《Three Suns》


 1 - Beginning

    In a town a week away from the capital, a young girl named Eos was playing with her friends with sticks. The rural, farming town was little known by anyone on the map, but it was prosperous and lively regardless. The two suns hung deep in the sky, with only a few hours left until sunset. The sky was a rose pink as the sun sat there, but the moon of the world was visible on the other side of the sky, glowing in the sunlight. The moon was a part of the larger ring of rocks and space dust that created a seemingly continuous ring around the world, reflecting the light of the sun back down onto the planet. The young girl looked up into the sky, looking at the moonlight and ringlight brought back down onto the planet. She knew that her parents would call her back to her house soon, but she just wanted a few more moments to sword fight with her friends.


    The girl didn¡¯t seem too old- she and her friends were no more than 8 years old. But she was dissimilar to the rest: her hair was a brighter color and her eyes were a clear blue; her ears came to a point; and she looked like she was only 6 or 7, rather than 8; her clothes were made of a slightly higher quality. Despite all of her friends being human, she was an elf.


    She had three friends she was playing with, two boys and a girl. One of the boys was Cedric, who was a brown-haired boy, the son of the local smith. The other was Saer, along with his sister Aderyn. Both of them had jet-black hair and were only the children of farmers.


    ¡°Eos, it¡¯s dinner time!¡± Eos turned around upon hearing the shout, and saw her mother, Thea, approaching the group of kids. Thea looked as if she was in her early 20s, but her ears came to the same point as Eos, and their hair was the same color as well. ¡°Come here, it''s time to go¡±


    Eos walked towards her mom, taking to hold her hand. She dropped her stick, her clothes a bit dirty. Eos looked back at her friends, saddened by having to go home.


    ¡°Say bye to your friends¡±


    ¡°Bye-bye!¡± Eos shouted, waving. She jauntily walked back to their house, saying hello to everyone she passed and playing around with the environment. They walked past the fields and went to a lonely house bordering a forest. The house was small and distant from the village, but it overlooked the rest of the village. Inside the house, there was a stairwell that went both up and down, and the doorway immediately opened up into a vacuous space, where fumes from dinner spread throughout the house. Every flat surface of the house was covered in paper, and Eos¡¯s dad was hunched over papers with a quill and ink out. He looked up as the door opened, and just in time as Eos jumped onto his lap- he barely had time to stop the ink from spilling.


    ¡°We¡¯re home,¡± Thea says, going to serve food.


    Eos¡¯s dad, Moore, was a well-built man, tall and scarred. He looked like he was designed for the life of an adventurer, rather than the historian he became. His hair was silvered with age, but the rest of his body indicated he was at most 30 years old. He picked Eos up and set her next to his work.


    ¡°How was playtime?¡± He asked, smiling despite the filth.


    Eos beamed, ¡°I was a wizard!¡± she exclaimed, before describing every event that the group of children did. At a certain point, she jumped off the table to reenact what happened, causing Moore to chortle. Thea walked over from the kitchen with the food, setting it down.


    ¡°Eos, settle down to eat.¡± Thea said, before sitting in front of her own food.


    ¡°Okayyyy¡± Eos said, racing over to sit down and eat.


    The rest of the night carried on as any normal night, and Eos fell asleep in her bed after taking a bath.


    Throughout the dinner, lighthearted conversation carried on. Moore attempted to explain what he had done all day; his job of investigating and sorting through historical documents and archives beguiled Eos. Eos, attempting to understand, asked countless questions. ¡°Who was Aumor?¡± ¡°What was the Cataclysm?¡± ¡°¡± ¡°¡± Eos didn¡¯t retain the answer to any questions- She was fairly sure she had asked them before, but her dad¡¯s face always lit up when she asked questions.


    As the time went on, Thea sat watching the exchange of words, occasionally interjecting to answer questions in Moore¡¯s stead. The suns were beginning to set, when Thea interjected the discussion: ¡°Would you two like to play dice?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Eos exclaimed, nearly hopping up from the table. Moore nodded in agreement, and Thea pulled out fifteen dice and three cups. Each of them was given a cup and five dice, before shaking up the dice in the cup, and privately looking at them. Eos had a 1, two 2s, and two 5s.


    Eos began, shouting out ¡°Seven 5s!¡±


    Both Thea and Moore looked at her. She only had three 5s; ones are wild. She was hoping they had four 5s or 1s between them. Next in the turn order was Thea. Thea looked at her own dice, then looked back at Eos. oh no, Eos thought.


    ¡°Liar.¡± Thea said. Oh no, oh no. Each player lifted their cups and revealed their dice. Thea had one 5, and no 1s. Moore had no 5s, but two 1s.


    ¡°Six 5s,¡± Moore said, ¡°three wilds and three fives.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s no fair!¡± Eos complained, removing one of her dice. Each of the players shook their dice in their cups again. Eos looked at her dice, seeing a 2, a 5, and two 4s.


    It was on Eos to begin again. ¡°Five 4s!¡± she said. Thea looked at her dice again. Again?! Eos thought.


    ¡°Five 5s.¡± Thea said calmly.


    ¡°Six 4s.¡± Moore replied quickly.


    Six? I only have two¡­ Eos thought, there¡¯s no way!


    ¡°Liar!¡± Eos exclaimed. Each of them revealed their dice. Thea showed three 1s, and two 5s. Moore showed two 2s, two 4s, a 5 and a 6.


    ¡°That¡¯s seven 4s,¡± Moore said, maligning Eos again.


    Ugh, Eos thought, giving up another one of her dice.


    The game carried on very similar to this- Eos was down to her last die, with Moore having lost none and Thea having lost one when Eos¡¯s guess was correct.


    Eos looked at her singular die. A wild! Perfect! It could be anything..


    Eos had lost the last round, so she began. ¡°One 4.¡± She said.


    ¡°One 6.¡± Thea said.


    ¡°Two 1s.¡± Moore said, looking straight at Eos.


    Wa- he called 1s?! Eos¡¯s face dropped. She frantically looked at her dice.


    ¡°Aha¡­ two 4s?¡± Eos asked. They just need to believe I have a 4. She thought.


    ¡°Four 4s.¡± Thea said.


    ¡°Five 1s.¡± Moore countered.


    ¡°Liar!¡± Eos shouted, lifting her cup revealing a 1. Moore revealed his- three 1s, a 2, and a 4. ¡°Aha!¡± Eos said, ¡°That¡¯s only four 1s.¡±


    Thea lifted her cup- a 1, a 3, a 4, a 4, and a 5.


    Oh, Eos thought. I¡¯m out. Eos, barely holding back tears, gave up her last die. She didn¡¯t leave the table, but instead resigned herself to watching the game play out. Moore ended up winning, with three of his dice remaining.


    ¡°Winner cleans up dinner.¡± Thea said, placing the dice and cups away. Moore obliged, cleaning up the three dishes.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s time for bed.¡± Moore said, the last bits of luminescence from the suns fading into nothing.


    ¡°Okayy¡± Eos bemoaned her bedtime, but all of them retired upstairs to their bedrooms. Eos¡¯s bedroom was a medium sized room, with barely more than a bed. She was tucked in by Thea and Moore, and with the fading wisps of light, fell asleep for the night.


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    Suddenly, Eos shot awake in the night. She gazed out her window and saw something awe-inspiring- a meteor was crashing into the nearby forest. It didn¡¯t make much sound, it was simply bright. She leaped out of bed, instantly deciding that the curiosity would be too much, and began to dress. She opened her door gently, as it let out an ominous creak. Pausing for a moment, she shoved the rest of the door open before sliding out into the hallway, down the stairs, and out the front door as quietly as she could.


    Eos was exhilarated: It was her first time attempting to sneak out at night, and it was a huge success. She began to imagine everything else she could do at night without anyone noticing as she made her way to the forest. However, her thoughts ran still as she reached the edge of the woods- the howling winds and shifting moonlight in the trees terrified her. She stood there in the cold of night, and decided after her thoughts began again that she would turn back; whatever fell into the woods would be there tomorrow. However, as she turned around, she saw Saer and Aderyn walking up to the woods as well- and Saer had spotted her.


    ¡°Hey! You saw it too?¡± Saer asked, walking up confidently to Eos. Aderyn was walking behind Saer, almost as if she was trying to shrink into his nonexistent shadow.


    ¡°Y-yeah, I was just about to go into the woods to investigate,¡± Eos said, trying to look as confident as possible.


    ¡°Us too! Do you know where it landed?¡±


    ¡°No, but I was going to figure it out!¡±


    ¡°Hey Sear,¡± Aderyn whispered, ¡°we should really head back. Papa always said to stay away from the forest, that there were wolves and bears and demons that liked to play there at night.¡±


    Sear rebuked his sister, ¡°But we already came here! You can turn back if you want, but I¡¯m going ahead. Besides, I don¡¯t see any wolves, do you?¡± He motioned confidently towards the treeline. ¡°Shall we go?¡± He said, stepping into the woods. Eos and Aderyn followed, Eos trying to hide her fear as the woods seemingly shifted around them.


    After a few minutes of walking in petrifying silence, Sear motioned them towards him, pointing to something, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± he asked.


    Both Eos and Aderyn looked confused as they squinted at the dark, both trying to discern what Saer was mentioning. They both heard a loud scream behind them, causing them to jump out of their skin. ¡°BOO¡± Sear shouted, both of them jolting away from him. Aderyn began to cry reflexively, and Eos instinctively punched Sear, causing him to take a few steps back.


    ¡°What was that for!¡± Sear screamed at Eos.


    ¡°What was that for? What was that for!¡± She screamed back, motioning to Aderyn.


    ¡°She¡¯s just a scaredy cat.¡± he said, rubbing the impact spot, ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you can just punch me!¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t just mean you can scare us!¡± She replied angrily.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Aderyn said, sniffling, ¡°let''s just continue¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Eos said, angry.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Saer said.


    They walked further into the forest, the silence thicker than ever before. As the night waned on, Eos began to worry more about the previous shouting. What if something heard them? She thought, a wolf or a demon? How big would a wolf be? Her mind began to wander off until she saw a light up ahead. Saer stopped the group and motioned for them to huddle with them behind a tree.


    The light was a radiant glow, not dancing as any fire would. It was a gentle, ambient glow across the trees, lighting in such a way that there was an even orange tint across the foliage. Eos, peeked around a tree, seeing only brighter orange. Her curiosity bested her, and she dashed out from behind the tree to glimpse the origin of the light, clambering over fallen trees. She saw, to her amazement, a large crater with a radiant orange rock, glowing in the light. The rock was the size of the three children combined, and its bright light was enough to cover the entire freshly-made clearing. The crater it sat in was several meters across, and the clearing was several times larger than that. She didn¡¯t see how deep the crater was, but she thought that she saw most of the meteor. She walked closer, the heat of the rock beginning to hit her as she walked closer until she was at the edge of the crater, where she felt as if she was next to a fire. She was raptured in awe as she looked at the rock, and didn¡¯t even realize Saer and Aderyn had walked up next to her until Saer slightly bumped her by accident.


    Aderyn was the first to break the silence, ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°It''s a rock from the sky.¡± Eos said, matter of factly.


    ¡°A sky rock¡­¡± Aderyn whispered.


    ¡°I bet you can¡¯t touch it.¡± Saer said, looking at Eos.


    ¡°Touch it? Do you feel how hot it is?¡± She replied, incredulous.


    ¡°I bet you¡¯re too scared, eh?¡± Saer said, egging her on.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you touch it yourself!¡± Eos replied, ¡°I¡¯m not touching it until you do!¡±


    ¡°W-well,¡± Saer stammered out, ¡°I bet you first! I can totally touch it, but if I do then you¡¯re a coward!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a coward, I¡¯m just not gonna touch the rock.¡±


    ¡°You are too¡±


    ¡°Am not.¡±


    ¡°Are too.¡±


    ¡°Am not.¡±


    ¡°Guys, there¡¯s no need to fight.¡± Aderyn tried to say in the background of Saer and Eos fighting.


    ¡°Are too¡±


    ¡°Am not."


    ¡°Are too¡±


    ¡°I am not a coward!¡± Eos screamed, stamping her foot on the ground, ¡°It just seems like I¡¯d get hurt!¡±


    ¡°That makes you a coward!¡± replied Saer.


    Eos turned to face the meteor and picked up a nearby stone. Tossing it at the meteor, it simply dinged off. ¡°Fine I¡¯m a coward then, it still seems like a stupid idea!¡±


    ¡°The heat¡¯s quite nice,¡± Aderyn whispered, sitting down at the edge of the crater, ¡°It¡¯s like a campfire.¡±


    Eos and Saer both turned to her, then looked at the rock, before turning back to Aderyn. The light from the rock lit her up, light gently trickling through their hair, her face flush from the heat. Aderyn looked up at Eos, inviting her to sit down with her. Somehow, Eos felt as if all of the tension with Saer disappeared. Eos sat down gently next to Aderyn, and the cleanly hot rock felt mesmerizing to her. Without her noticing, Saer sat down next to Eos, and they all enjoyed the heat in the night together.


    After some time, Aderyn broke the silence. ¡°You know our parents don¡¯t like yours, right?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Eos replied, looking at her. Aderyn¡¯s head hadn¡¯t moved off of the meteor though.


    ¡°Aderyn!¡± Saer said, astonished.


    ¡°Something about elves not being hard workers,¡± Aderyn continued despite Saer¡¯s protesting, ¡°They say your parents have never done a day of labor in their life. That''s because you¡¯re all elves, it¡¯s easy for you. I don¡¯t care much for that though, I like playing with you.¡±


    ¡°Aderyn,¡± Eos said, not sure how to reply.


    ¡°Adreyn!¡± Saer said, clearly angry. It was only then that Eos finally noticed Saer had sat next to her.


    ¡°Even though they say your parents haven¡¯t done labor in their life, I couldn¡¯t blame them even if it was true.¡± Aderyn continued, ¡°I don¡¯t want to till fields for my entire life. I¡¯d rather be a doctor.¡± She finally turned towards Eos and Saer, ¡°What do you wanna be Eos?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She replied, turning towards the rock. ¡°I haven¡¯t really thought about it.¡±


    ¡°Elves have a long time to think about it.¡± Saer said, ¡°But I want to be a knight!¡± He jumped up and pretended to pull a sword out, fighting an imaginary opponent. Both Eos and Aderyn laughed at his imaginary battle.


    ¡°What are you laughing at!¡± He said.


    Aderyn replied, ¡°Have you ever lifted a real sword before? Or even seen one?¡±


    Saer sat back down next to Eos, ¡°Sure I have! Papa said he¡¯s gonna show me how to use a sword next year.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should become a mage,¡± Aderyn said, ¡°So you could go on adventures with Saer.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Eos replied, looking at Aderyn.


    ¡°It¡¯d be fun adventuring with Saer, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Only if you¡¯d come along! Saer would need someone to take care of him after all.¡± Eos¡¯s face turned bright red. Magic, huh? She thought, Magic¡­


    Eos¡¯s ideas of magic flitted through her mind: Birds flying through the air, rising and soaring, floating with the beats of wings; lighting a fire with a word, controlling the flickering flame and making it dance; hearing what the birds and deer and cows say in conversation. Eos could imagine herself flying amongst the Ring, circling the moon, through the forest and above her town. Maybe, she¡¯d even be able to cause ring rocks to fall whenever she wanted.


    Aderyn laughed, ¡°I think you could do that well enough. I¡¯m not sure I would want to be an adventurer.¡±


    ¡°Saer wanted to be a knight, not an adventurer anyways,¡± Eos said, ¡°Right Saer?¡±


    She turned to Saer to only see he was looking away from her, the side of his face lit a deep orange from the fading light of the rock.


    ¡°Saer?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I wanna be a knight, not an adventurer. B-besides, who would want to go on an adventure with a coward like you?¡± he stammered, shooting up to his feet again. However, as he tried to stand up on the edge of the crater, his footing slipped and he began to stumble. Eos went to catch him, but as she stood up, he placed a hand on her shoulder to stabilize himself. He pushed himself off of her, and in the instability of her standing up, she tumbled into the crater. Aderyn looked in horror as time seemed to slow for Eos. Eos saw Saer get his footing back, then less than a moment later saw Eos falling. Eos saw Saer¡¯s face fill with panic, and in what must have been less than a second, she hit the slope of the crater. Immediately her back was filled with pain, and she let out an involuntary grunt of pain before she started to roll down the crater. Small rocks jut out from the side of the crater, tearing her clothes and into her skin, as the residual heat from the meteor increased. She impacted the boulder with her forehead first and crumpled into a scratched bloody mess. She heard sounds coming from above her, but her grasp on consciousness was loose as her vision turned red. She didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but the pain of her injuries started to catch up to her, as her consciousness began to fade. One thought did cross her mind at this point: Why isn¡¯t this rock hot?


    The moment before she slipped into unconsciousness, she heard a sound. It was sharp, clear, and distinct, not muddled like the sounds she heard after her fall. The sound was obviously speaking, but she couldn¡¯t understand the language. Her vision began to clear, the blood seemingly wiped away from her eyes. Suddenly, her crumpled body, previously resting on the meteor, collapsed into a heap as the meteor seemingly disappeared. She felt the wounds on her head closing as her eyes cleared of blood, but her head still felt a loose grasp of consciousness. After all her wounds closed, she had a moment of respite with her groggy mind. However, the moment wouldn¡¯t last as a sharp pain pierced her eyes and skull, overwhelming her already-delicate consciousness, and finally, everything turned black.

 2 - Memories

    ¡°Sure you can put a filter on every number to see how many numbers generate it,¡± He said, looking at the ink-filled paper, ¡°but that doesn¡¯t help us generate a solution, just a pattern. Think about it, a very similar filter could be generated for the Daedalus pattern- but Daedalus flies, Icarus doesn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, I get that¡± his friend replied, her hair covering the side of her face as she looked at her laptop, ¡°But think about it- it creates a foothold for us to solve the problem.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but the foothold is already discovered,¡± he replied, pulling out his phone, ¡°it¡¯s on Wikipedia, after all.¡±


    Her response was a simple groan, followed by ¡°Okay, but we won¡¯t always have Wikipedia!¡±


    ¡°I can only see further than anyone else because I stand on the shoulders of Giants.¡± He paraphrased.


    ¡°Do you know who even said that?¡±


    ¡°Nope, but I have Wikipedia,¡± he replied, quickly googling for it, ¡°It was obviously Newton.¡±


    She, again, groaned and rolled her eyes, ¡°Newton was also a fan of doing brute force calculations, and I don¡¯t see you doing that.¡±


    ¡°Newton didn¡¯t have a computer to do ten thousand calculations a second for him¡±


    ¡°Newton didn¡¯t even have a calculator, and he still solved pi further than you ever will¡±


    ¡°You say that, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be that hard to make a program to solve for it analytically.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be extremely hard to do that when you don¡¯t have a computer.¡±


    He lifted his hand, showing off his phone. ¡°This is like my math teacher in elementary school,¡± he commented, ¡°who said we wouldn¡¯t always be carrying a calculator. Look where we are now.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, fair enough. Anyways, our project?¡± She asked, clicking away on her computer. He set down his phone onto the paper, and gently pulled out a laptop from the bag at his side. A few moments later, after opening the laptop, he started clicking away at the computer as well.


    ¡°So we¡¯ve decided to do a Lorenz system using RK4 to simulate it?¡± He asked, typing into an IDE.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she replied, ¡°take a look at these initial conditions.¡± She pivots her computer so that he can see the screen. An animation played, a red moving dot that leaves a trail behind it. Not particularly slow-moving, but slow enough to see a short pause between each movement. As it moved on the three-dimensional graph, it drew out two connected loops- what was classically called a butterfly. After a while, the dot stopped, and near where the red dot started, impossibly close to the start of the red trail, a blue dot appeared and began its journey around the butterfly. At first, its path is similar to the red path, but eventually, the blue dot breaks off. The blue trail begins to misalign with the red trail, except it follows the same butterfly shape that the red path does, never breaking out of it.


    ¡°Yeah, that''s chaotic.¡± He said, smiling. ¡°How¡¯d you get that working so fast?¡±


    Her face shone a little as she replied, ¡°I ripped it off of Google. After all, that¡¯s the applied solution- isn¡¯t it, theoretician?¡±


    He wasn¡¯t sure if she was proud of her python script, or proud of her insult towards him. Either way, his response would be the same, ¡°It always sounds so much more offensive when an Applied Math major calls me that rather than me calling myself that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I say it, Pure Math.¡± She smiled. ¡°I still would have preferred to do the three-body problem for our chaotic system¡±


    ¡°Yeah but 3 dimensions is a lot easier than 18¡± He replied, ¡°I¡¯m sure I could prove that 3 is less than 18.¡±


    ¡°Using ZF axioms it wouldn¡¯t take too long. Although, of course, in applied math, we just take that to be true.¡±


    ¡°The well-known axiom, 3 is less than 18. Similar to the engineer¡¯s axiom, pi = 3¡±


    ¡°More well known than astrophysist''s axiom, pi = 10, or 1- it doesn¡¯t really matter¡±


    ¡°I still feel like that¡¯s wrong for satellites¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d hope so too,¡± she replied, ¡°anyways, let¡¯s just finish this before the sun goes down.¡± His response was to simply groan before both of them focused on the python script in front of them.


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    After a few hours, they had finished and submitted their project and parted ways. The golden sun was setting in front of him, across an ocean. He gently sighed and marveled at the nature before him. Waves lapped at the shore, gilded with the light of the sun. He almost felt like he could see the fish swimming in the orange water. The sea was calm, but not featureless- unpredictable ripples of waves broke across the orange and blue and green mixture, brilliantly accenting it with texture. The sun had just touched the horizon; everything around it was orange and yellows, the ocean making blues and greens.


    As he looked at the ocean, he heard the sounds of cars behind him, the sounds of people moving, the gasp of a child looking at the sunset. Human movement was all behind him- particularly with his bag on his back, he felt that he was the barrier between the natural and the artificial. Everything in front of him was the sprawling untamed vastness of nature, and everything behind him was the ingeniously crafted machines and structures of man.


    It was a small, coastal university town, so sunsets like this were a daily occurrence. Most people took it for granted after their first two or three, but he hadn¡¯t taken much time to enjoy the nature around him. He turned back to head home, and the world suddenly ended.


    He later woke up, a headache crushing his thoughts, his body was stiff. The bed he lay on felt hard, and he could tell the room he was in was brightly lit with his eyes closed. He lay there, unmoving, until the headache subsided. He could tell it wasn¡¯t a lot of time that had passed, but it felt like eons. He thought, maybe his first thought, was that he should be thirsty and hungry. His body was stiff, but it wasn¡¯t sore. His throat was dry, but he wasn¡¯t thirsty. He knew he¡¯d been unconscious for a while, at least a night. He also knew, or perhaps it was his second thought, that he was in a hospital. The bed was hard, the room was bright, and he had been unconscious when something had happened, or before it. His limp body had clearly been taken good care of, so he had to be in the hospital.


    That''s why, when he took his first action, he knew something was wrong. His eyes opened, expecting the harsh, cold, uncaring light of a sanitized hospital room- instead, the light was bright but soft, and warm. It took a moment, but he realized another thing that was wrong- he was looking at a featureless white, rather than any ceiling or sky. There was nothing for his eyes to focus on; he wasn¡¯t sure if everything was blurred or not. He lifted his head, trying to get a feeling of his surroundings. Everything he saw was that featureless white, excluding the ground he lay on. Or maybe including it: it was featureless and pure white, but it looked more substantial than the other white. There was no accenting or color shift, nothing to indicate it one way or another, but it still looked less ephemeral.


    He got up, sitting cross-legged. He felt like he hadn¡¯t used his body in a long time, but it still moved as it always did. The featureless white he sat upon was a rather large circle. He could see the curve on it, and the edge of it was maybe two meters from where he sat, but the other end was unseeable in the white void. He was alone. Not only was he the lone person in the white abyss, but he was also the lone color. Everything but him was the same white. He thought, for a moment, of what this place is.


    A dream? It seems too real. The afterlife? That¡¯d imply I died- how¡¯d I have died? Heaven? Where would anyone else be? Even Dante¡¯s purgatory had more than this. A prison? I didn¡¯t do anything to end up there.


    He stood up and began to walk. As he walked, his eyes adjusted more to the imperceptible difference between the solid white and the illusionary white. He wasn¡¯t sure how long he walked, but he had plenty of time to ruminate on his life. He wasn¡¯t sure how far he had walked, but his edge was now out of view. His legs never grew tired, his arms and legs never hurt, nor did he feel any hunger, thirst, or fatigue. He eventually landed on a simple conclusion: He had died. He had died and somehow ended up in what might as well be the positive energy plane.


    A minute or an eon after he had accepted this, he saw the first thing. An arm¡¯s length away from him, the white on itself. He wasn¡¯t sure how he had noticed, but it was moving- as imperceptibly as the ground was beneath him, the white moved against itself. And, most noticeably, it was moving away from him. For no other reason than he lacked one, he chased the movement of white over the ground of white on a background of white, until it reached an edge. The movement leaped or slithered or tripped off the edge, falling into the white, and he staggered a bit.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already died- guess I might as well do it again,¡± He said aloud to himself, his first speech, and he jumped, and fell. He couldn¡¯t tell when the ground had disappeared from his vision, but the movement was still there.


    What he saw next, what he was falling onto, was heresy to his eyes. It was color, it was black earth and it was gray stonework. There was green flora on the stonework, and most importantly to his eyes, there was a person. Another being beside himself and the movement, and he was falling onto their little island of color. Not nearby, not passing through, but onto the island of color.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± He yelled, and the person looked up. They seemed bothered by his presence, but they moved out of the way.


    Was this where the movement was heading? He wondered to himself- before realizing that he would, in less than a moment, be a coloring of red on the black earth. He began to panic, and tried to orient himself to slow his fall or lessen the damage it would do to him- he wasn¡¯t sure what injuries he could survive or not. He prepared his legs to take most of the bone-shattering force, and wished that he had a parachute.


    A rush of thoughts went through his mind, Was I actually dead? Why would someone who is dead feel fear? Why did I jump? I needed to slow myself down. I¡¯m dead I guess.


    He braced for impact, heard a loud sound, and felt a large upwards force on his entire body. Except, it wasn¡¯t the sound of bones breaking, but the sound of a parachute unfurling behind him, and his body was feeling the slowdown of speed granted by it. It would slow him down for certain, but he also knew that this would be a rough landing and that he definitely did not know how to land a parachute.

 3 - Visions

    The landing was troublesome at best, with the person simply watching on. He got a look at them right before his legs made ground- the person was androgynous at first glance, a brown hair and smooth-looking skin, brown eyes, and of no distinct race. He landed on the ground, and his legs twisted beneath him, yet he felt no pain as he went down. The parachute covered him, and suddenly it disappeared. He realized now that he had lost sight of the movement in his panic, and now it was just him and this person.


    ¡°How troublesome.¡± They muttered, picking up a tea glass from atop one of the ruins.


    ¡°Hello!¡± He said, picking himself up, ¡°I have so many questions for you right now.¡±


    ¡°Hello,¡± They replied, ¡°I suppose I¡¯m obligated to answer them?¡±


    ¡°No, but I¡¯m going to voice them anyway.¡± He smirked, and sat at the table.


    The person rolled their eyes, and replied, ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯ll probably have answers.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll start with the easy ones: Where am I? Who are you? Why am I here?¡± He said, standing roughly a head taller than the other person, who looked feminine now.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m a god,¡± They said, waving their hand, ¡°You can call me God.¡±


    He took a step back, a smirk appearing on God¡¯s face. ¡°Wait like God God?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m not going to give you a lecture about my role as a deity; my name obviously isn¡¯t God, but I¡¯m the only God you''re going to be interacting with if your life goes well and you might as well use my title.¡± God was visibly annoyed, and a million more questions floated up in his mind, but he would leave them unvoiced. ¡°Where are you? You can think of this as a staging area for your next life- they¡¯re tailor-made for each of you, but that doesn¡¯t mean you should be waking up in it. I hope you enjoyed yours- you liked math right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± He replied, confused, ¡°but it was just a great big circle.¡±


    ¡°That''s where you''re wrong,¡± God replied, some confidence and superiority encroaching in their voice, ¡°it was an apeirogon!¡± God struck a pose with her eyes closed and arms at their side; they then visibly deflated when they looked upon his disappointed face, ¡°Okay so maybe we don¡¯t get too much time to make it for each person but we do our best okay?¡±


    ¡°So, just to make it clear,¡± He said, sitting down on a chair, ¡°You¡¯re an overworked god who would like to be called God, and I¡¯m in a staging area for my next life, which implies I died.¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± God replied, beaming. Their form had shifted, even more, looking like a 10-year-old girl with blonde hair. ¡°You''re basically on deck. Any other questions?¡±


    ¡°Approximately a billion more.¡± He replied to her exasperated face, as she sat down across from him at the table. He looked around and saw, to his surprise, he was in the same library he had met his friend at before. ¡°What¡¯s my next life going to be? Am I still going to be a human? Will I be born in a random country? How did I die? Why did you give me a parachute when I landed? Can I ask you for stuff for my next life? Why won¡¯t I remember anything for my next life? And how did you make all of this¡± He said, pausing to gesture to the new scene around them, ¡°appear from my memory?¡±


    She laid her head on the table, and twirled her finger on the table before blurting out a response, ¡°Yes, no, no, Yes, and why do you care?¡± She replied to his surprise.


    ¡°Those weren¡¯t yes or no questions! And I definitely had more questions than that.¡±


    ¡°Fiiine, you want a full lecture do you?¡±


    ¡°I always liked lectures,¡± he smiled. They looked at him with disgust, before pulling out a dry erase marker to draw on a large whiteboard now next to them.


    ¡°Your next life will be in a different world, it¡¯ll be medieval era, swords, and magic you know. So that sh-¡±


    ¡°Magic?¡± He interrupted them, surprised.


    ¡°Please leave all questions for the end of the lecture,¡± They said, pushing up glasses on their face. They now looked like a 70 something year old male college professor, still likely a head shorter than him though. He hadn¡¯t noticed any process of change, but decided to just continue onwards.


    ¡°So, back to it- swords and magic, that should be simple. It¡¯s a trope you know? I know you know, don¡¯t answer. You¡¯ll be human or human adjacent, don¡¯t worry. Your country will be randomized because honestly you don¡¯t know any, and any choice you¡¯d make would be a bad one. How you died isn¡¯t important- a satellite hit you or a truck ran over you, it doesn¡¯t really matter. You can ask me stuff for your next life but you¡¯ll also have to convince me why I should give them to you; my job isn¡¯t to make every person who reincarnates think they''re the protagonist. You don¡¯t have a high enough narrative dimension for that stuff.¡±


    God paused for a moment, flicking through notes on their lectern at the front of the lecture hall, which had only one student in it. He had a pencil and paper out and was taking notes on the lecture. ¡°You won¡¯t remember anything because, well, it¡¯s a new life. It doesn¡¯t mean your memories are locked away forever though- there¡¯s a chance you¡¯ll have what we call a ¡®trigger event¡¯, getting back all of your memories from previous past lives- they¡¯re rare at best though, so don¡¯t worry about it. That also means you won¡¯t remember this, which means I have less paperwork to go through. Okay, simple enough- any questions?¡±


    He raised his hand, and God interrupted, ¡°I said no questions until the end of the lecture.¡±


    ¡°But you just asked if I had any questions!¡± He replied incredulously, standing up from his seat and knocking the notebook and pencil aside. The sound of the pencil falling reverberated across the practically-empty lecture hall


    God thought silently for a moment, ¡°Fair enough.¡±


    He sat back down, before raising his hand again. God then chose him. ¡°Yes, you in the back. What¡¯s your question? Make it quick.¡±


    ¡°You''re a horrible lecturer.¡± He quipped. ¡°Regardless, I have a few questions. Firstly, excuse me, magic?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Same magic as existed in your last life¡± God replied, ¡°Next?¡±


    ¡°Wait, my last life had magic?¡± He responded


    God sighed, exasperated, ¡°Is it really that forgotten? That¡¯d be its own lecture, I¡¯ll get to that later. I need new notes for that¡± They said, shuffling through the notes on their lectern.


