Message titled: A Piece of Advice

I understand you may not regard my advice in the highest esteem these days, but I would like to offer you one consideration that I wish I would have heard. When you make the choice of engraving an aspect, consider not only the potential adventures and options it allows you to explore, but its influence on your perspective. It will be, for better or worse, the lens through which you will view the world for the rest of your life. I urge you to give this consideration the time and thought it deserves, before you make your decision.

Best regards,

Joram Joneel, servsman and friend.

–A late night message from Joram to Raz.

 

Raz and Allie were let go without further reprimand. The wizard black ops that Maroque’s old friend Swifta belonged to had apparently a lot of sway. Outside the law station, Raz and Faham thanked her and forced Allie to do the same.

“Oh, sweeties, it’s totally fine,” said the bubbly voiced woman. “As long as you don’t go off doing crime or terrorism once I let you go. You aren’t none of you with the cult are you?”

“No?” Raz looked at sibs.

Faham shook his head.

“Nope.”

“Thank goodness! Ahaha, it would’ve been awk-waaard. Oh, it’s so wonderful to see Maroque’s little friends healthy and grown up. Do you still remember me? Little young Swifta.” She wiggled her feather-decorated black hat cutely. “I never did much talking with Earthlings. It took aaaaages to absorb the language, but s’pose a lil seclusion goes with the job description. Gosh, feeling a little rude for not checking up on you all. We promised to keep in touch with Maroque when he decided to do his retirement plan for the kids before the incident, but life just sorta kept us busy huh? How’s he doing anyhow? I remember that servsman of his said he was all good soon.”

“He’s… Yeah.” Raz still struggled to merge the image she’d had of the glow-eyed spec op mage with the woman before her. “He definitely said that a lot. Still does.”

“Still does? What do you mean he still says that?”

“Oh. A slip.”

“Maroque’s still all warped up isn’t he?” asked Swifta, thick lips curving to a frown. “I should’ve known. Un take me, five years?”

“Four and spare.”

“Dreadful! Dreadful. Oh, absolutely dreadful. S’pose there’s no point visiting him yet then. What’s the prognosis? Is he seeing an ontologist?”

Raz opened her mouth to ask what an ontologist was.

“No? My gosh, what is that servsman of his doing? Is he siphoning Maroque’s assets?” Swifta’s glowing dot eyes narrowed behind the blindfold. “Tell me, is he robbing Maroque? You can tell me everything and I’ll make sure he gets disappeared.”

“Shit. You talk a lot.”

Swifta chuckled at Allie. “No! I’m just excited. I can’t believe I’d meet Maroque’s little friends here. I don’t think you know how much you meant to him. He…” She paused with a wistful look. “Well, he isn’t here right now, but he’ll speak of it one day. Fingers crossed! That’s An Earthling expression, right? Finger crossing.” Swifta showed them two hands with all fingers tangled up in a criss-cross mess.

Allie nodded. “Got it right.”

“That’s right I did! You wouldn’t guess it, but Swifta’s totally resonating with the day. Ain’t no skibidi witch gonna pull glam this bada rizz-drip bwitch. No glam. No glam. Know what I’m wheezing yo?”

Faham pulled a hood over his face and vibrated.

Allie showed Swifta thumbs up, somehow staying deadpan.

Raz snarled from sheer cringe damage she had just received. “Yeah.”

Swifta grinned happily. “No glam! Hehehe, I love it! It’s so good. But anyhow, super happy to see you three are a-okay despite everything. That servsman isn’t robbing Maroque, is he?”

Raz shook her head. “No. He’s doing his best.”

“What a relief. He should get Maroque some help though. There’s treatments nowadays. Expensive imported stuff. Very hush hush. But a Magogram should be able to afford it comfortably. I can write you a recommendation. I’ve some anti-mnemotic paper here. For his eyes only, okay? I’m not supposed to be spreading this out.”

Swifta pulled out something and started doing something with it. Raz’s eyes hurt just looking at it.

