Zach was between classes when his phone vibrated with a notification. He felt a headache forming when he read the message from the principal.

“Something wrong?” Ari asked, voice almost lost in the crowd.

Zach shoved his phone back in his pocket and shook his head. “Principal Johns wants me to show a new student around the school.”

“Wouldn’t they just join up with the other freshmen?” Ari asked with a furrowed brow. “Why ask the senior rep?”

“Special case,” Zach shrugged. “Though I might pass it off to Stella after a few days if he catches on quick.” Stella was the freshman representative. She was a recent transfer from the Defense track, and still learning her way around the dorm herself.

Ari motioned down the hall and Zach nodded. They didn’t have much time left to get to their class. “Jeremy mentioned that he needed some tutoring,” Ari said as they walked.

Zach hummed out an agreement. “I promised to get him a special date if he placed in the top five in his grade,” Zach clarified. “He was struggling with Latin when I last talked to him about it.”

They slipped into the classroom and sat down in the back. Instructor Leig came in precisely two seconds before the bell rang, as usual, and shut the door behind himself with a flourish. Walter did love looking ‘cool’ for his students, after all. “Good morning class! Settle down, settle down. I have some good news for you.”

Good news? Zach looked up suspiciously. His cousin hadn’t mentioned anything exciting happening when he’d stopped by the office, and Walter was horrible at hiding things. Even now he was bouncing about like a child about to get a present. This class was known as the spellcasting class since it taught the bulk of basic spell magic. Common curses, countercurses, jinxes, hexes, shields, and minor healing spells were covered for freshmen through juniors. Senior year added complementary spells and common creature handling methods. All tracks took general spellcasting, so the class was a mix of seniors from all the dorms.

“I have arranged for a special guest to visit us next week, one of the few mages working to maintain the dragon preserve! Dragons! I want everyone to be as up to date as they can on spells concerning dragons, and prepare a list of appropriate questions to ask our guest. Appropriate, mind you!

“We’ll begin by covering a few topics during class. Now, who can tell me the key properties of dragonhide, and what gear benefits from these properties?”

A sword’s hand shot into the air.

“Yes, Miss Weatherbie?”

“Our syllabus states this week is for advanced shielding and spells complementary to physical shield enchantments. Will we be skipping those topics?”

“Of course not,” Walter huffed. “We’ll pick up the regular coursework again after the special guest visit. And your papers on proper demonic protections are still due at the end of the week. Remember that not all parties find a mage good with production style magic, so learn all the basic charms and enchantments as thoroughly as possible. Now - dragons! What are the properties of dragonhide?”

Rather than listen to his cousin try to excite the class about dragons - hardly anyone here was going to form a party and quest after something as dangerous and intelligent as a dragon - Zach turned his attention to the future party members he’d scouted out in the class. Ari was dutifully taking notes next to Zach, though the frown on his face said a good deal. Ari probably found the topic useless. Each dragon was different, and only a raid team comprised of multiple parties would challenge one.

Across the room was Alexander Ryan, another general track student that Zach felt was misplaced. Lex would be Zach’s tactician. The only reason Lex had squirreled his way out of the specialty was to be in the same track as Zach.

But he had enough friends in each of the other tracks that he basically knew all their coursework and where it overlapped. Lex Ryan was a demanding bear when it came to studying.

“Dragon blood is very dangerous,” Professor Leig said. “Mister keLeigwark, can you tell us why?”

Zach wanted to say ‘because my cousin is an idiot who wants to show them off to children,’ but he didn’t want to land in detention so he chose the more practical answer. “Dragon’s blood is both extremely acidic and extremely hot. A single drop can melt many soft metals, and it can set wood or paper on fire in an instant. To be safely stored it needs to be contained in a glass made from EverIce, which is only found at the polar caps. Because of how dangerous it is, the use of dragon blood in potions and elixers is limited to one drop per liter, and it can only be used in potions not intended for consumption.” He still had half a vial left, though his cousin didn’t know that. Just in case he needed to do another ritual.