City of Mages

Chapter 2: Alara

The words felt like a slap in the face and Alara lowered her head, tears prickling the corner of her eyes. She could feel the gaze of the other magites on her, particularly Raquel, who was likely wearing her usual told-you-so smirk. Alara took a deep breath and choked back the tears, turning to Emaru with a determined look.

"We chased them away, didn't we?" Alara said. "We protected the villagers and their property."

"For today, maybe," Emaru said. "But the mission was to capture the bruyas, not scare them away. They could be back tomorrow or the next day. They may even move on to raid another village. You are thinking in the short-term, Alara. And that's not even mentioning your other failures tonight."

Alara bit back a response, her face heated. She had always felt the Haven put too much emphasis on students using their magia. She would have been better off tonight not using hers. There'd have been no chance of losing control. So long as the job got done, what did it matter?

But in this case, it didn't, and to Senye Emaru, it'd be yet another reason why Alara's abilities needed to be engaged and fully mastered. That very thought filled her with a sense of shame.

Emaru turned to the other magites. "This isn't over. If you can, get some food and rest. We'll meet at evening meal. Focus on what went wrong tonight and what we can do differently next time. Think back to our previous lessons."

"Yes, Senye Emaru," a few magites said, bowing their heads in acknowledgement before scattering. The eastern edge of the sky was starting to grey and Alara realized with a weary start that morning was already coming.

She turned to follow the group back toward the village center, but Emaru placed her hand hard on Alara's shoulder. "No, not you."

She sighed, defeated. Avoidance wasn't going to be an option.

Raquel caught Alara's eye and gave her a small smile and wave as the others walked away. Her lopsided tunic clearer in the slowly creeping dawn. Alara broke eye contact, too tired and ashamed to even think about Raquel.

She already had to deal with whatever speech Senye Emaru had planned. For all she knew, this could very well mean the end of Alara's career at the Haven.

The councilwoman steered her toward a large tree stump on the edge of the woods. Alara collapsed, exhausted, as her teacher gently took her own seat. She didn't look up to meet the woman's gaze, but focused her eyes on the ground. She knew what she'd see if she looked up—Emaru's bright gray eyes shining with disappointment, the loose strands of her black and silver hair falling gracefully over her creased brow.

"I put my neck out for you to get you on this mission," Emaru said. "Jorye doesn't think you're ready? And Lena Cruz doesn't think you ever will be. But I thought maybe if I just challenged you more, pushed you a little harder, you'd finally prove them wrong." Her voice was soft, which made Alara's chest feel even tighter. She wished Emaru would just yell at her. "Alara, ever since I met you, I knew you were special. Do you know why?"

Her shoulders slumped as she answered. "Because I'm a mind-stalker."

"You're not just any mind-stalker. You're a powerful one—more powerful than me. And you know how egotistical I am."

She had to give a weak smile back. Emaru said it as a joke, but it was truer than even she realized.

"With your abilities, we could save so many more bruyas. We could bring them to El'dyo's path and allow them to use their magia for the good of all of Sombria. Your powers could do that."

"Or," Alara said, doing her best to fight back the tone of defiance that came so naturally to her, "I can do all that without having to resort to my mind-stalking abilities. I'm better at fighting without my magia. You saw me! I can use a spear better than any other magite."