The city was barely visible through the gusts of snow. Veb shivered, pulling his cloak closer around him. He didn’t bother pulling his hood back up, as the wind would just blow it back again. His grandmother walked on ahead of him, her cloak billowing in the snow, but the frigid wind didn’t seem to bother her in the least. Veb struggled to keep up, which caused his grandmother, Tesri, to look back and frown at him again. He would have to remember not to call her grandmother. She had made it clear he was to address her as High Mage.

Veb caught up with her again. She was walking as though the strong gusts of wind were a mere breeze. The wind let up for just a moment and Veb glimpsed the city of Stonesrest, the part of it that wasn’t underground. He saw goblins and humans hurrying about, but of course no elves. Elves never came to the goblin country of Virest, just as goblins never visited the elven country of Yazast to the south.

“Vebirun, stop dawdling,” Tesri snapped.

Veb muttered an apology and hurried after her.

“You are sixteen,” Tesri said. “You should be taller.” She was much taller than him, which lent to his trouble keeping up with her. “Let us hurry below the ground. I detest the surface.”

Veb dreaded leaving the surface. He had spent all of his life, that he remembered, on the surface. He almost lost sight of his grandmother in the crowd and had to run after her, nearly tripping in the snow with his legs stiff from the cold. Goblins were shorter than humans, but he was shorter than most goblins.

This was the homeland of his species, but it didn’t feel the least bit like home. He already missed Amharvis, a country that had all four seasons, and the winters were never so harsh as this one. He missed the forest of Ridgewood, and most of all he missed his Aunt Sanri. Would he ever be allowed to return home? His grandmother had swept in one morning, set a candle before him, put some dark powder on it, and scowled when the flame turned bright purple. Apparently that was how she knew he had magic.

“She shouldn’t have kept it from me...” Tesri muttered again, her words almost lost in the wind.

She had spoken little on the way to Stonesrest, other than her seemingly bottomless anger that Sanri had kept Veb’s magic from her.

“I trusted her to send word if you had magic,” Tesri said. She sniffed, standing straighter even as the wind buffeted the two of them, pulling some of her long white hair loose from its tight bun. Her pale gray eyes, the same shade as those of all other goblins, glared straight ahead. Her long ears, which stuck out horizontally and were pointed on the end, somehow didn’t respond to the wind blasting by.

Veb’s ears wouldn’t stop twitching in the strong wind, which was another thing Tesri had taken issue with on their journey.

“It’s a good thing I decided to visit,” Tesri said, still not even looking at Veb.

The dreaded visit was the first time Veb had met his grandmother. He didn’t think it was a good thing she had decided to visit. He shivered again.

Tesri turned her scowl back to Veb. “Amharvis is no place for a goblin. Much too sunny. It is because Sanri took you away from Virest that you didn’t grow to be a proper goblin. Even your magic isn’t right.” She looked away for only a moment before her eyes narrowed at him. “Tell no one about your talent. It is embarrassing, but I still want you properly educated.” She raised a brow.

“Yes, High Mage,” Veb said quickly.

The one thing he didn’t miss about Amharvis was the sun. He supposed that was why so many goblins lived underground in Stonesrest. Their species burned easily in sunlight, which meant they avoided being out in the day and were pale. Their eyes were sensitive to the light, but they could see very well in the dark. Veb had spent many wonderful nights wandering the forest around Ridgewood village alone, or with his Aunt Sanri.

“At last...” Tesri said when they reached the wide stone steps that led down to the true city gate, as she had called it.

The part of Stonesrest on the surface was newer. The original city was beneath it, and that was where the Mage Hall was. Two severe looking goblins wearing armor opened the massive doors, revealing even more stairs leading down. Dim torches were positioned just close enough together that humans could traverse the underground city as well.

Veb’s shoulders tensed the further they went down those steps. He didn’t like the idea of there being so much stone between him and the surface. Tesri kept frowning at him. He was surprised she didn’t trip on the steps with how often she glanced at him. Veb tried to keep his expression blank, knowing she was watching his reaction.

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“Being underground is unsettling for you,” Tesri said. It wasn’t a question. “You will become accustomed to it in time. This is the city where you were born, and where your parents were born.”

