School

     Bisha Massey sat waiting to find out if he had qualified for further training in majic at the most prestigious majic school on Ardu, the Adikha Yunavarasiti. He had come from nothing. An urchin on the streets of Khunduz, the capitol of the Royal Kingdom of Ashfanabad. His earliest schooling had been at one of the local school in one of the poorest parts of Khundus. Only because the current Pasha had opened the orphanages and associated schools all over his country had allowed him to get any real education at all. 

     About twenty years ago the current Pasha had come to rule. He had a passion for education and making sure his people, all of his people, got one. Bisha wasn't sure how old he was. He thought he was about twenty-one but didn't know for sure. He had been found as a toddler in one of the poorest parts of the Alfagir district. No one was actually sure how old he'd been when he was found so they had used the date he was found as his birthday. Bisha didn't even know what his birth name was. He hadn't been able to tell anyone what his name was when he was found. So he had been given a new name to go with his new birthday.

     All Bisha remembered about his life before he had been found was vague memories of a smiling face. The feeling of comfort from loving arms. The sound of quiet singing. Bisha wasn't sure how or why he had ended up where he had been found. He did sometimes in the dark of the night have nightmares about being lost and unable to find someone or something precious. He wasn't sure if it was an item or a person that he looked for. But he knew that he needed to find it and couldn't.

     Either way he had become one of the Abna Albasha or Pasha's children once he graduated from the Ileri Okul, In other lands it would be considered a high school. His teachers had discovered that he had a talent for majic. Because he was at best an indifferent artificer it was decided that he should get his higher education at the Alkadharam Yunavarasiti which is how he'd come to be sitting outside of the dean's office, waiting. It was not common to be sent out country for an education. It wasn't unheard of but it wasn't common. There were few things that the various universities in and around Khunduz didn't teach. But in some cases the best teachers for something were found in other lands. So here he was, waiting to find out if he was going to be sent to yet another place to further his education.

     Bisha reached into one of the pockets of his robes. Khomal, his pet zukar plunar. Khomal was a small, hand-sized animal. A flap of skin ran between their front and back legs that allowed them to glide through the air. Black eyes that seemed almost to big for his head and grey fur. White stripes down both sides ran the length of it's body. Khomal was the only reminder of home that Bisha had. All that he had brought with him had been clothes and some books. Unlike most of his classmates he had no memento's of his family anywhere in his rooms. While Bisha had made friends while in school in Ashfanabad, none of them had been particularly close. His only reminder of home was Khomal. Not that he'd ever really had a home. Not that he knew of at least.

     Bisha was sitting in a chair in the waiting area outside of one of the meeting rooms. He was more than a little nervous sitting here. He was always at least a bit nervous when he had to talk to his instructors outside of the classroom. Bisha had always been nervous around authority figures. No matter how much he liked the person with authority over him. Bisha didn't know why he was nervous, only that he was. The nervousness was almost constant with him. And no one had ever figured out why. Maybe he would figure out what the cause was someday, but until he did there was nothing he could do about it..

     Bisha had been sent an invite to work on a project at the Adikha Yunavarsiti. He really wanted to work with the majes on this project. His instructors knew about the invitation and were deciding if he could do so. Working on majic was the only time his nervousness with authority figures was eased. He hoped that if he was on a more equal footing with those teaching him than he would feel better all around. Bisha had enjoyed his time here and would miss quite a few of the other students here. Even Khomal had found friends here. But he really wanted to finish his schooling so he could go back home. Well back to Khunduz at least, he'd never really had had a home in the normal sense.

    Bisha really wanted to go back home and help his people to the best of his ability. While Kishnagar was made up of many different races, there just weren't that many that had horns. For some reason the cherry red skin and horns made the other races nervous. Bisha was tired of being one of the only Ashfani around. Not many of the Ashfani lived any place but the Royal Kingdom of Ashfanabad. Sure they visited other lands, usually for trade. But very few ever stayed in those other lands. There seemed to be an almost visceral reaction to how he looked here in Alkadharam. It puzzled Bisha, after all no one in Ashfanabad reacted that way. Maybe it was just that there aren't that many Ashfani that lived here.

