Moss said nothing for a moment, and Kilvic continued to stare out at the arena, at their hall mates training. Lacra remained powerful, her attacks brutal. But Gyra remained standing, bracing against her charges, casting aside spells where he would, evading where he would. The boy was powerful for one his age.
When Moss spoke he sounded more confused than irate. “It’s how you say these things with a straight face that’s creepy. I don’t know if you are angry, bored or worried. Which is it?”
Kilvic thought about it briefly. It was a logical question. Why had he said it when he hadn’t needed to? Moss had given him a piece of advice, and he’d given one in return. Was it the reference to the magi that had spurred him to speak. Yes, the magi were what mages were called in the older times when they had engaged in combat from a distance. They were mages who had failed once their opponents engaged them in the melee, something very simila
Lumina finished the last ten of the two hundred and fifteen outworlders humans were capable of summoning from their worlds before returning her attention to her son. Considered, the other kingdoms referred to them as demons, but not the house of Elzcrid. It was a mistake they would never be caught dead making.Kilvic, her son, began two breath-spans after she had mentioned the last with no order to how he mentioned them. On a few occasions his lessons required he call them by order of their strengths, on other occasions he would be required to call them according to the terrains for which they are best suited. This was no such occasion. Having already mentioned all twelve kingdoms beyond the mountains and the names of the oceans and seas and forests and the outworlders that served as their guardians amongst other lessons of the likes of arithmetic, geography, even the basics of human and outworld medicine and anatomy, this was to be his last lesson of the day.The boy
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay one more day?”Kilvic shook his head. “I have to go today, grandmother,” he replied with a shy smile. “Any more delays and I’ll be late.”Jenis shot him a reprimanding look. “Grandmother?” “Grandma,” Kilvic corrected, his smile becoming a slight tease. All his life his grandmother had insisted he call her ‘grandma’ rather than ‘grandmother’. According to her, the names mattered because while one made her feel like a grandmother, the other made her feel like an old woman. And she hated feeling old. Also, one was a formality that was found choking noble families. And she would not be formal with her family.“If you must,” his grandmother agreed with reluctance after a short moment, then turned to peer into the house behind her. “What of your m
The docks were least busy during the early mornings when most traders were setting up. Compared to the chaos of the afternoons when ships were pulling in and people took it upon themselves to loiter about, it seemed less chaotic than it really was.“Your grandfather wants you to court a mage,” he said as they passed a stall where a man was calming a rattling cage of wild geese. It hadn’t been a question, but Telvine nodded.“Mages are paid a lot,” she said. “If I marry a mage, then I won’t have to become a peddler like my parents.”Kilvic nodded.Peddlers were merchants too. But while those that held the richer part of the trade were the one popularly known by the title, those who’d failed to make it big and barely made enough to take a few weeks off to rest where referred to as peddlers. Amongst the latter, the more popular ones were known to move from place to place.Kilvic gave a casual shrug
He’d soared the sky on more than one occasion. He’d ridden horses in full gallop that one time his mother had thought it wise to get him one. At the age of eleven, learning how to ride a horse had left him walking with slightly bowed legs for weeks, not because they actually bowed, but because his thighs and groins hurt less when he did. He’d even ridden on one of the contraptions at home over liquids the likes of which his grandmother claimed no child should when he’d told her of it. If he was being honest, that was what gave him the confidence to tell Tut he was a quick study. What else was a ship if not a vastly larger mechanism than the contraption he’d ridden alongside the ferry man. And what more was the sea than a vastly larger substitute for the liquids of mount Trenon.How wrong he had been. How underappreciated the sea had been in the tales he had read. He had mistaken arrogance for self-confidence.And though the liquid of the s
The Academy’s grounds were a great distance from end to end. At its center was a statue, tall and proud, if not of a king, then perhaps the man who’d founded the academy. Although the crown on its head suggested it would be a king.The other buildings were as pristine as the one that housed the headmaster’s office which Diedrich informed Kilvic was called the Administrative building. The building which his classes was held was called the literate building.And as they walked past active classes within the literate building, he felt the air rattle from one of the rooms as someone used magic strong enough to cause acceptable disruption to the elements of air.Eventually, Diedrich stopped before a door. “This, student, is your current class. After you are done here, I will be glad to show you to your quarters.”“I don’t think that would be necessary,” Kilvic told him, adding when he saw the contemplation in the
Kilvic found himself paying no attention in his first class at the Academy. A few students were commended by the instructor who he learned was called Master Fitzgerald. Apparently, the aim of the lesson was to control any perceived element within the space of both hands. Most of the students commanded the air which seemed the easiest, swirling the element between their hands. A few managed bursts of subliminal sparks, a conjuring that worked with a reaction between the elements and their body heat. This achievement was worthy of more praise than others, and the fact that it was accomplished by those with pristine uniforms was not lost to Kilvic.Due to their wasted time in conversation, none at his desk had conjured anything. Fortunately, Fitzgerald had done well to ignore them.Their next class was under the tutelage of a man they all referred to as Master Tillaman. Though he hadn’t gotten the name of Fitzgerald’s class, Kilvic had deduced it had something
“So, today we will talk about the kinds of mages,” Tillaman addressed the class as Ariadne sat down. “In Zeldric, mages are defined into classes. This is the reason the academy exists; as a way to help you know where you are most proficient, and help you do your best in that class…”“I’m going to be a sword mage,” Stratin whispered from his side of the desk.Kilvic turned to the boy. He was undeniably built for sword play, but the way he placed his feet when he walked insisted his strengths laid elsewhere. To be a sword mage, he would have to perfect the use of the weapon to the point where he would be capable of infusing his will, not just his reia, into whatever sword he wielded.Being a sword mage required a vast level of physical dedication mages hadn’t always been known for. Whatever swordplay he chose would have to be ingrained in him and the sword he carried, and with his eccentricities—as Ariad
Grunald’s class, unlike the others, wasn’t held in a class room. At least, not in a room that gave gratitude to the term.Where there should have been seats, there were none. The entrance was free of the confines of a door which allowed the students the freedom to walk in as they pleased. The walls, brown as mud, were covered in weapons as many as could arm an army of Nazruls, and rose so high it could have easily been mistaken for a cave rather than a room. In all things, it was the best place to teach a school of learners in the use of weaponry.Kilvic walked in after Stratin who was all too eager to attend. Moss, on the other hand, was a sharp contrast to the boy. It seemed as though he would rather be anywhere else. And though Kilvic understood the concept of such preference, he did not agree with it. Not much of human behavior was taught by his mother or grandfather at castle Grey, but the concept of duty held a prevalent position in whatever was done.