Any chance of waking up late in summer had disappeared from the moment he put his feet there. Not only was he taking advantage of the sunlight as much as possible, partly because his intensive classes couldn’t wait much longer, but also because the night was the only rest he had.

He was already practising with Lunaluz before breakfast, which was good and bad in equal parts. Even if it was to help him focus, the initial meditation gave Finnian a desire to sleep as bad as when he was going to class. And it’s not that this time he was bored with the matter, much less, but even he needed some time to wake up better.

“I can always throw you a jug of ice water next time,” Lunaluz suggested, uttering a light and not so friendly smile.

After his magical practice, preparing breakfast with his companions was faster, partly because they wouldn’t stay there much longer. When they cleaned everything, they approached one of the schools near the Central Area. Although it was not the one Aer and Rune belonged to, they were not unknown to the students or teachers. Meir and Katsumi were the first to approach them, as happy as the day before. However, regardless of how friendly they were, something told him it was also to show off to the rest of his friends.

“You will not make me sit on a desk, will you?” Finnian murmured, forcing a smile.

“Not at all. Today it’s time to do something more fun,” Aer said.

“Perhaps not much for you,” Rune said, releasing an evil laugh.

Instead of going inside the school, they remained in the courtyard, near where the dormitories were. Unlike eltheans born within a family, those who emerged from one of the Great Tree eggs had assigned residences according to the school they studied, unless some family received them with open arms. It could be comparable in their world to those attending a boarding school. However, as Aer and Rune assured him, they were not unattended.

“The teachers are always there, not to mention anyone who lives in the Galya,” Rune nodded.

“Don’t have ‘parents’ doesn’t mean we’re alone,” Aer said.

They were different types of family, and in the variety lay beauty.

“We’ve been here for a couple of days, and you haven’t even separated from me,” Finnian said, biting his lip. “Don’t you have to go to school?”

“In theory, yes, but….” Rune began to whisper.

“Some elthean take time to travel and learn on their own,” Ead added.

The pilgrimage. The frionach talked about it when they met, so it had more sense now, in addition to the peculiarities of Elthea. One could skip school if they were well prepared, travelling and learning things beyond the books. As a general rule, Rune was closer to something like that, although any possibility disappeared as soon as he appeared.

“Being the Signer’s partner implies changes,” she admitted with a shoulder lift.

“I’d love to see where you lived or meet your friends,” Finnian smiled. “It’s never a bad thing to go home.”

He would not pressure them. After all, how much had they been offered without him asking for it? If there was something they would prefer not to share, it would not be him who would put pressure on them.

In the courtyard, apart from a field where they could train and exercise, they had other specialized ones, each one more different. The sport was called “Rapid Fire”, and the field was, at first, sand. However, as Ailfryd (one of the teachers) gave his magic touch, many wooden poles emerged from it.

“It’s the largest space we have to do something like this, and we prevent any player from getting hurt too much if done in the upper area,” Ailfryd said, pointing toward the city over them.

The game’s goal was to put a small white disc, easy to see at any distance, by a large ring, or that was what Finnian thought. It resembled several sports in his world, although they could not be compared to what they did in it. Thus, observing younger elthean such as Meir and Katsumi, they organized themselves into teams to protect both fields.

The disc could only be grabbed when a pull was made, and all were to be initiated by a magical act of short succession. You could also attack opponents in the same way, attempting to break their balance and prevent them from continuing on the field and thus have more chance of marking a point in the rival zone. The games lasted fifteen minutes at most, varying according to the number of players who remained standing, making up to three breaks to return to the field.

“Most participants are usually small-sized elthean,” Ailfryd explained, “because not everyone has the balance of staying on the poles”.

“Or move between them,” added Aer.

Although there were exceptions, Rapid Fire was a sport where agility was fundamental if you wanted to win, although it was not the only one they practised. The elthean, similar in size to Meir and Katsumi, jumped from one pole to another, avoiding their opponents’ magic attacks while passing the disc with enough skill for someone so young. His mind connected those passes like the hockey table, although a more realistic version where falling could hurt you.

