Changing class schedules and venues was one thing, but walking inside to join what were effectively new classmates was surprisingly stressful. Not nearly as bad as the first day at the Academy, or for Yaric, the first day joining a class, but still sothing that no one had expected.
Of course, so handled the situation far better than others. Sven started introducing himself to people he didn’t know and greeting those that he did. There were a surprising number of students that he already knew, primarily from his morning training and his special crafting lessons.
As they were now in the 8th year class, they would share many lessons with the 9th and 10th years. Anton, Gerrick, and dozens of others had once been in the class above them, so they knew everyone in the 9th-year class and quite a few of the 10th years as well.
Delmar, Cormac, and Chelsea didn’t take long to settle in either. Others, like Kaeden, seed to have a similar reaction to Yaric’s. He didn’t like the pressure of eting so many new people and trying to get to know everyone’s na. Lauren had no issue, but she was naturally more reserved and far more inclined to be friendly when others approached her.
What surprised Yaric most of all was Li Na. Far from carefree and dismissive as he’d expected, Li Na seed more apprehensive than anyone else. She appeared to ignore all of their new classmates but was very transparently listening in to everything around her.
So students in the 9th year students that had fought against Yaric and Sven in their first capture the flag competition did recognize them and call them over. Several also rembered Andrew from when he was in their year. Most of those students wanted to hear more details about the fight and the consequences, but Sven quickly shut those conversations down.
High Wizard Emil Spyros walked to the front of the class to get everyone’s attention. He’d been standing to the side the entire ti so that everyone could make brief introductions and get settled down, but he couldn’t allow the entire lesson to beco a social gathering.
“Ahm…” Emil cleared his throat loudly and waited for everyone to quieten down before continuing. “Welco everyone, and well done. You’ve all moved forward another year. The eighth-year class is rather large this ti, and I know you all have much to discuss, but you will need to do it after your lessons. I have a few announcents to make, and the last of them involves all of you.
“First off, I need the new eighth years to remain separate for now, as I need to go over individualized lesson plans with each of you.
“Second, I would also ask that you try to seat yourselves next to the sa people you were with last year. So of your lesson plans need the assistance of others and they may take your friends into account.
“Also, next week all eighth years will start coming with to the Tech Duinn, where I will help small groups get accustod to the proper thod for practicing dangerous spells. Later this year you will find that you will often have need of them.
“And lastly, I will be going on a sabbatical next year, so this is the last ti I will be teaching all of you. Until my three-year break is over, anyway.”
The last announcent got everyone’s attention. A teacher leaving for three years?
“A three-year vacation?” Soone exclaid.
“Who will teach us if you’re not here?” Lauren asked, just as Kaylin did the sa. They were both disappointed that Emil wouldn’t continue teaching them after the next year was over.
Emil just chuckled. “To answer the first question, no, it’s not a three-year vacation. It’s far more work actually, only it’s work for my own benefit. When you start studying really advanced magic you find you need far more ti than a few hours interspersed throughout the day. The only way I can continue studying properly is to take ti off from teaching.
“And to answer the other question, well, I think it’s best if I let your new teacher make the announcent themselves. Don’t bother trying to guess though, your new instructor is soone I never expected to get tied down with a teaching post. In fact, I believe he once claid that schedules and routines were the first abominations to ever escape the Abyssal Fields, and the greatest plague since.”
‘It can’t be…’
“Why does anyone teach if they can’t study at the sa ti?” one of the tenth-year students asked.
“There’s no one answer to that, your instructors are all individuals with their own motivations. Certainly, the credits earned have so role in all our decisions. I personally find that there is an added bonus to teaching. While also earning credits to fund my studies, a decade or more of teaching often reveals multiple new avenues for research. Besides advancing my current fields, I also have reams of notes for additional subjects to research and practice. Teaching others has always been a significant boon for .
“Now, if the new students would all move to seats on this side. Quickly now. I will co past everyone to show your lesson plans with the help of these Apprentices,” Emil said, gesturing to the side where four more students had been standing completely unnoticed.
Yaric and Lauren had already taken seats off to one side, while Li Na and Sven had still been talking when Emil started speaking, so neither had found seats yet. They quickly ca to join the others.
