The next three weeks were a flurry of activity. Yaric started off by tackling the issue he was least looking forward to. It was a bright summer morning, with clear skies and a cool breeze when Yaric made his way onto the training field for his early morning combat training.
“Instructor?” Yaric quickly asked before the training could get underway. Hiawatha hated distractions during practice.
"Yes, Novice?”
“Are there any other lessons you would recommend I add? Another weapon, or more training time?”
“Why? Do you feel like… ahhh… haha! You won your Tournament and now you want to keep your spot?”
“No sir,” Yaric hurriedly explained. “It’s just… I think I can be better than I am.”
“You do realize that your victory came through spellwork, not bladework?
“Yes, but that’s part of the problem. My weapons skills were a weakness. I don’t want to be stuck relying on being able to get off a spell.”
Hiawatha smiled, “And how much time were you thinking of adding to your courses?”
Yaric took a moment to think. He’d assumed that Hiawatha would tell him how much time was needed. It hadn’t occurred to him that Hiawatha might make a suggestion tailored to fit his schedule. “I can do another hour on at least two mornings, maybe three.”
“Not every morning?”
“No sir, I think that would have too much of an impact on my other classes.”
“Ha! I half expected you to dive into a death spiral. Good! Yes, we can work with three classes, though you need at least two. We can definitely give your skills a boost.”
“Would I be learning another new weapon, Instructor?”
“No, you’ll be practicing the other weapons you’ve already learned. You’ll frequently have to fight with what is available, and your skills with a spear or axe are already far below those of your sword. Imagine what they will be like a year from now.”
“So that’s it? You would just add additional practice for weapons I’ve already covered?”
“That’s it? Improving your skill with a spear will save your life one day, and I want you to remember this conversation when it does. Don’t forget that there is occasionally some crossover in how different weapons are used which can also benefit your ability with a sword. But it’s the second day that would give you the most benefit.”
“I’ll learn something new then?” Yaric asked hopefully.
“No. You’ll spar with others using whatever weapon we are practicing that week. But I will ensure that at least half the time is spent fighting against longswords. That is your primary weapon after all. Spending time in your opponents’ shoes will open your eyes to what they might try against you when the position is reversed. I want you to develop a deep understanding of how different weapons could be used against you, and what the most difficult strategies to defend against are. Then you can incorporate them into your offensive strategies when you’re holding your sword.”
“Ahhh…” Yaric felt a little happier after Hiawatha’s explanation, but he was still a little disappointed about not learning something new.
“Your normal lessons will have to change somewhat as well,” Hiawatha added.
“To incorporate what I learn from the other side of a longsword?”
“Ha! Good answer! But no. You’ve started getting off spells while fighting with your sword. I want you to work on making that a regular occurrence. We’re going to start practicing techniques for adding offensive magic to your arsenal.”
“Really?!”
“Yes, really. You’re going to have to wait a couple of days while I check on who is available for these morning classes, but I’ll come back to you once they are arranged. Don’t you dare ask about the credits though, at this point you’ll just be bragging. For now, I want you to look at where the rest of your classmates are.”
“Yes, sir,” Yaric replied, watching everyone else as they ran around the fields to warm up.
“How far have they gotten while we were talking?”
Yaric felt his stomach drop. “About a third of the way, Instructor.”
“That sounds about right. I expect you to catch up and finish with them. Or you will be running again.”
Not sure if Hiawatha was serious or not, Yaric turned to stare at him for a moment, waiting for him to laugh.
“You think I’m joking?”
Dirt was kicked up as Yaric turned and pushed off into a run in the same motion, straining to catch up to his class. Of course Hiawatha would consider standing and discussing his lessons to be standing and not training.
----------------------------------------
Yaric also found the time to visit the Student Counseling building. He’d first used the building on his first full day at the Academy, but he doubted Chelsea would still be there.
‘I wonder if Chelsea ever met our Chelsea?’ he laughed to himself.
The others went with him while he arranged to meet a new teacher.