“And are I supposed to do that too?” Finnian said, pointing to the field with his finger. “If you were looking for a morning show, then you found it.”

“Oh, come on! I’m sure you’ll have a good time,” Rune said, and by his tone of voice, he was more excited to participate than to mock him.

“In my clan, we play it too. It’s not that hard after you fall a couple of times,” Leith assured him.

“But you can fly,” Finnian pointed out.

“You can do it,” Aer said. “This is nothing like on Earth, trust me.”

Because, even after all the questions they asked about his world, interested in the life they could find there, they had faith that he could overcome any barriers. Was he really going to turn around? After giving in, a burst of joy from the little ones came to his ears, becoming more than a new temporary student for that school.

“Small or big elthean,” Ailfryd whispered, looking at them all. “The size outside is the least. What matters is what we have inside.”

“Remember what you’ve practised with Lunaluz,” Ead said.

Breathe, calm down, and listen to your heart. If that sport needed magic to participate, it would have to start somehow, wouldn’t it? After climbing on the poles with the rest of his team, they allowed him to start.

Aer raised one of his arms at a short distance, just as when fighting some foe, he created a sphere of energy and then threw it. The mechanics were not going to be much different, although he almost misstepped after losing the balance, which would get him eliminated before starting.

“Calm down,” Leith exclaimed, a short distance from him. “We’re not doing this to win, okay?”

It was a practice, just that. Without expectations, without parents looking forward to something that he could never achieve, but a game where he would test control of his abilities. Inspired deep, he managed to raise the disc with his magic and release it seconds later with more force than he wanted to give it. It crossed the field like lightning, making his pulse rise, just as Rune, on the opposite team, turned into the air to repel it with her magic, making it come out of reach of anyone.

“That’s been...” Finnian babbled.

“Pretty strong, not bad,” exclaimed Aer, not far from him.

“Remember what we talked about holding a flame,” Leith added.

It was not a game where power mattered but speed, precision and control. Maybe he wasn’t good at any of them, but they were practising for some reason. The disc moved faster as soon as the opposing team kicked off, connecting the elthean passes while they tried to recover it. Finnian observed the field, watching how they made slight movements to position themselves on top of the poles, seeing that it was not only due to balance.

Then, within a short distance of him, one of his opponents wanted to pull him out of his position. It was one with the appearance of a gecko-bipedal of green scales, who “expelled” from his mouth what seemed like magic seeds. Aer emerged from nowhere, creating an air curtain to protect him, jumping between the poles in front of him.

“Keep moving,” exclaimed his partner.

“Staying in one place makes you predictable,” Leith said.

That was not a simple game, although they will treat it as such. It resembled a fight, something that could happen at any time outside the dorean. He had lived several to recognize that feeling, and even without being in danger, appreciating its similarities.

The disc passed before his eyes skillfully, straight to the goal that Meir was guarding. While moving less because of its position as a defender, the bear did not take long to throw a roar to dry stop the projectile. The elthean waited for a little to counter-attack, creating a ghostly version of his harp to send it just to him.

“So that can also be done, huh?” Finnian murmured.

There were limits, and imagination was one of them. Instead of imitating him, his first instinct was to avoid the disc, a reflection of fleeing the ball shots in the schoolyard. He then drew an arc with his arms, generating a breeze to redirect him to the nearest one, which was Leith. The dragon, unable to fly, jumped from one pole to another, making her tail shine, like Meir, to connect the pass. This went straight beyond where his players were, something Aer saw coming in how he had been moving.

Moving forward quickly and decisively, he dodged attacks from his opponents until the record reached his reach. He made a jump, wrapped him in one of his spheres, and after a dribble in the air, he shot to the place Rune occupied. The combined strength of his movement was enough for him to enter the goal, getting him to smile as he did more and more often in Elthea.

“In the end, you have managed to develop,” Leith exclaimed, flying beside her, as happy as those present.

“What do you think?” Aer asked, his gaze illuminated.

An experience he wouldn’t mind repeating. After all, what was wrong with it?