Armsmaster's Summons by James Solomon

Author:James Solomon [Solomon, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14: The Trial

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“The best I can see, a simple circle is the basis for the whole system. One book even says that your intention and a circle can be the whole thing for something simple.”

Sitting down at the cafeteria with his friends, Bryth looked around for Asa. He’d made it a point to keep an eye out for the offworlder and hadn’t seen him for a few days now. He didn't seem like one to skip classes. Bryth had never met someone so single-minded on doing whatever it took to accomplish a task. It was a little intimidating considering the history of offworlders. “Anyone seen Asa today?”

The group shook their heads and Cheon piped up, “I heard the Masters were looking for him too. A friend from Geography was called to do a drawing of his room a few days ago. He said it was almost empty and there was some ritual on the floor!”

Toma looked up, surprised. “He found his way home already?”

Cheon shrugged, “I don't know.”

Bryth thoughtfully dug into his meal, finishing quickly as his friends carried on with conversation.

“Hungry much?” Amalie said with a chuckle, “Are you sure you chewed?”

Bryth grinned. “Mostly. Something seems off. I’m going to go look for Asa.”

Madde stood up, already done with her food as well. “I’ll go with you.”

With a nod, Bryth returned his plate and headed toward Asa rooms.

Madde followed quietly for a few minutes before speaking. “You’ve been watching him closely since he arrived.”

Bryth looked at her in surprise. “I didn't think I’d been obvious. Master Malgier asked me to help him, if needed.”

“You haven't been obvious, not really. But I don’t think that’s the reason. You’re awkward around him. You want to be a friend to him, but you almost seem scared of him.” Her words were characteristically quiet, yet straight to the point and it made him chuckle.

“You’re not?”

She looked confused. “He learns fast, yes, but he’s still mundane. Why would I fear him?”

Bryth sighed. “I know you serve Power too, but how much do you know of the histories of the other gods?”

Giving him a quizzical look, she shrugged again. “Not much really. Really just that The Crafter started the university before Power took it over.”

Bryth nodded, “True, but I’m talking about ancient history. Since he came here, I’ve searched all I could in the library. Even Master Bailey has been with me looking. We’ve looked for every mention of an offworlder before.”

Madde looked surprised. “There’ve been more?”

He nodded as they walked up the hill to the building where Asa stayed. “Several, from what I can tell. A lot of them are so shrouded in legend that actually getting reliable information is pretty much impossible. The most recent I know of is Ryjek, the Conqueror.”

She started noticeably at that, but he kept on. “There’s more. Records are fairly consistent that both Knowledge, and Nature, started here as offworlders. There are unconfirmed reports of others, but those two we are fairly certain of.”

Color had drained from Maddie, leaving her black skin ashen.

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