The Shadows of Twilight

Strange Simon thought, he didn't remember falling asleep. He was in his room and the light through the window made it very clear it was still day. The last thing he remembered was casting the spatial spell and the sword appearing in his hand.

Simon tried to push himself up but was immediately assaulted by a wave of dizziness, forcing him back down. He was similarly reminded of the ache in his legs, pain shooting through him every time they moved.

As frustrating as he found it, he consigned himself to lying down and waiting for the time being. He took the opportunity to look around his room again. While it was still largely barren, he'd found the opportunity to bring one of the plants from the garden inside. It was growing fairly happily beneath the window, soaking in the intense rays while conveniently blocking some of the light from his eyes. He'd also found the opportunity to get it swept, while he didn't have time himself, he'd mentioned it to Gideon one morning and found it pristine by nightfall. Not only had the dust been removed, but the cobwebs on the ceiling and any spiders or bugs they may have otherwise housed.

After scanning the room several times and continuing to find even the smallest interesting thing, he decided instead to count the planks on the floor the entertainment there also eventually exhausted, he tried to force himself to sleep yet found himself utterly denied.

If the past week had taught him anything, it was that Simon truly hated inactivity. At home he'd been able to distract himself with doomscrolling or some random game or tv show. Here, he was left alone with just his himself. He realised quite quickly that Hethoria was right; he was dreadfully boring.

Part of him started to urge him toward testing magic again. Sure he felt dizzy when he tried to sit up, but lying here he was fine, in fact he felt better than he had earlier when he cast the spell. He laboured against the thought the best he could, but boredom and the slight thrill of risk taking ultimately won out.

The unfortunate part of that was that the room was still barren. He'd need to test his magic on something in the room, and there was exceptionally little to be found. There was the paper on the desk, but its proximity to the ink pot meant that a mistake would leave the entire floor, and likely part of the bed smothered in black ink.

Sighing at his own stupidity, he opened his palm and attempted to repeat the spell. He found that, with the exhaustion gone, he could focus as he previously had with the easier spells. Combined with the fact that he already knew how to phrase the idea in his mind, it became immensely easier to bring himself to cast the spell. While he didn't succeed on his first attempt, it was only on his second that the paper was ripped through the air and placed itself squarely in his waiting palm. It wasn't a flawless success though, the spell had sent several of the other stacked papers flying into the air, landing haphazardly around the room. Thankfully, the ink pot hadn't moved.

A light wave of dizziness assaulted him but faded as quickly as it came, not quite as bad as his earlier reaction to say the least.

Simon decided to try the spell a few more times, testing to see if improving the casting process would make its result more stable. After several more chaotic results, and several increasingly strong dizzy waves, he determined that answer to be a resounding no. He suspected that he'd need to refine the idea in his mind if he wanted better results, perhaps make it more defined. He realised that making the idea more complex would inevitably make it harder to cast, each step of complexity standing further at odds with the process of cleansing his mind. 

While he had little reference, Simon imagined that this was a major distinction between magic users operating at similar levels of power. When he combined that with the exhaustion, stress, and time pressure of combat, he could see how dreadfully difficult the task truly was. So far he'd mostly been able to cast spells with healthy amounts of preparation and plenty of time to spare. Yet if he threw even just exhaustion into the mix he was fainting on the spot. The whole though significantly dulled the joy he felt at his progression. Yes, he had begun to improve, but that improvement was only a single step in the race.

The thought weighing on his mind, he returned to resting again, waiting and stewing until someone decided to check on him. Thankfully, there was a knock at the door before he'd even managed to settle.

"Come in!"

The door pushed open, revealing Gideon carrying a tray with a tea kettle and some rudimentary sandwiches placed upon it.

"You're awake! That's good, Sonia was frightfully worried." He sauntered in, placing the tray upon the table before leaning down to pick up the scattered papers. "You really shouldn't be pushing yourself like this you know, I'm all for freedom but sometimes it's better to rest don't you think?" He placed the papers back down in their neat stack on the table.

"I won't tell Sasha if you don't. Just don't do it again, ok? Now, let's get you some tea. We've been giving you water up till now, but thought this was a good time to bring out some of the reserves, make sure you recover well." He took a cup and began to pour in a practiced hand.

