A Soldier's Life

Chapter 186: Mage Aspirants

With Zyna gone, I was free to explore. I looked out her bedroom window and cleaned the glass. The view below was spectacular—a vast square courtyard with azure, pink, and yellow flowering trees sprawling among pristine white paths. Men and women in robes walked the stone paths below, moving between the four towers at the corners. Looking closer at the paths, I noticed they reminded me of a spell form—an incomplete spell form, but maybe the paths extended beyond the walls. There was too little of the spell form for me to guess its purpose. Whatever its effect, it was an impressive and massive array. The mages below mostly wore black robes; who I assumed were the students. A few gray and white robes walked among them.

With my height from the top of the tower, I could also see over the granite walls of the courtyard. The Mage College was nestled against the walls of the Imperial Palace. One gate led directly to the Imperial Palace Grounds but was guarded by four legionnaires in shiny plate armor with red highlights. Ugh, being a statue was in my future as well.

I turned away from the window and started to walk the floor I was on. It was a massive suite encompassing the entire top floor of the large tower. Four large bedrooms, each with its own small servant’s room attached. The large sitting room with a door to the stairs, where I had met Antonia Segreto, had a formal dining room with seating for sixteen and an attached large kitchen. The larder was barren of everything but dust, and all the kitchen dishes, pots, and pans were also long neglected.

Off the kitchen were two more small bedrooms, probably for the kitchen staff. A large formal bath with showers, a soaking tub, and a steam room was located in the center of the floor, amidst an array of larger perimeter rooms with windows.

I tried the valve on the central soaking tub, and air hissed out with a low rumble. After nearly a minute of hissing and sputtering, dark water exited the pipe, slowly changing to clear. I guessed the plumbing of the tower was pressurized somehow with magic. The water was cold, and I didn’t see any other valves. I could use the thermal stone to heat the soaking tub—once the recessed tub was clean. Two more small alcove rooms appeared to have two toilets, one for the servants and one fancier marble one for the Chancellor and her guests. It was unsurprising that both needed cleaning.

There were only two other rooms: a small library with only a handful of books on the history of Mage College and an alchemy lab. The alchemy lab looked even more neglected than the rest of the rooms. Many of the flasks had hard-caked residue on the bottom, and a deep stone well in the center of the room had glass debris. If I were motivated, I might spend some time cleaning and setting up the apparatus to make the minty mouthwash, as it was the only recipe I currently knew.

A thudding knock had me return to the entry room. I opened the door to the stairs to see two short mages in oversized black robes. A young, blonde woman with pale blue eyes and a sandy-haired woman with green eyes. Their youthful faces told me they were likely Mage Aspirants. When I didn’t say anything, the sandy-haired woman spoke meekly, “The Chancellor sent us to clean her quarters, legionnaire.”

“What did you two do to deserve this punishment?” I asked with a good-natured smile.

The young woman lowered her eyes, “We were caught stealing from the kitchens last night.”

“Mage Aspirant Flora,” the blonde said, finding her tongue and bowing her head slightly.

“Mage Aspirant Livia,” the sandy-haired one said but was uncertain about bowing her head or a formal bow to the waist; she eventually chose the waist, showing me more respect.

“Come in, Livia and Flora. Buckets are in the kitchen storeroom and the water valve in the bathroom works.” As I led the pair of mages through the suite, I didn’t need to look at them to feel their pain as they realized the monumental task ahead of them. The rooms were large, and every one of them was filthy with years of neglect. The task would take the pair days to clean.

“You can start with the bath, toilets, and kitchen,” I told the pair once we had the buckets, aged brooms, and rags.

“Do we have to clean in our robes?” Flora asked. I looked at her, caught off guard, my mind turning over the question. She flushed, realizing what she had said, and stuttered hastily, “It is just that we get disciplined if we attend class in dirty robes.”

“You can go get a change of clothes,” I said, somewhat relieved at the clarification.

“There is no need,” Flora said, pulling off her robes to reveal that she had common clothes underneath. The bulky robes had hidden how thin she was. Livia followed Flora; her robes also had a thin frame hidden underneath. Looking at them now, they appeared more like children than teens.

They attacked the toilets first, their beige pants and off-white blouses quickly becoming filthy. As I watched them work, I asked, “Were you stealing food because you were hungry?” When they first revealed it, I thought they might have done it for the thrill or on some bet.

