After the crest ceremony, there were many celebrations throughout the city for those that obtained a crest. For many, they had just entered a whole new world. Having a crest fundamentally improved all aspects of a person, while opening them to the wonders of magic. Many excited children started their journey with magic at the classes taught by the temple of magic and Knowlege.
The general schooling open to all that the temple ran started to incorporate the basics of magic for the younger children, while the older ones had to catch up to those their own age. For those that didn’t get a crest would learn magical theory or other topics, while the rest would do practical magical lessons. Classes with magic were the new norm and Zerine over the next year would look on, hoping to get her crest. After turning nine, Zerine still hadn’t gotten a crest.
At this point, many children in Zerine’s class had crests, it being mainly comprised of elves and celarians with the rest being beastkin and humans. The overall class dynamic had shifted during the past year and only continued as Zerine turned ten. The class had children ranging from nine through twelve years old and as time went on and more of them got crests, the more the dynamic amongst them changed.
Originally, there had been a rough hierarchy among the children. Those that were older and self-important made it clear they would be on the top, unless one of the younger children was a high-ranking noble or from a prominent merchant family. If they were older and from a noble or merchant family, well, then they were at the top of the class. The city didn’t truly have high-ranking nobles, but there were plenty of minor nobility and merchant families spread out through the classes around Zerine’s age. To put it plainly, kids were being kids, forming groups, and having a normal classroom environment, but that changed when crests became more common.
The games once enjoyed by all the children suddenly heavily favored those with crests. The transformation that improved nearly all aspects of a person created a large disparity among the children. This didn’t mean the children were at superhuman strength or speed, but they were far stronger, faster, and had other advantages that those without a crest didn’t have. Their growth would only enlarge this gap, many, by the time they were in the mid-teens, would be closer to Olympic athletes. Any game with crest and non-crest children therefore would come down to who had the most crests on their side. Needless to say, the hierarchy was thrown into chaos, as having a crest meant someone would immediately win any dispute if the other did not. As more children over the year got crests, bullying on the rest of those without a crest grew. Not only that, but groups and friends changed, behavior was even quicker to change once they got their crest, and many friendships were tested.
Zerine found people she had once considered friends distancing themselves. She had never told anyone she was a noble and generally had been liked by many in her class and even in the other classes. It was quite the shock when Mili Gravefield someone she had been close with, suddenly started bullying her, making fun of her, and generally annoying her as soon as she got a crest. Her group of followers only made it worse. They too had been her friends once, but no longer. She never truly dreaded going to the class, but she never looked forward to it. Zerine came up with a strategy, which was to avoid the drama and just focus on class and stick to herself. Luckily for her, classes only happened four times a week. The rest of the week Zerine played around the household with the children there and with her younger brother Naro, who was going to be turning eight soon.
***
“Come on, Naro!” Zerine called, knocking on his door. Zerine was now ten and half, wearing the same robes she had the last time she had gone to the crest ceremony. She even had kept the crystal flower Ava had given her that day and was on the left side of her head.
Naro had turned eight two months ago, so now he could join her in the yearly routine that she wished would end.
“Coming!” came a muffled shout.
The door opened to reveal Naro wearing similar robes to Zerine. His appearance took more after Callahan than Ava. He had dark teal hair that was disheveled and was rubbing sleep from matching eyes.
“Do we have to get there so early?” Naro complained, following Zerine down the hall towards the stairs.
“Do you want to wait for a while before getting it done?” Zerine shot back. Since last year’s ceremony changed nothing, Zerine was feeling more pressure. Already one of the few remaining classmates that didn’t have a crest had woken up last week to find they had gotten theirs. This left only three, including herself, that didn’t have a crest and was feeling the pressure. Across the other classes there was probably only twenty remaining and after today who knew how many would be left.
Naro perked up as they met Shara at the bottom of the stairs. She was a child of one of the household staff and was a close friend of Naro’s. She was a beastkin, which are humanoids that have animal features. In Shara’s case, she had dark brown curly hair that only partly hid her cat ears. A brown tail swished excitedly behind her. She had bright green eyes and wore the same white robes with silver trim as they did.
“Morning!” Shara said brightly, giving them a wave.
“Morning Shara,” Zerine cheerfully replied. “Sorry, we are a little behind this morning. Naro had to wake up,” she said, jerking a thumb at Naro, who winced.
“No worries. Cal can’t bring us today, so Bernard and my mum will bring us,” Shara said.
