Chapter 17 - Life

  The training grounds behind the academy were quiet in the early morning, save for the grunts and pants of students training in the duelling rings. The air was crisp, tinged with the scent of damp stone and freshly turned earth from the previous night's rainfall.

  Thin mist curled around the edges of the practice fields, fading as the rising sun burned it away. The academy itself loomed in the background, its towering spires casting long shadows over the grounds. Kaelin stood at the edge of the field, arms crossed, watching Aric as he waited for Zephyr to arrive.

  Aric, ever composed, turned a small stone over in his hands, his gaze distant. “This lesson is delicate,” he finally said. “Healing with the Time Threads isn’t like standard essence restoration. You’re not channelling energy into the wound to mend it... it’s more like you’re convincing time to forget the injury ever happened.”

  Kaelin scoffed. “That sounds way more complicated than just healing with essence, why bother?”

  Aric smirked. “I will say, many time mages never bother learning it. But not always will you have someone to help you. And besides, this is but the first step.”

  Footsteps approached. Zephyr strode toward them, his expression unreadable, the morning light catching on the edges of his dark green coat. He gave Aric a slight nod before flicking his gaze toward Kaelin. “This had better be worth waking up so early for.”

  Kaelin rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it’s beneath your otherworldly skill.”

  Zephyr let out a small, amused breath. “Finally, someone who understands.”

  Aric raised a hand before they could continue. “Enough. This lesson requires patience, not pettiness.”

  With a motion, he conjured a small dagger from his belt and drew it across his palm, leaving a thin line of red. He held up his bleeding hand. “The first rule of Time Healing: it only works on fresh wounds. The older the injury, the further you must push time back. And the further you go, the harder it is to contain it.”

  Kaelin leaned in, studying the blood that dripped onto the grass. “So, we have to act fast?”

  “Precisely.”

  Aric extended his hand, and the air around it shimmered as a faint golden glow surrounded the wound which he had given himself. Slowly, the blood retreated, the wound knitting itself together until nothing remained but unblemished skin. The entire process took only a few seconds.

  Zephyr exhaled sharply. “Efficient.”

  Kaelin narrowed her eyes. “How do you do it? I thought reversing time was impossible.”

  Aric’s gaze flicked to her. “It is. But only on large scales. The same way you slow time down in an area, bring time to a halt, and start to reverse its flow. Although if you could somehow get past the mental limit, I guess it is possible to do it over a larger area. Anyway, those are thoughts for another day. For now, focus on this.”

  He held out his hand, a new knife, one not tainted with blood sat in his palm. “Now, you try. One of you will make the cut, and the other will reverse it.”

  Kaelin and Zephyr exchanged glances. After a pause, Zephyr took the knife and pressed it against Kaelin’s forearm. She barely flinched as he made a slash through her skin, a single drop of blood welling up.

  Kaelin inhaled and reached for her Time Threads. The world slowed as she focused, feeling the wound’s presence, and in turn, the threads surrounding it. It was a small thing, a fleeting injury that had only just come into existence.

  She tugged on the thread and willed it to move backward. As she did, the blood come to a crawl, still dripping slowly down her arm. With a grunt, she released it.

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  She put her hands on her knees, bent over and panting. ”Fuuuuck that's difficult. It might take a few tries, even for you Zephyr,” she said with a grin.

  Aric spoke up, “Zephyr. Wrap these bandages, make sure they’re tight.”

  “Wait what?” Kaelin had a surprised look on her face. “Are you telling me this isn’t getting healed? Am I going to be stuck with a bunch of gashes down my arm until they heal!”

  “No no no. Don’t be silly.”

  Kaelin sighed in relief, the thought of this pain being with her for the next week was enough to make her wince.

  “As soon as you succeed, we’ll get you in with one of the school healers. But not until then.”

  Kaelin’s jaw dropped. So, if I can’t get this down, I'm gonna have to suffer until it heals on its own?!? That could take weeks!

