Chapter 18: School Yard Politics

Several days since coming here and Jeff was off to a great start. His studies had proceeded at a good pace, far outpacing his brother's middling study regime. Annie also seemed much more eager for him and in ways she had never been before. The second day she came into his room late at night and knocked him down.

Before he could get his bearings enough to ask what she was doing, she had her brown working dress up and white panties around her knees. Pinning him to the floor with her legs on his shoulders, the dark red haired woman grabbed his head and forced his mouth to get a taste of her womanhood. She even growled a 'suggestion' that he use his tongue and had continued this practice every several days. They had the time for this game because his love life was thankfully not official here yet.

The 'service' was basically making higher level male mages into studs. He was dreading having to deal with the emotional roller coaster of having children before he felt he was ready with women he barely knew. However, the paper work was getting held up and with out it the women would not be guaranteed state support if they got with child so he wasn't getting swarmed, yet. Andrew and Ryan clearly had their paper work sail through, not that the women had even bothered waiting. Even without government support from the west coast the child of a scion,as opposed to one sired by a caster, would open enough doors that they were basically set for life just from the benefits afforded locally.

He was heading out the door of his academy house with Annie. They had a late breakfast with platters of sausages and eggs washed down with milk. As they were making for the gate, Ryan came out of his house to the right.

"Hey where's Andrew?" Ryan called, stretching in his robes as he accompanied them to the gate.

"Andrew is-" Annie started.

"Silence, peasant. Know your place when the betters are speaking." Ryan cut her off. He completed the put down with a scowl, a look of clear contempt in his green eyes.

Jeff's right eye twitched and his hand automatically went to his left hip. Realizing he wasn't allowed to carry his sword on campus, he managed to reign in his temper before the impulse to try out the fireball spell he had been practicing could take over. This was just the latest incident in Ryan's long line of slights against Annie.

"I am sorry, sir" Annie gave a slight bow, in her brown business dress. If anything that just made Jeff angrier, seeing his woman having to take an insult on the chin in such a manner.

"No I haven't seen him." Jeff growled out. Ryan was surprised at the irritation. Figuring it was just another of Jeff's mood swings, he moved on ahead.

Jeff gave Annie's hand a light squeeze and a look in the eyes with as much love as he could muster. Annie got a slight blush and returned a hug.

"Listen, just focus on your studies. The coalition cant afford several of its top talents fighting. Just focus on what you need to do". After a light pat on his back, she headed off for her work shift at the MPF office.

Jeff then made his way towards the group waiting to get to the classrooms. When they arrived the same lady that divided them up on the first day did so again. This time he ended up with Andrew, who apparently managed to arrive on time. The others were Eli, and Veronica's friends Eska and Mia.

Eli was someone who had caught his attention these past few days and apparently Jeff wasn't the only one with an eye on this oddity. The man had apparently completed his first craft on his first day. Something that should have taken a week or more. Although to be fair to the other students the rumors said he was focusing solely on crafting studies forgoing history, material gathering and other courses needed to get the certification to go out into the world as a mage.

ELi's behavior had also changed over the course of the week. He seemed to be mystified by what he was reading at times, more in disbelief rather than lacking in understanding. Then later on he seemed more disappointed than anything else. The past day he would see some joy mix with the disappointment in those purple eyes with his movement becoming more relaxed. Of course, Jeff was pretty much the only person who had the time to notice this, one of the perks of crunching hard in the first few days.

::

The day went through its typical motions for the students but this day was anything but typical for their headmaster Tansen. The elf had arrived covered in a cloak and snuck past the guards into the academy. When he knocked on the towers main door he had nearly given the poor receptionist a heart attack. His very voice was imbued with magical power, the brown and green tunic with matching pants was imbued with a fantastic amount of mana crystals. The impossible grace with which he moved up the stairs towards the main office when he was let in left no doubt as to his race.

Aki however immediately knew something was wrong as he looked him over in the head office. The man had all the grace and what he assumed was the power of an elf. His long blond hair, sharp ears and cheek bones, mixed together with his dark green eyes gave the typical impression of a member of his race.

But he seemed to lack their more ageless and mystical qualities. His skin wasn't impossibly smooth and his eyes didn't have the faint glow that the elves Aki had dealt with in the past possessed. Of course, he had the sense to say none of this out loud or ask him about it.

"Good day, I am Tansen. How might we assist the elven people today?" Tansen asked. They had talked yesterday on what the elvish etiquette was and what of it would apply to this situation. It turns out that while elves greeting and social ques were very complex and intricate among themselves, when outsiders were dealing with them it was best to stick to the short and sweet of it. They felt that the 'lesser' races wasting their time was an insult.

