Chapter Two - The Sapphire City

The buildings were not actually made of sapphire.

Instead, they were plated with crystals from a distinctly sky-blue mineral that looked similar to sapphire, but was far less rare. Even at the height of its power, the Vahnatai had not the abundance of wealth (or the decadence) that would have allowed them to use actual gems as a building material - not when these gemstones were infinitely more essential in their use as a magic catalyst. Regardless of the less luxurious material, the shining crystal lent the entire city a mysterious and lofty air, and its deep blue roofs, mirroring the sky above, shimmered softly in the late morning sun.

The city of Avtris was situated in a shallow valley, as was common for the Vahnatai - with little to fear from in the way of attacks, the better protection of high ground was less important than the greater availability of water in the lower plains. Water was essential, to life, industry and magic; and since water was rarely found above ground in sufficient amounts, the cities were built in such a way as to allow for a vast array of subterranean pumps and wells to bring the precious substance to where it was needed - the Vahnatai had perfected the technology of plumbing. Avtris, in particular, lay many hundreds of miles land inward, and many miles from any river.

When one approached the city, one invariably did so from above - descending one of the three main roads that led to it from the North, the Southwest and the South, or across the open plain, sloping down from the forested wilderness. From all directions, the high ground offered the arriving traveller a magnificent view of the sapphire city and its azure roofs, glinting in the sun and reflecting the light - depending on where one came from and at what time of day, the reflection could cast brilliant rays of sunlight into ones eyes, forcing the travellers to avert their faces as if from a mysterious apparition: A city formed of blinding light, a beacon in the valley that mortals could not bear to look upon.

But it was morning, and the sun had just risen over the hilltops to the east, sending radiant light around the tall figure in a foreboding silhouette, almost resembling a halo. From here, the city was lit in a splendid light directly from behind, eliminating even the tiniest shadows and filling every roof, courtyard and narrow alleyway. The tall, dark shadow stood upon a shallow precipice above the city, and was about to climb the steep trail that led down to the eastern gate. But for now, he was just enjoying the view.

Aidra - for that was the name of this shadowy silhouette upon the precipice - yawned again. He had not rested since the test, but had walked straight on, travelling the whole twenty or so miles that separated the testing caves from the city. He was now close to thirty-six hours without sleep; a gruelling hardship even for one of the Vahnatai, who could stay awake for days if they needed to.

The entrance to the forachid was hidden deep in the wilderness, and according to tradition, the students had to find this way alone. They set out from the city at dawn, they were awaited for three days, and if they did not arrive on the dawn of the fourth, they were declared missing and their test failed. They would not return - almost all of the survivors passed; the rest were lost to one of its many dangers.

They would occasionally send a small group to investigate the caves and the road that led to it, in order to pick up anyone who miraculously survived but was too injured to return. Invariably, such a one would have failed his or her test: but they would have escaped with their lives, which was definitely something.

Against all the odds, Aidra had returned. He felt like a wraith as he stood there, a hraithe, a night haunt come back to avenge himself upon the living, for it was as if he had died a thousand times down below. But the sun shone on his back, and through his red cloak he felt the warmth of the diurnal aster pleasantly upon his skin, a welcome relief after the cold, dark tunnels. No, he realized, he was very much alive. The lethargic unlife he was feeling in his bones was merely exhaustion; it would pass with a good night's sleep the kind of which he had not truly had for at least four months.

The city below him was already, quickly, growing into a busy hive of activity. People milled about, robes in all kinds of shades indicating different professions, farmers leaving the town for their fields, traders already selling their wares at the market square, and the academy Aidra had dwelt in for the last five years, towering above the other buildings and dominating the entire town, was coming alive. A bell rung the first hour of the day - the first after sunrise, that is - and the classes had already started as Aidra could see. Not for him.

It was a barely believable feeling. After five years, he was finally out of this mess. There would be no more classes for him, no more gruelling tasks and errand running for the teachers, and Rabon-Ka and his like would hold no fear for him any more. He would himself be a mage and attach a Ka to his name, and he would decide what tasks to do and what books to read and what things to research.

