The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 16

16

As quickly as life unrooted at the Academy, it fell just as easily back into place. Whether the rumours were true or not, something had happened and the teachers were back at their posts. Classes were no longer cancelled and the chaos organised itself. But even with their return, our curriculum was still warped.

Not that I minded.

I bounded excitedly through the hallway, eager for my first key-making class. Something they usually reserved for the second year, but according to Professor Brynhild, we’d all benefit from starting early.

“I’m excited,” I said to Aellyn.

She looked back at me, her pink hair just as bright as always. “That’s good. What are the keys for again?”

“For the Gates of Valhalla?” I stared at her. Why didn’t she know that? Our entire career, our life would revolve around opening an Afterlife gate.

“Ah, right.” She knocked on her own head. “I forgot.”

What a weird thing to forget, even for a Wood Elf. It didn’t make sense, but then again, her partaking in the Valkyrie course didn’t make any sense.

I still didn’t know why she’d chosen this instead of a Reaper career, just like all the other Elves. Would it be inappropriate to ask?

“Aellyn?”

She looked at me, excitement flickering in her eyes. “Yes?”

“Why did you want to become a Valkyrie?”

The fire in her eyes immediately vanished. “Oh.”

“Shouldn’t I have asked?”

“No, it’s fine.” She pulled a face that made it clear it wasn’t, but she continued anyway. “My uncle is a Reaper. When I grew up, I’d hear stories how people looked down on him. Other Afterlife Assistants, other Elves, even his own family.”

“And?”

“I know what other Assistants call Reapers. I know they see them as the trash collectors of the Veil. For a long time, I was conflicted about it. I wanted to serve the Afterlife, but I didn’t want to become a Reaper. Then I read about the Valkyries and how well respected and admired they are. That is what I want.”

I frowned. “I don’t know if it works that way…”

“It will. I’ll be the first Elf in history to become a Valkyrie and actually bring souls to a worthy afterlife, not tidy up the unwanted and unclaimed. I’ll be celebrated instead of looked down on.”

“Hmm…”

“My dad says all Reapers are losers and from what I see here at the Academy, he’s right. But lucky for me, I get to do better. Isn’t that exciting?” She clapped her hands, beaming with pride and joy.

I wasn’t sure why though. She was right that people looked down on Reapers and there was a lot of prejudice, but she was wrong. Even after being bullied by them, I couldn’t say they were all losers.

Sim was brave and he saved my life without hesitation. I saw how much his scythe meant to him and how much pride he took in his cloak. If someone like him was studying to become a Reaper, there had to be honour in what he was working so hard towards.

“Hmmm…” I hummed again, a little lost for words. What was I supposed to say to that?

Lucky for me, the classroom appeared up at the end of the hallway and saved me from the awkward conversation. Next time, I’d think twice about asking her questions and being fooled by her happy demeanour. That was one dark answer.

A slender woman greeted us and some of the other students that just arrived. “Welcome to key-smithing 101. Welcome.”

I shot her a weird glance. What a strange woman. I’d seen her before, hurrying through the corridor with briefcases that looked way too heavy for her, but I didn’t know her name.

“Welcome, welcome.” She stuck herhead out into the hallway, checking whether there were more students coming. “Is everyone here?”

A girl from the front relied. “Yes, Professor.”

“Ah, good. Come in, come in.”

The workshop was spacious, with multiple well-used workbenches spaced out in the room. The walls were completely made up of shelving units and cupboards, which seemed to hold the strangest tools. Long hammers with curved handles, strange pliers with multiple heads, forked scissors. If I didn’t know better, I’d have guessed this was a torture chamber.

The teacher skipped to the front, limping slightly. “Welcome to key-smithing, I’m Professor Eireen. We’ll be exploring a multitude of materials. A multitude.”

Someone raised their hand. “Why are we learning key-smithing this year instead of next?”

“A change of curriculum, that’s right.” She waved us along. “Come, come.”

Along with the rest of my peers, we joined her at the front of the room where multiple metal boxes waited. Curiously, everyone automatically formed half a circle and awaited her further instructions.

Professor Eireen pulled the lid off the box on the left, and my classmates started moving forward, all eager to get the first look at what was inside.

