

Ascha  
Book Negative Three of the Caillte Cycle

by

Shauna Scheets

This work is fictitious. Any resemblance to persons, characters or situations, real or imagined, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

© Copyright 2015 Shauna Scheets

Cover Art by Shauna Scheets

All Rights Reserved.

Electronic Edition - Fourth Edition

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without express written permission from the author, Shauna Scheets. Reviewers may quote brief passages, with citation.

Visit the author at Lost Lore Books, http://lostlorebooks.com, for more fun works by Shauna Scheets, and more on the world of The Caillte Cycle.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the beautiful new man in my life, Liam. May he grow healthy and strong. And no matter what life throws at him, may he find a way through it to find happiness. He is the reminder that there is always beauty in this world, even when it is hard to see.

I also want to thank all of the beta readers that contributed to this work, namely A. L. Walton (check out his novella, _The Amber Ring_ ) and Kasey Parrish.

Table of Contents

MAP

Prologue | Kaya's Journey

Chapter 1 | Marbles

Chapter 2 | Names

Chapter 3 | Help from a friend.

Chapter 4 | Drawing

Chapter 5 | A Trip

Chapter 6 | Family

Chapter 7 | Wild Leaves

Chapter 8 | End of Season

Chapter 9 | Lessons

Chapter 10 | Elemental Questions

Chapter 11 | Valona

Chapter 12 | Energy

Chapter 13 | Starts

Chapter 14 | Lessons

Chapter 15 | Drooping

Chapter 16 | Decisions

Chapter 17 | Secret Talks

Chapter 18 | Reports

Chapter 19 | Return to Valona

Chapter 20 | Small Tribulations

Chapter 21 | Room to Talk

Chapter 22 | Shadowy Encounters

Chapter 23 | Roomy Voids

Chapter 24 | Encounters of Deeper Shades

Chapter 25 | Springtime Sprouts

Chapter 26 | Alternate Routes

Chapter 27 | Larger Tribulations

Chapter 28 | Finality

Chapter 29 | Untold Words

Chapter 30 | Last Succor
Appendix A: Pronunciation

Appendix B: Glossary (including Herbs)

Appendix C: Herbal Notebook

About the Author

Map

## Prologue | Kaya's Journey

The air swam with the heat. She didn't notice, at first, that she was sweating so much. Gradually, the beads had collected across her upper lip. Having nowhere to go, they collected to the point where they couldn't be ignored any longer. She wiped the back of her sleeve across her face, deliberately not paying attention to the light coating of grime that came away with the sweat. That, too, was a bi-product of being in the forge.

She listened to the familiar sound as her father beat on metal with more metal. Sparks flew, but his thick leather apron did its job of protecting him from errant sparks well. His craftsman's hands knew what a piece would look like, even when it was still just a lump of ore to the layman. She could only hope to have half his talent, or impact on the community, one day.

"Ah, how lovely," her father took a moment to admire his work. After a quick grunt he laid the metal rod back on the anvil. It didn't resemble anything yet.

Her mother had left them some time ago, so she was used to being the sole investment of her father's affections. Aside from the metal, of course.

"Are you about ready, Kaya?" He had used that pet name for Michaeyala since she could remember.

"Yes, Father. I've packed my things for the trip north. Everything else that is coming later is packed, as well," she answered his question. It had been hard work for them to get Kaya into the school in the north, T'Sala Un Sung. Not only was she quite a bit older than most students who started their magickal studies there, but it was also quite expensive to travel so far. Getting accepted by the school had only been the first part of their battle.

"Everything should be ready for my departure in the morning."

"Come give your old bear of a father a hug," he said. The young woman didn't even hesitate at his calluses or how dirty he was. Why was she leaving again? Oh, that's right. It was because she couldn't learn to smith enchanted pieces anywhere else.

After a few moments her father pulled away.

"Right," he said, clearing his throat and straightening his apron. He must have gotten debris from the smithing caught in his eye, because he rubbed it absently. Though the back of his glove must have only gotten more shavings stuck in his eye, as he rubbed it more vigorously.

"How will you be traveling, again?" he asked her.

She couldn't even count the number of times he asked her this. It was starting to feel like a quiz, and that he wanted to make sure she wouldn't forget. It couldn't be _that_ dangerous to travel alone. After all, she was almost an adult. Many considered that she already was one. She recited her speech to him anyways.

"The first part from Albia to Boran will be by carriage. The last part from Boran to T'Sala I will complete on foot."

"Ah, yes. That's right," sadness clouded the burly man's eyes, "You know I would go with you to protect you. But with my new appointment and all, I really can't be missed."

Kaya nodded. She knew. Her father's new appointment to be smith to the king of Albia was certainly nothing to be ignored. She smiled at her father, trying to boost his spirits. Somehow, concern didn't look right on such a large man. The fact that he was so dirty made the clean circles around his eyes stand out.

"I'll be fine," she said. "It really is a short journey, when you think about it. I mean, what could go wrong?"

"That's just what I don't want to think about," he looked at his beautiful daughter. She was just budding into womanhood, and she didn't know it yet. She saw it as a good thing, getting older. He didn't want to tell her how it could be otherwise.

Her father started to pack his things.

"I think that should be good for tonight. I think we should have one last supper before you start on your adventures."

Kaya helped her father put things in their proper place, then followed him to their part of the castle. She hadn't gotten used to living in a castle yet, and already she was leaving.

## Chapter 1 | Marbles

"That's not allowed in here," came the elderly voice of the school marm. She was kind, but her reminders were always followed.

"Yes, Sister." The little boy scooped up the marbles and shoved them in his pocket, pulling himself up to be as presentable as possible, which was admittedly difficult for a boy of seven seasons. The Sister hid a smile.

"You can play with them after class, Tiam."

Tiam was in the last class that had both boys and girls. The following season he would move to the other hall, and he would be in a class of all boys. He secretly hoped inside that this meant they would understand his love of marbles better. Or at least that's what he told himself.

T'Sala Un Sung was the best school in all of Caillte Saíocht; actually it was the only one that Tiam knew of. It was humungous, to the boy of seven seasons. They had a hall for younglings, the one he was in, and they even had a hall just for girls and one just for boys when they got older. It was hard to get into T'Sala, too. At least that's what his parents told him when he left, not that he remembered it very well anymore. The Sisters and Brothers here were all very nice though, as long as he did his chores.

Someday he would even get a Brother-in-training in his own class. It was supposed to happen next season. Otherwise he would be stuck in the younglings' hall, until he got a Brother-in-training. After he was assigned one, he would then share quarters with his Brother-in-training, until they got a lot older. It would just be the two of them in one room. He looked forward to not having so many students with bunks in the same area, but he did suppose it must get lonely with just two.

Not until after they were full Brothers would they get their own quarters, and to Tiam that was a long time from now. He would not have to worry about being the only one in the room until then. And then after that, some even went on to become magi. Only the best from T'Sala got to become a sanctified magus. But that was something so far in the land of dreams that Tiam could only imagine it.

He straightened in his seat as Chief Sister Leanna cleared her throat to continue. The Chief Sister was old, with skin like wrinkled parchment. She had a welcoming and encouraging, if slightly bored, expression. Chief Sister Leanna was the one who always filled in when a Sister was not available to lead her lessons for some reason, as was the case today. Sister Ellina was supposed to be back the next day though. It would be nice to see her again. She was always so kind.

"We will finish the day by helping Daria prepare the ground for the spring planting."

Everyone, about twenty boys and girls, filed to follow Chief Sister Leanna to the grounds. There were several different plots, and it could be very easy to get lost if you did not know where you were going. Tiam liked helping Daria. She may not have been a Sister, but she had worked with the plants and other chores around T'Sala since anyone could remember. And she knew a lot. She had taught Tiam how to do many useful things, like how to find the right rock to dig a hole when you forgot your shovel, or how to hold your quill so that ink did not spray everywhere when you tried to make a letter.

The brisk air stung Tiam's cheeks as he followed his classmates outside. Winter was at an end, and the spring was beginning. But a gust of wind could still make the air quite fresh, and if Tiam breathed too quickly it burned his nose.

They continued down the path and passed a girl in her early teens.

***

She had a dancer's build. Her movements were accented by a natural grace and litheness. Although, the occasional gawky movement made it obvious she had no real formal training, and that her bones and muscles were still fighting an upward battle against gravity. Her form was still more that of a girl than a woman. Her almost black hair was bound, as was proper. She wore dress similar to many of her female colleagues: rough linen skirt and sturdy cotton blouse, cinched by her dark brown corset. Unceremoniously, she sat on the ground with the ease of much practice, and readied herself to sketch the plant she held between her fingers.

"Ascha," Sister Morana said to the girl in passing. The teacher paused her step by the girl. "I see you are already starting on the assignment. Good to see, though there is a bench not twelve feet from here." Her eyes pointed the way to the stone bench farther along the path.

Ascha N'Dreyid took the heavy implication and raised herself from the ground to make her way towards the cold stone bench. Only a small sigh escaped her lips. Sister Morana smiled at her. Somewhere in her middle years, Sister Morana had a kind face and a kinder voice, but she did not take long to remind one of the rules. As she saw it, rules could be broken when you were not at T'Sala, but as long as you were within the walls, well, there was a reason there were rules and a proper way to behave. Ascha failed to remember the last time she lived outside of the walls.

Sister Morana waited while Ascha grabbed her things before continuing to walk with her.

"Two herbal drawings, that's all we need for next week right?"

"Right," responded Sister Morana. "You have only been in my class a short time, but you show tremendous aptitude for your studies. I look forward to next season for you, when you will be old enough to start the casting arts."

Ascha beamed. Her memory was fuzzy, but she did remember that the casting arts had been the reason she had tried so hard to get here. Sister Morana was respected as one of the most capable casters that all of Caillte had to offer. They had reached the stone bench and Ascha laid her things down and sat beside them. Sister Morana stood by her for a moment before resuming her path.

"Continue well with your herbal studies this season, and I may be able to make the request that you are in my lessons next season." It was a small comment, but it meant a lot when Ascha heard Sister Morana say it. Ascha smiled at the words, before Sister Morana continued on her way.

Once she was gone, Ascha lifted the woody noshberi stem and twirled it in her fingers, the broad leaves trailing their heavy scent behind them. The shiny green leaves held their color through all seasons. The one she grasped still had some slightly shriveled white berries, clutching with their last efforts in small bundles to the stem. Only the most potent berries held to the plant through the whole winter, but the plant would soon shed them with spring's approach, or it would if this small branch had been left on the bush.

She placed the noshberi on the bench before her and, pulling out her pencils, began the first herbal sketch.

***

"Yes, Sister." Daria was small, even for a woman. She was smaller than most of the older students at T'Sala, her lank, thinning hair tied back tightly against her head to be kept out of the way. It was hard to tell what color it had once been, or still was, because of its greasiness. She had often been asked by the Sisters of T'Sala why she did not simply wear a bonnet, especially since it would keep the sun out of her eyes as well. She replied that she did not need one, and that her bun worked well enough.

"You will be helping Daria in the preparation of the ground for spring planting," Chief Sister Leanna addressed the class. "Dolam Michaeyala will be assisting Daria for the day. Do as Daria and her assistant say," she gestured to the student by Daria's side.

Tiam did not recognize her assistant, and he had already been here several seasons. Only students that had more than ten seasons were called Dolam, and then only by people of a different station. He had learned that much even before he got to T'Sala, though he did not remember who taught him that. He thought everyone knew, but apparently not, because the Brothers had to tell them this at the start of every season.

The new girl was pretty. He would have remembered hair like that, those blond curls. T'Sala got new students sometimes, but they were usually younger than him. He could not remember T'Sala getting a new student older than him. And he had only heard stories about T'Sala getting older students. Ascha had been that way. She was still in his younglings' hall. Since she had come to the school so late in her seasons, they had not been able to name a Sister-in-training to her. Which meant that he had a good friend just a few bunks from him, even if she was a girl.

He had certainly heard about how promising she was, whatever that meant. All he knew was that this new Michaeyala must be special too, to be taken into the school so old. Tiam realized Daria was talking to him, and pulled himself out of his thoughts. At some point Chief Sister Leanna must have left, because when he looked around for her he did not see her.

"Tiam, everyone else has started, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then go grab a hoe and start breaking the ground with the rest of the class."

Tiam went over to the shed and grabbed a hoe as tall as he was. The new girl had gone over to help someone else in his class. He looked at his chubby classmate as the boy fumbled with his hoe, dropping the tool more than turning any earth with it. It certainly looked like Rin needed the help. Tiam pushed his hoe into the earth half-heartedly. He almost lost his grip on the hoe, before bringing himself back to the task at hand.

## Chapter 2 | Names

The next day Ascha sat down for Sister Morana's lesson. Ascha had arrived at T'Sala Un Sung later than most, so they had given her a few seasons to get used to lessons before she was named a Sister-in-training with someone. That, and they had to wait until another of approximately her age was available to be named. No one her age was left to be named when Ascha had arrived. Everyone had already been named to a fellow Sister-in-training by the time they were eleven seasons, and even that was considered to be late since most were named by their seventh or eighth season. At sixteen seasons, Ascha was currently the oldest at T'Sala that was not already named with someone, boy or girl.

Ascha went to sit in her usual seat, but a new girl was already there. She raised her eyebrows in surprise and continued to the open seat on the other side of the new girl. At least that brought the number of students in Sister Morana's class to an even number, for once. Ascha was tired of being the odd one. She did not need to count to know there were now eight pairs sitting before Sister Morana.

"Hi. I'm Michaeyala." The new girl offered her hand, and a smile, to Ascha.

"Ascha." She smiled politely back and shook the extended hand.

"Ascha, that's a different name." This new girl was so pretty, and so bouncy, it almost hurt. Ascha thought of her own plain, straight, dark hair. It must be drab in comparison. Michaeyala's blond curls delightfully fought against the bonds of the braided bun they were caught up in. When Ascha's hair fought against the bounds of her bun it looked like a cat lost a battle with a wool blanket.

"Michaeyala." Sister Morana gave Michaeyala a stern look, informing her that lessons were to begin presently, and that she was bordering on impertinence.

"I was just going to ask her where she was from," Michaeyala muttered under her breath, a hurt look fleeting across her pretty face.

"Right, now, class," Sister Morana addressed the students. This was the third year Ascha had Sister Morana as her main teacher, every year since she had come to T'Sala. Ascha looked lazily out the window, watching a bird hop from branch to branch. _Why did it bother to hop, when it could fly?_ she wondered.

"We have a new student here at T'Sala Un Sung. Her name is Michaeyala." Sister Morana gestured to the new student. Michaeyala grinned and looked down at the table before her. "She has fourteen seasons, so she has been placed in our level. This also means that she has no Sister-in-training yet assigned to her."

Ascha looked up suddenly. Sister Morana glanced at Ascha then widened her focus to encompass the entire room. Ascha and her fellow students were all around sixteen seasons. She was almost seventeen seasons herself. Of course, this new late entry to T'Sala would not have to wait like she did.

"Michaeyala has been named as Sister-in-training with Ascha," Sister Morana looked from Ascha to Michaeyala, "see me after lessons and I'll show you your new quarters." While it was not unheard of to have a span of several seasons in the same level, Ascha wondered if Michaeyala had been placed in their level because she would need a Sister-in-training or because she was actually at their level of learning.

"Now," Sister Morana addressed all the students again, "We had assigned work to turn in for today." Sister Morana walked along the front of the class as everyone handed their sketches to her. Ascha offered her sketches to the Sister.

***

Lessons went by quickly. Everyone had been assigned another botanical sketch to have by next class. Everyone, except Michaeyala, that was. Michaeyala had been given until the end of the seven day span to provide Sister Morana with her sketches. The rest of the students headed outside to enjoy the weather, as it was warming with spring on its verge.

Ascha and Michaeyala stood before Sister Morana.

"Well, if you will follow me."

"Yes Sister Moron." Michaeyala said primly. Sister Morana's eyebrows shot up. Ascha smiled, whispering something hastily in Michaeyala's ear. Not even a full heartbeat later Michaeyala corrected herself, her eyes wide.

"Morana. Sorry. I did not mean anything..."

"It's all right." Sister Morana suppressed a chuckle. "Both of you will be excused from lessons tomorrow so that you may move your things into your new quarters and set them up as you need. I will not be handing out any more assignments tomorrow. Ascha, you should be able to turn in your next botanical sketch to me by the end of the day tomorrow. You know where my office is. Michaeyala, you have until the end of the span to turn in your three sketches. If you need any help getting them together, Ascha is more than capable." Ascha beamed slightly.

They followed Sister Morana to the girl's hall, reserved for Sisters-in-training. Ascha had been telling herself for many seasons that it did not matter which hall she was in, but part of her was relieved that she would not have to deal with all of the incessant questions from the younglings anymore. It was not that she minded answering them terribly, it was only that sometimes she had her own work to do. It would also be nice not being the oldest in the hall anymore. She might even be able to ask some questions of her own.

The new quarters they entered were rather bare, but spacious. They had everything they needed to complete their work, a table with drawers, two sturdy stools, and plenty of room for any tools they might need were on one end of the room. Two small beds were on the other side; each had an empty steamer trunk at its foot. The covers on the beds were well-worn, but still thick enough to be comfortable in the winter. An empty fireplace promised more warmth, if they needed it. The smile on Ascha's face faded as she turned and noticed the surprised expression on Michaeyala's.

"Well, I will leave you two to get settled. Supper will be at the usual time, which is to say everyone should be seated by dusk, in the large banquet room. It is just straight down this corridor and to your left." With those final words, Sister Morana turned on her heel and departed.

The two girls stood in silence in the entrance to the room. Michaeyala, now grinning again, bounced over to the bed farthest from the window and sat down.

"I hope you don't mind, but I rather like this bed." Michaeyala twittered, sweetly.

Ascha strode over to the other bed. She gazed out the window and nodded slowly.

"Works for me. So, where are your things right now?"

Michaeyala fumbled with the hem of her skirt. Ascha noted how the fabric was much nicer than the homespun she wore. Aside from boasting a finer fabric, her new Sister-in-training's clothes even bore ribbon embellishments at the hems.

"Oh, I don't have anything with me right now. Someone will bring my things here later." Michaeyala responded with a smile. "I'm just glad that I already have a Sister-in-training. You can show me everything I need to know. It's almost like you were waiting for me. It's nice to already have a friend here my age." Michaeyala continued to chirp about how excited she was to be at T'Sala and how grand this new life was going to be. Ascha looked out the window and wondered if she had enough time before dusk to get her things from her old quarters in the younglings' hall.

After several minutes of watching the sun creep lower in the sky, Ascha decided she would have to wait until the next day to get her things. Even if she ran, she would not be able to get to her old quarters, gather her things, and make it back in time before she had to be in the banquet room.

"We might as well head down for supper." Ascha broke Michaeyala's stream of chatter. Michaeyala did not seem to notice the interruption. Her comments had grown less constant after a few minutes, anyways.

"Yes, let's. Lead the way; you know this place better than I do." Michaeyala hopped from the side of her bed. The truth was, Ascha hadn't spent much time in this hall, and she had never had reason to go to its main banquet room. She just hoped that the entrance to the banquet room would be obvious and that the arch above its doors would be emblazoned with the inverted chevron that was the T'Sala crest, as were all common rooms on the grounds. She started by leading them down the hall and following Sister Morana's instructions. After all, they hadn't let her down yet.

"So where do you come from? You aren't from this part of Caillte." Ascha asked the question almost rudely, but Michaeyala did not seem to notice.

"My family lives in the south, in one of the port cities." There weren't very many cities, at least nothing you could really call a city, maybe a bloated town, north of Boran. It made sense, since no one had money this far north. At least, not what you could call real wealth. And it would take a lot of money to get from the southern parts of Caillte to T'Sala.

"So, does your family work in textiles?" Many of the southern families had made their wealth buying and selling fabrics around Caillte. Michaeyala looked down at the floor and smiled.

"No. My father is a smith." Then she added hastily, "But not just any smith. He is Grand Smith to the new king of Albia." Albia was the largest port city in Caillte, if Ascha remembered correctly. But she did not know they had appointed a king. The political goings-on of Caillte did not always make it to T'Sala. Well, that did explain a few things.

## Chapter 3 | Help from a friend.

The morning stars still pricked faintly against the dark sky when Ascha awoke. She got out of bed and donned her linen shift. She pulled her skirt over her head and cinched it around her waist. She glanced at the other bed. Michaeyala rolled over in her sleep.

Ascha turned to the one mirror in the room. She looked at her foggy reflection in the brushed bronze and pulled her fingers through her hair. Ascha wished her brush wasn't resting in her old quarters in the younglings' hall. Even worse, her hair-pin from yesterday had gone missing. Muttering under her breath, she searched the small apartment for something to use to hold her hair up. She couldn't leave without putting her hair up. After feeling around in her trunk (for what had to be the third time) her hand brushed along something skinny and long. The metal was cold to the touch. She couldn't see it very well in the dark, but it seemed smooth enough. She would have to make it work; there wasn't anything else she had in here.

Ascha braided her hair, then twisted the plait into a knot at the back of her neck, securing it with the long pin. She cast a last glance behind her as she left the room. Her new roommate snuggled deeper into her blankets.

The air was still crisp, giving everything a sharpness. The hazy shapes around her were becoming more distinct as the sun rose. If she concentrated hard enough, she could make out the inverted chevron that was the symbol for T'Sala, and carved above the entrance of every building on the campus. But only just barely.

Ascha walked along the brick path, on her way to her old quarters. She did not feel like talking to anyone, and she was glad that everyone was still asleep, or just getting themselves ready for the day. At T'Sala, they saved things like candles and lanterns for special occasions, so most people waited to rise with the sun. First lesson would not even start until the sun was at least one finger off the horizon.

Once in the younglings' hall, it did not take long for Ascha to gather her things from under her. The younger students were only just starting to wake up. Tiam rubbed his eyes with his fist as he came from the bunks next door.

"Are you going somewhere, Dolam Ascha? I did not see you at all last night." Tiam asked.

"I told you that you did not have to call me Dolam, Tiam. Ascha is just fine."

"Are you going somewhere, Ascha?" he asked again. Ascha had been hoping to get her things and leave before anyone woke, and could start asking questions. She silently cursed herself for not leaving earlier. She also cursed having been stuck in this hall for so long, many of the students had come to see her as a permanent fixture. She had to admit to herself that she had even begun to see herself that way, too.

"To the girl's hall." Tiam's face fell a little at Ascha's answer, then brightened again.

"Does that mean you have been named a Sister-in-training?"

"Yes, Tiam, I have." Ascha found herself smiling. She may not be thrilled about her new Sister-in-training, but this was something she had been awaiting for a long time. "Well, that should be everything. Goodbye for now, Tiam."

"Goodbye. And don't worry, I'll tell Ella and Mari and Rin that you moved to the girl's hall for you."

"Thank you, Tiam."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Someone brought something for you. I have it in my pocket so I could give it to you the next time I saw you." Tiam handed Ascha a small box wrapped in linen. She turned it over and, not being able to immediately see what it was from the shape, put it in her bag with the rest of her things.

"Thanks, who left it?"

"I don't know. I've never seen him before. He just asked if anyone knew Ascha. I said I did, and he gave it to me, and told me to give it to you. I did not even open it, so I don't know what's in it either. Well, I have to go get my stuff for lessons. I don't want to be late," Tiam made a face, "again."

"Okay, thanks, Tiam." Ascha turned and left the younglings' hall.

***

By the time Ascha got back to her quarters, Michaeyala was just waking.

"Where did you go?"

"I was getting my things from the younglings' hall." Ascha replied.

"Do you need any help?"

"No. I was able to get everything." Ascha gestured to her pack. It was full, but not bulging. Setting her pack on her bed, Ascha pulled out her set of pencils—one of her most prized possessions—and placed them neatly in one corner of her trunk. She pulled out her heavy winter cloak, her spare shift and skirt, placing them in the opposite corner. She folded a long leather strip that she used as a belt and nestled it by her clothes. Beside it, she placed her comb and remaining hairpins. Lastly, she placed the box Tiam had given her next to them. She still hadn't opened it. Ascha closed the trunk, turning to face Michaeyala as she did so.

"So, you have three sketches to have ready for the end of the span to give to Sister Morana?"

"Yes. I don't really know what I'm doing; I've never done a botanical sketch before. And I don't have any of my things..."

"That's alright. We can still get started on your sketches. There is a lendary next to the library where we can check out materials. I am out of paper besides, so I need to stop by there anyways. Have you decided what you will draw?"

"Well, where I grew up we had a lot of selian, so I thought I might start with that." Ascha raised her eyebrows at Michaeyala's response.

"What? Is there something wrong with selian?" Michaeyala asked.