Only one thing remained: He would need to return to the school for a single time to receive his assessment and his degree - a shining blue stone cut in the shape of a mandrake and engraved with his and the name of the school, and the year he had graduated. The assessment itself was trivial - someone who had gone through the forachid, lived through the challenges and returned by his own power could be sure of a passing grade, and the passing grade was all that mattered. After that, he would be independent, able to practice magic on his own, and in a few decades or centuries, when he had gained experience and power, nobody would ever care how he had graduated from the mage college, or with what grade.

With that thought, he cast a final glance over the glittering roofs of Avtris, and then began his slow descent.

---

The city was as busy as ever by the time he reached the gate. It was market day, and the city of Avtris was the largest Vahnatai settlement for a long distance around: Farmers and craftsmen had travelled from all over the area to peddle their wares and buy new tools - mainly new farming implements, gem-cutting precision tools and mining equipment, for it was its metal industry that Avtris was most famous for. That, and the souvenirs.

Tourism was not too common among the People, but it existed, and whole areas of the great forum were devoted to those wealthy travellers who had come far seeking for entertainment and souvenirs. The majority of these pieces were, of course, jewels and crystals of widely varying value, some of it cheap glass cuttings more or less crudely painted to resemble the skyline of the famed Sapphire City, ranging up to actual miniature replicas made from single sapphires, and intricately faceted and polished diamond ornaments hued sky blue. A little beyond, another enterprising souvenir trader was selling "authentic rejuvenation rubies", whose "internal seventh harmonic vibrations coincided with the wavelength of its reflected light and the structured aura of its pristine matrix incorporating the unending vigour of the fiery element" to grant its wearer a youthful appearance and physique even in the high age of many centuries. Despite his lack of credibility and his untrustworthy look, the vendor was making excellent business. The Vahnatai might have long lives indeed, but they did not age terribly well. The grey skin, already quite dry by nature, would get hard and brittle, as would their bones, and by their sixth century, they were hard pressed when trying to move unaided, if they were still alive. Save for the wizards, of course, who were not without their powers. There were rumours that one Zatis-Bok, long passed into Crystal, had lived as a mortal for over two thousand years. Most scoffed at this notion, however, and Zatis-Bok himself refused to answer the question if it was posed to him.

Next to the tourist traps were the aforementioned metalworkers. Avtris sat directly above an amazing natural deposit of coal, which was otherwise harder to come by than most crystal minerals. Consequentially, the makers of steel weaponry had the greatest part of the square for themselves: Steel wave blades and razor disks were in the display of most of the stalls. Some of the smiths even counted on the entertainment value of their craft, and had set up a small forge furnace in the middle of the square, beating the glowing steel till it formed into blades.

Steel, in that time, was the strongest metal available to most of the People, for Mithral, lying deep beneath the ground, had not been mined for hundreds of years, let alone smelted or forged. The tools and items that remained of the material were very rare and almost priceless. Short of relying on the relatively new and far more expensive ways of using harder, non-metallic materials - like adamant or diamond - whenever one wanted the best and strongest variety of a weapon or tool, one went to the steel smith. This partly explained the wealth of the Sapphire City, and why it was such a prestigious place for a famed magical academy. (Though truth be told, it had been the city that had formed around the academy, not the other way around: the coal deposit was discovered long after the school had already been founded).

Entertainers were also present: Jugglers competed to hold up to half a dozen specially sharpened razor disks in the air without injuring themselves. Skilled warriors, who were broke and in need of a stay at the local inn would stage mock fights with each other for money. Aidra, who had seen only the clumsy combating style of himself and his fellow students - and yes, even his masters, who were no match for the professionals who didn't teach - felt immediately inadequate, not merely because he himself had no skill at all with the wave blade. At the same time, he felt engrossed in the movements that looked considerably more like some kind of graceful dance than a combat technique designed to kill. A lethal dance, it was true, but a graceful one. Oft times, the blade masters would deliberately come close to one another with their weapons, the amazed onlookers practically feeling the wind of the stroke as if it were their own throat it passed by - yet there was no blood, and there would not be: The Vahnatai swift blades were far too skilled to draw blood when they did not will it.