Yaric and his friends watched the first lesson plans with interest. Each student was handed a thick folder, much like the far thinner folders Yaric was always given before heading out to fulfill an appeal. This ti, however, each folder was accompanied by a large cube that appeared to be made of clear crystal.
It was Emil himself who approached them when it was finally their turn.
“Hmmm… you four. Might as well get this over with,” Emil murmured, flipping through folders that hovered behind him, without ever touching a thing.
“Ah, here we are. Sven McDavids.” A large folder was placed in front of him, along with a cube that Yaric now realized was clear glass with multiple small squares etched around it.
“I’ll go over your lesson plan in a minute, but first I want to talk to all four of you. Each of you has an individual plan, just like everyone else, but unlike most, so of the contents are rather more complicated. Moreover, all four of you will need to learn how to filter your affinities from the neutral arcana. It’s not essential to casting the spells, but you’re advanced enough to begin learning. I will personally teach each of you to filter each affinity, especially you Novice Miller. You have two affinities that will be rather challenging to use effectively.”
“My fire and lightning affinities are recovering though,” Yaric protested.
“Fire and lighting? Those are simple. I’m talking about shadow and space. You have not one, but two conceptual affinities, and both are notoriously difficult to master, even amongst the other conceptual affinities. You will need to put so real effort into learning to filter those, but I expect you to succeed. I know your new instructor will be most disappointed if you don’t,” Emil added with a smirk.
“How much will they improve our spells?” Lauren asked.
“A noticeable amount, but that isn’t much at your level. The main thing is to begin learning, so you have a strong foundation later. Don’t forget that using the right affinity with the right spell can boost the power or effect significantly. It also has the benefit of helping the spell stay together; arcana with matching affinities almost seems to push the spell along, so small mistakes have less impact on successfully casting the spell.”
“And my affinities will help with the lesson plan?” Sven queried.
“Particularly your life affinity,” Emil replied, making Sven frown. “I’m aware of your focus on crafting. Don’t forget that any decent mage or wizard will know a wide variety of spells, and life affinities are fairly rare. It also isn’t necessarily used for crop growth and the like.”
“Where else would I use it?”
“My understanding is you prefer crafts like smithing, but if you ever take an interest in alchemy, a life affinity would be a significant advantage. Then there’s crafting with wood, which also has so advantages. I’ve included lessons for improving your accuracy and finesse when channeling, specifically with runes in mind. Many runes benefit greatly when enchanted using life affinity arcana.
“And of course, there’s also healing. You might not intend to beco a professional healer, but all four of you have so very basic healing spells included in your lesson plans. I would be remiss if I did not add basic stabilizing spells in the lesson plans of students who keep finding themselves in excessive danger. These spells will allow you to provide aid to your friends so you can get them to a professional healer, should you need to of course. And here is one area where an affinity plays an outsized role.”
“Because it can save lives?” Li Na asked.
“Good guess, but no. All affinities are useful, so don’t think I’m in any way disparaging any particular affinity. Just bear in mind that in most cases an increase in power grants the ability to overco a less powerful foe. When it cos to healing, there is no foe. Making your fire hotter won’t have any real impact in most cases; fire is fire and unfiltered arcana will make things burn as well. But healing is different. In many cases your spell will either have the power to repair so damage, or it won’t. Success or failure can hinge entirely on how much power your spell wields. And failure could an death. There is no half-saved life.”
“How useful will our healing spells be then? Only Sven has a life affinity thingy. The rest of us have useful things like ice or air.”
“Just being able to hold a wound closed, or keep soone from bleeding out until help arrives is more than enough,” Emil answered.
“And the rest of my lesson plan?” Sven asked.
“Right, so there is so focus on taking advantage of your life affinity, but there is also a lot of focus on the other three. Fire and earth overlap with magma, giving you a significant boost in power. It won’t add to the power, it will multiply it. That’s also just too much of an advantage to ignore anywhere else it can be applied.
“Your lesson plan expands on what you already know, adds so actual augntation spells, and then opens entirely new fields. We will go over your plan in detail once you’ve gone through it. This cube is for the spell components and spell forms. Obviously, I won’t always be available to each of the six hundred odd students here, but feeding arcana into the matching combination will project the spell you are looking for,” Emil explained, channeling so arcana while he did to randomly activate one of the projections.
“How do I know which combination to use?”
