Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-One. Education.

Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-One. Education.

The Warlocks Tower was located in the center of the city, although the name was ill-fitting. There were seven towers that surrounded an eighth in the center, joined together by covered walkways at a variety of levels, each tower to its neighbor and also to the central tower, which radiated walkways to the outer towers like spokes on a wheel.

"Seven towers, one for each of the Arcane Schools of Magic," Yorrick explained as they approached what Ed was mentally referring to as a campus. "The central tower is where we hold general education classes."

Following Yorrick, the broad boulevard they were walking up led them directly between two of the towers. As they drew closer, Ed noted without surprise that they were constructed of stones, each a similar size to the ones found on the wall, although these were curved, as the towers were round. He estimated each tower was likely a hundred feet across at the base and twenty stories or more tall.

When he'd seen Yorrick's promotional video for the Empire, he'd wondered how much of it had been theatre and camera angles, having had long experience with the wonders a studio could produce. After the Cathedral and now the Towers, he was forced to admit that while the camera work had been solid, it was the subject matter that was stellar.

He turned to ask Yorrick a question when he was suddenly knocked off his feet as something crashed into his side.

"Bessy! Abyss, take you, get back here!"

Ed rolled to his side and scrambled to his feet, eyes wide at the spectacle unfolding in front of him.

A young man in dark green robes, with a seven-pointed star contained in a circle embroidered on the chest in golden thread, was frantically casting what Ed thought were Eldritch Walls, attempting to corral what appeared, to the untrained eye, to be a rather large cow.

The creature was bucking and hoping and tossing its head as it threw itself against the walls of force as quickly as they appeared. Suddenly, chains of glittering jade shot out of the ground and entangled the beast, pulling it down and holding it in place, where it let out a plaintive 'mmmooooooo.'

"Stars and stones, thank you," the young man wheezed, turning toward Ed and Yorrick before freezing. "L-l-lord Wrathsbane," he stuttered, bowing at the waist.

"None of that," Yorrick said amiably, "As I've told entire generations of you if I'm not wearing my robes, it's Yorrick."

The young man slowly straightened, his face pale and his breath more ragged now than when he'd been chasing the cow.

"Elrwyn, isn't it?" Yorrick asked.

"Yes, sir," Elrwyn replied.

Yorrick's ever-present smile widened in delight. "I thought I recognized you," he said, then glanced at the despondent bovine chained to the ground. "I take it you're practicing for the ritual summoning exam?"Follow current novels at novelhall.com)

"I was," Elrwyn replied with a grimace. "I'd say I succeeded, given how lively Bessy there is, but I hadn't ever worked with cattle before, so when I finally got her working, she caught me by surprise."

"Still, well done," Yorrick congratulated him. "The chains should last another minute or so," his grin turned mischievous, "so if I were you, I'd work out some way to get her under control before they do."

Elrwyn nodded seriously and turned his attention to Ed. "Sorry about that, sir, you're not injured, are you?"

Ed shook his head. "Much like you, Bessy just caught me by surprise," he replied.

Elrwyn nodded and then walked over to Bessy. "Bad cow!" he scolded, then began casting a series of spells that created a set of hobbles on the cow's legs, as well as harness.

Yorrick chuckled and turned to walk away, gesturing for Ed to join him.

"All the kids in Karce come here?" Ed asked.

"They do, even the Noble Houses, although their kids are often ahead of the curve due to tutoring," Yorrick replied.

"So they have the edge over the other kids," Ed said.

"To a degree, but given that the extra tutoring they receive is in line with their future duties, it's fairly minor," Yorrick explained. "The Noble Houses have their own etiquette, but no one uses it except them, so it's not important for anyone else to learn. Whereas a kid who isn't a noble is more likely to pick up more practical skills that the noble kids won't have, but their parents helped them practice. Normally it's their parents' profession, be it tailoring, carpentry, smithing, whatever have you. The real difference," Yorrick's smile turned humorous, "is life skills. The noble kids might know the exact degree to bow to a member of another Noble House based on the House's overall rank, the members' rank in that house, as well as the relationship between the two houses, but the rest of the kids know how to cook, clean, garden, wash and mend clothing, as well as basic first aid. The Noble kids have other people to do that for them, so the first time they go on a multi-day delve, they're always unprepared."