“Sure, we can help with that,” Mitchell, the attendant helping them, said. “Just know that the reply will be sent here, so you need to check-in. Your request for a meeting with Mage Scriven will be sent today. Exactly what instrument were you looking to be tutored in?”
“Ah… that’s part of the reason I want to meet the Instructor. I don’t really know.”
“Not sure if I’ve ever met someone who wants to play but doesn’t know what instrument they want. I’m no expert, but most people I know want to learn because there’s a specific instrument that appeals to them. What is making you want to learn to play an instrument?”
“Broadening my horizons?” Yaric replied quickly, though it came out more as a question than an answer.
“Hmmm… well, Mage Scriven is very good. Good enough that I’m surprised you have the credits for it, even if your year had a Competition winner.”
“You recognize us?” Li Na asked excitedly from behind Yaric.
“Of course. The request has Novice Miller’s current year in it. And I’m in my ninth year. Don’t forget that the eighth, ninth, and tenth years are combined classes with multiple teachers. Next year we’ll be in the same class.”
“For one year,” Lauren pointed out. “You’ll move up after that.”
“Yes,” Mitchell chuckled. “But that’s more than enough time for you four to explain how the winning team managed to pull it off. I spent almost a full year in a stalemate if you combine both Competitions, it wasn’t fun.”
Sven cleared his throat from behind everyone. “I think that’s half the point. It doesn’t matter if you’re deployed or stationed at home. You count off your drills, you count off your maintenance, then you count off the hours.”
“Or you can be like those Shadows,” Mitchell countered. “They spent their time counting flags.”
----------------------------------------
Not even their magic lesson was spared from the uptick in energy. Yaric didn’t plan anything for this class, on the contrary, he was waiting until all their lessons were over so he could show the others the exercises he’d put together for himself. Unfortunately, no one had missed the fact that Sven had finally had his winning streak broken, and it was entirely due to magic.
“Yes, yes,” Emil said loudly from the front of the classroom. He stepped back so everyone could see him better and raised his voice to address the whole class. “Before you all ask me the same thing, these lessons are how you learn to cast spells in combat. Novice Miller pulled off his feat by focusing on the exercises in front of you. If you would all focus instead of looking for secrets, maybe you could do the same, hmmm? I expect to see several of you casting spells during the Winter Tournament.”
“Yeah, to keep warm,” a quiet voice whispered from beside Yaric. She even managed to shiver as she said it.
At first Yaric felt a little guilty at hearing Emil defend him. Well, he wasn’t exactly accused of anything, but he did have some secrets. He’d been training with arcana since he’d joined the Academy. And the extra techniques he’d learned were a major advantage as well. But looking around, Yaric didn’t feel too guilty about it. The focus and concentration in his class was intense, and borderline intimidating. He was going to need every advantage he could get.
----------------------------------------
The first-ever Academy horse riding lesson was as chaotic as expected, but it did give them the opening to approach their instructor. This time it was Sven who took the lead, with Li Na right beside him.
“Excuse me, High Mage Page?”
“Yes, Novice?”
Belinda Page was a very tall and thin woman, tall enough that Yaric had at first assumed that she was an elf. While she was very quiet when talking to students, she had also been exceptionally friendly and cheerful.
“We were wondering about getting our own saddles. Our concern is getting a proper fit for ourselves, but we don’t know how good that will be for the horses. I was told that every horse has its own custom saddle already, and we don’t want to make the horse uncomfortable unnecessarily.”
“Oh, that’s no problem. We can assign you your own horse.”
Li Na tried to hop in place but froze at the same time, resulting in an odd stumble.
Sven just looked confused. “I was told that we would get different horses each time.”
“Sometimes,” Balinda acknowledged. “We changed the rule a few years ago to allow those with the ability to get their own saddles to do so. It isn’t really advertised as not every family or Sponsor is willing to pay for a custom saddle.”
“But we will also sometimes have different horses?”
