Melissa and Gabriella arrived at the classroom with the other students. They were all late, but Master Foss wasn’t here yet either. He was going to hold the guest lecture on mage smithing today and Mel had looked forward to this class for an entire week.
She took her place next to Austin by the window, and he gave her a smile. Mel leaned in toward him and lowered her voice.
“Do you know what happened at the dragon forge?” she asked. “Are the dragon stones okay?”
Austin’s forehead creased. “No, I don’t know anything. I just saw the explosion on my way here, same as everyone else.”
“Do you think Master Foss will let us know if something were to have happened with the stones?” Mel asked.
“I don’t know,” Austin said, turning his gaze away from Mel. “I don’t think it matters. If the dragon stones are broken, the entire city will know about it soon enough. I don’t think you have to worry about not finding out.”
Mel leaned back in her chair and regarded Austin for a moment. His stern face was turned away from her, and she couldn’t see what he was thinking. His posture was stiff and austere, like usual, and Mel couldn’t tell if he was telling her the truth or not.
She shrugged. “I guess we’ll see soon enough.”
Professor Dereey appeared in the doorway and cleared his throat. He walked into the classroom, looking tired and annoyed. He stopped in front of the blackboard and his eyes roamed over the classroom. They landed on Mel for a moment and then fleeted away to land on a spot above the class.
“Master Foss won’t be here today,” he said. “As you can imagine, he has been detained elsewhere. Before you ask, I don’t know anything about the explosion in the dragon forge. They are still assessing the damage and haven't let me in on whatever they found.”
Professor Dereey plopped down on the table with a long sigh. “The guest lecture is canceled and I will have to teach you what I know about mage smithing instead. Although my knowledge is limited, it will be far more than you need to know at this stage, anyway. For those of you who will continue on as mage smiths next semester, you will have more opportunities to learn these things. And for all the elemental warriors, well, maybe it isn’t that important to understand how magic is crafted.”
The professor waved a hand in the air in front of him and Mel saw Meredith lower the hand she had raised only seconds ago. This was apparently not the time for questions.
Mel swallowed hard and wished Professor Dereey would disappear and Master Foss would appear instead. But she knew that was impossible. She would just have to be satisfied with what she could learn from Professor Dereey today.
“What you need to know about mage smithing is that any fool can create a magical imbue. Given that he has a few tools in his arsenal. First, he needs the right material. Then the right dragon stone and lastly, he needs the right tone. When all three of these things match, the fool will create a magical imbue, whether he is good at it or not. It won’t be a high quality imbue, but that is of later concern. Today, we will focus on how magic is created in its basics.”
Professor Dereey adjusted his spectacles and shifted in his seat on the desk. “Why does the fool need all three of these to match? Why can’t he create a magical imbue with only the right material and the right dragon stone?”
Meredith raised her hand in a hesitant manner this time, like she was unsure of whether the professor would allow her to answer his question or not. Professor Dereey pointed to her, and she licked her lips.
“Meredith. He needs the tone to be able to lure the magic out from the stone. To consistently produce the right note, he should use the right song. The mage smiths learn the songs of the four elements to know if they are making the right tone when they hit the metal with the hammer. I suppose, if the fool heard the tones in his mind, he wouldn’t need the song, right?”
“The fool is a fool,” Professor Dereey said. “He cannot hear the notes.”
Meredith shifted in her seat, and her eyes lowered to the desk before her. She looked small and fragile underneath the professor's gaze and Mel felt anger burning in her veins.
“Dean. Even if the fool wasn’t a fool and he could hear the notes, he would still need the song. Maybe not need, but they would be crucial to him if he wanted to create anything that would hold the magical imbue for a longer time. The song doesn’t only provide the mage smith with a reference to produce the correct note, it also provides the tempo an element likes. It is similar to the vibration the magic gives off, both in pitch and pulse.”
“That is correct,” Professor Dereey said. “One can almost put hope in you, Dean. Maybe you will become a mage smith some day despite the odds.”
