Nicholos knew little of teaching, he had said as much when Carmine went under his wing. He was her guardian first and teacher ninth or tenth on his list of skills. It's why she resorted to learning most of her spells from mother's book on her own. Nico helped her refine the process, but he never knew how to start. Only now did Carmine realize the gaps that had left in her learning skills. She could cast a new spell with ease, but when she looked down at her haphazard scribbling about the school day's lectures, she broke into a sweat. It was nonsense, all of it, and the day hadn't even ended.

"The ranger learned the tongue of the Riven people and built an alliance under one banner," Professor Castadio explained as arcane writing clattered across the class' blackboard. He spoke as if the room was filling with water and the board notes scrambled past with the same urgency. The words echoed around the auditorium, attacking Carmine from all sides. Every time she tried to copy the board's notes, she missed the professor's speech. Any time she tried to note what he'd say, she'd miss the words on the board. If that wasn't enough, she could hear students behind her whispering about their evening plans. She nearly snapped her pen against her desk. At least Nicholos taught with a conversation. These classes were just a recital she was just supposed to memorize. She couldn't rely on her magic talent for any help either, the institute forbid all magic during lecture classes. Students had to learn by sitting, listening and nothing else. She squirmed in her chair, sitting for hours and hours of lectures just told to remember didn’t work for her. Already she felt herself falling behind.

"Professor," Xander interrupted Castadio's lecture, his voice booming through the hall. "Could you slow your pace, please? I fear you're too quick for me."

"Ah, excuse me," Castadio apologized, laughing as though he'd made a mistake. "When you've taught this subject as many times as I have, you tend to move through too quickly. Apologies Mr. King, I'll take it a little slower."

Carmine looked to Xander with a mix of appreciation and admiration. She still couldn't speak up in front of dozens of people the way he could. Then her sight drifted to his notebook, filled top to bottom with notes in neat order. He had no problem at all. Xander noticed her gawking, and nodded her way with a courteous smile.

"Thank you," she mouthed, returning to her own notes to hide her embarrassment. He played the fool for her. Carmine shook her head at herself. She had to get it together. The circle didn't need someone holding it back.

—

"I hate lectures," Carmine sighed, dropping onto the dorm's couch the moment she returned from class. For a school dedicated to making sorcerers, few of their classes even touched magic. History, grammar, etiquette, Nicholos mentioned them, but only enough to get a fringe idea. Carmine fumbled her notes and texts from her pack and sprawled them on the table before her. She needed to absorb every detail, and knew she'd have better luck on her own than in the classroom.

Kay sat next to her, gesturing with her hands. Thanks to Almyra’s lessons over the weeks, Carmine roughly understood what Kay communicated.

'Are you alright?' Carmine pieced together Kay's question.

"My head hurts," she answered. "Why do they teach us all this stuff? I'm trying to be a sorcerer, not a historian."

"It's still a school," Xander answered as he moved to the dorm's kitchen. He returned with glasses of water for both Kay and Carmine. "There are things the empire says it must teach. Sorcerer or not, besides it's important to learn basic knowledge and skills for our society."

"I guess," Carmine took a sip from the offered glass. "I'm sorry about class today. I'm not used to learning around so many people. They're really distracting."

'You were schooled from home,' Kay signed. 'You'll adjust.'

"And until you do, you can ask for our help," Xander added. "The circle is here for all of us."

"Thank you," Carmine looked down to hide her smile. "For this, and your help today."

"I don't know what you mean." Xander shrugged and moved back to the kitchen. Out of everyone in the circle, only he knew how to cook decently well. Since everyone else only knew the recipe for charcoal, he became the circle's unofficial chef. Despite being just a couple years older than Carmine, he also cooked better than anyone she'd ever met. At the end of the day she could at least look forward to a good meal.

The dorm door burst open, and the other half of the circle barged through. They looked how Carmine felt. Ash marks covered Almyra's face, while Adelaide stood slumped with her eyes half-closed, bundled in extra robes, shivering. Emmet looked fine. No matter the training, he always looked fine, somehow.

"What happened to you?" Carmine made room on the couch.

"Headmaster Leval happened," Almyra groaned back, shuddering.

"I don't understand," Adelaide said, starting to remove her extra robes. "How is he the headmaster?"

"Headmaster-clerical-error maybe." Almyra agreed as she moved over the sink to wash her face. "Are we sure he's a sorcerer?"

"Come on now," Emmet said as he bounced over to the gathering couch. "Dad Isn't that bad, he just prefers to take training seriously."

"'Seriously' is sticking to a schedule and working up to push your limits," Adelaide countered. "Your father wants us to break them every other day."

