A great shadow fell over Gryphon wing, so large it seemed almost to block out the sun. With a thunderous crash, the being landed. She possessed a massive tail and green eyes that seemed to gaze through one’s soul. From nose to tail, the creature was at least ten meters, with a wingspan almost as long. Students began to back away as she roared.

All except one.

“Grandma!” Arenya rushed toward her grandmother, who in the blink of an eye seemed to disappear and be replaced with an old woman with wrinkled cheeks and a glint in her eye. She wore a green dress that matched her eyes and walked with a cane, though she seemed spry enough not to need it.

“Hey there, Arenya! I brought babka!” She reached into her bag and brought out a well wrapped sweet loaf.

It was a challenge for Arenya to keep from salivating at the mere sight of it. She’d not been starving so much as of late - Drav, Zelzad, and Ya'el had been good on their promise to help her get food - but few things were more delicious than those prepared in her grandmother’s kitchen, and it had been far too long. “Thank you, Grandma,” she said, smiling. “Did you bring the book I asked for?”

Her grandmother’s smile faltered for the briefest of moments. “I did. It’s right here.” She pulled the book out of her bag. The brown cover was old and faded, the title almost impossible to make out. “You know you are dealing with dangerous things, here. Promise me that you won’t try to use this.”

Arenya nodded. “This is for study and art only.”

Her grandmother hrrmed. “What have you been up to at school that would require one of the old texts, anyway?”

“It’s a bit complicated…”

“I suggest you begin to find partners for your focus creation projects soon,” said Professor Kazurist as the lecture concluded. “Remember, you will be graded primarily on the qualitative elements, such as how well it handles mana flow, but aesthetics will not be discounted. I expect a summary of the design two weeks from today.”

There was no need for Arenya to find a partner, as she and Cartalis had already decided to work together - Cartalis focusing on the channel creation and technical work, and Arenya on the design and setup. As the other students began to mill around and find partners, Arenya stood, grabbed her notebook, and approached the front of the room. “Professor?”

“Yes, Arenya?” Kazurist paused in putting his papers away and retrieving his notes for the next class.

“Cartalis and I were discussing the focus design. We decided we wanted to do something a bit fancier than a gemstone. We were thinking a martial focus.” Arenya didn’t mention the reason why - that Arenya didn’t have the money for a focus or a weapon and this was an opportunity to solve those problems using the school’s supplies. “And I was thinking something that…” she paused for a moment, looking for the words. “We wanted to make something really beautiful, and striking. Not just fulfill the requirements, but really go above and beyond.”

Arenya cringed. She must have sounded ridiculous. She decided to stop dancing around it and get to the point. “I started to think about something based on some of what we discussed in your office hours. About being a Follower - some of the things taught by The Honored Roaring One.”

Arenya took the notebook and showed him the most recent page. “Something like this.”

Professor Kazurist ran a hand through his beard. His eyes narrowed as he skimmed the page. Arenya felt a slight chill when she realized that she’d manage to bring pause to someone so boisterous as Kazurist. “Have you shown this drawing to Cartalis yet?” he asked after a moment.

“No,” Arenya admitted sheepishly. “I, um… I was drawing this up during lecture because I couldn’t follow along at all anyway.”

Kazurist frowned. “I don’t suggest you do so again. Today’s topic was channels, after all.”

“I know what a channel is and how they work,” said Arenya. “Each one diverts and controls the flow of mana, making larger works of magic easier to control. I figured that if we wanted to make something impressive, we would want a lot of them.”

“You have the basics correct, but you’re missing a key detail. Each channel allows for a much larger amount of control than the one before, but is also much harder to create. Power goes up with the exponent law here.” He pointed to a group of equations written on the board. “And the number of channels you suggest here is… let’s just say, a few more than is reasonable.”

“Even when one of the people working on it is Cartalis?”

Kazurist began to laugh, then tried - and failed - to hide it with a cough. “Even when one of them is Cartalis. Bring it up to her and you’ll see. As far as the aesthetics and idea… You told me you haven’t studied the texts yourself, correct?”

Arenya remained silent and tried not look too embarrassed.

“This is going to be rather difficult. It is not impossible, provided you reduce the number of channels, but if you really want to make this, you should expect to be challenged.”

