Jonah stared at Layla’s bruised face. “You know…”

“I will heal on my own,” Layla said with crossed arms.

“I think it’s an improvement,” Sidrick said. “The purple goes well with your hair.”

Layla glared.

“I always thought you were stronger than me, but to think you couldn’t even break a bone…” Sidrick shook his head.

“I thought the arcane shield was cool,” Jonah said.

“But ineffective against a fist,” Sidrick quickly added.

“If it wasn't so easy, I’d beat the shit out of you,” Layla said, not looking Sidrick’s way and focusing on Jonah. “So? Why’d you cancel our very important reading time?”

“Sidrick’s hopefully-mentor is back in town, so I’m taking him over to meet him,” Jonah said. “Layla, in the meantime, Hedwin will take you to our smith for a new hammer.”

Layla shifted. “Okay. Uh, I actually…”

“Don’t want to look like shit while meeting the best smith in Centralis?”

Layla gave a slight nod.

“Yeah, thought so.” Jonah produced a dark blue potion and tossed it over. “Use it like a lotion. Hedwin will be here in half an hour. Let’s go, Sidrick. Before Kor decides he wants to run around the city.”

“Are you sure there won’t be a problem if I’m seen with you?” Sidrick asked.

“I take students to meet Kor all the time. This won’t be different.”

“You take other students? Hedwin said there weren’t many soul mages here.”

“Kor’s wife—Marcelline—is one of the best nature mages in Centralis. Kor is the only one that can get her to consult on things outside her own projects. And I’m one of the only ones that can get him to sit still,” Jonah said. “We’ll have an elf joining us, by the way. A student.”

“Do they already know who I am?”

“No. An elf wouldn’t care anyway. Even if you come across as weird to other people, you being a traveler will be the last thing a normal person suspects. Most people don’t even believe we exist.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Sidrick said, recalling how widespread the stories of travellers were on Yenoriha. You could see traces of them in several fields of magic. Sidrick saw more and more of it as he got familiar with Linean theory.

“If you were lowborn, how many things would suddenly become unbelievable?” Jonah asked. “Very powerful mages venture to the bottom of a labyrinth, tear open reality, fly through the endless chaos of the Ethereal, and suddenly appear in your dimension. If your greatest impression of magic was a big fireball, how much of that would sound plausible to you?”

“She’s got a point, Sidrick,” Layla said. “Half the mercenaries I worked with thought the Ethereal was a myth.”

Sidrick made a face. “What?”

“They were the worst. I told you the stories.”

“We’re teaching people about it all, but…” Jonah shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe how resistant people are to Ethereal theory.”

“Does Linea have a religion that says it doesn’t exist? Please, please tell me they do,” Layla said.

“…They do. It’s been heavily declining, but… yes. They do.”

“It’s kind of mean, but… oh man, their faces when you just show it to them.”

“It is pretty good, yeah,” Jonah admitted.

Layla looked at Sidrick. “Train up your space magic, kiddo. You have no idea what you’re missing.”

Sidrick just rolled his eyes.

“Well, let’s get going. Wouldn’t want to make this a manhunt,” Jonah half-joked.

#

Walking through the academy’s halls was uncomfortable, to say the least. Sidrick was good enough at keeping a neutral face but he hadn’t been around so many people in a year. Maybe more—his time in the Ethereal was blurry. The tenth layer hadn’t helped steady his mind either.

The halls were full of mostly humans, but the occasional beastman, demi, or other “imaginary” creature was enough to send Sidrick’s mind reeling. Centralis was a childhood storybook come alive. More and more, he wanted to see what was out there. Linea was an untapped gold mine of impossible things. What he would give to travel and see it all…

If Kor could teach him Linean magic, he’d do whatever it took to become his disciple.

They arrived at a classroom. Jonah told him to wait outside while she grabbed the elven student. He heard the class’ teacher address her with annoyance, protest about something, and give up as Jonah opened the door.

Behind her was a bright elven girl with big wire frame glasses and long black hair. Her eyes were a mellow green, sparkling with excitement as she followed Jonah. She wore the same blue and white academy uniform as everyone else. Though Sidrick did notice the copper frame on her badge—a distinction of some kind. She looked to be his age, but considering Pomark, she could’ve been a few centuries his senior.

“Okay, let’s get going,” Jonah said. She gestured to Sidrick. “Enea, Sidrick. Sidrick, Enea.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Sidrick said, extending a hand as they followed Jonah.

Enea smiled and shook. “Are you a student?”

“No. But we’ll see.”

“You should enroll! I run the plant magic club. We have to stick together, you know,” Enea said with a bright smile.

“I’m… not a plant mage,” Sidrick said.

She deflated, her disappointment plain as day. “Alchemist then?”

“I dabble, but no.”

“Then why do you want to meet Marcy?”

“I’m meeting Kor.”

Her eyes widened. “Wait, what are your affinities?”

Sidrick blinked.

“Oh, um, sorry. I get that some people aren’t comfortable telling,” Enea said. “Mine are plants, water, and earth. I know. And yes, it is the best.”

“I…” Sidrick frowned. This was a new start. He didn’t want to hide every part of his life. Not anymore. Even if it meant getting stung somewhere down the line. If Jonah trusted Enea, so would he.

“My affinities are ice, soul, and space.”

“Wow, those don’t fit together at all!” Enea laughed.

Sidrick smiled. “You’d be surprised. Ice and space do, at least conceptually. I’m hoping Kor will help with soul.”

“Eh. Good luck,” Enea said. “How do ice and space fit together?”

“You picture space as a liquid.”

“I don’t think that would help with all the calculations.”

