Chapter 13
They found Glint at the cafeteria sitting on his own. Once Levi had his tray and Nox had a full platter of pastries, they made their way over to join the imp. Levi noticed a table of Crane House students glaring at him, but he ignored them. He used one hand to push his glasses back into place and took care not to drop his platter as he reached a bench to sit on. “Hey, Glint, how is it going?” he asked his friend.
Glint looked up at Levi, who saw that his friend was eating green cubes with red specks today. He hardened his resolve to never ask what those were. Nothing should both jiggle and crunch. It wasn’t like Glint didn’t eat other things—he did, but he always went back to those cubes and Levi had convinced himself they had to be something horrific. Levi resolutely looked down at his food and started to eat.
“I’m okay. Crane House is spreading lies. They’re claiming we got lost in the woods and that the stories about Horrors were just a cover up to preserve our pride,” Glint said in between bites. “Nobody wants to believe that the warning lanterns flared and sent half the faculty on patrol… accomplishing nothing but finding us.”
Levi sighed and shook his head. “That’s stupid. Horrors aren’t that rare, are they?” he asked. He looked up and saw Nox and Glint both staring at him, and he frowned. Zuzan chittered on his shoulder and scampered down to slide onto the table and start picking through his snacks. Flix spread her wings and yawned. The dragonet unwound from his shoulder and turned until her head faced down his bicep, then she used her tail to cling to his arm. She snaked her head forward and stole bites from his steak. He missed the look that his friends exchanged while his companions started in on his meal.
“Levi, Horrors don’t show up just anywhere. When they appear, it means there’s a thinning in the dimensional walls, usually because something damaged the mana flow. Between the huge crystal we found and the fact that multiple Horrors were lurking behind it, that cave is pretty strange. House mistress Applebottom and house master Vardis are still there examining it,” Glint explained. Levi blinked and looked over at Nox.
She nodded her head in agreement. “I can count the number of Horrors who have slipped into Taryl on one hand, before I heard about what you two found. My house master has everyone readying for an incursion, and Fox House is mobilizing for a major event. The fact that you killed several Horrors makes you very unusual, Levi,” she said, then stared at him proudly. Then she blushed, leaned over, and kissed him. Her expression was enraptured. “Have you checked your emblem? They’re supposed to track Horrors you encounter so the Academy can study them.”
Levi blinked in surprise, and then raised his left arm. He undid the cuff on his shirt and pushed it up to reveal his forearm. The suit jacket wasn’t comfortable to push up to his elbow, but when he touched the tattoo a glowing tally of data appeared. Elegant letters formed in his vision “Four Lesser Horrors.” Levi took his hand away and looked at his friends as he repeated it for them.
Nox looked shocked. “Four? Levi no wonder you were completely drained of your mana reserves! The reason Horrors are so dangerous is that they absorb mana, and that makes every dimension they’re in weaker. Combat magic has a hard time killing them as a result. The mana that must have taken… it’s a lot,” she said, then held up a cupcake and licked off a piece of frosting. “Horrors come in different ranks: Lesser, Minor, Common, Major, Greater, and Elder—every type is more powerful than the ones before. It isn’t impossible for a student to kill a Lesser one, but it will make you stand out.”
“Not to mention the bounty for that crystal we found,” Glint added casually. He was beaming and his ears were spread as wide as they could go. Levi realized the imp was gloating, and he cocked his head to regard his friend. Then he motioned impatiently for Glint to continue. “Right, you don’t know… okay, so we talked about airships, remember? Bigger the ship, bigger the engine needed to keep it floating and move it. It isn’t cost effective to try and use a ton of little mana crystals to power a big engine, since the catalyst just doesn’t work efficiently that way. Big mana crystals aren’t common, though, and they dissolve over time, which means you can only use them so long. The crystal we found could power a medium airship for years, and it's worth a small fortune. On top of that, as the ones who found it—we get a share!” Glint almost crowed and Levi’s jaw dropped.
“Wait, are you saying we’re rich?” he asked with a thump as his arm dropped to the table. While his friend vigorously nodded, Levi looked at Nox. The beautiful woman beamed at him. Levi hadn’t been worrying about money since he arrived on Taryl. The school provided food and shelter. He hadn’t really stopped to wonder what he could buy—shopping hadn’t occurred to him. Now his head spun at the idea he might get some cool stuff.
