"H-Hey! HEY!" the one I was fighting began to yelp out as I broke through their barrier. People had been coming to me, seeking advice for the upcoming event. Others had come to me to receive training as I was one of the strongest here. But, that was to the surprise of no one who knew what I was.
Those I faced were all students, no older than forty in most cases. I was more than double their age and trained under the tutelage of the Valkinvar. And, despite proclaiming to no longer be a part of the group. My skills and knowledge had not gone away.
"Vapooliar! Calm down!" a girl exclaims as she cautiously retrieves the friend she came here with. And, as she did so, I dropped to the ground like a cannonball against dry earth. The sound and motion of which frightened her away briefly.
"Listen up, all of you. You came to me seeking help, so actually show a willingness to learn!" I demanded from them as I walked away from the prepared pitch.
"I don't think you quite grasp how strong you are." one of the boys commented as I sat down on a bench before I took a sip of water.
"I am fully aware of it, I have been since I arrived here." I tell him as my mind suddenly flashes with memories of my worrying arrival. The guards along the road up to this mountaintop had cleared a grand path for me. And, when I was near the school, they treated me as if I was royalty. I did not enjoy that experience given Thrurstradtur's association with the Jherikra.
But, that experience also gave me a newfound respect for the advances of this nation. Despite my efforts to contain my power, they detected it anyway. Their machines treated me as if I was an untrained child firing off their first spell. It gave me both a goal and a well needed humbling.
Because, if the Jherikra had weapons such as those airships I fought not long ago. Then there was a likely chance that they have gained new developments alongside it. But, it still perplexed me as to how they had such technology. In all my time fighting them, it was only in a recent surge have I seen so many new and fascinating inventions.
Even the room we were currently training in was beyond what I could have imagined. The Valkinvar and I, once, trained in the air above the great Redstone Canyon. It was an empty space where one could master flight easily due to the circumstances. And, if need be, you could easily cross into the wastes to practise destructive magic safely.
Yet, here, they did not need to take such precautions. All they had to do was open a pathway to another place and mould it to their liking. I was not sure of how expansive such systems were. But, I could easily envision its implications.
But, I was not here to think about my awe, "Who's next?" I asked as I stood up and moved back onto the battlefield. And, I was left slightly bemused by how the confident members of Exceptional House backed away from me.
"I-I'll give it a shot." a young woman said as she slowly stepped into the arena. And, when she was fully within the boundaries of it. It came alive and we were safely secured away from everyone else.
"Roll with the punch!" someone called out to the nervous girl as she suddenly regretted her descision.
"Quiet!" I snapped at the commentator before I walked up to my current opponent.
"I-Is it too late to b-back out?" she squeaks as she flinches away as far as her immobile body could.
"Yes, now, hit me with your best spell." I tell her as I open myself wide open for attack. I wanted to get an idea of where she could improve. I had been carefully memorising everyone's flaws and was planning on working on them later. If they would accept my advice, that is.
"Oh, uh, o-okay!" she says as glowing winds start to pass through her spread out fingers. And, then, she fires off her spell. And, as my actions suggested, I let it hit me. But, nothing came of it.
"There's a greater purpose to this spell?" I asked her as I did not feel anything that could be considered damaging. So I was going to assume it wasn't actually an offensive spell like many here had.
"You're too heavy..." she whispers quietly. An answer that makes my brow rise.
"I see." I say in understanding as I moved my gaze towards her arm. She was struggling to move it, so, I started to hover and went along with it. Her other hand soon came to life as the spell carried on forming. Then, I found myself flung into the air, in the middle of a suddenly formed storm.
"Haha! Get her!" someone cheered as I idly waited for the rest of the spell to go off. Then, in but a moment, I was encased inside a cloud of magic that was trying to crush me. I simply shot out of the spell and landed before her with a frown.
"Is it always that slow?" I asked her as I pointed out how long it seemed to take.
"Huh!? It went off nearly instantly! I trapped you within a storm of my own making!" she nearly yelled out in shock and surprise.
"Oh, sorry." I tell her as I come to realise I was still acting too fast for these students. Some were able to make me out as a blur, but, often, they only saw the pop. And, I would appear behind them suddenly. The last one I practised with failed to a similar action.
