She beat her wings. The ground rushed past far below her. The wind whipped her face. The people that had once cast her out were so small now. All of her old problems were nothing. She was free.

She tilted her wings and curved her tail, circling around the court. Her claws grazed the treetops as she glided over the forest. People pointed and ran from her, but she didn’t care. She didn’t have to care about anything anymore.

With another flap of her wings, she soared away. Away from the court. Away from the hate. Away from all her problems.

Roshil opened her eyes. She was on solid ground. Her bed. The blankets had been hurled about while she’d slept, but at least she was where she expected to be. She turned over and checked her identification orb. There was still time before the end of curfew.

She stared at the ceiling in the dark, or the black space where the ceiling usually was. What if she stayed in bed all day? For one thing, she’d never hear the end of it from Master Grund. He’d never had occasion to drag her out of her bed before, but there was a first time for everything.

Sitting up, she started to scratch a spot on her back, then caught herself. That particular spot burned, and she knew why. She didn’t know for sure — she refused to let anyone else see it — but she was confident that scratching it would only make it worse. Instead, she laid her fingers on it. Some small part of her thought that maybe it was getting better, that it’d shrunk. That part of her quickly ran for cover when the rest of her laughed at it, reminding her that life was never that simple nor fair.

She made her usual halfhearted attempt at making her bed (she was the only one that could enter her room, so why bother?), then climbed down to the floor. Grabbing clean clothes, she washed up. Before she threw on her undershirt, she examined her back again in the mirror. Among the scars that had once bothered her was that spot. Now that she could clearly see it, she could say for certain that it was not getting smaller.

“It’s spreading,” she grumbled, then threw on her undershirt and tunic.

While she’d been informed by Master Ekla that her body would be undergoing changes (she’d noticed many of them already), she was certain that wasn’t supposed to be one of them. Despite her grievances with the other ones, at least those were normal.

Roshil brushed her hair, then adjusted it so it was shielding her eyes. She’d learned that people didn’t bother her as much when they couldn’t see her eyes clearly. Master Grund didn’t allow her to take goggles out of the forge, and insisted that she didn’t need to wear anything over her eyes. He didn’t bother her about her hair, so she would have to make do with that.

She gathered up her belongings, then checked her identification orb again. Curfew was almost over, so Roshil sat in front of the door and waited.

“I’m starting my second year, and I still can’t leave until curfew’s over. What am I going to get up to that’s so bad?”

She could hear Master Ekla’s voice starting to list off everything, then Master Grund’s voice joined it, with the occasional comments from Kurgm and Oshal.

“I didn’t ask all of you!” she shouted at the empty room. She glared at the door, which she swore was judging her.

After another few minutes, her orb flashed to indicate the end of curfew, and she ran out of her room. Apprentices were filing out of the few doors that led into the rooms of the north tower. While in reality the rooms were stacked together, they all had magic doors that were connected to one of the four doors at the base of the tower. Roshil had asked how the system worked to prevent more than one apprentice ever leaving the same door at the same time, but Master Grund refused to give her an answer. Instead, he’d grumble something about her figuring it out herself.

“Hello, Roshil,” said a small voice.

Surprise, backed up by panic, shoved her frustration away. She drew a sharp breath and turned to face Aonva.

Aonva’s big eyes darted around the corridor, taking in every apprentice that walked past, working with her feet to keep her out of anyone’s way. They landed on Roshil, and she jumped and looked away.

“You’re… you’re up early,” Aonva said. “I… I was going to go to the library.” Her gaze dropped and her hands fidgeted. “Would… would you like to… um… I thought maybe you’d like to go with me. Not that you have to, I’m sure you’ve got something important to do this morning. I know you’re always busy with something, and I didn’t want to assume you’d be free now.”

“I’m free!” Roshil said. She didn’t know if she had anything to do, although she had a nagging feeling there was some schoolwork she hadn’t done yet. She was sure she didn’t have to work on it yet.

“Okay.”

They stood still until some apprentices shoved past them.

“We should get going,” Roshil said.

“Right.”

They started the walk through the castle, heading toward the door to the library.

“Um… your hair’s different,” Roshil said.

“Yeah.” Instead of her normal twin braids, Aonva had put her hair in a bunch of distinct strands, much like Lady Durwey did with her hair. “My hair doesn’t grow like yours. Because my family’s from Bywin, so our hair grows differently, and I didn’t like doing it in the braids, they were actually really uncomfortable, not that I’m complaining, I know people don’t like it when I complain, but Our Lady Grand Weaver gave me a book on different ways to style my hair that would work with it naturally, and this is a lot more comfortable, so I’m trying it this way.” She fidgeted with one of the strands for a moment. “Does it… is it bad?”

“No!” Roshil exclaimed. “It’s fine.”

Was “fine” the word she wanted? She wasn’t good with words. It was easier to ignore people. Except Sirshi; Sirshi didn’t care how weird she was. She didn’t think Aonva cared either.

“It took me a few weeks to get through the book with all the other work I have. Does Our Lord High Artisan give you a lot of work? That’s a stupid question, I know he does. I get work from Master Kaernin, of course, but I’ve been doing research with Our Lady Arch Mage, and that’s taken a lot of time too. It’d be so nice to read books faster, but I don’t want to miss anything.”

That gave Roshil an idea. What if they could read books faster? It’d help her get her work done faster and skip past the boring reading parts. It had been so much easier to learn when the other members of her tribe had shown her instead of telling her to read a dull book that would take her several hours. There couldn’t already be a spell to do it, otherwise Aonva would know about it, but maybe Roshil could make one.

#VolumeThree #SolvingAProblem

Roshil went to the library later that day on her own. She didn’t want to tell Aonva what she was doing yet, lest she send her into a panic. Most things sent Aonva into a panic, but Roshil tried to avoid it if she could.

I’m not going to enchant something without thinking this time, she told herself. I’m not going to enchant it at all. I just want to know if it’s possible.

What’s the point of this then?

The spot on her back burned, but she ignored it and ventured further into the library. She didn’t know exactly where she’d start, but she vaguely recalled something Master Grund had told her about finding out if someone else had already solved a problem before trying to solve it herself.

If some other idiot already solved it, then don’t be an idiot’s idiot.

Roshil still wasn’t sure what an “idiot’s idiot” was, but she was determined not to be one. She’d been told all her life that she was smart, and that meant she had to have the answers when people asked. That was another reason she liked spending time with Aonva; if Roshil didn’t have an answer, then Aonva would. Unlike Roshil, who tended to get bored, Aonva wanted to learn as much as she could.

She took out books on magic, figuring that was a good place to start. Reading books faster was something all mages would want to do, so it made sense that someone else would’ve tried solving the problem already.

Hours passed, but Roshil was no closer to solving the problem. If anything, she’d learned that the library needed some sort of system for searching through all the books. Her normal approach would’ve been to ask Aonva, who seemed to have the entire library tucked away inside her head. Knowing Aonva, this wouldn’t have surprised Roshil.

Roshil left for class without getting any closer to a solution. During history class, she decided that no one had worked out such a spell yet, which meant it was up to her.

“As more immigrants arrived at the court, the citizens began to realize they would soon run out of space. While some people believed the solution was to close the gates and never let anyone else inside, the council ultimately decided to address the situation in other cities. Apprentice Roshil, because I’m sure you’re hanging on my every word as usual, can you tell us why the council decided this?”

Upon hearing her name, Roshil stood up. She thought fast, recollecting what her father had taught her about human nature.

