Liv tucked her skirts under her and took one of the three open seats, two of which were right next to each other. That put Sidonie on her left, and Rosamund, once she’d walked away from Master Grenfell and the mana-stone at the center of the circle, on her other side.

“Fifteen rings, now,” Rose told her, with a grin. She crossed one leg over the other and threw her arm over the back of Liv’s chair.

“That’s impressive,” Liv said. “You’ve nearly matched Arjun, now. Speaking of - he’ll be along from the Feic Seria rift sometime in the next few days. Shouldn’t he be part of this?”

“He will be,” Professor Every promised. “But to be honest, I think we’re all going to be in and out of Whitehill quite a bit for the next few months. I’ve never fought a war before, but I’ve seen plenty of cullings, and it strikes me there’s going to be a lot to do. I understand both you and Arjun need a measurement taken, as well, but I’d ask you to wait until after we’ve worked through a few other orders of business.”

Liv nodded in relief. To be entirely honest, she wasn’t certain that she wanted everyone in the room to hear just what her mana capacity was, after she’d defeated the lingering ghost of Celris. Rose’s fifteen rings was already on the impressive side for an experienced culling mage, and Arjun came off as something of a prodigy. She wasn’t entirely certain what everyone else’s mana capacity was, but she knew that they’d all passed Master Grenfell some time ago.

It shouldn’t have made anyone jealous - mana capacity didn’t mean a lot without the imprinted words of power and grammar skill to go with it, nevermind techniques like silent casting or authority training - but shouldn’t wasn’t the same thing as didn’t.

“First,” Lia Every began, standing to take Master Grenfell’s place at the center of the circle. Liv’s former teacher, in the meanwhile, took a seat in his own, much more comfortably cushioned chair. “In response to King Benedict’s unlawful interference in the structure of our guild, it is my position that we are fully justified in rejecting Genevieve Arundell’s claim to Guild Mistress, and filling the position ourselves. I also think that if Whitehill holds the line against Benedict’s army, we’re going to see more guild members making their way to us. We need a leader to stand publicly in opposition to Genevieve, but I also don’t think we should alienate potential allies by making a decision before we’ve even gathered our people. I propose that we appoint an acting Guild Master, to serve for the duration of the hostilities - following which, their final responsibility will be to call for a Conclave to elect their replacement.”

Semila cautiously raised her hand. “Is it really alright for me to be here for this part of things?” the younger girl asked, glancing around the circle. “I’ve only had a few months of classes, but I know that someone who hasn’t taken the oath yet shouldn’t be at a conclave.”

“This isn’t a conclave,” Sidonie pointed out. “Technically, there’s no rule against you being present; you simply can’t vote.” Semila nodded, and sat back in her chair.

“There’s only two real choices,” Liv said, once that had been settled. “Besides Master Grenfell and Professor Every, none of us are over the rank of journeyman.” She glanced over to where Triss sat silently, and recalled that her sister-in-law was a full mage, but Beatrice didn’t speak up at all.

“Also, technically, not true,” Sidonie broke in again. “The requirement to be promoted from journeyman to full guild mage is to take part in a culling outside of those sponsored by the college. Our time at the Garden of Thorns qualifies you and I.” Liv’s friend looked across the circle to where Master Grenfell sat, and then to Professor Every.

Every and Grenfell exchanged glances, and then the professor nodded. “We hereby recognize both of you as full mages of the guild, eligible to command a culling or to serve as court mages,” she said. “And, technically, to put yourselves forward for the position of guild master, though I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“I like how quickly we’re getting through this,” Rosamund remarked. “Congratulations, ladies.”

“Let us continue to impress Apprentice Lowry with our speed and concision, in that case,” Grenfell remarked. “I nominate Professor Every to serve as our acting guild mistress. You know I’ve never had any desire to embroil myself in politics, Lia -”

“A bit late for that now,” Liv told him.

