With all of the time that our group was able to spend delving into the library, I continued to make great progress throughout the break. Namely, I was also able to find the rest of the first and second circle spells that I needed to catch up on the transmutation course. Erode matter was a strange spell, and basically served as the reverse to the simple mending cantrip that I'd known for years – instead of using ether to repair minor gaps and flaws in objects, it used the power to exacerbate them, causing a good bit of damage. The spell didn't work on anything that had a life force, so I couldn't just cause someone's heart to shut off through worsening a poor diet.

Then again, I might be able to do that with my curse magic, if I was able to build in a strong enough reason, limitation, and break for the spell. And on the topic of curse magic, it paired beautifully with my curse affinity. In particular, suffering. Testing it out, layering the worsening effect of the suffering magic on an object, alongside the deteriorating effect of the erosion spell had an effect that was much closer to multiplicative than it was additive. In one particularly interesting test, when I infused the spells with dragonfire and layered a curse to speed the rotting of wood with the erode matter spell, I managed to disintegrate an entire wooden training dummy with a single ray of green light.

The other spell I was able to pick up was hidden hideaway. It was far and away the most complex second circle spell I had ever seen, even putting brief teleportation spells like Etherius Step to shame, and making me question if Magyk had initially intended the spell to be a third circle spell, but had changed her mind and crammed everything into a second circle array.

The spell used a mirror to create a, well, hidden hideaway. I suspected that it was actually the basis for the puzzle that we'd encountered in the crystal caverns, though admittedly, it had definitely been modified via affinity magic or some other method.

When the spell was cast, the caster pulled themselves and other willing creatures who were currently being reflected in the mirror, into the image of the mirror. The inside of the mirror was apparently visually similar to reality, but completely false and constructed. Mirroring a feasting hall might let you sit at the tables, but the food you ate would be flavorless and provide no nutrition. Mirroring a book would only copy over the page that was there in the mirror.

It was possible to stay within the mirror's hideaway for up to an hour, at which point everyone would be ejected. If the mirror was moved or broken, the spell would also end and knock everyone out of it. It was possible for someone inside of the mirror to leave at any point as well, but it wasn't possible for someone on the outside of the mirror to enter, even if the caster wanted them in. They would need to break the hideaway and re-cast the spell. All in all, it seemed useful, if a little bit situational. In the library, it could be a good place to hole up for a little bit if everyone was running low on ether, but nobody had been physically hurt.

Jackson used the opportunity to collect several more offensive spells, focusing mainly on force and wind, which could be used relatively safely within the library confines. Yushin rounded out some of her illusion spells, while Salem began picking up more divination spells, which combined with his affinity for mind magic and natural psychic abilities quite well.

Even amongst all of this delving, studying, working, and duel preparation, there was one event that tore most of the city, and even me, out of the normal hustle and bustle.

The winter solstice.

Across the weeks, decorations slowly began appearing across the city. There were sprigs of vibrant white snowberries wrapping around the candles placed in windows, holly and mistletoe twined together over doorways, and wreaths made of plume cedar branches and hellebore adorned lamp posts on the streets. There were ornamentations dusted off for deities of all sorts that had any sort of claim to the solstice, and given that it was a time where the ether in the world naturally rose, that was most of them.

Even many of the deities that didn't hold specific solstice feast, festival, or celebration were put somewhat on display. Bakeries put up symbols for Artopta, Kruhlin, Brotunfis, as well as others I didn't recognize. Butcheries put up totems for Espiel, Divliji, Veleese, or more. And even the great forges and industries of the city put up symbols for other working deities like Dirvo, Koza, or Rudaca.

As the prayers and offerings flowed, and the ambient levels of ether rose, the miracles and workings of the divines also became more prominent. Lanterns burned for days on end without consuming oil. Pantries that should have been empty of all but the leanest cuts of salted pork were mysteriously filled with fine bread and the choicest fillets. Even those suffering from ailments wrought by time, that which even healing miracles and restoration spellcraft could only stave off, found their minds more lucid and their joints less stiff.

Not to be outdone by something as simple as a group of deities supercharged through higher levels of ether, the Erudite and other members of the university who were still staying on the floating cloud that was the Citadel of Ether, worked magic of their own.

An illusion professor that Yushin knew created massive illusory snow clouds that hung over the cloud, providing a constant stream of fake snow. The illusion created an amazing atmosphere, and even clung to roofs, all without accumulating on the grounds or walkways.

One of the air magic professors with a proclivity for weather manipulation brought real snow to some of the campus greens and the city parks, freezing over the artificial lakes and creating ice rinks.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Professor Toadweather worked with another summoning teacher, a bigleaf maple treefolk, to summon up and contract all sorts of monsters across the city, using a number of spells that I didn't even know existed. They called up ice foxes that played with the children of the city, sprites that would move around mistletoe and grow bright red holly bushes, and nisse, small gnomes in red hats with long white beards that left minor magical blessings to any who left out milk, eggs, or pastries for them.

