“We’ve been sitting here for over an hour,” Aeris complained as he pushed himself up from the floor. “And, guess what? The entire room is still dark. My eyes haven’t adjusted, and I don’t see much point in wasting another hour hoping for that to change. I am leaving, come find me whenever you are done.”
Aeris spent more time than he cared to admit feeling guilty about his inability to improve his connection to the Tether, and the last thing he wanted to do after the events of this morning was confront that failure even further. He didn’t have the capacity for it; today, he wanted to put all of his mental energy into stewing and being irritated with Aedin.
“Sit down, Aeris,” Elodin said, calmly. “Even if you can’t make any progress, leaving this room won’t do you any favors. It’ll just earn you another poor status report, and trust me when I say neither of us want to hear Aedin give that lecture again.”
“Are you seeing any progress from this exercise?” Aeris asked, irritably. “Because, again, it seems pointless. We’ve been doing this routine for months on end. Surely, we’ve extracted whatever there is to learn.”
Elodin didn’t respond. The two of them were currently engaged in what Althalite scholars in charge of the Lyceum referred to as the “practical” portion of their education, which, according to their curriculum, would help them improve on their abilities by engaging and “stressing” them for hours at a time.
He knew the theory behind their methods: throughout the continent of Aetheria, different civilizations possessed special abilities that derived from that which their people were Worldbound to. The Althalite methodology was meant to agitate those abilities through various means in the hopes that they could pry out the connection further than the individual would have gotten on their own.
To their credit, Aeris knew the methods worked—many of his Somnari peers had excelled at becoming more adept with the Tether and their connections to the Vael’Strix, a powerful avian that stood as tall as two men. Aeris’ failure was the anomaly, a fact that made him feel worse every time he forced himself through another day at Lyceum.
“This entire process feels like they are mocking us,” he said quietly, yet still loud enough for Elodin to hear.
“That’s your pride talking,” Elodin responded. “I’ve actually been getting better at this over the last few weeks. Maybe if you spent less time complaining and figuring out how to grow a thicker beard you’d make some real progress.”
Despite his general annoyance at the beard dialogue over the last year or so, Aeris was happy Elodin did what he could to lighten the mood. It was easier for Aeris to talk with Elodin, to vent to him without worrying about a lecture regarding “the duty I have to my future.” His middle brother might still purposefully push his buttons occasionally, but at least he knew that Elodin was dealing with the same kind of intense expectations that he was. In some ways, that made him feel way more like a comrade than an elder sibling. If only he would let his guard down once in a while and give his take on our current direction.
“So you are all in on this idea too, then?” Aeris asked. “Graduate from Lyceum, move our lives to Althalos, away from everything and everyone we’ve ever known, get fat on the kingdom’s amenities…” Elodin was the quickest of the three of the Vael’Serith brothers, a fact Aeris had to often consider whenever he was approaching topics he knew would raise eyebrows. He did his best to sound benign, to not to indicate to Elodin just how intensely he was waiting for his responses, even going as far as letting out a forced yawn to appear disinterested.
“If we keep our heads down and our focus on these tasks, there’s a way out for our entire family,” Elodin said. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t particularly love being a bad tracking day away from destitute, and it would be nice if we could afford some kind of actual life for our mother. Right now, I think the walls she confines herself to are driving further into madness every day that passes.”
“A light at the end of the tunnel then?” Aeris asked, taking more than a moment to consider his words.
“Precisely,” Elodin responded, his attention moving back to brightening the darkness in the room. Aeris could see the glow of his eyes brighten, a subtle yet familiar indicator that his brother was close to checking out of the conversation, which he often did.
“And, what happens if you find out you don’t like where the tunnel leads?” Aeris pondered, slowly, his voice echoing from the ground he spoke toward. “What happens if at the end of all this work, all the time in this damned darkness, you find out you might’ve been better—happier—finding a way to make due here in Somnare?”
He watched as the glowing silver eyes of his brother lifted their gaze from the ground to his own stare, and, for a moment, the pitch black room was silent. Elodin, for once, didn’t have a good answer, and that made Aeris the most uncomfortable he had felt all morning.
