Throne of Time [Magical Academy, Time Loop, Mystery]

After the Medical Ward crisis, thankfully Suria was barely disturbed for the remaining days before the beginning of the term. Once a group of loopers started a raucous gathering in the tower just above her, but when she approached they quieted down and apologized. Otherwise she could stay in her rooms, talk with Xuhriha, and prepare.

Just when classes were about to start, there was a final interruption: Jeilin arrived at their door with a somber expression on his face.

”Do you have time?” he asked, his voice subdued. ”I want to take care of things for Dsjaho-an.”

”Oh... yes, I can make time.” Suria picked up her satchel and, after a quick glance at Xuhriha, joined Jeilin as they left campus.

The walk there was uncharacteristically silent. Suria realized that the two of them usually maintained a constant stream of talk, not exactly chatter, usually discussion of some subject or other. She could have attempted it, but trying to touch on any of their usual topics would have felt disrespectful, and she doubted Jeilin wanted to talk about the loop right now.

Once in Darmkael they moved in a direction she hadn’t really explored before: straight east from the leyline docks. The houses became larger and more guarded, and in between them sat businesses from across the world. Finally they reached what appeared to be an inn for semi-permanent occupants.

”Dsjaho-an always liked to stay here in between terms,” Jeilin said faintly. ”I had a key.”

”Did you find him...?” Suria trailed off, as the answer was obvious.

”Originally, yes, and we’ll have to deal with it in future loops. But that’s not why we’re here today.”

When they reached the second floor, Jeilin unlocked the door and Suria examined the apartment, which was small but well-furnished. A body lay atop the narrow bed, wrapped entirely in what appeared to be ribbons. She could feel a stasis spell, which she imagined must be keeping the body from decaying and offering a little dignity. Even Dsjaho-an’s face was covered, so it didn’t really feel like him, just like it didn’t feel like he could be dead.

”Is this a funeral ritual from Febek-Rai?” she asked, half in a whisper.

”They burn their dead like this,” Jeilin answered. ”I don’t know the full rituals, and I don’t know his family well enough to contact them. But someone should memorialize him, at least once. In the future we’ll have to be more practical, but...”

”I understand. I’ll help.”

Suria used a force spell to levitate the body and shield the walls. After murmuring a few words too low to hear, Jeilin drew a runebook from his robes and, with slow and deliberate movements, cast a corona of fire around the body. It burned hot and clean for longer than she expected, the stasis spells dissolving into an aromatic cloud that eventually left nothing.

After standing in silence for some time, Jeilin let out a breath, readjusted his glasses, and then turned to her.

”We need to talk about business,” he said flatly. ”I’m leaving Darkmoon.”

”What?” Suria blinked at him, then found the more important question. ”How?”

”The time loop might bring me back here, but if I catch a leyline ferry at the beginning of the cycle, I can make it back to the Republic of Junn. Especially if the cycle extends itself like you suggested.”

”But what will you do there?”

”The National Glyphic Institute doesn’t begin its term until after Darkmoon, so I should be able to make it back and study there.” Jeilin took off his glasses and slowly cleaned them with a cloth from his pocket. ”The last loop made me realize just how outclassed we are here. Not just facing archmages, but some of the greatest archmages in the world. Staying here is like learning how to run on the edge of a cliff.”

”I see.” Suria understood his logic, especially given the threat. She wanted to try to change his mind, but all the arguments that came to mind were emotional, just covers for the fact that she didn’t want him to leave.

”You can come with me, if you want. You did impressively last cycle, I won’t take that away from you, but you’re smart enough to know the risks. I don’t want to see you die like he did.”

Suria remained silent for some time, averting her gaze, even though she knew her answer almost from the beginning. She couldn’t afford to cross the world like that, and even if she had the money, starting over at a new university was too much for her. After investing everything into reaching and attending Darkmoon, she couldn’t simply change course now.

