Chapter 30
We are in the 6th Age, The Age of Divine Knowledge. The previous Ages were The First Age, The Reign of Dragons, The Age of Hungry Iron, The Age of Steel's Grasp, and The Age of Tempered Glass. Recorded time is currently around 13,143 years in total.
1st, Liovid, 5647, A.o.t.S.S
Alright, so Mystagogue Thrasher says I need an outlet and coping method. So I turn to you, Mark, my trusty journal that stopped me from going mad when Father died. I promise I won’t fill your pages with bitching. I’ll only come to you when I’m on the brink.
I hope I can mend things with Rose.
17th, Liovid, 5647, A.o.t.S.S
Didn’t think I’d be coming to you so soon. Today, we started what Thallos calls Adaptive Role Absorption. I’m supposed to take up a role and spend three days studying everything it entails to become that person flawlessly. Three days ago, I was given the role of Jeremiah Thornton, a master gunsmith with a drinking problem and a family. I studied everything and wound up with a blade in my chest and a collapsed lung.
I‘m thankful Tessa has stuck with me this long.
8th, Deassen, 5647, A.o.t.S.S
Tonight was Pale Hollows Night. After classes, we were to attend a masquerade with custom outfits based on the Age of Steel’s Grasp and our desired Sect role. I was a volunteer for the Burning Hand and cobbled together sixteen outfits. I thought I was being creative with my steampunk clockmaker costume, but ten of the sixteen were steampunk. My metalwork was good, the clockwork stellar, but my stitchwork… let’s just say I was never meant to be a tailor.
Nel and Ferris were fascinated with my clockwork gauntlet and pauldron but kindly didn't mention my pants were hanging on by a thread.
Thallos turned it into a training experience. He had me try to take the role of another student to steal the Sightless Eye Master’s ring. I failed. As punishment, he laced my food with non-lethal poison. He knew what I was going to get down to the exact plate. I hurled up every bite outside Aegis Hall. I’m about to go to bed on an empty stomach, but it’s better than a dagger to the kidney like two days ago. Oh, yeah! I’ve successfully gone twenty-four hours without Thallos maiming me. I need to get far better if I don’t want to be one big scar by the end of this.
7th, Sorittal, 5648, A.o.t.S.S
Today was bad. Thallos started by quizzing me on psychology and manipulation. I had to balance a jar of acid on my hand and stand on one foot. Every wrong answer, he’d throw a dagger at the jar. I wound up with I-don’t-know-how-many blades in my hands and forearms. But seeing the light through my palm is better than being melted to the bone.
After Tessa put me back together, it was evasion training. I had free rein of the grounds. I hid in the Foundry, pretending to work on a power battery. He found me in under an hour and dragged me out to put a hole in me. Then he told me I had to find Tessa if I wanted to be healed. “Damaged goods repair on the run,” he called it. I barely found her before I blacked out.
I came to in a jail cell under Aegis Hall. Escape training. I was stripped of my gear. I didn’t escape. Punishment was no food. So I planned. I decided to include a lock pick set in my underwear. After he let me out, I studied jail cell locks.
13th, Sorittal, 5648, A.o.t.S.S
I hate burns. Thallos broke into my room and tried to wake me with a flamethrower. I rolled out of the way fast enough to only get my shoulder caught. Ever felt your flesh melt to the bone? I’m not ashamed to say I totally lost my mind. The pain was so bad I shit myself. Thallos was kind enough not to soak me completely and brought Tessa, who was waiting outside. She seemed scared for me. He also ruined my bed. Even if he said he’d replace it, he still turned half of Sasha into ash. He said it was just some stupid blanket. Sasha is NOT some stupid blanket. I owe Tessa big time; healing my shoulder took over five hours. Maybe I should buy her something nice from the net. But with what money? And how am I supposed to get it here?
18th, Chandom, 5648, A.o.t.S.S
GODS DAMNED IT!! I made it a week and a half without being maimed. A record I tried to keep until he drugged my food. AGAIN! Woke up in the same cell, same near-naked state. BUT!!! This time, I was prepped. I had the lock picks. Cracked the digital lock. Crept out silent as a ghost. Got to the elevator to find him waiting. Damn near hacked off my left arm as punishment.
Note to self: check for cameras and intrusion detection. Also, the jail cell is on the thirty-second floor. How deep does this academy go?!
1st, Feadormar, 5648, A.o.t.S.S
Blackened blade and broken bone! I was on a roll! Fifteen days without a wound from Thallos. I had everything down: history, social studies, psychology, politics, combat with thirteen weapons. I knew my facts, honed my reflexes. But I still can’t figure out role immersion.
I’ve studied my roles down to allergies and favorite shows. But Thallos still says I fail because of my appearance. He told me to find a way around it. My horns, tail, and skin will ruin my chances. I have to be able to change how I look. No one will trust a Darkling.
13th, Feadormar, 5648, A.o.t.S.S
My first exam as a Dark Hunter is drawing near. End of this month. I’m not going to lie, Mark. I’m scared. I have more scars than I dare to count. I’m also going to be tested on my magic, and I have yet to summon a single Vell, no matter how many times I cut myself. I practice my sword work. I even craft. I finally built a dial into my gauntlet that should be able to shift my appearance with an illusion.
Speaking of Roserra, I’ve been hearing rumors about her hiding in the woods, throwing spears of ice. I miss her. Even just as a friend. I’ve been asking Thallos about bringing her on as a second apprentice. At first, he kept saying no. But once he caught wind of her magic, he changed it to ‘maybe’. Now I just need to convince her to show him.
Speaking of women, I think I finally have a way to thank Tessa. I’m crafting something special for her.
19th, Feadormar, 5648, A.o.t.S.S
Tonight is Dark Hollows Night and our third-quarter trials. Given my unique situation, things got confusing. Instead of standard written tests, Thallos got creative.
For math, he took me to a firing range. He’d give me an equation, and I had to shoot a jar of colored water with the correct answer, using a different weapon each time. At the end, he shocked me with a cattle prod once for every failed question. I missed two out of fifty.
For history, a row of labeled shot glasses. Wrong answers were poisoned. The correct answer held the antidote for the previous question’s poison. I got the first wrong. Feverish and retching, I got the second wrong. On the floor, vision swimming, I went for the next. I remembered the answer: the Steel Tusk Clan. I snatched the first one that started with ‘Steel’. I got lucky. I passed with no more issues.
Biology wasn’t bad. Dissecting carcasses, identifying organs.
What was worse was chemistry. Neutralizing toxic substances. Thallos dumped each one on me after my attempt. I wound up covered in goo, a fluid that turned to powder, an acid that ruined my clothes, and another that gave me a full-body rash, which Thallos wouldn’t let Tessa heal for the rest of the day.
For Social Studies, body reading. We traveled the academy, and Thallos would randomly select someone. I had to tell what they were feeling and what they would do. At some point, he picked up that I had an app for that.
For the Sect exams, he skipped ranged combat since I’d displayed my skill in math. He quizzed me on tactics and weapon maintenance for Crimson Blade. For Blackened Crown, myst laws, alchemy, and mystech design. The only one I had difficulty with was alchemy, and I still got a solid B-. Burning Hand was too easy. Sightless Eye was a mixed bag. Lock-picking and hacking were easy. Counter-Intelligence and Sociology were close calls. He also included sabotage and poison identification for Silent Heart.
I could go into more detail, but I’m beat, and I have another masquerade to get ready for. This one is monster-themed. Woo.