“Oh yes. Yes, I will ensure that you ride several different horses each month. Every horse has a different personality and temperament. I need to ensure that everyone is capable of riding any horse at any time. Don’t worry about the saddles though, part of the exchange is riding in the Academy saddles as well. You can’t spend all your time learning to ride on a perfectly fitted saddle, what would happen the first time you rent a horse or get issued one on campaign?”
“How do we get our own horse?” Li Na asked, cutting Sven off before he could reply.
“Assigned horse. I’ll evaluate each of you over the next two or three weeks and pick out a good match for you. After that, you will receive the measurements that were taken for that horse’s standard saddle and you can go and get your own made. Just be aware that you could be sharing an assigned horse with students from other classes,” Belinda added, pointing to the stalls behind her. “It doesn’t happen often, but students are always disappointed when they do.”
There were twenty-five stalls on each side, forming repeating rows all along the arenas. Students were being split into groups of ten to be taught about their tack. As Belinda had explained when they had first arrived, the first few days would cover the equipment and care for the horses. Li Na had never paid such close attention in class before. Other than when it was explained that they would be responsible for caring for the horses assigned to them, Li Na kept her composure and stayed focused.
Yaric found the lesson interesting as well, as he kept learning small things that weren’t covered in the lessons they’d had in the city, but his mind was still on his last task for the day. He rushed out as soon as the lesson was over.
“You guys go eat, I won’t be long,” he said, running back toward the administration buildings.
“No, we’re coming with you.”
“I’m okay, really.”
“We know,” Lauren smiled and nudged him gently. “We’re still coming.”
“You know you’re going to be stuck wai…”
“Told you he’s still the same!” Li Na said teasingly.
“Still the same?”
“Yeah, Lauren said after the tests you did you were letting…”
“Lina!”
“What?”
“Yes, what? I haven’t changed.”
“No, you haven’t,” Lauren said, smiling again. “That’s the point. Part of it anyway. You keep doing so well in all the subjects, but occasionally you’re indecisive and unsure of yourself. It’s infuriating,” she added pointedly, though still smiling. “Then you went through those tests and came out like everything had changed. You started rambling about all the things you want to work on and the extra lessons you want to take. It’s like the insecure Yaric disappeared.”
“So you are saying I changed.”
“No! Like now, Lina is talking about how you feel like we’re giving up something to come with you, even though you would insist on the same if things were reversed. The insecurity from your past is gone, but you haven’t changed, because this is just you.”
Lauren’s eyes grew wide with alarm. “That came out wrong! What I…”
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“It’s just you,” Li Na added with a smirk, gesturing up and down at Yaric.
“That’s not it! It’s like when we go into the city. Most of our class like to party and dance and sing. You prefer to sit at the back and talk to two or three people…”
“Or just Lauren.”
Yaric tried to glare at Li Na, but she had already turned away as if she hadn’t said anything.
“You like to spend time with smaller groups of close friends, you’re not the guy that jumps on the table and wants to be the center of attention. That’s not being insecure, it’s just your preference. Your personality. It’s who you are. Last night you said it yourself, sometimes you’ve held back so you don’t draw attention. That’s the part that’s gone.”
“I don’t understand. That would mean I’ve changed. Those things would be part of me too.”
“They’re not,” Lauren countered. “Those things weren’t part of you, they were things that happened to you. What I was actually saying to Lina last night,” Lauren continued, turning to glare at her still innocent-looking friend, “is now it’s just you. Ever since we met you, we’ve seen you and who you are, but you’ve been under all this baggage as well. Baggage that held you back. We did what we could to help you carry it, and you’ve done great even with all that history hanging over your head. But now you seem like you’re starting to drop everything and move on. And if we can, we want to support you with that as well.”
Yaric had no idea how he felt after hearing Lauren explain how she had seen the situation. He knew she often helped with things, especially in the beginning, but she was very self-aware of everything, while Yaric had never thought those things through or put them into words. It hadn’t even occurred to him. Now he felt almost as he had when he’d left the classroom and Arch Wizards after his test the day before.
“Sled. He dropped the baggage off his sled,” Li Na asserted.
Everyone turned to look at her in confusion, even Sven, who had wisely kept quiet the entire time.
