“...disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business....”

- Tom Robbins, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

They searched for Alea and Maximilian and found them strolling the academy grounds.

“This is the dormitory for the ‘normal’ students. Four persons per room and one bathroom per floor. Mornings can be a bit hectic or you learn to use cleansing magic. A friend of mine wrote a small booklet about the necessary incantations and sells it for only two silver.” Maximilian grinned as he recounted that. “All in all it's not a bad deal though. You get what you pay for. Ah, Alyssa, Mireille, welcome back. Was the explanation educational?”

“We saw a professor Reneus, he was, how to put it best- Not that interested in conversing with us.” Alyssa smiled to show she meant it partly as a joke.

“Reneus Flammensiegel is a good guy. He is mostly here for the library strange as it sounds. Professors have far-reaching privileges to access even the more esoteric and dangerous books. Otherwise, he would most likely be at his country estate. He is a baron and the only one left of his family. The drowning plague killed them all. He is a very eligible bachelor.” He sighed. “The big outbreak- was it ten years ago?” He took a turn just then and they passed a high hedge, behind that hedge were carefully tended fields of gravel marked with metal posts a wall, and the hedges shielded this area from view which measured approximately a hundred times a hundred yards.

He did not see Alyssa tensing as he talked, Cyrus rubbed his head on her cheek.

“This here is the dueling fields. It's an old tradition that probably predates humans on this world. If you have a dispute that can no longer be solved by talking, you fight. Fighting is normally done by magic, we are at an academy for that after all. But if you want you could designate a duel by weaponry. There are codices filled with rules and you can choose one of the more well-known as the basis for the procedure that best fits your intent and style. Ah, look over there- This should be a duel between two second years. Might even be a friendly bout. Let's go over and see what they are up to.”

A small crowd of uniformed boys and girls stood beside one of the demarcated fields. The graveled area was by and large twenty by twenty yards. The metal poles were inscribed with runes. Two boys who might be about seventeen years of age stood on opposite sides of the field. One was blond-haired and stocky with a blunt nose that looked to have been broken at least once before and inexpertly set, which gave him a thuggish air, the other was black-haired and slim with a pale, sallow complexion. The blonde looked enraged, while the dark-haired boy yawned in an affected manner, hooded eyes seemed to gauge the reaction of the other contestant.

An older, dishwater-blonde boy, Maximilian's age or older with a hooked nose, stood to the side and clapped once. The chatter of the other students subsided. “I have to ask for formalities sake- You won't stop this nonsense, kiss and make up like good Gesserach-abiding folk?” The last was spoken in a somewhat droll tone.

“Please take it a bit more seriously!” A dark-haired girl with a severe expression scolded.

“I might if it was not shortly before lunch. So, anyone? Peace and harmony- no?” Both antagonists shook their heads. The blond-haired boy was especially vehement about it. “So that satisfies that.” The older boy scratched his head and looked at a book in his hands. “Then, if your differences are irreconcilable you may now choose the means of combat. The challenged party has the right to choose.” He raised an eyebrow questioningly at the dark-haired boy.

With a languid and bored sounding voice, the addressed answered “I choose magic and no physical weapons, including the body of the contestants.”

“The challenger can declare the victory condition.” He turned towards the blonde.

“Until no longer able to fight, being unconscious or both.” Came the decisive answer in an angry tone.

“So be it. By the code duello of Carvenbright, the duel will begin when the cloth touches the ground.” He lifted a bright handkerchief and after a dramatic pause let go. The square cloth fluttered gently towards the ground.

The spectating students loudly voiced their support for one or the other. Some bets were placed. The referee gave those activities a wistful look.

Maximilian grinned. "He would like to bet himself, but as an official, he can't."

The blonde seemed to be a certain Sebastian, while the other was called Ludwig.

The stocky, blonde student tensed and when the handkerchief touched the dusty ground he sprang into action. Incanting a spell he raised his right hand and a dust-devil rose from the ground, carrying dirt, dust, and gravel with it until it reached nearly three yards of height. With a cutting motion, he sent the winds whipping towards his opponent.

...who had been waiting for that and also started an incantation forming glyphs in the still air. Smoky, dark energy veiled his location. The dust devil crashed into the shadowed area drawing in the strange smokelike substance. With a distortion like heat over a copper roof in summer, the dark-haired youth appeared somewhere to the side. He gestured decisively and the dust devil stopped its advance and the accumulated debris rained onto the ground.

