Rising Shards

Two hands were cupped around a ragged chunk of marble. It was a man with a giant grey beard, and a big bald spot on his head dressed in rags. He held his hands completely still and shut his eyes. The marble began to reshape between his hands, spinning as it turned into a perfectly smooth sphere with only his Calestian mental powers.

“Terrific. Magnificent. Isn’t that just utterly wonderful?” Mr. Soleri said, completely enamored with the video projected in front of the classroom.

On video days in Soleri’s class, I only stayed awake due to Oka or Kalei poking me, or by sneaking time away from the lecture to doodle. I didn’t have their assistance this time; Oka and Kalei still weren’t talking to me.

They were lucky, they had friends outside of our room. Kalei was busy with beam chasers practice with the Matora sisters, while Oka had spent the week hanging out with Aira and Laenie and with the Kilanders. I knew I must have really sucked for her to want to spend time with the Kilanders.

Without them, I had like, Stella. Who was too busy with work to listen to me all day. Dr. Diast was a teacher and I didn’t want to bug her with how much I sucked.

During this class, I went against my better judgment and tried to read in the dark. Soleri had been saying some variation of how amazing the Cani artists of the Dolehal Thunder Mountains were for most of the class.

Suddenly my book slammed shut in my face as the lights came on, causing the whole class to jump. I winced, knowing Soleri had caught me.

“Miss Faleur,” Soleri said. “Could you care to explain what was more interesting to you than the majesty we’re so lucky to have captured on film?”

All eyes in the class were on me. Mercifully I didn’t bust out my nervous laugh, as my mouth was way too dry.

“Well uh,” I said. “I was reading…”

Soleri pulled the book away from me, catching it in one hand and holding it like I had been reading a book on something like drug manufacturing or a book on why his class was so boring.

“Raina Starlight,” Soleri said, reading the cover of the book. “Interested in her fantasies? Or perhaps her acting career? Either way, vapid entertainment has no place in this class.”

A few giggles throughout class. I didn’t think it was funny.

“I’m going to have to confiscate this, you know. You can have it back after you prove you care about the school of Calestia more than a ludicrous account of adventuring.” Soleri said.

I almost said, “That book, an entry in Raina Starlight’s award winning fantastamoir series, was more about Raina’s time growing up than her magical travels,” but bit my tongue as I wanted to see my book again. After class, Soleri strode over to me and handed me an assignment sheet.

“Seven pages on the three principles of Calestia. By the end of the week. Then you get your book back.” Soleri said.

I unfortunately answered with “Cool,” and Soleri upped it to eight pages for my unintended disrespect. I left class feeling very uncool.

"Oh, and Faelur," Soleri said. "You have heard the news of my new position within the school, correct?"

"I uh," I said. "Y-yeah."

Penteldtam randomly blabbed to me something the day Stella invited me to go Safe Silver shopping at a weird shopping district; that Mr. Soleri was the vice principal of Rising Shards. I didn't give it much thought at the time, but as Soleri glared at me I realized it was about to become a major issue.

"I am keeping my eye on you," Soleri said. "After the beam chasers incident, I want to make sure you are completing everything on the Benta. If you start falling behind any more than you are, there will be consequences."

I stopped myself from answering with "Cool," that time at least.

Normally I’d confide in Oka or Kalei about this, but even if we were on speaking terms Kalei would probably say she fell asleep right as the movie started. Oka would probably have actual knowledge about the thing I need to study. Something I had no clue about. I had to go to the library to look up what the three principles even were and only found them in a really old book. They were dutiful study, peacemaking, and a calm state of mind. So I was doomed.

I mistakenly tried to get started on the assignment right away there in the library. Right when school burnout had firmly set in for the day. The textbook described three important historical figures who each embodies one of the principles of Calestia. There was a Cani scholar who travelled to a library hidden deep in a snowy mountaintop to study all that was inside, a brave woman who stood in the center of a battle between a Kanibari army and a Cani army and led them to a nonviolent end to the battle, and an Exa Cani who became so relaxed a tree grew all around him. None of them really leapt out at me as paper material. I probably couldn’t go into the void while I had a 7-page paper, but if I really wanted to procrastinate it was an option.

My group’s first trip into the void temple was scheduled for that week, but I had already had my void vision so I was wondering if I could skip it. I got myself ready to ask Dr. Diast that by lying in bed and moping about having to do a paper and my friends being mad at me.