Kazurist’s smile vanished. “And if you invoke the Lords on it, I expect you to do so accurately. I will not tolerate a bastardization.”

Arenya blinked. When she opened her eyes again, Kazurist looked the same as he always did, exuberant smile and all. She wasn’t sure if she’d imagined his momentary seriousness.

“It’s a good idea, Arenya, but it might prove too advanced.”

“And you ignored him and went for it anyway?” Arenya’s grandmother asked.

Arenya nodded. “I need the old texts so I can make sure I get it all correct. Cartalis promised to help, and she’s a genius. And, well, if I want to become a true BladeMage, I need a focus. A good one.”

Her grandmother tsked. “If you want to become a true BladeMage, you’ll need the grades too. Getting distracted by things like this is dangerous, you know. I know you’ve never been so keen on studying the old texts like this - oh, don’t give me that look, you know it’s true - and I don’t want you to overreach and ruin your chances.”

Arenya bit back a sigh. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

Her grandmother smiled. “Good. Now, how about you show me around? I could tell from your letter how excited you were about the main building…”

It was late at night when Cartalis arrived. Arenya sat at a table in one of the side rooms of Yesod Hall. Arenya had turned down most of the lights as her eyes had begun to ache after hours of poring over sheets of paper and her grandmother’s old book. The room was small and cozy, and she'd almost fallen asleep more than once.

When Cartalis opened the door, Arenya was taking a break and eating a piece of babka. “The idea is here,” she said with her mouth full.

Cartalis picked up one of the pieces of paper. “A sword, pure and impure… channels are st -”

The blood drained from Cartalis’s face. She turned to Arenya with a shocked look on her face. “Two hundred sixteen channels! Arenya, have you lost your wits?” She threw the paper back on the table. “Teams of dozens of experts, working for years, can’t make more than fifty. The record for a two-person focus is twenty channels. And the amount of energy released if we were to fail… we’d probably destroy the building if we tried to make thirty! With this many, we’d literally destroy the whole city if we succeeded, and perhaps the country if we failed!”

Arenya blushed as she swallowed her babka. She’d gathered that the number of channels in her first attempt was too great, but she’d not realized by how much. “Check the other side.”

Cartalis turned the paper over. That side contained a drawing of Arenya’s second draft of the sword.

Beautiful and elegant, with a thick blade with over a dozen lines running along it. The hilt was a silvery color, and covered with intricate inscriptions. Beneath the diagram, she’d described each component in detail.

At least, that was the intention. Her ability to draw was strained at the best of times, so the design was clumsy and the lines only parallel in theory. The component description would not have been nearly so long otherwise.

Cartalis stared for a long time. Her eyes widened. “This is a fascinating idea,” she murmured. “I think we may need to cut down on the channels more, however. I think it is beyond our skill to manage sixteen, though at least it is possible this time.”

“Nine.” Arenya stood and walked behind Cartalis, pointing out a few dots on the sword design. “These seven aren’t active. They’re just for show. I describe that over here.”

Cartalis followed Arenya’s finger to a note near the bottom of the page. “I see… One channel for permutations of the Worlds of Emanation, yet those related to…” Cartalis squinted. “…Whatever that word means… are uncutting and inactive.”

“Atsilus,” said Arenya.

“What language is this?” Cartalis asked, pointing at some notes on the side of the paper.

“Ancient Draconic. I’ve been writing it in the common letters here, but it uses a different alphabet typically.”

“I’m beginning to grow concerned for where you are deriving your inspiration for this from. This strikes me as a very bizarre task indeed.” Cartalis hrrmed, then picked up another page from the table.

Arenya felt her heart drop into a pit in her stomach as Cartalis began reading.

“Surrender yourself to me… havee heh heh… ya yah veh… hayo heh yah-”

“Don’t read it out loud!” Arenya almost yanked the paper out of her friend’s hand. “These words are dangerous! If you read them aloud without proper preparation, it could kill you.”

Cartalis paused for a moment. “Do you truly believe that, friend?”

“No.” Arenya sighed. “But I promised my grandmother I would treat these texts with care. And Professor Kazurist. They believe, and so I do too.”

Cartalis remained silent for several seconds. She slowly sat down at the table. “So. Shall we proceed to create a plan?”