I am walking a long corridor with paintings on the walls. They present previous principals of the Academy, and they are looking at me from their dark frames with serious faces. I walk on, and after the pricipals, there are other teachers, many of which I remember from my own youth. Then I see Captain Morris on the right, which is odd because he never taught nor even studied in the Academy. There are also other familiar faces from my battalion; I notice Private Jacobs who was killed in an assassination by a sorcerer group just two weeks before the Great Battle. The thought makes me shiver. There is also Sergeant Feathers who actually took part in the Battle because he happened to be on duty in Kalehar when it all started, unlike the rest of us who were in our main garrison in the Capital. I walk further and hear the noise of hard military boots. They are my boots, but the noise is like someone else's. The air is turning cold.
The next painting is painted with very dark colours, and I can hardly see what it represents. It is also placed higher than the others so that there is a pair of boots are at the level of my eyes. It is a dark figure wearing a dark cloak. I look up to see the face. But there is no face. There is a mask that seems painfully bright on that dark painting. The mask of Geltoech.
I flinch and take a step away. I try to turn to the next painting but I can feel Geltoech's purple allseeing eye looking at me, and I cannot turn my face away. I close my eyes but I can still see his eye through my eyelids. I try to start running but my legs are very slow. I open my eyes again and see that the painting is not about a masked figure. It is about a figure, and the mask is hanging in front of the painting. The mask is repulsive but still I see my hand reaching for it. I try to pull my hand away but it has its own will. It grabs the mask and pulls. It is tight, but slowly the mask is removed and the face behind reveals. It has long blond hair. It is Osborn Woodsham with a diabolic grin on his face. He laughs, and the painting starts to fall. I push it away but I collapse and the painting falls on me. The fabric is soft like silk and it touches my skin and arms and face and comes closer and closer. It covers all of me and my mouth and nose and I gasp for air...
I suddenly jump upright and inhale in relief. I can breathe again! Then it takes a few seconds to realise that I am in my own bed. It must still be very early. Only a few hours earlier I was spying the Geltoech group.
I need to study the symbolism of Geltoech. There is probably a reason why someone chose that symbol and made great efforts to provide everyone with one. If I just had known that, I could have taken one with me and joined that meeting. But I only heard that from Almeron when I got back. That is really frustrating.
But now I need to get some more sleep. I need to be alert during the next days.
~x~
On Saturdays we usually don't have any teacher's meetings, but today Almeron decides to have one anyway after the exercise groups and lunch. I hear about that from Jane who seems to be walking around the campus to invite teachers. I leave the teachers' building and walk across the beautiful park that separates that from the main school buildings. It has been a brilliant idea from the architect to plan it that way. The building is far enough from the school so that we have our own peace and privacy as student never come there. It is only a few minutes walk to the main building but in a nice weather like today it is indeed a pleasure to walk past the trees and flowers across the grass that is kept short and soft by a few sheep.
Most of the teachers seem to be in Almeron's office already when I arrive; they probably came directly from the lunch room. I listen for a while and realise that Almeron has already given a brief report about my expedition yesterday.
"Good to have you here, Herbert. You already know what I just told, except that we heard from Jacob that the posters were not printed in Gutchen's printing office.
"Yes, Mr Gutchen said that the type that was used was not from their block letter storage. He also said that it is not from Avonshire either, because they also have only one printing office, which is using the same types as Mr Gutchen's office. He was also surprised about the figure of the mask. It seemed to be hand painted, but there were dozens of posters, so whoever painted them really had to put effort in it. They are also very alike. Too much even."
"It sounds like witchcraft was used in the making of the posters", I say. "And although I haven't seen the masks from close by I'll bet that that applies to them, too. Were they really given to all students yesterday?"
"Yes", says Almeron. "We continued to check this today, and it seems that everyone we have asked got an own mask. And they are indeed fine work. I got from the students a few examples that you can examine. As you can see, making so many such precise copies by hand would probably take years from one person, and several people couldn't make them so alike."
I take two masks from the table and look at them carefully. Although it does not suffocate me like in the dream, I still feel uncomfortable with it. The presence of magic is so close and so insolent, and it obviously was the purpose to make it clear to everyone. The mask is skillful work, and it is hard to see any differences between them. I stare at the purple allseeing eye. How much does the maker of these masks know about and see in the Academy?
"I saw fifteen people going to the meeting so whoever is doing these things is not alone. But the roles of the people are unclear. Most people seemed to be alone and hesitant, so I think that not all of them belong to the core group."
"Hesitation may be temporary. The poster talks about injustice and "us" as a separate group from others. We are now in a clear danger that some students may find these claims justified. Manipulation in a small, strong and supportive group can change hesitation into fierce action rather quickly. Therefore we must not push anyone away. People with magic must not feel that they are not one of us."
I am surprised about Almeron's words, and so seem to be Jacob and some others.
"But there are no sorcerers in the school."
"Of course there are, and now we must acknowledge it."
Some teachers move restlessly. Such talk has not been heard in this school in ages.
"We must be frank among teachers to avoid further damage. Since the Great Battle we have followed the rule of don't tell, don't ask. But it does not change the fact that many people naturally have some magical powers. The fact that using magic is illegal does not make them go away. Of course there are no or only few powerful sorcerers in this country, because nobody has actively trained these skills - or at least that's what we have thought until yesterday. I find it likely that there are several students in the school who have realised their magical powers and are hiding them from their peers. The Mask group - let's call them that way to have some name - are now trying to spread the tempting idea to the minds of these young people that they are not understood by anyone except the Masks. "
"I don't believe my ears. Are you actually saying that we should abandon the laws of this country just like that? The laws that have maintained stability for thirty years?"
My words seem to raise supportive grunting from other teachers.
"Yes, we have done well without magic for ages. I don't see any reason to change that now. Using magic for any purpose, like these masks here, is illegal, and it is a police business. Not a reason to change school policy or break laws ourselves."
"Please listen", says Almeron. I must say that so far I have agreed on most things with him, but this is hard to swallow. "Please listen. This is not about changing laws or school practices. This is about understanding what happens inside the heads of our students. This is about guiding them to some direction that does not involve fanaticism and violence."
"You really seem to be convinced that the posters were a game changer." says Jacob in a voice that is itself not convinced about it.
"Yes, I am indeed." Almeron drops these words out of his mouth slowly and with very serious face.
"Now, I understand that not everyone agrees with me. I also understand that I am now suggesting something quite unorthodox. But I think that we need to start training ourselves to the thinking of someone with magic."
This suggestion raises wide disagreement, and many teachers shake their heads. Noise raises in the room. "Where is law?" "Where is order?" I can hear someone say. Almeron looks very frustrated. Then he takes a deep breath, raises his chin and says loudly:
"Please! This is not a bazaar! This is the Academy!"
There is a short silence, and Almeron continues to speak.
"We all agree that there is something nasty going on, and that students' safety is everyone's top priority. Therefore, I encourage you all to keep your eyes and ears open, but in a discrete way. I have heard your opinion on magic in the school, and therefore I am not asking you to change anything in that respect. The school policy will stay. Instead, I am asking help from two teachers: Jane and Caron. I still do think that we need to understand more of magic to be able to control it. We three should get a coach that can introduce this topic to us."
I look around and see that most teachers calm down after these words. When the policy remains, there is no need to worry even if some junior teachers learn some things about magic.
"And what kind of coaching are you thinking of?" asks Jane.
"Well, I hope we can get guidance from a talented person, who has shown academic interest in the forms of magic in the contemporary society. I hope that Percy Masters will accept to be our coach."
________________________________________________________________
Your next topic is Ring.
No comments:
Post a Comment