“He must be busy with the Emerald sky festival,” Zerine said thoughtfully.
“Yep! That is what mum said too. It’s so exciting that it will happen soon!” Shara said.
“Yeah! There is going to be so much to see,” Naro said as they entered a large room.
The room had a long table that filled most of the space and was where the household would eat, have meetings, or other large gatherings. Waiting there were two people who turned to them.
Bernard was a tall, slender human with black hair and hazel eyes. He wore his usual semi formal wear and was in charge of the staff. He stood next to an elven woman who examined Zerine and Naro’s appearance with her sharp blue eyes. Melronna was taller than Bernard, with a lithe figure.
“Mum, they were already on the way downstairs when I found them,” Shara said.
“That’s good. We aren’t that far behind schedule,” Melronna said, then turned to Bernard. “Everything else should be set, so, shall we?”
Bernard smiled. “Yes, let’s be off.”
***
After a short wait at the temple, where Zerine felt the gazes of the younger children upon her, she found herself sitting in the plain wooden chair again. When the priestess started the ritual, Zerine found herself in the now all too familiar empty void. The distant flashing colors were still there. She hadn’t really expected any changes, but it would have been nice for the void to have changed a little. Almost as if it responded to her thought, an image appeared in front of her. The image depicted a sandy shore that led to a forest. A memory just out of reach made the image feel familiar. Then it faded, and she was back sitting in the room with a fading magic circle, and no crest…again.
When she opened the door, she found Melronna was gone. Bernard was standing next to the door though.
“Where did Melronna go?” Zerine wondered, but she knew. Shara had gotten her crest, and her mother was in the room with her.
“Ah, Zerine, it appears Shara got her crest and Melronna is attending to her,” Bernard replied, confirming Zerine’s suspicions.
“What about Naro? He went into his room before me?” Zerine asked. But she didn’t get an answer as her father came out carrying an exhausted Naro. She saw that Naro now wore new robes that were a light blue.
Just seeing that filled her with a mix of jealousy and relief. She hadn’t realized it till now, but she had been harboring a fear that she would be some sort of bad luck for Naro. It was a silly fear, but it was still a relief knowing that Naro wouldn’t have to deal with what she had to. As for the jealousy, she just shoved it aside knowing it was pointless. She focused as she heard Naro saying something to Callahan.
“You could have told me that sludge would smell that bad,” Naro was saying. Callahan only chuckled.
“Think of it as a rite of passage. Now you know whenever you reach a threshold of power what happens,” Callahan said, then his gaze fell on to Zerine.
“All in a manner of time Zerine,” he said, trying to be reassuring, but it didn’t stop it from hurting. She was going to give a cheerful smile that she didn't truly feel when a wave of force hit her.
Someone's aura washed over her, suppressing the flickering candle of her own aura. The effect left her feeling weak, dizzy, and vulnerability that hit harder after the ceremony.
The aura only affected her for a few moments, but it was more than enough to break the dam. Tears flowed down Zerine’s face. Callahan put Naro down and embraced Zerine, who didn’t even realize she had been shaking.
“It’s alright Zerine,” Callahan said softly. Naro looked on worried and confused but didn’t say anything.
When Zerine’s crying and turned to sniffles Callahan, let her go. “Aura suppression can be a shock, but it’ll all work out alright Zerine.” Zerine only nodded, wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her robe.
“Bernard, can you take her ahead of us? I think two fluctuating auras will be too much,” Callahan asked, giving Zerine’s shoulders a light squeeze.
“I think that will be for the best as well,” Bernard replied, scooping up Zerine into his arms.
“It'll be alright Zerine,” Bernard said before the two vanished in a gust of wind.
“Dad?” Naro asked, worried.
“Your sister will be fine. Aura suppression is something you will learn more about in class, but let’s wait for Shara. And you can tell me what you think of that new crest,” Callahan said, which got a bright smile in response.
Zerine spent the rest of the day doing work around the household and keeping an eye on Estel, her sister, a very adventure prone four-year-old.
When the others came back, a celebration was soon announced that would take place in a few days. The one for Shara was going to be small, which Zerine liked. What she did not like was that her father had tried to keep Nora’s celebration small, planning to keep it to the household and some family, but word spread, and it became an event. Zerine only hoped that she could avoid any classmates that might attend. She didn’t want them to know she was nobility and especially not the daughter of the baron in charge of the city. But deep down what she truly feared would be the teasing after her little brother got his crest and she failed again. Zerine wanted to avoid the attention that would bring. Bullying was bad enough she didn’t want more fake friends with intentions to get close to her family. Mili and the others were bad enough.
