The Magic Guild: Nesting

[gorgonfondness]

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...

Comments

[xamotomax]

And they have enough. Enough heart for home and family and maybe enough for a few others, too. People who are close enough to be dear to them.

But if asked they'd say that their criteria for what and who they care about is more exacting than others'.

Don't meet them? Well, then too bad.

"You appreciate it more when you've worked for it," Tomax points out, briefly considering using their story as a means to gain sympathy, but Xamot shoots it down. It can work against them as well as for them.

"Earning it makes what you have more satisfying."

And more likely to be vigorously defended against those who wish to take it away.

[gorgonfondness]

"I have at least done what I can to protect my city, though that has lead to its current flightless state."

If the twins notice, the city just kind of drops off around the edges like a cliff.

"The library in particular is quite dear to me. I housed most of the books in my own office while it was being rebuilt."

To the point that she couldn't use her office, there were so many books.

[xamotomax]

"A library? We—"

"—Would like to see that."
Cliffside cities they've seen and been to before. It's nothing new to them. So that does not get noticed.

Flight, however...

"The city ... flew?"

[gorgonfondness]

Cliffside cities are one thing; cities with physical evidence of being completely detached from the ground are another.

"Yes. It used to fly in an orbit around the Goddess Tower. My family, being the founders of the city, have been the only ones allowed access to Vane's magic. When the Goddess Tower was threatened, I ordered an evacuation and used the city according to its purpose: to protect the Tower. And though Vane fell, we were able to stop the threat in its tracks."

If the brothers look, there is a tower in the distance, but it certainly doesn't look like anything one would call a Goddess Tower. Mia points out the structure to them if they don't find it on their own.

"This is what remains of that threat, the empty shell of the Grindery. But while it was not the cause, the Goddess Tower did still fall."

[xamotomax]

But wouldn't that evidence be mostly on the underside of the landmass? Where it can't be seen but from below?

"So Vane will never fly again?"

It's not so bad, they might think. A flying city might require the acquisition of a different kind of sea legs. One they don't have.

[gorgonfondness]

While that is true, there is the fact that there's a cliff edge around the entire city. A rational mind could explain it away as a plateau, but that doesn't change the fact that it is evidence that the city wasn't attached to anything.

"I don't know. And since Vane was founded so long ago, it's hard to say exactly how it came to fly in the first place, though many think since my family has access to its magic, we were the ones to do it. There is a charming legend in our creation stories, if you care to hear it."

[xamotomax]

And the boys are rational. With no practical experience with magic before encountering Milliways. So they wouldn't know it by seeing it. It needs to be pointed out.

"We have the time to."

"I think we would like to hear it."

[gorgonfondness]

"Ages ago, when the people of Lunar lived on the Blue Star, the evil demigod Zophar poisoned their hearts with evil and the great war that would make the Blue Star uninhabitable began. The goddess Althena, in her mercy, took her remaining children of that world to the then-dead world of Lunar. As she was shaping the animals and growing the plants, she wept in sorrow at losing so many and having to bring the survivors so far from the home they knew. Her tears flowed here, so many that they swept the land up in the current. Whey the tears finally ebbed into what would become the Meribian Sea, the land was imbued with her magic and stayed afloat in the air. That is how Vane came to be an island in the sky."

[xamotomax]

"And what became—"

"—Of the Blue Star—"
"—After that?"

"It will be a habitable world again—"
"—Should someone attempt—"

"—To restore it."

"Right?"

[gorgonfondness]

"There is a book of prophecy that says a girl remained on the Blue Star who will one day awaken it again. When that happens, the people of Lunar can return to the Blue Star. But I don't know when all of these events happen compared to your timeline, so I don't know if the exodus is yet to happen for you or if we have since returned."

[xamotomax]

"If it happens to our—"

"—Our Earth, it will not be—"
"For a long time to—"

"—Come, for our world is—"
"—Still very much habitable."

That object. In the sky. It looks very much like Earth.

It could be, brother. The semblance to NASA photographs is uncanny.
Back to here...

"And barring a catastrophe, it will be that way—"

"—For centuries yet to come."

[gorgonfondness]

"Or perhaps you have returned," Mia says. "It's difficult to say either way."

They reach the library and Mia lands the carpet.

"Would one of you please give me a hand up?"

[xamotomax]

"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.

[gorgonfondness]

"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.

[xamotomax]

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.

[gorgonfondness]

"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."

[xamotomax]

"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?"

[gorgonfondness]

"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."

[xamotomax]

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.

[gorgonfondness]

"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.

[xamotomax]

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.

[gorgonfondness]

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."

[xamotomax]

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.

[gorgonfondness]

"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."

[xamotomax]

"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."