Sacrifice Mage-Chapter 30: Late to Class

I was a little impressed this Rakshasa mage was confronting me directly. Surely, she had
some
idea it wasn’t me taking her job directly. Master Kostis was officially the one who had taken the locomotion job and had gone on to offload the task to me.
Clearly, she had seen through that, and she had learned it was me who had actually done the job instead.
“I mean,” I said. “It didn’t have your name on it or
reserved
in big bold letters or anything like that.”
She scowled. “I was
sick
, you imbecile. Mana-flu. Not that I expect a weakling like you to understand what it feels like. The only way humans like you can advance is with your little tricks and by worming your way into other people’s good graces to take advantage of them.”
I shrugged, keeping my temper in check. “That’s rather harsh, don’t you think? No one told me you were so… determined to get that job. And it’s not even Guild policy to keep jobs in reserve for anyone, is it?”
“Innocence by dint of ignorance does you no favours!”
“Well, what’s done is done. No point in crying over spilt milk—”
Forget magic, the way her hands balled into fists, she looked like she was going to pummel me herself. “Don’t you
dare
mock me, you
Pits-cursed mongrel
.”
I waved one hand at the job board lazily. “Mind pointing out any jobs on there I shouldn’t get? Any of them you want to reserve ahead of time?”
Before she could reply—with what probably would have been more cursing—a loud cough interrupted us. We both turned to see the tester Ogre, Kliezeg, walking over. His expression, like before, was a little hard to read.
“If you are looking to resolve a disagreement via violence,” he said. “The Mage Guild does have dedicated spaces for duels. Although, I should hope a Silver-ranked mage wouldn’t need to resort to such a measure against—” He turned his slightly accusing eyes on me. “—an Iron-ranked one.”
“No, of course not.” Said Silver-ranked mage was controlling her anger very tightly now. “Why would I ever lower myself to such a degree?”
“Can’t
lower
yourself
to a fight, huh?” I said. “You’ve got no problem lowering yourself to a shouting match, though.”
She growled, but once more, Kliezeg replied before she could go on.
“Mage Moreland does have a point, Mage Aninta,” he said. “Guild policy does not allow for jobs to be
reserved
in any fashion or manner, regardless of whatever intra-communal arrangements have been made between fellow mages. You know this as well as anyone.”
“I—” The Rakshasa mage visibly collected herself before she went on. “I am aware, Kliezeg.
Thank you
.”
“I am also aware, Mage Aninta, that you have dependents who are, well, dependent on you. But think of what lessons your little ones would take from such a display. There are a vast number of other jobs, and there is no need to be desperate.”
“I wasn’t
desperate
.” She sighed, then lowered her voice. “I apologize for my conduct. I gave in to a moment of frustration, which was unbecoming of me.”
I slowly nodded. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have escalated the issue with mocking.”
Apologizing to someone who had started the whole issue didn’t feel bad at that moment.
Dependents
, Kliezeg had said. I had become so automatically antagonized towards anyone who wasn’t human—because of their insistence on seeing me as a lowly human—that I had forgotten everyone had their own struggles.
Ring Four, Ring Three, it didn’t matter at a basic level. Everyone had families to feed, children to protect, loved ones to care for. I’d have been annoyed if I had lost a job opportunity and was now worried what I’d be feeding my kids the next day.
Sure, it probably wasn’t
that
financially bad for Mage Aninta, but it was still relevant.
If anger made me lose sight of an elemental level of empathy, then what was the point of being angry?
Mage Aninta offered both me and Kliezeg a short bow, fist to chest, a sign of grudging respect. The basic level of respect that anyone should offer to others. “I will take my leave, then.”
I watched her go for a moment. Kliezeg continued observing with a weird look. I still didn’t get that guy’s deal. He was weirdly inscrutable. What was worse was the stupid pang in my heart when I looked back at the departing Rakshasa woman. She had acted out in frustration and I wasn’t responsible for her life.
But my mind still replayed images of the children Sreketh had brought over to the fete, of how relieved they and their matronly guardian had been when the kidnaped kid was returned.
Sighing, I called after her, “There’s a few other locomotion jobs on the board. I won’t be taking them, so you don’t have to worry.”
Aninta turned back with a surprised look. “Even if they’re lucrative?”
I shrugged again. “The way I got the last one doesn’t appeal to me.” That was true. Appreciative as I was of Kostis’s help, screw gambling. “I should be able to hit Silver soon enough on my own. And besides, my client said he might repeat his order, so I can just take that job again. Right, Kliezeg?”
Kliezeg scrutinized me for a moment before answering. “If it is merely an extension of the previous order he posited, then yes, no new application will be necessary.”
“There you go.”
Mage Aninta nodded slowly. “I appreciate your reassurance.”
