gorgonfondness | The Magic Guild: Nesting

The Magic Guild: Nesting

Six weeks and two days.

It's hard to concentrate on much of anything when that's all you've got left. And since she's already taken her leave from work so it won't happen in the middle of the semester, that means Mia doesn't have as much to do.

So today has been devoted to cleaning up her living quarters, the nursery in particular. And doing the baby's laundry so it will be ready for him. And making sure the baby's toys are clean. And then Draco's laundry and ironing Draco's work shirts and trousers. And then preparing things for tonight's dinner. And then her laundry while the inner slow-cooks. And then making dessert. And then folding all of those clean clothes and putting them away. And then the kitchen will have to be cleaned up, of course. And then the table should be set. And what about the bed, is it clean?

It sounds like a lot, but magic does help get it done. Though, once it's done, Mia finds she would rather it wasn't done and then does it again the muggle way to make sure it's done right.

At least it hasn't gotten to the point where she's ironing the baby's clothes...

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"We have to disagree there, Mrs Ausa—"

"—We read extensively about world myth—"
"And no ancient culture wrote about—"

"—A mass exodus to another world."

"Chronologically this should happen in the future."

Enough quibbling over the details give the lady a hand.

"Of course, Mrs Ausa," Tomax says, offering his hand as Xamot prepares to do whatever is needed with the carpet.

"You can't know that for certain unless your world is better at keeping track of history than mine. All I've told you is more or less legend, even the parts where people used to live on the Blue Star. The only reason I treat that as something more solid is because I have been to Milliways and thus have had the chance to meet people from Earth."

And anyone within earshot not familiar with the Magic Guild's typical stream of guests from Milliways are snickering and shaking their heads a little at the idea of people actually living on the Blue Star. Simply preposterous.

"Thanks very much, Tomax," she says as he helps her up. "And rolling the carpet up will suffice, Xamot."

Hey, she's a teacher. Part of her living is being able to tell people apart.

Having a scar certainly makes telling them apart a bit easier.

"That may be true," Xamot says, rolling the carpet with ease. It's remarkable in that he can't tell if it's any different from the standard Earth carpets of home, "but it only takes one to document it and the rest to corroborate it."

"And nearly forty years ago, man landed on the moon. NASA's reports did not include any hint of terraformation."
Pause.

"So this is the library. Impressive."

You'd think every book ever written in Earth's history was stored here.

"It also only needs one fire or flood to lose it all," she says. "It's amazing that we could save almost all of our own books, even with our spells to protect them. Information is fragile. And why would your moon need to be terraformed after we all came back?"

But she does blush with pride at the comment about the library.

"It's the second largest and the only public library in the world. In recent years we've added a courier service so that people both far and near Vane can take advantage of its knowledge. As one would guess, we keep a lot of books on magic, but the library has many subjects besides."

Mia smiles softly in fond memory, one of her hands idly rubbing her belly.

"Back when Mama was a teacher, she would take those new to Vane and had never been to school before here and teach them how to read and write. She still comes here now and then, even though she's retired, and helps whoever asks her."

"I am sorry; I meant previous terraformation. The reports from the astronauts included many things, but signs of ancient occupation was not one of them."

"And that is why written history is augmented with oral. It survives better, as long as someone is left to transmit it."
Anyways...

"What manner of subjects can be found here?"

And,

"Is teaching something you inherited alongside your title?"

"I didn't know that could be studied," se says, interested and surprised.

Still, that means there might be an exodus in their future, especially if they live in a time of nuclear weapons.

"All subjects that have been written about in our world can be found here: history, politics, religion, what little technology we have, math, languages, the arts, many books on magic, some books with recipes and remedies, and some fiction for more recreational reading."

Mia runs her fingers along one of the shelves.

"Teaching is part of my title. Everyone who serves as a leader in Vane teaches at the Magic Guild. Right now, that is my friend Nash, my husband Draco, and myself."

Ohhhh, they do. Plenty of nuclear weapons, and given what a dolt Cobra Commander is we wouldn't put it past him to have a go at the world's stockpiles if it meant getting what he wants.

Xamot and Tomax may be forced to work overtime to create terraformation technology just so everyone can survive, period.

"There are many sciences, Mrs Ausa. Some legitimate, some dodgy, and others quite ludicrous."

It's not up to the boys to say which is which.

"Just magic at the Guild? Or others?"
Tomax has now taken up the conversational ball—Xamot has just spotted a book with an appealing subject and is making his magpie-like way over to get a better look at it.

"Magic is mainly what we teach, yes, with everything else fitting in one way or another. There are other Guilds in other parts of the world and none are exclusive to the others, though dual membership is often rare since it means dividing your time between two sometimes far off places. Nash and I actually have dual memberships thanks to our friend Kyle, but the last time I visited the other Guild, I did it as a representative of the Magic Guild."

The book in question is a history about Dragonmasters that goes as far as Dyne. It's a newer addition yet still manages to be out of date.

Dating a book doesn't take much, but that's not what Xamot is thinking as he thumbs through what looks to be an interesting read. Dragons don't exist in his Earth, and consequently neither do dragonmasters.

Seeing that Xamot is quite occupied Tomax commits 90% of his attention to Mia [the other 10% left to their bond in case Xamot needs his brother for something].

"Specialised schools. It makes sense—our Earth has many schools devoted to one specialty or the other. It ensures that the education a student gets is as comprehensive as possible."
He ought to know—he and his brothers have poached many Guardsmen and Guardswomen from such places when acting under their Crimson Guard Command roles ~~but they're not about to tell Mia that any time soon~~. You want your recruits to be as well-versed as possible to be able to carry out their roles as fully as possible.

