Tale of Eldramir

“WHAT!?”

Warren, Evelyn, and Ezekiel were currently within a room located in one of the side buildings connected to the Cathedral. Warren was standing up in outrage, having slammed his hands onto Marid’s desk. Evelyn and Ezekiel were both seated beside him in large cushy chairs. Ezekiel looked disappointed as he gazed at the floor from where he sat on his mother’s lap, while Evelyn just looked appalled at what they had just been told.

“I’m sorry mister Luminance, but Lord Forret’s new regulation regarding the education within the city of Harkem is clear. No Void Mages will receive magic training, nor regular teachings, for free as the other children in the city do. It is unfortunate, but as the brother of Duke Tusker, and the head of the Churches Scholars, his word is law when it comes to how we run our facilities.” Marid explained from his position behind the desk. A small bead of sweat dripped down his brow, as both Warren and Theo had looks of fury spread across their faces.

Marid knew full well that Warren was an experienced Hunter, and while he was registered as a Tier two member of the city watch, the pressure that he was releasing in his rage showed that Warren was obviously not what he seemed. The fact that Marid was being affected by it meant that Warren must have been a Tier three as well.

That isn’t to say that Marid couldn’t match Warren’s power, being a Tier three himself, but the presence of a Spirit who could match Warren’s power and abilities meant that any balance between the two of them, should it come to blows, would indubitably lean in Warran’s favor. The fact that Marid’s two guards were merely Tier two, and were meant more to be witnesses, meant that his backup wasn’t much help either.

“This is nonsense! There is no legitimate reason for my son to be excluded from his chance to have and education! Even if he can’t learn any magic in the future, that doesn’t mean he should be prevented from having any future at all!” Warren’s voice was filled with a roaring fury as he berated the scholar in front of him.

Marid was doing his best not to try and hide in his chair from the angry lion in human form that was bearing down on him. Looking to the sides of the room where his supposed guards were standing, he was disappointed to see that both were shivering in their boots at the menacing aura that was emanating from the center of the room. Neither one of them could bring themselves to move.

He had to hold back a gasp, however, as he noticed that it wasn’t that his guards were too scared to move, but that they physically weren’t able to. His eyes turned towards Ezekiel and Evelyn, where he noticed that Ezekiel’s eyes were focusing on something on the ground, rather than simply looking aimlessly.

Shifting his attention once more, he saw that there were dozens of writhing tendrils reaching out from Evelyn’s shadow. Each one was connected to the shadow of one of the guards, binding their own shadows in a vice grip that they could not escape.

Marid was truly scared now. It was one thing to attempt to fight off a single enraged Hunter Mage, but to fight two of them at the same time was unthinkable. He was a scholar, not a hunter. He studied the origins of magic and attempted to emulate the Ancients through knowledge. Professional Hunters, True Hunters, like the couple in front of him would chew him up and spit him out with no trouble at all.

Fearfully glancing between the enraged husband and his despondent wife, who now looked more like she was looking at dirt, rather than people, Marid realized that there was no way he could get out of this without giving the family something worthwhile. Be it a few lumps of flesh, or a few concessions that would be applicable to the family for the foreseeable future.

“However, there is no rule stating that he is prevented from using the public facilities, nor preventing him from being tested for any diplomas or proof of graduation in the coming years.” Marid began to speak faster as he panicked more and more.

“For a small fee, we would even be able to provide him with the regular meditation techniques provided for the various elemental mage training. So long as you are willing to pay a fee, equal to the cost of the payment for the teacher and the supplies your son will be using, he will even be able to enter into the regular classes with the rest of the students.”

“And how much would those fees happen to be? I know for a fact that the entire salary of the scholars and masters employed by the church for public education comes from the taxes paid by the people. So exactly how much would we have to pay to get our son into the same classes that everyone else gets for free?” Evelyn said as she spoke up before her husband could start yelling once again.