And then she left. I wasn’t certain if I was supposed to say farewell to Kliezeg or not, because everything about the guy felt awkward, but then he piped up himself.
“The beginner mage class starts in a few minutes, Mage Moreland.”
“Ah, crap.” I started walking off, but jerked myself to a halt. “Thanks for, uh, assisting.”
Then
I got going.
A quick conversation with Silhatsa told me that the classroom was deeper in the Guildhall. I wasn’t exactly keen on exploring the castle, especially since I inevitably got lost and ended up at what looked like a trading workshop or something of the sort. A bunch of mages were exchanging everything from glowing crystals to living creatures.
I suspended both amazement and judgment, then went on my way and somehow ended up at the small lecture room where the class was being conducted.
Foolishly, I thought I’d be able to sneak in, but the old Scalekin professor who had already started the class—rightly so, I
was
late—briefly called me out for my seeming tardiness. I didn’t make excuses and just took the nearest seat that wasn’t too close to anybody.
The narrative has been taken without permission. any sightings.
“As I was saying,” the professor said. “We will go over the basics first.”
She did just that. I wasn’t paying a ton of attention at first, since I had a decent idea of how Aspects, Affixes, and Attributes all worked. What I was really here for were the talk on Paths.
I did find it interesting to observe what Scalekin looked like when they got old. The academy professor’s scales were a dull, linty grey. I hadn’t seen a Scalekin with hair yet, but it looked like the scales lost colour just like hair did on humans. Her eyes were rather rheumy too, and she leaned on her staff of knotted wood as she walked while explaining things at the head of the classroom.
“And much of this,” she said after having explained what Aspect, Affixes, and Attributes were. “Is derived from your Path. Not only do Paths determine what Aspects you can learn, but they can also affect your Attributes as well. Us mages have a common case for this. Anyone want to volunteer what that is?”
Before I could even consider doing so, someone’s hand shot up fast like it was launched from a sling. “Spirit!” he said. The Rakshasa sounded very young. “It’s Spirit, isn’t it?”
“Correct! For most mages, our Paths offer us Spirit as an Attribute to improve our ability to handle mana in various forms and also improve our Aspect’s inherent magical capabilities, unless there are other Attributes involved.”
The professor came to a stop at the head of the class, looking over us all. “Paths can rank up just as Aspects and Attributes, but unlike those, Paths can also
evolve
. That is one of the few hidden facets of the Path that the Weave doesn’t immediately make clear. Does anyone know any other hidden characteristics about Paths that aren’t easily seen via the Weave?”
The same guy—kid, or teenager, really—raised his hand high once again. “Paths also have secret properties that denote their rarity, their rate of growth, their
theme
, and so on!”
“Correct again. Well done. How are you so knowledgeable, lad?”
I was too far back to see, but I was pretty sure the kid had lowered his head in embarrassment. “Um, I’m from the academy, professor.”
“Oh!” She laughed heartily. “A cheater, then. But yes, that is true. Paths possess hidden characteristics that can better identify their capabilities and their potential. That is one of the things that we will be exploring this session. But first, a small exercise. Let us all take turns showing the class what Aspects we possess.”
I wasn’t prepared for a show-and-tell session in a beginner-friendly mage class. Still, it was interesting to see what kind of powers other people had.
Some of the ones that caught my eye were a younger Scalekin woman making plants bloom from her hand, an elderly Plumefolk fellow breathing out scalding steam, and the Rakshasa academy student with a small blue fire that he called Spiritflame. That was the only Aspect no one in the class was able to guess. No, Aspect of Blue Fire wasn’t considered a correct suggestion.
When it was my turn, I just showed how I could make the table in front of me float. Unsurprisingly, a few people were able guess Gravity pretty quickly.
“What about you, professor?” the younger Scalekin woman asked. “I know you’ve probably got several, but what’s your favourite Aspect?”
The elderly academic laughed. “Brace yourselves.”
She tapped her staff once again, before raising it high. I really should have taken her at her word because a moment later, a storm erupted into being.
Like most other students in the small room, I was nearly blown out of my seat by the force of the wind slamming into us all. The furniture shifted, the windowpanes fluttered, and several people screamed out. I could hardly breathe enough to express enough myself. Through it all, the professor’s maniacal cackling boomed alongside the peals of thunder.
It stopped as suddenly as it had started, leaving us all winded.
“Anyone care to guess what that Aspect was?” the professor asked, back in her soft, sweet, grandma voice.
“St—storm?” the Plumefolk fellow suggested. He was having a little trouble getting back to his seat.
“Gale!” someone else offered.
“It’s got to be Wind. But… I did hear thunder…”
I cleared my throat. “There were multiple Aspects weren’t there?”
The only reason I got my answer in was because the Rakshasa teenager was still winded when I spoke, though he had recovered by the time I finished.
“Wind, yes,” he said. “And Cloud. And Lightning.”
