Chapter 6 Part 1

APPRENTICE

Dylan kept his decision to himself. Even when he told Gage and Kayla, he asked that his decision be kept secret until the time came for him to don the grey robe of an apprentice.
When they displayed puzzlement--after all it should have been a joyous occasion--he rebutted that he wanted his friendships to remain intact as they were. A change in status of that nature might alienate him from other non-magic initiates, and then magic initiates would never really accept him because of his yellow tunic.

Though unusual, Gage ordered that Dylan’s request be honored and Dylan’s life returned to normal. The only difference was that more and more of his lessons began to revolve around the concepts of magic and science. And his duties began to require him spend more and more time delivering and inventorying supplies to the labs and becoming involved in the goings on in those labs.

Many of the students of magic viewed his involvement in what they considered their exclusive domain with disdain. Though they would never openly question his master’s work assignments, they made it abundantly clear every time he entered a lab that he was an unwelcome guest.

In spite of the hostility, however, Dylan rapidly became familiar with the different devices, and tools used in the study of magic. He was assigned at one point to participate in the creation of a powerful potion. Since Kayla was the journeyman leading the project, Dylan knew what the true reason he had been asked to be there was, but in honor of his request for secrecy, Kayla explained his presence to her assistants otherwise. She indicated that minor potions and their ingredients were to be kept in the central storage facility and that it was important that the yellow tunic in charge of the warehouse be familiar with the potions’ development and care.

Kayla showed Dylan no less attention than she did with the other initiates of magic. He was also grateful that she did not show him any extra attention. That would make working with the other initiates in the lab very difficult. They already despised his presence.

“I really do not see why you are here,” one initiate told Dylan as they boiled a solution to speed up the reaction. “You will not stay after you test, so why do they waste time teaching you these procedures?”

“You heard Journeyman Kayla,” Dylan answered. “The head quartermaster must be familiar with the things stored in the warehouse.”

“That is fine for the good of the Academy,” the girl replied, “but it doesn’t really help your future. You will not need these skills and knowledge when you leave here.”

Dylan smiled. “You never know,” he countered. “I may take up employment with a master wizard as his lab assistant.”

“That would be a most honorable profession. It’s the next best thing to studying magic itself.”

Dylan did not really pursue those conversations any further. Though he could have saved himself a lot of grief by revealing his status, he also felt that to do so would be an admission of defeat in some way. So Dylan continued to put up with the abuse of some of the students of magic. At first they were cruel and frigid towards him, but as the weeks wore on, they began to either tolerate him or accept him. Either way, Dylan began to develop the basic skills he would need for his apprenticeship.

Winter came only to break the monotony of classes with an unusually heavy snowfall. Since a large number of the initiates at the Academy were still young enough to play in the snow, the Guildmaster urged for a holiday and many of the younger initiates took to the grounds fighting with snowballs and building snow sculptures.

Though quite cold, Dylan took advantage of the break to return to the pool in the garden. As expected it was frozen over, but the sun had been shining on the rocks all day and they were fairly warm to sit upon.

The second pleasant surprise was the appearance of Cindy. She pulled up next to him quietly. Dylan glanced at her briefly. Her red tunic was bright and clean and well maintained. She wore it proudly and each day she proved herself worthy of it as far as Dylan had heard. “Well I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said at last. “I’ve heard that you work around the clock and don’t sleep or eat.”

Cindy chuckled. They were both closing in on their fourteenth year and had made names for themselves in academic excellence. Their tutors and both their former and present master all agreed that they were prime candidates for the Trial of Acceptance next summer. And though not the youngest to take the all important test, they most certainly were completing the course ahead of the scheduled curriculum. Since there were no levels of excellence associated with the completion of the course, finishing ahead of schedule was generally considered the mark of an excellent scholar.

“I’m playing hooky today and I don’t care if the sky falls down while I’m here.”

Dylan stole another glance. “That’s not true,” he told her. “You can’t help but care. It’s a part of who we are that we can’t let a job go underdone.”

“Or done wrongly,” she added. Cindy tossed her head and her hair flipped over across her shoulder. Absently she brushed her hair behind her ear.

Dylan realized with a start at just how lovely she had become over the last year. No longer was she the little girl that he had befriended after the Rite of Meditation, but she had become a beautiful and shapely young woman. He himself had grown quite a bit and his own body was well on its way to manhood.

“Are you ready for summer,” Dylan asked after a few more moments.

