Declan had a plan for incorporating his morning duties into a workout regime and it started with permission from Lake Domin. “I need to pick you up.”

  “Why?” Lake asked. “I mean, you haven’t been a creep so far but my legs work.”

  “And I need a workout.” He’d slung the pack across his back and held out his arms. “Let me try.”

  “Tegan’s right, you’re a freak.” Lake put one arm around him and lifted her leg so he could heft her. Not that she weighed much. His pack wasn’t heavier but it wasn’t far off. “All right. Steer me.”

  He took off running out the ring, which made Lake laugh and lean in. “Little tighter on the legs. Don’t intentionally grab my ass and we’re fine. Go faster!”

  The problem was, he’d overestimated his abilities. Pride demanded he deliver as he turned and sprinted down the side of House Ariloch.

  “Right at Sullivan, two rings outward,” Lake called, waving as they passed other arcanists. “Faster! I got a personal porter!”

  By the time they arrived at the academy building for Dueling Theory, Declan’s arms and legs burned. He set her down. “Tomorrow, you walk.”

  “Oh, no, that was too much fun. That is now how we go everywhere.” Lake glanced about. “There’s a dozen other students, I’m fine, you’re free. My guide should be here any minute.” Dueling theory was taught not inside a building but under a vast awning that served to mildly discourage snow. Rings of seats centered the speaker’s dias, where an older man stepped up, calling the class to order. Declan had two reasons to listen in. First, he was genuinely curious about what dueling ‘theory’ was, and the second was he was in danger of collapsing.

  “We continue today with intent and matching runes,” the instructor began. Most of what he said made no sense, but there were key elements Declan found fascinating. The key to dueling was knowledge. If you couldn’t match an opponent’s runes, better to surrender early than die. Part of that was knowing what runes a particular duelist was known for, the other was sensing the modifications the runes made to the mana. Duelists disguised their runes, but the changes to mana couldn’t be disguised and those moments of recognition would allow one to counter, dodge, field a different rune, or surrender.

  And surrender truly was an option. Loss was inevitable. Someone with higher tier runes, someone with a unique rune, death was the only loss that couldn’t be overcome with time.

  “Declan Thorn?” A young arcanist student tapped him on the shoulder. He wore no armor, had no runes, and lacked the oppressive feel most carried. “Tegan Domine says the pass phrase is ‘on the bed, not in the bed.’”

  That made him laugh. “When do I meet you here?”

  “Last Class ends at six, though practicals are often at night,” he answered. “Can you put in a good word to me with the ArCore? Every point counts toward admission.”

  “Sure.” Declan had plans for the morning and they involved specific reading for an unspecific amount of time. At the library, he greeted the on-duty librarians and winced as they handed him a tray of books. “I need something different. I’m sorry, but I do. What do you have on opening arcsouls?”

  “We don’t have a private alcove available,” said one. “But the third floor is largely empty.”

  “How do I set an alarm here? I need to know when lunch comes but I doubt they’d be welcome.”

  The librarian took a rin-sized stone from a stack. “Timing-rune. It will flash gently, then urgently, and then it will upset everyone else, so tap when it begins gently.”

  Declan tested it. The slightest mana pushed into it let him feel a time. The rune that lit up was a circle with two angled lines over it.

  Time Keeper: Track time with an alarm and mana pulses. Mana Cost: Minimal, fixed. Tier Two Rune

  The headache that came with it was barely painful, the interest, worth it. A relative of Hayden’s cooking one, probably. He found a table apart from everyone else and fell into the books as soon as they came.

  Reading had been a practical skill, not a pleasure or advanced one, but constant repetition made it easier. Opening one’s arcsoul was a simple matter and it fell into two categories. The first involved a lifetime of work, gently exposing to mana until the well opened like a flower blossoming. The second required several expensive elements. The first was knowledge of exactly where a swarm would burst. Each came with a surge of mana so powerful it could blast the arcsoul open. The second was a focus to direct enough of the mana toward the individuals, the third was medical assistance so the arcanist didn’t bleed from their soul.

  The parameters for each were stunningly complex, only compounded by the final requirement. An arcsoul opened at a set size and most were similar in tier. There could be and were variances in depth and power, but tier one arcanists generally had similar levels. The sooner one began to orbit a rune afterwards, the deeper the arcsoul and more flexible it would be.

  Experts debated learning to orbit before or if the ease of doing so after an arcsoul made the delay better, and even then the difference in the arcanist mattered. Some were literally crippled by the experience, some felt stronger, some needed to control runes and others found the first passes pure agony.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The timer had begun to slowly pulse with light, and Declan tapped it before returning the books and requesting they be set as his reading list. It was lunch time, and he had plans to discuss.

  ###

  “House dues. How many rin and how often?” Declan asked as he sat down. “You don’t live in shitholes. You must have them.”

  Roland coughed. “Good to see you too, Declan. Yes, there are dues. A few thousand rin at the start of the year. But we have noble houses backing us. Repairs are just a matter of requesting and receiving. I usually don’t even schedule them, they assign a tradesman.”

  “Don’t set them high. Your members don’t have it,” Harris volunteered. “And don’t ask for rune fragments. A ton of the minor houses do. You’re bleeding them if you do, bleeding them the most valuable resource they have. Money is cheap, runes are worth more than blood for low tier arcanists.”

