Interesting News

Few days later, my ability to draw the Formation improved substantially. With most of the links and layers there, I decided to show my progress to grandpa. "I'm not saying it will work, but this is my progress so far. Who knows, maybe you can give me some pointers, hehe". Grandpa took me to one of the private rooms, where no one would disturb us.

He gave me space and all the time necessary. Some peace and quiet was welcomed, since correct placement required my full focus. One Rune after the other, the few lesser Formations slowly formed the Raising Storm Formation. Every layer and link had to be placed precisely, and with great attention to size as well as strokes. Though my ability to use and form Advanced Runes was great, an advanced Formations was still difficult in such a short period of time.

Nonetheless, I ploughed on, until my mind had nothing else to offer. The Formation was incomplete. My experience alone could point out the lack of links, and some layers didn't look perfect. There was space for improvement of course, and the library's rule didn't help much in the process.

"I'm not going to activate it, since it's incomplete. I'm getting closer with the links and layers, but… I'll need a few more days. This would be much easier, if I could simply copy that Formation. I have to memorize it bit by bit, then draw that outside of the library. Kind of a stupid rule. You should let students do some practice in the library, then destroy their notes if you have to", I complained.

"... It's not up to me. Rules are rules, they were set by our ancestors. Anyway, you've managed to memorize a lot. I'd say this is about seventy percent completed. I'm amazed you know? This took you a bit over a week. Your memory is really good, and your skills are nothing to scoff at. I could even provide you with a teacher's feather, and no one could blame me", grandpa praised instead.

We talked a bit more about the Raising Storm Formation, but grandpa wasn't an expert of wind based Formations. He specialised in water and auxiliary based Formations. He also daybed into the fire based ones, but rated it as intermediate only. "You're doing great, keep it up and you'll be able to draw this properly. It's a good exercise for you. Hehe, maybe I should move to the North after all. Perhaps they'd finally let me see those famous Formations you guys keep hidden", he said.

"Hehe, I'm looking forward to that. Yea, I'll spend a few more days there, make sure all links and layers are properly placed. I can show you the result if you want, but, you already saw my skills", "You can still show me, hehe. My daughter was always so reluctant to learn Formations, but my granddaughter fills that gap more than enough. I'm sure you'll be a great master in the future, grandpa's proud of you", he replied while hugging me.

'I'll have to make arrangements with Peet soon. I wonder what else he managed to find out', with that thought in mind, I headed straight to the library once more. The proper assembly took me another three days of memorization and failed attempts. Once the Formation activated and raised a literal storm inside the room, I knew my job was done.

Notifying Peet wasn't an issue either, since me and Henry's group would meet at least once a day. Without Peet's information, we'd still suspect something of them. They simply made it too obvious, but who could blame them? None of them were some skilled warriors, or excelled in stealth. With the note in Peet's pocket, I hope the evening meeting would be promising.

Peet was a bit late, but showed up at some point. "You're a bit late", "I couldn't come any sooner, they held me up quite a bit. Anyway, since you wanted to meet, I gather you have the Formation", he replied.

"Yes, here, you can have it. Now, I hope you have something useful for me for all the trouble", "Of course… This is great, and your drawings are much better than I'm used to", he replied after checking the paper over. "I'm not sure why the interest in Imperials and Academy's affair, but they are planning something big. Before you ask for details, I don't know them", he shared with me.

"Okay, they plan something big, but you don't know anything?... That's not much, Peet", I replied, unimpressed. "Not anything, the details. I know they plan to do something with the North and Elysians. Maybe war, maybe something else. I'm not allowed to know this, that's why there are no details. I've learned about this by accident, you might say", he explained.

"Henry spoke privately with someone inside his room. I managed to eavesdrop on the conversation, only because I was sent to notify him about our teacher's summon. They spoke about the meeting of specific teachers. Teachers who are blatantly involved with Imperials. That's when I heard about the North, Elysians and the bigger plan", he added.

