The next week flew by for Gregory; he would have breakfast with Yukiko, go to the archive and study, stop for a snack, then meet with Nick and his friends for sparring, before finishing his night having dinner with Yukiko. Having dinner after everything else always made him feel better.
Waking to the third bell, Gregory got out of bed and dressed. He gathered the paper, ink, and pen that had been in the room, double checking that he had everything he needed. Slipping into the hall, he gently tapped at Yukiko’s door.
“I’ll meet you downstairs,” Yukiko called to him.
As he went down the quiet hall, Gregory wondered why the others were not already up. Maybe they’re just not as excited? he shrugged mentally. Heading toward the front door, he was surprised when Dia stepped out of her room and into his way.
“Keeper?” Gregory questioned politely.
“Excited for today, Gregory?”
He gave her a broad smile, “Yes. I’ve been waiting for this day all my life.”
“Very few wake this early,” Dia replied, stepping out the front door. “I wish you the best day.”
“Thank you, Keeper.”
“Has everything been taken care of by my staff?” Dia asked as she pulled out a long, thin, pipe from her obi.
“I have had no complaints, Keeper.”
“Very good.” She placed a single finger over the now filled bowl of the pipe and a flame sparked from it. Sucking in, Dia exhaled a cloud of light purple smoke. “If you have any problems, please let me know.”
“I will, Keeper.”
“Greg, I’m sorry for the delay,” Yukiko apologized when she came out of her room.
“It’s fine, Yuki,” Greg said. “Ready to go?”
“Good day to you both,” Dia said as she stood there, smoking her pipe.
“Thank you, Keeper,” the pair said together before heading toward the mess hall.
When they stepped into the mess hall, they saw four people already having breakfast. One was a magus, wearing a cyan kimono and reading a book as he ate. There was a bland looking man in an emerald kimono, who was staring at nothing and eating mechanically. Gregory and Yukiko met the sharp eyes of an older gray-haired woman in cyan, who glanced their way before she went back to her food, dismissing them as unimportant. The last one, another man in emerald, watched them with a curious expression until they left his line of sight.
“Early, novices. Never being late is good,” the weasel eurtik behind the counter said as he gave them the first part of their breakfast.
“Wise to come before the crowd,” the scaled eurtik agreed, dishing up the next portion.
“Best wishes on your first day,” the rat grinned and plated them some fish, handing the plates to the mink beside him.
“May this meal sustain you during your classes,” the mink gave them a bright smile, scooping rice onto the plates beside the fish. Her hand extended to hover over Gregory’s medallion for a moment.
“Thank you,” Gregory said, bowing his head to them, then going to get cutlery and a drink.
“A good day to you, too,” Yukiko smiled as she followed Gregory.
With green tea to complement the meal, they took a table close to the cleaning area, putting them away from the adepts and magus. Gregory had gotten used to the breakfast meals, but wondered why it was nearly identical every day. Yukiko had told him that the soup was miso, and that, along with the fish and rice— white or brown— had been breakfast every day. The only change had been in the one side dish. The pickled plums were tasty, especially with the rice. The nori was odd, but okay. The one he did not care for was natto; the slimy texture put him off.
Gregory ate at the same slow pace he had gotten used to. The fish always made his aether flare up, while the other parts of the meal were there to help give him time for his body to accept the aether he was ingesting. I wonder if it’ll be covered in class today? Gregory idly thought.
Gregory and Yukiko finished eating within a few seconds of each other, sharing a smile as the fourth bell started to ring. They had two hours before class started, giving them the time they wanted.
When they dropped off their empty trays, Gregory noticed the four magi who had been there before them were gone. The mess hall was busier now as magi of different tiers started to show up. As he made his way to the exit, Gregory did not see the man in the sunflower yellow kimono stick his foot out into the walkway to trip him. Gregory started to fall, but because he had spent the last week drilling how to fall, he managed to roll and come back to his feet.
“Watch where you’re walking, Novice,” the apprentice snorted.
Not sure what had happened, Gregory bowed to the apprentice, “Apologies.”
Glaring at Gregory, the man’s lips puckered, but he nodded and turned back to his meal. “Just watch your feet.”
