Magus: A Higher Education

Sebastian leaned back against the pile of hay and watched the countryside roll by. 'Good thing I got this ride' he mused. Otherwise, there is no way he would have gotten to the Capitol in time. The farmer was a taciturn sort, so after a few failed attempts at conversation, Sebastian gave up. Besides, the forest, with the backdrop of the Spine mountain range, was stunning enough to distract him.

He adjusted his suitcase. It held his clothes and books – everything for his new life. 'Maybe I should get started on studying?' Sebastian glanced at the farmer, trying to judge his reaction if he pulled out a bunch of books. He had heard that some country folks looked down on educated people, and he didn't want to do anything to antagonize his ride. It was at this point that the wagon went over a particularly large stone, jarring him and causing his luggage to bounce. 'Maybe I'll wait'.

Instead his mind drifted back in time.

/|\ Magus /|\

Sebastian walked into the room at the town hall, dressed in his holiday best. His mother had worked overtime for a month to be able to afford the clothes. And that was on top of the testing fee - that had almost bankrupted them.

The room was small and bare, with just one table and two chairs. "Good morning, young man." The bureaucrat seated at the table motioned towards the other chair, at the far end of the table. He was of middling age, and middling appearance, wearing the same brightly colored formal tunic and hose as all the other people who Sebastian had seen at the town hall. "My name is Rikard, and I'll be administering the High Academy Magus test. This is Mage Revon, who is here to supervise." Rikard gestured to the other man in the room, a morose looking young man leaning against the wall. He was dressed in shades of brown, and he still had his traveling cloak on. The expression on his face made it clear that he wanted this whole farce to be over with so he could be on his way.

"There are three tests. You need to pass two" Rikard took a small paperweight and put it front of himself. "You are to make this weight move towards yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." He understood. He needed to demonstrate some talent in the three basic magical disciplines. Otherwise he couldn't go to the Academy. Well, in theory, he could, if he paid his own way, but there was no way that he could hope to do that. So he needed one of the two Crown Scholarships awarded to their town. And given his mother's failing health, this might be the last time he could afford the testing fee.

Sebastian took a deep breath and relaxed, like his tutor at the monastery had taught him. Then, channeling magic energy from the Chaos Realm, he visualized a hand reaching across the table. He had to keep the image in his mind at the same time as he watched the table since this phantom 'hand' had no sensation. He had to use his eyes as he groped outwards, to see when he made contact with the weight.

There!

He visualized his hand picking it. The weight lifted up off the table. Slowly but steadily, the phantom hand in his mind retracted.

clunk

The rock dropped onto the table in front of him. 'There! That's thaumaturgy.'

Sebastian looked up to see Rikards reaction. The civil servant just made a mark on his paper, but Revon looked slightly less bored, giving Sebastian an approving nod.

Rikard looked up from his notebook, "The second test is conjuration. You must summon fire to ignite the candle." He moved the item in question to the center of the table.

Sebastian nodded, 'I have to do this!' Conjuration - that was part of wizardry - was difficult. But the third test was sorcery, and he had no hope of passing that one, as he had never learned it: There had been just one tutor at the monastery school that had known any High magic, and he had not known Sorcery.