Now, some of you are probably wondering, who’s Aelder? And those who grew up in an orthodox church might be asking, there’s minor gods?
Well, let’s clarify a few things first.
There are eight major gods, seven of which we have names for (Zephoreas, Torbolt, Ignitious, Adamanrion, Titantuin, Apheros, Hydraviandor, and The Hooded One), and each one holding domain over one of the base (Wind, Fire, Earth, and Water) or hybrid elements (Lightning, Metal, Wood, and Ice).
Below them are the minor gods, the exact number of them is unknown, and they differ from the major gods due to being born as mortals, becoming patron saints to a specific ideal towards a major god.
Aelder is likely the most famous, not only for his deception in the elven lands, but for the naturally mana dense trees that share the same name and how he is the patron god of childish mischief, play, and protection of the young.
A few stories also include references to “The First Two”, but it’s unknown if they refer to the first two major gods or a precursor to the current eight major ones we have. My research has led me to believe that it is the latter, due to nearly every major god having at least one story that mentions them.
Multiple theories have been put forth on the subject, but no chosen of the gods has ever been able to petition an answer from their patron, minus a single exception. When a chosen of Zephoreas was asked about “The First Two”, his reply was, “Pay them no mind, they do not care about our struggles, they only look down upon us.”
---
Arc
The orkish chef smiled at Travis and went to grab a steaming mug of mana infused drink to place on his tray. He then signaled the line to keep moving and resumed giving students the normal portions of mana rich food.
Mattius watched the interaction, then whispered to Bridget, “Ok, is there something I’m missing?”
Bridget shrugged her shoulders, “Not sure, I mean, Travis is handsome, but he’s not ‘handsome’ handsome if you get what I mean.”
Mattius nodded, and Adrian leaned in, “Most orcs I’ve met find physical might to be a person’s most attractive feature, so all Travis has to do is flex his muscles.”
Hmm, I take a moment to look over the arming jackets that everyone was wearing, yeah, not sure how Travis is supposed to show off his physique while wearing one. While not bulky and stuffed with padding like the type a knight would have worn in my old world, they were still made with layered fabric and heavily stitched at the joints to provide durability. They also don’t reveal a lot of skin, the collar completely covers the neck when fully buttoned and the bottom hem goes down to the knees, making it ironically(?) look more like a wizard robe.
The group made their way to a table, and Jethro snuck up behind the first three to flaunt that he overheard them, “Maybe that’s the reason why Travis’ roommate doesn’t like him. The poor oaf simply doesn’t know how to express his feelings.”
The four and I started snickering, making Travis look their way when they sat down, “What’s so funny?”
“We were thinking of ways to get back at your roommate.” Lied Mattius with an almost disturbing amount of ease.
“Oh, I already have an idea.” Travis retrieved a grin from his childhood bully days, “In the middle of the night I’m going to knock Drozuk unconscious, then I’ll have you guys help me forcibly dress him and tie him to a pillar in the training yard. I figure that a simple constrictor knot should be enough to hold him, he’s mostly soft muscle, so the self-tightening from his struggles if he wakes will work against him.”
Shocked looks filled the table, and even I had to focus in on his face to determine if he was joking or not. A pregnant pause went by, confirming that he was not joking.
Adrian managed to whimper out a response, despite his obvious discomfort, “Maybe, save that as a last resort… He’s drawn the ire of multiple people in our battalion now, he might behave tomorrow.”
Travis mulled the idea over, and I decided that I better help Adrian convince him, “I agree, besides, Drozuk might just retaliate if you do that, or you might get into trouble.”
Travis nodded his head, and to everyone’s and my relief, dropped the evil grin, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He then focused his attention on his food and drink, eyes widening when he sipped on the hot drink, “This tastes amazing! What is it?”
Bridget leaned over and gave it a sniff before smiling, “Brewed spike-leaf and tree beans, it’s a favorite amongst elven mages, you shouldn’t have any trouble staying awake for the rest of the day now.”
