Житие Мое / Life of Mine: Глава 1

Part two

Camrad_RIP 19.04.23 в 20:52

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Camrad_RIP 19.04.23 в 20:52

"The white mage seeks harmony with existence. For the black mage, it is natural to be in confrontation with reality" - theorists write this phrase from age to age without thinking at all about how the properties of magic affect specific people. The essence is that a white magician is carried through life in a furry glove, and a black magician is chased by a broom.

Camrad_RIP 19.04.23 в 20:54

From the lawyer's speech

Camrad_RIP 19.04.23 в 20:52

* * *

Camrad_RIP 19.04.23 в 20:52

Chapter 1

Camrad_RIP 19.04.23 в 20:54

* * *

Camrad_RIP 19.04.23 в 20:54

The University of Redstone consists of two blocks, or territories, as it is commonly known. The new area is on the edge of the city, across the river. There is the bustling student dormitory and the huge factory-like laboratories of the alchemy department. It is said that somewhere behind the dormitory there are also greenhouses and a barnyard, but I have never come across these phenomena of university life.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:03

The old campus and heart of the university were the Redstone School of Magic, the first institution to train black and white mages together. Until then, no one had ever managed to reconcile opposites. The Founders of the school found the magic formula: they introduced ordinary people to the student body and began teaching them alchemy and pharmaceuticals. While this arrangement is now standard, it was a revolution at the time. Since then, classical apprenticeship has been on the wane - graduates of specialized alchemical as well as magical institutions have fallen far behind university graduates in terms of ability.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:05

The joint training was supposed to allow ordinary people to actually learn the logic of magic (an important life experience presented at the right time) and for mages to better integrate into society. And blacks, being in an absolute minority, had no opportunity to stifle whites, which was a nice bonus for the latter. The Redstone School quickly became a university, producing some of the most talented alchemists, the most powerful white mages, and the most powerful battle mages in the world. Now I would be joining them. This year twelve students have expressed a desire to take the Acquisition of the Power. If the statistics are to be trusted, there will be at least one master of the highest art, a couple of generals, and a real archmage among them.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:07

I sat in the square in front of the faculty building, waiting my turn (three other people were taking the ritual today besides me) and getting annoyed over nothing. The fact was that my dearest uncle (goddamn him, the old bastard!) refused to explain the ritual to me after a whole summer of lessons with the Source. //If you know everything in advance, you're sure to give yourself away! Just remember, you must hold off using the Power for as long as possible. Do you understand? As long as possible!" - That was all I could get out of him. Now my peers were preparing for the most important event of their lives, fasting and taking special potions, which my uncle forbade me to touch, and I was sweating, anticipating trouble.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:09

The hand of the sundial was creeping toward twelve when the guy who was supposed to be doing the ritual in front of me appeared on the path. I didn't know his name - blacks rarely got to know each other. He looked at me grimly and then, without saying anything, scurried off in the direction of the main building.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:09

I am next.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:09

The location of the Faculty of Black Magic is quickly recognized by all students. It's a place you don't want to go to in the evenings. Newcomers often mistake it for the outbuildings - the three-story box a la Abode of the Doomed looks wild against the main building with its tall lancet windows and multi-colored shimmering jeweled trim. The university is systematically considering relocating the faculty to a new site (the city administration is simply raving about the idea), but there is no movement. It takes a monstrous amount of money to create such an institution from scratch. The point is that the monstrous building is a unique magical construction capable of containing the consequences of fatal student errors inside, and it fulfills this function regularly. Because according to statistics, two percent of black mages die in the course of their studies. But today, the townspeople could sleep easy - for a whole week the building was at the disposal of the newcomers.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:13

The black carpet was laid out in front of the doorway, and on the walls were posters with the wise sayings of famous battle mages (imagine that battle mages could speak culturally!), and on the roof, attracted by magical emanations, sat in rows the crows, companions of morality and battle. The vice-rector and the instructor, and their two assistants were waiting for me in the lobby of the building. The authorities-the same goblin policeman and the unfamiliar black mage in uniform - were just silently present. All quite expected.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:14

"You decided to go through with the initiation after all." Mr. Darkon looked a little sad.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:15

Before the incident at the police station, I was still thinking about it, but there was no point in showing off now.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:15

"I'm not going to give up on alchemy."

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:15

"That's what everyone says."

