The Rule of Rules

The final week leading up to the magic term examinations had me commuting to and from the ancient archives deep within the Procedural Disorder campus. While taking a regular route daily, I found myself inadvertently encountering the triop I had betrayed several times. And, much like the weeks prior, I came up against their no-contact directive.

Rionriv’s cold shoulder had gone from saddening and hurtful to downright impressive. In fact, it had become the coldest damn shoulder I had ever gotten. I feared that any colder and her elemental lineage would have caused a blizzard to descend upon the Al’magi campus—a place that had never seen snow before.

On the other hand, Aesandoral appeared to have begun struggling even more with the separation. I could see in her expressive eyes that she desperately wanted to talk, but with Rionriv attached to her hip, there was rarely a moment for even the faintest interaction.

But this wouldn't stop me. Even with the sorceress’s absolute disgust of me, I wasn’t going to let it deter me from fulfilling my promise to them. I was still a man of my word, even if they didn't want to believe it. And I said that they would graduate. All of them. Even if it meant I had to do it without stealing answers!

So, after betraying my own World-Eighty-Two promise never to study again, I used copy-paste scrolls and took my own personal tomes of legal texts everywhere I went. There was a book from the ancient archives in hand at meals, in my free time and even before, during and after the gym. In fact, I was the definition of that guy with his nose in a book. But I needed to be, to make sure I was ready.

And, after hours of reading dusty old tomes that had been hidden away from human eyes for almost two hundred years, I believed I had found the answer. It was a solution to the exact problem the triop faced, and it had been hidden in the arcanolegalese of the school’s original founding bylaws.

I hope this works. I thought as I stood before the daunting doors of the Grand Central Library. Remember. Confidence. You wrote these rules, after all…well, most of them.

With a deep breath, I centred myself as I pushed open the library doors and stepped through. Beyond the threshold, the entire first floor of the space had been converted into a single, large testing room. Roughly three hundred desks were set up in long rows where exhausted magic users poured every ounce of their remaining energy into the questions before them.

Ugh, trauma, run away. I thought, feeling the mental dam flexing under the strain of something unknown happening to me in a similar place. No, suck it up. You’re doing this for them. Not for you. You can’t run from a bad dream! At least, not forever.

I continued my march toward the testing area, barely reaching the backmost row when one of the professors approached me. Glancing at him, I quickly realized that the quaffed brown hair and well-to-do American Frontier attire he wore were not those of a professor but of the Dean of Student Acquisitions, Jack Atlas. This particular Dean was a character in my story and had a very specific purpose. He was a self-serving annoyance and also a spy for the militarist authoritarian nation of Anak’hati. Eventually, the heroes would find out that he was one of the figures attempting to overthrow Al'magi. But that wouldn't be until the end of their third year.

Oh, goodie, a baddie.

“Um, hello, excuse me.” Jack spoke quietly as he intercepted me, “We are currently in the middle of a test. Are you a student here?”

“No, I am not, Mister Atlas,” I replied politely. “I am not a student.”

Taking a step back, the man placed a hand to his chest as he investigated my face and posture. Cocking an eyebrow, he put on a fake smile as he continued to feign formality.

“Oh—hmm, do we know each other? You seem to have me at a disadvantage here.”

“You are very much at a disadvantage, Mister Atlas.”

Oh-ho-ho! I thought after that gibe. Suck it, Jack!

“O-okay? Well, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“I refuse to leave," I replied sharply, anticipating this response from any decent professor. "Under the Al’Magi Legal Codex as established by the Moal’aw Treaty of P-G-C Thirty-Twenty-Five, as a denizen of the Esserian plane, I am warranted unrestricted access to all public campus structures within operational hours.”

Boom! Three weeks of arcanolegal deep dive paid off just for that! I never wanted to be a lawyer in my past life, but this time around, maybe I should consider it.

“I-I, umm, heh—” Atlas stuttered as he looked around.

Several students had become more interested in our conversation than in their tests.

“Keep writing.” He instructed, returning his attention to me with a clearing of his throat. “I—heh, I don’t believe that’s…correct? And even if it is, I don’t believe it would apply to testing periods.”

“Al’Magi Legal Codex. Section Twenty-Seven. Subsection Nineteen. Subsubsection Three. Paragraph Nine. In the case of Jennit v. Al’magi. I have the right to be here even during testing to observe the magical conditions of the location. This is approved for man, beast, awakened magical fauna and flora, as well as mundane!”

