Would this one day be the Shuisky heir too, talking his throat to shreds to an audience like this? He prayed not. Every decoration in the room dominated Nestor Galani from the table of faculty members with golden chains behind him to the stained-glass windows above that depicted various Skills being used. Casimir’s attention wandered the one that showed a woman laying a hand on a mutated human. Curing him. Healing his irradiated burns and genetic deformities.

“… many a fine mind was sifted from the slow witted by these vaunted halls of educational excellence.” The speaker said, high on something other than his own voice. His glassy eyes were boring into the candidates as if they were mirrors that he could stare at himself in. There was no doubt that the Academy was a den of indulgence and self-destruction. Only the temperature inside the hall was more sickening.

Are they pumping heat in here? Or is it just the people? Sunlit scorchlands above, I am roasting my skin off here. I know we were cast down from the Earth’s surface, but must it feel like hell down here too?

Never had he so desperately wanted to tear off his clothes. He wanted to rip off his tie, wrench off his jacket, tear open his dress shirt without even unbuttoning it. The feverish heat had been a burden when the speech had commenced, now it was hard to breathe. To make things worse, the fine suit Casimir’s mother insisted he wear today was making him sweat until his shirt clung to his back. It took the unpleasant warmth and made it sticky and humid. Waiting in it was a slow cooking torture, with the proceedings well past the scheduled hour. Exhausting, but it could have been bearable if they made it interesting to sit through. No chance of that. Casimir grit his teeth and wiped his brow with the end of his sleeve. This was his last opportunity. No way would he blow it by passing out from heatstroke.

Play the game, idiot. There are no more chances left for you. Sitting through empty words in a bit of sweat is nothing compared to the reward. Casimir thought. The holy Numbers had never felt so near, so close that he could almost taste their honeyed promise. Only fresh air would have been sweeter. He wished there was an easier route for him, but of the two ways, only this one could be applied to. The Ascendancy, the strange twin to the Academy, was not the kind of place you could drop a résumé off at. Trying might earn you harsh punishment.

“And with that…” Professor Galani trailed off.

Casimir tensed, ready to get out of the cramped assembly and jump back into a familiar gauntlet. They were really pushing it this time around.

“… and with that, I am reminded of my own first time walking these corridors and studying the wonders of universe in Professor Wilmington’s Theosophy class.” The speaker continued.

Pausing only to clear his throat, the man had no sense of normal limits. This would be bad for Casimir's mental clarity. The tests went on as long as the proctors willed them, but even that slog could not start until the speech was over. They could be looking at finishing well into the morning rather than late at night. Risky. Even in the upper levels of the cavern cities, trouble woke up when the sane slept and it would be a long walk for many of the test takers. Casimir eyed that silver chain again and wondered how difficult it would be to use it to choke the Academian silent.

A memory bubbled up in his mind. “I could leave you here, you know. You’d deserve it.”

Even her echo stung.

Perhaps the idea of strangling him silent is too much. He considered. Thoughts of violence, even imaginary violence, made him remember things he wished he did not. They sparked dark memories he would rather cast into an inferno. Even if he was serious, what was avoiding an all-nighter worth compared to keeping his hands clean? Giving into emotion was the exact weakness Casimir wanted to cut out of his heart. Still though, this wait was getting absurd. Every moment spent here baked the applicants in their own collective body heat, kids packed together like sardines. It was slowly driving him bonkers.

“You would think that he would have passed out by now. From running out of breath, that is.” Niall said, his hand concealing his mouth.

Casimir looked at the boy from the corner of his eye, just barely tilting his head for a better peripheral.

I should not talk. I should not make any moves at all.

He said nothing, letting sweat continue to build.

I need to stay still. Do nothing. Say nothing. Say—

The boy kept looking over as if waiting for a reaction.

“Don’t you think?” The boy whispered again.

You idiot, please don’t screw this up for the both of us. Casimir thought. He probably doesn’t understand what he’s doing to our chances. I can’t blow up at him without making it worse, but he isn’t taking a hint from me ignoring him.

“Careful, you’ll get us caught.” Casimir whispered with his head dipped down, his lips barely moving. Everyone seemed distracted by the stage, but you never knew where hidden eyes could be. His own home was proof of that. He could have kicked Niall’s leg or shushed him, but that might have gotten a negative reaction. A person could control their own actions but not others’, so words would have to do.

“If I could have just another half hour of your time to recount a brief anecdote.” The Academian continued. Casimir changed his mind. Strangling the man at the podium with his badge of office was not too grim, it was nearing a public service. A civic duty even.

“Unfortunately, we’re out of time.” Another member of the Academy’s staff cut in, walking across the pompous stage to put his hand on the speaker’s back. Casimir knew this staff member well. Unfortunately. There was some real fear in the professor’s eyes at the thought of being told to stop. What did they have on Nestor?

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Oh Luka, I had just barely gotten a chance to get through part of my material. The students will want to hear about the history of the floor tiling in the north tower.” The speaker sputtered.

“No, no, Nestor, I’m sure you have managed to make a striking impression on everyone.” Luka Kaczmarek said.

Nestor Galani practically sighed with relief and shuffled off the stage, his chains jingling. Luka smiled at the potential students and managed to make it look genuine. Now that was a rare feat for him. In all of the times that Casimir had had the misfortune of crossing paths with Kaczmarek, he had only seen the other man grin in mockery or cruelty.

Perhaps I’ve been too harsh with him. If he saves us now, there has to be some good still in him deep down. Deep, deep down. Casimir thought in relief, putting aside past grievances to focus on the escape from boredom. Kaczmarek looked around and then stopped smiling, the light dying in his eyes.

