Finding Hope

  Crack.

  Theo shut an eye and winced, feeling the pressure release from his neck. It felt like forever since he had actually paid attention and written notes in class. Natural disasters and anomalies were piling up more than ever, and wildlife and forage were slowly disappearing left and right; if they were going to be heading out on missions more often, it’d be relevant information to know.

  It’s the sanctuaries, isn’t it? he wished he could ask Ty. You’re doing this.

  “Class done?”

  Stopping halfway through the class common room doorway, Theo swiveled his head and saw two sitting figures looking back at him from the edge of the path that faced the inner dorms courtyard. “Oh—I didn’t see you two. Not going to have dinner?”

  With a toothy grin, the Ancient raised the plate of food that had been in his lap. “We eat. Come, join us.”

  As Theo stepped back out and sat on the edge of the dorms courtyard, extending his legs straight onto the grass like his other two classmates, he couldn’t help but smile.

  Yes, the other path. How could I forget?

  “Have you two just been sitting here the entire time?”

  “We’ve been reading.”

  “Still history?”

  “Right now, teaching commoner tongue.”

  Faris clicked his tongue and mumbled under his breath before closing the book in his lap. “He doesn’t even need help—I don’t know why he pretends he doesn’t know.”

  But the Ancient only smiled pleasantly, looking out at the setting sun while putting a piece of bread into his mouth. “I can get to know you better. It’s fun, is it not?”

  “You’re not eating?” asked Theo gently when Faris reached for another book in the pile between him and Darius.

  “Not feeling it today.”

  “You should at least have something.”

  “Look who’s talking.”

  “Others at dinner?” Darius asked Theo curiously before shifting his gaze to Faris’s new book.

  Theo nodded and did the same as the Ancient. “Mhm.”

  “Hmm. But looking at books is comfortable.”

  A Study in Script - Volume 3, the header read at the top.

  “Hey, this is on Ancient script. Your script reading isn’t bad—you didn’t need to miss Field study for this.”

  “It’s going to be useless information, anyway.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I do.”

  “No arguing, please, you two.”

  Theo sighed and leaned his back against a pillar to the side, staring at Faris’s violet, downcast eye scouring line after line as the world continued to move around them.

  “How do you pronounce this sentence, Darius?”

  “‘Mor’en til’ret-tythe.’ Oh, this one hard.”

  “What does it mean?”

  “Hmm. ‘Before the morning, between the sky and wind.’”

  “I see.”

  “Is used in spell like…for Selene. Botany, weather.”

  “And what about that word on its own?”

  “That one is the i’ret. Because of the til’ before, ‘i’ drop. Only ‘ret’ in that specific situation.”

  “I see. Oh yes, before I forget.” Faris turned to Theo. “Moriya canceled class tomorrow because of today’s thing. They put it up on the board outside the halls. Rescheduled to the day after tomorrow.”

  Theo nodded and took a deep breath before tilting his head up to watch the sky instead. For the first time in a month, he felt a sense of calmness. Just sitting there, listening to everything around him. The school, coming alive even though there weren’t as many people anymore. Still here, despite everything.

  “Hey, Theo. Do you know spell-making?”

  He thought about shaking his head but then remembered how hard Moriya had struck him across the head. “A bit,” he admitted softly as he watched birds fly across the Lycean Plains.

  “Faris ask me. He want to learn, but is very hard. Do you know?”

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  Theo shifted his eyes from the gilded sun to his two classmates, watching the gold shimmer in their eyes. “Em used to make them from time to time. He had this…this blank book he always carried around with him. It was huge—he usually would tear from it to make a specific spell for me. He never let me touch it. Only let me watch.”

  “Specific spell?” Faris asked.

  He watched him steadily. “Yes, a specific spell. He’d make it and sew it into my combat tome for me. When I ran out, he’d put in a new one.”

  “Ah.” A hint of recognition could be seen in the Ancient’s old eyes as he nodded. “Those are the template ones. How about new spell? Make new spell, out of nothing.”

  The Starshower. “No, I don’t know about any of that. I know it’s possible, though.”

  Darius smiled warmly. “Very useful. Set of spells…can use. Mix and match. Whole big dictionary, like in old lore. Even Ancients do not have all words for dictionary. Is handed down, hard to teach commoner how to create. Is very natural feeling, like magic flowing without words. Write the incorrect words, say incorrect words, and the Earth Mother will not listen. Correct ones, and she will. Many spells from now are passed down from long ago. In history, we say Anasot created magic, Eslah wrote down. Most gone now, but the few we have—that is why there are some words for some things, but no words for others. So…what do you do if you want to do new thing? You must create. No way to create if you do not understand natural feeling, if you do not understand flow of nature. But if you have big book, full of all the words, understand all the reasoning for the words, you can make any spell. Is very powerful.”

  Theo blinked, his simple, content smile slipping. “But that means you could create something very, very bad.”

  The hint of recognition grew so much that the Ancient had to turn away to admit the truth. “Yes. People can use for bad reasons. But, you know, even the smallest piece of paper with the right words can defeat a book of all the wrong ones.”

  Humming thoughtfully to himself with an absent nod, Theo met Faris’s gaze before gazing back at the sunset sky. “I like that.”

  * * *

  “Whoa, you three still out here? It’s dark.”

  Theo craned his head and watched Callie walk by, followed by a sleepy-but-surprised Elias. The Academy’s spell-candles had kicked in, the only thing currently illuminating their class’s doorstep.

