“How goes the studying?”

 

Aithne sighed and set the book down as Urag moved behind her and stroked her hair with his incongruously gentle hand. She closed her eye and allowed herself to sink into the moment, just for a bit, then opened it again and tapped the book in frustration.

 

 “Why was it so much easier to read on my own than it is to read the same books for an assignment?”

 

Urag’s laugh turned into a surprised yell as Chonji zoomed past screaming something adorably incoherent in a voice that likely woke up anyone sleeping within three floors.

 

“Because when it comes to something as volatile as magic, structure is actually stricture. The lessons in these classes are filled with paths long treaded. We talked about this before. I appreciate the college for what it does to help educate people who would otherwise probably kill themselves at best and destroy entire cities at worst. If I didn’t believe in it, I wouldn’t work here.

 

“But the classes are like…like looking at the stars through a telescope. The area you can see is up close and detailed but you can’t see what’s around it.” He reached over her shoulder to tap the book. “They are making you look at something through their lens when you are used to seeing a bigger picture.”

 

Aithne nodded. “That makes sense. I feel like most of the studying I’ve done has been just trying to resolve these types of discrepancies. Like this.” She flipped through a few pages, found the passage, and pointed.

 

“Professor Neloren says the flow of energy when collated will diffuse its energies, which is also what it says in this book. But, to me, Aslir’s Law means the opposite would actually happen. Because the factor of the…”

 

“…equation is the transverse of the sum. Huh. You are right.” Urag chuckled then yelled as Chonji slammed into his leg. “Dammit, child, what are you doing?”

 

In response, Chonji held up his arms and Urag’s mildly annoyed expression melted away. As he leaned over to pick up the boy, he said, “You should submit a correction.”

 

“A correction?”

 

“Yes, it’s a…hoo, guess it’s time for a nappy change! It’s a simple spell. Most students learn it at the beginning of their fifteenth year, which is the first time they’re allowed to submit suggested edits. Just tap the portion you need and say ‘vdu nikeeph,’ then state your suggested correction and the reasons for it, then tap again and finish with ‘nluu.’”

 

She followed his instructions and, at the final tap, was surprised to see a tiny red triangle appear over the text.

 

“Oh! I’ve seen those before. I wondered what they meant. Now, doesn’t this mean that if…” She glanced back as she spoke only to discover Urag had moved into the bathing room and was now fighting with Chonji to get the nappy changed. Aithne laughed, then sighed and turned back to the book.

 

Her correction, she discovered, changed more things in the following paragraphs, so she submitted further corrections to adjust. It wasn’t a significant change – in practical terms, it only meant…

 

“Hmm…”

 

She glanced back at father and son. They had turned the nappy battle into a bath (which presumably meant the toddler had won), so she slid out of chair and left the suite. It took only a moment to find the one she expected to see in the ostensibly closed Arcanaeum.

 

“J’zargo! You were supposed to meet Kit tonight, weren’t you?”

 

The cat wheeled around at his name, some spell still glowing on his hands (paws? She had never had the nerve to ask what they should be called). He relaxed and the light dimmed as she moved closer.

 

“Ah, yes. But he said he had other business he had forgotten about and so J’zargo is alone once again.”

 

“That’s the, what, third time he’s done that? I’m no expert but Im beginning to think he’s not all that interested.”

 

J’zargo’s ears flattened and his head drooped. “Yes, J’zargo was just thinking the same thing.”

 

“Well, I know what will cheer you up – shooting fire at me!”

 

“What? J’zargo would nev…”

 

“Yes he would, if I asked nicely. Which I’m doing. Sort of. Please?”

 

He frowned, then shrugged and motioned towed the blank wall. “J’zargo knows by now that you always have some strange idea that somehow seems to work, so very well – J’zargo shall comply.” As she smiled and moved toward the wall, he added, “What kind of fire do you wish to see?”

 

“That’s a good question.” Aithne reached the wall and turned to face him. “Something low power. To start.”

 

“How about Around’s Flame, then? J’zargo thinks that seems fitting.”

 

Aithne laughed. “It does! Very well.” She took a deep breath. “Anytime you’re ready.”

 

J’zargo nodded, raised his arms (front legs?), and a moment later the red fire rushed toward her.

 

Her body gibbered in panic but she ignored it, concentrating on the flame.

 

“Puugrir: mog.”

 

It seemed to work at first. Instead of blasting into her, it seemed to gather and then enter her in a controlled way. She focused her attention inside, trying to manipulate the flame but…

 

“Ow ow ow!” It was too much – her organs felt like they were beginning to sear. With haste, she pushed the energy back out. White fire splashed against the wall.

 

She clutched herself as she dropped to her knees. Every breath was a scream of agony and her chest felt…

 

…soothed. A nearby voice murmured and she felt restoration energy move through her. The pain faded and she took in a deep breath.

 

“J’zargo thinks that was a bad idea.”

 

“Aithne agrees with J’zargo. Dammit, I thought I was on to something there.”

