“The Teachings of Human Divinity…”
Bleh. Father told me to read it on the carriage ride to the capital, but my lord, they’re full of themselves.
THUMP
The book flies out of my hands.
This fucking carriage. I should’ve found an excuse to charter my own and then flown. But whatever, back to church.
“Blah blah… uplifted humanity… blah… saved us from monsters by moving land out to sea…”
Wait a minute, did this planet’s tectonic plates just move while they were fighting off some animals? And they assumed it was a holy war that god helped them with? If I go to the monster continent and it’s nothing but wild boar or bears, I’m going to be pissed.
My continent is tiny, with our Sante Kingdom, the Alarian Empire, and some scattered city states all separated by mountains or arid lands. North of us, and across the sea, is where most people live. But a continent of monsters out at sea…
“Argh! I wanna go!”
KNOCK KNOCK
“You alright back there, Master Alfred?”
“Ahem - yes, no problems.”
Three days I’m stuck like this. If I lived in the north there’s a river I could take down to the capital, but thank fuck I don’t live in the west. This country is three times as wide as it is tall.
I flip the page of my book, and read some more lines. This religion thinks god saw humanity’s most advanced civilization getting steamrolled by monsters, so he stepped in and moved the land with all the monsters on it out to sea. The religion is called Human Divinity, since god helped humans, they think humans are liked by god. But if everything they say is true, then god also helped the monsters; they’ve got their own continent separate from humans who would hunt them. They have just as much reason to start a religion called Monster Divinity.
Doesn’t matter, it’s all bullshit. Religion always is.
***
I arrive at the capital in misery. Flying would’ve gotten me here in under an hour, but there are sacrifices that must be made to stay out of the spotlight. The academy is on a small hill at the eastern wall of the Kingdom and the capital. It was built into the first elevation of the mountain range there when the Kingdom was planning to expand further east, but it was so hard to build that the Kingdom never went any further.
There’s a large and well-maintained stone path that starts at the edge of the merchant districts in the capital, leading up the hill and onto the academy’s campus. Knights man an open gate at this boundary, but they don’t give me or the bag carriers my family hired a second glance as we walk through.
We pass blooming trees and flowers adorning the path, and walk up to a tented area ahead of the center building with faculty and attendants passing out cold drinks. I’m guessing this is where I check in.
I greet them with my hand across my chest and a polite bow. “Good afternoon, I’m a new student at the academy. Is this a check-in point?”
An older woman greets me while opening a little booklet. “Good afternoon, indeed it is. What’s your family name?”
“Pruss.”
She looks up from the booklet with wide eyes. “Oh, Count Pruss’s son, your father attended this academy, and he’s supported the research done here ever since. A few years ago, he shared an innovative method for making soap with us. The elemental magic professors were abuzz about the process and have studied it ever since. We’re very excited to have so many distinguished families in this year’s class of new students!”
Distinguished families… I don’t love that. “I see… what other families have students starting this year?”
“This academy is filled with children of the Kingdom’s nobility each year, but this year we have children from two Ducal families and the second Princess of Sante, Princess Sylvie. She’s been hailed as a prodigy who can use both earth and water magic!”
Got it, avoid the earth and water magic classes.
I muster some fake cheer, and paste on a smile. “Oh my, it’s an exciting time to be attending then.”
“It’s as you say. Now I’ll handle your living arrangements, then Miss Natalie on my left will explain the necessary class details. Nearly all of the students live in the recently remodeled dormitory on my right. There’s maid service and a dining hall for your convenience.”
“My Father told me if I wanted a larger living space and my own kitchen, I’d have to live in the older dorms further down the hill behind me. Am I able to live there instead?”
Father, being an alumnus, has some benefits, chief among them, he told me what I should request of the school to have a kitchen.
“Oh, um, yes, that’s fine, so you’ll be living with an attendant. It’s not as common since the academy updated its facilities, but it’s allowed. What’s the name of the attendant that will be staying with you?”
“I won’t have one, I’ve enjoyed cooking since I was a child and find it easier to study with more privacy.”
She’s silent for a moment before bringing a hand to her cheek. “I see… you’ll be able to access the dining hall in the main building behind me during the day, and you could bring clothes to be cleaned to the maid service if you wanted. But you’ll be largely responsible for your own care if you live outside the new dormitory.”
“That’s not a problem. I was the rebellious child who always wanted to take care of himself at home as well.”
Her smile returns at my honesty. “Alright then.”
The first lady leaves, and a second shows me to a board with class postings. Most of it is standard, but one thing catches my attention.
“Thank you, let’s see- elemental theory, novel applications of magic in business, courses for each affinity, various schools of swordsmanship, rare magics lecture series– what’s the lecture series for rare magics?”
“That’s the only class listed that is available to students in each year; it’s not as popular as most of the other supplemental courses, but it’s quite interesting. Experts in each affinity lecture for one week, but instead of teaching advanced methods for their affinity, they explain a way they’re able to use their magic that no one has been able to replicate. For example, the healing magic lecturer can alter the state of mind of those she casts her magic upon, making them see or hear things that aren’t there. Though she mostly uses her magic to help those with difficult injuries sleep while they recover.”
I can’t hide my amazement, and my jaw hangs open. I sign up for that class and some others, then the first lady returns. She leads me to a stone building separated from a line of others.
It’s got everything a boy could ask for. I’ll need to make some adjustments to the bathroom and kitchen so it’s more like my portable house. But the garden area is perfect; I can easily fit a smoker there and still have room to do some training.