I woke up the next morning to a knock on the warehouses front double doors. After quickly putting on the inner sheet of my student uniform and veil, I then rushed to the door to see the kelton woman from yesterday, wearing a brown dress with a white undershirt. She gave a light bow and handed back my academy robe, good as new. As she brought up her head she looked past my shoulder and pushed past.
She took in all of the cob webs and dirt on the wood work. When she turned around her face had the look of a mother getting ready to scold her child from what I could tell through her marble white eyes. She put up her hands and motioned around to the surrounding mess.
I looked away for a moment to hide the sheepish expression on my face, surprised at my own lack of irritation at her barging into my home.
"Look I am a student mage, I have far too many things to do. Besides it was like this when I got here and will be like this when I leave it." I said defensively, trying my best to justify my messy habits.
She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot. After shaking her head, she put her hand to her chest and then made a motion of sweeping a broom. She then stuck out her hand making the money gesture with her fingers.
'Well it's not like I have a prayer of keeping the thieves from coming in here when I'm gone. Might as well let some one in who will do me a service.' I thought as I cleared my throat.
"Ok, how about 15 coppers for two cleanings a week?"
She pondered it for a moment. Then she put out her hand, which I completed with a shake. After she left, I headed towards the back where I took out a bark craft I made last night. The past few mornings I had been getting by on cold water showers using buckets from the local well. The river was used by the locals, and I'm ashamed to admit myself, as a local toilet stream. It was already dubious just being here in the middle and I wasn't going to take any chances of infection.
Pressing the button on the diagram, a low flame sprang up. When the bark was dropped into the bucket, the flame went out. Then there was a small glow of orange for the barest fraction of a second. Fortunately, the fire existed just barely long enough to gradually heat the water in bursts. When it got to the right temperature, I stuck a stick in the bucket to turn the device off and brought the now warm bucket onto the water platform.
'Oh God, how I've missed this.' I thought to myself when the bucket tipped over my head and washed my bare body in water that was close to being too hot but after days of cold showers I didn't care. The heated water spilled into the river on the left side of the platform over it, which was the spot I arbitrarily designated as my shower.
Chewing on a quick breakfast of beef jerky, the trip to the academy seemed a lot more bearable this morning. Even the streets didn't seem so smelly and awful on this fine day. Coming up to the waiting area, I started going over what my plan was going forward now that I had a general sense of the landscape, both technologically and in terms of the peoples flawed perceptions. I had to admit the people here being so uninterested in understanding the wider world was off-putting.
Did no one try peering into the possibilities of chemistry or to develop the great machines of industry? My people had none of the magical abilities these people do but still managed to put in the effort to understand and push the boundaries of the worlds physical laws. Well, I will just have to push enlightenment on these people one revelation at a time.
'All right, first things first. I should try releasing a few new inventions. Then my reputation will...no. If I start standing out too much, I may draw attention from unwanted people. I still have no idea what that Necromancer cult was doing or if they even know about me. Even if they did know what happened, would this world have the equivalent of a camera to let them know what I looked like? Ok then, I will stick to being a crafter prodigy. That will get me some recognition but it will hopefully be the regular type of attention. The necromancers will probably not take an incredible crafting talent to mean I came from another universe as opposed to me making flying steel vehicles" I mulled it all over as we were escorted to the classes by the patrol.
Upon arrival, I immediately made for the lady with short brown hair who directed us the first day, ready to do a most distasteful act.
"Ma'm I would like to take the Fronts courses" I said, just containing my disgust. To get accepted as an officially recognized mage of the Diamond academy a student had to attend a few lectures from an accredited member of the Front and learn history, in addition to learning their magical talent levels workings. An evil I was apparently going to have to suffer.
"Ah well we have a history lecture starting today, it will be a general series of lectures covering basic events so it should be quick and painless. It's up on the 5th floors lecture hall everyday at noon with the survival courses immediately after. I can have you penciled in for registration." She said.
