‘…Aether corruption occurs when an individual becomes saturated by Unbound Aether. It is the leading cause of death amongst practitioners of magic and has contributed to the loss of many bright minds here at the University. If you experience any of the following, or notice it in any of your peers, inform an instructor or otherwise qualified individual immediately….’
— Excerpt from ‘Health and Safety Procedures’ in the ‘Hollow University Student’s Handbook’
Quinn felt he should have been excited as he sat with his roommates, waiting for his first class at Hollow University to start. Instead, he was preoccupied going over the cover he’d prepared in the ‘How Not To Reveal You’re An Outworlder’ crash course Bao and Clint had given him during the two days before classes began.
Quinn was now a farmhand from the Rossic Empire who, while uneducated in other areas, had managed to get admitted to the University on account of being a prodigy in the field of mathematics.
It wasn’t the best cover, admission based on excellence in one area was pretty rare, but, given the lack of time they had to prepare him, it was the best they could do. It helped that Clint actually was from a farm in the Empire and could back him up if anyone got suspicious. That gave him a little reassurance.
The trio had also agreed that no one would expect an Outworlder to say they were from the Empire given that it had a bounty on Outworlders.
Quinn had just begun mentally reciting the order of titles in the Rossic nobility for the 12th time (Quinn was skeptical he had needed to learn this, but Clint’s insistence that this was essential knowledge that even a farmhand would know made him relent) when a sound like the crack of a whip rang out over dull roar of a hundred conversations, bringing a sudden quiet to the room.
Looking across the packed lecture hall towards the source of the noise, he saw the shriveled old man from the admissions committee standing at the lectern in the front of the room.
”Now that I have your attention, I believe an introduction is in order.” His wispy, monotone, voice emanated from the dimly glowing glyphs lining the walls, filling the room. ”My name is Amadeus Hindleton and I will be your professor for General History. You will find an outline of what we will cover this term in the syllabus, as well as information on how to reach me outside of class. You may take a moment now to look it over.”
There was a shuffling of papers as Quinn saw students begin flipping through the papers they had been given when they entered the lecture hall this morning. Giving the papers a quick skim himself, he wasn’t shocked to see that no matter what world you were in, a syllabus was essentially the same. While the majority of topics covered in the outline he didn’t have any idea about, he was happy to see that at least some of them were things he had heard about in his two-day crash course.
As Quinn finished reading and looked back towards the front of the lecture hall, he saw his fellow students doing the same. Professor Hindleton did a quick scan of the room, and upon seeing most of the students finished with the syllabus, he began speaking again.
”I believe that has been enough time, if anyone needs clarification please feel free to see me after the lecture. We will now begin.”
Hindleton tapped the side of his podium and the wall behind him began to shimmer. As he continued to speak, the shimmer solidified into his words. Quinn flipped open a journal he had purchased in preparation for class and began taking notes in his neatest handwriting, which was, admittedly, an illegible chicken scratch only he could process.
”If someone asked me for the date, I would tell them that today is the 24th of Teran in the year 1368 This is a fact I am sure many in this room can agree on, but can anyone tell me the problem with this statement?”
A few students raised their hands. From them, the professor selected a girl seated at the very front of the lecture hall. She looked vaguely familiar to Quinn, although he wasn’t sure why.
“That is only true by the so-called ‘Common Calendar’ used in Cantril. If I, or one of my kin, were asked, we would tell them it is the 236th Day of the 3507th Year of Eldest Elansria’s life, may her years be many more.” she replied in a voice that seemed to sing.
It was the voice that connected the dots for Quinn. He recognized her as the elf who had saved him from the thief a few days prior and realized he hadn’t gotten the chance to thank her. He made a mental note to do so after class. He also noted that she was the only other elf he had seen so far besides the Chancellor, something to ask about when he got the chance.
“Excellent point! My statement is indeed only true by the Common Calendar. As Miss Irilvia has pointed out, the Elves have a different way of keeping track of time, and they are not the only ones. If you had asked a dwarf they would have given the same day, the 24th of Teran, but a diffrent year, 2134. Why the discrepancies?”
Quinn raised his hand, surprised that he knew the answer.
“Yes Mister Hart?” Hindleton addressed him, a slight smile on his face.
“Calendars are a bit arbitrary, it isn’t as though anyone knows when time began. We just pick a point that everyone can agree on how much time has passed since, and use that as the start.”
“Wonderful explanation Mister Hart, you are correct. In the case of the Elves, they measure in terms of when the life of their Eldest began. This is obvious in the answer Miss Irilvia gave, which references Eldest Elansria’s life. For the dwarves, the year is 2134, as they mark their time since the founding of the Underkingdom.
In the case of the Common Calendar, which will be used for this class, the year is 1368. Its beginning aligns with the publishing of the book ‘On the Making of Magic’ by the wizards who would go on to found this very institution.