Atlas stared at me, trying to determine if I was being serious. I could see a bead of sweat forming at the top of his brow as panic began to reveal itself in his eyes.

“Go check it out,” I hissed, glancing around for my companions. It didn't take long for me to notice both Aesandoral and Sharzin near enough to have heard me talking. They were currently watching me, the former with concern and the latter with joy.

“Read the rules, Jack." I finished with a wave of my hand. "We’re in a library, after all. Excuse me.”

As I began to walk away, several students gasped, gawking from their seats at the sight of a teenager putting down the Dean. I glanced back over my shoulder and watched the man processing what had happened. After a moment had passed, he began his quick retreat from the situation, confusion plastering his face. Surprise washed over the students seated nearest the confrontation, who quickly began to gossip now that the proctor was gone. But I knew this moment to be fleeting, as he was only doing what he did best: finding someone else to fix the problem. This gave me valuable minutes for the next stage of my plan.

I approached Aesandoral first. Being both the closest and most likely to respond positively to my ask, she made the most sense. Moving towards the elf, her gentle, green eyes watched me as excitement crossed her face.

“Iz, what are you doing here?” She asked, her sweet voice quiet and respectful.

Taking the opportunity, I glanced down at her test. I had hoped that with the studying we had done, it would have been enough to get her at least some of the way to a passing grade. But what I discovered surprised me.

Yeeee, those are all wrong. I thought, my heart dropping at the horrendous academic attempt. Okay, this scheme has got to work. Wait...how? I know she knew some of these. H-Has she…

“Hey, Aes,” I whispered in reply. “Have—are you still taking your pills?”

She looked down at her test bashfully, placing her hands over the sheet to hide the attempted answers. I could see shame beginning to build as she hid herself from my gaze.

“No," Aesandoral answered softly. "Rionriv made me stop taking them. She said anything you told me to do or take was bad. I'm sorry.”

Damn it, Ri! Those were actually helping her concentrate. Hate me or not, you should have at least seen that it was good for your sister!

With a sigh, I stuffed my hand into the bottomless bag on my hip. Fumbling around, I withdrew a small bottle of backup pills I had kept on the side in case the forgetful elf had misplaced her bottle or mistakenly missed a dosage. I had brought them with me to the test just in case of this exact scenario. And though I had forseen it, I couldn't help but still be slightly disappointed in Rionriv for her actions.

“Here, take one of these now, okay?” I asked her before glancing around to ensure no teachers were coming.

Plucking the pill from my hand, she didn't hesitate before flicking it into her mouth and swallowing. I reached over and gently rubbed the top of her head with a smile, hoping the pill would kick in quickly since her body was used to the dosage.

“Aes, I don’t have much time." I continued. "I have a way to get you all to pass this test, within the rules, okay?”

“How?”

“It's a group challenge. No paperwork at all. Just kicking ass. Listen, when I give the signal, I want you to stand on your desk and shout something as loud as you can, okay?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Say—I call upon the ancient founders. Hear my plea.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, that's it. Have you seen Ri?”

“No, we got split up, and I got distracted. I'm sorry.”

“No. No. Don't be sorry.” I spoke softly as I cupped a hand on her shoulder, and I stared deeply into her eyes. “ I’m so sorry for lying. I never meant to hurt any of you. I miss you. I miss all of you.”

“Ishara—“ She replied to me, her voice softening as tears began to dampen her eyes.

But before she could speak, I was gone. I needed to be quick, and I feared that if she released the full extent of her waterworks, I'd choose to stay. With Sharzin next on my path, I began weaving through desks to get to the rogue. As I approached, she watched me with a smirk.

 "You really laid into Jack, huh?" She spoke first.

"Yeah. You saw that, huh?"

"Oh, did I," Sharzin smirked. "Glorious, Oracle."

“Thanks, now, listen. I've got a way for you to pass. Legit this time, okay? After Aes says her bit, I need you to jump up onto your desk and shout—I call upon the current faculty. Hear my plea. Got it? Can you do that?”

“Sure.” She paused for a moment, looking at the doodles on her test that I had spotted.

She’s not even trying to pass! I know for a fact she knows that answer. And that one too! Has she been failing all these tests on purpose?

“I miss hanging out with you,” Sharzin whispered, her words echoing mine a moment before with Aesandoral. "I-I miss our time together, in your room..."

Taken aback by the confession, I felt my heart skip a beat before I suddenly realized something. 

