Fer leaned down at smiled at the four cubs staring up at her. The lioness raised her head and closed her eyes to indicate she reized Fer’s authority. Fer scratched one cub behind the ear, and then looked back at the line of people. It was all children with their parents. She waved a girl over and whispered to the liohat it was safe. The animal zily put its head down.

  The child trotted over, patted the little lion cub and burst out in ughter. Then Fer and the little smiled at the camera, the mother took a picture and they went off. Then the child came, and the , and the .

  Edmonton got off the train at Arcadia tral Station with Fleur holding his hand. They brought two light backpacks and easy clothes. The Sun here was always hot, always dry, he much preferred Karaina. Now they both wore shorts and t-shirts, things that wouldn’t stand out, although they knew Arcadia as well as a wasn’t especially hard to disappear in this pseudo-try of mages.

  “Lyd Eliza.” Fleur said. “And avoid seeing people.”

  “Do you think our dorm rooms are still ours?” Edmonton jingled his keys.

  “I hope not.” Fleur said. “But probably they are, we’ve been away for what? Four months? School year hasn’t ended yet.” Edmonton ughed as he thought about that and walked through the train station. Little here had ged, and by little, he meant nothing. It was almost odd to see. In Arascus’ headquarters, there was always new faces, new designs for onry and battlepns, there were plenty of training fields in the forests. They had shooting lessons and sorcery practice. Maids cared for them.

  And now… Edmonton had returo mundane normalcy. It was almost odd. He had gotteo being waited on. “Exams are ing up.”

  “They are.” Fleur said and she air haughtily. “Even with the attendance lost, we should still be able to pass.”

  “Do you want to take them?”

  “No.”

  “Same.” They both ughed out loud as they walked past a news board: Arascus in Arika! Great War on the Horizon! The Jungle is being burned down! Dos Stocks hit an all time low! Peace has returo Rilia thanks to Goddess Maisara! Eic Downfall spreads to Rancais and Lubska! I in Allia Now! The First Iional Epan Archery petition Announced! Lubska, Allia, Rilia & Rancais to join Doschia! Arcadia Not Invited! “Same old, same old.” Fleur said as she sed it.

  “Same old, same old.” Edmonton agreed. Nothing iing here, although they both had Iliyal to get their news from. Their phones had Gods in their tacts. What did they need papers for? The guardsman was the same as he was back then. An aged fellow with a tiny propensity fic. He sed their tickets with his hand and beed them through.

  And so they walked into Arcadia.

  Into the nd of mages. Epa’s gleaming institution, headed by Goddess Essa herself, with over a thousand years of history here. Tall buildings, each dedicated to their own magiiche built hundreds of years ago and then expanded littered the rolling hills with their pale green grass. They had inally been siowers to easier catch the magical energies of the verging leylines here, then they were expanded with halls, more towers, parapets, dorms. Eae was an amalgamation of architectural styles, as if a child had taken a series of building parts and then smashed them together.

  The parks were the same. Brimming with life and students. “Look at that.” Fleur said as she pointed left. Hydromanovices were practig raising water out of a ke. They each held a head-sized ball in their hands and were slowly l it into and out of the water. Some cracked, others quickly lost their form and colpsed. Edmonton rolled his eyes, to think six months ago he was doing these exercises.

  “Brilliant.” Edmonton said ftly. Fleur looked up at him with geous blue eyes.

  “’t you show them how it’s done?”

  “I’d rather let them suffer.” Edmonton said as he walked on past the training mage-aspirants. Now that he had sorcery… It was like a rifle pared to a khey were simply in different leagues. It wasn’t parable.

  “Oh please, even back then you could do that with one finger.”

  “Do you want a detour past the aeromancy quarter then?” Edmonton asked and Fleur ughed.

  “Let’s have at it.”

  And so they turned and walked to the building were Fleur orained. Students here had their dark robes tinged with ribbons of white to signify their element. Fleur khe area better than Edmonton did, she led him off the path, through a bush, and to a short wooden fehat marked a field. “Here we are.” She said.