Yukiko frowned. She had seen the deliberate act, but had not been able to warn Gregory in time. Following Gregory out of the mess hall, she debated telling him.
When they were approaching the archive, Yukiko finally spoke up, “Greg, the apprentice in the mess… he tripped you intentionally.”
“Huh? Why would he do that?” Gregory asked, confused.
“I don’t know, but it was deliberate.”
Gregory stopped walking and felt his aether burn brighter. Why the fuck would an apprentice do that? It doesn’t make any sense. Maybe he had me confused with someone else? Sighing, he rubbed his face and let the anger go. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll just keep an eye out for him in the future.”
“I will make sure to keep an eye out for him, as well,” Yukiko said.
“Thanks, Yuki. Let’s do what we came to do,” Gregory said.
Entering the archive, they were greeted by a man with wolf ears on his head. “Back again, even with classes today?”
“We’re going to read until fifth bell,” Yukiko told him.
“Using as much time as you can,” the man smiled as his ears twitched. “The books you used yesterday are on the table you normally sit at.”
“Thank you,” Gregory replied, bowing his head to the archivist.
“You’re welcome, but it is Rafiq who deserves your thanks, not me. I merely did as he requested.”
“I’ll thank him later,” Gregory said, “but you still have my thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Novice.”
Going to the table they had used since the first day, the pair took their seats and dove into reading. Gregory was reading over a book detailing how vela became the standard currency of the empire, while Yukiko was working her way through the history book that was identical to Gregory’s.
When the fifth bell rang, they put their books aside and rose to their feet. The black panther eurtik was coming their way when they stood up. “Should I have these books ready for your next visit?”
“That would be very nice,” Gregory replied. “Thank you, Archivist.”
“We appreciate it,” Yukiko added.
“We don’t get many novices who spend their time before classes studying as you have. Most of them focus on fighting only, so it is refreshing to see something different. Whatever book you were reading last shall be waiting for you every morning. Now, don’t let me keep you. You have classes to get to.”
Gregory and Yukiko bowed their heads to her. Gregory felt mounting excitement as they walked, though he was able to match the easy pace Yukiko set.
They were still half an hour early when they reached the classroom, but the door was open, so they walked in. Gregory was puzzled by the black wall at the front of the room, but chose not to comment. He followed Yukiko to one of the small tables that were spaced through the room, noticing that the cushions were only on two sides, so that every person seated would have a clear view of the black wall.
“Thanks for making the last week enjoyable,” Gregory said.
“I should say the same to you,” Yukiko replied. “That first day, I felt so alone until I saw you. You didn’t make any comment about my appearance, then you caught me when I fell. Thank you.”
Gregory was about to reply when the click of metal on stone got his attention. Looking back, he saw the gray-haired magus from breakfast. The old woman glanced their way, again dismissing them as she advanced to the front of the room. When she reached the front, she pulled a number of items from her pouch and set up the podium at the front of the room. She turned to the odd wall, holding a small white stick. Gregory’s jaw dropped when she started writing.
“It’s a blackboard,” Yukiko whispered, seeing his shock. “She is using chalk to write on it. You’ve never seen one?”
Shaking his head, Gregory shut his mouth, glad no one else had seen his shock. “No. We didn’t have anything like that.”
“The best part is that with a cloth, the words can be erased so you can write on it again,” Yukiko told him. “Dad sold a number of them to outlying villages.”
“When class starts, you will not continue to prattle on, I trust?” the magus asked in a nasally voice.
“No, Magus,” Yukiko said, bowing in her seat.
“No, Magus,” Gregory added a moment behind her.
“You spoke of your father selling things. He is a trader?” the magus asked Yukiko.
“Yes, Magus. Hao Warlin of Warlin Mercantile is my father.”
“He trades along the Buldoun border,” the magus said after a moment of thought. “He is two decades removed from working with the Han Merchant Exchange.”
“Yes, Magus.”
A small smile touched the magus’ lips. “He was very shrewd in his moves when he left the Exchange. You won’t gain much from this class, but I will be calling on you often.”
“As you require, Magus,” Yukiko bowed again.
“And you, Novice?”