“I will be,” Cindy answered. She smiled at last and reached out to touch his hand. “In a way I’m looking forward to going home. I’ll miss this though. Not having you around is what I’ll miss most.”

“Your family’s going to be almost as proud as I am of you. You’re going to complete your studies almost a year and a half ahead of schedule and you’ll leave having worn the red. That’s quite an achievement.”

“You would’ve gotten the red if you’d been here longer than I have,” Cindy said. “I just got lucky enough to start first." Cindy squeezed his hand and then released it. “Well, I have a lot of work to do,” she said. “Snow may cancel classes, but it doesn’t cancel chores.”

Within moments Dylan again was alone on the rock. He lay back in the sun and let his mind drift. He must have been there a fairly long time, because when he sat up the sky was beginning to darken. Dylan gathered himself and returned to the building. There were things to do. Cindy was right. The snow had canceled classes, but not work.

The winter passed slowly as winter usually does, and when spring came, Dylan was once again visited by his new master. Gage informed Dylan that he and Cindy had completed the scheduled routine of study for initiates. He advised them to begin reviewing their studies for the Trial of Acceptance.

As they were directed, Dylan and Cindy began spending much of their spare time together studying in the Archives, in the garden, or in their rooms. They rediscovered the old feelings that had faded during the last two years and Dylan knew instinctively that Cindy’s departure was going to be very painful.

The days dragged on and the anxiety began to build. A week before the Trial was scheduled, Kayla informed both Dylan and Cindy that Gage had written invitations for their parents to come to the Academy for the graduation ceremonies. The idea of his parents making such a trip and then him not passing the test fueled Dylan’s studies. He buckled down and worked hard to be prepared for the event that signified the totality of the last four years.

When the time came for him to take the test, Kayla visited him. “Tomorrow is your Test of Acceptance,” she told him as she sat in the chair across from him. “Are you ready?”

“I don’t know” Dylan admitted. “I can’t think of anything else, but I really don’t know if I’m ready.”

“That’s good,” Kayla told him. “If you can’t think of anything you have forgotten, and you’re not sure if you’re ready, then you are ready.”

Dylan’s face grew tight as he frowned. “I really don’t understand that.”

Kayla laughed also. “I mean if you thought that you were ready, then that meant that you were far too comfortable and underestimated the test.” She placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. “The fact that you’re so unsure and yet you can’t think of anything else to study means that you’re truly ready for the test. I think that you’ll do just fine.”

Dylan fixed the journeyman with a stare. “I wish I had your confidence,”

“Don’t,” Kayla advised. “Confidence is good, but too much confidence might be your worst enemy in the Trial of Acceptance.”

Kayla’s advice rang through Dylan’s mind as he met Cindy for breakfast on the day of the trial’s start. The test would last a few days, and would cover each subject that they had studied testing for knowledge, comprehension and application.

“Are you ready,” Dylan asked Cindy as they ate.

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” Cindy told him.

They continued to eat until the time came for them to report to the main hall for testing as Kayla had instructed them. Then they both walked to the main hall, joining other initiates who were testing that summer.

As they had all been instructed, they assembled outside the main hall. A pair of apprentices flanked the main door functioning as sentinels preventing the initiates from entering too soon.

Dylan took notice that there were students of magic there as well as initiates who would be leaving the Academy to return to their homes within the week. He knew that Cindy was one of those initiates. He also hoped that he would be among those who would don the grey robe of apprenticeship by the end of the week.

The small mob of students milled around the entrance portal until finally at last the doors were opened and a master that Dylan did not recognize stepped out. The master carried a large book which was ornately decorated with metal binding and deeply carved letters. He placed the book on a small table and opened it. After thumbing through several pages, the master addressed the mob of initiates. “As I call your names,” he began, “please step forward and take a numbered seat assignment from this box.” He placed a box full of numbered chips on the table to his left.

Dylan and Cindy stood silently waiting for their names to be called. As the list grew, Dylan realized that his hands were getting sweaty. But it was not long until Cindy’s name was called and several seconds later his name also was called. Dylan stepped forward obediently and took a chip from the box. Then he retreated back into the crowd. Finally, the list was complete and all of the initiates had seating assignments.

“When the door opens,” the master instructed, “you will enter the hall, locate the seat matching the number on your chip, and be seated. Do not open the parcel on the desk until told to do so.”

The master nodded and an apprentice opened the door. Immediately people began to file into the room. Dylan followed along with the flow of the human tide. He took a few moments in finding his seat, and then stretched his legs and arms out. Then he sat. He felt strangely relaxed.

