The next day the students started attending classes. They would meet with their individual grammarian in the morning for a lecture on philosophy. Cleo and Gaius, having studied the subject before with their private tutors, were slightly bored. But Maddie listened attentively, struggling to memorize concepts she had never heard about before. In her small town morality and philosophy were things you came to understand intuitively. You didn't give them names. Corentin talked about Plato, Epicureus, and other Greek and Roman philosophers. After class one day Maddie confided in Cleo that she wasn't sure she would remember it all. Cleo assured her that she and Gaius would help.

After Philosophy was Natural Sciences. Here Maddie had the advantage. She had at least a basic understanding of plants and animals. Her urban-born friends had seen very little in thev way of real nature and Gaius in particular struggled.

"I'm always going to live in a city," he complained, "why do I have to know about what plant does what? Half of these things don't even grow in Britain!"

"Nature is one of the basics of the Druidic school of magic," Cleo pointed out, "You'll never advance in your other classes if you don't do well in this one. If you wanted to learn only magic usable in cities, you should have gone to school in Rome!"

"As if you do any better," he scoffed.

"At least I apply myself!"

Their arguing always made Maddie a little anxious. "Don't worry, I'll help you. Just like you help me in Lore and Philosophy. And Poetry."

Cleo immediately softened, as she always did when Maddie spoke up. Gaius continued to huff and puff as Cleo put her arm around Maddie.

Astronomy fascinated them all. As did Elementary Magic.

Elementary Magic was taught as the last class of the day, except for Astronomy class, which frequently met at night. When asked why, Corentin replied, "Because you're all here to learn Magic. If you had it in the morning, well, why would you want to attend any other classes?"

Gaius emphatically agreed with this point.

Corentin taught them magic. Taught them how to understand the energies of the world. They began class frequently with an exercise Corentin called "meditation." It was a staple of the magic done in the South-Eastern kingdoms, the Mogul Kingdoms in particular. They used this technique to feel the energy of the world around them. 

"Before you can manipulate reality, you must understand it. You must learn to reach deeply into the fabric of the world. You must be able to feel the energies that pervade the world."

Unfortunately, while the idea of meditation was interesting, it was, as they say, a lot harder than it looked. Sitting quietly for a quarter of an hour was beyond the abilities of most children. Corentin never scolded them. He simply told them to return to their meditation whenever the whispering or giggling started.

Spring turned into summer and most classes were being taught outside. The landscape of the school was very varied. A forest, seemingly ancient, surrounded the school. Closer to the buildings forest turned into lawns. This was where most classes were taught, excepting Natural Science, which frequently involved long walks through the woods. The amount of animals on the island was amazing. Almost anything that could be found in a Breton forest could be found on Ys. Their Natural Studies instructor taught the students the uses for each plant, moss, and fungus. Leaves and stems often had different functions. Gaius continued to complain,  but he did his best to memorize it all.

Animals were also an important part of the curriculum. They covered not only anatomy, but how to catch, clean, butcher, and cook the local fauna. Usually they cooked it alongside the local flora. This was nothing new to Maddie. She was quite at home in the kitchen and was an accomplished chef, despite her young age.

It was a few weeks into the school year and the comrades were lounging on one of the lawns behind the school. Elementary Magic had ended a while ago and the three were enjoying the afternoon sun. They chatted about many things, their favorite and least favorite classes, their lives before coming to the Academy, and made plans to study together later. Of course the sunny day made such plans precarious at best. It was then that Cleo told them her least favorite thing about life at the Academy. All knowledhe had to be memorized.

"What I wouldn't give for a few sheets of parchment and a charcoal," she sighed.

The Druids had a strict prohibition about writing things down. "They don't even have a library! What kind of institution of learning doesn't have a library?"

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No one really kknew what the penalty  was for taking notes. But it had been drilled into them from the first day of class. Cleo had started writing in the air with her hand and Corentin -- sweet jovial Corentin -- had slapped her hand with a stick. "The sooner you break that habit the better," he snapped. Cleo confided secretly to her friends that she often imagined writing the words in her head because it helped her remember.

Even worse would be to write things down away from the school. The Druids had occasionally hunted people down for that, or so the stories said. They guarded their knowledge jealously, and they had a lot of it. On the subjects on which they centered they had more knowledge than any other place, even the great library at Alexandria. This hoarding of knowledge ran counter to what Cleo knew. Alexandria gave -- and took -- knowledge freely.

