Granny's Special

“There you are!” Birta exclaims with relief running over to me and grappling me into a bear hug. “I was worried about you.” She adds.

“Granny was just looking at the moon.” Nir explains suppressing a chuckle.

“When did you tell him?” The ogre moves me a bit away from her as she asks me.

“Just now.”,I answer a bit dazed from the sudden movement.

“She said she was older than you and I just couldn’t believe that.” Nir interjects from behind us.

“Yeah granny here being from another world and being old explains so much about her, right!?” The teen excitedly inquires the master.

“She’s from another world?” Nir exclaims almost yelling.

“Keep it down.” I order the man adding a glare to emphasize my point.

“Despite you supposedly being older than me, your childish body sure doesn’t make you look intimidating.” The master responds. I should not be surprised, this man can stare down an allosaurus and probably even worse without batting an eye. “Now that I think about.” He continues resting his chin in a hand. “Did you possess a child?” He inquires. “And if so, when?” The man adds.

My eyes go wide in surprise. I have not thought about that for so long that I never bothered to ask one of the gods.

“I, I don’t know.” I manage to stammer out.

“You don’t know?” Birta inquires with skepticism.

“I was never told and I never thought to ask!” I claim in defense. I remember Skadi’s words. “My body is made of pure magic, so I most likely am not possessing a child.” I say with confidence. I hope that is enough to reassure them.

Neither one of them says anything for what feels like an hour.

I clear my throat. “I do however know how long I’ve been here.” I continue breaking the silence. “Quite literally the day before you gave me this trophy.” I finish looking at Nir while grasping the tooth around my neck.

“No wonder you kept calling that big lizard something weird.” Nir says facepalming in disbelief. “What was it you called it again?” He asks.

“A dinosaur.” I answer letting go of the tooth. “An allosaurus to be precise.” I excitedly add.

Birta looks at me with confusion and then turns to Nir.

“It’s a big lizard, I killed one years ago.” Nir responds to the look with a shrug.

-- -- --

I sit down in the back of the large classroom next to the window covered wall opposite the door. The melting snow reflects the sunlight making the green grass popping up look even more vibrant. Rato sits down at the front desk.

“Today, is your last day with me.” Rato says sighing in relief. “You will be deciding which specialization within the magic division you will be joining from tomorrow until you graduate.” The old troglodyte explains.

A few cheers sound across the gaggle of students. Finally! I can focus more on practical skills hopefully.

“Now everyone might think we only have battle mages.” Rato says standing up. “We actually have several branches.” The instructor continues grabbing a piece of chalk. “First is the divination branch which helps with finding targets and also petitioners.” He begins his explanation. “We also have a zealot branch for those who are blessed by Skadi. Or rarely, other deities.” He writes down ‘Zealot’ below ‘Divination’ on the board.

The old troglodyte stops and looks at the class.

“Zealot is often fairly easy to figure out if you should join.” The instructor says with a smile. “Librarian tends to the organization and protection of our large and informative collection of books.” He continues writing it down below Zealot.

A girl raises her hand.

“I know you’re question.” Rato responds. “The reason Librarian is under our division is because when this guild was originally founded most of our texts were either religious or about magic.” He answers the wordless question.

The girl lowers her hand back down. The instructor clears his throat.

“Summoning is a bit of an oddity.” Rato says writing the word below Librarian. “As the name implies, it is about bringing forth beings that share your affinity.” He grabs his metal staff and taps it against the floor.

A small moth like creature of flames flies out of the top of the mage’s staff.

“A pyrefly.” The instructor says putting his free hand out for the little flame to land on. The creature lands on the troglodyte’s hand but dissipates into smoke only a moment later. “Summoning conjures much more powerful and combat focused creatures though.” He adds.

The troglodyte walks over to the desk and lays his staff back down against it before he writes the word Warden.

“This is the specialization I joined when I was an applicant.” Rato states rather dryly. The old man has a short coughing fit for a moment. “This division’s main purpose is to help with the aftermath of destruction from a bounty and to prevent unnatural attempts to alter ecosystems.” The troglodyte explains. “Unnatural of course, meaning poachers or noble’s who buy a rare specimen and grow bored of it so they release it into the wild without a second thought.” He states.

Rato sits down and grabs a small vial before downing its contents. I hope it was water just to parch his throat, but why would it be in a vial? The instructor coughs a few times, I hope he is alright.

“There are various specializations that can become your focus regardless of division you initially joined.” Rato says before standing back up. “But there is one more division specific one.” He states. He writes the word Battler. “This one uses their magic to enhance their and their squad mates physical attributes for a time. They also tend to use a bit of summoning magic to create mystical weapons.” He explains.

The troglodyte sets down the piece of chalk and grabs his staff once more. He leans the implement towards the class before a scythe blade shaped flame shoots out of the staff.

“This is one such example of the weapons that can be formed.” Rato says.

The scythe blade disappears before the old mage rests the black metal staff on his shoulder.

“Now read those pamphlets for yourselves!” The instructor states. “Seriously, I’m done talking for today.” Rato finishes after he sits back down.