Chapter 1

In the weeks that came after the tournament, Damien trained. His grasp of the Ether slowly improved, as did the speed at which he could cast spells.

Delph and Henry instructed him in their own ways, and he slowly worked his way toward becoming a competent mage.

Still, there was a large distance between him and Sylph. Even though he was gaining on her, she practiced even more than he did. Nearly every waking moment, Sylph was either practicing or in meditation.

That only motivated him more. And so, the days went by, turning into something of a blur.

"Hold on," Henry said one night as Damien headed toward his bed. "I think it might be about time for you to start using your magical herbs again.

You were supposed to use one the night before Sylph nearly blew her core up, but we never got around to it and I might have forgotten."

Damien straightened despite his exhaustion.

That's good! I think. It's good, right?

"It's good," Henry said, chuckling. "Your body is already a little weakened from this morning, so this is the perfect time. The weaker you are, the better your body will accept outside influence. Granted, you've gathered far more energy than I thought possible. Normally, I've observed that mortals need between five to several dozen herbs in order to push their core to the point where it can evolve. For some reason, your obscenely high Magical Energy seems to have pushed you to absorb far more Ether than you should have. I think one or two good herbs might be enough to push you over the edge."

That's only mildly concerning.

"Don't be a coward," Henry said dismissively. "Magical plants aren't going to make or break you, but every small bit of strength counts in the end. They're really just accelerants – you'll reach where you're going one way or another, so you might as well get there faster."

I'll just take your word for it, I suppose. I've been doing a lot of that recently, and I'm starting to get the feeling it won't be good for my health.

Either way, how do I use the plants?

"There are dozens of ways you could choose to use them. The most common is to simply eat the plant, but some people train as alchemists to refine the Ether out of the plant and ingest that directly. You can also smoke it, directly insert it into your core, and more. However, many of those techniques are quite high level and take more skill than you have. They're also borderline pointless considering the amount of energy you already have."

So…I'm eating it?

"You're eating it," Henry agreed. "It's the crudest way to absorb the plant, but it doesn't matter right now. The fancy methods are all there to increase the amount of Ether you draw out of the plant. However, when you've never absorbed anything external before, you don't have to worry about it. You'll get almost all the Ether within the plant just by using the basic method. It'll just take a week or two to fully absorb."

Why is that?

"Think of your body like a sea sponge," Henry said, adopting the dry tone of a lecturer. "A very dry sea sponge, and the Ether is water. Right now, you've barely got any Ether within your body. It's almost entirely within your core. There's a bit left over from spells and cultivation, but you're so young that it's basically worthless. A drop of water isn't going to make a sponge soggy."

Then the magical plants are the water I absorb? And the more Ether I get from them, the less my body wants to accept?

"That's correct." Henry let out a pleased purr. "So, it doesn't matter how you absorb your first few plants. You'll get everything anyway. It's once you start pushing the boundaries of your shrimpy little mortal body that you have to worry about the other methods."

So, if I'm a sponge, what happens when I start overflowing with Ether?

Does it leak out?

"That's not something you're going to have to worry about for a while," Henry said. "The amount of Ether your body can absorb is correlated to the amount your core can store. Look, you remember how gravity works, yes?"

Things pull on each other. Big things pull more.

"More or less," Henry agreed. "Massive things, not big ones, but that's beside the point. Imagine your core has a form of gravity that only affects the Ether within your body. The bigger it is, the more it holds the Ether in."

I see. So, if I eat too many magical plants, I'll outpace my core, and the Ether in my body will leak away.

"Exactly," Henry said. "Very astute. And, before you ask, it's not dangerous. It's just a waste. The plants are most effective before your core evolves, but they can still have uses after. Now, stop wasting time and eat the plant. Start with the one you won from the tournament. It's stronger than the one we bought."

Damien shrugged. He finally stepped out of the bathroom and made his way over to the winnings bag by his bed. He ruffled around in it for a few moments before pulling out the glass vial that contained the Ironleaf Thistle.

Should I use this one? Or the first plant I bought?

"Use this one," Henry said. "The other one was weaker and won't do you much good at this point. Oopsie."

So you made me waste money?

"Stop whining and take the damn plant."

