Callum woke up with a headache, rubbing his head with a grimace. There were too many complications to sort out, his only coherent thought about the emotional and mental bombardment the night before being why? He thought about how this all could have been prevented. When that mirror had been sitting in his office, he'd been so curious about it that it haunted every waking hour he had. All he wanted was to unlock the mystery of the mirror, the runes, what made it seem so special to him.

If he'd known…

Maybe he could make sure it never happened again. Aaravos would never be an alluring mystery to another mage if the truth was out there.

Callum opened his spell book and started writing by the breakfast cooking fire, quill etching down everything Zubeia had said about Aaravos in feverish, desperate strokes. He added in everything else he knew, from the corruption of the Sunfire Forge to his attempt to absorb Zym's life force through Viren.

Finished with a full spread of pages, he leaned back with an exhausted but satisfied sigh, finally able to see all of the truth at once.

Callum gasped.

Ink seeped through the back of the pages as if spilled. It spread, darkness consuming all he'd written until it even blotted out the page margins. He'd seen this before in the library in historical tomes, but even then, the curse was still in place?

He tore the pages out of his book with a screamed sob of frustration. Ezran, Rayla, and Soren turned towards him as he threw the pages in the fire, watching them burn. Bait hiccuped. Ezran looked from Bait to Callum, translating, "You okay? Is it math?"

Callum watched the blackened pages curl and smoke in the fire, saturating ink hissing as it steamed. "I was thinking that I could write down everything about Aaravos, so no one will ever fall for his schemes again."

Rayla sighed. "I guess Aaravos doesn't want anyone to know about him. We see why."

Without thinking, Callum echoed Aaravos from the night before. "No, he likes attention too much to erase himself from history."

She smiled ruefully, shaking her head. "Yeah, that's probably true. The dragons probably never thought anyone would get that mirror—"

"Yes, their arroganceknows no bounds." Callum bared his teeth with a snarl, hissing as he threw his book aside. "It is our history to know. It is humans he favored, he preyed on, he used, and humans who are kept from knowledge to inform our choices! Look where it got us!"

Silence.

His companions were staring with more horror than concern. Callum took a couple of deep breaths, putting his head in his hands. He'd sounded so much like him. "I'm sorry. I just- I just feel helpless. What about our future? What if it happens again?"

"It won't," assured Rayla.

"I'm kinda with Callum on this one," admitted Soren. "I mean, my dad is pretty intense, but if he had found out somewhere that Aaravos was like, Aaravos: Guy Who Will Totally Betray You, I don't think he would've done what he did."

Callum didn't chime in with his own thoughts on that. Had Aaravos ever betrayed Viren?

He questioned how much he even knew about Viren anyway. Soren's eyes darted off to the side after talking about his father and Callum's chest ached. Sure, Soren put on a brave face, but it couldn't have been easy being on a different side than his family. Soren implied that the mirror had changed Viren, but had it? Was Viren a good man who occasionally did bad things, or was he inherently evil, and he occasionally proved able to be kind?

Callum didn't know. Soren didn't know either.

No monsters, just people.

Why erase everything? "Do you think there was like… something in there nobody was supposed to know?" Callum wondered. "If there was something in there that would make someone want to free him, I mean. Like if it wasn't all bad. That makes sense, keep the truth hidden so no one wants him out."

Ezran frowned. "Callum, we all saw what he did to you. There was nothing good to hide."

From Ezran, that was especially damning. If Callum hadn't spoken with Aaravos lately, he would've agreed.

Aaravos had apologized, but Callum kept that to himself.

Aaravos had been righteously angry on his behalf over his mother's death, but Callum kept that to himself.

Aaravos had a point, but Callum kept that to himself.

They had another long hike that day on the way to the coast, and Callum felt more and more uncertain.

-BREAK-

Aaravos was waiting for him as usual. Callum stood silently, unsure what to say. Aaravos raised his eyebrows. "Well? No shouting? No trying to drive me away?"

Callum felt defeated. He imagined a small pebble in his mind space so he could kick it dejectedly. "It hasn't worked, has it? You just won't leave."

"So glad we've come to an understanding." Aaravos bowed slightly. "I would rather have your bad company when you're at your worst than spend any more time alone. Selfish of me, isn't it?"

