The welcome package for the academy had outlined a few things I needed to know as a new student. Beyond the dress code and what supplies I would need, I also learned that I should make my way to the second floor in the academy’s west wing, where I would find my classroom.

  I stepped into the room, interested in what I would see. I could imagine a number of different ways the academy could be organized, and discovered that the classroom resembled an auditorium, more akin to what I expected from higher education than primary school given my experience on Earth. The large room held theater style seating, rows of detached chairs with sweeping, curved desks that all faced the front of the room where there was a large board and a lectern.

  There were already students seated, and to my surprise, despite them being around eleven years old like myself, there weren’t any kids screaming, running around, playing, or roughhousing. There was an air of maturity to the room. The children of my village would not have been this well behaved, and this theater style classroom seemed at odds with the age of the students, but a cursory examination revealed that the children I would be studying with were not at all like those that I had grown up alongside.

  I hadn’t had any interaction with nobility or the wealthy prior to the past week, and my time with Somnial and in Ivarnel had given me only very minor insight into that world, though only really from the perspective of what having wealth was like. Seeing the prim and proper eleven year olds restraining themselves and sitting like college students immediately told me that these kids had grown up very different from me and my siblings.

  Clearly, these students had grown up with some form of education; their life so far has been a study in etiquette, of proper behavior for a young noble or the child of wealth.

  The children weren’t perfectly behaved, of course. There was some excited chatter among some kids who seemed to know each other already, sitting close together in clumps around the room, but it was subdued.

  For every grouping of children, there were also clear outliers, students who seemed to not know anyone else. I knew that the academy was attended by students from across the entire domain, so the kids that knew each other probably grew up together in the same regions.

  Some eyes tracked my entry into the room, but when no one recognized me, they returned to their whispered conversations and glances at the others in the auditorium.

  No assigned seating meant I had to choose where to sit. I was there to learn, first and foremost, so I was less concerned with making friends and connections than the others likely were, but I also didn’t necessarily want to make myself a total outcast on day one. Rather than hide away at the very back of the classroom, or seat myself visibly right at the front, I chose a row around the middle and sat myself next to a kid who looked a bit nervous, seated alone.

  “Good morning,” I greeted the boy simply, then began arranging my things. I focused on settling myself in for my studies, as opposed to putting him on the spot, in case he was too shy or uninterested to make conversation, or too haughty to. I didn’t want to force anything.

  “Ah, good morning,” he said in return, and gave me an easy but soft smile.

  That was a friendly enough response. “I’m Tovar,” I said, introducing myself to the boy.

  “Felton,” he responded, offering me his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Tovar.”

  I shook Felton’s hand, taking the moment to look more closely at him. He was a thin lad, with medium length sandy brown hair that had impressive volume, which rested lightly above intensely green eyes and pointed features.

  “The pleasure’s all mine. Are you from Ivarnel?” I asked, gesturing slightly to suggest I meant the capital city as opposed to the domain, since I figured we were all from the domain.

  Felton shook his head. “Obdorn. You may not have heard of it, we’re just a small barony. You?”

  A barony? Interesting that he mentioned that. Did that mean he was the son of a baron? “Uh… Redding,” I said. “You probably haven’t heard of it either.”

  “I… have not,” Felton confessed, brows furrowing in thought.

  “That’s fair. It’s way out in the middle of nowhere.”

  Before he could ask any follow up questions, a small commotion at the entrance of the auditorium drew our attention.

  “Ah,” Felton murmured, frowning at the boy who walked in.

  I glanced at the boy, who had slicked black hair and bright blue eyes that took in the room. His robes were immaculate, and he had a small entourage with him, which was the source of the noise. “Who’s that?”

  Felton looked at me in surprise—probably reappraising me due to my ignorance—then steeled his expression. “That’s Ramius. He’s the second son of Lord Pendor.”

  “Lord Pendor… the duke?” He was the guy in charge of all of Ivarnel, the lord of the domain, answering only to the crown of Argadia. Admittedly, I had only learned about the structure of the country in the last week and a bit, but even I knew that made him a pretty big deal.

  Felton nodded. “Yeah. I… didn’t know he was interested in magic. I guess Randor’s been named the official heir, if Ramius is here,” he muttered to himself.

  My new acquaintance seemed less than thrilled about being classmates with the heir of Ivarnel’s brother. “Not a fan?” I asked quietly.

  Felton’s eyes widened, then darted to the side, before he sighed and whispered back. “He’s kind of a bully,” he admitted. “We’ve crossed paths a number of times, since we’re the same age, but we don’t really get along.”

  “Hmm,” I answered noncommittally. I was glad to know that, though Felton trusted too easily in telling me that when we hardly knew each other. It made me worry about the trouble he could get into saying the wrong thing to the wrong person in the future. Well, he’s only eleven.

  Felton seemed to realize that on his own after a moment. “Uh, don’t tell him I said that,” he asked nervously.

  I raised my hand, grinning conspiratorially. “You have my word.”