Livia paused in her scrubbing to answer; her face streaked with dirty sweat lines. Her words came out uncertain, “Legionnaire Eryk. We frequently miss meals due to our poor discipline.” She was not seeking sympathy by her tone; she was stating a fact, maybe in fear I would administer more punishment if she complained.

I leaned against the wall, getting the picture. “What other mischief have you been up to?” They looked at each other, unsure how to answer. I was starting to sense something else was going on here. I tried to put them at ease, “I will not relay anything you tell me to Zyna. I mean the Chancellor.”

Livia, who seemed to be the pair’s leader, spoke for the pair with some modicum of trust in her eyes. “We frequently miss meals because we are blamed for things we did not do.” My confused expression had her explain further, “We are not the daughters of First Citizens or noble houses. Flora is from a fishing village, and I am from the lower city. We were both assessed half a year ago by the Magistrate during the annual tablet testing and found to have some potential. We now serve the Empire as Mage Aspirants.” She bowed her head reflexively.

I thought the two might know Renna. After letting them clean for a while, I asked after her. “Do you know Mage Aspirant Renna? She was found recently with potential as well.”

They looked at each other, Livia speaking again for them. “You mean Mage Renna? She recently cast her first spell, maybe two months ago. She is no longer an Aspirant. We did take classes with her until she moved on to the War College.”

“Is she well then?” I asked, thinking I might have a chance to see Renna again.

“She protected the weakest of us from the more serious harassment, but now that she is a true mage, she is in different classes, and we rarely see her,” Flora added quickly.

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With a smirk sliding briefly on her face, she noted, “She was the most powerful among the Aspirants. She gave our tormentors twice what they gave us.” She immediately covered her mouth, thinking she had revealed too much to me.

It was a classic bullying scenario with the wealthy and privileged preying on the weak. “Keep working here. I will go prepare you something in the kitchen.”

They looked at each other, confused. We had just searched the kitchen for the buckets, and there was no food in the kitchen or pantry. I didn’t explain and left them to work. The kitchen also had running water, and I cleaned a workspace before removing the thermal stone and some of my dungeon harvest.

As it was not required for cooking, I removed my armor as it got in the way. Maveith had taken all the seasonings, but I could still prepare the bacon and use the fat to fry slices of the purple potatoes into thick chips. It took me over two hours to clean and cook, and then I went and retrieved the two mages. “Dinner is served,” I announced proudly.

The pair were beyond filthy, their pale skin on their faces and arms now coated in grime. “Where did all this come from!” Flora asked in disbelief, entering the kitchen.

“Magic!” I said with a flourish of my hand, producing an apple and tossing it to her. Both their eyes were wide in amazement at my trick. It felt good to show off to someone who could appreciate it. She fumbled the apple but caught it eventually.

“Is this all for us?” Livia asked of the two heaping plates.

“Yeah, I nibbled as I cooked. It is all yours.” I waved at the counter, and they started to sit on dirty stools. “But perhaps clean up a bit first.” They rushed into the bathroom and returned once their faces, arms, and hands had been scrubbed to some modicum of cleanliness. The two attacked the food while I found two mugs, cleaned them, materialized a canteen, and filled them.

The pair watched my performance carefully, mumbling how good the food was. With her mouth full, Flora asked, “I thought you were a legionnaire? Are you a mage then?”

“No, I just know a trick or two.” I placed five more apples in front of them to make six. “You can take these with you to eat when hunger grabs you.”

“Are you the Chancellor’s husband?” Apparently, once Flora became comfortable with someone, she was no longer shy and spoke unfiltered. She had also somehow emptied her plate. I don’t know how she managed to get it all down so quickly or how it fit inside her thin frame. She would have challenged Maveith with her speed of consumption.

I wasn’t abashed, “No, I am just her bodyguard.” The two looked at each other knowingly, clearly drawing the wrong conclusion. I shrugged internally and produced another apple, and took a bite. The dungeon apple was sweet, crunchy, and savory. Good thing I had hundreds, but I had hoped to share the harvest with Ginger.

“So, what are your affinities? Have you learned any spell forms?” I asked, quickly finishing off the sweet dungeon apple.

The two looked at each other, deciding who would speak. Livia spoke first, “My primary affinity is healing at 43. I can heal flesh and bones that are already set. I am working on my secondary spell form in the water affinity. It is to pull water out of the air. If I cannot learn to cast spells in the next year, I will be assigned to the army as a medicus.”

“That is amazing! Healers are the most valuable members of an army.” My praise for her ability had her beaming.

