~Chapter 9~

Wynne had been nervous about her first class but it was worse than she expected.  The small room had only one door and no windows.  Panic had bee threatening to overwhelm her for the past half candlemark.

She didn't hear anything the teacher was saying because of her blood roaring in her ears and her instincts screaming at her to get out before she was trapped.

One of the other students dropped his book and she jumped and bolted out the door.  In the hall she took several deep breaths and hung her head.

"Wynne, are you alright?"  The teacher touched her shoulder.

She looked up, her chest was still heaving.  "I felt trapped.  Sorry."

"Are you claustrophobic?"  Herald Dirk asked with concern.

"I am fine, so long as there are two ways out."

"I'll see about finding a new classroom for us.  If you want, go for a walk until you feel better."

"Thank you, I will."

Herald Dirk returned to the classroom and Wynne quickly recovered her composure. 

She was very glad the Collegium had a rule that everyone bathed every day otherwise the classrooms would smell rather horrid, at least to her.  Other than a few Blues, most of the students smelled rather pleasant, a refection of their personalities. 

Not wanting to return to the classroom yet she walked slowly up the hall.  She could hear and smell the classes behind the stone walls and wooden doors. 

Dirk fetched her quickly.  "I found a room with a window, will that be good?"

"That would be fine.  I am very sorry for disturbing your class."

"You should have said something earlier."  Dirk showed her to a room where the three other students had relocated.

Wynne did try to pay attention to what Dirk said but couldn't focus on what he said.  It wasn't in her nature to sit still for anything.  She longed to be doing something, anything.

After class was dismissed for lunch Dirk gestured he wanted her to stay behind.

"I am sorry."  She apologized before he said anything.

"I know."  Dirk assured her.  "Most older Chosen have a hard time at first."

"I have always had problems in classes.  My brothers taught me reading, writing, and mathematics because I couldn't learn in class."

"What is holding you back then?"

Wynne stared down at her hands.  "I need to do something.  I can't just sit and learn."

"How did your brother teach you?"

"We talked when we were doing something else."

"Were you mending or doing housework or something like that?"

"Actually…it was when we were breaking into houses."

Dirk smiled slightly.  "You were a thief?  I thought you were a tavern keeper."

Wynne didn't say anything.

"That was where you go the money to open your tavern, right?"  He seemed more amused than anything else.

"It was the family business."  Wynne explained.

"How long was you family in that business?"

"I am not certain, generations."

"Well, go to lunch, I'll talk to the other teachers and see what we can do for you."

Wynne thanked him and hurried upstairs to the common room.  There were about fifty people in a room that could hold seventy.  She looked around for a group of people she knew.

She saw Julian sitting off to the side with his stack of papers and immediately made her way to his corner. 

"Do you mind if I sit here?"  She asked, her voice tinged with a purr.

He looked up, startled.  "Um, sure.  I was just working on my book."

Wynne sat across from him.  "You are writing a book?"

"History is one of my passions."  He admitted.

Wynne surveyed the pages between them.  "It looks like you've mixed your pages up."

"I tripped in the hallway and dropped it.  I have about half of them back in order."

Wynne ignored the plates of food being passed around and helped him get the pages in order.  "What part of history are you writing about?"

"The Mage Wars, mostly about the creatures created by the great mages.  A lot of consideration went into making them, at least on the Mage of Silence's side of the war."

Wynne looked at the pages with renewed interest.  "Do you have all of the creatures in there?"

"I doubt it.  No doubt there are a few who were lost in history."

Wynne wanted to ask if he knew about Shifters but refrained.  He already suspected Berry of being more than a cat.  "Will you let me read it?"

Julian looked surprised at the request.  "You want to?"

"Yes, it sounds fascinating."  Wynne let her hand 'accidentally' brush against his.  "May I?"

"Sure, if you want to.  It is probably rather dry reading."

"I doubt it.  I hear you are one of the most popular teachers here.  Yoli claims you make history come alive.  I believe I have your class after lunch."

"I hope you enjoy it."

Wynne was rather certain she would spend the time staring at him.  "I am sure I will."

"Shouldn't you eat?"

"No.  I am not hungry."  Wynne assured him and handed him the page he was looking for.  "You should keep this in a portfolio."

"I think I will.  This is the third time I have had to put them back in order."

"Would you care to join me for supper?"  Wynne asked hopefully.  "I am going to the Purple Cat."

"I'd like that." 

"Wonderful, I'll stop by your quarters.  I better get going, I want to speak to Herald Dirk before classes resume."  Wynne smiled and left.

~*~

Wynne took a deep breath and knocked on Julian's door.  The door opened immediately.

"Liawynne, sorry, I lost track of time."

Wynne could see the ink stains on his hands.  "Working on your book?"

"Just finished the last creature."  He left the door open and walked over to his desk and blew on a piece of paper to dry the ink.  "Do you still want to read it?"

"Of course."

Satisfied he tucked the last page inside a new, leather portfolio.  "Here you go then."

Wynne accepted the heavy bundle.  "Has anyone else read it yet?"

"No, most people look at how thick it is and swear they are too busy."

"Maybe you should break it into two books.  One for each side."

"I may have to.  I doubt it will ever be published."  Julian closed the door after him and walked next to her as they walked through the hall.  "How are you settling in?"

"As well as can be expected."  Wynne flinched inwardly.  She could remember very little of what was discussed in most of her classes.  "What kind of creatures were created during the mage wars?"

