And here comes story number 2 - enjoy.
02. A Friend
„Stop plucking at it. Such behaviour is unseemly for someone of your standing", the stern voice of Duenja, who he shared a carriage with, said. Lorlen forced himself to temporarily release the frills adorning his shirt and interlaced his shaking fingers on his lap, fidgeting on his seat. „Remember what you have been told. Stand upright, do not fidget and speak clearly and politely. It is of the utmost importance that you make a good impression. Surely, you do not wish to bring your House's name into disrepute", admonished the grey-haired woman. Lorlen nodded absently and as the carriage jolted over an unevenness of the ground, he turned his head to look out of the window.
In front of him, the extensive grounds and intricately ornamented buildings of the magicians' guild were gradually appearing out of the mist that wreathed Imardin this morning. „What a dreadful weather", muttered Duenja with such indignance as if she perceived the meteorological conditions as a personal affront to the noble House Parin. Lorlen, on the other hand, did not mind the cold and damp weather. If he was being honest, he had to admit that he was somewhat glad about the fog which would surely prevent the usual crowd of relatives from gathering in front of the guild hall.
He was right. Today, the carriages merely stopped briefly in the courtyard and its passengers quickly proceeded to enter the guild hall. Relieved that he was able to evade the prying and sometimes disdainful glances of the other families a while longer, he smoothed down his dark trousers and stood to step out of the carriage. Duenja, who had been his nursery maid for thirteen years, bade him farewell with a last dunning glance, then she was gone. Lorlen took a deep breath and moved towards the high gate leading to the guild hall. Suddenly, he wished his family had taken the same carriage he had, so as to avoid being faced with the attention, which undoubtedly awaited all new novices entering this building for the first time, on his own.
His mother however had not deemed this appropriate, considering it necessary to demonstrate that his family was wealthy enough to afford two carriages. As he began to feel cold in his showy garments, he had no other choice than setting foot into the building. Lorlen involuntarily blinked a few times after the doors had closed behind him. Whereas it had been cold, silent and hazy outside, the ample room he had just entered was filled with warmth and reverberated with conversations. The antechamber he found himself in was illuminated by numerous magical spheres, floating just below the ceiling and shining their light on the dozens of people below.
He spotted about twenty girls and boys appearing to be around the same age as himself that stood among their families. All of them were clothed magnificently in order to demonstrate their families' wealth, their parents clearly hoping to enhance their prestige not only among the other families in their own House, but also in the eyes of the other Houses. Some mothers had tried so hard to attire their offspring as extravagant and costly as possible that they looked downright comical. As Lorlen had come in, some of the nobles had turned and surveyed him briefly, but as he was one of the last to arrive, to his relief most of the attention was already directed at the opening double doors he assumed lead into the assembly hall.
Lorlen scanned the confluence for his mother and sister but did not spot them anywhere. Therefore, he followed the mass of people and tried to conceal his increasing discomfort. Suddenly, the crowd before him parted; the families ascending a few steps to the empty seats in the lower ranks and the soon-to-be novices of the winter intake proceeding in a line to the centre of the guild hall, all eyes upon them. To Lorlens horror, the hall was almost full. While the families had seated themselves in the lower tiers, countless figures clad in red, green and purple robes sat above them. At the very top, many feet away from him, Lorlen spotted an accumulation of approximately twelve seats, arranged in a triangular shape and separated from the other magicians by an empty row.
The magicians up there seemed to wear different robes, but Lorlen was unable to discern more details from his position in the centre of the hall. All of a sudden, a magician in the highest tiers stood up and stepped forward, his dark blue robe fluttering as he rose his hands, and the conversations fell silent. „Lords and ladies of the magicians' guild, representatives of the Houses, prospective novices. It is a pleasure to welcome you all to this winter term's acceptance of novices…" The elderly magician gave a short speech during which Lorlen took to observing his fellow soon-to-be class mates, wondering whether or not he would become friends with some of them.
To his left stood a lean Elyne girl with ginger hair who twirled her long braid between her fingers and did not deign to look at Lorlen; to his right were a stout boy with tanned skin and bright green eyes, whose clothing bespoke of his Vindo parentage, and a tall Kyralian girl with brown hair, whose headdress was so enormous that a big purple feather covered nearly half of her face. Disappointed, Lorlen turned back to the front of the hall. None had appeared particularly amicable. „…come forward, one at a time. Drina of the family Genard!" The girl to Lorlens left took a few, timid steps to the front and spoke the words of her Novice's Vow with a thin voice.
