“Say, teacher, what made you change your mind?” I asked, glancing at the small hourglass on the table. Another ice pebble fell from my hands into a green plastic bucket. I had done a great job training in silence up to that point, yet the curiosity had soon become unbearable.

Realising the last grain of sand had finally gone down, Belaury reached for the eight-shaped object and turned it upside down. “Shouldn’t you be concentrating, child?” she asked, returning to her original sitting position.

We were alone on the terrace. One of her conditions for accepting Dr. Blake’s request was that it would be only the two of us from now on. She would frown and look at the windows from time to time, making sure nobody watched, but I could tell her mood had improved because of the absence of a certain vampire. Her new toy was probably playing a big part, as well.

A magic wand. One that looked quite different from anything I’d seen on any media. To begin with, it was metallic. Mythril, apparently. This wasn't a unique feature, of course, though wood was definitely more common for them. Now, while metal wands weren’t that rare, this one’s length definitely was. At sixty centimetres, the plain-looking rod was way longer than the box it came in. How did it fit then? Well, it happened to be telescopic. It was divided into three segments, reminding me of an old radio antenna, although much ticker. The handle, which was the widest section, was around three centimetres in diameter, and it had two small buttons near where the user’s thumb rested. It was clear to me that they were used to control the telescopic feature. Last, but not least, the wand had a small pommel made with a pale material. Keith mentioned a magic alloy with that cream colour, but I couldn’t remember its name or what it did. I wondered if this was that metal. This pommel wasn’t fully connected to the rest of the handle, leaving a rather thin, yet annoying for my taste, gap between the two materials.

I lifted another bit of water from the blue bucket and separated a bit to form the first sphere. “Weren’t you the one who said I needed a bigger challenge?” I countered with a smirk.

My current task certainly proved this. It involved creating at least four ice marbles per minute. That, to my teacher’s misfortune, turned out to be too generous to me. With nothing to distract me, the help of my previous training, and maybe even my blessing, I was sure I could do at least six spheres within that time. Although talking to her did drop my efficiency, I was confident in my ability to keep up with the minimum requirement.

Belaury chuckled and put the wand on the table. “You got me.” She sighed, planting her elbows on the table to support her head as she adopted a slumped posture. “Honestly, there were many factors that influenced our decision. In order of occurrence, the first was a not-at-all heated discussion I had with Vik a few days ago. Funny enough, it was about what we would do if humans ever found us. I never imagined that the hypothetical moment would become a reality so soon. Needless to say, when Allison told us about the accident, Vik and I were already mentally prepared to make contact.”

My eyes widened. “You knew it would be like that?”

“We didn’t know. Rather, we suspected it. As much as I hated the thought of it, we were well aware that such a fall could end up with a bigger audience than what we would’ve liked, especially when the one to fall was Anna. Her being the daughter of the one person in charge never escaped our minds.”

I frowned. “If those were your thoughts from the start, why did you threaten to leave?”

“Oh, come on, child. It hasn’t been long since we met, but you know very well how stubborn I can be. I won’t deny the fact that anger clouded my judgment and made me try to escape the situation. In the end, I needed Vik to remind me that, after all these years, we had a new purpose in life. Something we shouldn’t abandon, even if it means putting our own lives on the line.”

Hearing this from her, I couldn't avoid smiling. It was true that we hadn't known each other for long, but Belaury was kind to me, and she accepted everything about me without questioning. That said, there was still something that worried me from what I saw earlier. “What about Keith?”

“Who?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Sorry. That’s the knight’s name.”

“Right. That man.” She snorted. “He’s most likely telling the truth. Despite being human, he doesn’t strike me as someone dishonest.” She looked at the table and placed a hand on her new possession. “He was also the one who suggested giving me this, wasn’t he?”

I glanced at the metal rod again. It didn’t look special at all. “Is it that good?” I asked in disbelief.

“You should never judge a book by its cover. This thing can amplify both my reach and power. I doubt anyone with a brain would give me a wand like this if they planned on betraying me later on. That’s why I chose to trust him.”

I kept staring at the object under her hand.

Why did Keith have it on him to begin with?

It’s not like he knew there were two survivors here, right?

“Even if he turns out to be a liar,” she continued, “both Vik and I are old. We’ve already lived our lives, as dull as they were. We’ll be lucky if we get to live past another century.”

I lost my concentration. The piece of ice I was working on fell to the floor and shattered. “A century!?"

“Ah, yes.” Belaury rolled her eyes. “I keep forgetting you were human before we met. I suppose that sounds like a long time for you. Considering your own aging situation, though, I’d suggest you abandon that perception of time you have. From what you’ve told me, your development is quite similar to that of a giant from my time. If that’s the case, be prepared to live at least twice as long as you were supposed to before your transformation. Given how much your mana capacity has grown, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if you get to live more than I will.” She glanced below the table and stared at the melting ice. “Don’t worry, I will count that one. It’s not like you've made a mistake so far.”

“Thanks, I guess,” I responded, trying to recover from the revelation as she flipped the hourglass once more. “What about Dr. Blake’s deal? When we met you, you absolutely refused to let him know of your existence. Now, you even accepted to sit just outside of the building.” I looked at the dark windows above us. “You may not notice, but they’ve been watching us,” I added.

