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Aurin holds his mother's hand as she leads him from the street to his aunt and uncle's house. He's been here only a couple of times, and can't remember most of them distinctly; they're sort of awkwardly related, his dead father's half-brother and the wife thereof. But now they have a baby parunia, and that means there is a dragon related to Aurin who is not too far from his age, only thirty-one years younger. This is apparently the sort of relation that it will be particularly enriching for Aurin to meet. They can do this now instead of waiting a month, because parunias don't die when they're babies; this one is safe, unlike the miscellaneous cousins on his mother's side he's never met because they are all in too much danger to get attached to (and have all succumbed to that danger). So here they are. Even though it was a very long flight and he couldn't ride his mother for takeoff and landing when she had to be a heron, only for the middle part.
Alys knocks on the door.
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"Yeah," he says, un-gleeing slightly. "Which will be weird. And I'll miss you and Mom and Dad. But I can still visit home! And I'm gonna learn wizardry!"
"Well, I hope you like it," says Finnah.
"It'll be great! I'm gonna learn wizardry!"
And, his capacity to stay still exhausted, he birds off at top speed to find someone else to hug and cackle at. He will get back to Finnah soon enough, never fear.
And, his capacity to stay still exhausted, he birds off at top speed to find someone else to hug and cackle at. He will get back to Finnah soon enough, never fear.
Finnah has no doubts on this subject.
Binaaralav's break ends, and Mial's first term starts. He is placed in a room with an elf boy of comparable equivalency, given his class schedule, taken on a tour with the other new students through the important classroom buildings and the cafeteria and the library and the light's office and the stairs and between-building glass-enclosed bridges connecting these locations, and presented with the option to sign up to be bitten by small vampires who are attending the school on a faculty-orchestrated rotation.
Binaaralav's break ends, and Mial's first term starts. He is placed in a room with an elf boy of comparable equivalency, given his class schedule, taken on a tour with the other new students through the important classroom buildings and the cafeteria and the library and the light's office and the stairs and between-building glass-enclosed bridges connecting these locations, and presented with the option to sign up to be bitten by small vampires who are attending the school on a faculty-orchestrated rotation.
Mial investigates the vampire thing.
When he discovers that it will make them live longer, he signs right up.
When he discovers that it will make them live longer, he signs right up.
And so before there have even been any classes yet he is visited by a small vampire who knocks nervously on the door and is let in by the elf roommate. The vampire looks at the elf's eyes and then concludes that Mial is probably who he's there to see. "Um, hi."
"Hi! I'm Mial," says Mial. "You're from the vampire signup thing, right?"
The vampire nods. "I'm Iire. So, um, I still have to ask, is it okay if I bite you?"
"Yeah!" says Mial.
So Mial gets bit. It doesn't feel like much of anything.
Which is weird, but he supposes it must be convenient for people who aren't shrens. He reads one of his class books.
Eventually Iire detaches. "Thank you," he says politely.
"You're welcome," says Mial cheerfully, looking up from his book.
And Iire goes away.
And the next day, classes start.
And the next day, classes start.
Mial is so enthusiastic about classes. He wants to learn all of the things.
Well, there are plenty of things to learn. And gestures to practice.
He learns the things and practices the gestures. He practices the gestures a lot. He is very impatient to learn how to wizard.
His roommate thinks he's kind of obsessive.
Mial concedes this point readily.
And eventually the term is over and he may attempt a tier test if he likes.
Of course he is going to attempt the tier test. He is going to aggressively attempt the tier test.
The tier test is pretty hard!
It is no match for Mial's single-minded focus.
The test is not actually designed to be passed by six-equivalents, since it is not designed by Binaaralav faculty and is the same thing adult students get; but that will not stop Mial from passing it if he gets enough questions right. Now he may take second-tier classes.
In Mial's opinion, he gets an unacceptable number of questions wrong - i.e., any.
He'll just have to study harder next term.
Second-tier classes, here he comes!
He'll just have to study harder next term.
Second-tier classes, here he comes!