“Because if they took over cities they’d have more room to live?”

There were a few giggles around the room, and the teacher narrowed her eyes at Roshil.

“No.”

Roshil took her seat as the lecture continued.

“The council felt that it was important to address the problem in other cities because if the people coming into the court were happy where they were, they wouldn’t be inclined to move into the court. As a result, the council sent servants out to investigate the situations in other cities. Over time, they learned that the situations were indeed grave, and offered the people of those cities a chance at a better life. The first of these cities to come under the rule of the newly formed Kingdom of Skwyr was Torpn, earning it the title of Skwyr’s Second City. Apprentice Roshil, I’ll give you an easy one this time. What is Torpn most known for?”

Roshil stood up, confident that she knew the answer this time. “Music, theater, good food, and people who don’t keep a close eye on their valuables.”

More giggles from her classmates.

“Good enough,” the teacher said.

Roshil spent the rest of class picking apart the problem. With the goal of trying to read books immediately, she’d have to first translate the book into something magic could use, which probably meant words. Books themselves were often printed with magic, that was how news was circulated around the court. That meant there was already a spell to copy a book. Now she had to figure out how to get it into the caster’s head. She’d have to see the spell for copying books, then change it to send the words to the caster’s head as a messenger spell.

That idea stopped when she remembered the bracelet she’d made for Aonva. If she wasn’t careful, she’d end up only giving the caster a huge headache and a panic attack (although she suspected the panic attack was an Aonva-specific problem).

After class, Roshil went to dinner. Oshal and Kurgm were sitting with Oshal’s new friends. Roshil stole a glare at Kurgm that he didn’t notice. She didn’t know why, but Aonva became noticeably upset whenever the topic of Kurgm came up. Fighting the urge to yell at him on her way past, Roshil went to her usual spot in front of the officers’ table and sat down.

Aonva walked to the table later. Roshil knew this not because she saw Aonva’s face attached to her body, but because she’d never seen anyone else that could walk and read without running into anything.

“Good book?” Roshil asked, glancing at the title. Names of Nature.

“I’ve got a test in nature studies tomorrow,” Aonva said. “I’ve only read this four times, and I’m sure there’s something I’m forgetting. What if it asks for the uses of the strontum flower, or enchin vines?”

“What’s an enchin vine?” The name rang some sort of bell, but she couldn’t place it.

“They grow wild in the forest around dead trees. They soak up nutrients and water, and they’re safe to eat, so they can be used as a source of clean water if there isn’t a river nearby.”

“Right! My father told me about those. No, not him, it was someone else in our tribe. Father said if you ever needed a drink, look for an outdoor restaurant and wait for someone to turn their back.” Roshil waited for a moment, hoping Aonva would try to continue the conversation. She wondered if Aonva realized she already knew all the information. “What’s the strontum flower used for?”

“Healing mostly. It can be rubbed on wounds to disinfect them. Healing spell cards often have it infused into them. When the card is torn, the spell activates, applying the flower to the skin.”

Aonva continued reading during dinner, occasionally informing Roshil about something Aonva insisted would be important. Any attempts to ask about Aonva herself were deflected in favor of her book.

If she had something that could read a book faster, she’d be able to spend more time with me.

While Aonva read her book, Roshil began working through her plan to find a way to help her read books faster, more determined than ever to find the solution.

#VolumeThree #SolvingAProblem

The printing press, while a revolution in the way information was circulated, is not a complicated invention. Animation is the most simple form of magic, and, like the printing press, most inventions are created through some means of it. In the case of the press, a stencil is created, then ink is pressed into the paper.

Roshil growled at the book, then tossed it aside. She looked up at the shelves around her. Every book had either been copied with a printing press or handwritten. The idea of storing a book in some other form of magic crossed her mind, but that was the entire problem she was trying to solve.

What makes you think you can do it if no one else can, you little monster?

The spot on her back burned. She kept flinching, wanting to scratch it again.

“Roshil?”

She nearly jumped when she saw Aonva standing over her.

“You… um… I heard something,” Aonva said, sitting down next to her. “Is… is everything alright?”

I can’t do this. I’m trying to figure out a problem, and I can’t solve it.

“It’s nothing.”

Like me.

“Are you sure? I’m not trying to pry, honest, but I’ve never seen you throw books before.”

Roshil opened and closed her mouth a few times. After last time, Aonva was certain to panic if Roshil told her. But Roshil wanted to tell her. Maybe Aonva could help. Roshil knew she could do it alone, but it’d be faster with Aonva’s help.

She opened her mouth again, but couldn’t find the words. What if Aonva panicked? What if she ran away?

I don’t need anyone.

I don’t need her to know. I want her to know.

“I’ve been trying to figure out a way to read books faster using magic.” Roshil spat out the words before she could change her mind again.

Roshil waited for the panic stricken lecture from Aonva. Something about not learning from her past mistakes, or about how dangerous magic was. Thinking about it more, a lecture about not learning from past mistakes sounded more like Master Ekla, and one on the dangers of magic sounded more like Master Grund.

“Hm,” Aonva said. “That’d be interesting. We’ve figured out how to send messages to one another, so it’d be possible to convert the text of a book to something we could take in our heads. Sort of like a long messenger spell.”

Roshil remembered how Aonva’s bracelet had worked and shook her head. “No, that’d be bad. It… um… a constant messenger spell is what… that bracelet… did.”

Aonva frowned at her. Roshil could tell she was thinking about something, but that something usually came out of her mouth as fast as possible.

“That’s what that did?” she said at last.

“Um… yeah. I… It’s stupid now that I think about it, but… I wanted you never to forget about me, so… so I enchanted the bracelet to send a messenger spell with my name to you every few minutes.”

“Oh.” Aonva’s mind churned away again. “I thought you were mad at me.”

“No!” Roshil shouted, then lowered her voice. “Of course not. I just… No, I wasn’t mad. Why would I be mad?”

“You gave me a bracelet that made my head hurt. I thought you must’ve been furious, because it took so long for me to feel the effects. And…”

Roshil waited for her to answer. And what? What was Aonva going to say?

“And what?”

“And… well I’d been studying dragons to try to learn more about your curse because I wanted to try to fix it, which is stupid now that I say it out loud, because of course I can’t fix it, but I wanted to try, because no one had ever cared about what I said before I met you, and you listened to me that night when we researched dragons, but then I stopped researching them because Kurgm was always so happy when I talked about the Temple of the Rising Sun, so I thought you must’ve been mad at me for stopping my research and focusing on that, but now Kurgm hardly talks to me anymore, and it feels like I’m losing everyone, so please don’t be mad! I didn’t want to tell you any of that because I thought it’d upset you to talk about dragons, and I was so scared when you were taken to the hospital last year, and then the other time a few months ago, and I didn’t want to tell you anything in case it happened again!”

Roshil tried to take in everything Aonva had said. It was always hard to keep up with Aonva, since she talked so fast, but Roshil was sure she caught the word “dragon” in there somewhere. Aonva had been researching the curse to help her. More importantly, Aonva wasn’t mad at her about the bracelet. And there was something about Kurgm in there too.

“I wasn’t mad at you,” Roshil said. “I didn’t know about your research. Although… did you find anything? Like… other symptoms?”

“Not a lot apart from what we already knew. The symptoms vary, sometimes the eyes or hair, like you, but then other times it’ll be strange marks on their faces. It’s almost always the face, though. No one knows much, but you already knew that. I think Our Lady Arch Mage is doing her own research, too. She mentions it sometimes when we talk. She’s really nice.” Aonva’s smile faded. “Why? There’s nothing wrong with asking. I mean…” She glanced at the shelves as though they’d tell her what to say. “It’s fine, you don’t have to—”

“There’s something new,” Roshil said. “I don’t think it’s normal.”