“Everything is in the lesson plan. It will tell you which symbols to match up, though it might take you so ti to get used to finding them. Here are your first lessons. You will first need to master more powerful shield spells, three of them, and then move on to improved fire spells. After that you will be learning so basic earth magic, which is entirely new to you. You may of course co and speak with at any point, or one of the Apprentices who always assist this class.”
Turning to Lauren, Emil placed another folder and cube in front of her.
“Novice Silver, I won’t waste your ti going over the cube or information on affinities again. Your lesson plan starts with the sa lessons as Novice McDavids. All four of you do. You will learn to curve your shield projections and more effectively add layers, then move on to the more advanced fire spells. However, when Novice McDavids starts learning so basic earth spells, you will start learning to use lighting magic.
“Now I think we all know that you four will be switching your plans around and learning from each other as well, don’t think I didn’t take that into account. The spells you’re learning right now are very basic, and every single student here will learn all of them at so point. No decent mage or wizard would have any problem casting such basic spells, no matter what area of magic they fall into. With that in mind, you four will have an advantage if you learn those spells earlier. That just ans that you will be learning more advanced versions while everyone else tries to get the basics. My only warning is, do not let your personal lesson plan fall behind. Ever.”
Lauren nodded. Yaric thought she looked unreasonably excited given the tone Emil had just used, but he wasn’t going to complain about her being happy.
“Novice Jakobson,” Emil stated, dumping a heavy folder in front of Li Na, who looked up at Emil with an expression almost directly opposite to Lauren’s.
“As I ntioned, you have the sa initial lessons as your friends. Curved shields, layered shields, repulsive shields. Then improved fire spells and proper augntation magic. Unlike them, you will then move on to ‘useful things’, like ice and air. Air magic will be expanded upon, and you will learn the most basic ice-based spells to begin with. Air because you already have a foundation, and ice because it features the sa heat removal functions that you’ve already learned.
“However, you will also have the sa earth magic as Novice McDavids, only slightly further along in your lesson plan. It may serve you well to practice along with him. I’ve left water for later as learning in parallel will have benefits for all four of you.”
Li Na nodded, only to gulp nervously when she looked down and saw the size of her folder.
“Novice Miller. The sa goes for you. You have exactly the sa shield spells, augntation spells, and fire spells. After that, you will move on to basic lightning spells, just like Novice Silver. I suggest that you two work on them together, just as Novices Jakobson and McDavids should work together on their earth spells.
“The only slight difference this early on in your lessons plan is so very simple spells that your Sponsor persistently insisted be added early on. They’re just so basic survival spells like being able to make your own drinking water, not pure water mind you. Still, they’re going to take so ti to learn, so I suggest you put so real effort in, or you will fall behind.
“Other than that, the four of you will need to start booking the Tech Duinn next week. It won’t be long until you’re practicing dangerous new spells, and you already have so unfinished spells you need to work on,” Emil said, looking pointedly at Li Na while she stared innocently at the ceiling. “I don’t want to see anyone setting themselves on fire in a Tournant again. Fire goes on your opponent, not your heads.”
With that Emil moved on, leaving Yaric and the others to discuss their lesson plans together. There was so much information to go through, and Yaric wasn’t even looking at the lessons themselves. He was just trying to familiarize himself with the overview. Many spells were specific to their affinities or talents, but Lauren quickly pointed out how the vast majority were exactly the sa, and usually very generic.
“It’s probably like that for everyone. High Wizard Spyros said we were learning to channel affinities early,” Yaric observed. “I bet the lesson plans are similar for all the eighth years, but we have these affinity related spells added as extra.”
“And we have spells that seem to have been added because of the appeals we’ve completed,” Sven added.
“Hey look, I have lightning spells here too! I also get to blast stuff!”
Stolen from , this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The three different classes stayed together when they went for lunch. Most people were either getting to know new classmates or catching up with old friends, but many were also trying to get more information on things like the competition Team Shadow had won. The whole Academy knew all about what happened, but over ti many rumors and stories started getting added, aning that there were often contradictory reports about certain events.
“Is it true that you guys enchanted your own weapons and fired magically enhanced spears that took out whole squads?” Harold, one of the tenth-year students asked.
“No,” Sven laughed. “We made three siege crossbows - “
“Ballista.”