He popped the cork out with one thumb and eyed the dry green leaf within the glass warily. It didn't look particularly appetizing. It smelled faintly mossy, like something he would have found behind an old shoe in a shed.

Sylph opened her eyes and watched Damien examine his prize. His nose crinkled, and he gingerly dumped the vial's contents out into his hand.

"Do you know how to properly use that?" Sylph asked.

"More or less," Damien said. He popped it into his mouth.

Unfortunately, the leaf didn't taste much better than it looked.

Am I supposed to chew this thing? It tastes like paper and shrubbery.

"Just let it dissolve in your mouth," Henry said. "And why do you know what shrubbery tastes like?"

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to."

The leaf was rough and brittle against his tongue. It melted slowly, filling his entire mouth with its mildly annoying flavor. Once it was almost completely liquid, Damien swallowed and grimaced.

"Gross," Damien muttered. "Still better than the free meals, though."

"You're sure that's how you use the magical plant?" Sylph asked, eyeing Damien as he were about to sprout horns.

"Yep. I've got it on good word."

Sylph shrugged. She reached into her own bag and took out one of her three vials. The girl emptied it into her mouth expressionlessly, then capped the vial and put it back into her bed.

"Am I supposed to feel any different?" Sylph asked after a few moments.

I'm wondering the same thing.

"What, did you expect some huge burst of power?" Henry asked, chuckling. "It's a leaf. A low level one at that. You'll get stronger as your body absorbs the Ether within it, but don't expect any instantly noticeable changes. Come morning, you'll be marginally stronger. You might notice it, or you might not. But, if you continue to absorb magical plants, you'll start noticing them."

Damien repeated Henry's words to Sylph.

"That makes sense," Sylph said. A frown crossed her face. "But that probably means I'm not going to be able to improve my physical body through magical plants either. If everything is based on how much Ether my core stores…" "We'll figure something out," Damien promised.

Sylph's head cocked incrementally to the side. Then she gave Damien a small smile and nodded.

With nothing left to do but wait for the following morning, the two of them headed to bed. Damien's bloodstained sheets were still in the corner of the room, but he couldn't be bothered to clean them or get new ones. He flopped onto his rough mattress and fell asleep within minutes.

The next morning began with Henry mentally prodding Damien awake.

He groaned, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he sat upright and squinted in the dim light of the rune circle.

"Somebody is outside," Henry said. "It's not Delph or the other kids who live on in the nearby caves."

That was a great way to get rid of the rest of Damien's drowsiness. He leapt out of bed, throwing his clothes on and hopping from foot to foot to get the blood flowing.

Should I be concerned?

"Can't tell," Henry replied. "I can detect their magic, but it's rather faint. That normally wouldn't be a cause for concern, but I'm detecting at least eight different types of energy. That's not a common amount of magic for a single person."

Damien glanced over at Sylph's bed. She was gone.

"She left a little less than an hour ago," Henry said, answering Damien's question before the boy could even ask it. "Someone showed up at the door then as well. There's a good chance this is your teacher, but don't let your guard down."

Damien nodded, pinching himself once to fully wake up. He combed his hair back and opened the door.

A short older man with a white beard that reached his chest stood before him. The man wore a small black cap with a wide brim, and his suntanned skin resembled a prune. He looked up at Damien with two gray eyes and gave him a small, yellow-toothed smile.

"Good morning," the man said. His voice was remarkably strong for someone of his age. It sounded like a forty-year-old man was speaking rather than the aged one before him. "I hope I haven't arrived too early."

"Good morning," Damien responded, clearing his throat. "And it's no problem. I was already awake. Practicing and stuff. Are you my magic theory teacher?"

The man let out a chuckle. "In a way. I'll be taking you to class once you're ready. It will be starting shortly."

"Well, I'm ready," Damien said slowly. The man just raised an eyebrow and gave Damien a pointed glance.

He looked down, and his face flushed. His coat was on inside out. He tossed it off and quickly shrugged it back on with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Ah, good. I was worried that the fashions of youth had evaded me once again," the old man said once Damien had finished. "I presume you're ready now?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," Damien said with a sheepish grin.

"Very well."

The old man stepped forward and extended a hand. Damien shook it.

The moment their fingers touched, a spark of electricity coursed down his arm. The man's body crumbled away, blown by the early morning breeze.

