The statue of Aaravos in the Royal Library was more than a decoration. Callum watched as people walked up to the flame in his palm and lit their own candles or lanterns with it. Evenere needed the extra light even during the day on foggy mornings. Every other spark of light in the library originated from that one flame, a gift to them all.
It was hard to blame anyone for looking up to him, considering that he was helping people.
Aaravos had declared that he'd be holding magic classes a couple times a week, the first one that night. In the meantime, he resumed his role as a healer, not having to hide how he could wield sun and star magic to heal others. He'd set up a tent in the largest square down in the nearest village, drawing a crowd for his miracles. Callum understood he meant to go around and visit all of Evenere. Aaravos was truly acting as the friend to all humans.
It was exactly how Callum had hoped Aaravos would be, using his abilties to help rather than hurt people.
It was the following he still found Weird.
Callum and the rest of their traveling band had gotten an imparted divine aura from Aaravos, touched by his halo. Everyone seemed to want to know who he was as a person— Callum was tempted to respond that he wished he knew too.
Viren had gotten perhaps the most pointed questions, given his relationship to Aaravos. Callum had overheard the exchange at breakfast that morning, almost choking on his tea.
"So…" A few people had gathered around Viren, shy about their intentions but readable in them.
Viren raised his eyebrows. "Yes?"
"What's it like? Being with him."
Viren considered it heavily, starstruck eyes on him, the room silent as they hung on his response. "He's…"
The gaggle of people around him held their breath-
"...annoying."
The only person who seemed to take to the situation naturally was Sir Sparklepuff, who spent his days eating all the bugs he wanted and napping wherever he wanted, letting his adorers give him blankets or snacks whenever they found him.
Callum shook his head, focusing again, realizing he'd been staring mindlessly at the Aaravos statue. He had a job to do. Without the real Aaravos available, the library was the next best teacher.
He had to beat Claudia in their duel.
It wasn't just for his own pride, but for the sake of primal magic itself. With darkmages everywhere, he felt he had to prove that primal magic was better, the right way to use magic. Callum wandered between the shelves, looking for tomes that may give him an extra edge, a new spell he hadn't known before. He was especially green when it came to moon magic.
Another figure drifted past his view and Callum narrowed his eyes.
Claudia.
Maybe she'd gotten the same idea.
Did she know? She must, he reasoned.
Claudia spotted him too. She walked backwards, arms full of tomes. "Wow, fancy seeing you here!" She smiled, but it was more mocking than anything else. "Wonder why you're in the library so early, huh?"
"Yeah, I wonder." Callum folded his arms.
"You could give up now," suggested Claudia. "Aaravos knows how powerful I am. Save yourself the public embarrassment."
"You wish." Callum narrowed his eyes, jabbing a finger in the direction of the tomes in her arms. "You sure you're so much stronger than I am? Looks like panic to me."
"Well, I'd be reading up on all I could anyway, even without fighting you later." Claudia shrugged. "It's your own worldview you're limiting."
That wasn't right.
"I've researched every kind of magic, including dark magic!" retorted Callum. "You don't have the element of surprise you think you do."
Claudia was actually surprised. "Oh. You actually went through all the tomes we left behind."
Shame coursed through Callum, starting at his chest and flooding the rest of him, like falling through the sky without wings.
He'd thought about burning those tomes. He hated how dark magic made him feel. He hated the look on Lujanne's face when she'd spoke of it as the abomination he also thought it was. He hated how he kept wishing he could take it all back and not have ever used it, and yet every time he imagined Rayla in danger he knew he wouldn't have done it differently. Even though it had forged a connection that had allowed him to turn Aaravos off his warpath, at least for a time, the connection between them used to terrify him. He remembered asking Rayla to kill him should it ever grow deeper, rather dead than out of himself, out of his own control.
What would Rayla think if she knew the rest?
He hated that over the past couple of years he'd read all of those tomes, alone, late into the night, spells saved in his mind at a moment's recall, a perfect student of anything he'd ever read.
For emergencies.
For knowing how to fight a dark mage.
So he told himself.
"Know your enemy," he replied, turning away.
Claudia snorted.
In an effort to get away from Claudia, Callum left the magic section altogether. He found himself among shelves of poetry. It would be nice to relax, grab a book and find an alcove to forget his troubles for awhile.
Srisha seemed to magically appear at his side, eyeing the same shelf he was.
"If you want poetry bad enough to vanquish your enemy's ears, you won't find it here."
"Oh, um." Callum rubbed the back of his head. "I'm just browsing."
