Excerpt from the Diary of Jonathan, found 45 years after his death

  It wasn’t like I didn’t know that mages could do things that I, as a warrior, couldn’t. But I simply never expected one of them to be so… quiet about his power. I met Meriel in an inn, after meeting Beril, Vivien and Elsa. We were kind of set already, and I didn’t come looking for another party member that day.

  We were strong enough already. Vivien was a caster herself, though devoted to the Alighter, the temple and their ways of medicine magic. Never cared enough to learn more, but I’ve never been so glad to have met a caster before.

  Beril has a mana heart, same as I, though his is weaker. Not like he ever needed it, though. I’ve never seen someone be so swift and accurate with a bow, and the only thing the mana heart helps him with is to draw some heavier bows.

  And Elsa… she made every fight we prepared for easier. And she was the one who suggested we talk to the strange mage who sat alone as we came to the city of Mura.

  I didn’t like that, but as a gentleman, I said nothing. Surely she must have not liked him : he wasn’t completely frail, but compared to my body, he might as well have been. She’d see, one day.

  I decided then that I’d take him on one adventure with us, to show the rest that the tales of mages must surely be over-estimated. We’d done fine before, and surely we’d do fine after.

  Mary

  “And so, that’s how the universe began, and the Taker and Alighter descended upon the continent of Pamthe. Now, can anyone answer why they stayed in the lower peninsula, namely the Lavarza kingdom and the close West?“ The teacher’s voice carried through the classroom, shushing all of the students. It was a simple question, and Mary had the answer ready, but she held her tongue.

  The teacher seemed to be getting tired of her constant answering to every question, after all, and if there was one thing Mary was wary of, it was the anger of adults. And so, she remained quiet, opting to instead try scribbling into her notebook.

  The funny thing about school was that nobody even thought of the idea that maybe Mary couldn’t read. Nobody except Ziggy, that is, and the little elf wrote down the material for both of them. She felt thankful, and honestly, it suited her this way, although she didn’t really understand where the elf learned to write. But that didn't matter. She could fully focus on the class, and didn’t have to only pay half attention so she’d have the option to revise later.

  As much as Mister Meriel complained that this school was worse than it used to be, to Mary it was the second best place in the world. Not only did she get to spend some more time with Ziggy, who she was, admittedly, quickly becoming good friends with, but she also got to learn.

  ?This is so boring.“ Ziggy complained, just like he did on every lesson. He hadn’t yet taken any interest in any of the subjects being taught, though it was only theoretical still. The practial lessons would begin after the weekend, and Ziggy said he was looking forward to those a thousand times already.

  ?“I find this interesting. Plus, the teacher is really nice!“ Mary whispered back, hoping that nobody would overhear.

  Ziggy looked at her, apparently not giving a damn about keeping this conversation hidden any longer. “You find school fun somehow. Nobody from these kids finds it fun, yet here you are, all giddy. I swear the teacher doesn’t like being here either.“ He took a quick glance at the teacher, and then back at Mary. It was the same lady who did their entrance day exam, the one who put Mary to group three. They’d have different practical lessons because of it, which made her a bit sad.

  “Anyway. I wanted to ask. What do you think of that new dragon?“

  Mary smiled a little. “Aurelia?“

  “Yeah.“

  “She’s pretty. A bit quiet, but she seems nice!“

  “Does everyone just seem nice to you?“

  “Hey, don’t be mad at me for liking her! I don’t know if you’re envious of what, but it’s not my fault that she’s prettier than you are!“

  Ziggy smirked at that, took another cautious look at the teacher who paid them no attention at all, and continued. ?“Let’s not lie to ourselves. Just look at my ears! But yes, she does seem nice. I actually wanted to talk about the fact that... she’s so large. When she’s a dragon, I mean.“

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  “Oh, yeah! I was so scared! But she’s not that tall when she’s a human!“

  “Not that tall? She’s almost as tall as Master!“

  “But she’s not... why do you keep switching between calling him Meriel and then Master?“ Mary asked the question that was on her mind for quite a while. She herself had trouble knowing when to call him Mev or Mr. Meriel, but that was because he requested it. But as far as she knew, nothing like that happened between Meriel and Ziggy.

  “Hmmm. I don’t know, honestly. I just do what feels right.” Ziggy leaned against his arm, and quickly scribbled something onto the paper in front of him with the other, tapping the quill to drop the excess of ink between each few lines. Whenever he wrote, Mary just couldn’t help but feel excited about possibly learning herself. She’d have to ask Mr. Meriel to teach her. Or maybe even Ziggy.