Mel looked back over her shoulder and saw a smile cover Dean’s face, and he sat up a little taller. Mel thought that the professor would never say such a thing to her or to any of the other students who were studying to become mage smiths in this class. Professor Dereey was definitely playing favorites, and he didn’t even seem to care that he did.
There were always going to be people like Isabella and Dean, who the professor liked, and people like Mel and Meredith who he didn’t like. Only Austin seemed totally exempt from this pattern. He was a Taveck and as such, no one seemed to want to discourage or encourage him into anything. He was a force of nature on his own.
Professor Dereey brought up a pencil from his pocket and hit it against the desk he was sitting on. He sounded out the sound of the pencil hitting against the table and seemed to hum something to find the correct tempo.
“Only one song has stuck with me through the years. It is the song of fire. Only the mother knows why it is this song that lingers in my mind. I will teach it to you now, but if you want to further study the songs and learn them by heart, as I would suggest any fledgling mage smith to do, I recommend checking out the book Songs of war from the library.”
The professor brought up his pencil and cleared his throat. He hit the pencil against the wooden surface of his desk and a beat sounded throughout the room. Mel felt the vibrations travel down the desk’s legs and through the floorboards up along the legs of her chair and reach her body. She felt it as a hum in her bones.
“We bend the flames to our will,
“And with it, we can conquer and kill.
“Yes, we’ll kill them, kill them inside.
“Yes, we’ll kill them, kill them inside.”
The hum from the vibrations created by the pen, together with the lyrics of the song, created an uneasy feeling in Mel. She felt as though something was pressing on her mind to open it up. She felt exposed, and she wanted to flee.
“A beacon of light in the darkest days,
“Guiding our lost souls through the maze.
“Yes, we’ll die here, die here inside.
“Yes, we’ll die here, die here inside.”
Mel’s eyes flickered to the door and then back to the pen, hitting the desk underneath Professor Dereey’s fingers. His voice was raspy as he kept singing and his eyes were locked in a far-away gaze, full of concentration.
“Let us harness its power with care,
“Let us create a world that is fair.
“Yes, we’ll live here, live here inside.
“Yes, we’ll live here, live here inside.”
The pen stopped in the air above the table, and Professor Dereey closed his lips. Mel dragged in a deep breath, feeling herself gasping for air. The pressure on her mind released, and she felt her muscles relaxing.
“The song of fire will always make a dragon stone react, even though the power doesn’t come flowing out from it,” Professor Dereey said. “It’s something to do with the right vibrations and tones that make the stone harmonize. To successfully drag the magic out of the stone, you will need to have that tone and tempo. The tone needs to come from the metal, not your own voice or a tuning fork to bind it inside.”
Austin looked over at Mel, who sat with her palms pressed against the surface of her desk and breathing hard. His forehead creased, and he seemed worried about her. Mel glanced up at him and gave Austin a weak smile, hoping he wouldn’t notice how strangely she had reacted to the song of fire.
Perhaps it was just the raspy singing voice of Professor Dereey that had grated against her mind. He didn’t exactly have the most pleasant tone, and Mel had always found it annoying when people sang false. Or maybe she had just had a bad reaction to him and his insufferable attitude toward his students.
“Dean. What does the text mean in the song? Because I know all the songs by heart and they are all sort of dark or become dark after a while. Why is that?”
Professor Dereey dragged a hand over his face and took in a deep breath. “Yes, that is a good question. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is a conclusive answer to it. I have myself wondered about the text in the song of fire. Maybe that is why I have remembered it all these years. But the history books only tell us they were created after the battle of Cairn when the dragons gave us the dragon stones. Maybe it was the dragons who gave us the songs, or maybe the first mage smiths back then were just depressed after the war. Who knows?”
“But if the dragons gave us the songs and the dragon stones,” Dean said. “Does that mean that the magic in itself is evil? Since the black dragon is attacking us now.”
Professor Dereey furrowed his brow and stared off into the distance again. “The black dragon is somewhat of an enigma. Why is a dragon attacking us and why now? Perhaps the dragons weren’t the ones who gave us the dragon stones or the songs. Perhaps there were never any dragons hiding in the valley, as our history tells us. Perhaps…”
Silence spread throughout the classroom, and Mel looked around the room. No one had their hand raised anymore and Austin was still staring at Mel with a concerned look on his face. Mel swallowed hard and tried to ignore his gaze.
