Chapter 1: First Day

Suria raced through unfamiliar city streets, hoping that she wasn’t too late.

A voice in her head told her that there was probably no reason to rush. Darkmoon University had invited her halfway across the world to attend, so surely they wouldn’t reject her for being a little late. Yet another voice kept whispering that she was a village healer from the middle of nowhere who didn’t deserve to attend a world-class institution like Darkmoon, so any moment they would come to their senses and reject her.

She hadn’t been able to afford the leyline ferry, in fact she hadn’t even seen the legendary leylines except as a ribbon of light in the sky, so she was running late. The city of Darmkael was a dizzying maze of ancient streets, not much larger than the big cities from back home yet ten times more confusing. If it had been up to her, she would have taken days to simply soak in the city, adjusting to the chaos of so many different people and types of magic mixing together in one place.

At least there was no need to ask for directions: Darkmoon University occupied the highest ground and the city of Darmkael was built around it. Suria looked up again, shivered at the sight of the ominous disc peeking through the clouds, and then forced her gaze back down. She had a choice between two meandering streets lined with shops, so after some indecision she made herself choose one.

As she turned a corner, Suria couldn’t help but pause at the sight of a bookstore: she could see shelves packed with tomes through the glass. Just one store, yet it had more books than any collection she’d seen before, and a thousand times more books than she’d ever owned… her mouth practically watered as she tore herself away.

Instead she kept making turns toward the summit, and at last she spotted the main gates. As soon as she got a good look at Darkmoon University, her thoughts of the bookstore and the rest of the chaotic city fell away.

Walls of dark stone separated the university from the maze of streets, but what took her breath away were the glowing glyphs inscribed across them. Inscriptions and runic formations she’d never seen before, displayed for all to see as if they didn’t embody amazing magic. She could have stood and stared at them for hours, learning more the entire time.

Yet her eyes were instead dragged upward, above the warded walls to the tops of the buildings she could see beyond. A grand hall of marble beside what appeared to be an ancient fortress, with a tower piercing the clouds behind them. She was finally here.

Provided that she could get in: Suria pulled her eyes back down and saw that the final obstacle would be the gate and its guards. The buildings had caught her attention first, but as she shuffled closer, she realized that the armored figures weren’t human. Just like that, another rumor had been confirmed: Darkmoon University really did have living statues.

The statues seemed to be made from a blue-white metal that she hadn’t seen before, and as she approached, their heads pivoted to fix on her. She could see six of them, each clad in the same armor, carrying a traditional spear and combat gauntlet. They didn’t block her path, but one stepped forward before she could get close to the silver gate.

“Darkmoon University is not open to visitors until the term begins,” the statue told her. Its voice was more human than she expected, if a bit hollow. The metal jaw remained open for the time it spoke, then snapped shut. The eyes, on the other hand, rotated in their sockets to track her with disturbing precision.

“I was invited,” Suria said hastily, fumbling in her satchel for her papers. “I’m supposed to be here today for an interview…”

She trailed off as she thrust her papers forward like a shield. The statue guardian grasped them with its combat gauntlet and its eyes began flickering over the glyphs on the page.

That should have been reassuring, yet Suria still shifted nervously as she waited. Even if they didn’t reject her, any kind of problem with her papers would be a disaster for her. Based on all the prices she had seen in the city, she couldn’t afford lodging for even one night. Her entire trip hinged on the promise that her acceptance should, in theory, cover her room and board.

“Confirmed.” The statue handed her papers back to her, then took a stiff step backward. “Your papers will grant you entrance to some buildings, but you should go to Convocation Hall for your interview to receive an identification pin.”

“And… where is that?” Suria asked, her eyes flicking from the guards to the gate.

“Head forward from the entrance. On your way.”

The silver gates shimmered as wards that must have been controlled by invisible glyphs opened for her. Suria swallowed and headed through, slowing down despite the need for haste. When she took her first step inside, she could practically feel the ancient magic in the earth.

Within she could see even more buildings, too many for her to identify them all. Unfortunately, there were no guides or maps to help her orient herself, so she clung to what the guard had told her: her destination was supposed to be forward from the entrance. The road from the gate branched several times, but the main path led to an impressive stone building, so that was hopefully her destination.

As she half-jogged toward it, Suria couldn’t help but let her gaze wander a little. There weren’t many other people around now, presumably because the term hadn’t properly started. Unusual students like her needed to be sorted early, or so she understood. Everyone seemed very busy and not inclined to help if they even looked at her. The campus was even stranger from the inside, as she saw a staircase that spiraled in an arc over campus for no clear reason.

One building drew her gaze further away: she finally spotted the Sequential Library. Unlike all the other buildings, it was a perfect cube of dark marble without doors or windows. If the stories could be believed, it was the largest library in the entire world, with ancient texts that couldn’t be found anywhere else. It wasn’t as massive as she had expected given its reputation, yet the smooth surfaces seemed to promise endless wonder within.

If her papers allowed her inside, she could stop to read a little and calm herself… but no. Suria took a deep breath and forced herself to keep walking straight. Everything depended on her being accepted, so she couldn’t allow herself to be distracted.

