“Word from the wise, you need to stop allowing commoners to speak to you like that, friend,” Cornelius said as they walked down the hallway towards the cafeteria. He placed a supportive hand on Casimir’s shoulder.

  “Perhaps you are right, but I was raised to believe that nobles are protectors of the public.” Casimir followed Cornelius into a grand dining hall fashioned from massive steel beams and glass, lit above from wrought iron chandeliers.

  Cornelius gave him a look of surprise as they maneuvered past the islands of wooden tables filled with chattering students to the food line located in the center of the hall. “Right, you were with the Inquis. They are more public facing, but you still mostly dealt with other nobles?”

  Casimir frowned when an image of Quigley appeared in his mind. “For the most part, yes.”

  “I understand it is currently in vogue for nobles to show that they can also bleed to the masses, but the commoner doesn’t truly want that. They want to view someone like you as a god.”

  Casimir wrinkled his nose in disgust which got a laugh from Cornelius. They made it to the counter rife with the lovely aroma of fresh bread and venison. A buxom woman with large arms behind the counter gave Casimir a frightful look that caused him to immediately switch to a polite smile.

  “This looks delicious.” He grabbed one of the wooden trays stacked on the counter and gestured towards the stew.

  Service was swift, and they left the counter with their food. Casimir curiously sampled a bit of stew. A smile appeared on his face as savored the succulent meat that melted on his tongue. This is what Aetherian meat tastes like? It still tastes like venison but has a buttery texture. Slightly sweet with a nutty flavor and something… a pleasant aftertaste that is as refreshing as it is addictive. I understand why a pound of this costs a month’s earning for some.

  He filled his spoon with another helping but paused when he noticed Cornelius staring at him with a curious smile. “Pardon, I forgot my manners,” he said quietly.

  Cornelius suppressed a smirk and continued their conversation, “There needs to be a separation. They want us to be above them, not beside them. That goes the same among your fellow nobles.” He turned to Casimir. “As a scion from one of the Great Three Weaver Houses you are expected to carry yourself higher than the rest.”

  Casimir groaned. “I get it, but humility is a virtue, especially when power is involved. Or else we will get more rogues like Sageman.” He spat that name out of his mouth like venom.

  Cornelius nudged him with his elbow. “We will sit over there. I see that my associates have already saved us a seat.”

  Cornelius tilted his head towards a table placed near a large arched glass window with the snow-covered quad as its backdrop. There sat a green-haired girl with honey brown skin and large, round glasses. She seemed to have a meek temperament. Across from her was a dusky-blonde of slender build. He dressed sloppily with his tie lazily hanging loose around his neck.

  A Forevergreene and Shields.

  “Fenna, Merritt,” Cornelius reached for the seat next to the girl. “There is someone I would like for you to meet.”

  The girl smiled and gave him a polite nod, but before Casimir could say anything the blonde abandoned his beef stew to point at him with his spoon. “Right, the Mindrattler your uncle is making you cozy up to because my spend-thrift old man is too cheap for him.”

  Cornelius feigned a cough and he gave Casimir a side-eye that urged him to make a response. But instead of reproaching Merritt, Casimir shot Cornelius with an icy glare, which caught him by surprise and caused him to fake a cough again.

  Merritt rolled his eyes. “ It is an honor to meet you.”

  “A pleasure.” Casimir took a seat beside Merritt. “So, how was everyone’s first day?”

  “Fine, both of my classes ended early,” said Fenna.

  “Boring like most first days where they read the syllabus, class expectations and blah, blah, blah,” Merritt grumbled.

  “Well, Casimir and I ran into our share of idiots, but at least they made our class interesting,” said Cornelius.

  “Did someone set something on fire?” Merritt quirked his brow.

  “Almost, our alchemy class has been cut down to four members.” Cornelius took a bite of his stew. “They failed to meet our professor’s basement level standards.”

  Merritt’s face lit up with glee. “Let me guess you were put in with a bunch of commoner upstarts.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Exactly, but to be fair, a group of upstarts did manage to pass. But…one of them was pulling more of his weight than the other.” Cornelius then turned to Casimir.

  “I’m not one for gossip,” Casimir said coldly.

  “Is it really gossip to tell your friends how our classmate injured his hand, out of safety concerns?” Cornelius adjusted his monocle. “It looked like a freshly bandaged injury.”

  He is perceptive. Casimir sighed. “It was from a miscast from a previous class.”

  Merritt tilted his head to the side. “Oh, so he tried to show off and perform a pattern beyond his level. Tsk, typical.”

