Umbra spent the rest of the day in her dark room. In part because she was too ashamed to show her face. She still really hadn’t come to terms with what happened, it seemed unreal that she had done something like that.

With nothing better to do, Umbra sat down in the middle of her dark room and tried to pull the darkness into her. It was a frustrating exercise she could feel it gather around her but she couldn’t pull it into her being. She was careful as Master Otaro had said and kept her emotions in check. It paid off after hours of frustration, hours of clumsily grasping at it only for it slip out of her grasp. She found that it wasn’t a forceful act she just had to redirect the flows so that the darkness went through her instead of around. It only fed the tiniest trickle into her, it was a miniscule amount but she could feel it merge with the blackness adding its magic to her own, even with that tiny amount it was a pleasant sensation, it doesn’t match up to the feeling of death. She thought glumly Master Otaro did say this wouldn’t be as efficient, but she couldn’t bring herself to care she could do this without bending her morality any more than she already had. She grinned in excitement, she may not be able to control her magic yet but at least she could do this.

Umbra could tell that time had passed while she struggled with her magic. How much time she did not know, but she wasn’t tired in the slightest so she continued. She widened the flow with intense concentration, pushing at the sides of the flow letting more magic through the channel and into her. It wasn’t much of an improvement but Umbra was overjoyed as slightly more magic flowed into her, it lifted her mood considerably transporting her from the worries and cares she normally felt.

It was addicting that feeling it consumed Umbra and she floated in the power of it. She did not know how long she was sat on the carpet reveling in that feeling it could’ve been a hundred years or just an hour, she felt as if she could sit here for the rest of her life letting the magic flow into her.

Umbra’s eyes snapped open the magic had stopped and she was ravenous for food. What had happened? And why wasn’t it dark. She looked around the darkness was gone, leaving the room not light or dark. It was too unsettling, even though it kind of made sense in a really weird twisted way, she had taken all the darkness. She shivered remembering the shadows that had populated the room, those were in her now? In the corners of the room the dark started creeping back, it looks like Umbra would have to wait or find someplace else to draw in magic. Master Otaro did mention that there were other places suited for drawing in darkness, ill need to explore. But first Umbra needed food. Umbra stood, and stretched, she felt more limber and everything seemed a tiny bit clearer, more detailed.

Umbra noticed with a shock that it was dark outside probably late in the evening, time passed oddly when she was channeling magic. She walked towards the courtyard hoping that there would be food there like there was in the morning. Unfortunately, the courtyard wasn’t empty sitting a good distance from the dead tree Apithe, Nora and Hayao sat in a loose circle talking. They had plates of food in front of them. Umbra wanted to leave but she also wanted food, and she walked to speaking distance with them and said: “Where did you get the food.” There was an awkward pause, they are scared of me Umbra thought with surprise.

“Oh, Umbra we thought you had left,” Nora said in a normal tone, but she ruined the façade by inching back a bit.

“What, you saw me just this morning why would you think that?” Nora looked at her oddly.

“The last time we saw you was about five days ago now.” what, five days ago that can’t be right.

“No that can’t be right,” Nora just looked at her oddly again. Then gave her the directions to the dining hall.

Umbra walked through the massive estate, the size just made the emptiness more pronounced, there must have been more students, otherwise, this place would be smaller. Are there just fewer people with the potential to be Favoured, what had happened?

Umbra came to the double doors described to her. Through them was a plain dining hall, it was large it could probably seat a few hundred people. Only one table was set now, and Dovrag sat at the far end of it eating a grey paste while reading a book. Umbra remembered his look of surprise when she had lost control and grimaced, she had liked Dovrag but now he definitely wouldn’t go near her, no sane person would.

She moved towards the table hoping to grab some food and leave unnoticed. But Dovrag looked up as soon as she got near, his face was surprisingly accepting, nothing seemed to faze him for long. He patted the seat next to him in a friendly manner. Umbra smiled she liked Dovrag, he wasn’t afraid of her.

She took the seat beside him and he went back to reading, seems he doesn’t want to chat just wanted company. The table was spread with all manner of decadently prepared foods; seems the brownies were impressive chefs. She filled her plate with pretty much everything that was close enough to get to, there were weird bright fruits, strips of silvery meat and a salad of greens that she didn’t recognise. When she had finished piling her plate she regarded the little mountain of food with satisfaction and out of the corner of her eye she saw Dovrag looking at her with amusement. Umbra blushed a little, “I’m hungry, turns out I haven’t eaten in five days” she said defensively. He nodded in understanding.

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“It is easy to get lost when you are channeling.” He said in his odd accent, speaking didn’t seem to come naturally to him.

“You experienced it too?” Umbra asked biting into one of the fruits it gushed a weird sweet liquid into her mouth.

“No, I haven’t started, I prefer to study first,” and pointed at his book.

“Oh, that might be a good idea, I haven’t visited the library yet.” He nodded. “You don’t like talking do you?” Umbra asked cocking her head.

“My people do not usually speak, it is difficult for me, we talk with our gestures and posture,” Umbra remembered Otaro’s flurry of movements when he had picked up Dovrag,

“I would like to learn,” Umbra said surprising herself.

