New Friends (1)

Up close, the university of Bel Terra was huge. The only building larger was the Royal palace.. The main building was laid out as a huge square with a lush garden at its center. At the corners rose large towers scraping at the sky as fantastical beasts of stone glowered down at the crowd far below in the quadrangle. In some places, she could see the blue roof under the snow. The large windows were as reflective as mirrors, frustrating Romane as she tried to peer within.

There were about 100 people in the quadrangle today. New adepts and their guardians. Several were talking animatedly, no doubt excited. Romane didn't recognize anyone she knew. It was like a small sea of strangers. She was apprehensive of her unfamiliar surroundings.

"I thought you'd be talking my ear off," Nan remarked. "Is something wrong?"

Romane looked up at her aunt. "No, I'm just thinking."

"What about?"

"Those towers are each dedicated to a form. Light, Water, Earth and Nature, and Spirit. I was wondering which is which."

Her aunt gave a small chuckle. "You've gotten much better at lying; I don't know if I ought to be proud." Another soft laugh. "Too little too late I'm afraid. Tell me what's on your mind."

Romane gestured to the people around them sharing in the chill of the winter. "I don't know anyone here." Back home Romane knew everyone in the neighborhood her age. As a noble among merchants she was pretty popular; she had the final say in everything they did together. Here, however, she was not the only noble. The son of the archduke was among the adepts this year. She could see him attended by a dozen or so servants; Romane was only accompanied by two. It was an unhappy feeling. Romane was sure she could outshine him in magic, but it was a hollow consolation.

Nan gave another small chuckle. Romane wondered what exactly was so funny. "Sometimes I forget you're only twelve." She squatted down beside her and took her hands from her coat pockets and cupped Romane's face. They were the warmest things in the world at that moment. "You'll be fine. I believe in you."

"Stop… You're embarrassing me." Nan stood up and Romane felt the chill of the air bite into her cheeks.

"You should keep your wits about you though," she said as she stroked Romane's hair. "Lots of powerful friends to be made. Maybe even a decent husband." She was looking at Acridie Gorman, the archduke's son.

"Don't you think it's too early to be discussing such matters with me?" Romane groaned. "And still, he'd never marry a countess, much less one without lands."

"You'll figure out a way." She squatted again. No warm hands this time though Romane was mildly disappointed. "Dazzle them with your magic. Lie low, don't show anyone your full powers. Let them underestimate you, then, when the time is right, blind them with your brilliance. Well, don't literally blind them, but you get my point."

The university acolytes emerged from a towering arch, swathed in purple scholarly robes. Romane swallowed hard, she didn't feel ready.

Nan nudged Romane's chin to face her. "Looks like our time together is almost over for the time being." She enveloped Romane in a hug. "You'll be fine. I'll come visit you whenever I can. The gatemen will be sick of my face I tell you." Romane wanted to tell her that that would be terribly embarrassing but the words caught in her throat. Her eyes began to sting with moisture. "And remember: I love you." Nan's hand rubbed the small of Romane's back. She was dangerously close to crying. "Aren't you going to say it back?"

"I..." the rest was an unintelligible grunt.

Nan leaned back and wiped the tears from Romane's eyes with a silk handkerchief. "You'll be fine. I'm so proud of you." She smiled reassuringly. Two acolytes came over and picked up Romane's luggage. They smiled empathetically at Romane, as if they were familiar with how she was feeling. It made her feel sick. "Don't let her tears fool you," Nan chimed in. "This one's quite a handful." She smiled at them and they smiled back.

"Fret not my lady. We can handle her," one of them said.

"We'll make sure she's comfortable; like a home away from home," the other one added

"You hear that, my lady Countess," Nan said. "A home away from home." She gave Romane a small nudge to get her moving. The acolytes followed behind her with her baggage. They were still in Bellanue, but Romane felt she was the world's width away from home. It was hardly the way she had imagined it would be. In her fantasies she had entered the great university with her chin high, with everyone in awe of her, scrambling over each other to get a look. Yet there she was, eyes stinging with bitter tears and crippling homesickness before she even got to her rooms. At the steps to the entrance she stopped and turned back. So many faces. Some looked happy, some sad and crying, others nonchalant. In the midst of it all she spotted her aunt wildly waving and grinning at her. She weakly waved back. Nan put her fingers to her mouth and blew Romane a kiss. An acolyte said something sympathetic sounding, and she turned and went into the building.

They led her through a maze of hallways and corridors for an eternity. Eventually they showed her to room 808, her new chambers. The outer wall was made mostly of glass, the reflective sort that you couldn't see in through. The high ceiling maximized her view of the Western horizon. She could see the tall trees of the Semme from here. Romane immediately frowned when she saw three beds.