He'd almost forgotten Aaravos's circumstances. Was the highlight of Aaravos's day really speaking with someone who insisted he was his sworn enemy? Was Callum the only reason why Aaravos wasn't slipping into madness? This was supposed to be a life sentence, effectively a death penalty. "How are you, um, so calm about this, actually?"

Aaravos shrugged. "I am patient, and I am furious. But not with you." He did something Callum hated, which was to give him a fond, kind look. "I could never be with you."

"We don't have to redo last night, but why? No matter what you teach me, or how nice you try to be, I'm not on your side."

"That's alright."

"Do you think you're going to turn me?"

"To what?"

Callum gestured wildly. "I don't know, to darkness or something!"

Aaravos tapped his chin, thoughtful. "Hm, no, you seem quite resistant to darkness. There is only a sliver of it in you, and your true gifts are so much more than that. I will not teach you Dark Magic. I wish to pass on Ancient Draconic and primal magic. I wish for you to know your heritage, to reclaim what humans have lost. I wish to give you what no human has been able to receive for centuries: full mastery over your arcanum."

It was, truthfully, everything Callum wanted. He wasn't a power-hungry human dark mage, but Aaravos still possessed everything he wanted to know along with stuff he didn't even know he had wanted to know. Humanity's heritage, stored in the mind of an ancient elf? His resolve to keep kicking up a fuss was fading, but as Aaravos pointed out, he was already gifted. "I already know my arcanum, and I received teaching under Ibis, a sky mage."

"Yes, you've done well." Aaravos approached him, staring into Callum's eyes. Callum instinctively took a step back, but Aaravos kept talking. "You can use the arcanum you're connected to, but I mean for you to know it even better. There is no greater proof of knowing something inside and out than the ability to teach it to another. You must be able to pass on your knowing of an arcanum to others."

"Uhhhh."

Talk about a tall order.

"Yes, how fitting." Aaravos closed his eyes, a nostalgic smile on his face. "The first human primal mage in centuries is connected to the sky, breaking free of the rules and assumptions that have bound others to think they cannot rise. How much of our limits are mental, and how much are due to inborn talent or a lack thereof? I say the latter doesn't exist. The elves born connected to a primal source almost never bother looking past their own nose. I say it's nearly a detriment."

"I can't just talk someone into learning an arcanum." Callum felt he was about to disappoint Aaravos, but he had to be honest. There was no point in losing sleep over chasing the impossible. "I tried to explain how the sky arcanum worked to a friend, and all I got was a blank stare."

"Hmmhmm. Not everyone can do what we have done."

It was a touch of shame and pride that Callum was on Aaravos's level in some manner. He thought back to what Aaravos's mix of all arcana had felt like, how everything was so vivid, detailed, rich, and all too much for Callum to handle, let alone use. "You're not saying elves could learn another arcanum aside from the one they're born with, right? Or that humans like me can just pick one up? That would be…"

"Dark Magic was only a quick solution to a dire need. If humans had no need for it, because they could be taught an arcanum, wouldn't the world be a better place?"

It seemed like a circle of thought Aaravos had walked many times, but Callum listened anyway.

Aaravos pressed on, turning and pacing, the motion eerily similar to what he'd done in Callum's body, hands behind his back, long strides wandering back and forth at a determined gait. "I am not so small minded to think it ends there. Have you noticed how the elves all live in their own little nations? They all used to live together, until they began connecting to different arcana. Then, they split apart and have only become more different, more segregated. Ugh. And they think themselves better than humans, who have needed to learn to all get along, regardless of background? Their supposed differences are superficial, arbitrary! No two Moonshadow elves are totally alike, yet they usually stay huddled in their hidden villages. Tidebound elves have legs with which to walk, but they stay in their ocean. Humans and elves used to be neighbors. All of us had our tensions, but we lived together. All magic comes from a common source, yet this world has forgotten it!"

Callum widened his eyes. "It what?"

"Proto-magic," explained Aaravos. "Energy is energy, yes? It matters not what form it takes, it is energy. The same is said for magic. The term "primal force" implies that magic originates from said source, but it's more like it became specialized, concentrated, associated with that source." He stopped pacing and waved his hand, making a moving line in the air, undulating and glowing. Callum leaned forward, keen interest showing on his face as Aaravos continued his lecture. "See this? It's motion, energy. If it takes the form of the wind across a field of grain, does it change? How about on the surface of the sea? How about as the very sounds you're hearing? How about as steam rising from a cup of hot tea, or even a fire burning and its flames dancing in the air?"