"Sorry...?" she wheezed before she collapsed to the ground, "We came here to try and learn something, we even made it uncomfortable to be in here by maxing out all the metres we could, but, you're just too strong!" the girl tells me with uncomfortable awe and fear. It was clear all of them were glad I was in the same House as them.
"And you will learn something, just give me a moment to get my thoughts together." I tell her before I helped her up. I casually strolled away from them once I had done so until I was out of the magic room altogether.
"I brought you some lunch." Dandel'lhia wheezed out quietly as she came to an abrupt halt before me.
"Oh, thank you." I tell her as my eyes move towards her son who she was also carrying.
"Has it been going well?" she asked me before she sat down on a chair in the hallway. She was clearly tired from carrying her son about. But, it was a necessity for her as losing him was not an option. This school was too vast, too dangerous for one so young.
"Va-va." her son gurgled out before he began to chew on a biscuit shoved into his face.
"Vapooliar." I remind him with a small smile.
"Vapoo!" he laughed out before he went back to his food.
"So has there been any luck with your search?" I decided to ask Dandel'lhia as she prepared our food.
"No..." she quietly tells me before she hands me a portion.
"Do not worry, you will find them." I tell her as she expressed her want to go home. Back to a place I did not want to go as it held too many bad memories... Even if an aelenvari flower is a mobile construct, I did not want to see theirs again. It would just lead to me being reminded about...
"It will probably be best for me to head to our Garden-Mount. Wait there until it comes back." she tells me with a sigh before I got too lost in my thoughts.
"But, you could potentially wait years at such a place." I remind her as that was quite the decision to make. One I did not think was very mindful of her son. He needed to see his father.
"We would still be certain to find him, though." she chokes out as she carefully strokes her son's scarred body. He had not been injured by anything here. It was just the result of an ancient monster.
"A few years that won't be good for your son."
"Then fly us home!" she begged me once again before I shook my head. I just couldn't handle going back to the place where I had to...
"I am sorry, Dandel'lhia. The food is lovely, but, I have commitments to keep."
"Okay, take care. Will you be by later?" she asks me with a smile as her son waved goodbye. Mushy, soggy biscuit all over his mouth as he did so.
"Of course, especially for him." I say with a smile before I tap her son's nose. Much to his amusement when I left a trail of magic for him to watch.
"I still cannot seriously believe they let that bug join." I heard someone complain to their friend who fired back with a similar comment. And, when I heard that, I froze up and glared silently at the ground. Only to then start flying until I reached the building so many were looking at these days. Unfortunately, they were right, too.
There, in big bold letters that had been clearly spat on frequently was his name. The name of someone who should not be here. Because I killed him, I saved him from the horrors of being an osibindah, yet, there it was. A name I could never forget no matter how much I tried.
Nin Urtuan, the friend I was forced to kill when a delayed reaction came. To my horror and despair did I cut his tortured body in two. Yet, somehow, there was something here carrying his name. With all the scars I should have known about.
Across that beast's chest was a large, slash-induced scar that went all the way down to his opposite hip. It had stolen his voice and his eyes and it puppeted itself around as if it were him. To my anger, as well, it had managed to enthral my friend, Vadei. She had no idea what she was near yet...
"Student Vapooliar, please, control yourself." one of the lecturers of Suhurlodst Academy of Arcane Learning and Understanding asked of me.
"Sorry." I say to him as I realise I had been letting my magic flow freely as I thought about the bug. Then, that having happened, I flew off into the sky above the school and waited. And, suddenly, my power would violently erupt from me as my teeth started to grind. Despite my efforts, that bug was in my thoughts once again.
Those thoughts followed the same well-trodden paths as well. I considered various things about it, and I moved on to thinking about its death. I could not just kill it as it was idiotically made a student. But, this event, the Inter-House Talent Display...
It came with a risk of death that all who participated were made aware of. Families were warned and they made sure to catch all those who were uncertain. So, perhaps, I could find a way to free Nin's memory from that beast? It could go back to how it once was...
When I was just trying to honour my friend's memory... Rather than associating it with a creature that pretended to be him... That was the duty I was going to have to undertake, even if the others could not understand it. They weren't there when Nin turned...
There was no way that creature was Nin... I sliced him in two so he wouldn't have to suffer!
"Tears, again?" I asked myself as I rubbed my wet eyes. But, while I was up here, I just couldn't find the will to keep pretending I was some cool-headed individual. So I cried some more before I whispered a promise I would make sure to keep.