Chapter 99: Andromath's Office

The Arcane Intellect incantation wasn't hard. With Jess's ear for spells, he memorized it after hearing it just once.

"Mistis, Yuperi, Xininge," Marin recited. Jess could even hear a connection between the words and modern Common. The phrase seemed to ask the arcane to grant eyes that could see deeper into things.

But the truly difficult part was casting the spell on himself.

This was Jess's first attempt at self-targeted magic. His previous spells had either sent a burst of shadow energy at another person's mind to frighten them or gathered a tiny ball of energy over his finger. Casting a spell on himself was entirely new.

He understood Marin's reasoning now. If Jess learned to apply a simple enchantment to himself first, it would be safer and easier to add more complicated forms of arcane magic later.

After Marin demonstrated the spell, Jess copied his gestures and tried it on himself.

Unsurprisingly, his first attempt was a miserable failure. He gathered an indescribable clump of arcane energy that turned into a few random symbols in midair before scattering, nearly setting his hair on fire.

"You have to connect the ley network to yourself, draw the arcane power in your blood into your body, and shape it according to the incantation," Marin explained. "That's much more delicate than simply using it to cause damage. So this is quite different from gathering a little arcane light, Mr. Seso. Don't rush. You can practice this at home. I have to visit the university library in a little while, and I need to eat something first. I haven't even taken a bite of the bread I bought."

Jess agreed, though he felt discouraged.

Clearly, learning and mastering Light didn't mean he was gifted at other arcane spells. He could tell from Marin's expression that he wasn't doing any better than the old mage's other students.

After saying goodbye, Jess climbed to the top of the Wizard's Sanctum to choose his classes with Master Andromath, as Marin had instructed.

He'd heard the name of the Sanctum's leader, High Archmage Andromath, many times, but he'd never seen him in person.

At the very top of the Sanctum, Jess turned left off the path to the library, passed through a busy office area, and entered a rising, circular hallway covered in red carpet and lined with portraits of the Sanctum's great mages from earlier generations.

There he saw a portrait of Nielas Aran, the unfortunate father Marin had just mentioned—the man Medivh had accidentally killed while unconscious.

He was a handsome man with a scholar's curled mustache. His long hair was braided into several strands that rested over his chest. His thin but firm face looked straight ahead. He seemed less like a stubborn, conservative mage than a prince from some kingdom.

The painting showed him at no more than forty years old. He must have looked even more dashing when younger.

No wonder Aegwynn, a Guardian who'd lived eight hundred years, had chosen him as her companion in her "later years" and been willing to bear his child.

At the end of the hall stood a dark-red door so old it looked almost as though it might be Aegwynn's age.

The door was ajar. Jess pushed it open into a large, many-sided office. Quite a few people were working inside, while others spoke in low voices. Above them, each wall held a huge window. This was the very top of the Wizard's Sanctum tower.

Jess had never come here in the game, so he was distracted by the unfamiliar hall.

"Do you need something, apprentice?" a middle-aged man asked.

"I'm Master Marin's student. I've come to see Master Andromath," Jess said.

"I'm Andromath. And if I'm not mistaken, you're Jess Seso."

Jess studied the man. He was remarkably muscular, something obvious even through his thick purple robe and golden mantle. He had the neck and even the face of someone who trained his body regularly.

This unauthorized copy came from the author's NovelPhoenix publication; reading the chapter there supports the author.

Yet his manner was steady and calm. He watched people with a detached look, like an outsider observing the scene. For an instant, Jess almost felt the man's words hadn't been addressed to him at all.

Andromath was younger than Marin but clearly held a much higher position. He also apparently had time to strengthen his body while studying magic. Perhaps that was what the Sanctum meant by natural talent.

How many people like Andromath were there in Dalaran?

"I am Jess Seso." Jess bowed slightly. "Master Marin sent me here to choose my classes."

"You've come quickly," Andromath said. "But even if you enroll now, classes probably won't begin until after Winter Veil. Did Master Marin tell you that?"

"He did."

"Come over to my desk."

Andromath led him to a corner and searched through the desk.

Jess looked at the books filling the shelves behind him. He could almost feel arcane energy spilling from them. These were clearly books about magic, not the miscellaneous encyclopedias, natural histories, and novels in Marin's study. The difference was like that between the Sanctum library and the university library.

