Levin had a deep, sound sleep during his first night at the Academy, but got far too little of it – with the keys to unlocking his digital library now acquired, it was likely this wouldn’t be the only short night in Levin’s future. He finally passed out deep into the night during a particularly dry section of a study on the intelligence differences between various different species of dragonkin.
Dragons possessed intelligence on par with humans, a surprising fact unfortunately dulled by Levin’s exhaustion. But their so-called ‘lesser kin’ – wyverns, drakes, and wyrms – had intelligence more akin to wild monkeys. Wyverns have two legs, drakes have four legs but no wings, and wyrms have no legs or wings, making them all inferior to the four-legged, winged dragons. At least, that was the reasoning last night’s report had presented as to why dragons had the highest level of intelligence.
He yawned, stretching out his legs from his seat in Pilip’s lab, wearing a plain white robe that had been inside his room. He had come in the morning as requested, but his new master was nowhere to be found. Not that Levin minded, as it had allowed him to focus fully on his conversation with the Mage Hunters. And now he had some time to pick up from where he had left off last night.
He was a bit too drowsy and worn out from the Hunters to properly absorb the information into his own fleshly brain, but that was fine – as long as he vaguely remembered the contents, he would know exactly where to scan with his Y-Link. Even so, he enjoyed taking the time to properly comb through research documents.
Truth be told, though, Levin was feeling somewhat disappointed in the contents of the underground library. From what he could tell, every single document pertained to dragons in some fashion – interesting, but entirely useless to him. The dragons had all vanished abruptly thousands of years ago and had never been seen since, so what use was there in studying them? What Levin really wanted was a book on the fundamentals of magic. But he would have to find that elsewhere; for now, he had to settle with adding these ancient texts to his collection.
He didn’t get to read them for very long. A little over thirty minutes after arriving at Pilip’s lab, Pilip himself strode in, long robe billowing behind him. Levin opened his eyes when he heard the doors swing open, disengaging from his Y-Link as he stood and bowed.
Pilip frowned. “It is hardly appropriate for a servant to be sleeping in his master’s lab! Levin, I expect you to keep this place neat and tidy whenever I am out.”
Levin looked around in dismay at the filth piled up in every nook and cranny of Pilip’s lab, and the tools and equipment haphazardly scattered around tables and shelves. Cleaning this place was not going to be quick, and that time could be spent learning magic or plotting revenge.
But Levin was certainly not about to disagree with Master Pilip, so he buried his indignation as he clasped his hands and nodded in affirmation. If only he could talk to Pilip through Cho, like he had with the Mage Hunters – maybe then he’d have the courage to say no.
“Good. But for today, we’re going to make the trip to Lethridge. Come,” Pilip said, turning to leave his lab with Levin in tow.
Pilip walked at a brisk pace, headed towards the very front of the campus. Together, they exited through the wide-open gates in the campus wall, and Pilip strutted over to the stables that sat just outside the walls.
“Stable hands! Bring me a carriage and coachman!” Pilip barked out.
The servants working the stables didn’t dare inconvenience an official mage, and quickly dropped what they were doing to fulfill his command. A couple horses were swiftly attached to a carriage and a coachman seated in the driver’s position, a different one than the man that had taken Pilip and the new acolytes up the mountain previously. The trio were soon off, riding down the mountain paths towards the city of Inuvik.
“What is Lethridge?” Levin asked.
Pilip had begun staring absentmindedly out the window of their carriage as they rolled away, and seemed more than happy to answer.
“It’s a piece of property the Academy owns down in the city. Most of the valuable alchemical ingredients we acquire are stored there until they’re needed,” Pilip said.
“Why keep them outside the Academy?”
“It’s a matter of convenience, really. The resources are gathered from all over Trurok, and it’s easier for them to be brought to the city than up the mountain. The place also doubles as a location to trade those resources to the other mage groups in Trurok, though that doesn’t happen particularly often anymore. Not since Silla took power,” he said.
“Wouldn’t these resources be safer if they were kept at the Academy?” Levin asked. He still remembered Takt’s words to him yesterday – If you want our trust, burn Lethridge to the ground.
Pilip laughed loudly at the suggestion. “Raiding Lethridge would mean all-out war with Inuvik, and not even Silla is willing to do that. And besides, Lethridge’s rune array is better than the one that covers Mount Inuvik, so the vault is pretty well defended.”
