Callum wakes to the sound of rain pattering against the roof of the small cave they're sheltering in.
"Morning," Rayla says, hiding a yawn behind one hand.
"Morning," Callum says groggily. "How much farther until we're past this place?"
"Too far," Rayla groans, rubbing at her eyes. Zym makes a noise of agreement, hiding his face under a wing. The dragon looks tired too, yawning widely.
Like Callum, Rayla's begun to develop dark circles beneath her eyes. No one has been getting much sleep.
"Have I mentioned that I'm really glad you don't do dark magic," Rayla says, "Cause I get the feeling we'd be worse off if you were."
"You think the nightmares would be worse," Callum says flatly.
"Aye," Rayla says with a shudder.
"What do you dream about?" Callum asks.
"Water," Rayla says, and there is a kind of horror in her gaze that makes Callum wish he hadn't asked at all. "You?"
"I dreamed I was on a cliff, and I had to do something horrible," Callum whispers. He can still see it, the moon rising high above him, glinting off silvery horns and hear the awful sound of a voice raised in terrible pain, an agony so great that it would shake the stars in their heavens.
Rayla says nothing, but her mouth firms into a thin line. "We have got to get past this place."
Zym whines, hopping into Rayla's lap, nudging at her shoulder.
"Yeah, I know," she says, patting his head. "I'm tired of the dreams too."
It's two nights later, when Callum decides to cast the spell to keep nightmares away. There's been no moon that he can see before then.
Zym eyes him curiously and Callum lays a finger to his lips. "It's just something I learned to keep the nightmares away," he whispers. "I want to see if it works first."
He carries Mom's pendant out into the moonlight that pools silver-white onto the ground outside their camp, the moon rising full, a brilliant white sphere hanging in the ebony sky.
"Ne tenebris somniorum," Callum whispers, and feels the pendant grow warm in his hands, a dim glow about the jagged horn. "Ne tenebris somniorum," he repeats, over and over, like Aaravos had said to.
It's not so much a weight in his hands that tells him that the spell is complete, but a sense of quiet serenity that settles over him, a warmth that reminds him of Mom's hugs, and strangely enough of Aaravos's hugs as well.
He sits there in the moonlight for a long time after, turning the pendant in his hands, admiring the craftsmanship.
Mom had said that his birth father had made it for her in place of a wedding ring.
Callum wonders what kind of creature he had taken the horn from.
Then there is a tap on his shoulder and Callum shrieks, almost dropping the pendant in surprise.
Rayla's laughter shatters the night, and Callum glares at where he thinks she is, given that he can't really see where she is. It is the full moon after all and moonshadow elves are nigh impossible to see beneath its light, as he learned.
"You should have seen your face!" Rayla howls. "Oh, that was good!"
"Geez Rayla!" Callum hisses, his heart thudding in his chest, almost painful. He's pretty sure she scared a few years off his lifespan.
"Gotta get my fun somewhere," Rayla says and the ground beside him shifts slightly as Callum thinks she's sat down. "You didn't wake me for my watch."
"Thought you could get some sleep," Callum says.
"Mmm," Rayla says. "Whatcha got there?"
"It's my mom's," Callum says quietly. "My birth dad gave it to her as a wedding present. I inherited it when she died."
Rayla is quiet. "Did you know him well? Your birth dad, I mean?"
"No," Callum says, "Mom said he died before I was born. She said that he'd protected her and me, but died in the process. She didn't like to talk about it."
Callum doesn't even know his father's name.
"Callum..." Rayla says softly and pauses. "Umm...you've got...um...diamonds on your face..."
"What?" Callum asks.
"Diamonds," Rayla whispers and then her fingers are poking his face, a faint pressure across his cheekbones. "Right there."
She holds up a mirror that seems to float midair.
And across his cheekbones, in the light of the full moon, white diamonds glow.
Aaravos turns another page of his book, reading before the roaring hearth. There are many spells that he can teach Callum, but he wants to find simpler ones, beginner's as it were.
Building a...what had he called it? A magic guide for beginners?
Yes, that was it.
Aaravos laughs softly at the memory.
Callum is quite eager to learn, to devour any knowledge he can get his hands on.
He's rather like Elarion in that regard, Aaravos thinks. Oh so eager to learn.
But Aaravos remembers too well how that desire for knowledge led Elarion to darkness, to rip his heart from his chest in her pursuit for power, leaving him to die.
I'm sorry, she had whispered and fled.
It had been another elf who had found him, who had saved his life...though it had been many long months before he could stand and even then it was before a council of elves, who had found him guilty for teaching Primal magic to humans, for aiding, however unknowingly, in the creation of dark magic.
Aaravos pushes aside those dark memories, and focuses on compiling a list of simple spells for Callum.
He already knows two Primal spells for Stars, one for Sky…
Aaravos hums thoughtfully, perhaps one for the Moon, as they had been discussing the Primal Source the night before.
He considers the vast array of spells he knows...Nos celare, a spell to conceal oneself and allies if needed. Callum had said he and his friend were traveling.
The ability to hide while on the move is invaluable, especially when moving through what is more or less enemy territory.
There is the scuff of boots against stone, and Aaravos looks up to find Callum standing there, eyes wide.
Across his face, beneath his bright green eyes, stars blaze an iridescent white.
"Help?" Callum whispers.