Winter 4986, 02 Ginmoth

Lily ran through the gate from the Smilnda Guild to the Tarorn Guild and nearly ran into the attending Mage waiting for them there. She managed to pivot, spinning in a circle to avoid hitting him, then continued to jog through the door toward the tower proper. The Guild in Smilnda had been awe-inspiring, at least twice as large as her old tower, if not bigger, and Vevi had told her this one would be even grander.

She wasn't disappointed. She could fit at least three of her own towers within the Mages Guild of the capital city. Lily ran right to the middle of the ground floor and spun in circles. She let her eyes trail up from the dark marble floor, over the ornate doors that led to the shops and other rooms providing public services. Up the stairs that wrapped around the wall to the second-floor balcony were more doors held mysteries she longed to explore. Then up another exposed stairway leading to the third floor, hidden from view by the enchanted ceiling that showed the constellations of this particular sky. If she focused her attention enough to block out the rest of the tower from her peripheral vision, Lily could almost imagine she was floating in the star-filled blackness of space.

"Welcome to Tarorn," Vevi laughed as she joined Lily in the atrium. The other Mages who'd accompanied them from Smilnda continued past her without comment. "I trust that look of wide-eyed awe isn't one of disappointment?" She laughed at her own joke and didn't wait for Lily to answer. Placing a gentle hand on Lily's shoulder Vevi turned her towards the stairs before she was forced to pull back, shaking her fingers from the heat.

"It's huge!" Lily announced loudly enough she was surprised -and disappointed- that her voice didn't echo back down at her.

Vevi hummed, the smile evident in her voice even if Lily was too distracted looking everywhere else to see it, "Just wait until you see the living quarters. If you take the stairs up to the third floor..." Vevi made a point of sweeping her arm in front of Lily's eyes to gain her attention before pointing towards the stairs, "I can show you your room."

Lily spun away from the stairs so quickly she smacked Vevi in the face with her hair, gaping at the Mage, she asked, "You mean I get to sleep on the upper floors? Not in the basement?"

It was all still too good to seem true. Still, Lily allowed herself to hope. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she clutched her hands in front of her chest to keep herself from hugging the Mage and potentially burning Vevi in her excitement.

"No one sleeps in the basement, Lily," Vevi assured her, "Now let's go. We still have a lot to do."

Lily sprinted for the stairs, taking the steps two at a time and running along the outside banister to avoid hitting those coming down beside the wall. She was jerked to a stop when someone grabbed her arm in passing, "No running on the balconies," the man barked before letting her go, staring at his hand then her, "You're the new Sorcerer. The Warlock experiment."

"My name is Lily." Lily tilted her head at the Mage. His description of her as an experiment made her want to be angry at him, but either she was still too happy about being in such a wonderful place, or there was something else about him that made his words feel less offensive.

Lily flinched as he snapped his fingers, holding his index up in the air, "That is much more concise! Two syllables instead of six, much more efficient... yes..." he narrowed his eyes at her then leaned over at the waist to the right and left to look around at her sides, continuing, "I am glad you don't have some inane designation, they work for records but are a burden for conversation... yes..." Lily couldn't tell if he was talking to himself or her and tilted her head to the other side. "The investigators reported that you are unaware of the experiments the Warlocks performed on you..." he started.

"Antony!" Mage Vevi had finally caught up with Lily, huffing and puffing from her jog up the stairs, "Miss Lily has only just arrived. Perhaps you can leave your questions for tomorrow?"

"Terribly inefficient, Vevi, she's right here!" he held his hands out, fingers spread wide as if to show Lily off to his fellow Mage. Lily was just starting to wonder if all Mages -and not just Warlocks- were a little insane when Antony sighed, "But I suppose you're right," he turned back to Lily, shaking a finger at her, "No running on the balconies, not everyone has feather-fall prepared every day." then he turned and continued the way he'd been going.

"Feather fall?" Lily asked Vevi, who moved to continue up the second flight of stairs.

"It's a simple spell that allows one to float down instead of fall. Though the name is a misnomer. Feathers only fall at a lower rate of speed if they catch the winds, in a vacuum- You aren't listening, are you?" Vevi stopped talking as Lily passed her on the steps.

She resisted running but just barely. Between the fact that she hadn't exercised this morning and the excitement of the new place, Lily felt like she was about to burst with excess energy.

