Melody of Mana

I watched as my several gram bomb exploded in Professor Hern's mind, figuratively. He was tapping his reference book repeatedly as he waited for my response.

"Okay, what is sky-metal? Why is it important?"

"Excellent question! Do you know why we use leather for making most warmage armors?"

"Well... it's readily available, and you can enchant it."

"No, well, sort-of. It is enchantable and replaceable, but the main reason is it has good strength versus weight ratio. If a mage were to wear iron armor or the like, they would be harder to hurt, but much slower than they already are. Since only very thick, very enchanted metal would be good for stopping an actual knight who got too close and that would make your average caster unable to move we instead make armor that can stop blows from non-magic users while providing some magical protection."

"Okay..."

"Sky-metal is a game changer when it comes to that. It's not quite as magically conductive as silver or gold, it is nearly as good though. It differs more in it's weight, sky-metal is extraordinarily light, and those two things make it one of the best, if not the best material for making armor for warmages. It's soft certainly, but that is easily remedied with a few basic enchantments, the same we use on leather would be far more effective on this."

"What are the other ones? Not magical materials?"

"No, no, no, you absolutely don't want a magical material as your armor. If the magic is somehow disturbed the results can be quite bad. Those are used mostly in static items. The only other known material that could compare would be primordial-metal, though that is even rarer, and not anywhere near as conductive." He blinked, as if he realized I'd gotten him off track. "Sorry, where were we then. Ah, yes, do you have any more of this?"

"Sorry no." That was technically true. I did not have any more metallic aluminum laying around.

"The merchant who sold it to you, do you know if they did?" Professor Hern looked like he was nearly salivating.

"I highly doubt it. Not that I would even know where to send you, it was just something that caught my eye as I was walking down the street. If he had a shop, I don't know where it is." Another truth... technically. I hastily told him what street I'd bought it on, well, the alum at least. The last thing I needed was Professor Hern poking too deeply into my business.

"I see..." He had reformed the metal into a ball and was playing around with it in his fingers. "There are some more tests and the like I'd like to run on this. I've never actually seen a sample in person before and it's a rare chance. It will also allow me to update some of our reference works."

I considered that for a few moments. "I don't mind you keeping it for awhile, mostly since I don't have anywhere to store something that rare, but I would like it back at some point."

He gave me a few promises to that effect before sending me off. I could tell my professor was a bit too excited for this, but whatever kept him out of my hair. It was my guess that he'd find some reason to go into the market and search it bottom to top for more aluminum, but he'd probably be disappointed.

I on the other hand had some things to deal with. Other than my many personal problems I now had a new project. Aluminum enchanted armor would be on the docket so that the next time I knew I was going into a fight, I would go in hard and fast. There was no way I'd be sharing this with the teachers though, way too big. As a matter of point I was going to hold off on making any more aluminum at all until Professor Hern had his chance to waste a bunch of his own time. Hopefully I wouldn't need it too soon.

The next day I had Atali Language, and I went to class with a whole stomach full of butterflies. Dras and I had yet to have our talk and that was something I knew would have to happen. We needed to go over where we were and what had happened. Certainly I knew we'd drifted apart, but it had been rather more extreme than I'd realized. I hadn't even talked to him about his girlfriend.

We still sat near each other in that class, and even talked lightly sometimes, but nothing like we did when we were younger. I sat there, barely paying attention as our teacher went over several terms I'd already put to memory. While I was still trying to think of what to say, class ended.

The two of us waited as everyone left, packing our things but keeping to our seats. Even Professor Etia eventually made her way out, she did give us a look before going though.

"So..." He tried to start.

"Yeah."

"When is the last time we really talked Alana?" Dras looked out across the room, seemingly at nothing. "I mean really talked, like we used to."

"We chatted a bit when I first came to the school... even then though I think we were..."

"Mmm. I suppose I let myself get too caught up in my studies, forgot my friends."

"I mean, I didn't really try too hard either. So don't blame yourself."

"It's always been like that hasn't it?"

"What?"

"I'm two years older than you Alana, but I've always been behind. Even when we were really young there was so much you knew that I didn't. You're a better mage, better at math, better at almost everything. I feel like you're always the elder in every situation."

"Is that why you didn't ask me to the school's ball?"

"What? I didn't even know you thought of me like that. I mean, Dietrich has been practically gushing over you since he discovered you existed. Several of the other boys like you too. Besides I'm dating Clarissa anyway, have been for like almost a year?"