"If you would, thank you." I replied gratefully. I spent the rest of the morning working on practicing my crafting. I got the most basic elements and some of the more complex mechanisms down but mastering these was another story. This was the first time where I had to strictly monitor my thoughts when making something. It was easy in the smaller crafts but it got harder as space became more premium. Trying to lay down a 2 squares inside each other was pretty easy, but putting down 3 squares without explicitly thinking about them not touching was proving to be a challenge.
Not to mention the math involved. For the pulse system to work effectively, it would need to have responses for the pulses it got back, not just judge responses based on the time it received them. So if it sent out two, I would need to do the math if it got back 3 for a confirmation or 1 for a rejection. It wasn't particularly hard, but if it wasn't for my hundreds of years of practice in patience it would probably take me a week to build a single item considering the mistakes had to have whole sections burned out through mana overload.
Finally, the time for the lectures came. The class room looked more like a miniature amphitheater, with wood benches and a plain empty space in the front. There was quite a crowd with a lot of students sitting in various spots, mingling among themselves. Finding a good spot, I sat down in the back and leaned against the wall shutting my eyes as I waited for the lecture to begin.
"Hello class, happy to be here today?" I opened my eyes to see a middle aged man came in, wearing his white and blue staff robes. He was a late 30's man with no hair and green eyes with a slightly pudgy frame. Apparently I had fallen asleep at some point.
"All right, my name is George Winston and my time is valuable, so lets get right into it." He said, with no patience for a preamble.
'Odd, not a very gripping introduction' I thought to myself. The coming material soon showed why there was no need for further elaboration.
The teacher started off with a brief introduction of the coalitions history, how it was formed, what lead to the unification, how the mainland let it split off with their consent in exchange for a payment plan. That was actually interesting, but when he got to the subject of the presidents ancestors coming to power it took a less objective turn. Long, grand descriptions of their forefather's bravery in leading the nation near its inception started the whole affair.
It had all the hallmarks of great propaganda. Their genius and ingenuity overcoming the enemy's, be they human or orc, treachery and deceit which they made sure to emphasize were two totally different things. The inevitable greatness of their destiny as leaders to our unfailing nation were consistent themes. It all had a mix of naked bravado and absolute assertion of righteousness that was something I had seen many, many times before. Whether it was oppressive dictatorships, or dying democracies, they all resorted to the same tired tropes when they needed to.
I was actually a little grateful for this. Since it seemed not even the teacher believed the dribble he was spouting, I was free to go over various crafting ideas in my head. Although I was little perturbed by how many of my fellow classmates seemed to be buying this shtick.
Thankfully after an hour, the endless stream of bleating came to an end. As the teacher was shuffling out of the room, another older man with a strong chin and brown eyes dressed in a guards uniform came through. His grey hair peppered with flecks of black marked him as being just near the edge of retirement.
No, not a guards uniform, the Fronts uniform. I could see on his shoulder plate the shield symbol with the elements insignia's on it.
"Evening kids. Now before we begin know this: I don't care about you as mages. I've seen a scion die from the antler of a single horned rabbit skewering her through the heart and I've seen a human without a bit of mana to his name take down 10 orcs with nothing but his wits, a few opportunities in the surrounding terrain, and a sword." His deep voice was barely above a regular speaking tone, but it commanded respect irregardless of its volume.
Some of the caster level students bristled at this comment, while a few of the crafters sprinkled through out the groups seemed intrigued.
"Now, yes, magical abilities are important. But knowing what's out there, how to deal with it, and how to navigate the civilized parts of this world to their maximum effect in the wilderness are essential to survival. I can only teach you about the first two in this class. But for the third there is one fact I can impart to you: always check in with the Front if you move to a new area. We will have all the info you need on local threats and the latest happenings."
He said as he strode back and forth in front of everyone holding his hands behind his back. At the last part of the speech he stopped and looked around the room. This time the hardened veteran faded a little as a sadder older man who seemed to wonder if it's time to hang up his coat took over.
