Days later, it was finally time for the Evaluations. The 1st Year Pupils had it first and the order of passing among them was decided by lottery. Despite knowing in advance when they were supposed to present themselves, the hallway in front of the Main Auditorium was crowded with Pupils who’d shown up before their time. Isyd wasn’t sure why they did that. Naeht had posited that they felt less anxious and alone when surrounded by everyone else.

“Isyd Wybrany!” a voice called.

Eyes turned in his direction as he got up and walked toward the doors of the auditorium. The whispers that followed him were barely concealed. There was not one Pupil of the 1st Year who hadn’t heard about the famous Isyd Wybrany, the Pupil Blessed by the Grace. Though he didn’t enjoy the attention, Isyd could say he’d gotten used to it and learned to ignore it.

He entered the auditorium with a confident step. It wasn’t a class he’d ever been to. The room was large, probably able to fit all the Pupils of the Academy. The seats were a burgundy sea that fanned from the dais, a mahogany platform lit from above by floating [Lightspheres]. Upon invitation, Isyd stepped on the podium and stood in front of the singular blackboard present.

The Principal Tutors were all seated in the front rows, clad in their traditional attire, even the Tutors whose courses Isyd didn’t have. For many classes, the Principal Tutors weren’t the ones actually teaching and preferred delegating it to their assistant Tutors – like Tekla Dumnchory did for Hidrss in the Atelier. It was certainly the case for most classes of the 1st Year, the only exception being Tutor Milwyk who preferred to watch over its 1st Year Pupils personally. Isyd noticed other people attending who didn’t seem to be part of the Academy since they didn’t wear the uniform. As a dozen, they sat further in the back and apart from the Tutors and their assistants. Isyd hadn’t expected an audience and didn’t know that the Evaluations were open to strangers. Though “strangers” was maybe too much of a strong word… There was something familiar with some of them. Unable to put the finger on it, Isyd eventually dismissed them from his mind and focused back on the Tutors.

He recognized a few faces in their midst, mainly Ardyn Milwyk, Tutor of the Applications of the Arts, with his half-moon glasses and white, long hair as well as Dana Tchepwa, Tutor of the Healing Arts, with her red hair stricken with silver. Isyd also met the youthful face of Dmitri Ivanovitch Hidrss, Tutor of the Arcanic Arts, who winked at him. The young man was fidgeting with something and looked a bit uncomfortable in his uniform. The other familiar face wasn’t one Isyd had expected to see in the Academy. Kazian of the Winds, one of the 12 Holy Generals in Isyd’s previous life, had become a Tutor for the new semester. Isyd wasn’t sure what to do with this information if anything had to be done at all. Finally, next to Kazian, seated on the centre seat was the Doyen of the Academy. His sharp blue eyes were intent on Isyd as he spoke.

“Introduce yourself, Young One!”

“Isyd Wybrany, 1st Year and 1st Opening.”

There was a wave of excited murmurs in the back of the auditorium. Isyd thought he heard the word “Blysht”.

He didn’t bother making sure, his attention was snatched by Naeht who was seated cross-legged in the air above the Doyen and giving him encouraging signs. He couldn’t help but smile at her.

“Young Isyd, we will now proceed to your Evaluations of the 1st semester at the Academy,” the Doyen declared with his strong voice. “You will be asked questions by the Tutors in their respective fields. If the question is unclear, you can ask us to clarify. If you cannot answer, say so and the Tutor may move on to another question. As you answer, no one will interrupt you for confirmation or correction. We may ask you additional questions after your answers. We move to the next course when the Tutor says they are satisfied. Is everything clear?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Tutor Al-Kwara, please proceed with your Evaluations.”

Isyd turned toward the Tutor in question. Jadwia had briefed Isyd on all the Tutors when she realized he had no idea who was any of the Principal Tutors he’d personally met. Musa Al-Kwara, Tutor of the Mathematics, was a tall, lanky man with olive skin and a bushy salt-and-pepper beard. He had a prominent nose and expressive, wiry hands. The Tutor cleared his throat and spoke up:

“State Al-Mutaman’s Theorem, Young Isyd.”

It was easy enough. “‘In a triangle, if three cevians – lines drawn from vertices to opposite sides – are concurrent, then the product of the ratios of the segments they divide is equal to 1’,” Isyd recited.

Tutor Al-Kwara nodded. “I am satisfied,” he declared.

Isyd was taken aback. Was that all? He had thought he would at least need to demonstrate it on the blackboard behind him. Being satisfied with one theorem while the course contained at least a dozen of them was odd.

The Doyen apparently didn’t agree with him because he continued as if nothing was amiss.

“Tutor Nowski, please proceed with your Evaluations,” he said.

Isyd turned his attention toward Lucjan Nowski, Tutor of the Natural Sciences. He was a bespectacled, middle-aged man with a pale skin, an average height and a stocky build.

“Young Isyd, tell me what is the echomas tinsel?”

“The echomas tinsel is a type of fungus found in the Black Forest. It is renowned for its voracity when it comes to Grace. It—”

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“It’s enough,” Tutor Nowski cut him. “I am satisfied.”