  “I think it’s that I do think of him as my master. As the most perfect mage, as someone I would die for in a second.” He continued, shocking Mary. Did he mean all of that? “But I also know his other sides. And how he was when we were locked up.” He met her eyes, and Mary saw something she’d rarely seen in Ziggy, but the pain inside those eyes? She’d seen that a million times over. “It changed him, I think. It was a long time, and…I don’t think he wants to remember much of it. But I just treat him like I did when we were inside. I try to…”

  “Make him feel better?” Mary finished, smiling at Ziggy. That was so nice of him. It made her happy that Ziggy was her friend, and every time they talked, that feeling got even deeper.

  “Yeah. I suppose. Have you seen the look on his face yesterday? I know he wouldn’t hurt me, but he was… scary.”

  “I think it was just the blood. And I’ve seen worse.” Mary replied, and she was about to tell him about some of the things she’d seen people do in the streets during winter, but a voice suddenly cut through.

  “I assume what you’re discussing is something about this subject?” The ice-cold voice of professor Lydia made Mary shiver. She slowly turned back.

  “Y-yes, teacher!” She stuttered, wincing at how scared she sounded even to herself.

  “Sorry, professor Lydia. I had something that I needed to ask. It won’t happen again.” Ziggy added before Lydia could reply, at which she looked at him, sighed, shook her head, and turned back to the blackboard.

  Mary did her best to pay attention until the end of class after, but the fact she’d be learning magic in truth was what drove her on.

  —-----------------------------

  She hopped into their old house, Ziggy already in front of her, and the door creaked open as he grabbed the wooden handle. Like always, the smell of warm food came first, followed by some talking.

  She felt giddy whenever this happened. Never before had she come… anywhere, and felt this excited to spend some time with people she actually cared about.

  Somewhere deep inside, there was a voice, telling her that she was trusting Meriel too much, depending on him. Depending on Ziggy too. That she should cut them, only depend on herself again.

  But she just couldn’t. Even if it was bound to end one day, which it hopefully wouldn’t, she still wanted to spend as much time with them as possible. These last few weeks were the best time of her life, and with Meriel teaching her magic, she would probably have some skills for the rest of her life even if he left her.

  Surprisingly, it wasn’t Meriel that was cooking this time around, but the new lady, Aurelia. She was stirring something in a pan, and whatever it was, it smelled divine.

  “Hello, Mister Meriel! Hello Aurie!” She said, coming closer to Aurelia, trying to see what she was cooking, but Meriel’s voice carried from their former bedroom before she could.

  “She’s making Shkhehal with cabbage and bacon, Mary. No need to look, she’ll bring it soon enough.”

  But she was so close! And she just wanted one bite!

  Sighing, her shoulders slumped, and she turned to walk towards the bedroom. Hopefully, they wouldn’t begin the magic lessons before she filled her stomach.

  “I have to say, that maid uniform does fit her nicely.” Meriel said, looking towards the kitchen as Mary walked around him. She hadn’t even noticed, but now that she looked at Aurie again, she did indeed wear a maid uniform, with a skirt that went all the way to her feet. She looked beautiful.

  Aurelia was a lady that Mary already respected for some reason, even though she was alive for only one day. She couldn’t even say WHY, but something about how she carried herself, how she spoke. Mary only hoped that the two of them would become good friends.

  Meriel clapped his hands, still sitting on his old bed, and that captured Mary’s attention. “Well then. While Aurelia prepares our food, let’s get to it. It’s time you two start learning magic.”

  “Yaay!” Mary exclaimed, sitting on a bed herself, right next to Ziggy.

  “Don’t get excited yet. You two have some innate understanding of how to get mana into your mana heart, so that’s the first step taken out of the way, but it’s by far the easiest part. Next, you’ll need to actually learn spells, and that is much harder.” He stopped, and a magical circle appeared in front of him.

  “Magic has many rules, but it all begins with this. A magical circle. Think of it as a canvas in front of a painter. A blank slate, ready to be modified. You can both summon one. Just take some mana into your hearts, and think of the words [Create spell].

  Mary listened, and she repeated the same thing Meriel instructed her to do—she looked at the mana in the room, and focused on imagining a whirlpool in her mana heart, taking in the mana in hungry gulps. She felt it respond, slowly at first, but quicker and quicker as seconds went by. Soon, her mana heart felt full, like her tummy did whenever Meriel cooked something really delicious and she couldn’t stop herself from eating.

  “Good.” Meriel nodded. “Now, for the hard part.”