The Familiar

“There aren’t many rules here at the Indigo Quill,” Lina Goodberry said as she walked with Cassia toward the massive castle, “you’re all adults, after all. But the few we have are extremely important.” As they walked along, there was an increasingly familiar pop and the excitable halfling was now sitting on top of a short stone wall that seemed to stretch quite a distance in either direction. “This here wall marks the edge of the academy grounds. You are not permitted to be outside of these walls unless escorted by one of our staff members. There are inquisitors patrolling the grasslands outside the wall, and trust me when I say you do not want to get caught by them.”

She popped back next to Cassia and continued skipping alongside her. “The second rule is simple, while using magic and casting spells is permitted within the school, you may not use magic to willfully harm any other student or staff member.

“Thirdly, unless stricken with sickness or having permission from the instructor or headmistress, you are not allowed to miss your lectures. You are expected to be on-time, and prepared for each lesson.

“Finally, you will be given robes to wear. There is no strict dress code, again, you’re adults, but you are required to wear the robes and it is recommended that you keep your cloaks at least on your person. Aside from the requirement of wearing them, there is no restrictions on how you choose to wear them. There was a student here that used to fold them up and wear them like a sash. Weirdo he was.” Lina giggled. “They’re actually pretty useful anyway, they are enchanted to help you focus. There are a few other rules, but you’ll pick them up as you go along. Those are the most important though.”

Cassia was listening carefully. Those rules didn’t seem too unfair. “How come this academy is allowed to be so lenient when all the others are like prisons?”

“Simple, this one was around for much longer than the silly ones the inquisitors build. That and our headmistress is pretty powerful, the royal family of Faulka would need to have a damn good reason to stop this place, because trying to do so wouldn’t go well for them, even if they succeeded.”

“She sounds scary.”

“She’s a little intimidating when you first meet her, yeah, but she’s more of a stick in the mud than anything else. Just remember she always has your best interests at heart and you’ll be fine.” Lina beamed up at Cassia. She was beginning to grow a fondness for the halfling, she had literally been the kindest and most helpful person Cassia had ever met, after all.

“Am I going to be in one of your classes?”

“You could be in more than just one, I actually teach three different subjects here. Evocation, conjuration, and a class about the use of wands in general life for new students. You’ll definitely have that class with me, but I’m afraid I don’t think its likely you’ll have one of the other two.”

“Why’s that?”

Lina paused for a moment, rubbing her tiny chin thoughtfully. “Put it this way, if you were supposed to be taught conjuration or evocation, I’d expect that when you got upset in the middle of the street, there would have either been explosions or unintentional teleportation involved. I’m actually a bit of a rarity, the vast majority of sorcerers are only gifted in a single school of magic. I’m just lucky enough to be gifted in two.

“No, I’d say you’re more likely to be in an enchantment class, or maybe even illusion. Which isn’t a bad thing, those instructors are no Lina Goodberry, but they’re still great teachers.” She smiled up at Cassia again.

“We aren’t taught all magic?”

“Heavens no.” Lina laughed. “Well, I mean you’re taught about the other subjects, but you won’t be learning any spells from the others. It’s not likely you’d even be able to cast them at all, even the most powerful sorcerers can only learn the absolute basic spells from other schools besides their specialization.”

Cassia was almost confused about Lina’s use of the word “school” when in the presence of an academy, but she had read in a book that the different kinds of magic were divided into different categories called “schools”. She was glad that she was entering this place with at least some knowledge about magic, even if it was a bare essential amount.

They had reached a pair of massive wooden doors that surely marked one of the castle’s entrances, probably the main one. Lina rummaged around in her robes for a moment, even tucking a hand briefly in her cleavage before shaking her head. “Blast it, where did I put that thing? Ah-ha!” Finally, she produced what looked like a wand from her cloak. It was only about a foot long, but in the hands of the halfling it looked more like a sword.

She pointed it at the door and with a flourish of her wrists, the door began to open on its own. Cassia watched in amazement as the two doors opened just enough for the two of them to squeeze inside.

She found herself in a massive entrance hall. A long bluish-purple rug extended from the door toward a set of stairs. On either side of the rug were nine statues, carved from stone, that stood fifteen feet high, each depicting a sorcerer or sorceress standing tall and confidently.

“These are the ten founders of this academy. Between all of them, the ten schools of magic are represented. Abjuration, evocation, conjuration, divination, transmutation, enchantment, alchemy, necromancy, illusion, and malcantment.” Lina said.

