Tansen waved goodbye as Eli left his office. When the boy was gone, he immediately pulled up his right sleeve. Towards the shoulder, attached to the long black leather sleeve, was a small glass globe, barely bigger than a bead, and inside was the soft blue glow of the mana it held. The grin on Tansen's face was almost feral.
The past few days had been a blur of mayhem, requisitions, and unrelenting nagging but through all of that was the mystery of Eli. More than once he had thought he was being crazy but that small voice of instinct goaded him on. While he attended to his regular duties he quietly did background checks on everyone who had been involved with Eli when he first came in.
The guards, the student manager who showed him around the academy, and the kiosk receptionist. A few had been taking bribes or caught up in affairs, but Tansen's goal was something far above these mundane evils. When the list of suspects rand dry as Kiosk receptionist turned up clean he had almost given up and when no one came forward to provide Eli with a legal defense leading him to rely on a public defender Tansen chided himself for his overblown fantasies of conspiracy.
After all, if Eli secretly had people backing him and he was a caster, either from a noble house or a rival academy, why had they left him to the wolves?
But this whole web around Eli now presented another source of interest. He knew who had bribed the judge and the court staff but what their true motivation was is another question in this haze of the unknown. All of this was very interesting but it was taking time, something academy heads had precious little of even on the best of days.
In order to finally put this nonsense to bed, he decided to test Eli. Once the possibility of him being a caster was discredited, he could move on to seeing what was behind this fiasco that had dragged one of his students through the mud and decide if it was a threat to any of the other students. But low and behold, the test had provided an upset and confirmed the conspiracy.
The black leather glove was an item used to test individuals elements discreetly. It was something of a specially made item from Tansen's personal armory for his more undercover staff members testing students claiming to be one element or another, so Eli couldn't have known what its true purpose was. Tansen only bothered learning the bare minimum needed to make the tool so his understanding of the principles at play was bare at best.
When testing a mages' elemental affinity, the device would force neutral ambient mana into their body. But when that mana was then sucked back into the device it was compressed against the skin of a magical monster. Mana takes on the elemental properties of the person when taken into the body, which really makes little difference to humans because they all have a magical affinity to all of the elements, most just not to any useful degree. Monsters' bodies, on the other hand, will block any non-neutral mana not aligned with their element. So If mana came out of a water mages body the thin piece of monster skin would block it if the monster wasn't a water-element monster, whereas a water nagas skin would let it pass through unchallenged.
With the soft glow of mana, the hunt was now officially on. Someone somewhere was playing a game to sabotage his academy or maybe Eli was a fugitive having committed a crime so heinous that living as a crafter was a preferable fate to receiving justice.
Tansen then got up and made his way to the chair Eli sat in. He began to muse on where his inquiries had failed as he popped open a wooden compartment on the bottom and pulled a device from beneath its seat. The chair was a special make that had the distinctive metal affinity testers, disks with four sharp ridges dividing it in four even quarters. But the tester Tansen was currently wiggling out of position had a wood bottom, as opposed to the more typical leather bottom, that would seamlessly fit with the bottom of the chair and check the sitters' affinity.
'Either way, it's kind of sad. Eli had seemed to be such a promising seed, if only as a crafter, and a good person but I guess he'll have to be handled by-' Tansen's thoughts were halted mid-stride.
The disk was as lifeless as any other piece of metal could be. He pulled up his sleeve again and sure enough the small globe still had mana in it. The small glow meant Eli had the water element as his mana was allowed through the skin of a naga inside the small tunnel in the glove.
Yet when he looked at the tester all he saw was pure nonsense as he turned it over and over again to make sure his eyes were working properly. He had spent so long looking at the lie in his hands that a knock at the door caused him to give a slight jump.
"WHAT?!" Tansen yelled.
"Sir, we have Veronicas' familiar-" A secretary squeaked behind the door, clearly not expecting the outburst.
"Yes, yes. Very good. I'll be right there" Tansen replied irritably as he put the tester back and put the glove into one of the drawers in his desk. He mused on the fact that he must be the first academy head in history to be more interested in a crafter student than his scion students' familiars.
When he had made himself decent, he made his way to the scions' houses. Along the way, his familiar, Gatra, came out of the sky. The blue bird had impossibly smooth feathers with a pitch-black beak. The tail end of a rat was showing out of its mouth that it quickly swallowed.
