“My father was from a noble family.” Salissa began. “Not a major one, but still powerful and very traditional. My mother was the stablemaster’s daughter, learning the trade to take grandpa’s job once he retired. That’s how they met. They fell in love, and when my mother got pregnant, they told my father’s family. Dad knew they wouldn’t be happy about it, but his older sister had married a rich commoner a few years before that, so he figured it wouldn’t be too bad.”

“He was wrong. His parents were furious, and they demanded that they break up and got rid of the child. Well, me. They were told to never see each other again or they would kick dad out of the family. He didn’t believe that they’d really do it. They were still his family, after all.”

“They didn’t just throw out dad and disinherit him, they fired mom and grandpa, and they made sure that they didn’t find another job either. Only rich people have horses, and none of those wanted to get on their bad side. My parents and grandpa moved to the capital, and they took whatever jobs they could find to support me and later my younger brothers as well. That worked fine, at least until grandpa got sick. He’d loved his job and going from tending horses to cleaning streets and loading cargo was really hard for him.”

Salissa sniffled, and Leodin scooted closer until his shoulder rested against hers.

“The healer was expensive, but even after he got better, he couldn’t work as much anymore. It got harder then, and he died a few years later.”

She stopped to rub the welling tears out her eyes, her expression hardening.

“Then my magic manifested. I was helping out with my younger brothers, and I could’ve started working soon too. I didn’t want to leave them and go to the College, but I had no choice. My parents seemed happy enough, though. One less mouth to feed, I guess, and once I finished my education, I would be able to make a lot more money.”

“The first few weeks at the College were nice. I was used to working hard, and the lessons were actually fun. I was told I also had a lot of mana, which helped. Then Sadrin showed up. I don’t know how he knew who I was, I guess dad’s family had kept an eye on us all these years. He was a distant cousin of some kind, my age but one year above me, and from that point on he spent all his time picking on me.”

“He didn’t do anything that would get him into serious trouble, but he still made things hard for me. I’d barely managed to make a few friends by then, and he scared them all off. Bribed them, I guess, or threatened them, I don’t know. He and his friends would follow me around, insulting me and my parents, calling me names, sometimes stealing my stuff if I didn’t pay enough attention.”

Edwin’s brows had been on a constant downwards trajectory, and he finally butted in.

“Why did none of the teachers do anything? He shouldn’t have gotten away with that.”

Salissa shook her head.

“He knew exactly where the line was, never crossing it when there were witnesses around. Whenever I reported him, the worst he got was a lecture. I think my dad’s family might have bribed some of the teachers, too, though I’m not sure. Maybe they just figured I wasn’t worth the hassle. Anyway, it went like that for half a year. One day I was walking to class, and he came up the stairs behind me and called my mother a whore. I was tired and angry, and I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

“I turned around and pushed him. It was the first time I really fought back, so I guess he didn’t expect it. He went flying and hit his head on the steps. We ran to get help, and a nearby teacher looked after him until the healers came.”

Salissa had to pause to wipe her eyes again, then continued in a small voice.

“When I got called to the Dean, he told me that Sadrin would never be the same again. He had trouble walking and couldn’t speak properly. Some things he knew fine, others he couldn’t remember. Sometimes he spaced out for minutes at a time. Healers and inquisitors had examined him and said that he wouldn’t be able to live without supervision, because he couldn’t reliably control his magic anymore. His family was accusing me of trying to murder him and wanted me executed.”

“The dean defended me. He had witnesses who testified that Sadrin had been bullying me, and that I never attacked anyone else. The Inquisition investigated it and agreed that I didn’t use any magic and that it was unlikely that I had planned the whole thing, that it was an accident. I should’ve gotten off with a normal punishment, but the dean said Sadrin’s family wouldn’t be happy with that. If I was allowed to stay at the College after crippling their son, they’d find a way to have me killed.”

Salissa sighed, leaning her head back against the cool stone.

“He said he wished he could protect me, but he couldn’t. There’s supposed to be no politics and no family allegiances at the College, but everyone knows that that’s not true. I was a nobody, and I’d crippled a noble. If my father’s family put their foot on the scale, they’d be able to get enough people on their side that I wouldn’t be safe for long. All they needed was to stage an accident or send someone to kill me when I went into town.”

“So the dean offered to have me expelled using some kind of loophole in the rules. Technically, all the College needs to do to fulfil their duty is to make sure that a mage isn’t a danger to society. They usually only let you go once you’re a Journeyman, because that’s when you’ve completed all the necessary training to work a job, but they don’t have to. I was far enough in my mana control to not be a danger, and because I hadn’t learned anything dangerous, that actually made it easier. He said that expulsion would seem almost as bad as execution, so my dad’s family wouldn’t have the excuse of seeking justice anymore. If they came after me anyway, they’d seem cruel and vengeful, and they would lose a lot of respect and influence. Apparently, that’s more important to those kinds of people than their children.”