“Alright, you worthless ugly blobs, tonight we will see if there is even one of you that could be worth something.” Kaczmarek said. Ah, there was the Luka Kaczmarek that he knew and reviled. Casimir could picture that sneer and spiteful eyes all too well just from the voice, no sight needed. The Academian had not changed in the year since they had seen each other.

“I know that you all think that you’re special, that you have proven something by being allowed to come here but let me assure you that… You. Are. Nothing.” Kaczmarek said, gripping the podium’s gilded wood so tight that the gold flaked off onto his hands. His steely eyes burned into them with barely restrained disgust.

Wouldn’t it be funny if the whole thing snapped off in your grip right in front of the applicants, Old Luka?

“Let us start with those hopes and dreams, shall we? There are two hundred and thirty-three of you here and we have slots for ten. I hope you all can do basic subtraction.”

He was really going for it this year. No mask hiding it. They must have wanted to downsize the number who come next year. Murmurs filled the air, outrage building amongst the once hopeful youths. Each one having convinced themselves before coming here that they were a cut above the rest, that they would breeze past the competition. That this was their time to rise above wherever they came from. It was the Academy’s job to clip their wings. To show they decided which dreamers flew.

“The Academy advertised that there would be one hundred and fifty seats open, not ten.” A girl shouted out.

“We lied.” Kaczmarek laughed. He spread his arms wide. “Look at you, you think you mutts have that many real success stories among you? No, we have to get the cream of the crop. The quality.”

“We had to pay an entrance fee!” She said, looking around to the other prospects for support. Few met her eyes. Quick learners.

“The price of me having to look at all of you. Trust me, it is not enough compensation.” Kaczmarek said.

“This is all just a way for you to earn money off us!” She said. Foolish. Understandable, but foolish. The girl would never get her prospects back.

“Is that an accusation? Hm? That we are extorting you?” Kaczmarek asked as if hurt.

Well, at least that bandage is being ripped off now. Casimir thought. Even with my bloodline, the cost bites into my wallet.

The patriarch of the Shuisky family had only paid the full cost for Casimir’s first admission attempt, every time after had involved more and more of Casimir’s own financial efforts. The Radicalist sect he belonged to would want results soon, and there was nothing as terrifying as cultists who you owed favors to.

“N-no, I’m just trying to say that this is a burden for some of our families.” The girl said.

Luka Kaczmarek was eyeing her like he was a snake and she was a mouse frozen before him as he reared up in his podium to ready some venom. Casimir looked around at chaos and considered leaning closer to the boy next to him to say that Kaczmarek was going to say that her parents should have worked harder then. Casimir crushed the impulse of friendship and camaraderie. That weakness would be self-sabotage. Maybe there would be too much going on for him to be picked out of the crowd with all eyes on the girl and the teacher, but he needed certainties. Absolutes.

“Have you considered not being poor?” Kaczmarek said.

A bit off. Casimir admitted to himself on his guess. Not quite nailing it. Still the same sentiment though, that should be partial points awarded to me.

“I just thought it would have saved a lot of people time and money if they knew there weren’t any spots for them.” The girl said. She was stuttering now. Wringing her hands and struggling to keep eye contact.

“The only thing I’m interested in saving is the Academy’s standards. A larger sample helps us find enough quality to show up. Speaking of which, you may leave. Yes, you. Don’t just stand there with that idiot look on your face.” Luka Kaczmarek said.

The girl went pale. “Wait, I’m sorry, I can make it up to you, sir.”

“Don’t care.” Kaczmarek said in a singsong voice. “Get out before I have someone drag you away. Fair warning though, I’ll have you permanently barred from trying again if you make me spend another moment thinking about you.”

She burst into tears and attempted to rush out, but instead had to make a pathetic scramble over the legs of others to leave.

“Five… four… three… two… one and three quarters… one and two quarters…” Kaczmarek counted down, his true self brought out by the sight of fear and shame. For all that talk about not wanting to spend time thinking about her, his eyes never left her body as the girl finally made it to the aisle and sprinted for the exit, snot and tears running down her face just as fast.

“An ugly crier, how gross.” Luka Kaczmarek remarked. “At any rate, we have ten seats open. Key word is have. If only two are earned, eight will remain empty. Understood?”

“Yes!” The applicants said together.

Kaczmarek put his hand to his ear in a cupping motion, as if he was hard of hearing. Casimir resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“Yes, what?” Kaczmarek said.

“Yes, sir!” The whole of the auditorium shouted. Luka Kaczmarek basked in the sound, loving what little amount of control he could squeeze out of the world. That the source was a horde of teenagers did not seem to matter so long as he got to lord it over them.

“You dimwits will do your very best to form a line to get your number. This number will match you to your testing room. If you don’t think you can remember what you will be given, well, you can follow the girl’s tears to the exit. Try not to slip on them.” Kaczmarek said.

No one moved to leave.

“None of you? How optimistic. Alright then, get in line, you prancing monkeys.”

There was a stampede to get to the front, limbs shoving bodies, bodies crushing limbs. Pure chaos. The adults at the head loved it, commenting to each other whenever someone was shoved to the ground. Casimir managed to get to the middle of the formation with only a few bruises and cuts and decided to count himself lucky to have not broken a bone.

“Three.” An Academy instructor said when he reached the front, not even glancing at his face.

“Ah, ah, put that one in Five.” Kaczmarek said, stepping in. “He’s one of the repeat test takers.”

“Hello, sir.” Casimir said.

“Hello, Shuisky. You’ll be with me. Don’t worry about being bored, we’re trying out something new this year for my section. Something you have not seen.”

“I look forward to it.” Casimir said, looking forward to the Academian tripping off a balcony.

//////

Casimir Maksimovich Shuisky

Stats: Locked

Skills: Locked

Traits: Locked