Cassia counted the statues again as she passed. “There’s only nine.” She said.

“Oh, right, I forgot.” Lina pointed to an empty space at the end of the line on the right, where a pedestal stood without a statue atop it. “Ever since the inquisitors came along, we haven’t been allowed to display Gaulder Redlock. His specialization was malcantment, which the royal family aren’t keen on. We still have the statue here somewhere, just in case they change their mind. Our headmistress wouldn’t let them destroy it.”

“What’s malcantment?” Cassia asked as they approached the staircase.

“Uh,” Lina hesitated, “demonic magic.” She said simply, and Cassia knew at once why the inquisitors might not be keen on the idea. “Our headmistress says that despite the controversy, Gaulder Redlock is an important part of the school’s history.” That made sense. The idea of destroying a statue just because its likeness used demonic magic didn’t sit right with Cassia either. Doing so wouldn’t change anything about the past, after all.

When they reached the steps, they began to climb up to a landing where a statue of another sorcerer stood.

“That’s our headmistress, Valaryn.” Lina said, beaming up at the stonework, featuring a rather intense-looking elven woman with sharp features and an elegant gown that showed off a fair bit of skin on her slim and athletic frame. Cassia had read that elven society had much less restrictive views on clothing than other races, which explained the outfit. Cassia couldn’t help but find the appearance rather hauntingly beautiful.

“This way then.” Lina tugged on Cassia’s sleeve and began to lead her to the right. To either side of the landing were a pair of archways leading into incredibly long corridors. She was currently being led down one of those corridors. “Now, before anything else, we need to find out what your classes are going to be, and what school you’ll be specializing in. This means we will also be getting you your familiar!”

“What’s that?” Cassia asked.

“Well, us sorcerers perform magic by manipulating and changing mana, which is an invisible substance that is in the air all around us. This can be done anytime by those with sorcerous blood anytime they are upset or under duress, but manipulating magic in this way is often unpredictable and impossible to control. In order to have full control over mana you need a conduit, something to help gather and channel mana in the way you want it to. That’s what a familiar is! Without your familiar close by, you won’t be able to cast your spells nearly as effectively or even at all. The familiar will often also be a pretty big clue as to what school of magic you’re best at.”

That made sense, as far as Cassia knew.

“Here we are!” The two of them had stopped in front of a wooden door, one that looked like most of the other doors in this hall so far, and Lina pulled it open, gesturing for Cassia to enter.

This room was fairly large, and Cassia got the impression it was used for small gatherings rather than actual teaching. There were no tables or chairs, but along the walls to either side of the room were raised steps that appeared to be spots for people to sit and observe what was happening in the center of the room. Several people were already in those spots, not many, but a handful chatting amongst themselves quietly.

The two people who stood out the most in this room, however, were against the very back wall. One of them stood out because Cassia immediately recognized her as the same elven woman whose statue stood at the top of the stairs. She looked at Cassia with intense, green eyes and pulled a lock of her silvery hair behind her long, pointed ear as she did. Perched on her shoulder was the most beautiful multicolored bird that Cassia had ever seen. Its head was a bright red color, and the farther down its body its hue shifted through the entire spectrum of color until it reached the tips of its tailfeathers which were vivid purple. It was also a rather large bird, and it cocked its head curiously at the newcomers as they entered.

The headmistress was not the only one in the room who stood out, however, sitting cross-legged on the floor next to her was a woman with olive skin with long braided black hair. Her robes were very ornate, with little embroideries all over the material and small coins connected by string hanging from many loose parts of the dark purple fabric. When Cassia got closer, she noticed that the woman had faint tattooed markings that covered every inch of skin that was visible. The woman was wearing a veil over her mouth connected to a hood of the fancy fabric over her head. Wrapped around her forehead was a silver circlet, the center of which held an eye-like design with an amethyst for an iris.

“Hello professor Zeria, and headmistress Valaryn, what are you doing here?” Lina asked, trotting up to the two of them.

“Zeria informed me that we’d be getting a new student. I’m just here to observe, don’t mind me.” The tall elven woman said in a hauntingly gorgeous voice that reminded Cassia vaguely of a violin.

“Right, well, we should get started. I bet you’re excited to meet your new familiar, aren’t you Cassia?”

Cassia gulped, stepping a bit closer. “Uh, so what exactly is the familiar going to look like?” She asked.