“What sled?”
“Yaric’s sled. He had all his baggage on his sled, and he dropped it. I bet it actually just fell off while he was running around, lost and confused.”
“I don’t get it.”
Li Na turned to Lauren and looked at her like she was an idiot. “Yaric carried his luggage on a sled. Like those mountain puppies. Now he’s running around with an empty sled behind him, crashing into things and…”
Lauren had already rolled her eyes when Li Na said ‘mountain puppies’, and turned back to Yaric, leaving Li Na to ramble on by herself. “I know it’s only been one day, but I’ve never seen you like this before. Excited and planning for the future. Just know that we’re here if you start slipping back.” Her mouth was twitching like she was trying very hard not to smile. “We’ll be watching,” she added, pointing her fingers at her eyes and flicking them toward Yaric.
Yaric snorted and Lauren’s attempts at keeping a straight face finally failed. He didn’t get a chance to reply though, as they had arrived.
“… sometimes still chases his tail, even with the sled behind him, but I’m used to…” Li Na continued while he walked up to the counter. The room was refreshingly cool after their run. It was still very hot even this late in the evening. Yaric didn’t have to say a word, as James was waiting for him at the door to the testing room.
“Novice Yaric,” he called, waving him over. “You’re my last appointment today, so we will be able to spend some time looking at your results. Are they coming with you?”
Lauren and the others hesitated, but that only drove home what she had just said about him.
“Sure.”
Everyone filed into the room, where Yaric took a seat in front of the crimson stone and placed his hands in the indentations. Once James had taken his place he gave Yaric a nod, and Yaric began channeling arcana.
Lights appeared on the side where James sat, as usual, and slowly began to move from left to right. Then it seized hold of his arcana and began to pull, prompting Yaric to relax as much as he could. There was a pause when the lights reached the end, after which the weird sensations began. The tingling was over in seconds, only to be followed by a breeze running through his body. Yaric sat in silence as they came one after the other, at first pausing only at the burning sensation, and then when his body started tingling and the hair on his head started to rise.
James had already taken the notes he needed, so now he sat and waited for the test to run its course.
Yaric finally felt the sensations he had come to associate with his space and shadow affinities, which always came near the end, and then his hands were free and the crimson block went dark.
“These are very good,” James said, starting the moment Yaric’s hands came off the block. “You’re in the rapid phase now, which is an excellent sign.”
“Rapid phase?”
“In the beginning, your recovery is almost imperceptible. Think of your affinity like an ember. We’ve been gently nursing it and keeping it going, but now the fire is starting to spread. Your improvement was so slight to start that we could barely detect it, but the last time we checked you were at around 5% fire-aspected arcana. Now you are almost at 20%.”
“At that rate it will only take a couple of years!” Yaric exclaimed excitedly.
“Woah, hold up there. The rapid phase is great news. Atrophied affinities don’t happen often, but when they do we find that anyone who gets to where you are within eight years will generally make a full recovery.”
“It’s been five.”
“Precisely. Now you can expect to start gaining strength rapidly but remember that the last part of the recovery generally takes much longer. I’m warning you because everyone initially expects a flat growth rate, then when they start to improve more rapidly, they think it will be exponential from then on. In truth, it’s more of an ‘S’ shaped growth. Still, it just takes time. And don’t forget that it won’t really affect you anyway.”
Yaric was feeling disappointed, despite the improvement. ‘Everything else went right, everything…’
“Will it still help with fire-related magic?”
“It wouldn’t either way,” James answered apologetically. “You won’t really be at a point where it makes much difference. You’ve learned some air spells by now, correct? I saw you use one yesterday in your Tournament fight. Congratulations by the way.”
“Thanks. And yes, I’ve learned two so far.”
“Ah, the first four spells, I remember. Well, do you struggle with them? Are they underpowered?”
“No, why?”