“You got a lot of favourites,” I muttered.
“Correct!” The professor laughed. “How nice that some of you caught on. Well done!”
“So many Aspects at once…” the younger Scalekin woman said. “Your Path has to be one of the strongest in Zairgon, professor.”
“Oh, please. My Path of the Stormcaller hardly reaches the high echelons of what Zairgon’s mightiest are capable of. If you must know, I haven’t even reached Opal yet.”
That bit of info made me pause for a second. If causing a miniature storm was still a Gold-ranked capability, then what in the world was someone like Kostis, who
was
Opal-ranked, capable of? I had seen him make his smoke do strange things, but clearly, he was more powerful.
A lot more.
“What
are
the strongest in Zairgon capable of, professor?” someone asked, echoing my own curiosity. “We don’t get to see them around very often.”
“That is true. I don’t think most of you would have been alive during the Pinion Raids,” she said. The older Plumefolk man chirped to himself but didn’t have anything to say. “Ah, yes. You must be well aware of what Zairgon is capable of. How the city has a storied tradition of its inhabitants coming together when the time is ripe to muster its greatest strengths.”
I frowned at the idea of the city
coming together
but decided against saying anything.
“I’ve seen… some of it, yes,” he said. “It would indeed make this look like child’s play.” He chirped again, this time more anxiously. “No offence, professor.”
The professor nodded her scaly head. “None taken. It is good to acknowledge the past. It is good to remember to the cessation of wars about differences that hardly matter, of the ancient pact on the onset of the Weave itself that allowed Zairgon to be founded and to even prosper to an extent when much of the world itself fell to ruin…”
She was silent for a moment, clearly lost in recollections. I had a feeling magic might extend one’s lifetime in this world, but I was pretty sure this old serpent couldn’t have been alive when Zairgon was
founded
. Hadn’t that happened like a millennium ago?
Plus, seeing Ring Four’s state made all the talk about Zairgon coming together sound a bit rich.
Then again, she
had
added the addendum of a time of need. Plus, Silhatsa had mentioned people like Guildmaster Lancko keeping a close eye on developments, even if they were sequestered to Ring Four for the moment.
The lecture about Paths went on a bit longer, but it didn’t last long before we got to the individual portion that I was looking forward to.
Apparently, we were going to get our Paths tested for those hidden characteristics the professor had mentioned earlier. It wasn’t a mandatory test. As such, a couple of people, including the older Plumefolk fellow, left the session. But most stayed.
It was also mostly a private thing, where the discoveries could remain strictly between the professor, the person being tested, and any Guild administration who needed to be informed—the old Scalekin academic was also part of said administration, though on a part-time basis. The rest of the class wouldn’t need to know about it.
I wasn’t the first to get up and undertake the test, and some of the takers were definitely secretive about what they found out. Still, I did observe the test itself curiously.
The glass cube was back, and it had brought friends. They weren’t the plain, transparent ones that Kliezeg had used, however. These ones were a little smaller, and a more translucent ochre. Just like Kliezeg’s one, they indicated properties via colour.
It took some observation, but it looked lighter colours indicated better properties? Well, I saw two people get shades of dark green and dark blue, and neither had looked happy, but then the younger Scalekin woman got light orange and yellows across the board, and she was almost ecstatic about that.
Most of them decided against sharing the specifics with the rest of us. Sad, but understandable.
The young Rakshasa didn’t bother hiding anything though. His first test appeared a dark red, but then the next two both showed a vivid, bright gold.
At a nod from him, the beaming professor announced, “A low Iron rank at the moment, but possessing high potential! From what I can tell, our young friend here will possess at least two powerful Aspects, capable of reaching Jade at least!”
Several people gasped. The Scalekin woman clapped lightly. Impressive as that sounded to me, the implication left me too curious to copy the others. The way the professor had said
Jade, at least
made it sound like Aspects had limits. Like certain Paths could only reach a certain rank before stalling. I didn’t like the thought of that.
Then again, she had said
at least
. Maybe there were ways to push past. Maybe it was a matter of the right breakthrough again.
Another person went, keeping their findings secret, and then it was my turn. I was a little nervous, but I tried not to show it, greeting the professor with a little smile. Taking the indicated seat, I held out my hand to touch the cubes.
The first glowed red, less dark than the young Rakshasa’s, but still pretty dull. All I got was a nod from the professor, like this was expected.
That was when the other two cubes decided to glow as well. One glowed a bright, shining gold, almost sun-white in radiance. And it kept growing more radiant, so much that I actually had to avert my eyes. The last cube glowed too. Not as bright as the second, but this one chose to blink through multiple colours, going from green to blue to purple and more.
The professor gasped. Loudly. My heart thudded in my chest as everybody who still hadn’t left started gawking.
Well, so much for keeping things to myself.