"Every apprentice must choose one school to specialize in, one spell language, and one supporting subject."

Andromath set several booklets on the table. "Have you studied the schools of arcane magic?"

"Yes," Jess said. "Conjuration, Divination, Illusion, Enchantment, Transmutation, Evocation, Abjuration, and Necromancy."

"So you've read Master Ansirem Runeweaver's series," Andromath said. "For reasons everyone knows, Necromancy isn't taught at our academy. You'll have to choose one of the other schools."

He smiled. "The enrollment books for every school in the Wizard's Sanctum are here. Since you made admission to this place your wish to the king, I suspect you know more about the academy than most new apprentices. I won't waste time introducing every school. Sign the roster at the back of the school book you choose, and you'll officially be one of its students."

Jess nodded and placed his hand on the book for Abjuration.

"Abjuration," Andromath said. "A pity the greatest specialists in protective magic are in Lordaeron and Dalaran. But the Sanctum is a good place to build your foundation. Next, choose your spell language. You can select Elven, Draconic, or Giant Runes. After passing the final exam, you may select another. For someone like you, that shouldn't take more than a year, so don't worry too much."

When Jess picked up the language booklet, he noticed a course in Common as well.

"Common?"

"Ah, that's for students from other races in and outside the Alliance," Andromath said. "You might not expect dwarves or gnomes to come here to study magic, but they do."

"I see."

Jess remembered Marin saying the Elven classes in Stormwind were a complete mess. They'd practically become a short training course for the royal family's diplomatic staff.

"Draconic. I'll take Draconic."

"Aiming for higher spells?" Andromath nodded approvingly. "Draconic is a very difficult language. Prepare for a challenge."

"Master, which Abjuration spells use Draconic?" Jess asked.

Andromath thought for a moment. "Quite a few. Many protective spells are ancient and fundamental, so naturally they come from ancient Draconic. Legend says dragons created many protective spells to guard their precious treasures. Ice Barrier, Mage Armor, Frost Armor, and others."

Hearing Mage Armor made Jess even more certain he'd chosen correctly.

"Now for your additional subject," Andromath continued. "Choose one from this list."

Jess pulled out the course list. It included a long string of general subjects: culture, history, humanities, geography, and so on. There were also Inscription, Alchemy, and Herbalism, which he'd seen in the game. Enchanting was probably a branch of the Enchantment school.

Inscription and Alchemy were likely two of the Sanctum's major sources of income. Inscription in particular covered magic scrolls, writing glyphs, and making magical paper and ink.

He already had an Alchemy teacher in Ursula Deline. He wasn't sure how skilled she really was, but she certainly sounded impressive. Why not choose Inscription instead? Maybe students got free paper and ink. Or he might learn a simple way to make ink with magic and save some money.

He signed the Inscription book.

Andromath gathered the enrollment books. "After Winter Veil, you must collect your course schedule from Master Marin before January eighteenth of next year. Until then, you can get a head start on Abjuration with Master Marin. He's one of our best teachers in that field. If you study seriously with him for two months, you may already be ahead of many other apprentices when classes begin."

After putting the books away, Andromath smiled and looked over Jess's clothes.

"By the way, Jess Seso, now that you're part of the Wizard's Sanctum, shouldn't you change your outfit?"

"I'm used to these clothes, Master." Jess scratched his head awkwardly. "Do I make the Sanctum look bad when I go out dressed like this?"

Andromath laughed. "Not at all. Nobody would ever guess you belonged to the Sanctum."

"Oh," Jess said. "Then where should I go if I want clothes that look suitable for a mage?"

Andromath glanced around at the others. "Try Larson's Ready-Made Clothing outside the Sanctum. The Larson family has an agreement with us. They measure and make clothes for our mages. Remember to collect yours there."

Jess was short of money, and a new outfit wasn't one of his urgent needs. He still had plenty of other things to do.

So he left the Sanctum and hurried home to continue studying Orcish. He also took the sheets of Demonic-to-Common translations Saeno had made and began comparing them with the bilingual Orcish-Demonic book.

November twelfth was less than a month away. He had to use every moment he had.