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Authors: John Corwin
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height above the valley below, thumped down in a landing zone.
"Please tell me you did not just drop the 'I'm a big deal' card," the girl said. "That's just sad."
"I am William Vanderbilt," the guy said. "And my father—"
"I'm sure you're a real good magician," Shelton said, before the student could finish. "Maybe I'll buy you a top hat for graduation and come see you in Vegas." He threaded his way through snickering students and left the car.
I squeezed through the crowd as William hurled obscenities at our backs.
I knew Arcanes really hated terms like sorcerer, wizard, and warlock, but magician was apparently the lowest of the low.
The landing zone sat atop a bluff overlooking the valley on one side and the plateau on the other. A long stone path led down a gentle slope. Trees dotted the verdant terrain. Narrow stone paths led to quaint cottages, and fields bordered by low stone walls held flocks of bleating sheep and goats. It reminded me of a setting from rural Ireland or Britain except for one thing.
Arcane University.
The sprawling campus looked like something straight out of the Middle Ages. A massive castle and several other mansion-sized outbuildings stretched across the terrain from one end to the other. A snow-blanketed mountain peak towered behind the university, its slopes covered by thick forest.
The castle dominated the center of the complex, its walls composed of white stone bordered by gray and lined with arched windows. Soaring spires reached for the sky atop huge round towers that rose from all four corners, each one boasting intricate stone designs around the edges and windows. A long oval building of white stone with a transparent dome glittered like diamonds to the right of the castle, and something that looked like the Coliseum in Rome, only ten times bigger loomed behind it. Romanesque buildings that appeared to be housing facilities crowded the left side of the complex. A riot of colors bordered the east and west sides of the university—gardens, apparently.
"What's that for?" I asked Shelton, pointing at the giant stadium.
"That's where they hold the Grand Melee," he said.
"The what?"
Shelton gave me a surprised look. "That's right, I never told you, did I?" He grinned. "Imagine this: robots fighting golems in gladiator battles."
"Ooh," I said. "That sounds cool."
"Yeah, now imagine a giant robot from outer space fighting a golem the same size, shooting fire and laser beams at each other."
My eyes went wide, and my mouth hung open. I might have even drooled.
Shelton's grin grew wider.
"That's the Grand Melee?" I asked.
"In a nutshell." He headed out on the stone path toward the looming castle. "They have team fights with man-sized robots and golems, followed by middle-weights, and then by colossi."
"Is it a competition between the Science Academy and Arcane University?"
He nodded. "After Science Academy was built, the first dean kept bragging that science would replace magic and claimed it was more powerful and flexible. Things got pretty nasty between the two schools until an arbitration panel came up with the idea of letting the two schools duke it out by proxy."
"With the Grand Melee," I guessed.
"Yep. They hold it the last weekend of the first month of school."
"At the end of this month?" I asked.
He gave me a sly look. "Wanna go?"
"Are you kidding me?" I said, barely able to contain my excitement. "Heck yeah!"
Shelton laughed. "This place is gonna get crazy. People come from all over the world to see it."
"Who could blame them?" I replied, fantasizing about laser beams and monstrous gladiators.
As we neared the castle, several flying carpets streaked past, followed by a girl on a flying broom, and a guy on—I did a double take—a flying mop . "What the heck?" I said, following the strange sight with my eyes until the fliers vanished around the far end of the complex.
"Get used to it," Shelton said.
We reached the entrance to the castle, a massive stone arch, and
"Please tell me you did not just drop the 'I'm a big deal' card," the girl said. "That's just sad."
"I am William Vanderbilt," the guy said. "And my father—"
"I'm sure you're a real good magician," Shelton said, before the student could finish. "Maybe I'll buy you a top hat for graduation and come see you in Vegas." He threaded his way through snickering students and left the car.
I squeezed through the crowd as William hurled obscenities at our backs.
I knew Arcanes really hated terms like sorcerer, wizard, and warlock, but magician was apparently the lowest of the low.
The landing zone sat atop a bluff overlooking the valley on one side and the plateau on the other. A long stone path led down a gentle slope. Trees dotted the verdant terrain. Narrow stone paths led to quaint cottages, and fields bordered by low stone walls held flocks of bleating sheep and goats. It reminded me of a setting from rural Ireland or Britain except for one thing.
Arcane University.
The sprawling campus looked like something straight out of the Middle Ages. A massive castle and several other mansion-sized outbuildings stretched across the terrain from one end to the other. A snow-blanketed mountain peak towered behind the university, its slopes covered by thick forest.
The castle dominated the center of the complex, its walls composed of white stone bordered by gray and lined with arched windows. Soaring spires reached for the sky atop huge round towers that rose from all four corners, each one boasting intricate stone designs around the edges and windows. A long oval building of white stone with a transparent dome glittered like diamonds to the right of the castle, and something that looked like the Coliseum in Rome, only ten times bigger loomed behind it. Romanesque buildings that appeared to be housing facilities crowded the left side of the complex. A riot of colors bordered the east and west sides of the university—gardens, apparently.
"What's that for?" I asked Shelton, pointing at the giant stadium.
"That's where they hold the Grand Melee," he said.
"The what?"
Shelton gave me a surprised look. "That's right, I never told you, did I?" He grinned. "Imagine this: robots fighting golems in gladiator battles."
"Ooh," I said. "That sounds cool."
"Yeah, now imagine a giant robot from outer space fighting a golem the same size, shooting fire and laser beams at each other."
My eyes went wide, and my mouth hung open. I might have even drooled.
Shelton's grin grew wider.
"That's the Grand Melee?" I asked.
"In a nutshell." He headed out on the stone path toward the looming castle. "They have team fights with man-sized robots and golems, followed by middle-weights, and then by colossi."
"Is it a competition between the Science Academy and Arcane University?"
He nodded. "After Science Academy was built, the first dean kept bragging that science would replace magic and claimed it was more powerful and flexible. Things got pretty nasty between the two schools until an arbitration panel came up with the idea of letting the two schools duke it out by proxy."
"With the Grand Melee," I guessed.
"Yep. They hold it the last weekend of the first month of school."
"At the end of this month?" I asked.
He gave me a sly look. "Wanna go?"
"Are you kidding me?" I said, barely able to contain my excitement. "Heck yeah!"
Shelton laughed. "This place is gonna get crazy. People come from all over the world to see it."
"Who could blame them?" I replied, fantasizing about laser beams and monstrous gladiators.
As we neared the castle, several flying carpets streaked past, followed by a girl on a flying broom, and a guy on—I did a double take—a flying mop . "What the heck?" I said, following the strange sight with my eyes until the fliers vanished around the far end of the complex.
"Get used to it," Shelton said.
We reached the entrance to the castle, a massive stone arch, and
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