"Two weeks ago my brother left for parts unknown. He said that he would be back in one. When we traced his movements through our territory we found that his trail lead to somewhere in this region. We are requesting a wide area search as discreetly as possible. If he is not found within 3 weeks we will make this man hunt public with a sizable bounty" Dior said, in a quick precise manner.

"We have a ceremony around that time, would you be willing to make it 2 and a half weeks so we can get the word out as far as possible?" Tansen asked.

"Yes" the response given, Dior then immediately pulled out a sheet with the sketch of an elf on the desk. His long black hair aside, the imposing figure told of an older, more powerful version of Dior. The elf then went out from whence he came and made off down the stairs.

Aki then immediately laid out his impressions of the elf to Tansen.

"That elf looks abnormal, the typical elf has skin smooth as a new born and their eyes are supposed to slightly shine with their elements color. Any task from an elf is difficult and they almost never tell you the whole story. A task being weird for the get go from a weird elf? I don't like it." Aki said.

"Well it's a little late for that. If we ask him about it, he may very well kill the questioner for his offense. This is actually on the easier end of the tasks he could have 'requested' from us. Just sending out a bunch of troops in the woods to look for someone is about as easy as it gets." Tansen said as he tapped the desk absentmindedly.

Shortly there after, a knock was heard at the door. A guard poked his head in.

"Sir, an irate man claiming to be the head of the scion Ryan's household is demanding to be let in".

Tansen sighed and savored his temporary silence for a long moment before motioning for the man to be let in.

The man was 5'9 with a long chin, his long brown hair mussed over to the right of his head coming down to his shoulders. The white undershirt and black coat/pants ensemble had an immaculate attention to it's finest details. All of which was slightly undone by his manic run. His cheek bones had Ryan's sharpness, but that was about the only feature they shared. To his wire thin frame or his brown eyes to his son's dark green, Ryan seems to have taken very little from his fathers line.

" This outrage will not stand Tansen. Do you hear me? We Stones are not a family to be trifled with." He exclaimed.

" Mister Leeroy, please stop and tell me what this is about." Tansen replied with cold politeness.

"That crafting piece-of-shit. He dared impugn on our standing. I want a full accounting for my family's honor". Leeroy responded, his thin body showing tinges of red all over his face and body.

Tansen looked to Aki for an explanation.

"Ah apparently there was an incident a few days ago between Ryan and a new crafter. But I thought the incident had been amicably resolved".

Leeroy gave a slight cough and adjusted his white collar.

"My boy has always been on the softer side. The cur actually insulted him in front of the president's boys. So the student will be paying some kind of restitution for our damages"

Tansen was actually rendered speechless for a moment. An impressive feat considering how jaded he considered himself to be when it comes to human stupidity.

"This is my academy, you're son is a PART of MY academy. DO NOT TRY TO TELL ME HOW MY STUDENTS WILL BE DEALT WITH!" At the end Tansen actually got up off of his seat to stand straight. At this loud noise , a blue shimmering bird flew in through the door. It looked around quickly then left when it deemed Leefroy to be too weak to threaten its partner.

Leeroy then shrank back, putting up his hands defensively. As he was trying to stammer out some excuse, a voice pierced the exchange.

"Whatever his authority, he is right if the Fulton boys take an ill view of Ryan because of this. We can't allow the golden eggs to knock against each other."

The source of the voice was Agatha, the late 30's president of the Fronts regional branch. The woman was in a tight black working dress with brown gloves with her blond hair put into a bun. She had the same blue eyes as her daughter Veronica but the harsh edges of her facial bones were a stark contrast to her daughters almost heart shaped face. She had been content to stand in the doorway for most of this exchange until now.

"This could be a good opportunity to let the scions expand their experiences with people outside of their parents and kiss asses. They need to learn that not everyone will be so eager to please them " Tansen said tensely, feeling for the first time he was not fully in control of this conversation.

"Oh please, why should a scion need to take shit from their lesser fellows?" Agatha asked, amused at the very notion.

Leeroy gave a smug grin of agreement. But Tansen just sat back in his chair and sighed.

"A scion is a mighty existence, but our magic level is not a guarantor of success every time, all the time. They are young and when you spend your gestation surrounded by people constantly sucking up to your future greatness, it is a rare person that doesn't turn rotten from the deluge of verbal sugar. So this academy must be the cold splash of reality before they bring such ruinous attitudes into the real world. "

This drew a pause of consideration from Agatha. Leeroy didn't seem convinced but whatever his delusions, he knew not to interpose himself between these two exemplars of power and strength.

"Magical power is what matters in the end. But I suppose a little tussle won't hurt at this stage. However I will be personally keeping tabs on those boys from now on." She said after a moment of contemplation.

"Don't you mean keep tabs on all the scions?" Tansen replied.

