Samuel was ready for the knock on his front door that announced Otis’ arrival. What he didn’t expect when he threw the door open was to find that Otis wasn’t alone. Instead, he had nearly half a dozen people with him. He recognized Erik Kiinor from a few of his classes, and a green-robed figure whose name he couldn’t quite remember. He had no clue as to the identities of the other three, however.
“Err, right,” Otis said, seeming sheepish. “Sorry, I probably should have asked if it was alright to bring over a few friends.”
“That’s alright,” Samuel said, doing his best to hide his surprise at this unexpected group of people. “Good evening, Erik. Sorry, but I don’t know any of your names.”
Erik nodded curtly, neither rude nor welcoming. Otis grinned eagerly, then introduced them, starting with the one in the green robe. “This is Augustus Silver. You went to the dinner that his father held, remember?”
And, of course, he remembered Augustus’ name as soon as it was stated. “This is Selena Moran. She’s great with Transmutation Magicks, but she’s also nearly a master at Alchemy already. Here in the back is her cousin Liam. He’s in every class, just like you, but he likes to keep to himself. Last is…”
“Han Welsik,” the last member of the group said, offering a low and ornate bow. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Samuel.”
Samuel thought he quite liked Han, even at this first and unexpected evening. He wasn’t sure if it was the man’s simple clothing or the way he seemed to instinctively know that Samuel wouldn’t want to be addressed as a noble. He offered a bow in return, though nowhere nearly as graceful as the one Han had given. “The pleasure is mine. Please, come in. Welcome to my home.”
They stepped across the threshold with muttered words of thanks, save for Erik Kiinor, who offered him a blank expression that almost covered his obvious dislike. Not for the first time, Samuel found himself wondering what he’d done to annoy that one.
“Welsik,” Samuel said slowly, as the significance of that last name came to him. “As in the country Welsik? Are you royalty or something?”
He was assuming, based off the fact that in Gorteau, the country and the royal family shared a name. Han laughed at the casual way he’d asked. “Yes, I am. Well, as close to royalty as you can be, I suppose.”
“Han here is a member of the greatest craftsman family in Welsik,” Otis added by way of explanation. “He’s a damn good smith, and equally good as a mage.”
From the side, Selena gave a snort. “Equally good as a show-off, you mean.”
Otis saw the confusion on Samuel’s face. “He’s one of the oldest members of the study group. Joined right after me, in fact. That’s why I invited these guys over. They’re all in Astori’s group.”
Samuel regarded them all in a new light, impressed. So these mages had all completed the task of creating their own unique spells already? Then, the meaning of their arrival became clear. “You mean to tell me they’re all here to see the spell I’m making?”
“Well, that’s part of it,” Otis agreed. “But we’ve also missed Seamus’ cooking. It’s been months since the Bragg estate held a dinner, and we couldn’t go much longer without.”
Samuel raised an eyebrow, surprised again. He had no clue that Seamus’ skills were so highly valued outside of the house. Though, considering the social norms of the nobility, he supposed he shouldn’t be too surprised.
“Ah, we have guests.” Samuel turned to see Arthur stepping into the entrance hall through a door that led to the kitchens. “Pardon me, lords and lady. We were not expecting more than Lord Rainhall.”
Otis waved a casual dismissal of the apology. “That’s quite alright, steward. I should apologize for not announcing my intent to Samuel beforehand.”
Arthur offered the group a deep bow. “Well, the more, the merrier. Please, make yourselves comfortable. Refreshments will be here quickly, and we’ll open up the banquet hall for you and our other guests.”
“We have a banquet hall?” Samuel asked. “Why wasn’t I told about this?”
“I’m sure I mentioned it to you, sir.”
Samuel shook his head, and Arthur bowed again. “I suppose it slipped my mind, then. My deepest apologies, sir. I regret my absent mind.”
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
He turned to re-enter the kitchen then, and Samuel caught the smallest hint of a smirk on the steward’s face. His face red, Samuel knew what Arthur was getting at. It wouldn’t have made a difference if he knew about the banquet hall or not, as he wasn’t the socialite that his father had been. By not knowing of the room’s existence, he’d been spared the unspoken obligation of hosting a dinner.
“You let your steward speak to you in such familiar tones?” Augustus Silver asked, waiting until Arthur was out of earshot. “How disrespectful.”
Samuel’s slight annoyance with his steward vanished in an instant, now redirected to the green-robed Silver who thought he could tell Samuel how his house should be. “Arthur is allowed to speak his mind. I don’t want him to change how he speaks just to avoid hurting my feelings.”
He felt a rush of satisfaction as Augustus’s face mouth dropped open in surprise. He caught a slight grin from Otis and Han at his remark. “Let’s go into the rear courtyard. There’s plenty of space there.”
