Winter came upon us, and neither it nor the return of Cain was welcoming. Winter was a harsh and cruel season, but the good thing was that we received our yearly set of new clothes. Not that any of us would dare throw away our old clothing set. I was sure I still had sets from ten years ago and would wear them as extra layers during the winter.
During my first servitude of the winter, I shivered sharply from the snow drifting around me upon the Psi towers, one of four located at the four corners of the Fire Kingdom's castle. My tattered layers of clothing did barely anything against the wintry winds while I was tasked to be a servant at the towers. The Mage gents training here, clothed in black and red fur coats, were training to become Psi's for the Kingdom's army; highly protected warriors who can communicate long distance with their minds alone and read the minds of weaker individuals.
We resided on the highest floor, with no walls, just thick rounded pillars and stone railings pathetically blocking the freezing chill. The floor of this level was made of fine smooth black stone with the Fire Kingdom's emblem of burning crossed swords painted into the stone. The ceiling—identical to the floor—was part of a gigantic cone roof that topped the pillar. I once overheard that it was enchanted to aid the training of the Mages here.
I stood by the southern pillars, watching and shivering uncontrollably. The ten or so Mages sat in a half-circle at the northern side of the tower, facing outward with their Instructor, Dahli, strolling back and forth. I never really understood what they were doing, but to the best of my knowledge, they were searching for something hidden by using their minds... or something like that.
MAGE GENT
Can we get this servant a coat?
One of the Mages asked Dahli. I stared at Dahli, wondering if he would consider giving me a coat. He had white skin with red swirls and wore a red fur coat over red and golden robes. He stopped, standing with his arms crossed into his drooping sleeves. He looked at me and then back at his student.
INSTRUCTOR DAHLI
Why?
MAGE GENT
His shivering is distracting... really, no point in them being here.
He added under his breath. Instructor Dahli looked over at me once more,
INSTRUCTOR DAHLI
You can use fire, no?
I nodded.
INSTRUCTOR DAHLI
You are free to do so to keep warm.
So, I did, and whenever I was not aiding them by holding open the door or cleaning up after their meals, I would be staring off behind me and into the city below.
From this high up, where the castle sits upon a mountainside, the people of the capital looked like bugs in the magnificent city.
I was not too fond of the Fire Kingdom, but whenever I looked down at the beautifully designed brick homes, tall structured stores, Lighting Poles upon the streets, Lighting Orbs that floated for the inspiring Wizards and Witches that flew upon brooms, young children out in the snow building snowgents and throwing balls of snow at each other—I would forget that I was in the Fire Kingdom.
I clenched my jaws as I peered at the ground below. My stomach churned at the thought of falling from such a height.
INSTRUCTOR DAHLI
I hope you are not thinking about leaping.
I jumped, he was right next to me, and I rigidly shook my head. He blinked at me, but I continued to look ahead and saw that their training had ended. I rushed over to the tower's eastern side, where the stairs leading downward resided.
INSTRUCTOR DAHLI
Ire,
I stopped and turned. Dahli glided toward me and leaned into my face. His broad white eyes floating around in a pink sclera, looked deep into my eyes as he whispered,
INSTRUCTOR DAHLI
You do not want to die.
He slowly stood upright and glided off. I sometimes forget to be careful around Dahli—he could read minds, after all.
*****
Levinter came next—a season of rainy days mixed with sleet and hail. When I first read about Levinter, the thought of being pelted by hail was horrible. But those who sought to become great scholars lavished on studying natural hail. A few balls of hard ice did not melt and radiated with pure mana, akin to puries—the most potent form of pure mana.
During the worst storms, Noble Dah Challa, overseer of all that happened within the basements, risked our lives over Scholar Lao and his students to go out into the storm and collect these—crystalized pellets—they were officially named.
This was how Hugo's old class was preyed upon by a lethal wolf pack due to Dah Challa's desire to obtain wolf corpses for Scholar Lao. Lao later mentioned how he never requested it when he allowed me to ask him a question.
So, here we were, crawling through the wet grass four miles east of the capital in search of crystallized pellets. We would grip and heat them slightly to ensure they did not melt before stuffing them in leather sacks.
INSTRUCTOR MALAKAI
Faster, you stupid insects!
I looked over into the distance at the sound of Malakai mushing his ten students while he stood back with a protective umbrella of magically heated steel hovering over him. Hmph, the deaths of Hugo's classmates were likewise caused by Malakai. Fucking bastard was the worst of them all, and part of me felt like he purposely let his students die so he would not have to deal with any students for a few months.
DEAN
Do you want to join them?
Dean barked at me from behind—he had a similar steel umbrella over his head, causing the ice pellets to sizzle upon contact. Any crystallized pellets would bounce off.
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I said nothing in response and moved onward while keeping close to Nines. I always wondered why our instructors treated us like shit compared to the other fields of study within the basements. Hell, the Psi students were each given a maid.
DEAN
Nine, you idiot!
I turned around as Dean snatched the sack out of Nines' hands and held it up—a pile of crystallized pellets fell out of a hole.
DEAN
It has a fucking hole in it!
He shoved the sack into Nines' chest, knocking him to the ground. Anger took control of me, and I did something I thought I would never do—I blasted a cone of Fire at Dean as if he was another classmate.
Despite catching him by surprise, he grabbed control of my cone of flames and directed it away. The look on his face—a mixture of shock and anger fighting for control of his facial structure. Sheer panic engulfed me as I knew I had messed up.
DEAN
You dare!
A blinding rock slab collided with my side, and I was sent tumbling through the snow.
