Glamours

A Short Story

Written by BrokenJac

Hazel walked through the alleys, searching for an easy target to steal from. She knew her path, having traveled it for years before and long since having learned the layout of the back alleys. Merchants tended to flock to her home town, the populous city of Ocilliment and it's population of 100,000 people, to sell their goods, services, and supplies. Ocilliment was built atop a man-made mountain, and it's strong connection to Ocayl, the sun, meant as it rose in the sky, the city was swinging into full motion.

Ocayl blazed strong, the rays of light burning against her skin, the morning sun slightly warming the cobbled streets. Hazel watched carefully, taking her time as she was earlier than usual that morning. When Hazel stole from merchants, she kept in mind that they had had the food to spare, inferring it from how careless they were being. Hazel also knew that she and her younger brother, Eli, needed the food far more than the merchants needed the money.

Ever since her family had died, Hazel had been forced to fight for her and her brother, resorting to stealing to survive. She had tried to request help from the Mages from the Ocilliment Sun Temple of Ocamo, the great god of sun and light that the city was dedicated to, but wasn't given the opportunity to ask for financial support.

Daily, merchants bought out all of the stalls that lined the streets, renting them from the city for the whole day. Bearing carts and wagons, pulled by strong horses, they scaled the mountains. The merchants brought their supplies in bulk, prepared for the large population of the city. The strenuous journey up the mountain left many merchants arrived depleted and exhausted by their arrival. The merchants, using the city's market stalls, filled their shop fronts up with produce. Using grandiose displays in an attempt to pinch coins from the rich of Ocilliment wherever possible. Some merchants sold their food, some ingredients, and, acting as traders between cities, others sold products from around Usterent.

A merchant, who was assembling a stall filled with a variety of exotic fruits from beyond Usterent, was being extra complacent. He had left several large, wide-open, crates of mixed fruits out. Hazel, keeping quiet and pressed against the walls of the alley, crept towards crates of fruit. Hazel crouched behind the boxes, cautiously peering over the edge and watching the merchant.

Taking the presented opportunity, Hazel grabbed a few of the fruit off the top, meticulously making sure that it appeared as if nothing had been taken. Starting to move away, a small maroon sack residing on the merchant's cart caught her attention. Glancing at the merchant, who was yet to notice her, Hazel took the risk grabbed the small, but heavy, sack and darted off.

Before making it far enough to escape, just a few steps from the exit of the alley, a massive hand curled her arm. A man, who must have been helping the merchant, had seemingly appeared from nowhere. He was years younger, and far more muscular, than his master, the merchant. His hand was gripped tightly around her arm, showing little care or remorse for nearly hurting Hazel.

"Let go of me you brute," Hazel hissed at him, attempting to pry his fingers from her arm. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, all rationale gone in a puff of smoke.

"You're not going anywhere but jail, thief," his voice was deep and rumbled in his throat. The man yanked her toward his boss.

Hazel pulled with all of her might and, against her better judgment, punched at the man's chest. He didn't flinch in the slightest, continuing to drag Hazel behind him. "You're hurting me!" Hazel exclaimed, drawing the attention of the merchant from his work.

The man shoved Hazel onto the ground in front of the merchant. The merchant looked at her, picking up the fruit, which had spilled from her hands all over the ground. He tossed the fruit back at her and pulled the sack from her hands, scowling deeply. "Get out of here and don't let me see you again or I'll turn you in and let the authorities deal with it."

Hazel didn't hesitate, grabbing two of the fallen fruit and sprinting away. The merchant and his oxen-like helper didn't chase after her, letting her take the fruit without complaint. Breaking away from the upper city, Hazel decided to cut her losses and head back to her brother. Hazel knew he would be disappointed, both in the lack of food and her foolish risk.

Hazel headed down towards the lower city, a far poorer side of Ocilliment compared to the rich population of the upper city. The buildings were run down and covered in snow, the light and joy of the upper city swiftly fading. Living in the lower city, Eli and Hazel were forced to spend the night wherever they could find shelter, whether it be under a tree, in an attic, or in a run-down house.

Over the past night, they had spent the night in a closed-off and run-down church; they had been using it for shelter for a few weeks, having been kicked out of a library they had been sleeping in. Hazel came in through a window, the boarding having worn away since all of the churches had moved to the upper city. Eli, Hazel's younger brother, was still curled up under their shared blanket.

"Eli, I got us some breakfast." Hazel touched his shoulder gently, attempting to wake him up.

Eli rolled over to face Hazel, cracking his eyes open slightly and coughing. It was difficult to tell in the dim light from the windows, but Hazel could make out sweat lining his brow. His voice weak and rough, Eli struggled to cough out a sentence: "I don't feel so good."

"Oh buddy, I'm sorry." Hazel wiped his forehead with the blanket, the burning heat of his forehead searing through the blanket. "I'll see if I can find some medicine somewhere."

"Be careful," Eli said, his voice barely a whisper, followed by a weakening coughing fit that shook his whole body.

"I always am," Hazel whispered, pulling away from Eli. Clambering out the window, Hazel had a bit more purpose behind her stride.

Heading back toward the upper city, Hazel's mind was fogged with worry. It had been years since either her or her brother had been sick; the last time she had to deal with illness was when her mother fell deadly ill, coming just after her father jumped off of the mountain following losing his job. Hazel remembered that medicine was always hard to come by, the merchants who sold it always selling it to shops at steep prices and the shops selling them to the population for even steeper prices.

