Specs of light and warmth moved beneath the ground. Pools of heat swept through the University, fading and becoming less distinct the farther I stretched my senses. Life was a pleasant reminder; as troubled as my thoughts might be, the world shifted and turned all the same.

“Morning, Jamie,” Lord Balar’s voice drew me from my thoughts, and I realized I had somehow ignored his presence. He walked up to me, intruding on my place on the balcony. I brushed hair that was beginning to gain length back behind my left ear as I turned to look at the man.

He looked tired. Drawn and pale as if he hadn’t been sleeping, something the bruising shadows under his eyes also spoke to.

“Lord Balar,” I nodded at the man and hesitated a moment before I said, “Have you been sleeping well?”

Lord Balar blinked and then shrugged, “I’m too busy to sleep. With the state Haven’s in, I need far too much.”

I sighed and shook my head; I could feel the imperfections and damage the lack of sleep was causing him. Something I didn’t understand, but I could tell the light of his presence was distorted, stretched, and worn in ways it shouldn’t be.

“Never mind that,” Lord Balar shook his head, “I’ve narrowed down where you should look for your White Mage. There’s a city in the Long Mountains called Dragon’s Tooth. The records indicate substantially less illness and death than there should be. After further investigation, I’ve put together the tale of a woman who is said to be an uncommonly good healer; it’s said she can pull people from the jaws of death itself. Only a single name as well - Ra.”

I nodded, slowly processing the information, “Then I should head off as soon as I can.”

Lord Balar nodded, “You should. There are reports that the Empire has soldiers within the region. Possibly a Legatus as well.”

Well. That wasn’t good.

I winced and then shrugged, “Well, I guess it couldn’t be that easy.”

Lord Balar gave me an unusually serious look. “Please be careful, Jamie. I—“ he stopped himself, shook his head, and reached up firmly, clapping me on the shoulder before walking away.

“Lord Balar,” I called after him, and he turned to look at me, an eyebrow cocked in confusion, “Thanks. For everything.” I said simply

Lord Balar gave me a tired smile, “The pleasure was mine. I didn’t think I would see a White Mage ever again. Perhaps it’s foolish, but meeting you has given me a strange feeling about the future.”

“Oh?” I looked at him, confused.

Lord Balar gave me a wry grin, “We’ll just have to see. Good luck.”

He went back inside, and I looked away, biting my lip; just like that, there was no more point staying in Haven. It wasn’t as if I really owned anything to pack. I could leave at any time.

Then why did I feel as if things were incomplete?

I squashed the thought, patting a pouch on my leg and checking to make sure I still had the dragon claw piece. There wasn’t much energy left in the piece, but it was still comforting to have. Given how it had expended itself so far, there was probably just one last healing I could use it for.

I wished my own reserves were more, but they still felt rather small, even with their growth. I felt every inch the young and inexperienced boy I was.

I rose to my feet, feeling strangely bereft.

I walked off the balcony, feeling oddly like a condemned man, through the rooms of Lord Balar’s home, exiting the door and closing it with a strange feeling. I walked through the streets of Haven, finally realizing what the feeling was.

I was alone. It was just like the months in the hospital room. My family had their own lives to live. My friends had drifted away. It was that realization that it didn’t matter how much I connected with the people around me; they weren’t here to stay. I was just a passing presence in their lives.

Sara’s warmth trickled through my thoughts, gently easing through them, and despite recent events, I was thankful. Perhaps it was just another part of why I cared so much for her. For an existence such as myself that had spent so much time solitarily having someone there whenever I needed them, it was worth more than I could even say.

Through smooth stone streets. Through the crowds of people who walked them. Down the paths of the city that trailed downwards from the heights of the upper part of the city.

I had just about reached the gates when I heard hurried steps approach, and I turned to see a panting Tol as he came to a stop in front of me, “Good, you hadn’t left yet. Here.”

He shoved his left hand outward, upon which was a twisted silver bracelet.

“What is this?” I asked, looking at the bracelet, which seemed to gleam and shimmer in the light.

Tol looked conflicted in a way I hadn’t seen him before, “It’s a storage bracelet; it stores magic.”

I blinked, looking down at it, awed, despite myself, to think Green Magic was capable of this.

“How did you make this?” I murmured.

Tol shrugged somewhat awkwardly, “It’s a family recipe. My dad taught me as an exercise, though it didn’t seem like I would ever make one even before I had my troubles with Green Magic.”

“Why?” I asked despite myself.

Tol smiled awkwardly, “It doesn’t work with Red, Green, or even Blue Magic.”

I choked, staring at the dwarf who looked down from my gaze.

“You saved my life. You put your own life on the line to do so. It's strange how a White Mage brought down Tronheim only years later for one to stop myself from being crushed beneath the rock. I thought if I ever met a White Mage, all I would feel was rage…”

My stomach flipped as I looked down at Tol.

“I’m sorry,” I said, and despite the inadequacy of the words, I meant them.