It wasn’t Aeris or Elodin who eventually broke that silence, but a scholar from the Lyceum’s faculty, who bursted into the training room without warning.
“You will need to break for a while,” the scholar said, letting in a flood of daylight as he opened the door, the first either of them had seen in hours. The sudden influx of piercing white light hid the scholar’s body language, so when both of them got up to leave, the scholar spoke again. “Not you, Elodin. Just Aeris.”
Aeris held his hand up to his face in a feeble attempt to regain some of his sight. The guard did not seem to care much for the health of his retina, only for the efficiency in which his task was completed. Aeris was no stranger to the impatience of the Lyceum staff, but the manner in which this man grabbed his arm, a behavior wildly uncalculated and out of character, particularly for an Althalite, took him by surprise.
“Typically, you let someone know where they are headed before you start to shove them along,” Aeris said, ripping his arm free of the scholar’s grip. “What is so important that you would consider it necessary to ruin all the progress I was making in my practical exercises? Do you have no consideration or regard for our mission here? Surely Headmaster Restin will want to hear of this...”
Only Elodin caught the facetiousness of his commentary, acknowledging it with a faux cough; the scholar, whether he noticed or not, did not make a single comment or gesture, hell, not even a single microexpression to indicate he appreciated Aeris’ humor.
The scholar simply did not budge, even after an uncomfortably long period of silence. “The headmaster, as it turns out, wants to see you,” the scholar stated, after taking a moment to gather his patience. “And before you start bombarding me with questions… save your breath, they didn’t tell me any of the details.”
“That seems to be a bit unorthodox,” Aeris puzzled. Althalites were not ones to mince words or avoid the truth at the expense of the subject. They valued order and efficiency more than most other kingdoms and considered the stability and tradition of their people to be paramount. Despite being hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away from their kingdom, that love for order and efficiency didn’t dissipate within the Lyceum walls. So for them to be considering exposing a perceived break in the general order of things via a surprise meeting with Aeris was an interesting development, to say the very least.
"Never mind that," Elodin said. "Surely it’s not a problem if I come with him. It’s not like it is going to dampen my progress.”"
Aeris’s eyes were finally beginning to adjust to the blinding light that had been thrust upon him, allowing him to meet the scholar’s gaze. As far as he could tell, trouble was written all over this summons. Personal calls to the headmaster were far from common. Not surprisingly, the scholar looked completely unsure—almost irritated—at his inability to provide or hide answers about the nature of the visit.
Aeris smirked at the hit to the scholar’s ego.
"You may not come," the scholar said curtly. "They made it clear that Aeris was to come alone and no one else. You’ll just have to sit here in the dark and keep picking the pebbles off the floor."
Aeris felt the sudden urge to plant his fist right into the scholar’s almost perfectly white grin, but he thought better of it as he considered the likely repercussions, which would likely include an actual charge against an Althalite official and a decent amount of time imprisoned. He was probably already in enough trouble as it was, he decided.
"Have it your way then," Aeris said, forcing restraint into his voice and waving Elodin down. "Just make sure I get back early enough to leave this place on time. Don’t wait up for me, Elodin."
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The trek to the office was short. Aeris had always enjoyed the opportunity to observe the Lyceum’s beauty when he wasn't completely failing his Tetherwork. Although the campus was relatively small, especially considering the grandeur of most Althalite architecture, it was made of the same durable light stone that resembled many of the paintings and drawings that Aeris had seen of Althalos, most of which were in books he had studied in from shops his father used to take him to. The rooftops off all the light buildings were made of a similar stone to those on the walls, but they were dyed a faded black and took their fair share of beatings from the sun. It was unlike anything native to Somnare, which included mostly construction of bricks and more natural, earthy materials.
The Lyceum was an open air campus, which meant most students were exposed entirely to the elements when they weren’t in specific training rooms. Many students lamented the design, especially in the winter months. Aeris, however, did not mind. The halls outside the classrooms were filled with the most colorful landscaping he had ever seen; scores of red, blue, and purple flowers bloomed year-round in the fields surrounding the school and in planters throughout its halls. They were a much better sight than the darkrooms he and his people spend the majority of their time in.
