“You’re about to meet one of the leaders of Inuvik Academy,” Magus Pilip said as he led Levin away. “So simply say nothing and copy the bows I do. Understand?”
“Yes, Master Pilip,” Levin said.
“Good,” he said, gesturing towards a passageway in the far back of the Smoke Hall. “Down this way is – “
“Magus Pilip,” a voice called out from behind. “Please wait a moment.”
Pilip and Levin stopped and turned back to the group they had just left behind, and saw one of the six mages heading their way. In his tow was Kirima, and Levin shared a mutually questioning look with her as they watched the two mages square off.
“Is this person Kirima’s new teacher?” Levin thought, examining the pale, lanky man. The other mages and students were already beginning to disperse in their assigned pairings.
“Magus Amaq,” Pilip said. “How may I help you?”
“Lord Hann is busy at the moment, so he asked me to see to you in his stead,” Amaq said.
“How wonderful,” Pilip said through a clenched jaw. “Did he relay all the details?
“I hear you found a Chaos candidate. How exciting. He’s not certain it warrants access to the Book of Reeds, however,” Amaq said.
“You don’t understand,” Pilip said. “Just measure his Source and you’ll see. If my readings for his aptitude were correct, then – “
“Watch your tongue,” Amaq said, his eyes narrowing. “Don’t forget I’m now the Academy’s chief of security. You would do well to avoid telling me what to do.”
Pilip sighed, deflating like a punctured balloon. “Yes, Magus Amaq,” he said, bowing at the waist. Levin hurriedly copied the motion.
“However,” Amaq continued. “Lord Hann did order a reading of his Source to be taken. Come.”
Magus Amaq left without waiting for a response, and Pilip followed behind at a distance with Levin by his side. Kirima waited a moment, falling back to walk side by side with Levin.
“Looks like we said goodbye too soon!” she whispered to him.
“Ah, I almost forgot,” Amaq said, turning back to look at Levin and Kirima.
He swished the sleeve of his baggy red robes, and two small objects came flying out of them towards Kirima. She yelped in surprise as they hurtled straight at her, but the two objects slowed when drawing near her, dropping gently into Kirima’s outstretched hand a moment later. Curious, Levin peered over and saw two small pieces of wood in her hands, both crisscrossed with the telltale colored lines of runes.
“Your identity token, and a transmission tablet connected to mine. The token will guide you to your accommodations, and I’ll send a message through the tablet when I’m done here,” Amaq said.
“So that’s how the mages communicate over distances. I wonder what its range is?” Levin thought, examining the larger of the two wood blocks.
If Kirima was disappointed at being shooed away, she didn’t let it show. “Yes, Master Amaq. Bye again, Levin!” she said, giving a farewell bow to Amaq and holding it for a second before scurrying off.
But Levin certainly felt disappointed that she was gone as he followed the two mages down a small opening in the side of the grand hall and into a dim passageway, the only lighting a few sparsely placed candles along the walls. Compared to the bright magic-fueled light spilling in from the hall behind, the flickering shadows here left Levin a little jumpy. Like he was stepping into a lion’s den.
“You’re going to measure him with the central rune array directly?” Pilip asked.
“The rune array? The thing that controls the Academy’s security?” Levin thought, recalling the membranous barrier he and Kirima had passed through at the base of the mountain.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Amaq said, pulling out his own identity token as they approached a door at the end of the hall.
Just like Pilip had done at the main entrance to the Smoke Hall, Amaq raised his token to the door. The light of the runic locks brightly illuminated the corridor for a moment before the door swung open, and Levin and Pilip followed Amaq inside.
The room was surprisingly small. It was lined with shelves full of vials of glowing liquid, an impressive multicolored display that looked like a modern version of the underground laboratory he and Mei had stumbled upon.
In the back, Levin noticed another closed door and couldn't help but wonder how far the building went. From the entrance he hadn't been able to see exactly how much this central hall sprawled out, not with Cho still preoccupied. But Cho would be able to do a flyover of the Academy soon – already he was flying the bird back to Mei, to deliver the fruits of his stalking. Hopefully she’d agree to help.