Nothing seemed to be labeled, so when she reached the large bronze doors, she could only hope they led to Convocation Hall. There were no guards, but when she reached out to touch the doors, they swung inward as if nearly weightless. She stopped in shock as a cavernous foyer opened before her, then pushed herself to scurry inward before the doors could close.

Though the building was rectangular, the foyer was an oval-shaped room with pillar-lined walls. At the center stood a statue of burnished bronze set atop an elaborate plinth, though unlike the statues by the gate, this was merely a human male upper body. Despite being made of bronze, the formal robes on its shoulders looked as soft as cotton. It held a scepter in one hand and some sort of ancient runebook in the other, though upon closer inspection the bronze pages appeared to be entirely fused together.

“Welcome to Convocation Hall!” the statue told her grandly. “You are rather early, so few staff are available.”

“I’m here for an interview,” Suria said, again wielding her papers. “I’m supposed to, umm…”

“How strange! But if your papers are in order, I’m sure the staff can assist you. Head down this hallway to the offices…”

The statue extended its scepter to the left, toward one of the two hallways that left the room. Knowing she was in the right place encouraged Suria a little, though her confidence eroded as she navigated the grand hallways. They were lined with paintings and tapestries, and there were carpets everywhere… a single room of this place was probably worth more than her entire village.

Despite the simple-seeming instructions, she almost got turned around several times due to the oddly angled passages. When she spotted a human guard she hoped he could guide her, but the man seemed to be impatient and just thrust a hand to his left. Suria winced at his expression and shuffled on, soon finding what appeared to be a waiting room.

Of course, it could have been a throne room back home. There were chairs and benches lying around, each of which would have been a treasure for the village headman, given their fine wood and plush cushions. Two other students waited there, a young man and woman about her age, and both looked like nobility to her.

Their casual respectability made Suria intensely self-conscious of her own appearance. Her glasses had been a sign of education in her home village but felt thick and clumsy by comparison to the finely-crafted jewelry she saw here. Suria had worried about how to handle her hair and hoped pinning it up would look professional, but it just appeared messy compared to the elaborate stylings of the woman sitting at the nearby table. And it went without saying that her hooded cloak was shabby compared to all the fine clothes she’d seen from across the world.

The idea of talking to either of them was too intimidating: the man was slumped over a table and the woman sat primly with barely a glance at her. There seemed to be an office door ahead of them, though, so this was likely the right place. Suria took a deep breath and sank into one of the fancy chairs.

Her body sank into the cushion and she almost let out a sigh as she realized how much she’d needed to get off her feet. It was so easy to imagine curling up in a chair like this and spending an entire day with a good book. Yet she hadn’t actually confirmed that she was in the right place, even if everyone had led her here. Nothing was happening, making her increasingly nervous that she had misunderstood and was waiting in the wrong room.

As the time stretched on, Suria wondered if it would be better to turn around and-

Something vibrated through Suria’s body and she felt her stomach do cartwheels. She almost would have believed it was just her anxiety, but she heard the man by the tables grunt, and a tapestry featuring a dragon eating its own tail clattered to the ground.

Had that been some sort of magic? Suria frowned and looked around the room, trying to stretch her amateur mana senses, but the other two students behaved as if nothing had happened. Maybe it was just a normal magical process, in a place like Darkmoon University, so Suria decided not to make herself look a fool by making a fuss over it.

“Ugh, this will never end!” Without warning, the pale-skinned young man who had been slumped at the table stood up and rubbed his hands through his hair. He was wearing the black and white robes of a student, though Suria didn’t understand the uniforms enough to know anything more about him. “Are either of you next?”

“I haven’t even spoken to the secretary. This delay is absurd.”

The second speaker was the young woman, the last person in the room. Instead of the school uniform, she wore elaborate layered wraps in shades that flattered her perfect bronze skin. Wherever the other woman came from, Suria was quite sure that the purple cloth and fancy necklace spoke of great wealth, if not actual nobility.

“Arriving before the term begins is always insufferable,” the young man said as he approached them. He clapped a hand to his chest in some sort of elaborate bow. “I’m Lirngelf Daesmad, by the way. No, not the scion of House Daesmad, just the third son.”

“Pleased to meet you,” the woman answered smoothly, inclining her head. “You have the honor of speaking to Maut-mai Thoeris.”

“Huh, that’s nobility over in Febek-Rai, isn’t it?” Lirngelf frowned and looked her up and down. “Guess all kinds come to the university, huh?”

“I’m Suria Northbrook.” Suria tried to introduce herself, but she spoke too quietly and the two other students didn’t even seem to hear her. She swallowed and resolved to try again, only for the conversation to move on before she worked up the nerve.

“So why are you in Convocation Hall at a time like this?” Lirngelf asked. “I can tell you that I had much better things to do with my afternoon.”

“I need to speak to the administration regarding the Water Society,” Maut-mai answered. “If I’m going to transfer here, I need certain assurances.”

“Hey, welcome! There’s no better university in the world, believe me.”

