Just like any other guild, officials had their hands in the cookie jar. There was money to be made from looting dungeons and fighting savage magical monsters. With my loot and favor from nobles and royals alike, I had no need of that. Graduating from the academy would allow you to instantly register as an adventurer. You could enter as a wizard, sorcerer or warlock. Wizards and witches, the female counterpart, were those who could see mana in the air around them or feel its presence. Using a range of complex algorithms and formulas, they were able to manipulate the mana for magic spells. Sorcerers and sorceresses were those who were born with magical abilities from birth. It was innate to them. Some had a magical creature or source of power in their lineage. Lyari was our family's tutor. Elves were descendants of the fae, literal fairies. I thought it was pretty cool. He saw it as just a matter of fact. Lyari, as a wood elf, had an instinctual sense of magic from birth as a result. That did not stop elves from researching other spells and all uses of magic outside of ones they inherited.
Now that they were here, I saw no problem learning from them. That was how he was able to teach magic to humans. As a result, my daughters would be going to school as witches. Johna was a year and a half older. She would go first. I would be sending the twins the year after. Hopefully, they would be able to look out for each other and keep one another safe. It was not like they could not return for the holidays. Because graduation marked their ability to sign up for the guild, they started at age 12 and continued until they graduated at 16. That was their age of adulthood. We spent a nice year in Mansfield together. It was then time for her to pack up and be ready to leave. I was going to go with her. I was her father. I was also very curious. Grissell was not curious at all. She stayed home. Johna was a bit disappointed that she was not going to have her mother with her in this time of great change and transition in her life. She was not going to say it out loud though. By now, it was extremely clear to everyone that her mother was not on board with this at all. I would not lie to her.
Mazloni's Academy of Magic was pretty impressive. It took us a month to get over there. It was unlikely that she would be able to come back very often. Looking at her, it was clear she was ready. I knew it. Still, I wanted to make sure that she knew. "What do you do if someone touches you appropriately?" I asked. "Scream and punch them in the solar plexus." she said. I nodded. "What if someone tries to grapple you from behind?" "I use the SING method." she answered. I hummed in approval. "What if someone tries to blackmail you with evidence of a secret?" "Report it to authorities that like me so it gets confiscated and he gets in trouble without any trouble falling on me." she said. "That's correct. Final question: how do you get dates for you and friends that are shy?" Johna blushed. "Father!" she whined. "I'm making sure you are ready." I said. She pouted, but said "Spread a rumor where a lot of boys can hear that we want dates and would give anyone brave enough to ask us a chance." Part of sending children out to schools like this was to find an alliance through marriage.
