Yesterday, Sam avoided using the phrase “woke up” to describe his first moment of realization upon finding himself a void. It was just one of those things, suddenly giving a great weight to a minor difference in semantics just because your emotional instincts pushed you to do so. Sam couldn’t have woken up because he hadn’t gotten to sleep, and Sam couldn’t have gotten to sleep because sleep meant dreams and there were no dreams to be found in his memories. The trouble with standing on semantics, then, is that they can come back to bite you in the ass by forcing you to adopt an illogical conclusion. Meaning that you’re either left as a hypocrite or a dogmatic asshole. Obviously, Sam hadn’t learnt his lessons from his previous bout of standing on semantics because he had just spent his very first waking moments doing the same thing.

All this to say: Sam had a dreamless night of sleep.

Just one of the changes I’ll have to get used to, he thought. Then, with the realization fully dawning on him, he felt torn between elation, at the prospect of finally having a truly restful sleep, and dismay, from the cloud of negativity that appeared in his mind whenever he thought of the change that was brought upon him. Was his suffering of vivid dreams every night purely a result of the chemicals in his body, or was it affected by his mind? Was it both? And, if the truth was to be found with the latter option, did it mean that his psyche underwent modifications as well?

His train of thought was disrupted by the same thing that—Sam now realized—had caused him to wake up in the first place. The sound of measured knocking reverberated from the door, loud enough to wake someone up but not too loud as to cause them panic. Sam straightened up on the bed and called out, “Yeah?”

Maurice, possibly wearing the same set of clothes from yesterday, stepped through the door. “Good morning Sam. Did you manage to fall asleep last night?”

“I did. You just woke me up, actually.”

“Splendid, Ms. Khan informed me that you had concerns about being able to fall asleep. I’m glad to see that it all worked out all right in the end. And speaking off, how was your conversation last night? In the message she sent me, she sounded very optimistic about it, going so far as to provide me with a list of the topics you’ve covered.”

“Yeah… No it was… great, I suppose, considering, you know? We covered a lot of ground. A lot of it. But as fruitful as the discussion was, I highly doubt that I’ve learned all that I need to know.”

“Of course not. There was no chance of that happening even if you sequestered yourself in the same room for an entire week. But from the sounds of it, you’ve managed to go over the most important and pressing subjects for the time being. Hopefully, enough to prevent you from feeling completely lost and alienated when going about your day. As for anything else you’ll need or wish to know, it will all come to you eventually, either from your own inquisition or from the tuition of others. No need to worry about that, yes?”

“As long as it doesn’t have anything to do with the practical usage of magic, you mean.”

“Indeed. And there is still plenty of other information for you to learn about for you to fill your schedule for the next year, not to mention the few days it would take until your Awakening and for you to realize why your time was much better spent not learning about practical magic. That is, of course, if you’re committed to studying magic in a professional setting. Which Sarah told me you are. That you wanted to join the academy. For a trial run, at least.”

“Yeah, it seems like the best place for me to get my bearings. And it’s not like the idea of becoming an all powerful wizard doesn’t appeal to me.” Of course, it’s not like he had much of a choice anyway, what with one course of action being the objectively moral thing to do and the other course of action also being selfishly worse, seeing as it would end with him dead. But, for now, he was still only committed to “trying” the academy out. Explaining how his change in conviction happened in less than half a day would be too much hassle.

Maurice furrowed his eyebrows. “I do wish you would take a couple of more days to think about it. Yes, there is much righteousness, and even self-fulfillment and fame, in fighting against the Epiraks, but you have no obligation to give your life to a world you have just entered. You should take your time getting acclimated to this world and all it has to offer before you make any decision that could dictate your entire future.”

“It’s only a trial run, anyway.” It’s not. “Sarah told me that everyone can decide to drop out during their first year if they want you. And that in my case, she’s sure that the academy will be willing to be even more lenient with me, if that’s what I end up wanting.” I won’t. I can’t.

“Yes, that does sound likely…” Maurice wandered off thinking before shaking his head. “In any case, the wheels are already in motion for the prospect of you joining the academy.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Already?”

“I and… someone else, had a rather short night’s sleep ever since I got the message from Sarah that you wanted to join. Well, he more than me. All I had to do was invite the Ruler whose job it will be to ascertain whether I was right or wrong when calling you a Thread-Weaver. That meeting is scheduled for this evening, after which, we could fully dedicate ourself to creating a training regimen and curriculum that both makes up for your late start while also takes into consideration you being a Thread-Weaver.”

“If I am one, you mean.”

“Oh, that is almost a certain conclusion at this point. Esther is coming mostly to give an official confirmation of the fact. Only Rulers and Thread-Weavers are assured of possessing Threadsight. So the protocol is that only the former can verify the latter. Level 8s like me don’t count, even if you being one is the only possibility that makes sense.”

