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“A spell invented by the magi can hardly be consequential.”
I turn to the nearest obsidian target and call flames to my fingertips. “Ignir’alas,” I say, spreading the flames into wings and launching them upward. They descend on the target at a furious velocity. The spell is far more effective than the aether sword I conjured and melts half the target. The obsidian rolls down like thick ink.
No one can deny I possess a natural affinity for fire magic.
Natharius hesitates. “A trivial spell,” he finally says. “Ignir’tempisis more efficient and has a larger radius.”
“But wasn’tignir’tempisalso invented by the Arcanium? I read the Founder of Nolderan developed most elemental magic, since Lumaria cares little for it.”
“Perhaps.” His nose creases. “Now, I will demonstrateastrombis, so you can see how it is cast.”
“I’d rather learnignir’tempisfirst.”
“First you will learnastrombis, since it is one of the earliest spells taught to enchanters.”
“See? I knew it was a basic one.”
“All magic requires a solid foundation,” he says. “You will learnastrombisfirst.”
In the morning, the Void Prince is back to his usual silent self. I wasn’t expecting to wake up and find us best friends, but I thought that our civil conversation from last night would have continued.
Apparently not.
We leave shortly after dawn, continuing through the forest. We pass tree after tree and little else. Sometimes we pass a fallen log.
By noon, we leave the woods behind and the terrain turns into gravelly crags. The path narrows until it’s too difficult for us to ride, and we’re forced to dismount. Natharius marches on ahead, guiding our mare up the steep incline. I trail behind with Zephyr.
The wind becomes more relentless the higher we climb. I keep my head down to stop it from whipping across my face.
There’s little shelter up here, but after a few hours we take a break against a nearby cliff face. I’m not sure our mare needs as much of a rest now that both mine and Natharius’s weight is off her back, but when the Void Prince stops out of habit, I don’t protest. I need the rest myself, especially since my legs are unused to walking after two solid days of riding.
We don’t pause for long before resuming our climb. And after what must be another hour, we finally reach the top.
This peak is far from the highest here, and behind I can make out the looming silhouette of a mountain range. Beneath is more woodland, but the landscape gradually changes in a gradient of deep emerald to yellow-green.
Natharius also halts and scans the area. The wind blows his silver hair around him like a storm.
“Where are we now?” I ask.
“The very edge of Tirith. We will enter Northern Selynis by nightfall.”
“And we’re still on schedule to reach Gerazad before the necromancers?”
He gives the slight inclination of his head and continues on.
I take one last look at Selynis’s plains before hurrying after him.
Our path soon takes us downhill, and the incline is as steep as when we were ascending. I almost skid over loose stones but manage to stop myself before crashing into Natharius. In some places, I’m forced to take tiny steps to avoid my boots losing grip, but both the Void Prince and our horse continue down with ease. Zephyr doesn’t seem to want to take his chances on my shoulder and opts to flutter down after me. If only I had his wings.
Eventually our path flattens, and we enter another forest. The trees here look no different to the ones before the crags. When the track widens, Natharius mounts our horse again and holds out his hand to help me up. Then we ride on through the trees, our surroundings as riveting as ever.
“What’s Lumaria like?” I ask after a while, bored with the endless scenery of leaves and branches and bark.
“Dark,” comes Natharius’s reply from behind me.
I roll my eyes, though the effort is wasted since he can’t see my face. “Of course it’s dark. Lumaria is the land of eternal night.”
“Then what do you wish to know of it?”