Edwin realized that his fingernails were cutting into the palms of his hands, and he relaxed his fists. Walter had managed to skirt around the worst of the politics in his time, being a commoner affording him anonymity and his father’s wealth a modicum of protection. He’d kept the nobles at arm’s length, keeping to himself wherever possible and having jovial, friendly relations where necessary.

Bullying wasn’t commonplace at the College, at least it hadn’t been in his time, but the rule of “no politics, no family allegiances” had always been an unattainable goal. It was one of the reasons why Walter had left the College and its laws behind. In the first years, nobles and commoners tended to stick to themselves, though those lines blurred over time. Loyalty to the College and the community of mages was something the teachers worked very hard to develop, and once knowledge and power of the fledgling mages grew, distinguishing them more and more from their mundane families, they naturally grew closer to their classmates.

That a first-year commoner would begin her studies with a powerful enemy was an aberration, and one the teachers apparently hadn’t known how to deal with. Rationally, Edwin understood the dean’s reasoning. He even respected the man for his initiative, although he didn’t know who held the post nowadays. The man hadn’t needed to protect Salissa, he could’ve just as easily followed the rules to the letter and turned a blind eye to what may or may not have happened afterwards.

“When they kicked me out,” Salissa continued, “I didn’t know where to go. I just knew that I couldn’t return to my family. I wanted to have something to show that it wasn’t all for nothing. I figured I could at least make some money, so I found a contract mage who took me in as an apprentice. He said all I needed to do was make mana crystals, and he’d pay me and teach me some things on top.”

She paused to furiously rub her eyes again, and when she lowered her hands again, she was scowling.

“I made mana crystals almost every day for months. The few times I wasn’t too exhausted and asked for instruction, he gave me excuses and brushed me off. It took me a long time to realize that he had no intention to teach me anything, or to pay me what I deserved. I wanted to leave for a long time, but I didn’t know if I’d find anyone else who would let me work at all. By that point, more time had passed without making any money, so I felt even worse about going home.”

Edwin winced sympathetically. Mana crystals were just crystallized mana, and they were used to power rituals. From stasis rituals in shipping crates and store houses to light networks in noble mansions and the sewers of major cities, a lot of things needed mana crystals. Students at the College paid for their stay by creating a single mana crystal every other week, and they got at least one day off afterwards.

The problem was that making or charging one necessarily almost fully depleted one’s core. Doing so every day, or even every other day, meant living life in a constant state of mana-induced hangover. It was a miserable existence and pressuring a desperate apprentice into it was nothing short of torture.

Before finishing their Journeyman exams, mages weren’t allowed to sell the fruits of their labor, be that their services, things they created or even just their mana. Officially, that rule existed to make sure that only properly trained individuals worked magic in public, and that customers could be sure that they received quality products for their coin. The real reason was to make sure that students spent their time actually studying instead of trying to make money on the side.

“On days when the headache wasn’t so bad, I sometimes read books from the bastard’s collection. One of those days I came across a book that mentioned how when the Adventurer’s Guild was just founded, there was a mage adventurer. It said that since then, mages only needed to show that they could use offensive magic, and they could join. So I spent what little money I had on traveling gear and provisions and came to Pel Darni. You were there for the rest.”

“You could’ve gone to the College.” Edwin said. “What that scum did was illegal, and you could’ve gotten him convicted. You might have even been able to get special permission to sell mana crystals on your own. The rules were never meant for you, they should’ve made an exception.”

She raised her head angrily, then settled back down.

“Maybe you’re right. I never even thought of going there for help after they threw me out.”

“You haven’t talked to your family since you left?” Bordan asked, concern and sympathy in his voice.

“I couldn’t go back empty handed.” Salissa said quietly. “I couldn’t bear their disappointment.”

“I don’t think they would’ve been disappointed.” Bordan said slowly. “It sounds to me like all they wanted for you was to have a better life. They probably miss you a lot.”

Salissa hugged her legs tighter, burrowing her face in her knees. Bordan slipped next to her and put an arm around her shoulder.

“We’re almost done here, and then we’ll get some time off.” He told her in a soothing voice. “Why don’t you go visit them after this? I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you, and you can even give them some money. As Edwin said, finding this place should pay quite well.”

Salissa didn’t look up, but her still buried head nodded jerkily. Edwin looked up at the false canopy above, willing the tranquil sight of the artificial forest to quell his anger. Even for a cynic like him, humanity always found new ways to let him down.