"See you." I heard Lance's voice just as I left the common room and stepped out to see him stepping away from Jaimess- standing beside the stairs, watching him go with scrutinizing eyes.
Eventually, he made his way towards the barracks- towards me, and veered in my direction to come whisper in my ear before I could even speak.
"I'll explain later."
The door was closed before I could even turn. So I continued to lunch with a shrug and stepped into pace alongside my team. Forgruna and Elurial, both from Nonus, were a bit brash compared to the others, Ritrix and Mary. But in all, they were good company.
Especially Mary. She was a bundle of joy and passion that I've grown quite fond of over the last week. She had Cotton Magic and Acid Magic. Contradictory affinities that I found fascinating. Though, the only thing I disliked about her was her perpetual reminiscing of Epethia.
Like Amun, I hated what I saw there. But Mary was in the middle class. Far from the struggling farms and slave-filled streets alike. She neither saw the best nor the worst of what the empire had to offer. She lived complacently, much like I had before I started serving Amun.
As I saw him do years ago, I've been trying to subtly change her ways of thinking. But to no avail. Due in no small part to my tendency to attack everything like a mechanical problem: find the cause, attempt to fix the cause, add in a few other variables if it doesn't work. Lather and repeat until it does.
People; though, were much more difficult. So dishonest with themselves, headstrong with their emotions, and fickle with their intentions.
Still, they were tame in comparison to the other races.
Having a halfling, a dwarf, and a half-high orc in my team was undoubtedly a wake-up call. I've seen few of the former two and none of the latter growing up in Odissi. But that was only the start. Tritons, Goliaths, Lizard-folk, Kobolds, Vampires, Amazonians, and whatever the hell Zeke was.
It made for an eclectic blend of personalities and cultures that seemed to mystify the entire party shortly after we arrived at this big tree. But I was far more interested in the technologies found in their homes. An interest that made me lose myself in thought more times than I could count.
Case in point, I came to after feeling the frame of a chair bump against my leg. Looking around, I saw Ritrix still blabbering on to Forgruna and Elurial as they sat across from Snusz and the two lizard-folk, Rhot, and Butuss.
I nodded to all of them and began ordering my food. Then I heard a sharp tap at the table followed by the continuation of their conversation in another language. Draconic, I assumed from Snusz darting his eyes between the two while they pierced the air with clicks and hisses.
They were one thing; Lizardfolk, but after reading the laughably blunt material the school gave us regarding the other races, I was surprised to see a Kobold, or rather Snusz Silentjaw, in attendance.
They were reported to be weak creatures that relied on traps and the shade of a dragon's wing to survive. Snusz, however, was a rarity. A kobold the Plane had rarely- if ever seen before, due simply to his age. After he referred to himself as a 'Great Wrym' I had to inquire.
Turns out, Snusz was 232 years old- over a century past the life expectancy of his kind. It was made possible through a type of magic he had yet to understand. Answers to how and why he was granted this power were what led him to the Bodhi Tree. But I knew he would find no such answers here. He'd only learn how to use them and give the academy more knowledge to lock behind their walls.
As for Rhot and Butuss, all I could find out was that their entire thought process was closer to that of a beast than anything else.
But that didn't stop me from trying to get to know them.
I wanted to learn where they were from. And through that, what type of tools, equipment, and magic they used as a species. That goal extended to every race present in our class as well as the humans native to the other realms. But they proved the most difficult. Many of my approaches were met with snarls and hisses that lasted until I left.
It's not that they didn't respect me. They had no concept of such things. In their eyes, the world was filled with predators and prey. Nothing more, nothing less. Every creature they looked at was considered food or not food. Including themselves. In nature, that left them in equilibrium. But here, they were frustrated. They knew that this place had an abundance of prey but was scarce with food. They, like any other living creature, simply wished to survive. But they were the few among the wild creatures who could push past their primal instincts for the sake of something grander.
A trait I found fascinating.
Still, there seemed to be a sort of bias in their actions in who they automatically assumed was 'prey.' And it didn't take long to realize who was a part of that list.
