ZENITHOR AND LILIUM, FOUR YEARS EARLIER:

Zenithor waited excitedly for Lilium to return home from her first day at The School of Elemental Promise. Today was Lilium’s first step toward becoming a powerful sorcerer, and Zenithor couldn’t have been happier.

The likelihood of children born to sorcerers inheriting magical abilities was higher, but the manifestation of such talents ultimately depended on their upbringing rather than innate traits. Even then, there were no guarantees.

Lilium's magical aptitude surfaced when she was thirteen, which was older than the typical age for most mages. Lilium was frustrated while doing the dishes; she had forgotten about them from dinner the night before and broke a spatula. The metal snapping with a loud ‘twang’ had scared her, causing her to summon enough water in the kitchen to fill a bathtub.

The outburst was a scary moment for Lilium, but for Zenithor, it was one of his proudest. He had always tried to hide the hope that she would develop talent, and that happiness came bursting out of the older mage when he saw the destruction in his kitchen.

Today, Zenithor could hardly contain his excitement as his pride and joy walked down the side of the country road toward their home just outside the capital. The tip of Lilium’s hat bobbed back and forth with each step.

There was something wrong with the picture, however. Lilium wasn’t smiling, happy to come home and tell her father of her day's adventures. Lilium hid her face behind the wide brim of her hat by looking down. She turned to walk up to the house.

“Lily, are you okay?” Zenithor asked.

Lily walked past him and toward her room. She was on the verge of tears. Zenithor used his wind magic to pass air through a flute on the wall, playing the familiar melody of ‘Jest’s Dance.’ Lilium’s mother would sing this song to her as a baby. Zenithor used it now to let Lilium know that he was there.

It was enough for Lilium to turn around and run to her father. She wrapped her arms around his aged frame. She continued to hide her face, but Zenithor could tell Lilium was sobbing.

“Hey, pretty little dude. It’s alright.” Zenithor said as he comforted his daughter. He would often refer to her as his little dude because it was guaranteed to make her giggle when she was younger.

Father and daughter made the short journey to the living room, a safe place where the small family would sing, dance, and practice simple magic together.

“What happened, bud?” Zenithor asked as they sat in the cozy but familiarly messy room.

Lilium took moments to compose herself before wiping the tears from her cheeks. She didn’t like looking weak in front of her father. They were all each other had, and Lilium never wanted to feel like a burden, but some events were so upsetting that she couldn't hide them.

“When we were in class… I thought I had made a bunch of friends. All the girls and the teacher were so nice to me all morning. When we were learning the push cantrip, I was the only one in class who couldn’t form the spell circle right, and I got overwhelmed…” Lilium was on the verge of tears again.

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“So you had an accident?” Zenithor guessed. He knew that she was still prone to accidents as she hadn’t fully learned to control the torrents of chaotic magic that swirled inside her in stressful situations.

“Yes… Instead of misting the air, I accidentally made a big bubble, and when it hit the ground, it made everyone's shoes wet. Everyone laughed at me. The boys, my new friends, and even the teacher hid his face so I couldn’t see his smile. We had to take an early lunch because the floor needed to be dried…” Lilium said.

Zenithor smiled with twinkling eyes. This was far from the first time Lilium had an accident like this. However, he knew that part of the reason he sent Lilium to Elemental Promise was to help her control her outbursts. “That must have been scary. On the bright side, it was just water. You didn’t accidentally knock a student out. There was no fire, no structural damage.”

“That's part of the problem, Dad! It's one thing to be a loser Aquamancer, but it’s even worse being the loser Aquamancer who couldn’t control themselves in class. For the rest of class, the girls kept looking at me and giggling.”

“It’s okay, Lily,” Zenithor said as he leaned forward to put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Kids can be the cruelest people, but they don’t know any better. How about you tell me about these giggling girls, and I will obliterate them and their dads.” Zenithor said as he lifted the brim of her hat to look into her eyes.

Lilium shook her head.

Zenithor continued, “Cause I could. I’m the strongest, fragile old man in the world.” He joked as he smiled at his daughter.

Lily looked into her father's eyes, seeing his effort to make the situation normal for her. She knew the direction the conversation was going. She would tell him how she wanted to avoid the embarrassment altogether. She wasn’t built like the other students. She was weird. Her father would tell her that it is expected to be weird, but at the very least, she should go to school to learn to handle her chaotic magic better. While she is at it, she might as well study hard and apply for Spire, too. “Thank you for the offer, Dad, but you can’t just kill people you don’t like.”

Zenithor’s face scrunched up in faux deep thought, and he stroked his beard exaggeratedly, “But that’s how I got through my twenties!”

Zenithor hugged Lilium and then gently plucked Lilium’s hat from her head. Lilium looked up to watch her father. His free hand was weaving a spell. Lilium recognized the rune for color and knew it was finally happening. From root to tip, blonde hairs in a stripe began changing color. They were blue, her special color. Lilium was ashamed of her limited element, but it was hers. Water magic was weaker, and right now, she felt weak. It was just who she was. Once the spell resolved, the strip of hair delicately fell between her eyes, and her eyes crossed to look at it.

The father smiled at the silly excited expression on Lilium’s face and warned, “A mage that…”

Lilium interrupted with a giggle, “I know. A mage that displays their limitations is a fool.” Zenithor had told Lilium ‘no’ to changing her hair color many times. For her stubborn father to relent was a big deal.

Zenithor hugged her again, “But you're still growing up. If perfection is not possible, I will settle for happiness. I love you.”

Lilium smiled a pained smile. He tried so hard for her. She would continue to try for him. “I love you too, dad.”