“We’re not super rich or anything, but we can afford some magical gear for the next time we need it. I can get an improved mana catalyst and resources for my staff, and you can buy some of the best lures and taming equipment!” Glint bounced in his seat in excitement, and Levi felt his eyes spark in excitement.
Zuzan chittered and chirped while waving a nut over her head and Levi glanced down at the adorable squirrel. “Yes, I will get you some fancier snacks,” he promised with a chuckle. Flix let out a hiss and shifted to crawl upright once more. The dragonet draped across his shoulders and Levi realized people were staring at him every time she moved. “Okay so… why is everyone staring at Flix?” he asked.
Glint shook his head and Nox rolled her eyes. “Levi, dragonets are usually only tamed at the upperclassman level. Most taming students start off with something like a corvid messenger, or a basic wolf. Taming a magical beast is a lot harder than a regular one, and Flix, well, she’s not normal even for a dragonet,” Nox explained as she looked at the black-and-silver head resting on Levi’s shoulder.
Levi raised a hand and scratched the back of Flix’s skull. He enjoyed the trilling sound she produced when she was content. Her horns scratched his skin sometimes when he rubbed her head, but it wasn’t that painful. “I know she’s bigger than the others that were in the colony,” he said. He cocked his head in thought. “She is also the only one that had two colors—the rest were monochromatic.”
Glint finished chewing another of his cubes and raised a long-fingered hand. “We should check it out in the library,” he said.
Levi opened his mouth to reply, but froze when a hand slammed down on the table next to him. “I am sick of this bullshit! There is no way a moss foot and some lame tamer fought off a Horror! If you two don’t admit you’re lying to make yourselves look cool, I am going to kick your asses!” the offending party yelled into Levi’s ear.
Levi twisted to see who it was. At the same time, he ran his finger down Flix’s neck to stop the dragonet from biting the man standing over him. He took in Darren, who was in his fancily tailored Crane uniform, and frowned. Levi reached up with his other hand and pushed his glasses back into place. “You’re in my space, fuck head,” he warned softly. He had slipped his shrunk-down focus through the loops on his belt; the tool was useless at the moment.
Darren opened his mouth to retort, but then Nox stood up abruptly. The elf wasn’t as tall as Darren, but she exuded a menace that caused the canid to back up. Her crimson hair sparked as she stared at him, and her purple eyes narrowed to slits. “Upperclassman Darren Risingtooth, is there a reason you are causing a disturbance in the cafeteria?” she asked in a cold voice. That was when Levi noticed that Darren’s hand had crushed one of Nox’s cupcakes when he’d slammed it on the table.
Levi shook his head and lifted Flix off his shoulder. “You’re so dead, dude, you messed up her pastries,” he warned. He curled Flix over his forearm like he was cradling an angry cat and focused on stroking the dragonet to calm her. The beast wasn’t taking her eyes off of Darren—Levi worried she was going to blast the idiot.
Darren looked down at the mess under his hand, then back up at Nox. The canid paled and straightened up, holding his hands up as he backed a step away from the table. “Willowbrook, let’s not get crazy. That was an accident. You know we’re not supposed to use combat magics inside the school building… you could get into serious trouble,” the bully babbled as he backed away. Nox started walking around the table toward him—Darren began walking backwards faster. He didn’t seem willing to take his eyes off the redheaded elf.
Levi looked at Glint and saw the imp covering his face with a napkin to keep from cackling. Glint’s ears wobbled up and down violently as he shook with the laughter he was trying to contain. The snorts and squeaks he was producing actually made him sound like his vapor engine and Levi worried he was going to burst something. He turned back to look at Nox just in time to see Darren bolt.
As the Crane upperclassman ran, Nox started to chase him and Levi couldn’t hold his own laughs. He wasn’t the only one that failed to hide their amusement. Half the cafeteria burst into laughter at the same time and Levi’s felt his eyes start to tear up. Flix let out a series of chimes that sounded like she found it just as funny and Zuzan sniffed and chittered something. “Yes, you’re right, Zuzan, I do think he might learn an important lesson today,” Levi commented as he wiped his eyes with the back of his head. The sylvan squirrel climbed up onto his shoulder and patted his earlobe with a squeak, though Levi just shook his head. “Now that the waste of space is gone, I need to get going to taming class. I already missed all my classes yesterday and I don’t want to fall too far behind.” He hadn’t worried so much about missing classes at home. I couldn’t even figure out what I wanted to do with my life back home, but… well magic is pretty cool, he admitted to himself.