“And just what brings you here, on this afternoon you’d rather be spending elsewhere?”

“Oh, the problem is that my suite is in a completely unacceptable state.” Lirngelf snorted as if he had been insulted. “I had that spot in the tower all last year, how can they have lost so much between terms?”

Maut-mai laughed softly, her hand covering her mouth, like a noblewoman from a play. “Weren’t you just telling me this is the best university in the world?”

“In terms of magic, yes! In terms of housing, absolutely not!”

As the two of them continued to speak, Suria sank back, grateful that she hadn’t entered the conversation. She had been thinking of trying to strike up a bond based on what they had in common as students. Apparently, she was the only one here for an interview that would decide her life.

Even still, part of her wanted to talk to them. Lirngelf had apparently already attended for one year, so he could reveal so many mysteries of Darkmoon University. And though Maut-mai was a prospective student, she hailed from another continent entirely and could have taught so much. Part of what excited Suria about Darkmoon was that it was one of the few places where people gathered from all over the world to study the deepest arts together.

“Ahem!”

The interruption was a very artificial cough, emerging from a stern middle-aged woman who had appeared in the doorway. Suria could only deduce a little information from her clothes: the black and white robes meant she was university staff, and the bright steel pin on her lapel that meant she was a seal-ranked mage, but she didn’t have the collar of a full professor.

“Finally!” Lirngelf didn’t let the woman talk, just strode toward her, then he stopped and looked over his shoulder. “We’ll talk later, alright? I won’t be long.”

Despite his words, Lirngelf disappeared into the woman’s office and didn’t come out for some time. Maut-mai grew impatient and exited into the hallway, where Suria could faintly hear her demanding information from the guard. There had only been one on duty, since apparently this was an unusual time of day.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Suria decided that this didn’t have anything to do with her. Instead she pulled her satchel into her lap and went over all its contents to reassure herself. First she adjusted her papers – without those, the university had no proof she was who she claimed to be. She had her talismans, each stone marked with one of the few spells she knew. After confirming everything was in order, as it had been the last dozen times, Suria opened her tattered book of glyphs to review what little she knew. There was no guarantee that she would be tested at all, at this stage, but she wanted to be prepared.

By the time Lirngelf left the office, still grumbling, Suria had only succeeded in making herself even more nervous. Maut-mai stepped in from the hall and glanced at her inquisitively, but Suria quickly shook her head. She could definitely use more time to study.

So the noblewoman entered the office second while Suria desperately reorganized her thoughts. There was no telling if she was actually prepared, but she reassured herself that she had been invited: she had passed a direct examination and been offered funding to study. By the time the office door opened again, Suria at least felt as though her thoughts were in order.

“And you are?” The middle-aged woman looked up at her sternly. She had been in the middle of some work, and now shoved a carved box aside to clear space on her desk. It was covered in papers, ledgers, and assorted tools like a knife and quills.

“I’m Suria Northbrook.” Suria managed not to fumble her own name, so she stepped in and thrust out her papers. “I’m supposed to be considered for admission to Darkmoon University for the upcoming term.”

“Oh, so you’re the one. I am Proctor Shuguja. Give me those and sit down.”

Suria handed over the papers and tried not to frown as she sank into another very expensive chair. Wasn’t it considered impolite not to give someone a last name? Or maybe the title of proctor changed the grammatical rules, or maybe customs were different here. Since she had no intention of causing any fuss, Suria kept her mouth closed and forced a smile.

“So you were a regional healer, from some place I’ve never heard of near the Shantic States. Twenty years old, no listed runic capacity, no seals.” Shuguja didn’t look up from the papers. “Were you really such a talented healer that you were sent here? Seems like you should start with a regional city or something of that sort.”

“I did transfer several times,” Suria said. She had known there would be a question like that, so she was prepared. “Some of my instructors felt I had potential, so they encouraged me to submit an-“

“Oh, I see now.” Shuguja set down the papers and looked at her with what might have been pity. “I’m afraid you’re going to have a difficult time here, but your papers are in order. Just… do the best you can, I suppose. Whatever you can learn here will be worth a fortune at home.”

Even though it was clearly an insult, Suria had been prepared for that too, and kept her smile on her face. “Thank you. Was that all we needed to confirm?”

“No, not quite. Darkmoon University does have certain minimum expectations for its students… do you understand that we study full scientific orthomancy here? We aren’t performing tribal rituals. We’re exploring the deepest workings of the world.”

“Yes, I look forward to learning more about magic.”

“It would be irresponsible of me to allow your admission if you don’t even understand the basics. We get some provincials who think that ‘glyphs’, ‘runes’, and ‘inscriptions’ are all just interchangeable magic words… you do understand the core concepts, don’t you?”

Yet another layer of condescension, so unpleasant compared to the kind man who had initially tested Suria and sent her toward Darkmoon University. But she had been prepared for all kinds of tests, including academic questions, so she had an answer ready.

“Runes are the grammar of magic,” Suria explained, “and inscriptions are the power they direct. When you combine the two, you form a glyph, which becomes a spell that can be cast at will.”