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Nervous buzzing filled the air as the students groused about the test or speculated on their possible scores. Olivia’s cohort had pulled her away from Sarice when they came out; now, they stood off to the side of the building, waiting for the report. Veena had just finished a lengthy exposition about how unfair the test had been and that they should have been given more time. “How many did you finish before the time ran out?” Olivia directed her question to the group as a whole, not just Veena.

“Well over half, at least, but I already told you that. What about you others?” Rald responded loudly, not at all shy about reporting his, in Olivia’s opinion, poor showing.

“I think I was nearly finished, but I lost count,” Shani replied, shrugging.

“Same here,” Veena sighed, a deep frown marring her smooth, white face paint.

“I finished right as she stopped us,” Hanwol replied, “but I was rushing the last third or so. I think I made a lot of mistakes.”

“I honestly don’t know how I did,” Adaida said. “It’s all a blur to me. I think I did a good job on the runes I finished, but I have no idea how many I did. Didn’t you all find that stencil amazingly accurate? I loved drawing with it!”

“Well, yeah, I guess so.” Rald rubbed his chin contemplatively. “It would be nice to have a tool like that, wouldn’t it?”

“I was going to ask you all if those types of things were rare. I’d love to have a slate and a stencil like that!” Olivia looked around, but no one seemed to have an answer for her.

“Maybe we’ll learn to make them.” Adaida shrugged. Olivia was about to reply to her when the crowd of students nearest the door surged forward and started talking loudly. Olivia followed closely behind Rald as he pushed his way through; even considering the gemstone cohorts, he was one of the largest students in the first-year class, and he plowed purposefully through. Soon they were standing at the front of the semi-circle of students looking at the notice hanging in the window.

Cohorts Ranked by Average Score:

1

Jade

2

Ruby

3

Copper

4

Gold

5

Garnet

6

Silver

7

Bone

8

Stone

9

Wood

Top Ten Ranked Students:

1, 2

Gwinna Daneesh - 100%, Olivia Bennet 100%

3

Sarice Fwynal - 95%

4

Gan Bidash - 93%

5

Trinna ap’Ganno - 88%

6

Shani Rishal - 84%

7

Veena Fenash - 83%

8

Rolfo ap’Zahn - 80%

9

Drurl-dak - 74%

10

Pirk Thillis - 71%

“Flames! Nice job, Olivia!” Rald turned and thumped her on the shoulder. Several of the students standing around also turned to look at her, and most of them didn’t seem too friendly. Olivia saw another paper with a much longer list hanging beneath the first one. It had all of the other students’ names and scores listed. She briefly scanned it, noting that Rald had scored a 62%, Hanwol a 68%, and Adaida had just missed the cut for the top ten at 70%. Having seen the results, Olivia started to back out of the press of students, noticing that most of her cohort were right behind her. When they got away from the main crowd, Olivia turned to see what they were saying.

“Not shabby at all! Third rank for our cohort! Bet they didn’t expect that from Copper!” Rald seemed very happy.

“Yes, it puts us in a good position, competitively. Still, this is only the first test. There will be more challenges and tests in the next few weeks, so don’t get too excited.” Veena seemed to be handling the fact that she wasn’t the top scorer much better than Olivia had expected, considering her behavior over the last few days.

“We can talk about it later, but now we have to hurry to Alchemy,” Shani said, pointing to how the other cohorts were walking up the path to the main boulevard.

“Right, let’s go, but congratulations, Olivia!” Adaida said, warmly squeezing Olivia’s shoulder as she walked by.

“Yeah, can you believe it? First rank? Gwinna must have smoke coming out of her ears!” Hanwol was chuckling as he walked by.

“You know she does! Her family probably paid a fortune to get her that rune list outside of the academy,” Shani added, putting her arm over Olivia’s shoulders and hustling her along the pathway with the others. Olivia enjoyed the camaraderie and wanted to bask in it. Still, she had a feeling in the back of her mind that reminded her all too much of college back on Earth - Now, she’d set expectations for herself, and she’d have to work very hard to keep up with them.

The rest of their classes were uneventful that day, all but one exception: during Spellcrafting class, Alyss had pulled Olivia aside and asked her about her progress with meta-elements. Olivia had tried to avoid mentioning her lack of progress by talking in generalities about the one chapter she’d read, but Alyss hadn’t been impressed. She’d told Olivia that she expected big things from her, and she needed to remember to prioritize her strengths. “I hope you aren’t wasting too much time on Enchanting and Alchemy or, stars forbid, physical education. You know that if you intend to be a master mage, Core Development and Spellcraft will be the most critical to your success. Those other pursuits are nice hobbies or good careers for the less gifted, but for you, they are distractions from the true keys to greatness,” she’d said.

Olivia hadn’t known how to respond, so she’d just nodded and said she’d redouble her efforts. It was true, Sange had told them all that Core Cultivation was crucial, and it made sense that Spellcrafting would be too. However, she found it strange to learn that some professors didn’t value the other classes as much. She wondered what Professor Brince would say if she asked her for an opinion. Regardless, she was done memorizing runes for now, so she would turn to Spellcraft with more gusto.

When they finished combat training that afternoon, Olivia showered and changed back into her grays and then told her cohort that she wanted to go to the library to study Spellcraft. No one seemed interested in accompanying her. “Be sure to come back before they close the cafeteria - you don’t want to be wandering the halls when there isn’t any supervision,” Hanwol said offhandedly as she was getting ready to leave.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the professors and staff are all pretty much off duty after that. Who knows what mischief someone like Gwinna might get up to if she ran into you in a dark hallway.”

“Oh, hush, Hanwol!” Veena smacked him on top of his head.

