I somehow managed to claw my way to the hopeful safety of training ground seven before passing out, whatever it was the Myrddin gave me still clutched tightly in one hand. When I woke up, it was late in the evening and, in a moment of painful clarity, I realized that I had missed my meeting with Janna.

Fuck, that was going to come back to bite me in the ass, I was sure of it. Our oath didn’t stipulate that I had to come to the meeting today, but I was certain she would hang the ‘poor conduct’ over my head for a while.

I rolled onto my back, watching the dark, starless sky that hung above the academy at night. Since we weren’t in a natural dimension, there were no real stars out there, and the original Myrddin hadn’t felt the need to make a fake starscape like he had a false sun.

It was strangely beautiful. I hadn’t been skilled enough to see it when I’d first arrived, but with my much expanded skills I could now faintly make out the dimensional boundary. A dizzying array of mana surrounded this ‘world’ in which I’d been living for several years now, and yet I’d never really given it much thought before.

It was a wondrous feat, the likes of which I doubted had been matched since. Expanding space was tricky but doable. Even making small pocket dimensions was not beyond the skill of a talented mage. However, to create an entire world? Utterly unthinkable in this day and age.

Avalon was not some miniature mansion or expanded chest. No, the pocket dimension that housed Avalon was nearly the size of a continent, complete with its own climates and weather patterns. Beyond that, it was also self contained, the mana that went into its construction perfectly conserved to keep the dimension powered indefinitely.

It was one of the keys to the Academy’s power, a base of operations that could not be accessed except from a single entrance. More than that, the portal to Avalon was moved frequently, ensuring that no nation or army tried to claim it for themselves.

That had been the founder's goal after all, that Avalon remain a bastion for mages and mages alone, free from the influences of any kingdom, religion, or movement. I didn’t know how the founder would have appreciated the current cut throat nature of the Academy, the history books told of him as a rather laid back and kindly man, but that didn’t really matter now. It was what it was and I did not have the power to change it even if I wanted to.

Honestly I kind of liked it. I appreciated being able to do what I wanted, study what I wished, and the ruthless competition kept me on my toes. I didn’t think I would be half the mage I was today if I’d attended somewhere like Lambverruca or Forevermore instead of struggling to join Avalon.

Sure those schools had a much higher graduation rate, some amount of student attrition was inevitable when studying something as dangerous as magic, but their graduates were barely comparable to what Avalon produced. They did occasionally produce the odd Archmage, but those were the sort of exceptional individuals who could excel despite the circumstances rather than because of them.

I smiled as two bright streaks flashed across the night sky, leaving a glittering trail in their wake. Ortus and Occasus were phoenixes that made their nest in one of the Academy’s towers. No one was quite sure where they had come from, but they were powerful magical creatures and having a source of shed feathers and everburning ash was considered well worth the inconvenience.

Still smiling, I closed my eyes and sank into my soul. My core shone at the center of my consciousness, dim but no longer hazy and flickering. My circulations were an absolute mess however. Typically you had to sort of ‘freeze’ them before going to sleep, unless of course you were able to maintain them subconsciously. Otherwise, they would unravel while your attention was lapsed.

I of course hadn’t done so, and it had already been somewhat damaged beforehand, so the entire web had collapsed into a tangled mess while I had been unconscious. Fortunately I was experienced enough that my core had remained stable, if not wound as tightly as I would have liked.

I carefully rotated my core, dragging in the ruined strands of mana spread throughout my body. It was painful, trails of mana biting uncomfortably against my insides, but I knew the feeling was entirely psychosomatic. I wasn’t really injuring anything, but the poorly arranged mana clashed with the mana naturally accumulated in my muscles and organs, sending spikes of phantom pain throughout my body.

It took nearly half an hour to properly recondense my core to a satisfactory level, my low mana levels and injuries greatly interfering with a process that shouldn’t have taken more than ten minutes. I’d overdrawn my core, not too badly fortunately, but worse than I’d done in a while. Manipulating my mana hurt, a visceral burn that spread throughout my entire body as my soul protested the overuse.

I decided against deploying my full set of circulations, merely building out the most basic physical augmentations and healing patterns I knew. Anything else would have been too much to handle as I was now.

I opened my eyes and sat up with a soft groan, sore muscles and aching bones protesting with every movement. It was dark, unnaturally so. Without stars or a moon, only the windows and lights of the Academy buildings illuminated the night. The lamps that surrounded the training ground had gone out, their enchantments automatically deactivating at midnight.

My stomach reminded me that I had missed dinner and I stared forlornly at a single illuminated window in the distance. I knew it wasn’t really that far, but walking around campus at night was always a risky proposition. We’d been warned as freshmen to avoid it if at all possible, and I’d followed that advice religiously ever since.

Humans were one of the few species that did not naturally possess some form of nightvision, and with my mana the way it was, I didn’t dare run a delicate circulation through my eyes. Too much risk of something going wrong and blinding me permanently.

Wild animals were not much of a threat thankfully. The hidden world contained some rare and terrifying creatures that had been imported over the centuries, but they rarely ventured this near to the Academy itself. Too many people that would be happy to turn them into ingredients to be worth the risk.

