THE TEST OF SPARKS

As they walked through the Academy's corridors, three professors flanked Master Thymon, informing him about the day's events and student concerns in hushed, worried tones. Alice walked beside Marcus, her excitement barely contained despite the medical emergency they'd just witnessed.

"Alice, my dear," Master Thymon said, his voice growing stronger with each step, "please also invite the Head Scribe. She probably wants to hear this and give her opinion on what these gentlemen have to offer."

When Alice hurried off down a side corridor, the mustachioed professor suggested staying to help with the meeting. "No need, Professor Edmund," Master Thymon said with a knowing smile, studying Tom and Marcus with those ancient, sharp eyes. "You can trust these gentlemen. Just look at their faces."

Marcus wasn't sure what the master saw in their faces, but the professor nodded and excused himself with a respectful bow.

Master Thymon's chambers were what Marcus had imagined from medieval fantasy stories he'd read in his other life, walls lined with ancient tomes, strange brass instruments, and crystals that gave off their own soft light. The air smelled of parchment, ink, and something that might have been burning sage. Behind the master's chair hung a wall decorated with souvenirs from what must have been decades of adventures and discoveries.

"Let's meet formally," the ancient wizard said, settling into his ornate chair with visible relief. "I am Thymon Starweaver, humble servant of this Academy. Too lazy to die, working too hard to live."

He gestured for them to sit in the comfortable chairs across from his massive oak desk. Marcus noted the desk was covered with scrolls, books, and what appeared to be half-completed experiments.

"I am Marcus of Millhaven," Marcus replied, trying to match the formal tone, "and this is my cousin Tom of Millhaven."

"A pleasure to meet you both." Master Thymon leaned back in his chair, his piercing gaze fixed on Marcus. "I heard from Alice that you make soaps and paper, but where did you learn to care for the sick? Are you also a physician?"

Before Marcus could respond, Tom jumped in enthusiastically. "Oh, he always knew that stuff! Even when he was a child, he'd take care of Grandpa, help fix my shoulder when it got loose, make herb tea when we had upset stomaches."

Marcus discreetly kicked Tom's foot under the table, but the damage was already done.

"I just did what seemed appropriate," Marcus said with a nervous chuckle, trying to downplay his knowledge.

"And you learned this from books, I assume?" Master Thymon pressed, his ancient eyes missing nothing.

"There were no books at Millhaven," Tom said again, completely missing Marcus's warning look. "He just learned reading here in the city, and he's teaching me too!"

I really shouldn't have brought Tom, Marcus thought desperately. He's gonna get me in serious trouble with his big mouth.

"Impressive, young man," Master Thymon said thoughtfully, stroking his long white beard. "Knowledge isn't always found in books, you know. In fact, those with good eyes and sharp minds often take inspiration from the world itself, learning through observation and experimentation."

He leaned forward, studying Marcus with renewed intensity. "I wonder, just as this fine gentleman is clearly blessed with spark, you must also have some unique ability that lets you see things others miss."

"Me? Magic?" Tom said, pointing at himself with genuine surprise.

"Him? Magic?" Marcus said simultaneously, pointing at Tom with equal shock.

Master Thymon chuckled at their synchronized response. "Yes, young Tom, you're obviously an enhancer. Quite clearly, in fact."

"What?" Marcus stared at his massive cousin in amazement.

"Yeeees!" Tom pumped his fist in the air like he'd just won a contest.

"How do you think he grew so large and maintained his strength when I've noticed almost every other refugee has slimmed down significantly since arriving?" the master explained patiently. "Magic enhances the body's natural processes, including the ability to gain muscle and process nutrition efficiently."

Marcus felt pieces of the puzzle clicking into place. "I always thought when he took the cows out to graze in the mountains, he hunted extra food or was somehow finding additional sources."

"What? No!" Tom protested indignantly. "Well, yes, I hunted sometimes when I could, but I never stole food from anyone!"