"No, there is nothing wrong with selian. I'm just surprised you would pick one of the more difficult herbs to sketch for your first. I mean, selian has a lot of intricacies, and a lot of things you can get wrong."

"Oh. Well I was just thinking, it is such a pretty flower. And I've seen it before."

"This isn't art class Michaeyala. Our drawings have to be exact. Someone who has never seen the plant has to be able to take our sketch, go into a field, and identify accurately by our drawings. For instance, you might know what selian looks like, but if your selian branches are at slightly too wide of angle, someone could identify nard root as selian. While nard root has its places, if it is taken in the same doses, and using the same plant parts, as selian it would be fatal." Wide-eyed, Michaeyala nodded at Ascha's words.

"Now selian root and nard root don't look anything alike," Ascha continued, "but above ground they are very similar, and selian sketches don't show the root, since you don't use selian root for anything. They also don't grow in the same places, since nard root needs a lot of water held in the soil around it, so it likes marshes. But selian likes the water to run through the soil, and it like hills or open fields. But someone who did not know these plants would not know that, and they could be relying on your drawing."

Michaeyala nodded. She felt like her head was going to bob off from nodding.

"Right. So, I guess, since I'm not doing selian, I don't know what to do now. Maybe something simple?"

"When we go to the lendary, we can take a walk back through one of the courtyards. I'm sure you can find three in there that you could draw," Ascha offered. "It's best to draw directly from a specimen anyways."

"The lendary has pencils too, right? And paper, is there anything else I will need?"

"Yes, on the pencils and paper. And no, you shouldn't need anything else."

"Yesterday I helped out with Chief Sister Leanna's younglings' class. I noticed that the younglings have lessons with both boys and girls. But I did not see any boys in our lessons, or in our hall?"

"At about ten seasons, after most students get their Sister or Brother-in-training, they move to the girl's hall or the boy's hall. At about that time, lessons also split into sessions divided by boys and girls," Ascha answered Michaeyala.

"What about you, though, you did not have a Sister-in-training yet, but you were in Sister Morana's lessons and they are only girls." Ascha reddened a little at Michaeyala's words.

"I was a special case. I was too old to be in the younglings' classes, but when I got here there weren't any Sisters-in-training that I could be assigned to, so I had to stay in the younglings' hall while I attended the girls' lessons. I helped out a lot, though, in the younglings' hall."

"Sorry, that had to be tough." Michaeyala smiled, "I guess it's a good thing I got here, so you did not have to wait any longer for a Sister-in-training." Ascha smiled back.

"Has anyone told you about the Sistere and Brethere?"

"Not yet."

"Well, all of the Sisters make up the Sistere, and all of the Brothers make up the Brethere. You probably won't see many of the Brethere for a couple seasons. Once the students are no longer younglings, the Brethere try to teach only boys and the Sistere only girls. But once you get into your final seasons, some of the lessons require T'Sala to mix Brethere and Sistere. Like only Sister Morana teaches the last levels of casting, and Brother Keanus is the only one here that can teach advanced metal-working at the level required for holding a lasting enchantment. Also, the Brethere has a Chief Brother and the Sistere has a Chief Sister."

"Who are the Chief Sister and Brother right now?" Michaeyala asked.

"Chief Sister Leanna is the Chief Sister right now, and I think Brother Erak is the Chief Brother." Ascha looked at Michaeyala's unbound hair.

"Before we leave for the lendary, you will need to put that up." Ascha reminded Michaeyala. Ascha looked at the trunk at the foot of Michaeyala's bed. Ascha's hairpin lay on top of it. It was fairly plain, its only adornment being the symbols carved along it. It had been worn smooth by use, so that none of the corners from the original carving caught on her hair, but the carvings had been deep enough that they were still visible, even still.

"That's odd, I couldn't find my hairpin this morning. I wonder how it got on your trunk."

"Oh that, um. That must be what I stubbed my toe on last night. Do you mind if I borrow your comb? I don't have one." Michaeyala asked absent-mindedly.

"Right." Ascha grabbed her hairpin from Michaeyala's trunk and put it in her own. She picked up her comb, and reluctantly handed it to Michaeyala.

"Thanks." Michaeyala proceeded to comb her hair, braid it, then wind it around her head into a loose bun. She then secured it with a couple of hairpins from her own trunk. She handed the comb back to Ascha.

"Ready?" Ascha asked, tucking the comb back into her trunk and latching it.

Michaeyala nodded. With that, they left to go find the lendary.

***

Daria was behind the desk when they arrived at the lendary. Papers and quills littered the surface, and the desk beneath it showed signs of being well-loved. The varnish was coming up in places, and there were several scratches in the places not covered by materials of some sort.

"What is it that you will be needing today?"

"Hi, Daria. This is Dolam Michaeyala." Daria looked up from the ledger she had been marking when she heard Ascha. "She is new here and she needs paper and a set of pencils."

"Yes, I met her a couple days ago. She helped out with Chief Sister Leanna's class. For the sketches, I assume?"

There was a pause before Daria repeated herself.

"You are in Sister Morana's lessons, yes? You are doing botanical sketches? You need more than just blacks?"

"What?" Michaeyala asked. "Oh, yes." Daria stood and walked to the large wooden shelf behind her. It was made of lots of little cubby-holes. While the shelf was large, the cubby-holes were small, just the right size for whatever was in them. Everything was neatly stacked in their own cubby-hole; some of them filled with boxes of colors, shading pencils, paints, paper, straight-edges, string or athames, and then some filled with things Michaeyala did not recognize, but assumed were needed for something to do with lessons.

"Right, here is a set of full colors. And here are some leaves of paper." Daria handed Michaeyala a colors set and two leaves of paper.

"Sorry, I need at least three." Daria raised an eyebrow. "Leaves of paper that is. Sister Morana wants three sketches from me."

"Right, here you are, and a few extra sheets as well. And when you are done with this season, if you don't have any classes that require full colors, bring them back and we will switch them for a standard set." Daria handed the leaves of paper to Michaeyala, then turned to Ascha. "And did you need anything, Dolam?"

"Yes, I need some more paper. Best make it at least five leaves." Daria handed the paper to Ascha. "Thank you."

Ascha rolled the leaves into a cylinder and tucked them in the pocket of her skirt.

"So where are the courtyard gardens?" Michaeyala asked. She attempted to do the same with her paper and pencils, only to find that her pockets were considerably too small to accommodate. Eventually she gave up and resolved to carry the items in her hands.

"Well, the closest ones are just down that hall." Ascha nodded to their left. The corridor was not long.

The two girls passed through the stone archway that led to the inner courtyard.

"This is the smallest one we have on the grounds, but we should still be able to find all you need for your sketches here. We only have to get three specimens after all. And, as long as they are small, the Sistere and Brethere don't mind us taking from the inner courtyards. If we actually have to harvest anything, we have to go to the outer courtyards, though." Michaeyala nodded at Ascha's explanation.

The paths were very neatly kept, with hardly any overgrowth allowed to creep between the stones of the walkway. Short walls, maybe a hand's-breadth in height, bordered all of the beds. Tiny plants, mostly mosses, but some flowering thymes and other plants, were closest to the borders. The beds rose in towards the middle, some of the plants in the center growing as tall as many men standing on top of each other. There were little inlets, shaped like keyholes, of walking paths that allowed one to get to the center of the beds to tend the plants. Michaeyala looked around. She counted only three beds in this courtyard, but even so they were generously-sized. She wondered how much you would have to harvest before anyone would even notice, some of the plants were so prolific. And this was the small courtyard. Michaeyala could only recognize a few of the plants. A brilliant patch of selian peeked at her from the far end of one bed. She also noticed a stone bench placed along the side of the bed with the selian.

Michaeyala smelled something very fragrant. It was oddly reminiscent of something, but she couldn't say what.

"What is that?" She asked Ascha, sniffing at the air.

"That scent? Oh that is this here." Ascha walked over to one of the other beds. She leaned in two or three layers of plants, to where the plants were all the height of her knee. Ascha pulled forward a thicker branch, covered in many green, waxy leaves. She crushed one of the leaves between her fingers, then held them near Michaeyala's face.

"This scent?" Ascha asked as she held the plant. Michaeyala shrank back at the strength of the smell, but it was certainly the same as the one she was smelling before—only much stronger now that they were so close to the plant.

"That's the one." Michaeyala replied, once she remembered that Ascha was waiting for a response.

"This is cabila. It's fairly easy to draw, it would not be a bad choice for one of your sketches." Ascha reached into one of her pockets and pulled out the small blade she always kept with her. She removed the athame's small sheath and cut a sprig of the cabila, making sure to have at least two branchlets attached to the specimen, so that Michaeyala could capture the angle of the divergence in her drawing. She handed the cabila to Michaeyala, or rather added it atop the stack growing in Michaeyala's arms.

"So I need two more, right? How about, that one over there, the one with the tiny pink flowers."

"The amianus? Okay." Ascha cut a specimen of the amianus, a rather short plant with tiny fern-like leaves and delicate stems with miniscule flowers. She added it to Michaeyala's stack.

"Is that raygian?" Ascha looked in the direction Michaeyala was gestured towards with her head. The serrated leaves of a raygian plant pushed against the neighboring noshberi. The raygian hadn't flowered yet, its buds just starting to emerge from between stalk and stem. Ascha walked over and gathered the last specimen.

"And there is your raygian." Ascha added it to the pile. "Oh, and I almost forgot, on your sketches, you will want to note what time of the year it is. It helps with later identification."

"That should be everything we need, ready to head back to our quarters?" Ascha continued. She still had her deriak sketch to finish, after she helped Michaeyala get started.

## Chapter 4 | Drawing

"Everyone shall pair with their Sister-in-training for this exercise." Morana's voice rang against the arched rafters high above them.

Ascha turned to Michaeyala, who sat next to her in the classroom. They had been Sisters-in-training for weeks now.

"When you get your sketch back, you will see several items marked in ink. These are aspects that are not botanically correct. We shall go over the sketches and any questions about them, so that you can correct them for tomorrow morning. I want your Sister-in-training to look over the sketch. There are a few mistakes that I did not mark. I want to see if you can find them." Sister Morana walked along the front of the room and handed each of the students her paper. Ascha looked out the window. The closed buds of the trees had finally opened, brushing the sky with their blooms.

Michaeyala squirmed. Her hand shot up to ask a question.

"Sister? I don't think this is mine..." She handed the sheaf of paper back to Sister Morana. Michaeyala bent over to whisper to Ascha.

"Besides, I hope I did not get that much ink on mine."

"Oh, you're right." After looking it over, Sister Morana handed it to Ascha.

"Oops." Michaeyala averted her eyes. Ascha didn't see Michaeyala slouch in her chair.

Ascha took a breath, resolving not to let it get to her.

"Here is yours, Michaeyala." Sister Morana handed a pristine drawing to Michaeyala. The only marks were those made by her own pencil colors.

"Right, now class, it looks like you've all paired off with your Sister-in-training. I want you to first go over each of the items that I have marked. See if you can remember why these are not botanically correct, and tell each other how it should appear. All the while, I want you to keep a look-out for anything that is not botanically correct that I have not marked."

"Right, well, I guess we'll go over mine first," Ascha added in a lower voice, "since it has the most things to go over."

"Well, some of these are pretty easy—I mean, well selian can be a hard one to get perfectly right. Did not you say so yourself?" Michaeyala pressed her lips together. Ascha looked at the drawing. It wasn't so bad. She had six petals on one tier of the flower, instead of five. Now that she saw it, she did not know how it got there, after all that was one of the ways you identified selian.

"Right, well, there should be five petals in each tier, and I have six there on that one. Also, there should be nine tiers of petals in all, not ten, one of the tiers is actually the sepal layer, which I have depicted correctly here, just the wrong number." Ascha started to go over the details of her drawing.

"And the shape of the petals, you said something about the shape of the petals before, did you not?" Michaeyala offered.

"Right, the shape of the petals should be curved with a slight pinch in the middle of each one. I tried to show the pinch, but I don't think you can see it well enough here. And I couldn't get the color quite right. I'll have to work on that some more tonight. Also, my auxiliary bud shows on most, but not all, branches."

Ascha looked over the drawing again, closely. After a few moments, she added, "I also don't think I got the veins in the leaves quite right, though Sister Morana did not mark it. And the number of stamens, though they are small, and there are a lot of them, the number needs to be right. I'll have to check that." Ascha looked up at Michaeyala, eager to switch topics, "What about yours. How did your beriak turn out?"

Michaeyala displayed her drawing. Granted there wasn't much to the mossy mass that composed beriak, but it still was a very nice drawing.

"You did not get any marks. Nicely done." She had captured the angle the tendrils of the moss kept to each other nicely, and her use of light and shadow was more than was called for in order to be passing for identification. It was a work of art.

"Thanks." Michaeyala beamed sheepishly.

Sister Morana cleared her throat delicately to get everyone's attention.

"Most of you are done going over your drawings by now. For the rest of the day, everyone can get their specimens and do the final version for their sketches. Tomorrow, we will hand them in, and go over the plants we have learned to this point. The next day we will go into the fields and do some wildcrafting. It will let us see how many new plants everyone can identify. Also, there is a troupe coming through T'Sala. I know this is exciting, but I want everyone to be careful about the trades that they make. Make sure you know the value of what you have and what you are getting before you make the trade. If you are unsure, don't make the trade."

After lessons had finished, Michaeyala and Ascha decided to visit the troupe, and see what wares they had available. Ascha did not have much in the way of trade, and no currency to her name, but sometimes it was nice to look. It was also nice to see a face she did not immediately recognize.

The first wagon they came to had mostly spices and plants, which they had plenty of at the school. They passed it rather quickly, losing interest. Ascha looked up, she caught the eye of the vendor at the next wagon for a moment. He was older than she was, but not by much. Then she looked down at his wares. Before him he had all manner of blades and knives. Some were ornate, some merely practical, but all of them looked like they could weather anything.

In her pocket, Ascha squeezed the handle on her athame. It wasn't much, but it was slightly ornate, and she could really use one that stood up a little better to the amount of use she put it through.

"Maybe we should go to that one over there," Ascha urged Michaeyala. Her attention was on some strings of gemstones she had found at the spice woman's wagon.

"What do they have?"

"Blades, athames," Ascha answered.

"Oh, I don't need to get one. I have a beautiful one the King's nephew bought me. It should be arriving with my things any day now." Michaeyala responded. Ascha was starting to wonder how long Michaeyala would wait before she realized she needed to start getting some things on her own. Ascha guessed that meant they would be making another trip to the lendary. Then again, Ascha had an idea.

"Michaeyala, do you have anything with you for trade?"

"Um, let's see," Michaeyala began to search through the reticule she had with her. It couldn't fit much, and hung from her wrist by a silken cord. "I have some lesser coin from Albia left, some bits of lace and a button." Michaeyala said the last two items as though she had no idea they were in there. She pulled out the button and looked at it in the light.

"It looks to be ivory." Ascha offered.

"Well, it doesn't go with anything I have, not with those carvings," Michaeyala wrinkled her nose.

"Would you be willing to trade me it for my athame, that way at least you'll have something until your things get here."

Michaeyala thought about Ascha's offer for a moment. She looked at the athame Ascha held out for her. She might as well have something, and it wasn't like she could do much with the button. Michaeyala wondered what Ascha could do with it. The button went with Ascha's homespun garb even worse.

"Okay. Might as well, here have the bits of lace, too." Michaeyala decided she might as well be generous, and clear some room out of her bag so she could fit the athame better. They made the trade.

"Thanks Michaeyala. You're a great friend." With her new items in tow, Ascha went over to the blades wagon. She just hoped it would be enough. After all she did not want to be the one that had to borrow from the lendary all season, or longer. And, unlike Michaeyala, she could not count on another athame being sent to her.

Ascha's eyes feasted on the shining metal before her.

"What are you looking for?" the young man asked. He was tall, but stood to his full extent, only making himself taller. It always bothered Ascha when someone was tall, but slouched as though they were afraid of their own height. Actually, his posture was quite beautiful, Ascha noticed as she took closer note. He also seemed like he might still be growing, or perhaps he had just grown up too quickly for any bulk to keep up with his height. Maybe his height was done shooting up. Black waves of hair made his attitude seem more cheerful somehow, and his smile was one that reached his dark eyes. Ascha caught the glint as the sunlight shone off of a gold ring in his left ear, and realized she was staring. She looked down at the wares again. Ascha thought he laughed gently, but it could have been one of the other people milling around.

"I need something that I can use for herb collecting. So, something small."

"It will be used a lot?" He must have taken Ascha for a student at T'Sala.

"Yes, it has to be able to stand up to frequent use."

"Well, I might have something that can stand up to frequent use. I actually don't have it out here. One moment," he turned away and reached beneath a cloth, pulling out a finely carved wooden box. He laid the box on the table before her.

"Oh, I don't have enough for anything as fine as that."

"Don't be dismayed by the trappings." He opened the box and pulled out a short dagger. It was little more than four inches long hilt to tip, simple yet beautiful. It was a very convenient size, but still looked as though it would fetch a finer price that anything Ascha could offer. Its sheath had etchings that mirrored the same lines of silver bands that meandered along its hilt.

"It is beautiful, but I really don't..." Ascha's words faltered as he placed the hilt in her hand. For a second, her eyes were pulled along the thin, concentric lines of silver that danced in spirals along the hilt. She forgot what she was doing, her hand closing around the comfortable grip.

"The blade is silver. It will not rust. It has been enchanted, so it is not soft. It will last forever. It will always keep its edge, no matter how much it is used. The sheath is the same enchanted silver."

"I cannot afford silver and ivory, and certainly not enchantments. All I have to trade are this small ivory button and these bits of lace." Ascha placed the bits on the table so he could see just how little she could afford.

"Well, that is quite an extraordinary button. Honestly, I've been looking for one just like it for some time now." He picked up the button, and made a show of inspecting the carvings. "If you want the dagger, I will do a trade." He reached over and patted Ascha's hand over the hilt of the dagger. His hand was warm and dry. Ascha nodded numbly in response. Then she quickly stashed the sheathed dagger into one of her pockets, before he could change his mind.

The young man smiled at her.

"Ascha, are you done yet?" Michaeyala was done visiting the stalls, not finding anything that could hold her attention.

"Thanks." Ascha said to the vendor, then turned to return to the girl's hall with Michaeyala.

## Chapter 5 | A Trip

Ascha and Michaeyala had arrived early for lessons, as had most of the rest of the class. The overwhelming consensus had apparently been to arrive as soon as possible so they could leave the room where they normally held lessons as soon as possible: everyone needed the break in scenery. It was the normal starting time for lessons when Sister Morana decided to speak.

"As soon as Enselle and Somara arrive, we shall begin our hike." Sister Morana said. It was coming very close to their standard start time when Ascha heard the loud whispers in the hall, enmeshed with the sound of hurried steps.

Sister Morana must have heard them too, because she continued, "So nice of you to join us Somara and Enselle." The two girls rushed to queue up behind the rest of the students. Somara's hair had been put up haphazardly and was starting to fall down. Sister Morana walked over and handed a couple papers to each Enselle and Somara. As she made her way back to the front of the line, Sister Morana addressed the students.

"We will be exploring the outer grounds of T'Sala today, making a large round that will start in front of the gates to the outer wall, go through the meadows to the south and the west, go through the brush and the edge of the forest in the north, and finally end with some of the aquatic life near the Bay of Renaan." Sister Morana led the class through the hall.

"We will be seeing many ecosystems. Although we won't be able to see everything, I hope that today's trip will encourage you to go out and explore the ecosystems around us on your own time. You will start to notice certain patterns, like some plants growing around others. Pay attention to the water, how far it is, if it is above or below the plant. Look at the soil, pay attention to its composition, its dryness and its color. What plants seem to grow next to each other? Nothing is by accident. And yet, everything is by accident," Sister Morana smiled for a moment. Returning to her serious demeanor, she continued, "Since we have been doing botanical sketches, I have passed out sketches done by other students. I want you to see how many of these plants you can find along our wildcrafting trip. As you already know, any lessons you may have had scheduled for the rest of the day have been excused."

A draft of cool morning air washed over Ascha as Sister Morana opened the massive door to the outside. She wished for a moment that she had brought her cloak against the cool, but one glance at the clear sky told her it would be warm before long. Already, she could see the brilliant blue of the cloudless sky brightening as the sun finished rising. They still had the outer courtyard to cross before they reached the outer wall. She could just barely make out from here that the gates on the outer wall were already open. Ascha listened to the crunch of her foot on the hard-packed dirt road. She looked down at the sketches in her hand. They were common grasses, both of them. She would be able to identify and gather specimens of them as soon as they left the outer gate and entered the meadow, freeing her up for further exploration.

Once they reached the meadows, Sister Morana spoke up. "We will spend one finger of sun here, to give everyone who has any meadow plants a chance to find them. If you have a plant that is found in one of the other ecosystems, then help others find their plants, or just start observing what you can. Scribble down some notes, if you brought a journal," she suggested.

"Everyone who has grasses, wildflowers, or anything that requires well-drained or slightly sandy soil wants to start looking for their plants here. If you have any questions, or trouble finding your plant or herb, just ask me, if the other students around you can't answer the question for you. Also remember, we are not only here to prove that we can identify plants with the sketches that we created in our lessons, but also to make observations. A good understanding of herbs will always help you in life, no matter what you end up doing. We will be going over these observations later, and we will also have to write them up." Sister Morana's words echoed over the open meadow.

Michaeyala walked over to Ascha.

"What is this?" Michaeyala showed Ascha one of the botanical sketches she had been given. "It says rywn, but I've never heard of that before."

"Um," Ascha looked closer at the image. "I'm not sure.... Maybe it's supposed to be a kind of clover?" The title at the top of the drawing did not help her either. The leaves in the drawing were rather inconsistent, but to Ascha it looked like they could be lobed, though they were sometimes in groups of three and sometimes in groups of four. She guessed it could be a variety, or a mutation. But it was more likely a mistake on the sketch artist's part. "If it's a clover you may be able to find it in the meadows here."

"Okay, I guess I'll ask Sister Morana, then." She hopped lightly over to where Sister Morana was helping Enselle.

"Okay, so if I just look for some selian, I should find the torrian'sey nearby?" It sounded like Enselle was finishing her conversation with Sister Morana.

"That's right. You may have to look a couple of hands away, but it should be nearby." Sister Morana turned to Michaeyala as Enselle went on her way. Michaeyala handed her the sheet of paper.

"Yes? How can I help you, Michaeyala?" Sister Morana asked patiently.

"I'm not sure what it is. I've never heard of 'rywn'."

"That's because it's not supposed to be 'rywn,' it's actually 'ituèn.' Somara? Could you come here for a minute?" Somara came at Sister Morana's behest.

"Somara, can you tell me what this is?" Somara gave a sheepish smile before answering Sister Morana's question.

"It's common ituèn. Why? Doesn't it look like ituèn?" Sister Morana frowned at Somara's question.

"I suppose there is some fair resemblance. I would like you to assist Michaeyala in locating it, please. We'll discuss a re-work later." Somara's shoulders fell, and, grabbing the drawing from Sister Morana's outstretched hand, led Michaeyala toward a silver-green patch of low-lying plants.

Ascha was looking for her last specimen. She had already found her first grass, and with any luck, she would find her second one before they even moved on. It would be nice to be done with her assignment early, and just be able to enjoy the rest of the day.

The bee stood still on the flower, basking in the sun. It was a wide flower, maybe as wide as her palm. It was open flat, grinning a toothy smile at the sun. Its milky purple color marked it as torrian'sey. The bee remembered why it was here. It started walking in lazy circles, catching pollen onto its fuzzy legs. Ascha breathed quietly, so as not to startle the thing.

Sister Morana walked over to where Ascha was gathering her second specimen.

"Everything small mirrors everything large, and the same in reverse."

"Hm? Oh, hello, Sister." Ascha responded. She looked beside the flower, and saw the plant that matched her drawing. Her blade sliced cleanly through the grass. She was still getting used to how nicely her new dagger worked. Ascha placed the grass in its botanical drawing, rolled it, and tied it with twine. Placing it in her large pocket with the other specimen, she asked the Sister, "Do you need help with anything?"

Sister Morana looked into the sky, breathing the air around her. Ascha straightened, turning to gaze in the same direction. She saw nothing for a moment, then her eyes focused in the brilliant blue of the sky, and she saw the hawk lazily soaring in circles. It was a good distance away—she was surprised Sister Morana had noticed it. She waited for Sister Morana to say something, or move. But she did neither, only held still, the hawk in her vision. Ascha wondered what Sister Morana was seeing through her eyes, as she was pretty sure it was not the same thing she was looking at. The circles, perhaps? Ascha remembered the bee.