"Usually we would go over various magical plants and creatures. Not just how to spot and catch them, but how to dissect them in the most efficient way possible. However, due to a recent... incident we will be focusing on threats, both to yourselves and humanity. The first and foremost among these will be the orcs."
There was a intake of air from most of the students. From what I could tell, most of the students here were from well to do families who think the touch of such horrors was something the peasantry had to deal with. Hearing about them in the context of what they personally were going to do about it was like a slap of cold water on their faces.
"What I am about to tell you is basic stuff you should know by now, but it is by re-affirming the basics that a solid foundation can be laid." He said as he gave a light, throat clearing cough.
"The orcs are a parasitic species created by Garren the distorter. They are just one of the gifts this mad man left for us but this lecture will focus on his most prominent creation. Having a height more typical to the average human with a physical body more similar to ours one could mistake them for human from a distance if not for their green skin. Especially compared to, say the keltons.
They are mono gendered, relying on us to provide reproduction. They don't have any ability to produce magic capable members semi-randomly like us. This is made up for by the fact that if they do manage to secure a mage for reproduction, all of their children will be magic capable. Which is just one of the reasons we have been so reluctant to allow mages engage with them and it is of utmost importance that you be prepared to engage them."
A girl in the front row raised her hand.
"Sir, if they are not magically capable then how come we haven't eliminated them already?"
"Excellent question." The veteran said, actually giving a light smile.
"Frojan are man sized frogs. Having the intelligence and magical capabilities of humans, with the caveat that they can only use the water element, they are far more evenly matched on the magical aspects with us. Allying with the Frojan has also allotted the orcs several advantages aside from their straight magic capability. The Frojans home is the entire southern swamp making it nearly impossible to fully push out the orcs with its deep rivers, innumerable hiding holes, and their riverboats specially made to go in and out of the muck. For the local region I would say a unique advantage they have is the water ways. These are the vast network of creeks and underground rivers that run all through this section of Palantia to the swamps.
Water has carved out these rivers in the hard stone over the course of thousands of years and finding all of the entrances and exits is a fools dream. The Frojan maintain these tunnels with magically assisted crafts that speed them and their cargo along at great speeds. As this region is not prone to earth quakes this has made the underground network far more viable compared to making artificial tunnels in the more volatile western region."
He drew a deep breath.
" They can pop out of a hole in the ground in a flash and hit you anyplace, anytime. There are few countermeasures to these tactics and frankly your not going to like them. The first is a poison pill."
A lot of the students were taken aback, some even stood up in outrage.
"What?!"
"Ridiculous, we're expected to just throw our lives away?"
"So we're just dead? Is no one going to even try and save us?"
Apparently the veteran expected this as he just put up his hand to stop the noise.
" First of all yes, even the women will be expected to take the pill. They may not be able to mate with you but they can still use your abilities to devastating effect. The men especially will be expected to follow through as their capture and the subsequent surge in magic capable orcs will allow them to kill troops and capture other mages with far greater ease." His voice was hard as steel and allowed for no arguments through the anger in his tone.
After taking a moment to collect himself, a sense of quiet pain now seeped into his voice as he squeezed his hand behind his back.
"As for the second question, no, there will be no rescue. As you are dragged through a pitch black tunnel barely big enough to fit a single person in, there will be no way to catch you. A lot of the tunnels have been shaped into straight shots through hills and forests over the years. Even if that were not the case the tunnels are dozens of feet underground and have special enchantments that move the Frojan in them at speeds exceeding the gallop of the fastest horses.
But lets say you manage to get free of them in the tunnels some way, some how. What then? Your underground with no light and whatever air supply you managed to steal from them. The runes won't activate for you and the tunnels resupply areas are laid out with the expectation that your swimming at speeds that would make a fish envious. What do you do then?"
He gave a deep sigh and looked over the students with a sense of pity.