“It does, to an extent. It narrows your focus and provides a mental guideline,” Sidrick said.

Enea furrowed her brow. “Can you cast a spell really quick and show what you mean?”

“I can’t. Apologies. I promised my mentor to only focus on one affinity at a time,” Sidrick said.

“Uh… Weird. But okay. So you’re doing soul now?”

He nodded.

They exited the main academy and went out to the city streets. Sidrick couldn’t help but smile as he looked up at the buildings, surveyed the shops as they passed, and took in the many sounds and smells of the city. The people were happy, their steps light and their eyes full of hope. Walking alongside them was completely different than looking down from above. It felt like he was feeling the sun for the first time since coming here.

Sidrick understood it then, how travellers could fall in love and call Centralis home. He understood how they could forget their past. He understood it all. What scared him was the lack of joy in his heart. The utter lack of belonging.

Yenoriha taught him that happiness was bought with blood. And maybe, deep down, he could accept no other truth.

If Centralis became his home, even if it was Linea’s closest thing to utopia, he would never stop looking for the rot. And it would destroy him.

Maybe… Maybe if he travelled, truly tried to live a new life, things would be different.

“I had the same face when I came here for the first time,” Enea said. “I never thought a place could be so beautiful and alive.”

“I heard the Topaz Coast is better,” Sidrick said.

Enea laughed. “I wouldn’t know. I was born in Helni.”

“Never made the trip to see what it’s like?”

“I want to go someday, maybe when my parents are getting ready to finish their centuries,” Enea said. “And before you ask, I’m on my first. I’m 19, not 100.”

“What’s your focus, then?”

“I don’t know yet.” She shrugged. “My parents want me to just choose, but… I kind of enjoy seeing where things take me. I mean, I have the time, right?”

“I’m still trying to figure out my focus too,” Sidrick said.

“You two want a quick snack? I’ll buy,” Jonah said as they walked toward a couple food stalls.

Sidrick shook his head. He’d rather see Kor as soon as possible. “I’m fi—“

“Yes, please!” Enea said. “I skipped breakfast.”

Jonah smiled. “Which one? Noodles or kebabs?”

“I don’t mind,” Sidrick said.

“Can we get one of each? I want to try both,” Enea said.

Jonah shrugged and tossed a coin to Enea. “You get the noodles. Sidrick, come pick what kebabs you want.”

Enea happily went over to the noodle stall’s short line.

“I’ll just have whatever is good,” Sidrick said to Jonah as they walked up to the kebab stand.

“Nuh-uh. Your choice,” Jonah said.

“I don’t—“

“Just pick whatever looks good. Damn.”

He groaned and looked over the menu.

#

“The noodles are better,” Enea said.

“Agreed,” Sidrick said as he finished the last kebab. Their little party entered a richer looking neighborhood. The homes were built with form and function in equal measure, the roads felt slightly cleaner, and the people had obviously put more effort in appearances. As they passed, all gave respectful nods. Sidrick suspected it was because Jonah was there.

What surprised him was the seemingly equal distribution of humans and nonhumans.

“Families of representatives, powerful mages, big merchants, and so on,”Jonah said as she gestured around. “Most of them are pretty nice. Their kids can be a pain sometimes, but you tend to get humbled pretty quick in Centralis.”

Sidrick could see their destination at the end of the block. It was absolutely covered in plants of all types, shapes, sizes, and colors. He could vaguely see a house hidden behind the vines and trees.

“Kor isn’t home that often, so Marcy can go a little crazy,” Enea said. “It looks completely different from the last time I was here.”

“When was that?” Sidrick asked.

“A month ago, I guess.”

Sidrick made a face.

“The neighborhood gets tons of free fruits and vegetables, so they don’t mind too much,” Jonah said.

“But…” Sidrick tried to find the words. “Isn’t she worried about damaging the house? Or making something out of control?”

“Well, Marcy is really good with her magic. Really, really good,” Enea said. “Also…”

“She’s Klevyan,” Jonah said as if it explained everything.

“Yes,” Enea said with a sigh. “She’s Klevyan.”

Sidrick was about to ask but stopped himself. He’d look it up later.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll like Marcy if you meet her,” Enea said, smiling. “A little odd, but she’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met.”

Sidrick took a deep breath as he looked at the house. If the meeting went well, he couldn’t help but think the world would suddenly open for him. As if all his restrictions would suddenly lift. All he needed was direction, then he’d pour every ounce of determination into building a new life. Years from now, Yenoriha would just be a bad dream.

“She helped us build our club’s garden, you know. It’s the prettiest place on campus,” Enea said.

He smiled. “I would love to see it.”

Jonah suddenly stopped.

Sidrick raised a brow. “What’s—“

Enea coughed and fell to her knees as she struggled to breathe.

Before Sidrick could help her up, a wave of heat erupted from Jonah. The flash of white flame shot toward Kor’s house before fizzling out. The next moment, she had disappeared, only a shimmer in space left where she was.

Sidrick felt space twist around him. Spatial arrays swirled into his mind’s eye. An elementary spatial lock started forming around him.

He glanced down at Enea.

Cursing, he cast the spell on her, and the world around him tore into the Ethereal’s familiar ocean of churning mana. He was jerked back into reality a moment later.

The grass below turned to cobblestone, the sky turned the hues of a sunset, and spires of twisting wood and roots grew into an endless city of hollowed trees. At the domain’s center, a man with long black hair and an ornate white robe phased into reality. He surveyed Sidrick with unfeeling silver eyes.

“That,” the man said, “was very interesting magic.”

All the possibilities, all the promise, all that Sidrick had gained by leaving Yenoriha…

It all died in a single sentence.