The three of them looked between each other, then back at Cassia.

Valaryn was the first to speak. “That entirely depends. It can be in one of two categories, either a creature, like my bird here, or it can be an object, like Zeria’s circlet. There’s not really any way of knowing which it will be until it happens.”

Cassia nodded. She then imagined herself walking around the halls of the castle with a bird like Valaryn’s perched on her shoulder. It didn’t seem to suit her very much. On the either hand, neither did a circlet like Zeria’s. Curious, Cassia looked at Lina. “What is your familiar?”

“I actually have two!” Lina beamed. “I told ya I had two specializations, well that means I also have two familiars. Pretty cool right?” She showed Cassia her tiny hand, on one of her fingers was a small iron ring, fairly unassuming. “This is the one that lets me use conjuration and uh…” She trailed off, looking around frantically.

“You did not bring your fire with you when you left.” Zeria finally spoke. Her voice was low and had a slight accent to it that Cassia didn’t recognize, it wasn’t too heavy for her to understand, however.

“Oh! Right, I didn’t think I would need it.” Suddenly Lina popped out of existence momentarily, and then returned a second later holding an iron lantern that was literally half of her size. Inside the glass tube of the lantern burned a blue flame that didn’t seem to have any source. “Here’s my other one! The familiar is actually the flame, more convenient to keep it in the lantern, though. Doesn’t set things on fire that way.”

Valaryn had a slight smile on her face that told Cassia that this had been a problem before.

“We should begin.” Zeria said, looking at Cassia with a rather intent expression. “Come here.”

Cassia stepped closer as Lina brandished another wand, this one looked much different, and had little groove-marks all over it in ornate patterns. It looked very old. “So, I’m gonna use this wand to search your soul—don’t worry, you won’t feel anything—to see what your ideal familiar is. Then I’m gonna use some good ole’ conjuration magic to make it appear! Then Zeria is gonna use her divination goodies to tell you what your school is. Just stand still and relax.”

Cassia obeyed, standing as still as she could manage and staying quiet. She even closed her eyes and tried to imagine what her familiar might be. It could be a staff, pretty classic tool for a sorcerer, she supposed. Might be a ring or a necklace. It could also be a creature, she remembered. So maybe a cat or a dog. She never seemed to get along with animals though.

Then her mind wandered to what school of magic she might have. Lina said she was likely to have enchantment or illusion. She wasn’t entirely sure what those were yet, but they sounded more subtle than throwing fireballs or shooting lightning bolts. Transmutation sounded nice, she liked the idea of being able to change her appearance at will, she might be able to make herself even more feminine.

Suddenly, Cassia became aware of a bright flash beyond her closed eyelids, and she opened them just in time to hear a small clanging noise like something metal just fell onto the stone floor in front of her. Looking down she saw none of the things she had imagined, instead was a knife.

Looking around first to make sure she was allowed to, she knelt down and picked up the blade a bit hesitantly. It had a glinting gold hilt with rubies embedded into the beautiful crosspiece. The strangest part of this dagger was its blade, which was made of a strange jet-black metal she couldn’t identify. It looked extremely sharp.

“Whoa, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a knife familiar.” Lina said.

Somewhat hesitantly, Cassia saw Zeria reach out her arm. Instead of the stern expression she had been wearing until this point, she had a shocked look on her face. Did she already know something about the familiar?

Cassia handed it to her, and Zeria looked at it. Her eyes became half-lidded for a moment and then they shot open again with such a start that she dropped the dagger and once again it clanged in front of Cassia.

Varalyn had a look of concern on her face, Lina had a look of mild curiosity.

“You okay, Zeria?” the halfling asked.

“What is her school?” the elf asked, with a strained tone that made Cassia think the headmistress already knew the answer.

There was a pause as the divination professor stood up straight and looked Cassia dead in the eyes, her own black ones wavering slightly in what Cassia almost thought was fear.

“You have very difficult days ahead of you, Des’Cantier.” She said, shakily. “I don’t need to have the gift of foresight to know it, either. Your school,” she swallowed and looked away with a pained expression, “is malcantment.”

---

“You ought to know,” began Valaryn as she walked with Cassia down the corridors, escorting her to the girls’ dormitories, “that you have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Cassia looked up at her, and while her head was facing totally forward, the headmistress’ eyes were looking at her.