On his desk was a stack of papers several centimeters thick, all wrapped in plain brown paper, and tied with string. The string’s knot was embedded in wax with a seal embossed across the top.

Once all the initiates had found their seats, the master approached the stage and climbed the steps. Then he moved over to the podium and addressed the crowd. “The test that you are about to take is a time honored ceremony that’s been taken by countless others. The test is designed to evaluate your studies and identify your weak areas, if any. It’s no disgrace to fail in this test on the first try. Many of the more prominent members of our society left the Academy after their second test.”

“The first day of your testing will be exclusively reading, writing and comprehension. When you start, you’ll be given several articles to read, you’ll be asked to answer some questions concerning those articles and then you’ll be asked to write an essay on a topic that concerns all the articles you’ve read.”

“Tomorrow you’ll be tested in the fields of mathematics. This will be followed by a day of testing on history, geography and social structure, then a day of testing in sciences. Finally you will be tested on philosophy, and reason."

“Momentarily,” he said, “an apprentice will come by to negate the spell on the seal binding your test. Once the seal has been negated, you may open your package and begin working. Take your time as this test is a self paced exercise. When you’re done, please re-tie the package and present it to the journeyman or master here on the stage before leaving. Please return tomorrow at the same time and take the same seats.”
The master paused for a moment. “Are there any questions?”

There were none. So the master motioned to a pair of apprentices who took a large rod each and began walking down the rows between the desks. The apprentices paused briefly at each desk and touched the tip of the rod to the wax seal on the test. There was a faint sound of tinkling chimes and the apprentice nodded to the student.

Dylan waited patiently until the apprentice negated the seal on his test. Then he took a deep breath and calmed his mind. After a moment he glanced around and spied Cindy hard at work two rows over. He silently wished her well and then opened his own test.

Dylan found the test to be fairly easy. After all it was only evaluating his ability to read and understand what he read. It also evaluated his ability to communicate through writing.
By mid afternoon, Dylan was done. He was not the first student to complete his work, but he was more than a little pleased that the majority of the initiates were still working. He did notice, however that Cindy was no where to be seen. Apparently she had finished even sooner and was already gone.

Dylan collocated his test and then wrapped it in the brown paper. He then tied it with the string that it had come with and took it to the stage. A journeyman was reading from a manuscript and looked up only briefly as Dylan presented his test. The journeyman took the parcel and placed a new wax seal on the knot. Then he reached out and pressed his thumb into the warm wax and whispered a few brief syllables.

When his test was no longer his responsibility, Dylan left the hall and made his way to the dining hall. He had worked straight through lunch and was anxious to get some food. Dylan was pleasantly surprised to find Cindy already there. She was eating ice cream and cake. He grabbed an orange and sat beside her. Other initiates gave them plenty of room.
“Well how do you think it went,” he asked.

“Okay I suppose,” Cindy answered. “I have the nagging feeling that I missed something somewhere, though.”

Dylan peeled the fruit and ate a slice. “We still have a long way to go.”

“Yeah,” Cindy agreed. “But you should be happy. Math’s your bread and butter.”

“I’m trying not to get too comfortable,” Dylan stated. “Of course I should do well with the science too. But the history and social stuff worries me.”

“Are your parent’s here yet?” Cindy asked.

“Not yet,” Dylan answered. “They’ll probably get here in a couple of days though.”

“My Father’s coming in tomorrow,” Cindy confided. “I’m so nervous about failing.”

“You won’t fail,” Dylan laughed. “Everyone knows that red tunics always pass. The masters give extra leeway because of the workload that you carry.”

Cindy smiled. “I wish that were true. It’d let me sleep better.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Dylan finished his orange. He was still hungry. “Do you want something else? I’m going to get some cheese and bread.”

“How about a glass of wine?” Cindy asked.

Dylan gave her a questioning glance. Initiates were forbidden to consume ale or wine on Academy grounds. But when he saw the smirk on her face he returned the humor. “How about some beer?”

“Great idea,” she laughed. “But maybe I’ll settle for some tea instead.”

Dylan nodded and fetched the food and drink. Then he returned to the table and gave Cindy a dish of strawberry pudding, her favorite. “I’ll tell you what,” he said. “When we finish this test, let’s go out to the town and get some wine. I’m sure our parents’ll understand.”

Cindy laughed. “I might even be able to get my father to buy,” she said.

