Solomon wasn't sure what he saw then. A mixture of anger and frustration in the way the eels shuffled, but none of them attacked. There was something else there that was at least positive, even if Solomon couldn't quite tell what it was. Judging by the way they were regarding Ravel, Solomon wondered if it wasn't pride.
Either way, the old man's tone was still sharp, but less caustic than before. "Usually when someone tells you to look at a calendar, you look at a calendar, Ravel. There's one on the door just over your shoulder; bring it here, will you?"
"Would he really be meaning the calendar in the Grand Mage's office?" Dexter wondered.
"Would it really matter?" Solomon returned, not moving as Ravel came up to the desk because it wasn't like he could see it anyway. And he couldn't. It was just a normal calendar. "He said to look at one. He didn't specify which. Just to find a good one." He frowned in thought. "That's an interesting phrase, actually. Most people would assume a calendar is a calendar. So what makes a good one?"
"One," Corrival said, "which records all the relevant important dates."
Solomon wasn't sure if it was the suspicion in Corrival or whether he figured it out on his own, but something clicked. "The seasonal festivals."
He heard a rustle of pages under Corrival's voice. "Most calendars have holidays and festival days on them. A lot of them are just modern gimmicks, but back in the day we kept a closer eye on the seasonal changes. Or the lunar changes, as the case may be, which someone might remember from their childhood as rather important."
The snap toward Ravel then was at least as teasing as it was pointed, but Solomon let the obvious inside joke pass by. Werewolves were extinct anyway, so very few sorcerers bothered to keep lunar track anymore. Keeping an eye on the daylight was more important in vampire country.
"A lot of those festivals were considered good or evil, too," he said quietly. "Samhain used to be an important Necromantic date, and All Hallow's Eve was about magic at play, until Halloween turned into being a day to eat chocolate. So we're looking at old festival dates and equinoxes, which not all calendars nowadays have. The only question is which one."
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Either way, the old man's tone was still sharp, but less caustic than before. "Usually when someone tells you to look at a calendar, you look at a calendar, Ravel. There's one on the door just over your shoulder; bring it here, will you?"
"Would he really be meaning the calendar in the Grand Mage's office?" Dexter wondered.
"Would it really matter?" Solomon returned, not moving as Ravel came up to the desk because it wasn't like he could see it anyway. And he couldn't. It was just a normal calendar. "He said to look at one. He didn't specify which. Just to find a good one." He frowned in thought. "That's an interesting phrase, actually. Most people would assume a calendar is a calendar. So what makes a good one?"
"One," Corrival said, "which records all the relevant important dates."
Solomon wasn't sure if it was the suspicion in Corrival or whether he figured it out on his own, but something clicked. "The seasonal festivals."
He heard a rustle of pages under Corrival's voice. "Most calendars have holidays and festival days on them. A lot of them are just modern gimmicks, but back in the day we kept a closer eye on the seasonal changes. Or the lunar changes, as the case may be, which someone might remember from their childhood as rather important."
The snap toward Ravel then was at least as teasing as it was pointed, but Solomon let the obvious inside joke pass by. Werewolves were extinct anyway, so very few sorcerers bothered to keep lunar track anymore. Keeping an eye on the daylight was more important in vampire country.
"A lot of those festivals were considered good or evil, too," he said quietly. "Samhain used to be an important Necromantic date, and All Hallow's Eve was about magic at play, until Halloween turned into being a day to eat chocolate. So we're looking at old festival dates and equinoxes, which not all calendars nowadays have. The only question is which one."