"Yes, I suppose it does," Ascha said eventually, hoping she grasped a corner of Sister Morana's voiced thought. Ascha's eyes caught on the level of the sun, only briefly holding her hand against the horizon to track the sun's movement. "Sister, isn't it time for us to move on?"

The words broke the Sister's reverie, and she turned to the sun herself. Sister Morana didn't bother to hold her hand up to the sky.

"It seems as though it is," she said to Ascha. Turning to face the majority of the students in the meadow, she raised her voice, "Everyone, our time in this meadow is complete. I hope most of you have found, or helped another student find, at least one specimen. If you still have grasses or meadow flowers, we will be continuing to another meadow, and you hopefully can find your specimen there."

They continued their trek through the environs around T'Sala.

## Chapter 6 | Family

Brother Raeyan woke to a light knock at his door. He was a man of average height and build, marked only by the stark contrast the dark shock his hair made against the paleness of his skin. It was still dark out, though morning light was not far away. He fumbled to light the oil lamp on his bedside table. Brother Raeyan had worked through enough nights to have an idea of where things were, even now as he was still waking. He roused himself and shuffled to the door, opening it slightly to see who it was at this hour.

"Irzo, you're not supposed to be here." Brother Raeyan rushed the tall young man through the door, closing it quickly behind him. "I told you I would meet you in the woods behind your camp."

Irzo wore a colorful scarf tied around his waist, its tassels brushing half-way down his legs. That and the gold hoop in his left ear marked him as a member of the troupe that was moving through T'Sala. The troupe's passing was tolerated on the outskirts, even interaction was permitted. But their presence was not entirely permitted in the halls of T'Sala.

"I know, but we're leaving with the morning light. And I wanted to see you before I left." Irzo smiled a smile that washed all concern from Brother Raeyan. He forgot how easily his family made everything feel, well, easy. Irzo continued, "Besides, it is not often we find ourselves near T'Sala Un Sung, and I wasn't leaving without seeing you first, Uncle."

Brother Raeyan smiled in return, hugging the young man before him.

"It is good to see you, nephew."

"And you as well." Irzo clapped his uncle on the back. "It has been too long." Irzo stepped back, the smile fading from his face.

"I suppose your new position here means you won't be coming home anytime soon, then?"

Brother Raeyan went to respond, but Irzo saw the words catch in his throat and raised his hand.

"It is alright, Uncle. We all kind of figured as much when you first left for this place."

"I always meant to come back." Brother Raeyan whispered. "I still plan to. I just have some work to finish here first. I have learned so much." His nephew looked puzzled.

"I have never understood what they know here that you could not learn from the family, but I'm sure it is beyond me. Just know that we all love you at home, and you can come back anytime. But I must leave. It shall grow light soon, and I must help the troupe prepare." Irzo held out a hand for his uncle, who clasped it firmly. They pulled each other into a last hug.

"I love you, Uncle. We miss you so much." Irzo turned to leave, then remembered something. "Oh, and one other thing I meant to tell you Uncle. You know the dagger? How I was told I would know who to sell it to?" Brother Raeyan nodded. "Well I sold it today. One of your students, she was quite fair. She was a raven. I think her friend called her Ascha." Brother Raeyan's eyebrows rose, and he nodded slowly.

"Interesting." Brother Raeyan went to the closest chair and sat down.

"Yes. Well, goodbye, Uncle." With that Irzo turned to the door.

"Be careful," Brother Raeyan reminded his nephew. There were many things to be careful of. Irzo turned and slipped through the door and disappeared into the darkness of the stone corridors silently.

***

They had had a long day. Both Ascha and Michaeyala returned to their chamber exhausted. The trip had been good, and they had learned a lot. Moreover, it was good to get away from the halls that consumed their lives. Their physical exertion from the hike made their simple beds look all the more comforting.

Ascha took her hair down to prepare for the night. She went to place her hairpin next the spares in her trunk when her hand brushed up against something unfamiliar. She had completely forgotten about it. It must have wheedled out from the corner. She picked up the linen-covered cube that the stranger had left Tiam to give to her, and raised it towards the dusky light still coming from the window for closer inspection. She wondered who had left it for her, and what was in it.

"What's that?" Michaeyala asked.

"I'm not sure," Ascha answered. She did not see a seam where it opened. The object was oddly dense for its small size. The linen seemed to move ever so slightly over the surface of something harder, though it was pulled very tightly. Michaeyala frowned slightly and walked over. She had her small athame in her hand, Ascha's old steel one. Michaeyala held out her other hand.

"Do you mind if I?" Michaeyala asked.

"Be my guest," Ascha replied. She handed the box to Michaeyala. Ascha was curious to see what was under the linen herself. Michaeyala scored carefully with the sharp point. Her lips pursed and she scowled slightly. She tried again, with more pressure.

"I don't understand. The fabric isn't even frayed."

"Here, let me see it," Ascha said. Michaeyala handed the box back to Ascha, who pulled out her own dagger. She laid the silver tip against the linen. Almost instantly the fabric gave way, revealing a blackened cube beneath it. The corners were not blunted, indeed it was surprising that they had not cut through the linen covering it. But the fabric, even being cut by Ascha's dagger, showed no signs of fraying anywhere. Michaeyala brought a candle close and Ascha rotated the cube in the light. It cast dull reflections of everything around it.

"It looks like it's some sort of metal." Ascha observed. For the life of her she could not divine a purpose for the curious thing. Michaeyala shrugged, growing bored in light of the long day they had had.

"Right, well. I'm going to sleep. Night, Ascha." With that she headed to her bed.

Ascha took a last look at the cube, then placed it back in her trunk. She shook her hand a bit as she realized that the metal cube had been making her hand tingle lightly. It must have been colder than she thought. She closed the lid of her trunk and climbed into bed. Despite how tired her body was, she couldn't quiet her mind enough to fall asleep. She felt a slight jealousy as she heard Michaeyala start softly snoring in the bed next to her.

## Chapter 7 | Wild Leaves

The leaves had all fallen, exposing a blackened skeleton. The bark was thick with moisture from the ever-present rain. As if in disobedience to their support, great clusters of vibrant small red berries clung to the dark branchlets. Farther down the path, yellow berries paraded a similar display of defiance to the monochromatic shades of their background, their tight skins shining with wet slick. The sky was heavy; its light grey proof of having recently dispersed vast amounts of its burden. Yet still, the sound of droplets could be heard plinking where there were patches of fallen leaves plastered to each other, keeping the watery echoes from hastening their escape into the ground for a moment.

"Shall we finish up after lessons, then?" Michaeyala asked Ascha.

"Alright, I'll meet you back in our quarters," she sighed. Michaeyala waved at Ascha and hurried to catch up with Somara and Enselle.

Ascha paid little mind to the fact that she was soon alone in the outer courtyard. Since Michaeyala's things had arrived only the day before, she was still putting them away and it made their chambers seem crowded. Ascha didn't feel like she needed to hurry back.

But more than that, Ascha did not even feel the cold of the stone bench seep through her cloak and skirt, so immersed was she in her own thoughts. Ascha pulled the strange metal cube from her pocket, rotating it in the ambient light. She had yet to find a purpose for the cube, even though she had taken to keeping it with her. It must have been left for her for some reason. She just wished Tiam had paid more attention to the person who had left it. When she saw Tiam later, all she could get out of him was that the unknown person who had left it was a man, not old, not young, not fat, not skinny, not short, and not tall. It still left Ascha pretty much nowhere.

The sky continued to darken its shade of gray. Ascha put the cube back in her skirt.

***

Once back in their quarters, Michaeyala and Ascha set to pulling out the supplies they would need for their energy lessons assignment. It looked as though Michaeyala had already set about unpacking her new arrivals, and that Ascha wouldn't need to help her set up. Michaeyala had added a second steamer trunk to her list of possessions, somehow finding room against the wall for it. Her new trunk had mostly contained extra clothes and linens. Ascha did not know how anyone could find the time to wear so many clothes, but somehow her roommate did. She looked at Michaeyala's bed again, noting the new, beautiful, bedspread that had found its way on top of the other one. For as pretty as the recent arrival was, it looked that Michaeyala would still need the heat from the one provided her by T'Sala to make it through the cold. At least Michaeyala had been smart enough to leave the old one underneath.

Any supplies they needed for their energy lessons assignments had come from their previous stashes. Reference scrolls already littered the table when Ascha entered the room. They had been carefully separated from the scratch paper and the ink. Ascha sat down at the table next to Michaeyala, and erased the slate tablet that they used to scribble chalk notes on clean again.

They had to do a report on three elemental energy spirits that would reside close to T'Sala. They had to identify the spirits, then identify the environment near T'Sala where they would reside. They had to be careful about which spirits they selected, because they would actually be working with them in their energy lessons next season.

Ascha and Michaeyala had already been to the library and found the books they needed (some of which also littered the table). Now they just needed to find the supporting information they needed to put their report together. They were thumbing through the books in silence for a while, but Michaeyala never left anything too silent for too long.

"So I was talking with Somara the other day. When I mentioned wild wizards she got real quiet, then started talking about the new skirt she's making. When I tried to ask her why, she acted like I was talking about something illegal or something. Is it illegal to be a wild wizard in this part of Caillte?" Michaeyala asked, breaking the silence.

"I keep forgetting, you are from really far south where they have different laws from this part," Ascha replied, though it wasn't easy to forget that Michaeyala came from a place where things were often done for her. It was just in the way she walked, or sat. "Well, it's not really illegal. I mean, you won't get a tribunal hearing just for being one. But wild wizards usually do bad things that end them up in trouble, because they don't really know what they are doing with their magick. Rather a lot of wild wizards and witches do end up in tribunals, I guess. They are completely untrained. Their knowledge is passed down from parent to child. Even worse, sometimes they get their knowledge directly from the world around them, with no human there to help them. Wild wizards and witches never go to school for magick. Somara won't talk about them because her Brother was killed by one."

"Oh, really? I didn't know," Michaeyala's eyes filled with remorse.

"Well, maybe not killed. It's a little fuzzy on that part. What we do know is that her brother went to see someone that was part of a band of wild wizards traveling by Somara's family's home. Her brother wanted some special trinket or something for this girl he liked. When he went out to meet the wild wizard, it was night. By the morning her brother and the band of wild wizards were gone. He's never been seen or heard from again. This was many seasons ago, now. It's been so long that everyone just says he died. Anyways that's not the point. The point is: we are at T'Sala so that we can learn how to do magick properly, so that no one gets hurt. Some of the wild wizards and witches even have as much power as a sanctified magus, at least that's what I've heard, anyways. It may take longer for us to learn certain things, but at least we will learn how to do our magick right." Ascha concluded.

"That makes sense. I guess I never really thought about that part of it," Michaeyala replied. "Sure, I want to learn how to do small charms and things, but I mostly wanted to come here for Brother Keanus. Becoming a magus was never really one of my dreams. It doesn't seem like they have a very fun life, always having to answer summons across Caillte like that. What do you think? Would you want to be a magus?"

Ascha had never really thought about it, either. She had only let her thoughts get as far as enchantment. But to commune directly with the night Goddess, Nohtin—she took a moment to wonder what that would be like.

"I don't know. I guess I never really thought about it, either. I want to be able to cast, and enchant. I guess I never really thought that being a sanctified magus was where the power was. I mean, that's really just like praying, isn't it? I guess it sounds kind of boring, and, not to mention, useless. I think casting is much more active."

"But it would be nice to be respected like that. And a sanctified magus can pretty much do whatever they want, at least, that's what they say," Michaeyala mused.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how it works. In any case, we need to get this report done for Sister Rena, whether we want to be magi or not." Ascha raised her book, and looked pointedly at Michaeyala's.

"Right," agreed Michaeyala. "So, were you thinking of writing on the water nymphs, spirits, or the dryads?"

"A fire elemental, or sylph, a water nymph and a dryad was what I was thinking. That should cover our bases pretty well. Then, from our research we can decide which is the easiest to commune with, or locate in these parts, and we should have most of the footwork done for later."

"That sounds good to me. I'll take the water nymph if you want to start on one of the others." Michaeyala always was quick to grab the fun and easy part of the assignment. After all, there were so many places you would find a water nymph residing. But Ascha had grown used to it, and so said nothing.

Water nymphs, being the most common water elemental, could be found near almost any natural body of water. With the lake and the Bay of Renaan nearby, most of Michaeyala's work was done for her. Ascha supposed that when Michaeyala was done with the nymph, she could help on the dryad. Now the sylph, Ascha wasn't sure where she would find that one, especially seeing as she had never worked with one before.

## Chapter 8 | End of Season

"I want to congratulate everyone on the completion of another wonderful season here at T'Sala." Chief Erak's voice resonated across the open air of the in-ground amphitheater. Chief Sister Leanna sat beside him, looking rather bored. She no longer bothered to give the end of season speeches, but left them to the Chief Brother at the time. Ascha had heard that in the time Chief Sister Leanna had been Chief Sister, T'Sala had gone through three Chief Brothers, Brother Erak being the third. The rest of the Sistere and Brethere all sat on the stone benches that the Brothers-in-training had brought to the front of the stage for the occasion. The Sistere and Brethere numbered several dozen. They looked out on the mass of students in front of them. All of T'Sala had been emptied into the amphitheater, as they did at the end of every season.

Ascha looked around her. There must be near a hundred students ranging the different ages. Some were older than her, but most were younger. Few continued their studies at T'Sala Un Sung beyond their eighteenth or nineteenth season of age. This meant that this upcoming season would be her last, if she intended to stop her studies that early.

"Many of you are used to the selection period coming up, known as Selection by most. However, for some of you it will be your first. For those of you who are beginning your tenth season of lessons or higher, you will have more influence on the types of lessons you may take." Brother Erak's words were old news to Ascha. She sat and listened politely as her mind drifted. She knew he would have to go over the process of how you submitted your preferred lessons, what was considered for selection into those lessons, how the final selection was made by the Sistere and Brethere and how your lessons selection affected which lessons you could take in upper levels (for example, to take enchantment in your last year, you had to have passing marks and recommendations from both casting and fine metal smithing teachers).

"If you are in your tenth season of lessons or higher," he looked in Michaeyala and Ascha's direction for a moment, "or equivalent, please stay seated. If you are starting your ninth season or lower, you are dismissed for the submission period. We will see all of you in lessons in three spans time, if not sooner."

All of the dismissed students went back to their respective quarters. Only a small handful would be able to return home to see their families at all. Most students came from too far away to visit home in three spans time, or they had to stay for Selection. To some, T'Sala was the only home they had known, as they had been abandoned, and brought to T'Sala when it was found they may have an aptitude for the arts, as the studies at T'Sala were known in the rest of civilized Caillte. T'Sala was the only place Ascha could remember as a home, though it was not because she had been here since she was Tiam's age. It was because she simply could not remember anything younger than twelve seasons or so, when she found herself at the doors to T'Sala Un Sung.

"So do you know which lessons you want to select? Sister Morana was telling me that smithing with Brother Keanus is actually a possibility, though they hardly ever give it out. I don't know, I think I might try for it anyways." Michaeyala broke Ascha out of her reverie.

"Oh, I was talking with Sister Morana a little, too. I think I might try to get casting lessons for next season. Other than that, I don't really care. The normal stuff I guess." Ascha replied. It was easier to pretend apathy than talk with Michaeyala about how she really depended on getting Sister Morana's casting lessons. "Guess we'll find out for sure after Selection."

## Chapter 9 | Lessons

"Energy lessons." Ascha looked down at the scrap of parchment she held where her final selection had been written by the Sistere. Michaeyala came bounding up to her side. They had put in their bids for desired lessons for the upcoming season, the Sistere had given them tentative lessons, and each student had had the chance to refute that and petition again. All that was left now was to receive their final assignments. Around them, students were sharing the good, and bad, news.

"Did you get your final selections?" She looked down at the parchment in Ascha's hand. "Looks to be so. I have Sister Anara for energy lessons, and Sister Morana for Advanced Botany. Did you get that one, too? I can't see any reason why Sister Morana would not want you in her lessons, you're so good. And then I have Brother Keanus for Beginning Metal Smithing once a span, too." Michaeyala, smiling, paused for a moment, and looked at Ascha.

"Yes, yes I did." Ascha shoved the parchment into a pocket. "I got Advanced Botany with Sister Morana. It looks like we will be in energy lessons together as well. I'm so glad you got smithing; you worked hard to get into that one. Besides, they would not let you take an extra class, even if it is just once a span, unless they knew you could do the work."

"I'm sorry, I'm being rude. I did not even ask, did you get into Sister Morana's casting lessons?" Michaeyala remembered.

"Well, it wasn't on my final selections list, so I guess not. There are a lot of people that want to take it usually, so she only takes the ones that she thinks will do the best in it." Ascha said absently. Her face was carefully absent of emotion.

"I don't know what to say. Maybe someone will switch lessons and then there will be room for you?" Ascha nodded at Michaeyala's platitudes. She knew Michaeyala was trying to be nice, but just wanted to stop talking about it. Ascha forced a smile.

"That is great news about the Basic Metal Smithing. I've heard that Brother Keanus is hard, but that he is a really good teacher. He knows his craft very well; people come from all over Caillte looking for his skills and advice. You're lucky." Michaeyala beamed in response.

"Thanks. When I came from my home, I really just wanted to start lessons at T'Sala. I mean, I knew that Brother Keanus was here, but I did not know he actually taught anything. It's like a dream to get him as a teacher, at least for a smith's daughter anyways. All I heard growing up was 'Brother Keanus _this_ ' and 'Brother Keanus _that_ '. Oh, and I was just talking with Somara and Enselle. It seems they are in Sister Anara's energy lessons with us!"

***

"What do we have first today, energy lessons, right?" Michaeyala asked Ascha while she finished putting her hair up. They were about to start their first day of the season. For Ascha, it would be the equivalent of starting her fourteenth season at T'Sala, if she had been attending since she was the normal admission at four or five seasons of age. As usual, Ascha was already by the door, waiting for Michaeyala to finish getting ready.

"Yes. It will just be more boring, mid-level study of energy interactions. Though, this season should be better than last. We're supposed to be introduced to basic energy elementals, and at least start talking about the gods." Ascha closed the door behind them.

"I thought you did not care so much about the gods. Praying and all that."

"I don't. But it should at least be something different." Ascha was trying to be optimistic.

"I don't know, I've heard that Sister Anara can be really... interesting. I guess we'll find out."

"Yeah, I wasn't thrilled when I saw her name on my final selections, either," Ascha guessed at Michaeyala's meaning.

When they arrived at lessons, Sister Anara was already speaking. She paused for a moment while Ascha and Michaeyala found seats. They had been the last to arrive, and so had to take the seats closest to the Sister. Energy lessons were always the fullest out of all of the lessons at T'Sala, since everyone had to take them, no matter their emphasis, and there was enough overlap that the Sistere were able to combine two seasons at a time.

Ascha had managed not to take lessons from this particular Sister, but it seemed she couldn't avoid the Sister any longer. Sister Anara looked older than she was, her face constantly pulled as though she had taken her first bite of a tangy aklan fruit after eating something sweet. Her nose pinched as she drew in a sharp breath before she continued.

"As I was saying, you should all be effective at all basic energy forms by this level. Since I'm certain you have been practicing your energy forms with your Sister-in-training during the entire selection period, I expect to see that everyone is doing considerably better than the students I had in my session last season. Though I do see some familiar faces; Dolam Somara and Dolam Enselle, I am sure you will do well the second time around."

So, energy lessons might not prove to be as breezy as they usually were, Ascha decided. Despite her introduction to hands-on work, Sister Anara seemed only to like the sound of her own voice, however. Ascha found she was able to drown out most of what was said, until the lessons came to a conclusion. Energy lessons promised to be quite boring this season, by all appearances. Ascha decided there was a fine line between fluff and being completely bored. Sometimes things could be too easy, or repetitive.

As they were gathering their things to leave energy lessons, Ascha saw Sister Morana going to the room where she would be holding Advanced Botany lessons. Ascha did not wait for Michaeyala as she usually did.

"I'm going over to the room for Advanced Botany lessons," Ascha tossed the words over her shoulder to Michaeyala as a side-note, and left the room for energy lessons. Michaeyala looked up to respond, but Ascha had already left. She gathered Ascha's spare parchment for her.

***

"Sister Morana," Ascha entered the Advanced Botany room.

"Ascha, how good to see you. I made sure that you were in my lessons this year."

"About that, I was meaning to ask you," Ascha started, then paused, trying to decide the best way to phrase things.

"Yes?"

"I was meaning to ask you," she started again, "I wanted to ask you about casting." Sister Morana pressed her lips together and nodded.

"Yes. I did not have enough students request it at lessons. Actually, I had so many students request Advanced Botany, the Sistere decided that I would host two lessons for Advanced Botany, and no standing lessons this season for casting."

Ascha did not know if she felt relieved that it hadn't been that Sister Morana did not think she wasn't ready for casting, or angered at the fact that not only she, but no student at T'Sala would be learning casting this season. She thought casting was one of the main reasons that attracted many students to T'Sala. Apparently, it was not the case. Not for this season, anyways. Sister Morana watched Ascha's face wrestle with emotions.

"Not to worry though. Over the selection period, I have been working with Chief Sister Leanna to get you additional lessons. I finally got word this morning that it has been approved. It would only be once a span, mind you. And it would be completely additional to your other studies. Because of the late approval, we were not able to get your other studies truncated by that day of the span. You will have to meet with me on your day off, for the time of two lessons." That meant all day. But it was worth it. Ascha did not care if she did not sleep, because of having to complete her work. She was taking casting. A smile had slowly crept its way across Ascha's face.

"Thank you, Sister Morana." Ascha had to keep herself from hugging the Sister. Sister Morana must have felt Ascha's sudden uptake in energy, because she chuckled before responding verbally.

"Our first lesson will be at the end of the span. Now, best take your seat for Advanced Botany." The class had filled up behind them. Ascha wasn't sure when it had done so; it must have been while she and Sister Morana were talking. Michaeyala had saved a place beside her, and Ascha took her seat for the Advanced Botany lessons.

##  Chapter 10 | Elemental Questions

Ascha walked across the field. Her leg muscles hadn't started to yell at her yet, but she noticed her breath coming heavier from the slight incline. She had decided to make this trek alone, sort of a meditative nature-walk. It was something she tried to do regularly, but time got away from her or assignments continually got in the way. She hadn't realized how long it had been since her last jaunt, until she started feeling fatigued, and didn't know why. That, and she generally had someone "willing" to accompany her, which opposed her purpose of being alone with her thoughts. She needed to be able to bounce them against nothing but the trees and sky.

Ascha looked at the trees in the distance. They waved lazily against the wisps of clouds. As she continued across the field, the distance to their horizon got shorter and the trees themselves got larger. Her regular breathing for the hike was spiked by a deep sigh, as she exhaled the air around her. It had been longer than she intended since her last walk, and she was feeling it. She stopped. And did nothing but breathe, closing her eyes, and feeling the air brush against her skin with its light breeze.

She had started this walk without any particular aim. Then she found herself aiming to get to the other side of the trees. She opened her eyes and continued on her way again. Perhaps it was as good of a goal as any. She might as well accomplish it. She repositioned the empty leather satchel that she always brought with her, in case she found something worth taking back. The dry grasses broke against her skirts as Ascha turned to look behind her for a moment. From here, T'Sala was starting to look small; at least smaller than being close to the walls. It looked like a small walled fortress, painted at the beginning of the field she was crossing. She turned away again and continued her trek.

***

Once past the tree line, Ascha felt, rather than saw, the area on her left open up to reveal the Bay of Renaan. Flittingly, Ascha thought of how easily Michaeyala would find her water elemental there. The tree line Ascha had passed was a stand, more than the entrance to a forest. The forest was a bit farther to the west. But this was as good a place as any. From here, she could not see T'Sala anymore. Distance and the foliage of the vegetation around her had taken care of that. Ascha laid down her satchel by her feet. She took a moment to quiet her mind, as she had been taught.

Closing her eyes, Ascha gathered the energy that she had bled around her, focusing it to her heart. She then urged it to travel along a singular column that followed her spine. Gently, she let it flow, pushing it where she needed to, along that same column, all the way down into the earth itself. She breathed slowly and deliberately.

_How odd_ , she thought. She hadn't meant to find this here. Maybe she was getting more sensitive?

She looked at a small puddle to her side. The night's rain had collected in a small divot in the ground. She watched the water swirl. A leaf fell lazily to the water's surface. The leaf landed. After a few moments, it exposed the water's currents below, as the leaf lazily drifted in circles. Ascha concentrated on her breathing, pulling it deeply into her belly. Watching the leaf and the water, and just breathing, she found herself wishing life was that simple. It should be that simple: life should be like the leaf, lazily floating in circles atop the water of a temporary puddle. Maybe it was that simple. Maybe she had just missed the message, somehow.