”I can see your answer.” Jeilin sighed and straightened his shoulders. ”Now we come to the grim part: distributing his belongings. I want to take some personal things, but you can have most of the resources. At the start of every loop, I mean - I hope that goes some way toward repaying the favors I owe you.”

”What about the room itself?” Suria asked. ”Is that going to be a problem?”

”I’ll take care of that on my way out. We can figure out the details after this cycle.”

It felt a bit macabre to loot the quarters of their ally and Suria held back as they went through the apartment. Most of Dsjaho-an’s things were personal, like a collection of books that were probably only relevant to his artisan classes. His small safe, which Jeilin apparently knew how to unlock, contained just over 1800 oss, a traditional mana potion, and some rare metals.

That solved her initial money problems, if in a rather unpleasant way. Out of respect for the lost Suria put off thinking about what she could do with those resources in the future.

”There’s just one thing left,” Jeilin said as he turned to her. ”Leaving means that I can’t learn anything more about the conspiracy. Maybe in future cycles, once we’re both stronger mages.”

”What all have you learned?” Suria asked. ”Did all the data I gathered help?”

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”I’ve mostly told you what I discovered: Zaasif Drazen left his offices locked, the school believed there was something critical within, and it takes them several days to break in. I managed to get inside after that, but it’s all been cleared out.”

”And I assume if the school can’t get inside early, we can’t either.”

”If you’re interested in that, you might want to talk to the Akrashic faction. You should know they’re trying to break into the Perception vault again. Last I spoke to them, they were looking into getting some sort of key from the other professors in the department. That would be a real prize, but I don’t know how likely it is. Be careful if they make any offers.”

”I’ll keep that in mind.” Suria was bad at this sort of thing, so she tried to rely on her old healer training: she knew how to be gentle with someone who had experienced death. So she reached out to touch Jeilin’s shoulder. ”Don’t be a stranger, Jeilin. You’ll see me and everyone else at the start of the loop, so just ask if you need anything.”

”I will. And I’ll be back.” The way he straightened his back, she knew that he believed it.

They walked out of the apartment together, but then they moved in opposite directions, because Jeilin was taking the leyline ferry that very day. Suria watched after his retreating form for some time, but then she turned back to Darkmoon University.

~ ~ ~

Classes began much less dramatically than the previous loop, with a tediously familiar lesson in Foundations. Suria had considered not attending the class at all, even if the cycle might extend itself, but decided that it might attract too much attention to skip every early class until suddenly joining mid-way through the term. Even in a cycle where the professors weren’t as suspicious, that might be too strange of behavior.

There was an argument for not attending at all, and the other loopers seemed to think she was wasting her time. But Suria wanted to try, so she brought books to class and read during the lessons. Occasionally the professor tried to call her out, but she knew the material so well she could answer any question.

Magical Analysis In Depth started the way it always did and Suria paid less attention to the books than to Lia Huen Rei’s face. She had a new theory about the class, and hoped this was the last loop where she would have to take it, but she couldn’t test her theory until later.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long before the first class of Fundamentals of Medicine, which took place on the eastern end of the Medical Ward. She had mostly seen the center of the long building, which was the operational house of healing, but the eastern end had a larger and grander building, helping to frame the entrance to campus. When Suria entered she found none of the chaos from before, just airy rooms and clean white surfaces. The entrance foyer had a large statue showing human anatomy, only marginally less creepy for being made of classical white marble.

Everything was clearly signposted, unlike some of the traditional buildings on campus, so she easily found the right classroom. It was bright and clear, with hundreds of chairs arrayed on steps around a floor in the center where it seemed like demonstrations or operations could take place. She spent more time looking at the other students, who included many young people like her, but also others from all walks of life.

”Alright, welcome to Fundamentals of Medicine I!” The professor who walked in was one of the middle-aged men she’d worked together with during the crisis, looking much more composed without blood over his robes. ”Or Fundamentals One, as many call it. You’ll get tired of these Fundamentals classes before the end, but they’ll be some of the most important courses you take.

