Return of the Runebound Professor

Noah stared at the staves drawn out on the page before him, various symbols drawn within the lines in the place of musical notes. Closer inspection did reveal further separation from what he had seen on Earth. The Runes were interconnected by a variety of new lines he didn’t recognize, but the basis of the drawing was still there.

He flipped the page, revealing a second score. Still blinking in disbelief, Noah turned back to the first one. In the time since he’d arrived in Arbitage, he hadn’t seen much in the way of music. Noah hadn’t expected to find it here, though.

“Noah!” Moxie grabbed Noah’s shoulders abruptly enough to startle him into nearly dropping the book. He managed to catch it and glance up at her.

“Sorry, what?”

“I asked if you were okay. I was worried Revin trapped the book or something.”

“Oh – no. I’m fine. But look at this!” Noah thrust the page in front of Moxie’s nose. She raised a hand, slowly pushing it down and giving him a confused look.

“It’s a Formation.”

“It’s a musical score!”

Moxie gave Noah a blank look.

“You can’t mean to say you don’t have music here. I heard some being played when I was in Father’s house back in the Linwick Estate.”

“Of course we have music,” Moxie said, staring at Noah in befuddlement. “Formations are personal, remember? They depend on the exact Runes you have and all that. There are some people that try to use rhythm or music to help make everything flow easier. You’d have to be able to perfectly perform a unique song tailored for every single Formation. It might seem easier than just drawing a circle, but I promise it isn’t.”

Moxie took the book from Noah. She flipped through it, stopping at a page near its center before turning it back toward him. A small, complex circle of interconnected lines housed three Runes within it. There were paragraphs and paragraphs explaining what every single line did.

“This looks a lot more like the stuff I’ve seen before. The book probably just opened with the music because it’s a tempting way to get people enticed. It’s a marketing tactic, Noah. Trust me – everyone that ever gave Runes a thought has tried really getting into music, rhythm, or some other form to express the Runes. You can’t really force it, though. Unlike Runes, if you want to use music for Formations, you actually have to be good at it. It’s equal parts natural talent and practice.”

Noah flipped through the pages in the book. Just like Moxie had said, only the first few had the musical scores, and the rest of them were chock full of detailed information on Runecraft, Formations, and properly balancing the intricate lines that went into the Rune circles to ensure that nothing blew up when the Formation activated.

“I know this, though,” Noah muttered. It had been years, but he’d never fully lost the longing for music. Even though he’d temporarily given up on adding music to his Runes in leu of making sure he was powerful enough to eventually pursue it in the future, the desire was still there.

“Know Formations?” Moxie’s brow furrowed in confusion. “How?”

“No, not Formations.” Noah tapped a finger on the musical score. “This. Music. It was my life. There are a few new symbols that I don’t recognize, but there was a time where I taught this.”

“You taught Formations?” Moxie asked in disbelief.

“No. I told you. I taught music.”

“They’re the same thing.”

Noah opened his mouth, then paused. Realization finally passed over him, and it came with annoyance so strong that he nearly turned around and slammed his forehead into the wall like a petulant child.

It’s not that this world doesn’t have music. It’s that music isn’t something that people commonly pursue on its own – it’s something that they pursue specifically to learn Formations. In a way, I suppose it’s like how gunpowder was originally only used for fireworks, not bombs. Just… in reverse.

“You’re shitting me,” Noah muttered. “Are there just plain musicians in this world, Moxie? People that study music because they love it, not because it’s useful for Formations.”

“Probably some,” Moxie replied, squinting at Noah as if she was trying to figure out if he was testing her. “But what’s the point? If you spend that much time getting good at music, you probably won’t advance your Runes very far and you’ll die fairly young. The only people that have the luxury to spend the time and effort mastering music are Formation Masters. Considering how restricted Formations are, there are very few people that go through with the effort. Every noble family tends to have one or two that they raise, and they can be very powerful, but that comes with all the drawbacks of dedicating themselves to Formations instead of improving their Runes.”

Noah rubbed his forehead. He tried to distract himself by studying the first few pages of the book again, but it was impossible. Even though there were extra symbols, the only thing he could see between the lines was the potential for music.

Flipping the page, he scanned to see if there was any information on how to actually use the modified score sheet to make the Formation, but that was where the information from the book ended. Like Moxie had said, it had basically just been a marketing tactic.

Or, at least, it would have been for anyone else.

For Noah, it was like the smell of his old, beloved childhood room. A glimpse into something that he’d thought would be long gone for far, far longer.

“Noah, seriously. Are you okay?” Moxie asked. “Did Revin do something to you? You knew nothing about Formations. How is it that you’re saying you suddenly do? Did he have some sort of weird Imbuement on the book?”

“Moxie. In my past – in another time long ago – this is what I studied. Not Formations, but music. Just for the sake of it. Because I loved music, not because it gave me anything beyond enjoyment.”

Moxie’s eyes widened. “As a hobby?”

