Faculty of Fire (6 page)

A typical classroom. Little children sitting at tables.

 

A little boy up at the blackboard, declaiming with a serious face:

 

“My uncle follows absolutely honest rules …

 

I was woken by a flash of light from the teleport and opened my eyes just in time to see a figure appear - a sturdy looking man in grey livery, holding a black staff in his hands. Staffs were an exclusive prerogative of the Higher Craftsmen, because only they were able to use them to cast spells– apart from them no one needed staffs for anything. They were used for the more complicated spells and the Higher Craftsmen somehow also accumulated mags in them. The staff in the hands of the new arrival was made of black tuvit wood, which I had heard grew somewhere in Tabernacle. I couldn’t help gaping at the incredible patterns on the staff – I’d never seen anything like them before.

The man immediately tossed the staff into the corner and it hung there in a vertical position at an equal distance from both walls and the floor.

“Right, now let’s you and me have a talk, mister whatever your name is,” the Higher Craftsman said cheerfully as he sat down in the other armchair.

I turned my gaze from the staff to Higher Craftsman Romius. I assumed that was what he was called. Now that he’d come out of the shadow, I could get a clear look at him: long ginger hair cascading onto extremely broad shoulders, tall, an attractive kind of face that said this was a man you could trust with absolutely anything at all. He seemed like a kindly distant relative, always ready to lend his kinfolk a hand.

“What justification can you give for your actions?” He demanded.

That was absolutely not what I’d been expecting.

“In what sense?” I asked, taken aback.

“You stand in the square with tears streaming down your face, shouting gibberish. Why?”

“Well you know, I thought, why not amuse the Craftsmen a bit? Here you are in the square, bored to death, it would be a bit of fun.”

The Craftsman chuckled.

“Yes, well you certainly amused everyone, no doubt about that. I can guess what happened in the square,” he said, switching to a more serious tone. “But what do
you
think about what happened?”

How could I answer that?

“I don’t actually know,” I began. “You see, I was all set to leave when I suddenly saw that prism of yours. It was hanging over the yard, looking so distorted and mutilated, that I felt sorry for it--so sorry that I had to sort out all four colours. How could I know they would start glowing so brightly …”

The Craftsmen nodded without speaking, obviously expecting me to go on.

“Well, that’s all … my eyes suddenly started smarting and watering, and you saw what happened after that.”

“But what do you think about it?” he asked again.

“It’s fairly clear. The fact that I managed to assemble all four facets shows that I have an equal predisposition for all the elements …”

The Craftsman nodded in agreement.

“As for the light blinding me … there’s nothing I can say about that, but there’s something strange about all this. I walked round the yard several times and I didn’t see any magical prisms in the air. I’m absolutely certain of that.”

The Craftsman raised one eyebrow in surprise.

“So that’s the way it was?” he said thoughtfully. “And what were you doing at the moment when you saw the puzzle?”

“Nothing special. Walking past you and listening to music.”

“Music? What kind of music, I wonder?”

“Just an ordinary composition,” I said uncertainly.

“What kind of composition?” he asked, leaning forward.

I had to admit that it was one of my own.

“Interesting,” he said. “Right then, our conversation will remain strictly between the two of us. It’s pointless for you take the tests, because you won’t pass them anyway …”

“What do you mean?” I exclaimed, offended.

“It’s very simple, you have no power. Or rather, you do, but only a little, slightly more than the average person, but much less than is required to pass the tests. You are predisposed equally to all four elements, but your abilities are so average that you shouldn’t have been able to see the “prism”, let alone assemble the facets. But that’s not important now, because I’m going to enroll you anyway. We have to get to the bottom of your case, and at the initial stage we can attribute your lack of power to inadequate skill. If anybody asks you about anything you can simply say that you passed all the tests, but what exactly they were is a strictly personal matter. Everyone has his own tests, and many prefer not to remember them …”

What kind of tests could those be?

“ … So, now you can go home, but tomorrow, after classes are over, you’ll have to come and see me again, so that we can discuss what happened on the square in a calm atmosphere with clear heads. In case you don’t know, my name is Master Romius Nickers.”

I was so startled that I didn’t know what to say. I’d never been so amazed in my life.

“Er …”

Romius looked at me.

“Did you want to say something? And by the way, tell me your name, will you at last? Shame on you. What do they teach you at school?”

“Er …Zachary … Zachary Nickers,” I said with a real effort.

There was silence.

“You wouldn’t happen to live with Aunt Eliza, would you?” he enquired.

“Yes, I do,” I said happily.

“So how’s my sister getting one?” asked Craftsman Romius Nickers or, to put it more simply, my uncle.

Scene 3

When I followed Romius into the teleport, it was already afternoon. We sat in his study for at least two hours, drinking tea, reminiscing and picking over our relatives – and of course, we had very many of those. The Great Houses were linked together by complicated ties of blood, and they were all, supposedly, directly descended from the very first ruling dynasty. Every member of a Great House prided himself on being a full-blooded descendant of the ancient kings. Although, to be quite honest, not many people actually believed it.

We walked along the corridor, and left the Academy through the already familiar gates. The square was still crowded and chaotic, the enrolment procedure was still in full swing. Just as we walked out of the tower, the strange voice was finishing the speech that I already knew.

