“I don’t know if you heard yet,” Gabs said. “But Flavio told me this morning that the dragon stones were found and they’re still functioning. He said they hadn’t even been scratched, like they were indestructible or something.”
Mel turned to Gabs with an uplifting feeling in her chest. “Really?”
“Yeah. He said they still need to rebuild some of the forge and clear away the rubble, but otherwise it’s fine. They’ll probably be up and working on that new weapon soon enough. It seems like the dragons were wrong.”
Mel let out a deep sigh and walked into the classroom, with Gabs trailing behind her. She felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders and the cloud of worry that constantly followed her during the last few days dispersed. Mel’s eyes fell on Austin on the other end of the classroom and a smile spread over her lips.
She had a feeling of everything finally working out. She was surrounded by friends in the city she had always wanted to live in and tomorrow she was going to pass the final test of this semester. Then next semester, her dreams would come true. She would work in the dragon forge as a fledgeling mage smith.
Mel made her way over to her desk, and Austin gave her a look of acknowledgement. Mel knew everything wasn’t perfect. There was still the problem with the black dragon, the void attacking Aldrion and her dagger. But for the first time in a long time, she felt like some things at least were going her way.
Professor Dereey entered the classroom and the students' eyes shot up at the sound of his jabbing footsteps against the floorboards. He had an air about him that made you nervous by simply being in his presence. He took his stance in front of the blackboard and turned his gaze on Mel. It lingered there for a second too long and Mel felt her throat growing dry.
“Tomorrow is the final test for the semester and you can find your time slot on the list. I will hang it in the hall after class.”
His gaze left Mel, and she felt like she could finally breathe again. He glanced around the classroom and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
“Today we will only work with repetition,” Professor Dereey said. “I expect all of you to already be prepared for the examination. But for amusement, we will repeat what we’ve learned about materials. So, who can tell me which material one can imbue water into?”
Mel’s hand shot up to the sky, and she waved it slightly in the air, hoping she would get chosen. Austin glanced at her and an amused smile spread on his lips.
“Meredith. It’s silver, of course.”
“Correct,” Professor Dereey said. “And who can tell me what a mage smith uses to keep the right tempo when imbuing an item?”
Mel’s hand shot up again, and she knew she had been the first one to get her hand up into the air this time. She desperately wanted to be chosen to answer at least one of his questions. This time she had studied, and she had learned about materials. It wasn’t like during the elemental test when she had had to cheat. She wanted to prove that now, prove to herself and Professor Dereey that she knew about materials.
“Flavio. It’s the songs. One of those ridiculous songs.”
Professor Dereey’s eyebrows dipped, and a sour expression formed on his lips. “Correct, but lose the attitude, Flavio. You’re not in Stonehearth anymore.”
The class broke out in laughter, and Flavio’s face grew red as a tomato. Mel smiled despite her anxiety to prove herself. Flavio deserved to be called out for his pretentious behavior, and Mel was glad Professor Dereey finally had.
“Who can tell me what three key notions make an imbue rise in quality?”
Mel’s hand had stayed up since the last question and she saw Professor Dereey looking at her this time. His gaze landed on her raised hand and his eyes seemed to glare at it. Then he turned to the other side of the classroom and sighed.
“Rita. First, you need to have the right note for the element you’ll imbue. Then, you’ll need the right tempo, preferably with a song, so you can keep it up during the entire process of creating the item. Last, you need to have the right material to imbue the item into.”
Professor Dereey held out his hand and wiggled it in front of the class.
“Almost. But the right material is not a notion, it is an object you will need to use, just like your hammer, the dragon stone or the anvil. The last notion of the three is actually to be consistent. You need to consistently make the right note come out pure and have the right tempo to match over the entire duration of creating the item. It is by far the most difficult notion of the three and the one true difference between an adept mage smith and a master.”
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Rita’s gaze dropped to the surface of her desk and Mel could see a blush spread over her face from across the classroom. She had wanted to answer at least one question today, to prove to herself that she knew the source material, but looking at Rita, she wasn’t sure she envied her.
Professor Dereey had a knack for making his students crumble before his eyes, and Mel couldn’t see a single student in the classroom who sat up with a straight back today. Not even Austin looked austere this morning.