You will learn much about what lies within this book in your time here at the University, it is the basis for the standardized form of magic we teach after all. However, for our purposes in General History, we will only analyze its significance in the development of human civilization as we know it today, as well as the impact it had on the Underkingdom who were quick to adopt the utility it provided.
Its creation was a monumental undertaking for its time, made only possible…”
Quinn looked up from the notes he was taking as Professor Hindleton trailed off. He had a pained expression on his face and, by following his gaze, Quinn could see him staring at a group of halfling students seated together, one of which had their hand raised.
Doing a quick scan of the room, Quinn realized that this group of halfling students was, infact, all the halflings in the lecture hall seated together. He wasn’t really sure how he could have missed this, it was a group of at least twenty or so people and made up about a tenth of the class.
He nudged Clint with his elbow, hoping to ask about that, but before he could get an answer the professor broke his silence.
“Yes Mister Glinttongue?” Hindleton asked with a sigh.
“Sorry for the interruption professor!” the halfling said, the slight lilt to his abnormally upbeat tone making it obvious to Quinn he wasn’t. “But I couldn’t help but notice you didn’t mention anything about the calendar used by my folk, or the impact ‘On the Making of Magic’ had on our civilization. This being a class about history, I was hoping you would cover us as well. We may be small, but I’m sure we’ve had a big impact!”
Laughter came from the halflings around him.
“For the love of the Aether, can you just shut up and not cause trouble for once in your life Anson!” came a shout from the seats on the opposite side of the hall from the group of halflings. “People already don’t want us here as is, so stop giving them more reason to be prejudiced or so help me I will kick some sense into you!”
Looking at the source of the shout, Quinn saw a halfling girl he was positive hadn’t been seated over there before. Or at least, he wasn’t sure how he could have missed her seeing as she was the only one seated in that part of the front row. Something about this felt off to Quinn, in a way he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
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Silence fell over the lecture hall once more, the laughter of the group stopping and Anson’s face flushing in apparent embarrassment.
“Thank you Miss Lightstep, although I would request you refrain from threatening to ‘kick some sense’ into fellow students– despite how amusing that would be to see in this instance.” said Professor Hindleton, breaking the tension.
“Mister Glinttongue has oh so helpfully provided a segue into our first topic: The Known and Suspected Bargains.
There have been a great many feats of magic that have gone down in the annuls of history– Aegian The Aether-blessed broke the 5th Attempted Siege of Hollow with a single spell, Adelaide’s Respite has saved countless lives since its formulation, and the Veil maintained by the Elves to guard Nature’s Solace may be the largest working of Aether ever made by the hands of, for lack fo a better word, ‘mortal’ mages.
Despite all this, there is nothing in the world capable of an effect that matches the magnitude of a Bargain.
The creators of these Bargains have many names, but the one they are most widely known by is the Fae.
There is much we do not know about them. Their origins are a mystery to us still and their motivations only loosely understood. We do, however, know these few facts I will share with you now.
They reside in the Deep Wild in the Verdant Green and never leave it. We are unsure why, but it is suspected that the unique nature of the Deep Wild, which you will learn of in Magical Ecology, sustains their existence and leaving it is not possible for them.
They have no interest in material wealth. To bargain with them you must give them something more. They deal in concepts, emotions, thoughts, ideas, favors— you name it.
They will never deny a Bargain outright, but the price they name for it can be deceptive.
You will have your words twisted against you. These creatures are older than the Eldest of the Elves; If you think you can beat them in a battle of wits, you have already lost.
I hope you remember these facts I have told you above all else, and if there is anything you take away from this class, let it be this: Never Bargain with the Fae.
The journey to get to them is horrific, the Deep Wilds a place no one should ever be forced to brave. The negotiation with them to agree upon terms is a mind numbing task— they have all the time in the world, and you do not. The price you pay will not be worth it.
I know this, because I have Bargained with them. I was young and fool-hardy, believing myself learned in the ways of the world from my studies. I told them, ‘I would like to live forever’, thinking that phrasing it in such a simple way would leave little wiggle room.
I suppose it did, seeing as I am still here, but ‘living forever’ does not mean that I stopped aging, as you can see by my haggard appearance.
Most every Bargain is like this. They are wrought with unintended consequences, the Fae doing everything they can to twist it against you so they get more out of the exchange than you do.”
Professor Hindleton paused, his gaze distant for a time before he gave the lecture hall a quiet survey.
”With that in mind, let us speak on the Known Bargains, so named because their exact benefits are public knowledge. We will move on to the Suspected Bargains next class. Would anyone like to volunteer to list them for us…”
—
As the lecture ended an hour later, Quinn bid a hasty goodbye to his roommmates before rushing down the steps of the lecture hall and out into the corridor. He felt a bit bad for ditching them, but he didn’t want to stop to explain his thought process and lose his chance to catch up to Irilvia, who had been seated at the very front of the hall and left as soon as class ended.
Looking left he saw her walking away in a brisk stride and hurried to catch up ”Excuse me!” He called out to get her attention. Irilvia stopped and turned, studying Quinn for a second before she spoke.