    ¡°Okay, okay, we¡¯ll get to magic later. Later.¡± He said, ¡°Narrative dimension?¡±


    ¡°I could have sworn your last reality had pataphysics, it should be simple even for a mind as dull as a rock.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer my question¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t trying to¡± God replied, smiling.


    ¡°Fine then, you have paperwork? As a god?¡±


    ¡°It was an expression; but yes. A lot of paper that needs work done on it.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ What''s this world I¡¯ll be isekai¡¯d to like?¡± he asked, bewildered.


    God physically cringed at the word ¡°isekai¡¯d¡±, before returning to the lecture, ¡°It¡¯s a doomed world.¡± They said, whacking the chalkboard with a meter stick, ¡°the world has had roughly 6000 civilizations of humanoids appear on it and disappear. The longest-lived had existed for roughly 1000 years and got much, much more advanced than your previous life. They were able to predict many apocalypses and prevent them- until the unpreventable end of their civilization occurred. The shortest existed for a single generation. Let us just say only a handful of civilizations even figure out they¡¯re doomed, and they have all died out. The one you¡¯re going to? Hasn¡¯t figured out it¡¯s doomed, that¡¯s the fun with swords and magic. Anything else that¡¯s important about the world, you¡¯ll have to figure it out yourself- you¡¯ll have an entire lifetime to do so.¡±


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    ¡°Why is it doomed?¡± He asked, to only hear the crack of a meter stick on the chalkboard back. ¡°Okay, okay, what''s a trigger event?¡±


    ¡°If you do something or see something substantially close to your previous life, then you¡¯ll be able to access the hidden memories. Important is that the closer the activity was to your death, the more likely you are to remember.¡± God said, setting a dark roast coffee on the table between them. They now resembled a young, blonde man in his early twenties, wearing a navy uniform, ¡°A lot of drunks have trigger events at a bar. Luckily, drunks can¡¯t usually do much with their knowledge except kill themselves again.¡±


    ¡°I see, so why is it-¡± He said, interrupted by the crack of a meter stick on the chalkboard.


    ¡°Magic!¡± God said, no chalkboard or meter stick in sight. ¡°It¡¯s time for your lecture on magic. Ultimately the more you exist, the stronger your magic.¡±


    ¡°The more I exist?¡± He asked, puzzled.


    ¡°For instance, I exist more than you. You are a mortal or were. I, on the other hand, am a god. A spirit exists more than a human, who exists more than a rock. And a god exists more than a spirit. The more you exist, the stronger your magic.¡±


    ¡°So, it¡¯s inherent to my species?¡± He asked, disappointed, ¡°It¡¯s impossible for me to grow?¡±


    God chuckled, and replied, ¡°Of course not. You only need to exist more. There are a few ways to do that, but I believe the most common one in your old world was piety. Gods exist, demons exist, but humans exist less. But, if you¡¯re closer to a god, you exist more. Closer physically, spiritually, mentally, whatever, but closer nonetheless. For instance, catholicism in your old world was originally built around a cabal of priests, trying to increase their magic by becoming spiritually closer to their idea of God.¡±


    ¡°The idea of god? Not god?¡±


    ¡°Ideas exist. All a god is an idea given form, and they of course exist less than the idea themselves. But, of course, it¡¯s more possible to get closer to a being than it is to an idea.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense, it doesn¡¯t make any sense. How does magic actually work though?¡±


    ¡°Reservoirs and regeneration and precision and spells.¡± God replies, dismissively, ¡°It¡¯s not particularly important the mechanisms behind it. Just know that the important part of existence is the regeneration of magical potential. Err, well, not exactly, but approximately. The more you exist, the more magic you regenerate in a shorter time, thus you can put more magic in a spell or a ritual or what have you- it doesn¡¯t really matter.¡±


    ¡°Hold up, so casting a spell, presumably, uses magic from a reservoir- which is passively regenerated at a rate based on my existence- and used to cast spells?¡± He asked, not expecting much.


    ¡°Approximately. Not actually, in reality it¡¯s not even close, but it¡¯s approximately close. There are 50,000 other factors to think of but it¡¯s more like really more like 4- but I think your old world splits each into 9, making it 36- but it¡¯s better described as 5 or 6 or 7, but it¡¯s really, truly only 1: How much you exist. Anything can be done by anything given enough time, a rock could destroy the galaxy after a long enough time- but, of course, it¡¯d take a human much less time. A spirit even less, and a god even less.¡±


    Throughout the monologue, the god shifted forms back and forth from a variety of forms, ultimately landing on the first form he saw them in, a fairly androgynous person. The environment around them shifted back to the ruins they were originally in, but the ruins were clean, with a wooden table adorned with a tea set.


    As the god sat down at the table, he was more confused than ever but also got the understanding that they were done talking about this subject. The god lightly chided them to take a seat, and he complied, pouring himself some tea. The god seemed as if they wanted to talk about something, but they refused to make eye contact with him. He decided to take the initiative.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m dead and only learning about magic¡±, He said, disheartened, ¡°And I won¡¯t remember any of this in my next life?¡±


    ¡°Yep,¡± The god said quietly, sipping at their tea.


    ¡°Alright. Can I ask you for something for my next life then?¡±


    God smiled into their tea, ¡°I knew you¡¯d come around to this. But to answer your previous question, I didn¡¯t make a parachute to save you. You did.¡±


    He was stunned, and confused, as God continued, ¡°You became close in my physical proximity, you then existed more, and were able to manipulate reality more, essentially using magic.¡± God looked at his still stunned face before continuing, ¡°What were you going to ask for in your next life?¡±


    He looked at his tea for a moment, his mind still racing, before making his request. ¡°Immortality, and the power to take abilities from people I defeat.¡±


    ¡°Looking to be a warrior eh?¡± God replied, ¡°Unfortunately the only immortality I can do is prevent old age. That¡¯ll be fine, it might delay your reincarnation though. I can get that through without anyone noticing. However, the other one is interesting.¡± God paused for a moment, sipping from their tea, ¡°Taking powers eh?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking more of copying¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t do.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re a god!¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m only a god,¡± they replied, ¡°I can only do so much. It¡¯d be a bureaucratic nightmare anyways. Maybe I can push it though- how does copying their worst power sound?¡±


    ¡°Their best power.¡± He replied, negotiating with a god.


    The god groaned, ¡°Mortals and their arrogance. Do you think you can barter with me? Their best power, according to them, sounds perfect. Don¡¯t make a deal with a genie though, you never know how it will end up. I might be able to do it. Rarely. Some people, not everyone.¡±


    ¡°So I get to be born with immortality and the ability to copy powers?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Born with? No, of course not- You¡¯ll find them eventually, probably. I can¡¯t make any promises. Maybe born un-aging, but I make no promises I can¡¯t keep. But you get no other guarantees.¡± God said gently. ¡°Now, final questions?¡±


    ¡°About 1 billion more,¡± He said, lingering questions still bouncing around his head, ¡°You said that you don¡¯t want everyone reincarnated to act like the protagonist. How many people are reincarnated?¡±


    ¡°Everyone, next?¡±


    He paused, ¡°Wait, everyone?¡±


    ¡°Everyone in this world you''re going to will have passed from your old world, give or take some time. Like them.¡± God said, pointing at a naked man lying peacefully in the white void. ¡°They were a lumberjack, had a tree fall on them when they were not paying attention. Their life will be used as an example for trainees for maybe the next 50 years or so. They¡¯ll be reincarnated within a few years.¡± God looked up smugly at him, now looking more like a little girl, ¡°And their platform is in the shape of a circular tree stump! See, I do care!¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± He said, another question encroaching on every other one, ¡°When will he wake up?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± God asked, their face puzzled, ¡°when he¡¯s reborn, obviously.¡±


    ¡°Wait, but I woke up and I haven¡¯t been reborn?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah. It¡¯s a bit of an issue if you ask me. A wanderer is always an issue, they rarely happen though. But, ultimately it makes it a little more entertaining. You¡¯ll have to go back to sleep eventually too, ya know?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Let me just tell you, being born without being asleep is fairly traumatizing.¡±


    ¡°So, he died around the same time as I did?¡±


    ¡°Within a thousand years or so, yeah.¡±


    ¡°A thousand years! How is that the same time at all?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a god, a hundred years or a blink of the eye.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, you gods are insufferable. Will you watch my lifetime blink away too?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be immortal, you mortal. I-mor-tal. I¡¯ll get at least two blinks out of you.¡± God said while beaming, clearly enjoying the banter.


    ¡°Well you¡¯re just stuck up, you god.¡± He was enjoying the banter as well, and he enjoyed the company of the god. ¡°Is there anything else your highness believes I should know before I forget it all?¡±


    ¡°Your highness decrees,¡± The god said, a blonde long-haired girl, maybe 12 or so years old, with a glittering crown on their head, ¡°You shall know that you entertain me. I like you, so, my knight, you shall have my favor. Also, if you meet another god, let them know my name: Paper.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± He said, before the color beneath him disappeared, and the only movement he saw was the ground disappearing into the void, and Paper waving to him, goodbye.


    Eventually, after an infinite eon of falling, everything was white, and he lost everything as his vision became engulfed with white, then engulfed in black. He thought, maybe his last thought, that it was ironic that his last sight in a world of brilliant, lustrous white would be one of abyssal black.

 4 - Awoken

    She saw green lines and scripts she didn¡¯t understand across her vision, racing up and down every corner of the blackness she saw. It drew corners for her vision, filled with words she couldn¡¯t understand. Suddenly, the green corners in the blackness were finalized, and two boxes appeared, each with more words she couldn¡¯t understand. She tried looking at one of them, but they moved with her vision. Suddenly, both disappeared, and the green corners vanished as well.


    ¡°How is she doing?¡± Eos heard the voice that distinctly belonged to her father.


    ¡°She still hasn¡¯t woken up but she¡¯s still stable¡± Thea replied.


    Eos let out a small groan and tried to open her eyes. As her eyes tried to open, the light overwhelmed her eyes, and pain shot through her head, forcing her to close them. She heard a rush of activity in the room as both Thea and Moore went to care for her.


    ¡°Are you awake?¡± Thea asked, Eos¡¯s only reply being a groan. ¡°Thank god,¡± She said, ¡°I was worried sick¡±


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Moore asked.


    Eos opened her mouth to try to speak, but only managed to get one word out, ¡°Bad.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be okay.¡± Thea replied.


    Eos slipped back into slumber. The next time she awoke was during the night. She tried once again to open her eyes and successfully opened them. The world around her was bright- as if she was looking at it during the daytime. Eos left her bed to look outside at the moon, and the glittering lights of the ring. She thought about how the moon never seemed to move, locked in its eternal place in the sky. The ringlight and moonlight were gently twinkling, and seemingly covering everything around her. Is it a day? She wondered, but looking across the sky she saw nothing but the ring, moon, and stars. Her mind felt dull, but she knew now that she could at least see. She turned back to her bed but instead decided that her hunger and thirst were too great. She headed downstairs to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water from a pitcher. She looked into it and was startled- she saw her own reflection. Her face was fine, unmarred by the fall, but her eyes were different. She saw her eyes were green- the same green she saw race across her vision before. Was that a dream? She wondered, was any of that real?


    ¡°Eos?¡± Moore asked, and Eos turned to him in the night. He was simply wearing his pajamas and looked as if he had just woken up. She wanted to ask about her eyes, but she didn¡¯t want to startle him.


    Eos drank from the glass of water before responding, ¡°I¡¯m okay dad.¡±


    He looked at her wearily, ¡°You should go back to rest, I can carry you.¡±


    Eos simply nodded before being carried back to her bed and falling asleep again. More time passed in the fugue state until Eos finally woke up during the day. The sun was brightly shining into the room, and she again tried to open her eyes. Slowly they opened, pain shooting through her head. But she persisted, waiting for her eyes to adjust before opening them slightly more. Eventually, she got her eyes open fully, and looked around the room. It looked the same as every other time she had opened them, but this time she could feel the heat of the sun. She left her bed and meandered downstairs hungrily. When she reached the downstairs room, she saw Moore sitting at the table, surrounded by documents, and Thea sat near them.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± Eos said, looking at her parents.


    Both of her parents jumped at the sound and looked at her. As they looked at her, Eos realized she made a mistake. Panic visibly set in on the face of Thea, as she rushed towards Eos.


    ¡°Your eyes!¡± She said, taking Eos¡¯s face in her hands, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Eos said, ¡°I think they''re fine.¡±


    ¡°Oh god are you sure?¡± Thea said, staring into Eos¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure.¡± Eos replied.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame too,¡± Moore said, standing near Thea now, ¡°Your eyes used to be the same as your mother¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a shame,¡± Thea said, ¡°I think they''re beautiful either way. From sapphire to jade, precious either way.¡±


    Moore nodded in agreement, before going back to sit down and pulling out a clean sheet of paper, and beginning to write.


    ¡°Come sit down,¡± Thea said, bringing Eos over to the table, ¡°do you want to tell us what happened?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m not sure what happened,¡± Eos said, ¡°do you know what happened?¡±


    ¡°All we know is that Aderyn woke us in the middle of the night saying you were hurt in the forest, and Saer led us to where we found you unconscious in an empty, flaming crater.¡± Thea shook her head, ¡°Saer didn¡¯t say anything the entire time, just showed us the way. Do you know how you ended up in the forest?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I saw something at night and wanted to go see it. I just.. didn''t expect that to happen.¡±


    ¡°That?¡± Thea asked, looking at Moore. Moore was still writing on a piece of paper, which Eos identified to be some letter.


    ¡°That,¡± Eos said, moving her hands around in a vague way, ¡°The stuff that happened. I don¡¯t remember what happened, sorry.¡± Eos looked down at her lap and started fiddling with her hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re safe. How do you feel right now?¡±


    Eos nodded, ¡°good.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯ll need some time before you¡¯re fully healed, but we can take a walk outside if you¡¯d like to.¡±


    ¡°That sounds good,¡± Eos replied.


    As Thea and Eos went outside, the sunlight overloaded Eos¡¯s eyes for a moment. Once her eyes adjusted, she looked over the grassy knoll the house sat on. She realized she could see far- much further than she could see before. She saw that Saer and Aderyn were playing with Cedric in the town square, several miles from where Eos stood. She was disoriented for a moment with just how good her vision was now, but she tried to ignore it. She thought, for a moment, if she could see the stars when she looked at the sky during the day.


    Eos looked towards the twin suns, and saw something she should not have. Her eyes adjusted to the two suns rather quickly, dampening the brightness and making the stars behind them visible. The green lines in her vision appeared again, startling her, and circled the suns, highlighting them with scripts she again couldn¡¯t read. Then, she turned her head slightly, and the green lines circled something else. A third object, a star. Small, but larger than any other star in the sky, but like the first and second suns, it had a circle and small writing in the script she could read.


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    A thought raced into her head. ¡°The three-body problem,¡± She said aloud, looking at the ground. Thea turned towards her, confused. I shouldn¡¯t know what that is, she thought. What¡¯s going on? This world is doomed because of the three-body problem? Wait, this world is doomed?


    ¡°It''s fine,¡± Eos said, ¡°Let¡¯s go on a walk.¡±


    Thea and Eos went on a walk, making a simple but meaningless conversation. The entire time, Eos¡¯s mind was focused on a different subject, racing as fast as it could during the fugue state she found herself in. I know things I shouldn¡¯t know, She thought, I have someone else¡¯s memories. But why? And why do I not know what I know?


    She looked back at the sun, her eyes adjusting again and creating green lines, labeling the sun. Except, this time she could read the labels. The labels were in English, and for some reason, she knew that she knew English. The larger sun was named Atum, and the smaller sun was named Khepera. The last object, the third body, was named Apepi.


    She knew the last name, but she needed to make sure.


    ¡°Mama, what¡¯s our last name?¡± Eos asked, oblivious to whatever Thea was saying at that moment.


    Thea hesitated for a moment. ¡°We¡¯re Apepi elves,¡± She responded, gently, ¡°Our family line is Apepi. But remember, if anyone asks, you¡¯re an Atum.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because¡­ People don¡¯t usually like Apepi, they think bad things about us before they know us. But people like Atum elves; they think highly of them, and most people can¡¯t tell the difference.¡±


    ¡°Can anyone tell the difference?¡± Eos asked, trying to get a grasp on the situation


    ¡°Of course, other elves will know. Khepera elves are particularly good at that, but Atum will probably be able to tell as well.¡±


    ¡°Atum, Khepera¡­¡± Eos muttered, ¡°Where do the names of the elven families come from?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re ancient words,¡± Thea replied, ¡°Atum meant something like light. Khepera used to mean shadows.¡±


    ¡°And Apepi?¡±


    Thea¡¯s face visibly soured for a moment before covering it with a smile. ¡°Let me try to remember,¡± She said, ¡°I think Apepi means beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t people like us if we¡¯re beautiful?¡± Eos asked, confused.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Thea replied, ¡°Maybe they want to be us?¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Eos said, solemnly. She decided she¡¯d have time to ask more questions later. ¡°My head is starting to hurt again.¡±


    Thea crouched down to face Eos. ¡°Are you okay? We should head back.¡±


    Eos nodded her head in agreement, and together they walked back in peaceful silence. When they returned to the house, Eos saw her father sealing a letter.


    ¡°Daddy, what¡¯s that?¡± She asked


    ¡°It¡¯s a letter,¡± He said, looking towards Thea, ¡°It¡¯s just for my work.¡±


    ¡°Archalvist?¡± Eos asked, trying to pronounce the word.


    ¡°Yep,¡± He said, picking Eos up, ¡°Daddy and Mommy are archivists. We keep things in order for the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Anyways,¡± Thea said, ¡°Let''s try to get you to sleep again. You still need plenty of rest.¡±


    Eos nodded in agreement, and let herself be carried up to her room. She was gently laid in bed and left to sleep. Thoughts she was keeping at bay all began to suddenly flood into her mind, and she began the task of diligently solving them.


    What is going on with me? Where are these memories coming from? Why does my head feel slow? She thought, the last question having an immediate answer, I have a concussion. It feels like the one I had before- wait, not I, the person whose memories I have. Are they me? What do I know? Math, I know math. English. I know of-


    One word flashed through her mind, a name- Paper.


    Suddenly all of the memories of the white void were pulled into her mind, and she remembered all of it diligently. With one fell swoop, many of her questions were answered but she spawned even more.


    Am I him or am I me? If I¡¯m just his reincarnation, which of us is real? I guess it doesn¡¯t matter- but am I saying that or is He? Is He here? And this world- It¡¯s the three-body problem, that¡¯s the answer. Right? It takes what I know and what he knew to answer his questions, but I suppose my questions are his questions. I¡¯m only 7, why is this happening? He was 20 when he died. But he bargained for me- well him- us?-, to be immortal; that must be why he- I- was reborn as an elf. But the other thing? I can¡¯t steal powers- what did Paper mean by that? Well, I gue-...


    Eos slipped into a slumber, and the night passed silently. She awoke to knocking at the front door, as the light was streaming into her bedroom. She heard some light chatter from downstairs. Once she heard Saer¡¯s voice she rushed downstairs.


    ¡°Is she okay?¡± Saer asked, worry creeping into his voice.


    ¡°She¡¯s woken up, but she¡¯s been bedridden.¡± Moore replied.


    ¡°Oh what a poor thing,¡± Saer¡¯s mother said, ¡°Do you know when she¡¯ll get better?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not sure,¡± Moore replied, ¡°hopefully we can get a doctor to come to check her.¡±


    ¡°How unfortu¨C¡± Saer¡¯s mother was cut off as Eos rushed into the room.


    ¡°Saer!¡± She exclaimed.


    ¡°Eos!¡± They embraced, but Saer was swiftly pulled back by his mother.


    Eos looked up at Saer¡¯s mother¡¯s face, and saw a smattering of negative emotions- but two stood out: Fear and Hatred.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad your safe, Eos. I think it¡¯s time to go, unfortunately. Let¡¯s be on our way, Saer.¡± Saer¡¯s mother said through clenched teeth. Eos watched as she dragged Saer away- the door hung open as Saer resisted being pulled away, but eventually relented after a short fight. After a few minutes of stunned silence hanging across the room, Moore closed the door.


    ¡°Eos, I think you should go to sleep.¡±


    Stunned, she listlessly wandered up to her room, and time faded for a while as she was lost in her thoughts. She realized what she had to do, and she steeled her resolve. Eos sighed and got out of bed. She wandered down the hallway to talk to her parents, but she heard her name come up between her parents.


    ¡°We can¡¯t help what happened to Eos,¡± Thea said, ¡°What¡¯s done is done- we can just do the best for her as parents.¡±


    Eos hid behind a wall, intent on listening. ¡°You damn well know that she¡¯s going to get called a demon with those eyes. She¡¯s already an Apepi, and now you want people to think she''s a demon?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with being a demon!¡± Thea said, her voice rising.


    Moore sighed, ¡°You know I agree with you, but most people won''t. 9 out of 10 humans will think she¡¯s a demon, and every elf will know she¡¯s Apepi. How is she supposed to get anywhere in life like that?¡±


    ¡°We came here because anyone can become anything,¡± Thea said, ¡°Look at us, look at where we are. She¡¯s smart, she¡¯s brilliant- I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°I just want what¡¯s best for her,¡± Moore said, ¡°we both know something is wrong.. Especially with what''s been happening recently, it¡¯s not like we can¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Thea said gently, ¡°but we can¡¯t just¡­¡±


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Moore muttered in agreement, ¡°No one said raising a child would be easy, but I just wish we could have a bit more time.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re already blessed with that,¡± Thea said, ¡°or we would be, but¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be attacked soon, a few weeks at most- we¡¯re fortunate we could prepare. Most towns that are going to be hit¡­¡±


    Their conversation quieted down, although Eos was sure she could hear muffled weeping. After a few moments, Eos loudly stomped in place.


    ¡°Eos?¡± Moore asked, and she turned the corner. Thea¡¯s eyes were red, but she had managed to hide all other signs of tears.


    ¡°Papa, Mama,¡± Eos said, her next few words shocking her parents,


    ¡°I want to learn magic.¡±

 5 - Asking

    Her parents quickly shot her desire to learn magic down: We can¡¯t afford that; Neither of us knows magic nor anyone who knows magic; magic wouldn¡¯t be helpful to you. These were just a few of the reasons her parents had come up with, some of them obviously being lies- not taking any complaints from Eos before coming up with a new reason she couldn¡¯t learn magic. Her eyes slowly became more and more downcast as her parents continued to speak, to create excuses. She shuffled back to her room silently, stifling tears.


    However, two things her parents said to get her to stop asking stuck with her. We¡¯re Apepi- we can¡¯t use magic. Why do you want to learn magic too? She knew that was wrong. She could learn magic. She knew that much, but she didn¡¯t know where to start. That was her issue, she had a lot of unknown unknowns about this world. But she needed to learn magic. She wanted to learn magic; she wanted it before she was even born. Eos knew that her past life wanted magic, he wanted her to become a mage.


    Well, I suppose he wanted to be a mage, but I¡¯m here now, so I might as well do it for him. Eos thought, Besides I can already use whatever magic is in my eyes now. Eos looked around her room- she was getting irritatingly familiar with it after the trip into the woods. She knew her eyes were now a poisonous green, and whatever was enchanting her eyes could draw lines, signal information in the same, poisonous green.


    How do I activate that? She wondered, and as soon as the thought finished, green lines began to race across her vision, filling out the corners of her vision. The top right simply said ¡°Settings¡±; the bottom left read ¡°Low magic concentration¡±; and the bottom right was empty. She noticed she could read these now that she knew English. She tried to look at settings, but the lines moved with her vision, proving her efforts fruitless. Instead, she thought of the word ¡°settings¡±, and after about a second, the green lines in her vision morphed into a settings screen.


    A few of the settings immediately caught her interest, such as ¡°Combat AI¡± and ¡°Nano det¡± being the two that she was interested the most in. She attempted to activate Combat AI by thinking about it, and heard a resonant voice in her head, sounding entirely mechanical and flat.


    ¡°Combat AI enabled. Machine learning algorithms initiated- cognitive ability lacking, outsourcing computational power. Connecting to Hyper Uplink Relays. Connection failed. Connecting to Stellar Link Satellites. Connection failed. Connecting to Aetherspherical Cloud. Connected. Computational power outsourced. Machine learning algorithms finalized. Combat AI initiated. Sight will be recorded and analyzed. Suggestions will be given when desired.¡±


    Eos was stunned while the voice spoke before it eventually ended. She wasn¡¯t quite sure what she just activated, but she didn¡¯t want to risk disabling it; she decided to play with the other settings first. Besides, she figured that getting suggestions would be helpful whenever possible. Eos tried to look at Nano det, then remembered she needed to just think about it.


    ¡°Nano det¡­¡± She wondered aloud in English, ¡°Like detonation?¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    She thought about it for a bit, then the settings disappeared and were replaced by words in the same putrid green. Nano det activated. Nano det shortcut activated. Settings are no longer required to activate and deactivate Nano det.


    After Eos finished reading the sentence, it disappeared and the settings reappeared. Immediately, she saw a setting she overlooked before: ¡°Disable help.¡± Disable help? She thought, Why would I ever want to disable help?


    Eos realized her mistake instantly, as a pop-up ¡°Help disabled¡± appeared in the vile green, and suddenly every green line in her vision disappeared.


    ¡°Hey! Wait! Come back here!¡± Eos shouted, beginning to panic, ¡°I still need help!¡± After a few moments of pleading, she collapsed into her bed and started to cry, ¡°Please¡­ I need something, anything to get me started. I need to know something¡­¡± Eos¡¯s sobbing began to quiet, trying to focus on enabling the help, or settings, or anything to get the lines back. Before she could focus on anything, however, there was a light knocking at her door.


    ¡°Eos? Are you okay?¡± She heard Moore say in common. He opened the door just as she lifted her head off the bed, and sat next to Eos. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that we were so harsh on you,¡± He continued, ¡°but we just want you to be safe.¡± Moore put his hand on Eos¡¯s head.


    However, Eos was stunned at what she saw when Moore entered the room- he was glowing. He had a green haze around his body, but he seemed oblivious to it. Eos decided it was probably best not to mention it. She simply nodded in agreement at his statement and sat up in her bed.


    ¡°Magic is dangerous,¡± He continued, ¡°people who know useful magic can be expected to do a lot.. Even people with simple magic are busy, and constantly in danger; for example, there¡¯s a rumor going around about a farmer a few towns north of here- he used magic to make his crops grow exceedingly well, even in bad years. But, when his neighbors found out¡­¡± Moore paused and drew his thumb across his throat, ¡°they blamed him for every bad year in the last few decades.¡±


    Eos nodded in understanding, ¡°But that wasn''t because of his magic, right?¡± Eos asked, ¡°It was because of the people he was around¡­¡±


    Moore nodded, but decided to elaborate, ¡°Humans are fearful of what they don¡¯t understand, and nothing is understood less than magic.¡± Moore chuckled, ¡°Even your mother and I don¡¯t understand it, and we read histories for a living. Trust me, no one understands it.¡±


    Eos tried to plead with him, ¡°So I can¡¯t learn magic?¡± She attempted to look at him with puppy dog eyes and noticed him melting.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying you can never try to learn it,¡± He admitted, ¡°But not everyone can use it, especially us. But I¡¯m saying that we don¡¯t approve of you learning it, and we won¡¯t help you.¡±


    So much for unconditional support, Eos thought. ¡°Mhm okay.¡± Eos replied. I¡¯m going to be alone on this then. She knew she shouldn¡¯t be angry, but it was hard not to be.


    ¡°By the way,¡± Moore said, ¡°I sent a letter for a good friend of ours, a doctor, to come to take a look at you. He¡¯s good, but it¡¯ll take him a few days to get here.¡± Moore took Eos¡¯s hand in his, ¡°So don¡¯t hurt yourself anymore before then.¡± He gently squeezed Eos¡¯s hand, before kissing her on the forehead, tucking her into her bed, and leaving the room.


    Amber light from the setting sun fell into the room, and Eos¡¯s eyes hurt from the crying earlier. She knew Moore had heard her cry, could see her wet, red-and-green eyes. She wondered why he never commented on it, before the radiant light and the warm air gently lowered her into sleep.

 6 - Meddyg

    A few days passed in much the same meaningless blur as every other, the smear of time coloring her life. She was left to her thoughts too much; with her mind moving slowly, she didn¡¯t appreciate this too much. She had given up on the putrid green lines appearing- all she could control by this point was control the haze appearing around people. If she blinked three times in quick succession, it would vanish or rematerialize.


    She spoke little to her parents in these days, but there was an implicit common understanding in the silence that wasn¡¯t said. What little words were spoken were restrictions on her: She can¡¯t leave the house; She must go to sleep; She can¡¯t see her friends. She didn¡¯t bother to argue, she knew it was a losing game at the best of times, and this was certainly not. She didn¡¯t even bother to vocalize a reply, just nodding gently as the hollow sadness encroached on her. She eagerly awaited the end of this.


    She explored his memories, and Eos found a treasure trove: An understanding of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Economics; Knowledge of various sciences from chemistry to physics to biology; Years of experience watching people, influencing people; Engineering and architecture; how cars and engines work. She also found more intimate memories: trauma and lovers and bitter rivalries and lessons learned, the value of work, mistakes, and successes no one else could understand. It would have taken her a lifetime to get this knowledge, but instead, it was there in an instant.


    And it was all useless.


    She knew it all- she knew that she knew it. But she also knew it was useless.


    And she still didn¡¯t know magic.


    ¡°Dead end after dead end.¡± She muttered to herself in English.


    But I probably understand magic better than anyone else, She thought. But understanding isn¡¯t application- he knew that much well.


    Eos threw herself onto her bed. Midday light streamed through the open window, the wind blowing the curtains gently in a hypnotic sway, while trees and birds conversed. The sounds of animals were heard off in the distance- but she perked up at the ever-loudening sound of horses. She tried to look out her window to see who was coming, but her window faced away from the town. After a few minutes of trying to crane her neck, she heard the front door open, and Moore speaking to someone. She couldn¡¯t make out any of the words but decided to head downstairs regardless.


    Leaping off the windowsill, she moved across the floor and to her door. However, in her attempt to go downstairs, she couldn¡¯t open the door- it was locked. She still heard Moore discussing something with the man who had come to visit. Eos decided to play along with whatever was planned here and crawled into her bed. After a few minutes, the muffled conversation fell to mum, and she heard their footsteps come to her door. She saw a faint, light green glow from beneath the door, followed by a slight click emanating from the door and a middle-aged man walking into her room.


