Chapter 4

Studying was as boring as Fan-Min expected it to be. There was nothing in her spellbooks or scrolls that she didn't already know. The arcane just seemed to be second-nature for her.

Fan-Huang, however, had a very different experience every evening in the library. He read through the texts that his teachers gave him and found that very little of it actually made much sense.

The evening went by with Fan-Huang sighing endlessly as he struggled to grasp the intricate spellweaving it took to craft spells like the top-class arcane users crafted. It made him feel rather useless. He sighed again.

"Would you please stop that." Fan-Min snarled. She was short-tempered naturally. Placing her in a library to study that which she already understood and thought to be a waste of time only shortened her fuse even more.

"Sorry." Fan-Huang sighed. Fan-Min's eyes narrowed into a fierce glare. "I just don't understand this stuff."

"Like I always say, you really have no business studying here. You're not cut out to be a sorcerer."

"Maybe you're right." Fan-Huang agreed.

Kazur dropped his book. "Hold on, now. Let's not jump to overly self-deprivating conclusions." Kazur looked back and forth between the young siblings with disappointment. "Just because you're a natural at this doesn't mean you don't benefit from some studying." Fan-Min rolled her eyes. "And just because it doesn't all make sense to you right away doesn't mean you don't belong here. Look how far you've come from when you first got here, Kid."

"Yeah, but none of this is making any sense." Fan-Huang wallowed.

"Come here." Kazur patted the table next to him. Fan-Huang scooted his chair over next to his giant friend. "What are you studying?"

Fan-Huang tried to explain that he was studying the spellweaving behind the arcane art "Nova", a lightning spell that sends out a wave of highly focused electrical energy in a circle from the caster. However, Fan-Huang couldn't begin to understand how anyone understood these stupid scrolls, or even more, how Isendra could apparently cast these spells in an instant, with no apparent difficulty. Some people had all the talent.

"Ah, elemental spells are tricky." Kazur began. "That's why they start you on plain arcane abilities here. It's more basic. Once you start adding natural elements into a spell, the spellweaving gets much more complicated." Kazur spent the entire evening devoting his time to tutoring Fan-Huang on elemental spells. Fan-Min spent her time watching everyone else in the library. She couldn't help but look down at them. They all struggled so hard and not one of them even came close to her talent level, not to mention the talent level of Li-Ming, Tal Rasha, or Isendra.

As night came, Kazur and Fan-Huang settled into their dorm. Kazur removed his clothing and climbed into bed. "Are you staying up?" He asked as he settled in.

"Yeah." Fan-Huang said as he removed his shirt and settled onto his bed. "I'm gonna' study on this elemental stuff a bit more."

"Suit yourself, Kid." Kazur sighed and rested his head on his pillow. "But I really think it'll make more sense if you just sleep on it."

"Maybe I'll go ask Fan-Min for help."

"Don't let the teachers or guards catch you." Kazur warned with little investment.

"Yeah, yeah..." Fan-Huang said as he gathered his stuff up and headed out the door.

The night was a quiet one, as most were at the isolated Yshari Sanctum, totally secluded in the desert beyond Caldeum. He snuck through the courtyard that separated the male dorms from the female dorms and marveled at how bright the moon was in the open night sky. It illuminated the courtyard well enough that Fan-Huang had absolutely no trouble seeing in the dark.

He crept through the female dorms to his sister's room. She lived alone because none of the other girls wanted to room with her. They described her as a "stuck up menace to the Yshari Sanctum". Fan-Huang laughed at the thought. He couldn't argue with the girls. Fan-Min certainly didn't waste any breath on pleasantries. Rather, she'd be more inclined to insult you until she was blue in the face.

When he arrived at her door, he gave the secret knock that he always used to let her know it was him. After just a few seconds the door opened just a crack. Fan-Huang pressed it open the rest of the way to find his sister totally dressed in her arcane robes and packing.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

"I'm leaving." She said plainly.

"What?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Where would she leave to? They were in the middle of the desert. There were rumors of demons everywhere with the lesser evils wreaking havoc on the lands. Why would she want to leave?

"I'm not learning anything here. I'm wasting my life." She explained in a frustrated voice. "I need to find Li-Ming. I need to be taught by someone capable of challenging me. I need to be the most powerful arcane user in the land."

