The thought that an exercise in mind melding required a pen and a book was a tough concept to wrap his mind around. But the book before Kilvic was as unmistakable as the pain in his back from his morning lessons, and the pen, fueled with blank ink like burned wood twirled between his fingers, holding his focus.
The instructor for the class was the same man who’d brought him to Skanriv’s office on his first day; the same man who’d been displeased for having been expecting him. That day, he’d looked mean and old in his robe and wrinkled frown but the first day he’d walked into the class and Kilvic had set eyes on him for the second time, he could have easily been mistaken for someone else. His smooth skin, the glint in his eyes, the smile always teasing his lips as if holding back the most exquisite of allusive jokes was the sharpest contrast to what Kilvic had seen. It was also the most perfected expressive lie he’d ever come across.
Kilvic found it a tad surprising that a boy who’s magecraft was focused on the nature of blood would never have thought to drain a heart off all it had.The exercise on mind melding went on at a steady pace with Havldec supervising, walking amongst the students and checking their works. When he got to Kilvic and Sharmin, he stopped, a crease in his brows. Gently, he took Kilvic’s book, reading its contents.“I thought I said to start slow?” The man frowned then cast his gaze around. “Who’s your partner?”Kilvic poked a thumb behind him and Sharmin offered the man a smile. Even now, their connection remained unfazed.Havldec took Sharmin’s book and read through it, then his frown turned to confusion. He’d instructed they write each other’s thoughts on paper, but Kilvic had written in a mess, his thoughts jumble with the boy’s, and judging from the man’s confusion, so had Sharmin.
Spells were easy enough once the basics were known, though Kilvic wasn’t certain which was the easier of both requirements: infusing the words with reia or finding the words that attended the mind.Lunch had ended a while ago, and following his request, Moss and Stratin had left for their lesson without him. And now he was left to rearrange the things in his possession almost appalled at how he’d waited so long to get things done. He held up the bottle of wine gifted for Drespard’s tale and put it to the side, beneath his bed, before returning to his sack and retrieving three silver coins, the reason he was here. Holding them palm up he wondered if perhaps this was a waste of silver, and if the other options open to him would be better substitutes. He had to conserve his finances, but then again, he had to conserve his reputation. He sighed. That was more than enough to make his decision. And wrapping up his sack, he placed the coins in his pocket and walked
Alone with Gyra, the head student turned to Kilvic.“How long has this been happening?”“Since a month after I arrived,” Kilvic answered simply.“And you haven’t handled it because…” Gyra trailed, giving him the space to complete it.“Because there are three of them and all better fighters than I am.”Gyra shook his head. “There are many ways to fight as a mage,” he said. “And I do recall you hold claim to being a decent spell caster.”“That wouldn’t have helped.”“And why not?”Kilvic let his posture slacken with the pain and answered. “Fan probably throws more punches in a day than any of my class mates, Anuvia has a possible affinity with two elements, and Chazriv can spell cast in four different languages.”“And they’re picking on you?” Gyra asked, flummoxed. “I assume
It was barely an hour past midnight when Kilvic rose from his bed. Soartin and Moss had fallen into their slumber the moment their heads had touched their beds on their return to the hostel and they remained that way. The day must have been especially hectic for them because Soartin had forgone his ritual of taking his evening bath. Moss on the other hand had done nothing different. He’d put his head on his bed and had slept as if drugged. The fact that he’d left his uniform on was the only real indication of his stress.Kilvic made his way out of the room quietly. To wake his roommates would hinder his plans, and he couldn’t have them hindered. What he sought to do was more important than they could possibly imagine. Downstairs he stopped, his gaze glancing towards the kitchen. There was much that could help him in there. It was a tempting thought, a very tempting one. He shook his head. He didn’t need anything he would find in there. He simply wanted
Kilvic gave his attention to his surroundings from his place at their table. Ariadne had done well to be useful as he had required. However, she had done so to prove a point he didn’t need proving. An apology was in order as agreed but she would not be getting it any time soon. Right now he needed to play the part she had allotted him. The part she had allotted them. Across the table she fidgeted, her eyes darting around curiously. How had she known the guard at the door would take pity on two young ones saddened by a disagreement between their parents to allow their courtship, he wondered. He had never been deluded by how much he was capable of. He’d always known he had more to learn, especially in the art of human communication, and now she’d shown him it was far greater than he’d thought. To manipulate people needed a far grander scope. The controlled environment he’d been given had come nowhere close to preparing him. It is why you are here,
Kilvic’s hand moved with a practiced ease as he worked the piece of rope into a knot, stiff fingers, however, delaying record time achieved from his time spent learning knots in preparation for his departure to the academy in castle Grey. It had seemed imperative that if he was to board a ship he was to learn a thing or two of what sailors knew. He had taken to knots quite quickly, and he still wasn’t certain if the absence of need for his skills on the ship had been disappointing.He finished quickly, slower than he knew he once could but fast enough not to have performed a disgraceful show. When he was done he placed on of the most complex knots he knew down on the table and waited in silence, as his audience had waited while he’d tied his knot.“And who in the name of Zeldric’s bottom feeders is you?” one of the four sailors asked. He was a big man with a barrel of a chest and at least two broken teeth Kilvic could note. His hair
“You know it’s not the same, right?”Moss let out a soft chuckle. “And you are pointing this out because…?” he replied.A startled Stratin quirked an unsubtle brow. His hands were held out before him, the littlest flicker of air swirling between them. This, as had been a good number of times over the semester, was another one of their attempts at bound magecraft.“This isn’t true, as it should be,” Stratin pointed out. “This isn’t bound. It’s a mixture, not a compound.”Moss shrugged. “I’m not sure what you mean, but to that I’d say let’s create mixtures till we can create a compound.”Stratin pouted but it seemed that was the end of his opposition to it.All the while Kilvic stood at a safe enough distance, watching his roommates attempt something less deadly than what they’d been doing for a good while. He wasn’t certain
Stratin’s cry ebbed like a dying siren. It did not cut off abruptly as most do on the onset of unconsciousness. No. It drained gently, dissipating as the light in Kilvic’s hand. It would dim to nothing more than a sob, then there will be silence, then there will be nothing but simple breaths. Kilvic saw himself looking forward to it. At least, if anything, it would bring silence. And silence was always the best state to work with; it enhanced concentration. Surprisingly Moss was as quiet as the evening breeze. The boy almost seemed accepting of some kind of twisted fate, though Kilvic spared him no attention. His curiosity of Stratin’s ability to come back from this lurked at the back of his mind, like shadows at the edge of a dying light. It was something they would find out once the boy woke. Ariadne... Kilvic looked up at an unconscious Stratin seated back against the hostel’s wall… will not like this.Kilvic returned his at