"Nope!" Lily answered Vevi bluntly, "I don't really care about Mage spells," arcane magic, as the Mages practiced it, required hours and hours of diligent study, and Lily would much rather practice something physical, like the staff. "I have my fire, and that's good enough for me."

Her head reached the ceiling, and a few steps later popped out the floor of the third story. She stopped resisting the urge to run and again took the last few steps two at a time before sprinting into the middle of the floor once more.

The third floor was much like the first, taking up the tower's entire circumference, though, unlike the ground floor, this one looked like someone had planted a garden in the middle of it. Lily ran past small trees and benches along a cobble walkway that separated thick green grass on either side. The stairs continued to spiral up the side of the tower five more stories, each one with a banistered walkway and lined with doors. The ceiling here was enchanted to show the sun as it appeared outside, making it feel like the tower was hollow and open to the sky above.

"This floor has the dining room as well as the student library and the infirmary," Vevi explained as she caught up again, "The second floor..." the one they'd run past in Lily's excitement, "...holds the classrooms where non-resident apprentices study with resident apprentices and wards. The third floor and above is for residents only."

Instead of moving for the stairs, Vevi gestured through the garden towards the opposite side of the tower. A small girl was sitting at a simple desk and reading a thick book Lily doubted she could lift on her own. Vevi approached, clearing her throat and pointing up, "Two for the third floor, please."

"Isn't this the third floor?" Lily asked, tilting her head at Vevi while the girl opened the drawer of her desk and riffled in it for something.

Vevi shook her head, "This is the third floor of the tower, but we refer to the living quarters as their own separate partition. Your room is on the third floor of the living quarters. This is the first floor of the living quarters." Lily furrowed her brow and crinkled her nose at the explanation. It sounded needlessly confusing. Vevi just shrugged, "You'll get used to it soon enough."

The girl finally found what she was looking for and presented it to Vevi and Lily. It was a simple woven basket and within were soft squishy balls no larger than Lily's smallest fingernail. Taking two, Vevi handed one to Lily, who squished it between her fingers gently. "They may look like marshmallows, but I assure you they are much more than that," Vevi whispered conspiratorially to Lily.

"What's a marshmallow?" Lily asked as Vevi popped her squishy ball into her mouth.

Vevi looked as if she might choke and coughed, "You've never had marshmallows before?" she asked in complete disbelief. Lily didn't have time to answer before Vevi was floating, rising slowly off the ground and up towards the ceiling, "Just eat it." Vevi called back down, "It's sweet but contains a levitation spell that will take us to the third floor!"

Vevi was already past the first balcony and heading towards the second when Lily shoved the strangely squishy spell into her mouth.

It was chewy and sickly sweet. Lily wasn't sure what she wanted to focus on more, the sensation in her mouth or the one in her feet as she rose from the ground and floated up to the third floor. She stopped rising at the balcony, and Vevi held her hand out to help Lily over the edge.

Still chewing on the spell, Lily waved the Mage away and clambered over herself. As she passed over the railing, she felt the spell fade with a dip in her stomach. She fell a foot down and stumbled to catch herself as if she'd missed the last step on a flight of stairs.

"You've really never had marshmallows before?" Vevi asked again as she straightened her robes. Lily shook her head and finally swallowed the sweet spell. Vevi shook her head, "You poor thing..." she seemed significantly more upset at Lily never having had a marshmallow than she was about Lily having slept in a basement. Lily herself could only shrug.

Vevi started around the edge of the balcony, examining the doors and continuing to explain the levitation spell, "Those are courtesy of our practicing Journeymen. I can assure you that at least ninety percent of them work as intended. Still, they ARE for practice, so there's always a chance that one may have... unintended effects. You can always take the stairs if you don't want to risk it."

Lily looked over the edge of the banister instead of the boring doors as she walked. From above, she could see that the garden below was planted in what looked like a glyph shape, though she couldn't read it. "What kind of unintended effects have there been?" she asked.

"Well..." Vevi drew out the word, glancing over at Lily nervously, "The worst was one that turned someone into a pigeon... It took them a few days to figure it out. They thought he was just one of the many birds that occasionally find their way into the garden. But the Clerics were able to reverse it right away once he was identified."

Lily looked away from the garden to tilt her head at Vevi just as the Mage stopped before a door with a plack that read, 'resident name pending.' "You have Clerics here too?" Lily asked curiously.

