"Dear principal." I state in a sarcastic tone. After the siege of Erbilan, we parted on a more amicable note, but we can't be considered reconciled. After all, I killed some of the professors, and he was complicit in killing my mother.

"Miss Marcott!" Jumping up from his chair in surprise, Thorvadis stares at me through his rectangular glasses. He's unexpectedly nimble for his advanced age, moving like somebody who has seen half as many summers as his physical appearance suggests he has. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to learn gravity magic from you." With a nonchalant statement, I look around his office. The last time I was here, I stabbed Basarab through the throat and was knocked out the window onto the field outside. "You may or may not have noticed what happened yesterday."

Right now, I have only Flann with me. There's nothing left among the humans that could hurt me now, so I didn't need to take anybody else to help me in case a battle happens. But I'm not here to start anything, only to learn the concept behind gravity magic. With the right knowledge, I should be able to use it up to the limits of the Imagination Engine.

"I saw the moon falling, and a goddess stopping it." Thorvadis replies honestly. So Tokomaha was visible even halfway across the globe. It's early in the morning here, as opposed to evening in Arkaim, so he must have had the opportunity to sleep over that divine sight if he could.

"Well, the moon is going to leave this planet's orbit in less than a fortnight if we don't do something about it." Shrugging as if it's not that big of a deal, I pace around the room and take in the sights. The repairs to the wall haven't left a single mark, and the stone looks just the same as it did before. "But before that comes a greater calamity."

"Greater than the moon falling?" Raising a bushy eyebrow, Thorvadis asks with a skeptical glint in his inquisitive eyes.

"The sun falling." I look out the window. It's facing east, so the sun is just peeking above the Kongensgrad. It may just be my impression because I know what's happening, but it looks brighter than usual. Massive solar winds can't be equated to the entire sun coming toward Earth, but for all intents and purposes, the result will be the same. Explaining the concept of celestial activities to people from a medieval society will just take too much time.

"And you believe that gravity magic can stop it?" Now the principal looks even more skeptical. He should have gotten a good idea of the size of the moon and of Tokomaha, who stopped its fall.

"It's not so much gravity magic but the understanding of gravity itself." I return my gaze to the old man standing behind his desk. We explained the Imagination Engine to him, but it's hard for people of this age to come to terms with the concept of a machine that can turn thoughts into physical phenomena.

"Then, let me recommend you some books from the forbidden section." Motioning to round his desk, Thorvadis states with an attitude that suggests he's aware of the fact that I broke in there before to learn transportation magic. But I raise a hand to stop him.

"No, there is no point in learning from the books at this point." I gesture at the tea table between the two couches and make the vase fall upward before catching it with my hand. It's an application of the gravity spell I learned by copying the principal's when he launched me into space, but that's the extent of what I can do. For that, I need a surface and already existing gravity, which I merely reverse.

He stares at me in confusion. Then he sits down, lifts his glasses, and rubs the bridge of his hawk nose as if irritated about something. Looking at me put the vase back in place, he shakes his head and sighs.

"If you can so easily achieve what took me decades to master, there is nothing more I can teach you." His voice sounds annoyed, and I can understand why. But he shouldn't think of me as some youth that just comes along and does something he has been practicing all his life better at my first try. We're literally worlds apart.

"That's not true." I give Thorvadis a wry smile and glance back at Flann. "I need to know how gravity works. It's more than moving something with one's thoughts."

Wind magic is the closest to gravity insofar that it's causing physical phenomena with invisible forces. Thus, somebody incredibly proficient at the wind element could use it like telekinesis. But whereas air will have a harder time moving objects, the heavier they get, gravity isn't limited by such things. By reversing gravity, even the most massive object can be launched into space.

I need Thorvadis to give me a quick lesson in its more delicate applications. Then I'll be able to use it on any scale I can imagine, as long as the Imagination Engine can handle the energy requirements. That way, I should be able to reverse the gravity of the solar winds and send them back into the sun.

At least I'm working under the assumption that this is the same way Areteniha sent them toward us in the first place. If that assumption turns out to be wrong, I don't know what more we could do. That's why I can't think about this too deeply and only press forward.

"When will it happen?" The principal asks while adjusting the glasses that became crooked from his earlier movements.

"Three days from now." I reply calmly, causing him to stare at me with his eyes wide open. He used to be exceedingly calm even under pressure, but I've surprised him twice today. I consider that a win. "We're going to the sun and speak to the false god responsible for this in the evening. Until then, I would like to learn all there is to know about gravity."

Leaning back in his chair, Thorvadis seems to shrink from the stress piling up, and he looks more wizened than ever. Closing his eyes as if deep in thought, he breathes in and out a few times to come to terms with my demands. Then he opens his eyes again and stares at me as if I'm an alien.

"It took me decades to understand the principle behind gravity and its application in magic. There is a reason I am the only living human in the world who can command it." He's close to hysteria, but his voice remains firm. There's a hint of pride in his tone, but he's aware that there have been others throughout history who achieved gravity magic. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been any books written about it in the library's forbidden section. "I cannot teach you in a day what took me most of my life."

"I know. I'm not asking to learn everything about it. I only need to know the core principle." Waving off the principal's concerns, I look at him with an intent gaze. Then my face softens, and I give him a confident smile. "Tell me what it feels like."