The future sorcerer left the room and found himself in a long corridor. He came out of the wall, with many doors, and found a much larger number of them on the opposite side. Certain numbers were written above each one. Having reached the left end, the magician found with his eyes a passage with a cherished unit on top. Passing through the indicated door, Uriel found himself in a small, square room, with sides about four by four meters. It was all covered with the most complex schemes. Geometric shapes of all kinds, shapes and sizes covered it from floor to ceiling. All the patterns, as before, were embossed or even melted into stone. Otherwise, the room was empty.
Near one of the walls stood a handsome young man in rich clothes and with a sword on his belt. He was enthusiastically examining the interweaving of the magic drawing. Uriel did not know him, therefore, this man had never attended school. Apparently, his parents were rich enough to afford home schooling for their child. The stranger turned to the newcomer and smiled.
- I was already thinking, is it possible that I will be taken to the First Academy from our city alone? But apparently there was another talent - he extended his hand - William van Meir, nice to meet you.
- Uriel. - after shaking the outstretched hand, he decided to ask – And what faculty did you enter?
- I entered the Faculty of light magic, of course. I want to fight the enemies of our empire. Moreover, there is such information that the magic of light almost does not work on Typhons. Which means I probably won't be sent to them.
- Why are you so afraid of them? Typhons don't seem to kill so many sorcerers.
- That's just it. Fighting them is like working in these new manufactories. It is boring, monotonous, there is no opportunity to raise your level or do research. And doesn't the light magician sound proud? Where the dark ones need to look for workarounds, loopholes and tricks - you just work your way straight through.
- It seems to me that you are telling some fairy tales. Among the peasants living in the wilderness, there may be rumors that magicians of different directions differ in some way. For example, about the villainies and outrages of dark magicians and about the unselfish kindness of the light ones and so on, but even I know that this has nothing to do with reality.
- The way you just described it is really not true. But every sorcerer knows that the basic element of a magician greatly affects the change in his character. Of course, the magicians of light do not become good, and the magicians of darkness become evil, rather the former begin to show more straightforwardness, and the latter are cunning. However, even such an influence is exerted on a magician only until he develops all the facets of his talent. After that, the character is finally balanced.
- It seems that you are much more knowledgeable in this matter than I am. Well, in general, what are you planning to do after the academy, since you are not going to the Typhons? Light magic is mainly designed for fighting, as far as I understand.
- Why to the fights? You can still make great lamps! After graduation, I plan to have time to fight on the northern front for several years, with the same Precarians, in order to gain practical experience, and then, of course, to fight for our valiant emperor against the Sharot federation.
- So we have a peace agreement with them for another fifteen years. How then will the war begin? And why should it start?
- Oh, you can be sure that when both countries are pulling troops to the border – it can only mean one thing, especially when there is such a tasty morsel at hand that you don't want to share with anyone. And peace treaties... what else are they needed for, except to violate them.
- Yes, given this information, I somehow didn't want to become a magician. I think I will not be a good combat sorcerer
- Don't be too shy, what specialty did you choose yourself, I hope not dark magic?
- The magician of life.
- Well, not everything is so bad. Maybe you can at least make chimeras, or other monsters. I've seen such creatures-a terrible sight, I'll tell you. A knight with a horse will be swallowed and not noticed. A few of them can come out victorious against a magician. So at least they won't let you into an open battle, but you will have to work for the good of the homeland.
Uriel was impressed by his new acquaintance. He was much more educated and confident than the merchant's son. How could he talk about it so calmly? battles with barbarians, indeed, are not so terrible. The same Precarians – one of the races in the north, although they had an intimidating appearance and defeated almost any non-mage one-on-one, but they did not show significant results against the regular army. But the federation army was no weaker than the Imperial army, as were their magicians. What did the recent graduates expect in the battles with masters and great magicians? Uriel thought it was nothing good. His only consolation was that, according to William, he was insured against getting to the front line. And there was also great interest in the words that he would be able to create chimeras. In his imagination, he had already managed to draw several scarecrows who would certainly win any war if they appeared on the battlefield.
The two future magicians talked for about an hour, sometimes interrupting to think about new knowledge. Or rather, Uriel was mostly interrupted, and William tactfully did not interfere with him. The aristocrat, who also turned out to be a round excellent student, really had more knowledge. He even finished his school program two years earlier, spending the rest of his time practicing fencing and traveling around the world.
After a series of barely audible steps, an old man of small stature did not enter the room to them – he ran in. With a deafening bang, the door behind him closed of its own accord. He didn't say anything, just assumed a thoughtful look, only occasionally making some passes with his hands. He's doing magic, Uriel thought. The sorcerer finished his action and the lines that dotted the room began to glow red. It didn't last more than fifteen seconds. The old man shook his hands and scrutinized the young people.
- Come out, they will meet you there.
The two of them left the room and found themselves in a completely different place. Now there was a twenty-meter passage ahead with only one door at its end. Already familiar diagrams covered the entire corridor. The magicians felt extremely uncomfortable here. It was as if someone was pointing a powerful weapon at them. William knew that they had just teleported to the academy, and the corridor through which they were walking was a security measure to prevent unauthorized entry. If they were hostile magicians, they would be fighting off dozens of spells of high magic right now. And it would naturally not have worked out to fight back. Before the mages had even gone half way, the door suddenly opened.
- Hurry up, if you don't want to be late for the archmage's speech. Or do you think he will wait for you? - as if for a change, a woman met them this time.
