Chapter 16: The Professors’ Thrones

Darkmoon University only seemed to have grown busier in the time Suria had been in the library, especially toward the north. The region occupied by arches and pathways was filled with students, many of them lounging on the fragments of stone. Strangely, not many were heading north toward the Hall of Thrones, which made Suria worry that it wouldn’t be easy to get in.

As she was trying to consider her options, Suria noticed a woman standing in the middle of the arch-littered field. Far from resisting the crowds, she was getting buffeted from side to side by everyone, despite the fact that most people were ignoring her.

“Do you need… umm… I’m here to…” The woman’s voice was barely audible over the crowd and failed to get anyone’s attention. She was a few years older than Suria and wore university robes that had been crisply pressed. Her dark hair was tied up in a messy braid and her skin had the grayish look that Suria associated with the local population – now that she looked closer, Suria realized this woman had been sitting near her at the opening feast.

“Do you need something?” Suria asked.

“Oh!” The other woman flinched back as if shocked someone had addressed her. “No, no, I’m here to help! Are you a, umm, new student? Do you need any guidance?”

That was what Suria had sort of expected, but she shook her head slowly. “I already got enrolled. I was hoping to learn more about the professors, but the Hall of Thrones is locked…”

“I can get us in!” The other woman gestured for her to follow as if her life depended on it. “They just don’t want the new students to bother all the staff, but it’s fine if you’re quiet. I agree, knowing the thrones is really important. That’s why everyone is here, right? I mean, I guess maybe some are coming for other reasons, but I think that most people-“

“My name is Suria Northbrook,” Suria interrupted as they started to move across the campus. “And you are?”

“Oh, I should have introduced myself! I’m Kiznua Linesh. Do you, uh, need to know more?”

“Are you a student here? Or a journeymage?”

“No, no!” Kiznua looked away, blushing furiously. “I could never… I mean… no, I’m a student. A fifth year student. Wait, no, I mean, I’ve been here five years. This is my sixth.”

“I’m not really sure about where the line is, to be perfectly honest.”

“Well, you see… a student here is still a student, no matter how many seals they have, until they complete a program of study. If they finish and continue studying, they become a journeymage, but that usually means they need to teach classes and work within departments and I could never…”

At first Suria thought she might have found a potential ally, but as the chatter continued, she began to doubt it. Suria considered herself lacking in bravery and backbone, yet Kiznua made her feel like a domineering bully. The other woman hadn’t explicitly said it, but it sounded like her time at Darkmoon University had not been particularly successful.

Still, it might not have been a loss, because when they reached the Hall of Thrones, Kiznua was able to greet the men guarding the door. If they had put up even a little resistance, the other woman would probably have folded, but the guards shrugged and let them inside.

As soon as she entered the castle’s cool halls, Suria breathed a sigh of relief: everything was quiet and peaceful inside. She’d already seen that the interior didn’t match the grim castle, but now that the building wasn’t set up for the feast, she could examine the entrance hall properly: treated stone, a deep blue carpet, chandeliers of crystals floating in the arched ceiling. Unnecessarily large doorways seemed to lead to grand offices, but Kiznua gestured for her to head straight forward.

“Welcome to the Hall of Thrones, one of the oldest buildings on the university grounds,” the other woman said as she scurried forward. Her voice grew smoother as she settled into what sounded like a practiced speech. “It’s used for certain ceremonies as well as important administrative purposes, but it also hosts some residences for faculty who choose to live on campus. The Aether Society has its meetings here, as well as the graduate student assembly and other prominent institutions.”

Their pace took them past the offices to a set of double doors, which opened into a cavernous circular chamber. A table of dark wood ringed the room except for the part of the circumference facing them, which opened into the center. Many chairs of dark wood were placed around it, focusing toward the door, but Suria’s eyes were immediately drawn to the massive portraits that loomed all around the walls.

Familiar faces, including many of the people she’d seen in the basement. This was what she’d come here for.

