(Resumed) Solstice

[Emmett]

Sleep was hard to come by that night, but I didn't mind. I tried the meditation exercises, but my cheeks wouldn't stop burning up inside. My heart wouldn't calm down. Every breath I took, some new memory of the dinner popped up. A moment of conversation, or the smooth membrane of milk upon the elbow noodles, or Ansel challenging me to speak with confidence.

In the end, I couldn't focus at all, and called it quits. I'd considered practicing the Shadow-Dancing katas, but-

"Feminine Magick is extremely sensitive to emotion."

And my emotions, were very much in disarray. All in all, I enjoyed it, the fluttering in my stomach, the fog of fascination clouding my thoughts. But I knew, deep down, trying to cast now would only spell trouble. I had read Grace's primer to me and I had read it well.

Eventually I ended up falling asleep, but only after a midnight onslaught of homework.

The next morning, I sprinted to the College of Water on account of sleeping a smidgen too late.

"While I am impressed you are finding new ways to apply the metaphor of dancing with death," Ser Fayt cooed when I entered on the hour exactly, "I would prefer if you did not use my class as your proving grounds. Nonetheless, you did indeed the deadline elude, so your punishment shall no soul give."

I thanked her and took my seat for 9AM Literary Analysis I. We had spent this week reading more of a novel called A Sabbath Of Siblings, a Litany of Lovers. It was a vague stream-of-consciousness featuring two protagonists, presumably siblings, reciting tales from their lives, each chapter alternating between the two.

"I know it's only been a couple chapters," Ser Fayt said, "but can anyone tell me any themes they've noticed? Any strong topic or concept tying the chapters together?"

A hand raised, belonging to a light-skinned woman wearing Fire College robes, bearing striking onyx-rimmed holes on the bottoms of her ears.

Ser Fayt nodded. "Ah, Miss Byrnes, go ahead."

Aisling Byrnes stood up, tilting her head just a little to the side. "I see there's a bit of duality, the light and darkness. It's literally in the names, a boy named Lumen and a girl named Shadow. And the first chapter is from Lumen's perspecitve and the next from Shadow's."

Ser Fayt nodded, and gestured for Aisling to sit again. "That is an excellent observation, and yes, duality plays a strong part in this book, and further, in your lives as Magi."

Our teacher inscribed a circle on the stoneboard. "Infinite Extreme," she said briefly, before drawing an S into the circle to split it into two teardrops. "The asymptote of which." She colored in one teardrop, all but a small circle. On the other half she simply drew in an opaque circle. "the Great Zenith."

Another hand raised.

Ser Fayt hummed, "Mister Drake?"

Harold Drake, a Student of Æther like myself, stood up. "Ser, may I ask why you called the Aspected Spiral by a different name?" His voice softened his otherwise gruff expression, sharply-shaped hair resting on tan skin.

"Ah, yes." Ser Fayt turned to face the class. "The Aspected Spiral, showcasing the duality of Yin and Yang, is another name ascribed to this symbol. It is also called the Great Zenith, for it represents the asymptote to which spirit is drawn. Stillness and Motion, from which derive Death and Life, Cold and Hot, Near and Far; Rigid and Fluid. All finite existence are subject to the tides of the Heavens and Havens. In your mathematics class you will learn that infinity is a concept that is everywhere in your life, yet nowhere; you cannot physically attain it. That boundary between finite and infinite, that none will reach yet all will try, that is the Zenith."

She stepped forward, and held out her copy of the novel. "It's terrifying, how abstracted Yin and Yang are from our day to day, but awareness of all things, of the light and dark in each, is applicable to everyday life, even today, with next to no training at all."

I raised my hand.

"Mister Sinclair?"

I stood up. "If I may guess?"

"You may."

I hummed in assent. "I suspect it opens up new perspectives and methods of analysis."

My reply was met with a smirk. "I can see how that would be particularly apparent to you." She waited a moment for my face to show a sign of confusion, of perhaps shame at guessing wrong. "Rest assured you guessed well."

She gestured for me to sit down, and continued after I did. "There are multiple facets to everything in life. In conversations, you have your side and their side, but the infinite truth lies beyond, forbidden to all, participant and audience alike. In literature there is the story the writer wrote and every individual story each reader reads, and yes, everyone reads a unique version of the work, tempered by life experience."

