Chapter 20 - In An Azure Mood

"You see? It’s all logic!" Clovis praises herself, her attention solely on the magic and not my clammy face. "Any Questions? Do you want to try it?"

"No, it’s very interesting, thank you but I’m not feeling up for it." I try to say my reply with as much haste as I can muster. 

"You are looking a little worse for wear actually. Are you feeling alright?" Clovis notes, her crimson eyes narrowing with a clinical concern that does little to soothe my roiling stomach. 

I shake my head, a gesture I immediately regret as the world swims violently. "I think… I think it was the light from the written spell. It just made me feel a little sick, that's all."

"Well, alright then some fresh air and a change of scenery will do you good! And it gives me the perfect excuse for our next lesson. Come on!" Clovis stands up, dusting the chalk from her hands as the light on the slate fades.

Before I can protest, she grabs my arm, her grip surprisingly strong, and begins to pull me along with an enthusiasm that my body can barely tolerate. 

We leave the scent of dried herbs behind, stepping out into the village.

The path is uneven, and I focus on placing one foot in front of the other, a simple act that now requires my complete concentration.

As we trek Clovis breaks into a lecture, ignoring the half mast waves the villagers give her. "Incantation magic is very good at changing existing things, though not always permanently. All magic comes at a cost but the cost of incantations is especially high. Incantations feed on your emotions, if you are not careful you can drive yourself mad.” Her expression is serious as she turns to face me.

A sturdy building comes into view, I can hear the rhythmic thud of wood on wood and the occasional grunt of exertion.

“That sounds very difficult, how do you cope with the toll it takes?” I manage to usher the words out between staggered steps.

“After a lifetime of practice, I barely notice myself feeling any different.” Her lack of awareness almost seems comical. 

We arrive at the entrance of the sturdy looking building. It’s simpler than it looked, from the outside. A few men are sparring with wooden swords in a central, cleared area, their movements economical and practiced. 

Along the walls are racks of simple spears, shields, and leather armor.

I notice Hakota strapping a final leather greave onto his leg and he looks up as we approach, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Clovis? Shikara? What are you two doing here? I was just about to start my patrol."

"Perfect timing!" Clovis chirps, clapping her hands together. "You’re just what I need. Consider yourself temporarily commandeered for educational purposes."

Hakota blinks, his expression a mixture of confusion and mild amusement. "Commandeered? For what?"

"A demonstration!" She gestures grandly towards the open training area. "Shikara, here, is my new apprentice!"

The sparring men stop their practice, their attention drawn by Clovis’s declaration. Hakota’s jaw goes slack, his eyes widening as he looks from Clovis’s beaming face to my own pale, sweating one. 

The shock on his face is genuine, but it quickly melts away into a warm, crinkling smile.

"An apprentice?" He lets out a low whistle, shaking his head in pleasant surprise.

 "Congratulations, Shikara! That’s wonderful news. Clovis is the best there is. It’s not an easy thing she does for us."

"Thank you, Hakota," I manage to say, forcing a small smile onto my lips. The effort feels monumental.

"We’ll have to celebrate properly!" he insists, his good nature a comforting balm in the tense, nauseating atmosphere of my own body. "Once you’re settled in, come by our house one evening."

"I’d love to, thank you! You can expect me sooner rather than later." I give a half hearted chuckle as anymore talking is a surefire way to make me speak more than just words.

My stomach gives a violent lurch, and I have to clench my jaw to keep from gagging.

"Excellent!" Clovis cuts in, oblivious to my turmoil. "Now, Hakota, if you would. Stand right there in the center." She pushes him gently towards the middle of the training floor. "Shikara, watch closely. Pay attention to the words, but more importantly, feel the intent."

Clovis takes a deep breath, her entire posture shifting. The manic energy drains away, replaced by a focused, serene calm. 

She raises her hands, her fingers tracing slow, deliberate patterns in the air. Her voice, when she speaks, is no longer loud and excitable, but a clear, resonant alto that fills the space.

“Let stone be cloud, let tether be freed. 

Restraint unallowed and anchor to sea. 

Upon your feet, a whisper of wind, 

A fleeting dance where journeys begin.