  “Yes, Merritt did something like that before,” Fenna chimed in and evoked a look of frustration from him.

  “No need to bring it up,” Merritt crossed his arms. “I’m sure all of us did it at least once.”

  “So, what pattern was it?” Cornelius asked. “Electric?”

  “No, Aether Arrow.”

  The table erupted with Merritt’s and Cornelius’ laughter. Fenna hid her snicker behind her hand after nearly choking on her stew.

  “I think it was nerves,” Casimir glanced around the cafeteria for Bryson or Tristan and was relieved he did not see either.

  “Oh sure, buddy.” Merritt laughed and playfully nudged Casimir before redirecting his attention to Cornelius. “Hey, why does your uncle have to be so cruel by letting that dolt in? You guys can’t be that hard pressed for money.”

  Cornelius lowered his eyes slightly embarrassed. “He is probably here for the experimental Aetherian Device Program that is being sponsored by the Sublime Weavers. You don’t have to be the best Weaver for it, since it favors those with great technical skills and creativity. ”

  “Ah, yes I heard about it,” Casimir said, nodding his head.

  “Anyway,” Cornelius looked ready to change the topic and turned to Casimir. “There is a freshman meet and greet hosted by the school clubs today. Are you coming?”

  “Sure, it could be useful.”

  After they finished eating, they left the cafeteria to the quad behind the main building. Garlands of lights hanging from the bare ornamental trees and vibrant booths added much-needed color to the vast snowy field in the middle of the campus. There was a sizable crowd of freshmen socializing and perusing the displays designed by the upperclassmen.

  Students swayed and danced to an upbeat tune played by members of the music club. However, the biggest draw came from the cooking club, which was handing out hot drinks and treats to anyone who would give them an ear.

  Cornelius pointed at the cooking booth. “Do you want anything?”

  “No, thanks. I don’t care much for sweets.”

  “What is the matter? Are you watching your figure?” Merritt laughed. “Whatever, man, we’ll see you later.”

  The group left Casimir behind for the cooking booth.

  By the looks of that line, this is going to take a while. I might as well check out the other clubs.

  He spotted Magnolia, standing bored out of her mind in front of a table promoting the first aid club. Her table was decorated with a white tablecloth and a poster of a poorly drawn bandaged man.

  Casimir could not help but chuckle. That phoned-in poster of hers is not selling her club well, but her medical skills could be useful.

  He approached her booth. “Hey, how is it going?”

  The Pennyroyal’s expression did not soften when she greeted him, “Band-Aid?”

  “No, thanks. May I ask you a few questions?”

  “That is what I’m here for.” She placed her hands on her hips.

  “If I were to join your club, how would a usual meeting go?”

  “We will share various life-saving techniques and offer our services to students. Heaven knows they need it.”

  “Right, there was that girl who almost burnt her face off during alchemy class.”

  Magnolia shook her head with a mixture of frustration and disgust. “It is just so stupid. Stupid! But careless accidents like that are common among freshmen. Thankfully, most students wise up after their first year. They need to because the penalties of carelessness become more severe in the higher level classes.”

  Casimir frowned. “Yeah, I heard about a careless student accidentally poisoning himself.”

  “Peter Pendergass was his name.”

  Magnolia’s usual standoffish demeanor dropped, and she lowered her head sorrowfully.

  Casimir clenched his jaw. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound insensitive.”

  “Don’t be. He was an idiot for sneaking into the alchemical lab after hours and handling materials while impaired. It is just sad. I took a few classes with him, and I never pictured him as the type to do something so reckless.”

  “What about the professor who supposedly tried to cover it up?”

  Wrinkles formed on Magnolia’s forehead. “He was stupid, too. I apprenticed underneath him. And even though he was a bit odd, I never pictured him doing something like this.” She crossed her arms. “Just thinking about it is putting me in a bad mood.”

  “Do you remember a Quigley Quackenbush? Brown hair? Thin with a bulbous nose? A second year?”

  Magnolia squinted her eyes. “Who?”

  I should probably change the subject. Casimir scratched the back of his neck. “So, when are club meetings?”

  “Saturdays at 10 am in the main building lounge area. After you receive your assignment, we will disperse. Assignments vary based on need, but since you’re a freshman, you will probably end up helping out Nurse Feverfew in the infirmary. ”

  Casimir nodded. “Thank you, I’ll see you there.”

  “Until then, don’t ruin my impression of you by doing something reckless during the herb collection assignment. I don’t need any more stress in my life. ”

  “Don’t worry, I have already memorized the class’ safety procedures by heart.”