Sam shrugged. After yesterday, not being a Thread-Weaver didn’t seem like a very realistic worry. If everything else he experienced was real, that is. “You’re the expert.”

“Hardly,” Maurice said. “Like I said, just following the established protocol. Oh. And speaking of protocol, something that I should’ve already mentioned to you yesterday… your Awakening.”

“What about it?”

“It will most likely happen it the next couple of days. And when it does, it’s important that you call me straight away after you wake up so that I could come check up on you.”

“Why? Is there… a danger to me or something?”

“Nothing of the sort. It’s just a part of protocol. Doing everything we can to make sure that each new Taken is as healthy as they should be. Plus… No, nevermind that. I’m getting my professional duties mixed up. Just think of it as a government mandated test. One that’s more custom than anything else. Regardless, that is for later. For now, are still plenty of physical tests to be done before I can release you from custody.”

“Oh, right then. I’ll just get dressed and we’ll be off.”

“No need. There is still time yet. I came early on purpose in order to give you some time to get ready. I’ll come back in… let’s say fifteen minutes?”

Sam nodded absentmindedly before remembering that he was still missing something. “Oh, could you also ask someone to get me a toothbrush and toothpaste? Unless having magic means there’s no need for dental hygiene anymore?”

“Of course. Must have forgotten about that yesterday when I told them to prepare your room. I’ll have someone bring them to you. And yes, there is a common pattern that substitutes the need for dental care.”

“And I still can’t imprint patterns until I get my magic…”

“Even after that, I’m sorry to report. Not to mention that the required level for the pattern is level 2 on average. So I’m afraid that you’ll have to bother with the practice for at least a while longer.”

Sure, Sam thought as Maurice walked out of the room, it’s not like I’ve ever had a problem with brushing my teeth in the morning on account of my stupid brain. Oh wait! I did! Cause I’m an asshole with a stupid brain that hates the fact that I’ve wasted time by sleeping too long and still waking up tired. So it decides to skip the two measly minutes needed to brush your teeth in order to get to browsing reddit faster.

Sam kept the line of self-flagellating thoughts going all the way until he was enveloped by the warm shower’s flow. Unfortunately, this short shower wasn’t going to be anywhere close to the time needed for him to finish processing everything that happened to him. Even so, he felt himself following the unrelenting pull of worry as his mind started focusing on just one part of yesterday. The last conversation he had and the conclusions that he must draw from it. Mainly that if what the voice said was true, Sam had the fate of the whole world on his shoulders.

Fuck it! Thinking about isn’t going to lead anywhere. I can’t take the risk that they were lying, or that they were just a voice in my head. And sure, while I can’t act like some unstoppable hero that’s here to save everyone, I also can’t act like someone who’s not even fit save a Hot Pocket from burning. What I need to do is just keep my head down, not let any diversions or fears affect me. For now, I have a simple and attainable goal, getting stronger. It’s like working out in a sense. If you just keep exercising, it eventually becomes easier and you find out that you got in shape. It’s the same thing. If I just put my nose to the grindstone, maybe I’ll wake up one day having already saved the world—worlds!

That wasn’t the end of it, of course. The same cycle of thoughts accompanied him all the way through to the shower’s end. Luckily, what “rational” ad hoc solutions meant to momentarily calm his worried mind couldn’t do, an outside stimulus could. Someone had left him a bag on the door handle. Inside of which were three differently colored toothbrushes and a toothpaste from an unknown brand.

Christ, even the toothpaste companies are different. Makes me wonder if there’s anything that stayed the same. Sarah knew what I was talking about when I mentioned “googling” but is it because the company is still around or only that the verb stuck. Fuck, maybe even the verb isn’t used anymore, and she only got it cause she’s from my time. What about other things? Is there still Coke? Is Pepsi OK?

After he finished brushing, he went sorting through the pile of clothes that were now his, trying to arrange today’s wardrobe. Not that it was an arduous task. He was mostly trying to decide between wearing sweatpants again or wearing jeans instead. In the end, he went with the pair of jeans. While the sweats offered comfort, he wasn’t suffering from any physical aliment that would cause him to need the extra waist room. And he felt less conspicuous going out in public in a pair of jeans. Which wasn’t something to be proud of, obviously. But Sam already had enough plans for self improvement on his plate without adding ridding himself of anxiety about his sense of fashion into the mix.

Once he finished dressing, he sat down near the bed and tried to keep his calm while waiting for Maurice. Luckily, he didn’t need to wait too long. Barely a minute later and Maurice walked in after knocking and receiving the affirmation from Sam. “Good. I see you’re all dressed. Ready to go?”

“Yep,” Sam said and followed him out of the room.