Warfire | Broken Time Series: Book Two

Chapter 39

AN: The only thing that aids the plot is the first segment. After that, it's all just funny little scenes I had rattling around in my head but haven't been able to properly incorporate. All of these things canonically happened, though, all sometime between their first mission and the next chapter.

A smoldering fire shined through the leaves as a little campsite was set a bit off the road. The teens huddled all around it, safe between its flames and their dragons around them. As promised, Colonel Warven had sent them to investigate another tampered location somewhere close to the Froshrinra border.

Only the stars shone above them, the moon a thin crescent, as Nagan and Milora lay awake. Where they settled for the night wasn't unsafe, per se, but it was oddly close to where the boys were attacked in the raid. Even with the dragons, they still thought it best to have a night watch.

"Why does Az always cover his face when he sleeps?" Milora asked, nodding her head to where the aforementioned slept.

Nagan shrugged, shifting the embers with a stick. "He doesn't sleep well when he's not in total darkness. Not that you've ever seen it, but he always has a thick curtain around his bed."

He then stood, going to the small log pile they had collected before nightfall and tossing another one in. With a small burst of magic, he ignited the log.

"You know, Nagan," Milora began as Nagan sat back down, "I've always heard people mention that you have a magic affinity, but I never really asked you how that's supposed to work."

"It doesn't make me better at magic, that's for sure," Nagan said, leaning back on his hands. "Instead, I can see everyone's magical presence. It's easier to see indoors, though, since it's a contained area."

"Really? What does it look like?"

"Little balls of light that like to float and circulate near the ceiling. The stronger a person's magical presence is, the faster the light flows. It's fascinating to see them in Carvolier since you have a mixture of all types. You have the grey orbs of those just developing their magic, the typical magic-type colors, and then the teachers' orbs that shine the brightest with all the other orbs orbiting around them. When we sit in the Great Hall, the light turns into a big ball of white light." Nagan paused as a thought occurred to him. "How did you discover your affinity? At first, we thought Az had a nature affinity, but that hasn't really been calling to him. Now, we suspect it's light. Different from your affinity, but still of the same element."

"Huh..." Milora furrowed her brow. "He's training to be an Infiniti but hasn't found his affinity yet? Have you been looking in the right places?"

"That's why we moved on from nature. We really thought it was that since his magic seemed to react pretty well in the woods. He reacted to light, too, however, so we think it could be that."

"Well, it was the little things, I guess..." Milora didn't think Az's affinity was light, but she continued on. "All my life, I've always woken up at dawn. It didn't matter when I fell asleep or if I was still tired, it was always dawn. I was always notoriously bad at taking naps when I was a kid as well, but that didn't really affect me. It was as if the sun energized me."

"Ah, so staying awake like this must be torture."

Milora smiled. "I'll live. What about you? According to Carvolier students, you were also always up with the sun. Why is that?"

"Nothing like your story, it's pretty much because our dorm window faces east, and sunrise always woke me up. The Arclovens tried putting curtains around my bed as well, but I thought it felt too constricting. I ended up giving them to Florine, Az's younger sister, and just formed the habit of waking up early." He looked at Milora. "You know, Az is almost opposite to you. It's a pain getting him up in the morning, and he hates being in the sun for too long."