“What is it? I don’t see anything different about you. Are you sure it’s still there? Well, of course you’re sure, why wouldn’t you be? But it’s probably nothing to worry about.”

Aonva gave her an unconvincing smile in a miserable attempt to cheer her up.

“You’re not very good at this,” Roshil said.

Aonva slumped and gave up on the smile, something for which her face was grateful.

“I know, I’m sorry. I don’t want you to worry. Even though I’m worried because I don’t want anything to happen to you. But I’m sure it will be okay. Have you talked to Our Lord High Artisan? I’m sure Our Lady Arch Mage would know what to do.”

Roshil had already dismissed the idea of showing it to Master Grund. No matter what their relationship, she would never feel comfortable removing her tunic around him. She didn’t know Lady Emgard that well, certainly not as well as Aonva did. There must’ve been someone with whom she’d feel less uncomfortable telling.

“I think I’ll talk to Master Ekla about it,” Roshil said. “She had the whole ‘your body’s changing’ talk with me, so it’ll be… less awkward.”

“Oh.” Aonva’s tone and face screamed “kicked puppy”. “Yeah. Of course.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I… It’s nothing you—”

“Aonva, what’s wrong?” Roshil didn’t think pushing too hard was the right way to go with Aonva, but she also suspected it involved Kurgm and wanted to know what Kurgm had done so she could be angry at him for a reason.

“It’s… Kurgm stopped spending time with me, and he was always busy, but it wasn’t like before when he could spend time with me, and now he’s spending a lot of time with Apprentice Demndun, and I don’t know what I did wrong.”

Tears cascaded down Aonva’s face. Anything else she said was lost to her sobs.

Roshil threw her arms around her friend.

“Please don’t!” Aonva shouted. “I get claustrophobic when people hug me.”

Roshil pulled away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay! You didn’t know. That’s probably why Kurgm didn’t like me. I thought he did, but he probably saw what a mess I am, and my mother’s right about me. No one would want to spend their life with me.”

“I would.” Roshil quickly realized how that had sounded. “That’s not what I meant! I’m not saying… I mean… I meant I like you the way you are.”

“Thank you,” Aonva said. “I… I like you the way you are too.”

#VolumeThree #SolvingAProblem

Roshil and Aonva ate dinner in silence. Roshil wasn’t that hungry, but she didn’t want to ignore her stomach forever.

“I… um… I didn’t find anything,” Aonva said. “I didn’t tell anyone, I promise! But I was rereading the books I’ve got on dragons, thinking maybe there was something I missed, but I couldn’t find anything about any other symptoms. I’m really sorry.”

Roshil spotted Master Ekla when dinner finished. She pushed her way through the crowd until she caught up with her.

“Master Ekla, I’d like to talk to you. Please.”

Master Ekla stopped walking and turned to Roshil. “How can I help?”

“Alone, please. In private.”

Roshil hoped Master Ekla would agree quickly, because she wasn’t sure how long she could keep her gaze straight. She could feel her face growing hotter, and really wished Master Ekla would say something.

“Oh. Of course. Follow me.”

Master Ekla led her out of the throng of people and into the corridor between the east and south towers. She opened a door and led Roshil inside. It was an empty study room. Master Ekla walked inside but didn’t sit down.

“What is it?”

Roshil glanced back at the closed door, still reconsidering her plan.

“Um… you said that things would change with me. With… with my body.”

Master Ekla kept her face steady, showing Roshil that she was taking her seriously.

“Whatever it is, I won’t tell anyone else,” Master Ekla said. “I promise. I’m sure it’s natural.”

Roshil shook her head. “I don’t think this is supposed to be happening.”

“Why don’t you show me?” Master Ekla said. “If you’re comfortable, that is.”

Roshil turned around and pulled off her tunic, then her undershirt.

“Are these scars from…” Master Ekla’s voice trailed off. Roshil imagined her face as her eyes landed on the spot below her left shoulder. “I see.”

“It started a few days ago,” Roshil said. “I think it’s been spreading, but I’m not sure.”

“Is it alright if I touch it?” Master Ekla said.

“Yeah.”

Roshil felt Master Ekla’s cold fingers on her back, gently prodding the spot. She waited, hoping Master Ekla would tell her that it was some sort of skin infection, and not what she feared it was. Not what she knew it was.

“I wish I could tell you this was normal,” Master Ekla said. “But… I’ve never seen something like this before.”

“It’s part of the curse, isn’t it?” Tears welled up in Roshil’s eyes. “My eyes and hair weren’t enough, now I’ve got scales growing on me.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. You can put your tunic back on.”

Roshil slid her undershirt over her head, then her tunic.

“Have you told anyone else?”

Roshil shook her head, then rubbed her eyes. “I told Aonva that there was something wrong with me, but I didn’t say anything else about it.”

Master Ekla laid a hand on her shoulder, and kept her voice level. “I think we should tell His Lord High Artisan. I know there’s not much chance he’ll be able to do anything about it, but he should be informed.”

“I know I should tell him!” Roshil snapped. She wasn’t a child and didn’t need to be spoken to like she was. “I will, but… I just…”

“You don’t have to show him,” Master Ekla said. “Before you get angry at me for talking calmly, would you rather I be panicking?”

“No,” Roshil mumbled.

“It’d be better if Our Lord High Artisan heard it from you than from me. And I’m sorry, really I am, but I’ll have to tell the council about this. I don’t have to tonight; I can wait until tomorrow, so it’d be best if you told him first thing in the morning.”

Roshil nodded. She didn’t like the thought of telling Master Grund, but he’d take it as well as Master Ekla had. Knowing him, his response would be “So?” or “Good for you, now get back to work!”

“I will.”

Master Ekla smiled at her. “Okay, then. I think it’s time we both got some sleep.”

When they walked out of the room, Aonva was waiting there.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping!” Aonva jumped back, then ran forward. “Honest, I wasn’t! I saw you go off, and I know I shouldn’t have followed you, but I was worried about Roshil, and I wanted to know if everything was alright! I wasn’t listening, I didn’t hear anything, I promise. I was… I was… Is everything alright? It’s not bad, is it? Something normal? Maybe not normal, but not something about which we need worry, is it?”

Roshil looked around the corridor. They were alone. Even then, she kept her voice down.

“I have scales growing on my back.”

Aonva’s eyes grew wide and her mouth hung open. Her eyes flickered back and forth as her mind processed what Roshil had just said.

“I… I don’t… I mean I’m… It’s probably… or… um…”

“You’ll be alright,” Master Ekla said, as much to Aonva as to Roshil. “The court will look after you no matter what happens. So I don’t want either one of you worrying about what you’re going to do about it.”

“I… I noticed something,” Aonva said, fidgeting with her hair. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. Um… There are records of other dragon-touched people, but… not a lot, so maybe there’s not… I think you’re the youngest person to have it happen to you.”

Roshil frowned. She’d never heard that before. She hadn’t dug deep into it, and it’s not like anyone had ever told her about it before Master Grund had a year ago.

“Really?”

Aonva nodded, then started pulling a book out of her pack. “I realized the other people were all adults, usually mages. Obviously, they don’t… I mean, they didn’t have much to say, um…”

“Because they didn’t live long,” Roshil said. “I know. If the dragons don’t get you, the druids will. And that one man that was executed.”