“Better than the Academy’s rune array? Why would that be?” Levin replied in surprise.
“Well, better in terms of security. Do you know what a rune array is?”
“A large rune?” Levin said. But he wasn’t entirely sure he knew exactly what a rune was, either.
“Ha! Not quite,” Pilip said. “You’ve seen a few runes already. They’re made from inks, which runesmiths like myself spend most of our time creating. Engraving the ink in a specific shape allows the Force inside the ink to be released, just like how a mage casts spells. But unlike a mage, one rune can only cast one spell. To change the effect of a rune, you have to change either the ink or the shape, which is very time consuming.
“That’s where rune arrays come in. They’re actually quite simple – just a collection of runes. By combining different runes together, it becomes possible to cast many different spells with just a single point of control. The Academy’s rune array is mostly made up of runes that help with managing the Academy, but Lethridge’s is all about defense and security. That’s why I say it’s better,” Pilip said.
Levin mulled over this new information, quite pleased at Pilip’s forthcomingness. Getting discovered by Pilip felt like the only stroke of luck he had gotten since landing in Trurok – not only was he a patient teacher, he was currently taking the first step in granting Levin magic of his own. What more could he ask for?
A thunderbolt ran through Levin’s mind. There was something else he could ask for.
“Master Pilip, is it… Is it possible I can learn to make runes too?” he asked. Levin had no doubt he could memorize the shapes, but the process of making inks was still a mystery to him.
“Brewing inks requires Force, so no,” Pilip said, and Levin’s heart sank.
“Actually…” Pilip said after a moment, rubbing his goatee. “Actually, you might be able to. It’s probably possible to use runes as a substitute. A Force analysis rune would work for ingredients well enough, but the brewing process would be tricky…”
Pilip trailed off, muttering under his breath for another minute before he fell silent and looked Levin straight in the eyes. “Maybe. If I have the time between this Chaos work, I can try to teach you the basics.”
“Thank you, Master Pilip!” Levin exclaimed. He felt certain now that becoming a pupil of Pilip’s was a massive boon.
“Ah, we’re approaching the city. About time, these damn carriages always hurt my back,” Pilip said as he looked out the window towards the stout walls in the distance.
The two fell into silence as they rolled ever closer to the grand city of Inuvik. At least, grand by Trurok’s standards, which Levin had increasingly come to learn was a mostly rural, agrarian, region, with little in the way of urban development.
In front of the wooden city gates, a small line of people, horses, and carriages waited patiently for the guards to check each one over before admitting them to the city. Pilip and Levin’s coachman did not join the line, instead rumbling straight through the gates as the crowd parted and the guards clasped their hands respectfully.
As they traveled into the city at the discretion of the coachman, who naturally knew the route already, Levin saw the dinky little shops near the entrance to the city fade away, giving way to large, walled estates that clearly housed the wealthy and nobility of Inuvik City.
Before long, they had arrived at their destination, another walled lot that, on the outside, appeared identical to the several they had passed. The inside, however, was a much different story. Instead of housing large mansions and gardens, a single mage’s tower rose strikingly into the air, dominating the sky above its neighbors as if to remind them of the mages’ superiority.
Pilip and Levin dismounted the carriage, and the coachman waited patiently as they headed inside. They walked up to the circular, closed gate and Pilip held up his wooden identity token, runic lines springing to life. The gate swung open of its own accord, revealing a well-manicured landscape that surrounded the powerful tower.
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Pilip ignored the decorative garden that wrapped around the entire outer perimeter, instead heading straight towards the elegant doors of the Lethridge Tower. They, too, parted of their own accord, and Pilip stepped in with Levin in tow. Inside, several mages dressed in flaming red robes, much brighter and more vibrant than Pilip’s, sat lounging around, two of whom were focused on a board game between them.
“Greetings, Magus Pilip. I’ve been expecting you,” spoke a charming young lady as she approached them, the rest of the guards uncaring of the new arrivals.
“Ah, Lieutenant Aiyame. It’s an honor to be welcomed by the second-in-command of Inuvik’s Battle Mages,” Pilip said with a bow, which Levin copied.
“I heard about the boy with no Source. This is him?” she replied, giving Levin a look over.
