The next day the campus was taken by a somber mood from the faculty to the students all. Luckily there were no serious injuries from the attack on the library but the loss of the President put an entire pall on the situation. The office had been closed off to anyone since the very ashes there would be where the new phoenix would arise from and disturbing them could jeopardize the process. The whole thing just felt off, though.
An assembly was called in the gymnasium so that the student body could be addressed. Classes were canceled for the morning so that everyone could attend. Seeing the majority of the student body crammed into one place was a shock of its own. Several avian species like harpies and angels… even some demons crowded in the rafters… watching down like birds of prey waiting to strike. A large tank took up part of the west end of the hall so that the aquatic species could attend comfortably as well. Add to that the sheer variety of species on display among the gathered girls, from the tiny pixies and sprites to the hulking cyclopses and giants made the whole scene look like something from a demented fever dream.
After a time quiet was called for across the room… the gathering seemed to be consumed in their conversations to realize. After a short time a mature-looking elf woman stepped forward, clad in green and gold flowing robes she clapped her hands together. The sound reverberated through the room so loud it shook the windows in the frames, threatening to break them. The woman smiled softly as the eyes of the room were drawn to her… she flashed her fingers in the air, sending sparks and colors shooting out from her hands.
“Please pay attention for an announcement.” She left the stage as quickly as she appeared being replaced by a woman dressed in a smart business suit. Every crease and seam was just perfect from her polished shoes to the writhing snakes coming from her head.
“Thank you, Lorna… efficient as always.” The gorgon spoke into a microphone at the front of the gym. Her voice was soft but demanding, there was a hint that she did not deal with frivolity lightly. “As many of you know I am Vice President Ruska Glimmerclaw. I have had the pleasure of speaking with many of you during my tenure here and some I have yet to meet.”
Was it Dana’s imagination or did she look directly at him with that last statement? Suddenly, and not for the first time, he was happy to learn that the myths and legends were at least somewhat exaggerated since he did not find him turning to stone under the intense gaze of the gorgon.
“I like to think of us here at Spiritwood to be not unlike a family.” She continued leaving him to wonder. “Similar to families we don’t always see eye to eye on everything but when it comes down to it that bond connects us on a deeper level. Yesterday, somewhere between two and three in the afternoon our family here lost its head. The President, Eterna Revi, immolated in her office. Thankfully being a phoenix this is not an uncommon occurrence and soon enough she will return to us as a new person, with a new life.”
She paused, letting the news reach the few of the students who their friends or message boards had not already told. “As such I will be stepping into the position of President starting immediately at least until the board decides to announce a permanent replacement.”
“That said, there are going to be some changes moving forward. I believe we have become lax in our more traditional values over the years. The shine of modernity and technology are all fine and good but they are also taking us away from our roots. I hope to foster a better balance of new and old going forward. What this means for you as individuals will become clear over the next few weeks as we work together for a brighter future for our beloved institution.”
The assembly continued with more standard announcements. Upcoming holiday breaks and the drama club looking for new members. Sign-ups for various sports and clubs were also spoken of before the assembly was left free for the remainder of the day.
* * *
On his way out of the gymnasium, Dana found Meira waiting. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed in his path.
“Not looking too bad for someone who was eating dirt most of yesterday, Wilde.” She grinned, pushing off the wall as she fell in step besides him.
“Well one thing boxing is always been good for is learning how to take a hit. At least I wasn’t completely clueless, though, right?” He looked at her sideways, hope in his eye. “Right?”
“Not completely… just mostly.” She admitted. “It will be quite some time before you can leave teaching and go off making your living as a sell-sword if that is your dream.”
“I told you, my only dream is to learn how to keep me and mine safe now that I am here. Whatever I need to do to accomplish that, I’ll get done.”
“Good… that’s why I’m here… Lorna, she heads up the college of magic for the university. She agreed to take a look and see if she can assess if you have any inherent magic we can make use of.” She grabbed his arm as they walked, steering him off towards the elven sector. “She’s over in Merlin Hall and since we have the rest of today free…”
“I think I remember my nana saying we had magic in our family before she passed. Though mom always dismissed that kind of talk as nonsense.” The crossed the way to the magic department building and made their way to the department head’s office. Dana wasn’t the least but surprised to find it was the same Lorna who had quieted the assembly earlier. She turned as they entered, her eyes shining with mischief.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Meira… is this him? Your new human?” She walked up to him in a swoop of her robes, looking over his face from a variety of angles. “Your last one was prettier…”
“AUNTIE!!!” Meira practically screamed, her face turning six shades of red. “He’s… Dana is just a friend. You promised you would behave!”
“I’m old dear… I have to take my entertainment where I can find it.” She laughed quietly to herself. “And you make such an easy target, right lover-boy?” She elbowed Dana lightly in the ribs.
“This was a mistake…” Meira muttered under her breath.
“Nonsense girl… lets see just how this young man stacks up shall we? You can take your clothes off and leave them in the corner.”