She instantly followed my line of sight. By then, the silhouette was gone. It wasn’t like she could see anything, anyway. Belaury sighed. “Yes, I suspected that would be the case. Oh well.” She shrugged and returned to her original position. “Concerning the deal, I suppose it came out as a surprise for you. To tell you the truth, Anna’s situation back when we met reminded me too much of my own family. An elf marrying a human... Many of my people frowned at such an event. Still, Vik and I were fine with it. We supported our daughter, Lurein, and her husband’s decision. We thought he was a fine man. A bit too young for her, and the difference in their lifespans meant Lurein and her child would be left alone too soon, but we had nothing against their union. We never imagined things would end up like they did.” She sniffed and cleaned the tear that peeked from the corner of her eye. “Alas, that is a story for another time. The point is that I compared both men, and I feared that Anna’s father would be similar. You may think I was being paranoid, but his daughter is no longer human, and as crazy as it may sound, that difference can be problematic for some individuals.”

Belaury’s words brought back memories from weeks ago. From when I witnessed the behaviour Lily’s parents displayed, and how scared I was of my parents’ reaction when they saw the new me. Even Sylvia was affected by that reality.

“This view of mine changed when his group showed up," she continued. "The man is strange, though he definitely showed concern for Anna. More importantly, he dropped his hostility when he realised we were elves. The same can be said of the knight... Keith, was it?” I nodded. “Right. Keith sheathed his sword, too. And let’s not forget about the wand. Those gestures left a good impression on me. I still don’t fully trust them, but they certainly aren’t the bloodthirsty beings I remembered. This, in addition to Anna’s own words, made me reconsider my previous stance on humans. At least for the ones living here. The doctor did mention most people are still a problem, and I’ll take his word for it.”

"I see," I said, nodding. "Then what about breaking your oath?"

She gave me a confident smile. "I'm not worried about it."

I tilted my head. "Why?"

"We're talking about Oring, the god of justice himself. His punishment will be fair."

I looked down, observing the water freeze above my hand as I thought about it.

"Intent is an important element in one's actions," she explained, turning the hourglass once more. "I broke my oath because of a selfless act. So, while it won't free me from being judged, it should help reduce the severity of my punishment. That's the reason oaths cannot be fully trusted. The consequences for breaking one are too diverse to be taken for granted, and some individuals can even hide them. You should only bind someone to an oath if you're sure it will truly benefit you."

“I see…” Satisfied with those answers, I returned to working on my task in silence. It didn’t last long, though.

“Stop.”

I looked up to see her staring at my hands. “Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

“That ring,” Belaury suddenly said, narrowing her eyes. “You didn’t have that before.”

My eyes traveled to the piece of jewelry. I had forgotten about it. “I’ve had it on all day, though.”

Did she not see it until now?

I could understand it during the day. She was probably too busy dealing with everyone else to notice. Now that we were alone, though, there was no way she could’ve missed it. After all, she was supposed to watch my training. That meant observing my hands and the ice they formed. My eyes wandered to the metallic wand.

“It’s enchanted, isn’t it?” she asked, pulling me back from my thoughts.

“Yes,” I answered, rubbing the gem with one finger. “How did you know?”

“Do I seem that ignorant to you, child? It’s been centuries, but there’s no way I would mistake Ærnyth’s appearance. It’s too unique to forget. The only reason someone would use such a thing for a ring is because the gemstone is enchanted.” Belaury thrusted her open palm towards me. “Can I see it?”

I nodded, dropping the piece of ice that still hovered over my hand. I removed the ring before dropping it on her hand.

“Who made this?” She asked, inspecting the tiny object.

“Keith said it was a survivor from the war. A vampire.”

“Guess, we have fewer reasons to doubt him now.” She got up and placed it close to one of the lamps. “An amethyst. And this runic pattern… A psychic spell, am I right?”

“An illusion,” I replied wide eyed. It surprised me how she could tell so easily. “Does the type of gem matter for this?”

“No,” she responded, shaking her head. “At least not directly. It was common practice to use colours to represent different types of magic, just like how the ruby I gave you contains a fire spell. If someone from my time made this, it makes sense that they followed this tradition. That said, the only real way to tell what enchantment it contains is the rune in its core.”

“I thought you said you didn’t know about enchanting.” I commented, remembering what she said when Rex asked about it.

“Don’t put words in my mouth, child,” she replied, frowning. “What I meant to say back then was that I’m not an enchanter. There’s a clear difference between that and being clueless. I can tell it is a psychic spell because those always generate waving patterns like this, but I can’t identify what spell it is just by looking.” She frowned and walked back to the table, putting the ring next to me. “Use it,” she ordered in a calm tone.

I grabbed the ring and did as my teacher asked, remembering to picture myself as a human kid before supplying mana into it. The strange feeling was back, stronger under studious her gaze.

Belaury stood up and looked at my disguised body. She circled around me once before returning to her seat. “Is that how you looked as a human?”

I nodded, fiddling with my fingers in an attempt to distract myself from the discomfort. “Many years ago, yes.”

