Shadow Teleportation

Erinara

Jin spoke up again: “Master, I have another question. Was the obstacle course intended to teach me to survive the enforcers as well?”
“Firstly, you don’t need to call me master. We are both Eaglecrests after all, that puts us on equal footing. Secondly, yes, you’ve figured it out”, Fyor replied.
“In honesty, it’s less so me figuring it out than Erinara heavily pointing me in the right direction”, Jin explained. Fyor nodded at me.
“You’ve encountered the enforcers then? How did you escape them? Did you have to fight?”, Fyor followed up.
“It’s a bit complicated. Let me explain”, Jin said.

Jin then recounted everything that has happened to him so far. Fyor listened intently, occasionally nodding his head slightly. Fyor seemed particularly happy that Jin did not combat the enforcers, instead opting to defend himself without striking at them, or retreating.

“I see. Your heart stands at the right place, my boy”, Fyor finally said when Jin finished, “the council of crests showed their true colors to you quicker than I anticipated. Thankfully you have very capable allies on your side.”
Fyor stood up and bowed graciously before me, “Thank you once again for taking care of my trainee.”
“It is my pleasure”, I answered.

After Fyor and Jin finished catching up on the recent events, we decided that it was time to return to the citadel.
“I can teleport the three of us plus whatever we are carrying back to the entrance of Ebiron’s citadel. Are you okay with that?”, I asked.
“Ready as ever”, Jin said as he walked to my right side.
“Perfect. Fyor Eaglecrest, if you would please come closer as well. The teleportation will be quick, however you will likely experience crippling nausea when we arrive”, I went on.
“Thank you for warning me, but there is no need to worry. This magic has been used on me in the battlefield already. Let us depart.”

I became silent with focus, as I used my innate magic to initiate the teleportation spell.
A sphere of shadowy mana began enveloping us. I heavily strained myself while preparing the spell. Even with the rune supporting me by working as a very clear anchor, the distance alone forced me to use an immense amount of mana, more than I ever had to in one swoop before. Not to mention having to teleport two more people with me to boot.
“Here we go”, I said, gritting my teeth.

I clasped my arms together in front of my chest. The shadows collapsed in on themselves, transporting us from the ruins in the tundra that took Jin and me many days to get to, all the way back to the citadel in almost an instant.

“Your magic truly is similar to that of Ebiron”, Fyor noted. Despite his words earlier, he did seem to be affected by some level of nausea as he was swaying. He probably lost some of his resistance since he hadn’t been teleported in years.
I staggered forward on one leg, then lost my balance. Looks like I used up too much mana after all. At least we arrived safely.
I fell forward.
Almost immediately, I was caught by Jin from my right. He also quickly grabbed the hood of my mantle to make sure it covered my face. It appears he had noticed that even the concealment spell had come undone since I burned through all my magic power.
“I’ve got you”, Jin said softly, then in his usual tone he added, “Sorry master Fyor, but Erinara really isn’t fond of having her face be seen. It must have used up all her energy to get us here.”
“It is beyond impressive for a young warlock like her to be able to do this in the first place. And fret not, I am not one to be nosey.”
The Eaglecrests did not seem to realize that I was conscious, albeit just barely. Unfortunately, I could not control my body at all. This wasn’t an unusual side effect of using too much mana at once, although I never experienced it firsthand. I could feel my body being gently supported by Jin. It was comforting. Embarrassing in a way, but comforting.

Soon the gates to the citadel opened and Ebiron stepped through them.
“My greetings. I felt a powerful influx of mana which could only be an instance of shadow teleportation. Welcome back, Erinara and Jin Eaglecrest. And welcome Fyor Eaglecrest”, Ebiron said.
He noticed that I was currently exclusively standing because I was being held up by Jin.
“Ah, I see that my protégé seems to have overused her magic. Jin Eaglecrest, if you would be so kind as to please carry her to her quarters for now. She should be back to her senses in a couple of hours when her mana has regenerated.”
“Right, of course”, Jin said, “If you’ll excuse me, I will go ahead. Is it alright if I stay by her side for that time?”
‘Jin had asked to stay with me. Instead of being with his mentor he had been looking for for weeks, he is willing to watch over me.’
A sense of fluster built up in my mind as that realization set in.
“Most certainly. In the meantime, Fyor Eaglecrest, could you be convinced to join me for a meal?”, Ebiron continued.
“That sounds like as good a start to our conversation as any. Thank you. I would prefer to keep the actual topic you wish to talk about on hold until our students can join us however”, Fyor answered.
“A wise choice, I agree. It shall be so.”
With that, Ebiron and Fyor departed for the dining hall.

Jin princess-carried me to my room. I could not help but feel embarrassed at the mental image.
Having closed the door to my room behind him, Jin lowered me to my bed with utmost care.
“Sorry about putting such a strain on you. I didn’t realize teleporting would be so much to shoulder. I wish I could have helped.”
I wanted to reply saying that this was all perfectly fine, and I was glad to help, but I couldn’t. All I could do right now was move my eyes.
My hood was slightly pulled back when he gently moved my head onto a pillow. Without so much as a second delay, he had already motioned to cover my face with it again.
‘He still wants to protect my face, even though I told him I’m okay with him seeing me’, I thought, slightly amused, ‘Then again, it probably feels different with me being unconscious for all he knows. He is being chivalrous, as is to be expected.’

I heard him sit down on a chair next to the bed.
Jin sighed to himself.
“I need to find a way to assist you more. It feels like I’m forcing you to do the heavy lifting all the time, I’m sorry for not being stronger.”
Curse me being unable to speak.
‘Not at all, you were taking care of carrying all the supplies and cooking over the fire every night. Besides this was the plan all along right? Sorry for making you worry. If only I had had more mana.’
“I will wait here until you’re feeling better. Should be a couple of hours right?”

His fingers briefly grazed my hand, before retracting as he placed his hand near mine on the bed.