Note: This chapter contains strong language, as well as scenes of gender dysphoria, transphobia, and remembrance of abuse and bullying. Please proceed with caution.
Needless to say, Sol was not pleased with the news. He let Planet know as much as he paced before the table. Moon had been placed in the spare room to sleep while the others talked.
"What was Ijero thinking?" he spat, his freckles glowing a red-yellow mix on his face. "Speaking to a citizen? Why didn't he lie when the man arrived?"
"The man is right here." the elder man said, raising his hand above the table. Planet had already forgotten his name.
"I'm sorry about him, sir." Planet said, feeling guilty for her sibling's unpleasantness. "He's unsure how to trust people. We haven't been in civilization for over two months."
"Boliki udezorl yus fliz anmi kal, Zikiete!" Sol snapped at her. That was for your own good, Planet!
"Ze dukirl ipal axøwulo boliki oz deillâ?" she asked, whipping her head towards him. "Ze vâned zerkill zirta Ijero kaløn kipbi!" Do I truly need reminders of that? I already get enough shit from Ijero!
Sol quieted and sat in a chair, thinking. "Plezd entiervi ipal?" What do they know?
"Xevv ako ziurei oz buiwâri Ijero enzukien ali, urdup e zirta kipik vebir et ziubøik duevri. Woultyez ziurei oz buiwâri detâ zer ipalk kaløn jieran rezklad laxauk et ipald it kipik ali." They think Moon is new to Modern and have to waste an extra moment to understand his words. He's been speaking Modern as if it's been exactly exchanged from Elven.
She tapped the table, freckles fading to their usual color. "Phlee-tet boliki dir tipal? Woulyi il ziurei oz buiwâri woultye yuwil. Ne erv fikir helbii zirtan boliki føreit e dezørl e kop uydir kipi– Ah. Ete ze kipbi. Et tra-tarati kir pik-dee ne eflemagiz rei ali." Why would he do that? We can all speak Modern conversationally. Otherwise we wouldn't have spent that time in the library– Oh. I get it. He's quite smart when I'm not looking.
"Yus ne-ywe flemagiz rei." You're never looking.
"Lenik, vemir." Sol attempted to put his feet on the chair but flinched from the bits sticking out. "Plezd yor-kik norii ali? Phlee-tet peureiz yus por fle-pada ali?" Quiet, sister. What's wrong here? Why is your hair sticking out?
"Ne boliki fle-pada mi ali. Boliki boplai ali." That's not my hair. That's wood.
"Zep-unto, vemir. Boll yus fle-pad e yutiervi rei. Eztene râiko yecrei pik-dee yus eløkoei dir." Please, sister. We know the trees are your hair. They'll become more when you age.
She frowned at being reminded of the old argument. "Ne eoski zirta boliki zukeien kipik. E femeri zøriki bodkir zirta flemag. Yuze ta ekzirta dir yuze ako rei?" I'd rather not think of that period. The kids look weird during then. Are we sure it'll happen to us?
"Ete ekzirta ali. Yuze zarckad paxøl følakk." It already is happening. We just grow slower.
The mentor cleared his throat when he heard a break in conversation. "For starters, we should change your names."
"What wrong with them?" Sol asked. "We have our own names."
"Yes, but people will notice you immediately if you shout your first names across the street or speak Elven out of nowhere. Have you had any names in the past, such as what Arche had?"
He pulled out a scroll of some parchment pieces that were rolled together and spread a blank one out on the table. Sir. Theodric stood and came back with a handful of small weights, which he placed on the corners of the parchment before he began to survey the shop around him. The man put a quill and ink bottle next to the parchment and dipped the quill in the bottle, blew on the tip gently, then wrote the heading: Education Plan for Students 187-189.
"Why is that?" Sol asked.
"Well, we haven't decided your names yet, and this is what I write for each student. Now, have you answered my question? Have you had any names in the past?"
Sol shrugged her shoulders, looking at Planet. "We just stole names to put them on the Elves' rosters. We never identified with them."