“Well, he’s got a point,” Rald said. “That girl is a little insane.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine, and I’m only going for a couple of hours. Thanks, everyone.” Olivia left before more could be said on the topic. Gwinna did scare her; she couldn’t deny it. The girl was freaky looking, and her personality was colder than a Noah unit. She startled herself with that thought - when was the last time she’d thought about her old life? How strange to think she used to have a Noah unit as a lab assistant on the Ark ship! The six months prior to launch, she’d spent more time with an AI bot than she had with any living person.

Her thoughts wandered while she traversed the halls, and it was with a bit of a surprise that she found herself walking into the library. There were a lot more students there in the evening than in the morning; most of the tables had at least one person sitting at them, though Olivia’s favorite chair by one of the windows, a plush leather one with a footstool, was empty, so she quickly walked over to it. As she crossed the main library floor, she avoided making eye contact with the other students - she wasn’t sure anyone even looked at her, but she didn’t feel like having a conversation, and she also didn’t want to see any hostile glares. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she definitely hadn’t gotten a friendly vibe from other cohorts after the test results that morning. She sank into her chair and spared a glance around, noting, with a sigh of relief, that no one was even looking at her.

Olivia loved libraries, and she was instantly put into a studious mood when she pulled her Spellcraft text out of her ring and thumbed to one of the chapters Alyss had told her to study. She was reading a section about the combination of air-attuned Energy with water-attuned Energy when she had her first epiphany - she’d almost created a meta-element when she’d made her Stunning Ice Shards spell. She’d applied the quality of electricity from the air element to her ice spell. If she’d taken it a step further and combined the two elements with enough Energy and will, she’d have created arcfrost - a far more potent meta-element that was dozens of times faster in the air and carried a much more powerful charge.

She was reading about the methods for combining the elements, her mind racing with implications, when a man cleared his throat near her. Olivia looked up to see an individual unlike any she’d yet met. He was imposingly tall, much taller than Morgan, even - maybe seven feet tall, but narrow and all angles. His nose, brow, cheekbones, and jawline were sharp. His limbs seemed long, even for his height; his fingers, where he held them clutched in front of himself, were like jointed drumsticks - Olivia could imagine him wrapping his grip around a basketball as easily as she would a softball. His eyes were angular, and his sharp ears poked up through his thin, dark hair. When Olivia looked up at him, he smiled, revealing sharp teeth, and his dark eyes conveyed absolutely no warmth. Olivia sat up, pulling her feet off the footstool, and he gestured to it, “May I?”

“Um, sure.” At first, Olivia thought he wanted to take the footstool, but he sat down on it, his long bony knees poking up almost to his chest. He was garbed in a fancy, tailored suit, not terribly different from what she’d imagine someone like Sherlock Holmes would have worn in the 1800s. It was cut from a very rich, deep navy cloth. His pale skin stood out from it in stark contrast. “May I help you?” she asked as he sat staring at her.

“Hello, Olivia. My name is Professor Somhairle. I’ve heard a great deal about you.” His voice was deep and rich, and though his eyes were cold and deep, his smile and the warm timbre of his words put her at ease. She was about to respond with a simple hello, but then she cocked her head and thought about what he’d said.

“Hello, pardon me, but your name sounds almost like it comes from my world. It sounds almost, hmm, Irish?”

“Oh? What a fabulous coincidence. I’m afraid I’m not familiar with your world or the ‘Irish,’ but I can tell you that I’m part Fae, and the Fae are an elder race that has visited many, many worlds.”

“Part Fae? As in fairy?”

“Hmm, that word isn’t familiar, but perhaps. My grandmother gave me this name, though I’ve never met her. I was raised by Ghelli relatives. Enough about me, though, Olivia. I wanted to let you know that I’m impressed by your progress so far. You’ve been quite the talk amongst my peers here at the academy; we’re starting to expect some great things from you.”

“Oh? I’m nothing all that special. Are you talking about the rune test? I’m just good at memorizing things.”

“Oh, good, good, keep your archers hidden in the trees. I love it!” He winked knowingly at her, and Olivia felt embarrassed like he’d caught her in a lie, even though she was only trying to be modest, polite even.

“Oh, I’m not hiding anything,” she said, a bit flustered by his proximity and the cloying scent of spice drifting into her nostrils from him. What was that? Rosemary and almond oil?

“Nevertheless, I’ve been impressed. I’m going to need a new apprentice in a year or two, and I think I’ll be watching you closely. Keep it in mind, Olivia - I have a great deal that I can teach you, and I could even help you sooner if you find you get yourself into trouble. I’ll give you one of my calling cards - simply channel some Energy into it if you’d like to chat. I’ll be able to meet you here most evenings.” He smiled again, and Olivia felt herself a bit more at ease as he reached two long fingers inside the breast of his beautiful vest and came out holding a dark blue paper card. It was about three inches by four and inscribed with silvery runes. He held it out to her, and Olivia reached for it instinctively, not wanting to be rude. It was cold between her fingers like she was holding a flake of ice. An involuntary shiver ran over her spine, and Professor Somhairle let a deep chuckle roll out of his chest. “Excellent. I’ll leave you to study now. Do your best - you’ll need to show some of these whelps who you are sooner rather than later.”

“Thank you,” Olivia said quietly, watching him stand to his towering height, and then he strode out of the library, gone before Olivia realized she’d been holding her breath. She let it out with a gasp and looked around the library - no one else was in sight. She looked out the window and saw that it was pitch dark out, and no one was walking around. How long had she been studying? How long had she spoken with Professor Somhairle? She could swear there had been people sitting around when he first walked up to her, but it only felt like they’d talked for a minute or two. She put her book and the professor’s card into her ring and stood up, wracking her brain to figure out if she’d lost any time. She really needed to visit the market and see if she could buy a watch.