While Levin’s mind wandered, Amaq went over to one of the shelves, pulling a single vial from the vast collection and handing it off to Pilip. Pilip glanced down at the liquid gently sloshing against the sides of the clear glass, then raised an eyebrow at Amaq.
“You want me to make the rune here?” Pilip asked.
“That’s right. Since you’re so confident in this boy, we can take him straight down to Lord Hann once we’ve checked his Source,” Amaq replied with a smirk.
“Lord Hann is in there now?” Pilip asked with a loud gulp, fixing his eyes on the door at the rear of the storage room.
“Why so nervous, Magus Pilip? You wanted to meet him, didn’t you?” Amaq said with a small chuckle.
Pilip mumbled something under his breath in response, not meeting Amaq’s eyes as he looked around at the floor space around them. He then dropped to his knees and reached into the folds of his robe, retrieving a thick rod that came to a pointed tip on one end, with an open back on the other end revealing a hollow interior. Levin watched with curiosity as Pilip uncorked the vial with one hand and tipped it over, pouring out the silvery-blue liquid into the pen-like implement.
The amount of liquid in the vial nearly perfectly filled Pilip’s strange pen, visible within through a small strip of glass running along the body of the metal rod. Setting the emptied glass vial aside, Pilip then pulled a small needle from his robe, and pointed it towards the index finger on his left hand.
“Let me,” Amaq said, reaching his hand out and stopping Pilip.
“Very well,” Pilip replied, handing the needle over.
Levin hadn’t been sure if Pilip had intended to stab himself. But now, Amaq clearly proved that was the goal when he pricked his index finger himself, drawing back a red-tipped needle from his skin. Pilip held aloft his pen-like tube of ink, and Amaq squeezed out a couple drops of blood from his finger. They sank into the opaque liquid, and Amaq handed the needle back to Pilip.
Pilip then shut a lid onto the back of the pen and stabbed the tip into the cold stone floor, scraping along the rock and leaving behind a light blue trail carved into the ground. The intricate, flowing geometric script of runes poured out from Pilip’s hand, unrestrained by the rough stone as though he were carving into a soft, yielding pudding. With such ease of motion, it took Magus Pilip only a few minutes to construct a circular rune several feet in diameter, one that filled up much of the space in the closet-like storage room.
“Take a seat,” Amaq said as Pilip stood, his creation complete.
“Again?” Levin thought to himself, getting deja vu from the entrance exam a mere few hours ago.
But a quick check with his Y-Link quickly illuminated the differences. The patterns in the ground before him now looked similar to those at Inuvik City because they were of a similar style, but the exact markings differed all over the rune. Levin took special note of the places where the two runes matched exactly – this would be enjoyable to analyze later, once the translation of his books was complete.
Levin made sure not to stand and stare for longer than a moment, carefully stepping to avoid the dim blue lines in the ground before taking a seat in the open space in the middle. He wanted to ask them to explain what they were doing, to describe the differences between the two runes, but Pilip’s command to say nothing still rang fresh in his mind. And Levin certainly did not want to risk offending these powerful beings.
So focused on the rune was Levin that he nearly missed what Amaq did next. He took the sharp metal pen, now mostly empty, and turned it onto the back of his own hand, etching a mark of silvery-blue like a miniature mimic of the one beneath Levin. This time, the pattern was of such simplicity Levin recognized it even without the aid of his Y-Link – Pilip had an identical mark carved into his hand as well during the exam.
The mark on Amaq’s hand lit up a moment before the large rune beneath Levin, the sudden light bathing the room in a cool glow. This time, Levin did feel something from being measured. A soft tingle spread all throughout his body, as though feathers flew through his blood, tickling his insides as they went. Levin tried not to squirm from the sensation, focusing instead on the reactions of Amaq and Pilip as the rune did its work.
Amaq’s eyes widened. The light of the rune went out, and with it Levin’s body returned to normal. In a flash Amaq was by Levin’s side, pulling him to his feet and towards the door in the back.
“I take it I was correct, Magus Amaq?” Pilip asked.
"Hurry up, Magus Pilip. Lord Hann will want to hear of this," Amaq responded.
It didn’t seem Amaq would give Pilip any more validation than that, but Pilip reveled in it anyways as he waltzed ahead of Levin with a wide smile on his face. Levin followed along, suppressing his nerves as they headed out of the room.