Tol shook his head, giving me the same awkward smile, “I don’t need your apologies. Dwarves measure the worth of people in their actions. What you’ve done has more than canceled what another White Mage did. I can’t hold you responsible for them.”

Tol took a deep breath, and if it was, the weight of the world had slipped from his shoulders, “I hope we meet again, Jamie. Our scales are still unequal.”

He nodded to me and walked away, looking nothing like the dwarf I had interacted with up until this point.

I stared after Tol, somewhat mystified, but despite another person knowing my secret, I didn’t feel so bad about this one.

That was when I felt a familiar presence coming up behind me, and this time, the hand on my shoulder was not so unexpected that I reacted poorly.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Alina,” I murmured before turning to face her, pasting a small smile as I turned.

She looked perturbed, I immediately noted. Her brows were furrowed, and her face was set in a slight frown.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked plainly.

I furrowed my brow, looking at her confused, “Where? Weren’t you researching with Lord Balar? I’m going to Dragon’s Tooth?”

“Of course,” Alina nodded, “But isn’t there something you’re forgetting?”

I frowned, thinking hard, but nothing occurred to me.

Alina looked at me hard, and I thought I had faintly heard something akin to a growl emerge from her throat. “Seriously? I told you, didn’t I? ‘If you need help, I’ll help.’ I remember saying that. Did you forget?”

“I-“ She had said that hadn’t she? But she couldn’t mean this; she was on the Council and had duties beyond anything related to me, “Aren’t you needed here?” I asked softly.

Alina looked slightly uncomfortable before shaking her head, “Not anymore. I don’t think you understand. We can’t afford to lose you. I know you’re not going to join the Empire, but they could still capture you, and that could be just as bad.”

I frowned, “I don’t need someone to protect me.”

“But you do.” Lieutenant Ilsa had appeared, walking up to us with a pack slung over her shoulders.

I glanced at Alina, who didn’t look surprised in the slightest.

“You two…” I said slowly, “You planned this?”

Alina looked at me challengingly, her eyes flashing green fire. “I said there was something I needed to see, too. After everything, I’m not going to let a Black Mage kill you. I resigned from my position; it’s already done.”

“As did I,” Ilsa said, shrugging her shoulders, “I’m a Fallen Leaf. Did you think I would let you out of sight once I found you? Especially after returning it.” Dappled Brown gazed at me with a level of hardness I hadn’t seen from her in a while and a sharpness that had only recently been returned to them.

I looked between them, fiddling with my new metal bracelet, unsure what words to use.

“Thank you,” I finally said quietly.

I didn’t have many words to say. None, at least, were intelligible. This should have been the moment I was once again on my own.

I walked out of the gates in a completely different state of mind than I had entered. Alina and Ilsa followed me on horseback, though I hadn’t grabbed one. Despite a protestation from Ilsa, I had waived off.

After all, I already had one waiting for me.

We moved from Haven, and I whistled once I felt we were far enough.

The long, pure note flew through the air, and I didn’t have to wait long for the air to shimmer blue.

Azure emerged in all her glory and looked at me, shaking her mane roughly.

‘I am here.’

“Is that a Sea Horse?” Ilsa asked quietly, seemingly awed.

I stroked her mane, feeling the soft coolness flow through my fingers, “Yeah, her name is Azure,” I said.

Then I spoke directly to Azure, “Can you get us to a city called Dragon’s Tooth, it’s in the Long Mountains.”

Azure snorted, ‘As if that would challenge me. I will speed the pace of my lesser brethren. It should not take long.’

I swung myself up onto Azure’s bareback, somehow so much more comfortable than a horse with a saddle.

I looked to my compatriots, “Azure will be speeding up our travel. Let’s go.”

Azure spurred into motion, and the other horses spurred forward without their riders' saying so. The world began to blur as we ripped forward.

Away from the clear surroundings around Haven and down a road that led to distant rolling yellow hills.

There wasn’t much of an ability to talk, as the wind would have ripped the words from us. That gave me more time than I would have preferred to think. The land ripped past us at unreal speed. The sky shifted rapidly by the clouds moving at a pace that made it seem almost as if they were white clots of cotton caught in a stream.

The dusty road kicked up a small cloud at our passage as we passed through a forest where the road wound its way through and then once again out. The scent of green filled my nostrils, and I could feel the life of the plants around us as I breathed in.

The air itself seemed to smell a verdant green, matching the trees and other plant life around us. The dark, moist soil kicked up at our passage as we trailed through the trees as the road meandered through them. Just as suddenly, we were free of the forest, the branches having ripped away from us.

Our passage continued for some hours before I spotted it on the horizon. They were mountains, but unlike any mountains, I had ever seen before. They were pyramids of sculpted stone. Even from here, I could see the buildings built upon them and massive stone bridges built between the peaks. The evening sun glistened off, shining gigantic crystals that erupted from within the city structure, sending beams of multicolored light across the city. Still, some kilometers out, our pace slowed so we would approach at an average pace for horses.