“It is complicated for outsiders to learn; the language is born into us.”

“Master Otaro can do it,”

“He is very old and has had centuries to learn it.”

“I still want to try,” Umbra said defiantly. He shrugged and put down his book “We can start now then.”

Dovrag showed her an informal greeting and how to introduce herself. Umbra could tell that the complexities of the language were lost on her. And he said she spoke like a baby, she didn’t mind he was a good teacher and it was nice spending time with someone after so long. They left with the promise to continue their lessons next week at the same time.

It was about midnight and Umbra wasn’t tired. She was itching to channel more magic, but her room was empty of darkness and she didn’t think there would be enough to channel in there for a while. She also wanted to see Jeeani again but was worried about being overbearing, so she decided against visiting, she was probably busy anyway. Umbra walked back to the courtyard what to do, what to do, she mused. “Of course” she smacked her head it was night everything was dark she could channel easily.

Trying to channel the flows of darkness outside in the night sky was difficult there were other elements and they constantly interfered with her, she gave up after only a few minutes nothing was coming through.

She should’ve asked Dovrag where the library was, she wanted to read up on darkness magic and she was sure that Master Otaro’s library would be better stocked than the one in the fortress. She sighed, she didn’t really want to wander around the estate hoping to find the library by chance, she had done that enough.

Maybe it was time to look around the island, it can’t be too dangerous Master Otaro had recommended it. Umbra was far too wired to sleep anyways. So she picked a direction at random and started walking.

Umbra walked across the grassy plains sticking near the ocean, away from the island interior. It was cold, Poliagoras had been really warm and the change of temperatures was refreshing and with the placid ocean breeze tousling her hair it was peaceful in a way that Umbra had never experienced. She had no pressure to do anything the only deadline nine long days away, it was nice to be without pressure. But peace had a way of being interrupted, her mind coughed up the memories of the mother and her eyes, her eyes filled with pain and fear brimming with tears, those eyes haunted Umbra and she started running, but the memories followed her. Etching themselves deeper in her mind, in part, she didn’t understand why she had behaved like that, the fox boy had done something disgustingly horrible, but she didn’t need to punish him herself. If she had gone to the Duchess, the fox boy would’ve been punished, the Duchess knows lies and truth, he wouldn’t have gotten away with it. Instead, she had lost it and almost killed him the first time, and had the second time around, cutting his throat with Carn, she rested her hand on the pommel of her knife. She wondered if that had just been death speaking, not the real her. She didn’t know what she wanted anymore, she didn’t know who she was, she didn’t know that she could follow Master Otaro’s repeated advice to be herself.

She had run up a hill without noticing, it surprised her she could never remember being so physically able before. She shrugged thoughts for another time. She breathed out small clouds and watched the sun rise over the horizon dispelling the darkness turning the sky an amber colour. She was far enough away that the estate looked like a miniature house, not the colossal structure it really was, and behind her mountains rose with snow-capped peaks, this island truly had everything, I guess Master Otaro wouldn’t accept anything less but an island with access to all the different elements. That means there must be somewhere for darkness. Somewhere where could channel more.

She looked around there didn’t seem to be any likely spots around here, they would be underground most likely Umbra thought. That was where darkness bred hidden from heaven’s light. She should be able to feel it; she had a talent for darkness. She sat down on top of the hill and closed her eyes and stretched out with her senses concentrating, she could feel the alien presence of other elements, life, nature, wind, heavens, water and the more comfortable feeling of darkness pulling at her from a distant point. I didn’t expect it to be quite that easy, but I’ll take it.

The pull of the darkness led her into the island interior. The grass gave way to gravel with large rocks interspersed every few steps, up ahead Umbra could make out an impressive rock formation the rocks had fallen in such a way that they supported each other creating a tent. Umbra couldn’t tell if it was natural, or if someone had shaped it that way. As the dark pulled Umbra closer she noticed that the rock formation was far bigger than she first thought. It towered over the environment, it honestly surprised her that she hadn’t noticed it earlier.

She stood directly in front of the tent rock formation now watching the entrance hesitantly, it was pitch black, no light pierced even a step into the entrance, that definitely wasn’t natural. But the darkness called to Umbra and she remembered how it felt when it flowed into her. She stepped forward involuntarily, she wanted to experience it again. She reached out with her hand towards the inky blackness, she gasped it was cold and thick enough that it almost seemed to have substance. The darkness wrapped around her hand seeming to pull her into it, she relented.

The darkness surrounded her, it wasn’t like the darkness in her room it felt ancient and tangible and it wrapped itself around her like armour. She could physically feel it, and it was comfortable. It felt right. She was blind in the black cave, but the darkness guided her forward and its intensity increased until she stood in the centre of it all. She could feel its presence it seemed to whisper into her ear, none of it discernible it just felt as if it were speaking. And Umbra opened herself up to it like she had in her room redirecting the darkness into her, and it came with an eagerness that surprised her. It overwhelmed her, that pleasant feeling that had swept through her in her room was nothing in comparison to this. She ruthlessly shoved the channels wider trying to take more in and the darkness flowed like a waterfall it was never ending and it poured into her, and she lost all sense of the physical world.