And as Levin followed the two mages through the doorway, he realized another way that the Academy solved the lack of flat land – going down. Instead of a room, beyond the door lay a staircase, circling down into murky depths far below. Pilip and Amaq began the descent without a second thought, but Levin took the steep stairs cautiously, clinging to a thick handrail carved from the same stone as the walls and steps.
The claustrophobic spiral staircase tunneled deep straight down into the ground, and Levin had to quicken his pace to keep up with Pilip and Amaq. With a thick stone pillar running down the middle of the stairs, it was impossible for Levin to tell how far they had to go to reach the bottom.
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Suddenly, the tight walls fell away from around Levin as a massive cavern revealed itself below, illuminated by bright lanterns and filled with a strong scent of incense. A laboratory lay below them, with stone-carved counters and tables filled with glasswork and strange ingredients both plant and animal.
But Levin’s eye was drawn to the flashes of light and color he could see from the far end, the light bouncing around the mouth of a secondary opening leading to another hollowed out space in the stone. He craned his neck, trying to see more than just the bare edges of the massive rune giving off the multi-colored dazzle – surely, this was the central rune array of Inuvik Academy.
“Lord Hann,” Amaq called out as they reached the bottom steps.
Levin hadn’t noticed him before, hunched amongst a set of tall furnaces that blazed with heat. With a beard as long and flowing as the red robes he wore, the wrinkled old man seemed to exude might and majesty, and Levin’s breath caught in his throat as he laid eyes on one of the most powerful creatures living at the Academy.
“Oh?” Hann said as he looked up from his work.
Levin bent slightly at the waist as the three of them lined up in front, preparing to bow in time with Amaq and Pilip. However, they did not bow at the waist as had been done previously – the two lesser mages dropped down to all fours, touching their foreheads to the ground in full kowtow. Levin clumsily copied, dropping into the position a moment later.
“This is the one Magus Pilip spoke of,” Amaq said as the three of them rose to kneeling positions. “He has no Source.”
“You measured him yourself?” Hann said, casting a sideways glance at Pilip.
“That’s right. He really has none at all,” Amaq said.
“I confirmed in the entrance exam he has no ability to manipulate Force, and we just now confirmed he has no Source at all,” Pilip said.
“So, someone completely divorced from magic entirely…” Hann said, stroking his long beard. “Good work. This does warrant the Book of Reeds.”
Pilip’s face lit up at Hann’s words. “Thank you, Lord Hann!” he exclaimed, clasping hands and pushing his face low to the ground again.
“Mm. Magus Amaq, please submit the request to open the Lethridge Vault. Magus Pilip, I’m going to be blunt. This is your last chance. Do not experiment with the Book of Reeds. Simply apply the runes within as they are to this boy – nothing more, nothing less. Otherwise, a spot at the mines may be opening quite soon,” Hann said.
“Yes, Lord Hann,” Amaq said, and Pilip pushed his head harder into the ground.
“Good. You are dismissed.”
To Levin, those words were like a dam breaking as the tension released all at once, a feeling his new master was likely experiencing at the same time. It felt like the biggest hurdles had all been passed now as Pilip led them away, a smile beaming. Levin had successfully joined the Academy, and now there was no one left to oppose it – even if it hadn’t been in the role he would’ve picked.
Naturally, he wished he could be an acolyte and study to wield magic himself, but that was obviously a pipe dream now. He had to stay focused on the positives, like the chance to observe magic up close and even possibly receive some he could call his own. It was very fortunate Magus Pilip had found him, and been willing to take this chance on him.
The two of them now hiked back up the long set of stairs, and Levin wished mages had created a magical version of an elevator. Instead, the climb gave him time to focus on Cho again, and the two mysterious individuals he had taken great interest in.
To Levin’s delight, Cho had stalked them to their base, tucked away in a remote mountain. He immediately turned Cho around, sending it towards Mei. It would take a while for the bird to fly there, time that Levin would spend working out a way to convince Mei to talk to these people.
Finally they returned to the surface, and out into the bright light of the Smoke Hall a moment later. Amaq and Pilip said token farewells, and then Pilip headed for the exit. Levin followed, sticking close behind him.
