GUARDS AT THE GATE met us with startled stares, otherwise allowing entry unobstructed. Awestruck by the grandeur of the Academy once again, I couldn’t help but feel a parallel to my first arrival. Though this time the students gawked at both of us, dusty and tired as we were, making our way to our quarters. However, a certain mearle met us before we could change.

“Hey! Welcome back! Wow. Why are you so dirty? Your eyes, too! They look so irritated. Let me prepare a solution.”

“Thanks,” I said. “We’ve had a rough few days.”

Nebrei hounded Corbal for tales of our adventure, and at the first lull of the conversation, excused himself to escape to his office. So naturally, she began doing the same to me.

“I hope whatever you did was more interesting than Professor Calder’s lecture.”

An absent stare was all I mustered before finally answering, “I’m sure it was. Wait, they’re a lithomancer, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe they could help us with something. There’s no way the earthquake went unnoticed.”

I went to the bath nearest my room while Corbal left for the Headmaster’s office. It seems that was his first stop whenever we returned. My showers always pushed the water boiler to its limit, and the heat of the steaming water counteracted the drowning sensation. I always made sure to keep my face out of the stream as much as possible. Occasionally I would just stand there under the hot water and trace the scars of my shoulder, each bump and groove memorized from the repeated exploratory caress.

I changed quickly and tied up my hair in a messy low ponytail. It was difficult to make it tighter with one hand, but I was still thankful for the stretchy tie Corbal gifted me. I dried off, changed, and sought him out in his office. He had mentioned Modarres before the trip back here, but changed his mind after thinking to himself in the bath, saying this was beyond Modarres’ capabilities.

“They noticed the quake, even said it was jarring. From so far away, to have such a reaction… Modarres really is attuned. I can’t imagine what Wesley might have felt. Fortunately I have a good historian friend by the southern pass who can offer assistance, she’s all about this sort of thing.”

“Southern pass?”

“Oh, right. It’s a gap through the biggest mountain range in all of Lyvik, leading to the coast.”

“Where’s Lyvik? Corbal talked about it before.” I asked. Nebrei cocked her head.

“That’s… here.”

“I thought this was the RASA.”

“No, the continent is called Lyvik. No wonder Corbal brought you to a school.”

I stopped my retort before I spoke. Nebrei did speak with certain candor.

“So what should we do?”

Corbal yawned, stretching his arms way above his head as though responding.

I enlightened her, “It’s a long walk to my village. We really only just returned home.”

“Aww, that’s sweet.”

“What’s sweet?”

“You called this your home.”

“I… guess it is now.”

I couldn’t define a moment when I first associated the RASA with home.

With a big grin on her face, she added, “It’s home for me, too. For now. Once I learn enough I’ll return to my town and practice somancy.”

Corbal seemed perplexed at Nebrei’s motivation. “Nebrei, your hometown doesn’t have a somancer? I thought your town was big enough for one, maybe two.”

Nebrei’s smile somehow turned laborious. “We didn’t have one when we needed one.”

“Where are you from, Nebrei?”

“Fiskaletin-stäreskybin-Noorflüd-Nebrei-em to the northern coast. A fishing village.”

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“You weren’t kidding about Mearlish, were you?”

“Why would I?”

“Regardless,” Corbal continued, “you’ll do fine as long as you study.”

While they talked, I felt my thoughts drift. I watched Corbal speak, taking in how his shoulders bounced when he laughed. I watched Nebrei’s shimmery, blocky face softened by the warm light of Corbal’s office. They exchanged thoughts fluidly like they were best friends. In that moment, I felt honored to be included. My life had been nothing but adventures since meeting Corbal, and I anticipated many more.

“Great, when will we go?” I asked with renewed eagerness.

“I’ll have to check in on Headmaster Calder before anything gets done, of course, but likely soon.”

“You’re nominating Modarres?” I asked.

“It’s within my power as Dean, and I couldn’t think of anyone more suited for the position. Tellustranian rigor makes them reliable. Good quality in a leader.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Modarres Calder always kept a rigid schedule, much to Nebrei’s grief with her perpetual lateness. I wondered if certain types of people were more attuned to certain domains. Corbal had mentioned before that a lot of people found Agnistreyan-attuned individuals unsavory at best.

Corbal “It might not be the worst idea to begin packing your bags.”

I don’t think Corbal knew just how little I had, nor could I know his belongings; beside his office, his portable treasury could fit the world within if you stuffed it full enough. To my name I possessed my father’s graverock and some clothing gifted to me. Ascetism, however unintentional, was my life. Everything else was borrowed.