"If I remember correctly, you laughed when I fainted last time. Why the change in attitude?"
"It's simple really." Gideon removed the teacup from the tray before moving it on top of Simon's lap. "Last time you were unconscious for less than five minutes. Today, you'd been asleep for almost two hours when we left you."

His job done, he wiped himself down and left, pausing just before the door.

"Oh, and because Sonia feels guilty about it. You should have see how pale she got when you collapsed. I think she sees herself as responsible for pushing you too hard. She was sitting right there by the bedside before something important came up. Oh but I'm saying too much again, I'll leave the rest to her. Enjoy the food!"

By the time Simon had looked down at the meal and back up to the door, Gideon was gone.

The food had been a nice distraction from everything else. the tea's mild flavour serving well to relax him and the sandwiches acting as a pleasant enough filler meal to pass the time.

The sky had begun to turn orange outside, signalling the coming twilight. Simon had been in bed for at least several hours now, his body having been allowed significant time to rest. Simon attempted to slide himself off the bed again, preparing for the oncoming wave of vertigo. When nothing came but the dull ache of his muscles, he confidently rose up to full height and stretched.

While some part of Simon felt it best he wait there patiently for someone to come and meet him again, the greater part was fuelled by wanderlust. He strode out with purpose, heading directly for a meal. The dining hall would be sure to be packed at this time, the majority of the soldiers duties fulfilled for the day. They would pack themselves together and chat about whatever caught their fancy. Simon knew precious few people but now was always a good time to start, and conversation was exactly what he needed right now.

It was to his great surprise then that he found the dining hall empty, the few people crowded in bunches eating reservedly and barely saying a word. Simon hadn't seen anything like this since he first arrived. While some days had larger gatherings and energy than others, they had never come close to this dour.

Both his hunger and gregariousness temporarily discarded, Simon turned back and headed for Sonia's room. She'd given him directions there around the third day after his arrival, telling him to head directly there in case of an emergency.

The gloom of the retreating sun proved ominous to Simon, the long shadows and bleeding light painting the world a canvas of encroaching darkness. The eerie quiet only accentuated the feeling, the birds had begun to nest, their calls fleeting and sparse; the sound of Simon's footsteps alone echoed across the walls and corridors.

Simon tried to listen to any sounds beyond Sonia's door when he entered, perhaps some serious discussion or issuing of orders, but instead he found it dreadfully quiet. His knocking, somewhat trepidatious, somewhat hurried, offered no response. 

A sense of dread began to arise in Simon's stomach as he hurried next to the training yard, he had hoped to ask the first person he passed him what was going on, but his plans were thwarted when nobody did.

Comparative to the dining hall, the training yard was quite busy. Watching from atop the stairs, he saw several people training in the various facilities below even as the last vestiges of light slipped past the horizon. It was an unusual sight, the men always finished their training as the sunset began. Despite this, he couldn't see any trace of Orion, Gideon, or Sonia.

Simon thought it would be best to head down and ask them what was going on, regretting not having taken his opportunity earlier in the hall. Even as he began forward, he found that plan interrupted before it even began. Several clanking footsteps came into earshot behind him, their source a pair of particularly heavily armoured soldiers walking firmly to the front gate.

Seeing his opportunity, Simon rushed toward them.

"You two, what's going on? The cloister's completely quiet and I can't find Sonia anywhere, did something happen?" he tried to compose himself, but his words came hurried and panicked nonetheless.

The two guards briefly exchanged glances before the clearly older of the two spoke.

"Information from our scouts has come in. The Varokians have made their move earlier than we expected. Lady Sonia and her entourage are in the strategy room alongside several of the men they are presently giving instructions to. If you need her you will find her there. We are being sent to the front gate of the city." The man's words were gloomy but his composure unbroken.

The strategy room? We have a strategy room? Simon hadn't been informed that such a place existed in the facilities, and silently cursed the others for thinking it wasn't important.

The two men were looking at him, clearly discontent with being stopped mid duty, but unable to leave till they were dismissed or given new orders.

Simon still didn't feel comfortable in his position of authority, but he knew that feeling didn't matter now.

"I need one of you to take me there."