The Currents of Magic

Chapter Eighteen

As if sped along by magic, the following week went by faster than any previous in Meyer's life. Despite the slow pace of Adryn's classes, Meyer enjoyed listening to her endless stream of knowledge, and even as his classmates struggled to master the Zurasara charm, he rapidly progressed through new incantations from The First Hundred Spells. While Adryn walked between the other tempests in her class, assisting them make a bowl of water glow, Meyer practiced light charms and heat charms, and basic motion charms. Indeed, in one week he mastered the first twenty charms in his 'green spellbook' as he liked to call it.

At first Damian was astonished, but soon his attitude morphed into one of expectancy, as if Meyer was destined to be great. When Meyer showed him new spells he would say things like: "A true natural," or "You'll be putting Eric to shame in no time."

Besides his magical training, Meyer found himself thinking less about Vanroc, and more about the amenity of Eldrin's Dale. Every other day when he returned from his morning class, he found his room cleaned for him, with fresh clothes hanging in his wardrobe and the dirty pile on the floor gone, and on his fourth day living in the dormitories, a small stack of copper coins appeared on his desk. As Damian explained, all the tempests were given a weekly allowance to spend during outings to Lampern, the nearby village. Meyer also discovered the food in the dining hall was consistently delicious, and to his great relief, he no longer ate with Liam and Dirk. Instead he (and Damian after a fair bit of convincing) sat with Ander and Cade and a few other boys who weren't part of Eric's inner circle of friends.

As for Eric, he showed no signs of continued animosity towards Meyer. At the bi-weekly Ajah practice sessions in the Necromancer's Keep, Meyer would show Damian, Ander and Cade the newest spells he had learned, and it wasn't long before his exceptional magical ability became well known. Either out of a genuine change of heart, or a preemptive strategic move should his magical superiority be challenged, Eric encouraged Meyer in his magical training, giving him tips and pointers, and often asking him about his progress. He even invited Meyer to sit with him in the dining hall, and Meyer had no choice but to oblige, though he wished he hadn't.

During the meal Meyer ate quietly while the other boys bragged about magic, and talked about girls. At one point Eric got up and pulled the tall pretty girl with dark brown hair over to the table, making a joke about her disappearing during a recent trip to Lampern. Everyone at the table laughed, and the girl feigned outrage, elbowing Eric in the stomach. Meyer decided that Eric could teach him a spell to turn iron into gold and he still wouldn't like him any better. He did, however, learn that the pretty girl's name was Jaeda.

And so the week went by, each day ushering in a new sense of normalcy, and each day further warming Meyer to Eldrin's Dale. Finally the weekend arrived, when the tempests had two free days from magical training. Meyer was lounging in bed after a late breakfast, reading from his green spellbook when Damian burst in.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed. "We need to go down to the Great Meadow for capture the flag!"

Before Meyer could ask any questions Damian was throwing athletic clothes at him from the wardrobe and forcing him out of his room. Meyer hurried after Damian, his shoes still untied. His legs were still slightly weak from the trance, but as he stepped outside into the sunny morning, he felt a rush of energy as he was met by the familiar thrill of games on a beautiful day.

On the rare days in Vanroc when there was no Martial Training, the boys had always gathered in the town square and other open areas to compete in different athletic competitions, and on the best of those days, they would organize large games of capture the flag.

As Meyer followed Damian towards the field, memories of hot afternoons running in the sun, and humid evenings, returning home at dusk, caked in dirt and sweat, filled his mind. He was surprised when Damian turned back to asked him if he had brought his Talisman.