“Swifta, that’s nice, but I don’t think he’s gonna be able to afford it.”

“Oh. Don’t worry, honey. He’s rich. Swifta knows.”

“He got kicked out of the family.”

Swifta’s hand stopped. “Hmmm?”

“Back when you two returned. They kicked him out.”

“My gosh? They did? Why have I not heard about this before?”

Raz suspected that had a lot to do with Joram, but didn’t say it. 

“So who adopted you then?”

“Joram got Raz,” said Allie.

“That’s good. And you two?”

Allie glanced away, shrugging. “Been doing fine.”

“We are hanging in there. It’s okay,” said Faham.

Three glowing eyes darted from Allie to Faham and then Raz. Swifta’s lips parted. “Goodness me, Maroque’s little friends are still in New Europe? All this time? And nobody contacted you? None of his relatives?”

“Said we’re fine.”

Raz noticed Allie growing a bit annoyed and hurried to speak, “It’s fine now. I just resonated. I’m gonna become a wizard and they can move in with me then.”

Swifta frowned, gripping her own wrist tight. Her shadow had a faintest ripple to it and her eyes burned ever so slightly brighter. “Of course you are. Kids like you will always be fine. I can’t believe it that…” Swifta bit down a word. “Skibidi servsman didn’t tell me. What a slimy no-good. Oh, but I should’ve stayed in touch, it’s on me too. So sorry, I can’t take in another kid. Hubs and me got hands full with mine, and… well, if you’ve ever tousled with Magogram bureaucracy, you would not believe the maze’s we’ve to wander through to have even our child learn our identity! But, I’ll make some calls, okay?”

“It’s fine, really,” said Raz.

Faham nodded in support.

“Ye. Don’t bother. We good.”

“Well,” Swifta huffed, hands aggressively on her hips. “I can’t possibly not help out?”

“Then go help the kids in New Europe,” said Allie.

Swifta’s determination buckled. She took a deep breath, frowning.

Raz glared at Allie. “You don’t need to be mean.”

“Tired of listening to wizards yap on about help and doing nothing.”

“Allie!”

“Don’t fight, please.” Faham went between them.

“We weren’t,” said Raz.

Allie held her hands up to appease him.

“At least not before we get to Oor. The law wiz in Castleyard is kinda lax.”

“Raz!”

Allie snorted at her.

“Listen,” Swifta began, gesturing with her hands pressed together. “I won’t poke into your matters, but I’d love to help my friend’s wards even if it’s a little bit. Call it selfish. It is what it is, okay? I may not be dressed in val, but we’re doing cushy enough. How about this? You tell me where you’re applying and Swifty’s gonna pull some strings.” She pantomimed garroting someone’s neck, with an ‘urk’ sound effect. “Like so! And did the servsman get you a proper foci yet? What’s the core you’re going for? Did you engrave yet? Swifty knows some tricks that are a no-no to say out loud~”

“Eh.” Raz glanced off, a little embarrassed to show off before an actual wizard. She pulled out her phone and resonated. “I’m using this for now. Still picking an aspect.”

“Well what kind of wizard do you wish to be? I’d start there and pick aspect accordingly.”

Heat rose to Raz’s ears and cheeks as she hemmed with her answer.

“Someone powerful,” said Allie.

“Hey!”

“She wants to help out. To fix Earth.”

“Faham no!” Raz pulled his hood over his face. 

“Hero complex basically. Girl worshiped Maroque,” said Allie.

Raz wished she could teleport away. “You can’t tell her.”

Swifta nodded, a small smile on her lips. “Hun, it’s alright. Magic is about big wishes and bigger dreams. Is what the say right?”

Three glowing eyes were locked on Raz, patient, without judgment.

Raz rubbed short hair at the back of her head, trying and failing to suppress her embarrassment. “Sure. Though we’re supposed to leave for Oor on the fringe underail, but...”