“There are so many things that we believed to be facts that have been questioned as of late,” Professor Dereey continued. “It almost seems like the only things we know is how to use the magic we have and how to fight the void. It keeps us from progressing. Knowledge is, after all, what moves us forward. Without it, we are stuck and helpless against the dragon.”
His gaze returned to the classroom, and he stood up from his desk. He brushed his pants free from imaginary wrinkles and paced the room.
“The next lesson will be the last one for this semester,” Professor Dereey said, returning to his normal air of superiority. “After that we will have the materials test and if you pass, you can progress to the next semester. If you do not pass, you will be asked to leave Falden. Make sure you pass. It would be a disgrace to not even complete the first semester.”
He stopped by the blackboard and looked out the window for a moment. He seemed strange today, like he hadn’t brought all his marbles with him to class. Then he turned to the classroom and waved a hand in the air.
“Dismissed.”
Professor Dereey walked swiftly out of the classroom and left a group of confused students after him. This had definitely been one of the more strange classes Mel had ever had at Falden. She grabbed her notebook and wrapped the purple cloak around her body.
“What happened?” Austin asked.
“Nothing,” Mel said.
She turned to leave, but Austin stopped her. He looked deep into her eyes and Mel felt like he could see through her. She averted her gaze and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“Why won’t you tell me?” he asked.
Mel shook her head. “There is nothing to tell. I’m just exhausted from the recent attacks, and I’m not sleeping well in the bunkers. I mean, who is?”
“I could get you into the Taveck bunker, if you would like?”
Mel felt heat spread up to her cheeks. “No, no, please don’t. I just need to get used to the war. That’s all. It’s just new to me. This whole living at the border thing.”
“Okay,” Austin said. “Let me know if I can do anything. I want to help.”
Mel shook her head. “There’s nothing you can do. I’ll figure it out.”
Melissa and Gabriella arrived at the classroom with the other students. They were all late, but Master Foss wasn’t here yet either. He was going to hold the guest lecture on mage smithing today and Mel had looked forward to this class for an entire week.
She took her place next to Austin by the window, and he gave her a smile. Mel leaned in toward him and lowered her voice.
“Do you know what happened at the dragon forge?” she asked. “Are the dragon stones okay?”
Austin’s forehead creased. “No, I don’t know anything. I just saw the explosion on my way here, same as everyone else.”
“Do you think Master Foss will let us know if something were to have happened with the stones?” Mel asked.
“I don’t know,” Austin said, turning his gaze away from Mel. “I don’t think it matters. If the dragon stones are broken, the entire city will know about it soon enough. I don’t think you have to worry about not finding out.”
Mel leaned back in her chair and regarded Austin for a moment. His stern face was turned away from her, and she couldn’t see what he was thinking. His posture was stiff and austere, like usual, and Mel couldn’t tell if he was telling her the truth or not.
She shrugged. “I guess we’ll see soon enough.”
Professor Dereey appeared in the doorway and cleared his throat. He walked into the classroom, looking tired and annoyed. He stopped in front of the blackboard and his eyes roamed over the classroom. They landed on Mel for a moment and then fleeted away to land on a spot above the class.
“Master Foss won’t be here today,” he said. “As you can imagine, he has been detained elsewhere. Before you ask, I don’t know anything about the explosion in the dragon forge. They are still assessing the damage and haven't let me in on whatever they found.”
Professor Dereey plopped down on the table with a long sigh. “The guest lecture is canceled and I will have to teach you what I know about mage smithing instead. Although my knowledge is limited, it will be far more than you need to know at this stage, anyway. For those of you who will continue on as mage smiths next semester, you will have more opportunities to learn these things. And for all the elemental warriors, well, maybe it isn’t that important to understand how magic is crafted.”
The professor waved a hand in the air in front of him and Mel saw Meredith lower the hand she had raised only seconds ago. This was apparently not the time for questions.