Isyd looked at him with barely concealed surprise. Why wouldn’t they let him continue his Evaluations? Isyd met Naeht’s eyes who was as surprised as him. Something was clearly afoot…

Isyd forced himself to relax and expended his senses, trying to hear the room more clearly. He only perceived the usual humming of the Song of the Grace and… the punctuated tone of the Doyen. His presence drowned the Song around him. Isyd met eyes with the Doyen. His face was expressionless, but suddenly a corner of his lips went up. It was as if he was aware of what Isyd was doing…

“Tutor Albinez, please proceed with your Evaluations,” the Doyen said.

Luz Albinez was the Tutor of History. She was a woman of petite stature, with almond-shaped eyes, a delicate oval face and dark, cascading hair.

“Young Isyd, please state the two calendars commonly used and the difference between them.”

“The Western Calendar also called the Aazken Calendar has it year 0 at the death of the Promised Yahosh. The Matiznan Calendar, mostly used in the Matiznan Empire and its surrounding territories, has its year 0 at the ascension on the throne of Tsar Ivan I, in the year 427 of the Western Calendar,” Isyd explained.

Tutor Albinez looked down at her paper and then briefly glanced at the Doyen. It had lasted a fraction of a second, but Isyd didn’t miss the flash of frustration on her face.

“I am satisfied,” she said with a sigh.

It became clear in Isyd’s mind. They are letting me pass the Evaluations… It had already been decided without issue even before he’d answered the first question. All of this was just theatre. And the Doyen was the one behind it all.

“Tutor DeVins, please proceed with your Evaluations.”

Isyd slowly turned toward Rem DeVins, the Tutor of Language and Rhetoric. He was a man of slender build with sharp facial features and a neatly trimmed beard that he stroked often when speaking.

“I am satisfied,” the Tutor said with his heavily accented voice.

Isyd was more surprised he didn’t even bother to pretend to ask him a question. Isyd’s attention was on the Doyen who was continuing as if nothing was amiss.

“Tutor Popwaski, please proceed with your Evaluations.”

The Tutor of Literature and Philosophy, Cyryl Popwaski, was a man of a lean build with a receding hairline and round spectacles that sat low on his long nose.

“Yes! Young Isyd, tell me who wrote the Essays of the Five Realms?”

“Pan Vladymr Srendesz,” Isyd said softly.

“I am satisfied!”

“Tutor Milwyk, please proceed with your Evaluations.”

“I am satisfied!” Tutor Milwyk said, smiling proudly at Isyd. Isyd didn’t return his smile.

The Doyen clapped his hands. “Then, this concludes the Evaluations! We thank Young Isyd for his work. Before we go to the deliberation, we will ask you to test your Openings.”

Isyd glanced to the side and saw the gigantic [Arcane] that had been used at the entrance examination. Three meters wide and consisting of seven concentric circles interlinked with curves that originated from the centre. The grooves of the [Arcane] had been filled with freywood resin that lit up after contacting Grace.

Isyd took his decision in the snap of a second.

He approached the [Arcane] and put his left hand on the cold stone to activate it. Immediately, the [Arcane] burst alight. The circles flared with white light, instantly flooding all the grooves until the fifth circle.

Isyd heard gasps and shouts of astonishment. He turned to see that some of the Tutors as well as the strangers in the back had jumped to their feet. Their eyes were wide and their mouth was left hanging as they pointed at him.

“3 Openings in one semester!” one shouted.

“That is insanity! That is…” another added.

“… never seen before…” someone over here said.

“… Blessed by the Grace…” was repeated several times across the auditorium.

Hidrss was laughing and shaking his head, clearly amused by Isyd’s display. Tutor Milwyk as well as others were watching him with a mix of awe and elation.

As for Isyd, his attention remained steadily on one person. The Doyen had remained seated and was holding his gaze, though even he couldn’t entirely hide his surprise.

You want to treat me differently? Let me give you a reason to do so…

For a brief instant, the Doyen’s eyes shone with what could only be described as lust. Slowly, he raised from his seat and clapped his hands to call for calm in the auditorium.

“This was… spectacular to say the least!” he said. “I suppose that there’s no need for further deliberation. Bursar, write it down: Young Isyd has proven great skill, success and talent in this past semester and promises for the upcoming one. I declare his tuition for the next semester to be of 0 coins!”

Once more, there were gasps in the audience. The Doyen was unperturbed. He didn’t even glance at the other Tutors to see if any of them wanted to dispute his decision. He then extended the paper handed to him by the Bursar, inviting Isyd.

“We will watch your future in the Academy with interest, Young Isyd…” the Doyen said softly as if only for Isyd to hear.

Isyd accepted the paper and nodded humbly, finally breaking eye contact. He had made his point and so did the Doyen.

Isyd left the auditorium by another door than the one he entered. The hallway was empty except for Naeht who was waiting for him with a wide smile.

“You should have told me you do that!” she exclaimed. “They were all flabbergasted!”

“It was a last-moment decision,” Isyd explained.

“You don’t seem happy with your results? You passed without a tuition! Isn’t that a reason to celebrate?”

“The Evaluations never were an issue. Instead, I think I have learned something valuable about the organization of the Academy…”

“Oh… please do tell!”

“I have to make sure of my intuition first,” Isyd said shaking his head. He turned to face her more fully. “Naeht, can I ask you to do something for me?”