“I’m sorry! I know, I don’t need to remind you, but… I don’t know, maybe it’s different because you’re younger? Or they didn’t notice other symptoms? I—”

“Let’s leave this for another day,” Master Ekla said. “Apprentice Aonva, you did well to find this. I trust you two can find your way back to the north tower without getting into trouble?”

They both nodded, although Roshil felt that that comment was meant more for her than for Aonva.

“Then I’ll be off. Good night to you both.”

“Good night, Master Ekla,” they said.

Roshil watched her go. It was nice to know she had friends in the court, even if everyone else could be called “hostile” at best.

“Thanks,” Roshil said. “For finding that out, I mean.”

“You’re welcome. Um… it’ll… it’ll be okay.”

Roshil smiled at her. Aonva smiled back.

“Yeah. It will be.”

#VolumeThree #SolvingAProblem

Aonva sat in history class, writing down every word the teacher said. Most of it was familiar to her; she’d read through her textbook three times already, in case a quiz was thrown at them without warning. While Sirshi insisted she didn’t need to be that prepared, Aonva didn’t think there was such a thing as “over prepared”.

“After the war, and Torpn became part of Skwyr, more cities came under the court’s rule. Word spread of the possibilities, the safety, and the opportunities the court could provide. Until then, most of the cities had been under the rule of tyrants. This caused the cities to seek out the court’s aide.” Master Rondin stopped talking, and Aonva reviewed everything she knew in anticipation of another question. “Naxta, there were three cities that joined the kingdom next. Name one of them.”

A boy toward the back of the class stood up. His face was always on the brink of a smirk. “I don’t know.”

Master Rondin glowered at him. “Guess.”

Aonva didn’t know how Master Rondin managed to pack so much frustration and exasperation into a single syllable.

The words you speak are just as important as the tone with which you speak them.

Without hesitation, Naxta said, “Zensin.”

Master Rondin’s gaze didn’t ease any. “No. While the acquisition of Zensin was invaluable in establishing a relationship with the other kingdoms, it wasn’t one of the first three to seek the court’s rule. Apprentice Aonva, would you please tell us what they were?”

Aonva stood up and addressed Master Rondin to avoid anyone else’s gaze. “Moud, Bimun, and Sarona.”

“Very good.”

The chime of bells sounded throughout the school. Students immediately began rushing to gather their things.

“For next week, I want an essay on the reasons the cities gave for joining the kingdom. You need to include at least five reasons.”

Aonva gathered her notes and put them back in their place in her bag. If everything stayed organized, she wouldn’t waste time finding it, and she needed more time to study.

She had only just left the classroom when someone called to her.

Naxta walked up to her, still with that same half-smirk on his face.

“You know this stuff, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

She wished she had something to hide behind. She wanted to shrink away from him. Few people who weren’t teachers ever paid direct attention to her, and she didn’t care for it. She didn’t want Sirshi’s extreme of rejecting most human contact, though, so she had to get used to it.

“Then you can help me out with it.”

“Oh. Um… I guess.”

“Great. Tomorrow after class. We can work on the essay together.”

“Um… Okay. We can meet in the library, if that’s okay with you. It’s fine if it’s not, though. We don’t have to do anything, I guess.”

“Great. See you there.”

Naxta walked away with his friends, smiling and laughing with them. Aonva hoped they weren’t laughing at her. No, they wouldn’t be, would they? Maybe it was her hair. Roshil liked it, or maybe she was only being polite. Maybe it was ridiculous. It must’ve been. Her parents were right; no one would like her unless she fit in better. Being a complete neurotic mess was enough to drive any normal person away.

Roshil would’ve told her that normal was overrated. Even after everything they’d been through over the past year, Roshil was always nice to her. And Sirshi didn’t care one way or another how Aonva did her hair. Or that she overreacted to everything and couldn’t stay calm to save her life.

Aonva started toward the door to the castle in a daze. Her mind and head were so rarely in the same place. Just another reason why she didn’t have friends apart from Roshil. Sirshi was sort of her friend, but she was more Roshil’s friend than Aonva’s. Maybe she could make friends with Naxta. She couldn’t think of a time he’d made fun of her, unlike some of her other classmates.

As she reached the doors to the castle from the school, she met up with Roshil coming from natural sciences.

“I never realized how many plants could kill you,” Roshil said. “Don’t worry, though; most of them don’t grow around here. How was history?”

“It was okay,” Aonva said, trying not to launch into a lecture on everything Master Rondin had said minutes ago. “Um… I won’t be at the library tomorrow after class. I mean, I will be, but… but I’ll be helping one of my classmates with his work.”

“That’s fine, he can hang out with us.”

“No, I mean… I’m helping him… alone. The two of us.”

“Oh.” Realization came over Roshil. “Like… Like a date?”

“What? No! I mean, I don’t think so. Not that I would say no to one, but I don’t know him that well, although he seems really nice, and he doesn’t make fun of me like some of my classmates, and—”

“Who’s making fun of you? Let me know, and Sirshi and me will take care of them.” She emphasized this point by punching one hand with the other.

“No! You—” She paused as they stepped into the castle and a tingling spread through her body. “You don’t need to hurt anyone.”

“I’m not going to hurt them,” Roshil said. “Father says never do anything directly. If it can’t be traced back to you, you can’t get in trouble.”

Aonva had long since learned that trying to dissuade Roshil from anything her father had told her was pointless. According to Lord Grund, the best way to handle that was to distract Roshil.

“I asked Our Lady Arch Mage about a spell to read books,” Aonva said, hoping that was a good enough distraction. “She said there has been some work on it with Essence Magic.”

Roshil scowled for a moment, an expression that to a passerby might look like anger, but Aonva knew to be her “thinking” face.

“Never heard of it.”

“She said it was still theoretical. The idea is sort of like weaving. You can use weaving to learn something attached to a person’s ‘essence’, like their name or gender identity. Something that’s at the core of who they are. The theory is that a book’s contents are at the core of what they are, so if a thread could be attached to a book, it could be used to read the book. The problem is, we can only attach threads to living things, and even then can only get basics from them, not emotion or anything.”

Roshil shrugged. “So what? Mother used to say that something was only impossible until it wasn’t.”

Aonva paused to file that away. Roshil rarely spoke of her mother, so any information Aonva was lucky enough to get was valuable.

“I have to go to the forge,” Roshil said. “Are we still eating dinner together?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t we be?”

“I didn’t know if you wanted to eat dinner with your new friend.”

“Oh no, he’s not an apprentice. We couldn’t eat together.”

“Okay.” That seemed to cheer up Roshil a little. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah. See you for dinner.”

#VolumeThree #TrueFriends

Aonva sat in one of the study rooms in the library. She reviewed what she’d brought with her again: her notes from the last four months of class, their textbook, and spare notebooks in case Naxta forgot something. This didn’t make her feel any less nervous, but she didn’t feel like she was going to be sick anymore, so it was helping a little.

Naxta strode into the study room. Unlike Aonva, nothing bothered him. He’d never been worried about anything in his life.

Aonva jumped to her feet when he arrived. She brushed some hair out of her face, criticizing herself for not putting it back in braids. Even if Naxta was from Alforn — or at least his family was — he’d still think her hair was ugly.

“Hi, Naxta,” she said in a soft voice.

“Hey.” He slid into the chair across from her and leaned back.

“Um… Right.” Aonva sat down and opened her notebook to her notes. “So… um… with what do you need help?”

