The School of Bermuda - Volume 1 - The hunter's daughter

-9-

Lili looked at the book, surprised and amazed. The watercolor face seemed to be lost in a colorful setting.

"Well," encouraged Amos. "Ask it a question."

"Um... well... I don't know..."

"Book, tell us more about the Shapaths," said Amos.

Immediately, the face disappeared to reveal the painting of a strange animal. At first glance, it seemed to be a snake, covered in light blue fur. However, its head, composed of two small horns and a beak, resembled that of a goose with cat eyes. As the drawing scrolled, revealing every detail, from the tip of its sharp horns to the venomous fangs in its beak, a voice rose from the book, like a nature documentary.

"The Shapath is a warm-blooded animal, like a snake, so it cannot tolerate extreme cold and spends the winter buried underground, with its fur greatly thickened. The Shapath is a solitary and timid creature. Generally, it is rare to encounter one, but if it does happen, beware. If it encounters a creature that is not of its kind, the Shapath will immediately attack. The venom in its fangs is lethal to a human being, with or without magical powers, but it can be cured by quickly applying a unicorn milk balm or using powerful healing magic. Today, Shapaths can only be found in the Bermuda School forest."

With the explanations finished, all the images disappeared from the cover.

"Isn't that extraordinary?" Amos asked, delighted. "And inside, you have all the names of existing or extinct animals in the magical world."

"And you want to give it to me?"

"Let's just say it's a gift as a token of my understanding. It's not easy to come into a magical world like this when you've lived with non-wizards, I know that. It will be a companion that can teach you the most enjoyable aspects of this world."

Lili thought that the venom of the Shapath didn't seem very pleasant. She inwardly prayed to never see one. Thanking her teacher warmly, she ran to catch up with the others when the bell rang.

Their current class was about true stories and legends. Professor Terence Vector was calm, too calm, even sluggish. From his numerous coughs, he seemed ill. Upon observing him, that was the first thing one would think. His complexion was so dull that he almost looked gray, and his auburn hair seemed lifeless. Even his clothes were gray and depressing.

However, he was understanding and very friendly, and the students easily became interested in his class despite the monotony of his voice and the slowness of his movements.

Finally, when they left, Lili was able to tell her friends what Professor Butter had given her as they headed towards the invocation class.

"Why would he want to part with such a thing?" Izãdo asked.

"Magical books like that must be common among wizards," Lili remarked.

"No, not at all, otherwise no one would read anymore. On the contrary, it's a true rarity. If I were him, I would never have parted with such a treasure."

"Exactly, you're not him," Ree scolded. "Professor Butter is kind, and he understands Lili better than we do. It's only natural that he gave her such a gift. I would have done the same."

"Well, we clearly don't think the same way."

"That's for sure! I'm not selfish like you!"

Izãdo was about to reply in anger, but they arrived at the door of the classroom where Ree's father was waiting for the rest of his class. Once everyone was in place, he began to speak.

"Hello everyone," he greeted with a smile, "and welcome to this first invocation class. Don't be impatient, we'll only be talking about invocations and what they can do. We won't start considering summoning them until your third year. A wizard under the age of thirteen doesn't have enough energy to call upon their invocation. Who can tell me what they know about this subject?"

Immediately, several hands shot up eagerly.

"Prince," called Donatello. "We're listening to you."

Izãdo stood up to speak.

"Invocations are allies specific to each wizard. They fight or spy for us and cannot refuse an order. Invocations have their own power, regardless of their master. They can take on any animal form. Only an invocation can kill another invocation, and when it dies, it cannot be summoned for five years, and its master loses consciousness for several hours, not to mention that their magic is relatively weakened."

"Well! Did you read your entire textbook?"

"I was bored waiting for school to start."

The professor burst into laughter, congratulating his student and telling him to sit back down.

"And where do invocations come from?" Lili suddenly asked.

All eyes turned to her. She wanted nothing more than to hide. But Donatello Tant offered her a simple smile.

"In fact, we don't know, and they don't answer that question," he informed her. "They appear like this, without us knowing where they live when they're not summoned. An illustrious wizard studied them in the Middle Ages. His name was Jorel Prat, and he wrote a grimoire on the subject, entirely in Latin. Unfortunately, the hunters burned him alive in his own house, along with his non-wizard wife and children, and his work was also lost in the flames. This is all that remains of it."

The teacher approached a frame hanging on the wall, displaying a piece of burnt paper on which was written, "Ego venire ad conclusionem quod ex nostra inuocationem non-fabula de ingenio illorum, invenerunt ariolos de lucerna ad animadverto eorum optatum exaudiat."

Lili didn't understand Latin, but she managed to translate some transparent words.

"This is the conclusion of the book," Donatello explained. "Jorel tells us that non-wizards used invocations to invent their myths of genies coming out of lamps to grant wishes. I don't really understand this connection, but to do that, you would have to read the whole book."

Questions began to come at a rapid pace, so much so that the professor didn't have time to continue the class before the bell rang again.

It was lunchtime, so they headed to the Great Hall.