"Uh huh. What's on your mind?" Srisha didn't wait for him to respond. "Magic?"
"Yes, I—"
"No, it isn't," she interrupted. The diadem seemed to glint, mocking Callum. "Boyfriend? Girlfriend?"
Oh, this was terrifying. "Well, it's complicated, she and I aren't really—"
Srisha pulled a book from the shelf, placing it in Callum's hands. Poems to Confess Your Love.
Callum blanched. "I mean, we were dating, but—"
"I see." Another book landed in his arms on top of the other one. Apologize With Poetry: Bonus Section, Apologize For Using Poetry to Apologize.
"She knows I'm sorry," Callum figured there was no use trying to lie. "But there's more… and we're across the world from each other for all I know."
How To Write Love Letters added to his pile. "Wait," said Srisha, dragging him to a self help section and also putting How To Navigate a Long Distance Relationship That Is Strained and Is Totally Your Fault When She's Too Good For You.
"How is that so specific." Callum groaned. "I appreciate the help, but even if my mind is on Rayla, I have a duel later today during class and I can't lose."
Srisha folded her arms. "Is it about winning or losing? Or learning?"
"Winning."
Treating Your Wounded Pride was the final book to land on his pile.
"Come on," pleaded Callum.
"What do you expect me to give you?" she asked. "There's no one best spell to win a fight. You have to use what can only be taught from experience— intuition, reflexes, spur of the moment decisions."
Callum supposed that was true. When he watched Rayla fight, it was clear she had skill but also had instincts, light on her feet and focused. "If magic outright isn't my advantage, but knowing who my opponent is, and any weaknesses she has… hm."
He got it. An idea, at least.
"Thank you," he said.
"Sure you don't want any of those books?" asked Srisha as Callum set the pile down.
"I'll take a book of moon poems," he said. "And to be safe- moon runes too."
It wasn't exactly about the spells when they were so evenly matched, but how he used them.
-BREAK-
Evenere didn't have traditional school buildings. Callum had assumed that when Seiki guided them to a large boat that they were meant to sail somewhere else, except that apparently the boat was the school. It had a large deck for its size, enough for their class to gather on. Once untied from the dock, the platform drifted freely with the slow currents under them.
Thirty desks and chairs were set out for the students. Aaravos remained at the front of the class, bemused as he watched the students not hide their gushing and nerves. Callum, Claudia, Terry, and Viren stood off to the side, ready to contribute when Aaravos asked. Kpp'ar had finally joined them again as well, sitting in the back of the open air classroom next to Srisha to observe. The boat had a rolled up canvas ready to create a tent overheard if it rained, but since the weather was clear they allowed the canopy above to be their roof.
Seiki was also off to the side, though Callum didn't get why. He had a desk but he sat a few feet apart from the other mages.
Aaravos silenced the class by holding up his hand. "Thank you. Before we start, I must establish some expectations— my companions would say this is a long awaited type of communication from me." He gave a short bow, as if to apologize. "Due to a promise I've made to not only your king, but every leader of the Pentarchy, I'll only be here about a month." Distressed murmurs went through the gathered crowd and Callum exchanged a glance with Viren, as surprised as he was. "Some of you may have heard about the corruption of the Sunfire Forge. Though I viewed it as necessary at the time of the war, it's become a hazard to all living things around it. I will mend what harm I have done. It shall not spread further, not across Xadia or the human kingdoms, as was the monarchs' concern."
People exchanged more glances, some relieved, some worried.
Aaravos chuckled. "Don't get too down, I'm coming back, you know. But we only have a short span of time for now."
He turned and wrote in the air, drawing the six primal symbols and the dark magic symbol. "You're all familiar with these, mostly through the filter of taking objects or creatures with primal magic in them and translating it into dark magic for your own use. I'll devote some of my time to recording some of the text I've memorized from my private library for you all to have about the details. However, I can also confirm that the rumors are true about not only Prince Callum, but Viren as well: humans are capable of connecting to an arcanum on their own."
The class turned to Callum, more stares and whispers. Setting aside his staff with the primal stone, to make it clear he was connected, Callum took that as his cue, walking forward and channeling a spell towards the sky. "Fulminus!"
People oohed and ahhed at the display.
Viren stepped forward too. He'd been working on his ocean magic as of late, practicing every day. He concentrated, drawing his rune and saying, "Aqua Protegens!" Water rose up and formed a pillar around him as a shield for a few seconds before dissipating with a splash, hitting the deck with a wet slap.