“It’s that essay Rondin gave us,” he said. “You know? Five reasons why people wanna be in the court?”

Aonva didn’t need him to spell it out for her, she’d written hers last night. The court provided religious and political freedom, social acceptance, and economic stability. Master Rondin had told them all of those during class. There was a longer bulleted list in their textbook too.

“I mean,” he continued, “why would anyone wanna be here? It’s so boring, you know? Like, nothing ever happens here. Except last year when that dragon burned down a whole farm, but that wasn’t even inside the city. It’s so boring, you know?”

What Naxta called “boring”, Aonva considered “safe”. That remained at the top of her list of reasons never to step outside the court walls. How could anyone consider “boring” a bad thing?

“Well… um… there’s a good section about it in our book,” she said, pulling her textbook to her.

“Oh, yeah, that thing. I lost mine weeks ago.”

Aonva fumbled her textbook for a moment while she was leafing through to one of several marked pages.

“Oh. Well… um… I’ve got mine, so you can use that today.”

“Alright.”

She found the page with the list on it, then turned the book to face him. “There’s this page, which has a lot of reasons why people wanted to join the court. Master Rondin already explained some of them. I took notes on those, so I can find those if you give me a moment.”

“Sure.”

Aonva left the book and started going through her notes. Once again, she’d put markers on the pages she’d been expecting to use. “I don’t know how much you remember from class, but I take notes on everything, so in case you missed something, I’ve got it.”

“Okay.”

She turned her notes toward him, then looked him over. He hadn’t brought a pack with him, or anything for that matter.

“Do… do you need something with which to write?”

“No, I’m not really good at writing.”

Aonva took the pieces of parchment she’d brought with her, along with a pen and ink. She paused, considering what he’d just said. Before she could question it, he spoke again.

“You got everything,” he said. “You got something to eat? I’m starving.”

Aonva bit back the horror at the thought of eating anything in the library.

“No… I’m sorry, I don’t.”

Crumbs would end up everywhere, what if someone spilled a drink on the books and they were ruined, or what if they attracted bugs, or…

He took the pen and parchment from her, then looked at the book again. “That’s a lot of words.”

Aonva didn’t know how to respond to that. Sirshi would’ve had plenty to say about him, but none of it would’ve been nice. Aonva glanced at the study room door. Was Roshil in the library? Maybe Aonva should’ve invited her too. Roshil would’ve had the same essay to write, and she wasn’t as diligent about her work as Aonva was. Although, Roshil would’ve laughed at Naxta by now, and Aonva didn’t want that. If she had a chance to make a new friend, she should try.

Aonva pointed at the list on the page. “That’s the important part. The book expands on each of those items in the later paragraphs. So most of the work is rewording what’s written later.”

“This still doesn’t make sense,” Naxta said. “Maybe I could see yours. It’ll make sense then.”

She glanced at her pack. Her own essay was with her, but she wasn’t comfortable letting him see it. Where was the harm in it, though? It wasn’t as though he were going to copy it entirely, but it was the best summary she had of the information they needed. Surely it’d save Naxta a lot of time if he had a more complete summary than what was in the book.

She reached for her pack and pulled out her essay. She pointed to the first paragraph. “The court provides religious freedom, allowing anyone to worship anything, so long as it doesn’t disrupt the lives of other people, and they don’t force it on anyone else. That’s one example.” She pointed to the original paragraph in the book. “The book says much the same thing, but takes a lot longer to say it. Maybe… maybe you can put it into your own words, then expand it when you write your final essay.”

“‘Final essay’?” The way Naxta said it, a “final essay” was a fate worse than death. “I’m not gonna write this again. I’m writing it once and handing it to Rondin.”

Master Rondin. Aonva didn’t dare correct him out loud, nor did she want to explain the benefits of writing more than one draft to achieve a better final product. She’d already tried explaining that to Roshil, who was far more receptive than Naxta and still hadn’t seen the point of it.

“Oh. That’s… that’s fine, I suppose.”

Naxta started writing. His handwriting was scratchy and hardly legible. Aonva was still sitting across from him, making it nearly impossible to tell what he was writing. His gaze moved between the book and her essay as he wrote, and for once, he looked like he was taking it seriously.

They went through each entry in the list and did the same thing. Naxta was slow to write, but he got there in the end. By the time they were finished, dinnertime was fast approaching.

“I have to go to dinner,” Aonva said, collecting her things. “I… um… I hope you do well.”

“Yeah, thanks,” he said, picking up what he’d written. “This’ll help a lot. At least now I know who to ask when I need help.”

Aonva kept her gaze on her belongings, then on the floor when she’d packed them away.

“Thanks,” she said in a small, squeaky voice. “I’ll see you tomorrow in class.”

She rushed out of the room. Her heart pounded, and she felt lightheaded and a little sick. She’d be okay though. She’d helped out a classmate and made a new friend. She was still a complete mess, but maybe she’d get better at it in time.

I can make friends. The more she thought about it, the happier she felt. I can make friends!

#VolumeThree #TrueFriends

“A mage’s staff is the most important possession they own,” Lord Grund said, wheeling around in front of a blackboard with a diagram of a staff on it. “Magic’s long and complicated, too long to be of use in day to day life. If you want to do exactly the right thing at the right time, you need a staff. It holds prepared spells in it, tuned to specific words.”

Aonva and Roshil sat in the forge, along with the other second year apprentice artisans and mages, listening to Lord Grund’s lecture. Lady Emgard stood beside him, letting him lead the lecture.

“As artisans, you’ll be responsible for aiding a mage in constructing his or her staff before completing your apprenticeship. As apprentice mages, you’re responsible for designing your staff, which an artisan will then aide you in constructing. Lady Emgard, explain why.”

Lady Emgard scowled at him for a brief moment before answering.

“A mage’s staff is the symbol of her mastery and her greatest tool. However, artisans are the experts in construction and crafting, making it sensible for them to handle the actual construction of the staff.”

“You’re all into your second year here, so you’ll have to start thinking about it. Staff construction takes place during your fifth-year assignments, which you will do in pairs, one artisan, one mage. That gives you three years to start thinking about the person with whom you want to work. If you can’t stand to be around that person for a whole year, you probably shouldn’t work with them. It’s a complicated process, and this will be the staff that serves you for the rest of your life. Artisans, you’ll need to research construction of a staff, and know what’s possible. That way, when a mage comes to you with impossible ideas they thought sounded good at the time, you can tell them they’re idiots.”

While this earned him a few giggles from the artisans, Roshil in particular, it got him another scowl from Lady Emgard.

“As mages,” she said, keeping her voice calm and not insulting, “you’ll need to start thinking of your focus. Research, protection, tracking, to name a few. I wanted to research dragons, so I put my focus there. Your masters can give you a better understanding of what they chose, and point you in the direction of another master with similar interests that can give you some ideas. You will continue to work with your master on this.” She turned to Lord Grund. “Lord Grund, unless you want to insult my apprentices more, I believe that concludes our lecture?”

“I got my quota in for the day.”

“Then you are all dismissed. Your masters will be waiting for you outside to continue your normal routines.”

The apprentices all stood up and began to shuffle out of the forge.

“I’ll see you after class?” Roshil asked.

“Yes,” Aonva said. “In the library again? It’s fine if—”

“I know it’s always fine with you if we meet somewhere else,” Roshil said, a grin on her face. “I like sitting in the library with you. I mean… Oh! Sirshi wanted to come too.”

“I thought she didn’t like the library.”

