“How can you be sure? This must have happened quickly.”
I nodded. “It happened slowly and then all at once. The ghost ship incident made local papers. Initial transmissions were slow and spontaneous. It’s hard to imagine the same disease that infects random family members could wipe out an entire ship.”
“Unless…”
“Unless the ship’s passengers were meant to be a weapon.”
Master Carter’s expression was grave. “Who have you told of this?”
“No one,” I murmured. “It’s all gleaned from documents, most of which won’t be traced back to me.” I pulled out one notable letter to show him. “This one was from the healing mage who treated the lone navigator from the ghost ship. He failed to fall sick, but his wife and youngest child passed away that year.”
Master Carter took the letter from me, eyes scanning for the truth the way I had not long ago with Anna by my side, late into the night.
“After establishing the illness’s entry,” I continued, “tracking its path became easier—collecting obituaries, writing healing mages across the country. Not a single person I wrote had found a cure.”
His fingers tightened around the letter. “So we are hopeless.”
“Not quite,” I said. “I did findsomethingthat could be of use.” I flipped to the last page of my folder which listed the names of several key victims, many copied from the one I’d given Prince Thomas a year ago. “Surprisingly, not a single Master mage has died from the plague.”
My chest ached at the words. This was the hardest discovery toaccept of all—the more physical the magic, the more simple and easy to master, the more likely the mage was to succumb to the illness. Which meant many magic-users living in poverty, never able to access resources like formal education and training, were exceptionally vulnerable.
And Papa—a man of steel and fire, one who had seemed bigger than the world for most of my childhood—was one such mage.
His body tensed. “You mean…”
“It’s an illness that preys on the nonmagical and untrained.”
“Do you think that’s intentional?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. What I do know is that if we figure out why trained magic users are surviving, perhaps we can reverse the tide. It might lead us to a foolproof cure.”
He nodded, a tentative smile crossing his face. He walked closer. “You’re going to be accepted with work like this, Lyra. You identified a need, researched, and presented a solution that could help all of Amouridia.” He beamed. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks,” I said, but all I could think of was Asha’s bony form, her hollow voice.
“And,” he said, “I have something for you.”
I tilted my head as he walked back, flipping through his desk for a single letter sealed in dark green wax, a cursive J overtop wrapped in thin strips of bamboo.
I recognized it immediately. “The Society in Junira wrote back?” A faint rush filled my ears.
“Yes. I presume they found something of use for our query about your premonitions and fortune-telling ancestor.”
I took it from him, fingers trembling as I ripped the seal and scanned the words scrawled across the embossed parchment. The paper quivered in my grasp.
Lyranore Smyth,
We appreciate your inquiry into questions regarding an unexplored area of magic. Many students take for granted that only a handful of physical elements exist, the ones they are taught since they are young, and the ones the majority of mages show a proclivity for.
However, recent philosophical progress has forced us to re-evaluate our own understanding of the magic threads woven within us. If the threads are not physical, as local physicians assure us, then could nonphysical elements be shaped and pressed together too?
A few of our most prominent students have proposed an expedition into the Wild Lands to put together a dissertation on alternative elements and magic philosophies beyond the borders of Amouridia and Junira. As you likely know, the raw magic present there has caused rumors of abstract magics to abound.
For example, they are particularly interested in reports from recent immigrants who have crossed our borders, who claim mages who can alter the mind, heart and soul exist. Even more interestingly, they say they know of powerful magic users that can bend time itself, one manifestation of the element being “fortune-telling” as you so called it.
We believe you may be one such mage.
After hearing Master Carter praise your quick thinking, ambition, and natural talent, as well as suspecting your special gifting, we are pleased to offer you a full scholarship to our academy next year.