The entire walk to the headmaster’s office, Aeris found himself dwelling on how he had failed to make any progress with his connection to the Tether. The concern gripped him so tightly that he forgot about his desire to annoy the scholar who fetched him. If only his connection to the power came as easy to him as it did Elodin or Aedin. I might very well be the only person stupid enough to pay the Lyceum dues despite having no innate connection to my Worldbind, Aeris thought to himself.
As he paced ever closer to the destination, he couldn’t help but wonder what that fact would mean for him? Would there be some kind of remedial program he’d enter into? Would he need to leave his current cohort and join a younger group and start over from the basics? Or worse, would he get expelled from Lyceum entirely and never hear the end of how he had ruined the security of the family from Aedin?
That image of his brother with an indignant, disappointed scowl suddenly flooded his mind. He could almost hear the scolding and accusations that would follow if he were removed from Lyceum for his lack of talent—a fault that would, no doubt, be falsely equated to a lack of effort. If that happened, Aeris would lose any chance to prove to his brother that he could live up to expectations. Then again, he wasn’t sure he even cared about that anymore, especially after this morning. Death or exile might be a better option, murmured to himself sarcastically. Maybe he could count on Elodin to stick up for him and attest to at least some effort being made, though he wasn’t sure he was entirely on his side, either.
By the time the walk ended, Aeris had already gone through all the stages of acceptance. It seemed obvious why he was being summoned to the Headmaster Restin’s office. Dismissal. He had been at the Lyceum for almost a year, and not once had he heard of anyone in his cohort even speaking to him directly. It must be an honor reserved specifically for expulsion. Maybe the monster he had heard so many other students complain and gossip about just liked to see the pain in his students’ eyes when they were dismissed. Then again, Aeris couldn’t think of anyone who had been expelled since he began.
Standing before the large wooden doors set deep within the inner stone structure of the Lyceum, a strange sense of calm washed over him. Naturally, as it always did, that calm carried with it a fair dose of confident, rebellious energy. When Aeris opened the large wooden door, he half-expected another wave of blinding white light to force him to avert his gaze. To his surprise, the room was relatively dim. An old gentleman with white hair and deep wrinkles around his eyes and forehead sat at a large desk, stacked tall with books of all bindings and sizes. The man was scribbling into a notebook larger than any Aeris had ever seen and the door opening wasn’t enough of a disturbance to pull his gaze away from the scribblings.
As Aeris passed the threshold and made his way deeper into the chamber, the old man finally looked up and smiled.
"Ah, Aeris! So glad you’ve made it," the Headmaster said. "I was hoping that Gilderoy was able to find you without too much trouble..."
Gilderoy, Aeris repeated under his breath. He’d remember that name and take a mental note to make fun of it later. As he spoke, Restin raised his arm and flicked two fingers toward the door, which closed quickly but gently, letting out the echo of a soft click into the room. The man’s sentence trailed off as he finished a few final phrases in his notebook. Finally, after a handful of uncomfortable seconds, he looked up at Aeris, giving him his full attention.
"No trouble at all, Headmaster," Aeris replied. "I was just working on the practical part of our education when Gilderoy came in. My brother and I were discussing ways to improve our connections to the Tether."
"Very good," the old man said, raising a shaky finger into the air. His hair was thin and entirely gray. It grew only in a sparse pattern around the circumference of his head, but what did exist was combed neatly down into perfectly straight lines. Suddenly, Aeris found himself wishing he spent the extra time this morning polishing his appearance a little more. But if we were going to be removed from Lyceum, it didn’t really matter anyway, and the thought gave him some comfort.
"In fact, it was the exact reason I wanted to talk to you: your progress here at the Lyceum and your connection to the Tether,” he continued, pulling his thick red and black robes up past his ankles as he moved toward the corner of his desk. “You’ve been here for close to a year now, so I wanted to ask—how has your experience been so far? Have you seen much growth? Or is there anywhere we might improve our approach to teaching the people of Somnare how to better wield their powers?"
The old man’s cordial demeanor immediately put Aeris on the defensive. He wasn’t expecting respect, let alone kindness. He seemed... likeable, as hard as it was for Aeris to stomach. After just a few exchanges, Aeris couldn’t help but feel the Restin might not be as unagreeable as others had suggested. It wouldn’t be the first time Somnari jumped to conclusions.
"Unfortunately, I haven’t seen much progress myself," Aeris admitted, surprised at how at ease he felt confiding in the Headmaster. "But my brother has made lots of progress since he first started. I think he’s close to being able to see in the dark as clearly as if it were a sunlit day."
"Impressive," Restin said. "And just the kind of talent we are hoping for. Your brother must be working very hard—as I’m sure you are as well. Of course, I am troubled to hear about your struggles. Tell me, have you made any breakthroughs in your Worldbind? Or are you still unable to evoke it in any capacity?"
The question caused Aeris to raise his guard again. How did he know he was failing entirely? He hadn’t even told Elodin that, though he was sure that he must have had some kind of idea that something was unordinary.
"We keep a close eye on all new admissions," he continued with a smile. "We like to have a benchmark for each student’s capabilities upon arrival. Of course, we don’t do anything formal—nothing that might put anyone in a situation where they’d feel uncomfortable or foster unhealthy competition—but we take quiet notes nonetheless. Rest assured, you aren’t the only one to come into the Lyceum without pre-existing capabilities. So, ease your mind, my boy. I only ask because I want to ensure our operations here don’t grow complacent. We must always find new opportunities to improve whenever they present themselves."
The old man smiled and waved his finger into the air enthusiastically as the wrinkles on his face deepened. There was an air of innocence in his expression, which prompted Aeris to lower his guard entirely.
"When I entered the Lyceum, I didn’t have any ability or connection to the Tether," Aeris admitted. "And now, a year later, despite all my efforts, I’ve made no progress. I still can’t call forth the powers of the Vael’Strix, and it doesn’t seem like that’s going to change anytime soon. I’ve tried and tried and tried, and nothing I do seems to make any difference."
The words flowed from him like water down a river. All of the frustration, the anger, and the stress he felt about this entire training process boils to the surface.
“And the worst part is that, if I am being honest, I don’t even want to be here, but my brother insists on me completing this program with as much success as my brother. But my connection to the Tether doesn’t even feel like it exists. I can’t sense it like other people claim, and I sure as hell can’t command something that isn’t there. I don’t think that this life, this direction, is for me.”
The old man kept his smile and adjusted his posture. Aeris takes a breath, realizing the full weight of his admission and the very likely probability he just insulted a high-ranking Althalite official.
"I see," Restin said. "Well, I can imagine the Lyceum dues weren’t easy for you or your family to cover, especially when it is only your brother, Aedin, who is carrying that burden. But I do believe if you keep your head in it, keep persevering, you’ll find a way to have a breakthrough. Have faith in yourself, my boy. It will come in time. You aren’t the first person to struggle with their connection to the Tether, and I don’t imagine you will be the last."
Aeris could feel the emotion of his education and familial tension bubbling to the surface. His eyes grew glossy, and his throat felt like someone was taking sandpaper to it, but the headmaster gave him the courtesy of turning away, allowing Aeris to quickly wipe his eyes and collect himself before the tears could spill down his cheeks.
"I’ll tell you what," Restin said after a moment. "Why don’t you and your brother head out early today, before the rest of the Lyceum exits for the evening? Something tells me you could do with a little rest, and I will do my best to see what we can do about your lack of connection to the Vael’Strix. We can probably find a specialist solution for that sort of thing..."
The old man lifted two fingers and waved them toward the door. It flicked open quickly but stopped just short of slamming against the wall. As Aeris turned to leave, he hesitated and looked back.
"Sir, has there ever been anyone like me before?" Aeris asked. “Someone who has absolutely no connection to the Tether or their Worldbind?”
Restin sat back down at his desk and reopened his notebook, reaching for the same tall, feathered pen he had been using before. Aeris almost detected a trace of irritation on the man’s face.
"Eventually, everyone who is Worldbound manifests their powers," he explained. "You might be a late bloomer, but I wouldn’t fret on it for too long. You’ll get to where you need to be."
He smiled faintly and gestured toward the notebook. "Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a few reports to tend to before the day is over. Enjoy the rest of the day, Aeris.” As he made his way out through the door and past the guard watching the entrance, Aeris could have sworn he saw him nod curtly at the headmaster.