“What do I do now?” Jeb asked.
The Dean gestured for Jeb to follow him out of the clearing.
“At this exact moment? I would recommend returning to your room and getting some rest. Gaining a new Class puts a lot of stress on the soul and body. In the morning, however, I would recommend that we meet to discuss your schedule for the term.”
“How can I find your office?”
The Dean chuckled. “I wish I had an easy answer to that question. For better and worse, the Academy has very little in the way of fixed geography.” Seeing Jeb’s confusion, Dean Aquam moved his hands as though consdering how far back he needed to go to explain. “Do you know why we have an Academy?”
“To teach Mages how to do Magic?” Jeb responded.
“The Republic also has the military and the Adventuring Corps. Both of them are places that Mages can learn Magic.”
Jeb thought about the question as they kept walking. “Both of those have other purposes, though,” he said. The Dean’s nodding made Jeb think that he was on the right track with his guess. “But the Academy’s only role is teaching Mages how to do Magic, so-”
“That is not true,” the Dean interjected, “and I can tell where that thought line was leading. Try again.”
Jeb considered what else the Academy could be for. “The Academy does research?” he hazarded.
“That is true, though not what I was trying to convey. The role of education in the military is producing Mages who can work in units to turn the tides of battles and wars. The Adventuring Corps work to make Mages that can survive alone and enter into unknown situations. How does the Academy seek to shape its Mages?”
“I don’t know,” Jeb replied honestly. “I’ve only been here for a few hours.”
The Dean nodded. “I had forgotten that you were unprepared for entering the Academy. Consider the question in the coming weeks, though. At the end of the term, I would like to discuss this again with you.”
The pair had just reached the Dormitory, and Dean Aquam turned to leave. “Wait,” Jeb said, trying to stop him, “why does the Academy have minimal fixed geography? More to the point, how will I find your office tomorrow morning?”
The Dean gave a sheepish grin. “I apologize, it has been a while since my last advisee. I will explain my comment about geography during our advising session tomorrow. To get to the session, go to breakfast, and I will find you there.”
“How do I get to breakfast?”
“The doorways from the Dormitory should lead there in the morning!” the Dean said, walking away.
Jeb shrugged. If he couldn’t find his way to breakfast on his own, he was sure that there would be someone he could ask for help. Back in his room, he carefully put his lute away in its case before crawling into bed. He fell asleep almost as soon as he did.
While Jeb slept, he dreamed. He felt as though he were back in the void of his Class selection, though this time his body had come with him. He felt as though the star for Wizard had caught him. Without being able to resist, Jeb was dragged towards it until he saw planets orbiting around the star.
For whatever reason, the pull shifted, and Jeb found himself being taken towards the planet second from the star. He had a brief glimpse of the first planet as he descended. It seemed somehow unfulfilled, though he could not articulate to himself what that meant or what was wrong with it. Somehow, he took control of his descent and stopped, giving himself more time to look at the first planet.
At a first glance, the planet had somehow been formed entirely out of Mud. With the extra time that Jeb had to study, though, he saw that his initial glimpse was partially wrong. The planet was not made of Mud. Instead, it was made of words which were Mud. How Jeb could tell that, he was not entirely sure.
Even as Jeb saw that the planet had been initially made of those words, he could see the ways that was no longer true. The first difference he saw was that not every word was Mud. There were words of Earth and Water that were somewhat difficult to see, simply because of how interwoven they were with the Mud. Words of Fire, Air, and Sand, though were far easier to spot, as they clearly were grafted on after the planet had been formed.
Jeb willed himself to move towards the first planet. To his surprise, the pull that had dragged him towards the second planet shifted, now pulling him towards the first planet orbiting the star. As he drew nearer to the planet, he saw pillars jutting up from the surface. Some seemed to rise without damaging the foundation, while others sent deep fissures through the ground.
As he looked more deeply, Jeb was able to name some of the pillars that rose without damaging the ground. Great towers of Metal, Glass, and Wood rose, at times almost seeming to reinforce the ground beneath. A spire that seemed made of Music was strange. Looking, Jeb saw cracks in the planet originating from the same space as the spire. He had the feeling that the cracks were not from the spire itself, though.
As he kept staring at it, Jeb saw another spire phase in and out, as though it were only partially bound to reality. If the solid spire had been Music, the hazy one was Music made manifest. The pull which kept him to the planet started fading, and he was again pulled to the second planet. Jeb focused as hard as he could on remaining, but could not keep himself bound.
