If it was possible, the inside of the school seemed even more magnificent than the outside. Era looked around as much as he was able with the small posse of mages surrounding him. They had come at the behest of the guard escorting him, and each viewed Era with a suspicious eye. He tried to be polite and smile back at their stares, but there was no denying that he was quite nervous.
Their walk was long, leading them far down the school’s halls and up several sets of stairs. The students rarely stared; in fact, most didn’t even spare the group a glance. Era puzzled over this until they reached large wooden double-doors after a very slow, long walk. The doors had the word “OFFICE” carved into them, and the lead guard loudly banged on the door with the heavy iron door-knocker on the left side.
“Enter,” said a man’s voice within, and two of the mages shoved open the heavy doors, revealing an enormous, elaborately-decorated office with bookshelves lining the walls and a single enormous desk near the back. Sitting at the desk was a very large-girthed man with no hair on the top of his head and a long white beard. He wore a disinterested scowl as the group approached him.
“My lord Tarrgus,” addressed the guard, “this man requested an audience with you.”
Tarrgus gave an irritated snort, shooting a cursory glance at Era. “And what did he want to see me for? I do hope you’re not wasting my time, fool.”
“He… did not say, my lord.”
“Oh, how lovely,” he said, sarcasm dripping from every word. “Bah! Well, he’s here now. You, boy!” he said, eyes locked on Era. “What is your name?”
“Ahm… er, Era, sir.” He flushed in nervousness.
“Hmph. The rest of you, clear out. Apparently, we have business to attend to.”
“But sir,” the guard protested, “he might be dangerous if—”
“I said clear out, and I meant it!!” he bellowed.
He visibly paled, giving Tarrgus a curt nod. “As… as you wish, sire.” The mages and guard scrambled out of the room, shutting the doors with an echoing “thud.”
“’Era,’ eh? Just ‘Era?’ Don’t be stupid, boy, what’s your full name?” Tarrgus asked harshly.
“Well… Era Dalgard, sir, but, ah… it’s complicated, you see…”
“I’m just asking for your name, boy, it’s not a complicated matter!!” His voice rose as he continued and his cheeks reddened in anger.
“That’s what I’m here to find out!!” he cried, surprised at the strength in his own voice. Both were silent for a moment.
“Well then, enlighten me. How do you expect to find that out here?” Tarrgus asked, his voice quieter but his tone no less harsh.
“I know my Mage-Name,” he replied quietly. “I would like to see the school records, please. That’s all I’m here for.”
Tarrgus sat still a moment, baffled. “You have a Mage-Name, street urchin? I find that difficult to believe.” He sat back and smiled smugly. “Where is your sigil, then?”
“Ah.” Digging through the small satchel he’d brought with him, Era pulled out his sigil. “Here.”
This caught the headmaster by surprise, and he immediately snatched it from his hands. “Did you steal this, filthy beggar?! You claim this to be yours?!”
“Ask it yourself, then!” he cried desperately. “It is mine!!”
The large man grabbed Era’s wrist in his free hand, gripping it tightly as he held the sigil in his other. Era expected him to snap his bones, but instead the headmaster fell into a trance, concentrating deeply as he had seen Gabriel do before. Several moments later, Tarrgus opened his eyes and sat back slowly.
“You… speak the truth,” he muttered, handing back the sigil. “I’ll fetch the records, boy, but you can sort through them yourself.” He slowly lifted his weight out of the chair, grumbling about “doing secretary work” and “what I’d do if I ran the place.”
Era’s heart was racing, both from the fear that still lingered within him and the excitement of what he was sure he’d find. If I have a name, I have an identity, he thought. I can find out who I was.
Several minutes later, the assistant headmaster brought back several thick leather-bound books that looked like they each weighed as much as Era did. He dropped them loudly on the end of the table. “Help yourself,” he muttered, seating himself back down and continuing where he left off in his paperwork.
Throwing the first book open, Era immediately began leafing quickly through the pages to the section where Mage-Names were listed alphabetically.
Each book was a year at the school; the first four books were misses. This one was from eight years ago, Era noted idly, once more leafing through the parchment pages. It can’t be the right one, but it can’t hurt, can it? As he got to the “E” names, Era saw something that made his heart skip a beat.
Erauldin -- Samuel Lyonsworth
Eravitral -- Wendon Schmitt
Erbusyyn -- Galen Foley
It’s gone, Era realized with a mix of confusion and panic, my name should be right there, and… it’s gone.
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