“Just reinforcing what you already know. Everyone always worries about using their affinities. It is a major advantage, no doubt, but never forget that any arcanist can learn any spell, so long as they have the talent. Your affinities just give you a boost in power across their aspect. With the amount of power you’ll be able to put into spells right now, I doubt you’d notice anything. Just like none of you have noticed how your healthy affinities work.”
“Huh?” Li Na asked, looking just as confused as the others.
“Which of you have learned to filter arcana to your affinities?” James asked innocently.
“Oh, we have to learn how to use our affinities first. It’s not natural,” Lauren concluded.
“Which means that Yaric isn’t behind anyone at all,” Sven pointed out.
“Correct. It will be at least two years before any of you learn how to filter your arcana, by which time Novice Yaric could have recovered as much as 80% of the use of his affinity. All you need to do is keep using your cube. Nothing changes for you. Except for your recovery, that is.”
Yaric left feeling much better. There had been a lot of uncertainty around his recovery, but now he had a much more concrete idea of where things were going and how they would impact him. He understood why things weren’t explained in much detail before, but that didn’t change the feeling of relief while walking to the food hall.
They all took a plate and got into the line to dish up their food, with Lauren and Sven at the front and Yaric and Li Na further back.
“She’s right, you know,” Li Na said once they were in line.
“Lauren? She’s always right.”
Li Na snorted and turned to the side to look back at Yaric. “I’ve seen this a lot,” she explained, gesturing once again to Yaric’s whole body. “You’re like this whenever we get into a big fight, like when we were protecting the flags under that glowing column thingy. You get out of your own head and focus on the fight, and everything works out.”
“Why do you both keep saying these things? It’s been one day.”
“Intuition.”
This time it was Yaric who snorted. He looked over Li Na’s head, which took no effort at all, and watched the loaded potatoes on the tray further down. It was one of his favorites and not often on the menu. Unfortunately there weren’t many left, and there was always a long delay between the last one being taken and a fresh platter being brought out.
“Well, I’m still me. Even Lauren admitted that.”
“No you’re not. You’re happier. Less stressed. You finally opened your eyes, and it’s my job to make sure you keep them open.”
“Says who?”
“Says me.”
“And who gave you this job?”
“You did, you just don’t know it.”
“That means I can take it away.”
“Nope, that would mean you’re closing your eyes again.”
Yaric was distracted for a moment at the sight of every loaded potato being taken at once. At least it was Lauren who got the last few.
“Can we drop this now, please? None of this is a big deal.”
“Sure. Just make sure you keep your eyes open. And don’t forget you need to show me how you practice using magic in a fight. You were so excited yesterday that you forgot.”
“I wasn’t…” Yaric started saying, before trailing off with a deep sigh. “I’ll show you when we sit down.”
Li Na swiftly changed the subject to the horses she wanted to get, though Yaric got the impression that every horse was the best horse. Or at least, any horse that was Li Na’s. He almost didn’t notice when Lauren came past the other and paused beside them.
“These were the last ones,” was all she said, as she pushed most of the loaded potatoes off her plate and onto Yaric's before walking away without another word.
Li Na turned to face Yaric again, peering into his face with a concerned look. She kept staring at his face while reaching for one of his potatoes. Li Na pretended she was being sneaky, and Yaric pretended not to notice. “His eyes are open,” she mumbled to herself as she took one and put it on her own plate, “but he’s blind as a troll. Maybe he needs a healer?”
“Hey, I saw you.”
Li Na thought that was hilarious. She was still laughing when they got to their table.
“Don’t be disappointed,” Yaric warned when he was finally able to explain the exercise he had tried. “All I did was try and practice forming the spells while playing Lauren’s game. It’s nothing special.”
“Wait, is that why you’ve been doing so badly?”
“No, I wasn’t doing badly. I was practicing my spellforms while playing the game at the same time.”
“You didn’t do anything else,” Sven asked.
“Nothing. I just wanted to try and create a spellform while I was focused on something else.”
“Does it have to be while playing the game? Why not practice when training in the morning, or walking to classes?”
“Uhhh…”
“You didn’t think of it?” Lauren asked.