The remains of the man's body formed into a flickering gray portal.

A violent force yanked Damien forward. Before he could react, his fingertip touched the gray energy. There was a subtle pop as Damien vanished, leaving behind nothing but the smell of ozone.

Damien stumbled as hard ground rose up against his feet. He nearly fell forwards but managed to pinwheel his arms and regain his balance.

He stood in what looked like a large classroom. There were several rows of wooden seats on one side, and the other had a large board with a bin of chalk beside it. Several other students stood or sat around Damien, varying looks of befuddlement on their faces.

An old man identical to the one who had appeared before him a few moments ago stood beside the board, tapping his foot on the ground and stroking his beard with both hands.

What the seven planes was that?

"Eight," Henry corrected. "And that was a teleportation spell. A decently advanced one."

You don't sound very surprised. Why didn't you warn me he was about to teleport?

"What's the point of that?" Henry asked. "It's not like you were in any danger. Besides, it was funny."

Damien rolled his eyes and sat in one of the chairs. They weren't the most comfortable thing he'd ever sat in, but it was better than the floor.

There was a small platform at the side of his chair attached to a lever arm.

He tugged on it, and the platform lifted up, twisting as it went over his legs and turning into a makeshift desk. Many of the other students had already figured that particular trick out. Damien joined them in watching the professor.

Over the next few minutes, he said nothing as half a dozen new kids appeared in the room. One boy let out a loud shriek as he arrived, but he quickly snapped his mouth closed when he realized where he was.

One by one, everyone sat down in the chairs. Finally, the old man cleared his throat and walked to the center of the room before them.

"Welcome to magic theory," he said. A piece of chalk floated out of the bin behind him and drew on the board while he spoke. "I'm not one for formalities so, please, call me Greg."

The chalk wrote out his name at the top on the board.

"Now, this is a smaller class than I'm used to. There are only fourteen of you, but that's fine," Greg said, still stroking his beard. "Before we begin, I'd like to answer any questions you might have. Please raise your hand if you've got a question."

There were a few moments of silence. Then a large boy several seats to Damien's left raised his hand. Greg nodded in his direction.

"With all due respect, Professor Greg, I'm going to be a combat mage.

Why do I need to learn magic theory? It's for researchers."

"First, I asked you to call me Greg, not Professor Greg. Greg is my first name, not my last," the professor said. A smile tugged on his lips. "And for your second question, understanding how your magic works will greatly improve your abilities to use it in a fight. Does that answer your question?"

The boy didn't look particularly pleased with the answer, but he gave the professor a small nod. "Yes, Pro— Ah, Greg."

A blonde girl in the row in front of Damien raised her hand. Damien realized it was Reena. Greg gestured for her to speak.

"I've heard that this class is very difficult," Reena said slowly. "But we were chosen to take this class without asking our opinions. We need to pass if we want to score well, but it's harder for us to pass this class than it is for our peers to do well in some of their classes. How is that fair?"

"Ah. A good question," Greg said. He started pacing back and forth across the floor. "First, life isn't fair. So, kill that notion right now. Nothing in Blackmist will be fair. We don't exist to give everyone an equal chance.

We look for the most talented students and train them to the best of our abilities. That doesn't mean everyone else loses, but there's no point spending a huge amount of resources on someone who isn't going to be able to repay that money to the kingdom."

"All the more reason for us to be worried about the class," Reena said.

"Indeed," Greg said. "However, you're overlooking something. If you prove capable enough to succeed here, you will have an unfair advantage over your fellow students. I assure you, understanding how your magic functions at a deep level will be one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal. Does that answer your question?"

Reena nodded. Greg scanned the classroom, but nobody else raised their hands. He gave them a satisfied smile and turned to the board, where the chalk was still writing on its own.

"Good. Now that we've got that out of the way, I can get started. Today, and the next few classes, will be focused on something that I'm sure you all believe you have mastered. Does anyone have a guess to what that is?"

There were a few moments of silence.

"The destructive energy sphere?" Damien guessed. Greg glanced at him.

"Correct." Greg inclined his head slightly. "Please raise your hand before talking in the future."

Damien flushed slightly, but Greg didn't wait around to see his response. The teacher lifted his hand, and a small orb of gray energy churned to live within his palm.

