We were dismissed back to our rooms to copy any spell scrolls we had received upon completion of our initiation process, and were told that a faculty member will be up shortly to hand us our list of classes for the next few weeks.
“So, Saphira, what do you think? Do we trust Murdock with the fact I’m a sorcerer?” I was sitting on the chair at my desk, legs propped up and leaning back in the chair balancing on the back two legs. I stared up at the ceiling, trying to decide what to do.
“I have no recollection of sorcerers being a class.” Saphira responded as she sat on my bed, deciding the extra space was more suited for her than her own bed. “There is likely a reason for the secrecy, confirmed by the fact that your class is hidden by default.”
“Yeah, I know.” I responded with a sigh. “But how do I blend in with a book that I can’t use? How did sorcerers before me go through time as a wizard that could cast without a book?”
The more I thought, the more questions I could come up with. “Okay, we need to stop projecting about the future and focus on the present” I said to Saphira as we had been discussing possible scenarios once we finished the Academy. “First - do we tell Murdock. Yes or no?”
A pause that lasted a few seconds before she answered simply, “Yes.”
“Gotta trust someone, right?” I replied. Murdock has watched over me from the beginning, is a powerful wizard, and seemed genuinely concerned about my well being. If he was actually a bad guy, I was screwed to begin with.
With that choice decided, we waited for a few minutes before seeing Murdock stroll in through the portal.
“Is there not a lock on these things?” I quipped as I saw my mentor stroll in with his signature smile.
“Of course there is.” He said, before adding “but it’s disabled.”
“Sounds about right.” I responded. I was just stalling at this point. The final card had been placed, and now it was time for me to go all in with my remaining chips, but fear gripped my tongue and I couldn’t spit it out. I didn’t even know if being a sorcerer really was that big of a deal to begin with. Maybe he will just say, “Oh! No worries then!” and throw the book away and we move on with our lives.
“I’m not a wizard.” I blurted out as he had begun to ask me about my wizard’s book.
He laughed, “And I’m not a wizard either!” he begun to make exaggerated gestures with his hands. “Look, no magic is coming out! I’m just a poor farmer after all!” He gazed in my direction, and his demeanor switched when he saw my lack of reaction to his dad joke. His wizard’s book popped open, glowed lightly, and he summoned a chair in front of me. The book promptly disappeared, and he sat directly across from me.
“When I analyze you, Vince, your class says you are a wizard.” Murdock spoke reassuringly to me, I think assuming my statement was more a lack of confidence than an actual fact.
“Yeah… I know.” I had toyed with my status class before he had come in, and found I could display my true class with a simple mental command. I did so, and instructed Murdock to analyze me again.
“You’re a…” his voice trailed off. The room was so quiet, all you could hear was the slightly labored breathing of all three of us, each with our own version of excitement and panic.
“I don’t know exactly what this means, teacher, but I had to trust someone. The book the grand-master gave us does not work for me, and I didn’t know what to do. I need your help.” My last few words were pleading, my voice shook in worry.
I saw Murdock see my concern, and he promptly shook off the initial surprise. “Vince, I can’t tell you how important it was that you told me this.” He stood from the chair and grasped my shoulders with his hands. “And how much it meant to me that you trusted me with this information. I’m going to go get the grand-master, but you have to trust me that this is going to be okay. Are you alright with me leaving to get Talon?”
I took a breath and sighed, “Yes, I trus… we trust you.” I looked a Saphira who gave a nod in my direction.
With a nod of his own, he quickly left through the portal.
“Well, guess we will see if I’m off to Azkaban or not.” The joke didn’t land with Saphira, so I did my best to ruin it by explaining the reference. This devolved rather quickly when we reached the topics of wands and dementors. I think we both were trying to pretend we weren’t completely freaked out with what was to come, so we spent all our energy into this back and forth of what didn’t make sense to her in regards to the fictitious book.