  “Mhm. Chatting. Do you want to join?”

  A big smile crossed the support’s face as she nodded and sat on the grass. “That sounds nice. Come, Elias. Let’s join them.”

  Despite letting out a groan, Elias complied. “Okay, then,” he grunted, lying beside Callie and putting his hands under his head for support.

  “Bets that he’ll fall asleep within five minutes,” Faris shot reflexively.

  Callie chuckled and smoothed out her skirt. “Kor’s grabbing something from the chem halls. She’ll be here soon to take you up on that.”

  “He’ll be asleep before she shows up,” added Theo with a similar laugh.

  Shrugging and closing the book on his lap, Faris muttered, “What’s she got to get, anyway? Heard supplies have been low.”

  When no one answered, Theo offered, “Plenty of artificial stuff. You’d know if you went to class.”

  “Ugh. That again. Save your breath.”

  “Your—your eyes.” Callie shuffled sightly in her seat, taking care not to bother Elias, who had his eyes closed and was already breathing deeply. “Does that have anything to do with it? Can you see the board?”

  Theo watched Faris intently, waiting for that signature glare, those sharp words of denial.

  “I can see fine.”

  The soft-spoken classmate bashfully lowered her gaze, fidgeting nervously. “Ah. S-sorry for bringing it up. I always…um…I always want to ask if I could help, but I never find the chance.”

  “I don’t need help. I’m fine.”

  “Physician Lundkis hasn’t cleared you yet, right?”

  “I’m fine.”

  The motherly support then turned to Theo, worry still written all over her face. “And your arm, Theo…what happened?”

  Following her eyes to his left arm, which was bound in a sling, Theo forgot that it was even there. This was hardly the worst injury he had sustained during practice. “It’s okay. I don’t even notice it most of the time. Compared to Faris—”

  “I said I’m fine.”

  “Fine? Looking like that?” spoke a loud, fearless voice.

  Everyone turned their heads to the remaining members of Class 2-A approaching, Kor taking a seat on the other side of Callie with Sel beside her as she added playfully, “Actually, more than fine, that eye patch looks quite dashing, doesn’t it?”

  Theo immediately spun back to Faris with an expectant smile.

  There it is, that glare.

  “I agree, very nice,” Darius added with a smile and nod, prompting the caster to surprisingly not deepen his glare, but soften it.

  “Looks like a thug.” Of everyone, Selene looked the least impressed, taking her bag off her shoulders and setting it on her lap.

  “Ah, speaking of thugs.” Faris turned to Kor. “What were you getting from the chem halls?”

  The chemist looked seriously offended for once. “Hey, I’m not going to answer to someone who calls me a thug, especially when I was nice for once!”

  When Faris silently stared at her out of the corner of his eye, and Korinna did the same out of the corner of her eye, the class sat with bated breath, waiting for the inevitable words to be uttered.

  “Thug.”

  Theo didn’t even attempt to restrain himself as a guffaw left his lips, only stopped short by Kor jumping up.

  “Okay, wanna fight? Come on, I’ll fight you, blind ma—”

  “Wait, wait, wait,” chided Callie to Kor, getting off her knees to stop her, a clear smile on her face as she tried to pacify her classmate.

  Even Selene let slip a small chuckle, the normalcy of it all not lost on her as she produced a small instrument from her bag.

  “Oh, your lyre,” remarked Darius. “Something happen to it?”

  Speaking softly, as if serenading her instrument, Selene nodded while stroking the wood. “Only a few scratches. Kor got me some special wax.”

  “Oh, I don’t think I’ve seen one before…” mused Callie from the side, staring intently at it just like everyone in the group—even a bleary-eyed Elias, who had woken up from the commotion.

  “You haven’t played it for us before, have you?” wondered Faris aloud, crossing his legs and leaning back.

  “Sound very nice.”

  “I’ve heard it before, too.”

  Theo eyed Darius and Elias incredulously, about to inquire further when Selene put her hood over her head and hugged her instrument close.

  “It’s okay if you don’t want to play,” the stand-in class lead tried to say comfortingly, bringing his own knees close.

  “No…I—I can’t do it with…everyone…”

  “Ah.” Darius lightly clapped his hands together. “Talk. We talk. Chat.”

  “She’s shy.”

  “You don’t have to say it like that, Elias…”

  “So, Darius, you’re saying that we have to make a commotion, and she’ll play.”

  “Faris…”

  “Hey Theo, I heard—”

  “Faaaaaris…”

  “Don’t you dare—”

  “I’ve been hearing people say that Kor’s a thug.”

  “Now you’ve done it, you piece of s—”

  “No! Kor, no! He’s already injured, don’t—he’s—!”

  “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

  “Elias! Hey, okay, calm down, friends—”

  Theo smiled fondly, not a worry in the world running through his mind. To the sound of Selene’s lyre, watching his classmates bicker and chat about nonsensical things and lofty things, knowing that the surface-level insults held no hidden malice, he felt warm. The world around them felt like it had melted away. All the uneasiness and stress, the pain, and the sorrow—in that moment, he realized what Ty had felt like being surrounded by everyone. It was burning hot, the warmth that emanated from them. It was hope and the strength to continue, stopping at nothing to protect the people you called family. It was something greater than whatever perils the world could throw at them. It was greater than anything he could express.

  Life—inextinguishable, unyielding, ever-burning.

  He remembered Elias’s words.

  Live. She told me she wanted to live.