He stood up and scooped the nuts and scraps of meat into two separate pouches to stick in his pockets for later. Once he had cleared his tray, he said goodbye to Glint and started walking toward the outer courtyard. His taming class was taking place outside today, which made Levi feel content. He had a lot to think about. He didn’t give a damn about the rumors being spread about him, but he was confused why he had offensive power that could do what combat students struggled to… when his affinity was for taming beasts?
That just struck him as weird.
“Ah, Mr. Walker… it appears you’ve been having some adventures since our last class,” Professor Ramshackle said as Levi entered the courtyard which held their class. His red eyes took in the giant snail that spoke to him. Professor Ramshackle had no arms or legs, and his clothing consisted of a silver shell engraved with focus lines. On his rubbery head sat a felt top hat with a prismatic feather through the band. Levi was pretty sure his antenna were hidden under the hat, but he never asked. “I see you’ve tamed a beast! Please, come closer so I can inspect your new partner,” the snail continued.
Levi approached the large figure and pondered how heavy a five-foot-diameter silver shell had to be. It wasn’t like he’d ever seen Professor Ramshackle move more than a few inches during a class—the snail was incredibly slow. He was also brilliant and Levi heavily enjoyed his lessons. “This is Flix. I tamed her among the dragonet colony up in the hills,” he explained.
The snail’s head bobbed down in Flix’s direction and the professor let out a thoughtful sound. The hat tilted from side to side and Levi assumed that Professor Ramshackle was tilting his head. “Amazing. She doesn’t fit the standard descriptions of a dragonet—are you sure she was flying among them?” he finally asked.
“Yeah, there was a hill of boulders, and when Glint and I climbed it I found a crack in the stone. The colony was nesting inside a split in the back of the hill. The dragonets were flying all around the tumbled stones and eating rodents and other small animals hiding among the rocks. I set out a lure of meat and after a few hours she dropped down to eat. When I sent my magic out, she accepted and climbed right onto my shoulder,” Levi shared, his hand adjusting his glasses. Flix preened on his shoulder. She spread her wings and mimicked Ramshackle by tilting her own head back at the giant snail.
Inspection over, the professor nodded again. “Marvelous. You’re a natural, Mr. Walker. Now, I believe we were about to begin discussing how most tamers handle their numerous animals,” the professor said, launching into his lecture.
Levi listened as Professor Ramshackle explained that most tamers used a piece of equipment called a stasis lantern. The baldric hung across a tamer’s chest and from it dangled a piece of equipment that combined vapor engineering and regular spells to allow a tamer to store their beasts on a plate of crystal. When the tamer triggered the lantern light to shine through the plate, the beast was released in front of them. If a tamer could cast the ritual to recall their beast before it passed away, it might live long enough to get treatment for a grave injury. Ramshackle went on to explain that the ritual took several minutes to cast, which meant it was a poor substitute for learning the actual spells to heal a beast. The lanterns themselves required a vaper cartridge, and those were both expensive and could only power a lantern a few times before it had to be recharged.
The cheapest lanterns could only hold one beast, yet they still cost a month’s salary for a high-paid magus. Levi listened with rapt attention; he had no intention of storing Flix or Zuzan in an invention like that, but if he tamed larger beasts and wanted to keep them with him, he’d need something to keep them close. With Glint’s comments about being able to buy magical gear in mind, Levi started daydreaming about the kind of things he might purchase. Zuzan tugged on his ear and chirped at him to get his attention back on the class.
“Right, right, studying first,” he murmured. Flix gave him a look that made him glad he hadn’t been thinking of putting her in one of those plates. He dug into his jacket to take out a folded sheaf of papers and a stylus, then began to record the ritual needed to store a beast with as much detail as he could fit on the pages. I wonder if this dimension has bags of holding? he wondered. His attention returned to the professor as Zuzan chastised him yet again.
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