The only saving grace of the large event was that Auntie Raith and Uncle Gary would attend and she couldn’t wait to hear stories about their adventures.
***
The next few days passed uneventfully. The only thing of note was that there were only two in her class that did not have their crest. They also started the class on aura etiquette, which meant that everyone got to experience being suppressed by the priestess teaching them. Zerine did get a bit of satisfaction watching the others shiver and look fearful as their aura was suppressed. She already knew that auras were essentially representation of one’s power and related to some aspect of the soul’s awakening, so nothing new to her. She had read quite a lot about auras, it being a topic in several of the books she had been reading. After class, Zerine, Naro, and Shara got home with enough time to get ready for Naro's celebration.
Zerine and Naro were both wearing their best clothes, which meant a light green dress for Zerine and a grey button-up shirt and black pants for Naro, who chafed at having to wear formal clothes. The whole family was at the entrance of their home greeting those that started to arrive.
Ava stood next to Callahan, who was carrying Estel. Estel appearance was rather unique for a Celarian. She had Ava’s and Zerine’s eyes, deep blue with swirls of teal and green. Her hair matched her father’s dark teal and was in a ponytail. Naro, being the focus of this celebration, had to interact with every visitor. Zerine on the other hand only gave a short bow or curtsy, depending on the custom. The majority of the time, she was reading a book. What book you may ask? Well, Zerine had overheard Ava and Callahan mention a book when discussing ambient magic control and when to start teaching her and Naro, so she was reading Ambient Magic the Lost Art. Was the book, something you would expect a ten-year-old to read, no, but Zerine had to do something while others got to use magic in class. She was about halfway through the book, and it had only increased her anticipation. Zerine could hardly wait for these lessons because this book had made it clear she could learn to use ambient magic even without her crest. Learning and using it would be harder for her than those with a crest, but she was desperate to do something with magic than just learn theory. Eventually, she managed to escape from greeting people and found a good place to read in peace.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
***
Ava watched Zerine sneak off with a book tucked under arm. She smiled to herself, proud that Zerine had easily outpaced her peers in reading and looked forward to seeing what she would learn from that book.
After they greeted more guests, a shout drew her attention.
“Ava! Cal!” an excited woman said.
There was a puff of pure darkness, interrupting a merchant’s introduction to Naro.
When the cloud of darkness faded, it revealed a dark elf. The elf had dark grey skin with red hair. Heterochromia eyes shone brightly, one of gold and the other a bright red. She wore her usual mage orbs, which resembled Jedi robes.
“Raith! We worried you wouldn’t make it,” Ava said, embracing her old teammate and closest friend.
“Oh?” Raith wondered, raising an eyebrow. “I’m certain you were hoping I would show up late and not make a scene. Well, too late.”
Ava laughed as Raith turned and scooped up Naro, spinning him around her getting a laugh out of him. “Congrats on your crest! Now when I train with you, we can do the real fun things.”
“I can’t wait, Auntie!” Naro said as she put him down.
Estel was reaching for Raith, who grinned. “Come here Estel, let me save you from your father…Oh, hi Cal,” she said teasingly.
Callahan chuckled, handing Estel over.
“Don’t you look lovely, Estel,” Raith said. She looked around. “Where is my little Zerine?”
“Your Zerine?” Callahan remarked.
“Yes, my Zerine,” Raith replied as she created a ball of light that Estel played with.
“Reading a book,” Naro said, half complaining.
Raith raised an eyebrow, looking at Ava and Callahan.
“She snuck away a minute or so ago,” Ava said.
“Ah, well, I go find her. I got gifts for you all and Gary will be along in a bit,” Raith said, handing over Estel to Ava.
“So instead of teleporting him, you went ahead…alone,” Callahan said.
Raith waved his comment off. “He had stuff to bring, and you know me, I was just so excited to see you all.”
Callahan and Ava laughed. “Well, be seeing you later,” Raith said before vanishing in a puff of darkness once again.
“And the whirlwind that is Raith has arrived,” Callahan said, which got a chuckle from Ava as they started greeting guests again.
***
Zerine vaguely felt the ambient magic shift next to her. She looked up from her book as shadows turned into a grinning elf. With a bang, the book fell to the floor as Zerine jump towards Raith.
