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At the end of every day, the library was always supposed to be my calm place, my home away from the budding belligerents of Cinderfall society. Our school was the juvenile version of court intrigue, where young Lady Sero Gero Bero of House Casper had to woo Lord Augustus Maximus Gilgamesh Thrustus, sixth of his name, from legendary House Heiglin. It was difficult enough trying to remember spells when a thousand epithets waited around every corner. And as I lingered on Roy's heavy-set dimples, I forgot how to relax.
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"I just started Age of Magistry," he said jovially.
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"I thought you wanted help with Holy lessons?"
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"I'm very skilled at neither." He lended me his textbook, Divine Mandate I, practically thrusting it into my arms.
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And flipping open the hard cover, Miura's map flattened in front of my nose. From corner to corner, crooked borders and colored topography filled the margins. Note to self: I would hate to be a map maker. In this gigantic world, there are too many kings who play games with their crowns. The colors on this map could blend into each other at the drop of semen. Look. Caria lies to the north; the nation formerly infested with barbarians is home to a devout culture of chivalric heroes and oppression. But they give other knights a run for their damsels. Bordering them and the big rainbow of the Imperium, you’ll find principalities such as Roland, Suusemont, and Les Maigne. South, along the steppes, the tribes of the Fahrer fight and fuck each other constantly. East, across the vast and colorless archipelago, lie the Soleute, an exotic and mysterious seafaring people whose lands are mostly uncharted.
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Amazingly, every region on the imperial map is home to some bizarre culture with its own magical affinity that follows its own set of rules. The Arcane manifests in strange ways from place to place. Curiously. Know one knows everything, but I know the nature of spells can shift beyond our comprehension. For example, in some rural backwaters, some people are born with the affinity to bend trees. It is uncanny magic, yes, but there is supposed to be a secret for every breath we take.
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So, with all the aforementioned knowledge on hand, I helped Roy fill his ignorance bubble for Age of Magistry. Much easier than filling his belly; and there was no harm in it, especially since it was one of my favorite subjects in the last semester.
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"Have you started without me?" And there was Elise, tome tucked under her arm...
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"You are late." I tried to sound strict and dignified; instead, I sounded like Priestess Serrina, which left me shivering.
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"Yes," she smugly replied, grabbing the chair and sitting in a pretzel. "I'm here to halt your transformation into a prude before it's too late."
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"Hahaha... Haha... Ha."
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One glance at me and she squinted. " Hold on. Something happened to you… today?"
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I was confused and concerned. "Nothing pleasant?"
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“Recently?” Elise was already sitting very far forward, giving me a good, long once-over. Her sunny-side eyes would set fire to the drapes. I couldn’t hope to escape the angst of her scrutiny, which could combat Priestess Serrina in a stare-off contest.
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"Yes, something happened," I admitted ruefully.
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"The priestess disciplined her for muttering curse words in class," Roy casually muttered.
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"Haha, no shit?" said Elise.
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"Shhh. Not so loud; I'm in enough trouble!" I whispered. "You would know everything if you actually attended class. It's not as if I said it to anyone. I just had a strange outburst. It happens!" I was still whispering.
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"Afraid we will pour onto the punishment without our illicit lexis?" She smirked devilishly then proceeded with her bitch voice. "How dare thou soileth these grounds with the feet of a foul mouth. Thou shalt knowest contrition worthy of a hormonal upstart."
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Her Serrina impression was impressive; I snickered a little bit. "How did you do that?"
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"Elise, you sound just like priestess Serrina, right now," Roy gasped. "Do you know that?"
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My snicker erupted into giggling.
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"Sshhhh!"
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Goodness, gracious, I forgot we were in a library.
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Keeping in mind my mortal sins, I sat up straight and comported myself like a disciplined lass worthy of a nun's praise. So, hunched over the desk and surrounded by stone and towering book racks, I watched Elise open her Divine Oratory book. It was a thick tome fluffed with scriptural annotations, the kinds that remind you why each spell exists and so forth.
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"Anyways, why should I help you with the holiest of courses?" I interrogated. “
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"Because I have no interest in it," she snarled.
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"How can you say that?" Roy protested.
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I understood how she felt, a little. "But it's supposed to be among the greater disciplines."
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"Sure," Elise shrugged. "But you know something; I've met plenty of sods who sell The Path of the Chant, and they are no cherubs. Fanatics have given up their humanity in the pursuit of the Seven favors. They’re cannibalistic sheep: no personalities, no humanity, no fun."
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"But the Chant is full of spells that we take for granted," I said. Was I advocating for the ecclesiarch? There’s something I never thought I’d do. "Imagine what we’d be without the power to heal." Then again, the mending powers of the priests could not reset my leg in the end.
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Wait. Was I learning something new about Elise?
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"Yes," Roy desperately agreed. "Without The Path of the Chant and the Hierophant, the Imperium would be another barbarian wasteland."
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"I'm not contesting any of that," Elise replied in her smug manner. "You asked me why I don’t care, and I gave you an answer."
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"Fair enough." I could tell that Roy was disappointed, however. That plump, little choir boy remained devout. I couldn’t deny how scary I found that.
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Less than an hour into our study session, we resorted to reading by candlelight. About then, we turned our pages to the three branches of Holy Magic. The three types of magic are...
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Elise interrupted with a sigh. "Maybe it's time for a break."
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"What?" I glowered. "The library will shut its doors soon, and we've barely brought you up to speed on a few elementary chants."
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"This is what I most need help with," Roy added. "We have to review until we can recite them from memory. I haven’t even remembered the first branch."
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"There has to be a better way to memorize these," Elise shrugged.
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My idea: "What if we had smaller pieces of parchment where you could write the word on one side and the meaning on the other. Flip through them, define, then review on the back until it sticks."
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"Pfft, blew Elise. “That also sounds tedious."
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"Hey, everything is tedious, but laziness can inspire faster and better ways of doing things."
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"You calling me lazy?"
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"No, I'm lazy; therefore, you ought to trust what I say."
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"You guys," Roy moaned, "We have to get through this chapter before the library shuts its doors."
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Elise glared back at her book, totally disinterested.
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I inspected the bored girl. "Hmmm." Maybe there was a way to lift her spirits as well as her interest. "Psst, Elise…”
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She wore the natural squint of a cat.
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“I met a boy the other day…”
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Just that like, her eyes bloomed out from the edge of decay. "What?"
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"You heard me." I played with a little oblivion and pretended to focus on my book. But the girl was clearly intrigued and stuffed with curiosity. I felt her aura grow eager by the second. Gossip is a potent weapon.
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"Are you going to explain yourself?"
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"I will..."
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She squinted.
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"...If we make it through this chapter."
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"That's a trick, Pollux. A dirty, dirty trick."
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"I guess you don't want to review the three branches of Divine magic," I smiled through my teeth.
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Resentful then melodramatic, Elise suddenly buried her nose in her textbook. Worked like a charm!
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Roy wore a furrowed brow the whole time.
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