Class ended after some more back and forth between Professor Dereey and the class. Mel hadn’t gotten to answer a single question, and she felt herself deflate next to Austin in her seat. She had wanted to prove she was prepared, but that hadn’t panned out. A small hope still burned in her chest by knowing she would prove herself tomorrow at the test.
Professor Dereey brought out the list with each student's time slot on and walked out of the classroom to the hall beyond. He fixed the list to the wall right outside the door and then walked back into the classroom, taking a seat on his desk. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get out of there today, something that Mel had never seen before.
The students piled out of the classroom, stopping right outside and blocking the exit for the rest of them. They were chatting about what time slot they got and whether it was advantageous or not. Mel tried to peek beyond Brandon’s shoulder, but wasn’t tall enough to see over the three students in front of her.
Eventually, the students grew tired of watching the sheet of paper on the wall and made room for Mel, Austin and a couple of others who had been seated furthest from the exit. Mel walked up to the paper and scanned it for her name, but couldn’t find it anywhere.
Her eyebrows dipped and she read carefully each name on the list to herself, but didn’t find her name this time either. Mel felt her anxiety rising in her chest and fear seemed to spread around her. Had she been kicked out of Falden?
“Your name isn’t on here,” Austin said
“What?”
“Your name. Why is it missing?”
Mel shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Mel finally dared to look at Austin, and his face was full of concern for her. Could he see what she was thinking?
She closed her hands into fists and set her jaw. Mel stalked back to the classroom where Professor Dereey sat watching her from his desk. His hands were folded in his lap and his expression was calm. Like he had been expecting her.
“Why is my name not on the list?” Mel asked, her voice shaky.
“You won’t be taking the test with the other students tomorrow,” he said. “Instead, you will take your test the day after.”
“Why?”
Professor Dereey sat still, breathing evenly, and watched her. “I will see you in two days for your test.”
Mel’s anxiety turned to anger in her body, and she watched him with fury. “But why? Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” he said.
“Then why?” Mel asked. “What kind of test will I have to do? Is it another kind of test?”
“You don’t have to prepare anything extra,” he said. “We will go through the examination on the occasion. Don’t worry.”
Mel felt her jaw dropping. What did that mean? Why did he not answer her questions?
It felt like he was deliberately avoiding saying anything concrete. Like he wanted it to be confusing. Mel just couldn’t comprehend why he was doing this. If she wasn’t kicked out of Falden, then why would he want to make a separate test for her on another day? Why would he spend his time on this?
Austin stepped into the classroom, and his eyes flickered between Mel and the professor. “Why are you holding Melissa back?”
“This doesn’t concern you, Austin,” Professor Dereey said.
“Just answer why, Dereey,” Austin said, his voice turning hard as gravel.
Professor Dereey licked his lips and shifted in his seat. He looked uncomfortable with the way Austin was speaking to him.
“We’re not holding Melissa back,” Professor Dereey said. “We’re just choosing to test her on another day. That’s not against regulation and it is not any of your concern.”
The professor stood up from his seat and walked past both Mel and Austin. He continued out of the classroom and Mel heard his steps jab the floorboards down through the hallway. Austin turned to her, but Mel felt completely unable to move.
“They can’t do this,” Austin said. “I will help you fight them.”
Mel shook her head, feeling her brain slowly moving again. “No, they haven’t done anything yet. Maybe it is just like the professor said. They’re just testing me on another day and after I pass the test, I will be let into the next semester.”
“But what if they’re not?” Austin said.
Mel met his gaze and saw the worry in his eyes. “I’m prepared this time. I have studied and I know I can pass the test. It doesn’t matter how they chose to test me, and I don’t want to fight them. I just want to pass this semester and get to see the dragon forge. I want to do this and see it through before we go into the wastes. I know that it is selfish, but I’ve just been dreaming about this for so long. I need to see this through. Can you understand that?”
Austin was quiet for a moment. His eyes left Mel’s, and he looked out into the hallway at the sheet of paper that still clung to the wall.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I guess I just wanted to help. But I understand you want to see this through and perhaps it will be just the same test held on another day. But If it’s not, I hope you know I’m here. I will help you if they hold you back or kick you out of Falden.”
“Thank you,” Mel said.
A smile spread over her lips, but the tense energy in her body didn’t want to leave her. It was telling her that this wouldn’t be just the same test held on another day. It would be something else. Something Mel couldn’t quite imagine yet.