Dylan and Cindy finished their lunch with small talk. Then they parted ways and went to their respective duties. Dylan’s work was only a little off pace. He spent a lot of time thinking about the test and about the upcoming parts. He was not overly strong in the social sciences, and that was what worried him most.

After work, Dylan spent the rest of the evening reviewing the various mathematical subjects that he had learned. He still had some questions about trigonometry, but he had a good understanding of the basics. He also knew that once he passed the test, and became an apprentice, that the next subject he studied would be a type of math called calculus. But that was the future; he had to concentrate on the present, and that meant reviewing the past. Dylan fell asleep at his desk. He woke only long enough to go to his bed when Brett, his room mate came in.

Brett knew that Dylan was taking the Trial of Acceptance. Brett, himself, was due to take the test next year. He would miss Dylan. Dylan had been a good room mate, quiet and responsible. Brett had a great deal of respect for the other boy. He hoped that his next room mate would be as good.

Dylan woke the next morning and quickly went through his morning routine. Then he made his way back to the testing hall and took his seat. Again there was a parcel on the desk, and everything went just as they had the day before. The test was broken into several sections. There was a section on geometry and a section consisting of written problems. The written problems covered everything from algebra to spherical trigonometry.

Some of the problems were more difficult than Dylan could deal with, but when he finished, he felt very good about the results. This time Dylan finished far ahead of Cindy and was one of the first two or three initiates to complete the test. He went to the dining hall and had a warm slice of mutton while he waited for Cindy.

When she arrived, she looked visibly shaken. “Are you okay,” he asked.

“I will be,” she answered. “That test was very difficult. I didn’t know as much of that trigonometry as well as I thought I did.”

“Well if trig was the only thing that gave you trouble then you should be okay,” he offered.
They shared the meal quietly that afternoon. The test was mentally draining. As they left the dining hall, however, Cindy did offer her wishes of good luck to Dylan. He returned the gesture and then retired to his room.

The next day was full of history and social studies. Dylan found the questions to range from ancient history, to geography and political structure of the world. These were Dylan’s weakest subjects. So he was not surprised when he finally finished that there were only two other students still working.

When Dylan arrived at the dining hall that day, Cindy had already left. He was not surprised. She was very good at history and social studies.

Dylan got a quick snack and returned to his room again. The next day was the science test. He took some comfort in that. Next to mathematics, science was his best subject. Dylan was deep in thought when Brett came in the door.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Brett asked.

Dylan nodded. “Just thinking,” he answered. “In less than three days, I’ll either be moving out of this room permanently or settling down for another year.”

“Well look at it like this,” Brett advised. “I’m almost certain Cindy will pass. And if you fail, then you can be sure that you’ll be wearing the red tunic by next week.”

“I don’t want the red tunic,” Dylan told him.

“Well,” Brett agreed, “no one wants to get it that way, but if you have to put in another year, at least the red tunic would give it some meaning.”

Brett continued talking, but Dylan was no longer listening. He lay on his bunk staring into the flickering flame of Brett’s desk lamp. He was not sure when he dozed off, but the next moment of consciousness he experienced was when he rolled over in the middle of the night. The lamp was out and Brett was snoring softly.

The next morning, Dylan felt strangely relaxed and quite calm. Though he did not know how he knew, he did know that he was going to do well on the test. The test began with basic chemistry and physics and moved into biology and finally geology.

Dylan finished the test and was quite astonished and privately pleased to discover that he had finished first. This time it was his turn to finish dinner and leave before Cindy got out. He could hardly wait for her. Dylan had neglected his duties for three days already and needed to check on his workers.

That evening, Dylan made his way out into the garden. He sat on the rock that he had gotten to know so well over the last few years. Staring into the sky he gazed lazily at the larger moon. The smaller moon was nowhere in sight and though Dylan understood the lunar phases and positions, he had never really looked at the moons with that knowledge in mind. That night on the rock, he really began to look at the world around him through the eyes of knowledge.

The final day of testing was a day filled with logic and reasoning tests. Dylan found himself looking at number sequences and trying to determine the pattern. He was given a curved drawing and asked to determine the area using only a set of scales, measuring rod and knife. He was given riddles and puzzles. All day long Dylan was tasked with various tests that challenged his ability to reason and analyze. The rules of the test were the same as the previous days had been except they were told to report to their masters immediately upon completing the test.

When afternoon came, and Dylan closed the book on his Trial of Acceptance, he knew in his gut that he had passed. Just as they had been directed, he immediately went to Master Gage’s quarters.