The Radiant City

The Lesson

It was a week after Alkanion's last visit with Rohdon; after a long day of paperwork and teasing Co about the girl in the garden, he wandered back to the underground room by moonlight. Rohdon was seated at his desk, writing in neat, uniform script. For a few minutes, Alkanion stood in the doorway. Rohdon kept writing. The clock on the wall ticked out time to the sound of scratching on paper. "Don't bother," Rohdon spoke up at last. "This is a waste of my time. I have more important things to do than babysit a talentless brat." He waved Alkanion away with the back of his hand.

Not to be deterred, Alkanion dropped into his seat and set the gems on the desk. "I don't have much time. Let's get started."

Rohdon glanced up at Alkanion from behind his wire spectacles, then sighed and rubbed his temples. "Alright." He heaved up the heavy, leather-bound book that Alkanion recognized from the last lesson.

"My basics."

"Yes."

"It's... a lot."

Rohdon cackled. "Yes it is. What, did you think I just sat around all day? A mage must constantly be working. There's more to it than a salary. Some mages spend decades just learning what's in this book right here." He patted a page that was open to a convoluted diagram of some sort. "And this is only the beginning. These shelves are filled with magical knowledge."

"All of them?" Alkanion whispered, perusing the countless books with his eyes. He gulped.

"All of them. Are you sure you're ready?"

No. But he nodded anyway. "Let's see how far I can get in a year."

"Let's see if you can make it to page five," Rohdon quipped. Before Alkanion could retort, he let out a deep breath. "Let's see... hum-m... aha! Here. Chapter One: The Method of Magic."

Chapter one turned out to be the most boring experience of Alkanion's life. There was nothing about the music or even about magic, just an overview of mathematics and naturicence. It rambled on about addition and subtraction and water and plant life so monotonously and so redundantly that Alkanion was almost in tears. By the time Rohdon closed the book with a decisive thump, he wasn't a minute smarter than an hour and a half before.

"So, any questions?" Rohdon asked.

"Yes, how much of this book is just... children's material?"

Rohdon raised his eyebrows. "Children's material? You knew all that already?"
Alkanion nodded.

He scoffed. "Well, why didn't you say that before? What a waste of time!"

"Wha-? I'm not wasting your time; that book is! Everybody knows about mathematics and naturicence! They start teaching children as soon as they can talk!"

"Not everybody knows, my king. You forget how few people have had the opportunities you have to learn. Your father is Chief Historian, after all."

"More than a few, I'd venture to guess. All the children I knew learned this."

"And how many did you know? Five? Six? All in your own social circle? This volume was published because most magical hopefuls who manage to scrape together the money for school are too ignorant and poor to have encountered even this most basic material before. I didn't see it until I was twenty-five. But since you're so advanced..."

There was a pit in Alkanion's stomach. He didn't want to think about poverty anymore. Poverty reminded him of the calthionar. "...we can move on." he mumbled quickly, eyes fixed on the ground.