    He was large, with a small pair of glasses and neatly trimmed snow-white hair. He had olive skin and wore an expensive-looking suit, and his ears were curved, not sharp. He is a human. At his side was a small case that jingled as he set it down beside her bed, and he kneeled next to the bed. Standing up again, he smiled gently at her.


    ¡°How are you doing, Eos?¡± He asked, smiling.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± She responded, flatly.


    He shook with mirth, a short but hearty laugh. ¡°My name is Doctor Meddyg, but you can just call me Meddyg. Your father called for me after you had an accident.¡± He explained, ¡°So would you mind describing how you feel?¡±


    ¡°Well, I feel slow.¡± She sat up in her bed, ¡°And my eyes were blue, not green. I feel like¡­ I¡¯m not thinking fast?¡± She said, questioning herself.


    Meddyg muttered in agreement, and Eos noticed he wasn¡¯t writing any notes down or anything. ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°I just feel like¡­ things are weird?¡± She said, ¡°A few days ago, I saw¡­ green. Like green¡­¡± Eos began to make hand gestures to describe a line, pointing a finger out and moving her hand left and right ¡°Green these in my vision, spelling out words- words I know, but I can¡¯t say its name. And, and I can see people¡¯s¡­ green¡­ greenness around them, but not you.¡± she began to make a different hand gesture, motioning around her body. She didn¡¯t quite know why she was saying this, she¡¯d never told anyone before.


    ¡°I see,¡± Meddyg said, ¡°And this green you can see, it¡¯s the same color of your eyes?¡±


    She murmured in agreement, and Meddyg continued ¡°And as for your head, you feel slow you said? Is it painful to look into bright lights, like outside?¡±


    ¡°Sort of?¡± she said, mindlessly tracing a pattern on her blanket, ¡°Like when I open my window it hurts, but then everything becomes more dim and it doesn¡¯t hurt anymore.¡±


    Meddyg nodded before replying, ¡°All right, I¡¯m going to run some tests on you if that''s okay.¡± Again, Eos murmured in agreement, and he put his hand on her forehead and laid her back down in bed.


    ¡°Close your eyes.¡± He said, and she complied. A light green glow, similar to before, appeared over her and she heard Meddyg muttering above her. Before long, the light show above her ended, and she heard the telltale scratching of quill on paper.


    ¡°Alright, you can open your eyes now.¡± He said, and she immediately shot up, summoning a chortle from him.


    ¡°Was that magic?!¡± She exclaimed, eyes wide.


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± He replied, laughing from his belly, ¡°How else would I run diagnostics?¡±


    ¡°Diag¡­¡± she muttered, ¡°Err, can you teach me magic?!¡±


    ¡°Hummm,¡± He said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    ¡°Please?¡± She pleaded, eyes wide.


    He seemed to pause for a moment, before rummaging through his bag and pulling out a small vial. Within the vial was a black, runny liquid. He swished around the vial a tiny bit, and small white bubbles formed within the liquid.


    ¡°Watch closely,¡± He said, placing the vial down. He said unintelligible words, and simultaneously his hands moved in some seemingly random movements- causing glowing lines to begin appearing across the lines he was drawing with his fingers, with the same light green as before. The light green lines glittered, small sparks jumping off the line as it worbled in a straight but messy line. The aura covering the line seemed to straighten it out when Meddyg¡¯s hand turned. The light green magic seemed dazzling to Eos, with her being stunned by the simple light show. The muttering died down after a moment, and the black liquid began to radiate with the same light green.


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    She watched the entire scene in stunned awe, her mouth opening slightly, and he heartily smiled. ¡°This is a spell for detecting poison. To cast a spell, you have to get all of the words, and all of the movements correct. Even more so, you have to be concentrated on it the entire time.¡±


    Eos nodded, and Meddyg placed it in front of her. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one shot.¡± He said, ¡°you have to match what I said and my hand movements exactly- if your off by a little, or if your not focusing, it won¡¯t work.¡±


    She looked at it and tried to position her hands how she saw Meddyg do it before he started. ¡°Like this?¡± she asked, turning her head to him.


    He shook his head slightly and moved her hands in a small change but into a significantly more uncomfortable position. Meddyg began to speak the unintelligible words, trying to guide Eos¡¯s hands as she repeated after him. She tried to focus on it as much as possible, trying to detect poison within the vial, trying to get the poison to glow. However, despite her concentration, no green emitted from neither the vial nor her hands.


    When Meddyg took his hands off of hers, she visibly deflated and felt an upwelling of tears. Before Meddyg could say a word, she began to bawl at her failure.


    Meddyg held her head against him like a bear and gently comforted her ¡°It''s okay- Most people struggle a lot with their first spells. Your words were really good for only hearing them once too.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She said, sniffing.


    ¡°Really, you did great for so little preparation,¡± Meddyg replied, wiping her ears with a handkerchief.


    Eos nodded, and Meddyg began to pack his stuff up. Eos had a question cross her mind as Meddyg packed up, ¡°Where did you learn magic?¡±


    ¡°Humm¡± Meddyg paused for a moment, ¡°I enrolled at the SHARD when I was only about your age.¡± Eos wasn¡¯t sure how to reply, but Meddyg was the first to. ¡°Would you like to come to listen to the diagnosis with your parents?¡±


    Eos replied positively, and jumped out of bed, heading down to the main room with Meddyg. She saw her parents sitting at the table, the same as when she asked about learning magic. The atmosphere in the room was tense, and even more papers were littered on the table than before. Meddyg sat down at the table, and Eos jumped into Thea¡¯s lap, with Thea beginning to run her hands through Eos¡¯s hair.


    ¡°A few of the most obvious things first,¡± Moore began, ¡°Eos has been very clearly not transformed into a demon. We¡¯ll get to her eyes in a moment, but the most significant issue she seems to be having is a concussion- she should be fine in a week or two, with how much time has already passed.¡±


    Thea seemed to visibly relax with the information, but Moore remained tense as Meddyg continued.


    ¡°However when it comes to the eyes, she seems to be a rare case.¡±


    ¡°Rare?!¡± Moore exclaimed.


    ¡°It''s something I don¡¯t see often- an enchantment that is random seeming from nature. However, whenever this enchantment manifests, it is always a boon- it seems to have occurred in the same event that gave her a concussion, and allows her to see things others can¡¯t. For instance, when I was running my diagnostics, I could see that her eyesight was extremely good.¡± Meddyg turned to Eos, ¡°From this house, can you see clearly what is going on in the town square.¡±


    Eos nodded, ¡°When I look outside the windows, or I¡¯m at the front door, I can see Saer and Aderyn and Cedric playing. Just the other day, Cedric managed to beat Saer for the first time!¡± Her pervasive happiness died down after a moment, ¡°I wish I could have congratulated him.¡±


    Meddyg looked at Eos, before turning to Thea. ¡°I¡¯ve had a few patients like this- one whose torso could not be pierced with the sharpest of scalpels or magic. Another, whose sinister arm negated all magic that came near it. But, the effects of this are super rare- I¡¯ve only seen two previous. There¡¯s no name for it, but it seems Eos, your daughter, has this in her eyes- perhaps her entire head. It¡¯s extremely rare, however; this is only my third time seeing this type of enchantment.¡±


    Eos¡¯s parents looked mutually stunned at this information, ¡°and they¡¯re all fine?¡± Thea spoke, ¡°So everything will be okay?¡±


    ¡°Her eyes might never go back to the color they were before, but the enchantment has exclusively enhanced the individual whenever I¡¯ve seen it in the past, and she seems to be enhanced by it now.¡±


    Thea nearly jumped out of her chair and clutched Eos in her arms. ¡°Oh Eos! I was so worried!¡± Eos wasn¡¯t sure, but she felt that Thea was choking back tears in her words.


    However, despite Moore looking more relaxed than before, he still had an air of tension about him. ¡°I¡¯m glad that¡¯s resolved,¡± Moore began, ¡°But we have other matters to discuss. We only have about¡­¡±


    ¡°A week.¡± Meddyg said, finishing Moore¡¯s sentence. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to return to the capital in time if I needed to return here in time. I¡¯m planning on visiting other towns nearby before circling back here. I¡¯d only return here after about 2 towns, and I¡¯m not sure how much space would be left in the caravan- I can¡¯t ensure everyo-¡±


    ¡°Just the kids.¡± Moore interrupted, ¡°Saer, Aderyn, Cedric, and Eos. They¡¯re too young to do anything- we should be fine in only a few days, I can send a letter when it''s all done with. I think we can¡­ give enough tribute.¡±


    Thea turned to Moore, still holding Eos, ¡°Do we need to use euphemisms? We¡¯ll live, but they¡¯ll likely raze the town. We don¡¯t have enough people or farm animals in this town- they¡¯ll take whatever they can get in exchange for that though. Even teenagers can help fight them off, but¡­ there¡¯ll be losses. We¡¯re not fighters, no one in this town is. We can¡¯t really stop them, and there¡¯s no point for ad-¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Meddyg responded, ¡°I¡¯m the best you¡¯ll get, but we all know they won¡¯t kill you all. It¡¯ll be brutal, but the campaign isn¡¯t to kill people, not exactly. They want your money, your animals- the crops will die, and it¡¯ll be a hard year. I think that the best you can hope for is that the town¡¯s crops can grow next year, and you don¡¯t lose too many people. When I bring them back, I can help with the triage.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Meddyg. We owe you another one.¡± Moore was still clearly tense but seemed more content with the incoming fate.


    Thea finally let go of Eos¡¯s head, with Eos largely confused about what words were just said- she could hear despite Thea hugging her tight, but many of the words she did not understand- at least not in common.


    ¡°I should be on my way- I need to get three towns over. It should take only three days to reach them, and three towns to visit past that.¡±


    ¡°Mhm, we shouldn¡¯t keep you. We just¡­¡± Thea seemed to choke up, and Moore was looking around pensively, ¡°Please, just remember to keep at least 4 empty seats open.¡±


    Meddyg simply nodded, and, without saying another word, bid farewell to the elven family, leaving the premises of their house. It was only as Meddyg left that Eos finally looked out the window, and saw a simple covered wagon, with two horses at its head. The wagon looked to be aged and old and rickety, and Eos wondered why she hadn¡¯t heard it before. The wagon looked like it also had some amount of medical supplies in it, and she saw Meddyg clamber into the front of the wagon. Both the horses were brown, with a brown mane and white spots and patches first appearing on the crest, appearing down to their flank, slowly dominating their normal brown bay. Both horses additionally had white markings across their face: The right with a blaze and the left with a star. Their forelegs were fully brown, however, both horses'' hind legs had white boots intermixed with brown dotting.


    By the time Eos had finished examining the horses, Meddyg was taking off. Wordlessly, he began to use his whip, and the horse-led wagon began to move. Only after the wagon had left earshot and Eos could no longer hear the whip or horses, she wondered why she never heard the creak of the old wagon or rustling it did in the grass.

 7 - Fright or Flight

    Eos¡¯s fugue state ended after another week. During this time, her parents shot down her instance of learning magic repeatedly. She hadn¡¯t left her house again during this time, devoting herself to reading and exploring her newly found memories. She learned in her past life she- or he- was a math student. But she couldn¡¯t apply it, she didn¡¯t know applications- and, most importantly to her, she didn¡¯t know magic. And all the reading she didn¡¯t reveal a path to turn math into magic.


    One afternoon, she decided to go play with Cedric, Saer, and Aderyn. When She left her house, she spotted them playing in the town center. It looked like Cedric and Saer were sword fighting, while Aderyn watched. It took Eos a while, but she eventually reached the town center where the others were still playing. Aderyn sat off to the side, and Eos decided to sit with her.


    As Eos sat down, Aderyn turned to her and her face displayed a range of emotions in a second: surprise, regret, happiness, and ultimately landing on solemn. She hugged Eos and simply said, ¡°Are you okay?¡±.


    Eos gently hugged back, ¡°Yeah I¡¯m fine. How have you three been?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been fine. It¡¯s been weird without you. Our parents have been really odd.¡±


    ¡°Weird? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Aderyn, it¡¯s time to go!¡± Saer said. He and Cedric finally noticed Eos after their most recent bout.


    Eos turned to Saer, ¡°But it¡¯s midday?¡±


    ¡°Ah, sorry Eos¡­¡± Saer said, itching his head, ¡°But we really have to go.¡±


    Eos turned towards Aderyn, who was looking towards the ground now. ¡°See you tomorrow?¡± Eos said, which Aderyn met with a simple mutter. Aderyn got up from her seat and walked away from Eos and Cedric without turning back.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Eos asked, facing Cedric.


    ¡°Ah, well¡­ uh¡­¡± Cedric said, contemplating, ¡°There are rumors going ¡®round and stuff ya know?¡±


    ¡°Rumors?¡± Eos asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re not important. Just their parents don¡¯t want them being ¡®round you. To be fair,¡± Cedric looked away from Eos, ¡°Nobody really wants to be ¡®round you or your family right now.¡±


    ¡°Wait what? What happened?¡±


    ¡°Err¡­¡± Cedric said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe what they say, I think y¡¯alls have been nothing but nice.¡±


    ¡°What do they say?¡± Eos said, exasperated.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Cedric says, ¡°It¡¯s just that well¡­ and like demons¡­ with your eyes¡­ and Saer and Aderyn¡­ in the forest and¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t remember anything,¡± Cedric says, ¡°And the town¡¯s been fearful with elves and demons and others- that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°What about your parents?¡± Eos asked, looking down at the ground and feeling guilty for no explainable reason.


    ¡°They told me the same thing,¡± He said, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be around ya.¡±


    ¡°Why are you then?¡±


    ¡°¡®Cause your nice, and it just aint fair.¡±


    ¡°I wonder why¡­¡± Eos began to muse, looking up.


    What she saw when she looked up stunned her. She knew what it was- it was something that shouldn¡¯t. Miles out, from atop the small knoll the village sat, she saw on another of the rolling hills in the plains, a horrifying sight. The sunlit hills abruptly ended about 100 miles away from the village- black clouds were rolling in, with black, dead land below them. Between the two, a black, dead, unmoving army. About 50 or so troops of cavalry on skeletal and zombified horses. Eos couldn¡¯t make out the weapons of any individual troops, but the blackness of the land seemed to follow them.


    ¡°100 miles out or so, 40, 50 miles per hour¡± Eos began to speak aloud in English, ¡°We have 2 hours.¡±


    Cedric looked at her like she was insane, ¡°Whatcha saying?¡± He said, confused.


    ¡°Sorry Cedric,¡± Eos said, turning around, ¡°It looks like a.. Bad storm is incoming!¡± She quickly pointed to the incoming army, knowing that Cedric wouldn¡¯t be able to see the individual cavalry members, ¡°It looks like it¡¯ll be here in 2 hours or so!¡± Eos began to sprint with childlike energy towards her house, leaving a stunned Cedric in her dust-filled wake.


    2 hours, it¡¯s going to take approximately 10 minutes at full speed to reach my house- leaving 110 minutes. 50 cavalry is about half the size of the village, we couldn¡¯t take them two-on-one. That doesn¡¯t include time to reach that speed, so this should be an underestimate- more accurately, we¡¯ll probably have 120 minutes at most when I reach my house. We can¡¯t outrun the horses, and the whole town can¡¯t hide.


    She was breathless by the time she reached her house, and rushed in to find her parents only mildly less panicked than her. She still tried to explain regardless of her ability to breathe or the state of her parents. ¡°Dark storm is coming¡­ With dead horses¡­ and dead people¡­¡±


    Moore instantly shot up, ¡°How close are they?¡±


    ¡°About two hours.¡±


    Thea looked at Moore, ¡°When will he be here? He should be here by now!¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°I don''t know!¡± He responded, frantic, ¡°We need to get them out asap.¡±


    Eos looked out towards the village and saw a covered wagon led by two brown-and-white spotted horses entering the town square, entering the opposite way the dark storm is coming in from.


    ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± Eos shouted, her parents again stunned, ¡°Meddyg is here!¡±


    A wide range of emotions ran across her parent¡¯s faces, from confusion, shock, and realization before resting upon the emotion before Eos said a word, panic.


    ¡°Let''s go!¡± Moore said, grabbing a handful of things around him. With their arms full, Eos¡¯s parents ushered her out of the house, and they all began to run back toward the town square. By the time they reached the town square, the cavalry had already moved half the distance to the town, far outpacing the gloom.


    They¡¯re moving way too fast, Eos thought, This speed is impossible! Especially for such a distance- Are we all dead?


    There were villagers murmuring about- the arrival of Meddyg caused quite a stir, along with the storm that was seemingly approaching. Meddyg had in his wagon a dozen or so children, sitting loosely in the back.


    ¡°Moore!¡± Meddyg shouted upon seeing him, ¡°Can you tell the villagers I¡¯m here not to kidnap them?¡±


    All the villagers'' heads turned towards Moore, and the mobbing around his wagon seemed to die down only temporarily. Moore addressed the crowd solemnly, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard the news, and it¡¯s, unfortunately, our turn to become the news. That storm,¡± He said gesturing to the oncoming darkness, ¡°is no natural storm. The riders of the storm are already on their way, and we must defend against them. However, this is our fight- not our children''s fight. As such, I¡¯ve asked my good friend Meddyg here to take the children away, and come bring them back when we¡¯re done with our task.¡±


    The silence in the crowd was deafening, but Moore continued, turning directly towards Eos. ¡°Eos, go with Meddyg. He¡¯ll keep you safe- I promise. It¡¯ll only be a week or two, and then everything will be alright again, okay?¡±


    Eos knew he was lying. She felt it in her core that, whatever happened, it would not end the same way it started. But she also knew what she had to do, and hugged Moore tightly, before walking into the crowd of people, parting as she clambered into Meddyg¡¯s wagon. She slipped on the wagon step, but was caught by a callous hand. Turning back, she saw that Saer¡¯s mother had caught her, before she assisted Eos in clambering into the wagon. The tense air said everything that needed to be said, and only after a few moments, Saer and Aderyn were waving their parents goodbye from the wagon as well.


    All of the townsfolk were preparing: Barricades thrown up, weapons passed around, formations planned. There was no animosity between anyone anymore, everyone knew what needed to be done. A storm was approaching, and this was no time for calm.


    The wagon parted from the crowd, and Eos saw that once they were out of earshot, the town seemed to move rapidly, preparing for what would be. But, only a few moments later, Aderyn said something aloud, softly.


    ¡°Where is Cedric?¡±


    Eos paused, all of the blood draining from her. She turned back, and began to look through towards the villagers, but was interrupted by Saer.


    ¡°Where is Cedric?!¡± He shouted, causing every child to stir uncomfortably.


    Meddyg responded quickly, ¡°Where¡¯s his house?¡±


    ¡°Left, half a mile,¡± Eos responded instantly, turning that way. She hadn¡¯t even thought to look at where his house would be. However, what she saw was the worst instead- the cavalry had arrived. And they had a flank position, directly from the left of them.


    ¡°Dammit,¡± Meddyg said, ¡°We can¡¯t go that way. We have to bail, now.¡±


    ¡°But Cedric!¡± Saer yelled, the tension rising in the kids.


    ¡°Look!¡± Meddyg said, ¡°They¡¯re already at his house- they move too fast. If we delay any longer, they¡¯ll be at our throats too.¡±


    It was when that last word was finished, with every kid looking at Cedric¡¯s house, its door burst open. Cedric¡¯s father with a finely crafted sword and shield, with Cedric behind him, as the Cavalry were only seconds away at their current pace- three to four times faster than what Eos thought possible.


    The cavalry quickly descended on Cedric¡¯s father, and Cedric tried to rip away as soon as he could. Two cavalry members peeled off from the flank to attack Cedric¡¯s father, as the rest headed toward the village center. The two cavalry members quickly struck at Cedric¡¯s father from opposite sides, one glaive bouncing off of his shield and the other being parried behind his back. In one smooth motion, as if the parry never made contact, Cedric¡¯s father cleanly swiped at the leg of the horse in front of him. As quick as it was moving, the horse slid on the ground a few dozen meters, black ooze and tar leaving a trail of where it made contact with the ground. Its rider had its leg pinned underneath the horse, and Eos got her first good look at whatever it was.


    She could easily make out the bones beneath wherever the skin was- and directly see the yellowed bone wherever it wasn¡¯t, as its head only partially had flesh on it, hanging loosely wherever it was. It had eyes, with yellowed whites and blood-red pupils, and its hair was surprisingly well taken care of for the rest of its face.


    With the fallen rider, Cedric¡¯s father turned towards the last cavalry. It was now two hundred paces away and charged directly at Cedric¡¯s father. Eos saw the world slow, the rider barely moving, and Cedric¡¯s father unmoving. In front of the cavalry, a green outline of it began to move forward, and the outline rushed forwards, before slamming into the shield of Cedric''s father- or seemingly doing so, but Cedric¡¯s father didn¡¯t move. Instead, his own green outline appeared, and reacted to the glaive slamming into- and through- his shield, swinging its own sword into the body of the rider.


    Eos paused, and suddenly the world became full speed again. The cavalry rushed forward at Cedric¡¯s father, and the scene played out the same as in the green lines- the rider¡¯s glaive pierced through Cedric¡¯s father''s shield, cutting into him, but he retaliated by throwing his body further towards the rider, his sword cutting halfway into the rider.


    The rider simply threw his glaive down onto the ground, with Cedric¡¯s father falling with it. Meddyg had slowed the wagon down, and Cedric was rapidly approaching it. But the rider began to ride towards the fleeing Cedric- however, before Cedric was reached, the rider slumped on his horse, and Eos noticed the flesh of the rider around the sword embedded in their stomach was bubbling and fizzing in black, necrotic ooze.


    ¡°Cedric!¡± Saer shouted, ¡°Just keep running!¡± Saer reached out a hand, and Cedric was only a dozen meters away.


    Solid black lashes leaped out of nowhere, cutting Cedric down just as his hand was about to grasp Saer¡¯s. The black ropes pinned the unmoving Cedric under them, seeming to warp reality around them- everything was desaturated around them, and fuzzy. However, the sharp, unseeable void of the lashes was clearly defined, even as Cedric became less and less. Eos saw the origin of the magic: Black light softly radiated from the pinned-down rider.


    Meddyg¡¯s wagon suddenly began to speed up, as soon as Cedric seemed to be unable to be saved. There was a second lash of black magic that sped towards the wagon but narrowly missed it due to the ever-increasing speed of the wagon. Soon, the speed of the wagon took the village and raiders out of eyesight, but Eos could still see the village, and she saw the rider who was once pinned down now standing over the body of Cedric.


    The atmosphere in the wagon was still tense by the time they had exited Eos¡¯s eyesight of the village, and not a single word had been said. We¡¯ll reach the Capital soon. A few days at most. Eos thought, the visage burnt into her mind, and more questions than ever before.

 8 - Infally

    The rest of the way to the capital was uneventful- every child in the wagon was being taken from a nearby village to the capital by Meddyg, and all of them saw what happened to Cedric. Saer, Aderyn, and Eos were particularly affected, with hardly any words spoken by any of them. Meddyg tried to keep the mood light, but hardly anything helped.


    A half dozen days after they left the village, Meddyg announced that the capital was in sight. The children stirred slightly, but nothing moved the trio. After an hour more, kids were looking out of the front of the wagon- and the gate of the capital loomed over them. The kids were chattering, but Eos was focused on nothing. After an indeterminable amount of time, the wagon abruptly stopped, crossed by the gate¡¯s shadow.


    ¡°Name and business in Infally?¡± An unseen guard asked.


    ¡°Meddyg,¡± he began, ¡°I put in a request, fo-¡±


    The guard swiftly interrupted him, ¡°Meddyg? We¡¯ve expected your arrival; your request was approved after you departed. Do you have anything to declare?¡± After finishing the sentence, the guard peered into the wagon, ¡°Besides the children.¡±


    Meddyg laughed, ¡°Not in particular, but let the Adventurer¡¯s Guild know that Holstez was raided, and every other town down there as well.¡±


    The guard¡¯s armor rattled as he made some unseen motion, ¡°Ya know, if it wasn¡¯t for the request you put in, I woulda thought you were with those slavers.¡± He laughed slightly, followed by a chuckle from Meddyg. With the rattling of the gate and the clinking of the guard¡¯s armor, the wagon began to move forward once again.


    As they crossed the perimeter of the city, Eos looked outside of the wagon. She saw the gate behind them, farm fields all across the rolling landscape even further than that, dotted with farmhouses, fields, and grazing land. The well-worn cobblestone path had deep treads in it, leading to the gate to their wagon, and beyond. She saw between the farmland and the gate were other houses, packed tightly together.


    For only a moment, she marveled at the portcullis of the gate, and the gate¡¯s architectural styling- before, suddenly, buildings appeared on either side of her vision. Four stories tall, the sudden appearance of these stone and timber structures caught Eos off guard, and she turned her head towards the front of the cabin- looking beyond Meddyg, or all of the rest of the children- including Aderyn and Saer- huddled together at the front, murmuring something Eos couldn¡¯t make out.


    Rising tall into the sky, a cathedral stood out prominently in the skyline. Colorful stained glass adorned its numerous large windows, and its brown masonry, with elegant buttresses and distinguished spires, stood in stark contrast to the thrifty stylings of the buildings flanking the wagon.


    Eos attempted to scan the skyline for any other distinguishing landmarks, however, she couldn¡¯t clearly see anything with the buildings blocking her view. She looked back at the gate, only to see it had disappeared behind a turn Eos didn¡¯t notice Meddyg make.


    Eos looked around at the buildings and the people around them. A few shops had signs and glass windows displaying their merchandise- from outfits to gemstones, from cookware to raw meat, from a tavern to a grocer.


    One storefront caught her eye. Situated next to an alleyway, the shop lacked any branding whatsoever but had what looked like wands on display.


    Perhaps they know where I can learn magic! Eos thought, before looking around the wagon again. Everyone¡¯s attention was still forward facing, so she quickly leaped off the back of the wagon. She attempted to roll onto the ground silently, but rather failed the roll, effectively splatting onto the cobbled road, with people all around looking at her failure. One woman seemed to express concern and began to approach Eos. Before the woman said anything or reached Eos, she picked herself up and dashed into the storefront.


    She looked back as she saw Saer turn towards her. She waved at him, and he shot up in a panic- right as Meddyg made another turn and disappeared into the city.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The store was littered with messily arranged stands and displays, featuring glowing rocks and wands and staves and everything in between. The shopkeep was behind a register, with a dumbfounded look on his face.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± He said slowly, yet with distinct sternness.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Eos exclaimed, ¡°Is this a magic shop?¡±


    ¡°A magic shop?¡± He mused, ¡°It could be described as that, I guess¡­ It doesn¡¯t really matter, I assume you¡¯re not here to buy anything, given¡­¡± He trailed off, motioning to her and her wardrobe.


    ¡°Nope!¡± She exclaimed with the same enthusiasm, ¡°I don¡¯t have any money on me anyways. But, I wanted to know if there was any place you knew that I could learn magic?¡±


    He scoffed, ¡°I can only assume you don¡¯t have the money to attend a school or get a private tutor.¡± His conviction with that assumption only grew while looking at her increasingly desperate face, ¡°You only really have two hopes. You can be self-taught at the library, but good luck with that. Or, you can pray to Ayailla to get in at Avivenorlin, they¡¯re holding open applications for the next week.¡±


    ¡°Avivenorlin?! What''s that¡±


    ¡°Have you heard of SHARD? School for Historical, Arcane, and Residual Disciplines? Avivenorlin is the overarching college.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Meddyg study at SHARD?¡± Eos mused.


    ¡°Meddyg did?¡± The shopkeep asked, ¡°I suppose that makes sense.¡±


    ¡°W-wait,¡± Eos hesitated, ¡°You know Meddyg?¡±


    ¡°Yeah? Everyone does- He¡¯s totally reformed the hospital system. Ever since he got elected to surgeon general, the hospitals have been treating everyone regardless of status. My brother¡¯s life was saved because of Meddyg himself after my brother was jumped in the alleys.¡± The shopkeeper explained, slightly confused at Eos¡¯s lack of knowledge, ¡°Everyone has a story where Meddyg saved them or someone they know, he¡¯s basically a hero- and that''s even before the reforms took place!¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Eos said, despondent for a moment before shaking her head, metaphorically shaking the emotions off, ¡°anyhow, do you know how to get to Avivenorlin?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a few streets away- you won¡¯t reach it today before they stop doing rehearsals for today.¡±


    ¡°So, I can¡¯t reach it today?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that,¡± The shopkeep replied as if they were trying to rewrite reality, ¡°If you take the backways, you would reach it with about a half hour to spare- but, it¡¯s dangerous, particularly for... A young girl such as you. A lot of slavers and human traffickers are looking for a prime target like you.¡±


    ¡°Can you give me the way?¡±


    For a few moments, the shopkeep hesitated. ¡°Ya know, I really think you should go back to your house for tonight- I-I have a niece, you remind me of her. I¡¯d hate for something to happen to you.¡±


    ¡°So, are you gonna give me the way or am I just gonna wander the back alleys and get lost?¡± Eos insisted, ¡°Who knows what would happen then¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± he more than relented, ¡°I¡¯ll just lead the way. It¡¯ll be faster and safer that way.¡±


    Eos was taken by surprise, but not about to refuse the man¡¯s generosity. He locked the door to the shop behind them before they headed into the alley adjacent to the shop. Their trip through the alleyways was rather uneventful, not even seeing another living thing aside from rats and stray dogs. Upon reaching a small doorway, inset into a building with a man standing out and a line of 3 children, all slightly bigger than Eos, the man turned to her.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the entrance to the examination room.¡± He said, ¡°I sh-¡±


    He was interrupted as a child came running out of the examination hall, past the line, sobbing with their elbow covering their eyes, and ran into the adjoining street, disappearing into a crowd of people. ¡°I heard it¡¯s rough in there.¡± He said.


    ¡°Thanks for leading me,¡± She replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to make it up to you.¡±


    ¡°Simple,¡± He smiled, ¡°Let me know your name. Avivenorlin publishes the names of all who are in the newest class at the beginning of the school year in the public squares. I¡¯d love to know if you got in.¡±


    She told him her first name, and he was content with that little. They parted ways, and she joined the line as the 3rd child in it- the previous first had gone into the examination hall when the crying child ran out, ushered in by the man standing outside, watching the line.


    After some time, and three more children running out of the examination hall crying, Eos was ushered into the hall. There was a spotlight in a seemingly otherwise dark room, with the only other exception being a group of men, varying in age but all stern in disposition, transfixed on Eos as she entered the center of the light.

 9 - Derivation

    Eos felt extremely intimidated by the council of men in front of her. It was split into three segments, each split again. The leftmost segment had five chairs, rising as they approached the center segment. The center segment had two chairs, the left one more than a half foot higher than the right. The rightmost segment had four chairs, again rising as they approached the center segment. Each chair- excluding the rightmost of both the right and left segment- had a man in it, none of them any younger than forty. The two men sitting in the centermost looked like they had just crossed 100, with the left man having a beard that came to a point. The man in the right chair in the center segment had a crazed look in his eyes and was nearly bald.