"Well mannered as always I see," Tansen said ruefully as he made his way across the lawn and stroked his familiars back. The bird cawed indignantly at first but its silver eyes eventually glazed over when the petting started.
Sure enough, when he got there several staff members were excitedly scurrying about. Once past the black metal gate, he went straight to Veronica's house. It had two floors and a faint whiff of the nautical in its light blues and smooth flowing woodwork. This one had two windows on each side of the house with panes of light blue glass. Coming onto the stone porch and inside the house in front of him was a dark oak staircase and two rooms to his right and left. The one to his right had sandy floorboards and walls painted with varying waves on it. The center of the room was a circular carpet of soft white with a long smooth green couch and two wooden chairs around it, both occupied by Rayn and Andrew.
At the center stood Veronica, giddily patting a seagull on her shoulder. Well at first glance one could be forgiven for assuming its species, but after looking at the sharp crown of feathers on its head, strong red eyes and wings with stripes of blue water mana running along them, such a misconception would be inexcusable.
"Finally, I was beginning to wonder if you were actually just a caster," Andrew said sitting in one of the wooden chairs while still wearing his student clothes. A barely two-foot-high monkey dipped and bounced on his shoulder. It had dark red fur like that of wine with several stripes of bright orange glowing with flecks of red fire mana on its forehead and its dark green eyes looked around in excitement
The blond just stuck her tongue out at him.
"Your just jealous because mine can fly" She shot back.
"Hey remember, none of that matters because I got mine first," Ryan said teasingly from the other chair. He wore a black-green shirt and pants, but in his lap was a stone elemental colored like dark marble. It had the arms and legs shaped like rough clubs and a middle section like a rough, elongated boulder. There were bits of crystal shimmering with brown earth mana strewn throughout its body. Next to him was his ever-present hammer, something that stuck to him like a child with its mother.
"Well now that we're all gathered here. Let's get on with the lecture. They are not magical animals but they do have a certain intelligence to them." At this Gatra got off his shoulder and landed on Veronicas' left shoulder opposite of her familiar. The two birds looked at each other and then started swatting each other's wings as they shuffled back and forth on their human post with Veronica giggling in excitement.
"But while they present numerous possibilities, they also present numerous challenges and responsibilities. Now that you all have your familiars we will go over proper cleaning techniques and feeding regiments." Tansen said as he moved closer to the group.
Over the next hour, Tansen went through various procedures and best practices. The three were positively giddy as they rubbed and scrubbed their new life long friends in wood tubs on the lawn. The sharp crack of flesh being hit sounded out as Andrew's face was left with a red palm print across the right cheek from his monkey slapping him as he tried to put the primate in the soapy water. The others maintained the sensitivity to quickly conceal their chuckles.
Even as Tansen went over the uses of spirit magic and other aspects, his mind was right back in his office even as he demonstrated with Gatra on his left shoulder. Then a question came to mind that demanded his attention and it was getting late as the sun sank below the academy walls so he figured he better ask it now. He gave a light cough and the three looked up from the tubs in the yard as they cleaned their new companions.
"You know, while your familiars are the talk of the academy, there is another item that has drawn my interest. How familiar are you with Eli? I know he made Ryans' items but I haven't heard anything aside from that." He asked.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
They all got guarded looks but Tansen kept his gaze on Ryan until he finally relented.
"I heard he molested and killed some kids while mating some orcs. That it was witnessed by an upstanding veteran and another student but got out of it by some legal trickery." Ryan said, keeping his gaze on his familiar as he scrubbed some dirt off of its right arm.
"Yet you still carry his crafts with you?" Tansen asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I said he was accused of molesting children and orc mating," Ryan said defensively. "It's not like dad cares about that though. He's constantly having fits over my refusal to part with Elis' creations but he's never swung this baby before" Ryan finished as he rubbed the lion-headed hammer leaning against the tub.
Tansen looked at the others who gave exasperated nods.
"Well, I can assure you he is quite innocent," Tansen said as Gatra flew onto the roof of Veronica's house. The three scions turned to look at the headmaster.
"How can you be sure?" Andrew asked.
"I am sure due to... certain bits of information I'm not a liberty to reveal. So I would not advise cutting ties with him too carelessly," Tansen said idly as he took in the red and orange hues of the fading sun as it's light played across the clouds.
