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"So. Mr. Jonas Palit.” The last three words came in with an incredibly refined staccato, each syllable rich with joviality, a plasticky kind of warmth, and a hint of mystery that Jonas did not feel like he wanted to solve. “It's absolutely amazing to have you here.” With a sweeping hand gesture, the man introduced the room that they were in.
“This is my office, a very humble abode,” he said, although Jonas was sure that with all that premium leather on the sofas and a twelve-piece fountain pen set on the desk, it was quite the opposite of that. “As you can see,” he continued, pointing to the wall, where, framed in exquisite dark bronze borders, a row of colourful rectangles hung, “there's a collection of astounding artworks from - would you guess it?”
Artwork?!
Unfortunately, every one of them looked like nonsensical sloshes of paint to Jonas.
The frames are nice though.
Without waiting for Jonas to reply, the man rattled on. “Yes, exactly - it’s from that world renown magical artist, Renembrandt! I knew you had a great eye for things,” he said, eyes still proudly ogling the collection. Jonas scraunched up his face at the man’s presumptiveness.
I know as much Renembrandt as I know magic - nothing at all!
He left the crinkles in his expression for longer than he normally would, feeling no need at all to hide his displeasure - it seemed clear to Jonas that the act of monologuing was more important to the man than the audience that was receiving it. “I wouldn’t dare bore you with the elaborate and unbelievable history behind this series of paintings,” he said, to Jonas’ disbelief, “but you can be sure that our esteemed school has a history that not only rivals it, but easily puts it to shame.”
I hope you keep it to yourself though.
The man kept to his word, pulling himself away from the set of paintings, and unexpectedly brought his full attention to Jonas.
Ack, this is gonna be awkward -
“And oh yes, I see you just came from the Warfare demonstration!”
- he would even interrupt my thoughts!
“I hope you liked it so far; we’ve put in so much effort into making it shiny and flashy for everyone. All those mini-arenas - and the huge one! - my secretary is going to throw a fit at how much of our budget we’ve burned through.” He chuckled. Jonas forced a smile to be polite. Now that the man’s full attention was on him, he tried not to let slip any of his irritation.
“Not to mention, the months of training it took to select, plan, and coordinate the multi-arena showcase for just the Warfare exhibit alone. Well, as I always tell my teachers, the yearly exhibition is when we make the strongest impression on the most talented young mages who’re looking to join us. We need to make our prospective students feel that we spare no expense when taking care of them. Whatever is needed to reach the next heights of magical development - whether it’s rare materials, esoteric information, or just a place to train - we are not letting a lack of anything get in the way of the great minds who step foot in our school. So yes, I believe that as a school, we are entirely justified with our spending. Think of it as an investment in our own future by investing in their future! Oh how I wish Maya was here to hear this...”
Despite the speed of oration, each word was enunciated perfectly, and rich with emotional dynamics, as if it was a theatrical performance at a stage play. Jonas would’ve appreciated it more if not for the aching ‘fake smile’ muscles in his cheeks. The man paused to breathe for a bit, then launched into another tirade of persuasive prattling. This time, he sauntered around the room with his hands making dramatic shapes in the air. With his intense gaze lifted from Jonas’ rapidly shrivelling form, the boy gave a sigh of relief and stood at ease.
“Jonas, you really should not be looking at any other school. You see, Heartspell is established for budding S Tier mages just like yourself - we have built a community of like-minded individuals; we have all the resources you could ever need or want as a practitioner of magic, and there's absolutely no better place to find experienced, talented mentors than -"
"Uh sir," said Jonas, who had plucked up enough courage to try and put a pause to the unending ramblings of this strange, hairy-chested man. I mean, it sounds like he wants me to join Heartspell - but I’ve already come prepared to enrol without a second thought!
Unfortunately, the man completely ignored him, continuing his monologue without missing a beat.
"- from the fertile grounds of Heartspell itself. You know Jonas, if you would join us here, I promise that you'll learn everything that you've always wanted to learn; we'll help you achieve all the dreams you’ve ever had. We spared no expense at just the exhibition alone, think of how much we’ll spend on our S Tier students! All your meals will be on us; your lodging will be paid for. Just say the word, Jonas. We've prepared tutors to help you if you need any one-on-one assistance. You know, there's really just no other school out there like ours with the expertise, the generosity, and the - heh - overflowing coffers. You just can't find -"
"Sir, sir," said Jonas again, a little bit more desperately this time.