Flora looked at her plate sadly, “My spell form is not impressive. I can grow a plant rapidly with aether. I am hoping my next spell form is discern truth so I can become a Truthseeker.”@@novelbin@@

I reassured the young mage, “Don’t discount your spell form. That is impressive as well. With food troubles in the Empire, you can grow a fruit tree in a day to feed multiple people.”

“It takes me three days to invest enough aether to grow a fruit tree to bear fruit, but it also ruins the soil, and the tree soon dies,” she said, deflated.

“It probably uses up the nutrients in the soil. I am guessing the tree just needs to be transplanted in fresher soil. Try it with smaller plants,” I encouraged her. I was surprised her instructors had not told her the same thing.

“Why is my room not cleaned!” An angry call from the master bedroom rang in the apartments. High Mage Zyna had returned and was not happy. She came storming into the kitchen, and the color drained out of the faces of the two young mages. Flora bent over and quickly vomited as Zyna came into the kitchen, her eyes literally aflame and red hair in a mess.

I calmly turned to Zyna, “I told them to clean the bathrooms first.” The fire mage calmed, and she studied me. Had I read her wrong? Was Zyna not a reasonable woman? “Go!” She said harshly to the two mage aspirants. Flora and Livia scrambled to their feet, torn on whether they should clean up the vomit or not.

“Take the apples, and don’t forget your robes,” I stated loudly as they hastily gathered the apples and ran to get their robes in the bath. When the door to the stairs closed with a thud, I looked to Zyna for an explanation.

Her question, “Why did they remove their robes?” caught me off-guard, but her tone was conversational.

I flushed involuntarily and replied calmly. “They didn’t want to get them dirty. Did you know the other mages have mercilessly harassed those two?”

“Of course. I gathered them from the Discipline Hall. They are peasants; I assumed whatever they were accused of was not their fault.” My face hardened to anger, and Zyna waved for me to relax. “Eryk, they need to be able to adapt to their new life in the Empire. They either need to gain enough power not to be targeted, or the Empire will chew them up. It may seem unkind, but it has worked for hundreds of years. I was once in the same position as they are now.”

“So, trial by fire?” I responded a little tersely. “Is that why you are so abrasive around them?”

“Abrasive?” She cocked an eyebrow. “Ah, I see your confusion. As the Chancellor of the War College, I need to demonstrate a certain—persona.”

“Being a bitch?” I spat and immediately wanted to take it back. I had seen Zyna cook a hill giant alive with a dragon she conjured from fire.

“Bitch?” She searched for meaning in the word. “Is that an otherworlder term? Be careful using them, but I understand the underlying meaning. And yes, I am a bitch. They call me the Flame Demoness, and every student at Mage College knows it and fears the rumors they hear about me.”

I didn’t know what to say, so Zyna continued, “Your job is to support my image. We haven’t had time to discuss it, but the Emperor trusted me and appointed me to this position because he knows I will do whatever I need to do to get the job done. We need mages for the war. We cannot coddle the Mage Aspirants.”

“I understand,” I stated, even though I disagreed with everything.

“Good. The armorsmith will be available tomorrow to fit you. I am going to stay at Antonia’s villa tonight. You can expect more mage aspirants coming to clean as punishment tomorrow. Make sure my room is cleaned first.” Zyna went to the frying pan, pulled a soggy purple chip, and chewed on it. Her face slowly lit up. “This is good. Is it from the dungeon?”

“Yes,” I replied as I started strapping my armor on.

“You don’t need to follow me this evening. Stay and settle into a room. We can talk tomorrow after the armorer finishes with you.” She ate another soggy potato, “You shouldn’t waste this on the mage aspirants. It is saturated with aether and can help you recover your own aether more quickly.”

My eyes widened at that. She took the last piece, savoring it, and swallowed before leaving. I was left alone again. I decided to set myself in one of the small rooms off the kitchen rather than one of the larger guest rooms. It was partly because there would be a lot less to clean, and also, it was more defensible.

I cleaned for a few hours and then took a cold shower. The two mages had done an admirable job in the bath and toilets, more than earning their dinner. I felt sorry that Flora had given hers back. She needed the sustenance.

I made my bed using the weasel pelts and pulled out my griffin-down pillow to rest my head and enjoy the fresh outdoor scent. I secured the small window and door, planning to use the dreamscape amulet to determine the functions of the two summoner rings.

Before using the amulet, I consumed a major earth essence, reveling in the earthy taste and feeling a brief connection to the stone that made up the tower momentarily. Certain I was secure, I pulled out the elven tablet reader table. It was time to see my gains.

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