"You seem a nice man, so here is a friendly advice. Bring your master back home as fast as you can, then find yourself a new job." She winked.
Andy dropped the cream puff like it was hot, deeply bowing to Nana before running to the stagecoach.
Nana returned to her house, opening the door to let Lith go inside.
"And now what?" He was barely repressing his disappointment. "Do we wait for their next move?"
Nana laughed heartily.
"Their next move? They will drop dead before arriving to their pompous home. What do you think that darkness spell was for? I just wanted to avoid making a fuss in front of the whole village."
Lith suddenly felt very stupid.
"Well played! This will teach them a lesson." He could finally sigh with relief.
"Far from it." Nana said with an ice-cold tone. She went into her private quarters, quickly followed by Lith.
Nana's house was really similar to Lith's, but the dining room was smaller, and instead of three bedrooms there was just one. The other two rooms were occupied by a study room and an alchemic lab.
She went in the study room, opening one of the desk's drawers with a key she wore around her neck. Nana then took out a wrapped cloth, revealing a silver amulet.
It had a nut-big gemstone in its center, with arcane glyphs engraved all over.
Lith didn't need Life Vision to know it was a magical item.
"This is a communication amulet. Every member of the mage association gets one. Now give me a minute to do a full report about Baronet Trahan's attempt on my disciple's life.
They hate when some small-time noble messes with us. Before I put this back into the drawer, their whole bloodline will be wiped out. That will teach all those damn nobles a lesson."
Lith deeply bowed to Nana, inwardly apologizing for doubting her character.
"Master, your disciple awaits your command."
The report was indeed brief. Once activated, the amulet generated a small 3D hologram of a middle-aged bald man, sitting behind a clean and orderly desk.
All Nana had to do was to introduce her disciple, say the name of the noble and the mage on the other side had already started giving instructions.
Nana gave nonetheless a short description of the facts, showing the silver whistles as proof. Lith could see from the man's expression that he could not care less about such minor details.
He still took note of everything, even somehow scanning the whistles through the amulet.
After everything was said and done, Nana gave Lith his first assignments.
"Start by reading 'The basics of magic'. Is the book you tried to borrow three years ago." Lith nodded.
"Read it carefully, if there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me. In case there is a client, wait for me to finish. If there's no emergency I'll answer you, otherwise you will have to wait.
You can use my study. When you have finished with the basics, I'll give you your first tier one magic book."
Lith ran back in the waiting room, fetching his prize. After sitting behind the desk, with the thick book in front of him, he could not avoid thinking back at all those years spent cramming during college.
He was back being a student, a familiar and reassuring feeling.
Lith pushed emotionalism aside, and opened the book, reading it from the author's foreword.
"My name is Lochra Silverwing. I am known as the wisest sorceress of the Griffon kingdom, and also the only one of my generation to achieve the title of Magus…"
"What the heck is a Magus? Isn't it just a synonym for mage?" Lith paused for a second, taking the mental note to ask about the magicians' hierarchy.
"… I want to dedicate this book to all my female readers, in hope that they can make good use of it and unleash their superior potential.
In a world scourged by wars waged by men, it's of the utmost importance for us women to keep our leading position in the magical field. Let our calm minds soothe the savage fury that dwells in their hearts."
"What the actual f*ck?!" Lith cursed, jumping off the chair.
He ran straight to Nana, the book still in hand, in dire need of explanations.
"Sorry to be the one to break it to you, but it's the truth." Nana chuckled.
"Like men are stronger physically, women are more apt towards magic. It's the nature of things." (see chapter 12 for more details)
"F*ck me sideways!" Lith inwardly screamed, amongst Solus giggles.
"Does this mean that I start right on the back foot?" Was what he actually said.
"Yes, little imp. Be it the Griffon kingdom, the Gorgons empire or the Blood Sand desert tribes, usually women hold most of the key roles in the various mage associations. Even I never expected to have a male disciple.
Back when I attended the magic academy, 70% of the students were female. I don't think things have changed much. If you aim for the top spots, they'll be your fiercest competition."
"Great." Lith felt dejected. He wasn't the kind of man to discriminate, he despised humans regardless of their gender. What dispirited him was the idea of being once again on the losing side of life.
"Not rich, not talented, not handsome. I even managed to be of the fairer magical sex. Just splendid." He thought.
"There, there." Nana patted his head. "Don't be depressed. History is full of very powerful male mages. It's the talent that matters the most, not the gender. One day you could even become a Magus."
"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot, that was my second question. What's a Magus?"