Masters Almon and Canno brought us down the same staircase we not more than twelve hours ago rushed up from, through the main hall and into the administrative wing of the Cappesand building. It had the same tall arched hallways, brilliantly colored mosaic paned windows, and polished floors of marble and stone. Even in the busy morning, we were the center of attention, and many students we passed stood and watched. Most were amused because expelling students meant less competition for them.

We stopped in front of a set of heavy and weathered wooden doors, and proctor Petridies opened them with a hand wave. I’ve never even been so far inside the administrative wing, and grew cautious. The chamber they led us into was a large, rectangular room, with high ceilings but only one set of narrow windows looking towards the Cappesand library wall, blocking off the majority of sunlight. Most of the light in here came from the chandelier above, where countless pea-sized light crystals were set and shone different hues of yellow and orange, and all blended together into something resembling sunlight.

Inside the meeting room was set two long and wide tables and opposing rows of chairs. Florencia and I were told to sit down to our left, while the Cappesand staff sat to our right. Philemon Petridies slammed down the heavy stack of papers and folders in front of the middle chair, and sat down, pointing for us to do the same.

“Please, sit down,” he said through his thin lips. He scratched his stubbled chin and played around with the stack of papers in front of him. “We will begin shortly.”

Why would he even have such a stack of papers? I was just a nobody in Cappesand barely worth to mention by name, let alone to demand attention from the proctor, or even her secretary. And Florencia, while hot-headed these past few months, was just rebellious because she hadn’t been given enough free time. That didn’t need a whole official intervention, I thought then. This felt like some kind of bizarre interrogation.

“Begin what?” Florencia then asked, with much frustration in her voice, standing in front of the chair designed for her. My chair looked comfortable, with an old leather and some intricate and circular cracks running on the leathery padding.

“Must you even ask?” said master Almon. “Sit! Down!”

And I felt compelled to Obey!

Before I even understood what was happening, I was down on a chair, sitting next to Florencia, and looking around me in confusion. Master Almon used his well-known telepathic commands, which were effective, but rather controversial when he used it on first-year students. But the strangest thing happened: as I was sitting in the leather chair, I grew tired and felt like I weighed twice as I usually did. An incurable sleepiness came upon me.

“We shall begin,” the proctor said while seated, and pulled up the sleeves of his dark purple robes. “The first part will be between us, then I will ask for the accusers to join us. All of this is very unusual, so I’m bending the rules somewhat in this case.”

“What do you mean, unusual?” Florencia burst out again, almost jumping up. “And what do you mean, our accusers?”

“Must you really ask this?” her master Canno asked, in quite disbelief.

“Is this about yester-” Florencia continued, but stopped mid-word and fell silent.

“You may speak, Miss Regalla, but not yet,” said the proctor and Florencia stared at him with fiery eyes.

“All will have time to speak!” the proctor said. “First, to keep in line with the rules, my name is Philemon Martaleus Petridies, junior proctor of the Cappesand Academy, and to my far left is my secretary, Caia Rais. Now you know who will lead this proceeding.”

“What proceeding?” I felt Florencia think to herself.

“Here today,” the proctor continued rather dryly, like this whole debacle was beneath him, “we will judge the matter of the accusations made against Jonas Espian. The accusations are: turning his fellow student Miss Regalla against the Cappesand Academy staff, planning on slandering the reputation of the academy, stealing Cappesand Academy property and planning on performing a blood-magic ritual.

The accusations against Miss Florencia Regalla are as follows: co-conspirator in planning to slander the reputation of the Academy, and co-conspirator in planning on performing a blood-magic ritual. We will judge these matters here today. What do you have to say to these accusations, Mr. Espian and Miss Regalla?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the secretary Caia Rais writing down everything that we said, but I felt like I could barely utter a single word and found it difficult to even form thoughts. I tried adjusting my posture in the chair, but my arms and legs felt like full of lead.

“This is ridiculous!” Florencia called out right when the proctor finished. And if I had more energy, I would have spoken out against those accusations as well. I’ve ever only been supportive of Florencia’s studies here, and while I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, even I knew to not even think about stealing anything from. Well, except for those bandages, but those were so minor things.

“Miss Regalla,” the proctor said, totally unphased her emotional outburst. “State plainly, how do you plea: do you accept these accusations, or deny them partly, or in full? Same for you, Mr. Espian.”

“I deny all of them in full!” Florencia said.

“I deny all,” I said, as if through a haze.

“Mr. Espian, I suggest you wake up and focus. These matters are serious,” the proctor said. I nodded in reply and straightened myself in the chair, but still felt the weight drag me down. The proctor turned to his secretary. “Miss Rais, please clarify that both Mr. Espian and Miss Regalla pleaded not guilty in full.”

“Yes, proctor.”

“Very well. Let us then continue.”