     If everything went well then he'd be able to go to the best majical school on Ardu. Then he'd go home and help others in Ashfanabad that could learn majic but weren't artificers. That way no one else would have to leave Ashfanabad to get an education. At least learning was as important to the Kishnagari as it was to his own people. It wasn't much but it was something. Bisha could feel at home in school, he enjoyed learning. Enjoyed how majic made him feel. When he mastered a new spell and felt the power flow through him. It was, well majical. No pun intended.

    Someday, Bisha thought to himself while he gently petted Khomal. Someday I'll be able to help everyone on Ardu. Especially the Ashfani who saved me and gave my life meaning. And the fact that he would be able to do majic to do so made Bisha feel happy. There was almost a glow around Bisha as he thought how majic made him feel. A glow that vanished when the door he sat next to opened. Bisha hurriedly put Khomal back in the pocket he'd taken it from. Rising to his feet and spinning to face whoever had opened the door.

    "You may enter now Bisha," the instructor said while motioning Bisha to follow him into the room. "We have come to a decision and I hope it will please you," the gentle voice that spoke belonged to one of Bisha's teachers. Bisha swallowed hard as he hurried to follow into the room he had waited outside of. All of his nervousness about authority figures came back. It was a very subdued young man that followed into the room. All he could do know was pray.

Memories

     Bisha wasn't sure how he'd gotten back to his room. He was so happy that he was overwhelmed. They were going to let him go to Adikha Yunavarsiti to continue his studies in majic. Reaching into his pocket, Bisha took Khomal out from where the zukar plunar stayed when he was out of his rooms. Khomal climbed onto his shoulder and glided from there to his little nest that hung on Bisha's wall over his dresser. From there he chittered happily as if he understood why Bisha was so happy today. Bisha gave a small laugh to his only friend from home.

     The senior instructors had told him that he was going to be going to Alkadharam for further studies and that he was going to be working on a very important project while he was learning. When he was done at the yunavarasiti he would be a wizard. Technically he was a wizard now. But the opportunity to learn at the greatest school of majic was one that he couldn't pass up. No one could have passed on a chance like this one.

     Bisha knew he was currently a good wizard but all of his instructors said that he would be better with more teaching, if he wanted it. Wanted it? Who wouldn't have wanted more teaching.  Bisha thought that learning was the greatest thing on Ardu. He wasn't sure what the project was exactly but he would find out when he got there. The seniors then had told Bisha that he wouldn't have to get there by himself. This had relieved him to no end. He was going to have an escort to get him safely to his new school. Unlike his trip here which he'd done solo. Well kinda solo, he had been traveling with a trade caravan. But not one of caravan people had been there just for him. This time he was going to have an escort that was just for him and no one else.

      That night Bisha had a hard time sleeping. He was so excited about his new opportunity that he just couldn't relax enough for sleep. While he lay on his bed in the dark room his mind started to wander over his past. How everything had lined up, leading to this chance. From his education in Khunduz and how the Pasha had opened the schools for everyone, including the orphans. To everything he had learned and everyone he'd met since coming here.

      Bisha's earliest memories were of being hungry and cold. He had no clue about who his mother and father were. Nor about what had happened to them. Had they abandoned him for some reason? Had they died? Had someone made them leave him? Bisha had no clue. Nor had he any idea of how to find out. Maybe there was a spell he could learn that would let him find out. But other than that he was clueless about how to find out anything about himself and his history.

      The orphanage had told him that they thought he was about three or four when he'd been found roaming the streets of Khundus alone. He'd been able to tell his rescuers his name but not much else. All Bisha knew was that for the first time in his short life he had plenty of wholesome food and a safe warm and dry place to sleep. It was heaven to the starveling toddler that he had been once upon a time. To say that he almost worshiped them wasn't an understatement. He would do almost anything for those who had helped him so much.

      When he'd been old enough to start his schooling Bisha had really started to shine. He had mastered the basics of reading writing and mathematics at an astonishing rate. Bisha had discovered education and he loved it. Bisha's idea of a great time was to read a book or to study some new topic. He was never happier than when he was learning something. To his mind even fiction and poetry had something to teach especially if he'd read whatever it was at least once. Unlike many people Bisha enjoyed rereading things. No matter how many times he had read something there it seemed to him that there was always something new to learn,

      While he had been at the orphanage Bisha had learned many things. Not just from the teachers either. The older students had taught him how to survive on the streets when someone was the smallest one around. Even in the safety of the orphanage some of the larger or older children that lived there were less than kind to those smaller or weaker. And Bisha was usually both. As a result Bisha had gotten very good at what others would call street fighting but he just called survival. On more than one occasion Bisha had gotten beaten by other students or worse by kids on the street. so when he couldn't run he had learned to fight, sorta.

