“Yes, ma’am.” Ranvir said. The sick yellow flutters in his stomach caught a headwind and roared through him.

“That’s not necessary. I’m here for the student’s best interest. Just call me Pashar, now what are your complaints exactly?”

“He’s completely refusing to acknowledge me. He won’t look at me when I speak to him, or even recognize that I asked him a question. On top of that I saw him threaten to hit a student.”

Pashar nodded and wet her lips; writing something down on the paper. From Ranvir’s position he couldn’t tell what, though. Either she had an alternative writing style, or she simply wasn’t writing in Elusrian, which, considering her heritage, made sense.

“I regret to inform you that the official stance of the academy is that we produce results. A Master may hit his students. You aren’t here to play, you’re preparing for war.” Her response was rote and monotone, and it made Ranvir’s eyes narrow.

“I don’t think he’s gaining much in the way of results either.” He spat back.

“On the contrary. Master Grimar produces excellent soldiers.”

He paused for a long moment. “The academy’s not supposed to make soldiers, but tethered.”

“In the army that’s the same thing.”

He thought back to what Sansir had told him of his preparations for joining the front lines. He’d been learning to avoid dying, to know when they were throwing their lives away.

“Is it? Do you think the other masters would agree?” He was setting himself against her and Master Grimar, by saying that and relying fully on other Masters to back him up.

“It’s not about what the other masters think. This is the stance of the principal and the elusrian military.”

Ranvir grit his teeth, as red thickly boiling anger rose in him. Not enough to overwhelm him, but enough to cloud his senses.

“I guess I’ll just have to tell my friends about it.”

Pashar cocked her head. “Your friends being the warp boy, Esmund, and… ah! Grevor Starstone.” She squinted at him for a long moment. “Who’s studying under Master Ayvir.”

She pulled open the cloth folder and pulled out a sizeable stack of paper. “He’s already had a few complaints this year, despite it barely having started and him being new to his position. Here’s one from Teacher Floki, regarding an event that should be familiar to you, no?”

“No report from Master Svenar?” Ranvir asked.

“Curiously, no.” Pashar replied. “Just a brief note of him saying that the young Master went ‘a little far’ to prove his point.”

“Huh.” Ranvir sat back in the chair, letting the comment sink in. He didn’t think Svenar had disapproved of Master Ayvir’s action, but it was nice to have supporting evidence.

“So you’re threatening to let Master Ayvir know about how Master Grimar is teaching his students, if we don’t do something?” Pashar’s voice dropped below the freezing point.

“That might have been a little rash.” Ranvir grumbled.

“Oh, really?”

“Alright, how about this.” Ranvir sent his mind spinning as he tried to come up with a solution. “The academy wants results, right? Right. So I’m saying that Grimar-.“

“Master Grimar.”

“… Do not produce tethered, or at least not strong ones.”

“And you’re an expert?”

Ranvir paused. “Actually, yeah. A little. I’ve been in all but ice class-”

“You’ve barely been in obsidian.”

“Okay, fine. I’ve been in most classes, through these first weeks. If I had to choose a teacher, it would go like this: Master Ayvir, Master Svenar, Master Vigo, Master Sigurd, Master Floki, and Master Grimar. This based on who’s been able to teach me the best. Master Ayvir and Svenar are by far the most insightful of them. Master Svenar tends to fall into the assumption that his colleagues work as hard as he does, but he’s still a brilliant teacher willing to hear out another student on something he didn’t agree with at all.”

“That would be the ‘degrees of sharpness’ test?” Pashar asked. When noticing Ranvir’s curious glance accompanied by his nod, she continued. “He reported to us after the experience with Esmund. Both to make us aware of him actually attempting it, and to take away any potential weapons he might have stashed somewhere.”

Ranvir nodded.

“Back to why Master Grimar should be fired.” He cleared his throat. “Any of the light students are more than a match in ability to his obsidian students. At least they were when I was last in a light class.”

“Two weeks ago?”

“How long before his class starts using their abilities for more than tether meditation?” Ranvir asked.

She scanned another set of papers. “Some start at week three, unless there’s an unusual talent. Most at week four.”

Ranvir nodded. “And Master Ayvir?”

She rolled her eyes, but apparently already knew the answer. “They were all able by the end of week three, though, he might’ve just gotten a strong bunch.”

“He got me to that point, too.” Ranvir pointed out. “And I’m not even a light tethered. The situation is Master Grimar’s by far a worse teacher than Ayvir. In fact, I dare say he’s worse than no teacher at all.”

“Really?” Pashar rubbed two fingers against her neck, just below the chin line. “How far are you willing to take that bet?”

Ranvir felt a sudden thrum of orange tension vibrate through him. Something more was going on. She’d played the antagonist, but was that all she was doing? Playing?

“Far.” His mouth was dry as spoke, but the words came out certain.

Pashar’s lips spread in a slow, deliberate grin, like a wolf slowly bearing its fangs. The look sent a shiver of cold blue fear running down Ranvir’s back, cutting through the sick flutters.

“Here’s what I’m willing to do with you.” She started putting all the files away into the cloth folder before she set it off to the side. She then adjusted the inkpot and quill stand before looking at him. “At the end of this trimester, you will be put up against a single student from Master Grimar’s class. I know this is short notice, but I believe giving Master Grimar more time would be at your disadvantage. If you prove to be their better in a fight, then I will personally help bring him down.”

Ranvir fidgeted with the rings around his neck. “I never said I could do better than a teacher giving private lessons.” He hedged. “And we don’t even know if he’ll agree to it.”

