The Mage And The Midnight Star

The Star Escapes

Aaravos gazed out of the school bubble. Space was deep, and black, and sucked in around on glimmering area. The planet the elves said they hailed from. Where there were other species, ones he had learned about since he had been little. Aaravos wondered if they were nearly as stuck up or pompous as all the ones he knew. With a sigh, he returned to looking at his divination scroll. It was still blank. He hated this part of school more than anything else. Aaravos groaned, shutting his eyes tightly and tried to focus. He cracked one eye open, letting out a short sigh of relief as he realized he had managed to project a vison. He sat up, staring at the vison for a second. Nope. Another nonsensical  flash of weird. He thought as he looked at the moving image. It was a picture a human mage, using a crystal ball thingy and a staff to freeze a dragon's head to the ground. He had seen the mage before in other visons, and always that staff. He knew that the staff was important, but he didn't know why. Besides, good luck getting the teachers to believe him. The last time he had tried to tell them, they had laughed him off and told him to stop procrastinating his homework and stop imagining things for it. Aaravos sighed. It was getting late. As he swept his books into his bag, he started feeling the pangs of a vison headache. He groaned, then began to run as fast as he could back to his sleeping quarters. Hopefully he wouldn't pass out in a hallway. Aaravos ran faster, ignoring the colorful spots obscuring his vison. He leapt through the doorway and flopped into his bed, just as his vison blurred and went dark.

Horn. Shine. Apple. Time. Butterfly. Mage. Primal. Mirror. Loss. Dragon. Sun. Sky. Moon. Earth. Tide.

Aaravos sat up coughing. His head pounded and his mouth felt dry. That vison had been the strongest he had ever had. He grabbed his glass of water from his bedside table, and downed it, trying to shake away the flashing images that kept revolving in his head. He shut his eyes tightly. His brain hurt. A lot. He sighed, flopping back over and stared out of the window. Xadia's planet revolved slowly, to slow for him to see. The continent of Xadia itself was beginning to peek out, the lush greens visible from space. Aaravos bit his lip. He knew something was there. He sighed, pulling off his school jumpsuit and reached for his casual clothes. He stopped as he tugged open the door of his dresser, glancing down at his chest. His chest star was glowing. Glowing. MY CHEST IS GLOWING, WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON. He wanted to yell, but he just kept it in his brain. He knew some Startouch elves had glowing stars, but usually only when they had powerful visons. He was the last elf for that. He shivered, throwing his jumpsuit back on, not paying attention to how itchy it was anymore. His star still glimmered through it. He dug through his dresser with a huff and pulled out his thickest cloak. Aaravos wrapped it around himself, fully concealing it. He sat down, letting his brain process. He massaged his temples, wondering what to do. Nobody would believe him even if he showed them his star. Unfortunately, that seemed like it would be his only option.

Aaravos walked down the cold, empty white hall back into the school bubble. Hopefully at least one teacher was there. He opened the door with a creak, and nervously walked to the teacher's office. "Hello?" He said, trying to keep his voice from being shaky. "Come in." He heard a voice call. He walked into the bright room and squinted at the teacher. It was Ms Miayna. His stomach settled. She wasn't the worst elf to ask for help. Maybe not the best, but definitely not the worst. He blinked, realizing he had been staring. "U-Uhm, so I had a vison after school." He gulped. "And... Now my chest star is glowing." He said, wincing at the awkward silence that followed. Miayna sighed. "Aaravos, please find a better excuse for not feeling like doing your homework." She said. Aaravos felt his stomach drop, realizing what was coming. "Every day you make up random visons instead of actually writing down real  ones." His face burned as she spoke. "Besides, you're the last elf I would see with a glowing chest star. The likelihood of you actually managing to cough out a single rune powerful enough for that is low." She sighed. Aaravos looked at his feet, waiting for her to continue. "You've got no future here. Your skills are worthless, if you have any other than an overreacting imagination." Aaravos shivered, trying to block out the tears welling up in his eyes. He clenched his fists, trying to shut out the sounds. He gulped, as Miayna finished, knowing he had to respond. "I... Well.. I-I..." He murmured, trying to think of something to actually say. Miayna groaned. "Look, you've got to actually start doing the work if you want to have a good life." She said, reaching up to massage her temples. Aaravos shivered, trying to figure out what to say. "My... M-My visons are real." He murmured, so softly it was hard to hear. "My visons are real." He repeated, louder this time. Miayna barked out a laugh. "Even if they are, you certainly aren't seeing things that mean anything to Startouch elves." She chuckled softly. Aaravos felt like he had just gotten a punch to the gut. Of course his visons were real. They had to be. He knew it. They had to be. They couldn't be dreams. It wasn't his imagination. "My visons are real. I know they are." He repeated. Miayna sighed, twirling her finger around her Xadia Pass. Aaravos froze. Her Xadia Pass. An ugly square of white metal, engraved with her name and runes to let her travel using a beamer. Miayna's voice had faded into the background noise. Aaravos sucked in a breath. This is my chance. I could go and see Xadia. I could try to figure stuff out for myself. Wait. Do I want to go see Xadia? I think so. I think I'm meant to go there. Aaravos blinked, jolted from his thoughts. Now or never. He jerked his hand forward, ripping the Xadia Pass from Miayna's neck. His heart pounded in his chest as he took off running down the hall, his hair whipping out behind him. His feet thumped against the smooth floor, making a sharp turn towards the beamer. He could hear Miayna shouting behind him, but he didn't care. Aaravos felt alive. He stopped as he turned into the beamer room. He stared out at the glittering crystal platform. He gulped and pressed the pass into one of the pillars, fairly sure this was how it worked. The runes lit up, shimmering brightly. "Welcome, Miayna. Where do you wish to travel?" A voice echoed from somewhere in the room. "Ah- X-Xadia?" Aaravos stammered. He gasped as the platform lit up. Shining beams of light flowed from it. Aaravos gulped. Slowly, slowly he stretched out his foot and stepped onto the platform. In a whoosh of light, Aaravos found himself shooting across the sky. He yelled in surprised, a grin stretching across his face. All in all, this wasn't the most horrible thing to ever happen to him. He closed his eyes and stretched out his arms, letting himself enjoy the ride.