Be the arrow’s flight, be the river’s haste, 

Leave sluggish earth and time to waste.” 

As she speaks the final word, she makes a gentle, upward lifting motion with her hands. 

A shimmering, silver moonlight, flows from her lips and envelops Hakota’s body.

Hakota’s expression shifts from curiosity to one of pure astonishment. 

He takes a tentative step, and his foot lands with an unnatural silence. 

He takes another, and then a small, experimental hop. He lifts off the ground with impossible ease, sailing a foot into the air before landing with the soft grace of a falling leaf.

"Amazing," he breathes, looking down at his own feet as if they belong to someone else.

 He crouches and then pushes off, launching himself five feet into the air, turning a slow, weightless somersault before landing without a sound. 

His movements are faster, lighter, unburdened by the normal constraints of gravity.

The other guards in the room murmur in appreciation, their faces a mixture of awe and familiarity. They’ve seen this before, but the simple, elegant magic of it is still a spectacle.

 I watch, momentarily forgetting the sickness that grips me. It’s not a violent, flashy spell. It’s a subtle, beautiful alteration of reality, born from a simple, heartfelt desire: to be lighter.

Just as Hakota lands from another graceful leap, a heavy, angry voice cuts through the air like a rusty blade.

"What is going on here? Who authorized you to be in my barracks?"

Captain Roach stands in the wide doorway, his immense frame blocking out the afternoon light. His grey eyes sweeping over the scene before locking onto me with undisguised contempt. 

The brief moment of wonder shatters.

"And what is she doing here?" he growls. "This is a restricted area for Town Guard personnel only. I don’t remember seeing her name on my roster."

Clovis lets out an exaggerated sigh, turning to face him with an expression of pure, unadulterated boredom. She doesn't seem intimidated in the slightest.

 "Oh, Roach, don’t get your chainmail in a twist. I’m giving my new student a lesson. And I needed a volunteer." She gestures lazily at Hakota, who is now standing awkwardly, the weightless spell apparently forgotten.

Roach’s eyes bulge. The vein in his temple throbs. "Student? You’ve taken this… this outsider on as a student? Has the Chief lost his mind?"

"The Chief and I came to an agreement," Clovis says coolly, crossing her arms. "One that doesn't require your approval. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we were in the middle of something."

"An agreement…" Roach seethes, the words barely a whisper. He looks from Clovis’s defiant face to my own, his gaze burning with a raw, impotent rage. 

He sees me not as a person, but as a symbol of the Chief’s authority overriding his own, a breach in the walls he is sworn to protect. 

Without another word, he storms away from the Barracks, his direction clear. He’s going to see Orville.

Clovis watches him go with a dismissive roll of her eyes. "He needs to lighten up." She turns back to me, her bright smile returning as if nothing happened. 

"Right! That’s probably enough excitement for one day, especially with you feeling under the weather. You’d better get back to Orville’s place before Roach works himself into a lather and says something he’ll regret. Take the next couple days to feel better then come back when you’re ready to learn more."

Her casual dismissal of the encounter is unnerving. For her, it was a minor annoyance. For me, it feels like a declaration of war. 

Still, she’s right. The last thing I need is to be caught in the middle of a political firestorm. I give Hakota a grateful nod, which he returns with a concerned, sympathetic smile. 

The walk back is a blur. The nausea is worse than ever, a constant, cloying presence at the back of my throat. 

As I round the corner onto the main path leading to the Chief’s house, I see Roach. He’s just storming out of Orville’s front door, his face even darker with rage than it was moments ago. He must not have gotten the answer he wanted.

We pass each other on the path. He doesn't speak, but his eyes lock onto mine, and the hatred in them is a physical force.

I instinctively flinch, lowering my gaze to the dirt path.

But as he stomps past, I realize something strange. 

The anger radiating from him is a distant heat, barely touching the cold that has settled deep within me. His political fury, his personal vendetta against me… it all seems secondary. 

The primary threat isn’t the furious Captain of the Guard. It’s the relentless, inexplicable sickness that’s currently trying to turn my body inside out. 

That is what truly frightens me.