The Years of Apocalypse - A Time Loop Progression Fantasy

Mirian didn’t have to wait long in the Myrvite Studies building before Valen met her in the hallway.

“Did you go by maintenance?” Mirian asked.

She nodded.

Mirian accepted that as good enough and went to Viridian’s door and knocked. They heard Viridian’s muffled “come in,” and entered.

“Hi, sir. I brought a classmate, if that’s okay. She saw what I saw. Or at least, one of the incidents.” Mirian then recoiled as she saw Viridian’s office. The place was a mess. Papers were scattered everywhere, cabinets torn apart with the drawers still out, and pieces of furniture knocked over. Supplies and books were in haphazard piles, and it looked like Viridian had only begun to clean. Plenty of the books had pages torn out. “Holy Gods,” Mirian said. It was horrible to look at. All her life, she’d been told to treat people and property with respect. Seeing the books that had been split open or torn apart made her especially distraught. There were things you just didn’t do, and damaging books was one of those things.

Viridian maintained his composure. She supposed he’d had some time to digest it all. Viridian had only uprighted one of the chairs for her to sit on, so Mirian awkwardly picked up another chair that was buried in a pile of papers and books and offered it to Valen.

“What happened?” Mirian asked.

“Well, you said you know something about it all,” Viridian said calmly. “So hopefully, you can tell me.”

Mirian told him what she knew, sticking to the same basic story she’d told Valen. There was no point in trying to convince them about the time travel.

When she was done, Professor Viridian went and stood to look out the window, his hands clasped behind his back, saying nothing.

Mirian had thought about what she might say to Professor Viridian, but most of it went flying out of her head. She blurted out the lie she’d prepared. “I have a friend who’s in Fort Aegrimere. He said there’s weird stuff happening. Strange ships sighted along the north coast. The officers are tight lipped, but something’s going on. If these are Akanan Praediar spies….”

Professor Viridian gave a loud sigh. “Things are bad enough, Mirian. Please don’t catastrophize.”

“Then what is it? What in the hells is going on here? I mean, someone ransacked your office and did something to the myrvites.”

When Viridian raised an eyebrow at that last part, Valen said, “You can’t hear them anymore. The wyverns are really loud. I used to like listening to their calls during lunch.”

Viridian seemed to accept this explanation. “I’ll bring what you told me to the attention of the Academy,” he said. “May I mention your names?”

“Will we be safe if you do?”

Professor Viridian didn’t have anything to say to that. He turned back to the window. “I’ll keep your names anonymous, then.”

Mirian opened her mouth to speak, but it was Valen who spoke next. “Is that it, then? Is there anything we can do?”

Viridian turned and gave them a sad smile. “I apologize. I must seem quite insensitive to you. But when you get as old as I am, you might understand better. The world is a complex thing, and the strange politics of the Academy and Baracuel leak everywhere in something far more volatile and unpredictable than any ecosystem we studied together. I have been working all my life to pull the levers of change on the strange mechanism we call civilization, to no avail. I don’t fully understand what is happening, but I assure you, you need not worry. This has everything to do with petty greed. Much is buried beneath Torriviol, and this too will be interred into the ground.”

“Ah,” Valen said. “I get it.”

You do? Mirian thought. She was more confused than ever.

“Good luck,” she said. “I’m sorry this happened to you. And… well, I hope the wyverns are alright. Come on, Mirian.”

“Thank you,” Viridian said. “And best of luck in your studies.”

Mirian wasn’t quite ready to leave, they’d barely said anything, but Valen was insistently pulling on her arm, and Viridian had clearly indicated the conversation was over.

When they were down the hall and out of earshot, Mirian hissed, “You can let go of my arm now. You understand? He just said a bunch of fancy words about how everything is complex! That doesn’t answer anything!”

“He said he doesn’t know what’s going on and he doesn’t think telling us what he does know will change anything. You know from his perspective we’re just two sixth-years that can’t be trusted, right?”

“I’m trustworthy!”

Valen rolled her eyes. “Gods but you’re thick sometimes. What was that nonsense about Akana Praediar invading?”

“Another rumor going around. I heard from the base—”

“No you didn’t, because I actually have an older brother at Fort Aegrimere. He likes gossip even more than I do, and he’s heard nothing. You’re full of shit, Mirian. What’s gotten into you?”

“Oh, because you know me so well,” she snapped. “Has staring at me during exams given you this great insight?”

