August was soon upon Alan, and with it, his schedule changed dramatically. He had made good progress in the aura training with Mage Gillian, and Cal had eventually gotten the mana bombardment technique under control too, though his very limited mana pool and aura range meant it wasn’t nearly as easy for him to use it as Alan. The riding classes had gotten Alan up to an acceptable level of skill, though far short of Cal’s natural talents. Alan had even gotten through half the book on magical theory introduction, which he was very happy with. Now, his daily rhythm was about to be changed up completely.

As Alan was comparing his new schedule to Cal’s, he was happy to note that they had been assigned to the same combat classes. For the optional classes, they had gone separate ways, with Alan focusing on the school of fire, as was expected of him, which meant he had chosen a fire related class. It mostly dealt with basic introduction to the field, but it was an opening to work on family legacies while being supervised by experienced mages. Cal had chosen to work with air magic, as it was the only field he had managed a modicum of control over so far.

For their third class, Alan had gone with Military Tactics and Strategy, as he expected to end up in the military one way or another, and therefore he might as well get some understanding of the way they operated. Cal on the other hand, had chosen Cavalry Training, as it would put him back on a horse.

Alan had also kept his promise, and went looking for both a job and a place to stay for Layla, and while he had found an assistant position for her, the latter was a lot harder to acquire. He had eventually gone to his parents for help, and they had agreed to let Layla live at their home for a few months, while she got acclimated to the city life, and found some place for herself. Alan had also completely forgotten about the possibility that Layla couldn’t read, which made her first job a lot harder, but Nayda had taken it upon herself to teach the girl in the evenings. It made Layla very busy, but she truly enjoyed the challenge, and took it as the opportunity it was to make a life for herself in the city.

Cal had actually been somewhat angry at Alan for a while, blaming him for the fact that his little brother Fred now couldn’t go to a merchant’s school since the family never got a dowry for Layla. Alan however, had been very strict in his response, stating that selling daughters off like cattle for money was morally disgusting, and Cal had eventually relented, though it continued to be a sore subject between them.

Gordon had spent all his nights in the dorm room since their altercation on the subject of wooing women, and Alan was impressed by the change in attitude. It still didn’t stop him from trying to impress the female acolytes at the academy, but most were used to his flamboyant and somewhat aggressive flirting, apparently, and he seemed happy with the state of things for the time being.

The combat classes turned out to be weapon training, and every acolyte had to get at least middling proficiency with sword and shield fighting. Upon being questioned about the necessity of such training, the instructor, a middle rank military officer, asked how long any of them thought a normal battle lasted. Suggestions ranged from a few minutes up to an hour, to which the officer answered that they were all fools, who’d listened to too many glory tales. Battles typically lasted several hours, and could even last an entire day, he informed, then asked how many thought they could continuously cast offensive magic in combat for hours at a time. When no one responded, he quickly got to work arming acolytes with training equipment, and had them practice swings against dummies for a while.

Alan, in a moment of what his fellow acolytes collectively decided was immense stupidity, had asked if they would get any armor, which had resulted in the instructor asking anyone if they wanted to train with armor on. When everyone had politely declined, the instructor had looked to Alan with a mischievous smile, and had brought a very heavy looking coat, with weights attached all over, for Alan to wear during the next practice session.

Alan had been forced to wear the armor practice coat for the entire practice session, which lasted four hours, and Alan had been thoroughly exhausted and completely drenched in sweat at the end. When he thought he was finally free to rest, the instructor had another mischievous look at him, and had then brought an actual plate armour chest piece, and forced Alan to clean it since he had been “wearing it” for the entire day, so it needed cleaning. Alan had barely gotten any food to eat before crashing in bed the same evening, sleeping for almost twelve hours afterwards.

The next practice session, the instructor again asked collectively if anyone would like to train for using armor, then frowned when Alan volunteered. Alan had taken it as a challenge, and also felt like being capable to fight in armor would increase his survival chances in a war. To both Alan’s and the instructor’s surprise, Cal volunteered as well. After that, they ended every fighting practice with thoroughly cleaning a piece of armor while exhausted, but both with a satisfied and competing smile on their faces.

