Magi's Path (Aether's Revival Book 3) by Daniel Schinhofen (motivational books to read txt) 📕

just finishing making a pair of Magi Squares each when the novices joined them.

“Morning,” Nessa greeted them as she sat beside Yukiko. “Are you all leaving the academy again today?”

“Yes,” Yukiko replied. “We found out we won’t be getting set days off like you three will. We’ll end up with a week off at a time, a total of five of them for the year.”

“The worst part is that they might not all be at the same time for us,” Jenn said.

“That’s dumb,” Daciana said. “Why wouldn’t they give them to all members of a clan together?”

“They might,” Gregory said. “It’ll be up to the instructor. It’s not just our days off, though. Even our normal days will be variable.” He took a moment to explain what they’d been told.

“That’ll make it difficult to train together,” Victoria said. “We’re going to do as you did during your novice year. We’ll spend the morning here before class, miss history to study here again, and then do more training after physical conditioning.”

“You might find it hard for a few weeks,” Gregory said. “The first few weeks, I was wiped out after physical conditioning. We barely ate before passing out.”

“It was difficult,” Yukiko agreed.

“I can understand that. It’s been tough the last few days, and that was with me just learning how to fall,” Victoria sighed.

“I told you we’ll start teaching you the basics today,” Daciana chuckled. “You’ll wish you were still falling by the end of it.”

Gregory laughed softly. “Yeah, the falling was easier to learn, but the rest is more interesting.”

“We might not be here to study with you in the mornings,” Jenn said. “It’ll all depend on our class. Even then, there are things we want to study that can only be read on the next floor.”

“We can’t go up there, can we?” Nessa asked.

“It’s for apprentices and above only,” Gregory said. “If all three of us are together, we’ll be here with you. If one or more of us isn’t, though, we’ll likely be up there.”

“Understood,” Daciana said, clearly unhappy about it.

“We’ll make you proud, and be ready for the clan to invite us in,” Nessa said.

“Why is the second Magi Squares different from the first?” Victoria asked, having been looking at the two in front of Gregory across the table from her.

“This is the level above the ones you’re doing. We’re starting them today,” Gregory told her. Seeing the other two novices also interested, he pushed the paper to the middle of the table. “The five-by-five grid goes from one to twenty-five, instead of the three-by-three grid that goes one to nine. The extra complexity will help us train more.”

“We need to wait on doing those,” Nessa said, staring at the more difficult puzzle. “The number of variables is a bit too much right now.”

“But we’ll get there,” Daciana growled softly.

“We expect you to,” Jenn said, softly patting Daciana on the shoulder, “next year, just as we’re only just getting to them. There is striving, and then there is being foolish.”

Daciana nodded. “I hear you, and will wait.”

“Let’s begin,” Yukiko said. “Pass the pages to the right.”

~*~*~

“Daciana sure does push for doing more,” Gregory said as they walked to Gin’s.

“She’s intent on getting where she thinks she needs to be,” Yukiko said.

“Though she was quick to back down when Jenn talked to her,” Gregory added.

Yukiko and Jenn exchanged a glance before Yukiko cleared her throat. “That’s because Daciana takes after her father’s line.”

Gregory’s brow furrowed. “Her eurtik blood?”

“Wolf eurtik follow a pack ideal,” Yukiko said. “She holds to that.”

“Because she wants to be in the clan, and Jenn is clearly higher in it than she is,” Gregory nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Yes,” Yukiko agreed, giving Jenn another look.

“Does she want to join the clan herself, or is she just doing what her father wants her to do?” Gregory asked.

“Oh, she wants to join the clan herself,” Jenn said. “She has her own reasons for doing so.”

“That’s good, at least,” Gregory said. “She does seem to lead that group.”

“For now,” Jenn said. “I think Nessa will take that spot before the first tournament is over.”

“In a fight, I’d take Daciana,” Yukiko said. “She’s going to be ferocious. For planning, Nessa is the better of the two. I don’t know where Victoria will fit in, yet.”

“I think she’ll fit in with them… she may be between them in temperament,” Jenn commented. “It’s possible she’ll be the one to lead them by the end of the novice year, if she stays with them.”

“True. She might decide to go to another clan by then,” Gregory said.

Yukiko looked thoughtful but didn’t gainsay him.

“They’ll be upset that we won’t be by every week,” Jenn said as they got closer to Gin’s.

“Elsa will keep them moving,” Yukiko said, putting aside her other thoughts. “Having a week off at a time, though… we could ask Dia and Gin if we can stay at his home during those periods.”

“That would be good, except we might need to catch up on our other training during those weeks,” Gregory said. “We should still ask, just in case.”

“We should,” Jenn agreed. “Let’s not tell Elsa and the others, in case we can’t.”

“Yes,” Gregory nodded.

“Agreed,” Yukiko added.

Gregory knocked on the door when they arrived.

“Welcome to the Watashi residence, magi. Would you care to come inside?” Elsa asked as she gave them a smile.

“Why thank you. We would love to,” Gregory greeted her back.

“I will make sure that the children assemble in the yard,” Elsa said, shutting the door behind them. “Is there anything else you require before that?”

“No, that will do,” Yukiko said.

“Very well,” Elsa replied, giving them a low curtsy before she left at a slightly hurried pace.

“She