My barrier. That’s what Konigen claimed.

Syndra sat by the garden in the sand. The evening sun warmed her back. She put a hand on the edge of the crater. The smooth surface a proof of her power, but also her limit. Is this all I can muster? She sat feeling increasingly powerless. She had never seen the hint of an end. She had assumed her potential to be boundless. She hadn’t expected a barrier would come, and never so suddenly. She stepped into the polished pit, the glassy surface glossy to the touch of her bare feet.

She had been bedridden for some days and had only just been able to get out for walks. Talking at length with Konigen about what had happened, and what she should do now. Aolien and Yatta had visited to apologize, but she had barely noticed. She was lost in her own mind, trying to grasp the very idea of finality. Yima had come by to say goodbye. She had apparently reached the end of her studies. It had brought her blood to a boil. Had Syndra’s head not ached, she would likely have lost control then. When she was sick, Syndra didn’t leave. A simple goodbye? Is that all she was worth? They had shared a bunk for almost a decade, and that was truly all? That was the end? Not only the end of her time with Yima, but the end of her progress. This was the limit of her power?

Konigen had advised her to learn from her classmates. Yima and Tenko had surpassed her in rank, not because their power was greater, but because of how they handled their abilities. Their balance and understanding of their limits are what elevates them. That sort of thinking was for people who had found their bar, that’s what she had thought. He had assured her that with the discovery of inner tranquility, control would come. Maybe that was to be the solution. She lifted herself off the ground, floating out of the crater. The exertion of simply carrying herself seemed more difficult than ever. Because of the injury, at least that’s what Konigen had told her.

She landed in the sand and trudged through the garden on foot. A handful of the younger students were tending the flora, gathering spices and fruits for dinner. The garden was beautiful as always. Structured and segregated. She used to not think about it as much, but suddenly she realized that it was too organized. There was no improvisation, no chaotic beauty. All plants throughout the garden had their own purpose, reason, tradition. Any foreign plant was treated as weed. It’s design like the whole school. In perfect balance. Balance… Nonsense. Balance shouldn’t be enforced, it should happen naturally. She contemplated telling the kids off. To leave the weeds to their own devices. To what end? I can’t be here every day. She passed through the garden, towards the pond. It had always been her favourite place in the temple. Mainly because it didn’t feel like the rest of the temple. The area around the brook was used for training and practical spellcasting. Woodweaving, stonelifting, watertwisting. Her best memories were tied to this place, but now it almost seemed hollow. Maybe Konigen was right, maybe Tenko was a better mage than her. She knew the theory, she had the ability. The difference was simply that he knew his confinement. He knew his maximum. And now, Syndra knows her own as well.

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She absentmindedly shifted the water, back and forth in the pond. The dam at the end of the pond made sure the water remained within its borders. She picked up a stone and skipped it across the pond. And another. And so, she spent her next few hours. She remembered the many lessons she had been taught and that she had taught herself. The thought of losing that sense of improvement, that high that came with every time she pushed further than she had before deflated her. More than discomfort, it festered a deep sense of dread within her. Yet nothing happened, her frustrations didn’t manifest. Her turmoil stilled and stifled.

As she gathered an ever-larger ball of water, denying its purpose as tributary, she felt the strain on her psyche. Her glare intensified on the dam. In that moment she understood what she should do. With the pressure of the water, and what power she could muster, she brought all the weight her training upon the dam, cracking it open and letting the waters flow freely. In that moment she realized barriers exist to be broken.