Alan’s class for the school of fire started out as an introduction to fire magic, with focus on temperature control techniques, somehow similar to how Aquillus had started Alan out. The lecture was held outdoors in a large practice field, and mostly consisted of very short theory introductions, while the rest of the lesson were for individual practice and guidance. Only the ones on the same level as the theory lessons would get guidance, while the acolytes like Alan only got the benefit of simple supervision in case anything went wrong in their practice. It still calmed Alan greatly, and he felt like he would get help immediately should anything go wrong.

Even though Alan had worked a lot together with Aquillus on the fireball spell, he wasn’t anywhere close to completing it. He decided to experiment with a chemical fuse during the fire magic lessons, and also looked into creating smokeless gunpowder. As he had discussed the variations on the fireball spells seen between different mages with Aquillus, Alan had also gotten an idea for improving his railgun prototype with a propellant, combining both explosive power and electrical power. That was the idea, anyways, and it would need a completely new design, somewhat similar to a modern day rifle, so he was still far away from a new prototype, but it was another reason to look into smokeless gunpowder.

To Alan’s surprise, he had found Lia to be in the same fire magic class as him, which struck him as odd, as Alan thought she was several years ahead of him, and thus should be taking more advanced classes. She seemed to struggle with fire magic, as far as he could see, but he guessed that she was just branching out from whatever her main focus was, which didn’t seem like a bad idea at all. Alan had tried to approach her and give a few tips and hints, but she had quickly rebuffed him, stating that she didn’t need help, only time and practice, and that he should focus on his own progress. Alan decided to leave her to her own practice after that.

The classes on Military Tactics and Strategy were enlightening, and Alan found he enjoyed the way the lecturer had laid out the class hours. They would usually spend an hour or two going through a few strategies or tactics, and would spend the rest going over a specific war or battle that had been well documented, looking for how the strategy or tactic had been used, and how effective or ineffective it had been as a result of varying conditions. It mostly ended in some kind of homework for the next lesson, and at the beginning of each lesson, one random person was picked to explain the best or worst use of whatever tactic or strategy the previous lesson had been about. Alan learned a lot about the importance of supply lines, positioning of armies, composition of troops, effective use of scouts, light and heavy infantry, light and heavy cavalry, morale, and the wildcards that were mages.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

As the weeks passed by, Alan again found himself in a steady daily rhythm. He had classes from morning to noon, and often stayed for a bit after the classes too, either to ask questions, clean armor, or practice on his own. He often spent the afternoon reading through the magical theory introduction and discussing chapters with Cal, and sometimes Gordon would join them too, though that was rather seldom. Alan almost always ate dinner together with Cal, either discussing the day, family, magical theory, or some other completely random subject.

Alan steadily improved in his creation of the fireball materials, and soon decided to test it out in a class. He had found a reliable way to create smokeless gunpowder, and had gone for a chemical fuse, which meant he could easily set it off safely up in the air. He wrapped it up in a hard and insulating shell, and created a small layer of burning material on the exterior, for the signature fireball look. This was the safest way he could think of doing it, while still creating something akin to a fireball effect.

His first experiment went rather well, but he had reduced the amount of explosive powder inside to a minimum for his first try, so the resulting explosion was rather pitiful. It still drew looks from the other classmates, and even a few praises. Alan decided to continue to create his miniature fireballs for the foreseeable future, working on repeatability and stability. It was one thing to be able to do it at all, and another thing entirely to be able to do it in any circumstance, and he was adamant about not wanting to blow himself up by mistake.

When Alan felt he had the entire creation process well in hand, he started practicing on a firing range, working on estimating flight time to wooden targets, and making sure he got the fuse correctly configured every time. It was difficult and tedious work, but the fact that he was creating matter from basically nothing, was enough of a motivation for him to keep going far beyond the end of the lessons.

“So,” Alan said one evening as he was eating dinner with Cal, “you don’t actually own the farm?”

“It’s a bit complicated.” Cal answered in between chewing. “Lord Sinewood owns the land, and we have a sort of permanent agreement that our family will run the farm and pay taxes from our profits.”