Ascha reached her mind out, and grasped at the energy that was pressing against her right side. It pushed back. Ascha opened her eyes and whipped around.

_Who are you?_ Ascha felt the energy ask her more than heard. There was a slight icing of irritation that came with the sentiment.

"I could ask the same of you," Ascha replied in a quiet whisper. The bay was close enough that she would guess that it was a water elemental, but it did not feel like a water elemental. There was fluidity to the elemental, but it wasn't the same fluidity she was accustomed to with water elementals. This fluidity was different, not soothing at all. Ascha felt awake and alert, just brushing against its energy.

It was an elemental, but not a water elemental. She could confirm that much. She did not dare to hope that she had found a fire elemental so close to T'Sala, or so quickly. Ascha found it ironic that so often it was when she wasn't looking for something that she found it.

Then she saw it. It was just a flash, wreathed in flame and making everything it touched brighter. She could not determine if it had simply let her catch a glimpse, or if she had seen it despite its efforts.

_I know what you are. But I can't keep calling you 'it' in my mind. Do you have a name?_ Ascha was bold with her thoughts. It must have been the elemental's fire energy prompting her.

_You first,_ the elemental replied.

It was fair enough, Ascha resolved.

_I am called Ascha, Ascha N'Dreyid_ , Ascha replied to the request. Or rather, was it a command? She decided it did not matter.

_I am called N'Tosea,_ answered the elemental. _Fare well, Ascha,_ with those simple words N'Tosea faded from Ascha's senses. Part of her wondered where he went to. The rest of her turned around and headed back to T'Sala.

Ascha needed to get back to her chambers before her impressions of the element faded as quickly and fluidly as N'Tosea himself had. She silently cursed herself for not having brought anything to write on or to write with. After scratching down her impressions, all she needed to do was visit the library and do any requisite research for her report on the sylph. Her thoughts were slightly jumbled as she half-walked, half-jogged back to T'Sala. She just hoped N'Tosea liked to hang out in that spot regularly.

## Chapter 11 | Valona

"You'll have to talk with Sister Anara. You'll need to be excused from your energy lessons tomorrow. I already have the Advanced Botany lessons suspended," Sister Morana told Ascha.

"Why is that?"

"Because, we need to have time to travel to the nearest village, Valona, and back. A day should do it, so long as we don't waste any time."

"This is for the casting lessons, I take it?"

Sister Morana nodded at Ascha.

Ascha beamed in response. The only reason they would have to go to the village for supplies is if they needed krouak dust, something very valuable and something which those who were in possession of at T'Sala were not wont to give up, since they knew how to use it. In Valona, however, it sold rather inexpensively, since most people did not know its value in casting it was largely seen as near to worthless. The Valona merchants only kept it on hand for the rare trip that a Sister or Brother from T'Sala might make to the village.

There were many uses for krouak dust in enchanting and casting, and all of them were exciting and potentially powerful. Ascha figured this was what Sister Morana had been hinting at the past several weeks. This trip, the idea that Sister Morana was trusting Ascha with learning the secrets of krouak dust, were affirmation that Ascha must be doing something right in her classes.

***

The trip to Valona wasn't as long as Ascha thought it would be. Trees' leaves were beginning to turn, and the over-all muddiness around them had given way to ever-present dust, spattered by mud only in intermittent pockets. In Ascha's consideration, it had turned out to be quite a pleasant walk by the time they arrived.

The streets of Valona were not by any means crowded, but Ascha had forgotten what it was like to be around this many people. Everything was noisy. People shouted at each other, both at people they knew and that they did not know. She thought that the trek from T'Sala was dusty enough, but it seemed clean in comparison to the village. Mud churned up from cart wheels pulled by short, stocky ponies, people poured buckets of unclean water from their windows, others spat in the roads. Ascha had a flash of memory, and she remembered how glad she was to be at T'Sala where things were clean and courteous.

"So once we get the krouak dust, then we can go back, right?" Ascha asked Sister Morana. Sister Morana smiled at Ascha.

"Yes we'll be returning once we have the krouak."

"Where do we find it in all this...?" Ascha gestured to the scene Valona presented before her.

"Well, there are a few merchants we can check with first. Just follow my lead. Who knows, someday you may be the lead on trips like this." Ascha did not like what Sister Morana was implying. _You're seventeen seasons already,_ Ascha chided herself, _you should expect more responsibility._

They entered the first shop. A shop boy was minding the counter. He must have noted Sister Morana's robes, because before the shop door had finished closing behind them, the boy was walking briskly to the back room to rustle the owner from the back. The merchant smiled at Sister Morana, then at Ascha. It consistently surprised Ascha how differently they were treated by commoners outside T'Sala.

"It is not often we have the pleasure to serve one of the Sistere from T'Sala. What is it that I can do for you today, Sister?" The proprietor asked jovially.

"Yes. I am here to procure krouak powder." The merchant's face fell for a moment, but he recovered his smile quickly.

"Ah, krouak powder. Of course. You see, Sister, the thing is, we stopped carrying krouak powder some time ago. Is there anything else I can help you find though?"

"No, thank you. Do you know which other shops in Valona might carry some?" Any joy left bled from the merchant's face again, and he responded to Sister Morana in a tone full of business.

"Ah, Sister, you found a selling man at his weakness. But the best bet would be Anita's Apothecary. It's just two streets down, it will be on your left." The merchant mustered some of his geniality again, and tried one more time, "Are you sure there is nothing else I can help you with, Sister? Perhaps some selian flowers? Or some torrian'sey?"

"That will be all, thank you," Sister Morana replied politely. Ascha followed her as she turned for the door.

They tried Anita's Apothecary, and although the exchange with the merchant was easier, the result was the same. They were left again without any krouak dust, and this time, Anita did not have a recommended alternate merchant, since Sister Morana had already tried the competition. Anita did, however, recommend one of the locals that kept rare herbs on hand, saying that perhaps he had some to part with, for a price. They decided to try this Orian's, and soon found themselves trying to locate the small house that Anita had given them directions to.

There was a short fence in front of the house. The house itself wasn't much to look at, and none of the plants by it had been tended in what appeared to be a season or two.

"I will only be a moment. You can just wait here." Sister Morana obviously did not have much faith that this "collector" would have the krouak dust, and thereby this encounter had little opportunity to be a learning experience for Ascha. The whole trip was starting to look more and more like a wasted venture. Ascha leaned lightly against the fence. To her surprise, it did not collapse at her weight, despite its appearance. As she prepared to wait, she noticed a young man with a shock of dark hair head her way. Only when he was close enough to pause in his step by her did she recognize him as the vendor that had sold her the exquisite dagger.

"Good afternoon!" He called out, sunnily.

"Good afternoon," she replied, "Are you from Valona? I thought you did not live in just one place."

"My troupe and I are just passing through." The dark-haired boy from the blades stall shifted from one leg to the other. He flashed a smile. "So how is that dagger working for you?"

"Better than I could have imagined. I did not know my old athame had grown so dull, yet it must have, because this one works so well in comparison." Ascha wondered if she should bring up the strange box and its linen wrap.

"I don't think I caught your name." Ascha said, looking for something else to talk about. The boy smiled down at her again. He wasn't terribly taller than her, but tall enough that she had to tilt her head to make eye contact. It was almost impossible not to smile back at him.

"Irzo, they call me Irzo. And what do they call you?" He leaned casually on a fence post.

"Ascha, I'm Ascha."

"That's a lovely name. I don't think I've heard that before, strange for these parts."

"Says the man with a name like Irzo." He chuckled at Ascha's retort. It had come out cattier than she had intended.

"Fair enough. You know, we shall be passing near to T'Sala Un Sung in the next few weeks—well, even nearer than Valona. You should find us."

"Brother Raeyan? What are you doing here?" Sister Morana called out as she exited Orian's small house and walked towards Ascha. Irzo straightened and turned around, the sash at his waist jingling lightly as it swung to catch up with the rest of him.

"Oh, sorry, my mistake," Sister Morana scrunched her face into a frown for a moment, probably wondering why she mistook him for Brother Raeyan at all. She turned to Ascha. "Well, Dolam Ascha, are you ready? We best start our way back if we are to make it to T'Sala before nightfall."

"Were you able to get the krouak dust, Sister?" Sister Morana nodded in response to Ascha's question. Sister Morana turned away from Irzo, she had been staring in his direction.

"Actually I should have had you come with me. Orian was a very fair man, generous even. He did not even ask for straight payment the way most Valona merchants would have, but accepted a trade for some common herbs I brought with me instead." Sister Morana checked to ensure she had everything stowed away so nothing would be lost, then turned to leave. "Are you ready, Ascha?"

"Well, it was very nice to see you again, Ascha." Irzo said in farewell.

" _Dolam_ Ascha," Sister Morana corrected with firm but gentle words.

"My apologies, _Dolam_. Sometimes I forget to maintain courtesies." He bowed graciously to both of them, with only a slight mocking hint to his motions.

"It was good to see you again, as well, Irzo." Ascha replied.

Ascha looked back and nodded in farewell to Irzo. She looked at the sun. Judging by its height in the sky, it was already past midday. But they still had several hours left, and since they had already procured the krouak dust, they should be able to make the journey lazily, and still have time to spare.

## Chapter 12 | Energy

Sister Anara brought the class to attention. She did not like to wait long for everyone to settle, and by now most of the students knew it.

"Right, well, you have all had basic energy forms to this point. I know we've talked a lot about this season getting more interesting for energy lessons. Though it pains me to say it, we will be delving into our first glimpses at some of the greater deities today."

Then she added something mostly as an aside to herself, "Though most of you should have already caught glimpses by now." Ascha wasn't sure what the Sister meant by that. Sister Anara addressed the entire room again.

"Up until now, you have only worked with basic energy forms and some of the lesser deities and elementals. You will not, and I repeat, you will not, take it upon yourselves to attempt actual interaction with any of the entities we go over today. I have no desire for anyone to be dropped in the middle of the lake without first being taught how to swim. For now, we are just going to look at where the lake _is_ , and what it looks like."

More talk. Ascha was bored already. She did not mind not being able to swim yet, she learned faster that way anyways. Ironically, they had already found their water nymph and begun working with it. It had been the easiest to find of any of the elementals in the class, not surprisingly, aside from N'Tosea, of course. In fact, locating and working with the water nymph had been so easy that Sister Anara wanted them to work with one of the other elementals they had researched. Ascha had decided not to bring N'Tosea to Sister Anara's attention just yet lest she make a similar commandment regarding the sylph as she had the water nymph, and made it "off-limits" because it was too easy. Ascha and Michaeyala were still on the hunt for the dryad they had done their research on, though, and their search for the dryad seemed to keep everyone involved satisfied.

After lessons were over, and Sister Anara had finished her lecture about what not to do, Michaeyala gathered the materials. After all, Ascha already knew that it wasn't a good idea to try communing with Nohtin directly, and certainly not at their level. She had even told Michaeyala as much.

"Did you hear? The traveling troupe will be near T'Sala again. I'm planning on going down after class." Michaeyala turned cheerfully to Ascha.

"Would you like some company? I was going to grab some candles, since winter will be here soon. I'd rather have some light and be warm." Ascha answered Michaeyala's question.

They finished gathering their things and headed outside the walls of T'Sala on the road to Valona.

***

When they arrived at the troupe's wagons, the air bustled with energy. Everyone around them was rushing to make final preparations before the cold season hit; and in T'Sala that could be very cold. Wares that had been geared towards plant-gathering, small blades and items that were meant as recipe items had given way to blankets, cloaks, firewood, lamp oil and candles.

Michaeyala and Ascha made their way to one of the wagons that was offering candles. Michaeyala rushed to the section where the candles were scented and colored. Ascha made her way to the simplest, and cheapest, ones. Disappointingly, everything seemed to have an alternate purpose to smell or look fancy, at least at this wagon. She wasn't looking for anything that would burn neatly, but just did its job of shedding warmth and light, what scant warmth it was. She could always put a plate under the candle to catch the excess wax, anyways.

"I'm glad you were able to come," came a voice from somewhere close behind Ascha's shoulder. She turned around to see Irzo.

"Yes, it appears that we needed a few things before the coming cold season." Ascha replied. She gestured to her companion, "You remember Michaeyala from last time you were here?"

He nodded briefly in Michaeyala's direction. Michaeyala curtsied smoothly in return.

"So, what are you selling?" The silence had stretched too far, and Ascha started to grow uncomfortable with him looking at her, so she had to break it. Irzo smiled.

"My wagon is just over there. We have some candles over there, too. You should come by and check them out, though they aren't quite as pretty as some of the ones you will find here," he gestured to the wagon they stood by, where Michaeyala was excitedly hopping from one scent to another, like a bee.

"Sounds good to me. I don't have much, but I would like to leave with more than half of a candle..." Ascha said quietly.

"I'm sure we can find something that will work for you."

## Chapter 13 | Starts

She picked up the sack. Ascha paused for a moment, inhaling the fresh fragrance of the decaying leaves around her. Well, it wasn't so fresh a scent anymore. But Ascha decided that she still liked the smell.

"You are smiling an awful lot lately." Michaeyala said.

"Ready for lessons?" Ascha led the way through the hall. They were meeting in one of the outer yards for Advanced Botany today. Once out of the hall doors, they ran into Tiam. His sandy hair was unmistakable, though he had grown so much in the last season that Ascha did not recognize him at first.

"Oh, hello Ascha!"

"Hello, Tiam. I don't think you've met yet. This is Michaeyala," Ascha gestured to her side.

"Any friend of Ascha's must be pretty nice. Hi, I'm Tiam."

"Nice to meet you, Tiam. And I hope that I'm more than just a friend to Ascha. I'm her Sister-in-training." Michaeyala smiled to the young boy.

"Are your lessons going well this season?" Ascha asked Tiam.

"Oh, they're going pretty well. I don't like my energy lessons much, because we don't do a whole lot and I get bored. But I guess that's rather normal, for energy lessons anyways. Well, I had better get going. All the boys are supposed to get ready for the new Chief Brother."

"There's a new Chief Brother?" Ascha thought it odd that this was the first she had heard of it. But then, news of the Brethere usually took a little while to hit the Sisters-in-training. It was one of the side effects of being in the girl's hall, she supposed.

"Well, not yet. But Chief Brother Erak is leaving to help someone in south Caillte, or something. Anyways, we need a new Chief Brother. Everyone is saying that it will be Brother Raeyan. A lot of people aren't happy about it, though. Something about him being young, but he seems pretty old to me. I mean, not ancient like Chief Sister Leanna or Brother Keanus." It was well-known that the only reason Brother Keanus was not Chief Brother was because he refused to take the position so many times that they had stopped asking him.

"Well, I hope you have a good day, Ascha, and her friend Michaeyala. I'd better get going if I'm going to clean my bunk in time for the inspection." With that, Tiam rushed to get out of the cold, in the direction of the boy's hall. Apparently the boy of eight seasons had already been named.

Ascha and Michaeyala continued to their Advanced Botany lessons. Ascha still wondered why they were meeting outside when the snow was already starting to fall. After all, that meant everything was dead, did it not?

***

Back in their chamber, Ascha looked out the window. She did not care that it let in a draft; she had pulled aside the oiled leather to get more light, and a better view. The crisp white snow blurred as it fell down. It was starting to form small piles. Soon, the bushes on the grounds would be nothing but white mounds that bumped up out of the white carpet. By the morning, only the same height as a man would show of the stone that made up the outer walls. She looked at the apparent fluff that topped the walls. For some reason, the snow took all of the forbidding feel out of the walls; all of the military implications were gone. They looked like some sweet delicacy that might come out of the kitchens, all covered in icing.

"Wow, it is cold in here." Michaeyala walked over and stood behind Ascha. The mug of katcha in Ascha's hands had stopped steaming some time ago, yet it still wasn't cold enough to start a fire. They even had the warm herbal katcha drink, mostly an infusion of bakayla root with some regionally available spices, as far south as Albia. Michaeyala glanced at the fireplace. It had been stacked with fresh firewood, but this season hadn't contributed any soot to the stone that arched around it.

Michaeyala was about to ask her to cover the window, then saw Ascha's expression. "What are you looking at?"

"Hm? Oh," Ascha replied, as if she had only just noticed Michaeyala. "Just watching." There were a few moments of silence, as Michaeyala waited for Ascha to continue. "I guess, it just reminds me of the temporary nature of it all."

Ascha unhooked the oiled leather, and covered the window. Much of the light still made it through, but the room was significantly dimmer, though definitely warmer, with the window covered.

"Well, it's still cold in here." Michaeyala went to her trunk and pulled out a couple more candles, walking across the room to light them from the one standing on the table. She pulled out several milky purple tapers. Ascha could smell the lavender scents before the were even lit.

Ascha walked to her own trunk to find some more candles and assist in Michaeyala's effort. With Irzo's help, she had bought enough at the last faire to contribute one or two candles to the effort, without having to feel the loss later in the season. After all, she did not want to light a fire in the fireplace yet. She wanted Michaeyala to get something of a feel for how cold it needed to get before they used the fireplace. She went to bundle the majority of what Irzo had sent her back with.

"Ouch." Ascha exclaimed, snapping her hand back from her trunk.

"What is it?"

"Oh, it just shocked me when I touched my trunk. I guess it just surprised me is all." She replaced her hand on the lid of her trunk, gingerly this time. "Odd, my trunk is warm to the touch."

Confused, Michaeyala stopped lighting candles and walked over to Ascha's side. She knelt beside Ascha, placing her hand next to Ascha's on the lid. The trunk was, indeed, putting off some kind of heat.

"What do you have in here?" Michaeyala asked.

"Just my things, and that..." Ascha opened the trunk, careful of the metal latch so as not to burn herself.

Inside the trunk were her usual things: her box of colored pencils, her clothes, a comb, hairpins, the bundle of candles tucked under the clothes. She pushed them aside, looking for the source of the heat. Then she saw what she was looking for: the strange cube that Tiam had given her. She covered her hand with a spare cloth, and lifted it out of the trunk, where it had bumped up against the side.

"Hm, that's odd."

"What is?" Michaeyala asked Ascha.

"Maybe it's just the padding of the cloth, but I don't feel any heat coming from this thing." She had been sure it was the cause of the warmth from the trunk. Everything else was relatively mundane.

Michaeyala cautiously put a finger near the cube, then pressed her entire hand against it.

"That is odd." Michaeyala agreed. She brushed her hand along the side of Ascha's trunk.

"Well, it's not warm anymore. So whatever did it, it's not doing it anymore." Michaeyala stated.

Ascha wrapped the cube carefully in the spare cloth she had used to pick it up, placing it in the bottom of her trunk.

"I guess that means we're looking for more candles." Ascha concluded. They continued their search, and found another couple candles rolling around the bottom of Ascha's trunk. Ascha had tucked the rest under her bed in a box, so they couldn't readily be seen.

## Chapter 14 | Lessons

Ascha sat down next to Michaeyala at their table in the classroom. She took a deep steadying breath, and readied herself for another day of botany. This one promised to be full of lecture and notes, and mindlessly boring. After all, there was not much else to do during this time of the season, now that the snow was in its full swing.

"Ascha?" Sister Morana's voice came distantly.

Michaeyala nudged Ascha in the side, fully breaking her reverie.

Ascha turned her gaze away from the window, where she had been caught watching the piling drifts, and answered the Sister's question. It was simple. Everything was starting to feel simple. Too simple.

They went through the rest of the class. Ascha paid enough attention to answer questions when called upon. As did Michaeyala. She did not know if it had taken a long time, or no time at all, but eventually Ascha found herself packing for the end of lessons.

"Michaeyala? I need to see you after class," stated Sister Morana.

"Alright, just let me finish packing my things," Michaeyala turned to Ascha while she finished, "Ascha, I'll catch up with you later."

***

Michaeyala braced herself to be drenched in more mundanity. Ascha would say it would be quite an honor. Sister Morana said it would be a good learning experience for her, especially seeing as she did not go through the same transition herself, being a late-comer and all. But instead, Michaeyala felt rather less optimistic about being Tiam's mentor. She would have to assist him with his transition from the 'easy' work that the new students received, to that of the 'hard' work that older students received, which only got harder as the seasons passed. Or so the Sistere and Brethere said. After all, Michaeyala had never seen that 'easy' work. What did that even mean? How was she going to assist someone through a transition she had never been through herself?

Michaeyala had received the assignment at the end of last lessons; it had been what Sister Morana had wanted her to stay after everyone else for. It allowed them to talk about the assignment. It had been a little odd that she was going to mentor someone in the boy's hall, being a girl and all. But when she asked Sister Morana about it, all she said was that this had gone all the way up to the Chief Sister and Brother. And they had their reasons for the decision.

When Michaeyala arrived at their chambers, Ascha was working on something at the table. She had a candle lit, and was hunched over a piece of parchment.

"What are you working on?" she asked Ascha.

"Finishing the botany assignment." Ascha hadn't even bothered to look up from her ink spatters to answer Michaeyala's question.

"That's not even due for another week. Why aren't you working on the energy lessons assignment? It's due tomorrow."

"Oh, I finished that one earlier," Ascha replied. Of course she had. Michaeyala had forgotten about the assignment until just now, when she saw Ascha working at the table.

Michaeyala glanced at the window. Even through the oiled leather, the sky was dark. The only light in the room came from the corner where Ascha was working. Sister Morana and she must have talked for much longer that Michaeyala had originally thought.

Ascha put a few final strokes on her parchment, then sprinkled it with some powder to absorb the excess ink. "There, now it just needs to dry." Ascha turned in her seat to face Michaeyala. "So, how did it go? What did Sister Morana need to speak with you about?"

Michaeyala had already found the extra plate that Ascha had brought back from the main banquet room. She had to clear her mouth of the bite of bread she had just taken before she could answer Ascha.

"Well, it appears that I am going to be Tiam's mentor." Michaeyala figured she'd just keep it simple. Ascha raised her eyebrows.

"That's quite an honor." It was a good thing that Michaeyala had already swallowed her bite of bread, as her sputtering cough would have surely brought it back up.

"What did I say?" Ascha asked, looking worriedly at her friend.

"Oh nothing, water must have gone down the wrong pipe or something," Michaeyala replied. Then she asked soberly, "What if I don't want to do it?"

"I don't think you have much choice. Who knows, they might even hold a tribunal for that kind of thing."

"Surely you're joking" Michaeyala at the obvious hilarity of Ascha's insinuation. Only when several seconds passed and Ascha remained serious did Michaeyala start to worry. The only tribunals they had at home were for people who were doing something criminal.

"You mean they actually hold tribunals up here for things that aren't criminal?" Ascha looked at Michaeyala as though she were looking at someone mildly stupid. "Someone doesn't actually have to be hurt to hold a tribunal?"

Michaeyala was still trying to wrap her head around it. And she had thought Albia was political.

"Oh, you should have seen your face!"

"So, you were joking!" Michaeyala looked around for something soft she could throw at Ascha, but nothing was in arms reach. She threw her smithing tongs in Ascha's general direction instead. Michaeyala added, "I did not know you knew how to joke," to which Ascha responded by sticking a healthy pink tongue out towards Michaeyala.

"Alright, alright!" Ascha held her hands up in mock defense, readying for Michaeyala to throw something else at her. "Just to be clear, yes, we have tribunals up here too. My _guess_ ," Ascha emphasized the word, "is that they would be very similar to the ones down in Albia. And yes, somebody has to be hurt. But the hurt can be lost recourses, which usually result from theft, bodily harm or the like. A group of elders and witnesses are collected for whichever reason the tribunal is being held. They have to have at least six tribunal members aside from the witnesses, just like anywhere in Caillte. And it can take a while, several seasons sometimes, for them to come to a resolution. Though, most cases are small enough that they are dealt with as soon as the tribunal is assembled.

"Oh, and we can also hold tribunals for threatening political stability, whatever that means. It hasn't happened in so long that it should not even be on the books anymore." Ascha added as an after-thought.

"That sounds pretty similar to everything I saw in Albia. Do you know if tribunals are held here or are they held over in Valona? Or do you have to go as far as Boran?" Michaeyala asked.

"I'm not sure. But if you want to know more, they have several books and scrolls on it down in the library."

## Chapter 15 | Drooping

Tiam's eyes drooped heavily. He nodded for a second, only to snort himself awake suddenly. He did not remember preparations for end of season being so extensive before; it was still some time away. For some reason he could barely keep focused on the words blurring before his eyes, which only made things harder. He had no desire to look at this. Again. All he wanted was a warm blanket and a nook by the fire. Maybe some warm soup, or a steaming mug of katcha. Or both.

Michaeyala looked up at the sound, pausing from whatever she was reading.