He'd never thought of them being the same before, but Callum could understand the concept. "I see, I think. Proto-magic is like this?"

"Yes."

Callum could use sky magic because he saw the world as one large primal stone. The same, then, must be the same for every source. "So, if the planet is a primal stone for every source, it's because really, every source started off as the same?"

"You're getting there, yes. That's the root of it."

A few minutes had already yielded so many breakthroughs in Callum's mind that he didn't know where to begin. Theoretically, it wouldn't be impossible to learn any arcanum he wanted, understanding their connection. "Then… what's been stopping others from learning more than what they were born connected to?"

Aaravos sighed, folding his hands. "It's a tremendous undertaking to grow out of your comfort zone, to expand your mind. Many elves spend much of their lives honing their own arcanum. For you, your connection to the sky is already a miracle. You may be able to learn another, though."

Callum narrowed his eyes. "But you know all six."

"Yes, being me has its advantages."

Callum supposed Aaravos wasn't called a Great One for nothing. "So, we don't all have to be limited to what we think we have, but we still have limits."

"Essentially. I admit, I'm curious as to how you had your breakthrough."

He thought back to the dreams of the stormy seas and becoming a sail on a sailboat. Some of it was too silly to repeat. "Well, I wasn't alone in figuring it out. There was this blind sailor who helped me."

Aaravos blinked. "Blind?"

"Yes. He was an expert though. He could steer through the most treacherous rocks in the worst storm you can imagine. It was like he had a connection to the winds and sky itself."

Dawning comprehension rose on Aaravos's face, an almost comical look of surprise. "There's another human primal mage out there?"

"No, no. He isn't a mage. He just called it sailing sense," Callum explained.

Aaravos nodded eagerly. It was a startling departure from Aaravos as Callum had grown to see him, another emotion to add to the sides of Aaravos that he'd seen. It reminded Callum of himself when he found a new book to read. "Yes, I see. It's a connection, but without the academic knowledge. No spells, no runes, no way to describe it but in layman's terms. That must be it- dormant connections, held back by a lack of knowledge." Callum watched as the epiphany worked through Aaravos, the elf's hands flying to his head as he paced again, eyes wild with glee. "Of course over time people would figure it out! Not magic, sailing sense. Not magic, but an uncanny knack for knowing when to plant and harvest, even better than the almanacs. Not magic, but a magician's sleight of hand that's just a little too good. Not magic, but a keen sense of truth, of understanding others, yet being able to warm a room with the same revealing light."

Sun arcanum.

Ezran.

Callum had to bite his tongue to not shout his brother's name. Aaravos didn't seem to notice. In fact, it was almost as if Aaravos had completely forgotten about him. He seemed far away, lost in the possibilities, eyes glazed over. He looked deliriously hopeful. In fact, Aaravos was so overcome that he put his face in his hands and started to bawl.

He wasn't good at handling people who were crying. Callum especially wasn't good at handling an ancient, powerful, otherworldly elf sobbing so hard his shoulders shook.

Callum couldn't bring himself to hate Aaravos anymore.

Callum couldn't turn his heart to stone.

Callum couldn't be someone he wasn't.

If this was to be his undoing, so be it.

"Hey." Callum approached Aaravos the way he would a wounded, feral, frightened animal, slowly and cautiously. He reached out, palm hovering over Aaravos's shoulder. "Is this okay?" Aaravos seemed confused at what he was asking, but then gave a slight nod, composure still broken.

Callum gently laid his hand on Aaravos's shoulder and Aaravos flinched. Uh oh. Callum went to pull away but Aaravos got one choked word out. "Don't." Callum stayed.

Maybe he should've done more, but it still seemed to help. Every passing minute felt agonizingly long. Eventually, Aaravos calmed down and took both of Callum's hands in his. He knelt, tear stained face gazing up at Callum's, squeezing his hands in his.

"Let me teach you all I can. Let me give you all I can, so you can someday empower others. Let some of the tragedies I have witnessed and the isolation I have suffered not been for nothing."

A week ago, Callum wouldn't have believed that he'd willingly utter his next words.

"Yes." He was confident, his heart telling him it was the right thing to do. "Starting now, I'm your apprentice."