Grenfell sighed. “Regardless, no one knows our charter and the laws better than Professor Every does. If anyone can navigate this minefield, it's her.”

“Seconded,” Elenda Fisher said, raising her hand. “No offense, Master Grenfell, but I’d never met you until we came here, but I’ve known Professor Every for three years now. I trust her.”

“All in favor, then?” Grenfell asked. Liv noticed that he called for the vote before anyone had a chance to try to push him into it, but in the end decided that she had to respect his own preferences, even if she didn’t know Lia Every as well. One by one, hands around the circle raised, save for Semila’s.

“Very well,” Professor - no, Liv corrected herself - Guild Mistress Every began, visibly gathering herself to the task. “My first order of business will be to negotiate with Duchess Julianne. If Whitehill comes out of this as an independent duchy, we will have a charter to operate in that duchy. One in which I will make it explicitly clear that we determine our own leadership. Are there any other particular changes that might need to be made?”

“First, get rid of the clause about inheritance,” Liv said. “Julianne may even bring that to you as a request, herself.”

“Given you’re her second heir, I would suspect so,” Grenfell confirmed.

“Maybe use it to get land, then,” Liv suggested. “We’ve got at least one prospective apprentice, after all, and we’re going to have more. We need a place to teach.”

“You want to found a new college,” Every said.

“One that isn’t under Benedict’s authority or in his lands,” Sidonie added, nodding along. “We have enough people here to teach. Gamel can take care of unarmed combat - he’s been doing it under Jurian for ages already.”

Everyone looked to the big man, slouched in his chair, and he nodded. “I could,” he agreed. “Though I’m still only a journeyman.”

“We aren’t going to have enough master mages to be professors for years,” Rose pointed out. “We can either waste that entire time waiting, or do our best with what we have. You think you can find time to teach a class of guild history and law, with that fancy new title you’ve got?” she asked Every.

“I can, but I don’t know where we’re going to do it,” Lia Every said. “Even if the Duchess gives us space, we don’t have the funds to build. And there won’t be any workers until the war is over.”

“Point me at a piece of land we own, and I’ll give you four stone walls and a floor,” Rosamund promised.

“Master Grenfell can teach grammar,” Liv suggested. “I’ll take magical combat, unless there’s another suggestion. Arjun can handle healing. Sidonie, how do you feel about taking on beasts?”

Her friend nodded. “Our weak link is enchanting.”

“I can take a class of it,” Elenda offered. “I’m not an expert like Professor Norris is, but I can at least teach the basics.”

“Better you than me,” Brom said. “I’ll be headed straight for the south pass once we’re done here. If that doesn’t hold, we won’t have any school at all.”

“And I expect we’ll all have to be flexible,” Sidonie pointed out. “I know Liv, Rose and I have work to do at Bald Peak with the waystone. But we have a beginning, at least.”

“As long as I can get us a piece of land,” Guild Mistress Every pointed out. “But this town is already packed with refugees from the south, and more are coming every day. I don’t know how they do it in the winter, but they are.”

This tale has been pilfered from NovelBin. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Why don’t you ask for land beneath Bald Peak?” Liv suggested. It wasn’t, she told herself, because she could already feel her headache coming on. “It’s convenient to the waystone, and we can’t afford to leave the place undefended.”

“If we built just outside the edge of the shoals,” Grenfell mused, “that would be enough to keep cases of mana-sickness to a minimum.”

Liv shook her head, throwing out ideas as quickly as they came to her. “No, build it in the shoal,” she said. “Or leave a piece of the campus outside, perhaps, but not all of it. I can teach everyone how to exist inside a rift without being overwhelmed by the mana density.”

Sidonie put a hand on Liv’s shoulder. “Are you certain about that?” she asked. “The Eld-”

“We can put it in a second charter,” Liv continued. “One signed with the elder councils of the Eld. Permission for guild members to learn the technique.”

“You truly believe your people would let us operate in their lands?” Grenfell asked.

