Chapter 076: The Magic Academies' Goal

By the time they returned to Stormwind, it was already the following night. Jess and Gred had accompanied the patrol back to Eastvale, then hurried straight home without even stopping in Goldshire. If they delayed any longer, they might not make it to work the next morning.

That night, Jess told the imp to keep copying the books. When he woke up the next day, he had overslept anyway.

He didn't even wash before rushing into the Mage Quarter. The moment he opened Marin's study door, he saw Marin and his daughter, Amy Marin, already inside.

“Uh, sorry.” Jess finally caught his breath. “Master Marin, I'm late.”

“I've been helping out these past two days,” Amy said, turning around with a half-teasing smile. “Shouldn't you be paying me for that?”

“I'm really sorry, Amy. And I'm sorry, Master Marin. I've had some trouble,” Jess said.

Amy laughed. “What kind of assistant are you? You haven't even been paid for your first month, and you've already missed work more times than I can count.”

“I'm afraid Mr. Jess Seso won't be an assistant for much longer,” Marin said, laying a letter on the desk.

Only then did Jess notice the envelope. It was absurdly fancy, right down to the gold lion's head stamped in wax.

“Not much longer? You don't need to fire him, Father,” Amy said. “Traveling to Stonewatch Keep really is dangerous right now. I was only joking.”

“This letter just came from Master Andromath,” Marin said, holding it up. “His Majesty sent it from Stonewatch Keep.”

Amy took the letter from him. After a glance, she stared in disbelief.

“Stonewatch Keep was attacked by worgen? Why hasn't any news reached us? Jess Seso is the hero of the crisis at the keep? Is that how you hurt your hand? Gnolls...?”

“Mr. Jess Seso encountered a gnoll warlock. His hand was burned by fire magic,” Marin explained. “Master Andromath told me the messenger was beside himself with excitement. He gave quite a performance describing how our Mr. Seso fought off the gnolls surrounding the watchtower. After all, the messenger nearly lost his own life in the attack.”

“That's unbelievable,” Amy said.

Jess looked at her and joked, “Well, even if I don't have much talent for magic, maybe I have a little talent for fighting a crowd.”

“Don't get me wrong,” Amy said quickly. “Being too closely attuned to the arcane isn't always good. If someone can't handle it properly, it often ends in disaster. That's why the Wizard's Sanctum tries to find talented students while they're still young.”

This text came from where the story was originally posted without the author's permission. Reading that publication supports the person behind it.

“Whether he has talent doesn't matter now,” Marin said. “Read the rest. The king wants the Wizard's Sanctum to accept Mr. Jess Seso as a formal apprentice. That isn't much trouble for the Sanctum. Master Andromath says that if I won't take him as my apprentice, he'll do it himself.”

Amy froze for a moment. “The king personally ordered it?”

“Strictly speaking, he personally requested it. But the Wizard's Sanctum and the royal mages both serve the royal family. The king could certainly have worded it as an order. He's only just returned to his throne, so he wants to leave everyone with a good impression. I imagine Lord Bolvar Fordragon taught him that.”

Marin continued, “I wanted Mr. Jess Seso to have a chance to study magic even before this. There were simply rules at the academy to consider. Besides, becoming an apprentice would make him more useful in helping with my research.”

“Whether you study under Master Andromath or me is ultimately your decision.” Marin looked at Jess. “Master Andromath specializes in shaping arcane energy, particularly frost magic. His field is more focused on attack. I'm better at transmutation and protective spells, and I have some knowledge of fire magic too. Mr. Jess Seso, if you seriously intend to follow this path, it's an important choice. Don't think about our personal relationship. Consider it carefully.”

Jess had already made up his mind.

Shadow power could handle his need for offensive magic. When it came to the arcane, he didn't particularly need fire elementals controlled through arcane power, Frostbolts, or even the simpler and more direct Arcane Missiles. Strong shadow energy could replace all of those.

What made arcane magic truly impossible to replace was its endless variety and incredible flexibility. That meant Marin was his best choice for a teacher.

“I've decided, Master Marin,” Jess said. “I want to continue studying here with you. Not just because we already know each other, but because I believe transmutation and protective magic will help me repay the king's kindness and protect the people of the kingdom in the future.”

Amy nodded in approval.

Edan Marin stood, straightened his long robe, and said, “Then it's settled. I'll go speak with Master Andromath this afternoon. You'll formally become a member of the Wizard's Sanctum, and afterward, my apprentice. But I hope you'll continue assisting me with my research into the relationship between the red dragons and the orcs.”

Jess certainly had no intention of giving up that job. It paid another ten silver coins a month.

After Amy left, Marin suddenly asked, “Amy told me before that you have trouble making contact with the ley network. Is that right? She once tested your control of arcane energy with a small rune, but you couldn't get any response out of it.”

That incident had nearly become a lasting nightmare for Jess. He'd confidently tried to show off in front of an apprentice mage, only to embarrass himself on the spot.

But almost a month had passed since then.

“I refuse to believe that a ten-year-old can master this through hard work and practice, but an eighteen-year-old like me can't,” Jess said.

“There are differences,” Marin replied. “But there's certainly no gap that can't be crossed.”

“Eighteen isn't too old to start learning magic. The reason many magical institutions refuse students that age goes back to the period after humans and elves joined forces to establish the Council of Tirisfal. Humanity enjoyed a relatively peaceful time, and the council wanted to reduce the number of low-level members.”

“So, back then, most academies cared far more about magical achievements than the number of students they trained. Mediocre students no longer brought any benefit to a magical institution. From then on, most of these institutions changed their goal: to compete with the elves, to surpass Quel'Thalas in magical accomplishments, and to gain more influence on the Council of Tirisfal. Do you know humanity's greatest disadvantage in magical research compared with the elves?”

“Age,” Jess said.

“Yes,” Marin replied. “Age.”