---
Travis
1-3 Monster Anatomy 1
This room was completely different from the others I’ve been in. For starters, the room’s walls looked like a kitchen’s pantry due to all the glass jars, and instead of desks or workbenches, it looked like rows of kitchen countertops, complete with sinks.
Bridget and I had the same schedule today, so we sat together while we continued looking, wondering what was in the jars, until a familiar looking elf walked in backwards, giving commands to the teacher’s assistants following him in.
“Set it in front of the magnifier.” The blonde High Elf then turned to address the class, “Grab your pens and paper and take as many notes as you can, we’ll be going over a few topics that are normally gone over later in the year, but I am not going to waste this opportunity.”
The professor, who I now recognized as the same one I met at the party Lancel took me to, gestured to the assistants who were pulling in a large hooved creature that was missing its head. It was mostly covered in brown fur, but also had patches of green moss growing on it and was giving off a pungent odor.
“This specimen is an elmek, a common single element mutation monster that originally evolved from elks. Sadly, the hunter insisted on keeping the head for their personal collection, so I won’t be able to show how this species is capable of combating mana sickness by growing mana dense antlers.”
They grabbed a knife from their workbench, then adjusted the magnifying lenses to give us a close-up of the monster’s hips, “What I will get to show you today, is a rare occurrence when dissecting the reproductive system.”
The professor took off their robe, leaving their torso bare, then slid the knife between the rear legs, causing the monster’s innards to spill out. The elf then reached in with their bare hands, going all the way to the shoulders, and started pulling different parts out to show, “Here’s the bladder, a kidney, and… here we go…”
A large fleshy sac covered in blood was pulled out of the elmek, “The placenta!”
My stomach clenched at the sight, I’d help deliver newborn calves many times, but this was much more disgusting.
I heard Bridget begin to breathe heavily, making me turn to her. She caught me looking at her matte-black face, then whispered, “Please don’t judge.”
I held up my hands in submission, “I’m also barely keeping my lunch down.”
“There’s a trashcan under the sink if you need it.”
I tapped Arc and gave him an extra friendly rub as thanks before grabbing the trashcan and setting it between me and Bridget.
She smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. I smiled back at her, almost getting lost in her large brown eyes, before I remembered where I was.
The professor finished readjusting the magnifier, then made a cut to open up the placenta, “This elmek was carrying twins, but one of the fetuses acquired a rare mutation…” They displayed the two unborn calves, one much larger than the other, “The smaller fetus on the right is a normal healthy fetus, but the one on the left developed a mana cyst despite the protection of the womb. As you can see, its growth has been accelerated rapidly as a result, causing the mother to become more aggressive for food. Had the mother successfully given birth, she would have been able to purge herself of the late-stage mana sickness, if no new cysts formed while waiting for the fetus to finish developing.”
Bridget gripped the countertop to help bark herself, then raised her hand, “Would either of the calves live after birth?”
The elven professor nodded their head, “Excellent question, the one with the mana cyst would live, but likely not for long since it would be born crazed, and its undeveloped body would be easy for a hunter to take down. The normal fetus would die due to lack of development.”
“This is a perfect example of why mammalian monsters tend to give birth to only one child and are generally more resistant to mana sickness, whereas egg-laying monsters are capable of maintaining large clutches of eggs and rarely live for more than a couple of years.”
The professor then took the two fetuses and placed them in a large jar full of liquid, before asking an assistant to place it on a shelf with what I now realized was preserved monster parts.
---
Class eventually ended, making Bridget and I thank our gods for the fresh air outside. Neither of us puked, but I did hold the basket for a bit after seeing one of the other students in the front row do so after the professor opened up the stomach to show off the elmek’s omnivorous adaptations.
Bridget rubbed her bald head and eyes, “So glad that I got Fire Spells 1 in an hour to distract me.”
“Same here, I’ve field dressed animals before, and even checked pregnant cattle, but not both at the same time.”
We chatted while we walked over to the Fire Mana studies building, and I got to learn about how the Mortymer family was one of the biggest producers of healing ointments. Arc of course wanted me to ask her how they worked, and I eagerly asked her since I wanted to know as well.
