“Yes, Professor,” she said again, and hurried to her next class, which was a joint advanced training course for both wizards and familiars.
Whether or not Iliana enjoyed the class depended entirely on who she was partnered with. If she was lucky, she was partnered with Alise Elal, who’d manifested as a wizard about the same time as Iliana was certified as a familiar. Their formerly close friendship had eroded some since then—wizards and familiars ran in different social circles, and not only because they were housed and schooled in separate wings of the academy—but Alise hadn’t dropped Iliana entirely. When given the option, they worked together in the practicum and even had fun on occasion.
Iliana slipped into the class only slightly late, but enough to be a nuisance. The professor, Wizard Angela, paused in her lecture mid-sentence to slice Iliana with a disapproving glare, then marking a note in her attendance book. Likely a demerit. This was turning out to be a banner day. Worse, when Iliana looked for her assigned seat, she saw her nameplate next to Sabrina Hanneil. The cool blonde wizard shook her head so her sharp bob swung around her jawline, smirked at Iliana, patting the stool beside her.Oh joy.
Wizard Angela cleared her throat, pointedly waiting for Iliana to sit. Iliana had to make her way through the maze of work tables and gauntlet of gazes that ranged from sympathetic—Alise sent her a regretful smile—to gleefully malicious to outright malevolent. Sabrina fell in the last category and Iliana sat as far away from her as the short workbench allowed, which wasn’t much.
After waiting another beat to make Iliana’s disruption brutally clear, Wizard Angela continued her lecture. “As I wassaying, in today’s practicum, we’ll concentrate on the familiars learning to release resistance to yielding their magic. All of you familiars need extensive practice in this critical skill. Now, it’s human nature to be selfish and attempt to keep what’s in us to ourselves, but a familiar, once certified as such by the oracles, becomes a new being. A fully magical one. And the familiar nature finds its greatest satisfaction in giving fully to their wizard. Iliana, please remind the class what we say about waste?”
Sabrina poked Iliana painfully in the ribs. “Answer,” she hissed, even though Iliana had already opened her mouth to do so.
Ignoring Sabrina to the best of her ability, Iliana quoted, “A familiar’s magic is useless until given to a wizard; it otherwise goes to waste, which is a crime against the Convocation’s sacred laws.”
Wizard Angela, somewhat mollified by the correct answer, paused significantly, looking around the room with a somber mien, as if already mourning all that wasted magic. “Magic is the most valuable commodity in the Convocation. Does anyone want to see itwasted?”
A murmured chorus that no, no one would want that.
Satisfied, the professor continued her lecture. “Naturally a familiar finds their greatest fulfillment in sharing their magic when fully bonded to their eventual wizard master. In the advanced courses for familiars, you all will have been learning about the bonding experience, how it will feel, and how you can best participate in that wholly unique relationship.”
Because Wizard Angela looked expectantly at the familiars in the room, Iliana nodded obediently along with the rest of them.
“Care and Feeding of Wizards, Advanced Study,” a familiar whispered from across the aisle with an irreverent grin, subsiding with a guilty wriggle when Wizard Angela fixed them with a stern glare.
“Bonding, however, as you all should understand at this point in your schooling, is unnecessary for tapping a familiar’s magic. Which is a good thing, or we’d be neck deep in crazy familiars!” Wizard Angela grinned, inviting them to share in the joke. The wizard students laughed and some familiars did, too, though weakly.
“Maybethat’syour problem,” Sabrina hissed in her ear under cover of the laughter. “You’re certainly crazy if you think Han will have anything to do with you once he manifests.”
“The point,” Wizard Angela said over the noise, invoking their quiet attention again, “is that, while the wizards must refine their skills at extracting magic from a familiar—and don’t mistake me: every wizard in this room needs considerable practice—that familiars would be making a grievous mistake if they believe they can take the lazy route and simply not fight that extraction. This is not passive on the familiar’s part, no matter how accustomed you familiars may have become to thinking of yourselves as unable to affect magic.”
Another familiar put up his hand. “Respectfully, Wizard Angela, we familiarscan’twield magic. Isn’t that what makes us familiars, not wizards?”
The professor nodded approvingly. “That is absolutely true. You are vessels in which magic collects and resides. But itiswithin your power—and is your sacred onus—to support and serve your wizard or wizards. Think of yourself as a bottle.” She tapped the wallboard, causing one of the diagrams she’d stored there to emerge. “The neck of the bottle can be narrow, as you see here. Or…” She tapped the board again, showing a wide-necked jar instead. “You can open yourselves fully to release all you have to give.”
“Beeee the wide-necked jar,” Sabrina intoned, snickering.
“So,” Wizard Angela said briskly, vanishing the images and dusting her hands together, “this is your exercise for the day. Wizards, you concentrate on your control. Start with small sips and gradually increase. Familiars, I challenge you to open yourselves fully. You may have noticed that I’ve made an effort to pair you with wizards that I’ve noted you don’t already harmonize with, perhaps even actively dislike.”
“Gee, I’m wounded, Iliana,” Sabrina cooed.
“These pairings present you with an opportunity,” Wizard Angela continued over quietly discontented groans, “a challenge to overcome to improve your skills and banish reticence that will only make you a difficult familiar to work with. Remember, while some wizard–familiar bondings may involve marriage, children, and possibly deep emotions, some of you familiars may end up bonded to a wizard you don’t like. Or you may end up in a work-for-hire position where you serve a variety of wizards on call. You must be ready to yield all your magic upon request, willingly and with perfect surrender.”
“Wizard Angela?” Another familiar put up her hand. “What about Fascination?”
Everyone stilled, attention caught. Fascination was a topic much speculated upon by students, but rarely discussed by the faculty. Wizard Angela hesitated, pressing her lips together. “Fascination is neither here nor there.”
Iliana’s classmate persisted. “But wouldn’t Fascination remove all resistance and enable us to give utterly to our wizard masters?”
“If Fascination exists,” Wizard Angela replied sharply, “and there is no scientific evidence that it does, then perhaps that could be the case. However, no student of mine will graduate relying on a fairytale to help them do their job. The technique I’m teaching you is real and you will all master it. Wizards, for today only, there are no restrictions on how much magic you pull from your familiar. We are working explicitly on draining them as much as possible, so there will be no demerits for excessive tapping.”
The wizards clapped and exclaimed in delight while the familiars groaned in dismay. Iliana was circumspect enough to keep her unhappiness to herself, but this promised to make a bad day even worse. She’d never been completely drained, but Iliana had given up enough magic in the past to remember the feeling of sick exhaustion from losing just that much.
“House Refoel healers will be available to any familiar who needs it,” Wizard Angela said over the noise. “But, familiars, we encourage you to take this opportunity to practice your other learned skills in replenishing your magic reserves. Being able to recover quickly is also key to being the best at your job that you can be. Now, familiars, take a moment to meditate, calm your mind, and picture yourself as totally open. We’ll begin running drills and I’ll come around the room and coach each pairing individually.”
Dutifully, Iliana closed her eyes and centered herself. Much as she dreaded this exercise, it wasn’t in her to do a half-assed job on anything. She would master this skill just as she had all the others. Her hero Nic would have learned this and if the proud Elal scion could do it, so could Iliana.
“Maybe you’re Fascinated by me,” Sabrina whispered in her ear, “and that’s why you hate me so much. You’re fighting your own Fascination.”
“Maybe I hate you because you’re a horrible bitch,” Iliana muttered back.