“I’ll show you my lab,” Pilip said.
Pilip and Levin set off atop cobblestone paths lined with decorative shrubbery. The campus was small, so it only took a few minutes for the two of them to arrive at a tower situated up against the Academy’s Wall. Pilip used his identity token to open the tower’s lock, and they headed in.
Inside, there was only a single door, and a set of stairs leading up. Pilip headed up, and the upper floors seemed to all be duplicates of the first. He stopped on the fifth floor, turning his identity token to the identical, solitary door on this floor and striding in.
The entire floor was one room, except for a small supply closet near the back. The sheer disorder inside put a furious twitch in Levin’s eye, which only worsened as Pilip began searching around in random piles – but for what, Levin didn’t know. He scanned the room, and through the garbage could see some of the same tools he had seen in the central rune array’s underground cavern, but in far lesser quantity.
“And probably quality too,” Levin thought to himself.
But now that the two of them were alone, Levin felt far more relaxed than he had been with Magus Amaq and Lord Hann. He still worried about making a social faux pas, but Master Pilip seemed accepting of it as long as Levin didn’t embarrass him in public.
Levin still couldn’t be sure if he could fully trust anyone here, but he also didn’t have anyone else he could turn to, save Kirima. And he had already taken a big leap of faith in following Pilip here. So after a few seconds of hesitation, Levin decided to see if his new Master would be receptive to questions.
“Master Pilip, What are Source and Force?” Levin asked. Apparently he didn’t have the former, and couldn’t manipulate the latter.
“Everything has a Source. Except you, I suppose… Source is the complete sum of who, or what, something is,” Pilip said, digging around in a pile of wooden tablets on a shelf.
“And Force is the energy used to power spells of all kinds,” Pilip said.
He turned towards Levin, holding up his hand. A few inches above his skin, a fist-sized flame suddenly burst into life, casting a flickering orange light onto his palm.
“This fire is Force. Because I have strengthened my Source by absorbing fire-element energy, it produces fire-element Force. Casting spells like this consumes Force, but it regenerates very quickly. And if I strengthen my Source more, I would have more Force available at once and my magic would be stronger.”
Levin nodded, considering Pilip’s words. The fire-element seemed to be common, considering he had been attacked by six of them almost immediately. Azaadi had used the silver-element, and Kirima said her family used the water-element. Then what was Silla’s black lightning? The black-lightning-element?
“How many elements are there?” he asked.
Pilip chuckled. “All of them. If you can think of it, it’s an element. Even concepts like healing or death can be an element. But a death-element mage would have a lot of trouble finding natural death-element energy to absorb. That’s why mages usually stick with elements easily found in their surroundings.”
“Then since Master Pilip is a fire-element mage, do you sit next to a fire to absorb energy?”
“I did as an acolyte,” he said, extinguishing the flame in his palm and returning to his search. “I need more powerful sources now. Especially because the ambient energy in Trurok is very poor.”
So that’s what all those farms Levin had seen were – mage production plants. From what he had seen, firelily plantations took up a massive percentage of Trurok’s agriculture. The name ‘firelily’ alone convinced Levin that it was one of the more powerful sources of fire energy Pilip was talking about.
“That’s also the reason warriors thrive in Trurok more than anywhere else,” Pilip said.
“Wait, warriors?”
“Yes, warriors. You know, like Tulimak or Takt. Though you may be too young to have heard of Takt…”
“What are warriors?” Levin asked. Though when he pictured the bare-chested, greatsword-wielding Tulimak, Levin thought he had a fairly good guess already.
“A warrior’s Force comes from their Flesh instead of their Source. But it takes years upon years of physical training to achieve even a fraction of what a mage can do. It’s a niche, unused form of magic everywhere except Trurok,” Pilip said, and Levin noted a hint of bitterness.
“Flesh…?” Levin was going to need to take some time to sort all these terms out later.
“The body, basically. Each living organism is made up of three parts – the Source, the Flesh, and the Soul. The Flesh and the Soul is what separates us from a fire, or a rock. Mages draw Force from their Source, and warriors draw Force from their Flesh. People who can draw Force from their Soul are known as Awakened, but they’re exceptionally rare.”