An acolyte must've seen the face she made. "Don't worry my lady, you'll have only one roommate," he said, as if that would make her feel better. She chose the bed farthest from the door and closest to the great window, far away from the unpleasant draft near the door. They neatly packed her things into the drawers below her bed and left. She was free until the bell rang for dinner. In the meantime she took off her clothes for a bath. As with most accommodations worth anything there was a magic item in the room bathroom that produced either hot or cold water, depending on which button had been pressed. Adepts could call forth water without touching it. The water from this one came out a bit too hard and not hot enough for Romane but all good things come at a price.

Afterwards she lay on her bed and meditated. In the silence of the room she easily slipped into the Astral. She dared not leave her physical body, this was not the Semme. She might get trapped out of her body. Just like her chambers back at home, the walls were a dim grey, far from the brilliance of the Semme. There was something different here though. She turned and she could see it, sense it. Under the North West tower, deep in the earth, there was something emanating a malevolent red aura; a flame in the dull brown earth. It sensed her too. It called out to her, and Romane could feel a certain familiarity, like a friend she had sorely missed.

Romane brought herself back to the Physical. She scribbled what she had seen and felt in a journal before she forgot. That malevolent aura, she knew it was nothing to be trifled with. The flames of curiosity had been reignited in her chest. She had to find out more about this thing. She doubted the deacons would just let her stroll in to see an artifact she had no right to know about. Maybe visit it in her astral body? No it might suck her in or worse.

She was mulling about it when the door opened once more. Three acolytes carrying twice the baggage Romane had stumbled in. Behind them came a young girl Romane's age. She had glossy dark skin and a head full of glossy dark hair. Too dark to be from Quinca, must be from Nuru then. She pointed at Romane and said in a thick accent, "I wanted that bed."

"Too bad it's been occupied then," Romane answered back coolly.

The Nuru girl opened her mouth to say something but an acolyte cut her off: "We will pack your things in the middle bed my lady. The beds are not bolted to the ground, you should be able to move them once you discuss sleeping arrangements with your roommate."

As the acolytes arranged the luggage the Nuru girl stared daggers at Romane. Sitting cross legged on her bed Romane was actually quite relaxed. Pride can blind a dragon, her aunt had said. This Nuru girl obviously had enough pride for the both of them. Romane knew how to deal with those.

The acolytes soon left the girls alone. The Nuru was the first to speak: "Move. Now."

"I don't think I will."

"I am Ama-"

"It doesn't matter who you are, students of the University leave their titles at the gate. You've no right to order me about."

The Nuru gnashed her teeth. "Fine. I read that you Southerners like to duel. I challenge you to a duel."

That was a bit too extreme, thought Romane. "A duel for a bed? Hah! Don't make me laugh." The Nuru was deathly serious. "You've got a mouth, let's talk about it. Ever heard of compromise?"

"Compromise is impossible, there's only one space and I'm not keen to share it. A duel would be cleaner."

A duel was most certainly absurd. Not to mention it might destroy the room. Worse still, Romane might accidentally kill her proud roommate. She thought of a different method. "Since you're so competitive, why don't we try this: you show me your most impressive magic trick, I'll try to outdo you. Sounds fair?"

The dark girl smiled, exposing beautiful white teeth. "Unfair to you sadly. I am the best mage Nuru has seen in a century." A stream of water flowed from the magic item in the bathroom to form a fist sized ball above the Nuru's palm. "Behold!"

The small ball began glowing, until the room was awash with soft blue light. "A mix of Spirit and Water form," she said, extremely pleased with herself. "Far above your head sadly. You'd best start moving haha."

Romane focused. She could feel the energy from the water and the energy flowing from the girl's spirit. Romane reckoned she could duplicate it.

Romane called forth water from the magic item. More water than the Nuru, who frowned at Romane. She held the water in the air between her palms. The spinning ball was several times larger than the Nuru's. Romane brought forth the power of her spirit. It was effortless, largely because Romane was so attuned to the Astral, where all magic comes from. The spinning ball of water shone with a light brighter than the sun. Romane could not see her roommate as she stared at the water. A moment later she dimmed the light and guided the water through the air to the drains. The Nuru gaped at Romane. She gave her roommate her best smile.

"Beautiful trick," said Romane. "I might use it someday to dazzle someone. Thank you for teaching me."

"How…?" It was a barely audible whisper.

"Far above your head sadly." The Nuru had nothing to say to that. "I suppose we should get to know each other's names."

The Nuru regained her composure somewhat. "I am Amani wa Mazreel." Romane froze.

"...wa Mazreel?" It would be very bad if Romane had just humiliated a princess of a foreign land.

"The high king is my uncle," she stated matter-of-factly. "How did you do that?"

Romane swallowed and said: "First, my name is Romane Montrouge de Verry."

Amani looked puzzled. "Mont? I thought the Semme and Vindelori were hostile to each other?"

"True, my father was a highland lord, but he and my mother died in the last days of the war. I was raised here by my mother's brother and his wife"

Something clicked in Amani's head. "Your mother was Nonna Colline? The Blue Terror?"

"I was told she disliked the moniker, but yes, Lady Nonna was my mother."