Aaravos nodded approvingly. "Connecting to an arcanum requires both mental and spiritual knowledge of the arcanum. You must have a physical grasp, as well as a theoretical grasp. So far, I have met only three humans who have learned to forge such a connection, but they can still tell you how they did it."
Callum was surprised at how similar he and Viren sounded when they spoke about their arcana.
Students eagerly copied down their words, yearning to understand the magic that had eluded them for so long, wondering what dreams and revelations could bring an arcanum into their hearts. Callum wished it was as easy as one distilled secret, but it wouldn't click from that alone. Still, they repeated what they'd learned in their souls.
You don't have wings, you are the wing.
The ocean is vast and deep, to know it is to brave the depths and let go of control you accept you never had.
It's not a circle, it's a sphere- appearances and reality are distinct from each other, yet only one of them is ever known to us.
A few people seemed to think that hearing the ending lines of the struggle to connect to an arcanum would grant it to them, but Aaravos didn't let their disappointment linger.
"Alright, now show me what all of you know," said Aaravos. "No need to use your most valuable components- but it'll help me know what gaps to fill in your knowledge."
Aaravos walked among the rows of the class, looking at notes, people showing and telling him spells they knew, the cheapest ones being executed right then and there, small spells to conjure fire, ice, light, or to craft potions and poisons. The discussion was lively and detailed, but…
Seiki was still standing off to the side, a respectful distance away from the rest of the class, observing but not participating. He seemed relaxed, as though this was normal, but…
"Hey," said Callum, standing by Seiki. "You okay? You aren't with everyone else."
A student from a group speaking to Aaravos turned her head. "Yeah. He hasn't lost his virginity yet."
It was said so casually with no reaction from anyone else around her that Callum was sure he'd misheard. His mind went completely blank, mouth wordlessly open.
Terry recovered first, putting a hand on Seiki's shoulder. "You know, I think that it's not something that should be rushed. Social pressure is really unhealthy. It should always be a personal choice, when you're ready- if you're ever ready or want it at all! It's totally fine to not take that step, and I think it should be said that you can live a full life without worrying about hitting milestones by a certain time, if ever. You're exactly where you're supposed to be in your love life, for you."
Claudia smiled and hugged Terry from behind, kissing his cheek. "Awww, that's so well said, baby!"
Seiki widened his eyes. "Love li- oh. Oh, I'm- I'm good on that front." He waved his hands in front of him with a laugh. "You're so sweet! But it's actually that I've never used dark magic or had the dreams yet. Thank you, though."
"Oh whew," sighed Callum.
Aaravos glanced over. "Virgin blood refers to blood that's never been used in rituals. Since dark magic uses yourself rather than a rune as a conduit, it may as well be a use of your blood for magic, whether it's a component or not." He grinned. "Viren isn't a virgin in any sense of the word."
Viren folded his arms. "Are you trying to embarrass me? I have children."
A few people giggled and Callum joined in, relieved again that the tension was broken.
Seiki held up his spider flask, apparently always carrying it with him. "I've always felt like maybe these little guys would like me more if they didn't feel threatened, you know? And it worked! You don't suppose you have to use dark magic first to understand an arcanum, do you?"
Aaravos kept up the guise of serene teacher, but Callum knew the excitement simmering under the surface. "I've met one who connected without any dark magic, so it is possible. Can it happen again? It would solve a great many of Xadia's issues with humans if humans accessed magic themselves without touching dark magic. It's a good omen for the future." He clapped his hands once, as if an idea was occurring to him. "Speaking of dark and primal magic, I believe two of my students are ready to give us a demonstration."
This was it.
Callum glared at Claudia, his expression mirrored on her face as Aaravos continued speaking.
"Due to the cost of using dark magic, students don't often train in combat, but I think some lessons can be learned from watching a couple mages spar, primal versus dark."
The school boat was drifting towards an island with a grassy clearing, a perfect open area for combat.
Terry squeezed Claudia's hand. "Be careful."
Viren nudged Aaravos, frowning. "Are you sure about this?"
Aaravos was unconcerned. "I'll serve as referee and safety net— neither will be able to genuinely harm the other. I can pull punches of spells back at the last second. They'll be fine."
Kpp'ar stood next to Callum as they drew closer to the field, a few of the students easing the boat close to the nearby dock. He kept his voice low. "Don't underestimate her. You're a prodigy— she's got years on you."
"I won't," said Callum, resolved. Electricity crackled around his fist. "She might know all the sky spells I do— but she won't know which me is really casting them."