The adaptive meals and dorms also took a festive turn. My meal plan had seen a significant upgrade due to my high marks on my midterms, and I was now eating fresh fish, baked chicken, and steamed buns as a more regular meal, rather than the watery gruel that I'd started with. But with the ambient ether rising, the fare grew richer still. It actually was mildly uncomfortable at first, since I hadn't had rich roasted wild game, thickly pineapple glazed gammon, or creamy scalloped potatoes since I was a child, and it brought back strange memories, but in time, I grew to enjoy it.

The common area of the dorms, meanwhile, had been transformed from our collective successes on the midterms. The chairs and couches that had once been functional, but not comfortable, were now plush, stuffed leather and soft velveteen, the table made of fine glass, complete with enchantments that could keep a cold drink cool, or a hot drink warm. With the advent of the solstice, however, artwork began to appear on the walls, depicting bright red cardinals against a winter landscape, old barns dappled with snow, and frosted over red berries. There was now a roaring fireplace, and on its mantle was a set of four long, thin metal skewers, and a self-refilling bag of marshmallows.

The inside dorm rooms had gotten an upgrade as well, both permanent and festive. The bed that had once been little more than a cot was now a four poster bed large enough to comfortably sleep two, which felt like overkill for me, but I was also used to sleeping on the ground. The bathroom had created an entirely separate shower and soaker tub, large enough for four of me to fit in, and most peculiar of all, had created a cauldron of bubbling hot, soapy water that would automatically wash clothing placed within, but through some clever application of artifice, the clothing dried and pressed itself within seconds of being pulled out. The rooms had even sprouted a small side area with a slate floor, perfect for working rituals in.

The festive decorations in the room were more minor, a transformation of the time-telling painting to a blustery winter scene, the sporadic placement of minor baubles shaped into animals normally found in the far north or south, like the white bears or penguins, and animated glass sculptures of two people figure skating.

A cart also appeared in the room, one that could conjure up hot coffee, tea, or chocolate on command, simply by knocking gently against its surface and speaking the order aloud. I really hoped that was a part of the permanent upgrade, and not just a member of the holidays.

Even the Charm and Fable got festive. Fable used spells to create auditory illusions of winter hymnals, paired with visual illusions of snow along the tops of the shelves. Charm, meanwhile, created hand-crafted wreaths that he placed over the door and windows, and brought in a variety of cookies, pies, and cakes, which he left on the counters for both the workers and prospective customers to take from freely.

On the evening before the solstice itself, the Charm and Fable hosted a company party, where I got to mingle with the two other employees that they had covering the late evening shifts, and stocking during the night. One was a tall, large orcish woman with sleek black hair who spoke mostly in Ognu, one of the nations on the same continent as Shen-Long. I knew much less of Ongu than I did Hua-Long, so we mostly conversed in the bloodline tongue of celestials, which she was fluent in. The other was a man who was short, even by dwarven standards, who was from Western Stellthone, a small city-state on the same continent as the school of Magda, the first Erudite. He'd brought a date, a tall and slender half-elf that chatted away with Charm in a language that I didn't recognize.

The party was small, but nice, and Fable and I spent a while speaking about magical theory and conjuration, since his affinity was closely related to the field, and before the end of the night, the shop owners brought out solstice gifts for each of us. They had already given me the dappled-radiant hawthorn wood that made up my staff, which was too much already, but Fable had decided to write out a short and simple spell guide for me, so as to have something to gift me in addition to what they gave to my co-workers. I tried to refuse, but the portly older gentleman just waved me off.

I cracked open the guide curiously, reading the title: A spell to summon a cleaning spirit.

That got a bit of a laugh out of me. It was a useful spell, certainly, though I had so little stuff accumulated that it was barely worth the ether. Still, if I settled down here in Panath Hold, maybe someday it would come in handy.

I thanked both Charm and Fable for the spell, and the wood of the staff, as well as the opportunity to work for them, and ducked out before the night grew too terribly late. The following day, the solstice itself, I spent with Yushin, Jackson, and Salem, lounging about on the campus greens – though, given the layer of conjured snow, the campus white might have been more accurate. We got into a handful of snowball fights with students both our age and older, and even one professor, drank a good bit of hot coffee, and built a snow raven together. At least, we attempted to make a raven. The end result was more like a vaguely triangular lump with a long nose.

As the day drew to a close, Yushin peeled away to head off with her family, and we headed into the dining hall, where everyone who didn't have other obligations gathered. The Erudite said a few words about the work the students, teachers, and staff had done, thanking all of us.

"And now, as the moon rises into the sky, I want to thank you one last time," the Erudite said as the speech wound down. "And I wish to welcome you to this year's solstice feast."

He lifted his staff, spoke a single word, and brought it down with a thump. Food materialized on the tables before us.

The spread had roasted chicken, baked turkeys, glazed hams, curried lamb, and more, and that was just the meats. There were even more sides: jellied cranberries, green beans, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, fresh buns, dressing, salads set with walnuts and poached pears, spicy-sweet mushrooms, fried potato and scallion pancakes, saffron rice, and dozens of other dishes. There were pitchers of sweet and mulled wines, milk punch, hot chocolate, spiced teas, and drinks I didn't recognize the smell of. When desert came around, there were cakes, fried jelly donuts, admiral's bread, cheesecakes, flaky pistachio and honey pastries, and plenty of other choices.

By the time I got back in my room, stuffed to the brim, I fell into bed, and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

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