“You miss the mall food, huh?”

“Yeah, I miss the mall food. I think I'm going through withdrawals without it.”

“Show me to Ri, and I’ll get you whatever you want from the mall for a year.”

As fast as a whip, her arm extended out with a single pointed finger. I followed it to see Rionriv’s head down, focusing hard on her test.

Patting Sharzin on the shoulder, I gave her a nod.

“Sharzin, I’m really sorry I dragged you into my mess—“

“Don’t worry about it. I had fun.”

“W-wait, why did you rat me out then?”

She cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow.

“Because,” Sharzin explained matter-of-factly. “Rionriv is scary. Now get moving. You’ve got company.”

“Hey,” An unfamiliar teacher suddenly made their presence known. “Excuse me, little boy. Please come here.”

Two professors had appeared with Atlas and were hastily making their way towards me.

Crap! I don’t know them! I thought, beginning a sprint through the desks. Gotta book it before they catch me.

“Hey! Stop!” The professors began to give chase, brandishing wands.

Oh no! I’m going to get tased. Must go faster!

By this point, I was almost to Rionriv, and the entire library had noticed the kerfuffle unfolding. Lifting her head, the sorceress made eye contact with me. I watched as, in an instant, she went through a rollercoaster of emotions. Confusion. Excitement. Confusion again. Frustration. Anger.

“What are you—”

“Listen, hate me later." I cut her off. "This is for the triop. And it's within the school rules.”

“I don’t believe—”

“Just listen, please.” I glanced over my shoulder at the quickly approaching teachers before looking back at her. “You can still all pass a group challenge instead of a test. It’s in the original bylaws. When I give the signal, after Sharzin speaks, stand on your desk and shout out—I call upon the future mages. Hear my plea. My triop declares Article Two from the Ex Parti Arcanum Tabularus.”

Rionriv inspected my face, looking for my tells, seeing if I was being honest. It was easy to tell that she was still upset by what I had done and wary of trusting me.

“Ri, I’m sorry I hurt you.” I felt my heart ache as I spoke the words."I'm sorry I betrayed your trust."

After all, it was the absolute truth. I had let an old, bad habit of doing everything I could to succeed take over me and regretted using their triop as the reason for doing so. Not only had I broken a forgotten promise to myself to never regress into that mentality, but I had also taken advantage of them. I just hoped she could find a way to believe me.

“I thought I was helping.” I continued. “I was wrong. But this—this is right. Please. For them. For all of you.”

I watched Rionriv blush before quickly averting her gaze. She first looked away from me, my heartfelt stare, before shifting to the world behind me. Turning, I followed her eyes to see—

Oh, craaaaaap!

The teachers were almost within range to hit me with their wands.

Without a moment to think, I jumped to the nearest desk. Pulling my amulet of the Sunblessed Scholar from my shirt, I hoisted it into the air, channelling magic into it. With a deep breath, I cast a spell I had taught myself after almost three months of being hit with it daily.

“Thunder!” I called out as a loud blast echoed through the library.

Then, a moment later, I was hit with a pair of ye olde tasers. A surge of paralyzing energy overcame my body, and I locked up before tumbling over the desk I had been standing atop. Landing hard on the ground, I felt something in my face crack and break. Unsure if I had been officially Rowen Wilson'd because of the paralysis that afflicted me, I instead lay there waiting for the campus police to take me into custody.

As the professors surrounded me, they picked me up from the ground and inspected my face closely. They appeared reasonably pissed and also uninterested in the blood that I noticed dripping from my nose.

Then a voice cried out.

“I call upon the ancient founders. Hear my plea.”

There was a moment of quiet as the teachers stopped and looked towards Aesandoral.

“I call upon the current faculty. Hear my plea.”

Their heads shifted, now looking to Sharzin before back to me. They were beginning to suspect something more devious had happened as I charged down the rows of obedient students.

"What did you do?" A teacher interrogated me. "Are you trying to get multiple people thrown out?"

Then a second passed, and another. And another.

Come on, Ri, please. I thought as I stood locked in place by the pain still surging through my body.

Then I heard the shifting of wood as someone stood on a desk behind me.

“I call upon the future mages. Hear my plea. My triop declares Article Two from the Ex Parti Arcanum Tabularus.”

Without warning, the library shook at the completed incantation and the three women, standing atop their desks, began to glow a radiant gold. The powerful magic that had permeated the campus since its creation had heard their pleas and responded in kind.

They had done it.