Lord Tharn Zon

Chapter 4 – Facing a Teacher

Tharn Zon got up and followed Istar with his tray to an empty table near the cafeteria lady. They put the trays there and left the room with the woman looking at them, still puzzled.

In the main corridor, Istar whispered the purpose of that School, and what type of classes she had.

According to her, a Familiar was supposed to follow his Master, and not only fight but do little chores depending on the amount of the Familiar’s intelligence.

Some familiars from high-level Mages were known for working alongside their Masters, doing housework or cooking for them. The amount of work a Familiar could do depended not only on his intelligence but also on the specific work of his Master. Some Mages that worked in Guilds often joined Parties to do specific Quests for clients, like hunting or gathering rare herbs or minerals. Some Mages worked for Kings, Merchants, or Nobles, taking care of their security, and the Familiar also helped with that.

Tharn frowned when Istar said that most Familiars were Elementals, beings made of pure Magic, and others looked more like animals, and that had to do with the level of the Mage, and the amount of Magic he spent on the summoning.

She said she was surprised by seeing him appear inside her Magical Circle, because even if she used all her Magic and worked all night on the drawings on the floor of the Magical Circle and the Rune, she was only counting on a small animal, and with some luck, maybe a Fire Elemental, because those were considered the strongest Familiars.

He concealed a slight smile. She had no idea how weak a Fire Elemental really was, compared to other types. Then, a door opened in the middle of the corridor where they were walking, and the group of girls that had come to them before breakfast were next to a grown-up who had a long, dark hooded cloak but was looking straight at Tharn. He looked like someone with authority, perhaps a Teacher.

His suspicions were proven to be right when the man asked, “Istar, why is that young man with you? He is not a student at this School, and these girls told me he attacked them.”

Tharn glanced at Istar, who was trembling all over. Pretending to be her faithful Familiar that sensed danger, he stood in front of her, with the sword in his hands, in a defensive stance, waiting for the Teacher to make his next move.

That sudden change from the looks of a harmless young man to a fearful fighter ready to battle made the Teacher curious, and he asked, “Istar, explain this to me! Why is he here?”

“He… he is my Familiar… I… I summoned him this morning… He… didn’t attack them on purpose… He thought they were going to hurt me…”

“And why does he have that sword, and he is looking at me as if he wants to slice my neck?”

Istar gulped and explained, “Maybe… he thinks you are an enemy… because… you are shouting… and… and… I am afraid…”

“Your Familiar? Really? How the heck did you manage that? Did you mess up your Spell? Why, instead of an Elemental, did you Summon a Humanish?”

“I… did everything you taught us… in class… I drew the Rune and the Circle like it is in the textbook… and… and… I used the right Spell… and he appeared…”

The Teacher approached and stopped at one meter from the tip of Tharn’s sword and asked, with a puzzled look, “Does he understand us? Can you at least tell him to put this sword away?”

Istar tapped Tharn’s right shoulder and said, “Everything is alright, Tharn. He is my Teacher.”

He put the sword back in the sheath on his back, and the Cathra girl shouted from behind him, “Oh, come on, Teacher! Are you going to believe her? He is probably someone to whom she owes money, and he came to collect! No way Istar could summon such Familiar!”

The Teacher approached Tharn and stared at him. He then touched his clothes, which, instead of being made of the smooth fabric that the students had in their uniforms, were made of thin leather. Dark leather trousers, a dark green leather shirt, and a leather vest with many pockets. He tried to peek inside one pocket, only to get a slap on his hand.

He stared at Tharn again and made a slight smile. “Interesting Familiar you have here… He looks like a Humanish, but he is not quite like one… He has a sword, but does he know how to fight? Istar, did you already see him using his sword? Because you have a practical test today, and you will need all the help you can get.”

“I… only saw him taking his sword… or should I say… I didn’t see anything because he was so fast... When I blinked, he had the sword in his hand…”

The Teacher curled his upper lip a bit and said, while still staring at that strange Familiar, “You better go change into your uniform, Istar. I understand you wanted to be dressed as a Mage for the Summoning of your first Familiar, but the School uniform is part of the regulations.”

Istar said, sounding nervous, “For the practical test… I am supposed to be comfortable… The School uniform hinders my movements…”

While the Teacher was nodding, the angry Cathra girl shouted, “As if that would do any good! You could be dressed in the finest clothes, and still be the same useless Mage!”

Before the Teacher could tell her to shut up, Tharn moved. He went around the Teacher and grabbed the Cathra girl by her neck and slammed her against the wall, and he then took a hidden dagger from his belt and placed it against her throat.

The Teacher raised his hand to shoot a Spell to stop him, and Istar stood in front of the Teacher with her arms widely spread, and shouted, “Wait, Teacher! He just reacted! He doesn’t like it when someone shouts at me! It’s not his fault! I am still teaching him!”

