Elruin decided she could wait for Cali at the barracks. "I'd like to watch the mages." She'd never seen or heard of anyone waiting in a home for the owner to arrive, so it seemed weird to her.

She didn't know what she expected, the only 'training' she had ever witnessed was her brothers play fighting with sticks during those rare occasions when the weather was good and the chores were done early. She thought that maybe there'd be a bunch of people like Cali, all with their own songs playing together to make a beautiful harmony.

What she found was an outdoor stone floor made of hexagonal tiles, each just large enough that a person could stand comfortably inside one. Most were white, except the ones that the other mages were standing on, where the colors changed to a myriads of blue, green, red, brown and yellows. A couple were near a corner, blasting a wall with fire magic, while nearer were two mages who seemed to be doing what Cali did to her body, but through their weapons and armor.

It was fascinating to witness, though their songs were weak and muted, like listening to people speak on the other side of a wall. She stepped out onto the tiles, to get a closer look at the fighters; something in their magic looked like it was a trick she could do. But with every step on the field, it felt like walking in mud that was in her mind rather than on her feet. She didn't like it at all.

Nearby, a handful of the people training felt the need to comment on the newest arrival. "Looks like a street urchin got past the guards."

"Did she climb in through the sewers?"

"Forget the guards, look at her tiles." Several others murmured their surprise as well.

"At her age? That can't be her, it must be some magical equipment."

Elruin looked down at her feet, where the stone she stood had a medium gray, while the tiles surrounding were light gray. Small wisps of black smoke wafted away from the stone, then fell back down in a way reminding her of morning fog on the crops. She took a step back, and the black mist moved as if an invisible wind was pushing it toward her.

"She'd still have to be pretty strong, if she can carry necromantic gear of that power without it killing her."

The practicing warriors walked past the gossipers in order to approach her. Their personal tiles stayed a deep orange, with lighter orange extending out to the tiles around him, and then just enough extra to color the tiles past those. When they got closer, the man stayed back while the woman came closer. As they separated, their colors did to, until the man's tiles were a soft red color that was only a few shades darker than pink, while the woman had a deep yellow which bordered on brown.

When her color panels met Elruin's, they pushed against one another, instead of blending. Yellow fought black like a sunrise, and much like a sunrise, yellow won the battle. Now, only the tile Elruin stood on, and two behind her, remained dark.

She knelt down in front of her, putting the two of them at about the same height. "Perhaps you should share where you came from, lest someone do something so impolite as call the guard to drag you out into the streets."

Elruin kept her eyes down, in part to watch the tiles, and in part for politeness. "Cali- uh, Priestess Calenda, said I could come here to watch the mages train. She has to do her chores, then she's going to show me the city and find me a new dress."

The woman glanced back at her partner for a moment. "Lady Calenda is a wonderful representative of the Crown, and a credit to her line."

"You know her?" Even to Elruin, it seemed obvious they were important. The gossipers so willing to say mean things about her were silent now.

"Why, I've known her since we were children. We're practically family," the woman said. "I suppose this calls for proper introductions. I am Lady Juna na Enge." The woman, Juna, tilted her head. "Lady Calenda is betrothed to my brother, Garit ne Enge." She gestured to the man standing behind her, who gave his own head nod. "Knowing Lady Calenda, she rushed in to rescue you from some scary monster attack, and so you'll be staying with her until your retainers can bring you safely home. I hope you have nothing but kind things to say to your liege about the Kingdom of Acheria and the hospitality of Arila despite what I'm certain was a traumatic experience."

"My name is Elruin." It was the polite thing to do, introducing herself in return. The lack of a titular name was noted by everyone listening. "Lady Calenda said I could go to an academy."

"Ah, a foreign student," Juna adjusted to the new information in an eyeblink, as if she hadn't made a wrong assumption at all. "That proves your master is wise to send you here. You'll find no better kingdom in the world to study the arts. Which academy are you attending?"

"I don't know."

For a moment, Juna looked flustered. It didn't last long. "Well, I suppose your master would handle those details since you are so young. What's her name? Is she here with you?"

"I don't have a master," Elruin kept her eyes down. "Lady Calenda called me a wild talent, then took me away from my family's farm because they tried to feed me to morks. Then we went to my cousin's farm, but there were bad men who wanted to kill babies so we killed them. One exploded. Then we came here to get help for the babies and find out why the bad men wanted to hurt them."

Now the pair did stop to look at one another. This was quite the story they'd need to ask Calenda about in the future, but for now they had to deal with an untrained twelve year farm girl who had more raw power than half of the royal families.

"Well, now I am more glad than ever to have met you," Juna said.

"Really?" Elruin smiled, hopeful to have found a new friend, especially one who could make others stop saying mean things about her. "I'm glad to meet you, too."

"Well then, since this is your first time, I shall endeavor to make it memorable." She stood up, then stepped back some, and the tiles between her and her brother began to shift back to their shared orange state. "Interested in the tiles?"

"Why do your colors merge together with him, but pushes away mine?"

"Ah, that's resonance in action," Juna said. "You'll find that most magical energies, whether natural or coming from a mage, tend to make it more difficult for mages of different elements to cast their spells. That's why fire mages like us avoid the ocean. But when two mages work together, they come to know and trust one another until their auras are in resonance. This reduces the magical resistance and makes them stronger just by standing near those they're resonant with."

"You'll even find ways to combine your magic to generate spells that neither of you can cast alone, with elemental properties and raw power that exceeds all but your wildest dreams. With practice and trust, you can find power that only gods could cast without assistance."

"Oh." Elruin wasn't sure about their claims, but the song she heard when the two of them allowed their power to sync up was more complex than anything she could have imagined. It was beautiful yet threatening, complex yet clean, and she had no doubt that it made them stronger by far. "Your song is beautiful."

"And Revealed, too?" Juna hopped in place. "This is going to be a treat. Now, let's get to work on the fun stuff."