“- and they had a lot of power. It was just leaf springs. But we did make the bolts by cutting off the ends of spears. Nothing was enchanted, there was no magic involved.”
“But they did go right through the shields, right?”
“Oh yes, they were hitting two or three of us at a ti as well,” Ming Yu added. He’d been in the attacking force that got pumled when the siege crossbows were first revealed.
Yaric did feel that so of the questions were a little less friendly, however. Questions like, ‘Did you really find that outcrop you hid on, or did you know it was there in advance’, ‘Who told you about taking hostages’, or ‘How did you happen to have everything you needed for your new fort?’
Sven expertly deflected most of the questions, pointing out obvious facts like how they mapped out the whole area before choosing the sa, and how they didn’t have everything needed for the fort, but they did end up taking all the supply drops from almost every other team, providing them with everything they needed and then so.
Still, Yaric tried to take note of the people asking those questions. He really didn’t want another Andrew in one of his classes.
Flora, Fauna, and Fiends continued to be held with single classes in attendance, so Yaric’s class split off early from the other years after eating and began to jog to the bestiary. There was no significant change or difference between their class before the Solstice Tournant and after, though they had already started learning 8th-year lessons while still in 7th year, so it did make so sense.
The entire lesson was spent gaining practical experience with handling baby lindworms. Each one hid under the bark of trees, so you first had to find them, then once you did, you had to gently coax them out. They were technically a kind of snake, but just like with kobolds, there were many myths about their relation to dragons.
And their unusual abilities seed to justify those rumors. Lindworms grew very long, very quickly. They were generally harmless, but anything around them increased in size in proportion to the growth of the lindworm. That made them highly sought after, as trees in particular could be put on centuries of growth in a single year, but they also represented a threat. Not many trees could grow that fast without destroying everything around them, nor could they always add that much weight and height in such a short span of ti without toppling over. And that’s not even ntioning the pest species that could also experience out-of-control growth simply by being near the lindworms.
Lindworms were also the source of a lot of research into growing things like crops. Their magic not only made living things grow, but they also sohow provided the nutrients and energy to experience that growth. That was the very reason that the Academy had so many on campus, as researchers frequently studied them in an attempt to unlock their secrets. Lauren found the entire topic fascinating.
Horse riding was next, which was convenient. The stables were halfway along the return journey with just a slight detour, so they didn’t have to make two separate runs anymore. Instead, they now went from lessons on magical creatures to lessons on riding one. No one dared call a horse ‘mundane’, or deny it was magical, not in front of Li Na anyway.
Yaric put Shadow through his paces before leaving for archery. There he was the one put through his paces, as Mage Fletcher started Yaric on his space magic almost imdiately.
Arrow after arrow missed their target, either going too low or too high. Each target was over a hundred ters away, otherwise there simply wouldn’t be ti for the space magic to take effect. Space magic required, well, space. In reality, he could easily use the spell at much shorter ranges, but not if he wanted to get in proper practice.
Unlike with sothing like a fireball, small changes in the amount of arcana that he channeled would significantly alter the distance the arrow would travel when under the effect of the spell. It was very similar to what Emil had said about affinities, as changes to how much arcana was channeled would only have slight effects on the temperature. Wind speeds would shift slightly when Yaric cast his favorite wind spell, just because of fluctuations in the amount of arcana he fed it.
Doing the sa thing with the spell he used to shorten the distance to the target had a far more drastic effect. He was effectively warping space, and warping more space, or less, would be enough to completely alter the trajectory of his arrow. Where before he focused on forming proper spell forms, and doing so quickly, he now had to focus on powering them.
Still, it was a good lesson to learn, and Yaric was certain that the others would want to try sothing similar so they could also work on control. Lauren in particular, though everyone could benefit. Yaric also had a suspicion that creating runes might benefit significantly.
There was nothing he could do that evening though, as Lauren was already working on their first new shield spell. Making a curved shield had so many advantages that Yaric was also eager to get it right, so everyone spent the entire evening trying to get it right. It was much the sa as the basic plane, only with a range of additions to the components that created the shape.
The next day they had their first proper magic lesson as eighth years, and it was a revelation. In many, many ways.
