simply, “Now get to bed. I don’t want to hear that you overslept tomorrow.”
XXXXX“Okay,” said Nicolas, moving towards the door, but pausing with his hand on the knob,
XXXXX“Any idea when we’ll be working next?” He asked
XXXXX“No,” said Tav, “But I’ll be contacting you when I do.”
XXXXXNicolas nodded and headed inside into the dark common room of the Broadley house. Turning to close the door behind him, he caught sight of Tav, leaning against the far curve of the archway outside. Right before the door closed him out of sight, he smiled and said, in a tone that all too casual,
XXXXX“Pleasant Dreams,”
XXXXXThen the door clanked shut, and Nicolas stood there for a moment, wondering if there was some other, more sinister meaning to what Tav said, before remembering he had a limited time to get upstairs and drink the potion. He turned and quickly ran across the common room floor to the spiral staircase at its center and bounded up it as fast as he could, paying more attention to speed than his surroundings. If he had, he would have noticed the two other people coming down in the opposite direction. As it was, he nearly ran face first into them on the second floor landing, stopped himself, and stumbled back several steps until he caught the curved stone rail of the staircase behind him.
XXXXXWhen stable he looked up and saw, looking as shocked as he was, Andy, the prefects’ deputy, and girl who Nicolas didn’t know but appeared to be in Andy’s year, both were in pajama’s but the girl wore travelling coat over her nightgown. The Three stared at each other for a long, stunned moment, until Andy spoke.
XXXXX“What are you doing here?” he said,
XXXXX“I’m... I’m... I was… Uh…” said Nicolas, looked from Andy to the girl and back several times, trying to think of an excuse until he finally managed up on, “I was sleeping downstairs?”
XXXXXAndy gave Nicolas a dubious look before Nicolas managed to retort, “What are you doing here?”
XXXXXThen he looked back at the girl and pointed at her, “And what’s she doing here?”
XXXXXThere was an awkward silence for several seconds, and the girl blushed,
XXXXX“Its Nicolas right?” asked Andy, his tone calm,
XXXXX“Uh… Yeah,” said Nicolas,
XXXXX“Great,” said Andy, smiling, “I tend to forget the names of the new students,”
XXXXX“I don’t think were ever been introduced,” said Nicolas, frowning.
XXXXX“I make it an effort anyway,” said Andy, shrugging, unconcerned,
XXXXX“How about this Nick, to make things simple for the two of us,” he paused, glanced at the girl next to him, “excuse me, the three of us, we forget we saw you, you forgot you saw us and we all go our separate ways, Easy?”
XXXXXNicolas looked from him, to the blushing girl, and back again, literally not believing his luck,
XXXXX“Are you sure you’re not going to tell the prefect tomorrow?”
XXXXX“And say what?” asked Andy, “I caught you up at night when I was taking…” he paused and looked at the girl again, with an expression like he was trying to recall her name, then continued, “This young woman, back to her dorm?”
XXXXXNicolas caught the girl’s frown, before turning back to Andy, “I guess not.”
XXXXX“Good” finished Andy. There was another long, awkward silence,
XXXXX“Well, I guess I’ll just get to bed then,” said Nicolas, moving for the second floor landing, right next to the couple,
XXXXX“You do that,” said Andy, pulling the girl out of the way as Nicolas passed.
XXXXXNicolas continued down the hall to his dorm-room door and headed in without looking around. It looked the same as Nicolas had left it. He headed across, as silently as he could, to his bed, placing his staff on its stand, the potion Tav had given him on his bed stand, and then got dressed in his pajamas, pausing only when he thought he heard his roommates stirring in their sleep.
XXXXX It went slower than he had expected, with him trying to be as silent as he could, but he eventually slid into bed, took the glass off his table and closed his bed curtains. Sitting up in his bed he looked at the bottle one last time before deciding that if Tav was going to get rid of him, it would be after getting the evidence back, and probably by something less conspicuous than poison.
XXXXXSo he uncorked the bottle, downed the small amount of potion in one gulp and quickly stuck the bottle in the pocket of his pajama shirt. He waited for the effects to take hold, or at least to experience something, but he felt nothing, except for a surprisingly minty fresh taste in his mouth. He hummed to himself and shuffled down in his sheets until his head touched the pillow, and waited.
XXXXXThen, as he lay there staring up into the dark he realized, with a jolt, that the potion he drank may not have been a poison or a sleeping potion, it could have been something else entirely. He shot up, silently scolding himself for being so stupid and wondered if he could regurgitate the potion without waking his room mates. But before he could do anything, he felt an unnatural chill settle over him for a split second and he blacked out.
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