“At the most basic level, they are simply mana infused oils that prevent the pores in your membrane from getting saturated, allowing internal mana to stay amped up for longer and allow the faster cell growth to repair the body.”
I nodded along, “Let me guess, the mana in the oils is slightly active, so they help equalize the mana pressure by drawing away some of the mana that’s trying to burrow itself into your body.”
She smiled widely, “Exactly, one of the biggest difficulties when using mana to heal someone is that you can only amp up a person’s mana so far before they develop stage 2 mana sickness. So, if you can prevent saturation from occurring, you can speed up a person’s recovery by a considerable margin.”
I smiled back, wishing that we could keep talking, but sadly class was about to start.
---
4-6 Fire Spells 1 – Classroom Component
“As a fire mage, you will be using your spells to burn monsters to death in one of the most violent ways possible.” The beardless dwarf spoke, then directed the class’s attention to the timber wolf that was gnashing at the metal bars of its cage, “This juvenile timber wolf is a common monster that will swarm the walls during the Spring Flood, its long haired pelt when fully grown is capable of ensnaring piercing weapons and reflecting slashing ones, making it a high priority for us mages to kill since a pack of them can overrun a human shield wall.”
The instructor raised their hand, creating a circle of fire to surround the beast, causing it to cry out in pain, “This is what will be plaguing your dreams in the future.”
The screams from the creature grew louder as its limbs were slowly charred off, cauterizing the wounds to prevent it from bleeding out. The poor wolf’s eyes eventually rolled to the back of its head, signaling that it was unconscious, and spared further torment. The fire spread over the torso, billowing smoke into the classroom, making my stomach retch once the smell hit me.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Bridget tapped me on the shoulder, “I’m going to go throw up now, want to join?”
I nodded my head, afraid to open my mouth and let the bile that was rising in my esophagus out.
“There’s a restroom two doors down and a bench in front, I’ll let you know when your psycho professor is done killing puppies.”
I led Bridget over to the bathroom before we each took a stall and made it to the porcelain goalpost. After spitting a few times following my purge, I flushed the toilet, then left the stall to rinse off my face and mouth in the sink. Bridget joined me shortly after, and once the aftertaste was gone, we sat down to rest on the nearby bench.
The silence in the hallway allowed me to recollect my thoughts, causing me to start giggling. Bridget turned her head towards me with a quizzical look, so I decided to share, “That was certainly distracting.”
Bridget rolled her eyes at me, a feat that I didn’t know was possible for Ashmen, “Today was supposed to be a fun day for me. Enjoy my day off from morning drill to go to church, then attend the two classes that I was the most excited to attend.”
I dropped my smile, “Wait, you didn’t need to attend drill this morning with us?”
She shook her head, “Was too worried about you.” She then cracked a smile, “Although if I knew our efforts would go to waste, and we were just going to get a group punishment, I probably would have reconsidered.”
I lowered my head, feeling ashamed, “I’m sorry for dragging you into my mess, is there anything I can do to make up for it?”
Bridget patted me on the thigh, “Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
“Hey, sorry to butt in, but your professor is done traumatizing the class.”
I gave Arc a pat, “We better get back to class.”
---
Arc
Travis and Bridget weren’t the only ones that needed to step out, or in a few cases should have, so they weren’t alone when walking back into the classroom.
The “mess” from earlier was cleaned, a cauldron now sat where the cage once was, and the room was eerily calm. The dwarven professor was handing out syllabuses and acting if what happened 12 minutes earlier was nothing but a group hallucination.
The professor got everyone’s attention once all were seated, “Fire magic is cheap to cast, devastating to many monsters, and will continue to have effects long after the spell has been scattered. During the flood, you will be expected to take out swarms of monsters for hours on end in the same manner that wolf was. I apologize for the earlier display, and if you feel the need, my teacher assistants will happily take you to counseling or to the administration building. Though, I will warn you now, unless you’ve dedicated at least 25% of your mana to another type, you will not be given permission to change tracks.”
They paused their speech to create a basketball sized [Fire Orb], then proceeded to move it around the room, “Fire Mana is both creation and destruction, it is everywhere, not just the core of this world, but permeating everything, not piling up in neat little layers like Earth, Water, and Air Mana.”
