Shade frowned as he examined the elective course list on the parchment scroll. It felt more like a price list than anything else. Based on his personal circumstances—city of residence, occupation, age, and his affiliation with the Academy and his core rune—the Academy had made nearly two hundred elective courses available to him as a first-year student. These included courses like "Inspired Divination" and "Simple Methods for Acquiring Four Elemental Runes", which were clearly useful.
Some courses required prerequisites, either foundation courses or electives, meaning that Shade could have had even more options. The cheaper courses cost at least 20 pounds, while the most expensive ones couldn't be bought with money at all. Instead, they required relics or other tasks as payment.
Thankfully, electives could be taken at any time. Shade could simply come to Dr. Schneider's place on any given Saturday and, if he was willing to pay, he could contact the Academy to enroll.
Dr. Schneider advised Shade to first familiarize himself with the foundation courses before worrying about the electives. The old priest recommended some useful courses, while Miss Dorothy Louisa, the writer, crossed out a few from the list. Back when she was in her first year, she had spent a lot on courses after receiving a large amount of royalties, so she knew which courses weren't necessary.
"Electives don't need to be passed," Miss Louisa explained. "The Academy and the professors don't care much about that. But electives are an excellent opportunity for us correspondence warlocks to meet and connect with Academy professors. You see, whether or not certain valuable electives are available depends on the professors themselves."
Shade was already familiar with such a system. Though slightly different from what he was used to, he adapted easily to the Academy's rules.
As he read through the elective list, he instinctively flipped the parchment over. He hadn't expected there to be anything written on the back, but surprisingly, there was:
To Shade Sullen Hamilton, First-Ring Warlock:
Tonight at midnight, prepare four wooden chairs in an empty, unoccupied room. These chairs must have no divine sigils or holy symbols. Arrange the chairs facing one another in the cardinal directions: east, west, south, and north, surrounding a non-silver basin filled with clean water. You must sit in the northernmost chair before midnight. Once seated, light this parchment and place it into the basin.
You are to be dressed formally, with gas lamps lit and curtains drawn. Do not speak of this to anyone, including fellow warlocks from your group. Professors Hammes Sanchez of the Library Studies Department and Hensinger Garcia of the History Department wish to meet with you.
St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy - Student Administration Office Professor Hammes Jean Sanchez
"What's the matter?"
Seeing Shade stare blankly at the back of the parchment, Miss Louisa glanced over at it.
"What's so interesting about a blank sheet of paper? Oh, I get it. You probably haven't used parchment before. Normally, we don't write on both sides."
From where she was sitting, Miss Louisa could easily see the back of the parchment, but she didn't seem to notice the writing at all.
"Am I the only one who can see this? What's the Academy trying to do? A secret mission? Do they want to speak with me privately? Could my identity as an outsider have been exposed?"
Shade pondered as he mentally recorded the details and carefully rolled the parchment back up, setting it on the sofa.
Due to Shade's Time and Space core rune, the History Department had promised to provide him with a Keeper-level relic for his protection. This relic only arrived after all his books and documents had been delivered, appearing along with a receipt confirmation slip.
The Poet-level relic could only transmit items up to the Keeper level, and only specific relics could be sent this way. Clearly, the History Department had gone to great lengths for Shade.
The relic was encased in a small, rusted bronze cube, no larger than a hand. The surface of the cube was covered in vines and other intricate patterns, worn with age. Beneath the cube lay a document explaining the relic's properties.
The relic wasn't a gift for Shade. If he left the History Department or withdrew from St. Byrons Academy, he would have to return it. However, if he graduated, the relic would be his to keep.
"You've come into contact with 'Whispers'."
According to the rules, Shade shouldn't have immediately recognized the relic since he hadn't been informed of its properties.
"The Dice of Fate?"
Without hiding anything from the others, Shade opened the bronze box, which looked like an antique. The box was almost entirely solid metal, with a small compartment in the center holding a bronze-colored die.
The die was a twenty-sided piece of metal, covered in rust, with numbers engraved in gold that had faded and blended with the corrosion. The die's age was evident.
"I know this one!" Miss Louisa exclaimed in surprise, raising a hand as if to touch her earlobe, but she hesitated and shook her head instead.
"No, I should say 'the other me' knows this one. I must have come across information about it in a book somewhere... but why would the Academy give you such a dangerous relic?"
"All relics are dangerous. These are terrifying remnants of the past, formed from whispers of time," the priest, Mr. Augustus, reminded them. But Miss Louisa shook her head, her blonde hair swaying slightly.
"This one is particularly dangerous. Its properties are twofold.
"First, while carrying the die, most divination attempts will fail to affect the carrier. But this only applies while it's being carried. However, carrying the die for extended periods will permanently decrease one's luck. And yes, I know luck isn't something measurable, but the 'Whispers' element truly does interfere with fortune."
"And the second?"
Dr. Schneider, often regarded as unlucky by his group, showed great interest in the relic.
"The second property allows the carrier to roll the die once per day. When rolled, the outcome of any event related to the user is determined by the number rolled. The higher the number, the better the luck. And there's no way to influence the roll—it's purely random."
"Any event related to the user?" Dr. Schneider latched onto the key point. Given his reputation for bad luck, he was particularly drawn to this relic.
"Yes. So, after a roll, the person might not immediately know what event has been affected. But eventually, they'll understand. That's one of the die's quirks."
Miss Louisa took a step back from the bronze box in Shade's hands, her expression cautious.
"But most of the time, it'll roll a number below 10, skewing towards bad luck. That's been statistically proven. And if it ever lands on 1... well, something worse than death is said to happen. Why would the History Department give you such a dangerous object?"
The Academy's provided description of the relic matched what Miss Louisa had said. The die could only be contained in the special bronze box. Outside of this containment, the die would constantly tempt its carrier to roll it. And the odds weren't evenly distributed—the chance of rolling a number below 10 was far higher, leading to potentially catastrophic consequences.
Miss Louisa strongly advised Shade not to use the die's active power and instead to simply rely on its ability to interfere with divination.