Insomnia

 “It happened,” Arianwen said first thing at breakfast. None of the others knew what she was on about. “I think it’s probably your fault.” She looked at both Samuel and Yorath in turn as she said that. “You filled my head with that talk about bad dreams and now I’ve had one as well. Do you still have those?”

Both of them nodded. “I think they might not be so bad after all,” Yorath said. “In a way they keep pushing me to strive for more. I take is as additional motivation for study and practice.” As he spoke miniscule flames lit up all across both of his arms and began dancing in intricate patterns. Samuel shuddered to think what the man would be able to do if he had access to a powerful artefact. His control of magic was impeccable. If Samuel stood above the rest of the class in his ability, Yorath stood even higher above him.

“Well I don’t like them,” Arianwen said. “I’m already motivated as much as I can be. This situation is just stressing me out.”

“While the Kingdom of Bryntir has pretty much unanimously accepted wizards as an integral part of the society, some of the other kingdoms have a spectrum of differing views on the matter,” Carys explained. “This is more obvious to those of you that aren’t from here.” Samuel couldn’t shake the feeling that she was staring right at him as she explained this. “In most kingdoms there isn’t an official ruling regarding the use of magic, so while it’s not outlawed, it’s also not encouraged. This means that for the most part the local officials or the public itself becomes the judge. In those examples our reputation means everything. Of course then there are also places which are outright hostile to any magic whatsoever. These, however, will not be something you will need to worry about for years to come. It’s something for the more experienced of our kind to handle, or to be simply left alone.”

Samuel looked at Madoc with concern. He looked as if he hadn’t slept at all the previous night. Maybe I also look a bit like that. His nightmares have started to wake him up from time to time. Still, there wasn’t too much to worry about as for this mission, a mentor was assigned to them. He looked over the shoulder and saw Carys’ confident stride. She can handle anything that comes up. Carys had not demonstrated her magical abilities during her lectures, as she focused on the theoretical aspects of the craft. However, going by the respect given to her by both the other lecturers and older students and her countenance, it was obvious that there was an amazing power hidden behind the veil of the quite small woman.

Once they made their way out of the city, their escorts unloaded a large flat piece of wood from their cart and placed it on the ground.

“Get on,” Carys said and sat near the edge of the panel. Madoc and Samuel exchanged glances. After a moment they joined their professor on the cramped surface. There was a gust of wind and the plank was lifted from the ground, carrying the three passengers.

“What?” Samuel gasped. He had seen a couple of wizards levitating objects and sitting on them. That, however, was always done for a single person and relatively short distances. Carys didn’t show any sign of strain as she lifted all three of them. Their flying worktop began accelerating.

“Hang on boys,” Carys said. She was facing away from them but Samuel could almost sense a smile on her face.

They flew across the land, remaining just above the tree tops. Samuel had to grab hold of the edge as the wind resistance became stronger with their increasing speed. He saw Madoc using both of his hands and felt a pang of jealousy. Carys on the other hand didn’t seem to be bothered at all and just sat in silence. It was a good opportunity to take in the sights of the land. From the forests and grasslands to lakes and the ravines and gorges carved by the rivers. In the distance there even mountains visible. Not the evil looking broken teeth of the wasteland but a beautiful mixture of green flora, grey rocks and white snowy peaks. I wonder if that’s still Bryntir. The land below was bathed in golden light, transitioning to orange and then red as the Sun began setting. It almost made it look as if autumn colours had been painted over everything.

They landed their unusual vehicle near a small encampment surrounding a building after several hours of flying.

“We’re going to spend the night here, then continue in the morning,” Carys said.

The place didn’t seem so much an inn for travellers, as a military outpost. A the sight of Carys the people either saluted her or tried to get out of the way as quickly as possible. Do they know her specifically, or is this just a reaction to her apparent rank? Samuel looked at Carys who continued as if nothing strange had happened. They were given a room in the sole building and Samuel was certain that it had been vacated just for them. I hope nobody hold a grudge over this. It was still a strange experience. Ever since coming to the Academy he had slept in the dormitory, so he was used to having way more than just two roommates. Still, the current situation also didn’t equate to privacy since his own professor, who happened to be a woman was also sharing the room.

Samuel sat on the top of the mountain looking at the tower of his Academy. A black bird landed next to him. It looked straight at him with a tilted head. “They are holding you back. You deserve more. You are capable of more.”

“Why?” It was all Samuel could say. He looked down and saw both of his arms intact he smiled and squeezed both hands into fists a couple of times. There was a strength there he hadn’t noticed before. When he looked up, the tower was in flames and began collapsing. The bird’s caws resembled screams of dying men.

Samuel woke up sweating and panting. He had to stifle a scream. He looked around the room and remembered where he was. He noticed something strange. There was a silhouette against the window, blocking the light of the Moon. He squinted his eyes and realised it was Carys. She was sitting on the window sill and gazing into the night.

“Can’t sleep?” Carys asked without turning around.

Samuel spent a moment conflicted whether he should open up to her or just say something to placate her question. “Just some bad dreams.” It seemed like a good middle ground, truth that would allow Carys to decide whether to dig deeper or leave it as it was.

“I see. That was quite fast,” she said with a sigh. “It seemed like only days ago that I began teaching you kids this year. The year will end in a flash. Then the next and it just keeps going faster.”

Samuel was taken aback by her words. She had always portrayed herself as prim and proper. Never unfriendly, yet strict and professional to the point where it was hard to consider her just a normal person. Not knowing how to respond, he waited in silence for her to continue. She seemed to employ the same strategy as the silence stretched and was only broken by the nocturnal sounds of the surrounding forest.

“Do they ever go away?” Samuel asked.

“No.” Her response was barely more than a whisper. After that she turned around for the first time and her face was lit by the pale moonlight. “Most of us learn to live with them, ignore them or even embrace them. There seems to be nothing wrong whichever path you decide to take. I guess the Nefara just don’t leave us alone.”

“And which path do you take?” Samuel asked.

She gave a sad smile and at that moment her face looked tired to the point of arousing concern within him. She said nothing, yet her expression communicated everything. There were more paths available than the ones she spoke about and could be taken at his own peril. He couldn’t say why but it tugged at his heart. Even if he didn’t know her all that well, it was almost enough to bring him to tears. He sunk back into a mercifully dreamless sleep.