  The fluffy-haired boy relaxed a bit, and gave me a half of a grin in return. Nothing like a little shared secret to make a fast friend. Glancing back at Ramius, I made a mental note to avoid him. I did not need to get mixed up in all of that. If he bullied Felton, who I was now reasonably certain was the son of Obdorn’s baron, he would likely be merciless to a commoner like me.

  Perhaps if I flaunted my sponsorship from the “great sage” I could avoid that, but then I would likely also get sucked into all sorts of political machinations and possible drama. It was sure to come out eventually, but I wasn’t planning on doing that myself if I could pass as a regular student who paid tuition.

  A woman entered the room, walking quickly to the lectern. “Please be seated, students,” she said in a clear voice.

  She was a young adult, which surprised me a bit. I had kind of figured our teachers would all be old, wizened mages like Somnial, but this woman looked to be in her mid-twenties, with flat auburn hair, pale green eyes, and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her small nose. She’s cute, I thought to myself, then shook my head. Well, I’m much too old for her. And also too young. Reincarnation’s weird.

  A quick glance to my side showed that I wasn’t the only one to think so. A number of the boys in the class had sat up straighter. At eleven, they were just beginning their journey to adulthood. A crush on a pretty female teacher was like a rite of passage for a teenage boy. Ah, youth.

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  It dawned on me then, with startling clarity, that I was about to go through all the drama of teenagers growing up all over again in this school setting. We were all around eleven, now, but the mage academy ran for six years. I wasn’t looking forward to that part of the coming years. I would definitely abstain from any young love—way too much ick, given my circumstances—but if these kids were human, some level of fallout from heartache and heartbreak was unavoidable among my peers. I just wanted to learn magic, I thought with a sigh. I refocused my attention on the teacher in front of the class.

  “Welcome to Ivarnel’s mage academy,” she said. “I’m Professor Merria. Please address me as such, or simply as ‘Professor.’ No matter your status outside the academy, please remember that here, your educators are considered your superiors.

  “Please also remember that among students of the academy, you are all considered equals. The path of the mage is one of hard work, dedication, and study. You cannot buy magic power. You are not granted magic power by way of status. All magic power comes from the determination of the student. The will to apply yourself. Some of you may have a head start, and some of you may feel like you are behind, but that will quickly level out if you set your mind fully to the task.

  “Magic will not be the only thing you learn while attending the academy. Unleashing powerful mages who are uneducated in the ways of the world would be a recipe for disaster. You will also learn history and civics, so you can understand your place in the world and your responsibilities. You will learn arithmetic and economics so you can handle payments for services rendered and manage your households. You will learn etiquette and social graces so that you can properly engage with high society.”

  Someone groaned from the back of the room, and there were a few chuckles.

  “Yes, I’m aware many of you have already studied that ad nauseam, but not all of you have the same background. The simple fact of the matter is that powerful mages are few and far between, and very often their services are required by the crown.

  “In the upper years, once you’ve all been brought to the same baseline, the curriculum is split into electives, and you can focus on your specific interests. But for now…” Merria stepped to the side of the lectern, and performed a very precise sort of curtsy. “I will be your morning teacher. We will cover etiquette and arithmetic. After lunch, you will be under the care of Professor Somnius, who will be covering history and introduction to magic.”

  I leaned back slightly in my seat. I should have realized there would be a lot of unimportant busywork in formal education on top of the magic. I already had a baseline from my previous life and was mostly interested in acquiring power for my next life, but for these kids, this was an education to prepare them for their adulthood in this life.

  Well, the math should be simple. The rest should be easy enough to trudge through, though it probably won’t help much outside of this life. As for magic…

  Given what I had already learned about magic from Somnial, I wasn’t even really expecting much from this first year regarding that, either. Spells required memorizing invocations, and that was going to likely take up a lot of the curriculum. Of course we would need to learn about infusion and how to do that, as well, but that was the kind of thing you learned once, I presumed, and simply applied to all future casting. We would also learn about intention and how far we could stretch spells, forcing the magic to realize our wills, but all that followed already knowing the invocation itself.

  Most of these students didn’t have access to a library of grimoires at home like I had in Somnial’s manor, so gaining access to the spells themselves was a big part of attending the academy. That made sense for them, then, but I was already beginning to wish I could ditch school and simply spend all day in Somnial’s library. Somnial wasn’t really the teaching type, though, and I still needed to learn the basics, which I could do here. I’d just have to get through the rest.

  * * *

  The cafeteria buzzed with the conversation of students. The first, second, and third year students all had lunch at the same time in the large dining room. Apparently, the fourth, fifth, and sixth year students had a later start to the morning period and their lunch followed ours, and their afternoon classes ran longer as well.

  Professor Merria had shown us the way to the cafeteria after morning lessons, then left us to it. Lunch was included in the tuition, and smelled quite good. I supposed that with nobility attending, the food had to be of a certain quality. Felton and I stuck together and waited in line for a meal, then took it over to a vacant table to eat.

  Midway through bringing a forkful of food to my mouth, an older girl plopped down in the seat next to Felton. I blinked at the surprise interruption before continuing with my bite, chewing slowly and sitting back in my chair. The girl reached over and ruffled Felton’s hair.

  “How’s the first day going?” she asked casually, then looked over to me. “And who’s your friend?”

