Comes Knocking
Fate was a firm believer in "an arm for an eye." Or in other words, deal twice what you take.
He stole something that didn't belong to him and received a criminal brand in return. One of the teens in Brergan knocks food out of his hands, he knocks one of their teeth out. Some snobby noble sends her big brother to beat him to a pulp, he embarrasses their entire family by uploading the footage contained in the crystal he currently held to the Magiweb.
It was something he picked up early on in his life, the only effective way to stop being pushed around by his peers at Brergan.
The Magiweb was a magical matrix fueled by Mana that held a vast store of information. It was only accessible through crystals like the one Fate borrowed, and was capable of everything from sending and storing text and videos to even linking two or more crystals together to share location and allow the users to see the faces of the others.
The Royal Mage Academy had every book in its library recorded in the Magiweb, accessible for a fee, and many professors used it to record their lectures for sick or absent students. It was a pretty cool concept that Fate had heard about many times from Old Man Travis, but he personally had never had a chance to use it, for two reasons.
One, crystal balls were expensive. A single crystal ball cost two gold coins, which was two whole months of Fate's pay. Two, one needed access to Mana to even dream of using them. Fate fulfilled the second requirement, and he now had a temporary reprieve from the first.
He sauntered out of the Academy hospital with a smile on his face and a pep in his step. He wandered down the halls using his school-provided map to stop in front of Alessandra's office. Sure enough, the plaque on the door spelled out her role in the Academy as principal. Before he went inside, he leaned against the wall and stared at the crystal ball in his hand.
'How do I use this? I've heard it's thought-activated… Show videos.' When nothing happened, he slapped himself on the forehead. 'Duh, it needs Mana.' After using his Mage Grasp to funnel some Mana in, he once more attempted to bring up the gallery.
'Show videos!'
The fog within the orb shifted, forming a gallery of dozens of files with different thumbnails. Many were just recordings of frogs, dogs, or other animals, but after sifting through them with his thoughts, he found the one he wanted. He played it to make sure it captured every part of the altercation perfectly, then said in his mind 'upload!'
The fog swirled, forming the words "upload to where?" followed by a few options. Fate, unable to read, shrugged and picked all of them.
One of them had to be what he wanted, right? The light within the sphere flickered before the word "done" appeared. He smirked, moving to put it in his pocket before he had an idea. Bringing it up to eye level, he pumped some more Mana into it and thought 'return to owner!' The orb winked out of existence, leaving his hand empty.
'… I hope that worked.' He didn't want to have to pay for a replacement.
Almost a mile away, through several hallways and turns, the girl he borrowed the orb from was walking to her next class. Out of nowhere, she heard a strange suction sound and exclaimed when something fell on her head.
She winced and rubbed the spot, feeling a bump already forming, as she looked up angrily. She blinked once, surprised to see her orb floating in front of her face. Casting around for the man who borrowed it but not finding him, she grabbed the orb out of the air and stored it in her ring.
'I'm sure it's fine,' Fate mused, knocking on the door to Alessandra's office. He heard a voice say "come in," so entered, closing the door behind him.
Alessandra's office was somehow dark and well-lit at the same, something Fate attributed to the dark wood that made every piece of furniture within and the darker ceiling above their heads. To either side was a long bookshelf that reached the ceiling and was filled to the brim with leather-bound books.
At the back of the room was Alessandra, seated behind a dark oak desk with a stapler and a stack of paper on Fate's left and a crystal ball resting on a metal stand to his right.
Alessandra currently had her pointy hat off, allowing her long hair to spill down her shoulders. She looked exhausted, and yet she still greeted him with a smile as he entered, her hands clasped together on the desk.
"Ah, Fate. What can I do for you?"
"I'm here to talk to you about your offer to teach me how to read," he replied. "There's quite a lot I want to study on my own in the library, but I'm unable to. It's quite frustrating."
"Yes, I remember that. But first, we need to talk about the trouble you've caused."
"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. I've been quite careful not to start any trouble."
"But you make sure to finish them. I've seen what you did to Garn Hredaple. His parents are asking me to expel you for what you've done."
"That was only twenty-something minutes ago. How'd they even learn about it that fast?"
"Fate, over fifty students recorded your fight and immediately uploaded it to the Magiweb. You even did so yourself using a borrowed crystal while you were outside my door."
"All right. I've done nothing wrong, though. I was only defending myself."
"That's debatable, but it is clear that Garn threw the first punch, not you. So, I'm suspending Garn and his sister until further notice, but you must be punished for goading Garn on with words. Anyone with eyes can tell he has a temper problem, and that you deliberately exploited it to get him to attack you."
Fate sighed. "All right. What do I have to do?"
"An apology would be nice."
"I'd rather cut off my own arm," Fate replied instantly.
"Then your only other option is to take two days of detention, starting today. I'm sorry, but fights are not tolerated on school grounds outside of sanctioned duels."