"I can see that," Ed agreed, having seen the issue himself when dealing with royalty.

"The notable exception is House Kol'Geith," Yorrick continued. "That House doesn't believe in hereditary positions, and anyone who joins the house starts at the very bottom."

Ed cocked his head. "How does that work?" He asked.

Yorrick shrugged. "The founder of the house codified our Dungeon designs, but the Noble Houses wouldn't allow him to inspect or regulate their Dungeons. The Emperor solved the problem by naming him the progenitor of his own Noble house, taking the vacant seat on the Noble Counsel, which had been empty ever since your friend Harveste's ancestors disappeared. That gave him equal standing, and the rest of the Houses had no choice but to allow him to attend to the duties placed on his house by the Emperor. Ever since House Kol'Geith has had a single interest; Dungeons. Only the best and brightest curators are considered for membership, and the application process is even worse than the requirements for graduating from the Warlocks Guild, which I can assure you are quite stringent."

"I had meant to ask you about that, I know in Greenwold there are a couple of types of Dungeons, although they're all being switched over to the Gated design," Ed paused as they reached an intersection where six other hallways came together at the base of a massive staircase. "Are those magic stairs?" Ed asked.

"Just regular stairs, I'm afraid," Ed replied with a grin, motioning for Ed to follow as he began to walk up the steps. "You were asking about our Dungeons?"

"I was," Ed shook his head as he walked up the stairs. He didn't get tired going up multiple flights of stairs anymore, nor did he go out of breath, but his right knee still didn't like stairs, and he hadn't reincarnated to fix it. "Does the Empire use the Gated design?"

"Yes, but not really," Yorrick hedged, "although technically yes?"

"Oh good, I was worried that the Empire wasn't ever going to give me the nonsensical nonanswers that I usually get back on Earth," Ed replied.

Yorrick laughed and motioned for Ed to keep climbing when they reached the second floor. "Our Dungeon design philosophy is a lot different from Greenwold's," Yorrick began. "Greenwold's Dungeons, regardless of the model they've used to deliver delvers to the desired level of challenge, have always been designed with the monsters spawning at specific points at specific frequencies. This allows for a high degree of safety and productivity but fails to serve as a training tool for facing waves and tides, as well as those who venture outside the safety of our walls and explore our world. The Empire's Dungeons, while arguably more dangerous, resulting in more competent people."

"You have Dungeons that replicate a wave or tide?" Ed asked in disbelief.

"We do," Yorrick nodded. "They train our people to work together as a cohesive unit."

"So when you said a multiday delve, you mean that people practice facing tides," Ed muttered.

"Well, yes, but that's never a student's first multiday delve," Yorrick replied. "Their first multiday delve is an exploration scenario, and that delve is held towards the end of their last year after they've all taken their path and had a bit of time to practice their skills and spells."

Yorrick must have noticed his expression as he continued. "They are all sixteen during their last year, so we spend six months delving for a few hours each day, where they learn to delve safely, as well as leveling up their skills and gaining the crystals they need to advance." He threw a grin back over his shoulder as they passed the landing for the fourth floor. "Once they're pathed up, we start alternating, spending a full day delving, then a day of classwork. Towards the end of the last semester, they'll start doing three days in, three days out, doing exploration Dungeons. We'll also mix in some delves that simulate waves. The last month is spent preparing for, and then delving, three separate delves that simulate tides, scaled-down, of course."

They'd reached the fifth floor landing, and rather than continuing up, Yorrick walked down one of the hallways.

"Believe me," Yorrick had paused at one of the doors, and he caught Ed's eyes, "we do everything in our power to make sure our citizens are prepared to take responsibility for their own safety. My sincere hope is that your people will follow our example. Starting with them," Yorrick gestured as he opened the door, revealing a classroom full of people who were definitely older than sixteen. Judging by their clothing, laptops, and tablets, they were from Earth, and they were all listening intently to the woman at the front of the classroom. She paused her lecture as she noticed the open door, then smiled at Yorrick. "We have a rare treat, it would seem. The High Seat of the Warlocks Guild, Yorrick Wrathsbane, has come to visit us."