“You’re avoiding the topic. What’s actually going on?”

Mirian made an exasperated noise that sounded like it should have come from a horse more than a person. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. And I can’t prove any of it, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Try me,” Valen demanded. She was trying to make herself tall again, but it never worked. She was just too short to be intimidating.

Mirian wanted to tell her, just to prove to Valen that what had happened to her was unbelievable that she was right, but she restrained herself. Her current plan depended on as many people hearing about the spies in Torrviol as possible and forcing the people with power to act. Then the Deeps or the Crown Bureau would hear about it and realize there was an imminent invasion. But maybe there was a shortcut. “Does anyone patrol the north coast?”

“You’re avoiding the question.”

“Answer mine first.”

“Of course not! Why would anyone patrol anywhere along the Rift Sea? There’s no pirates, no conflict. If you’re worried about a ship crossing it, you can simply watch carefully on a clear day and watch it land in Akana Praediar yourself. With a good telescope, you might even see the dock workers unloading the ship! Sending people north would just be asking them to get attacked by myrvites. Sending ships north would just lead to ice-krakens attacking them.”

“So it’s the perfect place to launch a sneak attack.”

“But why would… wait, you think Akana Praediar is going to attack Baracuel? That it’s not just another crime syndicate?” Valen made a face.

“That’s the problem with it all. It is ridiculous, of course I know it’s ridiculous. And yet, with absolute certainty, I can tell you it’s going to happen if something big doesn’t change. What would it take to get the military to send patrols north?” Mirian had no idea what the ‘crime syndicates’ were, but she wasn’t about to admit that to Valen.

The other girl let out a guffaw. “Any sort of indication. A military buildup. A diplomatic incident. Literally anything. Let me get this straight: You read a scroll in Eskanar and assumed that it meant some criminal mischief was the precursor to a war? I can’t even count all the ways that doesn’t make sense. Akana and Baracuel are in the process of joint operations in both Persama and Zhighua, and it’s Akana that’s thinking of withdrawing. Do you even pay attention to politics at all?”

The answer to that last question was a resounding no, but Mirian ignored the jibe and with icy coldness said, “I assumed nothing. I watched it happen.” She hadn’t meant to. Now, Valen was no doubt going to start a rumor that she was a Gods-touched lunatic. Which, she realized, might actually be true.

Valen gave her a funny look. “You really believe what you’re saying?”

“Tell your brother to look north. The attack is on the 28th of Solem, which means it must land several days before that. And no, as I said, I can’t prove any of it.” Mirian left.

When she got back to the dorm, Lily looked up from her textbooks and asked, “Did it work?”

“Maybe. Probably not. I don’t know. I accidentally included Valen in the plot because she also saw the cloaked person, so if you hear a rumor going around saying I’ve lost my marbles, one, it’s probably true, and two, it’s her fault. Ugh.”

Lily squinted at her. “I feel like I’ve heard you talk about Valen before. You… don’t like her?”

“I’m not having this conversation again,” Mirian said.

“What? Again?”

“Oh Gods, right. We didn’t have it, because I didn’t duel her on the….” Mirian let out a big sigh. “She’s annoying and spreads rumors about me, but is also strangely perceptive. Sometimes. You want to go for a walk in the Mage’s Grove? I don’t think the Akanan scouts are hiding there yet. We can talk about… normal stuff. I think I’d like that.”

Lily grimaced at the pile of books in front of her. “Yeah, I could use a break from this. Let’s go.”

***

Mirian spent the next day split between studying and relaxing. This time, she wanted to be better prepared for Spell Engine Alchemistry. Belatedly, she realized she should try to meet either Nicolus or Xipuatl and get in on their study sessions again. If all went well, it would be worth it after the impending disaster was over. Also, they were both in the nobility. If anyone had the connections to stir up a fuss and get politicians and generals to move, it was those two.

Thirdday, during registration, Mirian had the strangest sense of deja vu. It was sort of silly; this was only one of countless moments that were similar to what she’d already experienced. But something about it stood out. Here was a moment where Mirian could change something easily. With a single stroke of her pen, she could change her fate.

Well, most of it. It seemed fate wanted her to take Professor Eld’s class again, because somehow the other sections were full, even though this time she’d arrived even earlier to avoid that. Well, whatever. She ended up taking the same classes. Even though Atger was a terrible professor, she needed that class to graduate. She had to plan for there being a future. Or else, what was the point?