"No. Once your dragged into the tunnels you are as good as dead."
"The only other protection is numbers. Going out by yourself in the southeastern region near the Bulwark is ill advised. Heck its not completely safe in the immediate western and northern region either. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you have to go out alone, try to stick to the more heavily forested sections with older trees. The deep roots have collapsed most of the tunnels or soaked up the underground mana they would need to fuel their enchantments."
He went on for a little while about the various tactics orcs used in battle then moved on to their typical weapons and armor combinations. It seems the water isn't good for bows and metal armor obviously wasn't an option for them either. Mainstay weapons consisted of short swords and axes used for both close combat and throwing. Some use blow dart guns with small wooden spikes laced with a sleep inducing poison. Their shields were small here but nearer to the swamps they tend to carry larger ones.
"All right that is it for today. Know that whatever your abilities or how much you know, luck and circumstance can decide your fate at a moments notice out there and in here. We have the semester reward trials coming up so we will go over other threats in 3 days with a small break for a few days after. Remember your chance to really shine and put your best foot forward for the whole world to see is only 5 day's away, so prepare your best spells, crafts, and ambitions. After the trials we will get into the meat of this course which is material harvesting. Dismissed."
In-spite of myself, I couldn't help but be impressed by him. The tired world-weary old soul was someone I could feel some connection with in experience and outlook in several ways. Not enough to forgive him being in the Front, but it dulled the disdain. Most of the other students seemed to just sit there stunned, some talking to their fellow in near panic. It seems this lecture was the first time any of them came into contact with appreciable danger, even if it was only in theory.
'Whelp, that was a lot to think about.' I thought as I became aware of the pangs of hunger telling me it was passed my due lunch time. Heading out the door, the rest of the class and I came down the stair case. We were making our way towards the cafeteria when we heard a commotion.
The double doors were open and inside was a massive food fight, with a few women outside crying. Various staff were outside and inside the hall trying to restore order. Luckily, it seemed we were the late class so we weren't in when the classes from the lectures broke for lunch.
"What's happened?" I said to an elderly member of the staff who was rushing to help corral the students coming away from the melee.
"Listen dear, I know things are hard right now and your very confused about your sudden growth. Just stay at the tables and a member will be by to talk to you." She said, as she motioned each student towards one of the tables in the hall.
Soon, the fight gradually began to peter out. A lot of students were in various corners or under tables sobbing and covered in the soups, meats and pastas of various dishes. I just sat at a table in the main study area reading one book on historical magical items.
Eventually, the middle aged woman with short brown hair who I guessed had been assigned as our little subgroups mentor sat next to me. She coughed and looked at me for a moment with her green eyes looking at me like I was a puzzle she was trying to solve.
"Well I would launch into the spiel I have given all the others. But you seem to be rather calm, could I ask how you managed to grow so much?" She said, her eyes conveyed a sense of relief. She had probably spent the better part of a day talking to a bunch of hysterical people and was just glad to talk to some one who was emotionally together.
"What happened?" I asked, wanting to know and also so I could get more time to come up with a lie.
"Oh this happens every year with the start of the survival lectures for those who haven't taken them, even some of the students who have been putting it off for months. A lot of the students just go about their day's like nothings wrong and usually there isn't with all their needs being met. But when that first bit of real stress kicks in a lot of the repressed emotions and doubts about the seemingly instant changes to their bodies come out all at once.
While you don't have this problem, a lot of them are still very emotionally fragile. I was someone who managed to get my crafting talent when I was mid-20's, so I was spared the emotional whiplash." She said, staring off into the distance reminiscing about times past.
"How? I thought talent was decided at birth." I plied her with the question in the hopes of getting a straight forward answer about this world. The books told me a good deal but there seemed to be a lot of things that they just assumed were universally known and didn't bother elaborating on. Ironically, it was the harder books on casting, crafting, and general magic working that had to explain everything in detail that proved to be the most easily understood material.