“Indeed. I’ve come to collect the supplies I need for the Book of Reeds,” Pilip said.
“Good. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a use for the Buds. However…”
“Oh?”
“I fear you haven’t brought enough assistants to carry everything,” she said.
“Ah, that,” Pilip said with a small chuckle. “For now, I intend to only take what I need for the first chapter. We will return assuming the initial stages go well.”
“I see then. In that case, why don’t we get your materials?”
“Of course,” Pilip said. He and Lieutenant Aiyame headed for the stairs to the second floor, and Levin followed behind.
On the second floor and above, rows of storage lockers lined the rooms, covered in runic lines that dimly glowed. Pilip and Aiyame wove through the aisles, removing the ingredients that Pilip needed. For each ingredient, Aiyame would use a token she carried to undo the magical locks, then Pilip would count out the proper amount under her watchful eye and place them into a small protective container, which he passed to Levin. Levin then carefully put them into a large knapsack Pilip had given him.
They pulled out a couple ingredients from each floor, ascending higher and higher into the tower as Levin’s bag grew heavier and heavier. When they reached the second highest floor, however, there were no rows of separate storage lockers – instead, this floor contained only a single, massive bin that filled up the entire floor.
Aiyame opened it, and Pilip began shoveling the contents within into the sack in Levin’s hands, with no regard for putting them in a separate container. Before, he had only retrieved a small quantity from each locker, but now Pilip filled the remaining space in Levin’s sack, and his arms began to grow heavy from holding the back open and out.
More than half of the contents of Levin’s bag was now these small, red orbs, and Pilip didn’t seem to be slowing as he continued to fill it up. Levin thought they looked like flower buds on the verge of blooming, but the black-speckled pattern atop the crimson red was unlike any flower he had ever seen.
Levin wanted to ask what they were, but he held back, giving a sidelong glance at the stoic, observing Lieutenant Aiyame. He remained silent as the remaining space in his bag was filled up and the three of them began to head back down.
Pilip gave his thanks and a farewell to Aiyame when they had reached the ground floor, then turned to leave. The coachman had remained in place just outside of Lethridge, so Levin and Pilip were soon off, rumbling back through the streets of Inuvik City and towards the mountain path to Inuvik Academy.
Pilip was excited as he looked over the abundant resources contained in his knapsack, like a small child who had just gotten a new toy. He began to talk energetically, even without Levin’s prompting.
“You see these, Levin?” Pilip asked, holding up one of the small, black-and-crimson orbs. “This is a Chaos Bud. They only grow in a single place in all of the Northern Reaches, in a particular lake deep within the Ascraeus Mountains. Far too deep – even the Grinn Clan cannot penetrate those deadly mountains that far. But this lake feeds into the great Yathkyed River, which carries a small amount of them into Trurok every year.”
“It sounds very valuable,” Levin said.
“Oh, indeed it is. These buds are one of the rarest resources found in Trurok, perhaps even in the entire Northern Reaches. But here’s the thing – they have only a single use. Chaos magic. The Book of Reeds describes three runes made from Chaos Buds, which are the only known use for them. That’s why we have so many of them stored up even though the Academy only manages to get a few every year,” Pilip said.
He fell quiet, examining the small bud in his hand with a smile on his face.
“We’ll be able to get the first Chaos rune on you soon, Levin!” he exclaimed abruptly. “I’ll need some time to prepare and learn the recipes, but you should be getting your very own magic soon! And once we succeed, I’ll finally be back in the good graces of the Academy’s Lords Magi!”
***
After delivering the supplies to Magus Pilip’s laboratory, he released Levin for the day.
Levin immediately knew where he wanted to go.
He soon found himself staring up at one of the towers on Inuvik Academy’s campus. Aside from the Smoke Hall in the center of campus, every building in the Academy was a round, stone tower that shot up into the sky. However, the diameters of the towers could have quite a bit of variance – like the one filling up Levin’s view now, which was the second widest tower on campus.
The words above the entrance proved Levin was in the correct place: Library. With great anticipation, Levin stepped through the wide-open double doors and into the ground floor. Within was a wide-open room filled with finely carved tables and chairs, and robe-clad mages all scattered throughout with their noses in a book. In the back, a curved set of stairs ran up the outer wall to the next floor. Levin headed straight up, not interested in looking around a basic reading space.