"What does it matter now? Even if he was innocent no one is going to tarnish their reputation by bringing him into their fold." Andrew said indifferently, while Veronica gave a sad look of agreement, her soft blue eyes showing regret.
"Maybe. Finish up and that will be all for now," Tansen said as he gave a slight bow and headed back to his tower. Gatra flew off the house and to parts unknown. It was a part of the relationship that they had developed over the years. While a familiar companion, she was a fiercely independent thing who only showed up when she thought her friend was in danger or needed her.
When he got back to his office he saw the grey leather getup and hood of Freya, the head of the rangers. She was stopped in front of his office by his two guards and she was alone this time.
"I see you set your guards right after our last encounter." She teased.
Tansen just pushed past her and went to sit at his desk. By the time he had turned around to tell her not to sit in the chair, she was already in it. A tired sigh was all he could give for the lost data, not that it was especially useful until he better understood the mechanics of how the testers worked. It looks like Eli will need another academic consultation in the future.
The two just sat there as they measured each other for a solid minute.
"This crafter is being quite the hassle to remove," Freya said, finally breaking the silence. Her soft blue eyes showing a hardness as her wrinkles molded around her hint of a smile.
"Well, I guess I should be flattered that any of my students would create enough trouble to merit such lengthy measures. Lengthy measures that oh... wait where did I put that," Tansen asked idly as he perused the papers of his desk with an almost whimsical look on his face.
"My my. I appear to have misplaced that requisition order for Eli. Which you obviously sent me, because" Tansen gave a light-hearted chuckle "Because obviously you know that as academy head you need to check with me if you want to take one of my students or hold them in court for a crime." He said as he rested his elbows on his desk.
"It must have slipped my mind," Freya said idly as she twirled some of her grey hair.
Tansen spent 10 seconds looking the woman in the eyes with pucked lips.
"That judge must not have been cheap to buy off," Tansen said as he leaned back nonchalantly, abandoning the tactic when she shamelessly held his gaze.
"We didn't actually pay him anything. I suppose you get back as much as you invest though. If that fucking judge spent less time sipping expensive wine at nobles parties and more time double-checking... I suppose I can't entirely blame him. All the Survey Departments resources and they let a fucking troll slip through their net. Their reports are going to fuel our cooking fires after I've gotten my own scouting apparatus up and running." She said like she was going over the days' house cleaning chores.
"So what did you give him for his lackluster 'service'?" Tansen asked.
"We gave him the opportunity to take the fight to the orcs without having to leave the comfort of his courtroom." She said.
Tansen just raised an eyebrow as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a report, which she promptly threw onto his desk.
"We've been working more closely with the bandits. Their drug operations are getting pushed on by the orcs looking for some form of trade to exchange for metal gear and more recently crossbow bolt heads, as well as establishing another foothold near the coalition. And since our main job is to fight the orcs, well, it was a match made in heaven." She said idly as she looked over the white and blue tile work of the floor.
"Does this heavenly match involve working with them in raids?" Tansen asked in an even tone as he made sure to project calm in the rest of his body language.
"No. We make sure to only cooperate in orc related troubles." She replied firmly.
Tansen gave a noncommital huff, neither acquiescing or demanding.
"Your main job is to protect the Coalition and its citizens. I don't remember working with the Coalitions unwittingly made army as being in that job description." Tansen said dismissively as he leaned forward and looked over the brief order approval allowing them to work with the bandits and the official seal of approval from the army head himself, Marvin.
"Hmph, you're more informed than I would have liked," Freya said ruefully.
"That's typically the level of informed that I like to be," Tansen said as he sat back and pushed the paper back across the table.
Freyas' right hand strummed its fingers across the arm of the chair for a few long seconds before she sighed
"I had been hoping to limit the needless spreading of information about our activities. But you were far more stubborn than I thought. Since you thwarted us in the courts-"
"Did I? Must have slipped my mind," Tansen asked as he idly twirled a finger on the arm of his chair, which caused Freya to glare at him as her lips twisted into a scowl.
"In the courts by alerting the tax vultures to the troll sale, I suppose there's no point keeping you in the dark."
Freya took a deep breath like she was stepping over the ledge of a cliff before continuing.
"One of the bandits, Maw, had two brothers and an uncle he was quite fond of. On his way to the academy, Eli killed them but the uncle was left alive long enough to relay the information of his killer to one of their associates who happened upon the scene."
Tansen put up a hand to interrupt her.