Vevi nodded, "Yes, of Saint Bede. They can explore their arcane arts while also putting their divine blessings to use in the infirmary and chapel on the ground floor." Lily huffed, but Vevi was too busy digging through her robe's pockets to hear, continuing, "We will have your plack updated now that we know your name." finding the key, Vevi unlocked the room then passed the key to Lily before swinging the door open, "Your room, Miss Lily, I hope it's too your liking."

Lily rushed past Vevi's smile, stopping in the middle of her new room and spinning in circles yet again. It was half again as large as her old room in the tower and had not only a well-stuffed chair in the corner but a small desk as well. The bookshelf was empty, but Lily felt herself breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of blue blankets on the bed. She'd feared they would be red.

Completing a handful of spins, she lunged for the window. It was large enough for her to look out without having to jump and, "No bars!"

"Well, we assume you'll be careful not to fall out," Vevi said with a sad grin. She knew full well why Lily had expected bars but was trying to pretend otherwise. Lily appreciated the effort, at least. Vevi moved towards the desk and scooped up a small book Lily hadn't noticed before, presenting it to her, "Your papers, Lily... You're a protected citizen now..."

Gingerly Lily took the book with both hands, running her fingers over the knight embossed on the cover. Slowly, reverently, she opened it to the first page where her name was written clearly at the top, 'Lily.' Below it were lines for her place and date of birth, but instead of names, there was written, 'unknown, estimated year of birth 4970.' Below that was a place labeled 'Divine Compatibility,' but beside it was written 'ineligible.' Lily didn't care about that, but below it was another place labeled, 'Sorcerer, Fire. Clearance:' followed by three blank lines.

Vevi seemed to be reading her mind, or at least the direction of her eyes on the page, "You'll have three chances to take your clearance exam. If you fail all of them, the law dictates that you will be given a sealing tattoo. For your own and others' protection." Lily looked up in shock and fear, only to find Vevi smiling at her, "I doubt you'll have a problem, Lily. The Paladins of Hengist have assured us that you have demonstrated near mastery of your magic. And you will have plenty of time to practice even if you do fail the first time."

Lily actually snorted at that, snapping her papers shut, "Near mastery? I've been practicing with my fire since well before my breasts grew in." Vevi spluttered, and Lily shrugged. She didn't know how old she was when the Archmage had taken off the sealing collar and allowed her to practice with her magic. She didn't bother to try and count the seasons. It didn't seem to matter at the time.

"Well..." Vevi cleared her throat, "as a ward of the Guild, you will be expected to take the most basic lessons with the new apprentices and any other Sorcerers in residence. They start at ninth bell in the third classroom on the second public floor. If you want, I can give you the tour now, or you can have the remainder of the day to rest."

Lily rolled her eyes, "I haven't had this much energy since I was allowed to walk around Hamerfoss. Do you think I'll be able to go outside today?" though considering the size of the Mages Guild, there was a good chance she would run out of daylight before finishing the tour of the tower.

Vevi shook her head, "Not today, I'm afraid. But I will gladly show you around here. I think you'll find more than enough to satisfy your curiosity..."

Stolen novel; please report.

She was right, of course.

As they left Lily's room Vevi explained that the five upper floors of the living quarters consisted of the resident Mages' private rooms and that Lily wasn't allowed in any of them without permission from their owners. Each floor had its own set of toilet rooms, opposite each other, so you never had to walk too far. Above that were the offices and labs of the higher ranking Mages as well as the Journeyman and Mages' library and the Archmage's library, none of which she had clearance to go into. Basically, there was no reason for her to go above the floor her room was on. But that still left plenty below for her to explore.

Vevi showed Lily the Apprentice library, which was a strange crescent shape, following the curve of the tower with no less than four doors at varying intervals leading from the garden into it. The infirmary was smaller but with the same basic shape and two doors leading into it. Same with the bathing facilities, which consisted of a public locker room and stalls with showers and shallow baths for males and females separately.

They stopped to have lunch in the dining hall, which had a similar eating arrangement to the mess hall in Hamerfoss. The notable difference was that the 'food table' didn't actually contain food. Instead, it held only piles of plates and rows of empty goblets. Vevi took one of each for herself and indicated Lily do the same before taking them, still empty, to one of the dining tables. Once seated, the Mage spoke to her plate, "Couscous with chicken," then to her goblet, "mint tea."

