AELLARIA, SATURDAY, FATHERUS 7TH

That Saturday evening, Aellaria wore her blue sorcerer’s robes, hat, and lily. She looked out the carriage window as the wheels rolled over the cobbles of the high road. The sound of metal straining against wood and hooves on stone was a constant distractor from her meditation. As the horses hauled the carriage forward, the forest lazily scrolled past her.

Syn sits next to her and makes a kind-hearted joke about how hard Aellaria works, and Aellaria politely smiles and nods along, not paying attention. Aellaria did her best to meditate and recover after using her mana that morning.

The specific reason for Aellaria’s intensive meditation and practicing was due to a process called Will Isometrics. Will Isometrics was the practice of spending your entire pool of mana and recovering it rapidly. It was a workout for your soul, mind, or wherever a person’s real mana source was.

The issue with Will Isometrics was twofold. Firstly, it is not very effective. The yield of mana, or willpower, was negligible. You would have to empty your mana reserves and recover them hundreds of times just to see a noticeable increase in your casting ability.

Secondly, the process of recovering mana by meditation requires a mind at peace. Aellaria’s mind was seldom at ease, especially in moments of self-reflection. Even if Aellaria could reach a state of absolute tranquility, it would not be a fast process. In the week Aellaria held the body, she could only complete thirty-five cycles of Will Isometrics.

The amount of Will Isometrics performed would have been acceptable if Aellaria could cast spells efficiently. It wasn't even a lesson taught in the first semester of classes, as sorcerers typically reached the ability to cast first-level spells just by living in their bodies after their talent appeared.

Aellaria didn’t join this outing to celebrate their first success. Aellaria went to the falls for the Mist Primrose.

Mist Primrose was a bouquet of azure petalled flowers with deep blue stamen. These flowers were the base alchemical ingredient to potions used to restore mana. The flowers could be eaten raw for a less potent effect. The Mist Primrose grew in moist environments around Mistfall and was in high demand by alchemists and herbalists.

Aellaria planned to play along with the festivities, let the kids get it out of their system, and gather as many Mist Primrose as possible while they were distracted or sleeping.

Aellaria felt eyes on her from the furthest corner of the carriage. It was Callo. The Ice mage was studying her. It made Aellaria feel sick. This young man was one of the ones responsible for Lilium’s death, and since she was so weak, her only course of action was to exist in his repellant presence.

To the other three in the carriage, Callo was a skilled young Cryomancer who was equal parts goofy, intelligent, and endearing.

Spire’s gates closed at night, and any students late to curfew had to wait until the following day to be let in. However, the summer falls were magical at night, and the four young sorcerer apprentices decided it would be best to camp under the stars. They had invested enough time in Spire for this week, and they could leave it behind for one night to enjoy being kids.

Each sorcerer apprentice knew they would only get increasingly busy as the weeks passed. Spire expects them to rise to more challenges to prove themselves. They would have to cherish nights like these while they still had them.

It was Syn’s idea to bring alcohol to the outing. The other students only realized when the horse-drawn carriage had a large barrel with an inebriated apple painted on its side labeled “Misterran Cider” strapped into the storage compartment.

As they approached the falls, the sound of running water intensified to a roar.

Shortly after, the driver indicated that they were at the cliffs overlooking the falls, and the five students were unloading tents, bedrolls, supplies, and a barrel of alcoholic cider onto the stone cliffs.

Aellaria could tell Marin was having the time of her life just being gifted a bedroll and tent, and she had marveled at the carriage ride with her friends. Syn was wealthy and seemed to enjoy spreading that wealth to affect her economically unfortunate friend.

Before long, there were five tents fully stocked and five comfy chairs positioned perfectly to enjoy the sight of the churning waterfalls and the cozy campfire. Aellaria set herself up on one far end to be as far from Callo as possible. Then Marin, Syn, and Behngi sat in the middle.

Along the cliffside were other fires, indicating they weren’t the only ones wanting to take advantage of the beautiful night. High in the sky was the waxing crescent of the Father’s moon.

Then Syn tapped the barrel of cider, and the comforting smell of fermented apples filled the air. Syn, eager to get everyone comfortable with one another, poured drinks into mugs. “The Falls was a lovely inspiration for the great city's name, but Mistfall is most famous for its orchards. The cidery too, a’course.” Syn said. “Thousands upon thousands of barrels just like this one migrate from here to the furthest reaches of Element.”

Syn seemed most excited about Marin’s reaction. Aellaria noticed that Syn’s eyes kept darting to check on Marin, not like a girl trying to impress a prospective lover, but like a friend trying to impress upon another the finer things in life.

Marin seemed to cringe slightly at the taste. “I’m not much of a drinker, but I can tell you, I like it more than the beer my dad let me try.”

That was good enough for Syn, who then gauged everyone else’s responses.

Callo pretended at stoic indifference, “Thank you, Syn. It is quite nice.” However, as Aellaria’s eyes studied Callo when the Cryomage thought no one noticed him, she could see the stoicism slip to childish excitement.