The spell began to light the torches that were ensconced to the walls, “Paladins and witches only see it as a way to summon fire to their aid,” the orb moved back to the front of the room, “they are idiots that fail to see the true potential at their fingertips,” the spell moved under a hanging cauldron near the professor, “Fire Mana can generate heat, induce chemical reactions, and speed up the conversion of matter into energy.”
The cauldron began to boil, causing steam to rise, and the [Fire Orb] was cancelled. The professor gave an impish smirk to the class, “Anyone want to guess what’s in the cauldron?”
The room was quiet, Travis scratched my pommel, but I only saw the already full cauldron being brought in, “Sorry, don’t know what’s in there. My guess based on the speech is that it’s something more powerful than the spell she just cast.”
Travis gave me a pat, and then raised his hand, “A hot meal?”
All eyes in the room fell on Travis, each one in disbelief that he’d guess that. Even I felt the need to berate the glutton, “Seriously Travis? Why would you guess…”
I was cut off by the professor giving an excited shout, “Yes! Correct! During the Spring Flood, the weather can be downright awful, freezing rain, blizzards, chilling winds…” the professor swirled their hand to visually indicate that there were many more possible weather patterns, “A hot meal infused with Fire Mana can not only let you and the regular soldiers stay warm for many hours, but will also improve digestion, recovery, and alertness. And then there’s the positive mental effects that it can create for a person’s morale.”
“Tomorrow at the spell range, we’ll be learning how to create a [Fire Aura], one of the simplest ways to keep you and your soldiers warm. Now, open up your textbooks and minds, Ignitious is not the god of destruction, but one of science and change. So, if you’re going to wield their element, then you need to learn how to use Fire Mana to both create and destroy.”
---
After class finished, Bridget did me a solid by asking the question I wanted to ask, “Ok, I got to know. How did you know what was in the cauldron?”
Travis turned to Bridget with a wide grin, “Well, what else are you going to cook in an open cauldron?”
She scowled at the cheeky bastard, “I’m serious, how did you know?”
Travis dropped the grin, “No, seriously, what else are you going to cook in an open cauldron? The type she used is designed to retain heat for a long period of time and would be a chemist’s worst choice for a vessel due to not being able to modulate the temperature quickly.”
Bridget let out a huff, “That still seems like a huge leap in logic. Poison, tar, and acids are commonly used to help defend fortresses from monsters, the cauldron could have had one of those.”
Travis shook his head, “Those only reliably work on varmints according to the monster hunter logs I’ve read, and I doubt a teacher would be allowed to expose a student here to toxic fumes.”
The shoulders on Bridget slumped, and she aggravated my pet peeve of seeing people flaunt off their lungs when she let out a deep sigh, “I guess I’m just upset that I didn’t guess the answer.” She then grabbed her bag and started to leave the classroom, allowing me to sneak in a follow up question.
“How did you know what type of cauldron that was? You never took up any cooking lessons that went over different pot types.”
Travis rubbed my pommel and smiled, “During the church’s potluck every Woodsday, I noticed that some stews and hotdishes would stay warmer for longer. Eventually, I was able to remember which styles retained the most heat and planned my eating so that I’d always have warm food on my plate.”
Ugh, I can’t believe I’ve been underestimating just how much of a glutton Travis truly is.
---
After supper, Travis and I finally got some alone time in the private spell range so we could chat.
“You had me worried quite a few times today, first the bestial behavior at breakfast, then when you collapsed after getting inspected, and then once more when you threatened to tie up Drozuk.” I watched for Travis’ reaction, “Can we talk about that? I had to help Adrian talk you down.”
Travis took a seat on the bench underneath the sheltered portion of the spell range and gave out an aggravated grunt, “Well? What am I supposed to do? Let him keep bullying me? I’ve never had to deal with someone like him before.”
I mentally frown back at him, and replied with an annoyed tone, “Of course you haven’t, you used to be the one tormenting the other children.”