Others could be seen making stunning shows of light, illusion and noise with their magic. The academy granted its fourth year students leave to visit the city on every other market day, and they were permitted to use the powers and knowledge they had already acquired. Invariably, since there were no other talents they had a use for, this would entail throwing colourful sparks through the air in the hopes of attracting attention and making some money off the impressed tourists. Of course, there were varying degrees to the qualities of these shows as well: Some of the apprentices had banded together and formed whole show programs, carefully choreographed illusions and entertaining fireworks. These carefully rehearsed performances were excellently conducted, and acted out with so much experience that it seemed as if the apprentices were in fact professional charlatans rather than adept mages.

The money they earned was swiftly spent again: Not on frivolous things, foodstuffs or baubles the kind of which the tourists were rapidly buying up, nor the taverns. The mages in training needed to finance their own education, stocking up again on various reagents, plant ingredients for alchemical compounds, raw crystals, spell books and of course various tools and magical foci. As Aidra recalled - not without some bitterness, but also with a kind of bitter glee now that he was free of it himself - the apprentices were required to supply all of the teaching materials themselves, down to the last book and down to the last crystal. In the face of this, it was amazing that the tuition itself was still free… until Aidra also recalled that well over half of the magical supplies stores in Avtris belonged - directly or indirectly - to the Academy, and the materials that they sold frequently included products manufactured by the students themselves. Aidra estimated that four fifths of the piercing crystals that the first years used in elementary classes was bought from the Academy itself, and thus the product of the fourth year's enchantment class. Whose students had in turn bought their carved, "blank" and non-enchanted crystals from the Academy stores, which had had them carved by its second year crystal crafting class. These students had bought the raw stones, once again, from the Academy, which had thus sold and resold the students their own products several times down the production line. Matters such as these were rarely brought to public attention, and although most of the students knew what kind of deal they were getting, they did not complain - the tuition was still free, and it was highly effective. And whenever wind was caught of some of the fifth years once again privately bootlegging Piercing Crystals on their own time, in order to sell them to the first-year students at vastly undercut prices, a blind eye was turned - the losses were far too slim to outweigh the overall benefit of a competitive market, besides, the privately sold crystals were commonly of lower quality than those sold by the academy stores.

And indeed, beyond the performing mages, turning around a corner to the less-visited parts of the square, Aidra quickly arrived at the small niche where the apprentices sold unlicensed magical supplies - everything from self-harvested toadstools, to potions brewed in the sparse free time that remained to them during their academic year, to the aforementioned piercing crystals. Here, too, the paths were divided: With his experienced eye - having spent many days both selling and buying these products in exactly this place over the last five years - Aidra could tell almost at a glance which of the enterprising apprentices were offering a good deal and which ones to avoid like the plague. Many of the vendors were experts, the ones whose products were normally resold by the Academy. Others were inept or sloppy. Some where just desperate for money, and some were quite clearly without scruples.

Take that one guy over there in the shadows, for example… the one peddling mandrake roots. He seems curiously unaware how to correctly handle the plant he claims to be selling. If he had the real thing, his rough handling and the lack of moist soil to keep it fresh would have rendered it useless already - but as it is, the rusty colouring of the outer skin betrays the rather more common burb root. Heaven help the poor sod who tries to brew his potions with that… as if by accident, Aidra jostled a younger student in passing who he saw was just about to buy. When the student turned to face him, Aidra almost imperceptibly shook his head as he looked at the fraudulent mandrake seller. She took the hint, nodded briefly and moved on. Give it to her, she has some experience at least, even if she doesn't have an eye for the common deceptions yet, Aidra commented. Perhaps she got burnt before. The first-years quickly learned to trust the advice of the older ones, but they often took a few bad deals to get there. That girl had just narrowly escaped a whole lot of trouble - burb root was exceptionally toxic and irritant. Even though it did not normally cause dangerous poisonings, accidents would inevitably result in a nasty skin rash that could take a long time to cure. That was one of the risks one took with the freelance suppliers - there was always glass among the diamonds, as they said.