“Oh, Stars.”
Levin was not disappointed. Starting on the second floor, bookshelves towering up all the way to the ceiling unfolded in even rows before his eyes. The ends of each shelf were labeled, but Levin didn’t know how the classification system worked, so he simply walked up and plucked out a book at random.
Except, it didn’t budge. Levin frowned and tried to pull harder.
As he pried away, glowing blue lines like chains suddenly sprung to life, wrapping around the book. Try as he might, he couldn’t pull the book out even an inch.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Levin spun around, coming face to face with a wrinkled face and lips pursed in a thin line, staring down at him. The elderly woman before him had her arms crossed over her chest, and she seemed quite cross as well.
“Huh?”
“Are you aware that servants are not allowed to retrieve books from the library without their master’s approval?”
“I’m very sorry!” Levin immediately said, throwing his torso into a deep bow. “I didn’t know! Today is my first day here!”
The librarian, Levin assumed, bobbed her head once, but the look of anger didn’t change. Perhaps that was just her face.
“Who is your master?”
“Master Pilip,” Levin said.
“Ah,” she said with an exaggerated roll of the eyes. “Of course it would be him. Then allow me to perform Magus Pilip’s duty for him, and explain the rules of our library.”
Levin nodded eagerly.
“The central rune array provides locks on each of our books. For this floor and the one above, you must be an acolyte to retrieve them. Above that, you must be Wisp rank at least, and our Lords Magi have locked the top few floors to only those who have given special service to the Academy.
“You, as a servant, cannot take books from the library. Any attempt to remove a book from these premises without a written request from your master will result in punishment, but I will overlook this one incident. If you do receive approval, we have a lounge area every three floors for you to read at your leisure. And of course, maintain quiet at all times or I will ask you to leave. Any questions?”
“No, ma’am,” Levin said.
“Good. If you’d like this book, you will need Magus Pilip to either submit a request or accompany you to the library. Now good day, and welcome to Inuvik Academy,” she said, before turning to leave.
Levin also decided to leave. He couldn’t think of anything more terrible than an exclusive library. Being trapped in a foreign dimension might be a tragedy, but this place was a crime against humanity.
Outside, the bright sun beating down reminded Levin he still had several hours left in the day. But what now? The Academy had a store as well, but maybe they wouldn’t sell to servants either. And even if they did, how would Levin explain his wealth? He didn’t even need to see the place to know servants aren't supposed to be able to afford magical supplies.
“Guess I should get some food and turn in for the night, then,” Levin thought to himself.
He turned around, looking over to the Smoke Hall and the bronze statue of Panai. One of the side buildings off the main hall was a cafeteria, and while it seemed to be normally frequented by mages and acolytes, he hadn’t been refused this morning for breakfast. But Levin was sure there was another place on campus that most of the servants ate at, he would just have to find –
“Oh! Levin!”
The shout interrupted his musing, and Levin turned to face the source. He found a bobbing head of blue hair, quickly growing larger in his vision. A moment later, Kirima arrived before him, panting slightly as she beamed up at him.
“Hi Kirima,” Levin said, grinning back at her infectious smile.
“How have you been? How was Magus Pilip?”
“Good. After we said goodbye yesterday, Master Pilip and I went to meet Lord Hann with your new master. And today, we just got back from a trip to Lethridge,” Levin said.
“Wow! I can’t believe you got to meet Lord Hann already! Did you know that he’s the only Smoke-rank runesmith in all of Trurok? That’s why the central rune array here is so amazing!” Kirima said.
“Oh really? I’d love to get a look at it,” Levin said. “Anyways, how have you been?”
“Master Azaadi is very busy, so he hasn’t had any time to teach me yet. He’s the Academy’s chief of security, and their only water-element mage, so I don’t blame him. Instead I thought, ‘Okay Kirima! You can learn on your own!’ And that’s why I came to the library!” she said, pumping her fists in excitement.
A lightbulb went off in Levin’s head.
“Say, Kirima… Would you mind if I come with you? And maybe you could pull out a few books for me?” Levin said.
“Of course I don’t mind! We can study together!” she said.
“You’re a saint, Kirima!” Levin exclaimed.
She just giggled in response, and the two headed in.