He led the way through the entry hall, then past the kitchens, where the others lifted their noses, sniffing hopefully at the tantalizing scents of roasting meat and freshly baked bread that lay heavy in the air. Samuel grinned at their unabashed interest in the food, but couldn’t blame them. Even his stomach rumbled in anticipation of Seamus’ cooking after a long day of study.
“So, what is the basic principle behind this spell you’re creating?” Otis asked as soon as they were back out in the fresh air under a dark, star-lit sky. “What school of magic is it in?”
Samuel hesitated, uncertain. How had he not thought of assigning it to a school? “I’m not exactly sure. Maybe you can help me figure that part out.”
The others took seats on a nearby bench overlooking the back garden, and regarded him with interest. “Well, show us then.”
Samue closed his eyes, trying to muster his thoughts. It would have been awkward enough to show this to Otis when he wasn’t confident in his skills just yet, but adding on all these other people only heightened his feelings of insecurity. What if he couldn’t remember how to work the spell and embarrassed himself in front of all these skilled mages? He still couldn’t push the net further than the tips of his outstretched fingers, which wasn’t nearly far enough for the intended applications of the spell.
But he tried it anyway, willing his mana to spread further from his body. There was the telltale sensation of cool wind on his body as his warm mana slowly spread out. To his delight, he found that it actually spread quite a bit further than it had last time, ending just a foot away from his fingertips on either side. But he could also feel the pressure building up in his head and knew he was going to reach his limit quickly. Rather than experience that sharp pain again, he let the mana go, allowing it to shrink back to its original size. Then he opened his eyes to see the others watching him still, their eyes expectant.
“What’s wrong?” Selena asked, frowning slightly. “Can you not do the spell?”
“I… just did it,” Samuel replied. “The idea is to stretch my mana out over a large area.”
“Oh!” She seemed a little embarrassed now. “Well, that’s pretty cool.”
“Pretty cool?” Otis asked, leaning forward and staring aghast at her. “Don’t you realize show. “It’s to detect any magical presence within the area that my mana touches.”
That made Erik go quiet, he noticed with satisfaction. To add to his glee, both Otis and Rainhall suddenly looked thoughtful. Even Augustus and Selena showed real interest now, rather than the pantomime they’d maintained since their arrival.
“That’s interesting,” Han said slowly. “It uses the principles of identifying magic, but at a much larger scale. It’s as if you’re examining a magical artifact, but you could do it from across the room.”
“Well, I can’t stretch it that far just yet,” Samuel admitted nervously. “But that’s the idea. I just have to work on stretching my mana further before it could serve as a real spell or technique?”
“Well, you could definitely work on it a bit more,” Otis agreed. “But that’s already good enough, Samuel. Definitely good enough for Master Astori, I think.”
Han nodded in immediate agreement, as did Liam and Selena. The woman’s opinion of Samuel seemed to have changed very quickly since she’d met him. She’d probably thought he was an impatient first-year trying to prove that he was superior, he reasoned. Well, he wasn’t going to acknowledge that false assumption.
“Are you sure?” he asked, frowning as he thought about his friend’s evaluation. “I didn’t think it would be that easy to come up with one. Shouldn’t I put more work into it before I share it with Master Astori?”
Otis shook his head, grinning. “Well, of course, you have to put more work into it. Nothing’s perfect. But as far as the requirement for joining the study group, this is perfect.” he turned to the others. “Don’t you all agree?”
All five of them nodded, though Samuel thought Kiinor and Silver seemed a little reluctant. Han appeared to have noticed this, for he laughed and clapped Kiinor on the back. “And here you thought you were going to be the only first-year to get in. Seems we’ve got two geniuses this year, eh?”
Kiinor could only scowl, as he had no verbal reply. The others laughed again at his obvious embarrassment, and even Samuel couldn’t avoid a small smile, though he turned away quickly to hide it. He felt as if he’d just downed an entire pot of coffee with the delighted energy that was coursing through him at the praise from the others, though. He’d finally figured it out. With just a little practice, he’d be on his way to mastering magic in no time.
“Well, thanks for the input,” he said, trying his best to sound casual. “I’ll show it to Astori tomorrow, and work on it when I have time. Shall we go back inside for some dinner now?”
They all made noises of enthusiastic agreement, and they filed back into the mansion to the inviting scent of dinner. Just inside, Otis put a supporting hand on Samuel’s shoulder. “I had a good feeling about you when I met you, Samuel. We don’t get talent like yours all that often. I bet you’re even going to get top grades in the finals next month. Might even skip a grade if you’re lucky.”