Pavo woke up the next morning, forgetting what had transpired the day before for a moment. Sunlight shone through the window and warmed her body, making her hesitate to move out of her content state. But, knowing that Aquila would be knocking on her door soon to wake her up, she reluctantly rose out of bed and stretched her limbs.

She noticed in the corner of her eye that her javelin, which she usually kept in the corner of her room, was not there. Then the memories of yesterday came rushing forth, instantly sapping her energy.

Leaning back on her bed, she breathed deeply and exhaled. Well, first thing's first. I need to talk to Taregan, and since the Yggdrasil tree told me to learn from him, does that mean he knows? But if he doesn't, then I don't want him to know. For some reason, she didn't want anyone to know about her power. It just felt like she could distance herself from it if others didn't know. Even Aquila. I guess I'll find out.

Pavo prepared for the day, and just as she finished putting on her earrings, Aquila knocked on the door. She smoothed down a stray hair and opened the door.

Aquila held out her weapon, its metal point and chain gleaming. "Here you go. But you won't need it today; you'll be staying here."

"Why's that?" she asked, although she wasn't really surprised; the Yggdrasil tree had said that she would learn from Taregan today. Who knew how much it could influence?

"The doctors think that Falk shouldn't go to the Protectorate, because of his injury. Apus Major also thinks that today would be a good day for other Celestrians to go for training. So, you get to take a break today." He explained.

"Ok. You can go on ahead; I'm going to put this in my room."

"Alright. See you this afternoon then." After he left, Pavo returned to her room and placed her javelin in its usual spot. Closing the door behind her, she walked down the hallway and briefly into the outside air to reach the Center Room. She examined the area to see if anyone else was still there. One Celestrian still remained, chatting with Taregan. Pavo waited in the shadows until he left, which luckily only took a few minutes. She didn't like being so secretive around her kind, but it felt necessary.

She approached Taregan, who turned to her with a friendly smile. "Hey there, Pavo. Aren't you and Falk supposed to stay in the Observatory today?"

"Yes, but I want to ask you something." She paused.

"Yes?" he prompted.

"Um…" she paused, wishing she had thought how to start this conversation earlier.

"Does it have something to do with your portals?" he asked.

"So you do know…"

"Of course. Remember, I am able to connect with your inner magic, and yours is similar to mine. Except much stronger. I noticed it in you the first time you went through the Portal."

"Then can you tell me about it? Like how to use it?"

"I can help you, although you are a bit different from me. It's really not that hard once you understand how to do it." He said. Pavo listened intently, not wanting to miss a word.

"You see, I channel the power from the Portal into myself, and am able to use it how I want. But I think that you don't need any power; I believe that it is already inside you. Anyway, the basic idea is that you have to connect to two or three things using your inner magic, and then will it to move from one point to another.

"First, you need to be able to sense the inner magic of the earth itself. That's how you are able to sense where someone will go, and then focus in on a certain location. Close your eyes and don't think of anything. Just stand still and cast out your mind to the Observatory." He instructed.

Pavo obliged and closed her eyes. She searched with her mind, trying to keep any other thoughts out of her head. For what felt like an eternity, but was only a few minutes, she found something. It wasn't like any other sense she could describe; it felt like something pulsing with information, giving her an idea of the entire Observatory. A sense of being. She opened her eyes, content with what she had found.

"Good, looks like you did it. Now, you need to connect with a person's inner magic. It's not much different, but it is a bit harder to keep linked. Try it on me." He offered. Pavo did the same thing as with the Observatory, and found it just as easily. But it was different; it throbbed with constantly swirling emotions and shifting thoughts. The complexity of it made it hard to focus, but she managed to hold on until Taregan's voice broke her concentration.

"Good job. If you plan on just transporting yourself, then you only have to focus on the place you want to go. Everyone is naturally connected to their inner magic; if you weren't, then you wouldn't be able to even think.

"Now, the last thing you need to do is to transport the person to where you want them to go. But this is where I can't help you."

"Why not?" she questioned.

"You see, I get my power from the Portal, which means I can only transport through that Portal. But you have your own power, which I think you have to somehow summon yourself to create a portal. I don't know how you're supposed to do that, though." He answered regretfully.

"No, it's fine." Pavo responded. "You've helped me enough. I'm sure I can figure it out. Oh, and could you keep this a secret? I'd rather not let anyone else know."

"Sure, no problem." Taregan smiled again, happy to be of help. "Just keep practicing, and eventually you won't even have to think about it."

"Thanks. See you tomorrow, Taregan."

"Bye."

Pavo walked out of the Center Room and downstairs into the main area of the Observatory. Her new knowledge left her wondering, and trying to think of a way to create a portal. She had done it before, when she was almost hit by a Clawcerer's attack. She tried to remember what she could, but it had all happened completely by accident, and didn't get her any closer to figuring out how she did it. And not to mention she was supposed to be able to create portals between worlds.

She returned her attention to her surroundings to turn west, toward the dormitory. Before she could take another step, a sneering voice spoke from behind her.

"So, it's the little pheasant."

I hope the explanation about the portals wasn't too confusing, since it's going to be pretty important as the story goes on. Well, I hope you enjoyed and please review!