“This scorching desert heat is unbearable.”
It was a week since they reached a point in temperature change into Mironi and Cherann’s brother was crying like a baby. She found this quite amusing. His rantings were a pleasant addition to her usual solitary thoughts when travelling. She was a chronic overthinker but had learned to wield her mind to better purposes over time. Dent seemed to be able to find something to say about anything—all in the form of complaints. But she could see most of them for what they were: ways to hide his genuine interest in the things she was teaching him.
“We could practice your Mironian again. That would distract you from the heat.”
“Stressing over learning a new language is supposed to be a better option.” Cherann reserved her laugh and waited in silence for what she knew was coming.
“You never taught me the word for ‘hot.’ I’m going to need that one.”
“Khal.”
“Very hot?”
“ Khalen .”
“Why not et Khal?”
“Adding the verb would be more Keldonian. In Mironi, they usually have a different variation of the word to change the meaning. Or they add something after.”
“After?”
“Yes. ‘Too hot’ would be Khal nad.”
“So ti si Khal nad, would be ‘it is too hot’.”
“Yes. ‘It’ and ‘is’ are easy. Just the same backwards.”
“So Ti Khal nad sin would be ‘it is not too hot’?”
“Yes. The negatives go after the subjects in Mironi. You’re really getting this well.”
“Mikal ditar. ‘Thank you much’?”
“Yes and no. Sometimes words are missing. On its own, ditar does mean ‘much.’ Together with ‘thank you,’ the ‘very’ is implied. It’s not a constant rule. Sometimes you will have to say ‘very.’ And it’s okay to say it that way, but it’s improper. It should be in reverse. Most things are. The common way to say it, as most languages have their shortcuts, is mitar. A lot of Mironians will say that instead of the full phrase. And here we are.”
Cherann looked up at the entrance to the school. She hadn’t been to the school in years, but in here, she knew that young magicians were being guided down the right path. Someone in this school was doing her part to cure the realm. And this person she was dying to see. It had been a long time since she’d talked face to face with Shalini and even then it was through a line. She was looking forward to it.
“Is this—?”
“Yes. The most renowned magician school in the realm.”
“And who are we here to see?”
“I can’t reveal that to you. You won’t have to speak Mironian to her. She taught me how to speak our tongue even better than I could.”
“You mean she corrected all the annoying shortcuts, bad pronunciations and misuse of verbs.”
“Clearly I work you too hard, or you’re a better listener than I credit you for.”
“Torture is always easy to remember.”
This time she couldn’t help but laugh. She couldn’t deny on any level that her brother’s running commentary was indeed hilarious at times. She walked into the school with a little more ease than expected. She didn’t even have to give the guard her name. She was always suspicious when things were too easy, but she could only assume they were expecting her. The school was magnificent with an observatory that reached the clouds, and several courtyards with decoratively trimmed trees.
“Now that is beautiful,” Dent said as they came across a large fountain. The main structure was of a magician; it stood at least twenty feet and was surrounded by figures of smaller children staring up at him. It appeared to depict a teacher giving a lecture. Vines with purple flowers were encircling the structure and floating across the surface of the water. The pool was circular and large enough for many students to sit and converse and study around.
“How does the water flow through this?”
“It’s pumped through. It’s a new invention of moving water without the need for magical spells or manually pumping. The pump itself runs by magic still, but it’s a much simpler spell than putting a spell on the entire fixture. And it’s easy enough that any magician can fix it should the spell break.”
She stopped and looked around. “The first-year students are separate from the rest, I think. And if I remember correctly, they should be in the next building. It’s been many years since I’ve been here.
“Are you going to tell me who they are?”
“Ah. I see I was right.” Before she could go on, she bumped into a teacher at the college. Cherann was just a minute or two too late to catch her in the room. This teacher was there, though. He was quite young, so she assumed he was new.
He gladly led her toward where Shalini could be found. After going through a building and another courtyard, they found themselves nearing a river. There was more than one class out, but she could handle it from here. She thanked the magician and went to meet her friend and mentor.
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