A rock whizzed by Dorvan and landed in the palm of Inarus, a new student from Eshil Domain. Inarus smiled and dropped the rock. “I did it!” he said with joy.
“You did,” Dorvan replied, raising his left hand. Twelve rocks lifted themselves off the ground and floated around Inarus. “That was only one. Try to do two at once.”
“It took me all day to get the one!” Inarus complained.
“Do you want to be an Ashtari or not?” Dorvan challenged, and the dozen rocks fell to the ground. “All of us were pushed to our limits and beyond. We expect the same from you.”
“All right, I'll try,” Inarus said in a resigned tone.
Some of the new recruits to the School of Power complained when pushed too hard. The ones that wanted to quit weren't allowed to because Talon didn't want the location to be made public, not yet. Dorvan wished the king would hurry as there were at least twenty people who were being held like prisoners. Sure, they could walk around, but they weren't allowed to leave the area, and there was always someone keeping an eye on them to ensure they didn't try escaping.
The other issue was that there were too many students and not enough Ashtari to teach. Dorvan asked Qidan if there were more Ashtari or mages and was told the mages were outnumbered but far outclassed the School of Power in skill.
How long would it take for the School of Power to truly rival Mortham Tower? Probably years, but it was something Dorvan thought about. Aurora had told him she doubted the mages would attack this place even if they discovered it due to their numbers alone. Despite the public knowing about the Ashtari, nobody knew how long the School of Power had existed or where it was. For all the mages knew, it could have been ten years.
“You all keep practicing; I need to step out for a moment,” Dorvan said. He walked out of the room and saw Aurora leaning against a wall, deep in thought.
“Hey Aurora, how's it going?” he asked.
Aurora shook her silver hair and looked at him with her dark red eyes and smiled. “Just thinking,” she said.
“Busy with all the training?”
“Yeah,” Aurora replied, stopping leaning against the wall and brushing some of her hair out of her eyes. “Want to walk with me?”
“Sure,” Dorvan said. With all the training going on, he hadn't spent enough time with Aurora, and he missed their conversations. There were so many people in the hall that they had to sidestep and let some people through before making it outside.
“How long do you think this peace will last?” Aurora asked.
“Peace?” Dorvan cleared his throat. “It hasn't been that long since the Elysian Fields.”
“I know but things are going well. No rebellions, no more wars... I fear this might be the last bit of peace before the real war begins,” Aurora said.
“Is that what you were thinking about?”
“Yeah,” Aurora replied, stopping and breaking out into a big smile. “But that's not why I asked you for a walk. It's been too long since we've had a proper chat. How are things going for you?”
“Busy. Wish we would slow recruitment down a bit. If we had some free time, we could, uh, do something together, you know?” Dorvan said, feeling his face flush.
“That would be nice,” Aurora said with a chuckle. “Perhaps we can ask Qidan for a day. It would be nice to go to the ocean and relax.”
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Someday, we'll get to do that. Dorvan swore to himself. “I'm sure he'll let us when things slow down.”
“Yeah,” Aurora stopped and waited for a new student to pass by before speaking. “Are you doing better or still having issues with what happened at the Elysian Fields?”
“I'm doing better,” Dorvan said. For a couple of weeks, all his dreams had been reliving that battle. The people he killed would ask him why, and every time he would look at his hands, they would be stained with blood. He still felt guilty about his actions, even if they were necessary. “Sometimes I forget about the battle, so I think I'm almost over it.”
“That's good,” Aurora patted his arm and withdrew her hand, laughing. “Sorry, hope you don't think I'm babying you.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Dorvan replied. “Anyway, what do you think the mages are going to do?”
Aurora's face darkened, something that happened every time the mages were mentioned. It was time to get the answer. “Why do you hate the mages?” he asked before she could answer his initial question.
“I guess I haven't done a good job hiding how I feel about them,” Aurora said quietly.
“That's the one thing you aren't good at,” Dorvan said, picking each word carefully. He didn't want to say something to upset her.
“You see this?” Aurora pointed to the red buckle she always wore on her right arm. “This belonged to my brother, Lordanis. I'll never forget the day the mages came and convinced him to join. They said if he didn't like being a mage, he could leave at any time,” she bit her lower lip and took a deep breath. “So, he joined and left because he didn't like how strict the mages were with the power. A few weeks after, they came by, and a fight ensued, with my brother lying dead.”
He wanted to ask if Lordanis was as skilled with the power as her but didn't think it was an appropriate time. “What caused the fight?” Dorvan asked.
“A stupid thing,” Aurora said. “My brother saved an old man from getting robbed with the power and killed one of the robbers. The mages wanted to imprison him for it. He knew what the consequences would be as the mages were going to use that crime to force him to rejoin or strip him of the power. So, he fought and died.”
How could anyone not hate the mages? Dorvan thought. If that happened to him, he would hate them and seek revenge, which would result in his death. He hoped Aurora wouldn't do that.
“I have hated the mages ever since. I left my family shortly after as the mages tried to get me to join a year later. Whenever a mage found me, they tried to get me to join, and I moved a lot to avoid them. That was until Qidan found me. I almost didn't join the School of Power, but I’m glad I did.”
“I'm sorry to bring it up,” Dorvan said and found himself reaching out to grasp Aurora but stopped himself.
“I'm glad you did,” Aurora gave him a small smile and grabbed his hand with both of hers. “It felt good to get that off my chest. I've been holding these feelings in for years.”
“Know that I will always be here for you,” Dorvan said.
“I know,” Aurora replied and let go of his hand. “Let's grab some food before the students get to the hall.”
“Let's do it!” Dorvan said.
They walked in silence, and Dorvan found himself thinking about the mages once more. Lately, it was bothering him that nothing had happened between the mages and Talon. Everyone was waiting for the inevitable confrontation and the results of it. He hoped whatever happened didn't result in bloodshed. That was the last thing he wanted, and he hoped the king thought the same way.
Standing at the entrance of the temple was Qidan, who stopped upon seeing them. “Do you two have a moment?” Qidan asked. The former mage looked annoyed today, and there was no missing the bags under his eyes.
“Of course, what do you need?” Aurora asked.
“A new mission,” Qidan replied. “Don't get too excited; it's nothing amazing.”
“I'll take a new mission over staying here, wondering when something will happen,” Dorvan said.
“You should enjoy this peace while you can,” Qidan snapped, closing his eyes. “Anyway, you'll be heading to Carhan to assist Talon.”
“Did he ask for us by name?” Aurora asked.
“He said he wanted two Ashtari who were powerful and you both work well together,” Qidan explained.
Dorvan felt a bit of pride. It couldn’t be a bad thing when the instructor was recommending you due to your strength. “You can eat first. After that, you must go see Talon.”
“What about our students?” Dorvan asked.
“Already taken care of.”
Thank Tarmella. Dorvan thought with joy. He didn't care if it meant helping Talon out; surely that would be more exciting than teaching. He didn't like teaching, and it meant he got to spend more time with Aurora.
“Then we'll eat and get over there,” Dorvan said.
Qidan said nothing more and continued walking. Dorvan wondered what was going on with him. He shrugged; it wasn't his problem. He wondered what Talon wanted them for. Suppose I'll figure it out soon. “Let's get that meal and get out of here,” Dorvan said to Aurora.