The lesson started with so ninth-years calling Yaric over to their table. He’d never been introduced to them before, and he was terrible with nas anyway, but he soon learned that Kendra, Jamie, and Mary-Anne wanted him to join them for the lesson, with promises to help him with his spells if he told them about how he had held off multiple teams to win the competition. They were gesturing insistently in an attempt to get him to join them in the final minute before the lesson started.
“Sorry, we’re supposed to be working together. Maybe so other ti?”
Yaric left as quickly as he could, feeling very awkward. He didn’t want to co across as rude, or annoy soone by throwing an offer of help back in their faces, but he didn’t want to leave his friends behind. Jamie stared after him in exasperation.
Most seats were already taken, so Yaric went around Sven and Li Na to sit on the other side of Lauren, who looked up with a smile when he sat down.
“You all have your lesson plans,” Emil said. “I expect you to have already started. Eighth years, start working on your new shield spell, and let know when you get it right. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right before the end of the week.”
Lauren got it right before the end of the first hour.
“Excellent! You started working on it yesterday?” Emil asked. Seeing her nod, Emil imdiately continued. “Right, you need to test for weak points. I have a box with odds and ends that one of your friends can use. Just don’t throw them too hard, we don’t want ricochets striking students.”
The curved nature of the shield ant that they couldn’t simply strike the shield. That was one test they needed to do, sure, but they also needed to test how the shield deflected objects. Li Na imdiately took possession of the box. It was filled with everything from old buttons to nuts and marbles. One item after another pinged off Lauren’s shield, while Li Na started trying to strike the part perpendicular to her, so the items would bounce back for reuse.
Emil returned a few minutes later. There were dozens of 8th years watching the display, and even more trying even harder to get their own shield working.
“Excellent work,” Emil praised, watching Li Na fling another pair of small objects at the shield. “You’ve picked up this spell very quickly, but so far you’ve also – where did you learn how to do that?” Emil exclaid incredulously.
Lauren's smile faded as she tilted her head. “From the lesson plan. I’m just copying the spell as it was. I haven’t changed anything.”
“No, not the shield. It’s truly impressive, but I’m talking about that!” Emil said, pointing to the dice that had bounced off the shield.
Li Na looked startled, but she snatched up the dice the instant she realized where Emil was pointing. Yaric just had ti to notice that they had landed on double sixes.
“Co now Miss Jakobson, no need to be modest. I doubt there is a single student in this room that could pull off that spell.”
It didn’t help that Li Na had now turned scarlet, or that she sat rigidly in her seat with her eyes darting around like a rabbit that had just picked up the scent of a predator.
“Throw those dice again, please. I must see that again.”
Dozens of students were sitting in dead silence and watching intently. Even Sven was sitting straighter to get a better view.
The pair of dice struck the shield and clattered across the table. A four and a one.
“With your augntation spell, please.”
Li Na let out a resigned sigh and picked up the dice again. This ti they landed on double twos.
Emil stared for a second and picked them up. “Amazing, you’re projecting your augntation spell to effectively create weighted dice. I’ve seen students your age project an augntation spell before, but never one that is then thrown and continues to function. Who taught you this?”
“Wait, Lina can use magic to create weighted dice?!” Vano blurted.
Rows of Li Na’s classmates were staring with open mouths, Sven included.
“Not just that, there’s sothing done to the surface as well. Is this for friction?” Emil asked, oblivious to the stares and glares being thrown Li Na’s way.
“Yeah, if the sides you don’t want underneath have more friction they roll better, and the weighted side has less so it’s more likely to slide and less likely to keep rolling,” Li Na answered nonchalantly. Her entire deanor had now changed to sothing Yaric thought could best be described as ‘innocent indifference’.
“So Lina can cheat with dice?” Vano continued indignantly. “Tell you haven’t been using that spell all these years,” he demanded.
“No,” Li Na replied. Vano slumped back down, already looking more relaxed. “I won’t tell you that,” Li Na continued. “That would be lying.”
“So you’ve been cheating?!” he exclaid, leaning over his table.
“Of course not,” Li Na retorted. “I’ve never cheated.”
Emil seed to be focused on sothing else entirely. “All these years? Just how long have you been able to do this?” he asked, his eyes wide.
“Dunno,” Li Na shrugged. “Around fourth year I guess.”
“You’ve been using weighted dice since the fourth year!” Vano repeated accusingly.
“No, I’ve been using regular dice,” Li Na replied calmly.