The proctor Philemon Petridies then proceeded to read aloud a lot of complicated laws, rules, prohibitions, and the many accusations against us and which rule or law any of them broke. The whole thing took rather a long time and by the end of it, I felt stiff in the chair, comfortable as it was, and shifted in my seat from side to side. Philemon Petridies read for many minutes, seemingly bored out of his mind for most of it. He sharpened up when he reached the part about stealing the academy property and performing a blood-magic ritual. Those were, obviously, outlawed in the academy, and pretty much everywhere else where the eye of the law could be applied. I never understood why, but apparently it was very potent, and even more dangerous.

“That should be it,” the proctor said. “Did I miss anything, Miss Cais?”

“No, proctor.”

“Very well.”

“Who accused us?” Florencia then asked. It felt like she waited for the first moment to cut a word in and jump out of her seat to deliver a hot-blooded speech. All the while the proctor read the accusations, she could barely sit still and was examining everything and all which was going on around her; meanwhile I felt dragged down and slow. I could still understand what was going on and what was said, but I felt more apathy than anything else.

“I would’ve brought that up in due time, Miss Regalla, but might as well clear that up as we-” proctor Petridies said, but then frowned his brow. He glanced to his sides, narrowing his eyes, and exchanged a look with both master Canno and master Almon. Both of them seemed upset, but I might’ve been wrong.

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“Most peculiar,” he mumbled. “Anyway. The allegations made against Mr. Espian and Miss Regalla were by the student,” he shuffled his notes until he came upon the paper he needed, “Keon Zek. And we also have a witness who saw you, Mr. Espian, come out of the library with a small black book about certain forbidden rituals. The same book which was lost some months ago from the library.”

“But Keon is my friend,” Florencia said with a confused expression and turned to me to search for some answers there. I unfortunately had none to offer, save for an indifference.

“Well,” she specified, and turned back towards the proctor. “He was my friend, but we haven’t talked too much lately. He has been spending much time with Lilly Weare.”

“Indeed?” the proctor asked in a high and loud tone, surprised by Florencia’s words.

“I don’t have that in deed,” Florencia said. “But I’ve seen the two of them together in the library many times. They’re usually there late at night, but sometimes very early in the morning.”

Masters Vanda Canno and Karim Mas mumbled something to each other, while master Almon yawned with his double chin jiggling, and looked at the ancient long-case clock next to the doors, idly picking some crumbs off of his robes.

“Most interesting,” proctor Petridies said. “However, we are going off-course. Your accusers Keon Zek and Lilly Weare have brought us evidence that you have, indeed, been slandering your masters, and the reputation of the Academy, and the eyewitness testimony of seeing you, Mr. Espian, leaving the library late at night with a small book, which I mentioned before.”

“Well,” I forced out through my lips. “I don’t have any book on rituals anywhere in my room.”

“Unfortunately, Mr. Espian,” the proctor said. “This is untrue. For you had such a book in your room.” And he then pulled out a small and dark book, which looked more like an old notebook, out from under the table somewhere. “It was last evening that me and master Almon went to your room and found this book hidden behind the small cupboard next to the door.”

“Impossible!” Florencia interjected. “I was there yesterday morning, and I dropped the entire stack of books that was on that cupboard! I picked them up and put them back, and I didn’t see that-” she pointed at the small black book - “Anywhere. And we didn’t see that last night either.”

“Did you happen to drop those books again?” master Canno asked sharply with narrowed eyes.

“In a matter of fact, I did,” Florencia replied, with an equally sharp tone.

“How convenient.”

“I don’t find any of this convenient,” she said. “In fact, this whole thing sounds like a farce! Jonas poisoning me against the Academy? Ha!” She laughed.

“You all are managing to do this well on your own. He’s been the one keeping me on track,” Florencia said with a smile, but it was not a pleasant smile, but a wicked one with much meaning left hidden. “I don’t know if you understand this, masters, but if you want your students to like studying under you, perhaps treat them better, and give them some time off from your pompous and stupid boasting!”

“Miss Regalla!” Vanda Canno jumped up, and in the process scared a sleepy master Almon awake. “This is preposterous!”

“This is preposterous? You wanted me to reorganize your letters with someone who’s dead!”

That got the room to liven up, as both master Almon and master Kas looked rather distrustfully at Canno, and the young proctor shuffled some notes around in deep thought.

“And besides,” Florencia continued. “Is having my own opinion about this Academy now a crime? Can’t I dislike this place, or is that also against the rules?” She spit the last words with much venom toward the desk opposing us.

“It is a fine line, Miss Regalla,” the proctor said, but not making eye contact and looking left and right, rubbing his twitching left eye. “If it is a mere personal dislike, then, of course, it is fine. I hated this place the first year as well.” The proctor then burst out laughing, but immediately recollected himself and was quite distraught over the outburst.

“Uhm, like I was saying,” he continued. “It’s a fine line between disliking the Academy, and to actively stir up dissent.”

“Stir up dissent?” Florencia shouted.

“Please, Miss Regalla,” the proctor said. “This is a serious matter and your outbursts do not help your case. You cannot interrupt me when I’m talking.”

Florencia huffed and puffed, but understood and sat silently, crossing her arms and pushing the chair further back. “Can you accuse us based on rumors?”