Agatha smiled in self-satisfaction. "Now why would I need to monitor my own daughter? She's better than the petty squabbles of boys whose greatest achievement is between their legs."

Tansen caught the sting at the end. Normally he would let it slide without comment but Leeroy had made him more irritable than usual and decided to give as good as he got. He closed his eyes and gave a light laugh as he leaned back, shaking his head the whole time.

"The sheer number of parents who walk through that door telling me all the stuff their kids could and couldn't do is always a good reminder of how stupid people are. A few years back there was this one low noble, thought she could crap mana crystals because in her whole extended family she was the first to produce a caster talent child. But her little gift to the world thought he was so special that he could steal from the market at the Base and get off scott-free, which in the end he kind-of did. The mother came in yelling about how we screwed it up and how her wonderful little boy couldn't possibly do something like that."

Tansen took a moment to close his eyes and pucked his lips, tutting at the women's stupidity.

"So we made a wager, if the boy didn't steal it then he would be let free. Even get some compensation for his humiliation at the false accusation. If he was found guilty, then she would have to be whipped at the post."

The headmaster then leaned forward and put his elbows on his desk with his hands holding up his head.

"Sure enough the cock sure mother agreed. Then the boy was brought in and sure enough, after just a little bit of pressure, he cracked and agreed to show us the stump in the forest were he stashed his ill-gotten goods. Then, sure enough, that poor mother who put all her faith in her precious little boy, got stripped and whipped at the center of the market."

"The students are almost grown adults. They spend almost a week conscious once a month for a few years being nursed by their loved ones and servants. But despite their parents best efforts, they still have their own desires and thoughts. When you come into my office to try and extract her from some stupid nonsense, don't be so sure you know everything about how she thinks and feels."

Agatha's jaw tightened but she did not deign to respond. She just gave a light bow and walked out the door. Seeing that he wouldn't have any luck in getting his way, Leeroy followed behind her.

Tansen sighed, then looked to Aki.

"Remember when we traveled the roads? Spirits, I remember when I could just punch these kind of people and that would be the end of it."

His friend laughed. Putting his left hand behind his back displaying a white sheet undergarment under his staff robe, more similar to the students than the regular staff pants and shirt, he stroked his grey beard with the other hand.

" Well the beds were certainly more trouble though. But I told you, when you integrated the schools with the adventurers guild that would mean you also get the parents."

"I know but I was hoping that the presence of the Front would help dissuade them from being so aggressive with their complaints " Tansen pouted as he mused on simpler times.

"Even back home, you knew what the Front is like. Pushing the magic abilities of mankind is all they care about. So, if they think that letting, or even helping the parents complain will push their goal they'd do it. Your headaches be dammed." Aki said, looking at his charge with pity.

::

Joey was looking at the tower when Leeroy went in like a mad bull. It wasn't a safe thing to do if some one was really paying attention to the events unfolding, but when your plan comes to fruition you want to see it first hand.

Normally student gossip wouldn't leave the academy, unless some one wanted it too. The students and faculty mostly looked at the surrounding peasant population as cattle and conversation with them was looked at like trying to strike up conversation with an uncomprehending cow. Joey and his father, Mack, were interested in getting the particular piece of gossip concerning Ryan and Eli out to Leeroy's ears though.

The father because ever since that dreaded day Leeroy stormed a local gathering of nobles, Mack wanted to try limiting Leeroy's influence in any manner he could as their lands and businesses could be brought into conflict if his neighbor grew.

The new father did nothing to dispel these concerns over his ambitions when he came through the doors of the local gathering hall like he owned the place and shouted that he was the proud father of a scion to all of the attending future unfortunates. Ever since then he would loudly barge into everyone else's business, extort 'favors' in exchange for not drawing the wrath of his sons' future might and generally be as big of an asshole as any human being could be.

However, like everything else in life, his newfound power wasn't perfect. Ryan always had features more similar to his late mother. Now, there were never any accusations of cuckoldry as the cheekbones gave the bare minimum needed to hold off such speculations. But when it comes to hereditary magical talent it is widely believed that the child's magical talent flows from the parent they most resemble.

This was an opening few were bold enough to use as they would rather keep in the good graces of what could very well be a future duke. However, Joey was a crafter which gave his father more leverage than others, as well as being much more of a risk taker than the average noble. So in a party at one of the surrounding towns he brought up the incident. Making sure to mention that Ryan's passive response would indicate his many inclinations from his mother, known widely for her gentle and caring nature when she was alive. It wasn't blatant enough that even Leeroy would rage at him, but the petty man could come down on the source of this trouble to soothe his wounded ego.

Joey's motivation was more petty than any long term strategic planning. He still harbored animosity towards Eli over the incident in the cafeteria. Ever since then Ryan avoided Joey like the plague. This loss of future connections and power he laid solely at the feet of Eli.