In the absence of a library, the students had to find areas in which to spend time. The central area of the main hall was off limits to students unless there was an event going on. The main hall corridors were for walking, or more often running, only. Teachers and students could be seen dashing to and fro. Usually it was upperclassmen, the Bards with their blue sashes and the warriors with their red sashes. Teachers wore robes of the same color, depending on their roles.

The astronomy tower was open during the day, but also open to the sky. Spending time in the dormitories during the day was frowned upon.

They eventually settled on the greenhouse. The verdant bounty made Maddie feel more at home and fascinated Cleo. Gaius complained about the smell -- that many different types of plants caused the air to have a tinge of rotten greenery to it -- but he soon got used to it. The group chose a secluded spot in the middle of the sprawling structure but also off to the side. They were mostly hidden from view, though they saw an occasional acolyte or druid carefully taking care of the plants.

It was there that their most intimate conversations took place. And while they talked about their lives and families and made fun of the teachers, they most often talked about one subject that, ironically, first-year students were discouraged from. They talked about magic.

Each one of them had an aptitude for magic and a willingness to learn. Those were the main prerequisites for entry into the Academy. Each student had been examined and tested by specialized emissaries whose sole job was to test students. They used a combination of divination, appraisal magic, and magical tests to determine each student's fitness and sometimes their magical affinity. Most mages had an affinity for one type of magic, most often elemental. Most elemental mages also specialized in one specific element. Gaius had shown an aptitude for fire and earth magic, while Cleo had shown an aptitude for water and some form of non-elemental magic. Maddie’s affinity was just expressed as “Unknown.”

“That could mean a lot of things,” Cleo told her. “I read that the more difficult it is to judge someone's talent, the more powerful it is.”

“Oh. The examiner didn't tell me that. He made it sound like a barely passed the examination. That I barely qualified to be enrolled.”

Cleo thought about that. “Is that why you're so unsure of yourself? You don't feel like you should be here?”

The assessment was spot-on, but it still stung a little to hear someone say it out loud. Cleo’s eyes seemed to bore into Maddie’s soul. She was clearly looking for confirmation from her friend. Her blunt questions and matter-of-fact way of talking could be off-putting, even to her friends.

“I...I guess so. I've also never been to such a big place before. There's so many people. It's scary!”

“I forgot you were from such a small town. Gaius and I both come from such big cities that I guess I don't realize how different other places can be.”

She leaned back, thoughtful. “Alexandria is one of the biggest cities there is, almost as big as Rome. There are thousands upon thousands of people in the streets. There are hundreds of people at the Library, where I used to go almost every day. I mean, I've read about a lot of places but I suppose I forget that they actually exist.”

Maddie had an insight of her own. “You used to go to the Library every day? No wonder you have a hard time living without books!”

“It's true. I've read books on almost every subject. I've written a few precis that have made their way into the Library. I even tried to read up on some of the things I knew the school would teach. It helped a lot, but the amount of knowledge here surpasses even what I could find in the Great Library of Alexandria! The Druids have a grasp of anatomy and herbology that is unmatched.

“I suppose I feel in a way that books have let me down. That the Library has let me down. How could these people who are so much less advanced than us have so much more knowledge? Knowledge that they refuse to share. Knowledge that I can't even give to the Library on pain of death! How...how can I even know something if I can't share it. The Library has been my whole life, and now I'm betraying it in such a way! Sometimes I feel like a terrible person. I've gone against everything I stand for. That I stood for, at least.

“I...I thought it would be different. That I could share this knowledge somehow. I knew it was against the rules, but I thought I could make it alright. I should have just gone to school at home, or at least in Rome. You're required to memorize things no matter what school you go to, but they won't kill you over it.”

Maddie just stared at her in shock. Even Gaius’s mouth was agape at Cleo’s tirade. She looked at them, suddenly sheepish. Maddie tentatively put her arm around Cleo’s shoulder and gave her a hug.

“You can't be a traitor to your way of life. Not if you still believe in it. Besides, maybe one day you'll use this knowledge, or teach it to someone, and they'll write it down. The Druids can't hurt you if that happens. At least, I don't think they can.”

Cleo smiled at her friend's attempt to help, and hugged her back tightly. Cleo wiped the tears from her eyes. “Thank you. You've helped me a lot. Okay, I resolve to learn everything I can and spread it as far and wide as possible. Even without being able to write it down! My goal is already to become the best scholar the world has ever seen.”