The very next day the changes being made by the new president started becoming more clear. Leaflets were posted around the campus with an amended set of rules. They included stricter curfews, no more visits from the boys in the town on campus without a written pass, and even the locking of the main gate during certain hour. Many students were already griping about the increased security. The coming weekend was a three day holiday celebrating the creation of the first vampire and many of the girls had plans. As Dana learned, that was not so simple, since there was much debate as to whom the first was ranging from Judas, Vlad Tepesh, Lady Bathory or even more real world examples like Jure Grando, Mercy Brown or even Eddimu of Messoptamia.
According to Jett at first they had holidays celebrating each and every potential forebear of their race but it got to the point where every weekend was a holiday… this had led the vampires to near a century of revelry and violence that only ended once the humans actively began hunting them and whittling down their numbers. Now, they just combined all the various holidays into this weekends Progenitors Day.
As he was heading towards his class for the day, passing the eastern style buildings on his way to the core area of the campus there was a loud flapping of wings. At first he looked around in a panic, thinking perhaps the dragon from the other day had returned but there was no need. As the huge body of a lion alighted on the green before him, wings slowing down their flapping as the sphinx landed.
“Temara…” Dana smiled a greeting to the woman. “What brings you out to this end of the school.” Temara was the schools vice president of Secrets and Histories… a title he hadn’t been familiar with until meeting Spiritwood’s faculty.
“Part of Ruska’s reorganizing… she wants the officers to take a more visible role among the students. I miss the days all I had to do was sit in a lovely sun-beam all day waiting for someone to come to get a riddle from me.” She smiled, a little wistfully at the memory. “Though I don’t see many Oedipus’s these days… if they can’t find the answer on their phones the students barely seem to care.”
“Well don’t be too hard on them… there is a cleverness there that just needs a little encouragement to draw out of them.”
“Maybe you’re right human… they just need the right impetus to achieve greatness.” She looked distant a moment, as if pondering something. “Anyway the President wishes to see you in her office and by her attitude I doubt its any good news.”
“Perfect… I’ll head over that way before class.” Dana changed his path towards the administrator’s building but paused. “Oh… while I have you here, Temara… I don’t suppose you can tell me anything about this?”
He pulled the scarab necklace out of his shirt and held it out to her. She took it in her large paw, surprising him with just how gentle she could be with the massive appendage. She looked it over, turning it over in the light a few times.
“I can’t be sure little human…” She said handing it back. “I think it might even predate my people and by quite some time. An emerald this size in Egypt would be something of note especially with how far before they were mined this appears. The web design doesn’t seem to fit with it either… scarab beetles aren’t known for their webs normally so the best I can guess is its more symbolic than anything. I shall look into this mystery… It will do well to engage my attention for a time.”
“Thanks Temara.” He reached up and gave her a back a little scratch, her body leaning into it almost instantly. The more time he spent around her the less he believed that the sphinx was part lion since she acted more like a house-cat most times. As she flew off, headed back to the northwest he continued his trip to meet up with the president.
* * *
The Admin building, Pallas Hall, was a very different beast during the day. Pages and messengers ran all about the place dealing with a variety of day to day paperwork. Dana walked down the end of the long hall to the now charred doors that once were the President’s office. The wood was blackened and singed, even the name plate had melted and deformed from the fire. He reached out to touch the door and quickly withdrew his hand as a shock went through his hand as a large arcane symbol flashed over the door.
He returned back the way he came to a different office not far away. The sign out front, which had read until recently Ruska Glimmerclaw Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs; Provost had a piece of lined loose leaf paper strangely taped over it that now declared her President. He shook his head slowly as he knocked and headed inside.
She was waiting patiently inside, poring over some immense text spread out on her desk. She was dressed as impeccably as ever, every inch the professional woman until the snakes coming out of her head started hissing at you.
