The berserker turned towards the young boys in the square and began to move towards them when it collapsed to the ground. Gradually, as the group drew near, the berserker morphed back into Hermon. He was out cold. There were scratches, and bloody cuts all over his body; effects of his transformation. But they would soon heal thanks to his magic.
Later, when Hermon came to, he was intimated of his ability, and the immense responsibility he now had to bear where his clan was concerned. The ability to go fully berserk was a curse that had been placed on the five royal families by an unknown god. On each full transformation he made, his lifespan would take a huge dip. His clan was blessed with an unusually longer life than the other races. As a Berserker, throughout his lifetime he would lose about half of his lifespan turning. He could even die before his parents.
“But that is the sacrifice you are required to make,” Biniamin told him. “For the good of our people…. I am proud of you, Hermon,” he told Hermon after a while.
Hermon dared not let his father know of what he was thinking. He did not want any part of a responsibility that made him lay his life down, unwillingly, for his people.
The School of Magic was one of the most prominent edifices in Toas. Its scholars and cesspool of knowledge aside, the structure alone was enough to make eyes twinkle with wonder. Its architecture was a remarkable blend of human art and magical finesse. The school invited attention from all over Toas, both for those interested in learning magic and for those without. And among many other archaic traditions that the School of Magic maintained was that it was only open for boys.
The bells tolled this morning as the young apprentices, dressed in gray robes and round purple necklines, walked out of their quarters, tomes in hand, in a fashion that was casual and orderly.
The learning center itself was a behemoth tower made of stone, windows of glass, and suffused with prehensile magic to prevent its destruction, either by the weather or a more forthright physical attack. It stood alone in the quadrangle, linked to the rest of the building by bridges.
There were floors inside the learning center organized according to levels of magic. The higher one got in their grasp of magic, the higher they went in the building. Not very many had made it all the way to the top. To do that would require decades worth of time. Few came close to a hundred years old.
Students who took rudimentary classes would branch out from the numerous throngs streaming into the building, and go through a huge black double door, a little beyond the entranceway, and into a large hall with desks spaced equidistantly.
Today, the basic students had a new addition. A girl sitting in the second row. Her presence in the hall roused whispers. The whispers became a buzz when it was confirmed that the new abecedarian was indeed a girl.
When the teacher, a mage who had seen nearly a century and a half, began to teach, one of the students thrust his hand into the air.
“Yes?” The mage asked tiredly.
“I’m sure there must have been some sort of mistake,” the boy said as he stood to his feet, “but there is someone in this lesson who is not supposed to be here, or in the entire building for that matter.”
“Yes?” The mage said, indicating for him to progress.
“There is a girl in the hall, sir.” The boy said finally, pointing to where she sat, reclining into her chair’s backrest.
The mage stepped forward. With his eyes, he combed through the entire lot and then spoke.
“Most of you are very well familiar with the severe ban on women folk as it concerns the learning of magic.”
A good number of the students murmured their assent.
“Well,” the mage continued, “the various kingdoms in Toas, have decided that such a ban be lifted.” What he did not tell the boys was that the potential for magic had been discovered in far too many girls even stronger than in any boys that it could no longer be just a hidden. Looking at the girl now, he said:
“Why don’t you stand to your feet and give your fellow student a little introduction. Your name alone is enough for now.”
The girl stood to her feet and faced the entire populace, unabashed.
“My name is Si-Siem,” she said. Her voice carried through to the very last person at the furthest end of the hall. She turned towards the mage, gave a short bow, then took her seat.
The mage smiled.
“Now everyone”, he said, “Si-Siem here is the first woman to officially learn magic in our school. She will be addressed by the title of Si attached to her name.”
Now an even larger number of boys murmured until one of them spoke again “How is she already a Si, you need to be a Be first?” an astonished boy asked from the crowd. Si was the abbreviation of a novice magician where Be was the one for beginners to advanced magic. Most of Toas magicians only reached Be, if they got so far to receive a title at all.
“O, yes. Si-Siem is a special kid.” The mage said. He seemed to be enjoying the reaction among the apprentices’ faces. With a small chuckle he looked first to Siem and turned back to start the lesson. But not before he gave them a last reminder.
“Most of you have grown thinking you have a monopoly on strength and accomplishment in magic. The women are going to give you a hard run for that claim.”
The following week, Siem got into a fight with