His good deed for the day done, Aidra decided it was time to leave. He felt his exhaustion finally creeping up on him: The flickering sunlight shining through the tree foliage above, out of the corner of his eye swiftly turned into deadly stal'ra flames; the shadows that the passers-by caused along the house walls came alive and crept up on him like chitrach, and his mind's eye kept replaying the three dozen crystals that shattered under his knife as he was attempting the final test. Several times, he almost pulled his wave blade on an unsuspecting townsperson, startled by a sudden movement, only to have to apologize and try to calm down his breathing.

With that in mind, he resolved to get some sleep - his old quarters in the dormitory were presumably still free as he had not yet left the academy, and they were close by. Taking course for the dormitory housing, Aidra struggled to keep awake. This was probably what caused him to miss the dark shadow who crept out of an alleyway behind him and followed at the distance of perhaps twenty paces.

---

"Aidra!"

He jumped and turned at the sound of his own name, shouted across the street. Who was calling him? Then he recognized the voice.

"Olidra!", he called joyfully. "S'ka kal!"

"And the same to you," Olidra responded. "I see you have returned from the test. How did you fare?"

"I am alive," Aidra responded. "How did I fare? I have been alternately chased, tackled, mangled, bitten and scorched. Had I been a bit slower, I would have been pressed flat, perforated with sharp spikes, boiled in oil or dissolved in acid. It didn't happen; is not that enough?"

Olidra chuckled. "Warn you I did - listen you did not," he imitated one of the more comical characters in popular Vahnatai literature. "I told you that the test is the most lethal you will ever face in your life unless you go into business as an adventurer. I told you that in that test, they're trying to kill you at least as much as they are trying to test you. And you wanted to take it right away!"

"You took it," Aidra reminded his friend. "You still seem to be alive and none the worse for wear."

"I took the forachid a good five years after my time at the academy was over, do not forget that. And don't think I spent those years on a vacation, either." Olidra had been cautious, like most of the other students. The academy of Avtris did not require students to take their final exams immediately; they could defer them for a whole of seven years, not a long time in the lifespan of the Vahnatai. Olidra had made use of the intervening time by leaving the academy and training his skills intensively. His practical experience had made the test a breeze afterward. After facing hordes upon hordes of naturally wild chitrach, and exploring the crypts of old Hraithe who frequently guarded their lairs with more than the occasional trap and counter-intuitive riddles, doing the same in the forachid was nothing new.

Aidra believed that Olidra would have aced the examination even without this preparatory phrase. His older friend, who had been named - literally translated - "Dream Mind Fire", had already been one of the best students in his class while he was at the academy. His caution outweighed his confidence, however, and he had opted for the additional training. Now, it was doubtful whether there was another mage with his skills, though not his power.

"Yes, I remember. And you counselled me to do the same."

"And yet you refused my counsel," Olidra said with a smile.

"Who would not have? I have suffered in this pen for the last seventeen years; I could not possibly wait for the test another seven!" Aidra called out.

"Is life so short? I told you it could very well be if you hastened the forachid. I hope you don't regret your decision now."

"Not anymore," Aidra said, "although there were some tight spots in the cavern earlier. If it hadn't been for your hints, I would never have made it out of the stal'ra tunnels alive."

Olidra paled, in so far as that was possible on his grey skin.

"Mighty Zaratis above, you did not rely on my ages-old map of that maze?" When Aidra nodded in the affirmative, he gasped. "I told you that they were almost certain to change it. Did you not remember the Mapping spell I taught you?"

Aidra muttered something that sounded a bit like "didn't bring a sapphire".

"Listen to the first rule of adventuring. When exploring, you always bring a sapphire, or several of them. If you didn't have a spare, you should have asked me. Goodness, it is a miracle you were able to use the old map; I have been informed that the mazes and riddles are altered regularly to prevent students from cheating. I hope that your adventure in the maze has taught you that."

"It doesn't matter now; I came through, didn't I?" Aidra motioned impatiently. "One thing they did change were the riddles. I tell you, the rest of the thing was a walk in the woods against the third part."

"What?" Olidra seemed a bit taken aback. "When I came through there, it was the simplest thing in the world. Most of them were simple math problems - calculate six by nine in base thirteen and the like."

"Yes, they had that one too. And after the last one on that level, they apparently built an entirely new one full of death traps that those hraithe would be envious of. Can you imagine trying to assemble a scattered mosaic on the floor while there are sharpened steel spikes on the ceiling that come lower and lower? That kind of thing."

