The Novice Read Online Free PDF

expression. As she bowed, he looked up, his eyes fixing on her face, travelling to her new boots, then rising back up to her face again. Satisfied, he looked down at a sheet of paper and made a small tick against the list written there.
    “Choose a seat, Sonea,” he said dismissively.
    The room contained twelve perfectly aligned tables and chairs. Six novices, all perched on the edge of their seats, watched her consider the arrangement.
    Don’t sit too far from the other novices,
she told herself.
You don’t want them thinking you’re unfriendly—or scared of them.
A few empty seats remained in the center of the room, but she didn’t like the idea of sitting in the middle, either. A chair against the far wall was vacant, flanked by three novices in the next row. That would do.
    She was conscious of eyes following her as she moved to the chair. As she sat down she forced herself to look up at them.
    At once the novices found something else to interest them. Sonea sighed with relief. She had been expecting more sneers. Perhaps only the boy she had encountered yesterday—Regin—was going to be openly unfriendly.
    One by one the rest of the novices arrived at the door of the classroom, bowed to the teacher and took a seat. The shy Kyralian girl hastily took the first chair she came to. Another almost forgot to bow to the magician, then stumbled over to the seat in front of Sonea. He didn’t see her until he had reached the chair, and he stared at her in dismay before reluctantly sitting down.
    The last novice to arrive was the unfriendly boy, Regin. He scanned the room with narrowed eyes before deliberately placing himself in the center of the group.
    A distant gong sounded, and the magician rose from his chair. Several novices, including herself, jumped visibly at the movement. Before their teacher could speak, however, a familiar face appeared in the doorway.
    “Are they all here, Lord Elben?”
    “Yes, Director Jerrik,” the teacher replied.
    The University Director hooked his thumbs in the brown sash about his waist and regarded the class.
    “Welcome,” he said, his voice more stern than welcoming, “and congratulations. I offer this congratulation not because each of you has had the good fortune of being born with the rare and much envied ability to use magic. I offer it because each of you has been accepted into the university of the Magicians’ Guild. Some of you have come from countries far from here, and will not return to your homes for many years. Some of you may decide to stay here for most of your life. You are all, however, stuck here for the next five years.
    “Why? To become a magician. What is a magician, then?” He smiled grimly. “There are many attributes that make up a magician. Some you already have, some you will develop, some you will learn. Some are more important than others.”
    He stopped and swept his eyes over the class.
    “What is the most important attribute of a magician?”
    In the corner of her eye Sonea saw several of the novices straighten in their seats. Jerrik moved around the desk and strolled to her side of the room. He stared down at the boy in front of her.
    “Vallon?”
    Sonea saw the boy’s back hunch as if he wanted to slide under his table.
    “H-how well he does something, my lord.” The boy’s weak voice was only just audible. “How much he has practiced.”
    “No.” Jerrik turned on his heel and stalked to the other side of the class. He fixed one of the eager boys with his cold stare.
    “Gennyl?”
    “Strength, my lord,” the boy answered.
    “Definitely not!” the University Director barked. He stepped forward, down between the rows of novices, and stopped by the timid Kyralian girl.
    “Bina?”
    The girl blinked prettily, then raised her head to gaze at the magician. His eyes bore into hers and she dropped her head quickly.
    “Uh…” She paused, then brightened suddenly. “Goodness, my lord. How he or she uses magic.”
    “No.” His tone