Headmaster Fallon Gale stares at the letter in his hand. It must be legitimate, sent from Lucy Lael of Thuma and addressed to Luscin Lael of Mammatus, the information should be considered good news by Luscin, but puts Master Gale in the selfish position of not wanting her to read it. On the one hand he’s delighted that the family drama that prompted her to leave home has been resolved, while the part about children in danger from a problem left unfinished has him worried. If it were a letter saying she was missed and please come home, he’s sure she would choose to stay at Mammatus. The news about endangered children he’s sure will be more than she can ignore. In another time with any other student, it would be an easy choice, destroy the letter, watch out for more until her training was complete. But this is Luscin the greatest wild card of his lifetime.
The world is changing or perhaps Fallon Gale is getting old, the practicality of destroying the letter feels selfish and not in the girl’s best interest. A second opinion might help clear his mind, he reaches for a small hand bell and gives it a shake.
A page boy pokes his head through the doorway a moment later and waits for his instructions.
“Please, ask Master Robles to join me in the library when he has the chance.”
The page ducks back out and hurries away on his errand.
Fallon, with letter in hand heads to the library to see what he can find out about dangers to the children of Thuma.
An hour later Master Paras Robles enters the library and finds his headmaster at a table covered in stacks of old broadsheets and journals, “How may I assist you, old friend?”
Saying nothing, Fallon holds the letter out for Paras to read.
Taking the letter, his eyes open a bit more when he sees to whom it was addressed. He takes the time to read it twice before returning it to the waiting headmaster.
Paras presumes he is here to advise, “This could be nothing, or something terrible, or anything in between. You called me here for a reason, I doubt it was for an answer as pithy as I just delivered. What are you thinking?”
“You’re right about that. This is a decision I can’t make lightly and without more information. The first part of the letter is good news, no more family drama. Her father was allowed to adopt an heir for the family business, removing some unnamed burden from Luscin. That news in itself wouldn’t draw her away. The news of some unfinished task endangering children will definitely trigger her desire to fight. We’ve all seen it; hazing, bullying, anything bordering on insult has been eliminated by her presence. She has no tolerance for the strong picking on the weak.
She’s amazing, I’m tempted to tell her to go. But I know what kinds of dangers lurk in a city like Thuma. If she faced it once and survived it could have been through surprise and luck. Whatever awaits will be ready this time and is just as likely the real source of this letter, taunting her for a rematch, not her mother.”
Paras looks at the broadsheets stacked before him. “Those are old papers from Thuma are they not?” Not waiting for an answer, “I suppose I should start reading them for news about children disappearing. How far do we go back?”
“This pile is ten years; you know how long these creatures live. We’ll need to search back at least 500 years to be sure we gather all the information we can.”
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“While I’m reading obituaries and missing persons reports, what are you researching?”
These are journals from my predecessors, I’m looking for dispatches that may reference Thuma. It’s well outside our territory but each Study sends a report to their neighbors when dangerous creatures, be they duelists, witches, or liches are encountered. There may be some clue as to who or what we are dealing with in these pages.”
The two settled in for a series of long nights and days. Their gift driven metabolisms allowing them to work tirelessly for 15 hour stretches before they’d take an hour comfort break and return to their work. Pages were used to fetch new batches of broadsheets from the archives so as to not interrupt Paras’s reading and note taking. Three days of missed lessons and shirked duties left them depleted of additional material to consume.
The two, sit blinking their eyes, slowly remembering what life is like outside this room.
The headmaster speaks first, “We should take a break to gather our thoughts before presenting our findings to the others. Be back here in two hours.”
Master Robles stands and stretches before heading to his chambers to wash up. Headmaster Fallen Gale wastes no time on personal matters. He summons a page and scribbles down a note and hands it to the approaching girl, “Deliver this at once.”
Two hours later the entire teaching staff of Mammatus Study with the exception of the Dean of testing and evaluation is present in the library at the summons of the headmaster.
The first to arrive is Master Vania Adara, Dean of Sight and Sound. Her auburn hair and bright blue eyes are uncommon in this region while common place back north in her homeland. Dressed in a tailored teachers uniform she looks more in charge than the headmaster. She plops roughly in the seat to his right and gives Fallen a polite nod when he looks up.
Master Kail Blackwell is next to arrive. Looking every part of his role as Combat Instructor, his chiseled physique ripples with muscles that others have only seen on medical diagrams. His short cropped reddish-brown hair, strong jaw, and golden eyes lend him an otherworldly appearance. He moves with a conservation of motion that gives the impression that he could turn and attack anyone in the room from any direction at any time. He has one incongruous feature, a disarming smile that is forever on his face. He somehow projects a sense of friendly danger, that’s best not tested.
Masters Hron Black Hill and Paras Robles came in together laughing about something they did not feel like sharing because they stopped when they saw the current occupants. Master Black Hill the Dean of Thermal and Kinetic Energies has a boyish face, his attempt at facial hair an attempt to make him look closer to his 51 years, fails terribly. Perhaps that is why he is always frowning. Straight black hair frames his face adorned with brown eyes and a smallish nose.
His companion, Master Paras Robles, Dean of Shell Theory is known to all as the voice of reason. He has mid length light brown hair, pale red eyes with wrinkles in the corners from late nights of reading ancient manuscripts and technical journals. He looks to Vania to give her a nod of greetings, and to convey he misses having Terius around and hopes to see him return soon.
Master Jayden Bailey, Dean of Potential Energy is next to arrive. He strolled in like he hadn’t a care in the world. Short black hair, blue eyes and his relaxed demeanor conceal the fact that he’s so sensitive to potential energy that every sharp object, every corner, feels like it’s stabbing him. He forces himself to ignore those sensations and often overcompensates to the point of being too laid back.
The last to arrive is Master Halle Talyah, Dean of Lightning and Static Energy. Physically a mirror copy of Master Adara, same height and build, but with blonde hair and orange eyes. They also differ in continence, where Vania has self-confidence and is naturally competent at everything she tries, Halle is forgetful, nervous, and always second guessing herself and habitually fearful of trying anything new. The only time she seems comfortable is when she’s holding enough lightning to illuminate a mid to large city.
After seeing the last of his staff arrive and take her seat, the headmaster stands, “Thank you for joining us at this hour. Let us begin.”