     It wasn't until he learned his majic that the bullies started to leave him alone. Bisha had learned slight of hand and pick pocketing before his majic had manifested. It was the best way that he could think of to keep from being bullied. He had been small and weak before he had started to learn actual majic. Bisha wasn't really any bigger or stronger in comparison to others but majic had given him resources that he'd never had before. Suddenly Bisha was no longer the weakest one around. In fact he was the often the strongest one in any group thanks to the majic Bisha controlled.

     Bisha hadn't had a lot of friends when he'd been in the orphanage. The schools that he had attended had taught students from both the areas orphanages as well as the rest of the poor that resided in that part of town. The other residents of the orphanage and students at the schools he had attended before coming to Alkadharam had both seen him as a weakling. Now he was seen as strong because he had majic. Now people wanted to be his friend because he was now seen as strong. Bisha didn't want to have any of those people to be his friend. So he only had the, very few, people that hadn't cared what he could do either for or to them. The majority of those people were here in the Alkadharam Yunavarasiti. His advanced training had gone a long way to helping him make friends. For the first time in his life Bisha wasn't the outsider and weakling in any group. He was no different than any other student in the school. For the first time in his life Bisha was surrounded by others that wanted to learn as much as he did.

      Bisha was happy, truly happy, for the first time in his life. There was no shadow of someone around him trying to figure out how he could advance their standing. While helping those worse off than oneself was generally how people conducted themselves. The poorest, like Bisha and those around him, usually were out for themselves. This was often the case no matter how altruistic the society those at the very bottom had a more selfish outlook. After all it was hard to help others when you needed every scrap to survive. So here in Alkadharam was the first time that he'd been truly free to make real friends. And now he was going to leave them for yet another school. No matter how happy he was to go Bisha knew that he would miss his new friends as well.

New Friend

     Bisha was told that he needed to go to the Adventurers guild to meet the first of his new guards for his journey to Adikha Yunavarasiti. The journey across Kishnagar was going to be a long one no matter which path was taken. He also learned that because the yunavarasiti was in such a remote area he would be well advised to keep his guards from his journey there if he wanted to leave the grounds for any reason.  No guards would be provided by the yunavarasiti for any expeditions of any kind except school trips. Unlike most schools of any kind, there was no town surrounding Adikha Yunavarasiti mainly because the high majical field that surrounded it made people uncomfortable. Apparently having inanimate objects start to move around, animals start to talk or having your children  born with odd modifications meant that the Adikha Yunavarasiti was unique in its isolation.

     Fortunately for Bisha his instructors were well aware of this fact and were hiring people that could stay with him for an extended amount of time. Bisha hoped that his guards would be people that he could get alone with. He'd had enough of people pretending to like him because of what he could do. Bisha had gotten a belly's worth of that kind of thing before he's ever left Khunduz for Alkadharam six years ago. It had been refreshing to be someplace that his scholarship wasn't seen as strange or unusual. For the first time in his life there were other people who lived to learn. Back home he'd been the only one who loved learning so much. Bisha had finished his basic schooling far younger than average. The usual age was eighteen to twenty for advanced training not the sixteen that he'd been. A much younger age than was usually sent for advanced schooling. As far as Bisha knew he was one of the youngest of the Abna Albasha or Pasha's children ever.

     So here he was, waiting yet again. This time it was in the common room of the adventurer's guild in Alkadharam. To Bisha the room looked more like a tavern than the entry to any guild. Not that Bisha had been in many taverns in his life. But it definitely resembled how one would look, how they were described in some of the books he'd read or stories he'd heard. To Bisha's eyes it didn't look like what he'd imagined a serious guild hall should look. He was waiting for the first of his guards to come in. Bisha had been told that she had just arrived the day before and had never been to Kishnagar before, but that she was well qualified to help him on his journey.

