Chapter 1 #2
I’d never seen so many grand temples and tall stone and brick buildings in my life. They crowded together, shoulder to shoulder, forming a mass of red-tiled roofs stretching as far as I could see on either side of the wide river.
Wide stone streets were crowded with people wearing colorful clothing, and the dozens of riverside docks were lined with ships of all sizes, from tiny skiffs to giant grain barges.
Slender towers rose here and there, thrusting upwards from the expanse of rooftops like fingers pointed at the sky.
“The tower with the golden sunburst is Solvian’s Temple,” Mama said, in reply to my question. “And that group of seven towers over there marks the Shrine of the Seven Divine Disciples. See how plain they are?”
As the ferry continued upriver, Mama continued pointing out the sights. It was clear she was very familiar with the capital.
Shortly thereafter, the ferry pulled up alongside a long dock. A large sign proclaimed, “Neapolis Capitola – Centrum.”
As soon as the ferry tied up and the gangplank went down, most of our fellow passengers streamed off the ship. They pushed past the crowd waiting impatiently to board.
We stayed where we were. According to Mama, the Imperial Academy lay another hour upriver.
I wondered if the city stretched that far.
∞∞∞
As the ferry pulled up to the dock of the Imperial Academy for the Magical Arts, I saw my normally confident, serene mother straighten her shoulders and take a deep breath, as if about to confront a difficult patient.
A pang of apprehension ran through me when I saw that she looked grimly determined rather than excited about returning to her alma mater after many years.
A pair of deckhands quickly moored the ferry and shoved the gangplank into place. Mama murmured a levitating charm. I felt a shiver of magic brush over my skin as our heavy trunks rose from the deck.
Then she led the way off the ferry and onto the dock, our luggage floating smoothly in our wake.
A man dressed in the dark blue uniform of the imperial civil service, with the academy’s logo embroidered on his chest, stood where the wooden dock met a short stone jetty built on the shore. He held a pen and a thick sheaf of papers.
He frowned at our approach. His gaze surveyed our little group and rested on Mama. “New or returning students?” he barked in Capitolan.
Though everyone in the Western Isles spoke various dialects of Abbonethy, Capitolan was the official language of the Dominion, and my sisters and I had grown up bilingual.
“New students,” Mama replied in the same language, her mask of serenity firmly back in place.
“Names?” he demanded.
Mama answered him.
He leafed rapidly through the pages he held. His frown deepened. “We have no admission records for any of those names.” His tone sounded accusing.
“My daughters were only tested a fortnight ago.” Mama reached into her leather satchel and pulled out the packet of papers that Lady Adalburga had given us.
The man’s sharp gaze returned to me. “That one looks like she should’ve been tested two or three years ago.”
I braced myself for one of Mama’s usual sharp retorts, but she kept her tone even. “True, but the Western Isles have been without a Provincial Magecraft Aptitude Examiner for the past five years. Our governor had a difficult time recruiting a qualified mage to fill the post.”
“Western Isles, eh? No wonder.” The man’s frown remained firmly in place as he scanned the papers.
“Well, you’ll need to see someone at the registrar’s office about these extremely late registrations.
” His thin lips twisted as he refolded the papers and thrust the pack at Mama.
“Good luck getting rooms in the commoners’ dormitory.
The other students all arrived a week ago.
” He pointed to the nearest building, a wide, two-story edifice made of pale stone, with marble columns that looked like the ones on the city’s temples.
“Administrative Quad is that way. The Registrar’s Office is the second door on the right side. ”
Mama nodded, then led the way up a wide, graveled path.
As we approached the building the man had pointed out, I looked around. Elegant marble columns adorned every building in sight, with pristine creamy-beige facades gleaming in the warm sunshine.
Vast parklands surrounded the campus, stretching as far as the eye could see, dotted with trees.
We passed through a tunnel-like columned archway and found ourselves in a vast courtyard with straight, flower-lined gravel paths cutting an “X” through a velvety lawn. The quad’s buildings formed the courtyard’s perimeter.
Without hesitation, Mama made a beeline for one of the many bronze doors opening onto the courtyard, as if she remembered exactly where to go from her student days.
The Registrar’s Office was housed in a long, high-ceilinged hall, its marble floor worn and dulled by many feet. Light filtered down from small windows far above, leaving the lower half of the hall in shadow. The place looked deserted.
Along one wall ran a series of narrow service windows set into dark wood panels, each window fronted by a polished brass rail.
All the windows, except one, had a shade pulled down behind it.
I saw a clerk sitting at a raised desk behind the glass of the only open window. As I followed Mama over, I saw the window and desk were both elevated, so that anyone on our side had to look up.
Mama waved her hand and lowered our trunks to the floor. Another flick of her fingers slid them out of the way, against the wall. She approached the window and stopped in front of it, her expression calm.
My sisters and I hovered nervously behind her.
The clerk ignored us for a long minute. Then, sounding annoyed, as if we were interrupting some vital task, she demanded, “Well? What do you want?”
As before, there was no greeting or any attempt at common courtesy.
Is this what the people in the capital are like? Rude and impatient?
“The registrar’s assistant down at the dock sent us here to register three new students,” Mama replied coolly.
“So late? Classes begin tomorrow,” the clerk said, her voice and expression both forbidding.
Apparently unfazed, Mama explained, “The Provincial Magecraft Aptitude Examiner’s paperwork didn’t arrive before we did, but I have copies of everything.”
The clerk heaved a sigh. “Well, that’s something, at least. Let’s see what you have.”
Mama slid her packet of papers across the window’s narrow ledge.
The clerk snatched them and spread them out on her desk. “Western Isles Province? I can’t remember the last time we accepted a student from way out there.” She pursed her lips and began reading through the forms.
For a few minutes, nothing else happened beyond an occasional, “Hm.”
Mama stood patiently, and I did my best to copy her. Behind me, Mira and Juno whispered, “What’s going on?” “Are they going to send us home with Mama?” and other annoying questions.
Since we didn’t have any answers, Mama and I both ignored them.
After what felt like an eternity, the clerk looked up.
“I’ve never seen such sloppy paperwork. I guess they only send the very best people out to those gods-forsaken islands.
” She sniffed. “At least this Examiner Adalburga included a list of your daughters’ magical affinities, so they won’t have to be tested again. ”
“All three girls have a major affinity with Wood magic, and lesser affinities with Water, Earth, and Air,” Mama confirmed. “Multiple affinities is why Lady Adalburga awarded them an imperial scholarship.”
The clerk grimaced. “Using old forms, and without the provincial governor’s signature and seal.
” She plucked three of the pages from Mama’s packet and shoved them back through the window.
“I can’t accept these. Examiner Adalburga will have to resubmit the scholarship forms using the correct paperwork and approvals. ”
Mama’s calm facade cracked. Her hazel eyes snapped with irritation. “So, you’re denying my daughters admission to the academy?”
The clerk shook her head. “No. But you’ll have to pay their meals and housing fees up-front.”