Lily almost upended her chair when -a heartbeat later- Vevi's plate contained steaming food. Vevi grinned and patted Lily's chair until she sat back down, then explained, "It's not the best tasting, but it is nourishing and serves for most meals. If you want something fancy though you'll need to go into town. As a ward, you'll be given an allowance of five silver a week, which should be enough for you to eat out about three times if that's what you chose to spend it on."

The summoned food was bland, but Lily doubted she would ever spend her money on something better, not when she could save for something more permanent.

After lunch, Vevi showed Lily the classrooms on the second floor as well as the public library. She had called it 'public' but then explained that only nobles ever really used it -as admittance for non-Guild Members was often too much for the common folk to justify affording. On the ground floor was the gate room Lily had come through as well as the chapel, shops selling magical goods and services, and a long room full of stalls with mirrors for communicating with people in other Guilds,

"If I remember correctly, you were practicing with the quarterstaff at Hamerfoss... " Vevi said as she led Lily through the last door on the ground floor and down a flight of stairs to the basement. Lily nodded but couldn't speak past the lump suddenly in her throat. The tightly spiraling stairs reminded her of her own tower, and she almost expected to find Ran and Brom waiting for her at the base. She didn't, she would never see them again, but her fears were not at all eased by the long hall she did find. It was exactly the same.

Vevi noticed her hesitate and turned with a smile, offering a hand, "The training and practice rooms are down here. The first five doors on either side are for evocation spells, things like fireballs and lightning bolts, but at the very end..." she cupped her fingers, indicating Lily should follow, but then dropped her hand and smile, "If you're not ready, Lily..." She was concerned, and Lily lifted her jaw, stepping forward and past the Mage. It was stupid to be afraid of a hallway. This wasn't her tower, it didn't smell anything like what she was used to, and it was the kindly Vevi beside her, not either of the Archmages.

Vevi walked beside Lily and opened the last door on the end when they reached it. Beyond was a large brightly lit room with honey-colored wooden floors. Racks of simple wooden weapons lined the nearest wall, consisting mainly of staves, daggers, and even a few short swords. "Honestly, this room doesn't get much use, but you're welcome to it if you want to continue your work with the martial arts."

Vevi moved to the rack and picked up one of the quarterstaves, spinning it over her hand and nearly dropping it. Her laugh was one of embarrassment as she put the staff back, "My aunt is an artist with the quarterstaff, but I'm afraid I hit myself more often than my opponents."

"It just takes practice, my dear Vevi, same as everything else." a man's voice spoke from behind Lily, making her jump and turn; still on edge from the memories the hall had inspired.

The man wore robes like everyone else she'd seen here, but instead of slippers, he wore hard boots that clicked as he walked into the room. His hair was dark blonde and long enough to keep pulled back in a ponytail, and his smile was broad and genuine, lighting up his dark chocolate eyes as he grinned at Vevi, "I'm sure Master Velona would say the same next time she comes to visit." his eyes strayed from Vevi to Lily, and he continued to smile as he asked, "And who's this? A new apprentice? One interested in my art, perhaps?"

"My name is Lily," Lily announced before Vevi could introduce her, "and I'm not an apprentice. But I am studying weapons. Do you fight?" for some reason, her question made the man laugh.

"Lily, this is Han. He's our resident Battlemage, and specializes in the short sword, but I'm sure he would spar with you, if you ask nicely."

Han gave Lily a courtly bow, and Lily took a step closer to him, clutching her hands to her chest again and balancing on the balls of her feet. "Would you really? The Squires kept going easy on me, but I really want to learn."

"Squires?" Han asked, looking to Vevi for the answer.

"Lily is the Sorcerer we found north of Hamerfoss, some of the Squires of Hengist were teaching her the quarterstaff while she was with them."

"Ah," Han nodded, returning his smile to Lily, "Well, that explains both things then, doesn't it. If you're really interested in practicing with me, I would gladly spar with you, Lily, and I promise I won't go easy on you."

Lily let out an excited whoop, jumping and spinning in the air, then running for the weapons rack and the same staff Vevi had grabbed a moment before. Vevi stuttered in surprise, "Lily, I'm sure Han has other things at the moment..."

"It's alright, Vevi," Han waved her down, "I came down to practice, and I'm sure you have reports to finish from your time away."

"You'll stay with her?" Vevi asked him. Lily looked between the two, tilting her head first one way then the other. They were making it sound like they didn't want to leave her alone...