Uriel and William, of course, did not think so. In general, they were both surprised by the speed of events. in the morning, they were tested for magical abilities in their city, and a few hours later they were already going to listen to the archmage's speech. And most importantly, no one gave them even a small respite. What they didn't know was that for all the other staff and teachers at the academy, everything that was happening was also a surprise. According to the usual procedure, after the students arrived, they were first given a tour of the academy, then they were sent to the library for textbooks and writing materials, and then to the dormitory.
This time, an hour before the arrival of the students, the rector announced that Archmage Crassus wanted to speak to future magicians and make an inspiring speech. The teachers, of course,were glad of the honor. There was not a single archmage among them, except for the rector, but he was probably the weakest among the archmages, not only in terms of combat, but also in terms of contribution to magical science. After all, the rector is more of a manager than an active scientist, and even more so a combat magician. Therefore, the best of the sorcerers usually either fought on one of the many fronts, or conducted research in their laboratories, sometimes in research institutes.
After passing through a series of corridors and stairs, they came to open double doors, through which they could see a large hall with a stage. About a thousand people were already sitting in it. William assumed that not only all the students were here, but also the teachers and the rector. Apparently, the archmage's speech promised to be interesting. Taking seats next to other first-year students, whom the woman who accompanied them pointed out to them, they sometimes waited for the speaker to appear, talking. The wait was not long, just a few minutes later a tall man entered through the same door. His features were aristocratic, but even more so his jet-black eyebrows, combined with long white hair gathered in a ponytail behind his back, indicated that he belonged to the upper class. About one hundred and ninety centimeters tall, dressed in a white robe with gold embroidery, he made an indelible impression. And first of all, his youth. The magician looked no older than thirty-five years. Becoming an archmage at such a young age was the greatest achievement. Crassus was also one of the strongest.
As the sorcerer ascended to the stage, the hall was completely silent. He looked around the room and began his speech.
- Dear colleagues, I would like to thank the rector for giving me the opportunity to communicate with young magicians – Crassus nodded to the rector – and also to say thank you for taking your time. I won't detain you for long.
- It is well known that the first academy of magic, which gave rise to a rapid growth in the amount of our knowledge about the world, was founded three thousand years ago in the kingdom of Sargon. And now you are within the walls of that very academy. The Kingdom of Sargon has long been gone on the map, as well as many cities of those times, and this academy continues to exist and educate new magicians. You are studying at the alma mater of all the magic of this world, so you should not disgrace it. You inherit the knowledge and aspirations of the magicians of the past. Those same magicians, whose hands expanded the boundaries of human territories, and the barbarian peoples who resisted were expelled or exterminated. The same magicians who fought against epidemics and defeated them forever, fought against hunger and defeated it, fought against child mortality and defeated it.
- All the good things that man has created and invented have been created and invented by magicians. While we are creating, people are only engaged in destruction. They even created states to fight among themselves, dragging us, magicians, into their squabbles.
- We fertilize and water their fields, treat them, build their cities, fight in their place, having time to conduct research and do our favorite thing – magic. Our Akad Empire and the Sharot Federation have recently become one of the richest states. But this is not enough for people. Many of you do not know yet, but troops from both sides are already pulling together to our border. They want to unleash another war – perhaps the bloodiest in history.
During the speech of Crassus, light began to radiate from his figure. Having started his speech rather without emotion, now he already seemed to be extremely carried away by his own words. His eyes searched for expressions of emotion on the faces of teachers and students. Others could not notice his gaze, since his eyes were no longer visible because of the light emitted. The older the mages he watched, the more they agreed with his words. Everything turned out to be even a little better than he thought. He himself, being the strongest wizard, and moreover a nobleman, did not feel any pressure from non-magicians. But other magicians usually did not like to obey those who were weaker than themselves. And they had to obey, since magicians were fully integrated into the state of people, where they usually did not hold senior positions.
The freshmen were no different from ordinary people now, in general. They did not yet feel their involvement in this special and closed society of magicians. They were attached to their childhood friends, to their place in the social hierarchy. Students from senior courses have already managed to feel their peculiarity, someone has already been in combat practice and also felt their strength. They began to understand that when one magician can defeat a hundred people, they simply will not be able to coexist on an equal basis.
- You will ask me whether the situation I have described will continue further? And you will be wrong. You should ask this question to yourself. Are you ready to continue building step by step what will be destroyed by someone else's ignorance and treachery? Will you obey those who only do what they reap the fruits of your labors? If you have any pride left. The pride for your predecessors, who created the entire current civilization and were forgotten by everyone except us. Pride in yourself, which does not allow you to obey the orders of fools. Then I will tell you what to do. The first is to become excellent magicians, which will be helped by your teachers and the knowledge accumulated by generations of hardworking researchers. Secondly, after training, through the army or free practice, go to Nippur, where I will be able to discuss this issue with each of you personally.
- Thank you for your time and attention!
The figure of Crassus, which had been radiating light before, literally flashed and disappeared. All the magicians were very impressed. The newcomers were more impressed by the archmage's speech, but the upperclassmen and teachers were more impressed that he used the portal inside the academy. Stationary portals are the same rooms with drawings, although they were expensive and rare, but not for magicians. Only one person has mastered the personal portals – Crassus. But the academy, of course, had protection against their arbitrary creation, both from the inside and from the outside. The Archmage hacked it only to demonstrate his strength. This was a really good argument to convince the magicians to seek conversations with him.