He sighed. "Then listen up. In this city, hell, in most of the kingdom, every youngling your age has to attend an academy and get properly tested. It's the Queen's new law. Magic isn't a toy. If you don't learn control, you can hurt yourself or worse, burn down half a street without meaning to. The academies teach you how to handle it safely, for your own good and everyone else's. No exceptions."
Before I could answer, the tavern door slammed open.
Two guards stormed in, weapons drawn—swords already half out of their sheaths. A third followed right behind them, short-bow raised and arrow nocked, the tip aimed straight at my chest. If he let that string go, the arrow would punch right between my eyes. I'd been held at gunpoint before, but this felt a hundred times worse. Cold steel instead of a barrel.
"He did nothing," Kembeliona spat, blood still dripping from his lip. "It was Niku and the other one."
"Again?" one of the sword guards exhaled, lowering his blade a fraction. "Damn idiots…"
The archer eased the bow down, but kept the arrow ready. "We'll take it from here. Let's get him to a healer, boys."
I nodded quickly. "Yeah… right. I'll just… go, then."
The guard with the shield stepped closer. "I'll have to put this in the report. What's your name, kid? And which academy class are you in?"
"Uh… I… I don't attend an academy, though."
All three guards exchanged a long, heavy look.
The one who'd spoken first, the shield-bearer, straightened his posture and addressed me in a calm, official tone. "Then you need to fix that immediately. The Queen's law is clear: every citizen of age must enroll in an accredited academy. Untrained magic is dangerous. People who never learn control have accidentally set fires, frozen rivers, or worse—killed bystanders without realizing what they were doing. The academies exist to prevent that. They test your affinity, teach you proper casting, and make sure you're not a threat to yourself or the kingdom. It's not optional. It's the law."
"I, uh…"
The archer lowered his bow completely and jerked his chin toward the door. "So go to Northwood. Enroll today."
"Northwood… is that the name of the academy?"
"Gods, where are you from, kid?" the archer asked, half-amused, half-exasperated. "Of course it is. The biggest and best one in the kingdom. Now get going before we have to drag you there ourselves."
"Okay, okay… I'll do that…"
I backed away slowly, heart still pounding, and headed for the door while the guards helped Kembeliona. One more thing added to the list: mandatory magic school.
Perfect. Just what I needed after nearly dying in a forest fire.
One step at a time, Ace. but one step at a time…
My original plan had been simple: use the academy's library to figure out what the hell this world even was. I never thought I'd actually have to enroll in the damn place.
This sucked. Big time.
How did enrollment even work? Did I need gold? A recommendation? Some kind of magical aptitude test? Fuck, I had a million questions and zero people to answer them. I hated walking blind into anything—especially when "anything" was a mandatory magic school run by a queen who apparently thought untrained casters were walking disasters.
I didn't know where Northwood was, but the streets were full of students in those telltale midnight-blue uniforms, all heading the same direction. I fell in behind a loose group of them, keeping my distance. What a joke this day had turned into. Tavern brawl, mandatory school, and now tailing people like some creepy stalker. Perfect.
Halfway down the street I spotted a familiar white robe.
Dierthen, head down, nose buried in a thick new book, walked right past me without looking up. She was so focused she nearly bumped into a cart.
"Hey," I said, slowing my pace to match hers. "Dierthen."
She blinked, startled, then smiled when she recognized me. "Oh. Ace. Nice to bump into each other."
"How are you?"
"Good." She nodded, closing the book with a soft snap. "Just trying to get home. Got a new spell book, on discount, too."
"Nice." I managed a small smile, then cleared my throat. "I, uh… can you give me some more time for the silver I owe you?"
She waved a hand, gentle but firm. "You don't have to rush and do stupid things to pay me, boy. I'm not going anywhere." Her eyes flicked to my clothes—still filthy from yesterday. "Going to school?"
"Yeah… I didn't know there was a law forcing everyone to enroll in an academy."
She arched an eyebrow. "You didn't know that?"
"I didn't."
"Huh…" She nodded slowly. "Well, now you do. Untamed magic is the most dangerous thing in the world, boy. One wrong spark and you burn down half a street. The Queen's law isn't cruel, it's… practical."
"Hmm." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Hey, do you know what The Circle is?"
"Rather than 'what,' it should be 'where,' boy." Her voice dropped a fraction. "The Circle is the place just outside the western forest. A big clearing, lots of… bad things in it."
"Bad things?"
"Monsters. Bad people." She met my eyes steadily. "I wouldn't recommend ever going there, kid."
"Why would anyone even go?"
"To earn gold, of course." She shrugged one shoulder. "The stuff you find in The Circle—monster parts, rare herbs, old relics—pays a lot. The guilds and alchemists pay top silver for it. But again: I wouldn't recommend it. It's way too dangerous."
"Okay," I said. "Thank you, Dierthen."
"If you're thinking about going to The Circle just to close your debt to me, consider it closed. I don't want anyone dying on my account. No way."
"I was just curious, is all."
"Good. Don't. Ever. go. There."
"Fine, fine."
She smiled, warm, tired, and patted my shoulder once. "Now I gotta go, kid. See you."
"Take care, Dierthen. And… again, thanks for the other day."
She nodded once and continued down the street, book already open again, nose back in the pages.
I watched her go for a second, then turned back toward the flow of students. Northwood. Mandatory magic school. Gods and monsters and a place called The Circle that sounded like a death trap.
I kept walking, blending into the crowd of uniforms, the weight of yesterday still clinging to me like smoke.
"Guess I'm headed to Northwood…"