Erica Dan woke with the sunrise, as had been her habit for years. She’d chosen a room on the east side of the tower for that purpose, and left the window uncovered. It was later than usual, the delayed sunrise a consequence of living in a valley, but she would have to learn to live with that. Erica had tried to use alarm clocks, and found them to be one of the most abominable inventions of the last century.
She dressed herself carefully, aware that her outfit on the first day of classes would create an impression, whether good or bad. She would feel that way no matter what, but the last-minute reveal that she was going to be studying alongside the Prince of Lysia certainly influenced her behavior. Her family had been minor nobles, not important enough to ever meet a member of the royal family in Camor, much less their vastly more powerful neighbors in Lysia. It had not escaped Erica’s notice that, with the likely exception of the mysterious Ada, her social status was the lowest of all the human freshmen.
She deliberated over her choices for the day. A light-toned dress, with a jacket over it for pocket access. That was good, though she would carry a bag for her books, regardless. She considered a hat, then discarded it as too ostentatious. A pair of riding boots rounded out the look; although it was unlikely that she’d end up on a horse that day, they fit the sort of practical, down-to-earth reputation of the Fourth University. Jewelry was out of the question, as nobody else seemed likely to be wearing it. The last thing Erica wanted to do was appear gaudy.
Satisfied, she began filling her bag with notebooks and pens, leaving room for any materials she might be given throughout the day. It was an interesting feeling, going out to school rather than being tutored in her home. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect, although of course she’d done whatever research she could into the University when she’d been invited. It wasn’t entirely unlike the famous, accredited universities of the continent in its basic structure. Its pupils lived on campus and attended several core classes alongside a few chosen electives, with a rotating schedule throughout the week to keep things fresh. What set the Fourth University apart was the content of those classes, besides the student body and staff.
Beyond those basics, little information had been available. Erica hadn’t had the money or connections to hire a real investigator, but the bribes she had offered for non-public information had gone unclaimed. Nobody seemed to even know the name of a single professor, other than that of the founder and headmistress, of course.
It was no great loss, she supposed. Some extra knowledge would have been a useful edge at the start, but learning the university’s secrets alongside her classmates would likely be an enjoyable experience nonetheless.
Her preparations complete, Erica slung her bag over her shoulder and went downstairs. To her surprise, one of her roommates was also up and about.
“Hi, Erica!” The girl who’d controlled the wind last night greeted her cheerfully. She’d been sitting on one of the chairs spread out through the common area, not seeming to be doing anything in particular.
“Hi…I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name yesterday?”
“Oh, that’s okay. It’s not your fault, that’s because I don’t have one!”
Erica had presumed that this woman wasn’t human from a couple of minor clues, but the blunt statement still baffled her.
“Um. Okay. Is there a way you like to be referred to?”
As she spoke, her mind raced through the nonhuman races she was aware of. All of them that came to mind had complex social structures, and certainly names for individuals. She couldn’t think of anything that even remotely explained the girl she was talking to.
“No, not really. Nobody had ever referred to me at all until a couple of months ago, so that hadn’t come up before. You could give me a name, if you want!”
“I’m not going to— what? Names are, um, really important. I met you yesterday. I appreciate the gesture, but you should probably pick your own name. Assuming you want one, I mean, I don’t know what kind of cultural…yeah.”
“They do seem convenient, so yes. Thanks for the advice. How do people usually name themselves?”
“Well, ah, we don’t, I guess. Almost everybody gets named by their parents.”
The other girl was looking at Erica like one would a dull but sweet child.
“You just said I should pick my own name, and now you’re saying nobody does that? I’m not sure that I should be listening to you about human culture. But that’s okay! We can still be friends.”
The tall girl suddenly rose from her seat. It was an odd-looking motion, the thrust of her standing clearly not coming from her muscles but from the surrounding air, as if she’d been lifted on strings. Erica didn’t have time to think about that before she was enveloped in a hug. She flinched, but didn’t push away, arms held at her side.
When she was released, Erica made an effort to smile at the other girl. She'd had no way of knowing beforehand that Erica wouldn’t like that, and was clearly trying to be friendly. The first day of school was no time to be rejecting sincere kindness.
“I was going to go and check out the kitchens, see if there’s any food this early. Would you like to come with me?”
The other girl nodded. “Yes, that sounds great! On the way, I’ll think of names for myself, or maybe we can find someone who will agree to name me.”
Erica still had a lot of questions about the name situation, but further interrogation seemed like it would be a frustrating and pointless path at that time. The two of them left the tower, making their way towards West Hall, where Erica had been told the food was.