    On the left, the men ranged from 60 to 80 years old in appearance, with the exception of the rightmost, who was an elf with shining blond hair, in contrast to Eos¡¯s own dirty blonde hair. His eyes looked at her with malice, and he had a faint glow around him. On the right, the men looked to be the youngest of them, with the rightmost chair notably being entirely empty. Every human on the bench looked at her with a mix of fear and disgust, but she felt the most concentrated stare still from the elf.


    The silence in the room lay thick, no one daring to speak the first word until the elf spoke: ¡°Who let them in here?¡±


    Murmurs came from the left and right benches, however, she could only hear snippets of words, but one stood out to her, ¡°Demon¡±. After a few moments of murmuring, the bearded old man spoke, his words cutting through the chatter.


    ¡°While demons are uncommon applicants to our institution, there is nothing restricting them from attending. We will beg-¡±


    ¡°Demon?¡± The elf scoffed, cutting them off, ¡°Adrius, you of all people should know better. Ignore the eyes, and look at them. That¡¯s not a demon, that¡¯s an Apepi.¡± His last word was laced with disgust. She felt the entire room, already staring at her, looking at her with a renewed focus. Not even a whisper left anyone¡¯s mouth.


    After an eternity, Adrius spoke again, ¡°It seems that you are correct, Rhawn. However, our institution still does not discriminate in applications, so we must at least see this through.¡± He turned towards Eos, ¡°What is your name, for the official record?¡±


    Eos¡¯s nerves jumped, her mouth becoming both full and dry at the same moment, with the complete inability to speak. She took a moment, thinking about her actions carefully, before speaking. ¡°My name is Eos AuSkoll Apepi, elf of the Apepi lineage. Please, call me Eos.¡± She gently did as much of a curtsy with the small amount of loose fabric her clothing had.


    ¡°Eos, will you please demonstrate why we should consider you for acceptance into this school? Perhaps a demonstration of magic or sword fighting¡­¡± His voice trailed off as he looked at Eos, ¡°If you have nothing to demonstrate, please let us know.¡±


    ¡°May I have something to write with?¡± Eos asked, her mind racing a mile a minute, and Adrius nodded. A man standing in the shadows off to the side brought a chalkboard on wheels over, stunning Eos. She hadn¡¯t seen either of these when she walked into the room, and the man seemingly disappeared back into the shadows after placing the chalkboard next to her. She gingerly picked up a chalk stick, her hands shaking uncontrollably.


    Eos continued, ¡°I don¡¯t know any magic. And my body,¡± She said, gesturing to herself, ¡°isn¡¯t exactly good for learning how to fight. My mind is good though.¡± Eos began to write on the chalkboard, ¡°I taught myself mathematics, I¡¯m very good at it.¡±


    She wrote down basic formulas at first: Multiplication, addition, division, and exponentiation. She then moved on to drawing polynomial graphs, then drawing circles, followed by trigonometry equations. She stopped after writing sine x.


    ¡°Is this all?¡± Adrius asked.


    ¡°Oh, oh no not at all.¡± She replied, ¡°I was just thinking about the best way to describe this. I think I¡¯ve decided.¡± She began to write the Taylor series for sine. She decided she needed to define the factorial, and now that she had that, she could define e. Having e and trig equations, she attempted to naturally lead into imaginaries. She continued this line, going over complex analysis and Cauchy integrals before stopping. It was a few moments before she said, ¡°Actually, can I have another whiteboard? This one is basically full, and I¡¯d like to start another path.¡±


    Suddenly the man came out with a chalkboard again, before disappearing into nothing. And she began to write, again. Beginning at set theory- admittedly, she couldn¡¯t remember the formal axioms- she walked through real analysis and infinities. Cauchy sequences develop reals, functions, and sets. She stopped upon finishing the rigorous definition of derivatives, built off of limits and the properties of reals. Again, she asked for another whiteboard, starting again from where she defined functions in real analysis and began to develop linear algebra.


    After the third whiteboard was filled up, she turned to the benches, ¡°I could continue, explain the connections and distinctions between these concepts, or develop more of this. But it¡¯s been a while and my hand hurts, I think this is enough to display how smart I am.¡±


    ¡°Adrius,¡± one of the men on the right bench said.


    Adrius looked down at her. He snapped his fingers, and the boards disappeared. ¡°You spend two hours writing meaningless symbols and wasting our time,¡± He said, his voice growing deep, ¡°And expect us to be impressed?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t mea-¡±


    ¡°Adrius,¡± the man repeated


    ¡°Eos AuSkoll Apepi, I would say you embarrass your family, but I suppose you validate the Apepi¡¯s reputation. You have wasted our precious time, and I think it¡¯s the unanimous vote of our council that you be removed from here immediately. But, regardless, let us take it to a vote.¡±


    ¡°Adrius!¡± the man said, his voice being ignored.


    ¡°Raise your hand if you would like for this thing to be removed from our site.¡± Every member, except for that one man, raised their hand. Suddenly, two men from the shadows appeared, and each picked up Eos by the arm. It was clear to her that any attempt at resisting would be met with immediate failure, and potential retaliation.


    ¡°Do you understand me?¡± The man shouted at Eos, however, something was different. It was something she understood but hadn¡¯t ever heard. She saw the entire council looking at the man, who was standing up out of his chair.


    ¡°Yes, I understand you.¡± She hesitated, finding the words, ¡°Why do you speak English?¡± she replied in perfect English.


    Relief flooded his face, and the men holding her gently set her down. He walked out of his seat, and down to the central auditorium where Eos stood, and faced Adrius.


    ¡°Eos AuSkoll Apepi, of the Apepi line, speaks the Awoken Language. Moreover, what she wrote wasn¡¯t meaningless- it was advanced mathematics, beyond even me, from her previous life. I believe you can understand why we should admit her based on those facts alone.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± She asked the man in English.


    ¡°I want details on your previous life,¡± He replied in English, ¡°so please do as I say, if you want to be admitted to this school.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Eos replied, still taken aback.


    ¡°Now¡¯s not the time for you to ask questions- how old were you?¡±


    ¡°20 years old when he died¡±


    ¡°He?¡± The man looked puzzled, before turning back towards the council, ¡°She was previously a twenty-year-old mathematics prodigy, and was unfortunately reborn into her position.¡±


    Adrius¡¯s face still had scorn on it, but it was Rhawn who first replied, ¡°Unfortunately, the council has already made the decision to remove her from the premises. Please, get rid of that filth.¡± Eos felt the men¡¯s arms on hers tighten.


    ¡°Fine then,¡± the man stood defiantly, ¡°She will be my special admit.¡±


    The entire council looked stunned, but it was the man to the left of Adrius to speak first, ¡°You know it¡¯s not proper for Junior Council members to exercise that right¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not proper for the council to not vote for readmission upon learning facts that change a candidate¡¯s value in our institution either. Neither is it proper for us to accept an Apepi or for an Apepi to even try to get in.¡±


    Rhawn was again the first to speak, ¡°Varen! Silence yourself this instant, or be prepa-¡±


    It was Adrius this time who cut off Rhawn, this time with a small laugh that erupted into a hearty chuckle. The entire room looked concerned at this, before Adrius stopped laughing, and began to speak. ¡°Varen, you remind me of myself. Are you sure about this decision of yours? And are you prepared to take all consequences enacted thereof?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Prime Speaker Adrius.¡± He said, his tone swiftly shifting from defiance to respect as he bowed.


    Adrius turned to Eos, ¡°Eos AuSkoll Apepi, of the Apepi line of elves, the council approves your admission to Avivenorlin¡± Adrius began to address the council, seeming to revel in what just happened, ¡°It seems this admission session went far over schedule and had an excessive amount of drama. Let us wrap up for today, and continue tomorrow with vigor.¡±


    Adrius turned back towards Varen, and continued, ¡°Varen, can you please show your special admit around tonight, and ensure they have a place to stay?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Prime Speaker.¡± He replied.


    Rhawn looked stunned, ¡°Avivenorlin isn¡¯t the place for Apepi!¡± He shouted, ¡°There¡¯s no way we can admit her even under special admission! It just isn¡¯t right!¡±


    ¡°Silence, Rhawn.¡± Adrius said, raising a single hand and his voice cutting through Rhawn¡¯s arguments, ¡°The decision has been made. If you continue to labor the point, your own suitability to sit on this council will be brought into question.¡±


    Rhawn stood up, frustrated but silent. Quiet anger radiated from him as he stared daggers at Eos, before hastily leaving the auditorium. Other council members slowly filtered out of the room, and Varen looked at Eos.


    ¡°Shall we go?¡± He asked in English, ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to get you a dorm room- but for now let¡¯s just talk.¡±


    ¡°S-sure..¡± Eos responded, still trying to process the display that just happened. They wandered out of the room and walked to a large garden on the campus. As they walked, she blurted out a question, ¡°What just happened?¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Varen responded- much to Eos¡¯s surprise for no reason- in English, ¡°I just broke procedure in a thousand different ways and was let off with a small warning. However, I am now directly responsible for you for the rest of your time here.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± She responded, ¡°Did I cause that much trouble?¡±


    ¡°You caused more than your fair share of trouble already,¡± He laughed, ¡°Especially for a walk-in candidate. Normally we don¡¯t even consider them beyond what we have to.¡±


    ¡°Sorry,¡± She looked down, ¡°but thank you for sticking your neck out for me.¡±


    ¡°I had to, I could tell you were awoken.¡± He said, gently patting Eos¡¯s head as she looked up. ¡°I knew no one else on the council would be able to tell and would dismiss your ravings as mad. I just got lucky that you spoke English in your last life.¡±


    ¡°Awoken?¡± She asked, ¡°I suppose that means I remember my previous life. But why is English the ¡®Awoken language¡¯?¡±


    Varen chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s just what we decided. The Linguist had some arguments why but I¡¯ll be damned before I remember them.¡±


    ¡°The Linguist?¡±


    ¡°Yeah Otto- we have a small community of Awoken that meet together regularly in the capital- this month¡¯s meeting will be this weekend, I¡¯ll make sure to bring you along.¡±


    ¡°How many are there?¡±


    ¡°Only six of us- seven with you.¡±


    ¡°Huh.. So what¡¯s your story? Err, I guess I should tell you mine first.¡± Eos said, walking back her question.


    Varen just laughed and assured her, ¡°It¡¯s fine. How old are you now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m eight¡­ I guess 28 counting my previous life?¡±


    ¡°You''re still young for this school,¡± He responded, ¡°Normally admits are 10 years old. It¡¯s fine though, you''re a special case. As you said, you''re really 28. I suppose I should tell you about myself though.¡±


    Varen sat down at a small gazebo that Eos didn¡¯t notice they were walking towards and began his story.


    ¡°I was born Varen Firestone, of the Firestone merchant family. Raised to be a merchant, didn¡¯t like it too much though. And I was a fairly successful one too- part of being in the family. I never got the chance to go to a school like this one- I was educated, don¡¯t get me wrong, but as a merchant. Never learned sword fighting or magic or the like, just accounting, business, and economics. We were doing a trade caravan. Bandits attacked. We lost everything- my children even lost their mother. It was horrific. The only reason me and my kids lived is I protected them with my body, my arms and legs being slashed, and¡­


    ¡°And, during this ordeal, during the worst moment of my life, I awoke. In my old life, I was a coach for a middle school in China¡­ I died almost the same way I was in life at that moment- protecting some innocent kids from thugs who were trying to rob them. It¡¯s hard to describe what it¡¯s like to remember a lifetime of things in a moment; I guess you¡¯d know though. And that was not the moment to remember them if any. It was¡­ too much. We were saved by some wandering adventurers. Apparently, we were the only survivors of the raid, and all of our goods had been taken away.¡± Varen had a forlorn look on his face, ¡°I needed a lifestyle change. I needed to use what I knew. I needed to take this gift that was given to me in my worst moment- so I became a professor. It¡¯s not hard to get into prestigious positions when you''re Awoken, and you can prove it. The hard part is proving it.


    ¡°I found the Awoken society, and I could prove it to them. They had already made an English learning textbook, and the Linguist already spoke Chinese. It took me a few years but given I was already in the association, I got an entry-level job at Avivenorlin, and worked my way up. It wasn¡¯t hard- again, being Awoken is a boon.¡±


    Eos looked at his face, as he looked off in a forlorn way. He seemed engrossed in his own memories, lost in thought. Silence hung in the air for a moment, Eos not wanting to push the subject.


    ¡°People say I¡¯m a demon¡­¡± Eos said, trying to break the silence.


    ¡°Demons are nothing like the visualizations from your past life, they¡¯re essentially as human as an elf. Most have horns and all, but they¡¯re not evil.¡±


    ¡°Still, can¡¯t I just meet one before I¡¯m called one¡­¡±


    Varen sighed, and silence hung in the air once more.


    ¡°Who¡¯s t-¡± Eos began, before being cut off.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you lived,¡± Varen said, suddenly. ¡°Kids can awaken like anyone else of course. But a child¡¯s mind? Impressionable and fluid, with a lifetime of memories being pressed upon them. The children who awaken don¡¯t have a defined enough personality, and having the sudden surge overwhelms them, and they always, inevitably die.¡±


    Varen finally looked at Eos, who had an image of fear across her face, and tears welling up in her eyes.


    ¡°Ah- I mean, ¡° Varen hurriedly began trying to rectify the issue, ¡°They die but you have already survived! You¡¯re the exception- not the rule. I mean you¡¯ve gotten this far, I wouldn¡¯t vouch for you if you were to just keel over an-¡±


    Eos burst out crying, and Varen tried to console her to the best of his abilities. He gently held her head, as she cried into him.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be okay, you¡¯re safe here.¡± He said after a few minutes.


    Eos looked up at him tearfully, ¡°Promise?¡± She sniffled, her eyes still wet.


    ¡°I promise. No one will hurt you here.¡±


    She nodded gently as Varen continued, ¡°I should take you to your dorm room. I imagine that¡¯s been sorted out by now.¡± Eos nodded once again, and they began to walk down the garden path toward a building.

 10 - Advent

    ¡°This is the dorm building on campus, where all the students live.¡± Varen motioned towards the double-door entrance. The building was large- Eos wasn¡¯t sure how big it precisely was, but she could count more than fifteen rows of windows, with far too many columns for her to count at a glance. The architectural style reminded her of a cathedral, with a peaked ceiling and gargoyles looming upon the roof. The vine-covered stonework indicated hundreds of years since construction, at least.


    ¡°This is called Advent Hall, and it¡¯s the primary dorm building on campus. Every student gets a dorm here- I think your year will be on part of the fourth floor.¡±


    Varen walked towards the hall and the doors opened in front of them. She noticed there was no one opening them, but Varen seemed to not pay any mind. The foyer of the building was a large room with a receptionist desk at the back. Her skin was olive and her hair was an old grayed silver, with two tall cat-like ears sticking out the top of her head. The receptionist seemed to be lost in her thoughts as they approached, but snapped back to reality when she noticed Varen. Eos was taken back for a moment by the receptionist''s golden eyes.


    ¡°Mr. Firestone!¡± The receptionist, ¡°We have prepared the room for your special admit! It¡¯ll be room 4031. Do you need any help getting there?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no¡± Varen replied, switching to Common, ¡°Thank you for your help Tarvie.¡±


    Eos followed Varen closely as they walked down a hallway to a room with a staircase. As soon as they started traveling up the staircase, Varen commented: ¡°Tarvie is the headmaster of the dorm building, and is currently serving as the receptionist while new students come in. Make sure to be very nice to her if you want to have a good time here.¡±


    Eos nodded, ¡°What is she?¡±


    Varen chuckled, ¡°Tarvie is a Beastkin. It means she has a sharp smell, and hearing and is easily roused- perfect qualities for a headmaster overseeing over 400 students. Of course, she¡¯s not alone- she¡¯s just the top dog.¡±


    Tarvie gave Varen an insidious gaze. ¡°Or, top cat.¡± He chuckled slightly.


    ¡°Over 400 students?¡±


    ¡°30 to 40 every year, give or take a little, and 12 years of schooling. I don¡¯t have the exact numbers, but Advent was built to contain up to several thousand students, but it¡¯s always practically empty.¡±


    They carried on up the staircase until they reached the fourth floor. Varen guided her to where her room would be which ended up at the far end of a hallway in the middle of a dead end. Her window overlooked the side of the garden and faced one of the classroom buildings, and she thought she could just make out an amphitheater in the distance. The room was larger than she expected- it felt like a decently large hotel room. She roughly estimated it at 30 square meters, but she didn¡¯t know how she could precisely calculate a meter in this world.


    The layout of the room was quite simple though: a twin-sized bed was nestled in one corner of the room, opposite the doorway. In the other corner, a small desk sat, with the window looking out splitting the desk and bed. On the same side as the bed, a medium-sized wardrobe sat, drawing Eos¡¯s attention to her lack of clothing- or really, anything.


    Varen seemed unconcerned about it, perhaps not realizing it. ¡°Your classes should start in 10 days; I¡¯ll come to pick you up for the Awoken society meeting this weekend. Until then, try and get acquainted. Make some friends- you won''t have a ton of free time after school starts.¡±


    And with that, before Eos fully comprehended what was happening, Varen left the dorm, closing the door behind him. Eos looked around the dorm more intensely, trying to take in every detail. Quickly, she noticed a key on the desk and an appropriate lock on the door which the key fit into quite nicely. The desk was well used, with markings on it indistinguishable from each other due to usage and age. The wardrobe was similarly worn with age, and after opening it, she saw etchings and markings in it, all equally indistinguishable from one another. When she tried to close it again, the door got stuck on the lower lip. After some inspection, she noticed one of the hinges was slightly loose- but she wasn¡¯t even tall enough to reach it.


    The bed was well made, if simple. It only had sheets and blankets over the simple mattress, laying on a bed frame covered in scratches. Knowing what little she knew, she didn¡¯t even make an attempt at deciphering the various scratch marks covering different parts of the bed frame.


    Golden light poured through the window, as the suns were setting over the rest of the city. She decided that she would deal with the various tasks involving her later, but she realized she had a relatively small task to take care of. Taking the key with her, she locked the door behind her as she headed to the bottom floor.


    ¡°Tarvie!¡± Eos yelled in the parlor, quickly grabbing her attention, ¡°Hi! Is there any way I could¡­¡± Eos paused for a moment, ¡°Get a letter to someone?¡±


    ¡°A letter? To whom?¡± She replied, professionally.


    ¡°Meddyg, he¡¯s a doct-¡±


    ¡°Meddyg?!¡± She replied, ¡°He¡¯s awfully busy; I heard he left town a few days ago, so it¡¯d be a-¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s back in town.¡± Eos confidently responded, ¡°He¡¯s the one who brought me here- to the capital I mean- before I¡­ uh..¡± Eos thought carefully about how to say the next part, before deciding to say it simply, ¡°ran away and ended up here.¡±


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    Tarvie¡¯s lack of reply was telling, and Eos just finished her thought. ¡°So, I was wondering if I could write a letter telling him where I was and that I¡¯m okay.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll write a letter and make sure it gets to him,¡± Tarvie replied, her tone indecipherable by Eos, ¡°but I can already tell you¡¯re gonna be a troublemaker.¡±


    ¡°Ehe~¡±


    Eos, content with how the interaction ended up, ran back up to her room, unlocking the door and setting the key in her ajar wardrobe, before stripping her clothes and going into bed. She fell asleep as the suns retired behind the horizon, and slipped away into the night.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be late, I¡¯m gonna be late!¡± Eos heard from outside her window, shocking her awake. The room was shrouded in darkness, and Eos noticed it was barely even dawn. She got up anyway and looked out her window. She saw no one running around outside, so she opened the window and craned her neck to see right next to the dorm building, only noticing a medium-sized hole in the ground.


    Suddenly, Eos felt a pebble hit the top of her head and looked up. She saw a chunk of earth, floating in the air but slowly descending. On top of the levitating earthen glob was a girl. All Eos could make out was her skirt flowing around the earth, the runic signs she was making in the air, the magic taking an orange-yellow color, and moving with the same unpredictable pattern as the magic she saw before.


    Another pebble hit Eos¡¯s head, directly between her eyes, before she was shaken out of her stupor and realized that maybe she should move her head into the room before the swiftly descending rock replaced it.


    ¡°Sorry!¡± the girl yelled quickly. Eos stuck her neck back out and saw a clearer look at the girl. Her hair was light brown and she had a pair of large wolf ears on top of her head, and a tail extending from her rear. She landed directly in the hole, the earthen clump making the ground seamless again, before looking back up at Eos. ¡°Sorry! I¡¯d make it up to you, but I¡¯m gonna be late!¡± She yelled, before running off, zig-zagging through a courtyard and into a nearby building.


    Eos broke out of her stupor in a moment. She was mystified, stunned by the interaction she just had. She could tell that the girl was older than her, by ten or so years she estimated. And her magic! Eos thought, She was basically flying? Falling with grace? Running late¡­ Her dorm must be some amount higher than mine.


    Still, without leaving her window, Eos heard a knock at her door. At this time of day? She wondered, opening it up to see a formal-looking man, holding a collection of clothes with a slip of paper on top. He handed them to her without a word, before spinning and disappearing down the hallway. The only sound he made was the knocking, and Eos couldn¡¯t remember any particular details about him immediately after he left her sight.


    Eos closed the door and placed the folded clothes on her desk, and lifted a written note off of them. ¡°School-appropriate clothes, courtesy of Varen¡± it read simply.


    ¡°What is this place¡­¡± Eos mused aloud, before changing into a pair of the clothes, and putting the rest into her wardrobe. She wondered when she¡¯d be growing out of these, and if Varen would get her more when that time came.


    Despite her exhaustion, Eos decided that now would be a good time to explore the school, and began to wander out of the dorm building and into the gardens. By noon, she had a vague idea of where many classes would be in the school and the overall layout: she¡¯d found many, many classrooms, though which subject was focused on in each eluded her; a few greenhouses, with vaulted glass ceilings and a myriad of plants, including both familiar and unfamiliar ones; A many meters-wide unknown pit covered by a medium sized building, additionally containing students in lecture, several of them harrowingly close to the pit; a smithy with both a forge and smiths, all actively working; The Amphitheater, which was bigger than it seemed from her dorm building, fitting over ten thousand by rough estimation, and around which seemed to be more classrooms and bandhalls; several locked rooms that she couldn''t nor didn''t want to get into, at least not yet. Finally, she stumbled upon a building of offices and began to just read the names and titles of faculty members. She looked around until one caught her eye.


    A small, empty office. The name card simply read ¡°Ectf, Head Librarian¡±. And suddenly, Eos knew where she was headed next. That was until Rhawn noticed her outside of his office.


    ¡°Eos Apepi,¡± he said, halting her movements immediately, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Leaving!¡± She replied, before trying to sprint out of sight. Suddenly, a blast of wind from the hallway blew her back, and she landed on her back right in front of Rhawn¡¯s office door. ¡°So, again, what are you trying to do?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± She began trying to sit up. The moment she did, she heard muttering from Rhawn and a whitish light emanated from his fingers, causing a gust to pin her to the ground. ¡°I was trying, to find, the, library.¡± She struggled out. She couldn¡¯t even bend her head to look at him.


    ¡°You¡¯ve managed to come to a restricted part of the school for students unless they have express reason to come. And the first day of school hasn¡¯t even started.¡±


    Eos decided the best idea was to stay silent as Rhawn continued on.


    ¡°As an amicable punishment, because of your youth and clear lack of restraint,¡± He said, before whispering under his breath ¡°as would be expected from an Apepi.¡± before continuing, ¡°I see it''s only fitting to have a low-level of punishment for you; I¡¯ll have you escorted to your room, and you are not to leave it for the rest of the day. Additionally, I¡¯ll make sure to put this as a mark for you. That might be the earliest any student has got a mark, impressive really.¡±


    Eos remained silent, and Rhawn swiftly began sifting through papers again. After some time, the wind around her let up, and she stood up. ¡°Tarvie is expecting you, please make haste.¡± Rhawn said, and Eos sheepishly began walking back to the dorms. She didn¡¯t feel particularly courageous in challenging this decree; she knew from past knowledge that usually didn¡¯t end particularly well.


    As she passed into the foyer with Tarvie in it, she didn¡¯t even bring her eyes off the floor. Gloomily, she went past the foyer and into the staircase, going into her room. She noticed other people on her floor and could hear voices coming out of various doorways, yet she glumly ignored it all. She swiftly made her way into her room, locking it behind her and lying down on the now-chilly bed. I wonder what that escort was¡­ She thought for a moment.


    She didn¡¯t know whether to cry or feel empty inside and eventually, she resorted to the latter, the former becoming less and less productive. The suns wasn¡¯t quite visible from her window, but before she knew it, the bed was warm and the suns¡¯ light radiated into her room. With little else to do, and feeling empty, she slipped into sleep.

 11 - Cafeteria

    Knock Knock Knock, she heard quick rapping on her door. Knock Knock Knock. Eos opened her eyes, the suns fully beyond the horizon, leaving the room shrouded in darkness. Knock Knock Knock.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Eos groggily rubbed her eyes.


    ¡°Oh good, you¡¯re in there.¡± A female voice responded, ¡°I¡¯m coming in.¡± A small click emanated from the door, and it swung open. The girl behind the knocking was the same light-brown-haired girl she saw outside of her window before, wearing a plaid skirt and a uniform-like top.


    Eos, her mind stopping for a moment, squealed and pulled up the sheets over her still-clothed body. ¡°I thought I locked that! Whatareyoudoing?!¡±


    The girl giggled and closed the door behind her. She went to the desk, producing a candle from her skirt, before reciting a small incantation, her hands causing flame-like lines to appear in the air. After a few seconds, the candle lit with a gentle glow, and the girl sat backward on the desk¡¯s chair, facing Eos.


    ¡°My name¡¯s Amulree, what''s yours?¡± She said, her actions and presence intimidating Eos, not to mention the candlelight¡¯s glow on her face.


    ¡°E-e-eos¡±, she barely managed to get out through a stutter.


    ¡°Eeeos is it?¡± She gently mocked, ¡°Well, you''re new here right? It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve had someone living in the rooms below me. I wanted to apologize for almost taking your head off.¡±


    ¡°This is how you apologize?!¡± Eos retorted, incredulous.


    Amulree chuckled for a moment, before beginning to cast another spell. Her hands weaved intricate patterns, fiery red lines following her fingers until a cobweb of lines formed after a few seconds, and suddenly they disappeared, small balls of light racing around the room into the corners. The room now had a soft glow of light all across it, and Amulree¡¯s candle-lit glow disappeared with it. Swiftly she blew out the candle, and wisps of smoke rose from the embery wick. Eos wondered why she brought the candle in the first place.


    Under this new light, Amulree looked much more comforting. The soft glow helped warm the room. Her amber eyes gently looked at Eos, softening as she looked Eos up and down. Her eyes moved to the floor, and the rags of clothing lying in a pile on the floor. Eos¡¯s eyes followed Amulree¡¯s until she saw the clothing. She leaped out of bed, ¡°Don''t look at that!¡± Eos yelled, picking up the clothing.


    ¡°Random choice?¡± Amulree asked.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Nevermind. You''re a first-year right?¡± Amulree asked, ¡°I think the fourth floor is this year¡¯s first-years.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, why?¡±


    ¡°Figured. Who¡¯s teaching you this year?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure..¡± Eos replied meekly.


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Amulree thought for a moment, ¡°Do you know any magic?¡±


    ¡°No, most of the magic I¡¯ve seen has come from you.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± Amulree announced, ¡°Imma help you with magic!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that whoever my teacher-is-going-to-be¡¯s job?!¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯ll be mine, starting now! On one condition though.¡± Amulree stated, confidently.


    ¡°I never asked you to do it?!¡± Eos responded incredulously.


    ¡°Just come to church with me on Sunday.¡± Amulree purred, leaning towards Eos, ¡°I¡¯m sure my sister would like to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Huh? That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not like you have anything else planned for Sundays anyways.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know that!¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s the only thing you have planned now.¡±


    ¡°Uh-uh¡± Eos replied, ¡°I think I should be able to go?¡±


    Eos swore the room became a bit brighter as Amulree¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Oh! Her name is Beira! She¡¯s 9 years old and lives with ou-¡±


    Amulree was cut short by Eos¡¯s stomach growling.


    Amulree continued on, her sentence suddenly changing, ¡°Want to head to the cafeteria?¡±


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    ¡°Cafeteria?¡± Eos asked, ¡°What¡¯s and where¡¯s that?¡±


    Amulree laughed, ¡°Food! It¡¯s food, free food!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I hadn¡¯t thought about that¡­¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten all day?!¡± Amulree practically shouted, standing up straight. Her face was covered in disbelief, ¡°How have you not eaten all day?!¡±


    ¡°When was the last time I ate¡­¡± Eos wondered, ¡°I think I had some bread a few days ago?¡±


    Amulree nearly fainted at hearing this, and she jolted from out above the chair and grabbed the cuff of Eos¡¯s outfit. ¡°Normally I¡¯d take the scenic route but this is an emergency!¡± She flew to the window, dragging Eos behind her, and threw it open. Eos saw the orange-yellow runes flow from Amulree¡¯s open hand before a chunk of rock flew up to the level of the window. She dragged Eos onto the rock, despite Eos¡¯s ineffectual resistance.


    ¡°Is the scenic route just the dorms?!¡± Eos asked, horrified by Amulree¡¯s instant nodding. ¡°How is that scenic?!¡± Eos¡¯s desperation was slowly increasing, but she dared not to fight Amulree¡¯s grip on her as the earth began to descend at an alarmingly fast rate. During the entire descent, Eos watched the lines flowing from Amulree¡¯s hand and the concentration on her face; she could have sworn she heard some muttering from Amulree underneath her breath as well.


    When the rock collided with the earth, nestling into the same spot it originated from, Amulree finally answered Eos¡¯s question: ¡°I rarely take it- I forget to wake up a lot.¡± She brought up her closed fist to her forehead, tilted her head, and stuck her tongue a little out of the side of her mouth. Eos realized two things in this moment: Amulree was trying really hard, and the hand brought up to Amulree¡¯s head was previously holding Eos to her- although Eos realized she couldn''t attempt to escape and get very far regardless.


    ¡°Follow me!¡± Amulree announced, before stiffening up and beginning to march as if she was in the army. Eos thought about sneaking away, but as soon as she edged an inch away, she saw one of Amulree¡¯s ears flick toward her. This can only go so wrong, Eos thought, let''s find out how wrong that is.


    After a surprisingly short trip, they arrived at a building Eos hadn¡¯t noticed in her exploration- or rather, hadn¡¯t attempted to enter. However, now warm light radiated out of the building like many others, and as soon as Amulree opened the door, Eos could smell a variety of foods. Fresh bread, inviting soups, roasted meats, earthen vegetables were the scents she picked out. Ushered in by Amulree, what Eos saw astounded her.


    A large hall, easily able to fit several thousand people in it, was completely empty, with more than a dozen large tables evenly spaced out, spanning down the length of the entire hall. Paper lanterns with candles inside floated around the hall, and tiling on the walls showed the dancing of the flames. Additionally, floating balls of light were suspended a few feet above the tables at regular intervals, far too many for Eos to count. At one end, the end they were near, was the origin of the smells. She saw, behind a counter, a full industrial-scale kitchen, yet there were only three people manning it. As she and Amulree approached the counter, she was handed a plate by Amulree, as Amulree picked one up herself.