'What did he make you do?' Kay asked.

"Endurance training,” Almyra grumbled through a clenched jaw. “I had to sustain my spells in the center of a ring of fire, ‘for concentration.’” she scoffed and shook her head. “Addy there needed to draw her spell circles and make the hand symbols on the verge of frostbite.” Adelaide pulled her last coat tighter and nodded in confirmation. “Emmet had to cast spells underwater!”

“It was fun,” Emmet simply retorted.

“You could have drowned!”

"No, I can swim."

Almyra groaned, throwing her arms up, and leaning back on the couch. "You're just as crazy."

"Hopefully the headmaster will be a bit calmer tomorrow." Carmine said, worried it would be her turn soon. As eccentric as Emmet’s father was, he never forced Carmine to participate in the fire themed exercises.

"He only has one mood: crazy," Almyra answered. She slid down off to the lodestone's round table. "C'mon, let's get the exchange over with. I need a shower."

"Then let's begin," Adelaide called everyone over.

All six circle members took their positions. In the weeks since they'd formed their team, this gathering became a small ritual by necessity. Every day, Leval split their circle in two. Each half attended different classes, and learned different subjects. Once the school day ended, both sides came together to share what they learned with the other half. They had to; by the next day, both sides switched classes, and continued exactly where their partners left off. Those in the lecture halls needed their notes detailed and clean, while the attendees of the practical tests needed to test their partners in the same way. At first it seemed counter-intuitive, and perhaps it was, but over the weeks they’d tried their little council Carmine found it easier to talk to her circle members, and overcoming the institute’s challenges as a team proved easier. By working together, and teaching what they just learned, everyone reached a greater understanding At least, Carmine suspected that was the school’s rationale. On days like today, where she struggled to keep up with a lecture, she worried about bringing everyone else down.

“Carmine,” Almyra nudged her elbow. “ It's your turn to share.”

"Right," Carmine pulled her notebook to her face, hoping no one else would see her sloppy writing. "Today, Professor Castadio covered the formative years of the Vembrian Empire." She recalled mostly from memory rather than reading her notes. "More than a thousand years ago, when maps were being redrawn, and the bright birds went extinct, Vembris sent out people called rangers to go explore new territories and make contact neighboring settlements. One of the first rangers met the Riven in their webbed mountains, learned their language, and helped broker their alliance. It's actually the first interspecies alliance Vembris made."

"So the empire wasn't always filled with bigots?" Almyra grumbled, her displeasure plain.

"Allegedly," Carmine shared her tone. She lowered her notebook, and looked at her circle. "A thousand years is a long time for a story to be distorted."

“The Riven…” Adelaide tapped her cheek. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that group.”

“They’re pretty out-of-the-way,” Carmine flipped through her notebook to the map of Vembris printed in its back. “They normally keep to their mountain near the southern ocean. They're described to have evolved from rodents and prefer dimer light.” Carmine leaned closer to Adelaide pointing out the region for her on the opposite side of the continent.

“They mostly dwell underground.” Xander added, smiling as he continued. “They make some of the wonders of our age. Much of the machinery powered by arcanite bears the bones of their designs, and their mines find most of the arcanite in the empire.”

“Well,” Adelaide sat up with a smirk on her face. “Perhaps this warrants further reading. The suppliers of ensorcelled ore would be good friends to have.”

“There’s a book on the shelf about the different people in the empire,” Carmine pointed. "We can have a look later, but the next subject-"

Before Carmine could continue, the Lodestone hovering over their council thrummed to life. Its cerulean surface brightened as an image took shape within its confines. A dour, scowling shape that all but Emmet froze before.

"Students." Madam Leval snapped, barely parting her pursed lips to command their attention. "A word." She made no request. Carmine and the others went still and prepared for a scolding. Madam Leval's face sat in its stony glare as it always had. If the head master's one mood was crazy, then the madam's was vitriolic, with one exception.

"Hi Mom," Emmet waved to the massive face in the orb.

"Hello dear." A momentary smile warped the headmistress' face before she turned her attention back to the circle in full.

"The faculty have determined that your circle is sufficiently acclimated," she decreed, whether it was true or not. "You shall be given your first field assessment."

"Field? We get to go-?" Almyra started to question, her face brightening with excitement before the madam's glare fell squarely on her.

"If you have a question, you will wait until I am finished." Madam Leval's face loomed over Almyra.

"So sorry," Almyra faked, "Next time I'll have Emmet ask."

The madam narrowed her eyes but decided not to pursue it any further. One of these days, Carmine felt Almyra would push the wrong button, but until then vicariously enjoyed the defiance.