"Okay, first, Dietrich is nice and all, but he's sort of an idiot, and I can't stand that. Two, you've been dating someone for almost a year!? Why did you never tell me?"

"What of course I told you... erm... oh, oh maybe I didn't. We really do need to talk more."

I wanted to hit my face on the desk. That was huge, how did he not think to even tell me? We sat right beside each other in class and chatted, how had it never come up? What even dude, do you not think your personal life is something I'm interested in hearing about? Actually...

"You... you never do talk much about yourself and what's going on with you do you?"

"Nah, not so much. Mom always used to ask me every detail about everything, then get mad at things she didn't like, ya know? So I guess I just try not to go into personal stuff."

"Details she didn't like like me?"

"Oh she still hates your guts. I don't think she knows you go to school with me though."

"Does she know about Clarissa?"

"Absolutely fucking not." We both got a chuckle at that one.

"We should hang out more."

"Yeah, there's a few small events going on in the knight's school soon I hear. They're catching a few beasts and letting the students fight them for training, wanna go? Well, I think I'd need to bring Clarissa so she doesn't get all jealous, but..."

"That's fine, let's do it. Mind if I bring Kala along?"

"Kala? Why?"

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. It took a few moments for him to get it, but when he did his eyes got a bit bigger.

"I'm honestly surprised it took you so long."

"I mean... that's a new one for me. I didn't know you liked girls."

"I don't, I like Kala, and probably not in exactly the same way as you like Clarissa."

"Um... okay. Wait, why did you want me to invite you to the school ball then?"

"Because I knew you probably would, nothing was likely to happen because we're not like that, and you're a nice enough guy."

He responded by flicking me on the ear, hard. "Do not play games with boys Alana. If you are or aren't interested, make it clear, and make clear what you want. Going to that ball together would have been announcing ourselves as an item, which would have pissed Dietrich off. That's something I would have had to deal with. Which I would have, had I been single and you just told me what you wanted."

I rubbed my ear and pouted a bit. I suppose just expecting him to invite me had been a bit rude on my part, particularly if we both knew I wasn't interested.

"Sorry."

"Forget about it. You've been there for me for a long time Alana. You're like a big sister or something. I could never really think of you like I do other girls."

There was a bit of a lull for awhile, both of us thinking about all we'd learned about each other. It was nice, and in some ways reminded me of all the time we'd spent studying and hanging out. Eventually we did pick it back up though.

"So, watching knights fight monsters?" I asked.

"Hey, don't blame me. I understand it's something a handful of nobles do for fun, and to see how the new students are coming along."

I rolled my eyes and we headed off to our next classes, making jokes on the way.

Classes for the rest of the day were rather uneventful. When I returned to my room though I found a most unwelcome surprise. Professor Rooke was there, as was another professor whose name I knew not. She stood off to the side while he spoke with Emma, seemingly awaiting my return. Several of my personal effects were laid out, uniforms and the like, it was also obvious some of my drawers had been opened, some still were.

"What is this?" I asked my voice quite a bit sharper than I normally would speak to a professor. "Men aren't even allowed in these dorms Professor Rooke, and what have you done to my room?"

"I received a number of disturbing reports, and it was determined that searching it was necessary."

"You had no right to go through my things." I could practically feel my magic rising as my anger peaked. The bubbles that constituted my aura seemed to cover me in a thick layer protectively, bursting out a bit as I released my control and pushed, seemed my training had paid off some.

"I did not search your things Alana. It would be improper for a man to go through a lady's possessions. I waited outside while Emma and Professor Lur did. You will also find that I had every right, as your guardian to authorize such a search."

I could have almost spit fire at him. With magic that was really an actual option too. "Reports? What reports?"

"Well, the most alarming would be that you have been spending hour after hour lying seemingly unconscious on your bed, failing to respond when called. I would think that you might be trying to work on upgrading your core, but according to Professor Hern you seem to not be progressing on that much. You've also appeared with a sample, albeit small, of an extraordinarily rare material. Oh, and let us not forget this." His voice was acid as he reached over and opened my lamp, revealing the actual magical item inside. "I'm not sure what is going on with that, but whatever it is is really, quite decidedly not standard."

"Oh." I looked over to the sphere that seemed to defy reality itself, still there, still looking too perfect, too... almost wrong.

"Oh indeed. While I've agreed not to pry into your research, at least some of that needs explanations."