The morning air felt different, lighter, somehow. I stretched my arms above my head, half-expecting the ceiling to collapse or my bed to suddenly fold into itself like some kind of demented origami. Nothing happened. My quarantine was officially over.
I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or terrified.
"You look suspiciously intact," Finn remarked as I joined him.
"Don't jinx it," I muttered, checking our schedule for the day. "We've got a full slate of classes and then..." I trailed off, not wanting to say it aloud, as if the very act of acknowledging my meeting with Liora might cause it to vanish like morning dew.
"And then your hot date with fortune incarnate," Finn finished for me, wagging his eyebrows.
"It's not a date," I protested, feeling heat creep up my neck. "It's... remedial probability manipulation."
"Sure, sure. And I'm studying Arcane Theory because I think Professor Gravitas has nice hair."
Gavril appeared in the doorway. "Ready for your grand reentry into magical society?" he asked, his gentle smile belying the anxiety I knew he felt on my behalf.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I answered, gathering my books. "What's first today?"
"Arcane Symbology with Professor Vex," Gavril replied. "Then Theoretical Applications of Dimensional Displacement with Professor Parallax."
"Oh joy," Finn groaned. "Vex makes hieroglyphs sound like funeral dirges."
"Maybe today will be different," I offered, immediately regretting my optimism as both my friends gave me looks of naked disbelief.
"You do remember who you are, right?" Finn asked, slinging an arm around my shoulders as we headed for the door. "Asher Ardent, the walking disaster? The human embodiment of 'well, that escalated quickly'?"
"I'm trying to be positive," I said.
"And That my friend, is the problem," Finn replied.
****
Professor Vex was a tall, rail-thin woman with dark brown hair pulled into a severe bun and eyes like polished obsidian. She moved with the careful deliberation of someone who knew that a single misplaced line could turn a healing sigil into an explosive rune. Her lecture hall resembled an ancient temple, with symbols etched into every available surface. Some glowed faintly, others seemed to move when you weren't looking directly at them.
"Symbology," she intoned, her voice carrying easily despite its softness, "is the foundation upon which all other magical disciplines are built. Before there were incantations, before any of the modern conveniences you take for granted, there were symbols."
I slipped into a seat near the back, Finn and Gavril flanking me like protective bookends. Across the room, Valentina Morgenstern caught my eye, her hair back to it's fiery red color. She gave me a curt nod, then focused back on the professor.
Professor Vex flicked her wrist, and a complex symbol appeared in the air before us, glowing a soft amber. "This," she said, "is the basic framework for all protection charms. Note the closed loop, symbolic of the unbroken shield, and the inward-facing barbs, representing the reflection of harmful energies."
As she spoke, I noticed a subtle movement at the lecture hall entrance. Liora glided in, her presence immediately commanding attention despite her silent arrival.
Professor Vex paused mid-sentence, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Lady Fortune," she acknowledged with the barest inclination of her head. "How unusual to see you attending a lecture."
"I found myself curious about the mortal approach to manipulation of symbolic intent," Liora replied, her voice musical and distant.
The professor's expression remained neutral, but I sensed an undercurrent of tension. "Very well. Please take a seat."
To my horror and fascination, Liora chose the empty spot directly in front of me. I could smell her, like fresh rain and possibility.
"As I was saying," Professor Vex continued, "the fundamental principles of protection symbols date back to..."
I barely heard a word of the lecture. All I could focus on was the back of Liora's head, the way her hair seemed to shift color slightly depending on how the light hit it. I was so distracted that I didn't notice Professor Vex had asked me a question until Finn elbowed me sharply in the ribs.
"Mr. Ardent," she repeated, her voice colder than before, "perhaps you would care to demonstrate the difference between a barrier glyph and a deflection symbol?"
I froze, panic rising in my throat. I hadn't been paying attention, and now I was about to humiliate myself in front of the entire class.
But then something strange happened. As I rose from my seat, uncertain words tumbling from my mouth, I felt a subtle shift in the air around me. It was as if an invisible current had redirected itself through me.