    The options, despite the few workers, were better than anything Eos had seen before. She loaded her plate with cuts of beef and bread, heavily buttered, and got a bowl of soup on the side. Amulree, on the other hand, had an overflowing bowl of rice and seemingly summoned a chocolate dessert from nowhere. Eos greedily looked around at everything offered, but couldn¡¯t see where Amulree¡¯s dessert came from. Amulree guided her to the ends of one of the tables. Fortunately, the hall, despite its size, was nearly empty- the tables outnumbered the people two-to-one.


    As Eos took her first bite of the bread, she felt something inside her melt. She looked up at Amulree, who smugly looked down at her before beginning to wolf down the rice. Eos followed suit, and both of them cleaned their plates quickly. However, about halfway through Amulree¡¯s dish, Eos noticed that it wasn¡¯t just an obscenely large pile of rice, but it was mixed with various portions of meat inside it. However, by the time Eos finished slurping down her soup, she felt content, and Amulree¡¯s face shared the same meaning behind it.


    ¡°How did you not know where this was?¡± Amulree asked; Eos could have sworn that Amulree¡¯s face curled like a cat¡¯s. ¡°Did they not show it on the tour?¡±


    ¡°Tour?¡± Eos asked, confused.


    ¡°Yeah, your home professor is supposed to round up the new kids every morning during move-in and give them a tour.¡±


    ¡°Huh, no.¡± Eos replied simply, before a memory shot into her head, ¡°Do you know where the library is?¡± She asked, silently gritting her teeth.


    ¡°Library? I think we have one¡­¡± Amulree thought for a moment, ¡°hm¡­ Maybe it¡¯s¡­. Or could it be¡­ yep!¡± She exclaimed proudly.


    ¡°Oh? Where is it?¡± Eos asked excitedly, jumping from her seat to look up at Amulree.


    ¡°I forgot!¡± Amulree replied with a smug look on her face, ¡°I haven¡¯t been there in a decade!¡±


    ¡°Why do you look so proud!¡± Eos deflated back into her chair.


    ¡°Hueheueue,¡± Amulree smirked, ¡°I haven¡¯t needed to study at the library, I¡¯m passing regardless.¡± She looked at Eos¡¯s defeated face for a moment before standing straight up again. ¡°It¡¯s late! If I don¡¯t go to sleep, I¡¯ll be late for class!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be late anyways!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve only known you for a day and yet you attack me like that¡­¡± Amulree looked dejectedly away.


    ¡°You''re the one who said so yourself!¡± Eos couldn¡¯t bear to look at her, regardless of if she was acting or not- but also, Eos equally wasn¡¯t willing to apologize. ¡°Lead the way.¡± Eos motioned Amulree towards the door.


    Amulree stopped being dejected, before happily leading Eos back into the dorm building, taking the ¡°scenic route¡± through the foyer- where Tarvie was conspicuously awake- and Amulree dropped Eos off at her door, before a courtesy and walking away.


    Eos was significantly confused by this entire interaction. ¡°What¡­ Who does that person think she is?!¡± Eos said aloud, ¡°What was she even doing?!¡±


    Confused, feeling stimied but not sure for what, Eos decided to go to bed. Amulree¡¯s candle still sat on her desk, radiating light no longer. She locked the door behind her- making sure it was locked because of Amulree- and hung all of her used clothes. She slipped into bed and had a very restless sleep.

 12 - Library

    Eos woke up to yelling. She groggily looked out her window and saw Amulree flying past. She wondered for how long Amulree would be her alarm clock. She decided to stir out of bed regardless of her weary and dressed in one of the sets of clothes. She looked around the room, shrouded in the darkness of morning, and decided to head outside. Every other door on the floor was silent, and Eos suddenly was reminded of something. She ran back inside and grabbed her key, making sure to lock the door behind her.


    Eos ran down the staircase, and entered the foyer in dramatic fashion, prompting a remark from Tarvie. ¡°Dramatic today, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Tarvie! Do you know where the library is?¡± Eos pondered.


    ¡°It¡¯s a few buildings away, by far the largest on campus. You can¡¯t miss it.¡±


    ¡°Larger than the dorms?¡± Eos asked, knowing the size of the dorms it was hard for her to imagine a larger building on campus she hadn¡¯t yet seen.


    ¡°It¡¯s the second largest building in the city,¡± Tarvie began, ¡°only behind the Cathedral. Even the palace is smaller than our library- it¡¯s really one of the biggest things for us to be proud of.¡± She snickered slightly at her joke.


    ¡°The Cathedral, that''s the huuuge building at the center of the city right?¡± Eos asked.


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Tarvie confirmed, ¡°It¡¯s where the Pope and the Chosen One live.¡±


    ¡°Uhuhh¡± Eos replied inattentively, ¡°I¡¯m off to find the library!¡± Eos raced towards the large doors.


    She dashed across the quad, constantly looking up at the heights of buildings. After exploring large-seeming buildings, and finding a variety of auditoriums, small amphitheaters, an arena, and even an operatic hall, she found the largest building on campus, the library.


    Entering the library, the entire mood of the atmosphere shifted swiftly. She looked around and saw magic. As with the lanterns in the dining halls, books flew around the room to various individuals- mainly students, some of which had dozens of books stacked around them- and back into their place on the first or second or eighth level of the shelves. Additionally, there were ladders from various shelves to various other levels, as if you were expected to jump from one to another. No one seemed to mind the chaos, the least of which were the librarians, who seemed to be standing around, messing with books on ladders or behind desks. Every librarian wore the same outfit, distinct from the one worn by the various students in the library.


    Abruptly, Eos noticed a librarian on the 6th floor slipped off a ladder and was swiftly descending to ground level. With the same speed as he began falling, his descent slowed as he cast a white-colored spell and he landed softly on the floor, before gently wiping dust off of his shirt and continuing about whatever task he was doing beforehand. Despite seeing his mouth move, Eos didn¡¯t hear a word that he said- nor did she hear the sound of his feet hitting the ground. Eos realized that she hadn¡¯t heard anything since walking into the library, not even the sound of pages turning or her own heartbeat. It was as if the boundary into the library was also the boundary that sound could not pierce.


    Eos, dazed, walked up to one of the desks a librarian stood behind. The librarian motioned for a moment, before pulling out a notepad and writing down on it upside-down.


    Hello! Are you looking for anything in particular?


    The librarian set the pencil down beside the notepad, and Eos picked it up, before realizing she didn¡¯t know how to write every word that she wanted to.


    Can I have a book on


    Eos struggled for a moment to think of how to write ¡°magic¡±, so she just gave up and drew what she imagined magic might be written like. The librarian, again without turning the note over, seemed to giggle before ripping the page off the notepad. Swiftly, a few small books flew off the shelves and onto the desk between the librarian and Eos. Eos attempted to wordlessly thank the librarian, before taking the books to a seat.


    Between all the books, there were maybe two hundred pages. Eos wondered why these books were chosen, but was thankful she wasn¡¯t given the thousand-page encyclopedias- she wasn¡¯t sure she could even carry them. One book was on stars; Eos figured this was fair with what she drew. All the others were on, what Eos guessed to mean ¡°Magic¡±. She first chose the smallest of the books, the title still indecipherable to her. Opening it, she expected a variety of pictures like medieval manuscripts, instead, she found relatively dense print- most of it was meaningless to her.


    Discouraged by her ability to read common, she tried to read the next book. The title, thankfully, was guessable after opening it. ¡°Child¡¯s Magic¡± was a small book, and opening it Eos was relieved to see simple language and outsized pictures- albeit it was lacking in the informational density Eos was hoping for. Most of the pictures were images of hands in contorted hands drawing colored lines. She chose a spell at random, with fiery-red lines. The basic description the book gave for the spell was simply ¡°Balls of fiery light¡±, and each image of a hand had words that Eos couldn¡¯t decipher by it. She attempted to follow the book¡¯s hand movements for the next few hours but was completely unable to create the faintest feeling of magic within herself. She did manage to make her hands hurt when pushed on, however.


    Her complete focus was broken by a tap on her shoulder, startling her and causing her eyes to shoot to the librarian to her left. It was the same one that had helped her before, and he held a notepad.


    Are you a student here?


    Eos nodded empathetically. The librarian swiftly wrote on the notepad,


    I can let you take that book to your dorms if you give me your name.


    Eos beamed and hurriedly picked up the pencil before pausing and setting it back down. She looked down at her lap. The librarian began to write again,


    Don¡¯t know how to spell your name?


    Eos softly nodded, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. When she looked up again, there were new words on the notepad.


    If you bring it back tomorrow, I can let you take it back tonight.


    Eos beamed at the librarian once again. She picked up the book, only just noticing that the rest of the books were gone, most of which she never touched. She noticed the sun was blazing in the sky; it should be about noon. The moment she stepped out of the library, with the book held tightly to her chest, she was surprised to hear things again- the chatter of students walking by, the rustle of leaves and grass, birds chirping in conversation, even her own footsteps and heartbeat took her off guard.


    She carefully made her way back to the dorms, holding the book tightly the entire time. By the time she reentered the foyer, it seemed like there were fewer students mingling outside. She saw Tarvie in her usual spot, and a question appeared in her mind.


    ¡°Tarvie!¡± Eos shouted, barely rousing her, ¡°How-


    Tarvie¡¯s reply interrupted her, ¡°You¡¯ve received a reply from Meddyg!¡±


    Eos looked at Tarvie ¡°Hm?¡± She inquired, only to be handed back a sealed letter. She carefully inspected the letter. It was sealed with a wax seal, and embossed with an overly fancy M. She looked up at Tarvie before looking back at the letter, and looked at Tarvie again, ¡°Should I just open it or is there a letter knife or¡­?¡±


    Tarvie just shrugged, and Eos tore the top of the letter off despite her reservations. Inside the envelope was a piece of paper, which Eos began to read. Or attempted to read.


    ¡°Something the matter?¡± Tarvie responded.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Eos began, embarrassed, ¡°I can¡¯t read it¡­¡±


    ¡°Would you like me to read it to you?¡± Tarvie asked gently.


    ¡°Please¡­¡± Eos said, handing the letter to her.


    To Eos,


    It¡¯s wonderful you have been accepted to my alma mater; when I noticed you were gone from the caravan, I had called the guard to search for you- however, it seems you take a lot after your parents. Waiting seemed to be the best outcome for everyone involved; I¡¯ve since called off the search, letting them know you''re in trusted hands. I¡¯m surprised they didn¡¯t ask Avivenorlin about you. I¡¯ve sent a messenger to alert your parents of your new opportunity.


    I¡¯d love it if you could say hello to Adrius from me; Adrius was my year¡¯s teacher, and the last time we met was when he ascended to Prime Speaker. Let me know whomst your teacher is in your next letter. Additionally, Tarvie let me know that Varen Firestone is the Junior Council member who let you in- give him my thanks, and let him know that I wish to see him again: it¡¯s been a while and I¡¯d like to do a checkup.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    It seems that the others, including Aderyn and Saer, will be staying in the Infally for a while- it¡¯s likely you¡¯ll be able to see each other, and perhaps run into each other while out-and-about the city. I¡¯ve called in a few favors to make sure their education isn¡¯t lacking. However, it seems it might not be as great as yours!


    Please, let me know if you need anything- If you need to contact me with any immediacy, go to the nearest hospital and request for me. Despite my belief in Varen¡¯s care, as he has done wonderfully with his children, I still take responsibility for you until you return to your parents.


    But don¡¯t let this old geezer stop you from anything; please make the best of the gifted situation you find yourself in.


    -Meddyg, Chief Medicus, Rex Medicus


    Most of the words went over Eos¡¯s head, but she got the general idea. Is it that easy? She thought, He approved of it that quickly?


    ¡°Would you like the letter back?¡± Tarvie asked, simply smiling at Eos.


    ¡°Also,¡± Eos asked, ¡°How do I write my name?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± she simply replied, pulling out a chalk tablet.


    ¡°W-why do you have that so easily accessible?¡± Eos felt slightly threatened.


    ¡°I get asked a lot of questions about a lot of things,¡± Tarvie replied, her voice slightly monotone, ¡°I need anything on hand for whenever someone needs my help if it¡¯s reasonable to help.¡±


    ¡°Uhuhh,¡± Eos responded, ¡°Anyways, how do I write my name!¡±


    ¡°Here you go.¡± Tarvie quickly wrote on the tablet, and handed it to Eos, ¡°Keep that; you might forget your name without it.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    Eos, losing this engagement, took the tablet, letter and book back up to her floor. She noticed, around her floor, kids were bustling around, several doors were open and groups of children about her age were starting to fill the floor. She made her way to her door and easily opened it.


    It was only after she opened it, she wondered why it wasn¡¯t locked. Amulree sat in Eos¡¯s chair at her desk, looking at some book.


    ¡°What are you doing in here!¡± Eos yelled, throwing the tablet at Amulree. Amulree¡¯s ears flicked towards Eos, and she twisted before quickly catching the tablet.


    ¡°Eos, so that¡¯s how you spell it.¡± she read aloud from the tablet. She quickly put two and two together, ¡°You asked how to write your own name?¡± She gently put the tablet on Eos¡¯s desk.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Eos yelled, almost throwing the book at Amulree. She heard some shuffling behind her, and saw a few students her own age forming a crowd behind her. Eos rushed into her nook, closing and locking the door behind her. ¡°Again, what are you doing here!?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t be in my own room, that¡¯s the first place they look.¡± Amulree yawned and set a bookmark in her book. Eos looked at it and noticed it looked like manga.


    ¡°I have so many questions. Look for what, you? Who are they? What are you reading?¡±


    Amulree¡¯s tail began to beat rapidly, ¡°I¡¯m reading `Tsuna: How to Catch a Dragon''s Heart`! It¡¯s about this princess¡¯s adventure around the globe, where she gets saved from bandits by a dragon and they fall in love while she¡¯s wanted for her roya-¡±


    ¡°And the other two questions?¡± Eos interrupted.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want any professors to find me, they usually look for places you¡¯d be when you''re skipping class: Cafeteria, your room, library, cafeteria. When you skip a lot, they start to make a list of places they¡¯ve found you and use that.¡±


    ¡°How long is your list?¡± Eos asked, skeptically


    ¡°Aha, how would I know?¡± Amulree asked, her ears drooping and her tail sinking. ¡°anyways  Tsuna  is a really good story, I have all of the books out right now, I could lend yo-¡±


    ¡°More or less than 1000?¡±


    ¡°More¡­¡± Amulree¡¯s ears drooped further, and Eos noticed her tail drooping as well.


    ¡°More than 1000 places?!¡± Eos asked, surprised that the answer wasn¡¯t ¡®less¡¯.


    ¡°Nono- most of them are ¡®cafeteria¡¯!¡±


    ¡°The cafeteria?!¡±


    ¡°I eat a lot, okay!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve missed hundreds of classes at the cafeteria?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s distracting!¡±


    ¡°What is distracting?! It¡¯s a cafeteria!¡±


    ¡°The food! All the food! Why is there so much food there?¡±


    ¡°Of course there¡¯s food! It¡¯s the cafeteria!¡± Eos was astounded by the audacity of Amulree.


    Amulree took the moment of hesitation from Eos to change the conversation quickly. ¡°What¡¯s that book?¡± She candidly asked.


    ¡°This one I almost threw at you?!¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s, uh..¡± Eos turned the book over and looked at its title again, ¡°¡®Child¡¯s Magic¡¯, I think. I borrowed it from the library.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, I remembered where the library is!¡± Amulree smugly announced, ¡°It¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°I know where it is, I got a book from it!¡± Eos interjected again.


    ¡°Lemme see.¡± Amulree held out a hand, and Eos put the book in it. She swiftly flipped through the pages and landed on the same spell that Eos was trying out in the library. ¡°Oh, this is one of the ones I regularly use.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Eos asked, trying to look at the book on the desk.


    ¡°I think I used it last night with you too. It¡¯s simple, watch.¡± Amulree began to softly chant and cast the same spell that produced orbs of light flying through the air as last night. ¡°It''s an elementary fire spell; I think I learned it in the second or third year.¡±


    ¡°Fire spell?¡± Eos asked, curious.


    ¡°Mhm, there are 5 types of spells. Every spell you learn here falls into one of these 5 categories: Fire, water, crystal, plant, and earth. Those 5 are called the core elements. Some water spells might fall into what people would call ¡®Air¡¯ as well, but they¡¯re basically water.¡±


    ¡°Fire, water, crystal, earth, plant, air.¡± Eos murmured. ¡°And this spell is fire?¡±


    ¡°Yep! Spells that produce light are, for the most part, fire. But one of the things you learn after¡­¡± Amulree paused for a moment, thinking, ¡°10 years of studying magic, is that there are no hard and fast rules.¡±


    ¡°But generally, each type of magic has a different color: fire is red, plant is green, earth is yellow, crystal is silver, and water is any blue- sometimes water even looks white.¡±


    ¡°So when you''re flying through the air on your way to class, with the yellow lines, that¡¯s an earth spell?¡±


    ¡°Yep! It¡¯s ¡®cause I¡¯m focusing on moving the earth, not the air around it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Eos thought for a moment, ¡°So you didn¡¯t start learning magic until your second or third year here?¡±


    ¡°Mainly theory is taught before that: What we just went over, our goals with magic and learning, difficulty classes of spells, et cetera. I don¡¯t remember most of it.¡±


    ¡°What other theory is taught?¡±


    ¡°Martial, different ranks, you know, the usual.¡±


    Eos looked at Amulree¡¯s blithe expression with exhaustion. ¡°No, I don¡¯t, that''s why i asked!¡±


    ¡°Well, magic has different types of spells. Weapon fighting is the same. You wouldn¡¯t use the same technique when fighting with a spear as you would with a sword. There¡¯s base style, close combat styles, polearm styles, advanced styles, mixed styles, etc.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Base styles are.. Sword, spear, bow?¡± Amulree said, questioning herself. ¡°Polearm includes quarterstaff, glaive, and so on. Close combat is mainly unarmed and dagger style. Advanced is like treachery- they¡¯re not important unless you want to be a knight.¡±


    ¡°Treachery?¡± Eos asked, curious.


    ¡°I just said it''s not important,¡± Amulree said, waving away the question, ¡°It''s not like I don¡¯t know about it or anything.¡±


    Ah, Eos¡¯s face went lax with disappointment, You overplayed your hand there.


    ¡°And mixed is like, magus style. Also not particularly important.¡±


    ¡°Magus? As in both weapons and spells?¡±


    ¡°Yea- how¡¯d you know?¡± Amulree looked at Eos, dumbfounded.


    ¡°That sounds important!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not, trust me.¡± Amulree purred in an attempt to sooth Eos. ¡°Ranks,¡± Amulree began, swiftly changing the subject, ¡°They¡¯re how good you are at a martial style or with certain classes of spells. It¡¯s all administered by the adventurers guild; for the most part, you just have to show you know appropriate level techniques. For the highest levels of ranking, you need to prove it in combat with someone who has the rank.¡±


    ¡°Seems complicated.¡± Eos said, getting dizzy.


    ¡°For instance, if you learned this,¡± Amulree looked at the book, ¡°You¡¯d be able to qualify as a Novice of Fire, the lowest rank for fire spells.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense, so¡­ want to teach me this spell?¡± Eos looked up excitedly at Amulree, trying to plead with her eyes as much as possible.


    Amulree just shrugged, ¡°Sure!¡±

 13 - Church

    Over the next few hours, Eos struggled to get the spell. Long after the sunset, and before they went to the cafeteria, all Eos managed to do was get a few of the first hand movements correct, but her chanting was still off and, despite Amulree¡¯s tutoring, no lines of magic appeared between her hand movements.


    As they arrived back at the dorms, Amulree made a few last comments. ¡°By the way, I¡¯m not sure if you noticed, but I¡¯d look at the last page of the spell- it should show you the way spells are normally written down- the sigil for that spell. Second of all, remember the cost of my help!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh yeah, the church right?¡± Eos murmured.


    ¡°Yeah, it''s tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Eos confirmed before Amulree shot up on a mound of the earth past the window, and Eos took the scenic route back to her room, locking the door and sleeping the moment she hit her bed.


    She woke up before dawn the next morning, surprising herself that she didn¡¯t wake up to Amulree¡¯s yelling. She looked around the dark room, and decided to rouse out of bed before the light shined into the room. She pulled the chair out from under her desk and looked at the book once more.


    ¡°¡®Child¡¯s Magic¡¯¡± She gently whispered, before remembering what Amulree said the night before. She flipped to the last page of the spell she had been practicing, and saw runes on the page. She could clearly make out what was written on it despite the lighting, when suddenly she saw the same green lines as before appear and focus in on the written runes, and they seemed to jump off the page.


    A long sequence of unreadable runes were written down, but the green lines seemed to clearly identify them as the ¡®Balls of Light¡¯ spell. She tried to focus on the first glyph. A pronunciation appeared for it in her head; it was the first sound in the spell she was trying to practice, enunciated clearly.


    ¡°This spell is even more well known than I thought¡­¡± She again murmured to herself. She closed the book, keeping the green line¡¯s glyphs in her head, and focused on reading that instead. Each glyph¡¯s pronunciation was clear, but Eos couldn¡¯t guarantee her pronunciation was correct.


    After some amount of time, with the mere suggestion of daylight poking through the window, she heard a knock at her door. She opened it and saw Amulree. Yet the Amulree she saw shocked her- Amulree was well dressed when Eos had seen her previously, but her outfit now put the previous one to shame. It was a simple dress, but it fit her perfectly. At the base of her ears- the left, to Eos- there was a floral hairpiece.


    ¡°Are you ready to go?¡± Amulree bashfully asked, refusing to look Eos in the eyes.


    ¡°Let me get dressed,¡± Eos said, ¡°I think I have something that looks good enough.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have church clothes?¡± Amulree questioned, passively.


    ¡°I¡¯ve not been to church before.¡± Eos responded simply, wanting to avoid discussing how she managed to get here.


    Eos rummaged through her closet, looking for the nicest clothes Varen had gotten for her. Amulree walked up behind her, helping Eos look through the wardrobe. Eos only had school clothing, so they just picked one and Eos changed into it.


    They left the dorm room, Eos locking it behind her and, much to her surprise, Amulree led them down the normal staircase. As they entered the foyer, Eos was surprised to see Tarvie behind the desk.


    ¡°Do you ever sleep?¡± Eos asked, looking up at Tarvie.


    ¡°Nope, she does not.¡± Amulree responded Tarvie even could.


    Tarvie simply smiled at both of them, ¡°Heading to church?¡±


    Amulree simply nodded, and they headed out of the foyer.


    Eos followed Amulree out of the quad, out of the school, and down a small street to end up at a mid-sized church. She was dazed by the unforeseen change in Amulree¡¯s shyness.


    I thought we¡¯d end up at the Cathedral. Eos thought. They entered the small church to see many empty pews. However, in one of the seats, a small girl resembling Amulree sat. She too wore a simple dress, with a similar light brown hair and wolf ears protruding from her head. Amulree leaped at her, taking the girl off guard as Amulree lifted her into the air.


    ¡°Beira! How have you been!¡± Amulree¡¯s question was disguised as a shout, and the attention of the scant people in the nave was drawn to the siblings.


    Beira quickly slammed her fist sharply onto Amulree¡¯s head, causing Amulree to drop her. Gracefully as a snowflake, she landed on the ground and began to berate Amulree as Amulree rubbed her head. ¡°You can¡¯t just pick me up like that! There¡¯s other people here! And who knows what would have happened if you hurt me! Or what if I resisted, it would have looked like a kidnapping! What is wrong with you! Do you want the guards called on you again! Do you remember how many strings father had to pull for that! What even goes through that empty head of yours! Do you even th-¡±


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    Amulree squished Beira¡¯s face up next to her own, petting Beira as she started to quiet down. Eos noticed that Beira¡¯s tail began to swish, just barely not out of sight.


    ¡°I brought you a friend!¡± Amulree said, pulling Eos over. Eos braced to be picked up, but the occasion never came.


    Beira sized Eos up before immediately apologizing, clasping Eos¡¯s hands. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for whatever my sister has done to bring you here. I promise we can make it up to you.¡± She bowed formally at Eos, apologizing profusely. Even more attention was drawn to the three of them as Beira let go of Eos¡¯s hands and bowed, and Eos could hear people talking. Beira¡¯s tail seemed to droop, and her ears likewise.


    ¡°S-s-s-st-Amulree did nothing!¡± Eos managed to stammer out, ¡°Stop bowing!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Beira said, caught off guard. She stood straight up, and quickly her eyes flicked between Eos and Amulree. Suddenly, as if she just grew aware of all of the eyes on her, her eyes scanned the rest of the room, and her face grew a bright red. She locked eyes with Eos, and before Eos could react, Beira grabbed her wrist and dashed out of the church and into a nearby alleyway.


    ¡°What did she do to you?¡± Beira demanded.


    ¡°N-nothing!¡± Eos replied, ¡°She just promised to help me with magic, that''s it!¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t have any blackmail or dirt on you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know of information that could be used against me!¡±


    ¡°That hasn¡¯t stopped her before, are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Huh?!¡± Eos exclaimed, Beira quickly covering her mouth and pushing her against the wall. Eos felt her heart rapidly beating.


    ¡°Shhh, she might find us if you''re loud.¡±


    Eos pried Beira¡¯s hand off of her. ¡°Calm down!¡±


    Beira took a step back, fully letting go of Eos. ¡°She¡¯s evil¡­¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t disagree with that,¡± Eos began, ¡°but she¡¯s good hearted¡­ I think?¡±


    Beira thought for a moment. ¡°How long have you known her?¡± Beira looked down at Eos with her slight height advantage.


    ¡°A few days?¡±


    ¡°And you think you know her better than me?¡±


    ¡°What? No!¡± Eos said, ¡°I just think that she¡¯s not¡­ the worst person ever? She¡¯s definitely not the worst person I¡¯ve met in the last few days.¡±


    Beira approved of that response, and stuck out her hand. ¡°My name¡¯s Beira Agonweld, youngest daughter of the Agonweld¡¯s.¡±


    Eos shook her hand, ¡°My name¡¯s Eos!¡±


    Beira looked at her quizzically, ¡°Eos?¡±


    Eos hesitated for a moment, ¡°Eos.¡± Anything more would be annoying.


    Beira¡¯s ears flicked, and her head tilted slightly. Beira righted her posture, then clasped Eos¡¯s hands between hers, ¡°Eos! Let''s be best friends!¡± Her eyes were glittering with childlike glee.


    Eos responded in the same childish manner, ¡°Okay!¡±


    Suddenly, from the street attached to the alleyway, Amulree slid into the alleyway. ¡°There you two are!¡± She smiled sinisterly. ¡°Ceremonies are about to start!¡±


    Amulree approached the two, and instinctively Beira began to cower away from her- Eos followed suit. Unfortunately for them, Amulree picked them up by the collar of their outfits, and began dragging them into the church. Eos was kicking and fighting the arrest, but Beira seemingly went along with it with little resistance. They sat next to each other, three in a row, in the sparsely populated nave.


    Eos and Beira focused on chatting to each other in hushed tones the entire sermon, and much of time at the church and sermon was lost in a blur. Eos did, however, understand the general idea behind the sermon however: Ayailla, goddess of light and healing, had a chosen one- Baldr- and was responsible for all miracle healings. Much of the sermon was covering recent healings, and other miracles done by Baldr. There was, however, a portion describing the work of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild- destroying goblin nests near towns and destroying ¡°darkness¡± in the world.


    I guess I¡¯ll find out more later. Eos thought, I wonder about how they see the start of the world or the afterlife. I¡¯ll have many more church visits though- there¡¯s no reason to rush.


    The pastor was silent for a moment, grasping both the attention of Beira and Eos. ¡°Now, let us conclude this sermon with the New Prayer, for the glory of Ayailla, preservation of Baldr, and blessings of the Nightingale.¡±


    ¡°In the name of the Light, and their infallible will,


    Baldr, her chosen guide,


    shall ascend into the light,


    And take my sullied soul with.


    The lady of light,


    By the power of light,


    With angels,


    Who are your fists,


    And clergy,


    Who are your arms,


    Save us from the Dark,


    And thrust thy evil into dark."


    Eos¡¯s eyes, despite looking down, were darting across the room as the prayer was said. She saw the light of the stained glass window, colorfully pouring into the church, brighten and solidify in color as the prayer began, and fade out into the same dull light it began at when the prayer reached its conclusion. What was that? Eos pondered, Maybe I should have listened more.


    People began to stand up, and the atmosphere shifted towards casual chatter or people leaving the church.


    ¡°We have to goto father,¡± Amulree began, facing both Eos and Beira, ¡°He¡¯s expecting us shortly.¡±


    Beira looked up at Amulree, pleading, ¡°Can we take Eos with us?¡±


    Amulree, for once, shook her head, ¡°No.¡±


    Beira began to hit Amulree, and Amulree simply picked her up by her collar and threw Beira onto her shoulders, giving her a piggyback ride. As Beira hit the top of Amulree¡¯s head, Amulree nodded towards Eos.


    ¡°You can make it back to the school on your own?¡± She asked.


    Eos nodded, and Amulree turned towards the exit. Beira, a full three times Eos¡¯s height now, turned back towards Eos- not stopping hitting Amulree on the head. ¡°Bye Eos! See you soon! Make sure to take the main roads!¡±


    ¡°Ya, see ya!¡± Eos said, waiting for them to leave the church before moving to exit herself.


    After a few deadends, and asking for help from several kind-looking individuals, Eos managed to make it back to the school. Upon entering her room, she looked flipped through the book a bit more. She realized that she could easily turn the sigils of the various magic spells in the book clearer when described by the green lines in her head, compared to the book. Being able to recall spells is great, but only so great until I learn how to cast them. She thought.


    She spent the next while practicing the spells, before returning the book near the end of the afternoon, and recalling the green lines- which appeared with ease- to practice more before retiring to bed at sunset, fatigue overwhelming her.

 14 - Infally Awoken Society

    The next morning Eos was awoken by a knock at her door.


    ¡°Eos, are you in there?¡± Varen quietly asked in English.


    She was taken aback- not because the knocking was unexpected, but because the individual behind the door was. She asked for a moment, getting out of bed and cleaning and dressing herself.


    ¡°Come in,¡± She said, opening the door.


    Varen, without stepping into the room, smiled at her, ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about your adventures around campus.¡±


    Eos had fear shot through her body, but Varen continued anyways, ¡°It''s good that you''re finding your way around. I see the clothes I prepared for you fit as well.¡± She was suddenly aware of the clothes she wore and how they fit on her body. It was irritatingly tight- she¡¯d grow out of them soon enough. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± Eos replied. ¡°I¡¯ve been good! I¡¯ve already made some friends.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear,¡± Varen seemed slightly distracted, ¡°Are you ready to head out?¡±


    ¡°To the meeting, right?¡± She asked, to which he simply nodded.


    Varen led the way out, Eos following in tow. Before they left the campus, Eos relayed Meddyg¡¯s message to Varen. Leaving the campus, they headed through the city, ending up in front of a small doorway several floors up a building near the cathedral. Varen knocked.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± A voice emanated from the room behind the doorway, speaking heavily accented english.


