However, Pecanty didn’t mention any of the students by name, only picking a question or two from each section to review while he wrote notes on the blackboard. “Here, you were asked to give synonyms and associated words for the keyword ‘rain,’ and then use them in a sentence. One student provided three links. ‘Storm,’ ‘cloud,’ and ‘water.’ Uninspired, to say the least, as each of those words can quite literally be combined with ‘rain’: rainstorm, raincloud, and rainwater. The sentence provided was, ‘The dark clouds broke with a rainstorm, filling the streets with water.’” He recited it quickly, with an unusual lack of lilting inflection, then looked up again, slapping the test down on his desk. “Boring and plain. I cannot imagine myself there, nor feel anything from that sentence.”

He picked up a different test, flipping to the same section and reading aloud, this time with his usual cadence, as if reciting a piece of poetry. “‘The dreary drizzle that had filled the morning turned, by evening, to a drenching squall, sheets of water crashing down from an oppressive, bruise-purple sky.’ Keywords were ‘drizzle,’ ‘squall,’ ‘crashing,’ and ‘oppressive.’ I hope the difference is obvious, but if not, let me point out that none of these words can be directly joined to ‘rain’ to form their own word. This example used both alliteration and metaphor, as well as evocative imagery.”

He moved to yet another test, flipping to a new section. “You were asked to list the connotations associated with a certain component, and then relate those associations in a memory or scene highlighting the component. In this particular case, the component was daisy petals. This test-taker correctly enumerated daisy petals’ connection to the ideas of new beginnings, hope, innocence, fun, affection, and purity. Most of you got that right, which shows that at least University students can memorize information from their textbooks.” Pecanty paused for a scathing moment that almost reminded Sebastien of Professor Lacer. “The problem is here: ‘The girl picks daisies in a field, plucking petals as she attempts to divine, “He loves me,” or “He loves me not.”’ I am forced to wonder if the point of this assignment was clear, seeing as many of the answers were like this. Let me read you a proper response.”

He cleared his throat. “‘The daisy pushes through the earth, all green, wet with spring’s morning dew. It reaches for the sun, drinking in the light and warmth, and unfurling a flower that opens itself to the embrace of the sky, allowing the buzzing honey-makers to drink from its cup. My mother plucks the daisy and tucks it behind my ear. I am not much taller than the swaying grasses, which smell of sweet earth and buckwheat, and the hem of my cloak is wet and itchy against my legs, but I laugh and pluck one for her in return. She kneels to allow me to tuck it clumsily into her hair.’”

Sebastien had frozen as soon as he began to speak. That was her answer. She had been following the advice of the upper-term student, going over the top with poetic description, mention of the senses, and had even made up a connection to her own past. In addition to writing with unnecessarily pretty handwriting.

“Notice the expression of new beginnings, innocence, and affection symbolized by the anthropomorphization of the daisy itself, and then the innocent exuberance of the child, who is fully grounded in the sensations of that moment,” Pecanty said. “It’s practically bursting with connections to all the meanings a daisy petal might hold. If time allowed, we could examine this answer alone for most of the class period.”

‘That is…utter bullshit.’ Sebastien had to wonder if all the themes, subtext, and meaning Pecanty found in the books, poems, and plays they studied in class were as similarly nonexistent as this, unintentional on the author’s part and attributed with layers of significance that the work did not, in fact, possess.

After a few more examples, Pecanty moved on to the theoretical spell section of the test. “You were asked to create a spell array and casting method for a spell that would help someone process their sorrow or grief, explaining your choices along the way. Some of you chose to use a pentagram, a safe but uninspired choice.” He turned to copy out two spell arrays on the board. “This one, using a hexagram for the main symbol, for its connection to spiritual balance, guidance, and mental or emotional aid, is ideal. Especially with the inclusion of the tetragram, or four-pointed star, which in this case was added to turn the focus toward stability and the past. This will help anchor someone who might be more emotionally fragile.”

He turned back to the tests. “Now, one student included mermaid tears as one of their primary components. I can only imagine this was because tears usually stem from sadness, and mermaids are known for their beautiful, mournful singing. However, this student seems to have been under a misconception.” He spoke loudly, emphasizing his point. “Mermaids are a magical cephalopod. They lure prey by sticking tentacles above water and making them look like a human woman, and this false form lets out a haunting song and asks for help. When the victim gets too close, the ‘mermaid’ suddenly comes apart into a mass of tentacles that grab them and drag them into the water to be eaten. Mermaid tears do not exist, as mermaids do not have tear ducts and cannot cry.”

A student gave themself away by groaning aloud.

Pecanty nodded at them. “Painful indeed. Blue poppy for its melancholy and sedative properties makes sense, but as this spell array is created, it seems like it might actually induce grief. That is, if it produced any effect at all, since the glyph used for ‘feel’ is one for physical touch rather than emotion.”

He gestured next to the hexagram spell array on the board, ignoring the students’ snickers. “This student had a much better idea. Golden apples sprinkled with cinnamon for nostalgia, balanced against shade dust for a connection to the past, and condensed granules of etherwood smoke for calm contemplation. That last choice might be a bit too potent for certain types of trauma, and shade dust assumes that the grief cannot have a present-day, ongoing cause, but the addition of lotus bulbs for their connection to self-regeneration, cleansing, and enlightenment was a genius combination. In conjunction with the tetragram, it would add a fortifying element to support the target of the spell through their grief, to be reborn afresh on the other side.”