"As I was saying." Madam Leval continued. "In accordance with our curriculum, students are required to visit a notable city in Vembris. You will then tour said city and write an individual and group report on how the resources within the city could further your goals as a sorcerer and how you, in turn, would serve said city. As such, each of you are required to submit a preliminary report of your choice of destination for approval by the end of the week. That is all." The lodestone's hum faded as the Madam's visage, thankfully, went with it.

"So much for questions." Almyra crossed her arms.

"Sorry she does that," Emmet said with a shrug. "My mother gets terse when she's busy."

'She's always busy' Kay signed out of his view. Almyra snickered and Carmine covered her grin.

"Having fun over there," Adelaide called them out, her voice as serious as ever. "This is our first important assignment. It will likely hold more sway than the entry test ever did. We should start planning now, before the headmistress decides to demote us."

"Really," Almyra groaned. "You heard her, we have ‘til the end of the week. We can start tomorrow."

"Maybe, but…" Emmet furrowed his brow in thought. "I've heard people who fail their first assignment usually end up flunking within their first year and get expelled."

Everyone looked at Emmet wide-eyed with new-found urgency.

"Alright," Almyra clapped her hands."Where are we going?"

"Slow down." Adelaide urged. She closed her notebook and looked to the rest of the circle. "Just as you said, we have the week to decide. Whatever we choose, we must explain our decision, otherwise I doubt our trip would be approved. Let's start with something we can all answer right now: Why are we sorcerers? Why did we choose to come here? From there we can figure out what kind of place would best serve our joined interests. Here, I’ll go first.” Adelaide straightened her posture and sat at the circle table as if it was her own courtly audience. “I came to the Leval institute to improve my education and understanding of sorcery for the day that I take up the title of my county. When that day comes I wish to lead my people as a wise and disciplined leader capable of defending them legally, morally, and if it comes to it, martially. For my selection, I would choose somewhere with a focus on governance.” Adelaide relaxed her shoulders the moment she finished her speech. She looked to her left at Emmet, “Just like that, not so hard. You go next.”

“Uh…okay,” Emmet opened his mouth with the same confidence yet no words came out. As the pause grew longer he wrung his hands, staring at his reflection on the table. “This might sound pretty simple, but I just want to be like my parents and become an instructor at our school.”

“Nothing wrong with wanting to follow your parent's example,” Xander commented. “Even with your family, it still requires much of your own hard work.”

“I'm sure both Mr. King and I share your experience. It’s not surprising either,” Adelaide agreed. “You come from a prestigious family after all.”

“Thanks guys,” Emmet raised his head a little. “ As for what I'd be looking for, I think a place that has its own schools of sorcery would give me a reason to go.”

"Sensible," Adelaide approved. "Carmine," her sudden call made Carmine jump, "what about you?"

"Uh…" Carmine's mind went blank. She really should have used the time to think of her own reasons. "I…uh…I'm not sure. I came here because Vale and Nicholos, my-my teacher, said it'd be good for me."

"Wha-? You're learning at the most renowned mage school in the nation. You can't not have an end goal in mind." Adelaide leaned forward, disbelief on her face. "After all the effort you and your family put into getting you here, surely, surely there's something-"

"I get it, alright?" Carmine retorted. She came to this place to try and connect with other mages, and that already took a lot of her focus. "I'll think about it. Skip me for now."

"Fine." Adelaide shook her head. "Apologies for the insistence, but at least think of a reason for the assignment."

"Just come up with anything Carmine," Almyra added. "You just need to fool that crone.”

“My mother, you mean,” Emett narrowed his eyes, his grin tightened.

“Exactly!”

“Do put some thought into it,” Adelaide groaned glaring at Almyra. “You have a lot to say, what’s your goal?”

“That’s easy,” Almyra rose to her hooves, “I’m going to be the master of elements at the imperial court.”

“Really?” Adelaide nodded with interest. “That’s an ambitious goal.”

“What’s the master of elements?” Carmine whispered to Kay. it sounded like another lofty title, but if Almyra wanted it, then it probably meant something.

‘A mage advisor to a leader for arcane matters.’ Kay explained, She signed to Carmine without looking, her eyes shadowed by a concerned frown in Almyra’s direction. ‘The imperial court's master of elements advises the emperor.’

“Wouldn’t that be really hard for you, Almyra?” Carmine asked carefully. “The empire treats fauns pretty unfairly, My teacher had to go through a lot of trouble just to be allowed to work here.”