"What were they doing to merit Eli killing them?" Tansen asked.
"Bandit things I assume, it's not important. What is important is that it has provided us an opportunity to bring in one of the bigger gangs into our fight.
Maws' got a lot of muscle and pull with the other gangs and locals further up north. What's more, his turf isn't being pushed on by the orcs and none of his enterprises are in the way of the slaughter going on in the woods. Even so, bandits have to tread very carefully when dealing with mages, even student ones. For weeks now he has been hounding us into a bargain for Eli's hide in exchange for his strength in humanity's great fight."
Tansen's severe frown made it clear what he thought of such a proposal.
"We were content to simply weigh his demands. Maybe even strike a more favorable bargain with him after one of his attempts to get at him through stealthy means failed. But Rangers are a family, a glorious mess of a family, but a family none the less. So killing Joren has... made this decision far more attractive on our end. In fact, several of our liaisons in the big offices have intimated that this deal was already good enough to officially approve.
But that takes time and while we are currently winning the contest here in the mountains, the more time, blood, and gold we waste here the less we will have for the real fight in the swamps." She finished.
Tansen gave a deep sigh. He could understand it all quite clearly, if she was telling the truth.
"No. My students are not pawns to be sacrificed in the schemes of generals, rangers or anyone else, at least before they graduate," Tansen responded back firmly.
Freya's face was a mask of emotionless indifference as she got up from the chair. When she spoke her voice showed less warmth than ice.
"How many casters are you willing to sacrifice for him? We have a golden opportunity to make what will probably be a several months-long campaign cut short into mere weeks," She asked.
"That's not the issue here and you know it. Rangers have always been rather loose when it comes to obeying the law and it has been tolerated because you get results. Hell, I've looked the other way a few times when you 'borrowed' some needed supplies or had to use our library because you got results. But this is way over the line." The previous playfulness or even indifference was gone now as Tansen stood up from his chair with a scowl on his face and the ridges on his forehead accentuated the lines of anger in his face.
"Try this crap again and you'll find out just how much power and influence stands behind this academy. They are my FUCKING STUDENTS! NOT YOUR BARGAINING TOOLS!" Tansen took a moment to collect himself before finishing.
"Now I bid you good fucking day."
Freya looked at him for a second with utter contempt in her eyes before walking away. But before she got to the door, she turned back around.
"When we are being paraded in the streets of the capital for our grand achievement here, we will be sure to remember who was not helpful as we ascend the ranks," She said before storming out the door.
Tansen just huffed at her grandiose proclamation. Then he got up and took the tester out of the chair and, sure enough, the glass of the wind symbol was bright with green mana.
"Tch"
"I suppose it's not defective then," He said ruefully as he put it back in place and went back to his chair.
'So what is going on here? The most logical explanation would be a mechanical failure. But that's just so... blah. A water mage being missed just because of some twist of mana theory is quite the tale' Tansen mused. But he certainly wasn't willing to alert Eli, or anyone else involved, to his suspicions so dragging Eli back and extracting an explanation from him was out of the question.
One particularly enticing opportunity presented itself. Once this mystery was solved and if Eli was shown to be innocent, he could be made into a sponsored mage of the academy. Typically, getting caster talents to sign on with academy's was far too difficult. But Eli's circumstances might mean he'd go for it, which would be a huge boost for the academy's standing.
After he graduated, of course. Over the years, getting students to sign on with the academy before they graduate was one of the biggest rule breakers any academy could commit. Too many leaders made a big mess of students' lives and their backers' plans by snatching up talented prospects in moments of emotional vulnerability during their training, so this rule was laid down as a protection for the young would-be-mages.
Sure there would be some snide comments about missing the mark at first but long term it would be well worth it.
But, first things first.
This mechanical angle, while the least malicious explanation, presented its own set of challenges as well. Tansen's schedule was already full and the Front was dragging him over the coals for the decline in Ryan and Andrews's siring rates. Not to mention getting to the bottom of how Eli has gone this long without noticing that he is a caster.
Time, as ever, was the needed commodity for this to be sorted out but there was a shortcut. A while back he heard of a similar incident where a student was misidentified due to some issues with a tester, Grimlock academy was the place it happened. Taking out a paper he wrote a letter asking for information about the incident addressed to the academy head, Boris. After handing the letter over to the secretary, he went to finish up the days' reports and arrange some discreet sessions going over how the testers worked.