Application for Bean, Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow

[beantheory]

A tiny boy appears in the Sorting Room. He appears to be about five years old, and small for that age, with thin hair and dark eyes. In reality, he is seven. The lingering effects of early deprivation haven't been wiped out, despite looking lean and strong. And he's careworn, unusually so for a child so young

Comments

[mello_n_choco]

I lean against the doorway, nibbling on a bar. This kid...he reminds me of someone. I watch him examine the room, examine everything. One of the kids at Whammy's was like that. Always needing to know where everything was and how to get out.

I walk up to him when he puts the pen down. "Second?" I look at him. "Ever resent the guy who was first?"

[mello_n_choco]

I frown, thinking of what Near did. "He procured a wand from a nearby town. The wand appears to be just a polished stick of wood. He waves it in a prescribed manner, mutters some words in bad Latin. I haven't had time to examine more than that. As I said, he is a hard scientist, so he works from that side of it. I'm studying the history and culture aspects for clues. According to what I've read, wands have a core thread from some type of mystical animal, unicorn hairs, phoenix feathers, dragon heart strings, and the like." I laugh. "It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?"

[beantheory]

"A wand..." Obviously, Bean was going to have to get one too. "It does sound dumb. That doesn't mean that's how it works." And despite the fact that there were more urgent questions, Bean peered up at the grown-up in front of him and asked, "Dragons are real here?"

[mello_n_choco]

"They're mentioned in the history texts, including laws on their treatment and containment. I haven't been here long enough to know beyond that." I think a moment. "I have seen house elves and furbies and owls that can find anyone in the castle to deliver notes to them. And a couple of other oddities. One who possibly could be a demon, one who didn't look human at all, more like a lizard that walked on two legs." I shrug. "According to their books, dragons prefer mountains."