Travis winced at the reminder, but I began to give my advice, “As for how to deal with a bully, it doesn’t matter whether they’re a person, group, or country, they all have one thing in common; they lack empathy, only caring about themselves, and will find any excuse to keep themselves elevated above the ones they deem lesser. The solution to stopping one is simple but hard; ask someone for help, if they can’t or won’t, ask someone else, and then keep asking until you have the numbers and power to overwhelm that bully and make them stop.”
Travis thought over my advice, but he must have had some revelation, because his eyes went wide, and his breathing became more expressive.
“Travis, is something wrong?”
A hoarse voice whimpered, “Am I a bad person?”
“What? No. Why would you even think that?”
“Because, like you said, I used to be a bully. If you weren’t here pushing me to reach out to other people… would I just become a narcissistic asshole? What’s stopping me from becoming one?”
“The fact that you’re sitting there worried that you will.”
Travis shifted in his seat, clearly not liking my answer. Ugh, I wish I could give him a pat on the shoulder.
“Hey, listen, I would have never taught you magic if I thought you were going to use it to oppress others. Yes, you were a mean kid when you were young, but you were also a troubled youth who needed someone to help and listen to them.”
Travis buried his face in his hands, “Ugh, I just feel so guilty, Jethro went off about how I was being such a nice person, but you’re the one who should get the credit.”
“Hey now, you’re the one doing the actual work, I’m just giving you a friendly nudge. Nothing’s stopping you from ignoring me.”
Travis barked out a laugh, “I wish I could sometimes.” He stood up and gave his body a stretch, “I think I should call it a night, it’s been a long day, even though I slept through most of morning drill.”
“That’s fine with me, I’d rather have you well rested tomorrow.” Travis started to make his way to the door, “And quit beating yourself up, you’re not infallible, no one is, not even the gods,” I made a sighing noise, reflecting on how some divine jerk put me here, “trust me, I would know.”
Travis stopped dead in his tracks in front of the door. I was about to ask if something was wrong after he was quiet for so long, but he quickly stammered out a question, “Umm, can you add do something nice for my friends to the quest log?”
I mentally smiled, “Sure, want any suggestions?”
Travis nodded his head, “Please do.”
“How about you invite them here occasionally? I think you’re allowed to bring guests, or at least study partners.”
“Sounds great.”
---
Travis
I kept giving Arc some friendly scratches and rubs on the way back to the dorm, doing my best to distract him. I stopped in front of the door, pausing so Arc could inform me that Drozuk was in his room, then entered.
To my surprise, the room was clean. Maybe Drozuk wanted to make peace? I let out an airy laugh, yeah, more like he didn’t want to compound the trouble he was in. Lancel mentioned that instructors would do barracks inspections during basic training, so it wouldn’t be surprising if unscheduled ones would occur for us as well.
I went to grab my evening robe, not bothering to grab the jacket since I intended to crawl right into bed, and took a nice, long, shower. Feeling clean and drowsy, I made my way to my room, but stopped in my tracks at the sight of Drozuk sitting on a couch.
He slowly looked up at me, “Here’s the deal, you keep your noble buddies off my back, and I show up to morning drill bright and chipper every morning.” He narrowed his eyes, “And I won’t be needing your ‘help’ in the morning either.”
I crossed my arms, staring right into his eyes, “Fine, I won’t bother you, you won’t bother me.”
Drozuk nodded his head to agree, then with surprising speed, got up and walked into his room.
I let out a deep breath that I was apparently holding, then went into my room and crawled into bed. I wanted to look through my book again, but sleep was beckoning me into its embrace, and my bed was too luxurious in its comfort.
---
Steelsday, the 20th of Fifthmonth
“Good morning Mage’s Academy! It is now 7am this Steelsday and overheard conversations of the patrolling guards state that it’s looking to be a lovely day outside.”
I made a small groan and pressed my temples with my right hand. Arc was having one of his “episodes” again. It had been a while since the last one, but his self-admitted madness from being isolated for so long in the village was making him act strange again. The announcer tone I understood, I read that fortress cities employed criers to spread news, but why was he making himself sound like he was trapped in a cooking pot?