"As we all know, this is one of the most basic applications of magic.

Thus, it would be logical to assume you have all mastered it. Am I correct?"

Silence fell over the room. Nobody wanted to take the obvious bait that the professor had laid down. He grinned.

"At least none of you are foolish enough to say yes to that," he said. "As you might have guessed by my line of questioning, this seemingly basic spell is far more complex than you realize."

The orb in his hand extended and grew thinner, forming into a shimmering blade. It changed forms several more times before going back into the shape of a sphere.

"Ether is the source, but our mental energy is what directs it. When given no form, it will return to the environment as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, you can modify its shape by adjusting how you exert your mental energy over it. Can anyone tell me why that might be important?"

Reena raised her hand. Greg nodded at her.

"Precision?" she guessed. "You might need certain tools for certain jobs."

"Correct," Greg said. "Partially, anyway. In truth, there is little use for molding the shape of your Ether in this particular spell unless you are using it to carve something. However, the ability to control the shape of your Ether output will significantly improve the amount of control you have over your more powerful spells. Please take a few moments and attempt to form a blade out of Ether. Do not cast any other spells."

Damien glanced at his hand and channeled a mote of Ether into his palm. As it emerged, he tried to wrap his strands of mental energy around it and coax the magic into a blade. He managed to elongate it into a blobby rectangle but didn't have much success beyond that.

The other students weren't having much more luck than he was. In fact, the only one who'd managed to even get the Ether to change its form was a pale-haired girl sitting to Damien's right.

"That's enough for now," Greg said, pausing as the students allowed their spells to fade. "As you can tell, controlling the Ether is harder than it looks."

Greg continued lecturing over the subject for the next several hours. He was passionate about the topic, but the man had a talent for droning. By the time he finally started to wrap things up, Damien was only a few inches away from sleep.

"All right, then," Greg said, snapping his fingers. The chalk launched back into its bin, and a towel floated into the air and started to wipe the chalk away from the board. "We'll stop things here for today. Our next class will be in two days. I'll pick you all up as I did today. You are all also required to be able to manifest a blade of Ether by my next class.

Dismissed."

Greg waved at them with his fingers. Then he crumbled, blowing away and leaving a gray portal behind where he'd been standing.

"Dramatic, much?" Henry asked, chuckling. "This man is interesting.

Keep an eye on him."

I'll do that if I can manage to stay awake in his classes.

Damien and the other students rose from their seats, half-expecting the professor to pop out as they made their way toward the gray portal. Reena was the first to reach it. The moment she touched the gray energy, her body vanished. The others followed after her.

When Damien got to the portal, he carefully extended his hand and touched the energy with the back of his hand. The world vanished with a pop.

Damien landed flat on his feet on the ground before his room. He blinked, but there was no nausea from the teleportation. The sun was already starting to reach toward its zenith in the sky above him.

His stomach rumbled. Damien pushed the door open and peeked inside, but the room was empty. With a shrug, he started toward the path down the mountain. He nearly ran straight into Reena as she stepped out from behind the curtain in front of her room.

"Oops," Damien said, taking a step to the side. "Sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's fine," Reena said, but her lips were pressed together in mild irritation. After a moment, she shook her head. "Do you understand what Professor Greg was talking about in class today?"

"Sorta," Damien said. "I can't quite do it, but I think it's just a matter of practice."

Henry scoffed within his mind. "I could do it."

I know you could, Henry. If Greg knew he was teaching an eldritch creature, I doubt he'd be starting with the basics.

"I suppose so," Reena said, although she didn't look particularly convinced. Damien's stomach rumbled again, and a small grin passed the woman's lips. "You getting lunch?"

Damien nodded.

"Fantastic," Reena said. "I was getting hungry as well. I'll join you."

Damien blinked, but he didn't have any reason to refuse her. "Sure. I'm only going to the mess hall, though."

"That's fine," Reena said.

The two of them headed down the mountain and across the campus, reaching the mess hall a few minutes later. They talked little during their walk, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

There was a longer line than normal, so they waited in line for a short while before reaching the lunch lady. Damien ordered a beef stew, and Reena got a fancy dish that he suspected had something to do with fish.

