"The Mage Staff is the true token of the mage, unbreakable, immutable and proof of your deep understanding and control of your chosen craft. A mage puts part of his soul into creation of his Staff, and it is a bonded part of him from that time on.
"When your Magemaster agrees that your Staff is ready, you will be called upon to take it to the Breaking Stone in the Main Hall and strike it against the stone thrice with all your might. If it remains unbroken, you will be Acclaimed as a full and true Guild Mage. This is a prize beyond compare, although regrettably few persevere until this point. Perseverance is the key. Are there any questions?"
A stout boy near the front of the class stood up. "Lord Mage, I've heard that there are lots of different kinds of wizard-I mean, mage. Can you tell us what they are?"
Crohn nodded in acknowledgement of the question. "Firstly, I will say that there is far more to being a mage than carrying a staff and bearing a ring," he said. "A saying that you will hear many times is that 'power and presence complete the mage'. You will never bear the ring until you are cultured and educated people, in your bearing and in your speech. A true mage bears himself with true gravity, a presence that is beyond the norm. You may think that all Magemasters are pompous windbags-" Crohn paused to let the laughter die away. "-but the formal manner in which you hear me speak-that which we call 'Mage Speech'-is but one of the tokens of a master.
"From this moment, you are not to use street vernacular such as contractions in class. That means that you will say 'it is' instead of 'it's', 'cannot' instead of 'can't' and 'would not' in place of 'wouldn't'.
"I also wish to point out that to ask me a question beginning: 'Can you tell us…?' is asking if I am able to tell you, to which the only reasonable responses would be 'yes' or 'no'. The correct and polite way to commence such a request should be something like: 'Would you please tell us?' With this in mind, please rephrase your question."
From the Student's fine clothes, Grimm guessed that he was well-educated, and that he had only forgotten what he had already been taught.
The boy nodded, cleared his throat and said, "Please, Lord Mage, will you be kind and tell us which types of mage there are in the Guild?"
Crohn suppressed a smile. "Near enough, boy-Shule, is it?"
"Yes, Lord Mage. Angor Shule."
"Well, Shule, there are many different kinds of mage within the Guild. From time to time, new names are thought up by High Lodge for mages who do not fit the standard moulds. I will not tell you details of each kind of mage at this time, for our time is limited, but some of the mage categories of which I am aware are Scholar, Reader, Necromancer, Manipulator, Weatherworker, Illusionist, Shapeshifter, Questor, Healer, Summoner, Dominator… there are several others, but I suspect that this list will suffice for the moment.
"I am a Mage Manipulator, a mage who changes the physical form of objects. Senior Magemaster Urel, who has charge of the Scholasticate of which you are all fortunate to be Students, is an Illusionist, a mage who can place images, glamours and sensory impressions into an impressionable mind.
"The types of mage have an order of precedence, of which you will be taught more in good time. Suffice it to say that Mage Questor, Mage Weatherworker and Mage Shapeshifter are the vocations most highly regarded by High Lodge and by magic-users in general. The reason that they are so highly esteemed is that they are very rare indeed.
"I know that many of you have fathers or relatives who are Guild Mages of one of these rare types. As I have said, you may therefore imagine that this will guarantee you the same talents. I regret to say that, whilst genetic inheritance is a factor in determining whether or not a child has magical power, it does not determine his eventual calling.
"Granted, a powerful mage is likely to have a powerful son. Yet power alone does not make a mage. Dedication, talent and firm, constant self-control are essential factors. Such traits rarely run entirely true in families. My father was a Seventh Rank Weatherworker, as was my grandfather.
"Father brought me up from an early age to use and analyse the Sight, and I was taught how to read runes before I fully learned my native tongue. By the time I reached your age and started out here at the Scholasticate, I had what amounted perhaps to a three-year advantage over most of the other boys. Nobody was more surprised than I was when, as a Neophyte, my Magemaster told me that my vocation was to be as a Manipulator. This is a relatively highly regarded profession, but I had been so sure that I would be a Weatherworker like my father and his father before him."
Crohn seemed to be on a familiar home stretch now, and his oratory picked up in pace and intensity.
"Nevertheless, I swallowed my disappointment and applied myself assiduously to learn the craft of the Manipulator until I was finally Acclaimed. My father was present at my Acclamation, and he was just happy that I had managed to become any sort of mage.
"The talents and abilities of mages of the various different classes will be outlined in greater detail later on in your schooling. However, I would like to say a few words about the undervalued calling of Mage Reader. Although this magical vocation is common and, hence, not held in high regard by ignorant people, there is no shame in this calling. Good Mage Readers are valued and important members of the Guild, but they can be hard to find.
"Very few Students, knowing the lowly status that the discipline entails, choose to further their education here when they are informed as Neophytes that their vocation will be as a Reader. This is a mistake. A good Reader is an essential member of all Great Spells, spells involving large groups of mages. All Readers bear a House Ring identical to the one I have worn for many years now,"-he held up his left hand to display a beautiful blue-and-gold ring, and a few boys, including Grimm, gaped in mute appreciation-"the same ring that you may one day bear, if you are diligent in your studies.
"Every Reader carries a staff scarcely distinguishable from my own, a staff crafted by his own hand, and good Readers are in some demand at High Lodge. A High Lodge Mage Reader is a mage of some distinction."
Crohn gave a stern look. "I trust that none of you will turn his nose up if offered a vocation as Reader," he said, his brows lowered. No dissenting voice came.
"As well as a hierarchy of vocations," he continued, "all the classes of magery have a number of grades within them, the highest being the Seventh Rank. As you can tell from the gold rings on my staff, I am a Mage Manipulator of the Seventh Rank. Our respected Prelate, Lord Thorn, is a Mage Questor of the Seventh Rank. Any mage of the Fifth Rank or above may teach in the Scholasticate, and any mage of the Seventh Rank may be declared a Magemaster, one who teaches and also acts as, I trust, a spiritual guide. At this stage in your education, this is all that you need to know. As Students, all that you really need to know is how to study, how to appreciate the value of your learning, and how to apply yourselves to the importance of the craft to which you have been submitted."
The distant, strident bell of the Refectory sounded, indicating the mid-day meal break, and Crohn motioned the new Students to leave the classroom. They filed out in seeming stupor, and the Magemaster maintained his stiff, formal pose. When they had left, he allowed a broad smile to suffuse his face: the morning had gone well.
Chapter 12: Kargan
The new Students were dismissed to the Refectory for the mid-day meal, and some of the other boys sat with Grimm to ask him more about these mysterious colours and what they meant. He was more than happy to tell them what he know about the skill, but the boys drifted away after he had told them what they wanted to know. He looked about for Madar, the friendly boy he had met in the hall, but Madar was earnestly, confidently holding court at the far end of the Refectory. A large group of other young Students seemed quite engrossed in whatever it was that Madar was saying.