”You’re probably tired of the old jokes about how Medicine shouldn’t really be its own branch of magic. And yes, it’s true that much of what we do involves Evocation, Enchantment, or Alchemy. But healing isn’t doing pure magic in the air, it always involves working with the body. So there’s always the counter-joke: Medicine isn’t pure like Evocation, it’s actually complicated.”

The joke got a few polite chuckles, but Suria didn’t think there was really all that much animosity, at least not here. Healers needed to be good at multiple disciplines and she didn’t think that the other departments really disrespected them.

”Anyway,” the professor continued, ”that means that we need to have far greater knowledge of our field than some disciplines. Perhaps Alchemy comes close, since they need to study chemistry, and Naturalism is entirely about accumulating knowledge. But in this course you’ll gain a far greater understanding of bodies and the fundamentals that underlie our craft...”

As the lecture continued, Suria leaned forward and eagerly soaked in the information. It didn’t seem like this class would involve as much practical casting as some, but the professor hinted at so many subjects that she’d long wanted to learn. Taking care of illnesses and injuries in her home village was a far cry from actually having a comprehensive understanding of the body.

Despite her enchantment with the material, Suria looked around the room again to examine her classmates. They largely seemed as serious about Medicine as she was, though she did note a contingent of noblewomen who wore healing robes that looked like they were designed to flatter, not handle emergencies. Kiznua was also in the class, sitting in the front row eagerly.

Suria left class in an improved mood that wasn’t reduced by any of her other work, even more repeated lectures in Fundamentals. She felt herself sinking into the term, but it wouldn’t truly start for her until she’d attended her last course. Emergency Healing was one of the courses that met less frequently for longer periods, so she was eagerly anticipating it.

When it was finally time, she trekked her way up to the top floor of the Medical Ward and one of the smaller classrooms. There she was glad to find Professor Gwaslos waiting for them, and the older woman even smiled kindly at her. More students joined them before class began, but even with a full group it was just two dozen people, far smaller than the general courses.

”I don’t have a speech for you,” Professor Gwaslos told them once they’d settled. ”This course will include some traditional lectures, especially when we get into the theory of hastened healing or healing inscriptions. I won’t talk about the reading, but I’ll expect you to do it on your own time, and you won’t be able to keep up if you don’t.”

She went on to outline the whole class, which sounded like it would be the practical counterpart to the theory of Fundamentals I. Instead of any traditional examinations, apparently they would have direct tests of their ability, sometimes even including real patients.

”Regrettably, patients don’t generally have the decency to be injured in time for class,” Professor Gwaslos said, ”but there will be some problems that are suited for us. There’s a program where people from the city can receive treatment for free, if they agree to receive it from healers in training. I expect you to take this duty seriously, as they are not merely your test cases.”

”Will we learn spells that could function in combat?” asked a man who looked more like a warrior than a healer. ”I’m here because it’s required for the battlefield courses.”

”There is a very good reason this course is a prerequisite, because you need to master the principles behind healing under tight time constraints. That said, we’ll cover a wide variety of scenarios here, and the class can be flexible. Does anyone have a specific scenario they’d like to ask about for today?”

No one answered at first, apparently not having expected the department throne to open up the class like that. Even the warrior seemed a little surprised and didn’t have a question prepared. Others would surely ask about open wounds, and Suria did want to learn more about those, but if she had an opportunity, she wanted to cover a topic she’d needed for a long time.

”What about burns?” Suria asked. She didn’t want to describe Rije’s injuries too precisely, since they might have happened in this timeline, and thus had an alternate scenario in mind. ”People are always getting minor burns from fire spells, but what if something went really wrong? My normal healing spells are designed to close wounds and wouldn’t be much good.”

”Good question,” Professor Gwaslos said with a smile. ”Yes, burn recovery is an important topic, not just because of combat spells, but because fires can be a major problem in cities without adequate wards. If you’re faced with a serious burn, the first step is to diagnose its exact nature...”

As the lesson began, Suria began learning things almost immediately. She wouldn’t learn enough to save Rije right away, but she was finally on the right path.