The two of them made their way over to a nearby table and sat down.

Damien tapped his rune circle and bit back a yawn as he pulled out a sheaf of paper. He set it on the table before pulling out his quill and ink, setting them beside it.

"What are you doing?" Reena asked him.

"Just some rune practice," Damien replied as he dipped the quill in the ink pot and started to draw. "I don't want to fall out of practice."

He did his best to ignore Reena as she watched him work. Her gaze felt like a constant tickle at the edge of his mind. If he hadn't spent so much of his life drawing the runes, he might have made a mistake.

The rune circle beside him lit up green. A moment later, Reena's lit up as well. Damien finished the rune he was drawing and shook the quill off before setting it on the rim of the pot. He pushed the paper out of the way and tapped the rune, summoning his food. The stew was plain, but it had a rich brown broth that looked incredibly appetizing.

Reena's food popped up before her as well. It was indeed some sort of fish based meal, although Damien had no clue what it was. It practically glittered, and it sat on a bed of shimmering yellow rice that looked incredibly expensive.

Damien didn't spend much time looking at her food. His own smelled a lot better, and eagerly dug in.

"Do you always get food like that?" Reena asked once she finished chewing a single bite of her meal.

"I do now," Damien replied through a mouthful of stew. "Why? It's pretty good. Better than their free stuff."

"They have free food?" Reena asked, her lip curling in distaste.

"I don't know if I'd call it food, but it's free," Damien said. He was already almost a quarter of the way done with his food. Reena carved off another small piece from the meal and ate it.

"I don't normally eat in the mess hall, but it's an interesting experience," Reena said. "There are some rather nice restaurants on campus."

"Oh?" Damien asked absentmindedly. He took another bite of his stew and glanced over at his half-finished rune circle.

Henry, do you think we could try to figure out the rune circle Hera—our friend—is trying to put on me?

"We could try," Henry said. "There's not a ton to go from right now, but we can give it a try."

"I could show you sometime," Reena said.

"Huh?" Damien asked, tearing his attention away from his conversation with Henry. "Sorry, I zoned out. What were you saying?"

Reena pressed her lips together. "The restaurant."

"Oh, right," Damien said, pausing to take another spoonful of stew.

"What about it?"

"I could show it to you if you'd like. I'm sure you'd enjoy the experience."

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't really have the money to spend on restaurants right now," Damien said. "The mess hall has pretty decent food, for me, at least. I guess this is way lower quality than what you ate at home, huh?"

"It could be my treat," Reena offered.

"I wouldn't be comfortable taking advantage of someone like that," Damien said, shaking his head. He tipped the bowl of stew back, finishing off the remains of the broth in his bowl.

Henry bit back a laugh as Reena's eyebrows grew close. Damien gathered his papers up and put them back into his pack, shaking the last few drops of ink off his quill and capping the ink pot before tossing them in as well.

"I've got to get some practice for Delph. Sorry for running," Damien said, giving her a polite nod. "Enjoy the rest of your meal!"

He strode away, leaving Reena at the table staring at his back in shock.

Henry couldn't control himself any longer and let out a short burst of laughter.

"Maybe you're the one who needs to read Love Making for the Uninitiated and Lustful," Henry said mirthfully. "I believe the book covered this particular scenario, although it stated that the man was usually the one asking the woman to dinner."

Damien nearly tripped over his own feet.

You think she's coming onto me?

"I don't think it could be more obvious unless she pulled her pants off and hopped toward you aggressively."

Please never say that again. I don't need that mental image. And, if she is, it's probably because she's trying to gain an advantage with House Gray.

She kind of reminds me of Nolan before he got a little better.

"She does," Henry agreed. "She definitely wants you, but probably to teach her and use as a status piece rather than because she actually cares.

I've seen it unfold countless times when I was watching the Mortal Plane, but all the drama gets boring. I much prefer magic. So, are you going to teach her? Who knows, maybe she actually does like you."

I think I'll pass. She wants me to teach her how to make the knife with Ether, but I don't want to become a teacher for the other students. If word gets out that I'm offering lessons, I'll never get a minute of down time. On top of that, I don't really like her in that way. She's too manipulative. With any luck, she'll just leave me alone.

Henry let out a chuckle and faded into the back of Damien's mind.