Master and Apprentice

It had been a few days since his arrival on Avalonne-du-Prix, and Caspian had settled into a comfortable routine. In addition to his classes, which he quickly realized would pose no trouble whatsoever, he made sure to adhere to his training regimen. This would prove more challenging, as Caspian wished to train in isolation for a multitude of reasons and the campus gym was full nearly every hour of the day—and Caspian was never one to give up a good night's rest—so he resorted to training in an unused, forgotten practice arena during the small hours of the morning.

While mixed martial arts was his preference, Caspian did not limit himself to one field alone: he trained in swordplay, gunplay, riflery, archery, and practically any other method used to snuff out the spark of life. Such was second nature to him, for this was the way in which he had been raised.

He was in the midst of his daily martial discipline training when one of his ravens landed on the edge of the field.

[Master, the one you rescued is drawing near.]

[Thank you, Raphael. Leave us.]

So, she finally came, huh?

Without pausing his training, Caspian kept a keen eye on the edge of the arena, waiting for the aura of the girl to appear.

A few minutes later, he sensed the change he was awaiting.

Without stopping or missing a beat, he asked the girl:

"Why are you following me?"

She stopped, startled, unaware that he had already noticed her, but then continued towards him.

"You noticed?"

"Are you surprised?"

He stopped his exercises and stood, taking a few moments to catch his breath.

"…no," she admitted.

"Why not?"

"I-I stayed for a few moments, that day, after you saved me, and I saw what you did to them."

"Did you, now?" he asked, intrigued by the audacity of the girl. "And you thought it was a good idea to follow me, stalk me, confront me about what you saw?"

She looked to the ground, unsure of how to respond.

"Yes, it may seem foolish if you phrase it like that," she replied, slowly. "But—you have something that I want, and I couldn't think of any other way to get it."

"What's that?"

The girl hesitated for a brief moment.

"True power," she said. "Not political power, not influence, not prestige… true power."

Well, I guess I should've expected that, he thought.

"Why do you want power?"

"I am weak," she confessed. "Even though I claim to be a magician, when those jerks cornered me, there wasn't anything I could do. I'm hoping—praying—that power will give me the confidence to do something if that happens again."

Fair enough.

"Do you know what it is you're asking?"

She looked confused, tilting her head to the side.

"I'm sorry?"

"The power you want… that very same power killed those animals without even a moment's hesitation. That power forced them to realize their own helplessness, before ultimately depriving them of whatever they had left. That power erased them from this world, so that no trace of their corpses will ever be found. Is that the power you want?"

The girl looked straight at Caspian, her eyes firm and resolute.

"Yes."

She could be useful.

I've long thought that I could use an aide, but there are so few people I can trust…

She has the commitment to learn. That will take her far.

"What's your name?"

"Laura. Laura Stuart."

"Well, Laura, your instincts have served you well."

"Does that mean you'll show me how to obtain power like yours?"

"More than that. I am in need of someone loyal, someone I can trust to handle whatever business I assign to them without complaint or objection. I want you for that position."

"I'm sorry, what?"

Caspian smiled.

"I'm going to give you a job and a whole new life, as well—a powerful life."

Her eyes lit up in disbelief, but soon regained focus.

Now I have her attention.

Laura composed herself, clasping her hands in front of her.

"When do I start?"

"Right now," Caspian replied. "In three seconds I will attack you. Your job is to defend yourself."

Laura's eyes widened.

"Oh! Right now—okay—uh—shield magic… Onixdar arvin pax—!!"

"Too slow," said Caspian, who had moved swiftly behind Laura and was now clamping her mouth shut with one hand. "At this range, chanted magic is pointless. If you can use instinctual magic, lead with that; otherwise, you're going to need to use close-quarters combat techniques."

"Mmmmphhh… mmmghgh!" Laura mumbled through Caspian's hand.

"Lesson one: if you want to control immense magic power, you have to be able to win without it," Caspian stated. "Your first goal is to train in a fighting style of your choice until you are able to hold your own in a mock battle against me. After that, we can move on to your magical training."

Caspian released Laura from his hold.

"You mean you're not going to teach me how to use powerful magic?"

"You're not ready yet," Caspian replied, "though, I suppose I can throw you a bone. Do you want to know the secret of powerful magic?"

"Yes!!"

