School of Sorcery

Chandagnac said:

'Don't we already know how to stand?' asks Phil, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

With unusual sarcasm, Green Flame replies, 'I have seen that you know how to slouch, Philander. I have yet to see that you can adjust your stance in any way that would be suitable for a combat situation.'

'Ouch,' says Phil, clutching his chest and making exaggerated moaning noises. 'Stabbed through the heart. How did she manage that? I didn't realise her tongue was a deadly weapon…'

Ignoring him, Green Flame glances at you. 'What exactly do you want me to teach you?'

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'Uh, I think that… what you said – learning how to dodge and so on – that sounds like a good idea,' you say, not very coherently, but it seems to get the point across. 'At this stage, while we don't know how to fight, we should focus on not getting hurt.'

'Try to live long enough to run away,' says Phil with a nod.

'Sensible,' says Green Flame. 'Are all of you interested in this training?'

You glance around at the other members of Cadre 1K. They all acquiesce without much reluctance. Even though this training will be cutting in to their precious free time, they realise how important it is likely to be.

'We could start right now, if you wish. Although…' Green Flame glances around at the cramped confines of the empty classroom where you called this meeting, with its desks, chairs, and other items of furniture. 'Perhaps we should move somewhere with more open space.'

'It's not long since we had lunch. I think we should wait a little while,' you say. 'Also, there were some other things I wanted to talk about.'

Green Flame accepts this as stoically as she does anything else. 'Such as?' she asks.

'The other day, when I was exploring the school, I found a secret room. In one of the older abandoned areas, there were some stairs behind a hidden door. They led up to an attic room where there was a bed, a few bookshelves, and so on. It looked like it used to be someone's bedroom, but it was so dusty that I doubt anyone has been there for years.' You glance at Phil. 'I was thinking that if we cleaned it up, it would be a good place to hide your sisters. After we rescue them from your father, I mean.'

'It's a possibility,' he replies. 'But I doubt it'll be as easy as that. After last time, I doubt my old man will even let me near either of my sisters. Rescuing them from wherever he's got them locked up is going to be tricky.'

'You sent a letter to your older brother, Hubris, didn't you? Have you heard anything back from him?' you ask.

'No, but it's only been a week. The letter might not have reached him yet. And even if it has, it'll take some time for him to do anything about it,' says Phil, sounding unconcerned.

'Your sisters… are being mistreated and… you want to get them out of there, don't you?' Isolia asks haltingly. 'Do you have a plan?'

'No,' Phil admits. 'I don't know what kind of security my old man has put in place.'

'Well, maybe you should find out,' you suggest.

'Maybe. But if I do that now he might have changed it by the time Hubris comes around. And he'll think that it's kind of suspicious if I spend any more time at home than I absolutely have to. I think that it would be better to wait until he lets his guard down, then launch a daring rescue attempt while he's busy with something else.'

'So, you do have a plan, of sorts,' says Venta. 'Before you can rescue your sisters, you need to make sure that your father won't just recapture them again. I assume that's why you're waiting until your eldest brother gets in touch with you. When you know that they can escape to somewhere the they will be safe, then you can figure out how to launch your "daring rescue attempt" while your father is distracted. You know what you have to do, even if you're not entirely sure of some of the details.'

'When you put it like that, it does sound like a plan,' says Phil with a faint smile.

'What if Hubris doesn't get in touch with you, for whatever reason?' you ask.

Phil scratches his chin, looking thoughtful. 'I'll wait another month, I guess. After that, I'll have to think of something else.'

After that, when it is clear that you have exhausted this topic of conversation, you change the subject. Turning to your group tutor, you say to her, 'Last week, Phil and I attended a lecture about economics. It was quite interesting. One of the things I learned was that, in the Sambian Empire, elves are not considered to be people. Instead, they are property. Slaves, in other words.' You look her squarely in the eye, trying to discern any sign of a reaction. 'Is that true?'