“Uhhh…”
Even Yaric was smiling. He’d been so focused on pushing himself while doing something difficult that he’d missed the forest for the trees.
“Let’s first work out when we can practice spellforms while doing something else, then we can decide what we should focus on first,” Sven suggested.
“We should put off the sparring for now,” Lauren added. “Sorry Yaric. Reaching too far will just make us stumble, we need to build a good foundation first.”
Yaric gave his input here and there, mostly on his experiences and the ideas he’d been working on, but his friends took the idea and ran with it. With all the practice options they were listing he knew that no one would be getting much of a break going forward.
Three weeks of frantic studies and practice followed. They practiced spellforms whenever they could, including during the walks between classes. Practicing while running through forms turned out to be too difficult as they kept pausing or slowing down whenever they needed to focus on the spell, but almost everything else was possible.
Riding lessons progressed to basic instruction along with frequent mount changes as Belinda had them get used to different horses. She also started to get a feel for which horses she wanted to assign to each of them. Sven had spread the word and at least thirty classmates were looking to get horses assigned as well.
Additional morning lessons were added to Yaric’s schedule, though he didn’t get to spar against other longsword users yet. Hiawatha took one look at his form and declared that Yaric had fallen too far out of practice, insisting that he bring his other skills up before he starts fighting other students. It only took three weeks, as Hiawatha had already indicated that Yaric would start practicing with other students from his next lesson.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t just his technique that had suffered. Practicing with a spear and thrusting from his hip focused on very different muscles when compared to his sword, and swinging an axe was even worse. Yaric was hurting in places that hadn’t hurt in a long time.
Mage Scriven agreed to meet with Yaric and went through his options with him. Yaric had the impression that she wasn’t too impressed, but she did deem him adequate. After much trial and error, she suggested he try string instruments first, both six and four strings. Mage Scriven assured him that he would focus entirely on one once she had a better idea of his abilities.
Three weeks after having his shield tested, Yaric received a note from Lloyd, along with the instruction for his friends to come along. Receiving a message so soon was unexpected, but as the others pointed out, it might have nothing to do with his tests.
They were partially right.
Lloyd treated everyone to lunch, putting on a lavish spread and making sure to ask about each of them. They had been spending so much time together lately that there wasn’t really any point. Explaining how they had started practicing casting spells in combat really got Lloyd’s interest though.
“You should throw things as well. That’s how I did it.”
“Wait, you also found a way to practice casting?” Yaric shouldn’t have been surprised, but Lloyd hadn’t given them any tips like this before.
“Of course, you don’t get this good without special tricks. I found throwing things gave me the best balance.”
“Balance of what?” Li Na asked.
“There are always two big problems when you start learning to cast while focused on something physical. First, you can lose focus on what you’re doing. If you’re throwing stones at a narrow tree, for example, your aim will go bad. The second problem is harder to pick up, but sometimes you will find the shift in concentration causes you to put less force behind your movements. It’s hard to explain, but you basically put less effort into whatever you’re doing.”
“I noticed that when I tried while practicing forms,” Sven acknowledged.
Li Na still seemed confused though. “But Yaric didn’t have a problem when he was fighting Sven.”
“Yaric was focusing on the fight first, and casting his spell second. But mostly he just got lucky. It really depends on how focused you are in that moment, and exactly how distracted you get.”
“But how does throwing rocks help?” Yaric asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.
“Easy. If you don’t focus properly, you miss. If you get too distracted by creating your spell form, your throw will be weak. It’s very easy to see exactly where you’re going wrong too.”
“I guess we can add that,” Lauren acknowledged. “Maybe in the evenings? In the park behind the dorm?”
It didn’t take long to add yet another exercise to their list.
“Get used to it,” Lloyd laughed. “Wait until you try learning how to cast two spells at once.”
“At least we only need one spell at a time for the Tournaments,” Yaric pointed out.
“Oh really? I’m talking about casting a spell while augmenting yourself. It won’t be long before you’re fighting people who can do both, and then you’re stuck. Someone like Hiawatha could slap you right through your shield with no effort at all.”