Ludwig pressed his hands together and pulled them apart again while straining against an unseen resistance. This was the first time he looked somewhat serious, the stocky blonde cursed and made a throwing motion while shouting a formula, spears of gravel rose from the ground then shrank as they were compacted and sped towards the black-haired fighter.

A thousandth of a second before the spears impacted the thusly attacked managed to spread his arms and a dark sphere began to rotate between his hands. One spear impacted the sphere cleanly and was swallowed by it, one carved a nasty-looking gash into his left biceps, the rest missed. A long whip-thin cord of darkness flashed from the orb and entangled the blonde who began to struggle furiously while shouting another spell.

Mireille leaned towards Alyssa and whispered “If that works anything like my magic he need not be so loud. Is he a former actor or does he think it cool?”

The thread of darkness began to constrict and the features of Sebastian paled by the second. A fissure formed at his feet and raced towards the dark-haired Ludwig, who was completely absorbed in the control of his sphere. A spray of gravel and earth erupted from beneath and threw him in the air, tumbling head over heels while blood streaked his left cheek where a piece of gravel hat hit him at an angle, the sphere of darkness lost cohesion and fizzled out. Grunting with exertion he drew a few runes in the air and the vertigo-inducing motion stopped as he righted himself mid-air and came to stand again on solid ground.

The other student looked a bit dazed and before anyone could do more than voice their surprise or support swayed and then fell to one knee before finally fainting.

Ludwig flicked back the hairs that had fallen into his face and assumed a bored-looking pose while looking at his fingernails. The posing would have been perfect but for the blood that ran from the cut on his cheek and the wound still freely bleeding on his left upper arm. Some girls waved excitedly at him, which he returned with a gallant bow.

The referee nodded and called. “Victory goes to Sir Ludwig of Hundredstreams. Congratulations.” He clapped while wearing a half-smile. “And that concludes this sorry business.” Catcalls and booing interrupted his derogatory comment. “Yes, yes. Please let that be a lesson to you and choose someone more responsible for your next duel. Have a nice day.” He turned and left. A girl ran towards Sebastian and light wreathed her hands as she began a healing incantation. The stern-looking girl that had scolded the referee went over to Ludwig, slowly, and then also began to heal him with a scowl. She seemed to silently berate him.

Maximilian grinned. “That's Alberich for you. He is also a third-year like me and never one to accommodate others or mince words. We older students, three years and up, are required to oversee such duels if the younger students ask. And that can be a hassle. Sebastian over there is a second-year and a scholarship student, Ludwig is also his age and they have a complicated relationship. Let's leave it at that.”

They then walked back towards the mensa to eat.

The dining room was a big hall with many tables ranging from smaller four to six-person affairs at the windows to big refectory tables that could seat more than two dozen. They were in luck and got to a table facing a large window only seating the four of them.

Maximilian and Mireille went to acquire food while Alea and Alyssa remained at the table. The small girl with the spider looked especially doll-like today, her face was pale the high collar emphasized her small face and neck, and her ebony hair was pulled back with a silver band tiny pearls glistened like dewdrops in her ears.

“That looks nice on you.” Alyssa complimented her smiling.

“Lorelle fussed over me until I no longer resisted. I think she might really be innocent in all of this. Keeping her close might have been a good idea after all. And even if it isn't. There is Maximilian's bodyguard, Mr. Brache. He will keep an eye on her too. Did you come to a decision regarding the scholarship? It has its drawbacks but is really generous in principle.”

“Yes and no. We let the Magister lecture us but did not ask many questions. Unless you two change your mind and no longer want us, there is no chance of us not taking Maximilian up on his offer.”

The brightest smile Alyssa had yet to see on her graced the small girl's lips. “I am glad.” Alea blushed. “I don’t know what the future brings and we have not had much time together, but I feel comfortable around you both.”

“Are those seats taken?” A tall brown-haired boy of perhaps sixteen years called out to them.

“Yes, sorry. Our friends only left to get the food.”

Disappointment showed on his face for a moment, then he smiled and said. “I am Leonhard and if my eyes did not deceive me you are also first years like me?”

“Yes, that is the case.” Alyssa took it upon herself to answer.

“Then we will see each other again later. Bon appetit!” He inspected Alea curiously. The girl sat motionless while the clockwork spider, mechanisms whirring softly, waved her forelegs in a vaguely threatening manner. He seemed to come to his senses and nodded before walking over to another table where he was greeted by three other boys who seemed to scold him good-naturedly.

“I don’t do well with strangers and boys are even worse. I hope you can stay with me.” Alea raised her head towards Alyssa and clasped her hands together knuckles whitening.