“Well... you see...” Marid looked scared as he realized that his promises might have dug him a deeper hole. “The fee that your son would have to pay would be... a total of... one thousand gold... per year he attends.”

“WHAT!?” Warren once again screamed in outrage as Marid muttered out the ridiculous price. “City guard captains only make five hundred gold a year, and my wife only makes half that with her shop. Sometimes more or less depending on what gets commissioned. We can’t pay those kinds of fees.”

At this point even Evelyn was narrowing her eyes at Marid. It was one thing to know that the majority of people would discriminate against her son due to an unfortunate elemental affinity. But to know that the one institution that was known for its reputation of equality, amongst all mages, was also preventing her son from having even the most basic of education was enough to make even the mild and gentle mother show her dark side.

“I am sorry, mister Luminance, but it is out of my hands. I do not have control over who is permitted in the church’s school and who is not. The only thing I can promise you is that your son will still be able to get access to the church’s library. He will still need to pay the fees to borrow books, but at least he will still be able to enter and read for free. The meditation techniques are also available to your son. The price for those is much cheaper, merely five gold each for the most basic techniques.” Marid continued to spout off information regarding what they could do since their son couldn’t attend the school.

Hearing Marid’s pleading voice as he tried to explain that it wasn’t his fault just frustrated Warren even more. It wasn’t Marid that he was mad at, however, but he was the only one who was available for Warren to vent his anger towards.

“Father...”

Warren immediately relaxed upon hearing his son’s voice. He stood up from his hunched over position where he was looming over Marid from across the desk. He glared at Marid one more time before turning towards Ezekiel.

“It’s not mister Marid’s fault, right?” Ezekiel said with a look of confusion. It was difficult for him to pretend to be so childish, but he knew that maturity wasn’t what was needed right now. So, putting a look of worry onto his face, Ezekiel tried his best to diffuse the situation from his position in his mother’s lap.

“It’s the other mean guy, the Ferret, right?”

Ezekiel’s purposeful mispronunciation caused his parents to both snort in amusement.

“Indeed, it is the Ferret’s fault. I’m sorry if I scared you. I just got... upset, at how these people are trying to treat you.” Warren chuckled a little as he spoke to reassure his son that he knew Marid wasn’t at fault. “Although, if this is how you’re being treated even before going to school, then perhaps it’s better that you don’t go.”

Warren’s last statement was met with surprised looks from both Ezekiel and Evelyn.

“But, dear, doesn’t Ezekiel need to go to school? How else is he going to get an education otherwise?” Evelyn asked. “Neither of us has the time to teach him ourselves, and it’s unlikely we’d be able to find someone who would be willing to teach him. Even if it would certainly be cheaper than hiring a scholar, it would still be too expensive in the long run.”

Warren doesn’t say anything at first. He just thinks for a moment before smiling. He looks at Marid with a grin, but all that does is make him more wary of what Warren is going to say.

“Mister Marid. If you could please tell me what exactly most children learn for the first few years at the church, I would much appreciate it.” Warren said to the nervously sweating scholar. “For instance, what do they read, and write? What kind of assignments do you have them do? When do they start learning about history and professions?”

A surprised look crossed Marid’s face as the sudden inquiry from Warren made him think for a moment.

“Well, the first thing we start with is educating our students in how to read and write, so we start with getting the children to memorize the alphabet, as well as the various runic symbols passed down by the Ancients. We also have them memorize the ten basic numbers, and their individual values, before getting them started on simple addition and subtraction.” Marid explained to the family.

“Any assignments we give them are given a week to be completed, as they often must spend time at home learning whatever trades their family specializes in. Besides that, we also have them start learning the most basic of etiquette necessary for interacting with superiors and mages from a variety of fields. It is the hope that with these lessons the children will be able to further their own studies in magic at an Academy later on in life.”

As Marid continued to speak, Warren's smile just grew bigger and bigger. On the other hand, a look of contemplation and realization appeared on Evelyn’s. Most of these lessons were things that Ezekiel had already learned.

