They said he was crazy, but I never believed them. He was sane as you and me. He was, though, accused of a crime that he never admitted although evidences were strictly against him.
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My students progressed as a year passed. We leave the classrooms more often now, travelling to Morroc and even Payon, which was famed for her haunted woodlands and caves. By now they have encountered a wide variety of Undead such as the Zombie, Munak, Bongun and even Sohee.
And all the while, Nerva was not with us.
Why so?
Before their first year ended, Nerva had talked to the elders to allow him a suitable time for absence. Master Lothair granted him this, provided that he will come back alive after one year. After that, Geffen's brightest and best disappeared as if he had never existed...
This time around, my students and I are on the way to Glast Heim, the Undead infested city state. Even though I have given my students appropriate advices and warnings, I was still nervous. The Undead in Glast Heim were by far the most powerful in Rune Midgard, and many a Wizard have fallen in their gruesome hands.
Everyone was nervous, as you may already know. Even my heart beat frantically.
Then we started the long and perilous hike through the slopes of Mjolnir. The journey would take us one week, provided that we encounter some of the mountain's aggresive monsters. My students have learned enough to gear themselves against Kobold Archers, Petits and other creatures of the sort.
After the long and tiresome journey in the mountains, we have finally arrived in Glast Heim. My students were in absolute silence as we walked down the deserted and ever dangerous streets.
It was dark here in Glast Heim. The sun never penetrates the thick, fumed clouds that the Undead made by their horrible breath. We had to use the spell of Sight to illuminate our way as we passed fallen arches, houses and shops. I prayed that we do not meet anything yet, not until we were in the clutches of St. Abbey's church.
Suddenly everyone stopped. I felt five pairs of hands tug at my cape.
"Look! Someone's there!" Pyrrha said, pointing somewhere in the darkness.
"A Ghoul! Run for your lives!" shrieked somebody else.
"Oh shut up, you coward!" snapped another.
I squinted to see beyond the thick shadows. Yes, there is someone not far from us, sitting down on a fallen pillar. I swallowed and stepped closer, my students drawing collective breaths from behind.
I extended my hand, the one with the fireball in it. "Who are you?!?"
The feeble light of my fire shone on bright red hair, sharp yellow eyes and the soiled uniform of a Magician. Gasps erupted from behind me yet again.
"Nerva! What are you doing here?" I moaned.
Nerva stood up and blinked at me as if what I was asking was stupid.
"Training here, master." He replied. "What else?"
"What?" I said.
"You've been here all this time, and all by yourself?!?"
Nerva smiled at me, but that smile was a sad one.
"I visited Izlude because my mother and brother died. I was with them throughout the funeral ceremony. But my father sent me away. So I risked a journey here to Glast Heim to train. I have been here for six months now."
I felt great sadness swept through me. For the first time I knew what lingered behind Nerva's eyes, it was deep pain and sadness. His mother and brother died and his father kicked him out instead of comforting him. It was too much for anyone to bear, but here is he, having even the guts to smile as if it was no big deal.
"Come with us." I said, beckoning to him.
"We shall need your abilities, I am afraid, as some of your classmates still have trouble with the Soul Strike spell."
Nerva went with us to St. Abbey's church. On the way we were attacked by Jokers and Dark Frames, but I saw with my own eyes what those six months did to Nerva. He could obliterate a Joker with just one shot of his Soul Strike, kill off Ghouls with two doses of Thunderstorm and fend off Skeleton Prisoners without breaking a sweat.
He was a complete terror. I was afraid of him. All that magical power and talent, locked into a single body with the yellow eyes of a hawk. It was terrifying and at the same time wondrous to behold.
I found myself praying for Nerva's future. I could not bring myself to think what would happen if ever he will turn into Dark Magic. I see in him enough power to obliterate Midgard if he wished. It was very, very scary.
I shall not elaborate on our stay in Glast Heim, but let me impress upon you that it was not an easy one. Danger surrounded us at all sides, and we had been unfortunate to have lost a student there. His name was Ixus, and his death was to be blames solely to his inability to weild the proper spells at the right time. We didn't manage to help him.
Nerva returned with us to Geffen, but he no longer attended the classes. I discovered that he was already taking lessons with Master Lothair's Wizard students, who found it extremely uncomfortable to be studying with a Mage that knew more spells than them. But occasionally Nerva would just appear in the doorway, ask politely if he might join, and I gladly nodded him to his empty seat.
Years and seasons passed. Before I knew it, my students were now the graduating batch of the Magic Academy of Geffen. Many improved and many also failed. I was preparing myself to let them go, after their graduation they can now journey far and wide and discover what is in store for them.
I also knew that there was a very slim chance of me seeing Nerva again. So before I lost my chance, I called my class to a special recreational Field Trip.
Was it my way of saying farewell? Maybe yes, maybe no. I was never sure myself.