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:16

The instructor coughed politely:

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:18

"If you are aware of the risks accompanying the Acquisition of the Power, please sign the papers!"

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:18

It was a waiver agreement - the university undertook to do everything possible to make the rite a success but was not responsible for the injuries sustained in the process. And before that was a handwritten and unmarked application, a letter from my next of kin, since I was still under twenty-one, a health certificate... At one time, just listing the necessary paperwork would have been enough to discourage me from becoming a mage. I hate bureaucracy! But there wasn't much choice now, so I signed the agreement without looking.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:19

I was patted on the shoulder, wished me success, and escorted to the large black leather doors. I tried to find out what to do next, but the instructor started making a speech on the subject of historical parallels and high responsibility, the content resembling the babble of white teenagers. I did not want to make a fuss on such a day, so I had to wait for the flow of words to run out.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:20

Just outside the doors, the corridor ended in a spiral staircase leading to the minus-second floor, which made sense: a ritual of this kind must be performed in a laboratory with the highest degree of protection, so such rooms are usually bricked up in the foundations. I had never been to one of these places before. I imagined a secret temple with torches and pentagrams, but life was more prosaic: there was a tiny locker room with a single bench and a coat rack beside a rattling iron staircase. Here I was offered a black pajama-type ritual costume, and from there, I walked barefoot, pretending to be hardened since childhood, for a black mage in leaky socks is not even funny.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:21

The instructor pushed open the cast-iron door, like a safe, with effort. There was no temple behind it, just a small room without any sharp corners. The polished silver walls were glowing with the glow of bluish-white lamps. If there were any magic marks, they were not conspicuous. One of the assistants led the way, the other propped me up, and the instructor kept showing me the way, tugging at my sleeve occasionally and making me madly irritated.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:22

I hate being grabbed!

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:23

The door behind us closed with a clanking sound that made my heart skip a beat. What was the purpose of locking myself in?

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:23

"...this important day for every black mage," the instructor muttered monotonously.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:24

In doing so, he managed to maneuver so that I saw the target of our movement at the very last moment: it was a low iron table with four leather bracelets.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:24

"I think..."

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:24

He took my hand, as if unintentionally, and began to roll my back onto the polished surface. All my instincts howled at once. I lunged for the door but was deftly intercepted by the second assistant and laid on the fucking altar. That it was an altar was clear as day.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:25

"I've changed my mind! I don't want to!!!"

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:25

"Too late," the instructor informed me, catching his breath. "You will come out of this room a black mage or not at all."

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:26

"A-A-Ah!!

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:26

Damn, it! The walls in here are thick, and it's a basement. I tried to pull myself together (figuratively, because my hands were strapped behind my head). Two people had gone through the ritual before me today, and both had survived unharmed; I had even seen one myself. The color of his face, however, was...

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:27

"We shall see what we shall see?"

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:27

The assistants were jangling something in the corner, and the instructor was looking at me with the professional gaze of a surgeon:

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:28

"You will gain the Power."

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:28

I tried to see what they were doing there, but I couldn't. It was just driving me crazy.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:30

"But there's nothing like that, is there? Nothing's going to happen?"

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:30

The instructor met my gaze and solemnly announced:

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:31

"There is!"

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:31

"You have no right!" I tried to speak with determination, but my voice trembled and snapped.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:31

He leaned closer to me and winked conspiratorially:

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:31

"We have."

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:32

Mum! I have fallen into the hands of maniacs. The cops put them up to this. Now they're going to kill me here and blame it on the aftermath of the ritual. What is there to wish for? Help me!!!

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:33

The assistants placed several black candles along the altar and lit them, accompanying this action with inaudible muttering. My hands and feet began to tingle unpleasantly.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:34

"This spell is called Odo Aurum," the instructor informed me in an almost friendly manner. "It will help you summon the Source as soon as possible. Let's wait for it to work."

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:32

I instantly remembered where I had heard the name. It was a spell used by the Inquisitors to heighten the sensitivity of their victims so that any confession would be a mere trifle. The discovery sent a cold chill down my spine.

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:34

Don't get me wrong. A black mage isn't born yet who's afraid of pain and injury. I've never hesitated to get into fights and never worried about keeping my knees safe, but to be tied to a table like that, in a helpless state...

Camrad_RIP 20.04.23 в 05:35