This ti it was Sven who continued the questioning, though far more calmly and with a much gentler voice. “Lina, have you been cheating during our gas?”
Li Na looked like she had been slapped. “Of course not! Those are normal dice.”
“But you made them into weighted dice?”
“No, I used skills to throw the dice like any other person. Just like you like to shuffle the dice between your hands before throwing because you think it gives you a better chance of a good roll. And just like you have to throw the dice so they land on the table, without going off or landing on the board. Sa with nerds who count cards and work out chances of winning or losing, or which cards to get rid of. Those are all skills. I just have better skills than you.”
“You broke the rules!” Vano declared.
“What rule did I break?” Li Na asked calmly.
“You… it was… whenever you… you cheated!”
“Nuh ah. Flicking your wrist, aiming your throw, or channeling arcana, they’re all skills. The rules say you can’t use trick dice, and you can’t tamper with them after throwing. I always use regular dice, and I’ve never tampered with them. I shake them, jiggle them, and augnt them, but those are all personal skills that don’t break the rules. The dice are still regular dice, and I don’t do anything after throwing them. Don’t be mad because you don’t have my skills.”
Yaric could see where Li Na was going with her argunt, and even though he personally felt that there was a lot that could be said about the ethics of her strategy, even if she was correct about the actual rules, the looks on everyone’s faces made it all worth it. Many of their friends sat there gaping like a fish, Sven included. Technically, she hadn’t broken any rules, even if the biggest reason was that magic wasn’t accounted for. A horrible oversight for a ga they were playing in a school that taught magic.
Emil sohow managed an expression that looked remarkably similar to Sven’s. “So you’re saying that you’ve been able to augnt an object and throw it without losing the enchantnt? And you’ve been doing this for years? With dice that you only hold briefly before shaking in your hand? Sohow… This is all being done with the basic spell component, and you are selectively augnting weight and friction, exclusively on specific surfaces of a six-sided dice?”
“I guess so. So dice have more sides. But it’s no big deal, I just augnt the part I want, how I want. Like when I augnt my mace.”
“And you’ve been doing this for at least three years?” Emil asked in disbelief. He was staring at Li Na like he’d never seen her before. If Li Na hadn’t been so upset by Sven’s reaction to Emil’s revelation, she would have been feeling very uncomfortable.
“Using concepts in your spells so early, we’re going to have to change your lesson plan,” Emil muttered. “And your Sponsor must be inford, there is no way he or she could…” Emil trailed off and stared at the ceiling for a mont before looking back at Li Na. “You’re sponsored by Council Head Ivers.” It was a statent of fact, not a question.
“Yeah?”
Emil turned around without answering, still shifting the dice in his hand. The spell had long since faded away, but he wasn’t even aware of his subconscious shuffling.
The next half hour was mostly chaos. Li Na was bombarded by questions and demands of rematches, while Emil was bombarded with questions about dice gas and if arcanists could use spells, as well as how to know if they were.
“Novice Jakobson is technically correct. In most cases, unless it is specifically banned, magic used the way she did really is considered part of your skills.”
Li Na grinned triumphantly.
“There are many gas specifically for arcanists that lean very heavily onto skills like hers. You can’t win without them. Make no mistake, she certainly couldn’t affect the dice after they are thrown. If she tips it over using sothing like force or wind she would be cheating, but most gas allow for what she did. If you want to stop that from happening, you need to explicitly rule it out, and you likely need runed dice. They’re cheap and easy to find on campus. Runed dice will glow if they’re exposed to arcana, so you will know if any spells are used. But these are all just gas; they’re hardly important.”
Many people vehently disagreed with that statent, even those who were supporting Li Na, including Li Na herself.
Yaric was trying to ignore the situation so he could get his own shield spell working, and he’d barely let out a cheer as a curved shield manifested in front of him when a ssenger arrived to throw everything into even further chaos. At least for Yaric and his friends, anyway.
“Another appeal?” Lauren asked after Yaric took the ssage.
“Looks like it.”
Emil might have allowed the ssage to be delivered during the lesson, but Yaric knew better than to open it and start reading before the class was over. Instead, he focused as best he could on repeating his spell, which actually didn’t take too much ti despite all the distractions.
He finally managed to open it in the food hall, and it was an appeal.