A distinction I chose to run with for now. I knew it would've inhibited me from gaining more information from them. But it was always better to be underestimated and ignored than to be in the spotlight.
A sacrifice Amun willing made just a day ago.
***
"I'm telling you, Zeff." I chuckled. "Winston isn't weak. And neither is anyone else in Cook Party. Amun is just that strong."
"Ah. But a few powerhouses don't make the team, Doyle." He wagged his little finger in my face. "Baker Party has the most well-rounded teams by far. All of the teams have members with fascinating abilities that have yet to see the limelight. Yet, Olga's Alpha Party has the appropriate blend of both. Need I say more?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Don't underestimate the underdog." I muttered into my special mug. Zeff Yurich was halfling Battle Mage on par with myself. Though his skills were admirable, his fascination with how magic worked led him astray from the battlefield. Not that such a decision wound up being a bad thing.
"Anyway." I slammed my drink on the table to refill its contents and strike up some more conversation with my oldest friend. "I'm excited to see their progress in the coming we-"
"Doyle!"
The bellowing clap of thunder silenced the entirety of the lounge- the both of us, amplifying the groan emitted from my lungs as I turned to look and see a tank of a man striding forth in plated, gold-lined armor that'd been polished enough to outshine the sun outside.
"What's someone like you doing far down in the roots?" I amiably asked while internally rolling my eyes.
Titus only grinned wider before turning towards the kitchenette. "I hear the fresh crop is quite promising," He eventually said.
"Oh?" I snorted out a laugh. "Is that ambition I hear from the proud Storm King?"
"Only curiosity, old friend." He grunted out a laugh.
'Old friend.' I spat.
"Well, if you're curious, we have more than a few strong ones this year." Zeff chimed in, simultaneously saving me and putting himself under threat without him even knowing it.
"Yes." Titus nodded, turned to him with any trace of humor or benevolence gone from his face. "But how many of them are willing to walk in the light?"
"Depends on the incentives." I calmly replied, calling Titus' attention back to myself. "The same is true for your prodigy."
"The incentives aren't mine to make." Titus huffed. "Nor is it my duty to recruit. Here, I am only an educator."
"How unfortunate for them then." I sarcastically sighed.
"Unfortunate indeed," Titus grunted as he reached into a cooler and pulled out a piece of meat wrapped in bloodied cloth. "Most cannot sustain themselves without the backing from the military or a well-off enough guild. For some, it takes months to realize. Others, decades. But no matter how long it takes." He turned back to look at us with his package held under his arm. "No matter the Oath, they all see the light in due time."
"And may it shine forever bright," I said, raising my mug in mocked praise.
If Titus was offended or even felt any way from my snarky cheer he showed no sign of it. Not even as he approached with an amiable smile over his face. His cut of meat held carefully under his arm like a kickball.
"I look forward to the mid-year celebrations." He smiled through the thick of his beard and patted me on the shoulder with his free hand. "Our end has gotten ahold of interesting ones for this year. So work them hard. As I love seeing your work; be it teaching. Or fighting."
"Love." Came the headmaster's semi-brutish voice. Bringing everyone's eyes to his hulking figure, entering like a priest. With spread arms and a wide smile aimed at the lot of us. "Love of one's nation and their service to it. Love of knowledge. Love of fighting. The only thing unloved at this academy is the act of guiding the newly awakened down a path they never chose, Grandmaster Zlock. Or did you forget our mission to let these young minds find their own paths through life?"
"I would never presume to steer the young into any one profession, Sir." Titus bowed.
"Then tell that to your superiors." The headmaster grunted contemptuously.
"Yes Sir." Titus nodded again, then after a short and meaningful look to me in particular, excused himself and left from where he came.
The headmaster remained to stare at Titus' trail with a strange look on his face long after he left the room, then he turned to us and called Olga forth from the corner.
"Now that the grace period is over, I want you to force the students to give it their all. Bring each of them to their limits during their exercises. Care not about breaking them, for they can be healed. Pay close attention to the weakest students in each party, but allow the party and team members to do their jobs."
"Yes, Sir!"