I suppressed a chuckle. Of course something like this would be the lesson; those chapters had got to be the vaguest things I'd ever read. But I immediately saw the value of being able to see other perspectives: it opened the mind.

It was an open mind that allowed me to realize that I cast my spells as a woman would.

I wondered if it was that open mind that led to me feeling awkward about being called a man.

If it was, then that was another example of Yin and Yang in action, with one action bringing light and darkness both, much like the novel follows both Lumen and Shadow.

I spent the remainder of the lecture trapped in a spiral of my own thoughts. Even the Foundational Courses, where no Magick is taught, had great implications for us budding Magi. Ser Fayt must have permitted it; she hadn't tried to rouse me from my trance.

It was only when the class started to depart that I fell back into reality. Quickly, I gathered my things and sprinted to my 10AM Physical Fitness course.

Today was a Lifting day, and as with every other day, I found myself competing with Ansel to see who could complete their reps the fastest.

"Ha! Surpassing you here is a challenge indeed!" Ansel grunted.

I chuckled in between breaths. "It's not easy here either!"

We continued our exercises. This time, I did not accidentally use Magick to cheat.

After our cooldown exercises, Ansel bounded over to me for a quick word before heading to the showers. "Hey, my Squad and I are gonna be playing some casual Throwball at around 5-ish in the Eastern Outer Ring. Wanna join?"

I shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"I guess no then-"

"Hey!" I barked, a little louder than I intended.

Ansel smirked. "Oh?"

I growled for a split second before speaking, "Yes, I'd like to, alright?"

Ansel chuckled. "Awesome! See ya there!"

I had bathed, attended my history and maths classes, and dropped my school supplies back in my room. I now found myself stepping out through the Inner Eastern Gate. I scanned left and right, and sure enough, a certain dark-skinned blonde jumped up and down.

I sprinted over and found Ansel waving at me on another paved field. A white line bifurcated this field lengthwise, and poles stood atop squares drawn on opposing sides. The poles suspended metal plates in the air.

"Hey Em!" Ansel cheered.

The woman next to Ansel, Freya Stahl, curtsied before me. "So we meet again." I noticed she was wearing a green robe identifying her as a Student of Air, much like Samael.

Apart from the field, at a table with bench-seats sat Abraham, the student with the crazy double-Hagalaz Spell Circle, and Selene, the girl who threw her cloak of azure at the obelisk to pass the Entrance Exam. Selene turned around and waved toward me.

"Really, Bauer?" Abraham jeered, "The hell-spawn Remedial who broke Respite? He's your friend?"

Ansel snapped toward Abraham. "Back off Abe." He had went into action further than I could process the feeling of cold judgment I got from that word, he, delivered in that tone. "He already got his punishment; leave him alone."

"That's Leader to you," Abraham replied, not sparing any curtness, "And you." He swiveled his gaze to me. "You're not welcome here, and the only reason I'm not throwing you all the way back to the West Ring is because we just finished our Squad Meeting. I don't particularly care how you lot waste your recreational time, but you specifically do not interact with me."

I opened my mouth-

"Do not acknowledge."

I took a slow breath in.

"Don't mind him," Freya said gently.

"Freya, you don't want the reputation hit-"

"House Stahl doesn't care what you think, Scion Adams," Freya interrupted, "Look, I know you have your obsession with holding up Lord Adams' legacy, but we still have years before we have to assume the roles. It is far out of your station to criticize another noble House."

Selene stood up and curtsied first to Abraham, then to us. "Will we be playing Throwball perchance?"

Ansel nodded eagerly. "Everyone's here."

Freya nodded and jogged toward a backpack.

"I take it our game is over?" Abraham asked.

"Well, yes," Selene replied, "I know you have a King-Ten of Swords or something set. All you had to do was punch my Eight of Pentacles out of the way, then release your sleight and there goes the rest of my deck."

"I see. In that case, I'll shuffle the Major Arcana back in and play Solitaire."

Selene strolled over to the paved "field" and Freya came back with a leather-cased warped sphere of sorts.

Ansel shook his head. "Get the alum ball; spells are in."

Freya's eyes widened. "With the newbie?"

"Em's a quick learner."

