Chapter 12

  Weeks passed with no word from Teacher or the Weaver Academy. I began to wonder what was going on. Was I not getting into the Academy? Did Teacher lie to me? I didn't know. All I could do was my morning routines, and try to wait it out. In the meantime, I decided to try to do some more digging on the Emperor. I couldn't find much, but a little tidbit mentioned in one of the history books mentioned something that I found a little odd. He had a couple friends that he was seen with often, during the beginning of his reign. One such meeting occurred within earshot of the author of the history book, who proceeded to state the language they spoke resembled no language he had ever heard. It was intriguing, but not earth shattering. It did beg the question, though, if the Emperor survived this long, had anyone else from that time? I doubted it.

  One day, while I was doing my morning exercises, a carriage came up to the house. I had never seen a carriage here, but it really didn't look that different than one from Earth would have looked a few centuries ago. It was not drawn by any animal that I could see, though, so I assumed it ran on some sort of Pattern. Maybe a constant supply of Energy threads or something. I could think of several ways to make it moved with different Threads. The carriage stopped before the house and, while I was approaching, a door on the side opened up. An older gentleman stepped out, one I had never seen before. He looked around and saw me, and said, "Are you Jorth?"

  I replied, "Yes, I am. May I ask what this is about?"

  "You are formally invited to the capital to meet with the Headmaster of the Weaver's Academy to discuss your entrance. There will be a test to see how much you know and how much you still have left to learn. Upon finishing this exam, you will be placed within a suitable course."

  "Yes!" I exclaimed, "I was starting to worry I wouldn't be accepted."

  "You easily passed Threads class, I hear. You have no worry in that regard. Your age is the only concern, and it took some convincing to get the Headmaster to agree to this. Otherwise, you would have had to wait a few years. Your appointment is in two months, and the trip takes about one from here, without a carriage," curiously, that last word sounded like English, "so if I were you, I'd get packing." He said, with finality, before getting back into his carriage. Before closing the door, however, he stuck his hand out with a piece of parchment. "Here, your invite. You'll need that."

  I grabbed the parchment. The door shut almost immediately, and the carriage started rolling away, back the way it came. "Curious" I mumbled.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Yes, very curious. Read the invite, please." I heard my mother behind me say.

  "To Jorth:

  You are hereby requested to present yourself to the Weaver Academy in the Capital city. Please be here no longer than 2 months from reception of this letter. Present this letter to the Guards at the gates when you get here, and they will make sure you are brought to me.

  Sincerely,

  Headmaster Alucci,

  Grand Weaver"

  "Interesting," Mother said, "I didn't know the Headmaster sent the invites personally."

  "Me either, I wonder what it means."

  "Well, whatever it means can wait. It's a bit over a month to get to the Capital city, so let's get you packed up and on the road. You'll probably want to leave before the end of the week to get there in time."

  "Yes, mother," I resigned myself to a few more days of fussing, but soon I'd be in Weaver Academy. And I couldn't wait!

  The next few days were spent running around, getting packed, supplies, camping gear, traveling clothes, cooking equipment.

  "I wish we could go with you, but we can't take that time away. You'll be safe, though. The Emperor has always made sure the roads are safe," Dad said.

  "Be safe out there, and watch out for wild animals! And for bandits, and for...."

  "Marta, dear, you know as well as I do that the militia takes care of the roads everywhere. There won't be any issues. Besides, I'm sure our boy could handle a few wild beargles if any ever come close to him."

  "I know, I just worry, what if..."

  "We can't like on What If, dear, we need to live on What Is. Trust our boy, he'll be fine."

  It went on like that for a few hours before mother finally relented. After getting the rest of my stuff packed, I lifted the pack onto my back. It was heavy, but I had been working out since I was old enough to walk, so it was easy enough to carry.

  "I'll be fine, mom. Next time you see me, I'll be a graduate of the Weaver's Academy!"

  "I know you will, Jorth. Try not to forget where you came from, though. And write us every day!"

  "I will, mom, or at least every week." I promised. "Now, I'm going to go to bed, tomorrow is the start of my journey. I also got to look over that map again to make sure I have the route down."

  "Okay, son. Don't leave without eating breakfast and saying goodbye!" She replied, giving me a kiss on my forehead.

  I went upstairs, looked over the map one more time to memorize the route, and eventually fell asleep, despite my excitement. It had been a long few days, but tomorrow, I would start my journey. Weaver's Academy, here I come!