“Union City was established by the Founders of the four Colleges; Ona the Strong, Alexandra the Wise, Libera the Kind, and Rosetta the Fair.” Thelonious began reading out the passage they had all just (attempted to) parse from memory.

He added comments as he went along, lowering his voice slightly. “No prizes for guessing who founded which.” Thelonious cleared his throat, and continued.

“Ona the Strong founded the College of War, Alexandra the Wise founded the College of Spells, Libera the Kind founded the College of Prayer, and Rosetta the Fair founded the College of Song. They say that these four were life-long friends who came together to create a sanctuary away from the war and bloodshed of the outside world.” That was the whole of the text Theo had just read. Thelonious paused.

“Now, if we look here,” Thelonious said, pulling out another piece of paper, “We see a different description of Union City.

“’Union City is a cruel place where might makes right, founded by cowards and blasphemers.’” He paused, letting the class sit and process what he just read out. Most of the class was confused. Rowena had a look of fury pass her face, as she tried to swallow anger (unsuccessfully). Drew remained impassive, but his muscles were tensed and ready to move. Finn sat up straight, no longer leaning for once. Theo was wondering where this came from, and who said it. “It is a place where the poor are left to starve while the rich and strong hoard all that makes a good life.”

“This was a description written by the High Priest of Etol, one of Union City’s neighbours. And while to us it is a shocking accusation, given what they are taught in Etol, from their perspective this is accurate.” Thelonious took out a spare test paper and held it in his other hand.

“This, on the other hand, is written by someone who has lived in Union City their whole life. And this could be just as accurate as Etol’s. It is easy to believe what aligns with what we have been previously taught, but we must understand that what seems true to us does not dictate what is actually true. Every perspective allows for a different definition of truth.” Thelonious walked away from the chalkboard, starting to pace around the room, arms gently folded behind is back.

“Nevermind that absolute truth may not even exist.” Thelonious muttered, slowing down for a second before picking up their speed.

“There’s a reason ‘they say’ is mentioned before talking about the Founders’ personal lives. We know very little for a fact. The rest is speculation based on what reports we could dredge up. Even the pub that they drank at together is not confirmed, as there are five different locations that all claim to have been their regular watering hole.” Theo was stunned at that, remembering the pride on Alan’s face whenever the Founders came up in conversation.

“What I’m trying to say is that history, and knowledge, and understanding are very fragile. And you must learn with that in mind. Union City is not a great place, or a terrible one. It is merely a place, where people live, where people are rich and people are poor, where opportunity is found and where some are unlucky. And it is in your own personal interpretation of all of those, that your opinion is created.” Thelonious stopped walking in his tracks, pausing, as the passion in his face twitched and morphed, a hint of rage here, a stroke of indignation there.

His voice started to grow louder, until he was shouting. “But if anyone uses that as an excuse that this is “good enough” or that wishing for things to be better is simply whining, do not listen. We do not stand here by ourselves, in a land that is simply how it always was. Our forebears built this place, generation by generation, each wishing to make a better place for their children. The moment we stop reaching for the stars is the moment we fall back to earth!” Thelonious coughed, visibly struggling to school his emotions.

He cleared his throat, took a deep shuddering breath, and began to slowly start walking again.

“Moving on, Etol and Union City are also incredibly interconnected. The reason Etol despises Union City, is because Libera the Kind was originally their high priest. But they ran away, and Etol had to either condemn them, or contend with the idea that their Voice of the Gods had abandoned them. So, they excommunicated Libera in order to preserve their order and ideal of being the City of the Gods.” The teacher’s lip quirked up.

“So you see, politics and hist-“

“Hey Teach, how do we know that anything you just said is true? It could just be another fake-out.” Finn called out, leaning back in his chair with his right arm thrown across the back, lounging like a cat or some kind of despot. Rowena gasped and whipped around to face him with a contemptuous look. Theo was just processing that it was apparently okay to interrupt or interject during class.

Thelonious’ mouth shifted into a grin that reached his eyes. There was a spring in his step as he turned to directly address Finn. “Very good question! And you cannot. We cannot guarantee anything is true, only that to our knowledge it is likely to be based on factors and what else we know. So, a lot is research and understanding and doing your best to adapt and adjust.” Finn had frozen, bristled. He clearly had not expected a genuine response to that question, and the smouldering fury in Rowena’s eyes softened (as did her shoulders). Thelonious took in the look on Finn’s face, satisfied, and continued.

“But, to answer your question, everything I’ve said today has been truthful and earnest from my perspective. Even comparing the passages from Etol and Union City has been an exercise done in good faith. Everyone is justified from their point of view, and thus their writing will also justify it. History is written, not set in stone, and the sands of time scour detail from its surface until we can only guess at its true face.” Thelonious paused, then sat down on the ground in front of them, cross-legged and leaning back on his hands. He looked up at them, with conviction in his eyes.