“No, we cannot punish you purely for rumors. But we have many witnesses and people testifying that you have been speaking ill about the Academy, and, like I said before, stirring up dissent.”

“What absolute rubbish!” This caused some more mumbling and concerned voices across us, with Philemon Petridies whispering to Karim Mas and Vanda Canno for some time. “I can detail you where I have been and who I’ve talked with for the past few months. You can’t have witnesses for that.”

The thin proctor sat silently and turned to Vanda Canno.

“You have taught her well.”

“Let us address the matter of the black book in your room, Mr. Espian.”

“Let’s,” I said.

The proctor shuffled his papers again, and I thought I took him for a surprise over my casual reply.

“The, uh, book which I shall not name here because of security reasons was found in your room. It is the same book which was reported missing five weeks ago from the library, from the restricted-access section. This is a grave violation.”

“I can’t do magic. And I don’t have interest in silly blood-magic rituals. I sleep in my dorm, work in the docks, and go to a gymnasium sometimes. Then I come back here and help Flo study. That’s all I do. Sometimes I go for a walk in the town or in a bar.”

“And yet we found this book in your room!”

“You did,” I said. “You found a book in my room, which anyone could open the lock.”

“All rooms are locked with personalized locks, you know that! No one can open your personal lock, save for yourself.”

“I broke my original door two years ago. I have a new one with a replacement lock. Nobody took the effort to enchant the new lock.”

“This-” the proctor said and shuffled more papers around, with over half of the table was now covered in them. “This is news to me,” he said slowly and write something down and fell in thought again.

“Mrs. Canno, I understand your animosity towards Miss Regalla, but I must ask you to reign in your personal bias,” the proctor said. “I was not informed about this detail, Mr. Espian. This changes much.”

Philemon Petridies fell silent again and looked at his chaotic notes and papers, finally after some time had passed, said: “Something strange is at work here. I cannot put my finger on it yet. Please, Miss Cais, bring in Mr. Zek and Miss Weare.”

“Right away, proctor.”

We heard steps go further into the hallway, and then after a while, Caia Rais opened the doors again and brought in a sickly Keon Zek and a nervous Lilly Weare. They sat down on the other end of the long table, with two empty chairs separating me and Lilly.

While still deeply tired, even I saw how off Keon looked. He seemed to wear the same cloak and outfit from last night, but judging by the scent and how his hair was clumped together, he hadn’t bathed for some time. The sleeves of his robes were empty, and his arms and face were thin and bony and the skin was loose and yellow. Next to him sat Lilly Weare, who had a shocked expression on her face, and as soon as she sat down, pushed her chair away from Keon and towards me.

“It wouldn’t hurt to bathe yourself, Mr. Zek,” proctor Petridies said. “Or make yourself presentable in front of the masters.”

“I’m very presentable for my master,” Keon Zek said. There was an icy and piercing tone in his voice. Only for a second, I saw in my mind’s eye his bodiless head inside the heavy cloth, but with a shadowy hand holding his neck.

“Thank you both for coming,” the proctor said. “Miss Weare, do you understand why you are here?”

“Y-Yes,” she said and hid her face behind her hands.

“You have confirmed the accusation of Mr. Zek that Mr. Espian here, to your left, stole a book - this book,” he held up a large dark book, but not the one he showed before, “from the library. Is this correct that you saw him take this book? It is only needed for the protocol, I assure you.”

“Y-Yes, I saw him take it,” she moused, but as soon as she said this, Keon shot her a stare so cold and lifeless, I almost wanted to jump back and run, if I could’ve moved. Instead, I stay sat and turned my head towards my left.

“This is not the book you saw him take,” Keon said slowly but with a faint grin on his face. “You saw him take the small black book. Is that right, Lilly?”

“Yes,” she then said with more confidence. “I saw him take a small black book.”

The room fell silent. Philemon Petridies sat unmoving and examined the accuser and the witness, if she could be called that. Then a cool breeze blew through me, from left to right, and then another, quieter breath going back. I could almost hear echoes of someone talking in my mind, but they were faint and fleeting.

“Miss Rais, would you be so kind and give us the room?” the proctor asked, to which she looked at him, puzzled. “And bring us some water or tea. Warm, not hot, please?”

“Of course, proctor,” the secretary said and, with light steps, left the room. I heard the lock click and rattle then, and the air grew thick. Vanda Canno, Karim Mas and master Almon looked, still unmoving and deeply sat in their chair, to the proctor, but made no move yet. I felt more echoes whisper around in my mind, but felt numb to them.

“Mr. Espian and Miss Regalla, I must extend my apologies here, because it seems that I have been misled,” the proctor said. “We are gathered here for, indeed, a grave matter, but not one of slandering the Academy.”

The look upon proctor Philemon Petridies was stern, his eyes cold and calculating. He stared down at Keon Zek, but Keon was unmoved. He sat in the chair, leaning back and with this odd grin, which sent shivers down my spine.

As the two men stared at each other, neither of them blinked.