Once he gets to the later chapters covering Dyne, however, he'll likely see a few pictures of him with the rest of the Four Heroes, including Mia's mother. ~~Where the secret that she dyes her hair will be revealed, as it is naturally dark like Mia's.~~

"And I'm sure not all of them are traditional schools like the one here. I know the Thieves Guild does their education entrance tests instead of any classroom work. Their competitions are amazing, though. I've met a champion gem thief there."

~~Ah, it's not like colouring one's hair is some new thing to the twins. Lemia would have her own reasons for going blonde.~~

"A Guild for thieves? No. That is certainly not something we have on Earth. The closest a person could come to that is to be taken under the wing of a master thief and learn from him or her."

Pause.

"I do not think Interpol would appreciate anyone starting a school designed to help people with breaking the law."

No. The twins do that themselves ~~shhhhhhh~~.

"This is why they founded the city of Reza. The only rule of the Thieves Guild is not to steal from other members of the Guild. And other than the thievery, they are decent people. They've helped my friends and me many times during the last war fought here."

"Which happens to be the entire city of Reza, no? Is the citizenship not comprised of members of the Guild?"
Any other place or individual is fair game, yes?

"Some people might raise an eyebrow at the thought of being given assistance by what they'd think were people of questionable character—before they came to know them."

"Not necessarily. All you have to do to be a member of the Thieves Guild is pass the trial. My friends and I had to pass the trial in order to get supplies we needed during our trip, so we're technically members, even though we don't live there. Not that the trial is an easy one: we had to travel from Reza to Meryod, practically from one continent to another, and then we had to go through Damon's Spire, where we had to face mental and physical challenges from the keeper of knowledge there."

Mia points at the books.

"Remember how I said this is the second biggest library in the world? Well, Damon's is the biggest and one must earn the right to read his books by passing his tests."

Tomax might have that look some people get when there's a challenge being presented.

"What does one have to do to earn this privilege?"
Tomax can be a lot like his brother when there's knowledge to be gained, especially through books.

"You have to survive the tower and correctly answer Damon's questions, both of which are easier said than done. Some creatures in the tower can only be defeated by the sword, some only with magic. And Damon's questions, considering he's the keeper of knowledge on Lunar, tend to be about Lunar's history. Other than that, he also tests your morals. Seems an odd thing to do in order to admit thieves into a Thieves Guild..."

And Damon is not one to be easily fooled. The man sees through everyone as though they were made of glass.

"Alas, neither I nor my brother can boast of magical skill, though, it is said that sufficiently-developed technology is near-indistinguishable from magic... Still. Learning about history is something we've spent considerable time and effort on."

A test of morals, eh? Well, if Damon can tell whether something is true or not, it would be easier to get more traction by admitting that they've had a somewhat chequered past, such as their days of being mercenaries.

And that some of their clients have questionable characters, but in their minds, as long as you pay their fees they'll be content to look the other way.

Which is pretty much the truth [if a selective one]: Cobra pays his consultant fees and the boys will do business with them and their paranoid leader. Right up until Cobra Commander gets what he wants. After that? They might decide to start business with someone else, and let the Commander succeed or fail on his own.

"As to the last test, well, it would be premature to say that we'd pass such a test easily. We know not of his standards. The best one can do then be is to be oneself, right?"

"I don't know if technology would be a suitable substitute. Without someone who knows magic, it might very well be a suicide mission should you choose to go."

Thus, Mia's not telling them how unless they get a mage to go with them.

"I think that is the best anyone can do in any situation," she answers to the last question. "Strange how, with all of my learning, it took me years to finally know something as simple as that."

"It might not be, but it would be unwise for I or Xamot to even consider attempting it, as this is our first visit to your world. Once we have known it better we might consider asking then. There is no rush."
One thing at a time.

"I think it is because it is a simple concept that makes it hard to grasp. Sometimes, I think we unnecessarily complicate things when thinking about things like being one's own self. I have done it myself a time or two."
The Rubik's puzzle they now have serves as a reminder that simple things can have profound impacts. It's not just a toy it's a metaphor, too.

"I've seen someone attempt it on his first visit and survive, but I made sure he could use a sword and magic before I sent him out."

Mia holds her chin in her hand.

"A shame. I haven't seen him since well before my first wedding anniversary. I know he made it back to Milliways safely and I saw him there once again, but he hasn't returned."

"Swords we could use. My brother and I spent time in the French Foreign Legion. While swords are not used in the Legion it can be learned. Magic, on the other hand... There's no magic in either of us, even if, to some, it might appear otherwise."
The bond is ... the bond. It doesn't grant any special powers to them at all. It's just ... there.

Sort of like having a telephone makes it easier to talk to someone far away. No telephone no conversation.

"Maybe he will come back in time?"

"Which is why I agree with what you said about no rush," she says with a firm nod. "And I do hope he does, along with my hope that he finds what he seeks. It was not to be found in Damon's Spire, to his disappointment."

"That is true, and I do like the idea of spending my first visit to Lunar in this way. It is enjoyable to simply 'take in the sights'; to relax and just observe things."
Tomax is certainly enjoying himself. Xamot, too, though he's still nose-deep in that book he'd found.

"It could be that what he seeks is one of those simple answers that not everyone realises right away."

It's not surprising; there have been a lot of Dragonmasters. The book only scratches the surface.

"That isn't what he's stated he wants, but it might very well be the answer he needs," Mia says.

Sounds like what's needed is the equivalent of the Encyclopedia Britanica for Vane's Dragonmasters. Of course, Xamot may not resurface for days if he got his hands on that.

"I believe Mick Jagger wrote a song about not always getting what one wants but sometimes getting what one needs. He might not have been right, but it was a good song to listen to."

The Magic Guild: Nesting

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