“Well, it was my job too. But it was more than that. It was my life, Moxie. Every waking moment I had was dedicated to it – to teaching it. I was wondering why your world was so damn devoid of music. I thought nobody cared about it here, but that was obviously a stupid assumption. Everyone loves music. The problem was that you bundled it up with something else, and that stopped people from using it for what it is.”

“I – wait. My world? You said you weren’t a demon, Noah.”

Ah, shit. I suppose we’re more than far away enough from anyone who would actually matter. If there was ever a time to tell her, I suppose it would be now. I’d rather be figuring out how to do this, but I think I owe Moxie this much.

“I really should have filled you in on the rest a long time ago,” Noah said. He nodded to the bed beside him. “You might as well sit. This isn’t a short story.”

Moxie stared at him for a few seconds, then slowly lowered herself to the bed beside him. She kept her eyes fixed on his, searching for the truth.

“So you are a demon?”

“No. I’m just as human as you are.”

“Then–”

“Let me start from the beginning,” Noah said, raising a hand to stop Moxie. “You can ask any questions you want after that, okay? And, Lee, do you think you could make sure we don’t somehow pick up any eavesdroppers? I’ll tell you every detail later.”

Lee gave Noah a mock salute and pranced out of the room. Once the door shut behind her, Noah continued.

“I didn’t come from this planet. I didn’t even come from this universe. I was born on a shitty, desolate rock called Earth.”

“That’s just dirt, but you put extra emphasis on it.”

“Look, I didn’t name it. That was what it was called. Do you want the story or not?”

“Sorry, sorry.” Moxie raised her hands. “Please.”

“As I said, I came from Earth. We didn’t have any magic or Runes. We had a hell of a lot of other things, but now is not the time to get into all of that. I barely understood how the majority of it worked, to be honest. The only thing I really cared about was music. I grew up with parents that were both musicians, and I wanted to become one as well.”

“Musicians… as a job?” Moxie blinked in confusion. “I don’t know if I follow. How did they earn money?”

“By playing music. It’s not easy to get good enough to make a living off it, and they were far from rich, but they were talented enough to make it work.”

“I can’t imagine that would work well here. Anyone who was playing or singing anything beyond something basic that you might find in a tavern in public would be presumed to be trying to prepare a Formation and it’s likely that someone would attack them to preserve the peace. There’s obviously a range to that, so small things aren’t a big concern, but there’s a lot of stigma around it. Formations can do a lot of damage if they manage to take form. That long preparation time is their biggest weakness.”

I haven’t really gone to many inns. I should definitely try to figure out what kind of music is common here. Even if it’s not particularly detailed, anything is better than nothing.

“That’s because this world has its ass on backwards,” Noah said. He poked Moxie in the stomach. “Let me finish.”

“Sorry,” Moxie said sheepishly. “I’m still caught up on the music part.”

“Which is what I’m getting to. I started learning to play the violin when I was six. I wasn’t terribly good at it, but I got better. I went to school for music, and then went on to teach violin all over – everywhere, really. I loved it more than anything else. Sharing music with kids that wanted to learn… it was everything to me. Nothing compared to watching that spark light up in their eyes when they finally got the handle of a difficult song or felt the violin sing in their arms for the first time.”

Noah trailed off, ancient memories rising up from the dredges of his mind like bubbles through a thick swamp.

Several moments of silence passed before it became clear that Noah had gotten distracted and Moxie spoke again. “I’m struggling to follow some of this. You said you didn’t have Runes. Did someone ban them?”

“They didn’t exist. There was no magic at all.”

“Then how are you here? You’re right – that can’t be anywhere near us. I thought everything had Runes. They interconnect the universe.”

“I died,” Noah said with a wry smile. “I guess that was the interconnected part.”

“I thought you couldn’t die. What could have possibly killed you?”

“Technically, I can still die. I just don’t stay dead. But that was before. I was just a normal, powerless human back then. Long story short, I kicked the bucket, then ended up in the afterlife. A few thousand years later, I popped out over here and stole Vermil’s body after he got himself killed chugging a bottle of poison.”

Moxie looked like she was trying to burn a hole through Noah’s forehead with her eyes. Her mouth was slightly askew from everything Noah had just revealed. He didn’t say anything more, waiting a little while to let his words sink in.

“Gods,” Moxie muttered. “I always thought you were some sort of powerful mage whose body got destroyed.”

“Well, now you know. You’re the first person I’ve told the entire story to. Lee will probably be the second, and I’m not sure if there’ll be a third.”

“It explains so much about you,” Moxie said, shaking her head and letting out a laugh that shattered the tension. “No wonder you knew so little about everything. I’m going to need some time to really process this. It’s too ridiculous to be a lie, and I don’t think you’d make something like this up – but it’s still a lot. Don’t worry about that, though. What about your music? Do you remember anything more about it? If you do…”

“Yeah,” Noah said, giving Moxie a firm nod. “Half of what kept me sane in the endless blur of the afterlife was imagining music. I don’t know what I’ve still got with me, but there’s only one way to find out. I’m going to need to get a violin.”

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