 

“You were. You were on to your next life. What were you trying to do?”

 

“Ah…I was testing a theory.” His silence somehow felt like a prompt, so she continued, “I thought I might be able to pull Destruction attacks into myself. I’m sorry, I don’t know what year they talk about things. Do you know about Aslir’s Law? Good. Then you’ll understand when I suggest it could be applied to force a diffuse array of energy – such as, say, a line of fire shot at me – to condense. So I used puugrir to gather it, then mog to internalize it.”

 

“So you…want to cook yourself from the inside?” J’zargo shook his head. “J’zargo thought you were smart but that is the opposite.”

 

“Yeah. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess maybe I thought it would convert itself back into energy I could use.”

 

“Of course not. You know it doesn’t work that way. You may as well try turning a pile of ashes from the fireplace back into a log.”

 

Silence, then, for a moment, then J’zargo’s whiskers twitched. “J’zargo wonders if the energy could be redirected instead of stored.”

 

Aithne raised her eyebrows. “Oh, you mean shoot it back? I suppose that’s possible.”

 

“That as well, but J’zargo was thinking more about your idea of storing the energy. Perhaps you could internalize it but then immediately push it back out to…” he gestured. “The air around you. Like an external supply of already gathered mana.”

 

“A good idea, but it would just keep going once it was released. To keep it from re-diffusing or, more important, blowing up, I’d need something like…” She tapped her chin as ideas formed in her head. “Maybe I could add a ward component but turn it around so it blocks the energy as it leaves instead of blocks it from entering.”

 

“J’zargo thinks this spell of yours is going to be too long to cast to be effective. To do all that would require at least three words.”

 

“Four. And ì would need to be double modified, so, in effect, six words. And, to be safe, it would probably be best to add another regular ward at the front in order to have enough time to cast the rest. It’s hard to say anything when you’re screaming from being burned alive!”

 

“J’zargo imagines so. J’zargo cannot imagine many uses for a spell with such a long cast time.”

 

“Well, hopefully it can be pared down in the future. For now, let’s just see if it works. Ready to try again?”

J’zargo shook his head but headed back to his position. “You are a crazy one. That’s what J’zargo likes most about you.”

 

“One knows best what one does best.” Aithne stood and placed herself back on the wall. “Ready when you are.”

 

The flames sprouted and shot toward her again. She held up her hands and was very glad she had decided on the first ward when the flames got to her before she could utter more than a single syllable.

 

“Ì: puugrir: mog: fiph/ubbug/ì: ṛuuph!”

 

On the last word, she released the initial ward and the energy darted for her, coalescing and entering her body. It still hurt a little initially, but as it swept through and away, the pain receded. In the space of two heartbeats, the energy had poured back out in the shape of white flames then smacked into the second ward and bounced back. A moment later she was surrounded by white light.

 

She heard J’zargo yell something but she couldn’t see him very well - much like the sun’s glare off a metallic surface, the glow of the energy made it hard to see. She turned, stepped back a few paces, released the second ward, and directed the energy at the blank wall. The white flames dispersed along its surface with a low rumble.

 

“J’zargo is impressed! Still, that was a four second cast – it would not be very effective against snap spells like Firebolt. And the ward is static, so it would not be able to contain much.”

 

“I added a second modifier to the ward to make it flexible. Hopefully that will make it stretch to contain as much as it needs. If it’s too much power, I might need to use a major ward instead, which will just add to the cast time.”

 

“And risk running into Leel’s Corollary. Try to add too much more and the entire thing is likely to turn.”

 

“That’s true. And with Destruction magic, the rebound would be pretty impressive!”

 

“If by ‘impressive’ you mean ‘destroy everything within a square mile,’ J’zargo agrees.”

 

Aithne laughed. “Well, if there is ever a time when it becomes important to destroy everything within a square mile, I’ll have to remember that.”

 

“Please do not. You would be destroyed as well and J’zargo would be most unhappy if that were to happen.”

 

“How sweet of J’zargo to say! I promise I won’t blow myself up anytime soon.”

 

“J’zargo is much relieved. And now J’zargo must take his leave – Kit may have spurned J’zargo’s advances, but Cerci has not.” He bowed in that graceful feline way that showed why he had become so popular among much of the student population. “J’zargo bids you good night.”

 

Aithne watched him stalk away with a smile on her face. It still felt so strange, this freedom thing, but after nearly four months of it, she was beginning to get the hang of it. It helped that she spent most of her time among friends who had not treated her like a slave in the past - with them, she found it much easier to avoid the nagging fears that she was about to be punished for acting like a free person. In more public times, such as during classes, she often felt overwhelmed by dread, certain someone would turn on her with a collar in his hands and shout, "Just kidding! On your knees, slave!"

 

Still, every day was a little better. Freedom was very much like having a new master – she just had to learn the new rules, the do’s and don’ts. The only difference was, her master was now herself, and she was only beginning to understand how her own rules worked.

 

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