Roshil shrugged. “I don’t know, but I asked if she wanted to hang out with us, and she said sure. I’m meeting her at the temple, then we’ll head over there.”

Aonva wasn’t sure about Sirshi being in the library. Once Roshil got focused on something, she didn’t move until she was finished, but Sirshi was vocal about her disapproval of anything. But if it was what Roshil wanted, Aonva was okay with it.

“That’s fine.” Aonva smiled at Roshil. “See you later.”

“See you.”

---

During class, Aonva struggled to keep her focus on Master Rondin. She still wrote down every word of the lecture (she’d learned a way of writing that looked like scribbles to everyone else, but allowed her to keep up with her teachers’ lectures), but her mind was on Naxta.

I was wondering if you’d maybe like to study together.

Did that sound right? What if he was already doing something else? What if he thought she was too timid? Maybe she needed to be more direct.

Let’s go study together.

No, that wasn’t right, that sounded rude. Why couldn’t she talk right? She’d never had this problem with Kurgm, but they’d always made plans together. He’d ask her if she wanted to do something, she’d always say yes, even if she didn’t really want to, and they’d spend time together. Unless that was the reason Kurgm had stopped spending time with her. Maybe he hadn’t liked that she was so timid all the time. If she were too forceful, she’d only be rude. According to her father, a woman shouldn’t have too many opinions.

Master Rondin finished class by assigning them another essay, then dismissed them. Aonva quickly packed up her books. She spotted Naxta leaving the classroom, and moved quickly to catch up to him.

“Naxta!”

She immediately regretted saying something. She didn’t know what she was doing. All she was going to do was make a fool of herself.

Naxta was in the corridor outside the classroom when he stopped. He turned to her, his usual confidence all over his face.

I wish I could be like that.

“Aonva.” A hint of a smile crossed his face.

“I was wondering… maybe you’d like to… um… maybe we could work on our essays together?”

He walked over to her, put his arm around her, and began leading her away from the classroom.

Panic raged inside her. It took all her focus not to start crying. She fought through it, determined to show that she could be normal.

“That’d be great,” he said. “Hey, you’re taking arcane language with Dordir, right?”

“Yes.” Aonva’s voice shook when she responded. She tried to subtly take breaths to calm herself. “T-tomorrow.”

“Great. We got that test coming up, and, since we’re good friends now, I’m sure you’d tell us what’s gonna be on that test after you take it, so we’re ready for it.”

“What?”

Women shouldn’t argue all the time.

Men don’t want you to have your own thoughts or opinions, they just want you to agree with everything they say.

“But… but that’s cheating,” Aonva said.

His grip on her tightened. “But we’re friends, right? And friends look out for one another. Like when you let me copy your essay.”

“But… I didn’t… you weren’t supposed to—”

“What’s Rondin going to say when she reads those essays? She’s gonna wonder which of us copied the other. I’m gonna tell her I worked on it with my friends. And if you’re not one of my friends, then that means you copied off me.”

She felt sick, trapped. The walls were closing in on her. She couldn’t breathe.

“So, we’re friends, right?”

Aonva couldn’t think of anything else to say. “Y-yes.”

“Great. So I’ll see you tomorrow after that test so we can study together.” He withdrew his arm. “See you later, friend.”

After wanting friends so badly, the word “friend” felt like a slap in the face. Naxta walked off with his friends, smiling to one another. They hadn’t a care in the world. That left Aonva alone, with the weight of what she’d done threatening to crush her.

#VolumeThree #TrueFriends

Aonva walked through the library in a daze. She’d let someone else copy her work. She hadn’t meant to, but that wouldn’t matter once Master Rondin read their essays and realized they were almost identical. When Master Rondin asked them about it, Naxta’s friends would back up his story, and Aonva would be all alone. There was nothing she could do about it. Unless she kept helping him cheat.

She walked down the shelves as the books glared down at her, scolding her for being so naive, so blind. She’d done this to herself. Everything that happened to her now was her own fault.

She thought about hiding in her room, but that wouldn’t make anything better. Nothing would fix her mistake. Could she go to Master Kaernin? Would he understand what she’d done? That it’d been a mistake, that she hadn’t meant to help someone cheat? She knew she couldn’t go to Lady Emgard. She was the most successful mage in the kingdom. She wouldn’t understand why Aonva had done it. Aonva wasn’t sure she did.

“Aonva?”

She whirled around and saw Roshil. Her only friend in the entire kingdom. The only friend she’d ever had.

“Found her!” Roshil called over her shoulder, and Sirshi walked up.

“Great, can we go?” Sirshi asked, making no effort to keep her voice down. “I’m sure I have things to do that don’t involve books.”

“What’s wrong with books?” Roshil asked. “They’re great for learning things. Sometimes. When they’re not too dull.”

“Sure, but books can be taken away, and then what?”

Roshil elbowed Sirshi. “Don’t say things like that around Aonva.”

The two of them turned their attention back to Aonva. Roshil frowned at her.

“Are you alright?”

Aonva tried smiling, but she felt the tears start coming anyway. “I’m fine.”

“You’re crying,” Sirshi said. “That’s not fine.”

“See? That’s why you don’t say things about books disappearing around Aonva.”

“It’s not that,” Aonva said, trying to stop herself from crying. “I’m fine, really.”

“What happened?” Sirshi asked. “Did you miss a question on a test again? I don’t see what the big deal is about that. I do that all the time, but it never bothers me.”

While it was obvious even to Aonva that Sirshi didn’t care about this, Roshil kept frowning at her. She was worried. She cared. Aonva looked at Roshil through tear-stained eyes. The one person in the entire city who wouldn’t care that she’d cheated.

“I helped that boy I was talking about with his essay,” she said, keeping her voice down, “but it wasn’t really helping, he just copied off mine. Now he’s going to tell Master Rondin that I copied off his unless I help him cheat more. I can’t do anything about it, and I can’t stop it, and cheating’s not allowed for an apprentice, and if I get caught cheating, I might have my apprenticeship terminated, and I don’t know what to do!”

Sirshi’s face hardened into a glare.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to, really, it was an accident, and—”

“Who’s this boy?” Sirshi demanded.

“His name is Naxta,” Aonva said.

“This is the boy from your history class?” Roshil asked.

Aonva nodded.

“Tell me where to find him,” Sirshi growled. “I’ll set him straight. Give me five minutes alone with him, and I’ll—”

“No!” Aonva said, still trying to keep her voice down. She glanced around, hoping no one was listening. They were all crammed into one of the aisles, so she couldn’t see much else.

“You don’t need to worry about him,” Roshil said. “We’ll take care of him for you.”

“But… but…”

“It’ll be fine,” Roshil said. She smiled, but it wasn’t reassuring. “I promise. Nothing will happen to you.”

“A lot’s gonna happen to him,” Sirshi said, clenching her fists.

“But… you…” Aonva struggled to find some argument to dissuade her friends from getting into more trouble. “What if you get caught?”

“We won’t,” Roshil said, exchanging glances with Sirshi. “No one’s going to find out about this.”

“Unless, of course, they already know about it,” a new voice said.

The girls all stood at attention as Lady Emgard hobbled into the row of books.

“My Lady Arch Mage,” Aonva gasped. Her throat suddenly felt too small. Her head began to spin. This was it. It was all over.

“Don’t worry, I came in around ‘what if you get caught’,” Lady Emgard said. “But then, I already know the whole story.”

Aonva stared wide-eyed at Lady Emgard. She couldn’t have figured it all out already. Could she? Of course, she could’ve, she was Lady Emgard, Lady Arch Mage of Skwyr Court. Dragons were afraid to go up against her.