  “Stop,” Felton whined, pushing the older girl’s hand away, then straightened out. “Tovar, this is Felris, my sister. She’s a third year. Felris, this is my friend Tovar, of... Radding.”

  “Redding,” I corrected, then shook my head. “Not important, it’s just a border village. Nice to meet you, Felris.”

  “Nice to meet you as well, Tovar. So? Who do you guys have?”

  “Professor Merria,” Felton answered.

  “Oh, I’ve heard she’s nice. Who’s your afternoon teacher?”

  Felton frowned, struggling to recall. “Professor Somnius,” I answered for him. The name had stuck out to me when I heard it.

  “Oh. Sorry,” Felris said with a laugh.

  “That bad?” Felton asked.

  Felris shrugged. “He’s strict. Not mean exactly, but he’s... grumpy. They say that no one has ever seen him smile. I didn’t think he taught first years, though.”

  I watched the siblings interact and gossip. Felton changed slightly in the presence of his sister, and I could see the kid in him shine through a bit clearer as she prodded at him. His sister was a bright girl with an easy smile. She had the same eyes as her brother, but darker, wavier hair that she wore long.

  “Well, if it isn’t Obdorn’s finest,” a snide voice interjected. “Crawled out from your hole in the boonies, eh Felton?”

  I glanced over, and suppressed a sigh. Seriously?

  Felton and Felris both jumped to their feet. I had learned enough from etiquette class that morning to recognize the stance as one of attention to a superior. “Good day, lord Ramius,” Felris said politely to the second son of the duke.

  “Hmm,” he sniffed, making a face, then glanced over at me. I took another bite of my food, and a scowl appeared when I failed to acknowledge him.

  Felton shot a glance at me, and I sighed, putting my fork down and standing as well. “Nice to meet you, Ramius,” I said, and his scowl deepened.

  “And you are?”

  “Tovar,” I said, bowing ever so slightly. “Of Redding.”

  “Redding?” the lord’s son said, brows furrowing. I could practically hear his neurons firing. To his credit, he knew his family’s domain. “The farming village on the border?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “I didn’t realize there was a merchant family there with enough clout to send their son to the mage academy,” he said, looking at me curiously.

  I shrugged, responding with a blank expression.

  “You should show some respect, pleb,” one of Ramius’s entourage said from behind him. “Or do you not even know who you’re speaking to?”

  “A classmate, I believe,” I said, glancing over to the lackey, then back to Ramius. “A fellow student, which makes us equals, if I recall the very first lesson of the day correctly.”

  The lackeys laughed, but Ramius held up his hand, which silenced them. “Don’t be so naive. That isn’t how the world works. Your family’s company and reputation depend on good relationships with the domain. Choose your words carefully.”

  “Oh,” I said. “How scary.”

  I knew I probably should play nice, but the idea of getting bullied by an eleven year old irked me way too much, even if he was the second son of the lord of the domain. I couldn’t help but note that instead of being groomed for leadership, he was at a mage academy like we were, as he wasn’t the heir. I wondered if he was even the second option after his brother. If he was, he probably would be getting an education that was more focused on leadership, not something as optional as mage training.

  “...Are you mocking me?” the young noble asked, eyes narrowing.

  “I’m sure I would never.”

  Ramius had probably rarely had to deal with someone so obstinate, as opposed to the usual obsequiousness. I watched him flounder for a moment, before his face started to turn red.

  “I’ll remember this, Tovar of Redding,” he hissed, so cliche that I almost laughed. He turned and strode away, his lackeys rushing after him.

  “That… was unwise, Tovar,” Felris said, the most serious I had seen her yet. “He really could ruin your family’s company.”

  I shrugged, sitting back down and picking up the last bite of my meal with my fork. “I’m not particularly concerned,” I said, chewing the bite and then swallowing. “My family doesn’t have a company.”

  Felris looked at Felton in confusion, but he just shrugged. “I only met him this morning, don’t look at me.”

  With my meal finished, I stood and picked up my tray, glancing around for where I could return it. “See you back in class,” I said, making my exit. If I was going to rub the most powerful kid in school the wrong way, I shouldn’t drag Felton into it, which would only cause him more problems.

  Sooner or later, the truth would come out, and word of my sponsorship by the [Sage] would become rumor, and then fact. That would probably clear up any issues I had, given Somnial’s importance, not just to the domain but Argadia as a whole. Of course, then I’d likely have to deal with sycophants of my own, which I wasn’t looking forward to. I wondered how long I would have before that happened. Probably not long, after that encounter with Ramius. He’d surely look into it.

  As it turned out, I had even less time than I thought.

  I returned to the classroom, choosing a different vacant seat so as to not put Felton on the spot if he chose not to associate with me moving forward. He gave me a complicated look when he got back to the classroom, but returned to his same seat. The other students trickled back in. Ramius shot me a glare, but that was it.

  Our afternoon professor swept in. A permanent grumpy frown was etched on Professor Somnius’s rather familiar-looking face as he stepped up to the lectern and glanced around the room. He coughed to clear his throat, glancing down at a paper in his hands and then back up to the class.

  “So. Which one of you is Tovar?”

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