    ¡°Varen and a friend.¡± Varen responded, ¡°They¡¯ve awoken as well.¡±


    The door clicked open, and swung to reveal the scene behind it. The room was large, the size of two classrooms, and looked like it was pulled out of Eos¡¯s memories. There were 6 other people in the room, one of whom immediately dragged Eos¡¯s attention towards them. He was a bulky man with heavily tanned- almost leather- skin. Despite that, he wore a suit of light blue, parted in the middle, with dark blue pants. Around his body, from his shoulder to waist, was a disk of ripping water, flowing over nothing and with no impetus. He looked as if he had just come from a difficult litigious battle, but his calm demeanor said otherwise. His black hair was partially parted by two dark horns protruding out of the top of his skull, rising another few centimeters before ending in a sharp tip. Eyes complimenting his suit, a glowing yellow, scanned up and down Eos.


    One more immediately stood out, a lean elf with golden blonde hair. Similar to Rhawn, they were lanky. They wore large glasses, and carried themselves with confidence, but their outfit was more casual than the demon¡¯s- or perhaps, what Eos expected more of a fantasy outfit. His eyes were an electric blue, closely resembling the color of the demon¡¯s wardrobe.


    Among the other four, all of which were human, Eos could clearly make out their professions- one was a cardinal, clad in shortened cassock with excessive decoration; another was a carpenter, small wood shavings still on her clothes; a women wore a tavernkeep¡¯s garb, dirtied but cleaner than one would expect; the last a man with armor on, emblematic of the armor of guards she saw upon entering the city.


    The man with armor on took Eos off guard- she wasn¡¯t sure of his ranking, but he had an insignia on his chest. It seemed as if he was high ranking, given the insignia¡¯s grandeur, but she wasn¡¯t up-to-date on the military status of the capital.


    Eos wondered for a moment why they were wearing outfits representative of their jobs, before seeing Varen was wearing a school administrator outfit. Eos looked down, realizing she too was wearing her profession¡¯s outfit- school uniform. She then realized everyone was staring at her, her eyes glancing at everyone once again. Even Varen¡¯s eyes betrayed her immaturity in a room full of adults.


    Eos¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but wander from the people staring at her. The room was well furnished- things she didn¡¯t think existed in this society were around the room: Couches from the 20th century, a chess board on a coffee table, a printing press in the back of the room, a hand-fed table-sized calculator, a small steam engine with nothing to power, and a myriad other small technological miracles from another life.


    It was the demon first who broke the silence. ¡°Varen, I thought we said not to bring your children- even if you¡¯re on babysitting duty.¡±


    A small chuckle emanated from the crowd, and Eos felt blood rushing to her face. To her surprise, it was not Varen who spoke next. ¡°Let him justify himself first, before we jump to ridicule again.¡± Spoke the elf.


    ¡°She¡¯s not my child,¡± Varen began, ¡°She¡¯s Awoken. And speaks English.¡±


    The disbelief that spread across each of the six¡¯s faces spoke volumes to Eos. She decided to pitch into the conversation as well, ¡°I speak English better than Varen, if I do say so myself.¡± She tried to keep very careful control over her prosody and enunciation.


    ¡°I see,¡± the elf spoke first and foremost, ¡°and you didn¡¯t train her such?¡± He directed his question at Varen, who only shook his head. ¡°May we test this with written word as well?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what it¡¯ll take to show you.¡± Eos said, then turned to Varen, ¡°Have you tried this before or something?¡±


    ¡°Tried what?¡± Varen asked, flustered, ¡°No, no. It¡¯s just, people don¡¯t awaken as young as you.¡±


    ¡°Uhuh¡­¡± She responded despondently, ¡°You said that before.¡±


    Eos was guided to a chair. The elf sat across from her, a small table with a sheet of paper on it sat between them. He handed her a pencil.


    ¡°Please write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog¡±


    She diligently wrote it, trying to keep her handwriting as legible as possible. ¡°Do you want me to do the sphinx one as well?¡± She quipped.


    ¡°If you remember it.¡± The elf emotionlessly replied.


    Eos wrote `Sphinx of black quartz, Judge my vow!`, ¡°I¡¯m fairly sure I don¡¯t remember it, but here is my best recollection.¡± She was trying as much as she could to flex fancy words in her speech, but she wasn¡¯t an orator in her previous life.


    Still, this little got gasps from the individuals around them- all except for Varen.


    It kept on like this, with Eos trying to prove by both writing and conversation with the elf that she was fluent in English, and his emotionless responses. In the end, the battery of sentences seemed to be enough to satisfy the elf, and everyone else seemed to agree with him. As such, introductions began quickly.


    ¡°I¡¯m Eos,¡± Eos introduced herself to the group with a small curtsy. ¡°I awoke a few weeks ago.¡±


    ¡°My name is Donovan Stelph.¡± the guard spoke plainly, ¡°I¡¯m chief operating officer of the guard. My past life was an operational and asset manager. If you get into any trouble with the guard, just ask for Lieutenant Stelph.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m Amiran¡± the carpenter introduced herself, ¡°I¡¯m a carpenter, and in my past life I was an architect when I died.¡±


    ¡°Johann¡±, the cardinal quickly spoke, ¡°I¡¯m a cardinal- was an electrician.¡±


    ¡°Name¡¯s Gwendolyn¡±, the tavernkeep said, ¡°Tavernkeep at Angel¡¯s Blessing, you should visit sometime. General manager of a large hotel in a previous life. Nice to sit back and manage something less complex than that really.¡±


    Then the demon spoke, ¡°I¡¯m Sigurd, one of the head¡¯s of the adventurer¡¯s guild. Was a fisherman in the past.¡±


    Finally, it was the elf¡¯s turn.


    ¡°Otto Lyrin, chief advisor to the king, at your service. In my past life I was an academic, and fortunately a polyglot.¡±


    ¡°Uhm,¡± Eos stammered for a moment, ¡°I was a student named -¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say your deadname,¡± The tavernkeep interrupted, ¡°They aren¡¯t you any more. Your knowledge gained is important, not what or who you were.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a reason so many of us ended up in similar careers to what we awoke with,¡± the guard said, ¡°although it''s¡­ not fully applicable.¡±


    A few of them had a small chuckle and for the next few hours, time passed somewhat awkwardly, and all of the adults had begun engaging with alcohol. Eos was focused on watching and playing and losing games of chess- Otto was unbeatable-, but her attention was snapped when she heard Sigurd speak to Varen. ¡°So, how¡¯d you find her?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe,¡± Varen began audibly drunk, ¡°I¡¯m sitting at the open session for admission, right? Formality, we haven¡¯t accepted a student through this process for two decades. Eos,¡± He points his thumb at her, ¡°walks in as our last kid for the day and starts trying to teach the old bastards on the council advanced mathematics. Like, professor level mathematics.¡±


    Eos felt blood rush to her face, and everyone¡¯s eyes on her, ¡°u-h-a-¡± she stammered.


    Varen continued without either notice or care, ¡°And obviously, no one there is having any of it. Especially ¡®cause she¡¯s Apepi. But I could tell that she was talking about old world stuff, so I stuck out my neck to get her into the school. Thank the Light she could speak English, my only other hope was Chinese.¡±


    Sigurd gave a hearty chuckle, and Eos felt the powerful slap of his hand on her back. ¡°Quite impressive, and quite lucky Varen was there.¡±


    ¡°You know I wanted to call sick,¡± Varen said, ¡°Lucky I didn¡¯t- I swear Rhawn would have moved to execute her on the spot if he could. He was MAD.¡±


    ¡°Pfft,¡± Donovan, who could barely stand straight, spoke, ¡°Wh-what¡¯s Rhawn¡¯s problem anyways? I neva hear nuthing good about that man. I once ¡®eard that he became a real thumb in our investigation. Had to work around him insteada with him.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of,¡± Gwendolyn, whose face was fairly flushed, asked, ¡°Eos, baby, do you know who your homeroom professor¡¯s gonna be?¡±


    ¡°No?¡± Eos asked, ¡°I haven¡¯t been briefed much about anything.¡±


    Sigurd thought for a moment, before blood drained from his face, ¡°It¡¯s Rhawn. I did the graduation ceremony for his last class only a few weeks ago.¡±


    Donovan broke out into laughter, ¡°That¡¯d explain why you haven¡¯t been briefed about anything!¡±


    Eos, upon hearing this, began to spiral into panic.


    ¡°You know magic, right?¡± Sigurd asked Eos directly.


    ¡°No?¡± Eos wondered why the question came up, ¡°That''s why I enrolled at-¡±


    ¡°How long does she have again?¡± Sigurd turned to Varen.


    ¡°End of third year- plenty of time. I¡¯m trying to make special arrangements for her regardless. You know my friend -¡±


    Sigurd interrupted Varen, ¡°Yes, yes. That makes sense now- is his position conditional on winning?¡±


    Varen sighed, ¡°Unfortunately so.¡±


    Sigurd laughed. ¡°It¡¯ll be a battle to watch! I¡¯m sure I can make it. Must¡¯ve told him one hell of a story to pull him out of his routine.¡±


    ¡°You know how he is. Tell him it¡¯s for a kid and heaven nor earth could stop him.¡±


    Sigurd nodded, ¡°He has the skills to make Grandmaster too, if he were dedicated. He¡¯s one lucky son of a bitch.¡±


    Otto, looking up from the chessboard, asked ¡°Does he still not want to join us?¡±


    Varen solemnly nodded, ¡°Still thinks we¡¯re the illuminati.¡±


    Johann, with a beat red face, interjected. ¡°I mean, what¡¯s the difference? We¡¯ve got an advisor to the king, a head of the guild, and one of 24 cardinals of the bloody Church under the same roof. More diplomacy goes on here than through any official capacity. Hell, if we wanted to make Angel¡¯s Blessing the most visited tavern in the city we could!¡± Johann jerked his thumb towards Gwendolyn, ¡°She¡¯d be the most popular lass in the entire city!¡±


    Gwendolyn, equally intoxicated as the rest, piped in. ¡°I ain¡¯t got no more youth to be that popular. Besides, my heart couldn¡¯t take that many people!¡±


    Eos noticed her opportunity to ask what or who Sigurd and Varen were talking about had passed, and let the conversation just flow, participating only as an idle listener.


    ¡°Thank the Light Donny was able to get the guard to cease the investigation though!¡± Gwendolyn carried on, ¡°Was a nightmare to get people in with the guards stationed there 24/7.¡±


    Donovan replied, ¡°It¡¯s no issue- I still don¡¯t understand what Ganelon¡¯s issue with your inn was.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s the investigation going?¡± Amiran asked.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve be'' get some help,¡± Donovan drunkenly nodded towards Sigurd, ¡°Thanks to ''em, we¡¯ve made ''gress. Beyond just young girls goin'' missin'' from the stre-¡± Donovan¡¯s eyes flicked towards Eos and then turned back towards the group, suddenly sobering quite a bit, ¡°I think it¡¯s best we talk about this later.¡±


    Everyone turned away from each other and the conversation died out. Eos, turning towards the chess board again, was prompted by Otto. ¡°You only have one legal move, and I have a checkmate after.¡±


    The rest of the time passed exceedingly quickly, and no other conversations caught Eos¡¯s attention more than the games infront of her. She wasn¡¯t sure how long she¡¯d been focused on chess, but as the day was nearing its end, the Demon approached Eos, as Otto disappeared to the back of the room. Sigurd seemed sobered, but she didn¡¯t even remember if Otto had drank


    First to speak was the Demon, ¡°Have you considered which path to go down?¡±


    ¡°Path?¡± She responded.


    ¡°Do you want to be an adventurer, a guard, militia member, worker, et cetera.¡± He listed off.


    ¡°My career? I didn¡¯t know I had to choose so soon.¡± She questioned if she¡¯d missed a lot without the orientations.


    Sigurd continued, ¡°If you want to become an adventurer let me know. I can definitely¡­ help you with it.¡± He nodded. Eos understood nepotism well enough to nod back.


    Meanwhile Otto stood behind Sigurd, holding a bound book in his hands. ¡°It¡¯s a gift- something I wrote up a few decades back, to help awoken learn english. It¡¯s a common-english dictionary.¡±


    ¡°I already know english?¡± Eos responded, confused.


    ¡°Yeah, but do you know common?¡±


    Eos didn¡¯t want to answer, and graciously accepted the gift.


    As Eos and Varen head back towards Avivenorlin and as the suns set, the city seemed to light up to replace it.


    ¡°Enjoy yourself? I¡¯ll throw up a stink with Rhawn, so I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about him.¡± Varen asked in common.


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Eos responded, ¡°Why are we speaking in common?¡± She responded in English.


    ¡°Best not to let others know you¡¯re Awoken,¡± He began, ¡°You never know what they¡¯d do for some power in that regard.¡±


    ¡°Like, kidnap someone?¡± She asked, trying to clue in on the conversation from before.


    ¡°That¡¯s been happening a lot more recently, in all fairness.¡± He said, ¡°Kids disappear just for going down the wrong street. I¡¯m worried what it¡¯ll look like in a few years- broad daylight for sure.¡±


    Eos just agreed, feeling too tired for any discussion or deep thought, and they walked together towards Avivenorlin.

 15 - Day One

    ¡°Welcome¡±, Rhawn entered the classroom and spoke to the class. Eos had already counted the students in the class- 94 in total: 14 elves, 76 humans, 3 beastkin and one red-haired demon girl- small horns protruded from her scalp. All the elves had a younger appearance than the rest, but this much was expected from their slower growth; Eos appeared to be around the age of the other elves. She expected them to be around 8 years old. 9 of the elves had blonde hair, the other 5¡¯s hair was as dark as oil.


    She sat at the back of the lecture hall- it had more open seats than children. The rest of the children were strewn in clumps, three to five kids in each clump. Only Eos sat alone, away from everyone else. I suppose that¡¯s what I get for missing orientation. The three beastkin sat together- three girls: wolf ears, like Amulree and Beira, rabbit ears and bear ears. The demon sat with three humans. Eos caught a glimpse of her eye color- orange and red, like a flame. Cool¡­ Eos found who she wanted to be her best friend.


    ¡°All of you have already been shown the campus, however we will now go over expectations.¡± Nobody seemingly paid attention to Rhawn, however Eos wanted to figure out the plan. ¡°For the first two years, you will learn the basics of theory- magic schools, rituals, balancing with a spear and swinging a blade. By the end of year three, all of you will be able to cast or leave the school. The fifth year you will choose what to specialize in. Swords or Spears, Fire magic or Plant- there are many options, and you may be the only individual in your cohort to choose yours. The ninth, you choose a second specialization. This will run parallel to your first specialization. The twelfth, you will have reached the age of majority- and in all hopes, be graduating.¡± Rhawn looked around the room carefully, ¡°We don¡¯t have any Dragons again.¡±


    ¡°Most of you,¡± Eos felt Rhawn staring her down, ¡°will end up with your family after you graduate. Some of you come from adventurers, others nobles, others from the clergy. I don¡¯t expect all of you to graduate, but I expect most of you to learn something. Most of you.¡±


    Many of the students turned their heads towards Eos. Every eye in the room was staring her down- she wanted to melt into the floor. She physically shrunk in her chair, as if she would disappear into it.


    Rhawn continued, ¡°I must say this as a formality,¡± He held a paper up, reading off of it, ¡°¡®Any previously mentioned role would be suitable for after graduate employment.¡¯ However, we have had only a handful of students not go back to their life- most, of course, being public admits.¡±


    A rueful smile appeared on Rhawns face. Most students were turned away from Eos by now, but she had lost focus on the lecture- her face was painted beat red, and she kept a frantic paranoid look on every other student. Occasionally, while Rhawn probably said vitally important info, Eos¡¯s brain was focused on noticing when the other children would slip a look at her and then giggle amongst their cluster, or talking in whispered hushes, or any slight movement made by them. Perhaps, if she sat in the front, she would not care- she¡¯d be in everyone¡¯s line of sight regardless. But nary a student sat behind her- so if anyone was looking in her direction, they were looking at her.


    After an eternity, other students began to stand up. Eos clicked back into reality- Rhawn had finished up. It dawned on Eos that she¡¯d missed everything except those few paragraphs- Orientation, The first day of class, everything. Eos began to stand up, and before she could even turn around, there were three girls standing next to her.


    All three of them stuck out their hands.


    ¡°I¡¯m Lillian¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Filos. Filos Wuther.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Gen, I like your hair!¡±


    The three of them said. Lillian and Filos had similar colors of hair to Eos, a dark blonde. The last was a brunette. Eos could tell, all three were humans. She even blinked twice- no aura around them appeared, confirming their race. She shook their hands, in the order they introduced themselves. ¡°My name¡¯s Eos!¡± She attempted to say confidently, with whatever she could feign after that class.


    ¡°You''re an elf? Also¡­ are you supposed to be here?¡± Lillian asked.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Eos asked.


    ¡°Oh, we didn¡¯t see you during the tour..¡± Gen commented.


    ¡°I, uh,¡± Eos stammered, ¡°got lost.¡±


    ¡°So, what do your parents do!¡± Filos asked.


    ¡°They-¡± Eos felt a need to lie. She wasn¡¯t sure why. She didn¡¯t want to seem lesser to her classmates, she supposed. ¡°They¡¯re natural philosophers for the King.¡± She¡¯d heard the term in passing. Not entirely a lie, she thought. ¡°What about you?¡± Eos continued.


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    Gen replied first, ¡°My family is devoted to the church. My father is a bishop!¡±


    Bishop? I guess- with cardinals in the church that makes sense. I didn¡¯t really question until now.


    ¡°Nobles. Daughter of Duke Wuther, at your service.¡± Filos followed up.


    Lillian was last to reply, and she seemed a bit hesitant to. ¡°My mother is¡­ a Master of Water.¡± She finally said.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Eos blurted out. Seeing Lillian¡¯s reaction, she realized how she blundered.


    ¡°Her mom¡¯s an adventurer.¡± Gen said uncharitably.


    ¡°She¡¯s a high ranking one! She can beat anyone else¡¯s mom or dad here!¡± Lillian shouted.


    Everyone laughed a small amount, then Filos turned back to Eos. ¡°So, your parents serve the King?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Eos asked, confused as to where Filos was leading.


    ¡°We should be best friends then! Both of our parents are nobles, and we¡¯ll do what they do!¡±


    Upon this declaration, Eos realized she might have messed up. Her parents definitely did work for the King, but¡­


    ¡°Better a noble than an adventurer.¡± Gen said, looking at Lillian again.


    ¡°HEY!¡± Lillian shouted again. Everyone else began to laugh a little. ¡°So mean!¡±


    ¡°You could always join the church instead.¡± Gen commented.


    A thought jumped into Eos¡¯s mind. ¡°How often will you guys see your parents?¡± Eos asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see them every weekend.¡± Gen said, ¡°I have to go to church anyways.¡±


    Filus pondered for a moment, ¡°Occasionally? I lived about a week''s ride away, so whenever they need to come to Infally, I''ll see them.¡±


    Everyone looked at Lillian, who seemed to be doing some math in her head. Suddenly, her head shot up. ¡°About 2 months. She¡¯ll be judging a match in the arena.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Eos asked- the other¡¯s expression showed they didn''t understand either. Eos remembered what Amulree said, about proving rank in combat.


    ¡°A match? Ranking match? For the adventurer¡¯s guild?¡±


    ¡°No idea.¡± Gen said.


    ¡°You need a judge to officiate a match between a competitor and the challenged. If the competitor wins, they go up in rank.¡± It was clear to Eos that Filos and Gen had blanked out, and Lillian caught on soon. ¡°Wanna come? It¡¯ll be interesting to watch.¡±


    ¡°Sure?¡± Eos hesitantly agreed.


    ¡°Absolutely!¡± Filos¡¯s eyes almost shined with excitement.


    ¡°I have church that day.¡± Gen said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even say what day it is!¡± Lillian replied.


    ¡°Don¡¯t care!¡± Gen said, giggling.


    Out of the corner of her eye, Eos spotted the demon talking to Rhawn in the front. ¡°Uh, who¡¯s that?¡± Eos asked, drawing the attention of the three other girls to the front.


    ¡°Alana?¡± Gen replied.


    ¡°She¡¯s a demon.¡± Lillian replied.


    Well obviously. Eos thought, knowing some thoughts shouldn¡¯t be said.


    ¡°We should go up to her!¡± Filos said. Gen looked unamused, but Lillian seemed accepting of the idea.


    The group of four girls waited for Alana to end her discussion with Rhawn, and ambushed her as she was leaving the hall.


    ¡°I¡¯m Filos!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Lillian.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Gen.¡±


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Eos.¡± She barely stopped herself stammering it out- being a member of a quartet was nearly unbearable to Eos.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Alana¡¯s face went pale. Her wide eyes seemed animated, the firelike dancing contrasting against her ever-whiter skin. ¡°Alana.¡± Her hand flew up and pointed at Eos, ¡°I didn¡¯t see you during orientation.¡±


    ¡°I-¡±


    ¡°She just got here!¡± Filos said.


    I said I got lost?!


    ¡°I see.¡± Alana said flatly. ¡°Elf, human, human, human.¡±


    ¡°Demon.¡± Gen replied.


    ¡°Of fire.¡±


    ¡°That adds up.¡± Eos said.


    ¡°So where are y-¡± Filos tried to say.


    ¡°No thanks.¡± Alana said, and turned away.


    The four of them looked in disbelief as she walked away.


    ¡°Not one much for talking.¡± Lillian said.


    ¡°I can tell¡­¡± Gen replied.

 16 - Arena

    Eos sat at her desk, candle light flickering. She sat, studying the dictionary she was given. Two months after her first day, she still felt strong in her understanding of the class- but she had so many words and ideas she couldn¡¯t express in words she didn¡¯t know. She still was unable to summon any of the sickly green lines at will, save for sigils for spells. No attempt she had made at opening settings had worked yet: looking at where the setting used to be, thinking about the word in either english or common, trying to simply will what she saw before into existence. She was equally unable to summon ¡®Balls of Light¡¯ or anything else. Frustration was the only surety she had with the hours she spent on either task.


    Her studies were trivial: Mathematics- or as it was called, Logic- she was allowed to skip so long as she took summation examinations. This left her with a noticeable gap and nothing to fill it aside from studies; There was no history or equivalent. After some inquiry, she learned that was a completely specialized field, the same as what her parents studied; Religious studies were handled by the Church, completely outside of regular classes; Wielding a dagger or sword or staff was another core component of her education- apparently their hoplology class would last until specialization.


    But for languages, she¡¯d been forced to select a second language to study. She chose Dragonic. It was the most interesting option available to her- Demonic, Incarthian, Bestial¡­ everything else lacked in comparison to Dragonic.


    She chose the least chosen option. By far. She was one of four in the class. The other three had already formed a clique, and shunned her on principle- it was as if she was the only student.


    But there was a third language her entire class was learning: Magic. A small sampling of them- about two dozen- have been able to use magic! Envy colored Eos¡¯s face each time another was able to. They¡¯d learned the sigils for a few spells, but much of it was getting to memorize the symbols. According to Rhawn, there was no other way: study, memorize, and create magic. The schools of magic she remembered quite easily- Amulree had already given her advice on those.


    ¡°There are four types of magic.¡± Rhawn began, ¡°Glyphs, Psionics, Dragonic, Demonic. Glyphs are what you¡¯re here to learn- and can be learned by most. Beastkin has Psionics. Dragons, Dragonic. Demons, Demonic.


    ¡°Psionic powers are inborn to Beastkin, and their power is static. For example, one of your seniors- a beastkin, of course- has the limited ability to heat something to the ideal eating temperature, and no more.¡±- Eos that night found out which beastkin this was- ¡°Another has the ability to, at a touch, detect the percent of gold of an object. Another example, there was one many years back who passed through here with the ability to move lightning freely.


    ¡°Dragonic is more simple. Dragons hold it, covet it, and it gives them immense power. Do not cross a Dragon, or give them a reason to fight you.


    ¡°Demonic,¡± Rhawn gently motioned to Alana, ¡°Demonic depends on your clan- to say anything more is to not say anything at all about it. It¡¯s a complicated subject, and only relevant to one of you. Alana, I would suggest choosing to study fire when the time comes- Your lineage¡¯s Daemon will be a great boon.¡±


    Alana nodded, and that was that.


    ¡°Demons of Fire are one of the clans from the north- I believe they¡¯re currently the governing clan. The political situations will be covered in future lessons- far future, most likely.¡±


    Eos wasn¡¯t happy at all about this memory. Not only did it hurt- She could have had powers if only she was a different race?! And had animal ears?- but it raised more questions than it answered. Undead were noticeably absent- the only discussions about them happened in hushed tones between adults- and any questions Eos raised about the black glyphs she saw were quickly shut down.


    These thoughts did remind Eos of something- She had made progress, if minor, with the green lines only she could see. If she thought about a memory, the glyphs of a spell or it being cast, she could see the sigils and hear the Voice¡¯s pronunciation. It was about useless to her except for cheating on the singular quiz they¡¯ve had so far.


    Eos, for tonight, gave in on her studying. Sigils and Common were easy to understand, but only one was possible for her to use. Besides, I¡¯m going to the match with Filos and Lillian afterclass- I need sleep.


    The stadium filled with hundreds- if not thousands of people. The layout was similar to a theater or colosseum. At the center was a stage- a half dozen judges, wielding staves, wands, quarterstaffs or nothing at all. The stage¡¯s edge was riddled with sigils, glowing a light blue. One judge, a woman, sat in a chair above the arena with her back to Eos.


    Eos sat in the box- apparently, being with the daughter of one of the judges was sufficient to get in the VIP area. Eos didn¡¯t know what to expect when stepping in, but despite the lack of expectations she was still taken aback. Nobody was wearing anything resembling formal clothes- adventuring gear was the commonplace outfit. Leather, chain, plate armor was as common in the box as swords and hoods; Based on looks alone, the average age seemed to be in the late thirties.


    The arena cheered out, and Eos¡¯s eyes were turned back to the stage. Out of one of the channels leading from inside the stadium, a loosely clad man walked towards the stage. His blouse was slightly ruffled, but his beard was cleanly taken care of and his hair was trimmed cleanly.


    From the opposite end of the stadium, the challenger seemingly appeared from thin air. He wore robes which seemed weightless on his masculine body. From the people around her, Eos could tell that these were common for mages who were adventurers. The challenger¡¯s appearance was nowhere as cleanly maintained as his opponent, and he had a large knife on his waist.


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    They met on the stage, and shook hands, before walking off to other sides of the arena. An announcer stepped into the middle and began to shout at the entire crowd. ¡°Ladies, gentlemen and adventurer¡¯s of all breeds! Today is the match of Mr. Fabiano, Master of Magic and Fire- one of only two dozen Master rated adventurers here at Infally. And the challenger is Cassius Volken, Champion of Magic. Will Volken be able to get his first Master Norm or will Fabiano¡¯s skill and versatility undermine him?!¡±


    The crowd, mum during the announcer¡¯s speech, roared to life. Eos heard chanting all around her, yet she couldn¡¯t make out what the words were. Lillian tugged at both of her friends'' sleeves.


    ¡°I heard Volken is going to teach a class.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Filos asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard he got the job because he¡¯s awoken.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Eos responded.


    ¡°Who do you think is gonna win?¡± Filos turned to Lillian.


    ¡°Mr Fabiano has been one of the strongest adventurers in Infally in a while. Apparently he fought a dragon to a draw!¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Filos exclaimed.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t know what a dragon is¡­¡± Eos gently murmured, unheard by either of the others.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Volken has much of a chance.¡± Lillian replied.


    Suddenly the announcer¡¯s shout went across the stadium: ¡°Fight!¡±


    The first move was made by Fabiano. He flicked his wrist, and a small bolt of fire flew from his hand towards Volken. Volken met it with a small magic circle, glowing blue, which dispersed the bolt upon hitting. With his other hand, Volken began drawing yellow sigils. Quickly, another bolt flew towards Volken. It was blocked, again, but this time by a surge of rolling earth heading towards Fabiano.


    As Fabiano widened his stance, light blue sigils being drawn, green lines suddenly appeared across Eos¡¯s Vision. The sigils being drawn by Fabiano appeared at the top of her vision, reading ¡°Fabsol¡¯s dramatic leap: lengthened counterdance variation¡±, and she saw a green mesh of Fabiano, flying into the air and descending ever so slowly. A mesh of the rolling earth slides under Fabiano¡¯s mesh, and about halfway through the descent, Fabiano¡¯s mesh throws another small bolt of fire towards a mesh of Volken.


    Eos watched as reality snapped back to its normal pace, and the exact scene in mesh played out in front of her- with only one change: Volken met the bolt of fire with a column of earth he had cast during Fabiano¡¯s leap. Volken began drawing more sigils, matched by Fabiano.


    ¡°Make way!¡± Eos heard loudly shout behind her. She turned away from the match, and saw people in the box with her separate as a Demon walked forward. Sigurd. Sigurd gently nodded towards Eos upon seeing her, and walked to the front of the box. He sat on the empty chair next to Eos, squishing her between him and Lillian. His rippling water had seemingly dissipated from when she saw him last weekend.


    ¡°Pay attention.¡± Sigurd said, quiet enough for only Eos to hear.


    Eos turned back towards the duel. Fabiano was casting two different red glyphs with his hands, while Volken seemingly was casting glyphs rapidfire, cycling through schools of magic. Yet, nothing originated from Volken¡¯s glyphs. As she stared at them intently, the green sigils appeared in her vision- but all of them were ¡°unidentified¡±.


    ¡°He¡¯s setting a trap.¡± Sigurd said. Eos saw out of the corner of her eye that Lillian¡¯s attention was fixed on Sigurd still.


    ¡°A trap?¡± Eos asked.


    ¡°Volken is mining the battlefield. Fabiano will need to play carefully- He¡¯s good at it, but Volken can just play defensively afterwards.¡±


    Eos could make out small, shiny pockets of air around Fabiano- as if he was surrounded by glitter. However, each pocket of air was in the putrid green her eyes gifted her with- she wasn¡¯t sure if they would be visible to anyone else.


    ¡°Invisible mines?¡± Eos asked.


    Suddenly, one of Fabiano¡¯s castings ended, spawning a fireball which creeped at Volken.


    ¡°Not quite, but practically- particularly in the rush of battle. Even I have difficulty detecting them.¡± Sigurd said.


    Without time to summon a pillar- the last one seemingly obliterated when Eos turned away- Volken dodged the relatively slow moving projectile. It crashed into the ground, spewing flames and scorching the rock. Volken seemingly switched the spells he was casting in response- a water spell.


    ¡°It¡¯s a knife¡¯s edge.¡± Sigurd said.


    ¡°But Fabiano can¡¯t go an-¡± Eos began. She was interrupted by a large pillar of fire spewing from the location Fabiano¡¯s fireball landed, expanding quickly to encompass Volken.


    Out of the pillar of fire, soot and steam and smoke exploded out. Fabiano couldn¡¯t hold his footing, and being moved a less than a meter back, flew into several of the mines placed by Volken. His body was thrown out from the mines- explosions of earth and water and fire- throwing him into more mines. By the end of the, Fabiano laid on the ground, with only a couple of mines left in Eos¡¯s vision.


    The pillar of fire had ended when Fabiano first hit any of the mines, but the steam within the pillar lingered on.


    ¡°Heh.¡± Sigurd said, ¡°His gambit paid off.¡±


    Fabiano laid there. It was clear he was awake, but he didn¡¯t rouse from his spot. Slowly, the steam faded into the air, and Eos was shocked to see Volken still there, on one knee, casting another waterspell still.