“Do you also have to provide men at arms in case of a war?” Alan asked.

“I don’t think so, but I’m not actually sure. My grandfather did serve in an army at some point, but I don’t know if it was voluntary or if he was conscripted.” Cal answered thoughtfully.

“That does sound like a feudal system, though the thing about nobles gets me confused.”

“If anyone of us should be confused by nobles, I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t be you.” Cal said mirthfully.

“Heh, I guess. Is your lord considered a noble?”

“I think he’s actually a knight, though I’m not sure horses can carry him anymore.”

Alan snorted in response and was about to answer, when Catherine and her entourage approached.

“Alan, I need to speak with you.” Catherine said, her tone serious. “Come with me.”

Alan barely managed to get up before Catherine turned and started walking away in a hurry.

“What’s going on?” Alan asked, catching up.

“We’ll talk in my room.” Catherine said, then turned to her group of friends following. “I’d like a word in private with Alan, girls, if you don’t mind.” They meekly agreed, though Lia seemed reluctant to let them go, muttering something about boys not being allowed in the girl’s dorm rooms. Catherine either didn’t hear, or didn’t care, as she marched on.

They entered a dorm building similar to Alan’s dorm, but on the other side of the campus. The inside was slightly richer in decoration, but it was otherwise similar. Catherine quickly moved towards her own room, and let Alan in before following.

Her room was surprisingly similar to his own, with one side lavishly decorated and colorful, while the other was austere and barely decorated, which was the one Catherine moved to, and she sat down on the bed.

“I’ve received another letter, and this one carries bad news,” Catherine said as she pointed towards a letter lying folded on the desk. There was something in her voice, but Alan couldn’t identify it.

“Can I read it?” Alan asked. Catherine nodded in reply.

Alan sat down at the desk and unfolded the letter. It was another letter from Archmage Storm, and it made for grim reading.

“...Assasination attempt?” Alan eventually asked aloud, astounded by the fact that someone would fall so low during peace negotiations.

“I think we can safely assume that the negotiations failed,” Catherine said in response, in a defeated tone.

Alan read on, but had to make several stops to process what he read.

The diplomatic mission was a total failure, and the delegation was on its way back home, but had spotted several forces in pursuit. There hadn’t yet been confrontations with the pursuing forces, but they seemed inevitable.

The final paragraph hit Alan hard.

It seems unlikely that we will return home safely, though you know I will do anything in my power to make it back. Even so, you must prepare for the eventuality that none of us return. I’ve left specific instructions to Heath to inform you about everything you need to know should I fall, both about our House, our Legacy, and our responsibilities to the Kingdom. Be aware of other families suddenly and surprisingly seeking alliances or close relations, as the social circles of high society are treacherous, and seemingly good intentions are often of a hidden malicious nature. Be especially careful of the Gilden Family, they have risen through politics in the last few generations, but have never shown much magical promise, and so they are seeking the legacies of other houses, ours especially. Do not trust them, and do not give in to any suggestions or demands.

Keep your friends close, Catherine, and keep them informed. A few good friends are worth more than a thousand opportunistic followers. I trust you to know the difference.

Alan sat in silence for a while after he finished reading. The contents of the letter felt alien to him, and he had trouble connecting the remote events and dangers to his peaceful life thus far in the kingdom. As he looked over at Catherine, however, he could see that she fully understood what the letter meant to say, and that it might very well be the last communication she received from her father.

“Is there anything I can do to help, Cat?” Alan asked with concern in his voice. He felt lost and confused about the letter, but recognized that Catherine might need his help going forward, and was always willing to help out his friends.

“I don’t….” Catherine struggled to get her words together, but managed eventually. “No, not right now.” Her tone was weak and wary.

“Ok, just tell me if you need anything, alright?” Alan said, and waited until she nodded in response.

“I have to get back to my dorm now, I think, but I’ll help in any way I can, as soon as you need it. You have friends here, Catherine.” Alan tried to sound consoling, as he walked towards the door.

“Thank you, Alan.” Catherine said before he left, sounding somewhat uplifted, which was all Alan felt he could achieve at the moment.