“Oh yeah!” Almyra only boasted louder. “Right now, a lot of folks might try to stop me ‘cause Raelis and Vembris are at each other's throats, but I’m not from Raelis. I was born here, which means I got as much a shot as anyone else. Besides, I’ll just get so good at what we do that no one else can hope to get the job.”

“You’re not lacking in confidence, that’s for certain,” Xander said with a smirk.

“Damn right! If I’m going for the best job, I’ll just have to be the best. When I do get there, I can help change the perception of fauns in the empire anyway. Do some overdue good, you know?”

“Well,” Adelaide smiled with a hint of surprise. “I suppose that’s a noble goal. In terms of our assignment though, you would need to study under a court mage, so a place with one will be necessary.”

“Now you Kay,” Almyra nudged her silent friend. Kay’s hands fell beneath the table, her face sinking deeper in her collar. “Come on, don't be shy, you’ve got a great goal.”

Hands trembling with reluctance, her eyes never leaving the floor, Kay slowly signed, ‘I want to be an artist.’

“She wants to be an artist,” Almyra repeated for Emmet and Adelaide. Knowing Almyra said it aloud, Kay buried her face into the table, her ears red as she tried to appear as small as possible.

“An artist that uses magic?” Carmine pondered the thought. “I’ve never heard of that.”

“That’s why she’s doing it,” Almyra explained, rubbing Kay’s back, trying to coax her from her shell. “Kay use to go on and on to me about how most people just see sorcery as a tool, and very few mages use the expressive side of-”

Kay lifted her head and covered Almyra’s mouth. ‘Enough,’ she signed. ’Next. Wherever we go is fine. I’ll figure something out.’

“I’ll go next,” Xander said, straightening his posture. The soft grin ever-present on face turned to a neutral expression, one Carmine recognized from Jordan and Tera. The look of discipline. “As I mentioned before, I am training to be an Arcknight. My studies here will eventually delve into battle magics.”

Adelaide started to summarize. “So a place that could provide martial-”

“No.” Xander cut her off. “I’ve trained for this all my life. What would truly help me would be a better understanding is the smithing process of arcane weapons and armor. A knight must know their equipment better than themselves."

“Oh.” Adelaide recovered from the interruption “Then a place with metallurgy I suppose? This list is getting complicated. Carmine, it's back to you, give us something at least.”

“Right…” Carmine rubbed her head trying to think of what she wanted and what her circle expected of her. She started learning magic to feel closer to her Mother, to learn about her in the time they lost, but in that time she remembered the words of the wretched village headman that night. She was cursed, a bad omen condemned by a seer too high on mushrooms to be coherent. They all knew nothing. If they had, so much would have been different. So many people across the empire hated and feared simply because they didn’t know any better. There had to be something, someone to change that. “I think…I think I want to travel. Go to places and help them learn about other parts of the world…maybe teach a little magic where I can and work as a healer since aunt Vale trained me for that too.” Carmine shrugged, looking at Adelaide with an apology on her face. “Sorry, that’s probably not a very descriptive answer.”

“Actually it makes more sense than you know,” Adelaide paused in thought. “There’s a word for sorcerers that travel to the edges of countries to impart their knowledge and training-"

"What, like a hermit?" Almyra cut in.

"No, a witch."

"A witch!?" Carmine buried her face in her hands. "You mean like a mean old lady? Forget everything I just said, I don't want to be a witch!"

"Not that kind of witch, Carmine," Adelaide fought back a laugh. "Recent stories may have twisted the word for people like you're thinking of, hags in deep woods, laying curses, but that's superstitious blithering. The old meaning was for what you described before: wandering healers and teachers."

"I haven't even heard that," Emmet admitted. "How did you know?"

"A witch helped my mother in childbirth." Adelaide smiled. "There were complications with my younger brother's birth, but a wandering witch saved both their lives." She turned back to Carmine. "There’s little prestige associated with their work, but they’re often the first mentor to most would be mages. My talent was discovered by that same witch, actually.”

“Really?” Carmine perked up. Maybe this wasn’t such a flimsy idea after all. “Do you think it could work?”

“Probably. I’ll tell you now, witches don’t see much in the way of silver, except for their medical expertise, so best keep up your healer studies.”

“Oh.” Carmine frowned a little, thinking of the paltry meals she and Nico squeezed by on in the early years. “That…wouldn’t be new.”

“You know what?” Almyra leaned over, staring at Carmine with a ponderous frown. “I think it suits you.”

“You do?”

“Yeah…I think you could pull off the scary witch-of-the-woods look.” A smirk creased the faun’s lips in approval.

“Gee…thanks.”

“I think with that…” Adelaide lowered her list of the circle’s goals, revealing her confident sneer to the lodestone over them. “I have our destination in mind.”