    ¡°A tactical match for sure. Lucky son of a bitch, playing into Fabiano¡¯s style and still winning.¡± Sigurd calmly said, standing up. ¡°I should be on my way.¡±


    ¡°Uh, Grandmast- God Sigurd?¡± Lillian said. Eos wasn¡¯t sure which Lillian had paid more attention to, the match or Sigurd.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Sigurd turned towards Lillian, ¡°Please, you can call me Master Sigurd.¡±


    ¡°I- uh- I¡¯m Lillian. I- I¡¯m a s-st-student and-¡±


    ¡°Ah yes. Your mother was overseeing this match, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Sigurd nodded gently. ¡°Make sure to study hard, so you can be just like her.¡±


    ¡°I will! B-but I wanted to ask¡­ Why did you come to this match?¡±


    Sigurd thought for a moment, ¡°It¡¯s of personal interest.¡± Sigurd gracefully thanked everyone, and left the box swiftly afterwards.


    ¡°That¡­ That was Sigurd¡­¡± Lillian still appeared in shock.


    ¡°Volken won!¡± Filos said, pointing towards the arena. Both Volken and Fabiano stood beside each other, the announcer lifting Volken¡¯s hand into the air. The blue sigils on the ground surrounding the arena began to flicker, and Eos made sure to get a snapshot of them to study later.


    The spell was called Great Tree¡¯s Protection.

 17 - Expectation

    ¡°E4, checkmate.¡± Otto said.


    ¡°Huh. Huh?!¡± Eos exclaimed, quickly counting the squares on the board. ¡°A pawn checkmate!¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    Sigurd came up to the chess game, ¡°What''s the record now?¡±


    ¡°I forgot long ago.¡± Otto replied.


    ¡°2 to 273 to 63¡± Eos said, ¡°Wait no.. 274.¡±


    ¡°And your studies?¡± Sigurd asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re going well.¡± Eos replied, dismissively.


    ¡°And your magic?¡±


    Eos fell completely silent for a moment. ¡°You know¡­¡± She meekishly said. ¡°It¡¯s the same¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, Varen, when¡¯s her third year exams again?¡±


    ¡°2 weeks. Her grades have been suffering too: A+ in magical theory, F- in practice.¡±


    Sigurd thought for a moment. ¡°What abou-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve discussed it with Volken. He said if it keeps like this, he¡¯ll inevitably be helping her anyways, so he might as well let time run its course.¡±


    ¡°What spell have you been trying to cast?¡± Sigurd said, turning back to Eos.


    ¡°Balls of Light. Since I started school I¡¯ve just been trying to cast Balls of Light, it¡¯s still not changed.¡± Eos said, her frustration clear through her voice.


    ¡°Balls of Fiery Light. Novice fire spell.¡± Sigurd said, ¡°It¡¯s a fairly good spell to start with. From nothing to casting, it should take about two years on average. Given your school and your awoken- and Apepi- maybe 9 months?¡±


    ¡°What does Apepi have to do with it?¡± Eos said, things her parents said flashing in her mind.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­¡± Sigurd said, clearly thinking carefully about how to say what they mean, ¡°The Apepi lineage aren¡¯t made of natural mages, like Atum or Khepera.¡±


    ¡°My¡­¡± Eos began, deciding for her sake it was better to not think of them. ¡°But it¡¯s been over two years.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. It would imply some fundamental misunderstanding of yours in regard to glyphs. Mind explaining to me how you think casting works?¡±


    ¡°Well, first you focus hard on the spell, then you draw the sigils out with your hand while saying the sigils aloud and¡­ bam! It¡¯s cast.¡±


    ¡°I mean, she¡¯s got it down.¡± Johann piped in.


    ¡°How¡¯s¡­ your student doing, Johann?¡± Sigurd asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s amazing as he should be.¡±


    Sigurd nodded. ¡°Johann, do you know anything that might be the issue?¡±


    ¡°You have to make sure you''re focusing on the spell. Do you mind showing us an attempt again?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Eos said, ¡°Not like I¡¯ve not done that before.¡± Eos began to repeat the movements she¡¯d done thousands- tens of thousands most likely- of times before. She focused hard, making sure her hand movements and speech was flawless.


    Nothing happened.


    ¡°A bit shaky,¡± Johann said, muttering, ¡°but the spell should still be cast.¡±


    ¡°Were you focusing on the spell?¡± Sigurd asked.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Eos said, ¡°It just doesn¡¯t work!¡± She stomped on the ground hard.


    ¡°Hey- hey,¡± Varen said, ¡°It¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not okay!¡± Eos shouted, ¡°I¡¯ve been trying for years!¡± Her emotions had boiled over from the prompting. All the adults had their focus pinned on her, but she didn¡¯t care. ¡°Nothing I do ever works! I¡¯m going to fail out and then what? Be homeless? Run away again? Get stolen off the streets because I¡¯m just that pathetic?! People judge me on my eyes, I have a bad bloodline, my family is dead! Nothing is ever good enough, and nothing I try ever works!¡±


    Eos, with tears streaming down her eyes and the heat of blood across her face, saw the blurred faces of everyone else. For a moment, her emotions calmed, and she crumpled into a sobbing mess.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be okay, you¡¯ll be okay.¡± Varen said, attempting to calm Eos down. He knelt down to hold her.


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    ¡°How¡¯s your¡­ weapon fighting class going?¡± Sigurd asked Eos.


    Breath hitching in her chest, Eos tried to form a sentence. ¡°H-Hopo-Hopology is fine.¡± Eos replied, before breaking out in tears again, ¡°But t-that won¡¯t matter if I fail out from Glyphs.¡±


    Donovan was next to try to comfort Eos, ¡°Hey! That¡¯s good to hear, you could always join the guard! We¡¯re always willing to take students from such an elite school¡­¡± Donovan¡¯s voice became meek, ¡°even drop outs..¡±


    Eos¡¯s crying was only renewed after hearing the end of the sentence, and she buried herself in Varen¡¯s arms.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡± Varen said, attempting to placate the child, ¡°I mean, I can¡¯t use magic and look at me.¡±


    Eos, once again, sobbed harder.


    ¡°Oh Light, Varen, you''re horrible!¡± Gwendolyn said, ¡°Let me take care of her.¡± Gwendolyn positioned herself to take care of Eos, and Varen moved out of the way and the responsibility on to her. ¡°And to think, you have all the knowledge of a teacher! At her age too!¡±


    Varen whispered to Sigurd as an aside, ¡°What did I do wrong?¡±


    Sigurd shrugged, ¡°I was gonna suggest she become an adventurer.¡±


    ¡°Ya know Sigurd, this is all your fault.¡± Johann said nonchalantly.


    ¡°Oh please, sorry for caring about her.¡±


    ¡°Sigurd,¡± Johann started.


    ¡°We all care about her, you know that.¡± Amiran said, keeping his voice hushed as well.


    Otto joined in on their conversation, ¡°I mean, she¡¯s just frustrated. She doesn¡¯t know what''s going wrong or what she¡¯s doing.¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡± Sigurd said.


    ¡°Just because you don¡¯t have a charge like us,¡± Otto said, motioning to himself and Johann, ¡°doesn¡¯t mean you can make kids cry.¡±


    ¡°The entire guild is my charge.¡± Sigurd said boastfully.


    ¡°And the youngest members of the guild are, what, 15?¡± Amiran asked, deflating Sigurd.


    ¡°Yeah, and she¡¯s 10.¡± Johann mocked Sigurd.


    With Gwendolyn cooing Eos towards calm, Varen was the next person to speak to her, ¡°Do you remember my friend I talked about before? When we first met?¡± Eos shook her head, and Varen continued, ¡°He¡¯s a professor right now- he¡¯s not teaching your year, but he is the makeup professor for your year.¡±


    ¡°Makeup professor?¡±


    ¡°Every year has one, but generally kids don¡¯t slip behind and stay enrolled. It¡¯ll be his job to help catch you up to everyone.¡±


    ¡°But that doesn-¡±


    ¡°It will. He¡¯s a really good teacher. Harsh, but good. Awoken too, was¡­ a Navy Seal?¡± Varen asked, looking to Otto for confirmation. Otto nodded. ¡°A Navy Seal for the USA in his past life, circa¡­ 2060s I think. I promise he¡¯ll teach you magic even if nobody else can.¡±


    Eos tried to wipe her tears away.


    The day of third year exams came quickly. Rhawn had decided that for the practical part, not only would it be completely public, but also would be done in order of proficiency. Eos was the only elf in the latter half. In fact, she was the last to go- Filos was to go right before her, as she was also unable to cast.


    First to go was Tuel. As an elf, he¡¯d proven to be Rhawn¡¯s favorite. There were murmurings that Rhawn would take him in for private tutoring, ultimately for the kid to be a strong member of the guards. His casting took everyone¡¯s breath away- quite literally, but only for a moment, as a small vortex sucked in all the dust in the room, before expelling itself as in a burst of musty, stale air.


    Alana was second, a dance of fire as her practicum was done without any glyphs, as if the control of fire was second nature to her. She was by far the most popular girl in class, due to her skill and, well, class.


    After about a half dozen kids, it was Lillian¡¯s turn: she simply did a child¡¯s water spell. After pouring a glass of water on a paper, her spell pulled the water from the damp paper back into the glass.


    Gen was swiftly afterwards. For her spell, all she did was lift a small mound of dirt upwards with an earth spell, a weaker version of Amulree¡¯s spell that Eos has seen nearly every day since she came here. The clump of dirt was about as small as Eos¡¯s fist.


    More swiftly than she would have liked, it was everyone but the last two had gone- the only two unable to cast. It was on Filos to go first.


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling confident.¡± Filos whispered to Eos before going up, ¡°I got it down a week ago. How about you?¡±


    Eos didn¡¯t know how to respond. She wanted to cry. She was trying, but she hadn¡¯t done it. Everyone else is succeeding, but not her. ¡°I think I¡¯ve got it..¡± Eos said, lying through her teeth.


    Filos went up to the front of the lecture hall before Rhawn had to even call her out. ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡± She shouted. Standing in front of the class, she began to draw sigils in the air. They appeared- light red, nearly pinkish lines drawn out by her fingers. The entire time, her face was beaming. Eos recognized the sigils. She couldn¡¯t not. They were the exact same sigils she had attempted to draw every day.


    Once the spell was completed, a singular small ball of flickering light appeared, ephemeral and gone within a blink. But Eos saw it.


    ¡°Very good, very good.¡± Rhawn said, ¡°You¡¯ve proven absolutely capable.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Filos said, with a small curtsy, ¡°And thank you for your teaching.¡± Filos came back up, and, looking at Eos, changed her seat. She sat next to Lillian and Gen, a few seats away from Eos. Eos could hear them congratulating Filos.


    ¡°Lastly, Eos AuSkoll Apepi.¡± Rhawn announced. Eos shrunk in her seat. ¡°Eos?¡± He repeated, as every eye was drawn towards her. Steading her will, she stood up, and walked with false bravado to the center of the room.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± She said. Steeling her nerves, taking a small breath, she lifted her arm. She had confidence: Her understanding of the spell was complete, her movements were approved by mages much better than her, and her speech was good enough. She had been practicing this spell for years with tutelage of a mage years more advanced than her.


    She was completely, absolutely, unavoidably confident in her inevitable failure.


    Amulree sat on the edge of Eos¡¯s bed, Eos buried in her pillows, her voice impossible to hear as Eos¡¯s sobbing and hitching prevented her voice from traveling beyond the pillow.

 18 - Magic

    Eos sat in the empty room. The classroom was small, on the edge of the training ground. A different cohort than hers was practicing their hopology on it- they appeared to be a few years older. Everyone else in her cohort was in logic. But, this is where she was- her once free time to study was now to be taken by makeup classes, to study. It seemed to her that they didn¡¯t expect any other students to be required to take makeup classes.


    So she sat. She was silent, doing little but waving her legs below the desk. She came up with a small beat in her head, and began to move her legs to the rhythm. Her focus was on the students outside: Blades bouncing off of each other, spears stabbed into straw dummies, poles piercing the crisp air, swords slashing into nothing. Nearly unconsciously, she pulled the dagger from her waist and began to make motions she had practiced. Any normal sword was far too big for her- even short swords caused difficulty- so she stuck with the dagger.


    As she idly swept the dagger in the air, it tumbled from her hands and landed on the ground- its blade crossing her leg. Fortunately, the dagger was only wooden. I need to get better at that. She thought, scrambling to pick it up and playing with the dagger more.


    After more idle time, she heard a click from the door. It opened, revealing the man she expected. Volken moved into the head of the room, and Eos sheathed her dagger without any difficulty or staggered motion.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to assume you know both why you are here and who I am.¡± He said, his voice a light baritone or tenor. ¡°As such, I will skip the formalities. You are the  second student to fail an exam and not drop out for as long as I¡¯ve been alive.¡±


    Eos was silent. She wasn¡¯t quite sure how to react. ¡°Perfect scores on theoretical exams. Doesn¡¯t have to go to Logic. Awoken. And yet, can¡¯t use magic for shit.¡± He riffled through papers in his hands, before eyeing her. He began to speak in English, ¡°So, what¡¯s the solution?¡±


    ¡°You teach me how to use magic.¡± Eos said, her voice full of bravado. She only hoped Volken didn¡¯t realize it¡¯s falsehood.


    ¡°How exactly am I supposed to do that?¡± He coldly replied.


    ¡°If I knew-¡± Eos began.


    ¡°Trust me, I know you don¡¯t know. Otherwise neither of us would be here.¡± Eos fell mum, her act having been completely seen through. ¡°What weapon do you use?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Eos was stunned by the sudden shift.


    ¡°Hoplology. What¡¯s your preferred weapon?¡±


    ¡°I don-¡±


    Volken looked her up and down. ¡°You¡¯re small, even for an elf. Dagger or shortsword?¡±


    ¡°Dagger?¡± Eos asked, quickly unsheathing the dagger.


    Volken put down the papers and walked back towards the door. ¡°Follow me.¡± Eos scrambled to follow after him, sheathing the dagger swiftly again, and racing out the door, leading her out to the courtyard just outside the room. Volken went over to a weapon rack, kneeling over to pull out a steel dagger. He swiftly turned over and tossed it to Eos. She twisted, dodging the blade flying at her.


    ¡°What was that for?!¡± Eos exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna start casting just because you threw a dagger at me!¡±


    ¡°Who knows if you would? You were supposed to catch it.¡± He calmly responded. ¡°We¡¯re drilling.¡±


    ¡°With actual blades?¡± Eos asked, only to be met with Volken unsheathing a long sword. She quickly ran over to the dagger on the ground behind her, and set her feet for practice. ¡°How will this help me learn magic?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll figure it out.¡±


    The practice was intense. ¡°Your form is weak.¡± Volken said. ¡°Position your body like this.¡± He demonstrated the posture, forcing Eos¡¯s limbs into position. Her stance was off, and she almost fell over a few times. Parry, dodge, slash. Parry, dodge, slash. Volken left no weakness for Eos to exploit, but she felt he also had no pressure on her. It wasn¡¯t a skirmish, simply drilling.


    By the end of it, she was beyond exhausted. She sat in the dust of the grounds, only her and Volken remained in the training arena. ¡°You did well.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She panted, ¡°What does this have to do with magic though?¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t help.¡± Volken replied simply. ¡°Why would it?"


    "THAT''S YOUR JOB!" Eos shouted. She would have lunged out at him, had her sore limbs not resisted the movement.


    "Is it now?" He leaned down next to her, picking up the metallic dagger next to her, his sword already racked. "I think you stated it, and I never agreed. Stand up. Cast."


    It was the hidden thread behind his words which pressured Eos to her feet. "I can''t ca-" She began.


    Volken, so rudely interrupting her, replied. "I didn''t ask you if you could or couldn''t. I told you to do it."


    She set her feet in position- she knew she had better control over her footwork compared to the other students; memories from the past, when she was an athletic student in high school. He wasn''t a strong competitor, but that still made him better than many. Eos imagined this advantage would slowly fade with time: hopology drills practiced footwork already. She lifted her arms in a slight bend, and, imagining  the glyphs- a vile green artwork of them displayed in her vision. She began her movements, her voice at a perfect pace for what she had learned. Her focus was entirely on casting- A tornado could run through the city and she would have never noticed until it interrupted her finger movements. It was a practiced performance; practiced more than anything she had done before.


    And she knew the outcome before she started.


    Finishing, she stared at Volken. He didn''t comment, but slowly around him, without speaking or moving his hands, dust began to gently swirl. The intensity of the vortex began to slowly pick up, friction of the particles resisting the motion. She was unsure if it was wind or the movement of the fine grains of sand which caused the helical movements, but regardless it was as if Volken summoned a dust devil around himself. As the flow of sand picked up, smaller rocks and gravel began to join the swirling mist around him. However, he seemed to not pay it any mind- his arms still hung by his side, his mouth was shut, and his eyes closed. A small rock, about the size of Eos''s fist,  began to be tugged at. The side of it lifted, and fell again. The fall caused no dust to be lifted- all of it was already surrounding Volken- but it made a small sound, barely perceptible compared to the gentle whisking of sand on sand and gravel.


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    Suddenly, the whirling helix remembered gravity existed, and it fell to the ground. The soft pattering as gravel hit the ground and bounced in every direction startled Eos- she didn''t expect the earthen mist to end without pause, nor did she believe it had reached its pinnacle. She was awestruck. Volken, opening his eyes, looked at her. "That''s all magic is."


    It took her a few moments to comprehend that Volken had spoken at all. "What was that..." She mumbled, ignoring Volken''s previous comment.


    He could only chuckle. "That''s magic. You''ve seen it plenty before."


    Eos could hardly formulate her thoughts, nor could she understand which order to ask questions in. Eos had just witnessed the impossible. "But what about the glyphs?" she began, "What spell was that? It looked like Dust Devil, but I can''t tell if it was the air or earth variation." She tried to rationalize what went against her taught skills,


    "No, it''s Dust Storm, a variation on Dust Devil made by the caster Yusc aeons ago."


    Made?, the question flickered across her thoughts- something she hadn''t wondered before, but was swiftly pushed aside for more pertinent questions. "But you need glyphs for casting." Eos said, "It''s one of the two mandatory components. Writing glyphs and speaking glyphs." She''d learned since she first saw magic, since she first learned about it in the classroom, since she first was unsuccessfully taught to cast, that those were the elements needed to, well, cast. And Volken had just broken those rules. Volken had violated her last few years of learning, her beliefs about casting, glyphs. If it was so easy he could do it with his eyes closed, why can''t I? she wondered.


    "Clearly, you don''t." Volken replied. He turned his head upwards towards the suns, beating down on them in the empty training grounds. Eos''s eyes involuntarily followed suit, staring into the sky. Everyone else had abandoned the heat long ago- it was a little past noon, and Eos imagined Logic was over for her cohort a bit ago. "Your hand movements were good. Not perfect, but good enough. Your voice slightly trailed, your pacing was off, and the pitch imperfect. Good enough as well. That only leaves one option left for why you can''t cast."


    Eos''s breath was caught in her chest as Volken continued. "You can''t because you think you can''t." Eos could hardly comprehend. Hardly being an overstatement.


    What does that mean? I don''t think I can?, Eos began spiraling, I know I can''t. But I want to. That''s what I want- it''s the only thing I want. It''s everything to me. It''s everything? I''m stopping myself? Her thoughts began to overwhelm her. Her vision blurred. Not from tears- she wasn''t sure if she was capable of it at the moment- but because she didn''t need vision. She didn''t need hearing then either. Everything was her. Her mind turned inside out, churning thoughts, tuning everything else out. Tuning out the rest of existence. I''m stopping myself. I''m useless. I can''t even let myself do something I want to do. I''m the reason for my failure. It¡¯s all my fault. I am a failure.


    Eos could hardly breathe. The breath that caught when she heard Volken''s words was never exhaled. She felt the weight of the world crashing down onto her. The weight of herself. The weight of everything she had tried to do, tried to become. She started shaking. Not wildly flailing, but shaking uncontrollably nonetheless. I''m nothing. I shouldn''t have bothered trying. Eos felt- no, knew- she was out of control. She needed to remove herself from... she wasn''t sure. She wasn''t sure about anything, except her own inadequacy. I''m only a student here because of the pity of others. I don''t belong here- I can''t compete with them. I don''t have anywhere to go back to. I- I- I need to leave. Leave everything, everywhere. I¡¯m a parasite. Eos wanted to cry.


    Instead, she felt something else. A force on her shoulders. Pushing her downwards, into the dust of the training field. Her legs, shaky wobbly legs which already only held her up through inertia, collapsed. She never hit the ground though- She felt something hold her from the back and knees, bars of flesh lifting her up. Reality refocused just a little, and she saw Volken holding her. Evidentially, he was princess carrying her, for some reason.


    "Let me know when you''re good to stand." He said, his placid voice acting as a rock. How he could be calm in a situation like this, Eos was unsure, but grateful. "Breathe, gently." Breathe. She''d forgotten how to breathe. Her hitched breaths left her body, and the world came into focus a little bit more. "Breathe. In, Out." Volken''s words guided her, and she gripped onto the rock tighter in the tumultuous sea.


    After an eternity, she was able to speak. "I''m okay." She said, meekly. Volken didn''t relent, but asked, "You''re not. Are you good to stand?" Eos could only nod, and Volken set her down onto the hard earth. "Aren''t you a little young for anxiety?" He asked, but Eos disregarded it, and Volken didn''t follow up.


    "Let me know when you''re ready to try again." Volken said. "We can end here for today though."


    "No." Eos said, her voice still quiet, but hardening as she spoke. "I want to do it. Today."


    Volken looked at her. Seeing her face, he nodded. "Alright. It''s simple. When you''re casting, what are you thinking of?"


    Eos noticed his language- not attempting to cast, but casting. She tried to internalize it. She wasn''t incapable, just hadn''t done it yet. "I''m thinking of the spell. Trying to make sure my gestures and-"


    "No." Volken interrupted, "That''s not how casting works. I showed you this earlier- the words, the gestures, the visible parts are the least important part of casting. You need to focus on the outcome: What is the spell going to do. You are imposing your will on reality, and need to believe that the outcome will happen. Meaning you need to focus on the outcome."


    "What?" Eos asked.


    "Imagine it like this." Volken said, "You have three glasses of water. You need to fill a container up. Two of your glasses are half the size of the container, and the last is the same size as the container. You can use all of the water in the two half glasses, or all of the water in the full glass, or some mix of the options above. The half glasses are gestures and speech. The full glass is your mind.


    "Your focusing on getting the gestures and speech correct, but that means if they''re even slightly off- if you don''t get all the water from them into the final container- it won''t work. Because your entirely neglecting the full glass you have.


    "Now, cast."


    Eos nodded. She thought she understood. She assumed the stance once more. She breathed, her mind still faltering slightly. I won''t fail. She thought, This time I''ll do it. Or else. Or else what?-


    She caught herself, and breathed.


    Once more, the glyphs of sickly green appeared in her vision, and she began. Rather than focusing on her movements or words, she let them be natural- she''d practiced them to the point they might as well be. She focused not on the glyphs in front of her- individually, meaningless, but together weaving a spell. A spell, to simply create one ball of light. Instead, she focused on the ball of light. Imagining it floating in the space in front of her. No bigger than her closed fist, weightless in the arena. She imagined the effects on the shadows, her and Volken now each casting three- two from the suns, at ever-so-slightly offset angles, and the third from the orb of light gently wobbling in front of them.


    As she moved her hands, in only a moment, with no surge of energy nor feeling in her body, with no indication within herself, her arm, her hand, her finger, nor her finger nail, a pinkish red light began to draw itself out, following her gestures.

 19 - Elation

    Elation flowed through her body, seeing the magic- her magic- in the air. Her body started shaking, her hand vibrated unsteadily. For a moment fear flashed in her mind: Her glyphs would dissipate if her movements were wrong. Then, her conviction returned, she wouldn¡¯t let herself focus on anything but the spell. Her trembles grew, her arms unsteady, knees weak, her breath short- she would¡¯ve stopped breathing if she could. It felt like she was barely holding in convulsions through her body. She finished. Three balls of orange-hued light appeared around her hand, pure radiant energy floated precariously, not rotating around any fixed point. Looking at the light- her spell- she barely stood, and her vision of the light blurred for a moment before clearing.


    ¡°Now, imagine one of the balls moving towards your head.¡± Volken stated. Eos nodded and followed. One of the three lights, the one nearest to her head moving linearly towards her face. It curved before hitting her head and began to spin around it. She imagined the other two following likewise, and they did. She knew the lights did not burn. Three balls of light spun around above her head, and sped up as she played with it. They kept speeding up, until like spaces between the orbs disappeared and all that remained above her head was a wreath of orange, much like the amber light of the suns above.


    ¡°Good job.¡± Volken said, approaching Eos as she turned her head. Volken was closer than she realized, and her head turned as he wiped a tear from her cheek.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Eos said, ¡°I didn¡¯t realize¡­¡± She stopped, collapsing into Volken. ¡°I did it.¡± She repeated, pushing her head into him as unrelenting tears streamed across her face. She gripped his shirt, and he just held her, repeating ¡°Good job.¡±


    When Eos came up for air, Volken continued his praise. ¡°You did it. You can cast.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I can!¡± Eos said, still feeling like she¡¯s floating, failing to contain her laugh. ¡°I really can!¡± She leapt away from Volken, and began to cast again. The lines she drew in the air felt euphoric. Soon, three more balls of light appeared around her hand, and she threw them around the training arena. They flew from one side to the other, spun around, and soon the three around her head joined them as they all began to uniquely dance to her imagination. I¡¯m doing this, she thought, This is my spell. Reality began to set in for her. The lights phased through each other during their dance, danced through weapon racks and armor stands.


    ¡°How many spells do you have to learn to catch up?¡± Volken asked.


    The lights disappeared, leading Volken to lightly dread the answer. ¡°A hundred¡­ and something¡­¡± Eos said slowly.


    ¡°And something?¡± Volken asked.¡°I stopped counting after a hundred¡­¡± Eos said, the light slightly fading from her eyes.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°A hundred and something minus one.¡± Volken responded, trying to cheer Eos up.


    ¡°No¡­¡± Eos responded, ¡°This isn¡¯t one of them¡­¡±


    Volken let out a light ¡°oh¡± before trying to cheer Eos once again, ¡°Let¡¯s get started then! What do you want to do first?¡±


    Eos thought for a moment, settling on the perfect spell. The glyphs appeared in the usual toxic green, and she began to write them out and began a new chant- she had practiced it before, but not nearly as much nor as constantly as for balls of fiery light. Keenly, she knew what she needed to imagine for the spell. More light red lines appeared as she wrote out the glyphs in the air, until they disappeared when she finished- this spell required a full ritual circle to be written, unlike the previous. For the conclusion of the spell, she tapped the centre of the circle- and her hand lit ablaze. Heat radiated from her flame, but she didn¡¯t burn.


    ¡°Very good.¡± Volken said, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you had that memorized.¡± Eos lightly felt bad- it felt lightly like cheating, having an encyclopedia during a test everyone else had to memorize for.


    ¡°I know them all¡­¡± Eos said, half-lying, ¡°I just¡­ didn¡¯t know how to use them. I have some more besides them stored too.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Volken looked shocked, ¡°What do you mean? You¡¯ve only needed to learn a few by this point. Hasn''t it only been-¡±


    Eos interrupted him by beginning her next spell. This time she drew in blue, another ritual circle constructed and carefully written in. Again the spell concluded with a gentle tap, and an orb of water coalesced from the air. She stuck her still-flaming arm in, a bevy of steam produced from the meeting of flame and water. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just stop the spell?¡± Volken asked.


    ¡°I demonstrated a second spell.¡± Eos replied, before sheepishly adding, ¡°and I don¡¯t know how to stop a spell.¡±


    ¡°Just.. stop focusing on it? Stop imagining it, stop¡­¡± Volken began. ¡°I mean that works in most cases.¡±


    Eos, with her quenched arm still in the now-hot water, tried to imagine¡­ what exactly? The water not being there? She stood there confused for a moment, trying to figure out what she was supposed to imagine. She was drawn out of her inner thoughts by the water splashing over her body, covering her.


    Volken failed to suppress his laugh, ¡°Very well done!¡± He said, clapping, ¡°Good job.¡± Eos simply gave him a death glare, and he relented, swiftly creating a strong gust of wind to dry her, also causing her to get extremely cold.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have just taken the moisture out of my clothes?¡± Eos asked, shivering. She tried to begin casting to make a source of heat, but her shivers prevented her from focusing. She was, admittedly, dry though.


    ¡°And risk pulling it from your body?¡± He responded, passing a small flame he had manifested over in front of her. ¡°You know that this isn¡¯t an exact science.¡±


    Eos warmed up in front of it, ¡°And I still don¡¯t appreciate being mocked.¡±


    Volken quipped, ¡°Be glad I¡¯m the one mocking you this time.¡± Eos shot him another death glare, before the two of them continued their training. That night, the reality of what happened set itself on her again, and the only thing that stopped her elation was her exhaustion; a long workout into the crying and spellcrafting was too much for her to resist the will of sleep, even if she forgot dinner.

 20 - Guild

    Eos woke to rapping on her door. The room would be dark, if not for her eyes. Neither sun was in the sky, and the unmoving moon was barely lit against the astral abyss. She was still exhausted, but roused regardless. She clicked the handle of the door open. Volken was the one who stood outside. She wearily eyed him, before shutting the door. She made her way over to her wardrobe, expecting the rapping that would be coming. I need to put on clothes, she thought. I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s here, but today is going to be tiring. What she didn¡¯t expect, however, was the patience demonstrated by Volken. No knocking on her door was done after she opened it originally.


    Fully dressed in her usual training gear, she opened the door once again. Volken was leaning against the wall, still waiting. ¡°Ready?¡± He asked.


    ¡°For?¡± She responded.


    ¡°Follow me. You¡¯re not going to class today.¡±


    Eos¡¯s flight or fight response immediately activated. She cowered away from the door slightly, instinctively. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Oh Ayailla-¡± Volken said, ¡°Not like that. I¡¯ll get approval for it later- I¡¯m registering you with the Guild.¡±


    Eos looked at him. ¡°I was going to-¡±


    ¡°We can just do it today; I have a task I want to do anyways so I might as well bring you along.¡±


    Eos nodded, and followed him down and outside the dorm building. They went through main roads, across crossings and through the streets to end up at a street that looked eerily similar to Eos. She scanned the nearby buildings, before realizing where they were. Our church is nearby, about a block and a turn away? Eos thought, looking in the direction of the now-rising suns. Her eyes naturally adjusted to the dawnlit sky.


    They stood across a large building, inset into the block slightly. It was four stories, about the highest most buildings in the city grew, and it was only adjacent to roads, no other buildings dared touch it. It was, however, lit gently on the first floor. It looked like some sort of hostel or hotel to Eos, but from Volken¡¯s posturing, she concluded they had arrived at the Guild. They moved towards the building, entering without knocking.


