MAGNUS

After the assembly I had to return to my room to pick up the case that held my pistol. I was supposed to meet with the Dean, and apparently Vara had a meeting with her mother. Richard had gone off to look at the workshop facilities available to those in the Engineering program. He had made his choice just as quickly as I had, though I was surprised no one had tried to get him to go on the Military path. We had until the end of the month, but they were already accepting requests. That didn’t mean we couldn’t change our minds in that time frame though.

I walked through the halls towards where the Dean’s office was. I waved at Vara seated down the hall outside of what I think was Professor Schmidt’s office, but she didn’t notice me as she looked like she was lost in thought. I knocked on the door and announced myself.

“Come in child,” came the dean’s voice.

I opened the door to a small office with bookshelves covering every wall. The desk the dean sat behind was more like a long table, with chairs on either side that looked like it would fit the other professors and a few extra people. Professor Schnieder sat to the dean’s left, and she motioned me to sit at her right. I sat the box on the table and took my seat.

“The princess passed a letter on from your grandfather regarding some device you created that had both the Schnieder’s drooling. That same letter also described young Richard Schmidt’s attempts at spellbinding. That letter was actually what encouraged the Professor to join us here at the academy and push for an Engineering program. Would you please show it to us?” she said.

I turned the box around and opened it up so they could examine it. Dean Brenner took one of the power sources and examined it while Schnieder picked up the pistol and almost seemed to caress it. The dean was the first one to speak, “So you used an aether crystal, that would normally be used to bind creatures, as the storage medium for the aether. That is quite clever as those crystals naturally take in aether. Then you inscribed bindings onto the grip that would draw that aether to power the other bindings. Those are the bindings that we are most interested in. How did you come up with those?”

“They seemed like the logical bindings to use. They are only slightly different that the portion of the binding on a spellbinder’s runes that accept the aether they provide. It was the binding on the trigger that was the most complicated. I had to set it up in such a way that the power draw only activated when the trigger was pressed down, I tried splitting the binding but it wouldn’t take,” I answered.

“You have Aether Sight correct?” she asked.

I nodded and she said, “That is a rare Talent. Did your grandfather explain Talent’s to you?”

I looked at her quizzically and said, “Your use of the word has more meaning to it than any discussion he ever had with me about it.”

She nodded and said, “It was only a theory until a few months ago actually. He brought up the concept of Talent in one of our academy discussions. You are aware that people vary in their inclinations on binding, yes?”

“Some like Richard and the Crown Princess are more adept at spellbinding, while some like my grandfather have something about them that lets them bond with creatures easier. Is that what you mean?” I clarified.

She nodded, “We will cover this in the first Introduction to Aether Binding class, but as it pertains to this discussion I will touch on it. Talents are what we see as the bindings within the aether flow of a sentient creature. Aether Sight is a Talent that allows one who possesses it to see the flows of aether. There are other Talents that we are still discovering as we come across them. However those with Aether Sight can, if they know the shape of the Talent, can see the Talent’s in other beings.”

I thought back to the shapes in the aether flow of my grandfather and Fenris. Those must be the Talent’s she was talking about. I pulled the Fenris card I had made out and passed it over to her saying, “Like the particular shapes that had to be placed in this?”

She examined the card, a very faint glow in her eyes as she activated the same type of vision I used, before nodding, “Yes, those are Talents. It is rare to see a creature with so many Talents though. Is this the legendary Fenris Pantstealer I’ve heard of?”

I let loose a laugh before I could hold it back, and she smiled clearly pleased with her joke, “Yes ma’am, that is Fenris. Though I wouldn’t call him a legend to his face.”

Schnieder snorted and said, while placing my pistol back in it’s case, “That’s because you grew up with him. To all but the royal messengers and those who have heard their stories, Fenris is a terrifying story used to keep kids in line. Do your chores or Fenris will eat you; don’t go into the woods, the Fenris will gobble you up; don’t invade a neighbor, Fenris will end you.”

I shrugged and said, “Yeah, he can be a bit scary when he wants to be.