  “And they’re doing what exactly?” A group of students were stood at one end of the field. A teacher in a white robe was watg them and every now and the sound of a whip crag came from them.

  “You see those sticks on the ground?” Fleur poio a series of sticks mid-way in the field. Some were on the ground.

  “I do.”

  “The goal is to get them out of the ground.” Edmonton looked ftly at the students. Their faces where bursting with sweat, a few were resting on the ground. The teacher looked unhappy.

  “Wow.” He said ftly.

  “Wow indeed.” Fleur said with glee. “This is Css Two, I reize Joseph and Kim from there. Css Two is supposed to be the sed-best y course. After mine.” Edmonton and Fleur watched them. Eventually a girl Fleur did not know stepped forwards, postured with both her hands aimed at a stick. It wobbled, then unched out of the ground. The students cheered and the teacher cpped. “Poor trol.” Fleur said. “It’s easy to unch it like that, did you see it?”

  “Not my element.” Edmonton said.

  “She just made a big ball of air around the stid forced it out.” Fleur turned and smiled to Edmonton. “You want to see a professional?”

  “Let’s see.” Fleur turo Edmonton and snapped her fingers. Five of the sticks slowly raised out of the ground, hovered just above the grass, made a spin, and then dropped as Fleur released her magic. “That’s what they should be doing.” Fleur burst out in ughter, grabbed Edmonton’s hand as the teacher started shouting and the students looked around in shock. They disappeared into the woods and bato the path before they were found. Two students were practig hydroman their own by a fountain. The water-raising exercise again. Edmonton did not know these, they were young, maybe eleven, maybe ten. Only children.

  Fleur poi the fountain and spoke. “Well I showed you how good I am.”

  “I’m better at sorcery than you.” Edmonton said.

  “You wish.” Fleur said with a ugh. “But we’re in Arcadia, let’s see how good you are at magic. Don’t tell me you’ve lost your touch.” Edmonton shook his head as he walked to the two children.

  “You’re doing it wrong.” He said. “Too forceful, don’t keep the water still, let it flow around yic.” The children backed away when they saw Edmonton, but they listeo his advice. Edmonton turo Fleur and crossed his arms. A small pony made entirely of water and trotted around the edge of the fountain, it didn’t even lose a drop, Edmonton did not even have to look to know it didn’t, he could feel the element. Fleur made that sarcastic whistle of hers as the children burst out in ughter and cpped. One poked the pony and the pony jumped away. Mhter. “Make it flow kids.” Edmonton said. “Don’t keep it still.” He took Fleur’s hand again and walked off before they started asking question.

  “What a man.” Fleur said. “Showing off and helping children. Whatever girl marries you will be a lucky dy.”

  “Oh I’m sure.” Edmonton said. “Happier than whoever you marry no doubt.” Fleur haughtily ughed again.

  “Who wouldn’t want to marry me?” She guided her hands down her sides. “All men need is something pretty to grab and a nice smile.” She gave Edmonton one of the most wonderful smiles he had ever seen.

  “All girls want is a nice fad someoo show off.” Edmonton replied sourly and Fleur ughed again. “Alright, Library or Eliza and Lyca first?”

  “Eliza and Lyca.” Fleur replied. Good to see they were thinking the same.

  “Lyca then?”

  “Eli will probably be at his.” Fleur said. And so they set off to the pyromancer’s quarters. It wasn’t too far, and it ath they had travelled many times before. You didn’t want to walk the path around the park, you wao take a shortcut through it. They came across a fehat had beely installed. A tall wooden one. “I’m not climbing this.”

  “You ’t or don’t want to?” Edmonton asked as Fleur snapped her fingers and a se of the fence fell down, cut by invisible bdes of air.

  “Don’t want to.” She replied ftly and walked through the gap. They went into the pyromancer’s dorms. It was a grand building, a mismatched cathedral of different parts and bridges and towers that sprawled wide and high. Guards were these locations, nor was anything required to s in. Arcadia tried to ence inter-elemental retions by allowing ao enter and leave. No one would be stupid enough to try and steal from mages anyway.