  The food here was terrible. “Thanks for sending Hayden my way. I’d say I owe you but I’m guessing he owes you? ‘I know someone who might let you stay,’” Declan said, imitating Roland’s slow drawl.

  “More than one person can owe me for the same favor. In fact that’s ideal,” Roland said.

  “I need help,” Eden interjected. “I need your help, Declan. We’ve had three arccircuit repairmen out and there’s one room that just won’t turn the lights on.”

  Fuck. “I’m shit at arccircuits.”

  “What would it take to get better?” Eden demanded. “At this point, I don’t trust anyone to come look, swap the control rune, change the light stone and tell me ‘It’s fine.’ We only have three open rooms and when there’s an accident or something breaks, I rotate to a ready one while we repair.”

  Declan thought back to the professionals at the foundry. “Get me a copy of the Arc Standard Code. And a set of mana-insulated tools so I don’t get mana burn. And give me time, I wouldn’t lie. Pop could change a rune or light-stone but that was the extent of it.”

  “You’ll have it by evening. You look sick. Are you feeling well?” Eden asked. She reached over and put a hand on his head. “You’ve got a fever. How long has this been going on?”

  Workmen learned to ignore the usless signals like pain or chills. “This morning. It’s just a side effect of some training. Mana channel alignment.”

  “That should not cause illness. Vote! Medical?”

  “My health is not subject to a vote,” Declan said. “I’m fine. My knees and elbows hurt but that’s half mana channel and half conditioning.”

  “Medical,” Harris added. “It’s not like they charge you. Go get checked out. I’ll vote for Roland so he doesn’t have to, Medical.”

  Roland spoke through a mouth full of food. “Thank you.”

  “You owe me,” Harris added. “Just go. It’s training for when you have to force someone to do, and you will have to force someone.”

  After lunch, Declan returned to the library, only to find his book tray empty. “Excuse me? I just need the arcsoul book.”

  “Take it up with Instructor Skinner. Did he send a message and you ignored him?”

  That wasn’t likely. “I’ll ask.” Declan knew his way now, but didn’t have the strength to run. There was one solution to sickness in Foundrytown and that was to sleep. He’d apply it regularly once he saw Skinner.

  Skinner had a group of arcanists gathered, a private session, and moved among them shouting as they attempted to invoke runes. The goal appeared to be success and the barrier was almost certainly pain, since Instructor Skinner broke their concentration before a rune could manifest, let alone orbit. “You won’t have time to do it the lazy way, not in true combat. You must feel the rune before it manifests and direct mana into it whether it’s visible or not. Declan! Come.”

  Declan entered the class, dodging the arcanists who moved out, attempting to distance themselves from the instructor and more importantly, his cane. “Sir? They wouldn’t let me read a book until we spoke.”

  Skinner lowered his voice as he returned to his desk. “This won’t take long. I’ve already voiced my opinion to the president about her lack of spine. I’ve personally visited Lord Rush to do what you cannot. This visit is not about that. It’s notice I’ve designated you my assistant.”

  “I don’t understand your class well enough to take it, let alone teach it, and I’ve already got one House Ariloch resident I need to escort to and from class.”

  “Excellent, you can report to me each morning. Many mornings I will have nothing for you. On those I do, my tasks take priority. Now, last time I made the brash assumption you’d see benefits. This time, I’ll ask. What could you possibly gain?” Skinner waited, arms crossed.

  “Money,” Declan said. “This had better come with a pay raise. I don’t know enough about what I’d be doing to know what the other benefits are.”

  “First off, you’d be associated with the academy. That comes with certain protections and a very few privileges. Such as library rights on a limited basis. Secondly, you’ll be assigned errands for me. If you are wise, you’ll learn to use those for your own benefit. The house arcanist for Perth is a case study in connection. I’ve never seen the man take action for a single purpose. Now, your first and only errand for the day is to deliver this to Anson Vald, you’ll find him in 131 East.”

  Skinner handed him an envelope. “You are welcome to listen in on my classes, regardless of your current abilities. Tell me, what do you think of the young man trying to summon two runes at once?”

  “I think Rolling Wind Wave or whatever that is probably takes too much attention. He’d be better off sticking with the Searing Flame Strike.” Declan shook his head. “Those are terrible names because I made them up. Is there an atlas of runes with what shapes mean what?”

  “Tempest and Volcanic Eruption would be the cannonical names, and yes, the Dueling Theory instructor keeps our best copy of the rune atlas. Tell me, young man, what do you know about Insight? It was your blood father’s blood-rune.”

  Declan took his time answering. “Only what I’ve heard from others. Insight into what a monster’s weakness or strength is.”

  “Close enough. You presented a blood-stone. It’s not just proof of paternity. It’s a guarantee you’ll inherit your father’s soul-rune. Yours is broken, but here’s the interesting part—you don’t need the stone to inherit the ability.”

  “Wouldn’t it have shown as my soul-rune?” Declan asked, not daring hope.

  “Defects in the arcsoul are far, far more common than admitted. Ignore what you saw at the evaluation, you’re showing signs of insight and I’ll take a-bility over visi-bility every day. Insight was not considered powerful. I disagree with that assessment.” With a wave, he dismissed Declan. “You failed to ask a question. We’ll start with fifty rin with more when you prove your worth.”

  The golden card wouldn’t deliver itself, and Declan still wanted to get to the library. He’d be waiting for Lake when she was ready. Then? He was going to find the atlas and learn exactly what Insight was capable of.