"Tiam, we're all tired, but you're in your fourth season. It's supposed to be hard. Don't worry, it should get easier with practice," she replied casually. She was his mentor for his first heavy season; she just had to see him through this.

"I've studied enough, though," he whined, which wasn't like him.

Michaeyala looked at the level of the sun in the sky. The sky was already turning purplish hues, and she knew well that the first of Tiam's exams would be well before the sun rose again. Perhaps it was best to send him to bed. Only so much more studying could be done; if he did not know enough to do well on his exams know, another span wasn't going to change that fact.

Tiam looked up at her groggily, with what he thought was a pleading look.

"Off to bed with you," she relented.

Tiam grabbed his things from the table and trudged off to his chambers. Michaeyala took one last look out the window at the setting sun. She sighed, trying not to obsess on her first novice. She had been warned that it would be too easy to forget preparation for her own end of season exams. Reluctantly, she turned back to the herbal she was reading.

***

Michaeyala had left the library quite late. By the time she arrived at her chambers, the sun had already been set for some time. Ascha had already fallen asleep beneath her covers, which was unusual since Ascha usually worked deep into the night.

In the morning, they were going to find the troupe. They were nearby again, and since it was a day off, Ascha and Michaeyala had decided to visit and see the wares. Besides, with Michaeyala's blacksmithing classes getting more intense, she wanted to see if they had any new tools. She had wanted to replace her tongs for some time now. Michaeyala fairly crashed into her bed, her thoughts left only half-finished in her head.

"We were going to get an early start, weren't we?" Ascha nudged Michaeyala's shoulder roughly. Michaeyala heard the voice singing faintly in the background, becoming clearer as she swam through the layers of unconsciousness and broke through her sleep. She jumped out of bed as she felt the sunlight hitting her face.

"Okay, so there isn't a disaster you need to respond to or anything," Ascha stepped back so as not to be hit by Michaeyala's sudden movement. Ascha was dressed and ready to go. She had apparently given Michaeyala as many moments of sleep as she dared.

Ascha tossed Michaeyala's cloak to her. She, evidently, was still dressed from the night before.

"Put your cloak on. I don't want the troupe to be too busy for us to see any of the wares by the time we get there."

***

The morning was not as far advanced as Michaeyala was afraid, she saw once they stepped outside. Dawn had only barely broken, and the sky was still hazy. She pulled her cloak more tightly around her as they exited the warmth of the hall.

Supposedly, the troupe had set up camp closer to Valona than it had to T'Sala, somewhere on the road between the two. The young women prepared themselves for a long walk. At least they would not have any road dust to contend with, and the ground was still frozen so they would not have to deal with the muds that spring brought, either. Aside from the cold penetrating through their layers of clothing, the day and the travel promised to be fair indeed.

They arrived at the troupe's wagons a little chilly, but no worse for wear. Both Ascha and Michaeyala were happy to see that several fires had been set up around and throughout the camp.

"So, what are we looking for, exactly?" Ascha asked Michaeyala, sidling as closely to the open flame of one of the fires (that did not have extra people camped around it) as her skirts would allow her.

"Well, I was going to head over to the blacksmithing wagons. I'm hoping to find some new smithing tongs."

Michaeyala always had plenty of money to spend, and Ascha did not mind so much when it came to helping her friend spend it.

"I think they are over there," Ascha pointed in a direction on the other side of the fire.

"I think you're right," Michaeyala shaded her eyes for no reason, squinting in that general direction, "I think they are over there. It looks like one of the food vendors is on the way; I can get us something to nibble."

"I do have to admit, it does smell rather good." Ascha had brought some dried food for their trip, a small lunch that would satisfy the hunger but still left room for the more savory smells coming from the wagon.

"So what are these?" Michaeyala asked the vendor, looking at the pastries that had been stuffed with some combination of cheeses, spices and potatoes.

"Ostrum," replied the vendor. She was an older lady. A man, younger than the old lady but much older than Ascha or Michaeyala, was handing a few of them to someone else, taking the tender in return. Michaeyala knew better than to ask the old woman what was in it.

"Oh! Ostrum! I've heard of this before, but we didn't have any where I'm from. I can't wait to try some; it smells delicious. We'll take two, please." Michaeyala put in the order, revealing her coin.

A tall person behind them walked passed and entered behind the wagon. While it was not uncommon to see several vendors at one wagon, it was starting to feel too busy for Ascha's liking. Michaeyala even seemed a little off-balance, judging by her expression.

"Hi Leake," came a familiar voice, apparently attached to the tall person. Ascha's expression changed, as did Michaeyala's, as they realized Irzo was the tall person that had pushed past them. "I'll take care of these two for you, you can get the next people in line."

Ascha looked behind her at the line that had indeed formed. She looked back to Irzo as he made the exchange with Michaeyala.

As soon as Michaeyala handed one of the ostrum to Ascha, she bit greedily into the pastry. Ascha's mind immediately went to identifying the different seasonings used, but she did not dare say anything. As they moved from the wagon, Irzo pocketed an ostrum for himself. Once they had stepped away from the vendor, Ascha paused from her ostrum to open her mouth and speak.

"I saw you take that ostrum from the vendor." Ascha directed at Irzo.

"Everyone in the troupe is considered family." Irzo shrugged in reply. "Besides," Irzo smiled, "we've all got to eat."

"I'm surprised they are even selling their ostrum. Times must be hard." Ascha looked back at the ostrum vendor. It was unusual for anyone to sell a family secret, such as the ostrum. After all, the recipe could be reconstructed from the pastry fairly easily. Michaeyala must have been hungrier than she had let on, because by the time Ascha turned back, Michaeyala's ostrum was gone.

"Well, I guess I'll meet you over at the blacksmithing wagons," Michaeyala said. Irzo and Ascha must have been walking too leisurely for her liking. Irzo joining their group had slowed them down considerably, and apparently Michaeyala was eager to browse.

"We'll catch up," Ascha tossed the words to Michaeyala, as she was already speeding ahead to the wagon.

They walked a few moments in silence. For some reason, Ascha did not feel as awkward as she normally would.

"So, what's Michaeyala looking for in the blacksmithing wagons? I did not know she was into smithing." Irzo asked.

"Oh, a new pair of tongs, I think. Her father is some important royal smith or something down in Albia. I guess Michaeyala must have gotten the interest from him." Ascha chuckled at Irzo's expression. "Yeah, I would not have guessed it either."

Irzo slowed his pace. They were nearing the smithing wagons.

"I was meaning to ask you, what are you doing tomorrow? Over at T'Sala you have the day off right?"

"Yes, we do." Ascha answered Irzo's question. It was not often that they had two days off in a row, and even more infrequent that Ascha would end up with plans for both days. "I don't have anything planned, aside from catching up on some assignments, maybe going for a hike."

"Great." Irzo smiled. "Then you can make a hike to that spot just before you can see the troupe, you know, where those three oak trees are just off the road to the east?"

"Yes, I know the place. I guess I could."

"It's settled then, I'll see you tomorrow." Irzo confirmed with Ascha.

"What's settled?" Michaeyala asked. She had just caught the last of Irzo's words as they caught up with her at the smithing wagons.

"Oh, nothing." Ascha was about to give further explanation, when Michaeyala got distracted by one of the wares.

"Oh, that is a beautiful anvil!" Michaeyala looked towards the back of the wagon. It was indeed a beautiful piece. Not only did it provide all of the basic smithing needs for function, such the horn and extra crevices for bending metal, but the anvil itself was wonderfully tooled with bold and inter-twining swirls.

Ascha did not even dare to wonder how expensive it was. Michaeyala appeared to be of the same mind, since her inquiries went entirely to function, as opposed to price.

After her short lusting session after the anvil, Michaeyala bought her new pair of tongs. They said quick goodbyes, and Ascha and Michaeyala turned to head back to T'Sala Un Sung.

## Chapter 16 | Decisions

The breeze blew across their supine bodies as they lay in the mellow grass. Ascha felt his scarf brush lightly against her. They had not meant to fall asleep. But the day had been too beautiful, and their tasks too few, not to take a nap. They had hiked some distance beyond the oaks, away from the road.

Irzo nudged her shoulder gently to make sure that she was awake before he spoke.

"Good morning." Irzo said, wiping a drying grass from Ascha's face. They must have been more tired than he thought, though he had spent the majority of the time awake, and in silence. Thinking.

"Morning? It isn't morning." Ascha started for a moment. Then she looked at the sun's attitude in the sky, and resumed her matter-of-fact tone. "There is no way we could have slept that long. Besides, the sun still has some time yet in the sky. If I leave now, I can make it back to T'Sala, and no one will know I have been gone."

"No, I did not mean you had to leave," Irzo laughed, playfully tugging at her sleeve. She resisted the urge to melt into the pools of his eyes and give way to his will.

"I really should be heading back to T'Sala." Ascha forced herself into a sitting position, before standing fully upright. Laying back down was out of the question. She did not feel she would have the will to get back up again, at least not anytime soon. She brushed the grasses off her dress.

"Beautiful." Irzo stated, lightly plucking a late flower from her hair. "Though, I don't think you mean to make your journey with this." He held the flower before Ascha. She couldn't help but smile back at him as she took it from him.

"Well, it appears your mind is made up," he said, as she stood before him, "I might as well head back, too. Though, my journey won't be as far. Does your skin have water?" Irzo asked, referring to the water skin slung across her side.

Ascha checked the skin. It wasn't bursting by any means, but it was still moderately full -- more than enough for her to make the journey back to T'Sala.

Whether because he was comfortable around her, or simple neglect, Irzo stood up with unusual haste, allowing the scarves at his waist to jumble oddly. For a moment, Ascha could have sworn she saw a wand poking from under the fabrics. She nudged the thoughts away. This was too beautiful of a day to ruin with negative suspicions. It was easy to forget to let the world be beautiful, and she wanted to do just that today.

***

"You should do what makes you happy." Michaeyala stated simply. "You know, the things that make you smile."

Ascha had asked Michaeyala what she should do regarding Irzo, but carefully leaving out any specifics. For some reason, her mind kept returning to what she hoped had not been a wand tucked in Irzo's waistband, and to the way gazing into his eyes had made her feel.

Ascha and Irzo had met several times since, always by the three oaks. It was starting to feel like their spot. In any case, Ascha did not like the confusion she felt as her thoughts tossed her between her suspicions and her desires. Finally, when she still was not able to shake the odd feelings after several span of lessons, she decided to blurt the issue, however vaguely, to her roommate.

"It's not that simple, is it?" Ascha asked her roommate. "I don't know. I just... don't want to cause any trouble."

"I don't really see how you could cause any trouble. But if you're really worried about it, you could always talk to one of the Sisters. Maybe Sister Morana? You always seemed to get along with her pretty well."

Ascha had been hoping that Michaeyala would offer to help herself, but it seemed that Michaeyala did not want to get involved. Which seemed off to Ascha, since Michaeyala was usually ready to gossip and glean what information she could about any subject. Maybe Ascha was wrong about her, but she felt like she had known Michaeyala for a while now. Ascha was glad now that she hadn't mentioned any specifics, and had been vague enough to ask Michaeyala the way she had.

In any case, Ascha did not feel like opening up to any Sister about liking someone she suspected was a wild wizard on the side, vaguely or otherwise. She was hoping that she could talk about her "boy issues" with someone she had come to regard as a close friend, someone who would not be duty-bound to report the suspicion. At least not in these early, un-substantiated stages. She decided to let the subject drop.

Well, Michaeyala had said that she should continue to do the things that made her smile. And Ascha had already made up her mind not to meet with any of the Sisters on this matter. Ascha smiled at the thought of staring into those dark eyes again.

"See? That thing that's making you smile? That thing you have passion for? You should keep doing that." Michaeyala advised.

## Chapter 17 | Secret Talks

"Come, Ascha, there is something I would like to speak with you about."

Ascha was not accustomed to being summoned by any of the Brothers, but when the Chief Brother called you (by name especially), you did not ignore him. She hurried to respond to Chief Brother Raeyan's summons, leaving Michaeyala to finish the short journey to her smithing lessons alone.

" 'A new interest.' " Chief Brother Raeyan said. It was just him and Ascha in the courtyard. Everyone else was apparently occupied else wise. "That's how the boy put it, 'a new interest.' "

"Hm? Who are we talking about?"

"Oh, just someone I know. He travels with the troupe." Ascha wondered if she could play dumb under the Chief Brother's polite inquiry. "He's mentioned a girl with raven hair several times." Ascha touched her dark hair, absently. He looked over to Ascha for a moment, then back at the surrounding vegetation. The courtyard was one of the many courtyards between the halls.

Chief Brother Raeyan continued quietly to himself, "That's what I was afraid of."

"Actually, I don't know that we have time to continue what I was going to speak with you about." Chief Brother Raeyan continued to Ascha, "I will come find you later. I would not want to interfere with you arriving at your lessons in time. Besides, I have some things I must attend to."

Ascha was about to protest that she did not have to be anywhere for another few minutes, then remembered that she needed to stop by the library for one of her assignments.

***

A light knock came at the door. Ascha expected Michaeyala, but it struck Ascha as odd that Michaeyala should knock instead of entering the chamber unannounced, seeing as it was her chamber, too. Regardless, Ascha rose and answered the door.

"Come in." She graciously opened the door and swept her arm to encompass the humble chamber, once she saw who was at the door. The Chief Brother entered the room. It was not exactly forbidden for him to be here, but it was not usual either.

"How may I help you?" Ascha asked, as graciously as she could.

"You are turning eighteen years of age soon. That is a very important time for you. I came because I wanted to talk to you about your upcoming decisions. After this end of season, it is customary to take a break in one's studies, following other worldly pursuits, or to pursue higher studies that take one eventually to the realm of being a sanctified magus. Have you given any thought to this?" The Chief Brother asked Ascha.

"Some, I guess." Ascha did not feel prepared for this. She quickly tried to gather her thoughts. She hadn't realized how little she had thought about something that was so quickly approaching.

"Well, you definitely should." Chief Brother Raeyan smiled gently at Ascha. "You are one of our best and brightest, and I would love to see you continue and flourish. One other thing, I wanted to remind you of the conduct required for one who is pursuing higher studies. A vow of celibacy is required in order to become a sanctified magus, or pursue most of the higher magickal studies, as I am sure you are aware. It allows for better concentration and determination on one's studies, of course. That being said, if there is anyone you are entertaining thoughts for, it might be best not to let those thoughts run away with you."

The Chief Brother turned to leave, but Ascha's voice stopped him.

"Why is that?" the words came out more harshly than she had intended. Ascha looked at the floor, and re-phrased her question, "I mean, why can't one do both, pursue an outside life while pursuing higher learning?"

The Chief Brother turned to face Ascha, giving her his complete attention.

"It has been found throughout the years, and I can tell you from my own personal experience as well, that distractions detract from ones studies. It is well known, and a lesson that you should take to heart. Other pursuits, regardless of what they are, pull one away from one's chief aim. In the highest levels of magickal study, the majority of time is spent in hermitude, to reduce these distractions as much as possible." Chief Brother Raeyan softened his face. "I know it is difficult to accept, but it is important to understand this. I don't want to see you go through the pain of splitting yourself."

Ascha raised her eyes from the floor to meet Chief Brother Raeyan's. She knew it was good advice, but it felt more like admonishment and lecture. She managed a smile. Chief Brother Raeyan smiled deeply in return, and turned for the door.

He opened the door onto a deserted hallway, but he still checked both left and right. He looked down to the right twice, and frowned for a moment. It must have been that the flickering light of the torchieres in the wall sconces had cast an odd shadow. He raised the hood on his cloak against the cold walk he had, the inverted chevron denoting his rank at the school on the raised hood framed his crown.

After a few moments, Michaeyala entered the chambers to find Ascha had already taken to bed. She had spent a late night in her smithing lessons. She and her mentor had gotten caught up in their current project, and had not realized the passage of time. She had been able to find her way back to the hall by the light of the moon, but entering the girl's hall had required her to light the candle she was carrying with her.

In their chamber, all of the lights had been extinguished. Michaeyala blew out her candle, so as not to wake Ascha from her slumber. Little did she know that Ascha's mind was far too active to allow her the simple bliss of slumber.

## Chapter 18 | Reports

She shifted uncomfortably, but she knew she had to say something. After all, there was a reason that these things were frowned upon, right? And Sister Morana had always told Michaeyala to come and talk with her if she had any questions. Sister Morana handed Michaeyala a plain white porcelain cup of tea. She gestured to the seat across from her.

"Have a seat, Michaeyala. Is there something on your mind?"

Michaeyala averted her eyes and took a deep breath.

"It is about something I saw. And I know we are supposed be able to tell the Sisters anything, but..."

When it was clear that she was not going to continue, Sister Morana offered some words for Michaeyala, "you don't want to hurt anyone?"

Michaeyala visibly relaxed. She let out her breath.

"Exactly." She closed her eyes for a moment then continued to talk with Sister Morana, "It's Chief Brother Raeyan."

"Chief Brother Raeyan? What about him?" Sister Morana's interest piqued. Michaeyala had no choice now but to continue.

"I've seen him around in places."

"What kind of places?"

"Well, at night, coming from my chambers. I've also heard these noises. I'm not sure what they were. When I was returning to Ascha and my chambers late after my smithing lessons last night, I'm pretty sure I saw Chief Brother Raeyan leaving our room. I don't know why he was there..."

Sister Morana was visibly disturbed. Brothers were strictly forbidden from being in the girls' hall, just as the Sistere were forbidden from the boys' hall. Circumstances had to be extreme to merit such a break in standard protocol.

Michaeyala hastened, "I mean, I don't know—I'm sure it's okay, he is Chief Brother and all. I don't want to get anyone in trouble. Maybe Ascha has tutoring I don't know about or something, but it—things just sounded weird—like muffled voices or people trying not to shout. And when I saw Ascha the next morning, she did not look very well. It was almost like she was trying to hide something. And she would not talk to me about it when I asked." Michaeyala remembered Ascha's face. She just hoped Sister Morana could help her with whatever it was.

Sister Morana nodded her head slowly. "Thank you for telling me, Michaeyala. But I don't think you have anything to worry about. I will take care of it from here." Michaeyala mechanically nodded back at Sister Morana. She did not know if she felt any better after telling the Sister.

"Thank you for listening. It's probably something silly. I don't even know why I said anything." She would talk to Ascha. Then everything would seem normal again.

***

Michaeyala did not get the chance to ask Ascha the next day. Ascha never came back to their chambers after lessons. Michaeyala hoped she would see her when she went to lessons the next day. But Ascha's seat was empty.

Michaeyala raised her hand and waited to be called on by Chief Sister Leanna.

"Yes?" The Chief Sister asked once she saw Michaeyala's hand.

"Chief Sister Leanna, might I ask, well..." Michaeyala fumbled over her words too long.

"Spit it out, child, we haven't got all day. Sister Morana has a substantial amount of material for us to cover today." Chief Sister Leanna interrupted.

"Where is Sister Morana? It's not like her to miss such an important class." Michaeyala also wondered where Ascha was, but decided not to push her luck. The Chief Sister's eyes darted away for a second. Perhaps it had just been a trick of the light.

"Sister Morana had to leave on a short journey. She shall return as soon as she can. It will likely be a few days." Chief Sister Leanna replied brusquely. Turning to the rest of the students, she continued, "Now, if we have no further questions, we shall go forward with the Advanced Botany lessons as laid out by the good Sister Morana."

Michaeyala thought on the response that Chief Sister Leanna had given. She hoped it meant that Sister Morana had had some reason to take Ascha on a trip for her casting instruction. She just hoped that it had nothing to do with what she had told Sister Morana. As the Chief Sister had said, it would only be a few days.

***

Several days later, Ascha entered their chamber, and without pausing, she continued to the trunk at the foot of her bed. She did not look in Michaeyala's direction, but sat on the edge of her own bed and looked out the window, once she had finished stowing her things from traveling. When it was clear that Ascha was not going to start the conversation, Michaeyala chose to break the silence.

"So... you were gone for a few days. How are things?"

Ascha sighed in response to Michaeyala's question.

"Well, if you were curious about tribunal proceedings, you'll get your chance to see them up close, in no small part due to your actions." Ascha answered Michaeyala, after a few moments. Despite obvious effort, Ascha couldn't keep her voice from sounding mean.

"That's not what I meant to happen, Ascha. You have to believe me!" Michaeyala started to defend herself. Ascha broke in with a response that was evidently rehearsed.

"I have been instructed to limit my interactions with you until after the investigation, and this whole thing has been cleared up. I need to assist in avoiding any further confusion. They may even reassign our living arrangements. It hasn't been decided yet." Ascha kept her back towards Michaeyala. Michaeyala moved around Ascha's bed and tried to get between Ascha and the window, attempting to interrupt her infinite gaze out the window.

"I will talk with Sister Morana. I will make things right."

Ascha sprang up from the edge of the bed

"You will do no such thing!" She continued, after visibly calming her demeanor, "That is, if you care about me at all, you will stop 'fixing' things; and you will not talk to Sister Morana, not any more than you already have." Ascha sat back down on the edge of her bed. She returned her gaze to stare out the window.

"I'm sorry; I was just trying to help." Michaeyala said meekly. She gave up, for the moment. She walked tersely to the other side of the chamber.

## Chapter 19 | Return to Valona

She woke before the light pierced the window. She had been awake for some time before she quietly padded over and lit a candle. Now was as good of a time as any to start preparations. The nearest place for them to hold the tribunal was in Valona. Ascha packed her spare clothes into her satchel, donned her cloak, and flung it over her shoulder. Her mind kept going over the details she had been presented over the past several days. She had been told this could be a while. She was to travel with Sister Morana. Chief Brother Raeyan and Michaeyala were also being called to the tribunal, as were a few others, but they would travel separately. Ascha was unaware of their travel arrangements, or who all had been called to the lesser tribunal.

The small, lesser tribunal, as it had been deemed this 'event' merited (Ascha still wasn't sure what the 'event' was), was composed of six members. Ascha only knew Chief Sister Leanna of the six. Chief Sister Leanna would be representing the interests of T'Sala Un Sung. Normally, either she or the Chief Brother could do the honors, but there had been something about 'circumstances not allowing' this that prevented the Chief Brother from fulfilling this capacity. So the Chief Sister would sit on the tribunal. Ascha tried to go through all of her past interactions with Chief Sister Leanna, verifying that they had all been dutiful and proper. Yet, somehow, she could not remember if the Chief Sister actually liked her. But then again, she had thought that Sister Morana had liked her, and yet she was a large portion of why Ascha was going through this. Maybe being 'liked' did not matter after all.

The rest of the names of those that composed the lesser tribunal were either those that Ascha had not heard of, or people she had not had any interaction with, or both. If this lesser tribunal did not go well, then they would have a full tribunal of twelve members. Those could only be held in the city of Boran in the north of Caillte, or Albion for full tribunals that occurred in the south of Caillte. Ascha hoped it would not come to that, and that this matter would be simply cleared up. She had learned more about Caillte's legal system than she felt she needed, recently. In her mind, it should have already been cleared up, and a tribunal of any kind was not necessary. But here she was, answering a summons.

Ascha looked back, her view encompassing the chambers. She extinguished her candle, no longer needed in the hazy morning light, and set the candle and its holder on the table. Her eyes landed on the sleeping lump that was Michaeyala. What was the point in saying 'goodbye'? Things would be normal soon. Besides, Ascha was still mad at Michaeyala for setting this whole mess into motion. Ascha closed the door quietly behind her, and left to find Sister Morana so that they could start their way to Valona.

***

She waited to hear the door close, then Michaeyala raised herself from her bed. Having kept herself perfectly still for so long had given her cramps along her muscles, and it felt good to stretch them as she stood up. Though shortly, she would wish she were back in her bed. The trip to Valona was not supposed to be too long, but she still was not looking forward to the trip. Or what was on the other end of it.

Michaeyala went to the trunk at the foot of her bed.

"Might as well pack for today's trip," she muttered to herself.

She would be traveling with the Chief Brother and Chief Sister. Normally, she would be honored by such distinguished company. But she still felt guilty, and somehow it was taking any joy out of it. She tried not to dwell on the feelings.

But she couldn't help it. Hopefully, this would all be over quickly, they would return home, Ascha would forgive her, and things would return to normal. It was odd that she would crave normalcy; or that she would find it here. Things were so different from where she had grown up in Albia. The weather, the plants, the land, the way people acted, even the way the buildings were built here were all different. The more she thought about it, the more she came to realize that she had found some sort of normalcy here. And she found herself wanting to return to it. Normal would not have been going to where she grew up, anymore. She wondered idly when that had changed.

Michaeyala finished packing for the trip, and went to the door. She looked behind her at the empty room, and closed the door behind her.

