The day was still young as Caspian and Laura wrapped up a sparring session at the abandoned practice arena. Laura had chosen knifeplay as her preferred fighting style after their initial meeting and had deftly defended her decision when questioned by Caspian.
"You're the one who said that chants are useless at short distances, Mr. Dawson, so wouldn't a shortblade be a good defensive weapon? Besides, it seems you intend on using me as a field agent of sorts, and knives or daggers would complement that role nicely…"
In the weeks since, Caspian had measured her progress periodically through sparring matches, and he was very pleased with her growth. Knives, it seemed, were well-suited to her after all.
"How did I do, Mr. Dawson?"
"Excellent, Laura. Very soon, we'll be able to begin magical training."
"About that—"
"Yes?"
"I think I understand now what you meant when you said, 'Your brain must mirror reality so that reality can mirror your brain.' You were talking about synchronicity, weren't you?"
Caspian smiled knowingly.
"Indeed I was, though I will admit, the actual concept of synchronicity is more complex than I made it sound."
"Could you explain? I feel that the more I understand, the more I'll be able to grow."
"Just this once," he replied. "Much of what you need to learn will be taught in your magical training, but for now, all you need to know is that the brain is essentially a hypercomplex virtual rune. That implies the brain has the ability to use magic, which it does, but it requires two things that a rune does not: intent and imagination. Do you know why?"
"The professor was talking about this—intent; because otherwise, the brain would be casting magic uncontrollably, and imagination; because otherwise, the brain would not know what magic to cast."
Caspian nodded.
"While that explanation glosses over the technical details, it's fundamentally accurate," he said. "Basically, magic chants trick your imagination and intent into casting a particular type of spell. That's why it's so tough to edit a chant effectively, because the edited version doesn't have any intent or imagination associated with it yet. That's also how instinctive magic works; when a magician's intent and imagination are perfectly in sync, the 'virtual rune' inside the brain is able to cast the desired spell without the need for the chant."
"I get it!" Laura exclaimed. "Your brain must mirror reality; what you wanted me to understand was that our ability as magicians is completely dependent on how accurately our brain models reality, because then the virtual rune is able to cast more effective magic, right?!"
Caspian smiled.
Maybe I should become a teacher.
…maybe I'll save that for another life.
"Right," acknowledged Caspian. "Now, don't get too excited. You have to hone your physical skills before I'm going to teach you any more magic."
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Dawson!"
She's still too innocent to be my aide, despite the fact that she was okay with how I disposed of those animals.
She probably didn't consider them human anymore, and had no empathy for them.
Understandable, but it's different when your enemy is a loving father who's just trying to survive.
When this plot against the King goes down, she'll probably get an opportunity to mature.
I can get that ball rolling.
"By the way, Laura, there's a group here on campus that I want you to get friendly with."
***
He found Jessamine di Cadenza waiting for him in the Academy town square, right where they had first seen each other at the beginning of the term.
"What do you want me to do?"
Jessamine smirked.
"Spar with me."
Caspian sighed as he remembered agreeing to the duel—his excitement overpowered his caution in that moment, and he had agreed without thinking about the potential consequences. Jessamine had just told him that she knew he was hiding his identity, so this was clearly a way for her to get more information… Oh well, he thought, I'll put on a good show and throw the match.
That should be enough for her, right?
I guess we'll find out.
"Ah, Mr. Dawson, you've arrived," said Jessamine, striding over to him. "Also, feel free to call me Jessamine, I think we can say we're friends at this point."
A political move: she knows that her social status is above mine, even if I'm stronger, so her social status becomes her method of asserting dominance. The duel has already begun, and we haven't even cast a single spell.
Most impressive.
Maybe that would work on someone else.
"Very well, Ms. di Cadenza."
Jessamine frowned.
"It's rude to refuse an invitation like that."
"I wasn't trying to be polite."
Jessamine sighed and looked at the sky, before meeting Caspian's eyes once again.
"My apologies, Mr. Dawson, it appears we got off on the wrong foot. Shall we try this again?"
He smiled.
Now we're on even footing.
"It would be my pleasure, Jessamine."
She raised an eyebrow at him, annoyed.
And now I have the upper hand.
"Really, Caspian?"
He shrugged, clearly very amused with himself.
"Well, let's just get started," said Jessamine. "Now, I'll explain the rules for this sparring session—"
"Wait, we're doing it here?" asked Caspian, looking around the square. "Bold choice."
"I'm glad you approve. Now, I have two conditions in mind. Fail either condition, and I'll reveal as many of your secrets as I can."
Oh? This is getting interesting.
"First, no harm must come to the town square or the people here," she continued. "And, secondly, you are not allowed to lose."
There was a moment of silence as Caspian's expression turned to confusion.
"Excuse me?"
Jessamine smiled, the grin reminding Caspian of a predator about to pounce.
"You heard me. If you lose, I'll reveal your secrets."
"You're going to reveal me either way," he said, spitefully. "Either I fight you and win, revealing my combat ability, or I lose, and you reveal these 'secrets' of mine you claim to know. What's in this for me? From what I see, I don't get anything out of this."
"Oh, you'll get something out of it," she replied.
"What?"
"A friend."
Caspian laughed.
"Surely you don't mean that," he said. "Your family is far too manipulative to ever have friends."
While he had intended the comment as a simple rebuttal, the wince of pain that flashed through Jessamine's expression told Caspian that he had struck a nerve.
She's lonely.
"You're right," she said, softly. "I do not have the luxury of friendship, and I suspect neither do you. But, at the very least, we can understand and empathize with each others' positions. Can that not be a type of friendship?"
She's perceptive.
Looks like this will be interesting after all.
"Okay, Jessamine," he said. "I'll accept your conditions, though I warn you, I'm not going to go easy on you. In fact, I'll let you in on a little secret—I'll beat you before anyone in this square notices we're sparring."
A chill ran down Jessamine's spine; she felt that he was being completely honest.
That's not possible, is it? she wondered.
Though, if he is a Magi, like I suspect… he's an order of magnitude more powerful than me. I shouldn't be surprised.
Still… I can't back out now.
"Challenge accepted."
"On your call," her opponent said, walking some distance away from her into the grassy field in the center of the town square.
Deep breaths…
You can do this.
You're not going to win, but you're going to learn, and you're going to get better.
I can do this.
"Begin."
Caspian pointed his fingers at Jessamine and snapped, just as she began running at him.
To Jessamine's surprise, she discovered that even though she was putting her best physical effort into running towards Caspian, she didn't seem to be making any actual progress; he stood before her, unflinching, unconcerned, and never drawing any closer.
As she was running, she saw Caspian smile as he turned to his right, snap his fingers again, and took a single step—into nothingness? Caspian's body seemed to disappear into space itself.
"Behind you."
Jessamine abruptly skidded to a stop and whirled around, just as a well-timed movement from Caspian kneed her in the gut. Jessamine had the wind knocked out of her, struggling to breathe as she collapsed to the ground, barely managing to support herself with her arms as her soul returned to her body.
Amongst the students milling about in the square, the members of the Societie Royale who had been discreetly observing the fight stood dumbfounded, having seen their Vice Chairwoman—who easily outclassed their Chairman in terms of skill and power—lose a duel in a single moment.
What was that?
I don't stand a chance.
If I continue, I'm going to get seriously injured.
If… I…
Jessamine di Cadenza fell to the ground, unconscious.