“Raith!” Zerine nearly shouted.
Raith smiled, embracing Zerine. “Hi Zerine! I’m sorry I missed your birthday this year.”
“I know you were busy fighting something or healing people,” came Zerine’s muffled response. Her face was buried into Raith’s robes.
When they separated, and had sat back down, Raith waved her hand, causing the book to fly to her. “I leave for a year and you're reading a book like this?” Raith wondered, brandishing the book.
“Yep!” Zerine replied proudly. “When you vanish for a year, I had to find something to fill the void of your absence,” she added forlornly.
Raith gave Zerine a side glance, who broke out into a cheeky grin. “Oh, my heart,” Raith said, clutching her chest. “I’ve been replaced by books. What shall I ever do? Oh! I know, how about I tell you about some necromancers I fought?” Raith said, grinning as Zerine giggled.
“That took you a year?” Zerine wondered, confused.
Raith laughed. “You know me so well. It took a few months to find them and only a day or two to deal with them.”
“They are normal evil, not interesting evil like that alchemist, creating healing positions while using people to experiment on. That was crazy how you and Ava dealt with that situation,” Zerine said.
“Normal evil?” Raith said, laughing. “You know I met a not evil necromancer once.”
“Really?” Zerine wondered, titling her head.
“Nah, they were all crazy,” Raith said, making Zerine giggle shaking her head. “Oh, what about this?” Raith leaned in and whispered. “I saw a dragon.” That got Zerine to gasp in shock her eyes going wide.
“Tell that story!” Zerine said, bouncing in the set for a moment.
***
Zerine and Raith were off to the side of the gathering. Estel had joined them and was sitting in Raith’s lap, listening avidly to stories when an excited Naro ran past them, with a group of other equally excited children following. He carried an ornately carved wooden box as if it was a treasure.
Estel pointed at the box as Naro held it up for Ava to look at.
“What’s in the box?” she wondered.
Raith grinned. “That has a catalyst inside that Gary, and I found.”
“Wait, alchemic or soul?” Zerine wondered.
“Soul,” Raith replied, which got a gasp from Zerine and a confused look from Estel.
“Is it pinnacle or legendary?” Zerine asked.
“It’s a superior one, but a bit rarer than what that rank would lead you to believe,” Raith said.
“I don’t know what any of that means?” Estel said, pouting.
“Estel, soul catalysts help awaken one’s abilities or a special type of magic for someone,” Zerine explained.
“There are ranks for them as well. It goes lesser, greater, superior, pinnacle, legendary, and lastly mythical,” Raith added.
“Oh,” Estel said, clearly still not quiet getting it, but just going along with it.
“So why is that superior catalyst special?” Zerine wondered.
“Hmm, there are concepts that are fundamental to our world,” Raith said, trying to figure out the best way to explain this accurately, but keep it simple. “These concepts don’t mix often with one another and when they do, it’s rare for a catalyst to spawn during that interaction. Usually these events don’t last long, so any catalyst created can’t gather enough power for it to be higher than superior.”
“So, what concepts make up that catalyst?” Zerine asked.
“I won’t say because it’s better as a surprise later,” Raith said, getting boos from both Estel and Zerine. Raith laughed. “Fine. It’s space and time. Naro has minor affinities for them from what Ava told us. With this catalyst, he should be able to get an ability or two from it. These being his weaker affinities, also means he wouldn’t have been able to absorb a pinnacle or legendary catalyst anyway, so this is perfect for him.”
“What are my affinities?” Estel wondered.
“We won’t find out till you get your crest,” Raith replied.
Estel frowned. “That is so far away.”
“Nah, it will come sooner than you think,” Raith said, spotting a frown that Zerine quickly hid behind a smile.
Their conversation was interrupted as Ava approached them.
“It turns out Naro can absorb that superior one now,” Ava said with a huge grin.
“That’s wonderful. So, you want me to do the honors,” Raith said, getting up still holding Estel.
“Can you?” Ava asked, taking Estel from Raith.
“Are you kidding? I would love to,” Raith replied cheerfully. She turned to Zerine. “Do you want to come and watch me create the catalyst absorbing ritual?”
“No, I’m fine watching from here,” Zerine said.
“I might get dragged into conversations afterwards, though, so my story telling might get sidetracked,” Raith replied.
“I still got plenty of this book to get through,” Zerine said, holding the ambient magic book up.
“Alright then,” Raith said before ruffling Zerine’s hair.