”Yes?” She asked.
”I just wanted to say thanks for saving me the other day, if you hadn’t done what you did– Well, I have a feeling things would’ve gone much differently for me.” He replied.
The barest hint of recognition bloomed in her eyes before she responded in a tone not dissimilar from how Quinn might address a pet. “You are welcome, Human. Think nothing of it.” Reaching out she patted him on the head before turning and walking away at the same brisk pace as before.
Quinn, dumb-founded by her de-humanizing treatment of him, stood frozen as Irilvia disappeared around the corner. Once his befuddlement wore off, he went to try to catch up to her again, but was stopped by a familiar voice from behind him.
”Mister Hart, I was worried I wouldn’t catch you with the pace at which you fled my class. If you have a moment, I wanted to speak with you.” Said Hindleton
Quinn turned and saw Professor Hindleton watching him, an amused look on his face.
”Sorry, I was trying to catch up to Irilvia... I didn’t know you wanted to talk Professor, otherwise I wouldn’t have made you chase after me.” Quinn replied.
”It’s no bother Mister Hart, a little exercise never hurts. Besides, if you had known then I would’ve missed the opportunity to witness such a fascinating exchange. I wasn’t aware you were acquainted with Miss Irilvia.” His tone made it apparent his last statement was also a question he expected answered.
”On my first day on Loc-” Quinn cut himself off, embarrassed at his slip up. Not that it mattered given the professor already knew about him. Still, he needed to be more cautious.
“On my first day in Hollow,” He corrected, “I got held at knifepoint by a thief. She intervened by– well I am not quite sure what she did but it knocked me and the thief out. When I woke up, I was safe in the University Hospital.”
”I see, how very altruistic of her. I am surprised that an elf so new to the affairs of us mortals even thought to intervene in such a situation… How very fortunate for you, yes?”
Quinn gave a half smile and a shrug, “Yeah, I cant imagine what would’ve happened without her. That’s why I left class in such a rush. I wanted to thank her for saving me. I wasn’t expecting…” He blushed again.
”A very noble gesture, but I’m afraid it was wasted on Miss Irilvia. Tell me, what do you know of the Elves?”
Quinn thought about what his roommates had told him but found there hadn’t been much on that topic. They had been more focused on teaching him the bare minimum he needed to not stick out.
”Not a whole lot to be honest.” He confessed.
”I see... I believe I have something that might help with that— it’s related to why I wanted to talk to you. Do you have time now, or would later be better?”
Quinn thought about his schedule for a moment. He had two more classes today, Aether Control and Basic Runes and Glyphs, but they weren’t until the afternoon. Seeing no reason to wait to speak with the professor, he told him so. ”I have time now.”
“Let’s head to my office then, have you been to the Library yet?” Said Professor Hindleton
”No I have not.” He replied
”Excellent, I always love seeing the look on a student’s face when they see it for the first time. Follow me, it's just around the corner.”
A smirk formed on Hindleton’s face, one that made Quinn feel as though he was missing something. Still, he followed after him.
—
Sure enough, it really was only two turns later when Hindleton told Quinn they’d arrived as he gestured to the end of a narrow hallway Quinn must have missed on his walk to class that morning.
There was a plain wooden door set directly into the stone wall. It had a well worn appearance— its brass knob polished from the touch of countless hands and its wood smoothed with age. Written on the wall above it was ‘Staff Entrance’.
“Is this a side door?” Quinn asked as he regarded the writing. From what Bao had told him, the Library was massive, with a large set of double doors at its entrance. He also had been told it was located near where the admissions exams had been conducted, on the other end of campus. Neither of those facts fit in with the presence of the door he was looking at now.
”I suppose you could call it that.” Hindleton responded cryptically. “Just go ahead and open it.”
At the professor’s urging, Quinn stepped forward and reached for the handle—
Quinn felt himself shift and a wave of vertigo swept over him. As the foreign feeling subsided, he saw no sign of the door knob he had just grabbed. His hand, which was still held outstretched before him, grasped nothing but air.
He felt a ripple to his left and, looking, saw the professor standing beside him. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, Quinn saw the usual stone walls of the University. There was a distinct lack of a door his mind told him should be there.
”Welcome to the Library.” Hindleton said with a sweeping gesture of his arms.
Looking past a small, unmanned, circulation counter they had arrived next to, Quinn took in his first full look at the Library. Rows upon rows of shelves sprawled out before him, each filled to the brim with books and stretching to the ceiling that was some 50 feet high. Try as he might, Quinn could not wrap his head around the sheer volume of information that lay before him.
After giving him a minute to stare, Hindleton cleared his throat. ”My office is just around the corner, we can talk there. Don’t touch any books on the way— especially if you feel them calling to you. We are in the Restricted Stacks and the books here can be… Let’s just say it's ‘Restricted’ for a reason.”
The old man set off, leaving a bewildered Quinn hurrying to catch up.