“At least two houses, guaranteed,” Liv answered. “And I think a third easily.” She almost counted Keri’s family, but then recalled her arguments with his aunt and had second thoughts. “The whole purpose of the guild is to share knowledge of magic. We’ve lost too much already, and the oldest generation of the Eld are ancient. I think people like Elder Aira will see the value in preserving what they know.”

“Would we accept Eldish members, then?” Brom asked. “No offense, Liv.”

“We practically already have,” Elenda pointed out. “There’s not much difference between Eld and half Eld, is there?”

“Can you put me in contact with these elders?” Every asked Liv.

“I can get you a meeting with Aira tär Keria at Al’Fenthia,” Liv promised. “If you get her on your side, she’ll be able to give you a chance to at least propose it to the other houses. Anyway, we have a bit of time before we’re inundated with students, I suspect. Between this room, the observatory, the training grounds, and the room of curiosities, the castle should be able to handle classes until we get something more permanent built.”

“Are you going to make a stash of wands again?” Semila asked. “As soon as you’d left, our class went straight from exciting to useless. It was like the journeyman they put in charge didn’t care about actually teaching us.”

Every winced. “It was - not good,” she admitted. “It’s decided, then. Semila, Arjun and Rosamund will begin taking classes again, when not occupied with other obligations.”

Rosamund sat up so quickly that she almost fell out of her chair. “I have too much to do to take classes,” she protested. “I was at the Garden of Thorns, too! And the Tomb of Celris, and-”

“And both you and Apprentice Arjun Iyuz had not yet tested out of your classes when you left Coral Bay,” the guild mistress interrupted her. “I’m certain you’ve learned quite a bit; I’m counting on it, in fact. Now prove it. Take the same tests as any other student, and I’ll recognize you as a journeyman.”

“Fine,” Rosamund grumbled, and leaned back into her chair.

“Is there anything else we should discuss, right now, as a group?” Grenfell asked. When he was greeted only by silence, he continued. “Then Liv, we should test your capacity, while I have you here.”

Liv nodded, but waited for the other guild members to stand and begin filing out before she got up. “Semilla.” She caught the younger girl by the shoulder. “Meet me out in the courtyard in a quarter bell.”

“Yes, Magia!” the dark haired girl gave her a grin, and then scurried out the door.

“You made an impression on that one,” Guildmistress Every remarked. “In only a class or two.”

“Apparently I was the only one who actually thought that remedial students without a word might be able to learn something,” Liv grumbled.

“Congratulations,” Triss said, coming over to give Liv a quick hug before she left. It was the first time Liv’s sister-in-law had spoken since the meeting had begun.

The door swung closed, leaving only Liv, Rose, Sidonie, Grenfell, and the new Guildmistress. She took her guild ring off her finger and handed it to Master Grenfell, who emptied it into the uncut mana-stone at the center of the room.

Every took a seat near Rose and Sidonie; Liv thought about asking her to leave, but decided that if she was going to trust the older woman to be guild mistress, she should start to show it.

“What was your capacity before entering the Tomb of Celris?” Grenfell asked, as Liv began filling her ring, then passing it to Grenfell for him to empty it again. Sidonie took one of the slates that Grenfell kept for his students from the nearby bookshelf, along with a piece of chalk, and began marking each ring.

“Twenty-seven,” Liv said, quietly.

“Twenty-seven,” Lia Every repeated, a bit louder than Liv had been comfortable with. “When you got to Coral Bay it was twenty-four, and that was already unheard of. Three rings of growth in just over a year. I still don’t know how you did it.”

“The Well of Bones,” Liv answered. “And I can tell it’s going to be more now. I’m certain I can hold more than thirty, now. Sidonie, you need to mark one ring right away; I’ve - I’m down a bit.” She wasn’t certain she wanted to explain tethering herself to a rift yet.