“I just had the most peculiar conversation with Master Kaernin,” Lady Emgard said. “Peculiar, in part, because he initiated it, but also because Master Rondin told him that Apprentice Aonva’s essay was similar to another student’s essay. Almost identical, in fact. Master Rondin was afraid this boy was forcing Apprentice Aonva to help him cheat.”

Aonva briefly wondered why Master Kaernin had gone to Lady Emgard about this, but Lady Emgard would tell her if it were important.

“Now, based on the conversation I overheard, this is more or less accurate, and Apprentices Roshil and Sirshi are offering to silence this boy, to ensure that Apprentice Aonva doesn’t get in trouble.” She turned her stare that Aonva was convinced could see inside her mind on Roshil and Sirshi. “Apprentice Roshil, Apprentice Sirshi, shame on you both for conspiring to intimidate a student like that. The court does not operate that way. Apprentice Sirshi, Master Moudren would be most disappointed in you if she were here.”

Sirshi muttered something, but didn’t argue any further.

“As for you, Apprentice Roshil—”

“I—”

It was a universal law that when Lady Emgard raised her hand, everyone near her went silent. Her glare hardened just enough to ensure that this was always the case. As she lowered her hand and folded it on her staff with her other one, her gaze softened.

“I know Lord Grund has taught you better than that, Apprentice Roshil. The first thing is to apologize. I don’t need an explanation.”

“My apologies,” Roshil said.

“Sorry,” Sirshi added.

Lady Emgard smiled, then turned her gaze on Aonva. “Very good. Rest assured, as far as the court is concerned, the only problem here is that someone blackmailed and intimidated you into doing something you didn’t want to. Next time this happens, please talk to Master Kaernin or myself immediately so that we may handle it. That’s our job.”

“Yes, My Lady.”

“Good. I will talk with Master Rondin for you this once, but in the future, this will be your responsibility.”

“I understand, My Lady.”

“Good. Then if there are no other problems to discuss, I’ll leave you ladies alone.”

The three of them stood at attention as Lady Emgard turned to leave.

“Although while I’m here,” she said as she stopped at the end of the aisle, “a word of advice to all three of you. As apprentices, you all have bright futures ahead of you. Never let anyone, especially men, change that. You decide where you go next.”

Aonva let Lady Emgard’s words sink in as she watched Lady Emgard leave. How many times had she let other people make decisions for her? Her parents had told her that she was supposed to be dependent on other people, that she had to act a certain way so people would like her. Here were Roshil and Sirshi, two people who defied everything her parents had ever told her. Roshil was her best friend, and Sirshi didn’t care if she never saw another person.

“So,” Roshil said, “books?”

“Sure,” Sirshi said. “Why not?”

Aonva smiled and nodded. As they all sat down in silence, Aonva began to think that maybe she could get better one day. She had friends that accepted her the way she was. She hoped that one day, that would be good enough.

#VolumeThree #TrueFriends

“That’s enough for today,” Master Ekla said, lowering her sword.

Kurgm felt like he’d collapse any moment. His own sword felt like lead in his hands. He wiped away sweat from his eyes.

“You sure?” he asked, panting. “I don’t know, I think I have you right where I want you.”

She sheathed her sword. “Sure. You should have enough time to wash up before dinner. Rest assured, this doesn’t come up much. The court prefers to think and reason through problems than applying brute force.”

He put away his own sword and grabbed his pack. He returned to his room and washed up. After putting the sword away, Kurgm started down to dinner.

Acting on instinct, he started down to the kitchens, but stopped.

You can’t be eating down in the kitchens. You will eat upstairs like an apprentice.

Kurgm didn’t much care for eating in the great hall, but as an apprentice, it was expected of him. Even with standing permission to eat in the kitchens, he knew he should be eating with the others.

He turned around and started back to the great hall, where apprentices were already starting to gather. He glanced around the tables and spotted Roshil and Aonva sitting together. Maybe Aonva wouldn’t mind him sitting with her again.

When the stress gets too much for her, she’ll crack and leave the court. If she isn’t having one problem, she’ll be having another. Once you forget about this incident, I’m sure they’ll be another.

Kurgm turned away and spotted Demndun. She saw him and smiled. He liked the way she smiled. It reminded him of the first rays of sun peeking through the temple windows.

He walked over and sat down next to her.

“Where’s everyone else?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” She grinned. “Your hair’s all wet.”

“Combat practice. Every knight needs to be ready to defend people in case a situation gets violent. I washed up before I came here.”

“You look really clean.”

“Oh. Um… thank you.”

Demndun found something interesting on the table that absorbed her attention.

“What did you do today?” Kurgm asked.

“I—”

“Decided to grace us with your presence?” Cremwa asked as she sat down on the other side of Demndun. Zifor and Muwen were right behind her, and sat down across from the three of them.

“I finished early,” Kurgm said. “Well, earlier than—”

“Some of us actually like spending time with people,” Cremwa said. “I’ve been helping Demndun with arcane language after dinner while you’ve been learning to be a soldier.”

“That depends on how you define ‘helping’,” Demndun muttered.

“Knights aren’t soldiers,” Kurgm said. “We’re—”

“I wouldn’t expect a knight to understand a mage.” She turned away from him and started to say something, but was cut off by the sound of every apprentice standing at attention.

The officers walked in, following by King Fohra. When the seven of them took their seats, Cremwa started talking again.

“Can you believe Apprentice Kemdra?” Cremwa said as she started putting food on her plate. “The nerve of her. She accused me of cheating today.”

“She’s just jealous,” Muwen said through a mouthful of food. “Probably annoyed that you have time to make friends.”

“Cheating’s a big deal,” Kurgm said. “You could—”

“You’re right,” Cremwa said, ignoring Kurgm. “She is jealous. Not everyone can be as perfect as me, right Demndun?”

“Sure.”

Kurgm realized Oshal hadn’t arrived yet. He looked around the great hall and spotted Oshal sitting with another group of apprentices.

“Why’s Oshal sitting over there?” Kurgm said, taking advantage of Cremwa having food in her mouth.

“He’s friends with everyone,” Zifor said. “He doesn’t always sit with us.”

“Which you’d know if you ever showed up,” Cremwa added. She turned her attention back to Zifor and Muwen.

“It’s alright,” Demndun said. “I like that you work hard.” She glanced at Cremwa and agreed with something Kurgm hadn’t caught.

“It’s not always a choice,” Kurgm said. “Master Ekla works me pretty hard.”

“But you still keep up. That’s something. I can’t always keep up with what Master Silbrom tells me. She talks really fast sometimes. Not that I’m complaining or anything.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Zifor asked, a goofy grin on his face.

“What slackers weavers are,” Muwen said through a laugh.

Zifor responded by punching him in the arm.

“I think we were talking about me,” Cremwa said, glaring at Kurgm. “Stop trying to hog all the attention.”

“I wasn’t—”

“Like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted…”

Kurgm was starting to get the sense that Cremwa had a problem with him. He didn’t know what it was, but this wasn’t the first time she’d been like this. Even then, Kurgm thought she was worse than usual.

“Demndun,” he said while Zifor and Muwen had Cremwa distracted, “I was wondering if you’d like to go to the gardens after dinner. I know it’s cold out, but I thought it might be nice.”

Demndun looked down and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I promised Cremwa we would study together tonight.” She tried smiling, but still looked sad. “I really am sorry. I have an exam tomorrow, and I need the extra help.”

