Chapter 34 The Mage’s Council Building

The girls exited the room and made their way out of the training hall without running into any issues. Outside, Evernya followed Meira across the street to a massive parking lot to Meira’s truck.

“Isn’t this parking lot big even for a building as large as the training hall?” Evernya asked after they sat in Meira’s truck.

“This parking lot is for all the buildings along Main Street, including the hospital. Since students can’t leave campus during the semester, few use cars. Usually, it is difficult to find a parking spot here, but it is summer break.” Answered Meira as she pulled out onto the road.

Five minutes later, they arrived at a giant stone wall separating DIOM from Druth. “Why do they need a massive wall?” Evernya inquired while staring up at the twenty-meter high gray stone wall.

Meira slowed down to scan her ID at the gate before responding. “This wall surrounds the entire border of the university’s property. Its primary purpose is a last line of defense in case of an attack from the wilds if the barrier failed and Druth’s wall fell. Its secondary purpose is to keep students on campus since the only way through is a handful of gates requiring you to scan an ID similar to entering Druth.”

Evernya scowled while asking her next question. “Doesn’t that make DIOM more of a prison than a college?”

Meira glanced at her scowling kitten after entering Druth. “Before a Sespina citizen legalizes as an adult, they can’t leave their home city, so for most, being stuck within DIOM is normal. Besides, students have little reason to leave campus other than hunting in the wilds, as DIOM is a city all on its own. Its shopping options are even better than Druth, since some of the most talented young mages in the area are always trying to sell their products to fund their training. The unfortunate part is unless you are a student, you cannot shop here because everything requires DIOM points to purchase.” Meira explained, hoping to appease her unhappy kitten.

“Still, isn’t an enormous wall a little overkill?” Questioned Evernya, refusing to give up.

“The first settlers originally built the wall because when they colonized the area, they didn’t have the resources to set up and maintain a barrier. It is easier to have a bunch of mages create a wall than a magical barrier.” Meira explained.

“But why keep the wall separating Druth and DIOM?” Evernya questioned, still stuck on DIOM being a prison.

Meira pulled out into traffic in Druth while patiently explaining, “When the original settlement became too large to fit inside the wall, they expanded outside of it. Those who stayed within the walls turned it into a university for mages separating themselves from Druth and the surrounding areas. DIOM is still within Druth’s magical barrier but is an independent, self-sustaining city.”

While watching the tall twenty-plus story apartment buildings as they passed, Evernya asked her next question, “How old is DIOM?”

Far away expression descended over Meira’s features as if remembering events long past as she replied, “Around 550 years old, but the college didn’t become what it is today until Thomas took over as Chancellor around fifty years ago. Before Thomas, DIOM was a tiny remote college only locals attended.”

Five minutes later, they arrived at the local Mage’s council building. It was a large white stone building with large columns in front of the entrance. Meira parked her truck in the parking lot to the side of the building before they got out. Evernya followed Meira up the many stone steps leading to the entrance.

Evernya stared up the dozens of steps leading to the Druth of the building, inquiring, “What if a disabled person needs to visit?”

“They have a handicap assessable side entrance off the parking lot. Besides, with modern magic, few people have physical disabilities unless it is of old age, and even then it is rare.” Meira replied while leading Evernya up the white stone steps.

“Yeah, I noticed even at the hospital I didn’t see many people with physically debilitating injuries. Why do we need hospitals if magic can heal you effectively?” Evernya inquired while scanning the mostly human foot traffic climbing the steps.

“Not all healers can heal you instantly. Sometimes it takes multiple sessions or a specialized healer. Some injuries may even resist healing magic, forcing the person to heal naturally. For example, our current capabilities cannot heal injuries to the mana system. Because of these limitations, most inpatients have a mana system injury or disease, but some are under observation recovering from a major healed injury to a vital organ.” Meira informed.

The more I learn about this world, the more I see the differences. Magic makes everything easier, but there has to be a price. Still, everything seems to be too perfect. Not only can healers heal most injuries, but I would consider everyone I’ve seen so far attractive. Very few are even overweight. Evernya thought while observing her surroundings.

“Why is no one overweight?” Evernya inquired.

Meira glanced at her kitten with bewilderment, but answered anyway. “As long as you use magic consistently and eat healthily, it is almost impossible to become overweight. Consistent use of magic keeps your body looking at its best for your age, but that does not mean you are actually in shape. Take you, for example, because your mana is constantly circulating through your body, you appear healthy with an almost unnatural beauty, but in reality, your body is in terrible shape.”

“So everyone’s appearance is basically a lie? You could look like a supermodel, but be on your deathbed. Everything is so confusing!” Evernya commented with a scowl and a creased brow.

“Actually, it isn’t. You can tell a lot from their appearance, even though at first glance they appear healthy. If your mana system isn’t functioning properly, your physical appearance will reflect it.” Meira discreetly gestured at a middle-aged man being escorted in chains through the entrance of the building. “Take him, for example.”

“With a majority of his mana sealed home away, his appearance deteriorated. He appears to be slightly overweight while his skin and hair are missing the luster most have.” Meira continued using the prisoner as a prop in her explanation.

“Damn, you have a good eye. To me, he still looks good for his age.” Commented Evernya, now paying closer attention to the surrounding people.

