“These seats taken?”
Kai’s question had Clover casually sliding the journal away from view, but not before Baz saw the pages once more go blank. Some kind of Wardcrafter magic against prying eyes, maybe?
Clover smiled up at them, motioning for them to sit. “Please.”
Baz took the spot next to Clover. “What are you writing?” He forced himself to sound casual and not like the absolute gushing fanatic he felt like.
“A bit of this, a bit of that,” Clover answered vaguely. “I like to dabble in different things. There is nothing more alluring than a good story. It’s why I enjoy this class so much.”
As if on cue, a professor turned to them from where she’d writtenTHEOLOGYon the blackboard. “For those of you joining us from other colleges, welcome to our advanced theological studies. I’m Professor Aurora Hoyaken. Let’s discuss the Tides and the Shadow, shall we?”
A current of excitement ran through Baz as he recognized theprofessor’s name. She was one of the authors of the book he’d gotten out of the Vault for Professor Selandyn at the beginning of the school year,The Tides of Fate and the Shadow of Ruin: A Theological Study into the History of Lunar Magics.
Professor Hoyaken started her class off by disclosing that theology was not science, and as such no single belief should be regarded as incontestable fact. This had a familiar face sneering. Wulfrid launched into a self-righteous monologue about why the Tidelore faith was the only one that made any sense in explaining the origin of their magic.
“That guy’s really starting to piss me off,” Kai muttered darkly.
“See, this is why I reject the small-minded views of our modern Tidelore faith,” Clover intervened, drawing the class’s attention and Wulfrid’s irritation. “It seeks to erase so much rich mythological history. To truly understand the relation between lunar and ecliptic magics—both the dichotomy that exists and the unity thatshould—one can only benefit from looking at every facet of the mythology that surrounds the origins of such magics. What common thread can be found in these stories? Who was doing the telling, and how did their portrayal benefit them?”
“And what have you found?” Professor Hoyaken asked with keen interest, while Wulfrid rolled his eyes, sulking in his seat.
Clover leaned back in his chair. “What I find particularly intriguing is how every myth paints the Tides and the Shadow as beingproductsof gods, of entities much bigger than them. The predominant myth here in Elegy supposes the Tides were given their power by a benevolent moon divinity. The Constellation Isles also believe the Tides were blessed by a moon goddess, and that the Shadow was cursed by a sun god. Magicless folk in the northern Outerlands tell tales of the Tides and the Shadow being sent here by a vengeful death god to tempt humans with sinful magic and lead them astray from the rightful path of life. On and on it goes,all these myths that color our history sharing this one commonality of powerful gods and higher powers. And yet, none of us has ever worshipped such gods. Only the Tides and the Shadow.”
“What does that make them, then, if not deities?” Professor Hoyaken asked.
“Oh, I believe they were divine in their own right,” Clover said, face alight with the same sort of passion that Baz was used to seeing in Professor Selandyn and Jae Ahn. “Not gods in the way most people seem to paint them, but perhapsmessengersto such gods. Intermediaries between us mere humans and the higher powers we owe our creation to.”
“That’s blasphemy,” Wulfrid spat, earning a few nods of agreement.
“It’s academic speculation,” Professor Hoyaken corrected, “and it’s precisely the point of this class. Do go on, Mr. Clover.”
Clover leaned forward excitedly. “Well, the question then becomes: If the Tides and the Shadow are gone from our shores, if we are to believe our magic became limited and splintered between lunar houses and tidal alignments after their disappearance, could these mightier gods be the reason why? Did they call back their messengers to wherever they came from? Could they have not liked how involved the Tides and the Shadow were in our human lives, granting magic to everyone and anyone who asked, and so they decided to limit our magic by depriving us of our would-be deities?”
“All intriguing questions indeed,” Professor Hoyaken said. “Thank you for your insight, Mr. Clover.”
Clover gave Baz and Kai a bashful smile as the professor moved on with her lesson. “Apologies,” he whispered. “I tend to get carried away with these sorts of theories.”
Baz waved him off. “I know some people who share your fascination.” Selandyn and Jae would have loved debating theories with him.
Kai remained quiet, eyeing Clover with something cold and skeptical that Baz didn’t understand.
When class ended, Clover asked them about the other classes they would take, looking pleased that their schedules aligned. He spoke of the next Eclipse salon he would be holding and the party that would take place after the first leg of the games, and the normalcy of the conversation had Baz forgetting everything except a single thought: that he was classmates with his literary idol. That he was walking in the hallowed halls of Aldryn with a legend, and somehow, they wereequals. Peers.
“Why did you call on Baz to be your partner?”
Kai’s blunt question brought Baz back to reality. There was that guarded look in his eyes again, like he didn’t trust Clover. He’d blocked their path as they made their way to their next class, the cold air blowing through the frigid cloisters nowhere near as cold as the tone of his voice.
“Ah, I wondered when I was going to be reprimanded for that,” Clover said with a penitent wince. “In all honesty, I heard Baz solving the first challenge’s riddle.” His eyes met Baz’s. “You’re clever. I like clever. And your magic… I’d heard of Timespinners before, but they’re so rare. A gift like that will likely prove useful in this game of ours.”
“This isn’t a game for us,” Kai snapped before Baz could get a word in edgewise. “You might have nothing to lose, but you dragged Baz into this, and he’s Eclipse-born. It’s different.”
Clover sobered at that, his brow creasing. “I would never do anything to put a fellow student in harm’s way.Especiallyan Eclipse-born.”
“But you did. The moment you said Baz’s name, you put a target on his back.”
Baz shifted uncomfortably. “Kai…”
“Is this about the nightmare of mine that you stepped into lastnight?” Clover didn’t sound reproachful; he sounded ashamed.