“Archmagus Loredan can’t hold thirty,” the guildmistress protested. And yet, as ring after ring was emptied into the mana-stone, and Sidonie added to her tally, the numbers went up, and showed no sign of stopping. Liv wasn’t at all surprised when the twenty-ninth ring was emptied, and she still had mana to spare, but Lia Every gasped as if she hadn’t been able to believe it until it actually happened.

“Thirty-four,” Sidonie said, as her chalk scraped across the slate.

“One more,” Liv gasped. Her head was pounding now, and she felt faint. Nevertheless, Master Grenfell handed her the ring, and she filled it one last time before passing it back to him.

“Thirty-five.”

Grenfell offered Liv her ring, and she shook her head. She felt completely wrung out, and she hardly waited to get the ring back on her finger before she placed both hands on the hunk of stone and pulled her own mana back out. Being filled again was such a relief that she couldn’t help but sigh at the feeling; still, the headache only dulled, but did not leave her. Liv had a feeling it wouldn't until she stepped into the shoals outside Bald Peak Rift.

“I knew you were talented, but -” the guildmistress trailed off. “I can only hold twenty rings. It was one thing to have Jurian and Caspian over me, but...”

“A bit different when it's a girl young enough to be your daughter, isn’t it?” Grenfell said, with a smile. He walked back over to his chair and sat down, leaning back until it creaked. “I’ve made my peace with being surpassed, Lia. Now it's your turn.”

Every sighed. “You have private training each morning with Kazimir and I, at least until you leave,” she declared. “I understand you’d been training your Authority on the archmagus’s orders.”

“And I’ve trained it more since we left Coral Bay,” Liv told her.

“You’re going to have to master it before spring,” the guildmistress declared. “If we’re going to have any hope of standing up to Genevieve Arundell.”

“You think she’ll have the guts to show up herself?” Rose asked.

Lia every nodded. “You haven’t seen her since the night Jurian died. She’s - she wears a mask now. From whatever magic the two of them were throwing at each other before the second floor of Blackstone Hall collapsed. No one’s seen her face in months. And she hates you, Liv. I think she’s decided you’re to blame for what happened. She’ll come, alright. And we need to have an answer for her.”

☙

Those words were still rolling around Liv’s mind when she stepped out into the courtyard of Castle Whitehill with her old staff in her left hand, and her wand in her right. She didn’t see how she was going to be capable of fighting an archmage in only a few months' time. Authority training was only part of it, and just that part alone was daunting. Arundell had used her Authority to fight off the magic of three master mages simultaneously; Liv had never pitted her own Authority against more than one person at a time.

To say nothing of developing an archmage level spell. Liv knew that her family had one: her grandmother had even written it in her spellbook for her, but she was a long way off from being ready to cast it. She hadn’t had a great deal of time to practice with Dā. Never mind the fact that being able to put someone into hibernation wasn’t exactly a battle spell, as useful as it might otherwise be.

With a shake, Liv dragged her thoughts out of all of the problems she was facing, and strode over to Semilla. “Take this,” she said, thrusting her own wand at the girl. “I’ll make you a wand that uses Aluth before I leave for Bald Peak, so you can practice while I’m gone, but I don’t have anything prepared for today.”

The dark-haired girl gripped the wand gingerly. “This looks... really expensive,” she said.

“It is. Turn around and put your back to mine.” Liv waited until she felt the other girl’s body pressed against her own. “You remember how this works, I hope,” she said. “Fifteen paces. One.” She took a step forward, and counted off each pace, then turned around.

By the time Liv had done that, they’d attracted a crowd. Guards were looking down from the walls, and Matthew had rolled Henry’s chair out onto the balcony that looked down on the training grounds. Liv noticed that even her mother and Gretta had come out of the kitchen to watch, despite the winter cold.

“The first button is a single shard of ice,” Liv shouted to Semilla. “It launches like a mana-blade. The second is a spread of five shards. The third raises a wall, and if you twist the handle, it covers the wand in a sword of ice. Are you ready?”

Semilla nodded, though Liv could see how nervous her student was.

“Begin!”