David Niemitz
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Guild Mage 86
🕑 Added 2025-01-29 20:25:37 +0000 UTCChapter 86: Examinations
Liv jolted awake to the ringing of a great bell, far closer at hand than she was used to from living in Whitehill. While the temple bells had been audible from the castle, there was enough distance to make them easily drowned out by the noise of the kitchen, lessons with Master Grenfell, or practicing in the courtyard. There, it was the small horologues that had regimented her day, with soft, unobtrusive chimes.
She groaned, rolling over onto her side and pulling the blankets around her ears. The noise was so loud that it was impossible to ignore, which meant the bells were very close - probably in the main hall of the college. After seven ringing strikes, the noise died away. For a moment, Liv wondered when she’d gotten used to sleeping so late. The habit of rising early as a scullery maid had gone away, and she wasn’t certain that was a good thing.
The door to her bedchamber opened, and Thora bustled in. “Time to rise, m’lady,” she said, making her way over to the vanity to fetch the aspen wood comb they’d brought from Whitehill. To Liv’s surprise, Wren followed the maid in and then closed the door behind her.
“Your armor stand is being delivered today, along with an invoice to pay,” Wren said. “Ordered it from the local blacksmith. We also need to take a trip down to a lady’s store when you have a free hour or two, but that can wait. I found something interesting last night.”
Liv yawned, threw her blankets off, and crawled out of bed. She stretched until she heard her back crack, then pulled off the shift she’d slept in so that she could change into something fresh. “Yes, Thora said you’d gone out last night,” she recalled. “Getting to know the town?”
“I needed to make certain I had a source of blood,” Wren said, finding herself a seat in one of the two chairs the room had come equipped with. Thora dropped the comb on the floor, and it made a clatter.
“Did you say blood?” the lady’s maid asked.
“Chicken’s blood,” Wren told her. “I said my mistress, the Eldish witch, needed it for her enchantments.” Thora had just bent over to pick up the comb, but at that she immediately fumbled it again, as if it had been coated in grease.
“My father’s family drink seal blood,” Liv remarked. “They say it helps with the cold so far north. So it isn’t that strange, Thora.” She finished pulling on a fresh shift and took a seat in front of the vanity. “Let’s get my hair done, please. Nothing that will get in the way if I need to be sparring or running around.”
“A braided bun, then,” Thora said. “I wish your bodyguard wouldn’t go making the rumors worse, however,” she complained. With the comb, she began at the bottom of Liv’s long hair, working her way up to tease out any tangles from the night’s rest. “The other servants are already talking enough without it. The last thing you need is them passing on stories about how you sacrifice chickens for your witchery.”
“That isn’t the important part,” Wren said, pulling out one of her smaller daggers, which she used to clean and trim her fingernails. “I saw a crew of armed men getting off one of the ships at the wharf, and heading over to an old warehouse. Armed and armored, I should say.”
“That does seem a bit suspicious,” Liv said. “If we were back home at Whitehill, I’d go and tell Duchess Julianne, and let her figure out what to do. Or if I was at Kelthelis, my father.”
“Is there anyone you trust here, m’lady?” Thora asked.
“Besides the people in this room,” Wren added.
“I trust Sidonie and Cade,” Liv said. “I think we can trust Arjun, but I’ve only known him for a day. And then there’s Master - Professor, now - Jurian. He’s protected me before. We can trust him. Wren, I’ll find a chance to speak to him sometime today, once we’re all finished with these examinations. I’d like you to come with me, and tell him what you saw, if you could.”
“I’ll have to be careful about how I do it,” Wren told her. “Can’t quite come out and say I was flying around as a bat last night.” Thora yanked on the comb, pulling Liv’s hair.
“Ouch!” Liv said.
“Sorry, m’lady,” Thora apologized.
Once she’d resumed, more gently, Liv continued thinking out loud. “I’ve gotten used to having a whole lot of people around to protect and support me,” she admitted. “At Whitehill, there was an entire castle of guards to call on if I needed help. Even when I went up to Kelthelis, no matter I’ve only been a few times, a word to my grandparents and a scouting party would have gone out to investigate. But here, we’ve only got ourselves. We’re going to have to change that,” she decided.
“What do you mean, m’lady?” Thora asked - but Wren grinned.
“I mean that we need at least a few people we can rely on,” Liv said. “I don’t know what it will be, next - a string of eruptions, monsters of blood. A princess spoiling for a fight - maybe this band of armed men in the night. But I think it would be foolish to assume there won’t be a single crisis during our time here. And when something comes, I want to know who we can count on.”
“I’ve already started making a few friends in town,” Wren said. “The kind of people I can talk to for a bit of gossip and rumor. I don’t think I’ll fit in well at the servants’ meals, though. That’s going to have to be your maid’s job.”
“Thora, just let us know about any gossip you think might be important,” Liv said. “Anything that catches your ear. You don’t have to say anything or do anything beyond that.”
“I’ll do what I can, m’lady,” Thora said. “There. Your hair’s sorted. Let’s get you dressed for the morning meal.”
☙
Though she could probably get away with dressing like a noblewoman, Liv was still most comfortable in muted grays. She’d asked Duchess Julianne to keep the signed adoption papers a secret, after all – and since both Matthew and Triss had returned from the eruption, Liv expected the matter to stay private. Julianne would have her heirs soon enough, and she wouldn’t need Liv.
Lucanian society tended to style Liv a lady in her own right, the moment people found out about her father and grandparents. Nevermind that wasn’t actually how Elden society worked; Liv wasn’t going to bother to explain to everyone she met that she was hundreds of years away from sitting on a council of leaders for House Syvä, if it ever happened at all.
As a result, Liv was the only one of the six young women who sat down to breakfast on the second floor of High Hall who stood out. Sidonie and Edith wore shades of blue and lilac, respectively, while the three girls Liv hadn’t met yet dressed in a variety of pastel colors: yellow and pink and green. A lady’s maid hovered behind each, to assist with serving. Wren stood out, as well, lurking by the grand staircase with her knives strapped over her hunting leathers.
“Why are you dressed like a merchant?” Edith asked, setting down a cup of tea. Liv took her seat, arranging her skirts carefully, and looked out over the spread prepared by the hall cooks for them. She realized that she hadn’t gotten around to arranging for her own, mana-rich food, yet.
“I don’t feel right dressing like a noblewoman,” Liv admitted. Thora filled her plate with eggs that had been scrambled with crab meat and cream, along with bacon, spiced potatoes, fresh bread with butter and fruit preserves spread across it, and slices of juicy orange.
“You’ve a right to, though,” Sidonie pointed out. She still had a habit of speaking quietly, almost hesitantly, Liv observed, and she had a journal on the table next to her meal. “Through your father, at least, don’t you? Nevermind being promised to Cade.”
“Elden clothing is different,” Liv said. “Especially in the far north. I think people would stop and stare if I wore a parka made from caribou hide here, not to mention I’d pass out from the heat.”
“So, you’re the girl Cade Talbot’s been on about,” one of the three ladies that Liv didn’t recognize broke in. “I’m Florence Hading - my father’s baron of Bexbury, in Courland.” Florence was dark haired and short, and shaped something like a pear, with wide hips but a small bosom. “This is Helewise Boyle – we call her Helly – and Tephania Lane.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Liv said, in between bites of her eggs. The two other girls gave her nods and waves.
“Tephania’s a first year, like you,” Edith said. “I expect we’ll have at least one new roommate next year from one of you washing out.”
“Well,” Liv said, “it won’t be me. Tephania, perhaps you’d like to walk down with me once we’re finished here?”
“I’d like that very much,” the other girl said. Her hair was a blonde so pale it looked almost as if the color had been washed out. “My family’s not so far from Whitehill, you know? My father is one of Duke Falkenrath’s knights.”
“We’re neighbors, then,” Liv said, making an effort to smile. “Wonderful.”
“I see you’ve given up the staff for a wand,” Sidonie observed. “What’s it made of?”
“Bone from a stag,” Liv told her. “Hunted it from the shoals of the Bald Peak Rift. Here, take a look.” She drew the wand from its leather sheath at her belt, and placed it on the table.
“Very nice,” Sidonie murmured, looking it over appreciatively.
“Were we supposed to bring wands?” Tephania asked, hesitantly. “I’ve never used one. I’ve actually – never cast a spell at all,” she admitted. “But Duke Falkenrath’s court mage said I had an ear for Vædic, and recommended I come.”
“You don’t need a wand,” Liv explained, accepting hers back. “But it helps focus your mana, especially when you’re first starting out. It prevents waste.” She pushed her plate aside, only half eaten.
“Crab not to your taste?” Edith asked.
“It’s not that,” Liv said. “I need something of a special diet - my Elden heritage. And I haven’t had time to talk to the cooks about it yet. I’ll have to find time to do it today. Anyway, if you’re done, Tephania, we could walk down? It’s nearly ninth bell.”
The blonde girl nodded, and hurried to stand up from her seat, nearly knocking her teacup over. For some reason, seeing how flustered the other girl was helped Liv to be calm herself. She took Tephania by the arm, and they walked downstairs together, trailed by Wren.
In the foyer of the ground floor, the young men inclined their heads as the two girls passed, and made way for them. Liv looked for Cade, but didn’t see him. Once they’d reached the courtyard, however, she did spot Arjun, among the crowd of first year students who’d eaten in the great hall.
“Arjun!” she called, maneuvering her way through the crowd. “This is Tephania - she’s a first year, like we are.”
“Tephania Lane,” the girl said, releasing Liv’s arm to extend her hand.
“A pleasure to meet you, Tephania,” the dark haired boy said. He took her hand and bent over it, only a little awkwardly, with a quick glance to Liv to make certain he was doing it correctly. “Arjun Iyuz.” Before he could say anything further, the bells for the ninth hour rang out, cutting through any attempt at conversation.
“Alright, first years, listen up!” a young woman shouted, as soon as the tolling of the bells had died away. Someone had dragged a wooden crate over into the center of the courtyard, and she was standing on it for more height. “You’re going to take five written examinations this morning - in grammar, sigils, medicine, the history and regulations of the guild, and your knowledge of mana-beasts. That’s going to happen in the great hall, as soon as breakfast is cleared and your tests laid out. Which is happening right now. After luncheon,” she continued, “we’ll be handing you over to the practice yard and Professor Jurian’s crew of miscreants, for practicals.”
“Practicals?” Tephania murmured, next to Liv.
“Probably casting and sparring,” she whispered back.
“There’s going to be half a dozen journeymen watching you take your exams at all times,” the young woman on the crate said. “So don’t even try to look at someone else’s work. You can’t be a mage by riding someone else’s coat-tails, and we’ve got no tolerance for that sort of thing here. It’s a one way ride back down the bluff to the waystone. If you have a question while you’re working, just put your hand up and one of us will get to you. You’ll all eat together today, so we can keep track of you. The results of your examinations determine what classes you’re assigned to, so do your best. Any questions now?”
“Quills and ink will be provided?” a young man asked.
“They’ll be waiting for you in there,” the woman said. When no one else spoke up, she waved them on toward the hall as if she was shooing a toddler. “Get on inside, then. Let’s go!”
The hall where the entire school had eaten supper the evening before looked much different by daylight, Liv saw. It was less crowded, as well, without the professors and the older students and plates heaped with food. Places had been set with a stack of paper, inkpot, and quill, and a good bit of distance between each seat. She found herself a spot with Arjun to her left and Tephania to her right, and got to work.
The grammar examination began by asking her to identify and define parts of speech, first using examples in the Lucanian tongue, and then later in Vædic. Liv sped through nouns and verbs, adjectives and pronouns, and on to the later parts of the test, where she was asked to conjugate the verb Aluth, then shift a variety of nouns through the dative, genitive, and locative cases. By the time she’d composed an incantation from a bank of Vædic words that had been provided, Liv was surprised to realize she was finished with the first examination.
She set her pages aside to dry, and found that Sidonie appeared at her elbow. “I’ll take those,” her friend murmured, and handed her the next sheaf of papers. Liv bent back to her work, identifying sigils.
This, she felt, was a weak spot for her. Besides the work on designing her wand, Master Grenfell had always told her that enchanting would wait for college, and refused to go into the subject. She was able to make a few guesses that she was confident about when it came to which words of power were used in specific enchantments, such as the pipes that heated bathwater. The question on cold storage enchantments almost felt like she was cheating. When she was finished, a journeyman she didn’t recognize took her work and handed her the medical examination.
And so it went, as the bells marking the morning flew by. Liv wrote the names of bones next to a sketch of a human skeleton, and identified the symptoms of mana-sickness. She struggled through questions on the founding of the mages’ guild: Master Grenfell had tended toward more practical knowledge, but she knew enough to recognize the name of the founder, Lamon Blackstone. The questions on the guild’s culling responsibilities, and the workings of a conclave, were easier, with her own personal experience of each.
The questions on mana-beasts felt familiar, as well, and Liv wrote about the use of casques, harvested meat, and even hide or fur easily. There were creatures she’d never encountered herself, but they’d all been in her old, dog-eared copy of Blackstone’s Bestiary. When she finished that test, she was surprised twice over: first, to find Cade at her elbow to accept her work, and second, that everyone else in the room was still working.
“Come with me,” Cade murmured, and Liv stood up. She capped her inkpot, set her quill aside carefully, and then followed him out of the hall into the courtyard; along the way, he handed off the last of her work to a waiting journeyman.
“Am I really the first finished?” Liv asked, once they were out into the open air.
Cade laughed. “Liv, you finished with nearly an entire hour left before luncheon. That’s why I took you out: no sense in you sitting there, kicking your heels while all the rest of them catch up.”
“Oh,” Liv said. “Well, I’m certain more people will be done soon. What should I do until then?”
“If I were you,” Cade said, “I would have your maid gather up that armor, and the jewelry you won from Princess Milisant. Do you have a sword? A fencing mask?”
Liv shook her head. “It was never my strong suit,” she admitted.
“That’s not the end of the world. You can borrow them down at the practice yard,” Cade said.
“Why is that student out of the hall?” The young woman who’d lectured them before the examinations strode over, her face stormy.
“She’s finished, so I took her out,” Cade said.
“Blood and shadows she is,” the woman said. “They never start finishing for another half-bell. Who is this?”
Liv extended a hand and introduced herself. “Liv Brodbeck, from Whitehill.”
“Why are you wearing a guild ring, then?” the woman asked. “You shouldn’t have that as a first year.”
“Master Jurian gave it to me,” Liv explained.
“It’s true; she had it six years ago, at least, when we were at Freeport,” Cade broke in. “Don’t give her a hard time, Venetia. Professor Jurian knows about her; if you’ve got questions, he can answer them.”
“I’ll ask him right now,” Venetia said, and strode away.
“Don’t mind her,” Cade said. “She’s one of the Archmage’s journeymen, and I think she’s let it go to her head. Now, are you ready to fight? Because that’s what you’re going to be doing after you get something to eat.”
Comments
Dave N
Huh it… seems not have posted. I’ll look into that when I get home tonight!
Dave N
I’ll fix that tonight when I get home! There’s… a reason planned for it. But it does make my life a bit more difficult, yeah.
FauxPraetor
Thanks! At the risk of sounding technologically illiterate, how do I find 148? I can't find anything after 147 from last Saturday, might just be how unfamiliar I am with this app. I can only find the Guild Mage ones. Again, thank you!
Tarrim
There were creatures she’d never encountered herself, but they’d all been in her old, dog-eared copy of Blackstone’s Bestiary. >Blackwood's You really set yourself up for confusion
Gopard
Lol then it seems I misread it back then and never realised it until now.
Piras
Maybe Edith made her uncomfortable, and being seen by noble society as a whole... or explaining that being a bastard is not that big of a deal to the Eld and that she is actually a fully realized princess on her own right felt too disruptive of a thing to say in lucanian society. I do agree that she has to be more proud of who she is and wear it in full colors, tho this 'regression' doesn't seem that off to me, in many ways she is a teen and has insecurities, like with her scars and going on the first day while wearing bandages. Tho not much of this is talked about in text at the moment, I trust the authors direction and intuition on where to head the story regarding this :)
Piras
Oh boy what an arc this is shaping up to be, hopefully she won't have too much trouble either due to envy or prejudice... I also hope she can feel herself up enough to dress herself in nobler colors, maybe in ice cold blues and whites styled in Lucanian fashion... she deserves it at this point, she will already be judged here either way... but I guess she will have to find that out for herself
william wallace
Really depends on the population of the kingdom. Liv’s home seems on the smaller size but the only city we have really seen is the capital. Are there other sizable cities? How much larger are most territories as compared to what weve seen? Basically: MORE WORLD BUILDING!!! MORE POLITICAL INTRIGUE!!!
Grayson
TYFTC, but why, after 85 chapters of character development where Liv learns to proudly embrace her name and and heritage--Livara Tar Valtteri Kaen Syva--do you have her shrinking back to Liv Brobeck and wearing gray clothes??
Dave N
This weekend I plan to add another 2 chapters to our patreon bunch :) I think that'll put us 12 ahead of RR
Jiří Horák
Another amazing chapter, I just wish there was something like a super-patreon so I could read even further ahead 😅
Dave N
30 x 30 would be 900, but remember not everyone who goes to the college ends up joining the guild. Noble heirs don't join so that they can inherit; merchant kids are there to make a match with a noble, rather than to join the guild. And then once people graduate, there's a death rate in rifts. We've gotten hints in some of the scenes like the great council that mages going off to Varuna die at a higher rate than those staying home to defend known rifts in Lucania, and we've seen people argue they shouldn't be sent/allowed to go there. A sort of isolationist standpoint, but there's some reason behind it. And keep in mind 900 people - even if everyone survived 30 years - is not very many. There are high schools with a larger student population.
william wallace
Some back of the envelope math (assuming some where around 30 survive the rifts and that average mages have 30 ish good years before age starts restricting them) gives me around 1000 active mages? That feels either too high or too low. Either, way more are dying in rifts/ expeditions or there are an awful lot of middle aged mages off doing something important but not life threatening we haven’t seen yet. Or large numbers of low capacity mages just run around in packs as magical pest control for larger cities.
william wallace
Pretty sure you are correct regarding things like count, viscount etc and regarding knights. There are obviously significant groups of healers both independent and families/groups; I wonder about other magical tradesmen (enchanters for possible example). It’s hard to get a picture of magical society from Liv’s sheltered view. I am quite looking forward to learning more during the school arc.
Dave N
I've got rough numbers that I've worked out. Average number of first years is in the 60-65 range About 50 make it to 2nd year 40 to third year / Journeyman Most journeyman who don't die in rifts become full mages. Figure out of the first years, about half are from noble families. The rest are merchants' kids sent for social mobility/to find matches, or very smart lower class kids someone has found.
Tarrim
Below baron idk but almost no chance anything between baron and Duke given all the politics we have seen. We also have the knights but idk if they count. Knight does seem at least somewhat hereditary.
william wallace
Poorly worded on my part, should have asked about positions above baron but below duke if any. And if there are any lesser lords that still count as hereditary landed gentry but don’t have a vote at the conclave/council.
Tarrim
there are 142 barons in lucania
william wallace
Couple of questions have been percolating in the back of my head these past few days. How many students are nobility? Aristocracy? Merchant? From hereditary magical trades? Children of mages? Random apprentices lifted from the peasants class? How many move on to future years? How many magic users are there? From what Liv has seen they seem very rare, but she was from a rural, sparsely populated area. Do all members of the nobility have a word of power? If a duke raises a new baron do they give them their word of power if they don’t have one? How many noble houses are there?
Guilherme Vasconcellos
lol i’m not the only one waiting for liv to kick some ass for DAYS
Dave N
At some point I'm going to take a vacation and people will riot!
Larc
Waiting another day for Liv to trounce some fools with a garden of ice, much to everyone's shock, feels like torture. We are SO spoiled with the daily release schedule.
Dave N
Wednesday and Saturday!
Dave N
thank you!
Dave N
mistake
Dave N
thank you!
Tarrim
You made me look at the chapter and the apprentices in 53 all have guild rings. The implication in the chapter is there are other master mages that take on apprentices and they pre college age students. Although there is some other weird stuff everyone in the meeting is either referenced as a master or apprentice no mention of journeymen in that chapter.
307Bookworm_AOB
I thought you can't get a Ring unless you join the guild or have a master/apprentice relationship with someone from guild. Most kids do not have a ring as they are not trained enough, established themselves or whatever is needed. Was stated in very early chapters that the average student joining the academy has around 7-10? rings worth of Mana and when graduating its like 12-15? 18 would be considered guild mage material, 20+ would be arch mage or something. At the time, Liv was like 2 rings above a graduate at the start of her magic career and now she is 3-4x higher than all her peers. She also got her ring due to a circumstance that basically had Jurian show up to cause trouble (cuz he dgaf lol) but also saw potential in Liv. She she became an apprentice which earned her a guild ring and making her bound to the guild laws which was why she was required to participate in each eruption and other things related to guild business, regardless of her age or stature.
Maritienna
"I’ve only know him" -> "known" "made from caribou hide hear" -> "hide here"
Maritienna
No, he's always been Jurian.
Tarrim
Shouldn't their be other new students with rings as well or do they tend not to attend coral bay. We have references from the conclave to other apprentices about livs age at the conclave or did they not get the ring?
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter! Wasn't the proffessor callen "Julian" before??? Also I disagree with Wren... Those rumors ARE important, more pressing is though that they were completely meaningless... She could have made any number of reasons for buying blood, for example using her looks as someone from a different continent to say that "we cook with blood where I'm from" or anything like that... No need give people who want to attack Liv amnunition especially when "Bloodmagick" is bound to be a touchy subject for people after the spring of death's just a few years back.
Tarrim
Also I would argue the test taking is a little weird as described. Since there is no reference to them enforcing time limits on the individual tests if someone takes too long on the early tests the later ones would lack proper data on their actual knowledge in those subjects.
Tarrim
temple bells has been audible Has> had
Tarrim
Idk if it is intentional but we have two different spellings for blackstone. Blachstone was used last chapter.
william wallace
Liv is either going to be accused of cheating or ostracized for being both foreign country bumpkin whose skill angers the student cliques. Or both. The combat test should be fun. Cant wait to see what classes she gets put in.
Grayson
Did she succeed in strengthening her bones?
FauxPraetor
Love both your stories. Might I ask what The Faerie Knight's current schedule is or when the next chapter will be? I apologize if the question comes off as too brusque.
