Page 21 of The Scars Within
Scrivens clapped with joy, “Well! That is one way to do it!”
Chapter 9
“That was interesting… to say the least,” Tatum said as we dried off our feet and grabbed our packs.
“I loved it! My heels feel so soft now,” Laney chimed in, her usual enthusiasm shining through.
The entire first class of Intro to Water Wielding had us sitting with our feet in the hot spring, waiting to sense a magical connection to the element. Nobody in our group felt anything except the hot water, which made me want to lie back and nap. I must admit that I didn’t mind the quiet time.
“Laney, with the positive outlook as always,” I said, nudging Laney with my elbow. She stuck her tongue out at me and laughed.
After lunch, our quad returned to the dorm to grab our history books. Today was our first class with Professor Hogboom for History of Warfare. With books about our continent’s history being the easiest thing to get my hands on back home, I pretty much know everything there is to know about the Battle for Mareki and the establishment of Mageia.
The wooden doors creaked as we entered the classroom, and the clicks of boots on stone echoed in the quiet auditorium as we all found our seats. History of Warfare is another class that only first-years areenrolled in. But since it isn’t element-specific, we share the room with our entire year.
The inside is arranged in a semicircular design with tiered rows of seats. The space is complemented by dark, polished wood and obsidian accents. Tapestries line the walls of the auditorium, each representing a historical moment or military battle. They mix with drooping banners with colors representing each element of the Mareki.
Iron chandeliers hang from the vaulted ceiling above, their soft, flickering light casting a glow over the room. A mural of an onyx dragon is painted across the ceiling.
The space is incredible. Truly a sight to behold.
Professor Hogboom approached the podium in the center. Scruffy, as usual, I noted.
Hogboom cleared his throat to get our attention. Once we all quieted down, he began with the lesson. He started from the very beginning of when Kalymdor’s history was transcribed after the Battle for Mareki, detailing how the unrest between the northern and southern elementals sparked the war, who attacked first, and how it ended. His lesson was straightforward from the history books until he asked us all one question.
“Who were the first humans to channel from the Mareki?”
Silence.
I straightened in my seat, the weight of the question replaying in my mind. Our transcribed history doesn’t reach that far back. Most people assume humans have always channeled from the Mareki—that there was nobefore.
Professor Hogboom’s thin mustache twitched upward on one side, a subtle tell of amusement. “Our continent was founded roughly five hundred years before the Battle for Mareki. Four individuals—two men and two women—set foot on Kalymdor after braving the Wanderer’s Sea. It is believed they were the only ones to survive the journey. They are not-so-publicly known as the First Four.”
A cadet in the front row raised her hand. Professor Hogboom nodded for her to speak. “Why isn’t this part of our history publicly known or recorded anywhere?”
“Who’s to say it wasn’t?” he replied, his tone sharp. “Who’s to say the records weren’t reduced to ash alongside the mages during the battle?”
The room fell quiet again. Someone coughed.
Professor Hogboom’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the edge of the pedestal. “These First Four were the first humans to channel from the Mareki.”
“One for each element?” a cadet ventured.
“No.” His voice dropped, drawing us in. “They each channeledall four elements.”
A collective gasp rippled through the room. My pulse quickened, every word carving itself into my memory.
Archmages are only myths. There has never been a single one known in Kalymdor’s history.
“What happened to the mages once they burned to ash?”
Silence.
A cadet in the front row spoke up. “They burned to ash. They died as soon as Zervos removed the Mareki Gem,” he stated, his tone curious as to why Hogboom would ask that.
Our professor eyed the cadet and responded, “Did they? Or was that what the original leaders of Mageia wanted everyone to believe?”
Gasps rippled through the auditorium.