'Are you asking me if I am a slave?' she asks, raising an exquisitely-manicured eyebrow. Actually, she has probably never bothered to trim it or style it in any way; she looks the way she does because that is what her god wanted her to look like. You're not entirely sure why the Elder Gods made their elves into such beautiful men and women, but… uhm, it was probably something to do with hormones.

'Well, yes,' you admit.

She inclines her head. 'It is true.'

'And… you haven't tried to run away to another country where slavery is banned?' asks Isolia, sounding surprised.

'Where would I go? What would I do there? Would I have a better life there or not?' asks Green Flame after a moment's pause. 'I don't know the answers to these questions. I am not entirely happy with my current lifestyle, but I know that things could be worse. Opernus Prentigold is a kinder master in some ways than others I have had. At least he has given me the chance to…' She looks vaguely uncertain, for a moment. 'To be a real person. Before he and his colleagues performed their experiments on me, I was a soulless automaton, incapable of thinking or feeling anything for myself. Now, I am… different.'

'Yeah, I've seen the way Prentigold treats you,' says Phil. 'Very condescending, as if you were a pet who'd performed a clever trick. Don't you deserve better than that?'

'Perhaps. But it could be worse,' Green Flame says calmly. 'At least he has never forced me to warm anyone's bed.'

'Is… is that something which has happened to you before?' asks Venta, horror-struck.

'While I was basically an automaton, yes. Not since then.'

'But that's awful! How could they do that to you?' Venta cries.

'Quite easily, while I was bound with many enchantments,' Green Flame replies.

'I don't think that's what Venta meant,' you say. 'It was a rhetorical question.'

'It was a silly thing to say, but… I was expressing how horrified I was that someone had been so cruel to you,' Venta tries to explain.

'Does that surprise you?' asks Green Flame. 'The world can be a cruel place. I thought you knew that.'

'I do. Maybe what I said was foolish, but… don't you care about what they did to you?'

Green Flame hesitates. The silence stretches on for a seemingly interminably long moment. At last, she says, 'At the time, I was incapable of understanding what was being done to me. I have no strong emotions attached to those memories. It is something that happened. I wish it hadn't, but I can do nothing to change it. I try not to let it bother me.'

What do you want to do now? (Choose one)
[] Continue to discuss things with your team. (Write in: What else do you want to discuss?)
[] Ask Green Flame to train you in the basics of close combat. (Then, finish off the rest of Week 5.)

Chandagnac said:

'It was a silly thing to say, but… I was expressing how horrified I was that someone had been so cruel to you,' Venta tries to explain.

'Does that surprise you?' asks Green Flame. 'The world can be a cruel place. I thought you knew that.'

'I do. Maybe what I said was foolish, but… don't you care about what they did to you?'

Green Flame hesitates. The silence stretches on for a seemingly interminably long moment. At last, she says, 'At the time, I was incapable of understanding what was being done to me. I have no strong emotions attached to those memories. It is something that happened. I wish it hadn't, but I can do nothing to change it. I try not to let it bother me.'

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There is an uncomfortable silence. Finally, you ask Green Flame, 'Would you like a hug?'

She blinks owlishly at you. After another pause, she says, 'Yes, if it would make you feel better.'

'It's not about whether it makes me feel better,' you point out. 'It's about whether it makes you feel better.'

'Don't worry about me. I'm fine.'

'Nevertheless, would you like a hug?' you ask.

Briefly, the ghost of a smile haunts her lips. 'Very well. If you insist.'

You walk over to her and wrap your arms around her middle. Despite appearances, her body has very little softness about it. She is lean, hard-muscled and bony. Hugging her is not an especially comfortable experience. It takes her a few moments to decide to hug you back.

With barely any hesitation, Venta rushes over and joins in the embrace. 'Group hug!' cries Phil, joining in as well. Isolia seems a little more reluctant, but doesn't want to be left out. After she throws her arms around the rest of you, the five-way hug continues for another few seconds, just long enough to be slightly awkward.