“We can wait,” said Faham. “Right?”

Allie nodded.

“A visit too Oor? Oh, I would never keep you from it! Come, I’ll get you something from the station-side kiosk. Give me a rundown of your aspects on the way.”

Raz did. Swifta asked some basic questions about resonance and aspects while they moved and got sandwiches and a sugary drink for Faham. Raz had answers for almost everything. They waited for the underail at one of the wrought metal benches.

“My, you have studied resonance,” said Swifta. “Did that servsman tutor you?”

“I learned from arctube tutorials.”

“Huh? I better have a peek at these tutorials. So, you’ve got your list narrowed and no false symbols there. That’s a good start for any wizard. But you want more? Yes you do, I can see it. Alright, how familiar are you with the concept of abstract hierarchy?”

Raz shook her head slowly. “A little bit? Not really. The symbology teacher kinda skipped over it. Something to do with aspect portfolios.”

“Why am I not surprised that a backwater – no offense hun – teacher skips over it. Yes, it’s a way for a wizard to understand their aspects. The way. Paper. Paper!” Swifta stole Faham’s napkin. The tip of her fingernail elongated into a quill, glistening with blackness. She wrote down four lines.

Tier 4. Specific Divisible.

Tier 3. Complex Abstract. 

Tier 2. Basic Physical and Mathematical.

Tier 1: Fundamental Abstracts.

“I like using tiers, but it’s just me. The gist is that tier four can be broken into tier threes and so on and so forth. So, tier four is stuff like phone, device, calls, messages, convenience, social interaction, information access, though those two could maybe squeeze into tier four. Depends how you think of it. Tier three is, modernity, entertainment, communication, technology, isolation, addiction, distraction. Tier two… mobility and communication could maybe fit there?” Swifta tilted her head from side to side. “Eeeh? Maybe not. Now tier one. There you score big! And there you have information and connection. Two strong fundamental abstracts.”

She underlined the words.

“Aren’t they a bit…” Raz tried to find a word. “Generic?”

“They are the most generic ones!” said Swifta excitedly. “And the most abstract. They are both the most limiting and most versatile aspects. Like Maroque’s ‘motion’ for example. It may not have seemed impressive, but moving through Un is no simple matter and he hauled entire isolas through it.”

“It was plenty impressive,” said Raz.

Faham nodded. “Very!”

Swifta smiled. “I think so too! But so. Okay. This all abstract hierarchy and stuff. It may not seem super important for a loooong while, but if you ever step into the Un or get into trouble with other wizards, you want to be high tier. I wish I’d picked smart, but no.”

“What are your aspects?” Raz asked, curious. She guessed something feather or darkness related.

Swifta put a finger to her lips. “Classified.”

“Hrm.”

Swifta winked.

Raz returned to the hierarchy list. “So I wanna pick connection or information.”

“IF you aim big, it is an option, yes. But be warned. High abstracts are furthest from humanity, which makes their recoil harsher and their learning harder. Part of why Magogram doesn’t advertise them, I s’pose. They don’t wanna be dealing with thousands of war–” Swifta glanced at Allie and Faham. “–dangerously altered wizards every year. Most aren’t as willing to sacrifice themselves to bear the recoil as Maroque, and the stuff high abstracts can do is…”

Swifta nodded to herself, lips pursed. She didn’t elaborate.

Raz swallowed as she stared at connection and information. Would they really be so potent? What would their magesight show her?

“Now, another trouble is that wonderchambers with pure high abstracts are rare and expensive. You can ‘course use the phone later, since it’s a related aspect. But you’ll need to resonate with a proper one.” Swifta gave Raz a smile. “But, don’t worry sweetie. Swifta is here to help. Just tell me what aspect you want to go for and I can arrange a subscription to a wonderchamber with it. All expenses covered until you resonate. I’ll buy you the foci too.”

“Wait, how expensive are we talking?”

“Oh. Nothing for you.”

“How expensive?”