    The main room was mostly empty, with some drunks at a nearby table and the rest cleaned as clean as wood gets. It looked more like what Eos imagined a tavern would look like than a guild hall. There was a flight of stairs up to an indoor balcony which overlooked the main hall. Barrels of, presumably, liquor were behind a bar, where a bulky man sat behind, not even pretending to look busy. The sidewalls on the main floor and balcony were occasionally punctured with doors, and the sidewall on the main floor had scratch marks, writing, notes, daggers and more litter across its finish.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the lass?¡± The man behind the bar asked as soon as the two entered the building.


    Volken refused to respond until they were at the counter. ¡°Still got that job?¡±


    ¡°Sure do. You sure as hell know everybody who could do it is out, and everyone else ain¡¯t touching it. So, who¡¯s the lass?¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s it at again?¡± Volken asked, heading over the wall where the rough man indicated. This area was the most vandalized- raised wood beams made it look like it was intended for a picture board, but it was difficult to see the wood underneath the notes-pinned to the wall by nails or daggers- but it was clear there was nothing but bare wood hidden. Volken fiddled through them for a few moments, interrupted with the man saying where it was on the board. Volken read the papers before nodding, and heading back to the counter.


    ¡°Details are the same.¡± The man commented before Volken said anything, ¡°We still got 90% of the deposit. So, who¡¯s the lass?¡± He once again asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll do it.¡± Volken responded. Before he could turn, a knife implanted itself on the counter. Eos unconsciously jumped back, but Volken was unphased. The man was very clearly irritated.


    ¡°Ya know I can¡¯t let you go without answerin¡¯ my question. Particularly cause I¡¯ve ain¡¯t seen her befo¡¯, and she looks like she¡¯s 8- tryin¡¯ to ge¡¯ another party membe¡¯ killed?¡± The man¡¯s speech clearly slipped and degraded as his anger rose.


    ¡°She¡¯ll be safe.¡± He said, ¡°This job isn¡¯t particularly dangerous.¡±


    ¡°My arse!¡± The man shouted, ¡°We already fuckin¡¯ lost one, the last party to take it on dropped out ¡®cause of it!¡±


    ¡°They were ill prepared. It¡¯s a scouting job, not a fighting job.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean you shouldn¡¯t be prepared to fight!¡±


    ¡°It does if I¡¯m prepared correctly.¡±


    ¡°I still can¡¯t let you go with a random lass! You mi-¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s my charge.¡± Volken interrupted.


    ¡°No way!¡± A drunk from the corner interrupted them, ¡°She¡¯s your prodigy? Volken¡¯s got a prodigy!¡± Raucous laughter spawned from the group, ¡°How long is she gonna last?¡±


    ¡°My money¡¯s on a month!¡± One of the drunks replied.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take three weeks!¡± A third piped in.


    ¡°I thought I¡¯d have the lowest!¡± The second replied.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take 2 months before she calls it quits!¡± The first one continued.


    Volken was clearly ignoring them, but the barkeep pulled the knife out of the counter. ¡°Shut up ya lot or I¡¯ll close out ya tab!¡± The drunks stopped outright laughing, but their muttering and chuckling was still apparent.


    Eos looked at Volken. ¡°You¡¯ve got a bad reputation, eh? Dead party members, people quitting on you¡­¡± Her voice dripped with disappointment.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    The knife flicked from the drunks to Volken, ¡°You haven¡¯t even told he¡¯ your history?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t think it was relevant.¡± He responded.


    ¡°I can¡¯t let her become your prodigy..¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Volken said, clearly taking the barkeep back a bit, ¡°I didn¡¯t want her as my prodigy. She¡¯s a party member.¡±


    ¡°But she¡¯s not registered, she¡¯s¡­ 8?¡± The barkeep said, looking at Eos. She abstained from correcting him, gently shrugging.


    ¡°8. I don¡¯t even know her name. I don¡¯t know what she does. You¡¯re a champion, sure, but I don¡¯t know if you¡¯d be able to protect her.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to protect her if she¡¯s my party member. That¡¯d be up to her.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a kid!¡± The barkeep shouted, looking at Eos. She just nodded. I am a kid technically. Eos thought. I guess not even technically.


    ¡°Fine, fine.¡± Volken said, ¡°I¡¯ll put her back and go do the job myself.¡±


    ¡°No way. You¡¯ll just take her along.¡±


    ¡°Nope, absolutely won¡¯t.¡± Volken said, ¡°Promise.¡± At this point, Volken had a sinister smile, as if he was enjoying the interaction.


    ¡°No no no.¡± The barkeep waved his hand, ¡°Absolutely not.¡±


    ¡°Awh come on?¡± Volken said, ¡°I¡¯ve made worse decisions before.¡±


    ¡°My answer isn¡¯t go-¡± He was interrupted by a cough. However, it came not from the drunks but from the other side of the room. A door near the entrance had swung open, a figure standing in the doorframe: Sigurd.


    ¡°Thank Ayailla. Sigurd, could you tell Volken we don¡¯t support child trafficking?¡±


    Volken sighed, but it was Sigurd who spoke next. ¡°Stand down Gerrard.¡± Sigurd approached the pair, his characteristic flowing water being absent. ¡°Volken, Eos.¡±


    ¡°Sigurd!¡± Eos said, hugging the demon. Sigurd and Volken exchanged handshakes.


    ¡°Which task is this concerning?¡± Sigurd said.


    ¡°C-1103¡± Volken said, before the tavernkeep could respond.


    ¡°From the castle.¡± Sigurd said, thinking, ¡°Oh this is the recon mission for the hideout?¡± He glanced at the barkeep, who nodded. ¡°I think Volken and his prodigy would be capable, particularly if Volken is the one pushing for it.¡±


    ¡°He is-¡± The barkeep started.


    ¡°She¡¯s not my prodigy.¡± Volken said.


    ¡°Then she¡¯d have to register and be found satisfactory.¡± Sigurd said, ¡°We¡¯d no longer be able to rely on your account of her being¡­ capable of magic. It would be necessary to assume she isn¡¯t primarily learning but practicing.¡± Sigurd eyed Eos¡¯s student outfit. ¡°Fortunately, I know something about this child. Based on you bringing her here and what I know, she would not be fo-¡±


    ¡°But she can c-¡±


    ¡°But not to a satisfactory level. Not to one where she can protect herself. Less than a week-¡±


    ¡°But she is capable.¡±


    ¡°But not to protect herself.¡±


    ¡°Is that what this is about, Sigurd? Her protection?¡±


    Sigurd looked Volken dead in the eyes. ¡°Yes. I want you to be responsible for her. So you can¡¯t shrug off if she''s bruised or cut or broken or scarred. If she¡¯s going to be your charge, then act like it.¡±


    ¡°You know I would-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care to trust you when I don¡¯t have to.¡± Sigurd said, flatly. ¡°She¡¯s not been put under pressure like this before.¡±


    Volken glared at Sigurd. ¡°I¡¯m not f-¡±


    ¡°If the choice is between protecting her and finishing up the contract,¡± Sigurd said, ¡°and you chose the contract? You¡¯d be lucky to set foot in the city and live. I¡¯m just making that legally binding.¡±


    ¡°Illuminati strong arming me¡­¡± Volken whispered, ¡°You know I wouldn¡¯t do anything to her.¡± He raised his voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s not doing something to her.¡± Sigurd said, ¡°It¡¯s letting someone else do something to her.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re putting more responsibility on my head for her than Valen has.¡±


    ¡°Well then you can blame Valen for this as well.¡±


    ¡°You know as sure as hell I will.¡±


    ¡°Good choice.¡± Sigurd said. ¡°Gerrard, let the champion and his prodigy complete the quest.¡± He began to walk back to his office.


    Right before Sigurd entered his office, Volken yelled to him. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you have anyone else protecting her if you cared so much?¡±


    Sigurd turned with a cunning smile. ¡°Because there¡¯s not another person in this Guild I¡¯d trust with her as much as you. She¡¯s a handful, so be careful.¡±


    ¡°I am not!¡± Eos shouted back. She looked at the ground for a small stone to throw at him - he¡¯d interpret it as playful, she hoped - but was disappointed to remember the floor was made of wood.


    ¡°Well¡­ you know the details, right?¡± Gerrard asked them. Volken nodded. ¡°On your way then.¡±


    ¡°Eos, sit there.¡± Volken pointed at a table. Eos pulled out a chair and sat on it. ¡°No no, on the table.¡± Eos looked at him confused, then sat on the table. Volken brought his face up to the side of her head. She felt his breathing down her neck and his pointer finger prodding and tracing around the soft spot behind her ear, between the jaw and skull. She could tell by the gentle light radiating onto his face and the muttering under his breath that it was some form of air spell. Eos expected the spell to highlight itself in her vision in the venomous green- as almost every spell she encounters does- yet nothing popped up by the time Volken retracted himself.


    ¡°What spell is that?¡± Eos said, rubbing the slightly warm area behind her ear.


    ¡°¡®Tracker¡¯, it¡¯s an air spell.¡± Volken said, ¡°Utilize the air to tell me the direction you are. If you''re underwater or somehow in a disconnected pocket of air, I can¡¯t find you.¡±


    ¡°Can you teach me?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Later, later. We should get going.¡±


    Eos hopped off the table, and followed Volken out. Right before they exited, Volken shouted back at Gerrard. ¡°The expectation is 1-2 days.¡±


    Gerrard shouted confirmation, and the pair left the building. Rather than returning to the dorms, they headed down the street more. Ending up at a stable a block away, Gerrard looked at Eos. ¡°You know how to ride a horse, right?¡±


    ¡°No?!¡± Eos said, ¡°Why is that assumed!¡±


    ¡°I should¡¯ve asked beforehand¡­¡± Volken said, scratching his chin. He went into the stable, taking out a horse but the reins. ¡°This is Esmerelda. You can call her Es.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a cart or something?¡± Eos asked.


    ¡°Nope, you¡¯re gonna learn by fire.¡± He saddled up the horse, before getting on. ¡°Give me your hand.¡±


    Taking it, he pulled Eos up onto Esmerelda, sitting behind him. She wrapped her arms around him, and he moved them to the proper position. ¡°Hold tight, and move with Es. We¡¯re not going to be going at any notable speed until we leave the walls.¡±


    Eos nodded, and with a slight flick, Esmerelda began her walk.

 21 - Expedition

    The two of them arrived at a forest, as the dual suns shone through clouds above. Volken disembarked Esmerelda, assisting Eos down. The half-day ride had been largely silent of human voices, any words said by either would be gone in the wind before it reached the other¡¯s ear. Eos found the silence, whipping wind, and bouncing horse to be unpleasant at minimum. I¡¯d prefer if there was a wagon. She thought.


    The road that had led them here was straight and level, uncobbled. Since leaving the outskirts of the capital, they had passed through three towns in their half day journey. The edge of the forest they now stood at was quite a distance from the main road; the road sat on a small rise, so she was unable to see the dirt pathway even on Esmerelda. However, any wagon or rider on the road would be visible from her angle, or anyone in the trees above would be have an unburdened view of any passersby on the road.


    ¡°So what¡¯s our goal?¡± Eos asked finally. Her bottom was sore after the riding, she wasn¡¯t sure she¡¯d ever get used to it.


    ¡°Reconnaissance.¡± Volken said matter-of-factly, ¡°There¡¯s bandits in the forest. Even guarded merchants have lost goods around this bend. We¡¯re tasked with finding their hideout, and returning with its location.¡± He pulled a parchment from his bag, opening it to reveal a large bulbous mass. ¡°Here¡¯s an outline of the forest. We simply need to mark where they live and return.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯d you get that?¡± Eos asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had it. Gerrard gave me a copy when I first inquired about it.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ what now?¡±


    ¡°We go in. My plan was to pose as a merchant and get robbed, led back to their hideout as a hostage. But that¡¯s too dangerous now-¡±


    ¡°Now?!¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯re going to just go in and see if we die.¡± Volken said.


    The once-inviting forest now had a foreboding air to it. Despite her protests, Volken went into the forest with Es piked into the ground, forcing Eos to follow or be left alone: the last thing she wanted in now known bandit territory. Her eyes adjusted to the thick covering of trees, giving her the ability to see the small creatures furtively running around, and every insect in the air buzzing around. Both a blessing and a curse.


    ¡°Can you see?¡± Volken asked, trying to carefully navigate. He placed his hand on a tree and stepped over a root, lightly cracking a fallen branch.


    ¡°Yeah, I can see fine.¡± She said, following his lead. As they continued in the forest. They continued deeper into the forest, the umbral covering thickening even more. ¡°Stop.¡± Eos gently said lightly. A deer was ahead of Volken, looking skittish.


    ¡°I see it.¡± Volken said, ¡°Let''s wait for it to go ahead.¡±


    Eos fully caught up to Volken, standing next to him. He was in her vision, and suddenly green lines appeared in her eyes once more, and the deer stilled. They traced out a man in the trees deeper in the forest, a bow in hand. A green arrow flew from the man, flying clearly above the deer and into Volken¡¯s chest. Traced in outline, the green deer jumps away from the physical one, running further into the forest.


    ¡°Arrow!¡± Eos yelled, snapping back to full speed. Volken quickly reacted, before he could have understood what was being said or who was saying it. He didn¡¯t duck, he dodged to the side, quickly disappearing behind a tree in a flash. He was, however, slower than a flying arrow- it grazed his chest after his swift turn. Eos didn¡¯t need prompting for what to do: she quickly hid behind a different tree than Volken.


    ¡°Smart aren¡¯t you?¡± They heard from a gruff sounding man in the direction of the arrow. ¡°Wasn¡¯t the glint of the head that gave it away, was it?¡±


    Eos looked over at Volken. He motioned her to stay silent, and he began casting a blue spell: water, defensive. She wasn¡¯t able to identify the spell, she was too nervous glancing around to see the attacker. Despite her eyesight, he had disappeared behind trees, into foliage. She flicked her head to the other side of the tree, and saw nothing except more unabated forest. When she turned back to Volken, he had disappeared as well. He had replaced the deer after it had skittered away.


    ¡°Where are you at?¡± Volken said, ¡°Or are you trying to get a cheap score?¡± Volken looked around carefully. ¡°It¡¯s quite dark in the forest. But we¡¯re not too deep into it. Who are you?¡±


    Volken¡¯s words remained unanswered. He held his left hand on the hilt of a dagger, his right on his hip. A measure of confidence was radiating from him, but he had no adversary to face. Volken turned to Eos. ¡°You can come out.¡± He beckoned her. ¡°Keep an eye out and come here.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Eos carefully looked around and carefully came out from behind her tree. Scanning around, it seemed as if the unknown hunter truly vanished after his first shot and taunting. She came to Volken, and he beckoned her closer. ¡°I should have thought of this beforehand,¡± He whispered in her ear, a careful blue spell being cast, glyphs appearing in the smallest font as he barely moved his fingertips. He tapped it on her chest. She felt a radiant energy course across her body. ¡°This should protect you from a stray arrow.¡±


    ¡°A?¡± She asked, ¡°as in, singular?¡±


    ¡°Singular.¡± He said, ¡°But they should be dead before a second one is shot.¡±


    ¡°What if they shoot two arrows at once?¡± She asked. Volken didn¡¯t care to respond, instead motioning them to separate.


    ¡°We¡¯ll continue down this direction. It seems like we¡¯re on the right path, I wouldn¡¯t expect adversity so early on otherwise.¡± They kept on their path, across gnarled roots and overly dense leaves. As they moved ever forward, Volken popped a question.


    ¡°How did you see that arrow? I couldn''t even see it before it began to fly. It would have hit.¡± Volken lightly rubbed the slit in his chest where it grazed him, between the now split leather armor. Vibrant blood leaked from the wound, and Volken seemed aware of how much blood was leaking out.


    Eos felt unsure about the question. There wasn¡¯t particularly anyone she trusted with information about her unusual eyes. The dark sight, the putrid green lines, spell identification and recollection - it was all odd, and she had an uncanny feeling it needed to be kept a secret, nobody but her could know about it. Even if she did explain it, she would only be asked questions about how it worked, and she was as clueless as anyone else about it. Time to lie. She thought. They gave me a good excuse, I¡¯ll just use it.


    ¡°I just saw it.¡± She said, ¡°Glinting, I guess?¡±


    Volken nodded, seemingly accepting it. ¡°Observant. A good trait, it¡¯ll keep you alive. If you can keep it up, then we¡¯ll be safe. Let me know if you see any tracks.¡±


    She nodded in response, although Volken didn¡¯t look back to see it. She kept scanning for anything man-made or a marker. Standing a few feet behind Volken, he set the pace for their traversal, and Eos looked at the distinctive footprints he left behind as what to lookout for. Other people¡¯s tracks would look similar, she figured.


    They kept going for a while - the canopy cover prevented Eos from estimating how much time passed since the encounter with the Hunter. Eventually, Volken raised his left arm, sticking out at a right angle and his elbow facing up, signaling stop. Eos halted, and Volken turned towards her. ¡°We¡¯re about half way into the forest. Have you seen anything?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Eos said. ¡°Not since the deer.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. It¡¯s surreally quiet.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. We¡¯ll stop here, and keep a lookout.¡±


    Eos nodded, and caught up to Volken. He sat down, and began pulling leaves and dirt from around closer to them. ¡°We need to hide slightly; we want to catch them, not for them to catch us.¡± He pulled out the map, and, rather than the inkwell and feather Eos slightly expected, a pencil. Marking their trail on the map, he looked around for their current location. She noticed a previously marked edge of the forest.


    ¡°Is that where we entered? And how did you get a pencil?¡±


    ¡°Made it. Couldn¡¯t be bothered with ink and feathers, it¡¯s a pain in the ass. And yeah, that¡¯s our entrance. We¡¯ve kept a fairly straight line from there from what I can tell,¡± He pulled out a compass, and thought for a second. ¡°I could have had you stand by Es and used the compass and you to triangulate my position.¡±


    ¡°How sensitive is your compass?¡± Eos asked, ¡°That sounds fairly inaccurate.¡±


    ¡°Better than dead reckoning.¡± Volken responded, before marking out the line. ¡°By the way, we¡¯ll eat either when night falls or we¡¯re done out here.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what abo-¡±


    ¡°The only thing we need to fear out here is bandits; besides I never said I¡¯d sleep. Nor will you.¡±


    Eos looked at him slightly with detest. ¡°I¡¯m still growing!¡±


    ¡°And you''re still learning, I can tell. Go climb this tree and see if you can spot anything.¡± Volken said, slamming the tree he rested on with his elbow. It shuttered slightly, but no significant things dropped, aside from a few loose leaves and nuts.


    She sneered at him, before looking at the tree. It looked like there were a few low branches, but she¡¯d not be able to reach them. ¡°How am I-¡±


    ¡°Figure it out. Problem solving, ya know? Spell application to real world problems.¡±


    She looked around, thinking of the spells she knew. A gust of wind wouldn¡¯t be enough to propel her upwards, but she could-


    ¡°Aha!¡± she said, beginning to weave a circle in the air. She imagined the limbs of the tree bowing down slightly as if they had a weight on them while they were growing, and as she cast, she tried to focus on it harder. Upon finishing the simple spell, the limbs of the tree bowed slightly down, just enough for her to grasp if she jumped. Pulling herself onto the tree branch, she looked around before stopping for a moment. She balanced herself, her back to the trunk and her feet planted one in front of another, and began to cast an enchantment upon herself. The light lines appeared as she wished to protect herself against folly, to fall like a feather if that were to occur. She brought up her other hand as she tapped the two of them together, feeling the radiant protective energy once again.


    She clambered up the tree, trying to get a better vantage point. As she got higher, she saw a bird nest nestled in the tree. She looked about, and saw nothing of interest. As she kept looking, sitting down on the tree branch near the top. Despite the light of the upper canopy, she felt exhaustion, and her eyes tired. The last thing she saw before her eyes shut was the Hunter, appearing from a tree below.

 22 - Anomaly

    Blood rushed to her head. Her body was being shaken, and she could feel the soft embrace of dirt across her side. Dull pain throbbed across her skull, and nowhere else on her body. A shock was sent through her body- she had been asleep. Where was I? What happened? How did I fall asleep? Flashed through her mind. Through her closed eyelids, she could tell it was dark- no sunlight or artificial light sources penetrated past them. A source of warmth- a hand- was on her side, the side of her stomach.


    Suddenly, what her dreams hit her- not hit, but recalled, as if they never left her mind but were subdued due to the sudden feeling of reality on her body. The Hunter appeared, covered in green outlines. His filling between the outlines disappeared, and all that remained were the green outlines of the Hunter and branches of the canopy. The hunter, balancing himself on the crown of the tree, slid a knife under her throat. She could not see his mutterings, her head tilted up slightly too much, but he brought his forehead to hers. After a few moments in the nightmare, he drew away and, without slicing her throat, slid the dagger away. It was after diving off of the branch within the canopy that the green-outlined Hunter disappeared, the shockwaves reverberating through the crown and knocking Eos out. Slowly she fell through the trees, their green outline memorable, and the Hunter completely missing from her sight.


    She estimated within her dreams she fell at approximately 9 kilometers per hour- a speed slow enough to be safe but fast enough to slam her head into the ground, which would explain the dull pain she felt. She doubted the veracity of the dream simply being a dream; it lined up too well with potential realities a priori. There were issues with that, however. For instance, no theory she could conjure was able to adequately explain how she had fallen asleep in the first place- in particular because she was under Volken¡¯s ward. He had sworn it would protect against an arrow. As such, the most logical conclusion was an unknown-to-her spell had put her under, but she had neither spotted nor overheard any such incantation. A hostile spell targeted at her, should it cross her line of vision, she was confident would be called out to her- In practice; and most recently in reality; this had always been the case.


    In conclusion, Eos had no clue how she had arrived in her current state, and any theorization or speculation failed to completely satisfy observed reality.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Volken said, shaking her. His hand never left, nor stopped shaking, but it was only now she was able to fixate on the words. With a struggle, she tried to open her eyes. Will alone was barely enough, and she sluggishly tried to swat away the hand on her side.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Volken repeated. She was now able to fixate on the worry in his voice. She saw what he has done once before. The challenge he won. Swatting away his hand as if it was a nuisance wouldn¡¯t achieve anything. Her eyes open, seeing the covered forest and trees despite the deep darkness, she flicked towards Volken. Deep concern was painted across his face- more than anticipated. Despite her laziness, she felt a severe guilt for causing the ill expression plaguing him.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± She managed. ¡°What happened?¡± Night had clearly fallen since her excursion, yet her dream was that of immediacy- how long had she been out? How long had Volken been attempting to shake her awake? She knew him well enough that he could take a pulse, he wouldn''t conclude her dead even after a week in comatose- yet the forest looked the same as when she had clambered for vision; he hadn¡¯t pulled the plug on the quest for her safety, yet. No longer than an hour. She figured, off of her dozen assumptions.


    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± He asked, picking her body up and pressing on the parts of her which had laid against the ground. She involuntarily let out a small moan when he pressed against her head. ¡°A concussion?¡± He asked


    ¡°No, no.¡± She said, ¡°Not that. I just fell. What happened?¡± She insisted on getting the full story. She felt groggy- not incapable.


    ¡°You fell from the tree- are you sure you''re okay?¡± He lightly pressed on the spot of her head which hurt, and she managed to suffocate the exclamation before her reply.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, really. What happened?¡±


    ¡°What indeed?¡± A third voice spoke, emanating from above. Eos felt a jump from Volken- yet he dare not drop her. Both of his hands were occupied by her. Her eyes flicked to where the voice was coming from, and she saw about three branches above the ground the hunter sat, his bow primed with two arrows. She could only assume that they were pointed at each of their heads, but had not yet been fired, lest her green eyes predict their flight path. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± He cautioned.


    ¡°What do you-¡± Volken began


    ¡°You¡¯re not bandits, the girl told me such. What is your goal here?¡±


    ¡°To rid-¡± Volken began. With that, her green vision predicted the flight of only one arrow, the other one still held in the grip. It flew, both in green and brown, through the hair of Volken, slicing the tip of it off down the middle.


    ¡°Do. Not. Lie to me.¡± The Hunter said solemnly, knocking another arrow.


    ¡°To learn. Where the bandits-¡± Volken paused, waiting. ¡°Where the bandits¡¯ hideout it.¡±


    ¡°So that?¡± He asked. Eos could see the Hunter pulling back the bow a centimeter.


    ¡°So that the guard can come and clear them out.¡±


    ¡°You are not here to rid them yourselves.¡± The hunter stated, gently lessening the tension of the string.


    ¡°No. I have no doubt I could, but that is not the mission.¡±


    The Hunter disappeared behind the tree. ¡°Put her down and stand.¡± A voice came from in front of them instead of above. Eos¡¯s head flicked towards the voice, as the Hunter stepped out from behind a tree, seemingly teleported. She noticed that Volken did not move his head. Gently, Volken put Eos down back onto the dirt, before standing up with a straight back, hand on his blade and feet ready to dash somewhere.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Stand, I said.¡± The Hunter said. Eos noticed he had no bow nor weapon out, and she obliged his command. She didn¡¯t palm the pommel of her dagger- she could neither cast nor reach him quickly enough to matter in any fight.


    ¡°You have a map.¡± The Hunter said, ¡°Take it out, I¡¯ll mark where their encampment is, along with the security they have.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not-¡± Volken began.


    ¡°No, no. Of course not, else you¡¯d already have encountered their full force. They claim to own and control these woods. Luckily for you,¡± The Hunter said, as Volken pulled the map out of a pocket within his leather vest. Eos had seen him put it in there, but Volken continued to do these actions without moving his head- it was fixed on the Hunter. Volken handed the map, closed, to the Hunter. He simply looked at it, marked it with something for a few moments, and handed it back. ¡°You¡¯re far too north to encounter anything but stray bandits. You strayed from your initial entry point. When the sun rises, the new X is your current location. An O is the location of the safehouse you desire. The t will be where they commonly place their guard.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t-¡± Volken once again attempted.


    ¡°I have no expectation you can trust me. Verify it yourself. I won''t bother you anymore, so go validate my information yourself. I only want the same as you- this cancerous scourge gone from my woods.¡±


    ¡°But how did-¡±


    ¡°These are my woods.¡± The Hunter said, as if that would answer any question Volken raised. ¡°You¡¯ll be safe until the rising of the first sun. The first lights should allow either of you to see the map. Be cautious in verification. Of course, you *should* just trust me, just turn around and go back with this map. But be cautious with your verification.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want this.¡± Volken said, ¡°There¡¯d be-¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Short of felling, no bounty on my head will matter to me.¡±


    ¡°Why tell me your weakness?¡±


    ¡°Because you won¡¯t tell anybody else. Nor will you tell anyone about me. I can tell, you¡¯re going to verify what I said. I can only tell you to not be stupid in doing so. But I know humans, folly is in your blood. So be stupid, but don¡¯t be so stupid.¡±


    As the Hunter turned away, Eos felt compelled to ask. ¡°Who are you? Why are you-¡± she stammered to a stop. The Hunter slowed his pace slightly, and Eos felt as if he was smiling at that question, as if it was the wrong question to ask. ¡°We thought you were a bandit?¡±


    ¡°Green-eyed child.¡± The Hunter began, not turning. ¡°You don¡¯t fear the dark. The bandits have their uses but like any remedy, an overconsumption is poisonous. However, a delay in it being exercised is necessary. Also care for their beastkin.¡±


    ¡°But who-¡± Eos began, before her mouth was smothered by Volken¡¯s rough hand. The Hunter walked behind a tree, foliage covering him up as he once again seemingly vanished.


    ¡°A beastkin.¡± Volken said, ¡°Good to know.¡± Volken took his hand away from Eos¡¯s mouth, ¡°That was an anomaly. Tied to the forest it seems. We¡¯ll need an abundance of caution, but he promised safety for until the rise of the first sun. We can take a look at the map. You can do the honors.¡±


    Eos slightly tilted her head. She loudly began to cast, and half a minute later three balls of light danced around between them, lighting the deep forest. The map lit up, showing the bandit hideout in the southwest of the blob that is the forest. There was a gap in the guard on the eastern side. Unfortunately for them, the new mark of their location was more north than they thought- the bandit¡¯s base was closer to where they started than to their current location. Volken let out a soft sigh.


    ¡°What¡¯s an anomaly?¡± Eos asked.


    ¡°A unique being.¡± Volken said, pulling out his compass. ¡°Something that shouldn¡¯t exist from what we know.¡±


    Eos nodded. ¡°Are they common?¡±


    ¡°Decently so. Most hunting commissions the Guild gives out are for anomalies. Do you remember the wall in the Guild hall? Covered in scratches.¡± Eos nodded in response, and Volken continued, ¡°Each scratch is an anomaly quest that¡¯s been completed by members. Each guild hall has their own tally.¡±


    Eos quickly tried to do some math in her head. The entire wall was covered in scratches. It¡¯d been a thousand years since the hall was constructed; assuming no renovations were done on it, an estimated area of about three square meters was densely covered in scratches and marks. If she assumed each mark was a square centimeter in area, and they didn¡¯t overlap, that¡¯d be 30,000 anomalies, averaging thirty a year: little over one dead anomaly every two weeks.


    ¡°There are twelve ¡®Great Anomalies¡¯, supposedly known before the founding of the guild.¡±


    ¡°Which are?¡±


    ¡°The first is the Rift. A great sprawling zone of death, a deep crevice within the


    ground, larger than a Sea. Above it, locked by its unnatural powers, the Moon. Nobody who goes in is ever seen again, and anomalies come crawling out.¡±


    ¡°The Moon? And I thought all anomalies were alive?¡±


    ¡°No, just unnatural. It¡¯s believed the Moon is part of the Rift, locked in place, and stopping the Rift from expanding- sacrificing itself to save the world. That¡¯s why the moon doesn''t move, unlike the stars or sun or the ring. Or so the stories go.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s true, right?¡± Eos was in complete disbelief. She knew the Moon didn¡¯t move from its astral space in the sky- it was a good reference point. If the moon was moving, it was you, not the moon.


    ¡°Plenty of people doubt its existence. People say they¡¯ve seen it, but people say they¡¯ve seen all sorts of crazy things. Personally I don¡¯t believe it.¡±


    ¡°Are any of them real?¡±


    ¡°All of them have their doubts, until a dragon brings in the dead corpse of the 8th Great Anomaly. An indestructible animal, capable of shapeshifting into any form. No weapon could pierce its hide or scales, no poison could kill it. Completely immune to any sort of damage. Even Hercules had an easier opponent in the Nemean lion.¡±


    Eos was taken aback for a moment by the allusion to Greek literature, before remembering Volken was awoken. ¡°How did he kill it?¡±


    ¡°Exhaustion. Supposedly fought it for a month straight, stopping it from eating any food and eating it before the Anomaly could.¡±


    ¡°What are the others?¡± Eos asked, excitedly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you one more.¡± Volken said, ¡°The 4th, the Font of Life. Supposedly finding it will grant immortality, but it moves and hides constantly. Nobody knows where it is, and those who supposedly found it can¡¯t recall what it even looked like. People speculate about a fountain.¡± Volken laughed a bit, ¡°But I think the idea of the fountain of youth has been put into them by other Awoken. A spring is more likely, in my opinion.¡±


    ¡°Why a spring?¡±


    ¡°It makes the most sense, with it being a font. A fountain would be too on the nose. Now, put out the lights. We move at dawn.¡± Volken drew out a line with his feet- the direction they would move in, and Eos put out the lights as he put away his compass.