"Ah yes?" the man finally took heed. But listening did not appear to be one of his strengths; once again he spoke before giving Jonas the chance to elaborate. "Oh you must be wondering who I am! I'm the principal of this school! So sorry, my sincerest apologies for not introducing myself earlier. I assure you; I wasn't trying to be rude, just that you see, Jonas, there's just so much to tell you about Heartspell, I don't want to waste a single moment -"
"Uh Mister Principal sir?” Jonas spoke louder this time, determined to be heard above the principal’s continued babble. “I've already decided that I want to join Heartspell."
An awkward silence descended onto the room like a soft blanket over a weary traveller’s body.
"Oh," said the principal. "Well."
The silence persisted, and given the non-stop barrage of words earlier, it was surprisingly comfortable. Jonas could get used to this silence.
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“So that’s the case huh.” A strange contorted look passed over the principal's face for a moment. It appeared as if he wasn't sure whether to be happy that Jonas had already decided to enrol to Heartspell, or to be annoyed at no longer having a reason to ramble on about the school's endless merits.
"If you've already decided to enrol, I suppose I can move on to the next step. Which is to let you know that we have prepared for you a special speedy track where you can actually get a crash course through all of our schools of emotions – and you might’ve heard of it by now - there are six.”
He briefly recalled a particularly bubbly lady telling him something along those lines just before he stepped into the reception hall.
“Most students only get to learn in one for their entire academic lives, so consider yourself lucky! Imagine the flexibility of wielding mana from any one of the six core emotions – ah, you’ll need it anyhow when fighting those pesky terrorists. Anyhow, it will be about one month per school, super-intensive though, if I might add, so that’ll take you at most about half a year. And at the end of it, if you pass the evaluation, you'll be promoted to the major leagues.”
He looked squarely in Jonas’s eyes. “You see, we have grand plans for you Jonas. Not everyone passes through our gates with that much talent in their blood.” Jonas felt himself shrink back at the principal’s reaffirmation of his talent.
What talent? All I know is that if you prick me, I’ll bleed normal-ish blood.
But the man did not seem to notice and placed his large, powerful hands on Jonas’ slouched shoulders. “The entire federation of Nostriva needs talent like yours. There are some pretty wicked folk trying to stir things up with their petty new magic tricks, and we need to bolster our own forces. You'll be trained by elites at Heartspell, and Jonas," the principal paused, a rare occurrence, before continuing, "We want you to join the Peacekeepers. We’re talking the major leagues now. How does that sound?”
First time I’m hearing of the ‘Peacekeepers’. I wonder if they pay well.
Jonas opened his mouth to reply, but in keeping with his habit of making all his legitimate questions sound like rhetoric ones, the principle spoke first. "Oh, and of course, we'll take care of your family. Generously. You know we at Heartspell spare no expense to care for our top tier students." Then, he sat down at his desk with a confident smile spread across his face, as if he knew that he had dangled just enough bait to seal the deal.
Yeah, I guess whatever the Peacekeepers is doesn’t matter. All I’m here for is to give Janelle a better future and to stop mum and dad from fighting about money all day.
"Sir, if you're saying that I can get a job after just six months of training, I'm all in. But I just need to -"
"Tsk tsk Jonas. It's not a job. You can think of it as a calling.”
Damn, there he goes again.
“You, my child, will be instrumental in the propagation and persistence of peace throughout Nostriva. That's how important it is. And yes, I know what you’re thinking - your studies and training will still continue even while you take on this role, so it’s not as if you get a stunted education. Best of both worlds, isn’t it? Better yet, the moment you sign with us, we’ll send monthly cheques to your family. A generous amount. So you’re going to get a top tier education. And you’re going to get real world experience. Because you, my special one, are going to be a Peacekeeper.”
Jonas still had no idea what a Peacekeeper was. But the offer was beyond tempting - it was perfect.
“So. If it's decided, Jonas, I'll need you to sign this agreement."
A FloatingScreen appeared in front of Jonas in mid-air, with a complex symbol spinning around in the center. "Just fix your eyes on the symbol, and think 'Yes' in your head. That's how we do things here in Heartspell - super progressive and efficient, always up to date with the latest technomagicry. Oh, I could go on and on - but there! We’re done.”
Jonas heard a ‘ding’ as he followed the man’s instructions to the tee.
“Thank you for your time, Jonas, I'll be sending you back to your friend." He swirled his hands, and Jonas felt the familiar numbness of a teleportation spell warping him immediately to elsewhere.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Clem staring at him with a frown on his face.
"Yo! My man. You disappeared for like one second. He wasn’t kidding about sending you back fast, eh?”
“One second? That felt like a few minutes at least.”