The rest of the break she spent studying, except for a few brief outings to pick up newspapers. Each one cost her three coral beadcoins, which hit her already dwindling finances harder than she would have liked. The papers also ended up being practically useless. There was nothing at all about worsening relationships between Baracuel and Akana Praediar. In fact, the only article she could find on foreign relations was on some revolt on the border in Persama being successfully suppressed, and that was a joint effort of the two nations' alliance.

With the extra costs added to what she would need to spend to build her spellrod, finances were becoming a concern. She ended up opening up a line of credit at the Tower’s Trust bank for ten silver drachms and signed the promissory note feeling dejected about it all. Her parents had worked hard to keep her out of debt, but she told herself it was for a good cause.

At this point, she’d finished her spellrod plan, so she dedicated the next four days of her focus to alchemistry. If she already had pages of notes and had read the textbook for the quarter, Nicolus and Xipuatl would see her value. It felt annoyingly transactional, but that was how the world worked sometimes. At this point, she didn’t want to do her usual runs in the Mage’s Grove anyways. She wasn’t quite sure when Akanan scouts started hiding about in the bushes there, but she didn’t want to find out the hard way. She’d been given this second chance; she wasn’t going to squander it.

It snowed the day the second quarter began, as it had. She enjoyed it, even though this time she knew it wouldn’t last long.

Artifice Design went about the same as it had. She couldn’t remember exactly what Professor Torres had said, but she was fairly certain there were some changes. The important thing was the spellrod project remained the same. That was a relief.

Professor Eld was as abrasive as ever in Spellbook Enchantments. He started off with a rant about how soft students were these days, and how at their age his grandfather had to defend the farm from myrvite predators with a bow and arrow, which, neat, but Mirian wasn’t sure what in the five hells that had to do with glyph production. This time, she was sure the lecture had changed. Some of the rants he went off on were definitely different.

It was the third class Mirian paid the most attention to. She had to make sure to sit next to either Nicolus or Xipuatl. She wasn’t sure who the best bet was. On one hand, she might just have to make sure Nicolus saw her notebook. On the other hand, there was that gaggle of girls—and a few boys—who were constantly vying for his attention. She envied his resources, but certainly not that.

Xipuatl, though, had a family that was not so prominent, nor as rich. No one would be dueling each other to sit next to him. But it might take more to pique his interest. She’d thought that part through, and was looking around. As people trickled in, she lingered at the back of the lecture hall, pretending to page through her notebook.

In the end, Xipuatl’s darker skin made him easier to find. One disadvantage of the uniforms at the Academy was everyone ended up looking somewhat the same, though Nicolus was tall enough to stand out. She was pretty sure he hadn’t even shown up yet.

As Xipuatl went down the second aisle, she followed him, trying to be casual as she also followed him along the fourth row. When she sat next to him, he gave her an odd look. There were, after all, several other seats nearby. She pretended to ignore him, and opened up her notes. Well, it was a good thing this wasn’t Spycraft 101 because she would have been failed on the spot for conspicuousness, but it had done the trick.

Mirian waited until Professor Atger had gone through the first part of his lecture before she leaned over to him and whispered, “Isn’t this all just the first chapter of the textbook?”

Xipuatl made a face and whispered back, “Yuuuup. Glad my tuition is funding this clown.”

For the rest of class, Mirian made a point to keeping her notebook open, not writing, but just keeping it on the page where she already had the contents of the lecture. As the lecture wrapped up, she said, “Well, this class is going to be a joke. He didn’t even cover patinate mana buildup on spell engines, and that is in chapter one. Hey, you seem to have your head on straight. Do you want to make a study group for this class?”

Xipuatl hesitated. “I’m already in one, actually.”

“That fast? Wow. Does Atger have a reputation I didn’t know about? You mind if I join?”

“Uhh… maybe. The other guy is… picky? That’s not the right word. An asshole about it? No, that’s not quite the right word either.”

“All I care about is he and you know their stuff and take it seriously. If you hadn’t implied you also read the textbook before classes started, I wouldn’t still be talking to you. Let me know,” she said, and got up to leave.

“Look, it’s Nicolus,” he said, as if that explained everything.

Well, it did, but Mirian gave a quizzical, “Who?”

That actually got a laugh out of Xipuatl. “You know what? You’re in. I’ll deal with Nicolus if he makes noise about it.” Then he told her when and where to meet, which she already knew.

Well, she thought. That was easy.