“Today’s activities include Morning Drill, Noble Ethics 1, Fire Spells 1, asking Jethro why he called Drozuk an idiot yesterday, and inviting your new friends to the spell range with you.”
Well, at least he was being helpful. I put my uniform on and quickly made my way downstairs, only pausing to make sure that Drozuk was awake.
I grabbed breakfast, and sat down at a table where I was shortly joined by the others and a very happy looking Adrian, “What’s got you in such a good mood?”
“I get today off from drill.”
“I take it you worship Adamanrion?”
Adrian nodded his head, “Yep, just like practically every other Northman merchant family.”
Jethro nodded along, “Lucky you, hopefully Travis’ roommate will stop being an idiot today or at least tomorrow if he’s that swamp-headed.”
Bridget leaned her head in, “Oh, speaking of idiots, I’ve been meaning to ask, why did you call Travis’ roommate an idiot yesterday?”
Jethro smiled, “You don’t know? But I thought your father was a commando?”
She scowled, “Really? Stereotypes? Not every Ashman has a commando in their family.”
Jethro laughed at her annoyance, “Anyways, the reason is because his plan wouldn’t even get a chance to fail.” He turned to Adrian, “You mentioned that you’ve been to dozens of fortresses, ever meet a monster hunter that was a former student here?”
Adrian mulled it over before answering, “Not former students, quite a few that failed the entrance exam here though.”
“Exactly, he’s not the first to try and steal knowledge, and probably won’t be the last.” Jethro paused so that he could stop himself from laughing, “Afterall, he’d be cursed with the two inevitabilities of life should he do so.”
---
1-3 Noble Civics 1
Morning drill went by without incident for the first time, much to the overexaggerated delight of Hector, who was acting like we were toddlers that managed to use the outhouse without assistance for the first time. The routine was unchanged from the first two days for the most part, but we did find out that next week’s training would have us start attempting the obstacle courses and splitting off for an hour to train with our personal weapons.
As I was about to enter the classroom though, Arc chirped in, “Quick heads up, Drozuk is in this class.”
I patted Arc and entered the plain looking classroom, making sure to sit as far away from my roommate as possible. He did notice me entering but seemed satisfied that I was keeping my distance.
“I’m sure many of you will find this class boring, due to already having noble titles, but I ask that you do your best to pay attention since this class will also include economics, law, and civics. Both on the national and international level.” The Lakelander professor began to write on the chalkboard, “Upon graduation here at this academy, you’ll be granted the Mage title. This comes with many benefits, including the ability to transfer your wardship to an established family or create your own, a monthly salary based on your military rank, passing on your noble title to your first generation of children, and many other minor benefits that we will cover in this class.”
The professor slid the chalkboard up so that he had a clean board, he then looked across the room, and I think locked eyes with Drozuk, “Administration has asked that I adjust my course this year, and to go over some of the costs this kingdom incurs every year to keep this kingdom safe. The most relevant to you being the expense on the kingdom to run this school.”
“This should be interesting…”
I gave Arc a rub on his pommel in agreement as the professor began to frantically write line after line on the board before drawing our attention to what was written.
“Uniforms, laundry service, food, artifice supplies…,” The professor kept rattling on just the physical material costs, then switched to staffing costs, “Salaries for mages, knights, chefs, guards, logistics corps, administration, accountants, lawyers…,”
They kept listing items and including a number for each category, reminding me of how my dad would help Mildred with the annual accounting for the village every fall, except the numbers for this were huge, and…
I think my heart stopped beating for a second. I looked over the numbers once more to confirm and started to concentrate on my breathing. Yep, he wasn’t going over the budget for the entire academy… he was summarizing the individual cost per student. My tiny village’s entire gross income couldn’t cover the cost for a single student, even if you removed the cost of my helmet and uniform.
The professor finally finished listing off items, then smiled in the way that only a lawyer could, “And that’s just the cost per semester.”
Gasps leaked from the students in the room and me, before the professor delivered the killing blow, “Imagine having to somehow pay for that should you fail to graduate.”