Dana’s hands moved instinctively to his shirt buttons, opening the first one before Meira put her hand on his arm. “Will you please take this seriously Auntie Lorna?”
“Can’t blame a girl for trying…” She went to a cabinet behind her desk and pulled out a glass jar about the size of his head filled to the brim with a multitude of colored rocks of all shapes and sizes. She put the jar on the large desk dominating the space of the room and waved her hands over the mouth of it, chanting low in a rhythmic tone that Dana’s mind trying to grasp but just kept slipping out of reach. The stones in the jar began to glow, one at a time, then a few at a time before spreading to the entire contents.
“Okay, Mr Wilde… we have here a collection that has taken me the better part of a lifetime to gather. Each of these gems represents a magus of magic discipline I encountered in the world.” She carried the jar over to him, the glow fading from the stones inside. “I give them a little bump of magic and you place your hand inside… simple properties of like to like should tell us if you have any affinity for magic.”
“That’s it? Just stick my hand in the jar?”
“Would you prefer an epic quest to a faraway land to recover some rare ingredient? I am running dreadfully low on ifrit tears if you want and we can try the jar as soon as you get back.”
“I think I’ll pass, thanks…” Dana balled his hand up and put it into the jar… waited a moment… but nothing seemed to happen. Lorna shook the jar lightly, trying to jostle any movement that might happen but there was nothing. Feeling more than a little disappointed he withdrew his hand… one or two of the stones came away with him but they fell back into the jar almost immediately.
“Sorry to tell you this, Mr. Wilde…” Lorna started. “It doesn’t look like you have any significant affinities… a few very low ones that might afford you some party tricks in time but nothing like I think you were hoping for.”
“Well, it was a long shot to begin with I suppose.” Dana let out a breath, forcing a smile onto his face. “I guess I’ll just have to learn things the hard way… nothing new there.”
Meira rested a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, and Lorna even came in to give him a warm hug. “There there… magic doesn’t define what we can be… its just another path forward.” He smiled at her words, with or without magic he knew he would figure a way so that his students could rely on him. It was then he heard a small clink sound… then another. At first he looked to the windows of the office, thinking perhaps it had started to rain but more and more of the soft sounds happened.
“Now that is very interesting…” Lorna let go of the hug and was staring at the jar in her hands… several dozen of the stones quivered and shook against the glass, straining to be free of the enclosure… just as many, if not more were jammed against the opposite side of the jar as if trying to get as far away as they could from him. “Maybe we were too hasty in not having him take his clothes off…” She moved the jar in front of his chest and the reaction seemed to get stronger but as she moved the jar away the stones fell back… inert. She moved the jar again up and bumped it against his chest, the glass making a soft chime as it hit the scarab around his neck.
“I think you best start talking here, Wilde… what is that?”
Dana took the time to show them both the scarab, along with how he came about finding it in some deep tunnel below his building back home in the human world. The two elven women examined the scarab from every possible angle but coming up with nothing.
“Whatever this thing is… its very old… even older than me.” Lorna said handing the necklace back to him. “And very powerful… at least potentially… unlocking it might be difficult without knowing what it is exactly.”
“Scarabs are big symbols in Egyptology… it might be worth asking over at the pyramid if anyone knows anything about it.”
“Might be worth looking into next time I get out all that way.” Dana took back the scarab, slipping it back over his neck.
* * *
After bidding the elves farewell for the night Dana wandered aimlessly for awhile staring at the scarab. Had Lucy known what she brought him to all those years ago when she helped uncover the stone? Did she suspect what they had discovered in those dark cramped caves? He stopped by his classroom on his way back to the hotel and to his shock found it not to be empty.
Long after everyone had gone home for the day one of the girls still sat calmly at her desk. He recalled her name as Kasa… some kind of shadow creature as he recalled but she had always been a little reticent to share too much about her home life.
“Kasa?”
The girl jumped… letting out a little gasp… she was dark skinned… almost the color of charcoal. Two black horns twisted out of her skull above her head as her dark hair cascaded down her back. She dressed in an all black school uniform that had a small pair of wings and a tail coming out the back.
“Sir?” She stood up, almost shaking as she looked up at him. “I didn’t know anyone would be here this late.”
“Its fine, Kasa, were you waiting for me? Do you need me for anything?”
“Oh… oh no sir… I just was waiting a little before I head home.” She got to her feet, shuffling her way towards the exit. “I’ll just head home now.”
“You don’t have to rush off, if you need to use the room feel free.”
“Thank you, sir..” *A small smile crossed her face as she sat back down in her seat, sitting still once more. Dana stood there a moment, unsure. He could tell something was going on with the girl but he didn’t know how to reach her. Suddenly, he really wished there was another year or two telling him how he was supposed to be a professor that he could just read up on and get the answers.
Instead, he left Kasa to her thoughts and returned to the Exalted for the night. Climbing up to his room and sitting on his bed he looked at the scarab once more before putting it on the nightstand. He pulled out the college handbook and turned to where he was reading through it.