Hugo woke from another nightmare. A depressingly common occurrence since he had been soulmarked. This time it was about that riese, Lina, she was in a grove of trees with chanting people. They wanted to hurt her for some reason and he was supposed to help her. He shook his head as he got up. He knew he had only acted in self defense, but his subconscious mind obviously didn’t agree. He tried to forget about it and focused on doing well in Hanna’s class.

Hugo and Oskar got to the auditorium early for Marta’s lesson. Everyone had an hour break for lunch, but they didn’t need that much time. Hugo saw someone he recognized already there, and walked up to her.

“Hey Lenna,” Hugo said.

“Hi, um... Don’t tell me. I know this one... Hugo!” Lenna said with a smile. “And your shadow is Oskar, right?”

“Right,” said Hugo.

“Hey, I am no one’s shadow,” Oskar said, as he stepped out from behind Hugo.

“Sure, sure,” Lenna said. She turned to Hugo and said, “I hope today’s lesson isn’t as boring as yesterday’s.”

“I know, I didn’t learn anything yesterday. In here or cryptozoology,” Hugo said, “I hope Marta will go over something interesting today. Like maybe some secrets about the eight domains. No one ever talks about the shadow domain.”

“I doubt they will talk about it here,” Oskar said.

“Why not? It’s part of the system,” said Hugo.

“Because they don’t want another Red Baron. Can you imagine the fit our parents would throw if they found out the academy was teaching us how to be shadow mages?” Lenna said.

Oskar barked out a laugh. He said, “I don’t want to be a shadow mage. Murder isn’t for me. I just want to learn all the secrets, you know? Like how does the captain of the guard walk on air? Can formation mages really create anything? Can light domain people really read my mind?”

Lenna laughed, “You mean you don’t already know?”

“Oh yeah, as if you do?” Hugo said with a smile.

“I know some of those. They aren’t really a secret,” Oskar said, “Light mages can’t read your mind until they are really high ranked. Formation mages can only create some things, they have to specialize.”

“All high ranked barrier mages can walk on air, it must just be a skill they get,” Lenna added.

“Oh. I guess I am the only one out of the loop,” Hugo said.

Lenna shrugged.

Marta came into the lecture hall, closing the doors behind her. The students quickly sat down and stopped their conversations. The only sound was the tapping of her shoes as she walked down the concrete steps. She looked down every row, taking stock of who was already seated. She plopped a folio of papers onto the lectern along with a charcoal pen.

“Congratulations on making it to my class on time today. Your attendance has been noted. Today we will be discussing the difference between harvesters and mages. Both use the Acamarian system to work their magics, but they have very different mindsets and methods. Since we are training you to be a mage, and not a harvester, the distinction is important.

“A harvester is little better than a laborer, someone who uses their magic to get a job done, day in and day out. Innovation is discouraged and they always strive for ever greater efficiency. Don’t assume that I mean to disparage harvesters. They have a very important role in society, they keep monster populations in check and provide the majority of mana shards needed to keep modern life powered up. The lights in this room, for example, are powered by mana shards that harvesters collected.

“Mages, on the other hand, use their brain to solve problems, not their brawn. Incremental innovation is the order of the day for mages. They don’t just practice their magics, they examine them, they research them. Mages come up with new ways to use their domain, pushing scientific advancement forward. They are not content to know that something works, they must know why it works.

She paused her speech as someone slipped into the room. She gave the tardy young man a stern look and wrote something down on her folio. Then she continued, “A good example of the difference between harvesters and mages can be found in the life domain. A beginning harvester will get the skill Heal and a beginning mage will get the same skill. Through years of practice, that harvester will gain skill and be able to heal quicker, and use less mana. Decades later, that harvester will be a great healer. The mage will study the body, he will learn about ligaments and humors. He will improve his ability to heal, but he won’t stop there. Through study and research, he learns that the same life magic can animate more than just bodies. Decades later, the life mage will be a great healer as well. But he will also have created dozens of golems, fought in many wars, and generally made life better for everyone around him.

“Young men and women, it is time to start thinking like mages. Many of you took the monorail to get to the Blue Lion Academy. It was harvesters that powered that machine, but mages that created it. Your task over the next four years is to learn enough about your domain so that you can contribute to the advancement of modern life. Your fourth year will be devoted to completing your thesis, a way for you to add to the knowledge of this great university. That task starts today. Learn everything about your chosen domain, then think about that next step. Don’t ever stop thinking,” Marta said as she ended the lecture.

Oskar had the giggles as they filed out of the lecture hall together, “Don’t ever stop thinking,” he said in an imitation of Marta’s voice. “If we stopped thinking, we would be dead. So ridiculous.”

Lenna huffed, “Well, I thought it was inspirational. I am going to create something wonderful for my thesis. Then my family will sell that idea and we will make plats.”

“We haven’t even been soulburnt yet. How can you be thinking of a thesis when we don’t even have a domain yet?” Oskar said.

“I already know what domain I am getting. I am going with formation. It is the same domain as my mom, and I already have a plan,” said Lenna.

“What’s your idea for your thesis?” said Hugo.

“Well, I don’t really want to talk about specifics yet. But just trust me, it is going to be great,” Lenna said.

“I am sure it will,” said Hugo.

“Whatever,” said Oskar.

