The Academy of Magic
Aunt Serena and I had a comfortable cabin aboard the riverboat that had two beds attached to the walls on opposite sides of the room. In the center lay a rough wooden table, and large, unwashed windows lined one side of the cabin.
It took us three days of peaceful sailing down the vast Pinebrook River to reach Neris, the capital city of Eldoren, which was situated on the coast of the Stardust Sea. The whole journey, I sat in my cabin, brooding about Rafe. Why didn’t he come with us? What if I never saw him again?
We got off near the northern gate and rode our horses into the sprawling city. I was getting more used to sitting on a horse for longer journeys, and my legs and arms had stopped hurting so much, although my butt was still a bit sore from the rough leather saddle.
Situated in a comfortable bay with hills and woods flanking two sides, Neris was not a small town or a village; it was a huge, walled, bustling city. Sandy white beaches with splendid, soaring white cliffs adorned the seaside capital, and Pinebrook River ran through the center of Neris spanned by numerous narrow stone bridges that connected the two sides of the city.
At the edge of Neris at one end, beyond the walls, mounted on a pristine white cliff like a crown to the magnificence of the seaside city, lay the towering white walls of the Academy of Evolon.
Far in the distance, right on the other side of Neris—its walls glistening in the midday sun—lay the impressive Summer Palace, the seat of the kings of Eldoren. It overlooked the azure sea of the Bay of Pearls, with the hills to one side and the splendor of the city to the other.
As we rode through the streets, I noticed that there were more merchants and traders here than in Fairlone, selling an assortment of items. There were jewelry shops, dressmakers, candle makers, glove shops, booksellers, locksmiths, bakeries, tanners, rope makers, small inns, and whitewashed taverns.
The town square was full, and the docks and warehouses were bustling with people. Elegant shops and spacious inns lined the crowded streets, and large stone houses were connected by a network of broad avenues. Some were enormous at two and three stories high. Erien explained that on this side of the river were the mansions of the nobility, and the houses were massive, extravagantly decorated, with beautifully manicured enclosed gardens and courtyards.
We rode through the wide streets and over one of the narrow bridges to the other side of the city. Here the houses were made of wood, smaller and more cramped together, with small cobblestone paths that crisscrossed into alleyways that led to run-down houses. Parts of this side of the river were still respectable, where the merchants, traders, and shopkeepers lived.
The shops here were more downmarket, I noted. There were blacksmiths hammering at their anvils, taverns, and brothels with prostitutes selling themselves on dirty, deserted street corners. Here most of the streets led down into darker alleyways where drunks languished and the garbage was not swept up.
Erien explained that this was the old town of Neris. Many years ago, the city had been just a small fishing village; slowly, it grew into an unplanned town, but always on this side of the river. Then the mages came and built the Academy of Evolon, and soon the little town became a sprawling city. The king of that time, Dorian the third, built the Summer Palace here, as he wanted a home by the sea.
“You see,” Erien was saying, as I slumped on my ambling horse, “the original king’s palace is Caeleron Castle, situated north of here in the hills. The court moves there during the winter and returns to the city for the summer. It is the height of the season in Neris, and there are balls and parties held by all the nobility during summer and the harvest season. In the winter, most of the nobility leave Neris and return to their country estates, which are located all over Eldoren.”
I nodded. The life of the Eldorean nobility sounded very exciting and glamorous.
“So, do you have a house here in the city?” I asked Erien.
“Yes, of course. Elmsdale House is all the way on the other side of the city, near the palace. Mother will be staying there this summer. During holidays, we can leave the academy and go and stay there with her.”
I was relieved at that. I was looking forward to spending time with Aunt Serena and Erien at their house, and it would be nice to get away from the academy when we had time off from school. It was also comforting to know that I had somewhere to go.
We rode up the side of the hill to the lofty white walls of the Academy of Magic. Once inside the academy gates, I was amazed at how beautiful it was. An immense walled complex, Evolon was like a little village of its own.
Within the walls of the school, beautifully maintained gardens and shaded paths surrounded the academy on all sides. Courtyards with fountains and terraced gardens stretched back down to the cliff and the sea.
Serena took me to meet the Mastermage of the Academy at Evolon, Elial Dekela. The mastermage’s office was in a beautiful two-storied, white stone mansion with large arched windows. Aunt Serena knocked on the stout door. A strong, stern voice bade us enter.
Elial Dekela was a small, aging man with long salt-and-pepper hair tied back neatly in a ponytail. He got up from behind his smoothly polished mahogany desk and came over to greet us. “My lady.” He bowed politely to Serena first, then straightened and turned to study me. His sharp, black eyes were deep set under bushy, white eyebrows, and delicate spectacles rested precariously on his hooked nose. “So, this is Rory!”
He
