Frost and Frolick exchanged confused glances with one another as Prisma scribbled mysterious mathematical symbols on the dark chalkboard. They were in a small room in the basement of Everwinter's main hall. It was line with small wooden chairs, mostly empty.

"I cannot believe Master Elkriss assigned me to you," Prisma complained. Prisma and her brother Alex were apparently star students when it came to mathematics. So much so that she'd been hired as a teaching assistant to Elkriss.

Mathematics was essential for optical refraction, which the siblings had learned in their youth. As an assistant, Prisma earned university credits while also making a bit of money, which she sorely needed to pay tuition.

The good master had, in turn, assigned her to teach the beginner's class. Specifically, Frost and Frolick's beginner's class. The two students who knew very little math to begin with, and for whom Elkriss had little patience or desire to teach.

"Does that make any sense?" Prisma asked, clearly annoyed. She had drawn several shapes on the board — three differently shaped triangles. "This is very basic geometry. Alex and I learned this when we were seven."

"Five," Frolick whispered to his brother, the only other person in the room. "She's beginning to sound a bit condescending."

"It must run in the family," Frost shot back.

"Ugh," Prisma said. "Are you even paying attention? Frolick, can you tell me what the three types of triangles are?"

"Umm," Frolick said. "Ah, um, equilateral, isosceles, and left?"

"Right," Prisma said.

Frolick beamed. "Thanks, see I was paying attention."

"No, I said right," Prisma said. "A right triangle, not left."

"Oh," Frolick said. "That's what I meant."

"Did they not teach you even basic geometry in Capscatia?" Prisma said. "I mean, you seem to be able to add and subtract. What about algebra?"

The two brothers shook their heads. They were open to learning, of course, but it would take time.

Frost tilted his head and grimaced. "Is that like solving for missing variables?" Frost said. "I think I can do that."

Prisma wrote an equation on the board. "How about this?" Her voice was cold and lacking emotion. She was still clearly perturbed by his presence. "Well, give it a go."

"You mean you want me to solve it?" Frost asked.

"What else would I mean?" she said, lowering her glasses. Her dark hair ran down her back. She placed her hands on her hips and stared at him, her slender figure curving to one side.

"All right," Frost said. He could give it a go. He'd learned a little math growing up. Schooling wasn't a necessary part of life in Capscatia. But he'd picked up on some of it. It was necessary to balance the books. Algebra and geometry, however, were more for the wealthy who had time and money on their hands.

Frostilicus walked up to the board, taking the chalk from Prisma's hand. He began scribbling out calculations, moving variables and numbers from one side of the equation to the other. Scratching his head, he paused for a moment then wrote in a few more lines, managing to isolate the unknown variable on one side of the equation. "There," he said.

Prisma looked over his work. "Well, well, well," she said. "You might just have a brain after all."

"We're not savages," Frost said. "Capscatia does have cities in it, you know, and its own universities." In truth, it only had one university. And it was nothing in comparison to Everwinter. The others were more like mid-sized boarding schools. But she didn't have to know that.

"If only you used your brain more often than your sword," she said. "Maybe then you'd fit in here."

"It's not like this is good for anything, anyway," Frostilicus said. She really was beginning to sound like Alex. What a contrast from her previously friendly demeanor. "It's all useless math. At least my blade settles things."

"Useless?" Prisma said, widening her eyes. "You think this is useless? Mathematics is the basis for nearly all of science and trade and so much more. I hardly think it's useless."

"You people don't get it," Frost said. "The world is being torn to shreds while you sit up here playing around with symbols learning useless theories about the universe that make no sense."

"Violence," Prisma said. "Is what doesn't make sense. Violence is what drove the Flintlock to madness. Would you have us join them?"

"No," Frost said. "But that's not what I'm saying. You are all pacifists."

"Pacifism is our sacred code," Prisma said. "Killing must be avoided at all costs. Only when there is absolutely no other way. You almost killed Halorax. Then you'd be no better than the Flintlock you despise so much."

"Halorax attacked me," Frost said. "Plus, as far as I'm concerned—"

"Don't give me that lie," Prisma said, stomping her foot to emphasize the word lie. Her eyes narrowed. "I could see the look in your face. I was standing not five feet away from you. There was bloodlust. You wanted to kill him. To think, I welcomed you to Everwinter because I thought foreigners would be good for us. Turns out I was dead wrong. You only brought your aggressive, violent ways." Her words seethed from her mouth.

Frost paused. Five, she was right. He had wanted Halorax dead. Or, at least, a part of him had. It would've been possible to aim the spear at Hal's legs, but no, Frost had aimed for the heart.

"You are silent because you know it's true," Prisma said, placing her hands on her hips and shaking her head.

The silence in the room weighed heavier than any words.

"Well," Frolick interjected, standing up from his seat. "What is it about women. They see right through just about everything."

Frost only rolled his eyes.

Frolick said, "I'd say that just about wraps up the maths for the day. Thank you, Prisma, for your kind instructions. I'll leave you two to sort out these, um, final mathematical puzzles."

Frolick awkwardly stood up and began to tiptoe out of the room while Frost and Prisma stared each other down. He bent over and whispered to Frost. "You certainly do have a way with the ladies."

As Frolick reached out to open the door, it flung open, slamming against the wall.

"What in the Five?" Frolick said, wide-eyed.

Alex stood at the door, breathing loudly. His face was beet red.

"What's going on?" Frolick asked. Prisma and Frost jerked their heads.

"There's been an announcement," Alex said. "The king's niece, a student here at Everwinter." He breathed.

"Alta?" Prisma said aloud. "What happened?"

"Hey," Frolick. "I know her." He recognized the name from the frost mage girl he'd met in the Valley of Sundered Rock.

"She's dead," Alex said.