Alyssa got up and sat down beside Alea then pulled her into a hug and murmured. “Look outside, do you see the pear trees behind the dormitory over there. I wonder if those are free to pick.” The small girl relaxed a bit and then pushed her back gently.

“Thank you.” She seemed embarrassed but grateful for the attempt at distraction.

“Sorry! That took longer than anticipated.” Mireille called cheerfully. “But the food looks pretty good! Here you are.” She looked at them, “Did something happen?”

“Not really, I will tell you later,” Alyssa said evasively.

The food was of good quality and plentiful.

Afterward, they returned to Mrs. Glenspring. As they entered the hallway they saw some students entering and leaving the study carrying rolls of parchment.

“Those should be your future classmates.” Maximilian nodded towards the waiting students. “You will have some time to peruse the offered courses and then need to decide which to take. There is a minimum required for graduation and some time-slots will most assuredly clash, but there is really only a practical upper limit. It is encouraged to only choose what you can manage. When you advance to the later years you can always add to your workload.

I would recommend you start with three elemental classes, the mandatory history, and theory of magic as well as one oriented towards a craft, something like alchemy or enchantment. Do not underestimate the importance of those. You simply cannot buy everything you could possibly need later on and having a convenient way to earn some money here and save some money there can be a life-saver. I myself took geomantic formations. Not the most immediately useful one, I know, but when I take control of Graufurt it will help a lot.”

Alea nodded at her brother's explanations. Alyssa and Mireille had to first assimilate this torrent of information. And then they got their scrolls.

Mrs. Glenspring nodded towards the exit. “Take your time but be here at six o’clock at the latest. Next!”

They sat together on a bench in the gardens and read through the parchment.

“What is ‘Magical Fauna, uses and training’?”

“I think that means things like taming or cooking a direwolf?” Alyssa guessed with a grin.

“And what about ‘Planar Geometry, an introductory course?’ Does it have something to do with making things flat?”

“I don’t really know- Maximilian?”

"The planes are the different dimensions which we know of. Sort of a catch-all for anything that is not this world. For example, the plane of elemental water or fire." Maximilian held back a laugh, "But no, planes are not- usually- flat or associated with making things flat. Some philosophers believe them to be endless. And the geometry is something you would need for summoning or magics that affect the connection between the planes."

They browsed their way through the parchment.

“Oh, that sounds nice. ‘Pyromancy, the art of energy-based warfare’, or ‘Modern uses of Alteration magic’.”

At last, they had a complete list.

Alyssa reiterated. “I have magical history and theory like all of us, then I will take ‘Water the first building block of life’, ‘Spatial Manipulation and Dimensional Understanding’, ‘Void and Necromancy for beginners’ and last ‘Alchemical Arts of Healing’. I would really like to take Pyromancy too, but I will heed Maximilian's advice.”

Mireille nodded and read from the parchment in her hands. “The ‘Art of the Storm, lightning-based spellforms’, ‘Air an introductory seminar’, ‘Sword One’, couldn’t they be as creative with that as they were with everything else? I feel discriminated against! And then there is the last one ‘Magic of the gods an unbiased analysis, will have guest speakers’.”

Alea went last. “I have ‘Let there be light, creation and control of positive energy’ then I took ‘Never enough, the principles of Time-Magic’, ‘Earth, the ground we stand on’. For my crafting course, I took ‘Like clockwork, the magic of mechanisms’.”

“That seems to be good choices for you all. Alyssa, Mireille- Have you thought about my offer?”

“We have. And the answer is yes. We will accept.” Alyssa answered while Mireille nodded.

“Then let's see about the dormitory. I can probably finagle a two-bed room beside a single person one or even try to have a four-bed room restricted to three. Which would be your preference?”

“I think that the four-bed version would be best?” Mireille looked from one to the other.

Alea nodded after a short moment of thought.

“I concur.” Alyssa nodded too.

“So it is decided. Welcome the service of Graufurt, may we all work to make it the best county in Margrinar.” Maximilian looked enthusiastic. "Details are for later discussion."

A bit farther from where the four were talking stood a young girl with blonde ringlets falling to her shoulders, somewhat pretty but very thin, with a pointed nose. She looked at Alyssa with disdain in her blue eyes but the focus of her interest was Alea. She compared her to a small portrait in her left hand, it showed a much younger but still somewhat recognizable Alea with joyfully sparkling eyes standing beside, and holding hands with, a dignified older man with white hair and golden glasses, fastened around his wrist was an apparatus made of countless revolving gears and lenses, he wore the robes of a professor. The portrait was very life-like, nearly too perfect for a painting. Nodding she turned and left.