  “I know what you’re thinking. And yes. The quicker you get it down, the quicker all that pain goes away!” Aric said with a smile.

  Is he being serious.

  “Now Zephyr. It’s your turn, show me what you’ve got.”

  He actually is. WHAT THE HELL.

  Zephyr, watching, extended his hand next. “Snap out of it.” he said to Kaelin, “Cut me.”

  Kaelin nodded and repeated the process just as Zephyr did for her. This time, she made a slightly deeper cur than her own.

  And yet Zephyr remained calm. Not a hint of pain had shown on his face. His expression remained calm as he reached his hand out to cast his magic. A faint golden glow encircled his cut. The blood trickling out from his cut started to slow. In fact, it stopped completely. But before he could reverse it, Zephyr released his magic, panting.

  “I guess it’s not so easy then. And I assumed it was just you.” Zephyr said between breaths.

  Kaelin whistled. “You still stopped it... Show-off.”

  His face held a large grin. “I’m sure you’ll do better next time, though it might be hard to catch up.”

  Aric studied them both for a moment. “Try again, both of you. We still have an hour left after all. Do remember, even if you succeed once, the temptation to undo larger wounds will always be there. If you try to reverse too much, you might end up losing control. If this were to happen, you could lose an entire arm. And we don’t want that... Do we”

  Kaelin raised an eyebrow. “So, what actually happens if we push too far?”

  Aric’s expression darkened slightly. “Best you don’t find out.”

  For a brief moment, as Kaelin focused on her threads, she felt a flicker of something cross through her mind. Her arm turning back, becoming such of a baby’s. And her other, withered. Black and grey, wrinkled, like all the water inside had been dried up. A warning, maybe. Subtle but present. She shook it off, but the sensation lingered in her thoughts.

  After another hour of trying, silence settled between them. Neither had succeeded in turning time back all the way. Zephyr got close, but not quite all the way.

  Then, Aric clapped his hands together as he stood. “Alright. That’s enough for today. Practice on any minor injuries you get, but don’t overextend yourselves, and nor should you make any new ones! Anymore, and it might be hard to focus on what’s coming up.”

  Kaelin and Zephyr exchanged looks, a shared confusion, and an unspoken challenge between them. But beneath it, something else had shifted – a quiet, mutual respect forming between them. Maybe he wasn’t as insufferable as she’d thought.

  The next day Kaelin found out what Aric had been talking about before. The students of class 1 filed into their homeroom, the usual buzz of conversation died down as their instructor, Professor Alden, stood at the front. He clapped his hands together, drawing attention. “Listen up. The mid-year event is coming up soon.”

  A murmur spread through the room. Kaelin exchanged a glance with Lena, who leaned in slightly. “What’s the mid-year event?”

  Professor Alden answered before Kaelin could. “Each of the three academy classes will participate in a major trial. This year, the board has decided on a monster subjugation exercise, done in teams of three.”

  More murmurs rippled through the class. A few students stiffened at the mention of real combat.

  Alden continued, “This is not just a test of your abilities – it’s a chance to prove yourselves to the higher-ranking faculty. For some, it will be an opportunity to gain recognition. For others, it will be a wake-up call. I’m sure you can all guess which it’ll be for you.”

  “Now, this morning I'd like you to start thinking about teams. If you have people in mind, go talk to them. I’ll need groups by the end of the week.

  With that, Kaelin found herself standing awkwardly to the side with Lena as students paired off quickly. No one wanted her. No one wanted Zephyr either – whether out of intimidation or dislike. Finally, Lena stepped up to him. “Guess that leaves us three,” she said with a smile. She wasn’t very good at hiding her pleasure at the fact.

  Zephyr sighed. “Wonderful.”

  Kaelin crossed her arms. “Please, do try to contain your enthusiasm.”

  Despite everything, she had a feeling they might have a shot at winning. After all, no other team had two sponsored students in it. Thinking about it though, this wasn’t exactly well balanced.