Julian launched in a detailed discussion of gryphons and makaar.

Wynne listened intently.  His voice was wonderful.

Ana came running out to meet them.  "How is being a Herald?"

"I am only a trainee right now."  Wynne reminded her.

"But you have a Companion so you are close enough."  Ana preceded them inside.

"How's your hand?"

"It's all better.  I heal quickly."  Ana shrugged it off.  "It's packed tonight; do you want to use one of the dining rooms?"

Wynne smiled slightly.  "It doesn't matter to me."

Ana grinned and led them to one of the rooms at the back of the main room.  "You both know the menu better than I do so what will you have?"

"Stew and hot cider."  Wynne placed the manuscript on the table.

"I'll have the same.  I didn't know these rooms were open."

"Normally, no.  Ana is just giving us preferential treatment."  Wynne sat down.

Julian took the seat across from her.  "You should have stopped me before I talked your ear off."

"You didn't.  I am interested in the creatures of the time."

"I am surprised you have heard of them."

"My mother used to tell me stories of creatures created for a great war."

"Really?  What ones?"

"Gryphons, kyree, basilisks, wyrsa, and the like."

"Is your family from outside Valdemar?"

"My parents moved here with my brothers before I was born." 

"That explains your slight accent."

Wynne wasn't going to tell him it wasn't an accent a purr.  "Where are you from?"

"Half way between here and the Karsite border.  I didn't learn about any of those creatures until Herald Elspeth returned with gryphons in tow five years ago."

"I have never met a gryphon."

"If you have any mage talent they will teach you the basics."

"Are you a mage?"

"No, I have a touch of Farsight and mindspeech."

"What are those?"

"Well, Farsight allows me to see what is occurring at a distance as if I was there.  Mindspeech allows me to speak to my Companion and a few others using my thoughts."

"I can do that with Daire."

"The other gifts will be explained in your third year."

A serving girl brought their food and vanished again. 

"Are all the creatures in your book still in existence?"

"No.  Some were designed to die off if they lost their creator.  Others were concentrated around the two towers and were destroyed when they exploded.  Actually, most of the ones created by the Mage of Silence still exist.  Some from Ma'ar exist but they are all designed to kill or are so repulsive no one wants them around."

Wynne wondered if he included Shifters in the deadly group or the repulsive group.

When in doubt ask.  "Have you ever heard of Shifters?"

"They were created near the beginning of the wars as spies and assassins.  There isn't much in any of the books about them other than they were impossible to find and were killed off by Ma'ar before he even used them."

"Why would he kill them off if they were impossible to find?"

"I don't know but I think they were too much for even him."

This did not look good.

"Where did you hear of them?"

"My mother.  She told me of strange creatures that lived far from Valdemar who were very reclusive.  She called them Shifters."

Julian leaned forward, his fork hovering over her plate.  "What stories did she tell?"

Wynne knew she was painting herself into a corner but didn't know how to get out of it.  "Well, she said they were reclusive but meant no harm."

"Did she give you any descriptions?"

"She said they could shift into the forms of animals.  I guess that would make them an ideal spy."  Wynne said vaguely.  She really didn't want to lie to him.

"Where are your parents from?  It would be interesting if I could get some folktales about them."

"I don't know.  They never spoke about it."

"Could you ask?"

"No, they are all dead.  I have been the guardian of the children for nearly three years now."

"You're twenty or so, right?"

"Eighteen."

"You are younger than you look then."

Shifters reached maturity around sixteen, between fourteen and sixteen they matured quickly.  Before that they looked like children.

Wynne ate slowly asking the occasional question about his book.  His questions had brought home how little she knew about her own kind.  She didn't even know where to find them.

~*~

"Wynne, I know you have been working hard in all your classes so why can't you remember anything that was taught?"  Dirk asked, obviously concerned.

"I don't know.  It is all so…"  She gestured with her hands trying to explain why she couldn't learn.  If it was in a classroom, she learned nothing but she was excelling in the classes that were hands on.  Not even taking reams of notes helped.

"Is it because it is all theory?"

"I don't know."  Wynne said in defeat.

Dirk rubbed his temples.  For two weeks now he tried every technique he knew of to get her to learn theory.  There was nothing wrong with her eye sight, her hearing was fine, and the only thing he could think of was a learning problem of some sort.  So long as she was doing something hands on she was one of the fastest learners he had ever seen.

"How is it coming with the books, are they any help?"

Wynne quoted a passage from one of the more advanced books.  "I can remember them quite well."

"We'll stick with the books for now.  Hopefully we'll find a solution soon."

Wynne took that as a dismissal.  She was feeling rather defeated.

:Don't worry you'll master it all.:

:I don't know.:  Wynne headed to her room and sank into her chair.  :How can I tell them there is just too much going on for me to pay attention in class without revealing too much?:

:You can trust them.:  Daire assured her.  He knew she had a very strong instinct to keep from revealing anything about herself.

:I know.:

:Why not choose one person and tell them all.:

:Who would you suggest?  Julian still thinks Shifters are super killers.:

:An'desha.  He isn't leaving until late spring.  He also knows a great deal about the creation of Shifters.:

Wynne's instincts were screaming that he already knew too much.  :I'll try.:

:That is all I expected.:

Wynne barred her door and stripped.  A few minutes later a small black cat slipped out the window.