As he neared the second planet, Jeb had the feeling that it was somehow fundamentally different than the first. Where the first planet had seemed normal, if somewhat broken, this planet seemed as though it were still deciding whether it wanted to exist. The pull towards the surface got weaker as he neared it. When Jeb was just a few inches above the ground, it gave out entirely.
Hanging in the air above the planet, Jeb wondered if he was supposed to be taking a lesson from the dream. Just as he had decided that it was just exhaustion speaking, he heard a voice.
“I see that you remain interesting.”
Jeb looked around, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Each sound seemed to come from a different direction, though, making his search feel impossible. Still, as Jeb spun around, he slowly realized that there was a breeze gently blowing something together.
He stopped spinning, focusing on the spot that the wind seemed to be condensing around. “Normally it takes someone decades to find me again,” the voice said. “I do like what you’ve created here, though.”
Jeb suddenly remembered one of his previous dreams. “Are you Magic?”
The wind condensed into a tree. The bark of the tree smiled at Jeb. “So you sought me out on purpose this time.”
“No? I don’t think, at least?”
The cat in front of Jeb’s smile fell. “Do you know where you are?”
Jeb took a moment before responding. “It seems like I’m on something representing my Class?” he guessed.
“Hmm,” the wind called around him, “that is not entirely correct.”
“On the other hand,” the earth called, “it is not entirely wrong either.”
“Is it correct enough?” Jeb asked.
Magic seemed to settle into a single shape when he asked the question. A kindly bear stared at Jeb, face deadly serious. “That question means far more than you realize.”
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The two stared at each other for a moment, before the bear broke into a laugh. “I cannot tell you,” it said, “it is up to you to figure out the answer to that question yourself.” Its voice slowly faded as it spoke. As its voice faded, so did the presence of Magic around Jeb.
When he felt the presence leave entirely, Jeb looked around the planet that he was beginning to decide reflected his current Class. Before he could explore, though, he felt the same unstoppable pull that had dragged him onto the planet start to drag him away. Unlike when he wanted to see the first planet, though, there was no resisting this pull.
He lifted higher and higher, moving faster and faster, until the planets faded into specks around a large star. Drawing further out, he saw the star fade into a single twinkling light in an endless ocean of lights. Jeb was pulled even further back, until all of the lights seemed to form into a single shape themselves.
The individual stars formed into a band of light that stretched across the sky. What am I seeing? Jeb wondered, even as the force continued to pull him back. The band of light slowly faded until it looked like a single star. Then, that too faded out of sight.
As Jeb floated in the void, he realized that he could no longer tell if he was being pulled or sitting completely motionless. With no light, he could hardly tell if he was moving his body at all. Jeb tried to pull a Glyph to mind, but nothing came.
He reached for his lute, but it ignored his grasp. Jeb stretched for the bees and their buzzing sounds. The void remained silence.
Jeb struggled to find a way to effect change in the space for what felt like years. Only when he finally gave up did he feel the void loosen its grip on him.
Jeb sat up in his bed, looking out the window to see the first early rays of dawn shining through the window.
“Well,” he said, addressing his lute, “I suppose the first question I need to answer is whether or not I tell the Dean about my dream.” He had the feeling that talking to Magic was not a commonplace occurence. Whether it would be in his best interest to let the Academy know that he had seen Magic was something Jeb considered.
“Not now,” he eventually decided, getting out of bed. “I can always tell them later, but I can never untell them.”
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Humdrum Human Age: 16 Class: Wizard Level: 2 Experience: 1365/202
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Total Statistic Load: 593 Physical Load: 223 Strength: 52 Dexterity: 53 Endurance: 54 Vitality: 55 Presence: 9
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Mental Load: 370 Intelligence: 73 Willpower: 80 Magic Affinity: 79 Mana Depth: 69 Charisma: 69
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Mana: 1755
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Glyph Attunement: 31 Least Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Water - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Water (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Destroy Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Mud (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Earth Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana - Efficient (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Air Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Fire Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Sand Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Least Create Sand (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Attune Sand Mana - Efficient (Modified) Tier 2 Spell
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Bard Songs Known: 1 Lute Enforcement
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Skills: Meditation Gift of Gab Identify Soil Savvy Animal Handling Fertilizing Lute Playing Singing Musician Pollination Brewing Distilling Smithing Wood Identification Woodworking Soil Improvement Glassblowing Magic
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic Glyph Specializer
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)