      Twenty tables were placed around the room, each holding at least three and up to seven people comfortably. The different tables were each placed so that it was possible to talk quietly and not be overheard. The only way to know that you weren't in an inn or tavern was that there was no bar to be found anywhere in the room. In place of where the bar would be was a freestanding raised desk where people checked in. He had gone there when he first arrived and been handed off to the guild master that was introducing him to a tall and imposing Oristani. 

     Bisha had not expected who or what had walked in.  At first he'd thought that the very tall and severe looking female Oristani was there for another reason. She was completely clad in black which as far as Bisha knew didn't happen. Usually the Oristani dressed in as many colors as they could. Frequently the colors clashed horribly and the more they clashed the more the Oristani seemed to like them. Not that Bisha had had a lot of experience with the Oristani that bordered the Ashfanabad lands. They just didn't leave their lands all that often. Preferring to stay in their own lands following the herds. Mind you they often thought that the lands of their neighbors were their own lands but they usually didn't cause trouble and they never stayed to long. They were almost always on the move so the herds they nurtured and followed would have good grazing and water.

      Even more surprising than the color of the Oristani's clothes was the Ashfan Hound that walked at her side. While it was possible for an Ashfan Hound to be found away from Ashfanabad, it wasn't common. Generally the hounds were found living wild in other lands and only in Ashfanabad were they domesticated. It wasn't an easy thing to domesticate one of them. so finding one walking at the side of the black clad Oristani was a shock. The hound wore no collar so Bisha knew that it hadn't been trained by an Ashfani. The hounds that were trained by his people always kept them collared so they could be told from the wild ones. Those in the wild were all the more dangerous because the only way to tell if one is wild or tame was whether they had a collar on.

       Bisha waited while the Guild Facilitator, the one who introduced guild members to prospective employers, brought the tall Oristani over to where he waited. The Oristani female towered over him even after they had both sat down. This was becoming more and more uncomfortable to Bisha as it progressed and they hadn't even gotten to the introductions yet. Bisha was starting to feel overwhelmed already. Just then the Ashfan Hound touched him with his nose and then gave him a small, quick lick on the back of his hand. Bisha looked down and felt a bit better, less overwhelmed by the black clad female that sat across from him.

      "Bisha," the Facilitator said gesturing to him. "This is Nahla. She is the first of your guards."

      Bisha looked at the tall, olive skinned female that sat across the table from him. There was something about her being dressed all in black that Bisha thought he should remember but currently it escaped him. Like him the adventurer before him also wore a type of turban. Unlike his, hers wasn't because of horns but because in the desert it was wise to avoid to much sun reaching the skin. There was a large spear that leaned against the table between them on her right hand. The hound sat at her left, tongue lolling out the right side of his mouth like a smile.

      Everything but her eyes was covered in the many folds of her robes and turban. Even to Bisha's thinking the tall female looked greener than usual. Not that he had a lot of experience with the Oristani. A drape of fabric covered all of the Oristani's face except her eyes. Since she was a female, Bisha knew that she would have tusks that grew from the top of her mouth. Oristani males had tusks that grew upwards from the bottom upwards. Not that Bisha had ever seen Oristani tusks with his own eyes, but how they grew was common knowledge.

      From her first words Bisha thought that he'd be able to at least get along with the imposing female in front of him. The Ashfan Hound was the biggest reason that Bisha felt even remotely comfortable with the first of those that would go with him to his new school. An Ashfan Hound wouldn't tolerate someone who was cruel to them. This gave Bisha hope that this Nahla was a nice person. And that just maybe she'd be nice to him too. It was a place to start.   

Nahla the shaman

     Bisha didn't ask any questions until the Facilitator had left them. In Ashfanabad it was considered bad manners to ask personal questions around others. So until the two of them were alone at the table he couldn't ask her about herself nor could he tell her about himself. While he was listening to the Facilitator tell Nahla the basics of his journey to the Adikha Yunavarasiti Bisha observed the imposing Oristani before him. He already knew that she was tall. She had towered over the Facilitator while he'd lead her to Bisha's table. She had stared at him the whole time the Facilitator was talking. So much so that Bisha was starting to wonder if she ever blinked. It was very hard to gauge emotion when all he could see of her face was her eyes.

