Although slightly concerned by his granddaughter’s quiet passion, Egberd continued. “‘The indomitable spirit may only be destroyed by the Saint’s left arm. When the wicked spirit descends to the world once more, the world will be consumed by a sea of flesh, once more tracing the path to devastation. The people will gasp in anguish, eventually depending upon tin soldiers. Know that the people’s gasps of anguish will be never-ending, till the entire world serves the crimson sunset.’”
“Grandfather?”
“Much of the prophecy tells of a miserable future for our world. Those words, imparted to us, are equally as pessimistic.”
“It does not sound to me as though the Saint is prophesied to destroy the djinn at all,” she said, sounding flustered.
“Indeed, for what I have recited foretells the world’s destruction.”
“Then why were you speaking of the Saint’s return?” When her grandfather didn’t reply, Claudia grew even more panicked. “Grandfather?”
“It is my—our—wish that the Saint returns and puts an end to this djinn.”
Perhaps her grandfather held to such a hope because he was unwilling to accept the likely truth of things to come. It was difficult to blame him, for their family had not been provided with a means to avert it. No wonder the Saifice lineage had worked so hard to defend this crystal. When he spoke of their wish, he must have wanted Claudia to realize the importance of her duty.
“No one may touch the seal, so that the prophecy will not come to pass.”
“I understand.”
A flame already flickered inside Claudia’s chest, but that truth roused her further. Whether that stimulus would prove positive or not remained to be seen.
The first hurdle to joining the Institute of Magic was the entrance exam. The process itself, however, wasn’t overly complicated. First, one needed to present a letter of recommendation, after which they simply needed to pass the written exam that was held at the Institute itself. The exam was passable with an appropriate amount of study. As long as the candidate was capable of deciphering artglyphs to a reasonable extent and had a passing knowledge of magic and the Ancient Chronicles, the questions should have posed no problems.
Arcus had already fulfilled the first requirement: Craib had written him a letter of recommendation. As for the exam, he had consulted some former graduates.
“I expect you will pass with flying colors, Master Arcus.”
“They’d probably let ya pass without ya even goin’, knowin’ how much they want ya!”
He was a confident magic user and had never once slacked off in his studies. The Chronicles were lodged firmly in his mind, both the parts he could and couldn’t read, and he was able to write them out on command. At some point during his studies, he had come to feel that failure was simply not on the table.
“And then there’s the practical exam,” Cazzy had said.
“Wait... There’s a practical section?”
“Correct,” said Noah. “It is optional, taken up by those seeking a challenge. Many students’ first experience with magic will come after enrollment, after all. However, should you impress on both parts of the exam, you will be treated as an exceptional student.”
“Huh. Isn’t that unfair, though? Not everyone’s had the chance to study magic yet.”
“It is a method by which the noble students are able to retain their prestige among those with common backgrounds.”
“Think about it,” Cazzy prompted. “There’d be nothin’ special about the noble folk if the commoners were just as good.”
“Oh, right. That’s why you got picked on, Cazzy.”
“Nothin’ I couldn’t handle! I picked plenty of fights myself. Everyone wanted me on their side and they didn’t know when to quit! I got sick of the attention.” He cackled.
Cazzy was the first with a commoner background to graduate as top student. And, according to Noah, he’d claimed that position by a sizable margin. Arcus could see how this would elicit both envy and admiration from his peers.
“Students attend the Institute for five years, and those from common backgrounds—no matter where in the world they come from—tend to stay in a dormitory. You, I daresay, won’t have any need for a dormitory, given you have this house.”
“Yeah. The commute shouldn’t be too bad.”
“Where did ya stay when ya were a student?” Cazzy asked Noah.
“In the dormitories, as you did. I hail from the countryside.”
“You’re a weirdo just like me. I can’t tell if ya were born classy, or if ya worked your way up.”
“I have a rather eventful past. Every man has his hardships.”
Arcus was surprised to learn that Noah wasn’t originally from the capital. Not all nobles lived there, however. Some lived in more rural areas for the sake of their duties; perhaps that had been the case for Noah too. That his family hadn’t had a second home in the capital suggested he came from a barony, or that his father’s title had been newly granted rather than inherited. Arcus knew Noah came from the north, but that was where his knowledge ended. He decided he should probably save some of these questions for later.
“Speaking of exams, do not forget about the Guild’s Certificate of Sorcery Education.”
“Ah. I almost did.”