“It becomes all too easy to look at history as a series of standalone events. It is harder to see how everything leads from one into the other, and how small things add up to become big ones. There is no one big enemy, no true evil that needs to be eradicated. Only people doing their best, and making mistakes.” Theo swore he could see tears welling in the corner of Thelonious’ eyes, and reflected memories flashed by in his pupils. He blinked, rapidly.

“I chose this as our first lesson because I wanted to impart how you need to look at things critically and in context. That, as I teach you more about the world and what we do, that this curious mindset is what you need to not only know things, but to understand them. ” He looked at the ceiling, closing his eyes.

Thelonious whispered, “And maybe you’ll avoid becoming fools and tools.”

After an uncomfortably long period of time where the only sound was his breathing, Thelonious composed himself and continued.

“As I was saying before Finn asked a very reasonable question, politics and history are intertwined. So is everything and everything else. Like I said, everything is interconnected. So it becomes imperative to know as much as you can, to further understand how it all fits together.” Thelonious slowly clambered back up, and resumed pacing.

“For example, the days of the week. The seven days are named after the seven commonly-accepted major gods. Sayday, after Saya, God of the Moon, Peace, and Wisdom. Souday, after Sout, god of the Earth, War, and Bravery. Valday, after Vaal, God of the Sun, Light, and Truth. Gilsday, after Gilth, God of Thunder, Art, and Passion. Chenday, after Chea, God of the Winds, Change and Motion. Fesday, after Fet, God of Death, the Soul, and Kindness. And finally, Tefday, after Tef, God of Life, Renewal, and Survival. Fet and Tef are the gods of Death and Life, and as such their days are usually taken as days to rest and reflect.” He returned to the chalkboard, and started writing. There were seven groupings, and Theo sounded out the words until he understood that it was the seven gods, and their related traits and days. Thelonious paused, looking at the class.

“Don’t worry about memorising that information, I’ll be discussing the Gods in detail later on.” Thelonious raised a finger (as if to say “hold on to that thought”).

“Note that I said commonly-accepted. Priests and offer magic not tied to the seven major gods exist, and are still a part of the College of Prayers. There are some smaller religions like the Worshippers of Jerrah that lobbied to be a part, but the major player is the Natureborn, whose “priests” are known as druids. The Natureborn believe that the world gave birth to them as much as their parents did, and thus treat it with respect. The druids are a big consideration that the College of Prayers had to accommodate due to The Woods being a point of interest for those who long for a closer connection to the earth and nature.” He circled the seven gods, and next to it wrote “Jerrah”, and “Natureborn”. Under “Natureborn”, he wrote “The Woods”.

“The Woods were originally an ordinary part of the forest around Union City, until the seventh Dean of the College of Spells, Rond the Gardener experimented with infusing mana into earth to increase crop yield but instead started the field of Plant Sentience. It should be noted that he used to be called Rond the Dirty before this point. As this was the first case of a plant that could think, it became a major point of interest, but Rond protected it from scrutiny and helped it grow to a point where it could defend itself. This is why he became called Rond the Gardener, and The Woods reciprocated by protecting Union City in return. There is a formalised agreement between Union City and The Woods, and The Woods helps Union City maintain its neutrality from all the wars and conflicts around the world. They only grow stronger with age, and act as a major deterrent, as well as providing a safe haven for mana-touched. It is also where the Guild of Magic is located, which I’m sure many of you will be well-acquainted with in future.” He chuckled, bemused.

“And to circle back to where we started, Etol uses The Woods as an example of how Union City is blasphemous…”

---

“Your task for next week is to familiarise yourself with writing. This is not a rote memorisation class. This class is giving you not only information, but the tools to use that information as best as you can.” Thelonious whistled, and twenty identical neatly-folded pieces of paper touched down on everyone’s desks. Theo’s head spun with all the meandering topics that they had covered over the past few hours.

“The folded piece of paper will either be black or white on the inside. If it is black, please meet me at reception Fesday morning.” Thelonious started wiping down the chalkboard, which had been filled with increasingly smaller writing until it was almost entirely white.

“That will be all for class today, I will see some of you Fesday, but if anyone has any questions you can ask A Thousand Spider’s Webs for when I’m in my office.”

Theo’s paper was black, which wasn’t much of a surprise.

---

Theo had walked out of class, and everyone was slowly dispersing. Olivia-Marie and Astor had headed to the performer’s circle again, and Theo was impressed that they had the brainpower to handle anything after the day they’d had. He spotted Drew about to split off, and a question entered his mind.

“By the way Drew, why did you swear when Thelonious was handing out the papers?” Theo asked. Drew turned around, brow furrowed.

“Continuous rhythms are difficult to handle, and he can manage it with darkness! For someone teaching theory, he’s very talented.” Drew scoffed, then his face softened into a smile as he waved goodbye to everyone else.

As Theo headed in the direction of the city gates, he mused aloud to those still around.

“That didn’t feel much like general knowledge, did it?”