“Ah, the famed Professor Wilde… I am sorry it has taken me this long to welcome you to our little school personally.” She closed the book, it had a menacing vibe to it with a dark black leather cover and gold inlays. It was also nearly a foot tall as it sat on her desk and the writer in him wondered how much the per word rate was to publish it. “First weeks of school are always chaos and with recent events it doesn’t look like that is going to be changing any time soon.”
“Yes… I suppose commiserations and congratulations are both in order for you this week.”
“Yes… tragic what happened. I knew I would be President of this school eventually but truthfully I would have preferred it under different circumstances. Eterna and I may have butted heads on several issues but she was a capable woman.”
Dana could see the sincerity in the woman’s eyes. There was a genuine respect there for the former president. Perhaps things were not the simple power grab he had at first taken the situation to be.
“I’m sorry I did not have more time to get to know her better… though I suppose I will get another chance after a fashion. It is thanks to her I even have this amazing opportunity to teach here.”
“That is actually what I have called you here to discuss… obviously your hiring here was an error. One I am loathe to admit was my responsibility.” She moved across the room like the snakes she wore on her head, slithering with every step closer. “And I am to correct that mistake now. I was only barely convinced by the former President to allow a human within these walls, there is no way a man should be here. There is nothing I can do about your appointment here as is but know this, at the conclusion of this term your services will no longer be required at this school.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Wh.. Wait, am I being fired?”
“Technically no… were you fired I could have you escorted from the grounds immediately. We simply will not be renewing your contract come the end of the semester.” Her cold gaze was lacking any emotion as she stared him down.
“I don’t see how my gender affects my ability to do my job here, Madam President. It has been quite a long time since any strict segregation has been present in schools.” He straightened up, squaring his shoulders as he tried to project confidence. “I understand things changing can be difficult to embrace but with all due respect I believe you are making a mistake.”
“You are correct, Mr Wilde… change is difficult. Tell me, you purport yourself something of an expert on our exotic personage her… what do you know of my people?”
“Sadly, very little. Three of six sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa were said to live in the west… near an entrance to the underworld. Medusa was mortal while the others were not and their gaze turned anyone who saw them to stone. Medusa was slain by Perseus using a bronze shield not to look at her directly during the confrontation. Not much is said of the other sisters past that.”
“So little more than you could find in a Harryhausen feature? Snakes in legend were considered symbols of wisdom… life, death and rebirth. Even featuring on the Rod of Asclepius a symbol of healing. The gorgons of antiquity had a certain grudging respect with the world.”
She strode back into her office, absently shuffling some papers as she spoke. “Then one day along came this little religion. They had stories of their own that decided snakes were deceitful… creatures not to be trusted. Most paid no attention to it, after all what could upturn literal centuries of oral and written history… but things changed. The sisters were portrayed as monsters more and more… not having the ability to turn people to stone but instead no matter what it happened without their control. Perseus… a murderer who sought to attack an unarmed woman in her sleep was depicted as a hero. Suddenly the gorgons were cursed to their fate, either for arrogance or for standing by their family. You will forgive me if a human telling me to embrace change rings a little hollow.”
“I understand where you could see that… but let me tell you this. Modernity is changing things even now. Medusa is seen to some as a prototypical mother figure, more and more people are discovering the old tales are not as black and white as some would have you believe.” He turned around, ready to leave… his hand shaking at the thought of losing what he found her before it even truly began. “I judge people I have met on this island not by the stories someone told centuries ago but by what they show me now is in their hearts. Perhaps if you wish to aid the perception of your species you might also learn to judge from a place of wisdom instead of misplaced prejudices. Now if you will excuse me, at least for the next few weeks I still have a class to teach.”
With that said, he opened the door and left. He struggled to bring his ire back under control as he walked to class.
* * *
Class went fairly typically… reviewing a story the class had read that showed some of the worst and best humanity had to offer. The quick to judge prejudice against outsiders contrasted with the perseverance of hope and even how even among the worst in humanity there are some who can fight for justice.
