Being a Student

Pre-Book 6 Ortho did not have classes of his own to attend and only attended classes on non-test days, with Idia.

He expresses surprise when he is selected to be Lilia’s interviewer for his second birthday vignette, as he “thought the Magical Birthday Dice chose an interviewer from the student body,” and he did not count at the time.

(His third birthday interview begins with, “Getting interviewed on my birthday while also being a Night Raven College student is a dream come true!”)

Ortho explains, “When I can’t be with (Idia), I take walks on campus and chat with people. I recently visited Professor Trein, and he let me read his books. He also played games with me. That was lots of fun. I’ve never met my grandpa, but if he were here, maybe he’d be like that. The other fun part about visiting Professor Trein is getting to talk with Lucius.”

Before enrolling in class 1-C Ortho says that all he would do in Idia’s classes was “sit next to him and optimize my internal memory…sometimes I take classes with everybody else when the mood strikes. The teachers don’t say anything about it.”

Ortho was also not qualified to participate in Beanfest, so his role in the event is mostly helping Idia relocate a weapon he has designed to the school store under the cover of darkness.

While suspicious of the legality of Idia’s approach he is happy for Idia to be voluntarily taking part in a school activity at all. 

In Book 5 we learn that Idia got permission from the headmage to allow Ortho to attend his classes with him, and in Book 6 Jamil guesses that someone from as prestigious a family as the Shrouds wouldn’t attend school without any aids (much like how he himself serves Kalim), and that that is why Ortho received that special permission. 

Now a “proper student” at the school Ortho is trying a variety of things to gain experience, such as working at the school store.

His new year resolution is to do club activities and school and events in order to “see what else being a student at Night Raven College has to offer.”

dia refuses to go to Playfulland with Ortho but Vil says, “Being brothers doesn’t obligate you to spend your every waking hour together, or to always defer to what he says. You’re a full-fledged student, so you should act on your own initiative.

Ortho says that half the fun of school is having “atypical individuals” like Kalim around, and he is “so glad” that he got to join the Night Raven College student body.

He accepts Deuce’s invitation to the White Rabbit Fes event because “Going to a festival with school friends sounds just like what a normal student would do,” and says that getting lost in a maze (due to having no access to his usual gear with GPS) is “refreshing.

When asked about flight magic Ortho explains that he cannot use flight magic like a mage, and his “incessant levitating” is made possible by technomantic energy.

Ortho says that, right after becoming a student, he would only audit flight and PE classes because he cannot build endurance or strength through training like the other students. Recently, however, Vargas has brought him on as an assistant.

Ortho explains that he flies alongside his classmates to collect data on their form and times, determines their habits and weaknesses and suggests ways they might improve.

Ortho says that while he may have gotten a heart in Book 6 and thus an imagination he still cannot use magic, but he grateful for the existence of magic as it means he was able to become a student at NRC and make friends. 

Ortho compliments Trey’s ability to listen to the customers at the school store, saying that he would also like to become good at reading people.

In his fourth birthday vignette Ortho tells Jade about a memorable event that might have been “moving” by human standards, but he cannot be sure: he witnessed a family that had been fishing without catching anything finally catch a single fish just as they were about to give up, but they ultimately decided to release it because they felt bad for it being so small.

Ortho says he cannot understand the reasoning behind why they released the one fish they managed to catch after putting so much effort into doing so, and wonders if such irrational thoughts are just a part of human nature.

Another way Ortho is attempting to live as a normal student is by artificially limiting his own abilities: 

In his birthday vignette Ortho explains that he can install data repositories to skip the necessity of modifying programs on his own through trial and error, but for learning animal linguistics he is actively choosing to learn through interactions with Lucius instead, which is much more time consuming.

He explains that he is intentionally limiting himself, “because I enjoy updating my knowledge base with external stimuli. That way, I can experience the same feeling of learning that you humans enjoy.”

He brings this up again in another birthday vignette, saying that he has been collecting data on dog biology because of his interest in Cerberus.

He says that he would get permission to pet dogs in Whistle Park but at first he did not know how much pressure to apply while petting them, and they we wary of him for smelling different than humans. Eventually he began communicating with them to build trust, learning through trial and error rather than a pre-installed translation app. He says that his translation accuracy has greatly improved, and there are dogs who now recognize and approach him on their own.

This comes up again in a vignette with Kalim where Ortho volunteers to download information on a variety of dance moves so that they can dance together, but Kalim tells him “it kinda defeats the purpose if you’re perfect right out of the gate…slowly getting better through practice is part of the fun!”

Ortho says that “it seems…inefficient.”

We see Riddle offer to teach Ortho how to ballroom dance during Spectral Soiree, where he again meets up with Kalim.

Ortho is told by Vargas to limit his own functions “to what a normal human can do” for Vargas Camp 2, and Ortho concedes, saying, “There are situations where my capabilities would mean nothing in the face of Mother Nature. My equipment could also break down. So it would be beneficial to proactively train under a simulated worst-case scenario.” Ortho also says it is more fun to limit himself, as it feels like real camping.

Ortho also removes “a lot of components” from his usual school uniform gear was crafting his rabbit gear because he “wanted to get into the spirit of things with everyone.”