"We had over twenty names on those lists!" Planet reminded him.
"Even more because of you."
"Let's decide your new names." He said, breaking up the fight. "Would you like common Wizardly names or to choose Elven names again?"
"Let us see what you come up with." Sol challenged, sitting back in his chair, but jumped from the pricks.
"I've already had a few planned." he said, pulling out another scroll from his cloak. "Both Wizardly and Elven. For Planet, you could go by Lanniya."
She shook her head furiously. "Names beginning with L have bad luck. I'd rather not."
"Is that an Elven superstition?"
"Whatever do you mean?"
The sir shook his head and continued down the list. "I also have Janni, Ordi, Krea, Abbey-"
"I'll take Krea."
"Very well."
"What about me?" Sol asked. "What gendered names do you have for me?"
He scratched his neck, eyes pinned to his parchment. "Well, assuming your gender, I'd think you'd like to go by a male name?"
"What? Just because I have a flat chest means I have a penis?" The man coughed violently at this, but Sol continued. "I wasn't there when our parents decided on gender and fucked up my body. Blame-"
Planet pulled off her forearm, turning it to dirt, and let it float over to hit him upside the head. She glared at her accusatory, but she held a finger to her lips, the arm of earth pointing up.
"They're watching." she whispered. Sol glared at the man, who held his fist over his lips as Planet pulled the earth into her skin.
"What names do you have? I'll take one off of Planet's list."
"Ah, y-you'll call her Krea now. I do have a few more names, though…" he wiped away a few names with his finger as he scanned the list. "Uhm, you could take Abbey or Brianna."
Sol shook his head, waiting.
"I also have Xeria and Auizia."
"Hmm. I'll take Auizia."
"Oh. oh, alright then. Now for your Education Plan." He sat up straighter in his chair as he rolled up the list of names and focused on the weighted parchment. "Let me list off a name of things I have to teach you to flush out your plans."
"Such as?"
The mentor glared at him. "Manners, for starters. Due to my reaction earlier, you can tell that others are not accustomed to when a child discusses his genitalia in casual conversation."
Sol looked at Planet and shrugged. They had spent the first few decades without clothing, so it wasn't anything uncomfortable to talk about, but the modern-day Wizards didn't seem to think so. Perhaps it was because they were too young to know that time period as well.
"To expand on that, I will write that you three must learn the culture and customs of this town. Assuming you know the name?"
"No." Planet spoke up. "No one told us."
The mentor squeezed the skin between his eyes in annoyance. "The children these days are so dense." he mumbled, but still continued. "This town is called Clodeen, and our patron Deity is Dellun. I'll also put teaching Modern on here, and before you say anything, Auizia," he held a hand to Sol, who didn't register when the fake name was spoken. "I know you have a month of studying behind you, but by taking a formal lesson, your language skills will increase."
Sol rolled his eyes. "Anything else?"
"Yes. You two need to learn Dragonic, as well as trust and discipline."
"What is Dragonic?" Planet asked.
"The language of Dragons, though it's common to find their graphemics scribbled on a piece of wood."
"Nâren ziurei fikir ol ali?" Planet asked. There's another language?
"Kir wøliik." Assume so.
"Boliki xuwe putâu, dwevâ?" That counts four, right?
"Zuirei pek oski donned elwoultyek rei ezukeien. Jieran, jeikid-" I think five languages are spoken by mortals. Elven, Giant-
"Kune boliki niervli ali." That's easy to debate.
Sol ignored her. "-Buiwâri urdup Kiratti, Ruviaf, reztan, urdup zuirei oz argi nørll." -Modern, Dragonic, maybe, and some magic language.
"Plezd boiki kal ali?" What's that for?
"Argi eztene larji, emakir kipik." To make their magic, I've heard.
"Pele ipal tasil ukla-tø?" Where did you learn this?
"E tâu xlegerol ecrei kørakk oz keetez. Edokri yus zirta boliki zirtan toukirâ." I came across it the first few days of studying. I left you to sleep during that time.