Mel swallowed hard and wished Professor Dereey would disappear and Master Foss would appear instead. But she knew that was impossible. She would just have to be satisfied with what she could learn from Professor Dereey today.
“What you need to know about mage smithing is that any fool can create a magical imbue. Given that he has a few tools in his arsenal. First, he needs the right material. Then the right dragon stone and lastly, he needs the right tone. When all three of these things match, the fool will create a magical imbue, whether he is good at it or not. It won’t be a high quality imbue, but that is of later concern. Today, we will focus on how magic is created in its basics.”
Professor Dereey adjusted his spectacles and shifted in his seat on the desk. “Why does the fool need all three of these to match? Why can’t he create a magical imbue with only the right material and the right dragon stone?”
Meredith raised her hand in a hesitant manner this time, like she was unsure of whether the professor would allow her to answer his question or not. Professor Dereey pointed to her, and she licked her lips.
“Meredith. He needs the tone to be able to lure the magic out from the stone. To consistently produce the right note, he should use the right song. The mage smiths learn the songs of the four elements to know if they are making the right tone when they hit the metal with the hammer. I suppose, if the fool heard the tones in his mind, he wouldn’t need the song, right?”
“The fool is a fool,” Professor Dereey said. “He cannot hear the notes.”
Meredith shifted in her seat, and her eyes lowered to the desk before her. She looked small and fragile underneath the professor's gaze and Mel felt anger burning in her veins.
“Dean. Even if the fool wasn’t a fool and he could hear the notes, he would still need the song. Maybe not need, but they would be crucial to him if he wanted to create anything that would hold the magical imbue for a longer time. The song doesn’t only provide the mage smith with a reference to produce the correct note, it also provides the tempo an element likes. It is similar to the vibration the magic gives off, both in pitch and pulse.”
“That is correct,” Professor Dereey said. “One can almost put hope in you, Dean. Maybe you will become a mage smith some day despite the odds.”
Mel looked back over her shoulder and saw a smile cover Dean’s face, and he sat up a little taller. Mel thought that the professor would never say such a thing to her or to any of the other students who were studying to become mage smiths in this class. Professor Dereey was definitely playing favorites, and he didn’t even seem to care that he did.
There were always going to be people like Isabella and Dean, who the professor liked, and people like Mel and Meredith who he didn’t like. Only Austin seemed totally exempt from this pattern. He was a Taveck and as such, no one seemed to want to discourage or encourage him into anything. He was a force of nature on his own.
Professor Dereey brought up a pencil from his pocket and hit it against the desk he was sitting on. He sounded out the sound of the pencil hitting against the table and seemed to hum something to find the correct tempo.
“Only one song has stuck with me through the years. It is the song of fire. Only the mother knows why it is this song that lingers in my mind. I will teach it to you now, but if you want to further study the songs and learn them by heart, as I would suggest any fledgling mage smith to do, I recommend checking out the book Songs of war from the library.”
The professor brought up his pencil and cleared his throat. He hit the pencil against the wooden surface of his desk and a beat sounded throughout the room. Mel felt the vibrations travel down the desk’s legs and through the floorboards up along the legs of her chair and reach her body. She felt it as a hum in her bones.
“We bend the flames to our will,
“And with it, we can conquer and kill.
“Yes, we’ll kill them, kill them inside.
“Yes, we’ll kill them, kill them inside.”
The hum from the vibrations created by the pen, together with the lyrics of the song, created an uneasy feeling in Mel. She felt as though something was pressing on her mind to open it up. She felt exposed, and she wanted to flee.
“A beacon of light in the darkest days,
“Guiding our lost souls through the maze.
“Yes, we’ll die here, die here inside.
“Yes, we’ll die here, die here inside.”
Mel’s eyes flickered to the door and then back to the pen, hitting the desk underneath Professor Dereey’s fingers. His voice was raspy as he kept singing and his eyes were locked in a far-away gaze, full of concentration.
“Let us harness its power with care,
“Let us create a world that is fair.
“Yes, we’ll live here, live here inside.
“Yes, we’ll live here, live here inside.”