  Fourth floor, room fifteen. Lyca’s dorm-room. They travelled up the winding staircase. Past other youhan them. Here, they all wore dark robes with ribbons of red. Through a pin corridor with tiles. The other dorms all had carpets but obviously that would be a fire-hazard when you put carpets in a building of young pyromancers. The only wood was the doors. Edmonton came to a stop at room fifteen and knocked.

  Thud-Thud-Thud. He always gave three knocks. No sound came from inside. Edmonton crossed his arms and looked at Fleur. She smiled at him and leaned against the wall. “Cssic Lyca.” Edmonton knocked again. There was a crash from the inside. Edmonton gave three more knocks to hurry him up. A young boy opehe door. No older than thirteen or fourteen, with a messy head of ginger hair and dark bags under his eyes. He looked up at Edmonton and Fleur as they looked down on the d.

  “Who are you?” Edmonton asked quizzically. He leaned past the teeo look into the room. There wasn’t a mark of Lyywhere.

  “I’m Erin.” The boy said as he stepped back. “ I help you?” Fleur looked in and bumped Edmonton’s elbow with hers.

  “It was Four-fifteen.” She said, they both looked at the number in red on the door to make sure they had the correct door. It indeed was the corre.

  “How long have you been living here?” Edmonton asked idly, not even looking at the boy.

  “Two months. Is there a problem?”

  “No problem.” Edmonton said. “Just a routine iion.” He turned and shut the door behind himself. “Well, it’s Eliza then.”

  “Do you think he’s moved out?”

  “Lyca moved out?” Edmonton asked.

  “I mean, got a better room.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure he’d want to do the paperwork for a new room.” Edmonton said as they walked dowaircase. Ten steps down, turn, ten more steps. “Eliza the’s che her.”

  They walked to the Floromancy quarter. The Nature mages, Botanists as they were usually called. It was obvious when you passed into their area, the fields started to brim with flowers, the trees grew into odd shapes, the statues were all wooden sculptures that had flowers ohe air was fresher, and it smelled of a thousand different sweet fruits and flowers. There were more waterways, more odd streams, it was close to the hydromancy quarter. Edmonton could see his old dorm room from here in a huge building. He had no pns to return there.

  They entered, once again, no guards. Fleur was on the sixth floor, room seventeen. Here, the staircases were all rouhere were slides at the top to get down quickly. “You knoe?” Edmonton asked.

  “You do it.” Fleur replied as she looked around. Pictures of famous botanists from ages hung on the walls, along with diagrams of flowers and dates for the uping exams. A trip to Arika had been celled and written off, a polite apology was hanging on the wall about how ret events and embargoes have stopped the annual trip and that the teachers were trying tanize a rip to somewhere else.

  Edmonton stopped at Eliza’s room. Thud-Thud-Thud. She had a heavy wooden door, an old flower was on it, it had wilted and died. “Who is it?” Eliza’s tired voice called from inside. “Whatever, I’m ing.” There was a crash, a series of steps, and the door opened.

  Eliza blinked. She had always been shorter than Edmonton and Fleur, but her colpsed posture made her shrink even more. Her light brown fell past her shoulders, she had obviously lost weight, her cheeks were pale, her eyes were red. She had been g. Those big brown eyes looked up at Edmonton and Fleur and blinked, readjusted, a spark fshed withihey sharpened. Eliza’s head popped into the corridor, then she pulled the two of them into her room and smmed it shut.

  It was dirty yet . The books were anised, but dust sat on them. Flowers were in vases, and they had no water and were wilting. The bed was made, but it looked grim with traces of dirt. Her shoes were in a row against the wall, and they were all sthered in mud. “We’ve e back.” Edmonton said as he took his usual spot. The floor o the et. Fleur crossed her arms as she stared Eliza down.

  “What happened?” Fleur asked, she tried to make her voice soft, but Fleur had never been good at that. Eliza colpsed onto the bed and sighed. Her voice cracked, and she started to cry.

  “Lyca lost trol. He’s been transferred to the tai-quarter.”