Lorlen tensed and began to recite the words he had spent the whole summer memorising one last time in his mind. „Karamo of the family Temo, part of the Naval Builders Guild!" The boy to his right stepped forward. More than half of the novices had already taken their vows and the line had thinned out considerably. After "Lia, family Laren, House Sorrel" and "Neverin, family Vorin, House Tellen", there was, except for him, only one other novice left. He had dark hair and unlike some of the others he appeared to be entirely unfazed by the ceremony. „Come forward, Akkarin of the family Delvon, House Velan!"
The boy – he seemed to be the same age as Lorlen, maybe one or two years older – took a few calm steps forward and accepted, after having spoken the words of his vow with a steady voice, his new brown novice's robes. Lorlen watched him impressed. None of the other novices had managed to speak their vow as composed and confident as this boy. „Lorlen, family Agyll, House Parin." He took a calming breath and hid his shaking hands in the opulent ruffles of the embroidered shirt he had been forced to wear, and started to speak the binding words of his Novice's Vow. As he was done and held the soft fabric of the short brown robes in his hands, he was overcome by a great sense of relief. The worst was over and now years of studying magic awaited him, he could hardly imagine anything more exciting.
Not only would he be able to do something he actually wanted to, he had also managed to avoid an arranged marriage and had escaped his House's and family's arbitrariness. He walked to the guild hall's exit where the families bade their sons and daughters farewell, growing more buoyant with each step. His mother, uncle and sister disengaged from the crowd and approached him. The petite woman he had inherited his light brown hair from patted his shoulder briefly and rearranged his shirt. „You will spend the winter holidays at home, of course. A carriage will be waiting for you." His sister hugged him tightly, earning her a reprimanding look from their mother – „Not in public, Coriana!" – and his uncle gave him a short nod, then they were gone.
Unsure of what to do next, Lorlen followed a bunch of the other novices heading across the foggy grounds of the guild towards the Novices' Quarters. Amongst them was the girl with the large feather – Lia, he remembered – and the boy from the islands. As he caught up to them, he heard what they were talking about. They were introducing themselves, but this happened in quite a different manner than he had expected. „…House Tellen? How interesting you have been accepted into the guild. After all, your House is not exactly known for its great magical potential, is it?" The boy addressed blushed and lowered his head. Abruptly, the girl who had spoken turned to look at Lorlen. „And you are?" „My Name is Lorlen", he replied, startled. „Not your name, silly. House? Family?"
Lorlen's heart sank. „I am from House Parin, family… Agyll." He had only hesitated for the fraction of a second, but a triumphant gleam in Lia's eyes told him she had noticed. He knew immediately that he had made a mistake. „Really? Well, well. Parin, an reputable House, no doubt. But the family – well, let me put it this way: You did not exactly deck yourself in glory lately, did you? Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't your brother elope with a dwell? By the way, when, precisely, was your father repudiated? Before or after he deserted?" The other novices burst out laughing.
Among them, Lorlen spotted the boy Lia had made fun of beforehand; he, too, laughed gleefully. He was visibly glad she had directed her attention somewhere else. Lorlen wished for the earth to open up and swallow him. He did not know how to respond, not to mention that he had a hunch she would not care for a reply anyway. Lorlen decided it would be best to ignore her and tried to push past the boys and girls forming a circle around him and Lia, but the novices did not budge. „What's the hurry? Are you–" Die Kyralian girl was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.
„Tut-tut, Lia. We would not want to make hasty judgements, would we? After all, was it not this that caused your uncle's fall from the king's favour?" The voice of the newcomer sounded playful, but it was tinged with a cutting undertone. Lorlen found him to be the novice who had been remarkably unfazed by the acceptance ceremony. „If I were you, I would think very carefully about where my allegiance lies", the girl hissed, „Your house's name won't always be enough to protect you." „Oh, do not worry, Lia, I am perfectly able to protect myself." The air around the dark-haired boy started to shimmer and a small, flaming sphere appeared. It moved towards the small group of novices and paused at their eye level. The novices turned pale and shrunk back. As one of them turned hastily and fled, the others followed suit.
As Lia realised she had lost, she threw Lorlen and the boy standing next to him a last scornful look and disappeared into the same direction the others had gone. The ball of magical fire followed her for a few heartbeats, then it disappeared. „You can already control your magic?", Lorlen asked the boy astonished. „Well, to be honest, I cannot do much more than that. But she did not have to know that, did she?", he admitted with a shrug. Lorlen gazed at him briefly, then he began to grin broadly. „I am Lorlen." „Akkarin", the other novice replied and held out his hand. „Pleased to meet you."
I made a lot of christmas biscuits this weekend - I think my flat may have never before smelled that delicious!
By the way, thank you for your feedback, dear anonymous reviewer! Reviews always make me happy and encourage me to keep going :-)