“What is it?” Li Na asked, trying to change the subject from her augntation of dice.
“Looks like it’s here in Lekton. Soone had their business torched. But why would they submit an appeal instead of going to the guards?”
“’Cos guards are usually corrupt,” Li Na stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Lina, most of the guards risk their lives to do their jobs. People say things like that and then call them at the first sign of trouble.” Lauren never took well to criticism of people who had risky jobs.
“Yeah, well, not the ones I knew.”
“Hey, Lina, isn’t this near where your family lives?” Yaric asked, pointing to the location of the cri. Sven looked over Lina again, just as he’d done in class, but this ti he looked concerned. Li Na snatched the appeal from Yaric’s hand.
She started going through the details herself, frowning more and more. Her jaw clenched at one part that she read several tis before moving on.
“Did you know the victims?” Sven eventually asked.
“No.” Li Na’s answer was very curt, though Yaric got the feeling it wasn’t because of Sven’s questioning in class.
The four of them sat in silence for a few minutes, their food forgotten, while Li Na continued to read. Different emotions flashed across her face every few seconds. Mostly various degrees of anger or rage. Occasionally Yaric thought she looked sad, and sotis even afraid.
“What did the note say?” Lauren asked, pointing to the slip of paper that had co with the appeal and looking for sothing to discuss while Li Na read in silence. She hadn’t given any information on what she read like Yaric usually did.
“It’s from Lloyd,” Yaric replied. “He said that this was nearby and a proper appeal that he thought we’d like to accept. He wants to know if we’re up to it, and asked if we could reply to let him know either way. That’s all.”
The background noises of students talking and eating faded away while Yaric, Sven, and Lauren watched Li Na with mounting concern, their food going cold in front of them. Li Na kept rereading so parts, occasionally even going back. Her lips were thin white lines when slapped the appeal against the table and stared at the far wall, looking extrely conflicted.
Lauren put her hand on Li Na’s shoulder.
“We need to take this,” Li Na said, turning to Sven, her voice almost pleading. Her eyes were slightly red and her lips were set into two thin lines, turning almost white.
Sven didn’t hesitate. “Okay. Then we take this.”
“At least it wasn’t soone you know,” Lauren said consolingly.
…
“It was.”
“But you said that –“
“I don’t know the victim. I know who did it.”
“Wait, what?” Yaric exclaid. “Already? Just from reading that?”
“We’ll find them,” Sven declared, not doubting Li Na’s deduction.
“No need. I know who did it, I know where they are, and I know why they did it. We don’t need to look for anything.”
“But then how co no one else knows? Why don’t they just take this to the guards?”
Li Na turned to glare at Lauren, but her bloodshot eyes quickly shifted to helplessness.
“I told you, they’re corrupt. All of them. You grew up with laws and rules and courts and stuff. Things that protect you. Not all places are equal. In so places, the only protection you have is your fist.”
“Lina, I know that so –“
“No Lauren,” Li Na replied, her voice strained, “you don’t know. Not this. The world isn’t sunshine and rainbows. Not for everyone.” Li Na stood up abruptly. “I need to go to the bathroom.”
Li Na was already several ters away when Yaric called after her. “Lina!”
She paused, but she didn’t turn back.
“I’ll send Lloyd the ssage now.”
That prompted her to look over her shoulder and nod. Lauren chased after her.
“She’s upset,” Sven said quietly. “Do you think the cheating thing has sothing to do with it? This ca just after. Maybe it’s both together?”
“I don’t know, she seed fine until she heard where the cri happened.”
“I’ve never seen Lina like that.”
“I have,” Yaric replied, thinking back on the tis Li Na had behaved strangely.
“You think it has sothing to do with this?”
“No, they can’t be related. But I do think that there’s sothing there that Li Na cares about.”
“Not sothing,” Sven corrected. “Lina never cares about things, not really. Whenever she gets upset, it’s always about people.”
“Let’s go,” Yaric replied, standing up.
“Go where? They aren’t back yet.”
“To go find Lloyd. We can tell him in person. That way we can leave first thing in the morning, otherwise I doubt Li Na will wait.”
“When the others get back. But the campus is huge - we should probably use a ssenger like usual. Who knows how long it would take to find him.”
“It’s lunchti. How long does it take to walk to his table?”
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