“Step back!” she shrieked, waving her arms around to mark her personal circle. “Back.”

With much groaning and grumbling, everyone moved away, opening the space so I could see again.

The teacher held out her palm, revealing a small metal ball. “Who knows what this is?”

“Metal!” someone replied.

The entire class chuckled, but Professor Eireen did not. Instead, she sighed dramatically. “What kind?”

Aellyn raised her hand. “Silver?”

“Incorrect.”

Another girl raised her hand. “It looks like silver.”

The teacher held it up in the light, but it was hard to see. “You’re right, it’s silver. Silver.”

“That’s what I said,” Aellyn muttered to me.

Professor Eireen pretended like she didn’t hear her. “The first thing you need to do when sculpting your Valhalla key is find what material to use. Here, hold it in your hand and pass it round.”

She handed it to one of the girls and grabbed another ball from the box in the middle. “Here, this is gold. Pass it round, okay? Pass it round. Get familiar with it.”

When the silver reached Aellyn, she weighed it in her hand and swung it immediately up to ask another question.

“What?” Professor Eireen barked.

“Why all the different metals? Wouldn’t it be easier if we all just used the same thing?”

The teacher blinked a couple of times, not sure whether she heard the question right. “Are all locks made out of the same material?”

“I guess not, but—” Aellyn tried, but she was interrupted by the teacher.

“You’re not a Wind Child, are you?”

The tips of the Elf’s ear turned red. “... No.”

“You have never seen Valhalla or the Gates, have you? Hmmm?”

“No, but I bet no first-year has.”

Wrong. I had, but I wasn’t about to say that right now. That would certainly draw unwanted attention to me and might even brand me a liar, even if it was true.

The professor sighed dramatically. “If you can’t respect the Gates, they’ll never let you in, you understand?”

Aellyn cast her eyes down. “Yes.”

“If Odin sees potential, the Gates will present you with your own personal lock. Then it’s up to you to prove if you’re worthy. Only if you can craft a key that embodies your drive, duty, and respect, you’ll be allowed in Valhalla,” she explained to the rest of the class, no longer speaking to Aellyn. She pulled another type of metal from a box. “Gold. Pass it round, yeah? Hmm?”

As I was handed a piece of silver, Aellyn leaned over to me. “She’s crabby.”

“Yeah...” I didn’t think crabby was the term she was looking for, but I didn’t want to draw attention to the discrimination. It reminded me of how I used to treat the other elementals. It was best not to remind her of that, especially now.

I wasn’t sure exactly what had changed, but ever since I got back, we just seemed to have very different opinions on things. Maybe she’d gotten influenced by other people while I’d been gone or, the far more likely option, I’d changed during my journey. I just wasn’t exactly sure how.

I passed the silver along to the girl next to me, not particularly interested in it. I’d handled multiple silver objects, including Var’s chain, if that was the material for me, I’d already know.

Another student passed me the cube of gold, but that didn’t feel special either. Mother’s key was made out of solid gold and it had never held much fascination for me beyond what it did.

“Here,” I gave the metal to Aellyn who didn’t seem very impressed either.

She raised her hand again and bounced up and down. “How are we supposed to know what material is right for us?”

Professor Eireen sighed. “You should know right away.”

“Yes, but how?”

“If you don’t know, I can’t teach you that.” She turned away, no longer engaging with the Wood Elf and grabbed something else from another box. “Copper.”

As soon as she held up a cube of the reddish metal, something within me reacted. My wings stirred and even before I touched the metal, I sensed the pull it had on me.

The little copper cube reached Aellyn and I had to resist taking it from her. It was calling for me and I wanted to answer.

As the Wood Elf turned to me, she sighed. “I don’t feel anything. Do you?”

“Can I see that?” I gestured to the cube.

She dropped the copper in my hand and immediately, my body reacted. The wind in my veins howled, shrieking through my entire body. My wings strained against my shoulder blades, threatening to burst out just like that. After all the effort and hardship I’d gone through to find them, this stupid piece of copper almost pulled them out like it was nothing. If I didn’t have an affinity with this metal, then I didn’t know either.

I smiled as I tightened my fingers around the metal. I finally knew from what material I had to make my Valhalla key.