“Huh,” Clem stroked his chin. “He must’ve used a TimeSuspension spell then. Who is this guy?”
“Well, he did say that he was the principal –“
Clem’s jaw dropped.
“Hold on a moment buddy, did you just say that the man be ‘The Principal’?"
Jonas was sure he could hear the capitalization in Clem’s version of that man’s title.
“Yeah… I did say that…”
“Okay, okay. Did he say he be the principal of one of the six schools of emotion, or did he just say ‘The Principal?’”
“Just ‘The Principal’,” replied Jonas.
“…Holy mother of Tatania,” swore Clem.
“What?” said Jonas, with a puzzled look on his face. He could not understand why Clem was making a big fuss about this. The usually cool and collected Clem had his hand over his mouth, and was slowly shaking his head in denial. Tatania also wasn’t the name of any Rivoshian goddess he could recognize – she must be one of the goddesses from Clem’s now-annexed homeland.
“It just ain’t possible. Do you know how powerful that man is?”
“Oh dang. He must be a real big shot huh?” said Jonas.
“Yeah, you’re finally getting it. Now you see, there be six schools in Heartspell, and each one has its own principal,” Jonas nodded as Clem explained. He vaguely recalled someone telling him this before. “But they need someone who be strong enough to unite them, someone who great enough to steer all six schools as a single ship. So this man, they call him the Principal Magus. A.K.A. ‘The Principal’.”
Jonas brought his voice down to an urgent whisper, “Huh?! I was just about to badmouth him for being a rambler! Oh wait -dammit, can he still hear me?!"
“Eh, if he wanted to, whispering ain’t gonna help. What in Tatania’s good name did he call you in for?”
“Oh yeah, he was rambling – I mean, uh – diligently expounding on the benefits of Heartspell, and told me to sign up for this six-month crash course where I get to work while studying at the end of it.”
“He called you in just for that?”
“I don’t know, he also mentioned something about Peacekeepers –“
“Peacekeepers?” Clem practically shouted, then started pacing around in a quick circle before placing both hands on Jonas’s shoulders. “My man,” he started, very softly, his eyes wide in disbelief. “You – you were scouted to be a Peacekeeper?”
Jonas nodded.
Clem took his hands off Jonas’s shoulders, took a step back, and in a half-joking manner, bowed all the way to as low as he could go, then stretched his arm outward for a handshake with his head still lowered. “I, Clem de Carteglania, am honoured to be in your presence, Peacekeeper Candidate.”
Jonas shook his hands squarely. “What’s all that about!”
“Ha!” said Clem, with a big smile on his face. “You got it good, my man. Your life is set.”
“So… I’m not sure if you know this already, but I don’t know what a ‘Peacekeeper’ is.”
"Oh yeah, they're nothing at all,” replied Clem with an ironic pause. “They're just the elite intra-Nostriva taskforce organized and funded by all seven countries’ governments to deal with magic terrorists. No biggie."
Jonas’s eyes widened. "What?! I didn't know either of them existed - them or the magical terrorists."
"Well, if they be doing their job, most people shouldn't know about them. Have you heard of the Coalesce?"
Jonas squinted at Clem. "The Co-a-what?"
"Exactly. The Peacekeepers are that good. You’re gonna hear more about the Coalesce once you join the Peacekeepers. Man, those terrorists have been acting up in Nostriva for years."
"Woah… I feel like I've been inducted into a secret cabal. What did I sign myself up for!?"
"Something crazy. And dangerous,” snorted Clem. Jonas looked aghast. Something dangerous was precisely what Jonas was trying to avoid. “But hey, if you’re scouted to be a Peacekeeper, that means you’re frickin’ talented, Jonas."
"Me? Talented? I've not cast a single spell in my entire life! I don't even know how they 'scried' me. So… I doubt they got the right person for the job. But yeah, I’m glad I got the chance to sign up, I guess."
Clem frowned at Jonas, before giving him a reassuring smile and squeezing his shoulder. "Hey. My man. Don't worry. This be Heartspell we talking about. Their scrying be absolutely spot on. No room for mistakes. We ain’t talking about some par-for-the-course magic school here, eh. If they say you be qualified, you are.”
Jonas could hear a comforting certainty in Clem’s voice, and his self-doubt and anxiety began to ease for the first time all day. “Any chance you could give me some spell casting tips so that I won’t be totally lost?”
"Yeah, why not? But I've got a feeling you ain’t gonna need it - you’re on the way to the fast track, Jonas! Oh, and – do you wanna check out some other exhibitions? We’ve only been to two so far."
Jonas nodded, and off they went.