As they walked, the low morning sun reflected off of dew on the lawn. There was a lot more grass in the University’s campus than in what she’d seen of Victor, and more trees too. Erica wondered if magic was involved, because it seemed like the landscape would be difficult to maintain through regular means. The surrounding mountains weren’t entirely barren, but they were somewhat rocky and infertile.
They found Allen Hall easily. Its doors swung open, unlocked, and they wandered inside. It was a large building, as seemed to be the trend on campus. This one was built wide rather than tall, containing several lecture halls and smaller classrooms.
Upon discovering the cafeteria and kitchen, the girls were surprised to see that a single chef appeared to be handling all the food. He had emerged from the kitchen with supernatural timing to inform them of their options that morning and take their requests. The girls were almost alone in the room, joining a serious-looking boy who was reading a book while eating. Erica’s new friend made a beeline straight for him.
“Hi! What’s your name?”
His eyes barely left the page for a moment. “Stephen.”
“Oh, I like that one. Can I have it, please?”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
This finally got the older boy to raise an eyebrow, but he was still not nearly as concerned by the question as Erica would have expected. “As long as I don’t lose mine, sure.”
“No, I’m pretty sure that’s not how that works. It isn’t, is it, Erica?”
Erica shook her head. Immediately, she wondered whether she should have done that. What if this had magical significance, and the strange girl really did steal his name?
“Perfect! Everyone can call me Stephen, then. Thank you, Stephen!”
The tall girl…Stephen? Stephen turned on her heel and left to sit at an empty table. Erica followed, befuddled. They ate their meal in relative peace, Stephen occasionally asking questions about Erica’s life, which she mostly deflected. If the other girl noticed she was being secretive, she said nothing about it; frankly, Erica doubted it had occurred to her.
Their first class was at eighth bell, which gave them plenty of time. Other students filtered in and out as they ate slowly. The two girls finished up and arrived at the room listed on their schedule ten minutes early.
Three other people were already there. It was a room meant to hold a significantly larger class than theirs, with maybe forty seats across the long, curved tables. The elf was sitting in the far back corner, a massive fox seated beside him. The small girl with the cheap clothes, Ada, sat next to the Lysian Prince Theodore. She looked faintly uncomfortable, and it was clear to Erica that the prince had chosen his seat last, or at least after Ada.
Nobody said anything when Erica and Stephen entered, though Kanatase gave them a shallow nod. The girls separated, wordlessly agreeing to meet other people for now. Erica sat in the same row as Theodore and Ada, though a few seats away from them. This earned her a wave from the prince and a measuring look from her roommate.
Over the next few minutes, the remainder of the freshman class came in through the door. Both of the paragons joined Kanatase in the back, Arthur arriving first, and the demon sat alone, a row ahead of Erica. A few quiet conversations had started up around the room, but nobody seemed willing to break the air of academic seriousness that pervaded the space.
At exactly eighth bell, going by the clock on the wall, Erica heard a faint, almost unnoticeable popping noise as Headmistress Anne Tarynn appeared behind the lectern at the front of the room. It had clearly been built for her, standing at a height that would be comical for a human professor. She stood patiently, scanning the classroom as the personal conversations quickly died down.
“Good, you all made it. You would be surprised how many classes contain at least one person incapable of either waking up or reading a schedule.”
There were a few small laughs across the room, but Tarynn silenced them with an unimpressed look.
“Jun is always telling me I should be more dramatic, get new students excited. With that in mind, I would like to officially welcome you all to the Fourth University.”
She snapped her fingers, and the room exploded in light. Erica heard more than one chair scrape against the floor as her classmates reacted to the bright, rapidly shifting colors that had suddenly appeared on the walls and in the air. Through it all, Tarynn’s posture and expression remained unchanged. The display ended as abruptly as it began, returning the room to its normal look.
“Right, then, the basics. This class is Introduction to Magical Theory. I teach it, in addition to mathematics and a few small electives. You will choose electives each semester starting in the next one, but for now, we keep you all on the broad subjects. Lectures and assignments are structured in such a way that varying levels of background knowledge on the subject in question will usually not detract from your experience, or affect your grades.”
Everyone seemed attentive. Erica didn’t turn around to check, but of the people she could see, she was the only one taking notes.
“Most classes will be either lectures with an element of group discussion, or practical demonstrations. Your professors may schedule field trips or practical exams at any time, and you will be expected to participate fully. The Fourth University has a particular emphasis on real-world experience. Life is not the best teacher, that would be me, but it is a close second.”
There were more laughs that time, and even Erica chuckled. Tarynn waited indulgently for them to settle.
