From Iron and Ruin

Familiar.

Chapter Five: Familiar .

Asthan academy sat along the shores of a dark, crystalline lake where the water was so still and eerie that it made me think that it was a mirror reflecting the sky back onto itself. Small fishing boats bobbed in the water but they stayed close to the shores. The lake stretched out like a great expanse of unmoving water, so far that I could barely see the pin-pricks of trees in the distance.

The roads to the academy were well-made and the journey seemed to slip by faster as we came across small villages that had grown along that academy road, sponging off the trade that moved from that ornate, old Elven building in the distance and the rest of Cadelith.

The little villages had greeted us warmly and I paid no mind to their strange and distrustful looks once I let down my hood. The smell of fish, the rush of fisher-man along the quay-side reminded me of my child-hood and all the fond memories I had – of which there were a surprising number – and these humans couldn't take that from me.

Whispers of the Legion floated on the wind. Scouts, hidden in plain clothes, met with us in secret to speak of strange going-ons in Asthan. Rumours of Magisters vanishing and of an evil magic plaguing the lake. Skeletal figures stalking the night, with gaping mouths and burning eyes.

Nirani – but ones that did not attack.

"Is tha' Asthan?" Gwen breathed in awe, gazing up at the academy that sat ahead of us. The road began to curl as we left Salt-wind, rising sharply as the earth turned from soil to rock.

Fyr just stared up at the academy, her face carefully blank but even she could not hide the sadness in her eyes. I had become so used to seeing it in my own in reflections that I seemed to catch it so easily in others now.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked as Fyr's silence drew on. "The design reminds of Dratlan a little. The same white-stone. The sharp, rising towers. It looks as if it will stand like this forever, beautiful and untouched by time."

But I knew that wasn't true. How often had I thought that about Dratlan?

"For the Water Magins." Fyr's smile was trembling and with a breath, she gathered herself. "On full moons, they can cast better. Or so they say – they have a work-room right at the top of that tower which gives them a full view of that moon. It's a beautiful view if you mind walking the stairs."

"I'd love to see it," my stomach knotted, my smile tight as my mind wandered to thoughts of Kendon and I – how we climbed the icy walls of Dratlan as high as we could, only so we could see the valley from our perch. In the summer months, we had spent hours of our free time up there, happy to just gaze out at our little slice of the world.

As we were close enough to see a great arching gate-way, I could spot the colourful glass decorating the windows.

"This is Elvish design." Gwen titled her head, her brow tightening thoughtfully. "But it is owned by the Magins?"

Both the Troll and Fyr looked at me, but I was lost in my intrigue of Asthan and continued to stare up at the great towers and the coloured windows which stood starkly against the white walls.

"When humans first came to Cadelith, the Elves were eager to befriend them. Such was the way of the old kind." Fyr began haltingly. "They showed them magic and they helped them build the academies like Asthan so that the human spell-casters could learn alongside them. Then, when the wars began and the Elves were being slaughtered in their thousands, they abandoned Asthan to the Magins and retreated to the North-East. You are from far up north, are you not Avi?"