"Kirrilk burâ." Rude bitch.
Sir. Theodric stepped into the space and held a finger to his lips. "Can you be quieter, children? The shop is to open soon."
"Ooh, real?" Planet asked, standing to follow him out, but Sol turned his arm to light and shoved her back into her chair.
"Tâkka, zikiete." she said, holding her tighter when she struggled. "Ete ako brem-le wukail ali, urdup yuze løzad rei. Ne ete fliz fârelk ali e." Relax, Planet. It's the common people and we're folk tales. It is not a good combination.
Planet signed a swear at him as the mentor cleared his throat, glaring at Sol.
"Fine. Krea, stay in your seat." Sol said, pulling the light back to his skin.
A group of citizens entered through the front door and Sir. Theodric closed the door that led to them before he addressed the customers.
"So, ghow much of the Modern Language do you know?"
"Enough to recognize and imitate your speech, along with a few basic swears." she said as the man pulled out another roll from his cloak (how many did he have?) and spread it on the table. One of the pages was full of words and the other was blank. He sprayed a liquid over the full page and placed the other on top of it, pressing it down carefully before he slowly peeled them apart and handed them the pages. Sol jumped as he touched the gritty parchment, but grinded his teeth and set it on the table before her. It was titled, Test Subject: Modern Language.
They were given quills and ink bottles and an hour to complete it. Sol recognized many words and even doodled the verb chart in the corner as a reference. The forty-five questions asked for grammar rules and a couple of "What does this word mean?" questions. He finished them before Planet did, where she had her tongue stuck out over the page, struggling to remember the word for bone.
The mentor looked at a shadow of the sun and yanked the quill from Planet's hand, making a scratch on the paper. "Time is done. I'll grade that now."
He took his items back and make separate marks on each page.
"How did you finish it so fast?" Planet asked, craning her neck to try and see what she got right or wrong.
"Because I wasn't slacking off when I was studying." she snapped at her. "Do you know what the word for blood is?"
"Isn't it as-kra?"
"To bleed?"
"Isn't it the same thing?"
"No, it's as-krai. Unlike Elven, verbs and words are different. Meanwhile-"
"Meanwhile, in Elven, it's randomized between same words or different words."
"Exactly."
"Finished." the mentor said, giving them the parchment back. Sol had gotten two points off, and when Planet's page curled to reveal the title, it showed that she had gotten four points off. The mentor noted the grades on his parchment as Planet tried to pester Sol to figure out his grade.
"Just tell me."
"Stop trying. You'll just feel bad about it again."
Planet frowned as the mentor struggled to stand, clutching the table and his torch for support. "Let's test your discipline."
"What do you mean?"
"You could say that nicer."
Sol glared up at him, refusing to do so. The mentor rolled his eyes and lifted two fingers, a silent notion for them to stand.
"Hurry up." he ordered. "I don't have all day."
Sol and Planet stood from their seats and faced him from across the room.
"Drop your fighting stance. This is to test your niceties."
"Plezd ipall farâi e veriki boliki?" Sol whispered to Planet as she stood straighter. What the fuck does that mean?
"Nørll kalk ra-krivini kal fliz e ziubøi?" Some different form of the word nice?
"Shut your mouths and face me. You will say a nice phrase and I will judge it accordingly.
"Plezd nizaabe et wøduar anmiz fliz ali?" What's his obsession with being nice?
Planet shrugged, but took a step forward to perform an Elven bow. "Is this doable?"
"What are you doing?" the man asked.
"Performing a ladylike bow. It's a sign of respect. Normally shown from young females to elder men-"
"That is incorrect. Women do not bow."
"Is this correct?" Sol asked, a hand over her stomach as he lowered her torso to him.
"You classify as a female. It is shameful to perform that bow."
"Thank you."