"Of course not," Master Thymon said kindly. "Your body was simply making more efficient use of whatever food you consumed. Now, let's examine your affinity more carefully, Marcus."

He produced four stones of different colors from his desk drawer, red, green, blue, and yellow, each about the size of a chicken egg and polished to a smooth finish.

"Extend your hand, please. Don't worry, I won't hurt you. These stones simply respond to magical energy."

"I really don't think I have magic," Marcus said, smiling outside but feeling conflicted inside. He knew he possessed the most unique magical ability imaginable, eighteen hours daily in a world with the internet, but it was completely undetectable by medieval standards.

Master Thymon took Marcus's hand gently and placed the four distinctly colored stones on his palm. The ancient wizard then waved his other hand over them several times, muttering what sounded like incantations under his breath.

Nothing happened. The stones remained cold, lifeless, and ordinary.

"Interesting," Master Thymon murmured. "Give me your hand, Tom of Millhaven, please."

The moment Master Thymon placed the red stone on Tom's massive palm, it immediately began glowing with warm, pulsing light. When the wizard waved his hand over it, the red stone blazed even brighter and the green stone began giving off a dim, steady glow as well.

"Fascinating!" Master Thymon exclaimed. "You are, like most enhancers, blessed with a small affinity for transmutation as well. Quite rare to have two schools of magic available."

"Ooh, transmutation too!" Tom asked eagerly, watching the glowing stones with wonder. "What's that mean?"

"People with transmutation affinity can change their body parts temporarily, or alter the properties of things they're touching," the master explained. "It takes rigorous training, just like any other magical ability. Most enhancers take their power for granted and only use it to punch their way through problems."

Master Thymon carefully removed the stones from Tom's hand and set them back on his desk. "If you take my advice, young man, get yourself a proper education and work hard to become someone who can control all aspects of his power. Raw strength without wisdom is dangerous."

"Yes, yes! Thank you, Master Thymon!" Tom beamed, clearly thrilled to discover he had magical abilities.

Master Thymon turned back to Marcus, his expression sympathetic. "I'm afraid you do not possess any form of detectable magic, Marcus of Millhaven. The stones show no response whatsoever."

Marcus felt a complex mix of emotions, relief that no trace of his interdimensional ability had been detected, but also a slight disappointment at being officially labeled as "magicless" in this world. Of course, he did have magic, the most unique and powerful magic imaginable.

"But don't let that discourage you," Master Thymon continued kindly. "You don't need magic to leave your mark on this world. Some of history's greatest innovators and leaders were entirely without magical ability. Now, tell me about these inventions Alice mentioned."

A polite knock interrupted them, and Alice entered with an elegant woman in flowing blue robes, clearly someone of high status within the Academy.

"Oh, perfect timing!" Master Thymon said, gesturing them forward. "Alice, my dear, can you bring those paper samples you left me yesterday? I believe I placed them on the side table over there."

Marcus accepted the advertisement papers from Alice, recognizing his own crude handiwork. "Like I explained to Alice, these can't be turned into proper books, but for daily use, student notes, temporary documents, they could be used and then tossed in the fire afterward. Assuming you can afford unlimited ink, of course."

"Why would we create documents intended for only one use and then waste precious ink by throwing them into fire?" the elegant woman asked skeptically. Marcus realized this must be Head Scribe Lady Genevieve.

We do it constantly in my world, Marcus thought. You should see the amount of paper products we consume and discard without a second thought.

"Can you make better quality materials? Reusable scrolls or proper papers?" Master Thymon asked with genuine curiosity.

"Not necessarily better," Marcus replied carefully, "but definitely cheaper and potentially reusable. Maybe."

"Maybe?" Lady Genevieve's eyebrows rose skeptically. "Master, we do not need uncertain expenditures when the royal treasury has already cut our funding significantly."

"But I can definitely make the writing and book creation process a thousand times faster," Marcus interrupted, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out two small carved wooden blocks he'd been working on.