Caspian smiled once more at his new pupil and tapped the side of his head.

"It's all up here. Your imagination must mirror reality, so that reality can mirror your imagination."

If she can correctly interpret the meaning of that phrase, she'll definitely be worth teaching.

"Now, Laura," he continued, "I'm giving you another task, unrelated to your training. You are going to serve as an informant, of sorts, so I need you to make as many friends as possible. Once you have an understanding of all the different social circles on campus, bring that information to me. Make sure to be discreet, and pretend not to know me. Understood?"

"I understand."

Excellent. She'll do nicely.

This will give me a third source of campus information, as well as an agent more capable than a raven...

...and if this works out, she'll be with us for much longer than our time here.

"Oh, one more thing," he said. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Caspian Dawson. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I hope that I can take you where you want to go."

She smiled and curtseyed.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Dawson."

***

After Laura had left, Caspian continued his own training for about half an hour before heading back to the Academy for his first class of the day.

In the short time Caspian had been on Avalonne-du-Prix, he had already been able to rule out several potential locations for the Ravensleigh Vault. Aside from the rocky terrain of the central hill, on which the Academy sat, the constitution of the soil was ill-suited for large underground construction projects. It also would stand to reason that the Vault would be hidden in the most easily-fortifiable area of the island, the Academy, even if it wasn't within the Keep itself.

Caspian had, of course, tried to find the Vault using his third eye, but the shadow of the island itself was too dense for him to move through at will.

I'll have to find it the old-fashioned way.

"Uncle, is there any way to bring them back?" he had asked once he had control over his ability.

"Not according to current magical theory, no," his uncle had replied. "There's only one possibility. The Ravensleigh Grimoire, which only the Royal Family had read. If you can find and read it, you might be able to find an answer and restore that which was taken from us."

"Can you help me?"

His uncle laughed.

"I wish I could, son. I can point you in the general direction, but that's about it."

Caspian was brought back to the present by the aura of a magician drawing close to him.

"Excuse me, do you have a moment?"

The man standing before him was dressed professionally, albeit not expensively. His demeanor was ostensibly polite, but Caspian thought he saw a little larceny in his eyes.

Ah, a scout for a magic corporation.

When the Kingdom of Britannia had introduced magic to the world some one hundred years earlier, they had made one very wise decision: though the practical application of magic was widely taught, much of the theory and science of the craft was kept secret. Only institutions like the Royal Academy of Magick were authorized to teach others, a model to which both the Peoples' Empire and the Coalition of States strictly adhered.

This monopoly on magic forced the various companies whose business models were intertwined with the arcane to recruit magicians trained by the institutions rather than train their own magicians, and so scouts such as the man before Caspian were a common sight on campuses around the world.

"And who do you represent?"

"S2 Holdings, sir. I'm impressed that you were able to recognize my profession with so little to go on."

"Please, don't try to flatter me," replied Caspian. "It was a logical assumption. Tell me, is S2 Holdings a large company? I don't recall having heard of them before."

"We're growing, sir, which is why this is the perfect time for you to join our team."

"Oh?"

He's a good salesman, he adapts his pitch to the conversation. I might as well humor him.

"See, right now our hiring efforts are directed towards low-prestige but high-talent magicians, like yourself," the man replied. "As a result, you can get a pretty decent signing deal with us, much better than you'd receive from many other corporations. But once we grow—well, at that point, the higher-ups will want to focus on magicians from the Blessed Houses in order to increase our social status."

"You make a good point," Caspian admitted. "But I'm not at this Academy because of any future career of mine. I'm here specifically to learn magic."

"Well," the man replied, a devious smile forming on his face, "we can help you in that field as well, if you're willing to start working for us immediately."

Caspian's eyes narrowed.

"I can't imagine S2 has received permission from the King to teach magic."

"That hasn't seemed to bother the others yet. They're learning far more than this Academy is willing to teach, and on a much faster schedule, too."

Caspian sighed.

"It's a tempting offer, but I need some time to think it over."

"Of course, of course," the scout replied. "Please, take as much time as you need. Here's my business card, don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything."

Caspian took the card, examined it, and pocketed the small piece of tagboard.

S2 Magus Technology Holdings, Inc.

I'll have to keep an eye on them.

"Thank you," he said. "I'll be in touch."