Han either didn't see Lily's expression or chose to ignore it and answered, "It would be my pleasure. It's not often I find such a willing sparring partner."

"She doesn't have her clearance yet..." Vevi started, confusing Lily further.

"Then she is in particularly good hands. Don't worry, Vevi, this isn't the first time I've dealt with a recently awoken Sorcerer."

Vevi opened her mouth again, but Lily interrupted her, "I've been up since at least eighth bell..." Han blinked at her, and Vevi rushed to explain,

"He means your power, Lily. But Han, Lily isn't like other Sorcerers. She's had her power much longer, since... well..." she blushed.

Lily rolled her eyes, "I don't know how old I was, but I definitely didn't have boobs yet when they finally took the collar off and let me practice."

"Lily..." Vevi said softly, the pitty evident in her voice.

Han didn't sound like he felt sorry for her, saying, "Well, there is a lot to unpack there... but I suppose we'll have plenty of time if we're going to train together." he shrugged. "Go do your paperwork, Vevi. Lily and I have the entire afternoon for her to show me what she knows." he gestured Lily towards the open floor but didn't go for a weapon himself.

"Well... if you're sure..." Vevi said, "Lily, if you need me, you can ask any one of the journeymen or senior Mages, and they will know where my office is."

Lily turned around to run backward for a few steps, waving goodbye in answer, before turning again and taking up a starting position with her staff facing the far wall. She heard the door click and Han chuckle as Vevi left. He moved to stand in front of Lily, his hands still empty.

"I'm not sure if we know the same forms," he started to explain.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Lily interrupted, pointing with her staff towards the weapons rack, "you'll have to get your stick out first, though." Han blinked down at her, then snorted and laughed out loud. Lily tilted her head at him in confusion.

Han didn't bother to explain and instead reached into his robe and pulled out a small stick only about four inches long, barely big enough to fit in his palm. "Um...." Lily started to hum, looking from the small stick to Han and back again.

"How old are you, Lily?" Han asked suddenly.

Lily was taken aback by the change in topic but tried to answer, "I don't know, but my papers say they think I was born in 4970."

"About sixteen then," Han sounded disappointed, "Then I will need to keep my responses appropriate."

"Why?" Lily asked.

"Because even though I have no interest in sex with you, you are still too young for me to make dirty jokes," Han answered without so much as a blush.

"But why?" Lily asked again, "And what makes a joke 'dirty' anyway? Aren't they just words?"

That got another chuckle out of Han, "Oh my sweet spring flower..." he shook his head then spun the short stick between his fingers, muttering a sharp command word as he did. Light burst from either end to the length of a true quarterstaff and Lily watched as the stick grew to fill it. Han spun it over his head and brought it down to the ready position, "You lived a very sheltered life before, didn't you?" he asked her.

"I never left my tower and only knew four people. Six, if you count the apprentices." Lily explained, resuming her starting position and starting her staff form as she continued, "You guys say I was an experiment, but all they did was take samples. They would cut my hair, take my blood and spit, and occasionally pull out a few of my scales." Han leaned on his extended staff, watching her go through her form, a frown finally creasing his handsome face. "Other than that, I was kept in my room where I would read. Mostly history and theology. But occasionally Ran or Brom would bring me a storybook." she wanted to shrug but focused on finishing her form instead. She wanted to impress this man, he was obviously a fighter -even if he did wear robes- and she didn't want to lose the opportunity to train with him.

Han hummed in thought as Lily finished her form. However, when he spoke, it wasn't about the short rendition of her life history, "You do know a different form. This is the one we teach most young Mages." he started his own kata. It was much simpler -if Lily could be any judge- but it also meant he could talk freely as he worked like she had, "It sounds to me like you'll be learning a lot more than just magic with us then. I'll make you a deal, I will answer any question you have, but if the answers ever make you uncomfortable, I want you to tell me right away."

"That's it?" Lily asked, walking around Han to watch his form from every angle, trying to memorize it even as she held the conversation.

"That's it," he answered her, "Starting with your first few..." he took a deep breath before he continued, "Dirty jokes are usually ones that imply sex, sexual activity, or sexual organs. They aren't considered polite and are very inappropriate when someone my age tells them to someone your age."

Lily stopped paying attention to his form to throw her head back in a frustrated whine, "Sex again?" she grumbled, "Selibra was the same way, and I still don't understand why no one wants to talk about it."