Swifta looked away. “Depends how long it takes.. Probably in the low tens. ”

Raz blinked.

“...of thousands.”

“Bhuwhah?” Tens of thousands?

Faham gagged on his soda.

“My gosh, don’t be so dramatic. I insist on this. I do. Be warned, however, it may take some months to arrange. There is quite the queue for these things.”

“I… wow.” Raz stared at Swifta, dumbfounded. “You don’t have to.”

“Well, should you consider it, the offer is there.” Swifta wrote her number on the napkin and withdrew her pen-claw. “Take a picture of that if you want to keep it.”

Raz did.

“You think about it. I’ll let you kids off, you’d best go through departure clearing.” Swifta stood, rising to hug Raz. “Oh, it was so wonderful to see Maroque’s little friends again. You come here.”

Allie evaded the hug.

Faham got squeezed.

“Why, you are adorable! Please. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate. Swifta is one swift call away!”

“I’m not sure I can accept this,” said Raz.

“Once you have your core decided on, call me!”

Raz promised to consider it. She and sibs began the boarding process. The responsible law wizard inspected their IDs, possessions, and questioned them on yesterday’s fiasco. A middle aged lady wizard in baggy pale-gray robes decorated with screens and mirrors joined them. She plucked sketchy ethereal eyes out of her own eyes and slapped them on the backs of their hands, where they flattened into the shape of gray glowing eye symbols.

They were told that their futures would be scryed into every other day. All fairly standard stuff. The trio then boarded the underail with a sizable departing crowd.

“Sorry,” Raz said to Faham as the wagon chugged along in the dark. “I was meant to plan a whole thing, but this sorta took over yesterday.”

“I don’t mind. I think just seeing a real world again will be exciting. I’m hyped to see those castles!”

“We’ll do a tour in the safe areas near the town and visit some places for sure. This week is sibling time. I’ll figure magic out afterwards.”

“Or, I could help out right now?” Faham offered. “Not much else to do here.”

Raz flashed him a grin. “Don’t think you’ll be able to leave the windows once we get to Oor, but yeah. Until then.”

They pooled it all together. The academies and aspects arranged according to Swifta’s abstract hierarchy. With everything laid out before her, Raz realized she really didn’t have options. Or rather, she had decided and could no longer change her mind.

She circled ‘connection’. If the aspect was going to influence her life, she’d rather be someone who valued connections than information. It felt right. 

Then she circled WACA. Really, it sounded like the best choice for her nonexistent budget. The fact that there was more to Oor’s party capital than the common image drew her in in a way no other academy did. 

There was, however, a problem. Raz didn’t voice it, because they’d crossed into reality and Faham and Allie were oohing at the gorgeous coastal views of Castleyard. But it made it harder for Raz to focus on basking in their joy.

WACA, according to what Capi had said, would wander away in a month. A bit problematic, since the academy only accepted new students for the last few ways of its visits. Extra problematic, since it roamed Oor randomly and sometimes took years before accepting students from the same area again.

 Raz cast her eyes on the enormous castles and castle-skeletons breaking the clouds ahead. She could always wait for Swifta and then go on a roadtrip to chase WACA down. Raz looked at her sibs’ awe filled eyes. Even Allie’s were glistening a little, though she tried to stay stoic. After so many years in Un, reality must’ve been gorgeous.

Still, they would understand if she waited.

But this was no longer just for them. In that prison, a dream had stirred and it refused to wait. Raz decided she would enter WACA before it wandered off. And she would find her connection foci and high end wonderchamber.

Her eyes found the nearly completed flying fortress, a narrow towered beauty of pale rock and tiered garden-terraces. A flying sculpture of insane luxury and power protected by clairvoyants, military level wizard security, and who knows what else. The only ones insane enough to consider breaking into one’s wonderchamber would be Castleyard teenagers who’d grown up goofing about in the castleworks, which is probably why the idea sounded much less insane to Raz than it should’ve.