Wand Maker

Chapter 19

We sat and talked for a long, long while. But finally, Amira looked at the clock on the wall. "Crap! We gotta get you down to dinner!"

And down to dinner we went. Going down The Tree was arguably easier than going up The Tree... or maybe I had just gotten used to it at that point. Whatever the reason, it felt like we were out of the hollow, down The Tree, and through the vine curtain a lot faster than we had gotten into it for. Amira rushed me through the halls so quickly that the only impression I got of them was blurry gray stone. I silently thanked God that Amira was gonna be my guide for the next week, because I did not have a handle on this.

Finally, we reached a doorway. The oak doors were flung open, and inside was a room with four long tables. But instead of benches, there were chairs, and the tables were covered in colored cloths that I assumed represented the houses. A salad bar lined one wall and windows lined the other. Skylights let the setting sun into the room in dusty golden rays, dousing the entire room in shades of yellow.

Amira sat down on the bench next to a table clothed in purple. "Here, sit."

I sat down, noting the silver designs sewn into the tablecloth. Amira said, "Normally, we don't have long tables like this, we just have smaller tables with like, six chairs on each of them."

"Cool." I said. "When's the food gonna get here?"

Amira laughed. "It'll be awhile. Everyone has to get here first, then Fontaine has to give his speech, the student body has to give their presentation, then we'll have food."

"Fontaine?"

"Headmaster. The dude in the leather robes at your sorting ceremony." Amira clarified.

I sighed. For some reason, I was extremely hungry, probably from swinging around on The Tree. As if she read my mind, Amira nodded. "Thunderbirds eat almost as much as the Wampi, who are constantly training or patrolling or doing stuff like that."

"Patrolling?" I asked.

"Yeah. I dunno if you've noticed, but we're kind of in the middle of a war right now." Amira chuckled darkly. "Alnnari actually attacked the school last year through a student- you went through that security system outside? That's to make sure that you aren't one of his."

I actually didn't realize we were in a war, but it explained some of the looks I'd been getting before Ilvermorny, and some of the interactions too. "How? It's not as though someone can actually look in someone else's eyes and know if they're evil... right?"

"No, they can't. I don't think. They do it through spells that they conduct silently while they're checking your letter, I believe." Amira traced her finger along one of the designs. "It's what makes the most sense, at least."

"So, the Wampi do... what? Walk around in shifts and point spears at people?" A mental image of Addy in ceremonial dress and a spear popped into my head, and I resisted the urge to giggle.

"Sorta. Most of the time, they carry their wands that'll change into spears and stuff. It's really cool to watch, as long as it's not pointed at you." Amira shuddered. "If it's pointed at you, it's terrifying."

"So they don't use battle magic?"

"No, they do. I think the weapons they change into amplify the magic. Plus, you're not a very efficient fighter if you can only fight with spells. What happens if your wand snaps in half or something? Wampi train in, like, every single fighting style known to man, so they make sure they're prepared for everything."

I glanced around. "It doesn't look like we're in a war right now."

"Well, yeah. This is a school. Everyone here is, like, under 18. They don't wanna make the students stressed out, more than we already are. So everyone likes to pretend like it's not happening." Amira said.