"Good morning Raven." The words rang off the wall. "Five more minutes?" I pleaded to Tel. I'm completely worn out from yesterday. The least he could do is have some sympathy. "No ma'am. We have a lot to learn today. So wake up and get ready." He announced. We always have a lot to do. I slowly got out of the huge bed to walk over to the dresser. Sometime in between then and now Tel sneaked out of the room. I put on what I always wear, threw my hair up, then made my way downstairs.
"There is eggs and bacon on the fire. Go fix yourself a plate." Tel softly spoke. He was already sat in his seat. "Thank you." I smiled. The grits smelt a dash too buttery. To be fair I'm not a fan of grits in the first place, but I grabbed some to be polite. I made my way to my spot. Tel and I ate in silence for around six minutes before he announced, "Raven, we need to work on how seriously you take this. People's lives are at risk here. YOUR life will be at risk once we step outside the barrier. You need to get that through your thick skull. Miss.Lillinth gave me direct instructions to not let you back out of this. So please, if not for the people here, then do it for you." His words echoed through out my entire head. After it left a headache started forming in its place. "I did not wish for this. I did not ask for this. I do not want this, and you expect me to give it my all? I will be putting my life in the way of death by force, and you expect me to want to? No. No I will never want to. I do not have a choice in this. Which you are very well informed of. So do NOT tell me to 'try'. I am trying. It is not my fault all that I have is this." I howled at him. Before he could get another word out I left to my room.
A hollow knock appeared on my door followed by the sound I've dreaded. "Meet me at the door ready." Was all I heard. I am truly starting to wonder if he cares about me or just saving this stupid town. I made my way down the stairs to the front door. The entire trip was in complete silence. The first words was when Tel uttered "It is not too much longer."
We finally arrived at what one could assume is a library. It was bigger than any I've ever seen. Tel walked in first, I followed behind. The wooden doors were massive. There was maybe a person or two inside, but compared to the size it was nothing. "Good morning Tel. May we help you with anything" the librarian questioned. "No, we are here to study. I should know where everything is, if not I shall come to you." He explained. Tel led me to the corner of the library and instructed me to stay put. When he came back he had books a mile high. "Read them all. Page for page. I will be back with more. If you need anything answered ask me when I am back." Tel declared. Who does he think I am? A prisoner? I picked up the book on top. The tittle read "Ashire Creatures". The first page was all about the contents. "You will learn all about the creatures of Ashire. From the harmless to the ones unimaginable. We will exploit the weaknesses and how to survive if ever encountered." I guess it could not hurt reading.
By the time Tel came back I was engrossed in the book. So far my favorite one is called "Ballient". They resemble a chicken in size. "The Ballient is a small creature native to the neighboring realm Whitlil. They are blue in appearance with silver wings. When fully grown the Ballient will have one hundred and seven teeth. Do not let their looks trick you. If a speck of saliva gets onto you, your entire body will freeze until your heart shatters. There are many ways to defeat one, but the easiest will be to detach its head from the body. Be careful when dealing with, even after death the saliva will still freeze you.
Every book I read had to do with the creatures, land, and royal families. I made if through the entire stack without a break. The sun was slowly setting, the red and purple hues made their way onto my table through the windows. Tel came back with one last book. "Read this then we will leave." His voice sounded firm and demanding. A chill ran through my body. I nodded my head and reached my hand to pick the book up. "Magic for Beginners?" I questioned allowed. "Yes, read it. If you need to we will take it home. You will be practicing the contents inside until there is nothing left to practice." He hissed. I want the old Tel back that I could make jokes with.
"Magic for Beginners will not be easy. No magic is. So be aware and prepared to get your heart ripped out." That is… a strange first sentence. I continued reading the pages front to back. The one that stood out most was page sixty three. "If you do not believe you can do magic, do not try. One who does not believe in themselves shall never deserve to achieve things by luck." The entire book was the basics of magic and how they work. There was a few beginner magic tricks to try. Tel made me bring the book home, against what I wished.
The walk home was uninteresting. There was no conversation, no thoughts, no anything. When we walked into the door dinner was ready. We sat in silence. Afterwards worked out for an hour. By the end I could not stand any longer. I went up to my room and closed my eyes before even being in the bed.