“This is the hall of thrones of the Hall of Thrones,” Kiznua said with a nervous giggle. “Really, the whole building is named after this chamber, which is where the faculty meet heads of state or other important visitors. Please don’t think they usually sit under portraits of themselves, the faculty really aren’t like that! But each department throne is-“

“Why are they called that?” Suria asked.

“What?” Kiznua blinked back at her.

“Why is the head of each department called a throne?”

“Oh! People don’t usually ask questions, or not questions like that. Well, you see… back in the Age of Grief, all of Taedria was ruled by sorcerer kings and queens. When they had enough power to dominate a specific region, their seat was called a ‘throne’ to indicate their supremacy. That’s long in the past, of course, but the term remained in use. Generally it means a mage who is the master of a field, so it just makes sense to use it for the top professors.”

That was a better answer than Suria had expected, after the other woman had appeared shocked by her question. She didn’t want to delay any longer, though, not when she could finally get the information she needed. Her eyes wandered over the portraits and she considered working her way up before she decided to just tackle her greatest fear: one of the portraits showed the marble statue she remembered mercilessly killing the other looper.

“Can you introduce me?” Suria asked with feigned casualness. “Who is that?”

“Tollvard Rhamsolk is Throne of Transmutation,” Kiznua told her. “I’m sure you want to ask, so yes: he transmuted his own body into a sort of magical stone. I think he was originally from the Republic of Junn, but he wasn’t a professor over there. They say he might have been involved in the revolution and the surviving nobles want revenge on him, which is why he had to change his appearance, but that could just be gossip.”

Suria nodded and kept a neutral smile on her face, even as she felt a sense of triumph. She wasn’t going to learn the deepest secrets of Darkmoon here, but this way she could get an insider’s perspective on all the professors. That would let her skip a lot of blundering and pursue more useful leads.

Her eyes slid around the walls until she spotted the elegant woman who looked severe despite her beautiful dress and perfectly pinned hair. “And what about her?”

“That’s Lia Huen Rei,” Kiznua explained. “Throne of Conjuring. She’s the newest throne, though she’s been here a few years longer than I have, so I’m just telling you what they told me. She’s from Nau Qin Nau, and I hope you don’t ask any questions about them, because I don’t know very much.”

There were going to be names and details coming faster than Suria could grasp, so she just tried to tuck everything away for later reference. She hadn’t been confused by the Republic of Junn and its revolution, since that was close to home, but she knew basically nothing about Nau Qin Nau.

“What’s she like as a person?” Suria asked. “Or a teacher, I mean.”

“Oh, she’s strict.” Kiznua twisted her lips like she’d tasted something sour. “Every year she teaches a big course and she fails nearly everyone. She teaches magical law, too, and they say she’s ruthless with contracts. But she’s always involved with business, and she’s not on campus except to teach, and so I don’t really know much about her.”

Except Professor Huen had made time to speak to the other professors about whatever conspiracy they had been discussing. Suria tore her gaze away to get through the other professors before they were interrupted or Kiznua ran off. Fortunately, the next portrait was a familiar face: pale and ageless, though the painting didn’t communicate the depth of her eyes.

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“Frunah Gwaslos,” Suria said with a smile. “Throne of Healing, right?”

“Well, we say Throne of Medicine, but yes.” Kiznua smiled up at the portrait. “She’s very nice. I had trouble fainting in my first year and she made a potion for me that helped so much. It’s funny, she and Professor Rhamsolk are the two thrones from Junn, but I don’t think they really talk to each other. Maybe because Professor Gwaslos has been here for decades longer. She doesn’t look it, but she’s over eighty years old! They say most of the professors have so much magic their aging has slowed and… umm… I guess that isn’t part of the tour…”

That was impressive, but Suria was more concerned about the professors’ moral fiber. Frunah Gwaslos was the only one to leave the meeting and never be involved in Suria’s death… that didn’t mean she could be trusted, but Suria still hoped to join the healing program and find an ally.

“Next we have… oh dear, did you hear?” Kiznua shifted uncomfortably as they stared at the next portrait.