>>5780368>>5780373>>5780376>7The treats, while appreciated, did little to mollify the fairy court. They’d mocked you—in friendly fashion, but not with much mercy—for thinking yourself masterful enough in their craft to begin teaching. They’d asked after her race and. Learning her to be a human, they’d cackled loudly.
“Teach her wrong,” one of the local True Fey had suggested, “as a joke!”
“Oh, she won’t understand it anyway,” another said. “Let the half-an-elf try.”
“Teach her anything more than the basics, and don’t bother asking us for favours again,” had warned the oldest, most gnarled spriggan-spirit—the one who could rightly be called the spirit of the maple, its guardian.
"Why?!" you'd demanded.
"Look around you," the Spirit of the Old Maple had said. "All of this was forested, child-of-the-children. The humans ripped it all apart, patted it flat, and filled it with dumb wheat and dead stone. They know we exist, at least some of them do, but do any of THEM come bearing gifts? Your new pet human is no different."
"You know I'M half-human, right?" you'd pointed out, impulsively.
"I won't hold it against you," the Old Maple Spirit had said benevolently, "if you come back next year, with more of these cakes."
You’d left, not invigorated but disheartened. At least without all the waiting, you’d been able to wrap the trip up in time for the after-party with the others, though you hadn’t been able to shake the melancholy. Pearce, of course, had noticed.
You looked down at the potion-bottle full of strong spirits and herbal snippings, and gave it a sniff.
“You wash these before you use them for drinking, right?” you asked.
“Shut up,” he’d laughed, as you took a swig and grimaced at the bitterness.
It took the edge off, but there was still the year ahead to face now—and Izirina Henzler, to share in your disappointment.
The days off passed quickly—too quickly—and you returned to your studies at the Tower. Having passed Global Magical Studies by the skin of your teeth, you were now free to specialize in those fields which were your passion (and which, by your proctors’ estimation, you qualified for). For your part, you focused your efforts primarily on…
>Advanced Chimerical Studies[Learn to care for, mend, bond with, and even CREATE chimeras; plays to your strengths]
>Extraplanar Binding & Summoning[The only demonology offered by the school, useful for understanding pact magic and the binding of spirits… Maybe even True Fey]
>Global Magical Studies—Southern Curricula[Where you failed to find purchase in the East, maybe you can instead find answers to the South…?]
>Combat Casting[Anyone considering a career as a Tower Guardian, an Inquisitor, or a Field Researcher is encouraged to take this class, though not everyone does…]
>Write-in[Pitch an idea, and I'll let you know if it won't work.]