After that, Green Flame leads you outside and makes a start on teaching you how to fight. First, she gets you to warm up with some light exercise. Then, showing you simple patterns of movement, slowly and patiently, she demonstrates the rudiments of the style which she thinks you should learn; she focuses on teaching you to be light on your feet, ready to dodge nimbly or dart out of the way of incoming attacks, without being overbalanced or out-of-control. It is surprisingly tiring work and takes up the rest of the afternoon. Nevertheless, by the end of it, you feel better about your chances of surviving a real fight. Not significantly better, but at least you're making progress.


That evening, you go to the Astronomy Club with Venta, who seems very excited about Jaqari Pruyte's space gonne project. Apparently, she has come here on her own a few times while you have been busy with other things.

When you get there, the club members are buzzing with barely-contained excitement. It seems that most of them have been having dreams in which the Riddling Knight – or one of the goddess Zora Alishanda's other illusory masks – told them that she is closer to waking up than she has been in many years. It must be because of their efforts, they decide. The project is still nowhere near completion, but this is a very encouraging sign. Clearly, they are on the right track.

'I had that dream too,' Venta confesses. 'But I saw Deryth the Dream-Seller. She offered me a secret in exchange for a secret.'

'And what did you tell her?' you ask.

'Well, obviously I would tell you,' she says, rolling her eyes.

You are mildly offended at that. 'Um, why not?'

'Because you're a boy,' she says, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

'I don't see how that's relevant.'

'Come on, Dorian, let me have my secrets!'

'You're eleven years old. What dark and terrible secrets could you possibly have?'

'Wouldn't you like to know?' she says mysteriously.

'Yes, I would,' you say with a nod.

She sighs and shakes her head. 'You're hopeless.'

Do you want to tell her that the Riddling Knight appeared to you in a dream?
[] Yes. Full disclosure.
[] Yes, but refuse to say any more. She's not the only one who can keep a secret.
[] No.

Because they are so distracted, the Astronomy Club members don't seem to be getting a lot of work done. Even so, you have an enjoyable time chatting to them about their mechanisms, their intricate enchantments, and their future plans for how they will continue the space gonne project.

You don't dream about anything that night. Or, at least, you don't remember your dreams the next day.


On Sevenday morning, more Bladderwrack. You don't play especially well, but the opposing team is worse: they're not creative, they're not good at spellcasting, and they're not physically fit enough to outmuscle you. Another win puts your team in second place on the first-year leaderboard, just behind Athamas Cardos's team; the only reason why they're ahead is that they've played more games than you.

'Congratulations,' says Wing Commander Vancien, adjusting the scores with a wave of his hand.

'What would we need to do to take first place?' Phil asks boldly.

'Hmm. How would you feel about going up against a second-year team?' asks the burly former soldier-mage.

What do you say to that?
[] "Hell no! I mean, with respect, hell no, sir!"
[] "Yeah, why not? As long as you don't make us go up against the best of their year group."
[] "Maybe later. We have better things to do right now."

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That's the end of another week.

Here is your normal timetable of lessons and free periods:

Here is a link to the timetable of extracurricular activities.

Also, these actions are available at any time:
1. Explore the school
2. Socialize with other pupils (write in: who?)
3. Extra studying
4. Attempt to speak to a member of the faculty (write in: who?)
5. Training with your team.
6. Gardening
7. Mental Defence training
8. Astronomy Club project
9. Strength training
10. Agility training
11. Durability training
12. Rest
(Note: more actions will be unlocked as you learn more about what's going on.)

These actions are limited in some way:
1. Minding Simony's stall (weekends only)
2. Combat training with Green Flame (a maximum of twice per week)

Please discuss what you would like Dorian to do next week. You don't need to come up with the full timetable, just make some suggestions. When you have said what you would like to do, I will put together a few vote options.