“Master Grimar is not known for his restraint. If he’s challenged, he won’t back down.” Pashar sounded sure of herself. “On your first point, I will grant you that. We will add that he cannot offer training to a single student of the class, that he doesn’t offer to every student. It’s not like most first years get private lessons, anyway.”

“What’s the stakes?” Ranvir narrowed his eyes. “If I beat his student, you’ll get him thrown out?”

“I will do my best, and I have more than few valuable favors waiting for me to call them in. If you lose, he will suggest suitable punishments for interfering in matters you don’t understand.”

Ranvir hesitated. If he accepted and he pulled it off, then he would force the academy to find a new obsidian Master to teach that class. Something he doubted would be very hard. It was the most common element, after all. But if he failed…

“He cannot do physical harm to me.” Ranvir said. “Or hurt me and he has to stay out of my way until after the fight. If I can have that, I’ll agree.”

Pashar rocked her head from side to side, considering the terms. “That’s acceptable.” She offered her hand.

“Oh, and I will be excused from, at the very least, his classes for the next week.” Ranvir said, before taking her hand.

“Obviously.” She agreed, and they shook on it. The fluttering storm of sickly yellow energy abated slightly in Ranvir’s stomach as they sealed the deal. Pashar stoppered the ink and got up from her seat. She hadn’t even written any notes on their deal. Part of Ranvir felt like he’d just played into her plans. If only he knew what that meant. Putting the cloth folder under her arm, she headed for the door. “I hope you have a plan, Ranvir. It might seem like it from your current perspective, but no teacher at the academy was given their spot just for their mastery.”

Could’ve fooled me. He thought, though he didn’t say it. “I have some ideas.”

She nodded, “I will have the contract for you by the end of the week.”

The library was quiet when Ranvir stepped into it. Well, the library was always quiet, but it was quieter than normal. In fact, the only sound was the occasional scratches of quill on paper.

The librarian, sitting at the desk near the entrance, was reading something from her book and making notes. She seemed vaguely familiar, but Ranvir couldn’t quite place her. She hadn’t been the librarian when he’d come with his friends and wasn’t as distinct looking as that man. For one, she was significantly younger, about Ranvir’s age, if he were to guess, also she wasn’t a man.

Stepping closer, he knocked on the desk. The girl looked up with a slight jerk, before turning towards him.

“What are you working on?” He asked curiously.

“It’s nothing important.” She said, her eyes intent on him for a second before something clicked. “You’re the space manipulator, right? The one Pashar brought in a few days before classes started?”

Ranvir nodded, but continued with his own questioning. “What’s your work about?” He would rely heavily on the library and its librarians for the upcoming weeks, if he was going to beat Grimar’s student.

“It’s a theory I’m working on proving.” She explained, lifting the book to show to Ranvir. ‘Light and Colors’ the words were written on the spine of the book, with a careful hand. “So basically this author says that there’s multiple types of light, that together they make up the light that surrounds us at all times. But he also mentions something he called ‘greater light’, which is light that we can’t see.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard about that.” Ranvir said, thinking back to when he’d pulled his friends into the library. If he wasn’t wrong, that was the same book Grevor read that she now had open. “Though, not the parts about ‘greater lights’.”

“He doesn’t explain any further than that, but I think there’s a way to prove their existence. Other than the written words from a Master nearly three decades dead.”

Ranvir cocked his head, stepping closer. “How?”

“So, getting a light generator. Sword should be able to do it, but preferably Cloak, as they seem to have finer control than their counterparts. You get them to generate this ‘light’, you know, start with normal, then work their way towards these ‘greater lights’. Keep going until they feel themselves using their ability, but it’s no longer visible.

“Then you get a light manipulator, because their power allows them to sense light, and they should be able to sense this generated ‘greater light’, if not manipulate it.” The librarian took a deep breath. “That would work as proof that ‘greater lights’ are real and then we can figure out how they work.”

She had a faraway look on her face as she spoke, staring into the distance.

“That’s an interesting idea.” Ranvir said. “I don’t know what we could do with it, but it sounds very interesting.”

“Fifty years ago we didn’t know what to do with starjute, then we figured out how it seared when in contact with oil. Now we have printing presses.” She countered. “There’s sure to be a plethora of things we could use it for, we just won’t know until we have access to it.”

Ranvir nodded. “You’re what second stage yourself, then? I assume you intend to fill one of the roles, at least.”

She looked startled before seeming to realize what he was talking about. “No, actually. I’m not a tethered at all.”

A bright flash of white surprise stunned Ranvir’s brain for a moment, but not his tongue. “Wait, then why? How could you even figure this stuff out?”

She was caught off guard by his words. “Are you being serious? Most of this isn’t difficult to figure out. I can’t work with the subject myself, but I still have the brains to understand how your power works. Just because I’m not a tethered doesn’t mean your power is beyond my understanding.

“Actually, that’s something that pisses me off a lot. You all think like that. Like you’re so much more special than the rest of us. Your power is not beyond comprehension, okay? Just because I can’t outshine the sun or cut a boulder in half, doesn’t mean I can’t understand the mechanics of how your ability works. I’m sure I understand most of your powers better than you do. Just because I can’t use them, you think you’re better than me.”

She turned her back to him, sitting back down in her chair as she picked up her quill and dipped it a little too violently in the ink.

Ranvir stared for a long moment before rubbing his eyes. Well, that worked brilliantly, you fucking idiot. She will offer you all the help you could ever need… to bury yourself.

He considered saying he was sorry, but he wasn’t. Not really. He wasn’t wrong and there was nothing she could do to prove differently. Instead, he stepped further into the library, headed for the space shelves. He wanted to look at the generator shelves. Maybe there was something useful there. Or maybe look at some of the older space manipulator books, give them a swing.