The sun dipped lower over the academy casting the courtyard in warm orange light. Evan walked beside Serin across the stone paths heading toward the central library. The air carried the scent of old books and faint magical residue like smoke after fireworks. Students stared at him when he passed many whispering loudly enough to be obvious. He tried to ignore it but Serin smirked.

“You have become a celebrity” she said “Some have already called you the Voice Mage”

“That is ridiculous” Evan muttered “I do not even cast spells”

“You do something better You fix them And everyone here knows power when they see it”

They reached the library doors towering slabs of carved stone. When Serin pushed them open Evan felt the weight of centuries press against him. Rows of scrolls lined shelves that stretched upward like pillars. Floating candles drifted between aisles casting glowing trails. A few scholars glanced up their faces buried in books.

Arilon waited at a table stacked high with scrolls. When he saw Evan he motioned for him to sit.

“I collected the oldest chant records we possess” Arilon said “Some dating back over six hundred years I believe your study begins here”

Evan unrolled the first scroll. Lines of script flowed in looping symbols each accompanied by pronunciation notes written in a different color.

He frowned “These pronunciation notes are inconsistent They contradict each other in places Some tell the mage to shorten the vowels others say lengthen them Some even conflict on where the tongue should be”

Arilon nodded “Yes Spell linguistics has always been based on tradition not analysis We trust the masters who came before us even if they could not explain their methods”

Evan felt the gears in his mind turn “This explains the instability Your entire magical language has been passed down like broken folklore No standardized articulation no clear rules no unified system”

Serin crossed her arms “You can fix that”

“Yes I can but it will take time” Evan said “I need to build a phonetic chart for your magic sounds There must be a structure hidden beneath all this chaos something logical something consistent”

He leaned closer reading a chant slowly “This line says thal but the symbol implies dal Your entire kingdom has probably been mispronouncing this spell for centuries”

Serin blinked “How does that not ruin the spell completely”

“Because magic compensates” Evan said “But compensation drains power If the articulation is wrong the magic engine has to push harder Your mages are basically doing vocal heavy lifting instead of speaking efficiently”

Arilon tapped the table “Then what is the first rule of proper spell articulation Evan”

Evan smiled slightly “Rule one Keep the airflow stable Magic seems to follow breath If your airflow collapses your spell collapses or weakens or misfires You would be surprised how many of your chants use airflow patterns that no human can produce consistently”

Serin raised an eyebrow “You speak of magic like a science”

“It behaves like one” Evan said “I need to run tests Real ones Controlled ones If I can map how airflow affects mana flow we can rewrite everything Starting with beginner spells”

Serin leaned forward “I can bring apprentice volunteers”

“Good” Evan said “Tomorrow morning we begin with basic fire spells I want to test vowel length impact on mana output”

Arilon looked at him with a proud smile “Evan you are already thinking like a master instructor”

Evan shook his head “No I am thinking like a speech therapist The rest is your world I am just borrowing it”

Arilon placed a hand on one of the scrolls “The world may end up borrowing you instead”

The library grew quiet as they continued reading scrolls late into the night. Evan scribbled notes on parchment mapping sounds organizing patterns marking inconsistencies and building the beginnings of a structured system. He analyzed each chant syllable by syllable breaking the magic language down with the same calm precision he used on struggling students back home.

At some point Serin leaned back watching him work her expression unreadable “You dive into this with strange passion Evan Why”

He paused thinking carefully “Because words matter Back home I helped kids speak clearly for their futures Here I can help an entire kingdom speak clearly for its magic It feels similar but bigger maybe too big But running from it will not help so I choose to teach”

Serin smiled faintly “This world is lucky you arrived”

“I still want to know why I arrived” Evan said “But until I figure that out I might as well fix your broken vowels”

Serin laughed softly something he was not sure she even knew how to do “Then tomorrow we begin And the academy will never be the same”

Evan nodded feeling both the weight and the thrill of what was ahead A classroom bigger than any he had ever known A language older and more powerful than any he had studied And a world that needed him more than it realized

He closed the scroll carefully and whispered to himself “Let’s fix the way magic speaks”