"But you are lightly correct. That is the bow that men perform for respect, but it is more formal to keep both of your hands over your stomach. Assuming that Arche is male and your…" He pushed out the next word, a hand over his mouth. "genitalia…has simply been swapped, only he out of the three of you can perform that bow."
"Interestende." Planet muttered. "Kir zirta neve e kierla enkerri." So they classify gender by the genitalia.
"Boliki zerkill ali." That's shitty.
"E jirâu tâu flizd anmi pik-dee neve anmi mâynni zukeiel." The Elves were slightly prouder when thinking about gender.
"Dukir." True.
"Auizia." the mentor ordered. "Face me again."
Sol did, but lifted his leg and turned it to light before rushing forward to attack him. Planet jumped back as he was slapped across the face, the blow of the hit sending him headfirst towards the table.
Planet grabbed her heart as it sped up, her breath coming faster.
"Sol?" she whispered, trying to walk towards her, but a voice stopped her.
"What is wrong with you?"
"Who said that?" Planet asked, looking around to see where it had come from. When she looked back, the mentor and Sol had vanished, leaving her alone.
"Oh, no, no, no, no. Not this again." she whispered, hitting her head with her fist. The memories echoed through her head, clouding her vision.
A wrinkled hand grabbed her wrist, straightening her back as her legs were bent under her. "Stop doing that! It's improper!"
"What is that bow?" a student whispered at her horrible form.
"Are you trying to break your wrist?" the teacher shrieked.
The view changed, showing her standing in front of a desk, where an old man glared at her over the parchment rolled on his desk.
"Why have you been failing my class?" he asked." You're the Planet. You're supposed to be smart. Even your siblings have passed."
The view whipped into the hallway, where everyone was staring at her, whispering behind their hands.
"I can't believe a Personification is so useless." a student whispered as she tried to run into her next classroom to avoid their eyes. The teacher wasn't much easier.
"Your brother told me that you're one of the oldest children in this classroom." the teacher said, Planet standing in front of her desk.
"I am." she whispered between tears.
"So act like it!" she yelled, switching the scene.
"Another fail, Lyra." a teacher ordered, hitting her over the head twice with a stick as a few students flinched. "Your brothers could have already passed my class twice. Why are you the lowest on the board?"
"I don't know!" she yelled, hitting her ears in pain, mimicking the hits she had received.
An old hand slapped a failed page in front of her. "Meet me in the basement tonight. You will pay for these marks."
After that, Planet remembered being in the sleeping quarters, seeing Moon in the hallway outside of her and Sol's room.
"Where have you been, Planet?" Moon asked, two bags over his shoulder for night school.
"Nowhere." she mumbled, hiding her face. "Tell the teacher I won't be there again. I'm tired."
"You're going to fail if you skip it again. And my notes won't keep you up to date."
"Thanks for reminding me." she said, trying to push him away from the door.
"I already packed your bag." he said, shoving it into her arms. "Let's go."
"Planet, what is wrong with you?" she asked, rubbing her eyes and face, trying to clear the memories from her head.
She heard a collection of voices speaking in Modern, and she kept her eyes shut to focus on them, trying to ignore the voices from the past.
"Have you heard the news?"
Planet knew how important this could be and removed her ear, plugging the hole with dirt, and used a vine inside of the dirt to push her ear into the wall. She hid the vine into her hair and watched Sol stand, forcing himself to not say any swears.
The voices were clearer now. "No, what happened?"
"A group of Witches attacked a Wizardly town." a female voice whispered. "I think it was called Purest?"
"What happened to them?"
"They're alright, but I think they're trying to fight back against them. It's a whole war now."
"That's horrifying. What if it reaches us?"
"Oh, it won't. The towns are barely near us. They'll probably contain it there before it spreads."
"That's dreadful for them."
Planet covered her hand over her mouth as she willed the vine to place her ear back into her head. The Wizards were under war? Had their feud finally escalated like the Elves had said they would?
"Krea." the mentor snapped. "It's your turn."
"Yes, sir." she whispered, stepping forward to attempt her "niceties".