“Nothing good can come from the mindset of us and them.” HE wrapped up as the bell ending the day approached. “That separation automatically pushes the two different groups even farther apart. That us mentality can be incredibly close knit as well… the groups could be humans and non humans… people of different countries… religion or political affiliations… your family… perhaps even some of your family doesn’t get along so its just you and your significant other…that thought process shrinks and diminishes us.”
“Conversely, us can be big… we can make us be everyone on this planet. Everyone, everywhere even those we haven’t discovered yet. Inclusion does not mean you need to get along… you can disagree with everything a person stands for and still stop to help if they need. But by bringing them into your sense of us there is a tie there that builds rather than breaks. Make your sense of us as big as you can.”
The bell rang, dismissing the students. “Okay, all of you have a great holiday weekend… I will see you back here afterwards bright and early. No homework so enjoy yourselves but don’t overdo it. Yrsette, could I speak to you before you go please?”
The students filed out, some waving or wishing him a good weekend. Jett blew him a kiss and flashed her fangs at him on the way out the door. HE rolled his eyes and laughed it off. Yrsette came up to his desk, looking nervous, as if she were in trouble. Her flame red hair and little horns gave her a slightly alien look. Though at a closer inspection you could see her eyes were more reptilian, and her skin was really made of a finely meshed set of scales belying her nature as a dragon.
“Thanks for staying after Yrsette… I just had some questions I wanted to ask you… you heard about the dragon that attacked the students a few days ago?”
“Yes, Mr. Wilde… though from what I heard she didn’t attack any students exactly… she seemed to be attacking the library itself… the injuries were not intentional.”
“She?” Dana raised an eyebrow. “Any reason you believe the dragon was female?”
“Just from the descriptions I got from Jett and Bria… its a guess obviously since they don’t know what to look for but I’m pretty sure it was a girl.”
“Okay, so assuming you are right, why would a dragon attack a building?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” A voice came from the hall as Meira walked into the room. “To distract people from what was going on with Eterna. It drew everyone’s attention away from the administrative building so they could get to her.”
“Possible…” Yrsette said slowly. “More likely the dragon was after something in the library… maybe a book or item it wanted? I don’t think she had anything to do with what happened to President Reva.”
“What makes you even think the two incidents are related, Meira… or even that there might have been foul play involved with the President?”
“The timing is too perfect… two huge incidents at once… I can’t believe it is mere coincidence… and Eterna was getting older, sure but she wasn’t ready to be reborn. Even if she was there is no way she would start the process in her office of all places… no, someone forced her. They either injured her or used magic but I don’t think this was her choice.”
“But the dragon seemed to go out of its way to avoid hurting people during the attack… she could have used her breath at any time if she wanted to.”
“That’s partially true, Yrsette… the dragon did chase after me… that was not it playing a game, it wanted blood.”
“She, Mr. Wilde…” Yrsette stared at him, her eyes flowing with too many emotions for him to process. “Not it. You said yourself that demeaning someone and taking away their person hood was wrong. Or does the whole us speech you just made not apply here?”
Dana stared at the girl like she has slapped him. “I’m sorry Yrsettte… you are right. Understanding the motivation behind what the dragon did is key. If she was a distraction then she might know something that can help. Thank you for reminding me of that.”
“Its okay…” The girl beamed, toothy grin showing rows of teeth a little too sharp to pass as human. “Nobody’s perfect… but trying counts for a lot.” With a small spring in her step the girl grabbed her books and headed for the door.
“Smart kid.” Meira said once she had gone.
“They all are…” Dana dropped his head, a hint of sadness in his voice.
“I heard about your meeting with Ruska… we won’t let her get rid of you without a fight. You may be new but you have friends here.” She put her hand over his on the desk… knowing her had her in his corner at least was a relief.
“Yeah… I’ll just have to convince her she made the wrong decision before she can get rid of me for good.”