"Well, inherent talent makes it easier to absorb mana, it can even make the body come with its mana pathways already established. Although you still need to intake magical resources to activate them. I managed to get a hold of an ice elementals corpse when I was up near the mountains. That gave me just enough to where I could get the ability to craft. The process, whatever the rumors you heard, was only a day long unlike what the kids have gone through. I heard it might be due to the magic not having to make changes to a body already going through the adjustments of puberty. The downside is after puberty it takes a lot more magical resources to increase your mana pathways."
"Kids? They are adults. Some of them are a near 20 plus years old. Their behavior is appalling for not just their age but any age. Even when I was a child I still had the wits to act better than this." I said, disgusted at her lumping me together with them. Of course I don't remember my childhood but that was the best excuse I could come up with for my maturity.
She smiled indulgently, and ran a finger in a circle on the table.
"Well, Mr Grown From Birth, I clear you to go. However I would encourage you to listen to some of the stories of your fellow students. Maybe you could find some empathy for them after hearing from them." She patted my shoulder and got up to help another student who was in the middle of a break down.
I got up from the chair and went to go outside. But half way there my curiosity got the better of me and I sat near one girl in her late teens as a staff member came to comfort her.
" Ok, it's going to be okay" The woman said as she came up to her.
"No, I want my dad." The petite girl with long brown hair sobbed out as she cried into her folded arms.
"If you want we can contact him and get him to come down." The staff member said as she rubbed the poor girls shoulder.
The girl pulled her head up, her soft brown eyes red with tear streaks running down her face as she looked at the older woman in anger.
"No I want my dad. Not that old fuck. I want the man who bounced me on his lap and fed me cookies when I played with him. The man who took me out on walks with mother as jasper chased birds along the road. Not that demanding fucker whose only interest is how I am going to get into Andrews bed or that old hag who is constantly telling me I need to show off more skin if I want to get in between a scion's legs."
She cried for a few moments, stammering in some incomprehensible gibberish. Finally she managed to say something legible.
"My own parents, putting me out there like I'm some 30 copper street whore". The staff member could only hold the younger girls head against her shoulder as she cried into it.
'Damn' was about all I could say to that.
I decided to take a bit more time off to hear their stories. 18 year old men freaking out about how they cant stop looking at women's chests or where all this hair on their bodies came from. Nearly grown women asking if they were dying as they found blood in their sheets this morning. A lot of the assembled students just cried for their mothers.
'Jeez, the mental side of magical development is nearly as costly as it is financial' I thought to myself. Fortunately, the commotion calmed down enough that the cafeteria resumed operation and I could get my meal. But there were still a bunch of people in various states of hysteria strewn about.
'Well I am not going to get anything else done today with all this racket. Lets see how the kelton woman did in cleaning my place up.' But before heading out I went over to our groups mentor who just got back from consoling a girl.
"For the trials, what is expected of me as a crafter?" I asked the middle aged woman.
She smiled brightly at this question.
"It varies based on your status. As a crafter student you will be tasked with making a general piece of equipment, or multiple if you prefer, that a random soldier will be tasked to use in an arena duel against one or multiple opponents. Your submission will be judged based on general effectiveness and presentation.
Later on when you become a mage-in-training you will be assigned a mage combatant who you will make a custom craft for them to duel with. Considering your accomplishments so far I have high expectations for you." I thanked her for the information and headed home with the next group leaving.
Sure enough, when I got back I noticed the distinct absence of cobwebs and dirt on the stone floor. Pleased with the conditions, I sat down and started working out the designs for my trial submission. Obviously, I could create something that would smoke all the competition. But something incredibly outrageous as opposed to only genius might catch attention from people who knew what to look for when it came to people from other worlds and I was reluctant to give up my packet switched technique. Ground-breaking ideas presented by students are a lot easier to steal than ones presented by official mages. Sketching out a rough idea, it was a long day in the market and in my makeshift workshop on the platforms back right area before I called it quits that day.