Veb hesitated. “What happened to my parents?” He regretted the question immediately at his grandmother’s stormy look.

Tesri didn’t look at him, staring ahead down the stairs. “They were fools.” She said nothing more.

Aunt Sanri had always been reluctant to tell Veb what happened to his parents, but she had been sad, not angry. She certainly had never called Veb’s parents fools. The stairs ended at last in a vast cave full of buildings and market stalls selling various things. Tesri led Veb down one of many stone corridors that split off from the city square. He lost track of the twists and turns in the corridors before they reached an intricately carved stone door.

Tesri stopped and turned to look at him. “This is the entrance to the Mage Hall, the place where you will become a proper goblin, an upstanding member of Stonesrest society.” She opened the door and stepped inside.

Veb’s heart beat loudly in his ears as he followed his grandmother into the imposing front hall. The corridors of the Mage Hall were no less confusing than those of the rest of the city. A few people were passing through the hall and gave Veb a curious glance. They were all goblins. Maybe there were no human mages living in Virest who studied at the hall, or perhaps they all went to Amharvis or Yazast instead. A woman hurried over to Tesri and Veb.

The woman’s long white hair went down to just past her shoulders. Her pale gray eyes were alight with curiosity when she glanced at Veb. “Welcome back, High Mage.”

Tesri nodded regally. “This is my grandson, Vebirun. Show him to his room.” She walked away without a glance back.

The woman smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I am Luniri, assistant to High Mage Tesri. This way.” She set off down the nearest corridor on the right.

She was just as tall as Veb’s grandmother, but she walked even faster. Veb almost lost Luniri several times in the halls before they stopped outside a door and she knocked. A boy who appeared to be Veb’s age opened the door. His white hair was just long enough to tie back, which he had done neatly, a stark contrast to Veb’s mess of white hair.

“Zekun, this is Vebirun,” Luniri said. “He will be your roommate.” She walked away without another word.

Zekun smiled, and unlike Luniri’s, it looked real. “Welcome home.”

Veb felt a little better as he stepped into the room. At least his roommate seemed friendly. Zekun closed the door behind him and gestured to a bed on the left of the room, which had blankets folded neatly at the foot of it, waiting for the bed to be made.

“That’ll be yours,” Zekun said, sitting on his own bed. “Can I call you Veb?”

Veb nodded.

Zekun smiled again. “You can call me Zek. Don’t worry, I’ll show you around to your classes tomorrow. The halls can be confusing, but I’ve been here long enough to learn my way around.”

“Thank you,” Veb said. He set to work making the bed, aware of Zek watching him curiously all the while.

Veb broke out in a cold sweat, dreading Zek would ask him what his talent was at any moment. Zek said nothing until Veb had finished and sat on the bed.

“There’s not many students here at the moment,” Zek said. “There’s only six of us now that you’re here, which is considered a lot for one year.”

“Mages aren’t that common here either?” Veb asked.

Zek shook his head. “Are you really from Amharvis? I heard it gets warm there.”

Veb managed not to sigh as he thought of home. “It is warm there. It gets cold in the winter, but not like it is here.”

Zek frowned. “You sound like you miss it already. You didn’t come here because you wanted to, did you?”

Veb hesitated, but it wasn’t as though he could deny it. “I didn’t. You?”

Zek looked away for a moment. “I’d rather be anywhere but here. Most students are here of their own accord, and the older mages are all here because they want to be. Some mages come here to study various things but don’t teach classes. There aren’t a lot of teachers, and you’ll meet all of them tomorrow.”

Veb had arrived too late for dinner, so his first night in the underground city was a hungry one and a cold one. The blankets weren’t thick enough for the cold seeping through the stones. The oppressive knowledge that he was far underground was even worse after Zek blew out the lone candle in the room. Veb could see in the dark, but he was used to there being some light.

He closed his eyes to the only true darkness he ever saw, making him feel worse still. He wasn’t the only one who was restless. Zek tossed and turned in his sleep, occasionally breathing in sharply. That must be quite a nightmare. Veb didn’t know if he should wake the other boy, or if this was a usual occurrence. Veb lay awake most of the night, listening to Zek’s restless tossing and trying not to think about home.