Chapter 11 | Ravinica

Chapter 11

Ravinica

THE PRESSURE WAS ON . I had a year.

I can do a lot in a year.

I left the Hersir's office feeling numb. A whirlwind had just ripped around me, with insults, compliments, and begrudging acceptance all being thrown about.

Somehow, through it all, I had been admitted into Vikingrune Academy. It was official.

On the way out, Eirik told me, "Hersir Ingvus Jorthyr's word is as stone. In a perfect world, you won't be challenged by other professors and tutors now. The same can't be said about your peers, however."

I nodded fiercely. "I know. Thank you, E."

"For what?"

"For getting my back. I'm not used to that. I appreciate it."

We stepped outside the building, into the twilit evening. Up on the hill was cold, the wind whipping the trees around. The high walls of the academy plateau shielded me a bit.

Eirik put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed lightly. "I didn't do it for you, Vini. I did it because it's true. You will be a worthy addition here."

My eyes strangely burned. I blinked away the emotions and the lump in my throat, and nodded wordlessly to my brother.

Eirik turned away, staring up at the moonlit sky. A raven flew overhead. We watched it caw and disappear into the trees. "I have to go find my people now, Vini. Head south, ask someone for directions to Nottdeen Quarter if you get lost."

I blinked at him. "Wait, you're not coming with me?"

"Orientation is tomorrow. As a Drengr, there are things I need to discuss with my comrades." He gave me a small smile. "Don't worry. You'll be safe here."

I opened my mouth to say more as he started walking away, and then clamped my lips shut. I was sad he walked away. He didn't have to face the emotion written on my face after I'd thanked him.

I supposed I couldn't fault my brother for leaving me in this strange place, alone. Apparently he was an important man here. He likely wanted me to get a feel for the academy on my own, to show some self-sufficiency.

I retraced our steps heading south, this time with the moon lighting my path. The air was clearer and crisper up here than it had been on the basin level of the Isle. I took in a deep lungful and smiled up at the sky as I walked, despite feeling like a fish out of water.

I saw more people walking around with my anxious tunnel vision on the way to Hersir Ingvus fading. Students, scholars, teachers—it was hard to tell who everyone was. Some wore old leather armor, some had on plain shirts and pants, and others wore robes.

Despite the varying garb, everyone had a homogenous look about them: generally tall, strong, severe. Not a lot of smiles going around, except for me. Mostly blond hair, but certainly some darker mops and a few redheads. Lots of people my own age, even younger. A decidedly human bent to everyone I passed. I didn't see any other tapered ears, or half-tapered like mine.

Either these folk walking the paths were new arrivals from the other Wraith ships, or people were starting to show from their dormitories with the semester beginning soon.

I had no idea what to expect once it started. Guess I'll learn tomorrow. For now, I needed to take my win and just be glad I was here.

As I ventured south, I got turned around by the sameness of the many buildings and dwellings. I scratched my cheek, trying to stop a passing couple. "Excuse me—"

They took one look at my hair and ears and passed me like I didn't exist.

Flaring my nostrils, I swiped my hair from behind my ears to let it fall over and cover my ears. I could hide the rounded points, yet I couldn't hide my silver mane.

The next few people I walked by didn't seem inclined to help me, either. My frustration grew. Until a voice called out from the side, "Not having a lot of luck with the locals, eh?"

I glanced over as someone walked out from the shadow of a longhouse awning, moving lithely like a cat.

A smile broke out on my face before I could stop it. "Arne."

He joined my side. "Follow me."

"Where's Rolf?"

"Deposited at Nottdan Quarter, with the other men. Thank the gods for it, too."

I chuckled. "Happy to get away from your lumbering ward?"

"I'd rather be walking alongside a beautiful creature such as you."

I tilted my head. Sounded backhand, calling me a creature, yet I'd take it. Men were weird.

"I'm assuming things went well with the Hersir," he said as we continued walking south, through a row of hedges that split off into a small glade. "Else you wouldn't still be here."

I nodded. "I have a year to prove myself. If my powers don't show themselves by then, I'm out."

Arne mulled that over, tapping his chin. "Seems you have your work cut out for you."

He took me to a two-story longhouse in the southeastern corner of the grounds, diagonally south of Fort Woden a couple miles away. A handful of women chatted near the front door, smiling, chuckling, carrying on. A knot formed in my stomach as I longed for that kind of camaraderie and friendship.

Arne stopped a stone's throw from the door. "This is Nottdeen Quarter. Sleeping dormitory for women." He crossed his arms. "I'm not allowed in there. Find Dagny Largul. She'll help you get acquainted."

I smiled at him. "Not allowed in there, yet you know who to turn to for help?"

The corner of Arne's lips curled in a smirk. "Just because I'm not allowed inside doesn't mean I've never been inside."

My smile widened. "Glad to see you're not a stickler for the rules like my brother."