"If you insist." Freya went back to the backpack, and swapped the leather ball for a metallic one. "We doing teams?"

Selene nodded. "Yeah; Ansel and I versus you and Emmett?"

I kept my eyes focused on the larger-than-Freya's-hand metal orb. "I'm lost."

Freya chuckled and joined me on what would be our side of the field. "Don't worry. Rules are simple: only one of your team on your opponent's side at a time, you cannot move on the ground or start a spell while you're touching the ball, no direct contact or Magick upon fellow players, objective is to hit the opponent's goal, the metal slabs, with the ball, and prevent your opponents from doing the same to yours. Oh and if the ball goes out of bounds, control passes to the opponent."

I nodded quickly, not responding to the sudden influx of new information. I figured I would get a grasp for it as the game went on.

"And yes," Freya said, "I'll team with Emmett. Besides, I bet I can beat both of you on my own."

Oh gee thanks. "Yeah I'm really not good at this, but I'll try anyway!"

"You serving then?" Selene asked.

Freya squatted down low, green Wind Magick gathering about her legs. "If you don't mind."

Selene crossed her arms across her chest, and seemingly ripped two spheres of Æther from her breasts. "Bring it!"

Ansel took up a frontward stance, the Four Shrikes stance he had shown me earlier.

"Here goes!" Freya lanced high into the air, well above the goal, a blast of emerald wind kicking off in all directions. At the apex of her jump, she held the so-called alum ball forth, and an explosion snapped the sky with the loudest crack I'd ever heard.

I didn't even see the ball move, but I felt a deep resounding blast of azure in reprisal. It had nearly slammed into our goal before a tunnel of Air Magick funneled it away, toward me.

"I'm going in; pass it when I'm over!" Freya strode into the opposing half of the field.

Ansel, on the other hand, sprinted directly at me. "Not letting ya!"

Something about Ansel's challenge awoke something in me. I couldn't describe what it was. I felt my vision narrow and focus, past Ansel, past Freya, past Selene.

I set my eyes on the goal. I planted my foot down. I felt, for a moment, as if my skin became... softer?

I threw the thought aside, and chambered my throwing arm back.

"Nice T-"

I throttled the ball forward with all my might, and it flew.

Ansel stopped his speech to throw a haymaker. A shrike of Æther moved in to intercept.

If it landed, the ball would be sent to our goal instead.

Way of Four Shrikes. Hook, Right to Left. I was a Magus; distance meant nothing when I could throw my Æther.

I focused on my right arm, and imagined the pores on my flesh opening. I felt the gathering of Magick.

Ansel's spell slammed into the ball, and it changed direction.

I threw my right hook, and released my fist at the last moment, opening the path for my Æther to fly forward. A plume of azure flame left me, roaring toward, around, and past the ball.

Its velocity did not change. Ansel scored the goal against us.

"Oh for real?!" Selene squeaked excitedly.

Freya pivoted back and fixed her eyes on me. "Well I'll be."

Ansel threw his body into a sideways flip, touching the ground with his hands like a living wheel, and glanced back to Freya. "Told ya."

Freya gave a gentle smile. "It's barely been a week, and you've come this far?" She spoke very softly for who was essentially a Princess to one of the Noble Houses of Can Vahs.

Selene bounded over to me. "Hey, so, um, do you pull the Æther around you into one spot before throwing it out?"

"Hm?" I blinked and look toward my arm. "It's more like my Æther swells up from within and I, um, let it out." I decided to omit mentioning how my skin felt a bit softer, figuring it was a fluke.

"Oh, OH!" Selene turned to Freya and spoke in an almost-whisper, "He's like us~"

Freya's eyes widened, but she did not reply.

Selene turned back to me. "Okay, so, were you trying to make a flying punch?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I didn't want to cut off the flow of Æther by clenching my fist though."

Selene snapped her fingers. "You're thinking too literally. No shame; I did that too. I used to think tensing my muscles would cut off my flow. Relaxing helps open the flow, but you can cast without it. Instead of closing your Magick, instead imagine the tension condensing it. That'll focus the impact, otherwise you get a dispersed force-wave with an open hand, as you just let the spell do its own thing when it leaves you."

I blinked. That... It was that simple?! Granted, it probably was much easier said than done.

"I recommend Shadow-Dancing to get a feel for Æther in motion," Selene added on before turning around. "Also, I like that bit of Strengthening you did there. Come on, let's continue!"

Strengthening?! I blinked. Did... Did I do that same trick I accidentally did when fighting Samael without realizing it?! I got back into position, with Freya covering the front.

We had played several more volleys. I was never able to really contribute, but something about being in a pitched competition, with a teammate relying on me, and my rival challenging me with every step, pushed me to surpass myself. I had drawn out my Æther several more times, but nothing actually stuck. I managed to sprint really fast once, but I ended up crashing into the pole. Everyone laughed. I had seethed in anger first, but everyone held their hands out to help me up, and I ended up laughing with them.

At the end of it all, Freya did score some goals of her own. I had noticed that for some reason she didn't use her Air Magick to shut down the enemy team's Magick. She only used her Element to position herself, switching to Unattuned for all her distance sorcery. Ansel and Selene did beat us outright, and it was entirely my fault, but something about being there made it... it made it acceptable, in a way.

Abraham gathered his tarot deck and stood up. "The sun is setting. Best get to your classwork soon, and you." he turned to me. "If I catch you in my sights during a Squad meet, I will consider you a hostile combatant." I started to reply, but he cut me off again. "Do not acknowledge." With that, he left.

That was what I had expected. The Three Noble Houses, Adams, Jules, and Stahl, had presided over Can Vahs since its inception, and originally founded the Sleepless Seminary to research and refine the Magickal Artes. House Adams in particular held dominion over raw Magickal might. And Abraham certainly acted the part.

"Again, don't mind him," Freya said, "Adams scions are always prats." House Stahl, on the other hand, governed tactics and logistics. If Abraham was the King, Freya would be the Knight-Commander. And for completeness' sake, House Jules handled matters of legality and communications between the government and its citizenry. I supposed that would make Romeo the Judge Magister.

Ansel scowled at Ansel's back for a moment. He took a breath and turned back toward us. "Honestly Freya, I think you'd be the better Leader. And Em, thanks for showing up. You have fun?"

I nodded. "I did!" I opened my arms for a hug.

Ansel shook his head. "Last night was special. We still have a ways to go."

I dropped my arms and nodded. "Oh, okay!" The rejection hurt a little bit, but Ansel had been such a wonderful friend. I couldn't hold it against him.

"Hey, Emmett," said Selene, "is it true you accidentally summoned a Nightmare, then tried to fight it?"

I shook my head.

"Aw, that's a shame-"

"Nono," I said, "That... did happen. It's just..."

Selene shook her head. "Don't beat yourself up, just don't do it again. Everyone learns in their own way. I'm, um, glad Ansel invited you. Will you be playing again with us?"

"Of course!" I called out, and Ansel smiling at my reply filled me with a warm pride, "If.. if you'd have me."

"Gladly," Freya replied, "Ansel speaks highly of you, and I can see why. Abraham hates it, but he's stuck-up in his own obsession with family legacy. Tomorrow's a school day so we should sleep. May we meet again." Freya lowered herself to the ground, and vaulted into the sky with another blast of Magicked wind.

"Freya's right; we have our Elder Runes exam tomorrow," Selene added, "Good luck Emmett!"

"You too, Selene," I responded.

I glanced back toward the game field, and down to my hand. I saw a faint shroud of azure flickering like a wisp.

The next thing I noticed was that I was smiling. I had had fun today. I took a breath and slowly closed my hand into a fist, focusing on the feeling of the Æther flowing through me. It wasn't until I had clenched tight that the azure winked out.

"Maybe practice getting a feel for that tonight during your meditation?" Ansel asked.

I nodded. "I will. Thank you again. It meant a lot that you'd invite me. I had fun."

"I'm glad." Ansel turned around and waved. "I'm gonna start throwing more Æther Shrikes at you tomorrow so get ready!"

I shook my head and sighed. Of course he would. I waved back goodbye and returned to my dormitory. I would spend an entire hour just going through Shadow-Dancing forms, skipping the meditation exercises just for tonight. I felt I was on the verge of something, and I had a test in the morning I needed to score high marks in, and I had clothes to wash.

Thankfully, sleep came easier this time.