Conflicted was a good word to describe how Aurian has been feeling since she met the new Divine with the name of Ada. She felt a strange mix of emotions upon hearing the mantra of the Academy spoken aloud at the beginning of the class: Do not depend on the blessings of the irrational gods but rather on the blessings of our rational minds.
Aurian justified to herself that she was asked by Master Arbon to observe and report. She’s accomplished that and then some. She hasn’t been blessed by this new Divine so, really, she has not betrayed a core component of her identity.
That is a step I won’t ever take, she swore silently to herself. Aurian took a surreptitious quick glance at Leanne, the priestess (or perhaps more aptly put a Seer), and noted with no surprise that the priestess did not speak the mantra. She had a moment of doubt on whether bringing Leanne to an Academy class was a good idea to begin with. She had asked Leanne if the priestess wanted to go to class with her. The alternative would have been staying in the room since an unsupervised guest was bound to lead to more trouble. Leanne had responded with a resounding yes and Aurian had felt a surge of happiness in her chest.
Her own feelings were confusing. She liked Ada and Leanne. She especially liked that they were able to humiliate the god Yuano in such a spectacular fashion. But at the end of the day, Ada was a goddess. There was no further need for her to interact with Ada or any of her followers more than necessary.
Aurian, why are you trying to be friends with someone who will never agree with you on the role of gods and mortals? As Master Arbon has repeatedly stressed to her, they were the ones who have repeatedly blocked mortal attempts at a true understanding of the universe and demanded utmost respect from their respective followers who willingly accepted ignorance for the hope of a fraction of divinely given power. Why would a mage who swore to dedicate herself to the search for greater truth serve someone like that?
Aurian was suddenly struck by a thought. What if Ada has a secret power where my mind is being manipulated to like her and eventually give up everything to follow her like what Leanne did? I didn’t need to offer the Academy library as the best place to go for information, but I did. From what I’ve seen, this new Divine’s powers are mysterious and unlike any other currently known deity. What if Master Grath was actually right? That I shouldn’t have brought the Divine here despite him being a complete …
A loud rapping on her desk by a ruler held by in an elderly man’s hand interrupted her spiraling thoughts. Aurian realized she has been looking at a particular spot on her nondescript polished wooden desk for a while now. She raised her head and saw the irate expression on her professor’s face. This was her favorite class and she’s supposed to present the results of her semester project here, but yet here she was spacing out. She prepared an apology but was interrupted by her professor.
“Should I ask for someone else to present instead? Perhaps your new friend here? I understand taking a field trip to the outside world must be exhilarating and coming back to the humdrum of my class must pale in comparison but I do recall you proclaiming to me on the first day this semester that this will be your favorite class.”
Loud snickers erupted behind her. No doubt those emanated from the usual crowd she didn’t get along with. The especially loud guffaw was probably from their ringleader Maurice. She wasn’t looking forward to whatever they have planned for her after this class. They never did anything which could constitute as obvious torture but these bullies were creative enough with their types of torture. On what the professor said, she half-heartedly agreed that this might still be her favorite class but that was because of the subject matter and not because of the professor who taught it. In her humble opinion, Master Drye had the personality and charm of a dried tortoise shell. He looked like one, too, if she was going to be completely honest. For someone who was not yet six decades of age he looked much older. His saving grace was that he was extremely knowledgeable in his area of expertise and was one of the rare professors who actually enjoyed teaching.
“No, professor, I was just getting myself mentally prepared,” Aurian replied.
“If ignoring your professor for a solid minute is considered part of your mental preparation then I would hope that you have something spectacularly worthwhile to demonstrate. Perhaps your new friend here would like to agree?”
Aurian looked at Leanne who has somehow managed a calm composure on suddenly being called upon. If I was in her shoes, I doubt I’d look so calm. Leanne stated politely. “Esteemed professor, I have no idea what my friend here would be demonstrating but I am sure it would be something wonderful.”
Did you really have to add that last part? Aurian silently groaned. She was already feeling knocked askew and this comment was adding to the layer of expectation here. Master Drye remarked. “What a polite young mage you are. I thought I knew every student here so perhaps you are a new transfer?”
Master Drye’s shift of attention to Leanne surprised Aurian. If all that was needed to satisfy the old man’s ego was a little bit of politeness, she felt that she could have done that too. Adding the word “esteemed” in front of professor wasn’t that hard to do. Perhaps it was the respectful tone that Leanne used. That might be harder to imitate. On a more urgent topic, right now the professor’s question deserved a response and Aurian wasn’t sure how to respond convincingly.
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“Esteemed professor, my name is Leanne Syrana and I am on a temporary exchange program. Aurian has kindly offered herself to be my guide here on my first day,” Leanne said smoothly.