##  Chapter 20 | Small Tribulations

"Welcome to Valona." An old man readily greeted Sister Morana and Ascha as they entered the main city building, where the lesser tribunal would be held in the morning. Their accommodations would be in the houses behind the building.

The man that had greeted them led them to their lodgings. He smelled like a room of old parchment, or maybe old plants. Ascha couldn't decide, but it was a musty smell. His skin was thin and translucent. It seemed to match the smell, somehow.

Sister Morana and Ascha would share rooms. The house that he led them to was small. But they did not need much. In fact, it was only one room.

"Here are your accommodations, Sister and Dolam," he said respectfully, bowing slightly as he said their titles. He fumbled lightly, as though it had been a remembered movement, but not one he was accustomed to performing here in Valona. "I hope everything fits to your needs. Let me know if there is anything missing, and I will see to it right away. The lesser tribunal will convene tomorrow morning. We are gathering everyone at first light."

"Thank you, good sir," Sister Morana replied, giving him formal dismissal.

After he left, Sister Morana went over to her bed and laid her items from the travel on it. That left the cot in the corner for Ascha. She had slept on worse, but not much. At least it was better than the floor. After stowing her things, and running through some cursory nightly ablutions, Ascha crashed on the cot. It may only have been a cot, but even the trip from T'Sala Un Sung to Valona had been enough to ready her stressed body for sleep.

***

Light was not up yet, but Ascha heard the rustlings as Sister Morana was starting to prepare for the day. Ascha was not alone in wanting this day, and these proceedings, to be over.

Ascha finished waking, and rolled out of her cot. She stretched briefly, before donning her better set of clothes. It was not that their style was much different from anything else she had, they were just in slightly better repair.

Once they had finished their preparations in silence, the Sister and Ascha left the small bungalow to make their way to the lesser tribunal proceedings in the main building. By Ascha's understanding of the breaking morn, they would likely be there before anyone else, as it was still dark.

Shortly after they arrived, however, Chief Sister Leanna took her place at the table. There was a slightly larger table for those who would be leading the tribunal, and enough room for all of them to sit on one side, facing a smaller table. Ascha assumed this was where she would be seated. There was a small space between the tables, enough room for a person to stand. Sister Morana found a seat off to the side, and set up there. When Ascha went to follow her, Sister Morana gestured to the smaller table, indicating for Ascha to sit there. Apparently assumptions sometimes proved correct.

A group of five other people entered, and took seats beside Chief Sister Leanna. The sun was just filtering its light through the windows and the door as it closed behind them. The morning air smelled fresh, but the air promised only more of the cold they had felt before the sun greeted them that day.

"Are we all assembled?" One of the members of the lesser tribunal that Ascha did not recognize asked. The member who spoke stood to do so. Nods from serene faces answered him in the affirmative.

"Right," he continued, "We are here to discuss the matter that has occurred at T'Sala Un Sung." Chief Sister Leanna looked as though she had swallowed something sour.

"All members to form the lesser tribunal have been accounted for. Chief Sister Leanna, representing T'Sala Un Sung interests, Nasia, Allorik, Felak, Melana and myself, Calif. The Accused, Ascha, and her caretaker, the Sister Morana, are both present. I myself saw that our witnesses and the other accused are here. They will be called into the room as is appropriate during our proceedings."

"I'm sorry if I speak out of turn, but, what am I accused of?" Ascha was tired of not knowing specifics. If she was going to be tried, she was going to know why, at the very least. A nervous look washed over Sister Morana and Chief Sister Leanna's faces.

The old man that identified himself as Calif looked confused for a moment.

"You mean no one has told you?" Calif clarified.

"No."

"Why, for threatening political stability, of course." Calif cleared him throat, "Yes, well, let's continue. Today's events will be as follows. We will go through the initial proceedings where the Accused will present her side of the issue. We will then adjourn for a short recess. On return from that recess, we will call the witnesses to present before the lesser tribunal. The Accused, of course, will not be present for this aspect.

"Before we get started, would anyone like a steaming cup of katcha to start their day?" Calif offered. A few people raised their hands. Calif looked specifically towards Ascha, to make sure she was included in the offer. Ascha closed her eyes and shook her head to decline the offer. She did not need to be any more nervous than she already was, as katcha could sometimes make a person.

Calif left his place behind the table and gathered cups for all those that had accepted the offer of katcha. After placing them before each person, he filled their mugs with the steaming liquid. As Ascha watched the solution, its aroma wafted over to her, and wondered if it was too late to change her mind. Calif continued speaking, though, as he filled the last mug. Ascha decided it was better to refrain from speaking.

"I know that none of us want to take this matter lightly, but with any luck we shall be able to deal with this matter quickly and efficiently. After all, we don't want to leave this undecided. The bureaucrats at Boran don't need to have this on their plate." The tribunal members chuckled lightly at Calif's statements.

"Yes, threatening political stability. I have here, and on good authority, that the way in which you threatened political stability was a possible illicit relationship. Have you, Ascha N'Dreyid, pursued a relationship of an illicit nature?" Calif asked. His voice was clear, but gentle.

"Please do not rush to answer. Your answer is important for us all." Chief Sister Leanna's voice rang against the silence as Ascha gathered her thoughts. 'All' must mean the standing of the school, T'Sala.

All Ascha could think was that Irzo must actually be a wild wizard. She wished for another moment that she had said had accepted the mug of katcha, if only to have something in her hands to help her think. As it was she wrung her hands, then forced herself to stop doing so when she noticed what she was doing.

She should not have ignored her initial suspicions. If she had done as she had been taught, if only she had reported it to one of the Sisters directly, they would not be in this mess at all. She did not know how he knew, but Chief Brother Raeyan must have found out somehow. But was what she had with Irzo a relationship, really? Maybe it would have been someday. She did not see how it could be now. A couple encounters. That was all, really.

"I'm sorry, I guess, well, see, it sort of depends... but a relationship? I would have to say 'no', depending on your definition of the word." Ascha replied, once she found her voice. Chief Sister Leanna looked like she had swallowed a sour fruit.

Ascha repeated herself more clearly. "No, I have not been in pursuit of an illicit relationship." Chief Sister Leanna looked like the fruit she had swallowed had become slightly less sour.

Glancing out the crack between the oiled window covering and the window, Ascha saw the angle of the sun. It was only just before midday. She wondered briefly where the time had gone. It did not feel like they had gotten much done.

Calif followed Ascha's gaze.

"Right, well, that should be enough for now. I move that we all break for a short recess. We still have some work left for today, but I think everything will go faster on fuller stomachs." Everyone nodded. Someone made a comment about not having eaten before they had convened, and that they would benefit from a short repast. The same person asked if the other members of the tribunal would care to join. Some nodded, while others excused themselves. Ascha did not pay much attention. Only enough to know, with some part of her mind, that things were already breaking into the recess.

"That's settled then," Calif announced. "We shall re-convene once the sun is at its peak. I see no need for the Accused, Ascha N'Dreyid, to return to the tribunal after the recess. We have everything we need from her, I believe. However, we shall require the presence of the Sister Morana, along with any other witnesses."

Ascha remained seated after everyone had left. Sister Morana came over to Ascha.

"I am sorry I cannot accompany you after the recess. But we can make a short walk through Valona, perhaps find something other than our dried trail food to eat?" Sister Morana offered.

"Thanks, but I think I'd rather be alone." Ascha replied. She just felt like she needed to be alone, to better sort out her thoughts.

"Very well." Sister Morana turned slowly and left.

***

Ascha huffily plopped on the end of the cot. A sigh escaped her lips, without her permission. She had gone for a short walk in Valona during the recess, carefully avoiding anyone that might recognize her. It was a harder feat than she had expected, and it proved to her just how small Valona must really be.

The little house that provided lodgings for her and Sister Morana had been empty when she returned. It was already passed midday, so they would wait to travel back to T'Sala until the morning. She should eat something. She knew she should eat something. But her thoughts kept straying back to the proceedings. They seemed to be taking a long time without her 'presence'.

Sister Morana had given her witness of events early, and so was early to return. Even so, it was well passed midday by the time she got back. Ascha did not seem to notice, but only ask how the proceedings of the tribunal were going. Sister Morana did not apprise Ascha of anything from the lesser tribunal goings-on.

Ascha may not have known what was said, but she had heard that Michaeyala and Chief Brother Raeyan had both been called to provide witness, in addition to Sister Morana. Not only was her presence not requested, but Ascha had not been allowed to be present for their witness testimonials. Apparently contamination was a potential issue for their testimony. As though she was contagious or something.

The early findings of the lesser tribunal could only mean one thing. It was starting to feel more and more like Ascha had a trip to Boran in her near future. And she didn't really want to become that familiar with the proceedings of a full tribunal. She tried to remind herself that the lesser tribunal wasn't even fully concluded yet. Maybe they would not need to proceed to a full tribunal.

Ascha glanced at Sister Morana. The expression on her face was not comforting, and led Ascha to further concrete her previous conclusions: how could the lesser tribunal come to any conclusion, given the scant evidence? Ascha knew she would not have been able to, if she had been given the same amount of information.

At least everyone had been kind, so far. To tell the truth, Ascha wasn't even sure who she should be mad at anymore. She only knew that she felt frustrated.

Sister Morana tried to be normal, to strike up conversation. She suggested taking a stroll through the evening in Valona with her, when the attempts at conversation failed. Ascha declined. Sister Morana left without her.

Ascha glanced at the sky as Sister Morana opened the door. When had it started to darken?

## Chapter 21 | Room to Talk

It had been several moons since the troupe had last met up to trade goods with whoever happened to be the local populace. It had been several moons since his last encounter with Ascha. It had been that long since he had been near enough to meet with his new obsession. He may not have felt her touch recently, but she was often in his thoughts. Other offers from other women seemed somehow less. He hadn't found himself taking them up on any of them, even when the proposed encounters seemed innocent enough. He had even turned down an offer to meet an old friend for katcha. But she had recently left her man, and he did not want to cause any confusion.

He had been through Boran, and some of the lesser villages along the way.

"Simple fare and a room?" the innkeeper asked him, the northern Valona accent flavoring his words heavily. Irzo decided that he did not need to spend another night beneath the stars. And his dried food was enough to wear on any man after so long.

"Aye, that is all I need. Just fare and a room," he confirmed.

The innkeeper replied with a grunt and a wave of his hand. Irzo followed. They went up the stairs, above the tavern, to where the rooms were. The inn was not the best of reputation, nor was it the worst, but lay somewhere in the middle. The room that the innkeeper led Irzo to was not large, by any means. There was hardly room for the door to open fully and clear the small bed. But the bed had a night-stand by it, and a mattress on it. It was also relatively clean. Irzo couldn't see any obvious over-tones of dirt, or lack of cleanliness. Which was more than he could say for some of the places where he had stayed in Boran, or in Albia.

"That'll be tree sanctums a in'," the innkeeper said. Irzo still had his purse on him. When he went to open it and fish out coin, the innkeeper stopped him. "New, naw, naw. Y' c'n pay when y'leave. We c'n add't all up then."

Irzo nodded his thanks.

"When y' wan' s'thin' t'eat, jus' come 'round 'low." With those final words, the innkeeper closed the door behind him and made his own way downstairs, presumably to the kitchen to start on the evening meal. It was not yet dusk outside, being only slightly after midday.

Irzo decided that even though the inn appeared reputable, he would still keep his things on him. Irzo lifted his bag onto his shoulder. It was starting to grow empty and limp against his side. He would have to find his troupe again soon. His coin no longer weighed down his bag.

Pushing thoughts of emptiness from his mind, and concentrating on thoughts of the fullness of seeing family and friend again, Irzo left his small room and headed downstairs. Someone must be in the tavern that had heard where the troupe was. Or at least he should be able to pick up a rumor that would land him in the vicinity. He should be able to pick up their location from the fires and music, once he was close enough.

He sat at the roughly-hewn table, and grabbed a piece of fruit from the bowl in its center. After swallowing his first large bite, he'd forgotten how fresh fruit tasted compared to the dried fare he'd been living on of late. He turned to the other patron seated at the table. The man stared into his stew. The crevices in the folds of skin on his face were like cracked mud.

"Hello there," Irzo said cheerfully, but not too cheerfully. "The food here any good?"

"Euh, oh, yeah. It's not bad, won't kill ya by any rate, anyways," The man cracked what Irzo thought was meant to be a smile before continuing, "not incredible by any means mind ya."

The stranger seemed amenable enough, Irzo decided to push his luck a bit further.

"So, there seem to be rather a few people here. More bustle than I would expect in Valona. Have you heard anything?"

"Yeah. Some trial or tribunal or something. Something to do with the school over yon'er. Anyways, it's got to do with folk 's more importan' than you 'n' me." The older man chuckled drily, before taking another spoonful of his stew.

"The school, you mean T'Sala?"

"Aye, that's the one."

Irzo finished his fruit in silence. He did not feel much like eating anymore, or much like having company. When the innkeeper came out with a fresh bowl of stew for him, he took his bowl and left for his room. In the morn, he would find his troupe. Maybe they would have more information, anyways.

## Chapter 22 | Shadowy Encounters

It was odd. But she felt like she needed to talk to him. Ascha rushed through the paths. It had been some time since their last encounter. The decision to hold a full tribunal in Boran had been made, but it had been decided to wait until the weather was a little warmer before such a journey would be requested of those involved. Her lessons had been canceled until the whole mess with the tribunal was dealt with, so her interactions with Michaeyala had been nominal.

At least having her classes canceled meant one good thing: she had more free time. Granted, she wasn't supposed to be leaving T'Sala. But her feet found the road to Valona. With any luck, Irzo's troupe would still be nearby, and there would not be many others on the road. Besides, it was still several more days before her presence would be required in Boran. She would not be missed until Sister Morana prepared to travel, and that would not be for several more days yet, in itself.

The last fingers of winter's snow licked at the hem of her skirt, dampening it. But she did not care. Ascha pushed forward, spurred by her thoughts. She only paid enough attention to the road to avoid the mud puddles where they looked deep enough to get stuck.

She needed to talk to Irzo, to warn him. She was now certain that he was a wild wizard, and that her involvement with him was the source of this whole tribunal escapade. Sister Morana might not understand. Michaeyala might not understand. But she had to at least let him know that he should lay low, if he did not know that already. She saw someone she did not recognize on the road. Maybe he would know the troupe's location.

"Well met by travel, sir," she said, as he made to give her extra room to pass him, "I was hoping you might be able to answer a question for me."

The peddler, as he appeared to be by his superfluous amount of clothing and inventory, nodded. He looked a little put off that she stopped him for a chat. Though the day was still young, the pace he had been traveling would have required more than just the day to get to Valona, the direction he had been traveling when Ascha caught up with him.

"Well, go on then," he said, rather gruffly. Ascha hoped she would not offend him in asking where his competition was.

"I was hoping you might know the location of the troupe about now. They have several wagons. They are hard to miss." Ascha blurted.

"Oh, the troubadour troupe. That one that makes an awful noise when they pass, or when they camp for the night. So many people. So much singing, and dancing, and music-making," the peddler rasped. He coughed disturbingly, wiping his mouth on his sleeve when he was done. Ascha tried not to grimace at the behavior.

"Yes, that would be the one. They are a very colorful group." Ascha confirmed.

"Euh... I think last time I saw them they said somat about being on this road 'bout now, just 'fore Valonie."

"Yes, thank you." She wondered why she felt so happy to be on the right road.

"Ach, no problem. Just, iffin you see 'em, ask 'em to quiet down a bit. Man can't even hear hisself think when they're 'round. Much less sleep, iffin he has to camp nearby."

She smiled and thanked him again, before rushing off to return to her trip. Ascha did not even think about it until after she had left, but he must not have been a very good peddler. He did not even try to sell her anything, not even once.

By the time she could see the troupe's wagons, the sky was not yet darkening. It was only around midday, and Ascha could make out the wagons off the side of the road. She was still a ways distance from Valona, or 'Valonie' as the peddler had so colorfully put it.

Then she saw him. A lone figure, silhouetted against the hillside. She couldn't make out any distinct features, not from this distance, and not with the sun blazing behind him. But Ascha knew it was Irzo. Maybe it was something in the way he held himself as he stood. Something small that she had noticed. She started to make her way towards him. He was turned away from her, staring into the sun. She slowed as she approached him, so as not to interrupt his thoughts. But he must have heard her anyways. He turned as she got closer.

"Ascha," he greeted her. He smiled. "To what do I owe this pleasant surprise. I did not expect to see you here, today."

"You owe the surprise to rather a mess of unpleasantness, unfortunately." Irzo frowned at Ascha's response, tilting his head to one side.

"What is that?" he asked, perplexed.

"So you haven't heard anything, then?" Ascha had been hoping that he had heard something.

"Well, that's the thing about being a roving traveler. We get quite a bit of news, just not always about us. The messengers seem to have a hard time finding us, for some reason." Irzo quirked his face into half of a smile. Ascha tried to think how she would explain. Maybe direct was the best.

"Right, then, I have been placed under tribunal. The charges are for 'threatening political stability.'" She stopped herself so the words did not rush to tumble out of her at once.

Irzo nodded for her to continue.

"We've already had the lesser tribunal in Valona and they weren't able to come to a conclusion, so now we are going to have to go before a full tribunal in Boran. I leave with Sister Morana in a few days from now."

"It must be very stressful for you." Irzo looked down, and placed a hand against her cheek. But her mind screamed. That wasn't why she had come, not to bear her soul and lay her burdens on someone else, even if that was how it was being interpreted.

"It's not just that. I also came, because, well, don't you want to know why I am being charged with threatening political stability?" Irzo was about to answer, but she rushed on. "Because, I think it's because of, you know..."

"Because of?" he asked. His implied ignorance was clear. He certainly wasn't making this easy for her.

"You and me!"

"There's a 'you and me'?" Irzo grinned ridiculously. Then his smile faded. "Why would that be a problem?"

"Well, because you are you, and I am, well, I'm me..." she waited for him to react, but his countenance told of ignorance. Ascha wondered if he was playing stupid to avoid talking about the situation, or if he really wasn't grasping what she was trying to say, and what she was trying not to say. Irzo pulled his hand away and stepped back. _Good_ , she thought, _Maybe this means he is angry_. But his eyes only spoke of sadness in his next words.

"Is it because I travel with a troupe? Is that what makes 'you and me' not a possibility? Don't worry at all, I understand. I may be in a troupe, but I'm not stupid," his words were starting to get angrier, "I have things to tend to before we open for people in the morn."

"No, that's not what I'm trying to say at all..." her words trailed, even after he had left. Ascha turned to make her way back to T'Sala. Ascha did not even get the chance to ask them to quiet the troupe's activities.

Ascha had been about to leave when the boy caught up with her. Irzo must have sent him. The boy was only several seasons, somewhere around Tiam's age. He was out of breath. The note that he carried set a place and time for Ascha and Irzo to meet. In the note, Irzo had asked her not to tell anyone else. And, for some reason, she felt as though she their continued discussion was more important than pure and open communication with the school faculty, at this time.

##  Chapter 23 | Roomy Voids

The chamber around Michaeyala felt empty. Sure, she had day-dreamed about having her own room again. But it did not feel independent and relaxing, as it had before. It felt cold, empty and lonely. She turned around to say something over her shoulder, but there was no one there to hear it.

Rooms had been re-assigned when they returned to T'Sala. Michaeyala had been hoping for a chance to talk with Ascha, but they had hardly seen each other since they had left for the lesser tribunal. Michaeyala had traveled separately with Chief Sister Leanna. When she had gone to return to the chambers she had shared with Ascha, the Chief Sister stopped her, saying that she would send someone to grab Michaeyala's things. Michaeyala then followed the Chief Sister to her new chambers. The new chambers were still intended for double occupancy, though, as there were two beds. Michaeyala did not know if she hoped that the other would remain empty or not.

She stripped down to her underclothes, as she did not have much choice for sleep. All of her night-wear was still in the other chamber. And to be honest, she had been looking forward to the relaxation of ritual at the end of the day. She had wanted to prepare herself for bed, not just crash into sleep. But it looked as though she had little choice. Besides, Michaeyala did not want to dwell on the on-goings of the day. She did not want to think about the lesser tribunal, or that it looked like they would not be coming to a decision anytime soon. Her part had seemed small. She had provided witness. It wasn't up to her to decide what to do with that witness.

***

Michaeyala woke the next morning to a lack of noise. There was no bustling morning fuss, as there usually was. She was used to Ascha rising before her and preparing for her lessons earlier than Michaeyala herself did. While it was nice not having to ignore her in order to grasp at the last few minutes of sleep, it did not matter. She felt like she had hardly slept anyways. And now she had the added fear of over-sleeping and missing her lessons.

Her things still hadn't been brought over from the other chambers. Michaeyala found there was a lot less time required to get ready for lessons when she did not have anything to make sure she did not forget; because she had nothing. At least, that's what it felt like at the moment. It was even worse than when she had first gotten to T'Sala, and she was waiting for her goods to arrive. Not only were her goods not here, but the empty bed haunted her. Somehow, losing a friend was more painful than not having any in the first place. At least then she had had the adventure of a new place to distract her. She was learning all of the rules. Now, she only had her lessons to try and keep her thoughts. And they weren't doing a very good job. She was starting to worry that Ascha may not return.

She ran her fingers through her hair, and twisted it up into a knot. At least her hair hid the fact that it wasn't brushed well. She took a moment to give thanks for her natural blessings. Michaeyala grabbed the hairpin she had used the day before to catch her hair up. Wearing the same things as the day before, she left to attend her lessons. She felt oddly naked somehow. With any luck, no one would think to ask her why she had been gone. She did not know if she was up for explaining things.

## Chapter 24 | Encounters of Deeper Shades

The air was still warm, the twilight hues of dusk filtering through the leaves above her head. Ascha waited for Irzo to meet her in the appointed place. She still had plenty to go over with him. She sat down on a rock nearby, and prepared to wait. They were supposed to meet at the first smears that dusk lent to the sky. But the sky was now darkening. The smears were no longer smears.

She knew that with the investigation going on, she should not meet him. But somehow her feet had found their way here at the close of the day. It was very near where they had met the first time, where they had fallen asleep together. She found herself smiling.

Her head snapped up as she heard twigs crunch nearby. The smile faded from her face as she saw someone else enter the small grove. It did not take her long to recognize that it was not whom she expected. Chief Brother Raeyan smiled softly at Ascha.

"I have come to deliver some news to you. Firstly, my nephew will not be coming. He understands that for him to stay here, if they found out the truth that he is the one that has been meeting with you, would almost certainly result in his being prosecuted as a wild wizard." Ascha's head blurred at the news. Did Chief Brother Raeyan really just say what she thought he said? She forced herself to concentrate on his next words.

"It would also mean similar things for you. Secondly, the Brethere and Sistere have decided that in light of recent events, it is best that you suspend your studies at T'Sala." Ascha opened her mouth to speak; her lessons had been canceled until the tribunal had completed, but that was not the same as a suspension from her magickal studies. Chief Brother Raeyan raised his hand against her protestations. "At least for the time being. I am still working to get this whole mess cleared up, and hopefully you will be able to return soon."

"I just wish Michaeyala had kept quiet. What was she doing bringing Sister Morana about this?" Ascha kicked the dirt at her feet, sending a small rock rolling.

"It's alright, Ascha. She was just trying to do what was best. Can you really say you would have done differently, if you had been in her position? She was just worried about you. Besides, if anyone is to take the blame, it will be me."

"I know she was. I'm just," Ascha looked for the right word in her mind, "worried, is all. And I'm going to be missing so many lessons." Ascha fought to keep her face, or her voice, from betraying too much.

"This will be the last time I can speak with you. After tonight, I think it best we keep our distance, so the proceedings can go quickly."

"What is to happen to me?" She felt like she couldn't breathe. Would they let her back into T'Sala? Would she ever see Irzo again? There was a time when such things did not matter to her. Some corner of her mind absently wondered when that had changed.

"Well, you shall continue to use the separate accommodations from Michaeyala. There is an open chamber beside Sister Morana. None shall inhabit the chamber that you and Michaeyala shared, until deemed appropriate by the Sistere.

"The chamber beside Sister Morana is where you shall take up residence, allowing the Sistere to keep a closer eye on you, and your activities. Everything must be proper from this point forward. My guess is that they will have you help with something menial, such as work in the kitchens, until this whole thing is officially closed. I doubt it will be escalated to a full tribunal, but if that is the case, then T'Sala will provide representation for you." While Chief Brother Raeyan was talking, a thought occurred to Ascha.

"What about Boran? I thought it was already decided that a full tribunal was needed in Boran."

"Where did you hear that?" he asked.

"Sister Morana told me to be ready to travel to Boran. I thought that's what she meant."