“Do you even know what domain you want?” Lenna demanded of Oskar.

“No. I am not supposed to know yet. I have a meeting with the dean today to talk it over,” said Oskar.

“You are supposed to know which domains you want,” Lenna said, “The dean is going to give you advice, not hold your hand.”

“Well, I already know I don’t want shadow, rune, or ritual domains, that only leaves five domains,” said Oskar.

Lenna just rolled her eyes.

“I have my appointment today too. I can walk over with you,” Hugo said. Then he turned to Lenna, “See you at dinner?”

“No, I am having dinner with my dormmates. Someone ordered tarak for the whole block and I won’t miss that. You can tell me all about your domain choices before athletics tomorrow,” Lenna said.

“Ug, no. I will be asleep until the last possible moment,” Oskar said, “I will tell you about it after.”

Hugo and Oskar slowly walked towards the middle of campus where they were going to meet with the dean. Their appointments weren’t for another half hour. Hugo appreciated the architecture of the administration building. It was called the senate house and it had thoroughly human architecture. Instead of the utilitarian squares and rectangles found everywhere that nox built, the senate house was different. It was a round building with stone columns leading to three progressively smaller tiers. Their destination was the top tier.

Once they reached their destination and confirmed where the deans office was, they walked back out to the edge of the third floor. Looking out through the columns they could see the whole campus. It was simultaneously too big and too small. On the one hand, Hugo would spend the majority of his next four years here. It felt so limiting. At the same time though, there were dozens of buildings on campus. They had respected teachers and an enormous library. There was so much to learn here. He looked in the distance to see the monorail and a shimmer corpsman flying beneath it. Part of him still wanted that life. But this life had opportunities the other life never would.

“How do you even choose a domain?” Oskar said, “It’s the one you are stuck with for the rest of your life. What if you choose wrong? Pick something, and then two years later, you think oi, I hate this. Then you are stuck with something you hate for the rest of your life.”

“My dad had a domain before, you know, everything happened. He said that everyone loves their domain at first. And then everyone hates their domain, and wishes they had another. It’s like that saying, the paint is always brighter on someone else’s house, you know? I think you are going to hate your domain in two years, because everyone does. Adults always complain about their jobs. At least the ones who have to work for a living. That’s you and me. We are going to hate our domains, for sure. We just gotta choose the domain that we hate the least.”

Shortly after that, it was Oskar’s turn to see the dean. He didn’t even look up as he walked out of the room, lost in thought. Then it was Hugo’s turn.

Hugo walked into Dean Artjom’s office and passed over the piece of paper with his stats written on it. Rumor was that the dean was an archmage, that he had used the academies’ tamoko to soulburn all the classes onto himself. If that was true, the dean would be able to just look at Hugo and see his numbers. He wasn’t sure if that was true or not. On the one hand, if the dean could do it, why would he keep it secret? On the other hand, something had to make the dean worthy of his position, why not this?

Either way, the sheet of paper the dean was glancing over looked just like his own stats. No need for a light domain when it was laid bare for all to see. The stats were important because they determined how strong his resulting magic domain would be. His lowest stat was perception, so he could never be a good light mage. But he could be an adequate mage in many other fields. It was tough to decide.

Hugo Rebane [Domainless]

Strength 12

Dexterity 11

Resilience 9

Regeneration 11

Intelligence 10

Wisdom 9

Charisma 11

Perception 8

Rank 1

110/200 Points

Health 11/11

Mana 1/1

Skills: None

As he looked over his own stat screen, he noticed the brackets were gone now. He wondered when that had happened. It was tough to tell if he felt stronger and more dexterous now. Maybe? Or maybe it was just the power of suggestion. He should have tested himself before and after.

“Well, it seems to me that you have three good choices here. You could go with formation, barrier, or life domains. Have you thought about which one appeals to you the most?” Artjom said.

“I have put a lot of thought into it, but I haven’t been able to decide yet. I need to make money after this, and life domain has plenty of good paying opportunities. But I am not sure if I am the healing, nurturing type,” said Hugo.

“How are you with pain?” the dean said seriously.

“Pain?” Hugo asked.

“Life domain practitioners spend most of their day in pain. Every drop of life magic comes from their own bodies. That is a pain that you never get accustomed to.”

“I am not that good at pain, honestly.”

“Of the two remaining, formation domain offer better employment opportunities. Barrier domain soulmarked usually end up working guard duty of some sort, either up on the wall or at a private residence. The formation domain has a wider application, you would be able to find employment in a variety of crafting professions.”

“I think I would enjoy being a formation expert, Dean Artjom. It would be fun to create something from nothing. As long as it doesn’t involve pain.”

“No pain. Not directly at least. There is a lot of math involved in the formation discipline. How are you with math?”

“I always got ones in math class. I am confident in that area.”

“Well then, I believe you have your answer, young man.”

“Thank you so much, Dean Artjom, I appreciate the advice.”

“Glad to help. It is something that other faculty could be doing, but I enjoy guiding the new generation of students in my academy.”

After he left the admin building, Hugo felt the world open up. He had a domain now. He would use his magic to create something from nothing. He could create something out of thin air, a sword or a fork, whatever the situation warranted. With this power to create, he would never be weak, caught unawares, or worst of all, poor. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling.