Light XOR Shadow - Chapter 4
"Alexander was very loved during his time here. The older boys took great interest in him, treating him as their younger brother. Sure, they were hard on him, but that’s simply what brothers do. In my opinion, the boy needed toughening up when he first came to our school, and he was considerably stronger when he left. Alas, his father was -- perhaps rightfully -- never pleased with Alexander, thus his sudden transfer to Beaumont..."
-- David Olifant
“A Silhouette?” Tsinderion said. “I can’t say that I have, Mr. Marcus. Why do you ask? Did you come across the term in your studies?”
Alexander had been searching the library at Beaumont for two weeks, hoping to find even an obscure mention to bring to his professor, but no luck. He couldn’t exactly admit that he’d learned the information from the shade-that-was-not-a-shade trapped in his suitcase, so he’d come up with a lie in advance.
“No, sir,” Alexander replied. “I overheard it in the halls of Olifant, while passing by an open lecture hall. The way he said it… It was clearly some kind of title or concept, not the common use of the word -- perhaps some kind of phenomenon in shadowmancy?”
“I’m afraid not.” Tsinderion said. “Perhaps you caught the name of the faculty member? Olifant and Beaumont have a good working relationship. I could send a missive with your question?”
“Unfortunately not. I didn’t have much time to get to know the senior faculty, sir.”
That was also a lie, but Alexander’s reputation for hopping from school to school was well known to Beaumont’s staff, and thus it was believable. Tsinderion merely nodded, one claw tapping the scales on his arm as he pondered.
“Have you tried the library?”
“Yes, sir. Every stack related to shadowmancy, and the arcane. I even dipped into the technomancy stacks, but no luck… Perhaps if I could-”
Tsinderion’s eyes narrowed, releasing a huff of smoky breath from his nostrils. Alexander winced. The dragon had realized the true nature of his request.
“We do not call it the restricted section because it is open to browse, Mr. Marcus.”
“I understand, Doctor Tsi,” Alexander said. “I’m not asking to go there on my own. I was wondering if you would make an exception if I were attended by a student of the College, or maybe even yourself? Your advice would be invaluable, sir.”
Alexander was careful to keep his tone deferential, and play to the dragon’s pride. While Tsinderion was less susceptible to this than some of his kin, he was still a dragon. Alexander watched as the smoky cloud spewing from the dragon became lighter, although his eyes were still narrowed.
“And what do you intend to do with such knowledge, should we find it?”
“Just looking to satisfy an academic curiosity,” Alexander said. It wasn’t necessarily a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth. Still, it was enough to convince the professor.
“I suppose I could ask the Headmaster,” Tsinderion said. “But it will take time to convince him. I suggest you keep your grades up, and do well in the midterms. If there is any initial resistance, I may be able to sway him with that.”
Alexander was careful to not let his disappointment show. The midterms were a week away, and Tsinderion was a notoriously harsh grader. Alexander normally got decent marks in his studies, but if the professor was making his request contingent on his performance, he would have to study extra hard. It was going to be a week of long nights, and that meant less time searching for his answer. Worse yet, Headmaster Beaumont could still say no, meaning all the extra work could be for naught. Still, it was better than what he had at the moment, which was nothing.
“Thank you, sir,” Alexander said. “I’ll be sure to impress the Headmaster, so that he has no doubts.”
“That’s what we like to hear, Mr. Marcus.”
The dragon gave him one last look, and then a curt nod. Alexander took that as his dismissal, and quickly left the professor’s office, heading out into the halls. It was just past noon, so students were spread about, chatting away over lunch and open textbooks. The latter was just for show -- the professors were always more lenient when their students hid behind the guise of study. So the boys sat a little closer to the girls than was regulation, and no one commented on the din of socializing in the halls.
Normally such things annoyed Alexander, but today it gave him comfort. If his fellow students did poorly enough in the exams, it increased the likelihood of a generous curve, meaning he might get perfect marks. It was a wishful thought, but he allowed himself the dalliance, if just for today. Unfortunately, his idle scan of the crowd meant that he missed the man walking up behind him.
“Hello, little brother,” Julius said. “On your own, as usual?”
Three-Thousand, Four-Hundred, and Eight-Four. One. Two. Four. Thirteen…
Alexander scrambled for a number sequence, but found himself listing divisors instead. It was a poor substitute, and thus his composure slipped. Alexander whirled about, just barely clinging to emptiness, keeping his expression as void of emotion as possible. The end result was clumsy, and Julius saw through it. His smirk stretched wider, giving him the appearance of a hungry snake.
“What are you doing here?” Alexander blurted out.
“Checking in on you, of course,” Julius replied. “Father sent me. He wants to make sure you’re adjusting well. How are things?”
It was a loaded question, at which his older brother excelled. How are your studies? Have you summoned a shade yet? Shown any other hidden talents? Made any friends? How will you be useful to Father? How will you be useful to me, when Father is gone? Julius meant all of those questions and more, packed into a neat little sentence. Alexander was expected to address each and every one, or be considered a failure.
“Everything is fine,” Alexander replied. If Julius wanted the details, he would have to fish for them. Otherwise, Alexander risked saying something he shouldn’t.
“I see. Your marks?”
“Top of my class.”
“Even in shadowmancy?”
“Especially. Doctor Tsiderion is an excellent lecturer.”
Julius paused, looking where exactly to thrust, and found a weak spot.
“Lecture, sure,” Julius said. “But your applications? Any summons?”
“No,” Alexander said. Julius knew the answer already, but if he forced Alexander to admit it, then it was a small victory. “But we’ve only had two lab sessions this semester, and they were over the fundamentals.”
“Fundamentals?” Julius scoffed. “You are a son of House Marcus. Tsinderion should know better. Perhaps I shall talk to the Headmaster, and upgrade you to one of the College courses.”
It was a trap veiled by fake praise. Doctor Tsi’s course was almost entirely lecture-based, with a few labs to accentuate his lessons. Because they were considered auxiliary to the course material, the labs weren’t graded, which means failure wouldn’t hurt Alexander’s marks. The shadowmancy courses at Beaumont College were the complete opposite. Alexander would flunk out within a month.
“No,” Alexander said, a little too swift for his liking. Julius raised an eyebrow.
“No?”
Alexander grasped at straws, searching for anything to defend himself with. If only he had a few moments to void himself of emotions! He grabbed the only thing he could think of, and thrust the lie at Julius, hoping to appease him.
“Doctor Tsi and I are working on an advanced project together,” Alexander said. “The Headmaster normally doesn’t allow students to do research, but he’ll make an exception, if I do well in the midterms.”
His brother’s smirk slowly faded, his eyes squinting as he searched for the truth. Alexander took that brief opportunity to collect himself.
...Five. Eight. Thirteen. Twenty-One. Thirty-Four. Fifty-Five…
“What’s the subject?” Julius asked.
“I’m afraid I can’t say without the professor’s permission. He may want to have the results of our experiment published, you see.”
“Uh-huh.” Julius grunted. “Well perhaps I’ll pay Tsinderion a visit on my way to the Headmaster. I haven’t seen him in years. It would be nice to catch up.”
Alexander’s throat twitched, but he didn’t gulp. He didn’t give his brother anything. The numbers ticked away in his head, and he stayed empty. Julius’s eyes narrowed.
“Sure,” Alexander said. “Tell him I said that I’m looking forward to the project.”
“I will. I’ll be sure to inform Father, as well. If the topic is shadowmancy, I’m sure he would be interested in reading your manuscript. When’s it completed, of course.”
“Of course.”
A flash of annoyance crossed Julius’ eyes, and for the second time Alexander was grateful for his layabout peers. His brother couldn’t act out in public, and so he was protected from anything by verbal punishment.
“Well, I must be off,” Julius said, his voice bordering on a growl. “Father has several items of business for me to complete before I return home. I hope to see the results of your progress soon, brother.”
Without a farewell, Julius turned on his heel, and headed back the way Alexander had come, towards Tsinderion’s office. He could only hope that the dragon would play along, but there would be hell to play later. The professor abhorred liars, and Alexander’s claims were more than a stretch of the truth.
The emptiness began to fade as his brother turned the corner, and feelings of worry and regret made merry in Alexander’s stomach.
Alexander had been searching the library at Beaumont for two weeks, hoping to find even an obscure mention to bring to his professor, but no luck. He couldn’t exactly admit that he’d learned the information from the shade-that-was-not-a-shade trapped in his suitcase, so he’d come up with a lie in advance.
“No, sir,” Alexander replied. “I overheard it in the halls of Olifant, while passing by an open lecture hall. The way he said it… It was clearly some kind of title or concept, not the common use of the word -- perhaps some kind of phenomenon in shadowmancy?”
“I’m afraid not.” Tsinderion said. “Perhaps you caught the name of the faculty member? Olifant and Beaumont have a good working relationship. I could send a missive with your question?”
“Unfortunately not. I didn’t have much time to get to know the senior faculty, sir.”
That was also a lie, but Alexander’s reputation for hopping from school to school was well known to Beaumont’s staff, and thus it was believable. Tsinderion merely nodded, one claw tapping the scales on his arm as he pondered.
“Have you tried the library?”
“Yes, sir. Every stack related to shadowmancy, and the arcane. I even dipped into the technomancy stacks, but no luck… Perhaps if I could-”
Tsinderion’s eyes narrowed, releasing a huff of smoky breath from his nostrils. Alexander winced. The dragon had realized the true nature of his request.
“We do not call it the restricted section because it is open to browse, Mr. Marcus.”
“I understand, Doctor Tsi,” Alexander said. “I’m not asking to go there on my own. I was wondering if you would make an exception if I were attended by a student of the College, or maybe even yourself? Your advice would be invaluable, sir.”
Alexander was careful to keep his tone deferential, and play to the dragon’s pride. While Tsinderion was less susceptible to this than some of his kin, he was still a dragon. Alexander watched as the smoky cloud spewing from the dragon became lighter, although his eyes were still narrowed.
“And what do you intend to do with such knowledge, should we find it?”
“Just looking to satisfy an academic curiosity,” Alexander said. It wasn’t necessarily a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth. Still, it was enough to convince the professor.
“I suppose I could ask the Headmaster,” Tsinderion said. “But it will take time to convince him. I suggest you keep your grades up, and do well in the midterms. If there is any initial resistance, I may be able to sway him with that.”
Alexander was careful to not let his disappointment show. The midterms were a week away, and Tsinderion was a notoriously harsh grader. Alexander normally got decent marks in his studies, but if the professor was making his request contingent on his performance, he would have to study extra hard. It was going to be a week of long nights, and that meant less time searching for his answer. Worse yet, Headmaster Beaumont could still say no, meaning all the extra work could be for naught. Still, it was better than what he had at the moment, which was nothing.
“Thank you, sir,” Alexander said. “I’ll be sure to impress the Headmaster, so that he has no doubts.”
“That’s what we like to hear, Mr. Marcus.”
The dragon gave him one last look, and then a curt nod. Alexander took that as his dismissal, and quickly left the professor’s office, heading out into the halls. It was just past noon, so students were spread about, chatting away over lunch and open textbooks. The latter was just for show -- the professors were always more lenient when their students hid behind the guise of study. So the boys sat a little closer to the girls than was regulation, and no one commented on the din of socializing in the halls.
Normally such things annoyed Alexander, but today it gave him comfort. If his fellow students did poorly enough in the exams, it increased the likelihood of a generous curve, meaning he might get perfect marks. It was a wishful thought, but he allowed himself the dalliance, if just for today. Unfortunately, his idle scan of the crowd meant that he missed the man walking up behind him.
“Hello, little brother,” Julius said. “On your own, as usual?”
Three-Thousand, Four-Hundred, and Eight-Four. One. Two. Four. Thirteen…
Alexander scrambled for a number sequence, but found himself listing divisors instead. It was a poor substitute, and thus his composure slipped. Alexander whirled about, just barely clinging to emptiness, keeping his expression as void of emotion as possible. The end result was clumsy, and Julius saw through it. His smirk stretched wider, giving him the appearance of a hungry snake.
“What are you doing here?” Alexander blurted out.
“Checking in on you, of course,” Julius replied. “Father sent me. He wants to make sure you’re adjusting well. How are things?”
It was a loaded question, at which his older brother excelled. How are your studies? Have you summoned a shade yet? Shown any other hidden talents? Made any friends? How will you be useful to Father? How will you be useful to me, when Father is gone? Julius meant all of those questions and more, packed into a neat little sentence. Alexander was expected to address each and every one, or be considered a failure.
“Everything is fine,” Alexander replied. If Julius wanted the details, he would have to fish for them. Otherwise, Alexander risked saying something he shouldn’t.
“I see. Your marks?”
“Top of my class.”
“Even in shadowmancy?”
“Especially. Doctor Tsiderion is an excellent lecturer.”
Julius paused, looking where exactly to thrust, and found a weak spot.
“Lecture, sure,” Julius said. “But your applications? Any summons?”
“No,” Alexander said. Julius knew the answer already, but if he forced Alexander to admit it, then it was a small victory. “But we’ve only had two lab sessions this semester, and they were over the fundamentals.”
“Fundamentals?” Julius scoffed. “You are a son of House Marcus. Tsinderion should know better. Perhaps I shall talk to the Headmaster, and upgrade you to one of the College courses.”
It was a trap veiled by fake praise. Doctor Tsi’s course was almost entirely lecture-based, with a few labs to accentuate his lessons. Because they were considered auxiliary to the course material, the labs weren’t graded, which means failure wouldn’t hurt Alexander’s marks. The shadowmancy courses at Beaumont College were the complete opposite. Alexander would flunk out within a month.
“No,” Alexander said, a little too swift for his liking. Julius raised an eyebrow.
“No?”
Alexander grasped at straws, searching for anything to defend himself with. If only he had a few moments to void himself of emotions! He grabbed the only thing he could think of, and thrust the lie at Julius, hoping to appease him.
“Doctor Tsi and I are working on an advanced project together,” Alexander said. “The Headmaster normally doesn’t allow students to do research, but he’ll make an exception, if I do well in the midterms.”
His brother’s smirk slowly faded, his eyes squinting as he searched for the truth. Alexander took that brief opportunity to collect himself.
...Five. Eight. Thirteen. Twenty-One. Thirty-Four. Fifty-Five…
“What’s the subject?” Julius asked.
“I’m afraid I can’t say without the professor’s permission. He may want to have the results of our experiment published, you see.”
“Uh-huh.” Julius grunted. “Well perhaps I’ll pay Tsinderion a visit on my way to the Headmaster. I haven’t seen him in years. It would be nice to catch up.”
Alexander’s throat twitched, but he didn’t gulp. He didn’t give his brother anything. The numbers ticked away in his head, and he stayed empty. Julius’s eyes narrowed.
“Sure,” Alexander said. “Tell him I said that I’m looking forward to the project.”
“I will. I’ll be sure to inform Father, as well. If the topic is shadowmancy, I’m sure he would be interested in reading your manuscript. When’s it completed, of course.”
“Of course.”
A flash of annoyance crossed Julius’ eyes, and for the second time Alexander was grateful for his layabout peers. His brother couldn’t act out in public, and so he was protected from anything by verbal punishment.
“Well, I must be off,” Julius said, his voice bordering on a growl. “Father has several items of business for me to complete before I return home. I hope to see the results of your progress soon, brother.”
Without a farewell, Julius turned on his heel, and headed back the way Alexander had come, towards Tsinderion’s office. He could only hope that the dragon would play along, but there would be hell to play later. The professor abhorred liars, and Alexander’s claims were more than a stretch of the truth.
The emptiness began to fade as his brother turned the corner, and feelings of worry and regret made merry in Alexander’s stomach.
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