“You cannot help that your school is malcantment any more than I can help that I am an elf.”

“But it’s demonic magic. Doesn’t that mean it’s evil?”

“That’s what the inquisitors say.” Valaryn said. “But you’ll find they are very selective about the facts and use blatant opinion to fill in the rest. When you begin your lessons tomorrow, our malcantment instructor will explain it better, I’m sure. This way.” She pointed down a corridor to their right.

“You’re allowed to teach it here?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. You’ll understand tomorrow. For now, what you need to know is that you should hold your head up in pride, and not let this bother you. And you should sleep easily knowing you won’t be expelled or captured by the inquisitors just because you will be performing malcantment.” Finally, they had reached a pair of double doors that marked the entrance to the girls’ dormitories. “Just get some good night’s rest. Your room is on the first floor, room thirteen. You will have a roommate, but she is quite nice, I’m sure you won’t have much trouble with her.”

Cassia nodded.

“Your schedule for tomorrow will be in the common room first thing in the morning along with a map of the school to help you get around. Remember to be timely, a certain degree of tardiness is likely to be expected for the first few days, but I urge you not to make it a habit.” Valaryn said sternly. “Have a good night, Des’Cantier.” She then nodded and turned back around to glide back through the corridors from whence they came.

Cassia stared at the door. She had not fully processed what had happened until just now, she was still recovering from the shock. She was reminded of one of the vicious rumors that had been spread about her in Greenwall, about her performing dark magic. It would seem that the villagers had been accidentally right.

She wondered if she should keep it a secret from her roommate, or the other people in the dormitory. Then again, she wasn’t sure what she would tell them instead. She wouldn’t be able to fake it as time went on. Perhaps they had the same mentality as Valaryn and wouldn’t think it was a big deal.

There was only one way to find out for sure. Cassia conjured up her bravery and squared her shoulders, then gave the double doors a hearty push. They didn’t budge. Blinking, she wondered if they were locked. Then, taking a closer look at the doors she realized with some degree of embarrassment that they were to be pulled open and not pushed.

She pulled one of the doors open, with slightly less vigor and bravery, and sighed with relief when this time it opened like it should have.

Cassia entered a large, circular room. Along the walls of this room were three stories of walkways that wrapped around the tower. Behind a number of columns, presumably to hold up the ledges above, surrounding each floor were doors that had large golden numbers on the front. There was a total of nine doors per floor, including on the ground floor.

The center of the tower, however, was all open air, letting Cassia see each floor above and some of the doors as well. In addition, there was a fire pit in the very center with a number of cushioned and comfortable-looking chairs and couches surrounding it. Farther from the fire were a spattering of round wooden tables with wooden chairs surrounding them. The columns were lined with torches, letting some additional light spill out throughout the room.

There were a few people in the common room, and all of them turned to glance at Cassia before returning to their work or conversations. This was their initial reaction, but as soon as they realized that they didn’t recognize the newcomer, most of them did double-takes.

Cassia just stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do now. She became painfully aware, for the first time since her arrival, that she was still in a dress that belonged to her mother. She probably stood out a considerable deal. She decided to glance around the room a bit more rather than address any of the people looking at her.

Two of the women in the room got up from a couch that was facing the fire pit, away from Cassia. One of the women simply stood up and began walking around it, the other, however, acrobatically leapt off the couch and over the back of it, striding up to her.

“Oi,” said the one walking toward her, a tan-skinned woman with short, messy, fiery copper hair. She was wearing a set of grey robes without sleeves and a number of tears and cuts along the fabric, “who the hell are you?” she asked, leaning forward and peering closely at Cassia with a pair of sparkling gold eyes.

“Uh,” Cassia began, taking a step back, “C-Cassia Des’Cantier.” She replied. “I’m uh, new.”

The fiery haired woman grinned, and she stood up straight, folding her well-toned arms across her chest, her breasts getting pushed up slightly in the process. “Oh, a newcomer, eh?”

Cassia nodded. By this point the other woman had made her way to them. This girl was a stark contrast to her companion, she was thin and slender, with pale skin and pitch-black hair that fell beyond her shoulders in long, straight locks. Her robes were also grey, and though they looked to be in much better condition, they looked a bit too large for her thin frame. The robes were tightly wrapped around her waist, but the hem fell to either side of her chest, exposing her slender neck and bony shoulders.