“Interesting,” she said, placing a hand under her chin. “Ah. There it is. The hole in your disguise.”

I looked behind me, following her line of sight. She was looking at one of the windows. There, I saw my reflection. Keith’s words came back to me when I stared at my real self. My sight shifted to my hand. No claws were present, and the ring was glowing.

“I hope you’re not planning on using that to blend in with the humans. I’ve heard Illusions have low mana costs, but they can be tricky to use, particularly in crowds. Now, I can see why.”

“Do you have any tips?” I asked, hoping to improve its efficacy.

Belaury shook her head. “No. I’m not that familiar with illusion magic. I use mirages instead.”

“Mirages?” Keith had mentioned that elementarists had their own way to stay out of sight. It sounded like this was it.

She smiled. “Let me show you.”

Belaury closed her eyes, and her ears suddenly shrank. Her hair also changed to a golden blonde, instead of silver. She looked human. I turned back to the mirror and noticed her reflection was the same.

“Unlike illusions, which focus on altering someone’s perception, mirages manipulate the light that reflects from an object,” she explained.

“Is it superior?”

“Neither is superior. Both have their own strengths and weaknesses. Like I said, illusions are based on perception. Supposedly, a master illusionist can fool all five senses. If you can achieve this, your disguise can be very convincing. From what I’ve heard, this can become quite draining in huge crowds, mostly because you need to make sure everyone is affected by your magic. If you miss someone, or if a target is too far, that person can call out on your tricks. Mirages, on the other hand, can be perceived the same way by anyone, no matter their numbers or how far they are. The downside, however...” She leaned forward and grabbed my hand, leading it to her ears. I could feel her real long ear where my eyes could only see air. “They only change the way you look. Light magic can also be quite demanding.”

“I think I get it. It’s like installing new software. The complete method is simple and guarantees a proper installation at the cost of possible bloatware, while the custom method can be more useful for people who know what they’re doing.”

Belaury just stared at me, mouth agape. She blinked twice and broke into laughter. “I didn’t get half of what you said, but sure, let’s go with that. It sounds like you got it.”

I could only look away as my face got warmer.

What was I thinking!?

She doesn’t even know what a computer is!

“A-anyway, is there any other alternative to these two spells?” I asked, forcing the conversation to continue.

“You mean something you can use to disguise yourself?”

I nodded.

“No. As far as I know, those are the only two options.”

I knitted my eyebrows in response. “Wait. I remember you mentioned something like a magical plastic surgery once. Is that different?”

“There’s that term again,” Belaury pointed out with a frown. “Isn’t plastic the material my new salt container is made of? How do you use it for surgery?”

My first reaction was to facepalm myself. I used another odd term right after my blunder. That was followed by confusion. I didn’t actually know why it was named like that.

Is it because you mold it into something else?

“You’re doing that staring thing, Nora.”

Hearing that, I shook my head. “Sorry. I was thinking about how I don't know why it’s called that. But that’s not important. I’m talking about the, uh, the life magic that changes someone’s appearance.”

“Oh, that,” she bobbed her head. “Well. I suppose it can be used as a disguise if you have the patience to go through it. It’s too lengthy and painful to be convenient, so I wouldn’t recommend something like that unless you’re truly desperate.”

Connor’s image popped into my mind just then. “Let’s assume I know someone desperate enough to go through it. They really hate the way they look. Can Viken use that magic on them?”

“Do I know that person?” Belaury asked, folding her arms.

“No,” I replied, shaking my head. “I’m talking about a werewolf.”

“What’s that?”

“They didn’t exist back then?”

She smiled and rested her head on one hand. “What do you think?”

“Right.” I sighed. I was making too many mistakes during this conversation. “A werewolf is just what it sounds like. A person with wolf traits. You know, like fur, a wolf’s head and even a tail. I guess it’s easier to imagine them as big wolves standing upright.”

Belaury simply nodded. Her right hand covered her mouth while her thumb and index pressed lightly on her cheeks. “Tell me one thing, child. What exactly is this person trying to change about their appearance?”

My eyes widened at the question. I thought it was already quite obvious. “He wants to go back to being human.”

She clicked her tongue and slowly shook her head. “Oh, my dear apprentice. You can be quite naïve sometimes.”

I disregarded her mocking and asked, “Is that a no?”

“If changing one’s race with magic, at least externally, was a thing, don’t you think many of us would have done it during the purge?”

I pressed my lips and looked down.

“Exactly.”

The class ended soon after our conversation. Belaury declared I cleared my task successfully and told me to rest well for the next day, as she would, once more, increase the difficulty of my challenge. Before leaving, she told me Viken was nearly done with Sylvia’s potion, and that he would bring it with him in the morning.

I was mentally exhausted after my lesson. Additionally, thanks to the unexpected change in location, it started much later than usual. Needless to say, all I really wanted was to head to bed early. I did go through my messages and checked in with my family before that, of course. There was nothing worth mentioning, other than a few odd posts about strange animal sightings. They seemed interesting, but I simply skimmed through them and saved the links so I could read them the next day. It didn’t take long for me to drift into sleep.