“The Long Mountains,” murmured Ilsa, staring at the sky with a distinctly forlorn expression. Did Lord Balar mention anything to you about them?” she asked me.

I racked my brain but came up short, “Nothing really, why?”

Ilsa sighed, “The Long Mountains were settled by elves and humans.”

I nodded, “I think I remember someone saying something about that.” I was sure it was mentioned at the Council meeting when they commented about my appearance.

Ilsa continued, “The elves and humans had children together with silver hair and eyes. They looked remarkably like White Mages, in fact. The people of the Long Mountains enjoy extended lifetimes and strong bodies, contributing to the unique Martial Arts they developed, which eventually became adopted by the White Mages themselves. I'm losing focus on the topic, however. The fact of the matter is that the people of the Long Mountains felt the loss of the White Mages in a way deeper than most. They considered the White Mages as something close to kin. Needless to say, the Fallen Leaves are no more welcome here than with the Elves of the First City.”

I frowned, looking at the Long Mountains before her words really sank in.

“They practice a Martial Art the White Mages also practice?” I asked.

“Yes,” Ilsa looked surprised, “Given the way I've seen you fight, you seem to have some basic training. Where did you learn how to fight like that?”

I chuckled awkwardly, “Oh, it's something a friend taught me.”

“Must have been some friend,” Ilsa remarked back to me.

“Oh, they are,” I diverted topics, not wanting to talk about Sara too much. So we're searching for a White Mage in a city of people who look like them; how hard can it be?” I remarked dryly.

We made it past the city gate easily enough, not even having to exchange pleasantries with the guards, busy as they were with an influx of a trading caravan. I had dismounted a distance away from Azure so she wasn't spotted. The horses had been stabled, and we had begun to make our way through the city.

For the first time, I felt I didn't stand out in this crowd. I actually looked similar to a great many of these people. Our hair was just as silver. Pale eyes glanced about as people made their way about their days.

It was, instead, my companions who stood out. Alina's glistening red hair stood out in the crowd just as her bright green eyes did. Ilsa swayed through the crowd, her ears notably covered with her dark brown hair and sharp brown eyes scanning the crowd, alert as could be.

As we walked, I sniffed the air occasionally. I hoped that, in the same way, I could smell Black Magic, and White Magic might also show up in my senses, but I smelled nothing.

Alina and Ilsa were in the middle of a muffled conversation, which broke as they turned to me as we arrived at a convergence of the stone streets.

“Jamie, I’m going to find a place for us to stay,” Alina said before gesturing at Ilsa. Ilsa will make sure you don’t get yourself into trouble.”

“Okay,” I nodded, then cocked my head, then frowned, “Wait, I’m not going to get myself into trouble.”

Alina gave me a long look before she took a tiny golden bauble inset with a blue stone from Ilsa, “This shouldn’t take long. Are you sure you’ll be able to find me?”

Ilsa nodded firmly, “Easily enough, as long as you have that token, my magic will be able to find you.”

Alina nodded, then turned and walked away into the crowd.

I turned back to my walk, managing a few steps before Ilsa fell in behind me; we walked silently for some time. The streets passed by, and the sun kept fading behind the peaks, and then Ilsa spoke.

“She won’t say it, but I think Alina is a little upset with you,” she said.

I looked at her, taken aback, “What do you mean?”

Ilsa gave me a long look, almost pitying, “You did attempt to leave the both of us behind; you weren’t going to say anything?”

I hesitated, thinking for a moment before the truth slipped out, “I didn’t think either of you would care.”

Ilsa raised an eyebrow at me, “You didn’t think we would care? I saw you get stabbed to prevent Black Magic from hitting me. You restored my sight; I am still a Fallen Leaf; you’re possibly the only person I still feel any sense of loyalty to.” She paused, hesitating, “I shan’t speak for Alina, but you would have to be blind not to tell she worries about you.”

“Okay, fair enough on the first bit,” I grimaced and helplessly shrugged, “I don’t know why Alina’s so worried over me. We’ve only known each other for a short time. It doesn’t quite make sense to me. I mean, she even resigned from her position on the Council.”

Ilsa paused, looking uncomfortable, a strange expression I hadn’t seen on her face yet, “I may have an idea. I would rather not say because it is something that is not talked about. It is,” she paused, “impolite to mention without express permission.”

Yet Ilsa was giving the impression that if I asked, she would say it.

I shook my head, “I’ll let her tell me. It’s not fair to her or you to ask about her secrets. As long as you don’t think it means she has any ill intentions, I’ll wait as long as I need to.”

Ilsa’s expression softened, and she let out a relieved breath, “If what I believe is true, then ill intentions are perhaps the furthest thing from her mind.”

“Great,” I took a deep breath from my nose, sifting the air through it. I could already feel the faint tingle of a headache from focusing so much on the scents of the city.

Life. Notes of energetic magic. Nothing notable.

“We’ve been out here awhile,” Ilsa said, “I think we should regroup with Alina.”

I nodded, “Yeah, I think we should.”

If the White Mage was here, I was going to find them.