Lloyd had to assure them that it was far beyond their capabilities before they stopped trying to work out ways to practice. And Yaric was surprised to find that he was right. Even more surprising, Yaric was certain that he could cast two spells at once, though certainly not while fighting someone else. He had spent a lot of time practicing creating two spell forms at once.
What he couldn’t do was create one spell form while augmenting himself. Augmentation became extremely complex with the basic component that they still used. The only way to increase the power was to squeeze more components into the same space, forcing them to create intricate and detailed forms. Worse, they also had to be in the right place. Boosting a muscle without enhancing the tendon was a sure way to run into trouble. Yaric was simply too scared to even try.
“Moving on,” Lloyd said, pulling everyone’s attention. He looked almost anxious as he unfolded a familiar-looking piece of paper. “You are all aware that Arch Wizard Phelps, uh, requested that you all be allowed to fulfill appeals again. Well, this is an appeal that he personally picked out for you.” Lloyd’s concern was unmistakable. “And it’s dangerous.”
“We’ve done dangerous,” Li Na replied with a smirk.
“Not like this. Nothing you’ve done was ever meant to be dangerous, and you’ve never traveled so far.”
“What is it?” Lauren asked curiously.
Lloyd let out a heavy sigh. “There are livestock disappearances around Kald. It’s a remote town up north. Not as far as Clery,” Lloyd added, glancing at Yaric. “But it’s also further East.”
“Closer to the Abyssal Plains,” Sven noted.
“Yes.”
“Is that it? Cattle thieves? We can handle that,” Li Na remarked.
“I’m fairly certain it isn’t thieves. The livestock disappears, but there is always blood at the scene. It seems more likely that whatever this is, it’s a predator. Something strong enough to carry cattle away, because no one has found any carcasses. And as Sven noted, it’s close enough to the Abyssal Plains that it could be anything.”
“And no one’s seen anything?” Yaric asked, reaching for the appeal slip.
“Nothing. There are reports of people hearing their livestock panic, but it’s all over by the time they get there. The attacks are always at night, and never leave any traces behind. Not even on the fences they scale,” Lloyd replied, handing over their slip.
“Maybe it can fly.”
“Possibly, but something that can fly away with cattle would be extremely large. They would leave some sign behind whenever they landed.”
“There really isn’t much to go on, is there?”
“No. And it’s far away, with the entire journey being overland. That’s why I’ve arranged for this,” Lloyd said, handing Yaric a second, smaller slip of paper.
“You four can take a staff if you like, but each of you will have a proper primary weapon and a backup. Full armor, shields, everything. Yaric, take your bow with you. You’ll have horses for the entire journey, so you’ll be able to take whatever you need. Just don’t lose the horses to whatever this is.”
“Surely Arch Wizard Phelps wouldn’t send us on something too dangerous,” Sven noted.
“No idea. But I certainly wouldn't have picked something like this for the four of you. An Apprentice maybe, but even then…”
“I bet they’re sending us because they already know what it is,” Yaric suggested. “They’re both Arch Wizards. They probably know we can handle this because they already know exactly what’s going on.”
“I hope so. Not even this will help you up there,” Lloyd said, holding out a rod. Yaric took it and inspected it carefully.
“From now on, I want you to keep that with you whenever you leave the campus grounds. It works exactly like the fireworks you used when you became Novices. Point it up when you use it, and it will send up three very bright signal flares. They hover in place for hours and make a rather annoying noise. I don’t know if you’ve covered consular decrees in Law yet, but this is effectively a visual and audible signal declaring such.”
“What is that?”
“In short, this gives you the authority to take command of any and all units in the area. Military and local. Any guards or soldiers who see this are required to come to your aid, with fairly extreme penalties if they fail to respond. It's a very big responsibility and shouldn't be used lightly. That said, don't hesitate if you are in any real danger.”
“I’ll have it on me,” Yaric replied.
“All right, that’s it. Finish your classes then go and collect your supplies and weapons. Swords, spears, whatever you need. You leave tomorrow.
"And good luck.”