He had been able to read for almost a year now, though he still let his parents read to him at night sometimes, and he also knew his numbers and how to count and do simple math. He also had a rough idea of proper mage etiquette from when he insisted on following his mother around their shop during the day. His parents' professions were also something that he could either learn when he was at home with his mother or would not be able to learn until later on.

“Other than that, the scholars of the church also provide aid for those of lower-class families in regards to meditation as they attempt to cultivate their magic.” Marid finished with a sigh.

Thus, other than the lack of magic lessons, and hands on advice from a teacher for meditation, which he wouldn’t be able to get as a Void mage anyway, there was almost nothing that Ezekiel couldn’t learn on his own, so long as he still had access to the library, which Marid had said he would, as any person in the city did.

He could even gain access to the basic elemental meditation techniques, for a price, but it was something that he could at least use as a basis from which he could start his development. This meant that it would be fine even if Ezekiel couldn’t go to school, since he’d be able to teach himself. As long as they could find someone to accompany him on trips to the library.

As for advice regarding his meditations, that would be something that Ezekiel’s parents could help with whenever they had time to answer his questions. They were both Tier three mages, so they had more than enough experience, regarding these matters, to aid him in different ways.

“In that case, there’s nothing to worry about.” Warren said to Marid. “However, I will have to ask that you provide us with the basic meditation techniques for all but the Radiant and Obscure elements. Right here, right now.”

Marid could only nod in agreement as he stared at Warren’s grinning face. He couldn’t help but feel as though he was staring down a ferocious lion with its fangs bared as it looked down upon its prey. The fact that there was a literal lion, small as it was, sitting on Warren’s shoulder and licking its lips didn’t help to dispel any of Marid’s fears.

“O-o-of c-course, mister Luminance. I have several copies of the basic meditation techniques right here.” MArid waved his hand and a previously unnoticed ring on his finger glowed briefly as nine scrolls appeared on the table in front of him.

“Um, also, I realize that you and your wife likely have your own techniques for the Radiant and Obscure elements, but I insist you take these ones as well, as they are part of the set that the Church uses for all its members. No charge or course. Consider this to be my personal apology for the inconvenience that our people have caused for you and your family.”

Marid’s attempts to ward off any further anger from being directed at him were quite obvious, but Warren and Evelyn were not so cruel as to further his suffering. Marid was just the messenger afterall. Thus, with the official Church meditation techniques in hand, and a hefty sum of thirty-five gold less in their purses, the Luminance family left the Church with little more fanfare than what they had walked in with. Something that all three of them were grateful for.

As they reached their home, Ezekiel immediately requested the scrolls from his father. As he took his bag off his shoulder, Warren gave his son the scrolls, laughing as he did when Ezekiel tried to carry all the scrolls at once up to his room. All while almost dropping them in the process. Before he could get too far, however, his mother called out to him.

“Ezekiel,” she said, “don’t forget to be careful when you make your first attempts. In general, it is impossible for a person to use a meditation technique that doesn’t make use of one’s elemental affinity, but there are always exceptions. If you start to feel uncomfortable, or start to feel any sort of itching sensation, stop immediately and call for us. We’ll check you over to make sure you’re okay, alright.”

“Alright, mother, I’ll be careful. I promise to stop as soon as something seems strange. I’ll also follow the instructions exactly.” Ezekiel said before rushing up the stairs.

Warren and Evelyn just smiled at their son. The day had started out grand, before turning into a disappointing difficulty, but it seemed like their son was strong enough to keep moving forwards. Something that they couldn’t be prouder of as parents.

Gesturing to the stairs, the two parents instructed their Spirits to follow their son. Just to make sure he didn’t do anything wrong with his studies.

“Now.” Warren said as he turned to his wife with a serious look crossing over his face. He held up his hands as they began to glow with a brilliant golden light. Thoughts of Evelyn’s moment of nausea earlier in the day were passing through his mind. Evelyn herself got a nervous look on her face.

“Let’s give you a proper check-up.”