Olidra appeared genuinely surprised. "So they did change the riddles. Goodness - metal spikes? I mean, they showed they are not messing around with those fiery tunnels, but this sounds like some perverted punishment pit more than a test."

"Who are they?"

"Hm?"

"The ones who designed the caverns," Aidra pressed. "They are not our teachers, surely?"

"No they are not. As far as I know, they are not even directly employed by the Academy. I believe they are independently contracted, or they might belong to an organization that builds these tests for other academies as well."

"As far as you know? But who does know - it can't be a closely guarded secret, can it?"

Olidra chuckled. "Oh, in light of what most of the examined students think about them, they are a lot safer if they remain nameless, do you not believe so? I mean, if you were to find them…"

"They'd be in trouble," Aidra nodded darkly. "Especially the one who made up that ridiculous riddle about the Lúk."

"That's one of the one's I told you about," Olidra admonished him. "I told you the riddle and the solution; had you forgotten?" Aidra grudgingly admitted he had. "Never seek for a straight answer to a riddle. The ways of the Art are twisted and Byzantine as the mazes of gadisk. Remember what they say about the tunnels of the Underworld:

Vertiginous chasms deep

Where ancient beings sleep

And mindless shadows creep

Down the deceitful halls."

"It is a perilous journey through the forachid," Olidra concluded. "You have survived. What do you intend to do next?"

"Catch some sleep," Aidra said immediately. "I must have been awake for more than two cycles now. If I walk around for another hour, I shall slump over dead." As if to make the point, a yawn crept up to him, which he did not bother to stifle.

Olidra laughed. "Then go. Don't sleep too long; you don't want to fail your exam because you turned up a few minutes too late, right?" It sounded like a joke, and Aidra was too tired to care.

Raising his hand as if to wave goodbye, but then instead reaching up to cover yet another yawn, Aidra turned away. "Good night!"

"Good morning, friend." Olidra corrected with a smile and went on his way. Aidra went into the opposite direction.

He did not notice the shadow as it left the darkened doorway in which it had been concealed, and moved on to follow him once again.

---

After merely another twenty minutes of walking, he had arrived at the great double doors of his dormitory house - Teral, Blue Three. The doors were of steel-plated wood, painted blue and sporting the triple circles that were the Novah symbol for the number three. Aidra possessed no key - he needed no key because keys had gotten out of fashion decades ago. Instead, he touched a silver panel inlaid into the steel door with his palm, and it glowed at his touch. Softly speaking a few words to the door, he waited for a few seconds.

Doubt, yet again. Was he still authorized, now that he had taken the test? If he passed, he had graduated and was no longer a student here. If he had failed, he was expelled and also no longer enrolled. Would they let him back in, or would he have to sleep right in front of the door like a vagrant?

The gears clicked, mechanisms whirred to life inside the walls. The blue steel-plated doors slid apart almost soundlessly. Ah, but of course they would let me in one more time at least. Who else would volunteer to clean up the graduated students' chambers? With that thought, Aidra entered the tunnels and walked down the stairs to his floor - Vahnatai houses were built downwards, not up.

As he looked upon the perpetually unmade bed, it was as if the intervening time had never been. When had he left here? Was it one or two days ago now? Struggling to count the hours and remember the time he had spent in the caves, he noticed he had just passed out in the chair. Before he got around to standing up, he had passed out twice more, and realized he was in danger of falling asleep entirely.

Hurrying to stow away his weaponry and equipment, he quickly put on his night robes, which still lay strewn over the bed the way he had left them. Moments later, lying in the slender web-like hammock and drifting slowly over into the realms of sleep, he felt, at the edge of his consciousness, a presence that seemed to be waiting quite close to him, unseen. His eyes were closed, but he felt attention trained upon him, heard the anticipating breath. And, as he then sensed a creeping motion, sensed an awareness scrutinizing him and a cold touch on his body, Aidra made a decision he would probably come to regret later on. He decided it was another hallucination induced by his sleep deprivation, and went on to sink into a deep slumber.

 4596 words.