"When was that?", "About two months ago? Something like that. There's another thing, your grandpa, the headmaster wasn't mentioned. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know about those meetings to this day. I tried to find out more, but they had loads of protective Formations everywhere. They made sure no one could attend without their knowledge… This is also one of the reasons to leave the Academy", he replied.

"Then, what about us? Why are they keeping an eye on me and my friends?", "That's where the things start to get weird. Apparently, there's no reason. You guys came here to visit your grandpa and cousin, nothing wrong with that. Many people visit their relatives at the Academy. That is on the surface though. Their motives are your Formations, or skills. They must be aware you follow the old ways, and hence might have access to better Formations. They are trying to find out more. After all, your Runes alone suggest much better skills", he explained.

"Though I believe there's a deeper reason behind it all. I'm not sure what that is, but look out. Don't reveal anything to them, they aren't worth such knowledge", he added. I agreed with that fully. They had no right to that knowledge, and their constant nagging for duels made sense.

"There's one more thing. I've noticed that you only have a few Formations at the top floor. This can't be all you guys are able to come up with, right? These are advanced Formations, but nothing that special", I asked. "I'm not aware how many Formations are available there, but there was an incident in the past. One of the books described how someone tried to burn the Academy down. That was a few hundred years ago, but supposedly, loads of Formations were lost. I'd say the top floor has only a few Formations thanks to that reason", he explained, but then seemed to recall something.

"There are Imperial Formation masters too… They don't sit here at the Academy, but rather in the Imperial City. I'm not sure how great their skills are, but they are the ones who control Falcons. We, as the Academy, aren't allowed to view some of the Formations on board", he added.

"If their knowledge isn't solely from the Academy, does that mean they follow the old ways as well?", "I'm not sure. That certainly is a possibility, but in my opinion, they have access to other Formations. The incident from a few hundred years ago brought a lot of dismay to the Academy. Imperials could easily 'borrow' a few books that didn't burn. These few books could be really powerful Formations. That's just my theory though. It could be something else entirely", he replied.

"What about those Falcons? Have you seen any Formations on board?", "No, only top students worked aboard. There's one thing I know, there are powerful wind type Formations on board. Could be the Raising Storm Formation, or modified in certain ways. Since Falcons don't produce storms really", he replied.

"Besides the wind type Formations, there are also defensive and offensive Formations. No one from the Academy is allowed to view them. That's what people told me. I don't know why we don't have more of them either. Yea, it's difficult to build. But since four exist already, we could easily copy the Formations and build a fifth or sixth one", he added.

That was true, and John's explanation was weak to say the least. They could copy the Formations on board, then produce more of them. Yet they didn't. They simply stopped at four, or rather five but the fifth got destroyed. "You have the access to the top floor of the library, right? With your feather, you'll be able to access some Formations on board the Falcon. It's worth a try, though you'd probably need to lie your way around that", Peet said.

That idea wasn't stupid, since my plan was to go and check the Flacon out properly. He told me about a certain family, which I could use as my cover. He also assured me that people working on board the Falcon had no way of checking my claims. They probably wouldn't either, since who'd be bothered. So long the information was correct, why would anyone suspect me?

"Right, you answered most of my questions, but I promised to help you out. Do you have a horse or a mount, a piece or set of armour? You know stuff like that?", "I do have a few armours, so that's not a problem. I'll need to acquire a horse, but money isn't an issue. I can buy anything and leave whenever, but they'll figure out very quickly, and probably catch me. I need something more than just an armour", he replied.

"Me or my grandpa should be able to do something about that. I'll let you know once it's done. I'd sent my friends to escort you a little, but that'd be a bit too suspicious probably", "Yea, I'll leave alone. With a map, and pocket full of defensive Formations and supplies, I should be able to get there. I'm a bit worried about wild animals, but that's an experience in itself, right?", he replied.

Just to make sure, I shared a few tips with him on threading and living inside a forest. Peet appreciated the details, and thanked me sincerely for the help. He wasn't aware how much he helped us instead. I wasn't aware either, but we'd soon find out. "I'll see you soon, Peet. Once everything's ready, I'll contact you the same way. See you around", I bid him farewell, before returning to the tower.