"A barrier glyph," I heard myself saying with unexpected confidence, "contains a solid perimeter with no breaks, symbolizing the impenetrable nature of the protection. Its power flows continuously around the subject." My hand moved of its own accord, tracing a perfect circle in the air that glowed faintly blue. "A deflection symbol, however, incorporates angular elements," my finger drew sharp chevrons along an arc, ", to redirect energy rather than simply block it. It's more efficient for sustained protection but requires more precise control."
Silence fell over the lecture hall. Professor Vex's eyebrows had risen fractionally, the academic equivalent of jaw-dropping shock.
"Correctly stated, Mr. Ardent," she finally said. "Though I would appreciate if you would pay visible attention in the future, regardless of your apparent absorption of the material."
I sank back into my seat, bewildered. I knew I hadn't known that answer, I hadn't even been listening. And yet the words had come to me perfectly formed, as if...
I glanced at Liora, but she was facing forward, giving no indication she had anything to do with my miraculous save.
****
Professor Parallax's class on Dimensional Displacement was held in a room that can only be described as non-Euclidean. The corners didn't quite meet at right angles, and the ceiling appeared to be both higher and lower depending on where you stood. The professor himself was a short, round man with spectacles that occasionally showed stars and nebulae instead of glass.
Unlike Vex's class, Liora didn't make an appearance here. I found myself both relieved and disappointed. The relief won out when Professor Parallax announced we would be attempting minor spatial displacements, moving small objects across short distances by folding space rather than physically transporting them.
"Mr. Ardent," Parallax said, fixing me with a star-speckled gaze, "I understand today marks your return to practical applications. Perhaps you'd like to try a simple exercise?"
The entire class tensed. I could practically feel my classmates leaning away, preparing for whatever disaster might ensue.
"I—yes, sir," I said, rising to approach the demonstration table.
"Excellent! Now, the technique is straightforward. Visualize the space between your hand and the target object not as distance, but as a piece of paper you can fold." He demonstrated, placing an apple at one end of the table. "Focus on bringing the two points together, like so."
With a small gesture and whispered word, the space between his hand and the apple seemed to ripple, and suddenly the fruit was in his palm.
"Your turn," he said cheerfully, placing the apple back on the table.
I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the way everyone was watching me with expressions ranging from curiosity to outright alarm. Elias, I noticed, was leaning forward with intense interest, while Finn, the traitor, looked like he was calculating his exact escape route.
Focusing on the apple, I tried to visualize the space as Professor Parallax had described. I felt my magic stir inside me, unfamiliar after a week of suppression. It felt wilder, harder to control, like a horse that had been kept in a stable too long.
Gentle, I told myself. Slow and steady.
I whispered the incantation, feeling the slight resistance of reality as I attempted to manipulate it. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, to my shock and everyone else's visible relief, the apple simply... appeared in my hand. No explosion. No transmutation. No chaos.
It was the most normal magical operation I had ever performed.
"Well done, Mr. Ardent!" Professor Parallax beamed. "A clean displacement with minimal spatial distortion!"
I returned to my seat in a daze, staring at my hands as if they belonged to someone else.
"That was... normal," Finn whispered, sounding as surprised as I felt. "Suspiciously normal."
"Maybe your control has improved after the rest," Gavril suggested, though he didn't sound convinced.
I didn't reply. Something felt off, not wrong, exactly, but different. I wasn't sure if that's a good sign or a bad one.
****
The rest of the day passed in a similar fashion. In Practical Enchantment, I successfully imbued a quill with the ability to correct spelling errors without setting the parchment (or myself) on fire. In Elemental Harmonics, my attempt to create a small flame resulted in exactly that, a small, controlled flame, not the usual inferno or unexpected ice storm.
By lunchtime, I was more anxious than I had been at the start of the day.
"This is wrong," I muttered, pushing my food around my plate. "Something is definitely wrong."
