Chapter 40 - Advisor Meeting

Characters – 

Felix Sutter: Poor boy living in Sacramento, recently found out magic existed. Hard worker, knows the price of everything.

Leona Thorne: 5th year Commander of Dragon house. Long black hair, casually throws around huge amounts of magical power.

Professor Paracelsus: The Immortal Alchemist. Teaches Rituals at Camelot. The professor that told Felix magic existed.

Christopher Mau: The black cat. 3rd year Dragon student. Possibly has nine lives. Unusually lucky and dexterous.

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 The girl, Alena, trembling and cloaked in white,
Was wed to Hans, now of the Hollowfern
Bjorn’s left hand and blood-brother in all but name.
The ceremony was grand, the music sweet -
But the pikes outside bore the truth:
The heads of her kin grinned black and smoking,
Warning all who passed.

The Saga of Bjorn, Verse 35

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No note could save Felix from the blaring of trumpets in the morning, and he threw off the shirt over his face with a groan.

Everything hurt. His body was sore, his head ached, even his magic felt stretched and thin, like putty that had been abused by unsupervised toddlers. He could see why he’d been excused from morning exercise.

If he wanted to be excused. Which… damnit. He probably would get yelled at if he didn’t tell anyone he was excused. At which point, he’d need to be up anyway, and might as well join in.

With a groan, he rolled over and fell to the floor in a tangle of blankets. Felix fought his way out, dragged himself through the most basic of morning ablutions, pulled on his exercise clothes - they really only needed to be washed once a week, right? - and managed to get into formation right before attendance was called.

He blinked sleepily at the back in front of him.

Why had I thought Dragon house was a good idea again?

“A question I ask myself every morning, but never outloud.” Chris chuckled quietly next to him. Felix slapped a hand over his mouth.

“Shit, I said that out loud?” He said.

At that moment, the door to the polymorphic room opened, and the rest of Dragon house started to jog in, two by two.

“Sutter, please wait.” Leona called out. Felix froze as the raven-hair woman strode up to him. He couldn’t tear his look away from her icy-blue eyes that promised swift death.

“Yes?” He was embarrassed at how high pitched his voice was.

“Are you a trained medical professional?” She asked.

“No?” Felix said, not sure where this was going, but a small ember of hope was starting to glow in his chest. Maybe he wasn’t going to get reamed out from his earlier outburst. 

“Does your core confer you with some fantastical abilities?” She asked.

The small ember of hope was rapidly dying. He could tell Leona was going somewhere with this, but had no idea where. Nowhere good, that was for sure.

“No?” He said.

“Then can you explain to me why, after taking a whole course of potions and being told to rest, you’re lined up for morning PT?”

Felix could smell the trap and the unholy wrath that was about to descend upon him.

“I’ll, er, just go lie down and rest until breakfast then?” He hesitantly proposed.

“You do that.” Leona said, then turned around and went through the door. She called out over her shoulder right before the door slammed shut.

“For reference, none of us like morning PT, and we all think the same thing. Just remember to have a filter between your brain and your mouth!”

An embarrassed Felix wondered how many times he’d put his foot in his mouth before the week was over. He comforted himself as he went back to bed. At least he had the self awareness to know he was being a dumbass. 

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Breakfast started off normal enough, but was rapidly interrupted by Professor Paracelsus before Felix could even sit down.

“Sutter. Please meet me in my office after breakfast.” He said.

“Er, sorry, but where is your office?” Felix asked. Paracelsus sighed.

“Come with me, bring your food. We’ll talk and eat.” He said.

Felix followed the alchemist through the halls, none of the other students even blinking at him carrying around a full tray of food. He gamely went up the tower of stairs, even though his legs were threatening to give out on him, and they eventually ended up in Paracelsus’s office.

Posters, charts, and diagrams papered the walls, filled with arcane notations. A small bookshelf was covered in glass, with an array of lights shining on the books inside. Paracelsus first went over to the books, and murmured a few quick words before sitting down at his desk. Felix sat down right across from him, and seeing nowhere else, put his tray on the desk. 

“It turns out that I’ve been assigned as your advisor.” Paracelsus said without any preamble. “For the next eight years, if you have questions or problems, you’ll come to me, and I’ll do my best to guide you. How are you finding things so far? Settling in well?”

Felix was mid-bite on some scrambled eggs, so he couldn’t immediately burst out in all the rants that had been building up.

“I mean, a heads up on ‘drink this potion or die’ would’ve been nice.” He sourly replied.