No, as usual the main threat was other students. If there was an elf or beastkin with a grudge against me, or even just looking for a convenient source of parts, I would be at a huge disadvantage. Unfortunately, I probably had to risk it. I wasn’t particularly skilled with medical spells, but I kept a stock of potions I’d brewed up in my room for just such an occasion.

If I could get back quickly, I would probably be sufficiently healed to go to classes in the morning. Otherwise, I would have to make the trek back to my room in the morning, still injured and traveling through busy hallways. At that point, missing classes would be the least of my issues.

With ponderous care, I gently shaped a light spell, conjuring a small globe of illumination several feet to my side. This was something I would typically use pure mana manipulation for, lights were very easy, but that would put much more strain on my core than a simple structured spell.

Using a nearby lamp post as a handhold, I pulled myself to my feet and began the long journey back to my room. Luck smiled upon me, because I didn’t encounter anyone until the very end of my trip. One of my peers was stepping out of his room just as I arrived at my own. He was dressed in a concealing robe, an obscuring spell hiding the features of his face from sight, and for a moment I feared he would attack me. Then the moment passed, and he hurried away down the hallway as I finally stepped into the safe haven of my own room.

I went immediately to my potions cabinet, grabbing three unlabeled vials and throwing them back like shots. I almost collapsed in relief as a cool wave washed through me, washing aside the pain of strained muscles and soothing the burning in my spirit. I slowly unclenched my left hand, letting the small trinket the Myrddin had dropped beside me fall onto my desk from limp fingers.

It was a pendant, a small golden raven hanging from a silver chain. The carving was incredibly lifelike, each feather perfectly formed and each claw carefully rendered in painstaking detail. A small gem sat where its eye would be, glimmering in the faint light of my spell.

It clearly wasn’t just a pendent, that would have been a very bizarre gift, but I didn’t have the energy to question what it might be. I slid it into a warded box and promptly forgot about it. I would come back to it later, in the morning maybe, or the next day. My plans for Janna lay scattered across my desk, my research notebook tossed haphazardly beside them.

I’d gotten distracted and had to run to my afternoon class, planning to get them before I went to meet her. That was good actually, I doubted my bag would have survived today’s ‘adventure’ intact, but I hadn’t needed it for class so it was still here, leaning up against my desk.

I gave a brief prayer of thanks that Advanced Body Alteration was only once a week, meaning I could sleep in until lunch. It was the work of a moment to push my alarm back three hours and then I was out like a light.

Brenda Goodwitch, third born daughter of Galina Goodwitch, granddaughter of Archmage Goodwitch pouted as she looked away from her scrying bowl. The shallow basin stood on an elegant stand by her desk, the intricately shaped container filled almost to the brim with alchemically treated quicksilver.

It was a princely tool, a priceless instrument built to account exactly for her favorite scrying technique. Alchemical quicksilver was one of the best possible scrying mediums, highly reflective and a near perfect mana conductor. It was far superior to the typically used alcohol or water, granting a much clearer image of the desired scene, but also ruinously expensive in even small quantities.

The basin too was a work of art, pure platinum shaped by a master’s hands and etched with runes and enchantments to pierce wards and ignore concealment. Even the stand was not just an ordinary piece of furniture, but rather a heavily enchanted artifact designed to protect the basin and substrate from outside interference and damage.

Still, no matter how clearly she could scry it, none of that helped when things didn’t go like she wanted them too! He just… ran away! Just bolted down the hallway and out a window! What kind of self respecting man did that?

She’d gone to all the effort to waylay the boy, direct him down the correct hallways, make sure that moron’s summoning went awry at just the right time, and what did she get out of it all? Nothing! Not a fight, no heroism, the lovable idiot hadn’t even had the sense to die honorably!

And his injuries, why was he so contrary all the time! She just wanted a couple of magic resistant burns so she could delicately tend to them, stroke his hair as he lay prone with his head in her lap.

Instead, all he’d gotten were a couple of bruises, nothing serious at all! He was up and walking around just a couple hours later like nothing had happened! At least that meant she would see him in class tomorrow. He was always so punctual and serious about it, that focused look on his face just made her want him to pull her tightly against his strong chest and wrap those muscular arms around her waist…

She fell back against her bed, a dreamy look of contentment on her face as fantasies raced through her mind. It was so sad he no longer went running in the morning, but the memories of him shirtless and sweaty as he jogged around the lake in training ground 41 would tide her over for now.

It was unfortunate today’s plan hadn’t worked out, but there was always tomorrow. At least he hadn’t had time to meet with that whore Janna, she’d made sure of that. What did that nasty hussy have that she didn’t! She was taller, richer, curvier, better in every way that mattered!

She clenched her teeth as she remembered seeing them together. They’d been sitting together in the cafeteria, absorbed in conversation and holding hands! It wasn’t fair! He never held her hand unless she grabbed him, and even then he usually pulled away as soon as she let up!

Still scowling, she jumped up from her bed and pulled out a clean sheet of her pink and scented parchment. Aunty would know what to do! She was a smart lady and had always encouraged her to follow her dreams! She dipped her peacock feather quill into a pot of pink ink. Yes, Aunty Elpha would know what to do!