Impressive. I never took you to be someone who can lie like a sloop sailing in fair winds. This saves me from concocting a bumbling lie. But will the professor believe it? Master Drye apparently did for he looked impressed. “To be able to join one half way through a semester is quite impressive.”
“Thank you, esteemed professor. I feel fortunate in being chosen to absorb the knowledge of the most prestigious school on the continent.”
The professor nodded with approval at her words. “Truly, every school on this continent loves to send their most talented students to ours for however long we can afford to accommodate them. You must have some skill to be here. But words are just words. I understand that Aurian has a special demonstration for us today and it does require two people. Since you must be someone with immeasurable talent, I believe that you would be a perfect partner for what Aurian plans to demonstrate.”
Aurian’s eyes grew huge. This was not what she expected or wanted. Leanne had no defense against this type of magic. She pushed her chair back and stood up. “But professor! Mirella is supposed to be my partner. This was decided at the start of the semester.”
“And where is Mirella now?”
“She’s going to be here soon. Maybe 5 minutes?”
“Considering Mirella’s expected tardiness which I have grown to tolerate since the start of the semester, I have to say that today of all days should have been a day she could have chosen to break her usual habit. Can you honestly guarantee her presence in the next 5 minutes?”
“I can and I will,” Aurian said with more confidence than she felt.
“I’ll entertain this faith in your friend. It is admirable. Come up here and get yourself situated near that pedestal.” Master Drye pointed at a pedestal on a raised platform that was on one side.
Aurian got up and stood at the front of the class near the pedestal. She sincerely wished that Mirella was telepathic and could hear her urgent wishes that her best friend show up soon. Master Drye continued and adjusted his wristwatch. “I have set a timer for 5 minutes. If Mirella is not in this room when this alarm sounds, we will begin the demonstration with your new friend Leanne.”
The next five minutes went by excruciatingly long for her. Master Drye’s lecture on the importance of null magic and what they were about to witness—mainly for Leanne’s benefit—barely registered in her consciousness. Come on! A best friend is supposed to show up when you need her the most right? Remember the time that Mirella came and stopped me from that incident a year ago? She’ll do it again right? Aurian turned her thoughts to all the times that her friend appeared suddenly and saved her from potential trouble. Dread struck her upon hearing the sound of the chiming watch. This time was not one of those.
Master Dyre glanced at Aurian and turned to the class again. “I see no Mirella. Does anyone else in the class see her?”
There was a loud chorus of negatives along with the shaking of heads from her classmates. Master Drye continued. “Seeing that Mirella is not here, I will kindly ask Leanne to be a substitute. Please stand two feet to the right of Aurian for us to begin.”
Leanne simply nodded and stood up. She walked the few steps towards Aurian. She noted that the priestess did not indicate any sign of reluctance or fear. She had been purposely ignoring the professor’s words but now it was impossible to not hear them. “As a recap, recall that though we mages have not yet learned how to activate the Divine powers, we have learned how to nullify them. Through the law of magic, this capability scales up exponentially depending on the total level of mana potential present. Usually this would mean either a very powerful individual or several mages working concurrently together. In this circumstance, Aurian will demonstrate that she and her partner are capable of synchronizing their flow which in turn would double their working mana potential. This would create a null field wide and deep enough to block not just one but two types of Divine magic. We have been very fortunate to maintain excellent relationships with several nearby temples and were able to loan from them several Divine artifacts. Today, you will witness our talented mages here sustain a null field for exactly ten minutes, blocking all attacks.”
“Excuse me, uh, professor, I have a question,” a plain-looking girl who sat behind Aurian asked timidly.
“What is your question, Rona?”
“Uh, what constitutes as all attacks?”
“Exactly what it means. Every single attack must be nullified. Null magic is supposed to work on ALL Divine attacks.”
“But what kind of attacks are those?”
Master Drye bobbed his head with enthusiasm. “Specifics are not typically important in the study of null magic’s effectiveness but to satisfy your clear curiosity, I will admit that it is nothing too strange. The artifacts we have will produce the usual repertoire of elemental attacks, notably fire, lightning and sound.”
Aurian had no idea who this mousy girl named Rona was. Before a minute ago, Rona has barely registered as existing in her awareness and they have never interacted. Yet, at this moment, Aurian silently thanked this girl with all her heart for delaying the presentation. Maybe a chain of questions would present sufficient time for Mirella to show up by then. Then, surely, Master Drye would be reasonable and let Mirella take Leanne’s spot?
Her rising hopes were instantly crushed with Master Drye’s ensuing words. “I understand all of you must have many questions but I believe those are better reserved for after Aurian’s presentation. It is her day to shine so let us give her enough time to demonstrate and then explain her methods. When I snap my finger and say the activation word in the Divine tongue, the artifacts hidden inside the pedestal will activate and attack anyone within two feet.”