Han finished his form and leaned on his staff again, gripping it with both hands to look down at her, "Sex is something usually kept very private. It's incredibly personal. That's why people don't like to talk about it most of the time, and why it's very inappropriate for older men to do so with younger girls."

"But why?!" Lily practically yelled the question.

Han sighed but still didn't look embarrassed, not like Selibra and the Cleric. He also didn't laugh like Daunas. After a moment of thought, he finally said, "It's both inappropriate and illegal for someone who's considered an adult to have sex or sexual relations with someone who isn't. You won't be seen as an adult until you're eighteen. Before that, such relationships are seen as being out of balance. The adult has power over the child or teenager, and the teenager doesn't have enough life experience to really know what they want as far as sex is concerned. It comes down to informed consent. It's too easy for an adult to take advantage of someone underage and make them do something that they don't really want or understand."

Lily hummed in thought, but eventually nodded, "I suppose that makes sense... but what about the jokes?"

To her surprise, Han laughed before he explained, "Well, dirty jokes and innuendos are sometimes used to flirt..."

"Flirt?" Lily interrupted, and Han stuttered.

"Um..." he started, but still didn't look embarrassed, just like he was trying to find the correct answer to her question, "Flirting is something people do to try and subtly let someone else know that they like them romantically."

"Sounds stupid." Lily responded, shaking her head, "If you like someone, you should just tell them, shouldn't you?"

"But what if they don't like you back?" Han tried to counter, but Lily just shrugged. Han sighed, "You probably won't know until you experience it, but it can be very embarrassing and even painful to put yourself out there and have the person you like tell you they don't like you back. So people test the waters, they flirt, and if the person flirts back, it usually means they're open to the idea, and if they don't, then you can stop and leave the relationship as is."

"And you wanted to flirt with me until you knew my age?" Lily asked, finally getting a blush from him.

Han looked away and rubbed his hand over his head then down his ponytail, "Not for the reason you think..." he said.

"You said you would answer any of my questions..." Lily started, narrowing her eyes at him.

For some reason, Han glanced to the door before looking back and answering her, "I don't want to have sex with you Lily, I'm not really that into sex in general, but flirting and jokes can also just be fun. They don't have to be taken seriously. But both people should be comfortable with them and they are still inappropriate."

Lily hummed and leaned on her own staff as Han had done before, thinking hard. It didn't upset her that he didn't want to have sex with her -he wouldn't be able to even if he did- but it did bother her that he wouldn't speak his mind just because she was underage. "What were you going to say? Before you asked how old I was?" He sighed and looked away again, so Lily glared, "You said any of my questions..."

"I was going to assure you that my stick was a grower, not a shower..." he mumbled.

Lily tilted her head, "I don't get it..."

"That is probably for the best." Han spoke quickly, "Look, you're young enough to be my daughter, if I had any kids. Why don't you leave the sex questions for other women to answer? It will keep me out of trouble if nothing else."

Lily rolled her eyes but nodded. Ran and Brom got nervous when she wanted to talk about mating and sex too. Apparently, that was a normal reaction because she hadn't met anyone yet who didn't get embarrassed and want to change the subject. Finally, she asked, "Do you know any women who'll talk to me?"

"Mage Vevi seems to like you." Han answered, spinning his staff absently, "Though perhaps someone your own age would be better. I'm sure you'll meet plenty when you start your lessons tomorrow. Now... do you want to work with the staff or not?" he grinned at her and Lily grinned back, resuming her ready position.

***

That night Lily dug through her new desk until she found a sheaf of blank paper and a bottle of ink. She had to pull the drawer all the way out to find a quill that had slid all the way to the back at some point, but once she did, she was more than ready to start her letters.

Shon,

The Mages Guild is so amazing! My old tower could fit inside at least three nine times, three wide and three high! I also met someone who is going to continue working with me with the staff. He's a Battlemage, and his name is Han. Apparently he practices magic AND fighting, so you totally could too, though I understand if you still want to wait until you're done training...

All through the day, she'd wanted to talk to the Squires. Specifically Shon. Ask him questions, show him the things she was shown, and see his arched eyebrow in question when someone said something that didn't make any sense. When she'd left Hamerfoss in a rush, Lily hadn't realized how much she'd miss all of them, and him most of all. And now it was too late. She only hoped the letters would be enough until she was able to see them again.