The portal hummed with life, and Murdock walked in with Talon directly behind him. I already knew he would want to confirm my class, so I left it as sorcerer to avoid the semantics.
“Murdock, this means Julia” my mentor interrupted Talon, “Yeah, I know. How?” he asked, his tone betraying some deep emotion of shock or grief.
“Last I heard she had taken a small company of men to loot a dungeon to replenish a nearby armies coffers and supplies.” He thumbed his beard in thought. “That information is a few weeks old, so the timing matches with Vince’s arrival.”
“How could she fall to a supply run dungeon?” Murdock exasperated. “She has been alive for over a 50 years now, her powers were immense. She could even give you a run for your money.”
“Yes…it was always a shock to me when we would duel. Sorcerer’s powers always have such a calculated randomness to them that keep me on my toes.” He shook his head, gazing off into the distance as he seemed to recall their last interaction. “I liked her.” Talon said dejectedly.
“Me too.” Murdock replied solemnly.
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I cleared my throat, “Excuse me” I began, my words shaking slightly. “What is going on?”
“Apologies Vince” Talon said, “you made the right choice in telling Murdock. Please, sit, we have a few things to discuss.”
We all took a seat in our chairs, Murdock summoning an extra one for Talon. As I took a closer look at the head of the academy, he seemed like a peaceful old man. The fact he gave this ‘Julia’ an ass kicking in a duel, and she was supposedly one of the most powerful spell casters on Laria, gave me a new found respect and fear of the grand-master.
“Vince, what we are about to tell you only a few individuals in our lands know. For now, you tell no one what we are about to divulge to you. Do you understand?” he asked. I nodded in return, allowing him to control the conversation.
“Since the beginning of Laria’s existence, there have been sorcerers. Powerful wizards that embody magic within themselves, all unique in their power. They can control spells to their whim, and will occasionally have magic that has never been replicated in any spell scroll. They are the outlier in the magical community, and many of them have grown in power that few have achieved.” He paused for effect. “Not only are their powers immense, but they grow at an exponential pace.” He put his hand to his chest, “You will be surprised to know that I have been around since the beginning of Laria, the title of grand-master being bestowed upon me by Penelope herself. As I’m sure you have read, the existence of our planet has been around for 4,000 years.” he chuckled to himself, “more precisely 4,103 years, but who’s counting?”
I let out a respectful chuckle in response. 4,000 fucking years old is ridiculous.
“As I’m sure you have deduced, Julia was a human sorcerer and was approximately 50 years old. She couldn’t beat me, but my fights with her were always challenging, and with each passing year she would come to the academy to challenge me.” He shook his head in amazement. “And with each year, her powers grew at a rate that astounded me, even though I had seen and taught many sorcerers before her.”
“So… why do you think she is dead?” I asked as respectfully as I could.
“Because Vince, you are here.” He waited to see if I could connect the dots. “Every race on Laria has only one sorcerer alive at any given point.”
I let out scoff in astonishment. “I’m the ONLY sorcerer in the entire region?”
“In all five of our states, yes.” Talon replied, confirming my question.
“So what’s with the secrecy?” I asked. “I mean, I know my class is rare and everything, but why all the hush hush?”
“Your dialect is interesting, but I think I understand your point.” Talon eyed me curiously. “As I said, there are people who know about sorcerers, and at least in our region, most will be on your side about it. However, the other races know about sorcerers too - they have their own, as I explained before.” He crossed his leg over the other as he re positioned in his chair. “Tell me, I just told you that a 50 year old sorcerer gave a 4,000 year old wizard a tough time in a duel. If you were an enemy race, say the Fhalines, and you knew this kind of information, what would you do?”
I didn’t like where this was heading, even if I knew the answer. “Probably try and kill them before they get too strong.” I replied.
“Oh, killing you would be lucky.” He answered. “I just said there could be only one sorcerer at a time. No, what they really would enjoy would be to capture you, and torture you for information but never killing you. If they keep you alive, then the cycle stops with you.”