“You may have noticed that you have been separated into dormitories based on your gender. For some of you, that is less meaningful than for others. It is, honestly speaking, primarily an effort to appease the sensibilities of broader society, which I am occasionally forced to interact with. If you would like to change where you live, there is plenty of extra space in both. There is free movement between your dormitories, you’re all adults, and that’s the last thing I ever want to say about that.”
Tarynn fixed her eyes on someone behind Erica. “Yes, Mr. Kay?”
Erica turned to look as the paragon lowered his hand. “Yeah, you mentioned semesters. When are those? And, you know, when are our breaks?”
The professor sighed. “I was getting there, but alright. Two semesters a year, as the word implies, a monthlong break in midwinter and a three-month break in the summer. Happy?”
There was no verbal reply; Erica assumed that Arthur had nodded, because Tarynn continued.
“Alright, that should be the boring things taken care of. This is Intro to Magic Theory, and there’s no time to waste. Now, first thing! Can someone tell me how many kinds of magic there are and give a quick description of each?”
A piece of chalk had risen into the air behind the professor, and was hovering with its point pressed against the blackboard.
“Mr. Laskaris, your answer?”
“Three. There’s thaumaturgy, which any mortal can theoretically do. Mostly the manipulation of energy and force, it’s becoming more and more integrated into technology. There’s the Light, that’s what gods and demons use, and anyone sworn to them. Priests, paragons. It’s good at healing and harming, as well as creating constructs. Then there’s nature magic, though that’s kind of broad. Anyone can do that, too, it’s the use of power gained through bonds with spirits and magical beings, and through tricking the world itself.”
The chalk wrote dutifully on the board, creating a bulleted list. Its words didn’t perfectly match what Theodore had said, which made Erica wonder whether Tarynn was controlling it directly or if the writing device had some mind of its own.
“Thank you, well done. Would anyone like to explain why he’s wrong?”
The gnome looked around the room for a long moment as silence reigned. Erica turned and openly looked as well, after a few seconds. Theodore seemed bemused and curious, but not frustrated. Finally, Stephen raised her hand tentatively.
“Um, none of that sounds like what I do?”
“Thank you. Yes, as— I’m sorry, do you have a name yet?”
“Yes, ma’am. Stephen.”
“Don’t call me ma’am, that’s weird. As Stephen has pointed out, there is a fourth kind of magic, though a minority of scholars see fit to include it in discussions of such. The magic which is innate to creatures who do not follow ordinary biological rules is clearly neither thaumic nor Light. Some consider it to be nature magic, but that is incorrect. When a dragon flies despite its weight, it is not drawing on contracts or friendships with spirits, and it is not convincing the universe to let it. It simply flies. Its wings and muscles should not generate enough lift to get it one inch off the ground, and yet it soars effortlessly. That is magic.”
Erica was scribbling notes as fast as she could, fascinated. There was one other problem with what Theodore had said, but it didn’t seem broad or important enough to bring up now. Frankly, it would have felt like bragging.
“Professor? Why can demons use the Light? That seems kind of…random. Never made sense to me.” The voice came from behind Erica again; this time it was Cameron’s.
“Good! Not exactly the right question to be asking, but a good one. Really, there are three questions there: What is the Light? What are the Gods? And what are demons? Everyone, write that down! Or remember it, if you’d prefer. That will be your first homework assignment. Write two pages on one of those questions. No points for being correct, plenty of points for not being stupid. Even more for doing decent research! We have a wonderful library here, and you will use it. You!” Tarynn pointed at the paragons. “Banned from picking the question about the Gods. You!” She was looking at the demon now. “Banned from picking the question about demons. You!” Her finger was aimed towards either Theodore or Ada, it was hard to tell from Erica’s angle. “Actually, on second thought, you’re fine. Pick whatever you want.”
Ada was frowning, which Erica took to mean that Tarynn had been talking about her.
The rest of the lecture passed in a similar way, with Tarynn interrogating the students on their beliefs and understanding of magic. What it could be used for, its origins, interactions between practitioners of different kinds of magic. Her questions during that first class were varied and seemingly unfocused. Erica answered a few questions, but didn’t reveal her unique relation to the rules of magic. Tarynn knew, of course, she must have known. Erica wasn’t stupid enough to believe that barely noble teenagers from backwater corners of the continent were routinely sent invitations to the University, not if there wasn’t something special about them.
Erica didn’t know why she was bothering to hide it, really. Everyone would find out sooner or later. Much sooner than she’d been thinking, even, considering the classes listed on her schedule. That wasn’t her concern for now, though. At the moment, she just relaxed, watched the greatest wizard of the last millennium skip from topic to topic like a flat stone on water, and tried to enjoy herself.