in her mind. Did he learn something from the magical computer ?
It was a tempting thought. She’d tried, back in First Year, to explain a computer to Aloha, who had produced something akin to a typewriter. Unfortunately, it had required constant replenishment of magic to make it work for longer than an hour or two, while it hadn’t been able to master even the simplest functions of a computer. But Caleb seemed to have put his finger on the key to eventually producing a real computer...and even if it couldn’t stretch that far, it would revolutionize some aspects of magic.
They must have thought it was workable , she told herself, as she came to the final sheet of paper. The Grandmaster wouldn’t have approved the proposal if he’d thought it couldn’t be made to work .
She bit her lip as she read through the final sheet. Unlike the other parts of the proposal, it was short and to the point. Caleb and his partner had been producing a variant of Manaskol they could use for their experimental devices. Somehow, the modifications they had made to the recipe had caused an explosion, which had crippled Caleb and sent him home for the year. They hadn’t quite known what they were doing, Emily realized; Mountaintop taught Third Year students how to produce Manaskol , but Whitehall waited until Fourth Year, believing the students needed more grounding first. Caleb would have had to learn very quickly, once he’d realized it was necessary...and he might not have considered just how temperamental the liquid could be.
“It could have been worse,” she muttered to herself. “They could have killed themselves.”
“They could have,” Lady Barb agreed. Emily looked up to see the older woman eying her with a sardonic eye. “I don’t believe anyone told them that producing Manaskol was safe .”
Emily nodded. It had taken months for her to master the recipe...and she still lost one wok in three, whenever she brewed it for Professor Thande. She was mildly surprised that they’d let her keep producing it, but in hindsight she suspected the Grandmaster had intended to pair her with Caleb all along. He must have seen real potential in Caleb’s proposal for spell mosaics. Looking at the papers, Emily could see it too.
“I would like to try to work with him,” she said, nervously. Working with others wasn’t one of her strengths, particularly when the other was a boy she didn’t know. “Would you send him a message?”
“I’ll have a letter sent on from Cockatrice,” Lady Barb said. “He should be here in a week or so, just in time for the Faire. Do try and find some time to actually work together, all right?”
“I will,” Emily promised. She had plans for the summer and they didn’t just include the proposal. It was high time she put everything she’d learned at Mountaintop to work and actually started on the first magical battery. “Do you know him?”
Lady Barb shrugged. “He wasn’t in my classes at Whitehall,” she said. “I know his mother, if that’s any help. She is — was — a strong-minded woman.”
“Like you,” Emily said.
“You have to be strong-minded if you want to be a Mediator,” Lady Barb said, bluntly. “The people you have to work with won’t respect you if you seem weak, or inclined to compromise. I was surprised she married a general. We’re normally inclined to bicker with senior officers instead of marrying them.”
“Maybe it was love,” Frieda said, abandoning her book. “They might have been deeply in love and chose to spend the rest of their lives together.”
“I think you should spend more time on your schoolwork and less on soppy romantic novels,” Lady Barb said, crossly. She hadn’t been in a good mood since the coach had left the castle, although Emily had no idea why. “The real world is rarely driven by people who fall in love at first sight.”
Emily rolled her eyes as Frieda blushed. She’d read a couple of what passed for romantic novels in the
It was a tempting thought. She’d tried, back in First Year, to explain a computer to Aloha, who had produced something akin to a typewriter. Unfortunately, it had required constant replenishment of magic to make it work for longer than an hour or two, while it hadn’t been able to master even the simplest functions of a computer. But Caleb seemed to have put his finger on the key to eventually producing a real computer...and even if it couldn’t stretch that far, it would revolutionize some aspects of magic.
They must have thought it was workable , she told herself, as she came to the final sheet of paper. The Grandmaster wouldn’t have approved the proposal if he’d thought it couldn’t be made to work .
She bit her lip as she read through the final sheet. Unlike the other parts of the proposal, it was short and to the point. Caleb and his partner had been producing a variant of Manaskol they could use for their experimental devices. Somehow, the modifications they had made to the recipe had caused an explosion, which had crippled Caleb and sent him home for the year. They hadn’t quite known what they were doing, Emily realized; Mountaintop taught Third Year students how to produce Manaskol , but Whitehall waited until Fourth Year, believing the students needed more grounding first. Caleb would have had to learn very quickly, once he’d realized it was necessary...and he might not have considered just how temperamental the liquid could be.
“It could have been worse,” she muttered to herself. “They could have killed themselves.”
“They could have,” Lady Barb agreed. Emily looked up to see the older woman eying her with a sardonic eye. “I don’t believe anyone told them that producing Manaskol was safe .”
Emily nodded. It had taken months for her to master the recipe...and she still lost one wok in three, whenever she brewed it for Professor Thande. She was mildly surprised that they’d let her keep producing it, but in hindsight she suspected the Grandmaster had intended to pair her with Caleb all along. He must have seen real potential in Caleb’s proposal for spell mosaics. Looking at the papers, Emily could see it too.
“I would like to try to work with him,” she said, nervously. Working with others wasn’t one of her strengths, particularly when the other was a boy she didn’t know. “Would you send him a message?”
“I’ll have a letter sent on from Cockatrice,” Lady Barb said. “He should be here in a week or so, just in time for the Faire. Do try and find some time to actually work together, all right?”
“I will,” Emily promised. She had plans for the summer and they didn’t just include the proposal. It was high time she put everything she’d learned at Mountaintop to work and actually started on the first magical battery. “Do you know him?”
Lady Barb shrugged. “He wasn’t in my classes at Whitehall,” she said. “I know his mother, if that’s any help. She is — was — a strong-minded woman.”
“Like you,” Emily said.
“You have to be strong-minded if you want to be a Mediator,” Lady Barb said, bluntly. “The people you have to work with won’t respect you if you seem weak, or inclined to compromise. I was surprised she married a general. We’re normally inclined to bicker with senior officers instead of marrying them.”
“Maybe it was love,” Frieda said, abandoning her book. “They might have been deeply in love and chose to spend the rest of their lives together.”
“I think you should spend more time on your schoolwork and less on soppy romantic novels,” Lady Barb said, crossly. She hadn’t been in a good mood since the coach had left the castle, although Emily had no idea why. “The real world is rarely driven by people who fall in love at first sight.”
Emily rolled her eyes as Frieda blushed. She’d read a couple of what passed for romantic novels in the
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