That piece of information caused me to begin to panic. My plan was to be strong, but be able to fly under the radar. I needed to survive in order to return home, but with this information, that possibility seemed to be shrinking by the second.
“This… this is too much.” I stood and walked to the end of my room, looking out at the fake window. Saphira padded over to me, standing by my side for comfort.
The silence in the room was deafening except for my labored breathing as I struggled to maintain composure. This was it, the moment that would define what I would do here in Laria. I wanted power, the ability to negotiate and barter with kings and queens - even the gods themselves. The danger, however, started to become very real to me as I saw a 4,000 year old man warn me of the dangers of being a sorcerer.
I sat on the edge of my bed, running my hands through my head, knee bouncing up and down as the nerves made their way down to my restless foot. Saphira squeezed her head under my arms and into my lap, purring softly. I scratched her head absent mindedly as I began to relax somewhat.
Sure, I could have been a farmer or merchant, and maybe avoided bloodshed. There was no way, however, that I could have gained any attention with the gods as that kind of class. This, however dangerous, was my best shot.
"Sorry." I said to Talon and Murdock.
“That’s okay, Vince.” Talon replied. “As I said, I have trained several sorcerers. The reactions are always varied."
“So, we need to keep me hidden for a while I guess, until I become stronger?” I asked.
Murdock, who had been relatively quiet until now, spoke. “Exactly. It is our job to get you as strong as you can be before you leave here. You will be given several options when you are done at the academy, as we will not require you to join a family if you so choose. Julia took this route, deciding to forge her own journey.”
“That seems to not be in the best interest of the Empire I would imagine.” I responded. It didn’t seem like a ruler of an entire kingdom would let a prize asset like that to just do their own thing.
“She had reached an agreement with the emperor. The last thing he wants is to piss off a sorcerer, so they usually try their best to appease your desires. Plus, Talon holds a ton of weight with his opinion, and as long as he is around, he will do what he can do help direct you on the path you desire.”
“And what path is that?” I asked. “I’m not even sure I know what I want yet.”
“Which is perfectly fine.” Talon said. “Our job here is to train you, and help set you on the path you desire. You will be exposed to many different situations throughout our kingdom, and hopefully, you will determine your path that would help everyone.”
They really did seem like they wanted the best for me, but I couldn’t help but feel that they were just buttering me up so that the inevitable favor I would be asked would be more likely met with a yes. Still, I needed their help right now, so if that were to happen, I would cross that bridge when I got there. I needed to stay alive to return home, and maybe, Talon would know something about that process. If he did ask that favor, I would have one to ask in return.
“So how do we go about hiding me?” I asked.
Talon grinned and tapped his bracelet, and a book appeared. It looked just like the other wizard’s books that were handed out from before, and upon inspection, read the same as well.
“Go ahead, take it.” He said, still smiling.
When I took hold of it, the inspection window changed.
Levitating Book of Trickery
Effect - This will mimic a wizard’s arcane book, and will have spells listed directly from the sorcerer’s spell list. Upon inspection, anyone other than the sorcerer will analyze it as an ordinary wizard’s book
Requirements - Sorcerer class
This is a legendary artifact made by Penelope herself, guard it well.
“Holy shit.” I said. “This is… incredible!”
Murdock chuckled. “This book is passed down from sorcerer to sorcerer, and now, it is your turn to take the mantle.” He made eye contact with me and grew serious for a moment. “I believe in you, Vince. I want you to know that.” His words hit harder than I thought, causing me a feeling of gratitude to the man.
“Thank you, teacher.”
After a few instructions on how to use the book, and the mental commands needed, we experimented with casting and made sure it worked. It looked identical to when Talon or Murdock had cast their spells earlier.
“Well, now that is out of the way” Murdock said, pulling out a piece of paper from his storage bracelet. “Let’s go over your classes.”