He shook his head and said, “Back on topic. This pistol you called it, can you give us the specifics?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Damage capacity, range, ammunition, and things like that,” he clarified.

“Oh, the statistics as my grandfather says. It has an effective range of about a hundred yards, but the penetration power drops dramatically after that. It is most effective up to about half that. Each crystal can power it for twenty shots before having to be replaced, it’s why I made six of them. The ammunition is fairly easy to manufacture, though my grandfather gave me some other designs he said would be worth testing. That gem along the barrel holds a few thousand rounds of ammunition, so it is only limited by the power source. Unfortunately I couldn’t link the loading to the crystal so that requires my own store of aether to replace the used ammunition. As for damage, that varies depending on the target. Most barrier spells deflect the rounds pretty easily, though it does eventually break them down if not supplied with more aether. It also won’t pierce very far into some of the more durable hides. A Stone Ox just looks like it’s being tickled if you shoot one with it. It will punch through standard steel armor, but aetherical reinforcement will usually just make it cause dents,” I said.

In all honestly I wasn’t that impressed with it as a weapon. Too many creatures could end you before you could do enough damage with it, that’s assuming you could hurt them with it at all. A couple of the concepts I had come up with were ways to improve it, but I didn’t know how much time I would have to work on it.

Dean Brenner spoke up, “Then should we put you down for the Engineering program?”

I shook my head, “No ma’am, I have put in a request with Professor Stormleaf for the Operative program.”

Schnieder looked like he had been gut punched, while the dean just nodded, as he stammered out, “Why, with ingenuity like this you would excel in the Engineering field.”

“While I want to excel, becoming an Aegis Operative will help me more than becoming an aetherical engineer. While I would like to, if time permits, attend some of the engineering courses, my goal was set at the assembly,” I stated, my voice turning into a resolute copy of Morgan’s.

The dean calmly stated, “While I don’t feel becoming an operative for personal reasons is a wise idea, I can respect the choice. To answer your implied question, yes there will be time in your class schedule for you to choose some extra classes to round out your learning. If you are accepted to the Operative program you will receive a course schedule for those classes, along with the number of free classes you can choose to take. There are booklets with each of the available classes in the dorm lounges. Pickings will be first come first served though, as we don’t want the classes to get too large. The choices can be made in the last week before programs must be selected.”

I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to make those choices just yet. Professor Schnieder interjected, “I expect you to choose some of the engineering courses. With your aptitude it would be a shame for you to ignore that aspect of your studies.”

I grinned and said, “That’s why I asked. From the overview given during the assembly Engineering was the program I was going to select if the Operative option hadn’t been present; well that or Scholar.”

Dean Brenner asked, “Why not the others?”

I could tell she was trying to get a feel for me as a person for some reason, but I didn’t see myself as having anything to hide, so I said, “Support doesn’t really strike me as in my mentality. I like helping others, don’t get me wrong, but I would much rather get things done myself than support those who do. The Military program was out because it seems more focused on those who will join a nation’s military. I plan to take my grandfather’s path on that one and not owe allegiance to one nation above my own morals.”

“I know this may be a delicate subject,” Dean Brenner began, “but doesn’t that contradict your mother’s path with Nilavs?”

I suppressed the wave of emotion as I shook my head, “You could see it that way, but there was a specific difference. My mother was a Shadow. Her oaths were to the job and a person, rather than a nation. Shadow’s exist primarily to keep bad things from happening to their principal; whether it is assasination attempts or a mental breakdown, their job is just to keep them safe. If my mother was still here, and the princess abdicated tomorrow; then my mother would follow her and keep her safe in whatever she chose to do next rather than change over to the new Crown Prince or Princess.”

The dean smiled and said, “Very good, Mr. Ward. Should you graduate and become an Aegis Operative that is the type of distinction you will need to keep in mind. The laws of the various nations in the Alliance are diverse in places. Please keep that in mind.”

I nodded, and with a short round of goodbyes I collected my pistol case and returned to the dorms. I would need to look at those booklets and start making a short list for if I was accepted.