Levin nodded. This information was well timed too, since Cho was coming up on Mei’s location, and knowledge of warriors would make convincing her easier. Already he was formulating what he would say when he saw her.
“Ah ha! I knew I had a spare one laying around!” Pilip exclaimed. He spun back around, holding up a wooden slab that looked the same to Levin as the others littering the room. But Pilip strode over to Levin with this one in hand, passing it over with a flourish.
“Your Academy id. It’s only servant-level, but it’s better than most. You get a room all to yourself and your monthly stipend for food is a bit bigger,” Pilip said.
“Thank you, Master Pilip,” Levin said.
“Good. It’s getting late, so you can go for now. Your room is R-two-twelve in the servant’s quarter, near the back of campus. You can’t miss it. Come here tomorrow morning and I’ll give you some tasks to do.”
Levin knew what to do this time. He clasped his hands together over his new badge, bowing deeply at the waist and holding it for a second. Pilip nodded in approval, and Levin turned to leave, alone.
The growing lengths of the shadows from the skyscraper-like towers of Inuvik Academy marked the winding down of a very long day for Levin. He was able to quickly find his way to his room, in a tower nestled in the back corner of campus, and collapsed into the bed immediately.
Fatigue like a weight on his back was well and truly beginning to set in now, but there was still more work to be done. Now that he was done with Academy business, Levin felt comfortable enough to turn his focus away from himself entirely, letting the room fade away as his vision was replaced with that of Cho’s. Many miles away, he felt the wind rushing by as he dropped Cho into the treeline, coming upon a slumbering Mei, cozily snoring away in the shade of a grove.
“Mei!” Levin shouted through Cho’s speakers, rousing her.
Mei was quick to waken, jolting up and instantly noting the large metal bird sitting on a branch above. “What’s up?”
“I found a group that I want you to join. I tailed them for a few hours with Cho, and I found their hideout. Let’s go there in the morning,” Levin said.
Mei frowned. “What makes you think I’d want to do that? I’m more effective on my own, anyways.”
Of course, without any means to communicate with this group Levin wanted her to join, it was only natural to feel that way. But Levin already knew how he wanted to convince her.
“I won’t try to convince you to learn the language. We can pretend you’re deaf, if you’d like. And if you go, you can try to learn some of the magic techniques this world has to offer,” Levin said.
“Learn magic? Isn’t that what you’re doing at that Academy? How’d that go, by the way?” Mei asked.
“I got in,” Levin said. He didn’t plan to tell her about how, an act of deceit that Levin felt just slightly guilty over. Mei probably wouldn’t be willing to go if she knew Levin – and likely her as well – was entirely magic-less. But even so, Levin thought this would be best for both of them.
“Here’s the thing – there’s different types of magic. Remember the person you fought and killed, Tulimak? He used magic, but had a sword and relied on his body to fight. The others with him just used magic alone, because they were mages. Tulimak was called a warrior. And this group is made up of warriors.”
Mei perked up at the word warrior. “So who exactly are these people you want me to join?”
“People call them the ‘Mage Hunters.’ I watched them spar for a bit, and they’re definitely not normal humans. I think you’ll fit in well, and all of us want revenge against the mages. Plus, they have an attack planned in a week,” Levin said. Cho overhearing two of them discussing the attack was what had garnered Levin’s attention in the first place.
“Ha! Sounds interesting. A perfect group for us to hide in, too. Alright, I’ll go with you to check them out. But remember – no language. I can spar with them just fine without it. We both get what we want that way,” Mei said.
“Fine. I’ll meet you here at dawn,” Levin said.
Cho dived from its perch, swooping low to the forest ground before shooting off the side of the mountain into the air. Levin was finally going to get that birds-eye view of Inuvik Academy, even if it would be dark by the time Cho got here.
Inuvik Academy would help Levin find all the answers he sought. Already he was beginning to understand this dimension, even if the answers seemed to completely defy physics. But in time Levin would master this new world.
However, that wouldn’t help him much in getting revenge now. It was these Mage Hunters, and Mei, that he would take advantage of to kill Azaadi. Now he just had to convince them he and Mei were allies.