Behngi very much enjoyed the drink. One of the few benefits of being a ward of Element was experiencing the curiosities of human culture. Drinking is one of them. “Back home… you would be shamed for drinking this. Only a fool’s child dulls their mind.” He took a slow sip and added, “It is a delightful taste.”

“Agreed,” Aellaria added. The cider taste brought her back to Zenithor’s time as a student. Aellaria was not entirely prepared for the nostalgia she felt: his first love, his struggles, and his triumphs. “It tastes like apple,” she said simply.

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Syn sat down after handing out drinks and lay back in the comfy chair. “A couple of years ago, I had many friends over. I wanted to be a good host, so when my family was asleep, my friends and I snuck into the cellar and tried everything. Ciders, Meads, Wines, Beers. We would have moved on to the spirits, but we had already drunk enough to pass out in the middle of the cellar. I had always wanted to drink Misterran Cider again. It was my favorite, but I was severely punished.”

“Your parents punished you?” Behngi asked. “It sounds like a failure of parenting. They should have been punished, not you.”

“My ma, yes. She made me sleep outside for a month after that. We opened some costly bottles and barrels while we were down there.” Syn said.

Callo shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “Wait, your Mom made you sleep outside? That seems a touch harsh for just being a curious kid.”

Syn was unfazed. “I guess it was a strange punishment. When my talent came forward, I accidentally caused the fire that burned down our old home. When Father was alive, he built it for us.” The darker tone of what Syn talked about wasn’t visible in her expression or mannerisms, but Aellaria’s insightful eyes could see Syn’s pain. “So I spent a lot of time outside after I turned twelve. It made it easier on my family, and the gardens were actually pretty nice. That's when I first started actually praying to Phoenix instead of pretending to for my mother.”

“You’re pretty strong. If I had to sleep outside on the farm, I would have been terrified by the lack of security. The road along our farm was famous for its highwaymen.” Marin added.

Callo looked contemplative, “I’m pretty lucky my talent manifested as cold. All I did was put out the fireplace by accident. Fire must be a rough one.” Callo said, but Aellaria could tell that mistruth lay behind his repulsive smile.

Syn looked like she had an idea, “Wait, you had the same tutor as Flair, right? Do you have any embarrassin’ stories about her? She and that Bren girl have been monsters in our class.”

Callo took a long sip from his cider, “I wish I could help you. Even if there was something to tell about Flair and Bren– I-I am probably more afraid of those women than you are. Sorry, Syn.” Callo apologized.

Marin waved it away after finishing her sip. “It’s no worry. The only solution is just to avoid them, right Syn?”

Syn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay. I’m sorry for escalatin’ things. I guess I just burn a little hot bitch.” Syn said, mimicking Flair’s emptyheaded excitement.

This joke got giggles from everyone except Aellaria, who was, as usual, both in her own world and taking everything in. Syn took a moment to refill everyone’s mugs.

“Callo, Aellaria, you both come from the capital. What was it like growing up in Frostholm?” Behngi asked.

“Aellaria, you’re from Frostholm? I thought I connected with everyone from home,” Callo asked. Aellaria could feel his purple eyes investigate her appearance, and a part of her wanted to blind him.

“It is a big city. There must be some women there you haven’t slept with… or even met.” Aellaria jabbed.

“I’m a virgin,” Callo admitted quickly and defensively. “I plan to be until I graduate. This mind and body is on one track, and I will be the Archmage one day.” Callo promised.

Aellaria was slightly affected by her drink and scoffed audibly. This response caught her off guard. She didn’t want Callo to see her opinion of him, and her open disgust with him may have been radiating from her. Aellaria set the remainder of her cider on the ground for the ants to claim.

Syn started to laugh. “We ain’t about to divulge our sexual histories, are we?”

Marin and Behngi both responded with a swift “Nope.”

Off in the distance, along the cliff overlooking the bay, someone dove into the waters of the fall. The group momentarily watched this person with interest as the waters went calm almost two hundred feet below the cliff. “Well, they’re dead,” Syn said before being proven wrong by the surfacing cliffdiver.

In the moonlight, the five apprentices watched as the cliffdiver cast a spell and flew back toward their camp, a jet of water in their wake.

“Well, they’d have been dead if they were normal,” Syn said, feeling the need to explain herself.

“Must be a Sophomore or older?” Marin asked, not knowing how talented you must be to survive a fall like that.

“I think you are right,” Behngi added.

Callo had a slightly inebriated optimism. “I could probably make that jump.”

“Only a skilled acrobat with water magic could survive that drop. If you tried to do it, you would just go splat.” Syn giggled.

“I could make an Ice Ramp!” Callo explained. He used his hands to demonstrate how he would fall and redirect his trajectory with ice.

Behngi explained things as calmly as he could, not being sure if Callo was joking or not. “With the water rapids being as unpredictable as they are, you would likely freeze an uneven surface and make a human cheese grater.”

Callo smiled proudly, “Then I vow to figure out how to survive that jump by this time next year. You can all watch me.”

The four youngsters continued to enjoy their night, and Aellaria pretended to join them. Deciding that she had been too openly harsh on Callo, she used every ounce of willpower not to outwardly judge him further.