“What’s with her hair?” The slender woman reached up one of her hands to brush along Cassia’s blood-red hair with a bony, sharp-nailed hand. “And those eyes too, she just got here and she’s already showing off.”

At this, the copper-haired woman made a motion to spit to the side, but instead of saliva, a small jet for flame licked the air, making Cassia jump backward instinctively. She then grinned a large, toothy grin at her reaction.

“I-I’m not showing off, I was born like this.” Cassia said, slightly offended.

“Those aren’t natural colors, missy.” Said the fire-spitter.

“Right.” Said the thin woman, chuckling slightly.

Cassia could sense that this situation was dangerous, she’d dealt with too much of this kind of thing, and she wasn’t going to put up with it.

“I need to go to my room.” Cassia said dismissively and started to walk away from them.

“Not so fast.” The copper-haired girl said, grabbing Cassia’s arm.

“If you’re new we need to have a little fun with you, first.” The black-haired woman said, wickedly, pulling a small, glass vial filled with a strange green liquid. “I made this potion earlier, but silly me, I’ve completely forgotten what it does.” She said in an overly-dramatic tone that made clear she was not being truthful in the slightest.

Cassia panicked, and she tried her best to wrench her way out of her captor’s grip. Doing so only seemed to make it worse, however, as the golden-eyed woman slipped behind her and looped her strong arms under Cassia’s shoulders and held her in place as the other woman popped the cork off of the vial and slowly moved toward her, clearly enjoying herself and whatever look and Cassia’s face she must have had.

Suddenly Cassia felt something against her leg, and then her thigh, then her waist. Something was wrapping around her, but she didn’t bother looking down to see what it was. She didn’t want to know. But the thin woman noticed it, she looked momentarily surprised, and the woman behind Cassia seemed to get a shock too, since she immediately let go with such suddenness that Cassia actually fell to her knees on the ground.

She then saw it next to her head. It was jet-black and scaly, with a pair of striking emerald green eyes with slit-like pupils. It was a snake. A large snake too, a python, Cassia guessed. Fear crept over her body like she had just been drizzled with ice-cold water. She stood perfectly still, not wanting to startle the creature, but her lip was quivering now.

“Oh, it’s only Nightshade.” The black-haired woman laughed a bit and looked relieved. “You scared me, you minx.” She said.

“Oh, does Nightshade want to join in the hazing?” Cassia heard the fiery-haired girl say from behind her.

“Well, keep her still then.” The thin woman began walking toward Cassia again, but the snake stopped her. It opened its jaw and let out a loud hiss, baring its long fangs at the woman.

She stopped dead. “What—”

“Tetra, Kazelda, what are you two up to?” A siren’s song of a voice came from behind the black-haired woman, who turned to look that way.

Cassia was once again stunned. Walking toward them from a small outcropping in the wall, which looked like it had a spiral staircase inside it, was another woman who was wholly unlike either of the other two. She was absolutely beautiful, with long, silvery-blonde hair that hung down to her waist, and a pair of green eyes that sparkled almost just like the snake currently wrapped around Cassia. What shocked Cassia the most about this woman wasn’t her beauty, though it certainly helped, it was that she was completely naked. It was the first time Cassia had seen another nude body besides her own.

The woman’s body, which was fairly curvaceous with large, teardrop-shaped breasts and a general hourglass-figure, dripped with what Cassia could only assume was water, she looked like she just got out of the bath as her hair was likewise wet and sticking to her fair skin.

“Nothing serious, Sev, just messing around with this newcomer a bit.” The copper-haired girl said.

“Just some harmless fun.” The other said, shrugging and then shooting Cassia a look.

“Harmless, hmm?” the naked woman strode closer, and in a movement that was just as graceful as it was swift, she snatched the vial from the black-haired woman’s hand and looked at it. “Guess you wouldn’t mind then…” She lifted the vial up and made like she was about to drink it.

“Wait, no!” The pale woman lurched forward, and the nude woman stopped, giving her a knowing smile.

“Not so harmless after all, then?” She handed the vial back to the woman. “Cork that back up before you hurt someone, Tetra.” Finally, she reached Cassia, still on her knees, still shocked and too scared to move. The nude woman let out a soft chuckle and a smile that Cassia couldn’t help but think was absolutely enchanting. “Listen, you have nothing to worry about. Nightshade was protecting you.”

Cassia looked at her. “Nightshade?” She asked.