“Aunt!” Zerine complained after Raith as she and Ava headed toward Naro.
***
“Are you sure you're not rushing?” Raith asked.
“Not at all. Gary and I checked before I came to ask,” Ava said.
Raith smiled. “Good. I just had to ask. Didn’t want you and Cal to rush into this became you all are just as excited as Naro is.”
“I will admit I am excited, but more relieved than anything. And I also know that if he absorbs this now, it will be a few years before he can absorb another, which is perfect. It lets us figure out more about his magic and have time to get another catalyst.”
Raith nodded along. “I understand. And a minimum of two years for Naro before his next. That should give him to discover and explore his magic enough to maybe even absorb a pinnacle catalyst. I have one question, though.”
“And that is?” Ava wondered after a pause. They stopped in a clear area of dining room.
“You won’t mind me using chalk on you stone floor for the ritual?” Raith asked, holding up a light blue piece of chalk.
“Go ahead,” Ava said.
Raith crouched and began drawing a circle. “So how did Zerine get her hands on a book normally used in the Maginus academy?”
“She went through the library here and hasn’t stopped reading it. At least that is what Bernard said,” Ava said, glancing towards Zerine, who was engrossed in her book once again.
Raith softly whistled. “If she is reading those books and understands what she is reading, well, she will be more than ready whenever she gets her crest.”
“Hmm,” Ava replied, sounding a little worried.
“I no one tells their kids that getting a crest can be as late as mid-twenties and as early as six, so stop worrying. It will come when it comes,” Raith remarked. She was now adding runes to the inner edge of the circle.
“I know, but I don’t want her to fall behind and it can be dangerous as she gets older,” Ava said.
“Well then, you know what will have to be done, and that book is just the start,” Raith said.
“Yeah. We have a list of potential training tutors for her and Naro that we can go over after this,” Ava said.
“Good. I also plan to stay in the area for a little while,” Raith said and smiled up at Ava. “Gotta make sure my niece and nephew get those good habits early and, ya know, to spoil them.”
“Cal and I can do that, you know,” Ava said, chuckling.
“Yep, but my way will be more fun,” Raith teased. She stood and inspected her work.
A large circle was drawn on the stone floor. Runes and sigils ringed the inside of the circle with a pentagram whose center was perfectly aligned with the center of the circle. Raith smiled seeing that her work was complete and turned to Ava with a grin. Ava getting the message, smiled and went to get Naro.
When she returned, Estel was now being carried by Cal, who had joined them. Naro was clutching the wooden box, clearly nervous.
Cal squeezed his shoulder. “It will be fine, Naro.”
A shadow covered Raith, who looked up. Next to her was a large man. Four enormous arms, two of which were crossed while the bottom two were on his hips. The man was Gary, a Verash, a race of large four-armed humanoids. Gary stood at around eight feet tall. Even though he was standing at a normal distance from Raith, he still loomed over her, his frame blocking out the light from the glow stones. Despite his size, Gary had a tenor voice rather than the deep baritone one would expect.
“Yeah Naro, it seems scary at first, but after this you're gonna feel like you can take on an entire den of hellhounds,” Gary said, grinning.
Naro smiled, still a bit shaky, but seemed more excited than pure nerves.
“Here,” Raith took the box. “Go stand in the middle of the circle and I’ll hand you the catalyst when the ritual starts.”
Naro nodded and carefully stepped into the circle. Ava crouched, placing her hand on the circle. At this point, they had gotten an audience from the other guests and Naro’s friends. Zerine had even joined growing crowd, watching on curiously.
“Just remember, your instincts will take over and guide the energy, so let it. This isn’t a legendary catalyst, so it’s a straightforward process, Naro,” Ava said, giving him a reassuring smile. “I’m going to start now.”
The circle began to glow pink and purple. Raith opened the box and a wave of energy rushed out. Zerine heard some impressed muttering from those around her. She gasped as Raith pulled out a fist size pyramid. The pyramid appeared to be made from a crystal, which dimly shone with shifting colors of deep blue and red.
Raith handed the pyramid to Naro.
Once the pyramid was in his hands, wisps of energy escaped the pyramid, swirling around him. Naro took a breath, then pressed the pyramid into his chest. Zerine’s eyes went wide as the pyramid flowed into him. When the pyramid was fully absorbed, a bright green flashed blinded her for a moment.