“Roko’s Bane.” Paracelsus nodded. “Quite nasty business that all was, and I must agree with the unfortunate necessity of continuing to use it. I do not believe we managed to kill Magus Roko during his reign of terror, simply that he chose to change tactics. Enough about ancient history, how else are you finding everything?”

“I feel a little misled.” Felix grumped. “I was told Camelot was safe, people only got self-inflicted injuries.”

“Like what?” Paracelsus asked.

“Like the library?” Felix asked with a note of incredulity. “Like the vaults? Like the cursed field right outside? The monsters in the moat?”

“The library is perfectly safe for all books and reference material you need.” Paracelsus said. “The vaults are an optional activity. The cursed field is well-marked, and you’re perfectly safe as long as you avoid it. The monsters in the moat know to stay away from the bridge. All of the things you’re complaining about are a choice that you can make. If you choose to go into danger, yes, it’s not safe, just like you can choose to swim in dangerous waters in the mundane world. You do not have to do any of those things, and it’s an unfair complaint. ‘Dangerous place is dangerous’, yes, excellent observation.”

Felix steamed and stewed, but couldn’t refute anything Paracelsus was saying.

“I would like to applaud your initiative on getting vaccinated, and I’m quite proud you’ve managed to enter Dragon house. However, you’re going to run into a problem quite rapidly, namely, forming a coven.” Paracelsus said.

“I’ve gotten some details, but what’s the full story?” Felix asked. 

“Covens come in two flavors here at Camelot.” Paracelsus said. “There is the study group, and then there are proper covens. The first is the one you should concern yourself with. Most of the time, people will form a coven with their friends and a few other housemates in the same year. However, you do not have the benefit of housemates in your year. You should try to find a group you can join sooner rather than later, else you find yourself significantly isolated. It is not a good position to be in. Perhaps talk with the Winslow girl, the two of you are in a very similar situation.”

Felix instinctively reached for paper and a pen to take notes, then realized he didn’t have them.

“Er, sorry professor, I’d write that down and take notes, but I was kinda surprised by this meeting.” Felix apologized. Paracelsus lazily waved his hand, and parchment flew through the air. A quill snapped to position on top of it, and started to magically write on it.

“Excellent instincts, I’m glad to see you’re learning.” Paracelsus said. “The quill will take dictation for us, and you can have the copy when we’re done. Transcribe your own notes from there at your leisure.”

“Yes sir.” Felix said.

“Covens at Camelot are used quite frequently, and the official coven you’re in will be used for all manner of things. Group activities? Coven. There’s the Coven Cup, for the group that obtains the most points. So on, and so forth. Choosing wisely is important, because they will influence you, one way or another.”

Felix nodded in complete understanding. It was why he cut off James. He went into drugs, Felix wasn’t going to head that way, but being around him would simply drag him into it. It was also kind of his logic for wanting to be in Kirin house originally. Being around the studious students would help him be studious, and that was his ticket to success.

“Now, a study group is all very well and good, but that brings me to the second point, a proper, magical coven.” Paracelsus said. “A group of peers that you bind your magic to. It’s optimal for everyone involved to be of the same age, and binding early can cause damage to your core and growth. Hence magical education begins at the age it does. Being in a coven is a wonderful thing, and they share the same name because the members of the first type often go on to form one of the second type.”

“Oh cool, I’ve got a bunch of questions about that.” Felix said. Paracelsus waved his hand again, and a book lifted itself off the shelf and drifted over.

Blood, Magic, and Oath: The Art of the Bound Circle.

“My first assignment to you is to read the book by the end of the week.” Paracelsus said. “I expect a 1200 word essay on what you’ve learned, and how you plan to apply it.”

Felix double-checked that the quill had written down his very first assignment. He was a little disappointed that it was nothing more than a book report, and the book in question was looking intimidatingly thick.

“Now, while we are on the topic of academics, I have your schedule. I’ve also chosen your elective for you.” Paracelsus said. Another twitch of his fingers, and a schedule flew in front of Felix. It stubbornly hung in front of him until he grabbed it.

There were nine classes listed, and ten class blocks in a day. Only eight were filled with classes, the other times were free periods. Given the solid block of free periods in the middle of the day, Felix was going to assume that one was lunch.

“I believe it will come as no surprise to you that you failed the CATs entirely.” Paracelsus said. “As such, you will be enrolled in remedial Magic Theory and History, Natural World, Charms, Rituals, and Languages. Professor Cold does not believe there is such a thing as remedial Combat Magic, and both Mind Magic and Divination are being taught from first principles. Your elective is private lessons with me, as I attempt to catch you up on all aspects of life in Arcadia that I believe you need to know. Any questions?”