"Hah, I should have known. They said you had funny hair."

Romane subconsciously touched her red and white hair. "Funny? Who told you that?"

"Doesn't matter." Amani smiled ruefully at Romane. "I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I'm not used to this cold, you see. It's making me snappy." She rubbed her forehead. "That was rash, my actions, I'm sorry." Amani seemed like a different person from ten minutes ago. "Could you teach me how to become better? How did you mimic my trick after only seeing it once? I spent weeks on the sea voyage here perfecting that. Please tell me how."

All the hubris from a moment ago was gone. In its place was a thirst for magical knowledge. Something they had in common. Maybe her relationship with Amani might be better than Romane had dared hope. She didn't trust her enough yet to tell her about the Astral, so she answered Amani with a partial truth: "I just felt it."

Amani stared. "You just felt it?"

"I guess so," Romane said with a careless shrug.

"Hmm. Must be your mother's blood." They both went quiet.

Romane wanted to remain in Amani's good graces so she reached into one of her drawers and took out an old journal. From before she ventured into the Astral. She tossed it to Amani and said, "I wrote that when I was eight. I swear my handwriting has gotten better."

The book was full of spells and techniques. "Where did you get all this?" Amani asked, voice full of wonder."

"I had a big black book of magic once."

"Had? You lost it?"

The book was safely at home. "Yes, to a freak fire."

"Shame."

"Shame."

"Sorry to ask but could you come and help me read this, it's barely legible."

Romane gave an embarrassed chuckle and strolled over. "Sure, I'm not sure I can read it myself though." They both laughed. No way to get on someone's good side than by self deprecating humour.

The two talked for a long time, until the sun was low over the Semme. A knock came at their door. A timid looking girl covered in a cowl walked in. She seemed unsure of herself.

She started speaking, but neither Romane nor Amani could hear what she was saying. "What? Speak up, we can't hear you," Amani said, the hard tone was back like it had never left.

The timid girl raised her voice, eyes glued to the floor. "The rooms on all the floors are full, I'm looking for people who will have me."

She had missed it at first but Romane could now keenly sense the girl's aura. The fact that she could feel it without being in the Astral meant she had a powerful spirit.

Amani spoke up, "We do have a spare bed but unfort-"

"We don't mind if you stay," Romane interrupted.

"Really?" the girl asked, disbelieving.

"What?" Amani hissed in Romane's ear.

"Trust me," She whispered back. "I have a feeling."

"A feeli-" Romane kicked Amani's ankle.

"Come in," Romane said to the girl. She had only a small dirty sack. A commoner, and a poor one at that. She timidly sat at the bed closest to the door.

Amani rudely crinkled her nose at the smell of her. "I daresay go freshen yourself up," she said, and the girl seemed to shrink.

"Yes my lady," she said meekly. She took off her cloak to reveal dirty clothes underneath, a pretty childlike face and a pair of long pointy ears.

Amani was incredulous. "Haaaaah? Are you some sort of blood monster here to drink our blood?"

"Calm down Amani," Romane said. "That's an elf." That explained her aura and why nobody wanted her in their room. The elf looked about ready to grab her sack and leave. "Go take a bath first." The smell of stale sweat was unpleasant. "We can talk after." The elf slinked off into the bath, and they soon heard water flowing.

"The South keeps on throwing me surprises," Amani said unhappily. "I thought elves were unwelcome in the places of men?"

"They are, but the King means to start another campaign against Vindelori. Apparently he wants to build an army of mages the likes of which have not been seen since Vanheim's War. They must be accepting even elves now."

"I've never seen an elf before."

"You have today."

"I was expecting…"

"Something else?"

"I heard they were majestic beasts. That if you looked at them their beauty could kill you."

"My Nan always said fairy tales were fancy lies."

"Huh."

"I've seen elves before, but I've never actually met one. This one has a weird aura."

"What's an aura?"

"It's… Hard to explain."

The elf returned from her bath. She still had her dirty clothes on, so Romane tossed her some of her own clothes. She looked at them wide eyed, but put them on. Amani hadn't said a word since the elf entered. She stared at the elf like an alien creature; a mix of fear and fascination, most rude Romane thought.

The elf herself was staring expectantly at Romane. She was blond with big blue eyes that seemed to glow. That look she was giving Romane, it was almost endearing, like a puppy. Romane broke the silence and the building tension: "What's your name?"

"Sabrina Eden," she was more confident than before. "From the Western edges of the Semme."

"I am Romane Montrouge de Verry," Romane said, as friendly as she could. "And this is Princess Amani wa Mazreel of Nuru to the far North."

Sabrina's eyes somehow became bigger. "A princess?!" She bowed her head and looked at the stone floor. A shame really, Romane thought, she has the prettiest eyes.

"Don't worry," Amani murmured. "We leave our titles at the gate."

Romane wanted to ask about Sabrina's magic ability, but a loud bell interrupted them. Dinner.