I forced myself up—this was it, I figured. I let my anger get the best of me, and now I was going to get dragged off like Oralan. As I rose, I braced myself for another onslaught from Dean, but instead, he just stood there glaring at me.
DEAN
Get back to work!
He growled. I swiftly grabbed my sack and sloshed over to Nines, who was attempting to get the crystallized pellets back into his sack. Dean's and other students' prickling stares danced over my body as I took hold of Nines' bag and knotted the bottom into a knot.
Only once I began to help Nines regather his crystallized pellets did Dean take his glare off me. Now, I was perplexed. I was not sent to the Fathers after we returned to the castle, and he never spoke of my attack—as if it never happened. That bastard never made any sense to me.
*****
The seasons came and gone, and by the arrival of Lunar, Nines and I shared a tight platonic relationship. Delve and Sky eventually turned the entire class, save Amburlo and a new student Cleve, against us. Amburlo was still far from a friend to Nines and me and was constantly sent to the Fathers for lashing out at everyone. Cleve kept to himself, and it would not surprise me if he had kissed the floor Dean walked on.
Yet, despite how long Nines and I were close, we had never exchanged words. We read silently, he would watch me talk to the fiends whenever we sneaked up to the fourth floor, and he would always sit by my side whenever we ate in the mess room. He never ate meat or eggs and did his damnedest to find fresh fruit in the pile. Hmph, I could not say anything as I dug into my boiled eggs.
Midway through the Kaze season, I was unable to be around him. That chilly morning, I snapped my head over to see Nines missing. My eyes watered, but I blinked them away as Dean stood at the entrance with six new children. He explained that the classes were divided and evened out. This was done at Cain's command, and he had Nines and Cleve switched over to Malakai's class to even out the young ages.
During our first meal that day, I searched frantically for Nines but saw Cleve. I rushed him,
PAIN
Have you seen Nines?
Cleve was a fragile, thin, big-headed boy with sad-looking black lines flowing down his pitch-black eyes upon light blue and reddish skin.
CLEVE
Nines?
He whimpered, flinching away from me as I stared down at his bald head.
PAIN
Yes, Nines.
He shook his head frantically,
CLEVE
I—I do not know. I have not seen him since last night.
With Instructor Snape's irksome attention on me, I sucked my teeth and scoured the mess room.
Although I was tempted to ask him, I decided against engaging with an instructor. I eventually gave up and sat alone at an empty table. I had no appetite.
My melancholy gave way to anger, but I took deep breaths before feeling someone staring at my back. I forced the tears away and turned—just Amburlo, who averted his gaze. I took a deep breath, but the tears were hard to hold back, so I leaped out of my seat and stormed out of the mess room.
INSTRUCTOR SNAPE
Where are you going—
PAIN
I am not hungry!
I snapped and slammed through the doors. We were not forced to eat, and the halls outside the mess room only led back up to the classrooms where Dean ate—his food brought to him by servants. I was not in Snape's class, so I was free to leave the mess room, and he would have to inform Dean with his Scryer.
Dean watched me as I sat in my seat in the classroom. Refusing to exhibit any sign of melancholy, I somehow forced heat to dry the tears from my eyes as I stared ahead with suppressed anger.
*****
By the end of Kaze, I was over the loss of Nines. Trying to persuade myself that this was normal. I must learn to live with this curse as I have become accustomed to my life as a useless scribe. Cain was once again called upon to lead soldiers to put down rebel insurrectionists in the Earth Kingdom, a wealthy kingdom to the south that, according to Dean, sold anything and everything on the markets.
Rumor had it the rebels opposed having a Queen rather than a King. The news of the first Queen of the Earth Kingdom spread throughout our kingdom like wildfire.
Dean was once again called to fill in the role of Master, and I once again snuck off into the fourth level to reminisce about Nines, Sora, and Hugo.
PAIN
Maybe I should have said a word to Nines.
I whispered to the blindinus, who whined softly in response.
PAIN
You guys barely welcomed him, and now you—
LAO
Who's there!?
I sprinted away at the sound of Scholar Lao's voice, down the hall, around the corner, and leaped up flights of stairs. Inside the central spirals of stairs, I leaped down a flight and gently opened the doors to the fifth floor, snuck inside, and then softly closed the doors behind me. I turned the corner quickly and crashed into Dean.
DEAN
Damnit, Pain!
I gave him an empty look after he pushed me off him and to the ground.
He wore purple silk robes over thick leather clothing during the cold weather. My eyes darted to a black-haired girl I had never seen before standing beside him. Her skin was red and black—the red ran along her bodily edges down to her fingers like my white and black skin. The pattern upon her face reassembled a demon—with purple and red lips resembling stitching and red patterns on her face giving her a permanent scowl. Her pupils were a bright magenta upon a black iris swimming in a blood-red sclera. Dean eyed me and then eyed the direction where I was coming from.
DEAN
Seems like you want to visit the Fathers.
He threatened through his teeth, but I was distracted by the girl as I got back to my feet.
GIRL
Her name is Pain?
Dean's anger fizzled away as he cleared his throat,
DEAN
This is Locness Solefire, Ire... his name is Ire Farcatcher, but he has become a pain in my ass! What were you doing on the fourth floor!?
His anger returned, but I could not care less as I locked eyes with Locness.
DEAN
Hey! Pain in the ass!
He roared, and I snapped too.
PAIN
I was not—I was making sure the door was locked.
He did not buy that for one second as his eyes twitched, and he growled,
DEAN
Get back to your barracks and take her with you.
Locness smirked, giving me a cute laugh, and from then on, she and I became the Pain in Dean's ass.