“I come from a village to the northwest, Magus. Alturis. No one in my family does any trading.”
“Alturis? Aethite is mined there, along with high grade iron and a few other ores. Interesting… we don’t get many fringers in the academy.”
“Thank Aether for that,” a snide voice chimed in from behind them.
“I will not abide disruptions in my class, even when the class isn’t in session,” the magus said sternly, staring at the newcomer.
“My apologies, Magus,” the man replied. “I’ll do my best to follow your instructions. I should sit in the back to keep the fringer smell from affecting me.”
Gregory had turned to look at the novice who was now smirking at him. Voices and footsteps announced the arrival of the other students, stopping the tension from devolving further.
“Come in, find a seat. We start promptly at the sixth bell,” the magus said archly.
Novices kept showing up in small groups, right up until the sixth bell. The moment the sixth chime sounded, the magus gestured at the doors and they slammed shut right behind the last novice.
“Tardiness upsets me, and that is not a good thing,” she said sternly. “Welcome to economics. I’m Magus Marcia Han, and I will be your instructor for the year. This class is to teach you how economics work so you may better defend the empire against all manner of threat. Failure to complete this course satisfactorily will result in ineligibility for certain posts in the empire, but you aren’t mandated to stay. You may leave the class at any time, and even miss it entirely to better focus on other avenues, if you wish. Any questions?”
“Magus?”
“Go ahead,” she motioned at the novice who had spoken.
“From your name, can we assume you are with the Han Merchant Exchange?”
“I am, and those who excel in this class could find themselves recruited by them or by other merchant groups serving the empire. Now, let us begin. We begin with the vela, and how this currency came to dominate the empire.”
For the next two hours, Magus Han went over things Gregory had already learned from his time in the archive, but he was attentive and took notes of the small differences between what the magus told them and what he had read. Yukiko did not take any notes, but she did answer three questions put forth by the magus. That brought her to the attention of the other novices who had not seen her during the last week.
When class was dismissed, Gregory and Yukiko were one of the last groups out of the room. They had walked the routes to each class numerous times before, so they used some of the shorter paths they had found and ended up being among the first few into the next classroom. Sitting in the third row, they had a good view of the blackboard and the severe-looking man in an emerald kimono.
“Wasn’t he at breakfast, too?” Yukiko whispered to Gregory.
“Yes,” Gregory said. “I think the four we saw were our instructors.”
When the eighth bell rang, the instructor started talking, not caring that the doors were left wide open. “I’m Adept Thomas Martin, and I’m your instructor in history. Why are we teaching you history, some of you might ask? The answer is simple; those who don’t know the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. Now—” He cut off suddenly, his gaze narrowing at the door. “You are late, Novice. Come up here!” The last three words held an edge that made Gregory’s eyes narrow.
“I’m sorry, sir,” the novice apologized and hurried to the front.
“You are late and disrupted my lesson,” Thomas stated, his lip curling in displeasure. “You will complete an essay exploring why angering your instructor is an unwise decision, and you will hand it in tomorrow. Failure to do so will get you removed from this class. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” the novice bowed, then hurried to a table at the back of the room.
“Where was I?” Thomas sighed. “Oh, yes. None of you are required to be here. History is for those who wish to learn. You may leave the class at any time, but if you do, you’ll never be allowed back in. Same goes if you fail an assignment from me. Failure to complete this course means that some postings in the empire will be denied to you. Any questions?” After a pause, Thomas smiled, “Good. Let us start at the very beginning, with Emperor Toja. Not as the Divine Emperor we all know today, but when he was simply War Leader Toja.”
Gregory was quick to put his things away when class ended. Like economics, the class covered things he read over a week ago, so the only notes he had taken were the parts where Thomas discussed points that historians had contentious views on.
Gregory was almost jogging as he and Yukiko made their way to the next class. Yukiko giggled, “The next class isn’t going anywhere, Greg.”
“I know, but this will be new information,” Greg said, but slowed his pace. “I’m hoping that maybe something will shed light on what my magic is.”
“I understand,” Yukiko said, touching his arm. “I’m excited about hearing more about shadow magic.”
Grins in place, the two of them walked quickly to their next class.