“How far is it?”

“A little longer than the walk from your village,” he said, and after a moment, added, “And likely safer, too.”

From the art I’d seen here, the tops were white. I only knew the rolling hills of the forest, and the trees there blocked the sky.

A knock on the doorframe drew everyone’s attention.

“Hello, it’s Professor Wesley Piers at the door,” he introduced using his full name before inviting himself inside. I’m not sure why he always entered with the same introduction. Maybe it was a courtesy- as a diviner, a closed door meant nothing for privacy. He was in good spirits, as usual. His eyes shifted between each of us and the rucksack on the table. “Are you going somewhere, Corbal and company?”

“To a mountain village by the southern pass, I think it’s called Habern.”

“Aber?” Wesley asked nervously, his face suddenly drained of the usual peachy color. “There shouldn’t be any there.”

“No, Hay-burn. It’s the mountain town just before the Southern Pass down to the rock coast.”

Corbal pointed out a location on the map, and Wesley came over to examine it, careful to mind the scattered book piles. “If I remember correctly– and it’s been quite a while– the blooming town of Habern was founded in the same part of the mountain the Historian lives in.”

“New? It’s been there from even before my time! Though I’m sure, comparatively, it’s new.” His face sank ever so slightly.

Corbal seemed to pick up on this, replying, “Even older things bring novelty, Wesley. Age doesn’t guarantee tedium.”

“I appreciate that, Corbal. Be safe on your trip. The roads may not be as safe as we think. I’ll keep an eye out when I can.”

“…actually, on second thought, some protection may be in order,” Corbal said as he sidled between haphazard book stacks to fetch something from behind a cabinet. He offered a long blade to Nebrei. “Here, take this. I have a spare knife. It should fit your belt.” He handed a blade to Nebrei which proportionally to a gnome resembled the full-size swords the Academy guards wielded. As it passed from his hand to hers, it almost appeared to shrink.

“What’s this for?” she asked, feeling the hilt and trying different angles and striking heroic poses. In her stocky fingers, it looked like a toy.

“In case of danger on the road. They’re very handy.”

“Danger? Like what?”

“Bandits, thieves, all sorts of ill-intended scoundrels.”

“Why would people steal from travelers?” I asked.

Wesley laughed, “Didn’t travel much before coming here, did you?”

Corbal explained, “You’ve never had to worry about money, have you, Efrit?”

“I don’t think so, no.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice,” Nebrei interjected. “I had to beg strangers on the road for food money on my way here.”

“You have to pay for food?”

“You have to pay for most things, actually.”

I never had money, nor did I know I needed any. A new fear emerged: how could I pay for all the food I’d consumed here?

“Corbal, I didn’t know about that. Could I work to pay it off?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Nebrei continued to try out the sword.

“Why do you have these weapons? Have you gotten into fights?”

At this he scoffed, “Fights? One or two.”

Wesley chipped in, “He’s as good a duelist as he is a healer!”

Remembering how he saved me during Headmaster Greene’s ritual, I believed him, though I wondered how he might win in physical combat. Maybe he could divine out opponent weaknesses or see the future or something. I wondered if those were even possible. Nebrei certainly had the strength to win, but she’s still young and has never even seen a fight.

“I’m more of an acumencer than either, but I appreciate the compliment.”

“Ah, yes. Always a humble one.”

I waited for Corbal to gift me a weapon, too. He must have anticipated my unasked favor, saying softly to me, “I think, of any of us, you’ll be fine without one.” I couldn’t argue with that.

“We can pack our stuff tonight and leave in the morning. I’ll have to check our storehouse for cold-weather clothing. We might need to make something to fit Nebrei, but that shouldn’t take long.”

“Dress for the cold? Why? It’s still late Sertim.”

“Where we’re headed is in the mountains, near Habern. It’ll be cold, and all uphill.”

“A town called Habern is cold, how fitting,” Nebrei said with more than a hint of sarcasm.

How can it be cold just two days from here? I wondered if my legs were up to the task. I had wandered for what felt like centuries, so maybe a two-day trek uphill wouldn’t be so bad.

Professor Wesley saw us off at the gate, having followed closely behind us right up to that point. He gave hugs to everyone, which I thought was strange, but he’s known for that kind of thing.

“Efrit, Corbal, Nebrei- stay safe. I’ll wait for your return!”

We got maybe a mile into the windy plains, walking briskly to try to save daylight. I felt an uncanny sensation like light in the wind so I turned to look back. There he was in the watchtower, gaze still trained on our group, waving.