Jack Campbell: The Hidden Masters of Marandur

“I understand,” Alain said. “I have also run risks against the teaching of my Guild. Why has my closeness to you not harmed my Mage powers? I was taught that being able to cause temporary changes to the world requires believing that the world I see is false and that other people are part of that illusion. Yet I feel more strongly every day that you are real, that you cannot be an illusion, and my powers have not diminished.”

Mari felt uncomfortable at that, at the idea that Alain’s feelings for her might have limited the powers he had sacrificed so much to attain. “Maybe that’s because you believe in this illusion of me that isn’t real,” she tried to joke. “I bet you really do believe that I’m the daughter of Jules.”

“I am certain that you are the… You told me not to call you by that name.”

“Sorry,” Mari said. “That wasn’t a deliberate trap. I guess I can say it, because I don’t really believe it, but if you say it, I would know you believed it. Because you think I’m this impossibly wonderful person who can do anything. I’ve heard you tell people that.”

“That is not an illusion,” Alain said, his voice perfectly serious.

“If I thought you really believed that, I’d run away right now,” Mari said, keeping her own voice just as serious. “That’s too much for anyone to live up to.”

“You are more than you think you are,” Alain said, “but perhaps that is what makes you more.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “It’s too early in the morning for me to think that through. Promise me that you won’t go around telling people here that I’m…her.”

“I promise,” Alain said. “Can I tell them that you can be difficult?”

He had made another joke. Mari smiled at Alain. “I think they’ll figure that out on their own soon enough.”

Mari faced Professor Wren, master of the university. It felt good to be wearing her Mechanics jacket again, good to be recognizable to everyone who saw her for what she could do.

That wasn’t all that felt good. Yesterday she had said it straight out. I want to change the world. What had made her decide to say that? Had it been experiencing the horror of Marandur, which was a product of the way the world was? Whatever the reason, Mari felt real relief at having accepted that goal, even though the goal was still a vague one. Except for overthrowing the Great Guilds. The only way to change the world was by doing that. So it seems I’m accepting the role of the daughter even if I can’t believe that I am really her.

Even better, after the haunting horror of last night, had been waking in Alain’s arms and knowing she had the strength to keep going. Start small. Finish cleaning the pistol and reassemble it. It had been hard to pick up the weapon after that, its familiar feel in her hand become strange and menacing. Alli had talked about that, too, when she was teaching Mari to shoot, but Mari hadn’t really paid attention, hadn’t really understood. Shooting these is fun , Alli had said. Designing them is cool. But, really, Mari, they only have one purpose. They exist to kill things. You can’t ever forget that. And so Mari had holstered the pistol, knowing that she had used it only when no alternative existed, and knowing that she would use it again only for the same reason.

Then Alain had given her another gift with his suggestion. Now her mind seized upon the idea of fixing that old boiler, training commons in its use, creating instead of destroying. “Professor Wren, I’m going to take a look at the steam heating plant for these buildings.”

Wren blinked, her expression concerned. “We have not tampered with the Mechanic equipment, if that is your worry.”

“I want to see if I can fix it,” Mari stated. “Get it working for you before winter comes.”

“Do you think you can?” Wren’s face lit with amazement. “But we have little money and we understand the works of Mechanics are always very expensive. We cannot afford to pay.”

“You saved my life and the life of the Mage Alain. We’re benefiting from your hospitality now. Why don’t we call that even?” Mari’s eyes challenged the professor to debate further.

But Professor Wren slowly nodded. “You have a remarkable amount of self-possession for a woman your age, Lady Mechanic, if you don’t mind my saying so. Your…behavior is also not what we were told to expect should Mechanics ever come here again. Are all Mechanics like you?”

“No.” Mari let it stay at that for a moment, then realized she owed Wren more. “I’m different. Treat any other Mechanic, assuming you meet any more of them, with care until you learn their attitude.”

“I will remember that, Lady Mechanic. I will find some students to show you the way to the building where the heating system is located.”

The handful of students Wren quickly rounded up eyed Mari with unconcealed wonder and peppered her with questions. “You have seen the world?” “You are a Mechanic? An actual Mechanic?” “That man is a Mage?” “What is it like out there?” “Have you seen the sea?”

Mari answered patiently, while thinking how odd it was to deal with commons who had never been taught to treat a Mechanic with respectful silence. Partly that was a relief, because these commons didn’t have the barely hidden hostility with which Mari had become too familiar, but it was still disconcerting. The fact that the “students” ranged in age from several years younger than her eighteen-almost-nineteen years to decades older only made it feel stranger. She asked some questions back, learning that the students engaged in a lot more than learning things they would never get to apply. They tended the crops growing inside the wall, took care of the small but important herd of farm animals, stood sentry on the wall, and kept the wall standing when parts of it started to crumble.

It took some effort to access the building holding the steam plant. Time and the elements had swollen the wood of the door so that it had to be pried loose from the frame. The heating plant was set in a building surrounded by a cleared area, roughly centered between the main offices and living spaces of the university. She knew that was intended to provide a little safety if there was an accident in the heating plant, but even eyeballing it told her the offset was too small, that a boiler explosion would cause serious damage to the other buildings. Someone had sidestepped the safety requirements when they located this steam plant here, but that would be in keeping with what she had seen of Senior Mechanics so far. For all of their avowed devotion to following the rules, Senior Mechanics somehow always found justification for doing whatever they wanted.

Mari braced herself for what she might see inside the building, then strode in like she owned the place.

Although, as the only representative of the Mechanics Guild in the city of Marandur, she actually did own the place, Mari told herself.

The windows, heavily grimed by time and the elements, didn’t let in enough light. Mari flicked on her hand light, drawing exclamations of awe from the students, and began examining the equipment. To her surprise, the steam plant looked to be in decent shape under a coating of dust. “Do any of you know anything about this? Did it just stop working or did someone shut it down?”

The students exchanged baffled looks. “All we know is that it used to provide heat a long time ago, ma’am. We were told never to enter this building.”

Ma’am . They had her feeling like an ancient with at least, oh, thirty years of life behind her. “The proper title is Lady Mechanic. Or just Lady.” They mumbled quick apologies. “I’m going to need a lot of hands in here. People to get this dust wiped up and the windows cleaned so I have enough light to work by. Can you get me some more help?”