Pecanty went on in this vein for most of the class period, finally stopping to give their graded papers back to them. “Sympathetic Science is all about connections,” he said as he walked among the desks, placing each test paper in the students’ hands personally. “Those connections must be rich and varied, a spiderweb filled with points that cause dozens of lightning-fast responses to bloom when there is a tug on any single node.”

When he placed Sebastien’s paper on her desk, he stopped to murmur, “Exemplary work, an admirable improvement over your past efforts. I knew you would come around, once you gave up your stubborn way of thinking.”

Sebastien flipped over her test to see that Pecanty had attached a slip with five contribution points. She wasn’t sure whether to be happy or outraged that the nonsense she had written was rewarded like this.

After class, Alec stopped Sebastien in the hallway with a hand on her arm.

She turned to him, already brewing a scowl, but his expression was uncomfortably earnest, throwing her off.

“So, I put together a care package for the Moore family. Damien and I wrote letters to them about what it was like being friends with Newton, and gathered up some of his stuff that was left in his room, plus some coin to help them get by. I heard their house was burnt down. Anyway, um, do you want to write a letter for them, too? I can put it in with the rest of the package.”

Sebastien was taken aback, and remained silent for a long few seconds. She had not expected this, and especially not from Alec.

Alec shuffled, his eyebrows drawing down. “I know I’m not good with people like Ana, but care packages are something you do when a family goes through a traumatic event. It’s too simple to mess up. Do you want to write a letter or not?” he asked, growing belligerent.

“I have Newton’s Conduit. I’ll send that along with a letter of my own.”

He harrumphed. “Well, finish it by Monday. I’m not waiting on you if you don’t.”

They walked on to the cafeteria, where she stopped and scanned the large room from the entrance. Stopping Alec, she handed him the empty cookie plate. “Give this to the kitchen workers.”

“Why can’t you do it?” he asked.

She didn’t reply, already leaving. To her surprise, Damien caught up with her a few moments later. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“To find Tanya Canelo. We were both there. I want to see what she has to say.” Really, she wanted to know what Tanya had told the coppers and the Red Guard, to see if she could glean any clues about what their next move might be.

“I’ll come, too,” Damien offered immediately, adding in a murmur, “It might be dangerous to meet with her alone.”

Tanya’s personal room had been taken away and she now roomed in the fourth-term student dorms, but she wasn’t there. Sebastien finally found her in a less-trafficked corner of the library. The blonde, square-jawed girl looked almost as exhausted as Sebastien felt.

Her mouth tightened when she saw Sebastien, but she nodded a sharp greeting. “Siverling. If you’re here to talk about the rogue magic incident, I’m unable to speak of it.”

Sebastien sat down across from her. “The Red Guard made me take a vow too, but I can talk with those who already know the details. I was there shortly before the Red Guard arrived. I saw you going upstairs with the others, from outside the window.”

Tanya looked between the two of them, not relaxing. “So?”

“So… Does anyone know why the Raven Queen was there?”

Damien sucked in a breath.

“I cannot speak of it,” Tanya repeated.

“Do you need Damien to leave?” Sebastien asked.

Damien scowled immediately. “I’m not leaving you alone with her, Sebastien.” He glared at Tanya, making no secret of his distrust.

Tanya glared back at Damien, looking as if she might snap and attack him, but instead, her eyes welled up with tears.

They rolled down her cheeks like big fat diamonds, one after the other.

Damien stepped back, alarmed.

“I cannot speak of it!” Tanya squeezed out in a choked voice.

It was so far out of character, so different from what Sebastien had been expecting, that she stared at the crying young woman for a long few moments. ‘Was this what that skull was supposed to do to me? If so, vowing under the incorrect name made a huge difference. Or maybe she gave a different vow, and I got preferential treatment.’

When Tanya hunched over, sobbing, Sebastien regained her wits, laying an awkward hand across Tanya’s shaking shoulder. “I know you didn’t mean for this to happen. What happened to Newton…wasn’t your fault.”

Tanya let out a watery snort. “If only that were true.” With an obvious effort of will, she got herself under control, straightening and looking at Sebastien with a gaze that reminded her of a suffocating fish, wide-eyed and desperate. “But I would take it back, if I could. Newton was my friend, too.”

Damien shuffled awkwardly, but Sebastien said, “I know. I didn’t realize the restrictions they placed on you were so harsh. We don’t have to talk about it.”

Tanya nodded, looking as if her head might fall and never rise again. “Could you leave me be? I have a lot of studying to do. My mid-term results weren’t as good as someone in my position needs.”

They complied, though Damien seemed unsatisfied as they walked away. “Why aren’t you angry with her? Did she really have nothing to do with how Newton ended up?”

Sebastien sighed. ‘If I were going to be angry with her, what would I need to feel for myself?’ Aloud, she said, “I sympathize, I suppose. Who knows how she got into this, but at this point, she’s trapped. She’s in too deep to escape, even if she wants to.”

The feeling was familiar.

Question: For fun, how would you have answered Pecanty's exam question? "Give synonyms and associated words for the keyword ‘rain,’ and then use them in a sentence."