As well as the aforementioned certificate, there was the National Diploma of Sorcery. The former proved one’s magic proficiency and was a requirement for a number of vocations. The latter was taken to earn the title of state magician. The Certificate of Sorcery Education set one apart from unlicensed magicians and raised Lainur’s standard for professional magic users. Anyone wishing to take the state magician exam would typically take the CSE first.
“My recommendation would be to take the CSE while you are still enrolled in the Institute.”
“You passed it too, right Noah?”
“Indeed. I took it during my third year. Cazzy recently did a retake.”
“Thought it’d be a good idea to do it again, seein’ as I was gonna be workin’ for a noble.”
“You sure take things seriously.”
“Did you fail to take the exam seriously the first time around?” Noah asked.
“Ya don’t gotta to pass it. ’Slong as ya got the basics down pat, it’s impossible to fail.” Cazzy waved a dismissive hand. “You’ll be fine, kid. It’s a ton easier than goin’ in to see His Majesty.”
“I guess it would be. Plus I don’t think anyone’s gonna threaten me with a beheading at an exam...” Arcus said, laughing nervously and eliciting sympathetic looks from his servants.
“Sounds like ya got it rough after all,” Cazzy said.
“And, since your aim is to improve your standing, things are only liable to get even rougher,” Noah said. “Your best bet for seeing things through is to keep your head down. Although that might be difficult, given your nature.”
“No raidin’ any marquesses or gettin’ pulled into any wars, y’hear?”
“It is a lot to go through, all before one is even close to becoming an adult. I am in awe of you, Master Arcus.”
Arcus glared at them. They always seemed to think they could say whatever they liked about him, despite his being their master.
“Okay. Well, I’m off then.”
With that, he set off for the Institute.
There were several dates set for the entrance exam. This lightened the burden on the proctors and allowed for candidates to see to obligations that could not be rescheduled. It also created flexibility in the case of unforeseen circumstances.
Because of its proximity to the Magician’s Guild, Arcus had often caught sight of the Institute’s student traffic. The way they wore their uniforms and carried their bags made them look no different from the pupils of the man’s world. In his country, the school uniform was something imported from the West. Here, of course, its origins differed.
The Institute’s uniform was said to be a remnant of its days as a small private school. It had been one of the greatest educational establishments since its founding, and the original headmaster had introduced the uniform as a prestigious way to set its students apart. Arcus could indeed understand the pride and dignity that would come about from wearing it, as well as its identifiability.
The kingdom’s fashion was in a period of transition, where traditional noble dress was just as common as, say, jackets. Families who valued convention would opt for the former, while those who were more fashion conscious and followed the trends would go for the latter. These attitudes tended to correlate with the age of the house.
The Institute went for the cutting-edge approach, recently favoring jackets and blazers over the vestment-like uniforms of yore. The outfit was mostly white, with slacks for boys and skirts for girls. Designwise, they weren’t too different from the uniforms in the man’s world.
I swear I’m gonna look like a snowman wearing that thing.
Arcus picked at his silver curls. Thanks to his hair color, he tended to fade into the background when he wore white.
He had traveled this route countless times to get to the Guild, but today he walked right past it—although he did greet the familiar guards as he went. Eventually, he arrived at the Institute of Magic. Its black lattice gates loomed over him. Their jaws gaped wide to usher in the examination candidates. Students stood to either side, calling those who would enter. Apparently they would be showing the examinees to the venue.
Arcus allowed himself to be led to the classrooms which would serve as the examination hall. There were lecturers in place already, prepared to act as proctors. Candidates would be divided among the rooms and receive a paper test. The format did not differ significantly from the other world’s tests.
Once he was at his seat, the invigilator gave a quick rundown of the proceedings before the papers were handed out. Arcus scanned the exam—the questions were rudimentary, many of them focused on general magic knowledge. There was nothing that touched on complex phenomena or the origins of magic. The only questions that came close were extremely basic, and none of them were more difficult than a fill-in-the-blank exercise.
“Name the oldest known collection of books written in artglyphs.”
The Ancient Chronicles.
“List each volume of the aforementioned collection in chronological order, beginning with the oldest.”
The Birth of Heaven and Earth, The Spiritual Age, The Prophecy of Shadows, Documenting the Stars, The Magician’s Elegy, Demons and Society’s Collapse.
“What is the term used to describe a spell that has failed due to an imperfect incantation? Include in your answer a number of causes.”