"Perhaps she was just referring to the official closure of this. I doubt, at least I hope, that we will not need a full tribunal for this. But I will check with Chief Sister Leanna and Sister Morana to be certain." Now his face looked worried. But it was only for a moment, then his face returned to its calm countenance. A thought occurred to Ascha.

"What about you? Michaeyala named you. I mean, that's what this whole mess came from? Because you were in my chambers, right? Will you be okay?" Chief Brother Raeyan's face was carefully inexpressive. He paused for a moment before answering Ascha's questions, obviously choosing his words.

"Only the future holds answers to such questions. But yes, the reason for this investigation is because of the report that I was in your chambers, only made more severe because of the hour. I am confident that we will be able to get you through this, and that you shall be able to return to your studies. You have a great deal of potential to offer, Ascha. I only hope that I can see you become the great magus that you are meant to be."

## Chapter 25 | Springtime Sprouts

It simply was not possible. At least that's what Ascha kept going over in her mind. _It was not possible._ She sat down on the end of her bed. The air blowing through the window was sweet with the promise of spring. But Ascha did not care.

Her hand absently went to her midriff. _How could it even be possible?_ she kept asking herself. But the signs were starting to worry her. She thought all the nervousness and nausea was because of the current events. Then she started vomiting. Regularly. Ascha did not like this at all. Aside from being physically miserable, the implications were not good. And she did not have much time before they left for Boran.

If she showed up at a full tribunal in Boran this way, they would have no choice but to make certain decisions towards her guilt. This would certainly make it harder to argue against a relationship, and the charges would stand. She did not want to give them the encouragement; she still felt that regardless, she had not threatened political stability. And that wasn't the worst of it either. What if they found her guilty, and sentenced her to prison? They would be forced to remove any progeny from that environment. They would be forced to give the child to someone else to be raised, until Ascha's term was served, if her suspicions were true. And the father would not be deemed fit. Any thoughts she had of continuing her magickal studies, and becoming a magus, would also be lost. She could not imagine T'Sala taking her back after something like this. No, she had to do something about it.

The father. She did not even want to think about it. Should she tell him? She wasn't even certain. It was only suspicion at this point anyways. Granted, she had been suspecting for a little while, but nothing had been confirmed. But time was giving her less and less of the luxury of doubt.

She had to at least talk with him. After what happened the last time she tried talking with Michaeyala, that was out of the question. The more Ascha thought about it, the more she needed to at least air her concerns aloud to someone. That list seemed to be getting rather short of late.

Maybe the troupe was still in town. Ascha decided to try her luck. After all, she had just enough time to fit in a hike and get back before nightfall, if she walked fast.

By the time she got to the troupe's location, the sun was already beginning to lower in the sky.

"I haven't seen you in class lately. Is everything going alright?" Someone asked from behind her. Ascha had not been prepared to run into anyone from the school here. She turned to face Somara, plastering a smile across her face.

"Yes, everything is fine." Ascha answered. She had no idea how much Somara knew, and she was not in the mood to enlighten anyone about recent events.

"Oh, well, that's good then. I just wanted to make sure you weren't sick or something. It's kind of weird, though," at least Somara's prattle did not require much interaction, "with all Sister Morana's classes being taken over. I hear Chief Sister Leanna isn't able to cover them, either. Tiam even said something about Chief Brother Raeyan not being around. I don't know. I think something is going on, and they just won't tell us what. Michaeyala was gone for a little while, too, but she's back now.

"Enough of my chatter, though. I'm glad to hear you're doing fine, though. Do you know when you will be back in lessons?"

Ascha wasn't sure how to respond to Somara's question.

"Anytime now, I'm sure of it. I'm starting to feel a bit better," Ascha lied. To her appreciation, Somara looked at the level of the sun.

"Oh dear, I hadn't realized it was getting so late," Somara said, "I really must head back to T'Sala, if I am to finish my assignments in time to sleep before lessons tomorrow. And I really can't afford to miss any more! Well, it was nice seeing you and talking with you Ascha. I hope you are back in lessons soon!" With those final words, Somara traipsed in the direction of T'Sala.

Ascha hoped she would not run into anyone else unexpectedly. She only wanted to find Irzo, say what she needed to say, and leave. She took a moment to look around her. It certainly was busy today. There were people at every wagon, lines at some. She hoped she could pull Irzo away for a moment, once she found him, that was. Ascha did not see him, but she saw the blades vendor where Irzo had first sold her the dagger. Luckily, there was only one person there, browsing.

"Excuse me, sir?" Ascha asked the vendor manning the blades wagon. He leaned on the wagon's edge and waited expectantly for her to continue.

"I'm looking for someone, and I was hoping you could help. Do you know where Irzo is? I've seen him manning this wagon before."

The vendor briskly pointed over his shoulder. Once it was obvious that she was not interested in buying anything, the vendor was ready to rush her on her way.

"Over that way, I think. That's last I saw him, anyways."

"Thank you," replied Ascha. She followed the direction he had gestured, before he returned to his work. In the amount of time that he had answered her question, a line had already begun to form. Ascha wondered why the troupe's wares were so popular all of a sudden, or what everyone was preparing for. She hoped she hadn't missed a memorandum in all of this travel and all these proceedings for the tribunal. Perhaps it was just springtime buzz.

Ascha found Irzo helping someone stack some crates outside of their wagon. He had little attention to pay outside his task, or at least so it seemed. He didn't look up as she approached.

"It looks rather busy around here," Ascha broke the still air between them. If he was not going to, then she might as well. She had come here for a reason, and she was not leaving until it was completed.

"Yes, very busy. We have lots of customers today," Irzo said in a very matter-of-fact tone. With all these people about, no wonder he felt rushed. Or maybe he was just trying to hurry her along, for other reasons.

"Right, well, I did not come here for a social visit. Irzo, would you stop for a moment and look at me?"

He stopped stacking crates and turned to face Ascha. His posture was annoyed.

"Irzo, this is not a matter of choice. There is something we must discuss," Ascha started.

"Alright, then let's discuss it."

Ascha looked around at all the people milling about. Who knew which ears were out here?

"Not here. Not with so many people."

"Fine then," he responded tersely. Ascha couldn't tell if it was just the stress of work that was giving him the attitude, or if there was something more.

They set a time and place, and Irzo hardly hesitated to return to his work. They would meet the next day. Ascha did not know how she would wait that long.

***

The next day came too quickly. Ascha now wondered why she had been waiting in the first place. Despite her reservations, Ascha packed for the short day-trip and set off on her way. It was not as far from T'Sala as where the troupe had set up lastly, but it was still a decent walk. At least Ascha could not complain that she was not getting enough exercise. By the time she reached their appointed place, Irzo was already there, waiting for her. He looked to be in a good mood, his face appeared relatively calm. Maybe this would be easier for Ascha than she feared. Well, the best way to find out would be to get it over with.

She laid her suspicions before Irzo, watching his face turn from happiness to something that was less than happiness, with each word that came out of her mouth. His usual joy turned to worry, which in turn became an expression of hardened stone. His face looked chiseled, in a very precise and almost scary way. Talking was becoming increasingly difficult, until eventually Ascha's voice died away entirely. She believed she had gotten across what she needed to say, so it really was a moot point to continue talking, anyways.

"You say you are not certain, right?" he said, eventually finding his voice. Nothing but silence had passed between them for some time after Ascha had finished speaking.

"Well, not completely certain, no." Ascha answered.

"So, it is a possibility that what you fear is not reality?"

"I guess that is possible. But it has been a little while, and there have been signs."

"Signs can be mis-read," he said quickly. He took a moment to compose his calm before continuing, "You know, there are ways..."

"Ways? Of doing what?" Ascha asked him tentatively.

"Of making sure that what you are afraid of cannot be." Irzo replied.

Ascha played as though she did not know what he was implying. To be honest, his implications could be taken many ways. This was too important not to be sure. It was obvious by his manner that Irzo did not appreciate being cornered, and it certainly looked as though he felt like he was cornered. He had seen a possible way out, and he was taking it. Irzo tried to make his point more clear. He was obviously taking the time to review the words in his head. Ascha was a little jealous. She often did the same, but words never seemed to come out as she had reviewed them in her own head.

"I know someone. Someone who can do things. Maybe you should give her a visit. She might be able to help." Irzo said finally.

"Okay, then. I guess... how do I find her?" Ascha asked. She was trying not let her uncertainty show too much.

"You know where we met the first time, by the three oaks?" She nodded to his instructions, "Well, follow behind those oaks, to the hills behind and over their crest. She should be there this time of year, I hope."

"You mean, you are not coming with?" Ascha did not like the direction things were going.

"There are some things you have to do by yourself. I think this is one of those things."

"Does she have a name?" Ascha asked.

"I suppose she does." Ascha rolled her eyes at Irzo's response to her question. Irzo continued, "But we just call her Meb."

"Right, well, I guess that's everything, then." Ascha said after a few more moments of silence. "Guess I best be going." Irzo nodded at Ascha's suggestion. He failed to lift his gaze from the ground.

Ascha began to gather her things when Irzo stopped her. His face was hard, but his eyes were soft. The pain behind the mask that was his visage made Ascha want to crumble for a moment. But she could not afford to crumble. Too much had to be done, and in too little time.

"It's not that I don't want to do more," he looked like he wanted to say more.

"It's alright, you can't. You don't have to explain." Ascha cut him off before he could start becoming a blubbering mess. It was evident that she could not count on him to help her with this. He seemed to remember himself. He cleared his throat and stood straight.

"Yes, well. Best of luck, fare well, and all that. I hope you find what you are looking for, and what you need." Irzo turned back towards the direction of his troupe and left.

Ascha still had thoughts rummaging around in her head. She might as well walk in the direction of T'Sala. It would give her time to think.

## Chapter 26 | Alternate Routes

Ascha had no choice. It did not matter what her teachings said. If she were with child—she couldn't be with child. No one in the school would help her. She already could not be sure who was on her side, but this certainly would push everyone who was teetering on her side over the edge. So many were already afraid to deal with her; she was tainted. She saw the stares they tried to hide as they passed her. She heard the whispers they tried to keep silent. So, Ascha would have to go to someone else who was tainted. And time was running out, since she left for Boran in the morning.

She looked up from her steep climb up the barren hill. She had meant to return to T'Sala, but her feet started to follow Irzo's directions to this 'Meb'. Ascha could not remember the last time she was this far from T'Sala; it had been many years. Once she had left the road and passed the oaks, she was even farther out than Valona, she guessed. She could point to the area on a map, if she had to. But the place where she was going did not have a name on the map; at least not any of the maps she knew of. The meeting with Irzo had not lasted as long as she had thought it would, so she figured she had time for this detour before anyone would even miss her at T'Sala.

The clouds roiled, as though deliberately drawing Ascha's focus down to the lone figure silhouetted against sky. The figure looked down towards Ascha, then turned and disappeared behind the crest of the hill. Her suspicions that Irzo had sent her to a wild witch were confirmed.

_Well_ , Ascha thought to herself, _it wasn't as though she would be doing the communing herself. She still had some sort of distance between her and becoming a wild witch. After all, it wasn't the same thing, right? Commissioning someone else to do the work for you..._

As Ascha got to the crest, she saw that the other side of the hill was lightly forested. But the figure had not hidden amongst the trees. She waited for Ascha to arrive. Even though their meeting had not been 'arranged,' it was as though Ascha's accomplice already knew she was coming. Absently, Ascha wondered how she could possibly know. Considering she had only found out about Meb moments before. Irzo certainly had not had the opportunity to beat Ascha here, and inform Meb.

She raised her arms and looked to the sky. Meb wore no Sister's robes, nothing to denote that she had been schooled in her use of magick and energy. But Ascha could feel it in the air all around her. Some of it may have been the storm, but the air around her fairly crackled.

Ascha wondered what Meb was waiting for. She had not moved from her stance for several moments. It looked as though a howl would rend her very soul, and the sheer power of it would rival the thunder in the sky. But no sound escaped Meb's lips. Then the trees rustled around as the wind began to bellow. Mournful sounds accompanied the movement in the air, and it seemed as though the very earth itself began to howl with her. Ascha was now close, at least as close as she dared, to the wild witch. She stood where she was, without moving.

_Meb must already know why I'm here,_ she mused, unsurprised. _She has the power to do what needs to be done._ Ascha had the ability to feel how inconsequential her mastery of magick and energy was by comparison to this woman. Her thoughts continued, _why would she not have the power to read my mind?_

Ascha started to feel a little unnerved. Maybe T'Sala had good reasons for keeping casters like Meb far away.

" _N'tal-eya sollas eum suhn, nac tal-eya_." At first the words were very quiet; Ascha couldn't even make them out from the rustling leaves around her. But as Meb repeated the chant, growing with volume each time, Ascha could see the words coming from Meb. She couldn't explain it, but she could see them. The words seemed to grow from Meb, as though the land around her was picking up the chant. Ascha wondered, was this what it was to commune directly with Nohtin? She had not seen it before. Maybe the path of becoming a sanctified magus would not have been so bad. Not that it was an option for her anymore. Soon, it started to sound as though the sound was coming from all around them, until the point where Ascha could no longer hear her own thoughts without feeling the words coming from Meb.

Then everything was silent. Not even breath could be heard; it was as though everything had stopped. Ascha did not know how long she stood there, watching. It seemed to last a long time. Ascha could not remember breathing. Since she had not passed out from lack of air, it could not have been too long since her last breath. Meb turned to Ascha, everything about her presence heavy.

"I have talked to Nohtin. She will do as you ask, and make sure that no child will have to grow within the prison walls." Ascha's face broke with relief at Meb's words.

"But, everything has a cost," she continued.

Ascha froze. She had no idea what a goddess would ask for. What could she possibly give that would be of worth to a goddess? It was too much to think about.

"Nothing now. But, she will come to you some day. She will ask then, and you will grant her favor." Meb's voice still trembled with the threads of power. The result was commanding, and final. Meb's voice returned to her normal sultry, but human, tones.

"That is all I can do for you, child. You had best be on your way before anyone misses you." Ascha went to leave, then paused for a moment and turned to ask Meb something.

"I have seen many things lately. I see people try to do good things, then bring pain. I see people who have done things that no one can approve of, turn around and do the most honorable things. How can this be such a world?" Meb chuckled at Ascha's question.

"This world? This world is either a curse, or an accident," Meb answered.

"Yes, well, thank you." Unsure of how to interpret Meb's response, Ascha said all she could think to say. She now knew why everyone was so afraid of the wild wizards and witches. Using that much power without the training and ritual of T'Sala must turn the wild ones mad. Maybe starting small had its benefits.

Ascha turned to head back towards T'Sala. When she reached the crest of the hill she looked behind her, but Meb had disappeared into the trees. Ascha doubted she, or anyone else, could find her.

## Chapter 27 | Larger Tribulations

The next morning Ascha grabbed her things. She and Sister Morana were going to Boran. Though it was for a dread purpose, part of her was inexplicably excited. Ascha had never been as far south as Boran before, that she could remember. They had even sent a carriage and draft animals to pull it. Not to mention that they had also sent a driver. This would be the first time she would travel in a drawn carriage. When it first arrived, she could not help but stare at the exquisite piece of machinery, assuming it had been sent for the Chief Sister herself. The half-open carriage was made of a beautiful wood that had recently been polished. All of its metal fittings appeared in good repair as well. Even the leather harnesses for control of the draft animals were recently oiled. Judging by the lack of dust, much of the maintenance must have occurred since it was sent from Boran. Travel dust would not have been as attractive.

While she was used to walking everywhere she needed to go, Ascha couldn't help but get a little caught up. The air around T'Sala seemed to be filled with wonder at why a city as large as Boran would have enough interest in T'Sala to send a carriage. In fact, Ascha had heard about its arrival the night before; before she had even laid eyes on the contraption.

It only took moments for Ascha and Sister Morana to stow their things in the carriage. They were already almost to Valona by the time the sky was lightening for the morning.

***

A bump in the road jolted Ascha awake. At Sister Morana's urging, she had tried to sleep during the majority of their trip, even though it was light outside. Ascha looked around, tired of trying to sleep.

Most of the day was gone, and they must be nearing Boran. It wasn't quite as she had imagined. It was much more gradual. There were a few people here and there. Then there were more people. Then there were more people closer together. Soon there was no break in the people or the dwellings they came from. Seemingly out of nowhere, traffic seemed to emerge, congesting the road to Boran.

"Are we in Boran yet?" Ascha asked the driver.

He shook his head. After a few moments he pointed to a river in the distance.

"We have to cross the N'Sea before we get to Boran. This here is just the outskirts," the driver answered.

They continued to be lightly jostled in silence, save for the bustling noises around them.

If she had thought the road was congested before, it was only because there was traffic often going in two directions. As they crossed the bridge to enter Boran, the road narrowed, forcing people and carriages alike to touch each other or wait in order to pass. Thankfully, the road widened on the other side of the bridge. What seemed to Ascha like a long wait must have been expedient, for when she paid attention to the driver's comments, as he mumbled under his breath, it sounded as though their travel had gone relatively quickly and smoothly. The road did not widen much, however. It was not enough that Ascha did not find herself wishing for the openness of the T'Sala fields.

They shortly pulled up in front of a run-down establishment. Brick and mortar had been smeared with some sort of plaster concoction that time had been less-than-kind to. The dilapidated and crumbling walls were smashed between the buildings on either side of it. Just as Ascha was beginning to worry this was where they would enter for their accommodations for their stint in Boran, Sister Morana turned to leave the door unburdened by her hands.

"I don't think we will be staying here." Sister Morana stated, matter-of-factly.

"Well, this is where they done and put you two up," said the driver, as he got back in the carriage and disappeared into the throng of traffic, pedestrian and otherwise.

Sister Morana looked expectantly at Ascha.

"Dolam?"

Ascha started for a moment, as she realized that the Sister was waiting for her to open the rather grimy door. That smell of food wafting on the air had better be a promise of what was to come, was all Ascha could hope.

***

After a scant meal, followed by an even more scant rest, Ascha rose to feel Sister Morana shaking her by the shoulder.

"I don't want to be here any longer than is absolutely necessary. We should make our way to the Tribunal Hall as soon as you are ready," Sister Morana said, once she saw that Ascha was awake. The good Sister was already ready, from everything Ascha could observe about her. Sister Morana's appearance was clean and neat, as usual, which meant that she was ready.

After quickly changing from her sleeping shift to something more appropriate for the day, Ascha hurried to pull a comb through her hair and twist it up into something respectable. She was torn between wanting to make a good impression on the full tribunal, and satisfying Sister Morana's obvious desire for speed. She just hoped that nothing was overtly amiss or embarrassing about her appearance. She thought to ask Sister Morana, but only for a moment, before pushing the notion aside.

Once Ascha was ready, they left the rather tiny inn and started to make their way to the Tribunal Hall. Ascha didn't know where she was or where they needed to go. Much to Ascha's relief, Sister Morana evidently knew how to get there from here, as Ascha simply followed her.

Ascha stopped trying to remember their circuitous route to find the Tribunal Hall, as she had been doing in a corner of her mind. She just hoped she didn't get separated from Sister Morana. When they finally arrived at what must have been the Tribunal Hall, the directions they took got even more confusing. The building was large and ornate, so Ascha figured it must have been an important place. From what she understood, this Tribunal Hall must be such a place. Little did she know that the Tribunal Hall was only one of the places housed within the edifice that they entered.

They ascended some beautiful, albeit unnecessarily, wide stairs. The stairs were flanked by marble columns. They then passed through large marble doors, that were flanked by more marble columns. Absently, Ascha wondered how long it all took to originally construct. There was a tidy-looking attendant sitting behind a desk near the front. Even the desk looked neat and unnecessarily ornate, featuring carvings of mythic creatures: a dragon here, a mermaid rising from a crashing wave there.

"Can you direct us to the Tribunal Hall, please?" Sister Morana asked, politely.

"Yes. Follow the corridor on your right, take your first left, then the next two lefts as well, and, finally, take a left at the last door before the corridor ends. Once you are through that door, you should be facing the Tribunal Hall, it's hard to miss."

"Thank you."

"Just follow the signs if you get lost along the way," the lady behind the desk added behind them, as the two women started their journey.

Ascha hoped they wouldn't run out of time just finding the place. Why had their accommodations been put so far from the Tribunal Hall, anyways?

Two large silver-encased wooden doors stood shut before them. Finally, they had found the Tribunal Hall. Ascha thought the wood on the doors must be some sort of light oak, or maybe it was even bone that had been carved to look like wood. In any case, the doors were massive. They were also trimmed in what could only have been silver. The metal thrummed lightly. Ascha hadn't been in the presence of this much of the magickal substance since she had become more energy sensitive from all of her training. She guessed those Energy Lessons must have done something. The energy coming from the silver felt light, and somehow thin. She started to forget why she was feeling so badly about this whole affair. A corner of Ascha's mind was sure that it was no accident that the doors were trimmed as they were.

The doors stood resolutely closed. And when Sister Morana didn't make a move to open them, Ascha certainly wasn't going to. The hallway in front of the Tribunal Hall was lined with uncomfortable marble benches, benches that looked like they would fit better in the middle of a courtyard. Sister Morana turned on her heel, and sat on one of these. Ascha followed Sister Morana to one of these. Evidently, they were going to wait.

"I guess that means we wait," Ascha said under her breath to herself. It felt like they had been too quiet for a while, and something needed to be said aloud.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Ascha asked Sister Morana directly.

"I do not know. But if I had to venture a guess, I would say there is another proceeding going on in there."

A few moments of silence passed as they both sat on the bench, waiting. Ascha wanted to lean back, but there was no back to the bench. She could have rested against the wall, but she would have had to slouch to do so, owing to the bench being pulled away from the wall by several inches. Ascha decided against trying to find comfort.

"Do we know when they will be done?" Ascha asked hesitantly.

"Well, our tribunal is supposed to start sometime today. We will know when it starts because the doors will open." Sister Morana did not offer anything more, so Ascha decided it would be best to remain silent.

Ascha must have dozed off sometime during her daydreams. What had seemed like an interminable stretch now came too soon, as the doors swung slowly and majestically open. Ascha was confronted with the glimpse of a forbidding array of tiered benches and podiums in the vast hall on the other side of the doors. Behind each seat sat several different people. She decided it would be better not to count how many people would be there, judging every aspect of what she said and how she said it. Ascha tried not to think about it.

It also seemed unfair that there were so many on the judging side of the tribunal, when there were chairs for so few on the presenting side. Ascha followed Sister Morana passed the initial doors, and sat at one of the less ornate chairs on the presenting side. The chair was still ornate by T'Sala standards. Where Ascha sat must not have presented any problems, because no one voiced or seemed to have an issue with it. Sister Morana continued past her and sat down. Ascha looked up. She was faced by a semi-circle of judges looking down at her from their seats. Not all of the judgment seats were filled, but it was still enough people staring down at her for Ascha to feel like she was a specimen being studied. Somehow, it didn't help that their seats were white. It was all rather intimidating. Ascha found herself missing T'Sala again. Her modest chambers felt warm by comparison.

She actually felt somewhat gladdened when she saw Chief Sister Leanna enter. Oddly, she sat not with the tribunal members, but on the same side as Sister Morana and Ascha. Deliberately, Ascha avoided looking at who was sitting next to the Chief Sister. Michaeyala was likely beautiful and trite, sitting with cupped hands, and avoiding eye contact herself. Not that how she looked mattered. _The sooner this was all over, the sooner the two of them could go on to not being friends_ , Ascha told herself.

A grizzled old man stood. If it weren't for the seriousness behind the whole affair, Ascha would have found him slightly comical. The color of his hair didn't match the wig he wore to cover where he was balding; he had obviously aged several years since he had purchased the wig. His ritual dark robes were at an odd angle, and had not been aligned with the blue mantel he wore as a stole. She knew enough to recognize that the blue mantel marked him as the Tribunal Lead. But it was almost as though he had not bothered to look in a mirror and straighten his appearance. Certainly, it must have been his time in office that had lent him to the position of authority he held now. And if his appearance had not been enough to lend comedy to his aire, when he spoke the poor man's comedic ambiance was complete.

"The Accused, Ascha N'Dreyid, appears to be present. All members of the tribunal are present. It appears that we have all witnesses. Everything appears to be in order, we shall continue," the old man whistled. If she hadn't seen his mouth moving, Ascha would have been confused as to whether the sound was coming from his mouth or his nose. If they had met under different circumstances, she may have laughed. As it was, she found it hard to suppress the urge, though suppress it she did. Only by studying the runic symbols on the blue mantel that hung around his neck and down the sides of his robe was she able to do so. Her face stared up at the Tribunal Lead stoically.

"I, Krim, the Tribunal Lead, shall lead the proceedings today," the old man continued with his odd lilt. "We look to determine the guilt or innocence of the Accused for the following: 'threatening political stability'."