“Are the remedial classes going to be just me and Hazel?” Felix asked.

“No. Eight people in total failed the CATs, and a few other students did poorly enough on various parts to have also been enrolled in remedial classes. Yourself, Winslow, Morsin, Park, Merryweather, Renard, Martin, and Brown. I already suggested Winslow as a potential coven member, you might want to look at the others.” Paracelsus hesitated, wrestling over an idea before saying it.

“Consider any coven with Morsin carefully. The boy is in an interesting situation, and tying your fate to his may be the best decision you make, but will also permanently close a large number of doors in your face forever. His family is not well-liked, and you will be permanently limiting your future career options should you align yourself with him. In thirty years, I would not want you berating your younger self’s poor judgment, nor have you cursing my name.”

“Yes sir.” Felix said, thinking of the move they’d made last night. It had been… satisfying. Justice, as usual, couldn’t be found the normal way, and so they’d gone out and made it happen. It wasn’t too late to change course, but what Erik had said on the boat resonated with him. Don’t judge people by their family, judge people by who they are. Avoiding Erik because people wouldn’t like the association sounded like some sort of -ism, although Felix had no idea which one it would be. ‘My-family-is-murderous-ism’?

Not something worth looking up, not when he had his first homework assignment and an entire castle to explore.

“Excellent. Unless you have any other questions, I suggest you use the remaining time to orient yourself, and discover the location of all of your classrooms before the first day of class. I will dock points if you are late.”

“I think I’ve got everything, thank you sir.” Felix said. He collected his things and left, not quite sure what to do with himself. He could hunt down Chris and Beatrix after lunch, but right now they were doing their CATs. Felix decided that getting homework done when it was assigned, not the night before it was due, was the best course of action. He went straight from Paracelsus’s office to Dragon house, then hesitated.

He could just work in his room, but how would he ever get to meet anyone? Was that really the best place? The decisions he made today would become the habits he was going to settle into for the next eight years. Better make the best ones.

After thinking about it some, Felix decided he was going to work in the library. Gloomy atmosphere and skeletons or not, it was a good place to study, and if he had any questions about covens after, he could look it up in more books. It was a place he could study with a coven, it was a place of magic. 

Far better than shutting himself in his room, and it beat out the Dragon common room. 

He gathered his books, only got lost twice, and made his way to the library, where he sat down, cracked open the book, and started working on his essay.

The hourglass flipped as the sands of time flowed through, and Felix learned about covens.

The practice was ancient, possibly dating to before written history. Covens should be in particular numbers, otherwise they’d be ‘unbalanced’. 3, 5, 7, and 13 were the most common numbers, with special notes that 2, 6 and 28 were particularly bad.

Forming a coven made everyone’s magic start growing faster in every way, and unlocked whole classes of rituals that otherwise would be out of reach. Careful thought had to go into fellow members of a coven. The same age was best for everyone, but the book pointed out that for people who could afford it, getting a number of older students to form a coven with a single younger student was a good way to make sure the younger student ended up as a powerhouse, at the cost of the potential of the older students.

A wix could only be a member of one coven in a lifetime, and members couldn’t be replaced. The book advised picking out all the members of a coven early in life, then raising them all together with the expectation that they’d form one together. Given how Felix had seen absolutely nothing about that, and given the age of the book, he suspected the practice didn’t exist anymore.

The Camelot selection seemed semi-arbitrary. It’d be hard to predict seven people all getting into the College, then being able to bond.

The other part that made him frown was the timing. Sooner was better than later, as his magical growth would taper off as he grew up. In a perfect world, he would form a coven with 12 other wixen the exact moment they all hit magical maturity, but it was extremely difficult to tell. The sooner the better, but the pressure was uncomfortable.

In order to become the best wizard possible, he had to decide on his lifelong friends in the next few months? Bonus. Since he was in Dragon house, he didn’t have any other students his year in his house. 

It had been months since Felix had last cursed his father, but he took to it with great gusto.

Would it be better to be fast about it, or careful about who he was with? And if he was careful, would he only get left with the dregs? Like the person nobody wanted to work with for a group project.

Well, at least Felix had several thousand words about covens for Paracelsus. Should be a good starting grade.

One assignment done, a dozen questions in his head, Felix pulled out a random textbook - $399 - and a clean notebook - $5.99 for a 6 pack - and started taking notes.

It was only a week, instead of a full summer, to prepare for classes, but Felix would be damned if he didn’t spend every minute trying.