“ … If you have failed … you will have to try your luck the next time round.”

And then the people started bustling about and rushing from corner to corner of the square. I’d already taken part in this frantic dash, and now I found it extremely interesting to observe the process from the outside.

After only a few seconds I noticed that Romius had stopped beside me and was watching me curiously. At first I couldn’t understand what he was so interested in, but then I realised: I was probably supposed to be able to see my “prism” – unless, of course, they had taken it away. Or maybe I was supposed to see some new prism?

I answered Romius’s inquisitive glance with a shrug of my shoulders.

“You don’t see anything?” he asked, just to make sure.

“Not a thing,” I said, feeling disappointed and at the same time relieved. I really didn’t want to feel that pain again …

“And what if we try turning on the music?” he suggested.

“Gladly, but someone took my musicale out of my hands before I was taken into the tower,” I said, suddenly recalling what had happened.

“Let’s get it straight away,” said Romius, sounding excited, “and we’ll try a little experiment.”

The crowd parted meekly in front of Romius, and we walked through to the Craftsmen with no difficulty. They were absorbed in a discussion and didn’t notice when we arrived. One plump Craftsman in red livery was shouting as he argued with two Academy teachers, and the pupils standing beside them were listening intently, occasionally whispering among themselves. It was the pupils who noticed us first. They included the couple that I already knew, as well as the young guy who had shown me to Romius’s study – Nick. They gave me a friendly wave, but decided not to come over while I was with a Higher Craftsman.

It took a while for the teachers involved in the argument to notice us.

“ … You don’t understand, she can’t take the tests like a normal person,” the short fat man fumed. “She’s … she’s not human … she …” At that point he spotted Romius: “There he is! How do you do, Master Romius, I was just waiting for you.”

Romius assumed an air of surprise.

“For me? Just recently you claimed that you’d never seen such a great ignoramus as me in your entire life, and now you say you’re waiting for me?” Romius was clearly making fun of the other man.

“Well now …” said the fat man, embarrassed. “When was that?”

“As recently as yesterday,” Romius said helpfully.

“That was just an ordinary quarrel,” the fat man said quickly, “a man can say anything in the heat of the moment, but really, you weren’t really at your best, only an absolute ignoramus could suggest that …” Then he remembered where he was. “My apologies once again, the present conversation is about something quite different, this is a far more serious matter. A violation of fundamental principle! Craftsmen have followed these rules since time immemorial …”

I was beginning to get bored, standing there behind Romius, when I noticed a girl waving me over. Trying not to disturb the Craftsmen, I walked quietly across to where she was standing, a little apart from the other pupils.

“Well then?” she asked me in concern. “Are you feeling all right?”

“Yes, everything’s fine,” I replied solemnly.

What did Master Romius say to you?”

I thought about that for a moment. Romius and I had agreed that our conversation would remain just between the two of us, and I would simply tell everyone I had passed the tests. But what could I say to the girl? After, I’d already told her that I’d managed to separate out all four elements, and that in itself was already quite remarkable.

“Well, nothing especially, I was just a bit over-wrought, and when I saw that blob, I got frightened,” I said, blurting out the first thing that came into my head.

The girl gave me a suspicious look.

“And now you’ll tell me that you didn’t separate out all four elements?”

“No, that is, I didn’t. I separated out one element.” I said, forcing a smile.

“Well, well,” she mused thoughtfully. “So what happened?”

I put on a happy expression which wasn’t very difficult, to be honest.

“I’ve been enrolled.”

“You mean without the rests for adequacy, compatibility, memory and all the rest?” There was clear note of doubt in the girl’s voice.

“Oh no, I passed all the tests,” I replied even more confidently.

“But how …”

Fortunately for me, she never finished what she was saying. Nick and the blonde-haired guy with broad shoulders showed up just at the right moment.

“Well then?” Nick’s girl asked me. “Did you get in?”

I nodded joyfully.

“Well, would you believe it,” the broad-shouldered guy mused. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you go on to earn yourself dark-blue livery,” he said, winking at me, and added: “In about ten years’ time.”

“So how did the tests go?” the girl asked, ignoring the two young guys.

“Stop hassling him, will you, Anna?” said the big guy, putting his arm round her shoulder. “The man has something to celebrate, and you start interrogating him, he probably can’t even think straight yet.”

I looked at him gratefully, glad that I wouldn’t have to tell any more lies.

“Yes, of course, Serge,” Anna said with a forced smile. “I’m too curious.”

Aha, so that was the big guy’s name, I’d been trying to remember if he’d introduced himself or not.

“That’s putting it mildly,” Nick said seriously, and then, unable to bear the girl’s withering glance, he laughed. “All right, all right. I’m joking. Why don’t we go and see what conclusion their excellencies the Craftsmen have reached over there?”

“What are they arguing about?” I enquired as we set off towards the Craftsmen, who were still absorbed in their quarrel.

“You’ll never believe it,” said Nick, talking in a whisper. “Something quite incredible happened …”

“Aha,” Serge put in. “About an hour ago someone came into the yard of the Academy wearing a loose robe with a hood that hid their face. Everything started as usual: the speech of greeting then the beginning of the first test. The hooded person passed it and became affiliated to the element of fire, then passed all the other tests without any problem.”

“What’s so unusual about that?” I asked.