"Please explain, Marcus of Millhaven," Master Thymon said, his interest clearly piqued.

"While I was researching methods for cheap paper production, I realized these would be much more revolutionary." Marcus held up the wooden blocks. "I carved these myself, though I should mention I'm not a wood craftsman by any means, nor am I particularly skilled with artistic work."

"He definitely isn't," Tom added helpfully. "Even little Tim draws better pictures than him."

Marcus shot his cousin a look but continued. "If we could find an excellent wood carver who could create these components with much smaller pieces, almost the size of individual handwritten letters..."

He pulled out a small vial of ink and carefully applied it to the raised surfaces of his wooden molds, then pressed them down firmly on the back of his advertisement paper.

"'Hello Valdris,'" Master Thymon read aloud, squinting at the small, clear text that had appeared.

A little computer science joke, Marcus thought with private amusement.

"Small," the master observed, "Almost like typical handwritten text. Oh, I see what you're proposing! When we create smaller individual letter pieces, you could arrange them into whatever text we need, and your machine could create as many copies of that page as necessary."

This old wizard is incredibly sharp, Marcus thought, impressed by how quickly Master Thymon had grasped the revolutionary implications.

"But Master," Lady Genevieve protested, "this would eliminate the need for scribes entirely. It would end our profession!"

"Actually, no," Marcus said quickly. "It doesn't eliminate scribes at all. In fact, it increases your usefulness but changes how you apply your talents. It would increase demand for books back in my wo..." He caught himself just in time. "I mean, since this technology would bring down book prices dramatically, everyone would wanna create books. Traders for their records, artists for their stories, even cooks for their recipes!"

Master Thymon nodded slowly, clearly working through the implications. "Marcus, while we don't have unlimited funding available, we can certainly offer you resources to expand and develop these innovations. We'll provide reasonable compensation for your troubles as well. Also, we'd be happy to educate your cousin in the proper use of his magical talents."

Marcus felt his heart racing. This was the opportunity he'd been hoping for. "Sir, I may have been introduced to you as an entrepreneur who created these things purely for profit, but honestly, money is the least of my current problems."

He took a deep breath before continuing. "Today we received an eviction warning from the refugee office. My entire family is facing homelessness. If you can provide housing for me and my family, I will gladly spend the majority of my time developing innovations for the Academy. I'm confident I can explain this arrangement to my current business partner."

"How cruel of them," Master Thymon said, his expression darkening with genuine anger. "But that can certainly be accommodated."

He turned to Lady Genevieve with the tone of someone accustomed to having his requests fulfilled. "Genevieve, we must find suitable quarters where our guests can stay for as long as needed. This is a priority."

"Master," Genevieve warned carefully, "we cannot provide paying employment for all of his family members, given our current financial constraints."

"Find something appropriate for living, they can continue their work at the mines for the time being," Master Thymon said firmly, his ancient authority filling the room. "These innovations could revolutionize how we preserve and spread knowledge throughout the kingdom. That's worth far more than a few silver pieces for housing."

Alice thanked Marcus warmly as they prepared to leave, her eyes bright with excitement about the possibilities ahead. Marcus and Tom made their way back through the Academy corridors and out into the city streets.

Both of them carried the weight of life-changing news, one had discovered he possessed magical abilities and would receive formal training, the other had possibly found salvation for his entire family through his knowledge and innovations.

"So," Tom said as they walked home, "I have magic, you're gonna work with the Academy, and our family might not be homeless after all."

"That about sums it up," Marcus replied.

"Good day, then."

"Very good day."

Marcus's mind was already racing with possibilities. Finally, he could learn about the planet he was living on and ask questions to someone with knowledge. Master Thymon seemed like the kind of person who would have answers about this world's astronomy, history, and maybe even clues about how his world-switching worked. For the first time since arriving in Valdris, Marcus felt like he might be able to understand not just how to survive here, but how everything connected together.