    The fact that Nahla didn't seem to blink was really starting to freak Bisha out. How long could someone go without blinking. Bisha had never heard that the Oristani didn't blink. And he was fairly certain that something like that would have been mentioned when he'd learned about the Oristani in school. Add to that her all black clothing and Nahla was one of the most frightening people he'd ever seen. The only reason he didn't just run away from her was the presence of the Ashfan Hound at her side. The hounds were well known for not tolerating people who were cruel or mean to those around them. There were many stories of Ashfan Hounds leaving anyone that was cruel to others. sometimes they would kill or maim the cruel or ill-tempered that tried to control them. But usually they just left those they didn't like for another person.

      Once the Facilitator left the two of them could start to actually get to know each other. With any luck they would like each other. But even if they merely tolerated each other it would be better than how the other children in the orphanage had made him feel. He'd not had very many friends until he'd been sent to Alkadharam Yunavarasiti. Sure people had said they were his friends but a niggling doubt had always made him wonder if it was true. Bisha hoped that this frightening Oristani across the table from him would be one of the few friends he had.

      "You go to Adikha Yunavarasiti to work?" Nahla asked as she uncovered her face.

      The harsh voice of the black clad Oristani startled Bisha so much that it took him a second to answer her. The Oristani was even more imposing without her face covering. Now he could see her tusks poking out over her bottom lip. Her face was a harsh play of angular lines. Nahla looked like she could chew metal and spit nails. If she looked any more frightening he wouldn't be able to speak.

     "Sort of. I'm going for advanced studies and to work on a new experiment at the yunavarasiti," he answered.

     Bisha saw the confused look on Nahla's face at the word experiment. He wasn't sure if it was the word itself or the context that she didn't understand. Bisha suspected that it was the context but it was hard to tell for sure since he knew for certain that Kishnagari was at least a second language but was more likely to be her third or fourth language. Did she know Ashfani? would it be easier if he spoke that? Bisha wasn't sure but now wasn't the time to find out. Later, when he knew more about her, he would find out. Until then he would continue to use Kishnagari to talk to her.

      The conversation started out slow but as time passed they both relaxed a bit. Bisha learned that Nahla was a Shaman and that was why she wore all black. He wasn't at all surprised that Nahla had a Temee with her as well. What was surprising was that the Adventurer's Guild was able to convince Nahla that her Temee didn't belong inside the guild house with her. To the best of Bisha's knowledge the Oristani took their Temee with them everywhere they went. That was what everyone said at home at least. Maybe Shaman were different? It didn't hurt to ask.

    "Do you have a Temee?" Bisha asked hesitantly.

     "Of course I do" Nahla replied indignantly. A very confused look on her face. "All Adult Oristani have a Temee. It's a given."

     "Is yours in the stable? I mean, I can't think of any other place it would be but I might be wrong," Bisha continued. He looked at Nahla with a hopeful look on his face. He really didn't want Nahla to take his question the wrong way. she was scary enough when she was being friendly he definitely didn't want to see her annoyed. Bisha figured that if Nahla was truly annoyed with him she might just break him to feel better. There was no way he was going to risk that.

    "They wouldn't let me bring Usha into the guild house," Nahla looked a bit embarrassed and confused at the admission.

     It was clear that Nahla didn't understand why the Temee wasn't allowed into the guild house, after all the Ashfan Hound was allowed in. Bisha knew why the Temee was excluded, people didn't bring their horses into their houses after all. But that wasn't how the Oristani thought, they did bring their Temee into their tents. To them their Temee was a member of the family. Not letting their Temee in was like saying their child couldn't come in. It just didn't happen, ever. Actually Bisha wouldn't be surprised to learn that Nahla had slept in the stable with her Usha. And low and behold that was exactly what Nahla had tried. Apparently they hadn't allowed her to. They did give her the option of letting her hound stay with her Temee. According to Nahla however Ryah had refused to leave Nahla especially when she slept.

    From her conversation Bisha figured out that Usha was the Temee and Ryah was the Ashfan Hound. It was obvious to Bisha that to Nahla Usha, the Temee, and Ryah, the Ashfan Hound, were as much people to Nahla as he was. That Ryah had decided for herself to stay with Nahla instead of with the Temee. And that Nahla had gone with Ryah's decision just hammered home how the Oristani felt about the animals that lived and worked with them. It was completely different from how he had been brought up. So much so that Bisha wondered if the animals that traveled with Nahla were special in some way. Or was that all animals were special like Usha and Ryah and he'd just never noticed.