Just a Bystander

Advanced Glyphs

By the time Reeves' lecture had ended, my brain was a throbbing mess. He was an excellent teacher - something I really appreciated since I've heard horror stories about how bad some teachers could be - but the sheer depth of the material he had unveiled in the first lecture alone was quite staggering. And this was just the overview. It didn't help that he often made liberal use of his auric arcana to emphasise points. It was like sitting through an emotional rollercoaster while trying to study. Was it subconscious, or was he actually doing it to make things harder for us?

I was glad to see the rest of my dorm mates weren't faring much better. Misery loves company, after all.

Devon, in particular, looked quite wrung out. He was slowly running his hands through his hair. 'If every lecture is like that, I don't think I'll make it.'

'I don't think it'll always be like that. Not every lecture.' Kevan's tone was light, but it sounded a little strained. 'I mean, maybe it's just every lecture by Reeves?'

'Guess we'll find out.' Devon let out a huge sigh and struck off on his own, a heavy air of gloom hanging over him. The rest of us traded sombre looks and went in different directions - only the twins were in the same group for our next class.

The Ka'atus Room, named after a famous Demiurge from ancient times, was part of a smaller building next to the one that housed the Nivordin Lecture Hall. According to the orientation package, that building was one of several others that were built with special safety measures that could effectively seal them shut so that any stray arcana could be isolated from the rest of the Academy. It was in these little lab-buildings that the really dangerous stuff was done.

Again, the interior was put together with more modern sensibilities. There were other senior students here making their way to their own classes, but I spotted some familiar faces from the earlier lecture. I was relieved to find that the Ka'atus Room was close to the building entrance since I was already running a little late. I didn't know how they expected us to immediately get from one class to the next.

The room was quite large - a rectangular space that could comfortably seat over fifty people in a typical lecture setting. However, only 11 chairs had been set in a loose circle in the centre of the room. The floor was a black, polished marble and the only source of illumination was a simple orb bobbing near the ceiling above the circle of seats, casting a warm glow over the scene.

Half the seats were already occupied so I hurried over and took the closest chair.

'You're Caden.' A curt voice next to me gave me a little start. I recognised it - Emilia, the one who had spoken first in Reeves' lecture. She had sharp features, and her brown hair was pulled back into a braid.

'Hi. Emilia?' I returned with a half-smile, trying to cover my nerves.

'Top-scorer.' Emilia's words were clipped but her face betrayed no animosity. If she hadn't addressed me, I would have assumed she was just lost in thought and happened to be looking in my direction.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. No one else was engaged in their own conversations, so everyone was either pretending not to be listening to what was going on or unabashedly following the exchange. 'Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you.'

She held out a hand and I shifted awkwardly in my seat to shake it. I took in a breath to ask a question but she abruptly turned away from me and started taking out her writing materials. Some of the others in the circle snickered.

Thankfully, I was saved any further embarrassment when more students hurriedly came in and took their seats. All 11 chairs were now filled. I frowned, looking at the others, and saw my confusion mirrored their faces. Even Emilia had a slight crease between her eyebrows.