Finn paused mid-bite. "Indeed. I mean how on earth haven't you accidentally opened a portal to the abyss yet?"
"It's as if someone is changing your luck," Gavril said quietly, his gaze thoughtful. "You don't find it coincidental that the day you're set to meet Liora for 'training' is also the day your chaotic magic suddenly behaves?"
I considered this, a strange mixture of hope and unease settling in my stomach. "You think she's doing this? Stabilizing my luck somehow?"
"It makes sense," Gavril nodded. "Remember what she said in the library? She's been containing your chaos. Perhaps she's doing it more actively today, to ensure you make it to your meeting."
"Speaking of which," a smooth voice interjected, and we all looked up to see Elias standing by our table, his perfect posture making even the act of holding a lunch tray look aristocratic. "I understand you have an appointment at the Rift Garden this evening."
I stared at him, stunned. "How do you…"
"Information is a currency at Arcanis," he replied simply, sliding into the empty seat beside Gavril. "And I make it my business to be wealthy."
"Why do you care?" Finn asked bluntly.
Elias's smile was as polished as everything else about him. "Let's just say I have a vested interest in Mr. Ardent's unusual talents."
"I'm not sure I'd call catastrophic bad luck a talent," I muttered.
"That's because you don't understand what you're capable of," Elias replied. "But I suspect Lady Fortune does, which is why I'd like to accompany you this evening."
The three of us exchanged glances. Finn looked ready to tell Elias exactly where he could stick his request, but Gavril spoke first.
"It might be beneficial to have someone of your... standing present," he said carefully. "Especially given the unusual nature of the meeting."
Elias inclined his head. "My thoughts exactly."
I sighed, knowing I didn't have much choice. Elias had a way of inviting himself into situations that left little room for refusal. "Fine. But don't interfere. I need this training."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Elias assured me, though the gleam in his eye said otherwise.
****
The Rift Garden at night was both beautiful and terrifying. Suspended platforms of earth floated at various elevations, connected by bridges that appeared and disappeared seemingly at random. Bioluminescent plants cast an eerie blue-green glow over everything, and in places where the artificial gravity was weakest, drops of water hung in the air like liquid stars.
"Are you sure about this?" Finn asked as we approached the entrance. "You've had a good day, relatively speaking. Maybe you should quit while you're ahead."
"I have to learn to control it eventually," I replied, staring at the gates.
"Noble sentiment," Elias commented, his expression unreadable in the dim light.
"We'll be watching," Gavril promised, gesturing to a viewing platform that overlooked the garden. "In case... well, in case."
I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. "Right. Thanks."
Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the gates alone. The pathways shifted subtly as I walked, responding to changes in the gravitational field. I followed the main path to a central clearing where several platforms orbited a larger central island.
And there she was.
Liora stood in the center of the platform, her hair and clothes moving gently as if underwater, despite the lack of breeze. The garden's bioluminescence seemed drawn to her, making her glow from within. She was watching the movement of the floating islands with an expression of mild interest, as if observing an amusing but ultimately predictable pattern.
She turned as I approached, her ethereal eyes finding mine immediately.
"You're punctual," she noted, her voice carrying easily across the space between us. "A good start."
"I... thank you," I replied lamely, unsure of the proper etiquette for addressing her.
"Your day was uneventful," she continued, not a question but a statement. "I thought it prudent to ensure you arrived without incident."
So Gavril had been right. "You've been controlling my luck," I stated.
A slight frown creased her perfect brow. "Not controlling. Balancing. There's a difference." She moved toward me, her feet barely seeming to touch the ground. "The energy around you is volatile, unpredictable. It requires... management."
"Is that what you're going to teach me? How to manage it?"
Her lips curved in a small, enigmatic smile. "I'm going to teach you to understand it first. You cannot manage what you do not understand."
She raised her hand, and I felt a shift in the air around us, a sensation like the moment before lightning strikes.
"Let's begin our first lesson," she said, her eyes gleaming like pools of liquid fortune. "And we'll see if you truly are as remarkable as your chaos suggests."