As they approach the top of the stairs, Meira explained, “It is easy to spot the differences if you know what to look for. Like the man, though at an extreme degree, when the suit sealed your mana, your appearance also deteriorated. Your hair lost its incredible luster and fell limply over your body, covering your dimming eyes while you rapidly lost weight. You were almost unrecognizable by the time the suit’s safety kicked in. When cut off from mana, one’s body will display their true appearance. That man must have kept himself in shape because there are only subtle differences. Our goal is to get your body healthy enough that even after sealing her mana down to grade one, you still look and feel healthy.”

“So everyone has two appearances, their true appearance, and their optimal appearance?” Evernya commented.

“Yeah, that is a good way of describing it. The closer these two appearances are is how healthy you truly are.” Meira stated.

The girls reached the top of the stairs and enter the enormous open doorway. Inside, they found themselves in a huge lobby area with multiple large doors at the other end with signs telling where they lead above the door. Beautifully polished stone of various colors made up the lobby, giving the area a grand feel.

Evernya scanned the groups of people scattered about the lobby before commenting, “Is this lobby really necessary? There’s so much wasted space. I would consider a lobby a quarter the size too big, but everything about this building seems oversized, including the five-meter tall windows.”

Meira observed her surroundings with a bored expression, replying, “That’s the Mage’s council for you. They love to show off. Every Mage’s council building I’ve seen overdoes their design. Druth’s council building pales compared to much bigger cities closer to Sespina, the capital. When you have access to some of the most talented mages, you can pull off over the top buildings like this easily. Even DIOM has buildings on campus on par, or better than this one. They overdid the design here to the point it's almost gaudy. Sure, the stone has beautiful craftsmanship, but there is simply too much of it. Too much of a beautiful thing ruins its beauty, at least in my opinion.”

“I agree once you get past, the awe of it just looks bland because the entire room looks the same. They used the same intricate pattern throughout the entire room while only changing the color.” Evernya added.

Meira led Evernya toward the door on the far left marked citizen services. On the other side of the door was a large waiting room with over a thousand chairs, most of which filled with humans and shifters, waiting for their number. Along one wall, there were dozens of stalls with a worker behind a glass window helping someone. To the far right of the stalls was a desk with another worker behind a glass window. Meira ignored the long line, opting to walk right up to the desk, with Evernya following close behind. Meira’s line cutting caused several glares from the people waiting in line, but they remained silent.

This place looks eerily similar to a DMV on earth. I wonder if the service is just as bad. I hope not.

“Excuse me, we have an appointment under the name Meira,” Meira stated to the worker behind the desk, interrupting the person she was helping.

“Miss, you cannot jump in line. Please stand at the back of the line and wait your turn like everyone else.” asserted the woman behind the desk without taking her eyes off the middle-aged man she was attending to.

Meira released a quick burst of her mana aura, startling everyone around her. This time, the woman looked directly at Meira and froze in shock.

“I am sorry, Grand Enchantress. I should have recognized you sooner! I will be right with you after I finish with him.” Stammered the woman behind the desk.

The woman quickly finished with her current person and turned back to Meira. “What you need, Grand Enchantress?” the woman inquired with a respectful, almost reverent tone.

While smiling in amusement, Meira replied, “I have an appointment. It should be under the name Meira.”

The woman searched her computer for a few minutes before returning her attention to Meira with a mournful expression. “I am sorry, Grand Enchantress, but there does not seem to be an appointment under your name.” The woman apologized, cringing for the reaction.

Meira, missing the woman’s reaction, wrinkled her brow in confusion. “That’s odd. I called an hour ago to confirm the appointment. Try searching for an appointment under the name Evernya spelled ever–n–ya.”

The woman went back to her computer for another minute. “There is an appointment under that name. I am assuming she’s the young lady next to you?” The woman chirped, overjoyed as she helped the terrifying Elven Enchantress before her.

Meira frowned in worry, responding, “Yes, the appointment is for her. Do you need any identification for her?”

The woman glanced between her screen and Evernya before responding, “No, the appointment description has a picture of her. I will let them know you are here. Someone should be out for you shortly.”

“Thank you, Cheryl,” said Meira, glancing at the woman’s name tag before stepping off the side.

Meira led Evernya to the seating area to wait, taking a seat near the right wall. Only a few minutes later, a woman with a serious expression, dressed in a dress suit and high heels, strutted out of the door to the right of the desk. After a quick scan of the room, the woman’s gaze locked on to Evernya.

“Miss Evernya, please come with me.” The serious woman ordered before she spun on her heels, strutting back the way she came, knowing the girl could hear from across the room.

Evernya and Meira stood up to follow her, but when they reached the doorway, Meira hit a barrier, blocking her from going further. “I only asked for Evernya to come, not you. Please wait out here for us to finish.” The serious woman ordered.

Meira glared at the woman, arguing, “I am her guardian! I have every right to be present.”

Unfazed by the elf, the serious woman asserted, “She does not need a guardian. We have legalized her as an adult as of five minutes ago. We just need to finalize everything with her, including her decision on her telepathy.”

Again, the woman strutted down the hall as if Meira no longer existed in her eyes.

Meira grumbled, but she had no choice but to accept it. She gave her kitten a quick hug while whispering in her ear, “Remember, keep calm and do not agree to anything without reading through everything first.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,” Evernya whispered back before disengaging and entering the doorway with the serious woman impatiently tapping her foot in front of a door a dozen meters down the hall.