"Eirik has expectations to keep. I'm a bit more fluid in how I operate, little fox." He winked at me.

A thrum of excitement jolted through me as he winked his pretty eyes. A pool of heat gathered at the base of my belly, which was surprising but not unwelcome.

"I know when I can bend the rules," he added. "Keeping the men, women, and nonbinary separated is an Old Way tradition that has faced backlash in recent years. I don't disagree with the reprisal. Just look at Loki as precedence for the arguments; it doesn't get more ‘Old Way' than him."

The trickster god was a prime example of a genderfluid deity who could change his shape, gender, and sexuality when it suited him. Arne was right: mixed-gender and gender- neutral dormitories made sense for followers of our history and pantheon.

"Modernity has taught us to separate and individualize ourselves," he said, surprising me with his rhetoric. "I disagree with it, as do many others here. Community goes a long way." He shrugged. "We hold little sway or power though, and I'm not about to jeopardize my studies over a simple disagreement."

That's where you and I differ, Arne. I will risk my schooling and my freedom for the right cause—the right disagreement.

"Anyway," Arne said. "I've got to be going. People to see, things to do." Without an embrace, salute, or handshake, Arne dropped the discussion.

First Eirik abandoned me, then him. Although it made sense seeing that men weren't allowed in Nottdeen. "Damn," I teased, "does everyone here have a secret club they're part of?"

He grinned. "I'll introduce you to them in due time, little fox." Before turning away, he added, "Be at Dorymir Hall after breakfast tomorrow. It's between Fort Woden and the Tomes. You can't miss it. Just follow all the people."

He gave me one more smile before leaving, eyes twinkling, and I watched him go.

Just what has this academy made you, iceshaper? I was utterly curious about the graceful, strange man, who walked alone but talked about community, could pass as a woman but could take down the largest man in the room, and sounded like a rebel storyteller and a military commander in the same breath. He idealized how things should be , yet accepted the norms of our society.

I thought, if anything, Arne Gornhodr exemplified Loki's dual nature more than anyone I'd met in my life.

Turning away from him, I gazed at Nottdeen Quarter and took a deep breath. I marched right past the gaggle of women at the front and went inside.

It was bustling with activity, with different women showing new initiates where to go. There was a beautiful muscular girl with her brown hair shorn on the sides, pointing and directing traffic down the various halls of the longhouse.

A staircase to my side creaked as people went up and down. Another woman was motioning initiates up the steps, this one with two red braids bobbing on her shoulders. Loud voices, soft feet, and a lot of movement.

A cat sat on the front desk, and I had to squeeze by some traffic to get to the counter. The cat tilted its head at me, and I noticed half its face was black, half of it white, split right down the middle.

"Hello, cutie," I said to the little guy, and then looked over the desk. No one was manning the post. Because of the influx of people showing up at once, all the resident assistants seemed busy.

I turned around from the desk and scratched my head, calling out, "Does anyone know Dagny Largul?"

Students kept shuffling by without answering me.

I sighed loudly, my shoulders drooping.

A wispy sound behind me drew my attention. Furrowing my brow, I spun.

A woman stood behind the counter now, ducking out of sight as she pulled up a lanky dress from the ground to cover her nudity.

She smiled crookedly at me, finishing with the shoulder straps of her dress. "I'm Dagny."

My head lurched. "Oh. Hi. Where did you come from? I swear no one . . ." My voice cut out as I noticed her hair: straight bangs down her forehead and a bobcut, black on the right, white on the left.

Realization dawned on me as I swiftly cycled through my studies in my head. Bygul and Trjegul, famous felines from our lore. Dagny's last name is Largul. "Gul" must be the suffix for cat shifters.

"Shit," I said. "You're the cat."

"Guilty as charged. Who are you?"

"My name is Ravinica Lin . . ."

"Linmyrr?"

I bowed my head in shame. "Yes. Arne Gornhodr told me to find you." She was staring down at a notepad, tracing her finger down a list of names. "I might not be on there," I admitted. "I'm a new—"

"Ah, here you are," she interrupted, jabbing her finger on the pad. "Upstairs, room seven. It's on the right-hand side." She smiled up at me. Didn't bring up my name or anything.

I returned her smile, nodding my head slightly. "O-Oh. Okay. Thank you, Dagny."

I started to walk away.

"Hey," she called out, and I turned. "Tell Arne I haven't forgotten about the dress he owes me."

My lips parted. Embarrassed, my cheeks darkened. A dress? Dagny was certainly a cute young woman, and I felt a flare of jealousy rise up inside me which was completely unexpected.

I smiled at her regardless, knowing she'd meant nothing by it. Hoping she'd meant nothing by it. Why would I possibly feel jealous about a girl interacting with a man I've known less than twenty-four hours?

Trying to stuff down my confused feelings, I forced a tight smile. "Will do, Dagny."