The pen stopped in the air above the table, and Professor Dereey closed his lips. Mel dragged in a deep breath, feeling herself gasping for air. The pressure on her mind released, and she felt her muscles relaxing.
“The song of fire will always make a dragon stone react, even though the power doesn’t come flowing out from it,” Professor Dereey said. “It’s something to do with the right vibrations and tones that make the stone harmonize. To successfully drag the magic out of the stone, you will need to have that tone and tempo. The tone needs to come from the metal, not your own voice or a tuning fork to bind it inside.”
Austin looked over at Mel, who sat with her palms pressed against the surface of her desk and breathing hard. His forehead creased, and he seemed worried about her. Mel glanced up at him and gave Austin a weak smile, hoping he wouldn’t notice how strangely she had reacted to the song of fire.
Perhaps it was just the raspy singing voice of Professor Dereey that had grated against her mind. He didn’t exactly have the most pleasant tone, and Mel had always found it annoying when people sang false. Or maybe she had just had a bad reaction to him and his insufferable attitude toward his students.
“Dean. What does the text mean in the song? Because I know all the songs by heart and they are all sort of dark or become dark after a while. Why is that?”
Professor Dereey dragged a hand over his face and took in a deep breath. “Yes, that is a good question. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is a conclusive answer to it. I have myself wondered about the text in the song of fire. Maybe that is why I have remembered it all these years. But the history books only tell us they were created after the battle of Cairn when the dragons gave us the dragon stones. Maybe it was the dragons who gave us the songs, or maybe the first mage smiths back then were just depressed after the war. Who knows?”
“But if the dragons gave us the songs and the dragon stones,” Dean said. “Does that mean that the magic in itself is evil? Since the black dragon is attacking us now.”
Professor Dereey furrowed his brow and stared off into the distance again. “The black dragon is somewhat of an enigma. Why is a dragon attacking us and why now? Perhaps the dragons weren’t the ones who gave us the dragon stones or the songs. Perhaps there were never any dragons hiding in the valley, as our history tells us. Perhaps…”
Silence spread throughout the classroom, and Mel looked around the room. No one had their hand raised anymore and Austin was still staring at Mel with a concerned look on his face. Mel swallowed hard and tried to ignore his gaze.
“There are so many things that we believed to be facts that have been questioned as of late,” Professor Dereey continued. “It almost seems like the only things we know is how to use the magic we have and how to fight the void. It keeps us from progressing. Knowledge is, after all, what moves us forward. Without it, we are stuck and helpless against the dragon.”
His gaze returned to the classroom, and he stood up from his desk. He brushed his pants free from imaginary wrinkles and paced the room.
“The next lesson will be the last one for this semester,” Professor Dereey said, returning to his normal air of superiority. “After that we will have the materials test and if you pass, you can progress to the next semester. If you do not pass, you will be asked to leave Falden. Make sure you pass. It would be a disgrace to not even complete the first semester.”
He stopped by the blackboard and looked out the window for a moment. He seemed strange today, like he hadn’t brought all his marbles with him to class. Then he turned to the classroom and waved a hand in the air.
“Dismissed.”
Professor Dereey walked swiftly out of the classroom and left a group of confused students after him. This had definitely been one of the more strange classes Mel had ever had at Falden. She grabbed her notebook and wrapped the purple cloak around her body.
“What happened?” Austin asked.
“Nothing,” Mel said.
She turned to leave, but Austin stopped her. He looked deep into her eyes and Mel felt like he could see through her. She averted her gaze and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“Why won’t you tell me?” he asked.
Mel shook her head. “There is nothing to tell. I’m just exhausted from the recent attacks, and I’m not sleeping well in the bunkers. I mean, who is?”
“I could get you into the Taveck bunker, if you would like?”
Mel felt heat spread up to her cheeks. “No, no, please don’t. I just need to get used to the war. That’s all. It’s just new to me. This whole living at the border thing.”
“Okay,” Austin said. “Let me know if I can do anything. I want to help.”
Mel shook her head. “There’s nothing you can do. I’ll figure it out.”