"Is this really necessary? I mean there is no political stability being threatened here. I promise." Ascha blurted. She was not going to sit on her opinion anymore. Krim looked down at her, his face hard. He breathed very deliberately through his nose, his lips pursed tightly, before speaking.

"The Accused, Ascha N'Dreyid, will refrain from speaking. The outcome, the Accused's innocence or guilt, is what we are here to determine with these proceedings," The old man's face softened slightly. Krim stared at Ascha with something between sympathy and complete boredom, "When you need to speak, you will be directly addressed."

It was hard for Ascha not to feel at least a little annoyed. This was all supposed to be over by now. It was ridiculous that a full tribunal had been 'deemed necessary' for this, at least so she thought.

Ascha felt she needed to focus on something else. She looked for a window to peer out of, only to realize there were none. She started to get a sinking feeling, like she had traveled into the belly of a mysterious beast. She found herself looking for an escape, and then chided herself for even looking for an escape. Such an idea was preposterous, or at least it should have been. Ascha looked over at Sister Morana, hoping that a familiar face would stop this sinking feeling. But Sister Morana would not catch her eye. She would only look straight ahead. And the expression on her face did not make Ascha feel any better.

***

When they left the tower that housed the Tribunal Hall, the sun was already beginning to set. The sky was riddled in oranges that threatened to become purples shortly. Ascha readied to follow Sister Morana in silence again.

The proceedings had been very dry. If Ascha did not know any better, she would have wondered that the tribunal had been trying to bore the school, or whoever had brought up the charges, into dropping them. Unfortunately, they would have to reconvene the next day. Ascha wondered how long this could go on.

By the time they reached the inn, they grabbed some leftover of what-was-being-served-for-dinner and disappeared to their rooms. Ascha tried to talk to Sister Morana, but instead dunked her stale bread into her lukewarm stew.

"I had been hoping to acquire better accommodations, but the opportunity had not presented itself today," Sister Morana said, after finishing her fare, "I will have to ask tomorrow."

Ascha looked around the small rooms again. She certainly didn't have any objection to better rooms. She nodded in response to Sister Morana's comment.

"Oh, and tomorrow, it is probably best not to say anything, unless directly requested to do so by the Tribunal Lead." With her final words of advice, Sister Morana went to bed.

***

The next day, it was Sister Morana's turn to be called upon. Krim had called on her fairly early, using a bunch of dry and flowery prose that Ascha didn't follow, nor did she care to.

Ascha keyed into Sister Morana's response, of whatever she had been asked. It seemed that Ascha was not the only one that no longer cared to be here.

"It has been my experience that people will find what they are looking for." Sister Morana said.

"Does that mean we should not look for this? There are many implications to your statement," came the smooth voice of one of the tribunal members. Ascha tried to reconstruct what the statement had been that Sister Morana had said. But her mind failed her. Ascha must have zoned out during that part of the proceedings...

Another tribunal member spoke, "It does not prove well to stop looking for criminality and civil infraction because we are afraid we will find it."

"While this is true, and I do not mean any fault by the tribunal in its choice of proceedings, I am also aware that, perhaps, we are looking for something that doesn't really exist. After all, the initial request was for an investigation, not a full tribunal." Maybe Sister Morana was on her side after all. Ascha dared not hope. But is Sister Morana had not been the one pushing for a full tribunal, then who was? Even if Sister Morana was on her side, Ascha wasn't sure what good it would do, this late into proceedings. No one wanted to have wasted their time on this. It was simply too late now. Sadly, the best way for them to feel like their time had not been wasted was for the tribunal to find her guilty. Then everyone would have 'done their job' and 'protected society from a potential menace'. Despite all of the silver thrumming around her, Ascha was feeling very forlorn indeed. Krim's next words only confirmed Ascha's musings on the matter.

"True, but we are all here now and formally convened. There is no reason not to conduct a formal investigation, especially considering that this case has already been before a lesser tribunal in Valona.

"It also would not be appropriate to leave these" he hesitated at the next word ever-so-slightly, "allegations to be investigated internally at T'Sala Un Sung itself. Such a course of action could be seen as a conflict of interests, one might say."

The rest of the day continued to be much the same. The words being spoken were dry and boring. Ascha knew she should be more invested in the proceedings, especially when her own fate was at stake. But she did not feel any reason to keep herself emotionally invested. It didn't seem like she could make much of a difference, anyways, so she might as well let her mind wander. People seemed to make up their minds about her fate, regardless of her input; maybe it was easier just to accept that as a fact than to try to influence it.

## Chapter 28 | Finality

Everyone sat in their places, awaiting another day of tribunal. It was the third or fourth day. They had all started to blend together. Ascha wondered how much more minutia could be dregged up. They had to be running out. As usual, Ascha refused to look in Michaeyala's direction.

The Tribunal Lead stood and spoke in a clear voice.

"Today will be a short day. Once we have concluded our proceedings for the day, we shall have concluded this tribunal."

Ascha looked around her, and saw faces full of relief, or gross boredom. The only thing she could think of that would be worse than sitting as the Accused would be sitting on the other side as a tribunal member. At least she would not have to do this tomorrow, or whenever they heard the next case. It must be its own sort of prison sentence, serving as a tribunal member. For a moment, Ascha wondered what her face said about her thoughts and feelings. Krim continued his speech.

"We have to thank Raeyan for his assistance in this matter. This tribunal appreciates his confession, allowing this matter to finally be decided."

Ascha wondered why he addressed the Chief Brother in such a manner. And _confession_? What did he have to confess?

"Due to his cooperation, Raeyan's sentence has been reduced." _His sentence? What were they talking about?_ Ascha thought crazily as she heard the words. If the proceedings hadn't been holding her attention before, they certainly were now. Krim continued, "for using his power to unduly influence a relationship of a fraternizing nature with a student of T'Sala, Raeyan has been sentenced to serve his life in the prison of Kala Rekin. His powers will be limited by the magickal barriers built into the very mortar and stone.

"For the other Accused, Ascha N'Dreyid, we sentence the next thirty years in the standard prison outside of Boran." He looked truly sorry at having to recite these last words. But Ascha couldn't see his face. Everything seemed a little too blurry to make out.

Ascha felt the weight of their decisions descend upon her. _Why? Why had this happened?_ Her brain failed to make sense of it. It was like someone had sucked all the air out of her lungs, and when she went to take a deep, steadying breath, someone had taken all that, too. Part of her mind wondered how everything could seem so small, when her sentence felt so far away. Life. Death. They did not matter. The room felt small. _At least I don't have to face any decisions regarding the continuation of my studies_ , she thought morbidly.

She tried to make herself listen, in case the tribunal said anything else important. Everything they were saying was supposed to be important. If anyone else received sentences, it would be now. But all Ascha could do was sit there, numbly, watching the mouths move. She wondered, impassively, if the room felt small to anyone else.

## Chapter 29 | Untold Words

"There will always be people who are ready to think the world is ending. But whether the world ends or not, we must all learn to deal with our own death. There is no avoiding it." Chief Brother Raeyan stated. She did not care that he had been officially stripped of his title. Ascha would still afford him the courtesy, if only in her mind.

"What if someone doesn't want to deal with the thought of their own death?" Ascha asked. Before he was escorted to his new home, Chief Brother Raeyan and Ascha were to meet one last time. Even the presence of his guards would not hold her words back. This was the last time they would talk. If Ascha had any questions left for the mentor, it would be now that she had to ask them.

"Then eventually, it will be dealt with for them. But you cannot always control how others deal with the idea of your death. You can only deal with your own. But these are heavy thoughts, ones that can be freeing when not entertained overly, but which can be depressing when held for too long," he answered. She wondered at how he could think anything but depressing thoughts right now, given his sentence, but chose not to speak on it.

"Well, I wish you the best, Chief Brother Raeyan. You have given me much to think about." She tried to rack her brain, but she could think of nothing else she needed to speak with him about. At least, she could not think of anything at the moment. She was sure that questions and comments would flood her mind in the near days of the future.

"And you have much time to think about it in. Do not waste this. In some ways, you have been given a gift. Use the time before you to think, and to sort. It can give you understanding." With his final words, Chief Brother Raeyan was escorted from the room, to a location unknown to Ascha.

***

Morning did not herald the typical signs of a new day. There were no birds to greet the sun, because the sun had not shown yet. Yes, the clouds that blanketed the night had lightened. You could now see where some parts of the clouds were even darker than others, as they roiled and boiled against each other. For all the movement in the sky, the air was oddly still. Equally eerie, nothing made a sound.

Still, these things did not bother Ascha. It was like all the things in Ascha's mind were being held in the clouds, but a calm had settled and she did not have to deal with them. It was surreal, but peaceful. She did not feel as though she had any right to feel peace, not with everything that was going on in her life. But she felt it anyways.

"I swear, I'm not going to trust anyone or anything anymore. The only way to survive in this world is to become cynical," she said quietly to herself. "There is no beauty left in this world."

## Chapter 30 | Last Succor

She stood on the edge of the cliff. She could even feel herself falling forward, the persistent wind pushing at her back, wrapping her thin shift around her limbs. She could feel her weight rotate beyond the balls of her feet, pitching her farther into the leaden sky. Ascha thought on what the future held for her now. She thought of the decisions she knew would be made. She relished the feel of the wind, as though it would be the last time it would caress her face.

A thought crossed her mind, a thought she tried not to allow herself to complete.

_This wind,_ she thought¸ _this wind will never know my child's skin._ Even though her eyes were closed, she saw how the clouds broiled, as though caught between dance and battle. She could fairly hear their movements. The world fell away around her in that crystal moment. Arms aloft to her sides, hair wildly unbound, she stood on the edge of the cliff.

"Ascha!" She recognized Michaeyala's voice. This was her fault. She was the reason all of this was happening to her.

"Ascha, you must come away from there! Step inside," Michaeyala's face was creased with worry, "please. Come inside." Ascha turned to face Michaeyala.

"And why should I? I am lost to this world. You know their decision. I don't even have the luxury to stick around and hate you." Ascha might as well have given her a physical blow, judging by the look on Michaeyala's face.

"You are my Sister, Ascha, and more than that you are my best friend..."

"Oh come, don't blubber. You're not going anywhere." Ascha thought better of her harsh words and continued in a sweeter voice, "I will eat this last meal with you. Do not fret Michaeyala," she said, drawing her friend into an embrace, "all will work out in the end." Ascha crooned to Michaeyala, gently stroking her hair. She was being given one last meal. Sister Morana and Michaeyala would be present. In the morning they would be here to escort her to the prison of Boran.

Michaeyala sniffed and stood up straighter.

"You should not be the one comforting me. Follow me inside," she smiled at Ascha, "we have made you a wonderful meal—all your favorites, there are fried dandelion blossoms, elderberry and yarrow wine, steaming katcha, onions and beans, I even made your favorite potato and squash stew with the last of the spring goat slaughter..." Michaeyala continued to ramble about the good food and drink they would have as Ascha closed the door behind them.

***

The next day came too quickly. She hadn't paid any attention on the trip to the prison, aside from noticing that it took most of the morning. She had barely paid attention when she packed the one bag of belongings they allowed her. In any case, Ascha didn't know where they were, now. She wouldn't have been able to point to the location on a map. Not that it really mattered. It's not as though she would be able to see the sky.

Her last meal with her 'friends' had been a good meal. Ascha hoped it would not mark the end of good food; though that food had been much better than anything she had had to that point. She smirked to herself at the irony of it.

Ascha looked to the stars above her. Nohtin shone brightly, casting Ascha's face in a mellow silver glow. Silently, she cursed the goddess for allowing this to happen to her. Aloud, she repeated Meb's words, "This world, this world is either a curse, or a mistake."

A guard nudged Ascha's shoulder. She looked down at the bonds around her wrists, and strode into her new life.

## Appendix A  
Pronunciation

**Appendix A:** Pronunciation of names and titles

The following words are the most difficult for English speakers to say. However, we are in luck in this circumstance because there is one linguist and historian from Caillte Saíocht, N'Taleah Sahli, with whom I have had the pleasure to speak. He has been generous enough to clear up many points of pronunciation and his help was invaluable in compiling this list. Any special notes appear after each word.

**Bose'quea-** bo- say- KAY- ah

**Caillte Saíocht** \- closest approximation: _KAYL- tə SEE- icht_

When pronouncing _Saíocht_ hold the first vowel _ee_ for twice as long as you would hold a regular vowel.

**Coinnigh í** \- closest approximation: _kin- ni GYEE_

The _gh_ sound is pronounced by holding your tongue where you would for a _k_ or _g_ and making a sound like an _h_. Hold the double consonant _nn_ and the vowel _í_ for an extra count.

**Dínaeia Gh'Dín-** closest approximation: _DEEN- ay- a gh- DEEN_

This word is exceedingly difficult to pronounce. As with the word above, the vowel 'í' sounds like _ee_ and is held for twice as long as you would hold a regular vowel in English. The _gh_ sound is pronounced by holding your tongue where you would for a _k_ or _g_ and making a sound like an _h_ —a very difficult sound for English speakers to make. If you can't get it, just make a hard _g_ sound like in English _gut_.

**Dolarum** \- closest approximation: _doe- lAH- rum_

The best way to break this down is as follows: the second syllable _ar_ and last _um_ receive relatively equal stress, however more than the first syllable, the _o_ has the value in _boat,_ the _a_ has the value in _father_ and the _r_ has the same value as in the Spanish word _pero_ or some English pronunciations of _button_ or _ladder_ where the middle consonant is replaced with a 'flap D' by rapidly touching the roof of your mouth with your tongue.

**Michaeyala** \- MICK- ay- ah- lah

**N'Dreyid** \- closest approximation: _nd- RAY- id_

Unfortunately, this word can never be authentically pronounced by English speakers, or speakers of any other known language save native speakers of Caillte Saíochtan. Luckily, however, N'Dreyid is such a ubiquitous character to Caillte Saíochtan lore that it is highly unlikely that anyone from Caillte would not know of whom you spoke if you use the above approximation. If that is too hard for you, you may drop the initial _n._ However, if you do this, make sure to hold the _d_ for an extra count to help avoid confusion.

**N'Sea** \- closest approximation: _ns- AY- ah_

Although the beginning sound has no equivalent in English, it is made by saying the two consonants in rapid succession as the _nc_ is pronounced in the English word _once_.

**N'Taleah Sahli-** nt- ahl- AY- ah SAH-lih

As with the previous word, the beginning sound of this name has no equivalent in English. The two consonants are said in rapid succession, with no vowel sound between them as in the English word _tint_.

**N'Tosea-** nt- oh- SAY- ah

See note for above.

**Nohtin** \- _NOE- ghtin_ or _NOE- tin_ if you cannot pronounce the first.

Here the _h_ is pronounced like the _gh_ from _Coinnigh_ above. It is made by holding your tongue where you would for a _k_ or _g_ and making a sound like an _h._

**Quey'sea-** kway- SAY- ah

## Appendix B  
Glossary (including Herbs)

Following is a glossary of many of the words and names familiar to the people of Caillte.

**Aklan** \- a tangy fruit found in southern Caillte, aklan very popular and prized in northern Caillte.

**Albia** \- a port city in the south of Caillte, Albia is known for being a trade hub.

**Amianus** \- a rather short plant with tiny fern-like leaves and delicate stems with miniscule white or pink flowers, amianus is known for its very light and delicate flavor.

**Antea** \- sprite of wind, Antea is often called upon to provide clarity during times of emotional turmoil.

**Bakayla-** the root of this plant is dried and roasted, then infused to make the very popular katcha drink. Bakayla is relatively easy to grow throughout Caillte Saíocht.

**Bay of Renaan-** This is the bay located near the school of T'Sala Un Sung. Not many, if any, ships use the bay for trade, due to the extreme weather conditions one is required to traverse. Traders default instead to use smaller craft on the N'Sea River, which allows them to encounter all of the populated areas along the way.

**Beriak-** a healing herb which is prevalent in most swampy and water-logged regions of Caillte, Beriak can be identified by its matted, moss-like appearance. Although its smell is repugnant to most, it helps cut the healing time of cuts by half or more, and scarring is virtually unheard of when Beriak is being used.

**Berrian Sahli-** famed historian and linguist N'Taleah Sahli's ancestor, he was responsible for the most commonly used map of Caillte Saíocht up until his descendant, N'Taleah, did further cartographic work.

**Bose'quea-** dryad and protector of trees., this spirit was much angered by the massive clearing undertaken by the Sanctum shortly after N'Dreyid became High Priestess. They had been undertaken in attempt to minimize rebel hiding places.

**Cabila** \- a potent herb with a very pungent odor, cabila is used throughout northern Caillte to flavor foods, mainly soups. It is good for digestion and is said to boost immunity.

**Caillte Saíocht** \- the land where _The Tower of Boran_ takes place; most often natives refer to the land simply as Caillte.

**Coinnigh í** \- a binding spell, this spell, or blessing, is known and used in most Caillte households.

**Deriak** \- a low-growing, matted herb, deriak is only common in the north of Caillte. Deriak is renowned for its healing abilities, when prepared as a poultice. Its flowers are so small that they are very difficult to see with the naked eye. The flowers are not used for identification, but rather the leaves and stems, since the leaves and stems grow in a very unique structure.

**Dínaeia Gh'Dín** \- spell used for blessing or protecting a household, one of the few old spells that has survived within the Sanctum Regime.

**Dolam** \- T'Sala title used to address students over ten seasons of age, when being addressed by someone of a different station or level of society.

**Dolarum** \- Sanctum title used for apprentices who are on the path to becoming priestesses, some linguists speculate that it was actually a linguistic evolution of "Dolam", a title used at the magickal training school of T'Sala Un Sung.

**Ituèn** \- a common, low-growing plant, ituèn is a ground-cover found throughout Caillte. It bears tiny purple flowers during the spring season, and has silver-green leaves that contrast nicely when it is in bloom.

**Kala Rekin** \- a magickal prison where powers are limited by the magickal barriers built into the very mortar and stone, only those that the authorities in Caillte are afraid of are sent to Kala Rekin. Its location is kept from most maps, further limiting chance of escape.

**Kalarth-** rare bush native to the mountainous regions of the north whose bark is highly prized for its ability to preserve food without altering its original flavor and which can only be harvested during a short window of time in the fall.

**Katcha-** Warm spiced drink, composed primarily of an infusion of bakayla root with regional spices. The drink is usually drunk during cooler weather throughout Caillte Saíocht.

**Krouak Dust** \- formed from ground stalks of the krouak reeds, krouak dust is a highly prized magickal ingredient. It is needed to perform moderate to high-level castings and enchantments, as well as to enter the deep meditative states required for communion with any of the gods or elements.

**Michaeyala** \- character of legend, who was encased beneath a veil of ice atop the Tower of Boran in her attempts to help bolster its light and protect Caillte. Some speculate, however, that Michaeyala was attempting to destroy the light of the Tower, but the High Priestess N'Dreyid found her first and that N'Dreyid always kept the topmost room of the Tower so she could ensure the strength of the crystal veil.

**N'Dreyid** \- the High Priestess of Caillte during the highest point of corruption of the Sanctum Regime, N'Dreyid does not pose a very favorable character in Caillte literature.

**N'Sea** \- the main river that runs south from the bay, N'Sea has many off-shoot tributaries. ( _See the map at the beginning of this book.)_

**N'Taleah Sahli-** descendent of Berrian Sahli, he was a famed historian and linguist.

**N'Tosea-** a fire sylph, also known as a fire elemental, not much is known about N'Tosea.

**Nohtin** \- a goddess of legend and lore that watched over the nights of Caillte, Nohtin protected the people by shedding her silver light over the night sky.

**Noshberi** \- a woody bush that blooms in early through late spring, the blossoms then produce the berries for which the plant is named. Its shiny green leaves have a heavy scent behind them and hold their color through all seasons. Berries are almost always white, though there are rumors of a red variety that has extreme magickal potency when the berries are ground.

**Ostrum** \- a pastry native to northern Caillte, ostrum is a pastry filled with a combination of potatoes, cheeses, and savory spices found in the north. The recipes for ostrum vary greatly from village to village, and family to family. Recipes for ostrum have been heavily guarded as family secrets. Most families are wont to give out even the spice blends they use, let alone the recipe they use for creating the entirety of the dish.

**Raygian** \- with its large serrated leaves, raygian is easy-to-identify. A very pleasant tisane, or tea, is made from its leaves, and sometimes its flowers. It is often found growing near, or under, noshberi bushes.

**Selian-** herb prevalent over most regions of Caillte, selian is most abundant in forest underbrush and groundcover. It is most easily recognized by its characteristic flowers which are small and five-pointed and have the appearance of stacking upon each other in a columnar fashion. The flowers are very sweet and often used to flavor food and beverages, but are also known for their magickal qualities and their ability to help induce meditative states and help the bearer focus magickal energies.

**Torrian'sey** \- more stem than leaf, most people from Caillte regard torrian'sey as a weed. Its small leaves and almost non-existent flowers make it easy to identify. Its spreading, prolific nature, and root system that can go up to twenty feet deep, also can make it difficult to re-locate. Once this plant has taken hold in an area, it usually does not like to let go.

**T'Sala Un Sung** \- sometimes referred to as simply T'Sala, T'Sala Un Sung is a Caillte school for the study of the magickal arts.

**Quey'sea** \- water spirit.

## Appendix C  
Herbal Notebook

**Amianus** \- a rather short plant with tiny fern-like leaves and delicate stems with miniscule white or pink flowers, amianus is known for its very light and delicate flavor.

**Bakayla-** the root of this plant is dried and roasted, then infused to make the very popular katcha drink. Bakayla is relatively easy to grow throughout Caillte Saíocht.

**Beriak-** a healing herb which is prevalent in most swampy and water-logged regions of Caillte, Beriak can be identified by its matted, moss-like appearance. Although its smell is repugnant to most, it helps cut the healing time of cuts by half or more, and scarring is virtually unheard of when Beriak is being used.

**Cabila** \- a potent herb with a very pungent odor, cabila is used throughout northern Caillte to flavor foods, mainly soups. It is good for digestion and is said to boost immunity.

**Deriak** \- a low-growing, matted herb, deriak is only common in the north of Caillte. Deriak is renowned for its healing abilities, when prepared as a poultice. Its flowers are so small that they are very difficult to see with the naked eye. The flowers are not used for identification, but rather the leaves and stems, since the leaves and stems grow in a very unique structure.

**Ituèn** \- a common, low-growing plant, ituèn is a ground-cover found throughout Caillte. It bears tiny purple flowers during the spring season, and has silver-green leaves that contrast nicely when it is in bloom.

**Krouak** \- a relatively rare type of simple reed, it grows near water and will tolerate growing in water, so long as it is not completely submerged. Krouak reeds will grow along river banks or in bogs along water edge where the water is shallow. The dust made from the ground stalks is a highly prized magickal ingredient, which is needed to perform moderate to high-level castings and enchantments, as well as to enter the deep meditative states required for communion with any of the gods or elements.

**Noshberi** \- a woody bush that blooms in early through late spring, the blossoms then produce the berries for which the plant is named. Its shiny green leaves have a heavy scent behind them and hold their color through all seasons. Berries are almost always white, though there are rumors of a red variety that has extreme magickal potency when the berries are ground.

**Kalarth-** rare bush native to the mountainous regions of the north whose bark is highly prized for its ability to preserve food without altering its original flavor and which can only be harvested during a short window of time in the fall.

**Raygian** \- with its large serrated leaves, raygian is easy-to-identify. A very pleasant tisane is made from its leaves, and sometimes its flowers. It is often found growing near, or under, noshberi bushes.

**Selian-** herb prevalent over most regions of Caillte, selian is most abundant in forest underbrush and groundcover. It is most easily recognized by its characteristic flowers which are small and five-pointed and have the appearance of stacking upon each other in a columnar fashion. The flowers are very sweet and often used to flavor food and beverages, but are also known for their magickal qualities and their ability to help induce meditative states and help the bearer focus magickal energies.

**Torrian'sey** \- more stem than leaf, most people from Caillte regard torrian'sey as a weed. Its small leaves and almost non-existent flowers make it easy to identify. Its spreading, prolific nature, and root system that can go up to twenty feet deep, also can make it difficult to re-locate. Once this plant has taken hold in an area, it usually does not like to let go.

##  About the Author

 Shauna Scheets lives with her husband, beautiful baby boy, and two dogs. She spends her free time—when it can be found—creating fantastical stories, learning languages (both human and computer), creating artwork in all forms, gardening and spending time with her husband in Boise, Idaho.

She has been writing since she was a child, but started the stories of _The Caillte Cycle_ when she was in her mid-teens. She has several more for the series planned in the near future.