“Woah,” Naro said, looking at them wide eyed. He was panting as if he had just stopped sprinting. A huge grin was on his face.
“That was…wow,” he said.
Ava moved quickly, scooping him up in a tight embrace. “Congrats! That was the true first step.”
There was a smarting of applause till everyone followed suit. Some even cheered.
His friends crowded Naro once Ava put him down, asking questions.
“Did you get an ability?”, “What magic did it enhance?”, “Can you show us?”
“Come now, you all know that it takes time to settle the energy once you absorb a catalyst. He can play games with you all, but no new magic,” Ava scolded.
“I feel great so let’s go play a game!” Naro said and the group of children hurried off.
Zerine watched them go enviously but went back to the spot she had been in before and started reading again. This time, though, the words didn't sink in and soon she was just staring at a page. The image of Naro absorbing the catalyst was all she could think of. She glanced towards where the group of children were now playing a game. The ball they were using to toss around was a blur to her as they used their enhanced bodies and some magic to play. She sighed and redoubled her efforts on reading the book. If this was the only way she could use magic until she got her crrest, then she would put her all into it. Flipping through the pages, Zerine began to reread the part about visualization techniques and ways to feel the ambient magic.
Callahan, Ava, Gary, and Raith were watching Estel play with other children her age, while also keeping an eye on Naro’s group.
“So, we have some news,” Raith said. Gary hearing this scowled. Ava felt energy swirl around them as Raith created an anti-eavesdropping zone.
“Based on Gary’s reaction and your magic, we aren’t going to like it,” Callahan said.
“A mythical catalyst was in the Dragon Spine archipelago,” Raith said.
“And it was a bloody massacre,” Gary added.
“Really? Why fight so hard for it?” Ava wondered.
“Who knows, but rumors say an Ascendent was involved based on the number of gold-ranked mages found dead that is likely,” Raith said grimly.
“That’s why Selara and Grace aren’t here. They stayed back to gather more information for the guild,” Gary remarked.
“Ivron is busy trying to figure out what happened to a host of catalysts in Esteron. There has also been some shift in power amongst nobles there too, but nothing confirmed yet,” Raith said. “Also, no one is even certain who ended up getting the mythical catalyst.”
“Hmm, that is troubling news. What about the dragons or fairies?” Ava wondered.
“The Ley lines are shifting, so they are probably busy with that,” Gary said.
“You could always ask your friend Cal,” Raith teased.
“Hey, we maybe friends, but the Lord of water does his own thing. I don’t even know where he is currently,” Callahan said.
Gary chuckled. “You do realize that it’s insane you can say your friends with a dragon.”
"Yeah," Callahan laughed. "But I can’t wait till the children are older so they can meet the Lord of water.”
Ava sighed. “I’m glad that won’t be for a very long time.”
“Oh! that does remind me. Last time I spoke with him, he said he would be in the area during this Ley line intersection coming up,” Callahan said, putting an arm around Ava shoulders as she rolled her eyes.
"The festival will coincide with the intersection!" Gary said, taking it in stride that a dragon would be in the area like it was just a normal thing. "We should plan to do something during together!” he added excited.
“Raith?” Ava asked. Raith's gaze had wondered.
“Hmm?” Raith asked, then started. “Ah, yeah, festival plans. I’ll just go with what you all want to do. I am going to go cheer Zerine up. Sooo don’t be surprised if we vanish,” Raith said as she wondered away her magic fading as she did.
The others looked towards Zerine. The child was staring blankly down at her book.
“How is holding up?” Gary asked.
Ava sighed. “She seems fine here, but with everyone around her getting their crests, she’s feeling pressured, but that is just us guessing.”
“When asked about inviting people for her birthday,” Callahan paused, watching as Zerine and Raith vanished in a puff of darkness. “She didn't invite people and we still haven’t met her friends, and she was fine with it just being the household.”
“Hmm, I’m sure Raith will get it out of her,” Gary said.
“She is good at getting to the root of a problem,” Ava agreed.
***
A moment earlier, Raith appeared next to Zerine.
“Hey, do you wanna get out of here?” Raith wondered, sitting next to Zerine.
Zerine blinked, looking up from her book.
“What,” Zerine shook her head, “where would we go?” She asked.
Raith leaned in conspiratorially. “Do you want your first ambient magic lesson?”
Zerine’s eyes went wide. “Yes!” she said, her entire demeanor lighting up with excitement.
“Then let’s go,” Raith said.
With a snap, darkness covered them both.