Before the Teacher could disperse his Magic, Tharn was already in front of Istar, with his sword pointed at the Teacher.

He pointed at the serious young man and asked, “And now what? I wasn’t shouting! He is dangerous, Istar! You have to get rid of him if you can’t control him!”

The nervous girl froze in fear. Seeing her without any kind of reaction, and the Teacher gathering Magic in his hand again, made Tharn warn him, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you... I will slice you in half before you have time to cast that Spell. I am not a scared student that freezes in fear every time you shout. Stand down, or the next thing you will see is my sword stuck in your chest.”

They all stared at the strange, speaking Familiar. The Teacher gulped and dispersed his Magic, while slowly raising his hands and saying, “Okay, no more Magic, see? I will not attack you. You can put your sword away.”

“No, I won’t put my sword away. I don’t trust you. Master, it is better if we retreat to a safer location. I can’t protect you in this corridor with a man in front of me and those girls behind you. Unless you take care of them while I dispose of him. Say the word, Master, and he dies.”

Istar spoke, with so much fear in her voice, that she sounded like a different person, “No, Tharn Zon. He is my Teacher. He is not a threat. Let’s go to that Training Room where I summoned you. The practical test will be there. It is a safe place as well.”

“With those columns that work as a conduit for Magic? What is your idea? Sending me away? You know, that won’t work. If I am near those columns, I will easily access their Magic and become stronger. I suppose it was what you did to summon me. You used their Magic to increase yours, probably by accident, judging by what that Cathra girl called you.”

Her silence showed that he was right. She wanted to get rid of him because she was afraid of him.

The Teacher jolted and asked, “Istar, you did that? You got your Spell wrong? You were supposed to use your Magic for the Summoning Spell! No wonder he is so intelligent and powerful!”

“I… I don’t know… I saved my Magic… I did the Spell correctly…”

“By accident or by purpose, he is now your Familiar, and you forgot one very important thing. A Summoning Spell is also a contract. He is supposed to protect you, but you are also responsible for making him behave and taking care of him. He seems to obey you, so now it is up to you to make sure he doesn’t attack everyone that shouts or gets near you. A shout is not a threat.”

Tharn answered, while still pointing his sword at the Teacher, “Says you. A shout always means danger. A dying man always tries to shout in pain. No one ever told you that words have power? A low-Rank Mage shouts his Spells to help his visualisation, while a high-Rank Mage doesn’t even whisper, because he is more experienced.”

“You seem to be very knowledgeable... Istar, he is for sure the strangest Familiar I ever heard about, and you would be a fool if you didn’t keep him!”

She slowly nodded, while crying in silence. Tharn spoke, without averting his gaze from the surprised Teacher, “Let’s go to that practical test of yours, Master. This man is a deceiver. He pretends to be calm, but he is looking for an opportunity to attack. He doesn’t seem to believe that I am perfectly capable of defeating him. Maybe he is too used to students that have poor knowledge of Magic, and he got an inflated ego, and now by seeing me here and defying him, it is messing with his nerves.”

Istar grabbed Tharn’s arm and gently pulled him to the door from where the Teacher and the girls came, saying, “In this room is the training area. The test will be here and that Teacher will summon the Elemental for us to fight.”

Tharn grinned at the serious Teacher and said while entering the room with his sword still in his hand, and pointing at him, “Really? You better summon the strongest Elemental you can manage, or this fight will be short!”

In that room, there were other students gathered near the farthest wall, and Istar went to them, followed by Tharn.

Outside, the group of girls was thinking if they should also enter the room or wait for the Teacher, while he mumbled in a low voice, “I will get you... You just wait… Threatening me like that… A mere Familiar…”

Istar leaned against the wall, and Tharn noticed no one approached her. Instead, there were a few whispers among the students while they glanced at him.

Those girls had probably told them previously what he did early in the morning, and that was why they were so apprehensive.

Tharn whispered in the ear of the scared girl, “This will be the last time that I help you. You tried to betray me. I can’t trust someone that tries to get rid of me as if I am a sick animal. You could learn a lot from me, but if you prefer to be known as Istar the Useless, it’s up to you. You don’t need to do a thing. I can deal with an Elemental. You will just give the last blow to kill him, and you will get all the Magic and a huge boost in your Level.”

Istar didn’t even answer. She was feeling ashamed of what she tried to do, and the way he so easily saw her plan destroyed the little confidence she had in herself.

The Teacher entered, followed by the other girls. He went straight to the middle of the room, pointed at Tharn and the nervous girl next to him and said, “Istar, you will be the first. Bring your Familiar to the centre and get ready.”