“Oh fuck.”

The demonstrations had been going well. Though none of the students could create much of a fireball, the ones the advanced group could create were probably going to be enough to suit Theo’s needs. From what Florian could tell, as long as Theo’s group was adequately progressing, that’s all that mattered. A smile had fixed itself on his face as he thought about being able to run around through the castle, not worried about tripping on an errant pebble or slightly raised ledge.

That smile had lasted until Wesley, desperate to measure up to the advanced disciples, had taken his place at the window. A wisp of flame appeared in front of his hand, the man using it as a reference point for the fireball to gather at. It was a trick that a few of the advanced students had begun using, no doubt from their special tutelage under Theo.

Fire had gathered around that initial wisp, the orb growing and spinning in a tightly controlled manner as beads of sweat dripped from Wesley’s head. Mouth set in a hard scowl, Wesley had been entirely focused on the task at hand, but Florian had started to see signs that Wesley was about to reach his limit. His body had begun to shake, and Wesley began to wobble unsteadily on his feet.

“That’s enough, Wesley!” Florian had shouted, moving to shake the man from his focus. But Wesley either had not heard him, or he had ignored him completely, fueling his spell with more and more of the mana around him. Within moments, Florian had witnessed the largest fireball he’d ever seen, larger even than the one Theo had used to demonstrate his magical prowess to the people of Leeds Castle.

And then had flown into the sky, the magic leaving a streamer of orange behind it as it rocketed away. There had been a small crowd assembled below, watching the streamers mage of magical fire as they had been lobbed out by the budding wizards for the past fifteen minutes to so. Finding space wherever they could in between the mass of multicolored tents, they ooh'd and ahh'd as Wesley's enhanced fireball launched far away, their excitement and wonder palpable.

And then Wesley collapsed to the ground in a heap, inviting yelps of concern. His smile replaced by a worried frown, Florian crouched down next to the unconscious man, seeing only the barest indication of life. His chest rose and fell, but it was such a minute thing that it felt like it might stop at any second.

“Get some help!” Disciples scattered at his command, leaving only Florian behind to try to tend to their classmate.

A business student, Florian didn’t have the foggiest idea how in the world to magic a solution to a fainted person. But he remembered something about loosening everything that was tight around their body, so Florian loosened the belt that Wesley wore over his robe at his waist. But beyond that, he was useless, just standing there.

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Fortunately, the same doctor that Florian had seen many times before in the medic tent made an appearance, bursting through the doorway with the full force of an eighteen-wheeler. She was followed by a small horde of students, as well as Lord Jones. Jones looked disheveled, worry drawing lines on his face.

The doctor, without a word, brushed Florian to the side and began to make sure that he was fine. He couldn’t follow what she was doing, so he stepped back to stand among the students to watch her ministrations.

Theo stepped through the open doorway, significantly more calmly than either the doctor or Lord Jones. “I heard that one of my disciples has fainted? Allow me to heal him,” the wizard said, walking over to Wesley. To the doctor, it might have looked like nothing was happening, with Theo just standing there and placing a hand on Wesley’s body. But in reality, as Florian focused on feeling the universe, he watched as Theo began to manipulate the mana in the room around them. Clearly, he was using it to direct some kind of magic, but Florian couldn’t see to what end.

It was Wesley’s best hope, probably, given that precious little could be done in this post-Worldbreak world in the ways of medical care. And then Theo was done with his spell. “I have done what I can for him.”

Florian wanted to ask the wizard what exactly he had done, but Theo booked it from the room without waiting for Florian or anyone else to do exactly that. The doctor looked over Wesley, muttering something to herself as she listened to his breathing one more time. With a couple words, she summoned a pair of burly guards – Terry and Jerry – to lift Wesley and take him out of the room, probably to the medical tent.

“That’ll be all for today, everyone. Go back to the annex and rest,” Florian announced, unsure of exactly what to do now. He knew that overusing magic could lead to fainting; after all, he’d been in Wesley’s position many times before. But Florian doubted he had ever been in as dire straits as that.

The disciples were eager to take his suggestion, and even Theo’s cabal of personal students seemed shaken by the display. That left Jones and Florian alone in the room, accompanied by a couple of green-caped men.

“You think I could have a drink?” Florian asked.

“I think I need one, too.”

With that, Florian and Jones returned to the dining room, where bottles of wine awaited them. Despite its exceeding rarity, Jones poured them both full cups of the stuff, and they drank until thinking became difficult.

It was a welcome reprieve. Between the upcoming journey through the wild to an unfamiliar place and this most recent development, Florian no longer knew how confident he could be in his personal strength. It had been a long time since he’d pushed himself to the limits, but he wondered if he would dare do so again. Had he just gotten lucky, not succumbing to the mental wear of magic?

Fortunately, these were thoughts that disappeared as afternoon turned to evening and then night. By the end of it, Florian returned to the annex awash with wine-induced happiness. A part of him knew it would disappear before long, and that magical headaches would be the least of his problems the following morning.

But for the moment, the silence was bliss.