"You need to be?"

"Yes." She hissed. Fan-Huang knew she was serious, despite it sounding ludicrous. However, he knew that she had a chance at being at least, one of the most powerful sorceresses known.

"But if you leave before graduation you won't be assigned a faction." He explained.

"So?"

"So?" Fan-Huang gasped like she was being unreasonable. "That means you'd be labeled a renegade wizard!"

"Keep you voice down!" Fan-Min shushed him with a glare.

"Being a renegade wizard is as bad as being a demon in the eyes of the Yshari Sanctum!"

"Yeah, and most the rest of the world too." Fan-Min apparently knew exactly what she was doing. "That didn't stop Li-Ming."

"You're not Li-Ming."

"That's the problem." Fan-Min snarled. "I'm trapped here like some prisoner. I want to be out like Li-Ming. I want to be powerful. I want to be free to use my magic as I choose."

"Li-Ming is hunted by the Yshari Sanctum."

"She's also saving lives from the likes of demons."

"Is that what you think you're going to do?" Fan-Huang couldn't picture his sister fighting for the good of the weak. She'd sooner step on the weak to reach whatever lofty goal she set for herself.

"And why not?" Fan-Min asked. "It's not like I'm entirely heartless. I didn't burn you earlier when I could have, did I?"

"Well, no..."

"Then why can't I save people?" She raised a good question.

"Because..." He had no good reason. He just couldn't imagine living at the Sanctum without Fan-Min. She was the only blood-family he had. She couldn't leave. "Because I need you here."

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do." Fan-Haung said again.

"Kazur can teach you just as well as I can. You're stuck on children's magic. Anyone could teach it to you."

"It's not that I need you to teach me." He walked up to his sister and grabbed her hand. "You're my little sister. You're my only family. I need you. What would I have without you?"

"Kazur." Fan-Min said plainly. "He loves you. You're like his little brother."

"And you're my little sister."

"And as your little sister, I'm leaving. You can either come with me, or stay behind." Fan-Min tightened up her packed bag and looked her older brother in the eyes. "I'm not staying here."

Fan-Huang looked at her determined eyes. "That's your choice?" He asked. "I can't talk you out of it?"

"Come with me."

He sighed. He hated this. Why couldn't he just stay here? With Fan-Min and Kazur. But he couldn't leave his sister. She needed him, just like he needed her, whether she knew it or not. "Fine. Let me pack my bags."

"Fine, but hurry." She instructed. He turned for the door. "And don't tell anyone!" He ran to his room and got dressed in his arcane robes. Kazur lay sprawled out on his bed, snoring like a sleeping giant. Fan-Huang looked at him affectionately. He was going to miss him. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving him without even saying goodbye.

He quickly pulled out a blank scroll and pen and wrote out a quick explanation of what was going on. He told him how much he loved him and hated to leave him, but he needed to watch over his sister or she would certainly mouth-off to the wrong person and find herself in a lot of trouble.

When he was done, he finished packing and placed the note lightly on Kazur's large chest. He knew Kazur would find it and he figured he wouldn't take it well. Actually, Fan-Huang was hoping he wouldn't. In his heart, he yearned for Kazur to follow him, to find him and Fan-Min, and continue to mentor them as their older brother.

With a sigh, he returned to Fan-Min. Together, they snuck to the front gate. It was not difficult for Fan-Min to silently subdue the two guards keeping watch. Her magical abilities were beyond impressive, especially for someone as young as her.

Together they stood outside the front gate and looked out into the bare desert. The sands rolled off the dunes and large bones resting across the landscape. The horrifying growls and screams of demons and prey echoed through the wind. Fan-Huang looked back at the inner cloister of the Yshari Sanctum and felt his heart pound rapidly in his chest. This was it. He was leaving and entering into a world he had only heard terrifying stories of. All of it while leaving his newfound older brother behind. He glanced over at Fan-Min. She stared out to the desert, not once looking back, wearing an eager smirk on her lips. She was ready. Fan-Huang was not so sure of himself.

Without a word, they ventured out. As they walked into the night, the sands covered their footprints hastily, leaving no trace that the two renegade wizards had ever passed through.