After dinner, Kurgm walked alone to the gardens.

He wrapped a cloak and scarf around himself, then trudged through a fresh layer of snow. Despite the snow, children still ran around the gardens, illuminated by floating orbs of light. Druids went to their sleeping area, made distinct by being the only ones not bundled up. Near the end of the procession, walking slowly off to the side, was Oshal. He walked alongside a druid.

“Oshal!” Kurgm called.

Oshal twitched his head and smiled. He and his friend made their way to Kurgm.

“Hello, Kurgm.” He motioned to his friend. “This is Apprentice Nourd. He’s a druid.”

“I figured. No one else would be warm this time of year without a cloak.”

“Why is there glass on your face?” Nourd asked.

“They’re glasses,” Kurgm said, adjusting them. “They help me see.”

“Why? Are you blind like Oshal?” He turned to Oshal. “Why do you not use glass?”

“I’m not blind, I just have trouble seeing things far away.”

Nourd stepped closer and smelled him.

“Um…” Kurgm didn’t know how to respond to any of that. Being smelled by someone was a first for him.

“I remember you,” Nourd said. “You were the male that the female wanted to mate with.”

Kurgm wouldn’t have thought a situation in which he’d been smelled could’ve been made more awkward, but Nourd had found a way.

“Nourd, that wasn’t polite,” Oshal said.

“But—”

“It wasn’t polite.”

Nourd frowned at Oshal. “Is this another part of ‘manners’?”

“Yes.”

“Which part? Am I not supposed to remember people?”

“No, but…” Oshal turned to Kurgm. “Excuse us, Kurgm. It was nice to talk to you again.”

“Yeah. You too.”

Oshal led Nourd away, talking in a low voice.

Kurgm watched them go. He didn’t feel like spending time in the gardens anymore. Even being around Oshal, which usually made him feel more comfortable, didn’t have its usual effect.

Maybe I just can’t get along with other people.

#VolumeThree #FittingIn

Kurgm met Master Ekla in one of the training rooms the next day. His stomach churned at the thought of another lesson in pretending he’d be able to defend someone one day.

“Before we start on combat and defense, we’re going to practice using ki,” Master Ekla said. She motioned to a corner of the room. “You can put your gear down over there, you won’t need it yet.”

Kurgm did as he was told, then sat down where Master Ekla indicated.

Today’s already shaping up to be better than yesterday.

“Close your eyes, and concentrate on your hearing. Feel the energy flowing through you. Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Every breath connects you to the world.”

Kurgm felt the troubles of the past slipping away. With each deep breath, more sounds came into focus. He heard people in other rooms walking around, soft footsteps echoing from far away. Even Master Ekla’s light footfalls became clearer. He listened to her walking to the other side of the room as she brought her voice to a whisper.

“Can you still hear me?”

Kurgm nodded, afraid to hear what his own voice would sound like.

“Good. Open your eyes.”

Kurgm did as he was told. The world didn’t seem as bright as it had when he’d closed them.

“Your vision won’t be as good now that you’re focusing your ki on your hearing.”

He nodded. He already knew that, but Master Ekla tended to talk about anything to keep testing him when they did this.

“Stand up.” When he had, she continued. “Walk slowly around the room.”

This was something he hadn’t completely mastered. One day, he’d be able to channel his ki with minimal effort on his part, even through his weapon in times of crisis. For now, he settled for being able to walk and channel it at the same time.

Master Ekla walked around, staying on the opposite side of the room, still talking in a quiet voice.

“Stop. Turn around. Walk the other way.”

She continued to give him instructions, telling him to walk faster or slower, to turn around, anything to verify that he could still hear her.

“You’re doing well.”

He winced when she drew her sword. The sound of it unsheathing sounded like someone had rung a bell next to his ear.

Panic started to set in. She wasn’t about to attack him, was she?

His eyes darted over to the other side of the room where his gear lay. He’d never reach it before she got to him. He’d have to figure out how to get around her.

His attention returned to Master Ekla as she ran at him, sword raised.

Kurgm ran to his left, trying to get around her. He stumbled and fell, then scrambled to his feet. His foot caught something, and he went tumbling back down. Before he could get back up, Master Ekla planted her foot on his chest.

“If you’d kept up your hearing,” she said, “you would’ve heard me say ‘Don’t move, I’m not going to hurt you’.”

She removed her foot and offered him a hand to get up.

“I couldn’t hear after you unsheathed your sword. It was too loud.”

“There will be times when you’re escorting a shipment and people attack you. People who know how ki works, and know that if they hide in the woods, you’ll have to listen for an attack. Banging something together is a good way to throw off someone who isn’t used to it. You’ll have a split second to react before the attackers press forward to take the shipment from you.”

Kurgm thought about it for a moment, then shook his head.

“I don’t understand what the lesson here is. Was I supposed to have stopped listening?”

Master Ekla shook her head. “You did exactly what I’d expect you to do. What you should do is use your ki to recover. While it can augment your hearing, it can also repair them after a loud sound like that. That’s today’s lesson. Let’s start over.”

After a few painful tries, Kurgm began to pick up how to fix his hearing after Master Ekla tortured his ears.

“Like defense, channeling ki doesn’t come up much in a knight’s daily life,” she said as he gathered his belongings for class. “Most of what you need it for is listening for a lost or hidden child, or helping carry something. Within these walls, our responsibilities are mostly resolving disputes or providing a helping hand.”

Kurgm nodded. Once again, he already knew it, but Master Ekla liked reassuring him that he wasn’t a complete failure.

“Can’t defend anyone,” he muttered. “Can’t talk right, can’t make friends.”

I’m going to be a horrible knight.

“Stop being hard on yourself. This isn’t easy for anyone, but you’re doing fine with ki channeling. You’re actually good at it. Also, you have friends, but judging by your tone, something’s going on with them.”

“It’s nothing.” He wasn’t sure he wanted to get into it with Master Ekla. Although, she had a solution for every other problem in the world.

“If it turns out to be something,” Master Ekla said, “tell me after class. If you don’t leave now, you’re going to be late.”

Kurgm dropped of his gear in his room and grabbed his pack. Hoping he hadn’t forgotten any of his books, he trotted through the corridors. He passed through the door into the school, the feeling that he was running late already driving him on.

I wonder if this is how Aonva feels all the time.

He put her out of his mind as he reached the classroom. The bells tolled to announce the start of another lesson just as he sat down.

“Right on time,” Demndun whispered from the seat next to him.

He smiled at her, struggling to catch his breath.

“Told you he’d make it,” Zifor said to Muwen, the pair of whom were sitting in front of Kurgm and Demndun.

“Today we move onto the port city of Zensin,” the teacher began. “Despite being on the opposite end of the continent from Skwyr Court, Zensin was the ninth city to become part of the kingdom. As we have discussed in previous lectures, progress continued south, heading toward the coast. The goal was to establish trade routes with other kingdoms across the sea, and to allow travel between them all.”

Kurgm adjusted his glasses and watched the teacher point out each point in the route down to Zensin on a map in front of the class.

In front of him, Muwen muttered something to Zifor.

“Sh,” Kurgm hissed.

Muwen glared at him for a moment, then went back to trying to talk to Zifor. To his credit, Zifor was trying to ignore Muwen too.

“The only one who I’ve ever seen get him to stop talking is Cremwa,” Demndun muttered as she copied down notes. “You just have to ignore him.”

Once again, Kurgm found himself not understanding his new friends, and wondering if he ever would.

#VolumeThree #FittingIn