Salamander by David D. Friedman Page A

which magisters am I supposed to be sleeping with?"
    Mari shook her head. "If I knew I wouldn't tell. The rumors were about second years using unconventional means to make sure they get to graduate. I doubt it's true though. When the magisters first decided to admit women to the College there was a lot of gossip from people who disapproved of the idea, didn’t think women could be trained as mages. They suspected that the magisters had something else in mind. I expect this is just a remnant of that."
    The door opened to let the waiter back in. He carried a tray with a roasted capon and several small bowls, each with a different sauce. Conversation vanished while the students devoted themselves to the new course. After a bit, Mari put down her knife, turned to Edwin. "I know Alys lives in the capital. Is that where you are headed too, or do you go on farther? How long does the coach take?"
    "Two days to the capital. We have relatives there. I'll spend at least the night with them, then go on; I expect they can lend me a horse. It's another twenty miles and a good road all the way, so it should be an easy day's ride. But of course," he turned to Alys, "it is much less interesting without a beautiful lady to keep me company."
    Alys gave him a melting smile. "You could always stay a few more days with your relatives. There's lots to see in the capital. And do."
    "It is a thought, but I expect my parents will want to see me, at least to make sure the college hasn't turned me into some sort of sorcerous monster. They were not all that sure they wanted me to go, but my uncle persuaded them. It might be easier on my way back. And then you can tell me all the latest court gossip."

Chapter 10  
     
    Magister Simon looked around the room, cleared his throat. The students fell silent.
    “Last semester I taught you a little of the spoken version of the true speech; I expect you to learn more on your own. As you know, there are several word lists in the library, as well as two copies of the canonical version of the syllabary. You will want to give some thought to what words, and what syllables for building words, will be most useful, considering your individual talents and your future plans.
    “This semester you will be introduced to the glyphs that make up the written form of the true speech, used for scrolls and other written spells. Just as a word is made up of syllables, so a glyph is made up of elements.”
    Simon waved his hand at the board; writing appeared:
    Word(syllables)↔Glyph(elements)
    “Just as the syllables represent a definition of the word, so the elements that make up a gly ph define its meaning. Just as a word can be reduced to a single syllable and used in constructing another word, so a glyph can be converted into a simplified form and in that form function as an element in another glyph.”
    As Simon spoke, the outline of what he was saying continued to appear on the board. He gave the students a minute to get it into their tablets before again waving his hand; the board went blank. He picked up a piece of chalk, walked up to the board, wrote a symbol: three vertical wavy lines. “Can anyone tell me what this is?”
    Jon, who had been watching closely, raised his hand; Magister Simon nodded to him. “Fire, sir. The element for fire.”
    “Correct. The element for fire, but also the glyph for fire. As an element it can be used in constructing other glyphs, as a glyph it can be used in constructing spells. It also has one other use, although I do not know if any of you would have encountered it yet.”
    He looked around the room. At last Ellen raised her hand. “In theoretical magic, it stands for the Salamander.”
    She was rewarded with a nod from the magister. “Correct. Most of you will not encounter the symbolic use of the elementals until later this semester, or perhaps next year, but when you do there will at least be a few symbols you can recognize.”
    He turned back to the board, sketched a simple