“Magic flows through everything on Xren,” the instructor said, and Orenda tried to arrange herself more comfortably on the mat, “in every living thing, but also in the ground below us, the stones that hold the planet together, the plants and mountains that reach for the heavens.”.

“It is often said,” Orenda’s instructor continued, “that magic flows more strongly in a forest, where there is more life, however, it flows everywhere. The ground you’re sitting on is part of a living, breathing planet. For mages who are new to magic, this flow can be difficult to contain or control. I wouldn’t like to frighten you, but you must be aware that when one reaches into the flow of magic and pulls from it, one links with the will of a living planet, of a living god, and that such power can, very easily, be too much to contain, be so powerful that more than one mage has caused massive destruction of property, without meaning to, simply because they lack control.”

The entire class, along with their instructor, turned to look at Orenda.

“That was an accident waiting to happen!” Orenda snarled, “And I’ve paid to have it repaired!”

“Stop it,” the instructor demanded, and the majority of the class did, but Orenda could still feel eyes on her and turned to see the girl, Shalendra, staring at her as if in an attempt to stare into her soul.

“The goal for any mage,” the instructor continued, “is to bend and shape the magic that flows through and around them, without being consumed by it. It takes perfect concentration, perfect focus. One must learn to put aside distractions, such as particularly strong emotions, that can cause that focus to waver. The goal here, today, is to achieve tranquility while surrounded by the elements that make that magic so difficult to control, here in the garden. Yes, Orenda.”

“Should I go and sit in a fire?” Orenda asked, looking around, “I’m just… unsure if this is going to help me contain and focus my magic. There aren’t any flames out here at all; there are only… plants and rocks.”

“Fire actually weakens the flow of earth magic,” the instructor explained, “the goal today is to learn to be as tranquil as a forest. It wouldn’t be fair to the other students to move to… I don’t even know where we… yes, Lord Glenlen.”

“Tranquil as a forest?” Tolith asked, “Are… are forests known for tranquility? There’s a forest behind my father’s estate and he says that I can’t go out there without bodyguards, because there are tigers there, and they maul people to death. And I mean, there are a lot of animals out there. He catches them and keeps them in our menagerie, so I believe him.”

“A true earth mage has no fear of woodland creatures,” the instructor answered, “one can learn to commune with nature-”

“With tigers?” Orenda asked, “Are you saying that you have no fear of tigers? If a tiger leaped over that fence and into this garden we would all, what? Sit here while you stroked its fur? We’re impressionable children! Don’t tell us to attempt to commune with tigers. I think Tolith has the correct idea here- don’t go into places where tigers are known to frequent.”

“I’m separating you two,” the instructor said, “Orenda, gather your things and move to the edge of the group.”

“That won’t make him wrong,” Orenda said as she stood and picked up her mat to move.

“Did you say you had a tiger?” Shalendra asked Tolith, “In your menagerie?”

“No,” Tolith said, “Not yet, but he’s going to catch one. They’re really hard to catch.”

“Shalendra!” The instructor called, “gather your things and move to the opposite side! Everyone sit there, with your backs straight, clutching your mage focus, feel the magic flowing around you, and cast nothing!”

Orenda attempted to mimic the stance she had been told to keep, legs crossed with the staff lying on her lap, clutching it in both hands, back straight, and eyes closed.

She felt a great many things.

She felt the fires burning in the hearts of the people around her.

She felt the sun shining down on her flesh, the heat of it, the magic that poured to her through the void of the mystical world beyond the firmament, home to billions of burning stars.

She felt another power rising up from below, the very beating heart of the planet, the heat upon which the stone the earth elves loved so much sat and floated, the fire that gave the planet life and the energy that formed and destroyed entire continents.

She felt the heaviness of the bathhouse, so close to her, and the sea, infusing the air with water and weighing it down, but it was nothing compared to the way she had felt underwater. Orenda vowed to never find herself underwater again.

Then, Orenda began not only to feel things, but to see them.

She was standing on a narrow pathway above a lake of lava, and she felt that drawings in her science books did not do justice to what she was now seeing. It did not flow like water, but it did flow, did have a life all its own, though it was much slower, still it bubbled and breathed and moved with all the energy it contained.

Her science books had said that no earth elf could stand where she now stood. It was too hot for them, their bodies could not take it.

But Orenda stood on the narrow pathway, staring at a single column of living flame that sprang from the lake below her towards a ceiling so high above that it dwarfed the height of the mage academy, and there, as well, the ceiling tumbled, burned, then solidified, but did not drip.

Orenda did not understand this strange place, because there were only two explanations: either her science books were wrong, or this place defied understanding. But she recognized it. This was the place where the fire elves chose their princesses.

Master, the staff within the flame called out to her, master, I am waiting for you, only for you. I will give you everything you have ever desired.

“I desire that they be safe,” Orenda said, “I desire a homeworld that is not being choked by an empress I shall never see. I want everything to be alright, as it was in the imaginary world I believe only exists in the head of my friend Ali.”

And you shall have it, master. The staff promised, I shall give you everything you ever wanted, you only have to find it.

Orenda reached into the flames-

“And that’s our time,” the instructor said, “I’m very proud of all of you. You were able to feel the magic without letting it overwhelm you. Tomorrow we’ll move on to easily controlled spells you’ll find listed in chapter three of your textbooks, so read that, and perhaps practice these meditation exercises before you return to class.”

Orenda was attempting to blink the world back into existence as other children packed up their equipment to head off to the midday meal.

This was not the first time she had had dreams about that strange place. Had she fallen asleep?

“Tolith,” Shalendra asked, “would you like to join me for lunch? I’d love to hear about your holiday.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Tolith shrugged, then called, “Rendy, want to get something to eat?”

“Oh,” Orenda said and finally began to roll up her mat, “No, I think I’ll take my meals out of doors. I’ve found this meditation exercise to be quite beneficial, but I do have a very full schedule today.”

“You sure?” he asked.

“Some other time,” Orenda said absentmindedly as a boy seemed to appear out of nowhere to brush past her.

“To-li,” he said, prompting Tolith to smile, raise a fist and respond.

“Vo-ron,” he said in the same exact cadance as they punched each other, fists colliding in mid-air, then went into a complicated series of maneuvers that, to Orenda, seemed completely pointless.

“Got my pool back,” Voron said excitedly, “What’d you do all holiday? A bunch of rich stuff?”

“More or less,” Tolith shrugged, “I caught a cobia as big as I am.”

“You’ve got a terrible sunburn,” Voron told him.

“Yeah, I know,” Tolith said, “Nobody tell my mom. I know it looks awful.”

“I have to pull your skin off!” Voron said, voicing what was, apparently, a strong compulsion.

“You better not!” Tolith held up a hand and began to back away.

“I have to!” Voron argued, “Look at it! Look at your ears!”

“Don’t!” Tolith warned.

“I’m sorry, man,” Voron said, “there’s no other way.”

He leaped onto Tolith and they both went tumbling to the ground where they rolled in the grass, playfully slapping at each other until Voron did manage to pin his opponent, and, true to his word, began to peel the skin from his ears.

“Dad said it would fall off when it was ready!” Tolith said, then screamed in earnest, as this process of skin removal apparently hurt.

“Enjoy your luncheon,” Orenda said to Shalendra before she turned and headed in the direction of the dining hall herself.