《Realm of Man》


 I did it...

    I talked to the scary senior the other students whisper about, and boy were they¡­ wrong? I don¡¯t know why everyone is so nervous around him. Even just talking about him feels taboo. No one would tell me his name or why he was such a big deal, but since I¡¯m on the verge of being kicked out for my grades I decided to satisfy my curiosity.


    I ended up skipping my afternoon classes to follow my target. (I hope whoever ends up reading this in the future doesn¡¯t judge me with some snooty distaste like all the nobles I¡¯ve met with coin so far up their arses. It¡¯s not like I was passing those classes, much less understanding them. In my opinion, nothing was lost from an afternoon hunt. Actually, forget that. I gained so much by following the mysterious ¡°taboo¡± senior.


    I¡¯m getting ahead of myself though, I learned that I should write down my observations as soon as I can so that I can record them as clearly as possible and study them.


    What did I learn about the forbidden student that everyone would rather pretend didn¡¯t exist? Maybe his name? What he likes to eat? What classes he takes in the afternoon?


    None of it.


    I didn¡¯t learn even the boring everyday things about him. How could I even begin to learn the more important things like why everyone avoided him?


    What I did learn about our man of mystery is that he¡¯s like an owl in every way except for his looks. He likes to find the highest places around him to perch with his prey (whatever book he¡¯s reading). It¡¯s amazing how he seems to be so absorbed in whatever he¡¯s doing while keeping an eye on his surroundings for danger. But he¡¯s not really an owl, or else I wouldn¡¯t have found his blind spots so easily.


    You would think I stepped out of his shadow with how easy it was to walk up behind him and read along whatever he was studying. Although, I wouldn¡¯t say that I really read any of it. I saw a handful of complicated words I¡¯ve never seen before and let my eyes wander to the diagrams that took up the other page.


    I don¡¯t know if some researcher decided to pull a prank on anyone who was unlucky enough to pick up their notes, but I could swear the curves and runic characters moved around on the page. Even thinking about it now makes me feel nauseous.


    ¡°Are you interested in the art of abstract (some complicated words I think he made up to look smart)?¡±


    My cover was blown and he didn¡¯t even look up from his page of ants marching in confusing patterns. I had to think of some excuse for why I was bothering him. Luckily my years of dealing with people more educated than me taught me that they loved every opportunity to show off.


    I asked him, ¡°How do you keep track of something so complicated? I don¡¯t think I could memorize some of those words, not even considering what they mean together.¡±


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    He closed the book and laid it on his lap. His willow branch fingers tapping away at the cover as he thought up how he would embarrass me with his education. I was prepared for it of course, he¡¯d say whatever overly complicated thought and I¡¯d respond with an awkward smile and give him an empty compliment before excusing myself.


    What I wasn¡¯t ready for was a simple answer.


    ¡°I take notes.¡±


    That was it. I must have looked dumb because he took out a tattered and worn journal stuffed with extra pages that were held in every way possible. Some pages were stuck in place with wax while others were tied to the edge of others, and even more were floating freely between pages.


    The senior flipped to a page and unfolded a diagram that looked almost exactly like the one in the book. Only this one didn¡¯t make my head spin like it was used to replace a carriage wheel.


    I took his notes and shouted, ¡°Wait, I know these words. I don¡¯t really know what they¡¯re trying to say, but I can kind of understand it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d hope so.¡± He laughed.


    (I couldn¡¯t believe it. The mysterious student actually laughed. So much for the roomers of him being a golem meant to imitate the facility¡¯s idea of a model student.)


    ¡°What classes are you taking? I can find my notes so you can borrow them.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say, I just nodded and mouthed the words ¡®thank you.¡¯ (Why was I so flustered? I¡¯ve talked to so many different kinds of people, I¡¯ve even talked to people just like him. Why was he so different?)


    <hr>


    Edit: I guess I never said why I started this journal. (Diary? Whatever you want to call it.)


    After I borrowed my new friends'' notes I realized how easy my classes actually were. I mean they¡¯re supposed to be easy, they¡¯re only introductory courses for commoners to test the waters and see if they¡¯re made of the right stuff to be mages and scholars.


    But, by the heavens above, (Gran Gran forgive me for speaking ill of my elders.) Those teachers do not know how to do their jobs. I thought incantations were like some sort of prayer to help make a spell work and people somehow stumbled across the right words to make a ball of light or freeze a cup of water. Mr. Taboo made it ridiculously easy though. They aren¡¯t prayers in a traditional way, but more like guideposts to help make the image of the outcome you want more real in your head.


    I ended up asking him after a few days how he learned to take such good notes and asking him to teach me. He ended up telling me that it¡¯s not about writing down everything a teacher says or what¡¯s written in a book. Instead it¡¯s about asking questions about what you don¡¯t understand, finding the answer on your own in a way you can relate it to something you already know, and then putting the pieces together.


    He ended up talking about something called a puzzle. (I think it¡¯s something bored nobles use to entertain themselves. I¡¯ll have to remember to ask him.) It did make me think of carving wooden figures though, how whatever you want to make is all there under a solid block. You just have to chisel away what doesn¡¯t make sense until you get what you¡¯re looking for. (I think that makes sense.)


    <hr>


    Second Edit: I was told I should give my thoughts on my notes so I can better understand them.


    Mysterious student - He still doesn¡¯t make a lot of sense, but he¡¯s not as scary as everyone thinks. (I think I¡¯d like to be friends.)


    Outcome - I learned a little bit of what the mysterious student is actually like (I still haven¡¯t learned his name.)


    Goals - Learn his name and become friends(?)