“My familiar.” The woman nodded to the python. “You ought to know, she has never done that for anyone but me before. She really likes you. Love at first sight, I’d say.”

“Oh. So, she’s not going to hurt me?” Cassia asked.

The snake, evidently named Nightshade, turned her head to look at Cassia, staring at her with a look that she could have sworn was indignation.

“Not a single hair.” Said the woman, and then she held out her hand for Cassia to grab. She took the hand and was hoisted back up to the ground. As she was, Nightshade slithered from Cassia to the woman using their arms as a bridge, slinking and wrapping around her instead. “My name is Sevantis Vanth, by the way, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Um, I’m Cassia Des’Cantier.”

“Come, let’s head up to your room, you must be tired.” Sevantis turned to the others. “You two should head back to your rooms too.”

The fiery-haired woman made a grunt of acknowledgement, but the black-haired woman simply tutted and strode away with her friend.

“I apologize for their behavior.” Sevantis said.

“Don’t. I get the feeling the only reason you stopped them was because of your familiar.” Cassia said, cynically.

Sevantis shot her a glance. “You’re not wrong.”

“Why did you even bother, then?”

“I more-or-less already told you. Nightshade seems to like you, and she has much higher standards than I do. If she likes you, then I’m sure to like you.”

“So, you only stopped them because you like me?”

Sevantis smiled at Cassia. “I stopped them because I would like to be your friend, Cassia.” She corrected. “But, friendship is obviously a two-way street. If you don’t wish to associate with me, I won’t argue, and I’ll make sure those ladies will leave you alone. The door is always open, though.”

Cassia didn’t reply, she honestly didn’t know how to respond to that. Something about this woman was very genuine, and some part of her appreciated that.

“What is your room number?” She asked as they reached the first floor.

“Thirteen.” Cassia said.

“Ah, this floor then.” She stepped ahead, leading Cassia along, who couldn’t help but stare at Sevantis’ rear, which was wobbling rather hypnotically as she walked.

“Doesn’t it bother you to be naked?” Cassia asked.

“And why should it?” Sevantis replied, smiling back at her. “I get it, it’s not normal behavior. I suppose it would be enough to say that my mother is an elf, and I take after her more than my father.”

“You’re a half-elf?”

In reply, Sevantis simply pulled back her hair behind her ear, revealing that it came to a point. It wasn’t as pronounced as Valaryn’s but it was noticeable without the hair in the way. This made more sense then, elves were generally more free-spirited when it came to clothes or lack thereof.

“In any case, I like my body, and it would be a shame to not show it off.” She grinned back at her follower. “You’ll get used to me being like this, I’m sure; and don’t worry, I don’t mind the staring.”

Even though she had basically just given permission, Cassia still looked up and flushed with embarrassment.

“Here we are.” At last they had reached a door with a golden 13 on it. “I think your roommate is out for the evening, but I’m sure you’ll meet her tomorrow. Have a good night.” Sevantis said and then strode away from Cassia, almost gliding in a similar way that Valaryn did.

Cassia opened the door and peered into her new quarters. As the room was at the edge of a circular tower, it had a slight curve to it, appearing to bulge outward at the back wall. Parallel to each wall on the left and right side of the room were a pair of beds, the one on the right looked well-used and frequently slept in, which, in addition to all of the decorations and maroon-colored accents that covered the entire right half of the room, gave Cassia the distinct impression that it was her roommate’s side of the room.

By contrast, the left side was completely devoid of decoration. It consisted of a single bed, suitable for one person, a writing desk complete with a wooden chair, a dresser with four drawers, and an armoire.

Folded neatly on top of Cassia’s bed was a set of grey robes like the two harassers were wearing, and a thick, black cloak she assumed was for bad weather. In addition, there as a haversack that Cassia spent at least ten minutes examining, as it appeared to have much more space inside of it than it looked to have, and no matter what she put into it, the sack seemed to remain the same weight.

Finally, there was a quill and a bottle of ink, several rolls of parchment, and five textbooks titled “A Brief History of the Indigo Quill”, “A Beginner’s Guide to Magic”, “What’s the Point of Wands?”, and a curious black leather book titled simply “Malcantment I”.

Even though Cassia knew she should read these books, or at least skim them before her first classes tomorrow, she was too tired, and decided to sleep instead.

While her bed was nowhere near as comfortable as the one in the Des’Cantier manor, she slept more soundly in this bed simply because it wasn’t in that dreadful place.