The multipurpose shop that Hazel entered was owned by a father and son. It sold all things first aid, such as the medicine that Hazel was looking for, and nearly everything else anyone could need. Hanging over side of the mountain, the building had been build on rickety rafters. Unsurprisingly, there was a city guard nearby the shop, as many of the more important shops were on that side of town leading thieves to come in abundance.

Browsing the shelves in the shop, Hazel was blatantly out of place and instantly drew the eye of the shopkeeper's son from the few other shoppers. Finding a multipurpose medicine on the shelves, Hazel lifted the small bag off of the wooden shelf to look at the small paper tag. Hazel nearly dropped the bag when she saw that the priced listing as 10 golden coins, more than enough to feed her and her brother for several months over.

"Can I help you?" The shopkeeper appeared beside Hazel like a ghost, his eyes keen despite his age.

Hazel set the bag down, smiling at the shopkeeper hoping to keep him from being suspicious. "No, just looking at medicine. Always good to have some stored."

"Can you afford that?" The shopkeeper seemed skeptical, pointedly glancing at Hazel's tattered outfit.

"I'll have to ask my mom. We're still being tight with spending our coins, but I'll come back later if we have the money." Hazel's explanation seemed to suffice, for the moment at least, the shopkeeper left her to be; however, both the shopkeeper and his son continuing to keep a close eye on Hazel.

Continuing to survey the shelves, Hazel looked at a few other plant-based medicines, each with an even steeper price. Heading further into the shelves, filled with a variety of forms of medicine, Hazel made sure to keep out of sight of everyone else. Discretely reaching into one of the pouches, Hazel pulled out a few of the medicine leaves.

Stuffing the few leaves into her pocket, Hazel put the bag back onto the shelf. She shuffled the bags around, hiding the emptier one behind a few other bags of medicine. Casually leaving the store, Hazel began to travel back down to the lower city, and Eli. She took a different route. She paused to make sure that no one had noticed her stealing the leaves or sent guards to follow her.

/*EDIT*/

When no guards had caught up with her after a few minutes, Hazel picked up her pace. The travel back to the lower city was far easier than the upper city, though by no means a short hike. Heading out of the upper city meant fewer and fewer people were on the streets. The streets around the church were fully empty, the city appearing to be a ghost town.

Eli hadn't moved and was still lying on the floor; he was curled up under the blanket, holding his legs to his chest. He was shivering under the thin-threaded blanket. The room was cold, a breeze blowing the cool outside air in through the window. Hazel knelt down next to Eli, gently rubbing his back as she spread the leaves out across the floor. Eli's skin was still burning, unbearably warm through the blanket.

"I'll be back before long. I've just got to get some water and wood to start a fire and boil these down." Hazel stood up, sighing in sympathy as her brother shivered, unable to respond.

Hazel climbed back out of the open window, wandering through the lower city in search of sticks and tinder to use to start a fire. The run-down city wasn't short of timber and wood that could be used to start a fire. It only took a few minutes of walking, not running into anyone else, for Hazel to collect enough wood to burn for a sizable fire.

A city guard was poking around the church when Hazel came back, his attention fully invested in the window. Seeing the guard, Hazel dumped the wood by the door of the church and walked up to the guard before he was able to discover her brother in the church. Her heart pumped, fearing the worst if he was to discover her brother in the church.

"Can I help you, sir?" Hazel knew the guards weren't Mages, like much of the richer and upper-class of the upper city. Even so, Hazel still addressed the guard properly, knowing it couldn't hurt to be as polite as possible.

The guard looked up, glancing at a paper in his hand. It was folded over at the top, showing a very loose sketch of Hazel. "Miss, I am going to have to ask you to come with me."

"May I ask why?" Hazel's heart roared loudly in her ears, blood pounding through her brain.

"I've got a report claiming that you stole medicine from a shop." The guard didn't elaborate, continuing to poke around the broken window of the church. He peered inside the building, something catching his attention inside. A flash of panic struck Hazel, as she realized what might happen if the guard saw her brother inside, much less the medicine leaves that she had stolen. Hazel had no idea as to how to divert the guard's attention without drawing too much attention, but she knew that she had to distract the guard.

Out of nowhere, Hazel could feel the sun shining brightly on her skin, peeking through the clouds above. It was a unique feeling of euphoria, strange light flooding through her veins. Hazel could sense it as the light feeling reached through her hands, leaving a tingling sensation in her fingertips.

A strange violet aura surrounded the area. The guard took a step back, an outlandish mist swirling around the guard's feet. The buildings all around took on new appearances, their structure reforming in the violet aura. The section of the city immediately surrounding them faded into its previous state, a curious translucence showing the destroyed city at the same time.

"Ma'am," the guard's voice took on a different, more polite and formal, tone. Hazel noticed immediately, he had called her 'ma'am' instead of 'miss'. "I am going to have to ask that you refrain from casting glamours."

"Excuse me?" The limit of Hazel's understand of glamours, the magic used in Usterent, was that they were cast by Mages - of which Hazel knew she wasn't. The light that illuminated the buildings strengthened until there wasn't a shadow of what the lower city had looked like visible.

"Ma'am." The guard's voice was sharp and threatening, though still holding an air of politeness.

Ocayl was slowly obscured by clouds, the tingling power in Hazel's finger fading. The violet aura, a glamour as claimed by the guard, began to fade until it was completely hidden. The glamour was gone in an instant, the guard appearing more relaxed once the glamour was gone.

"We best get going." The guard looked at Hazel, his face still shining in the faint violet light; the rest of his face shadowed under the cloud cover. In the high altitude, the clouds blowing by surrounded the whole city in fog. Rain sprinkled down on their faces as a breeze drew the clouds into the lower city. Hazel hesitated, not wanting to have to leave her brother behind, but the guard was persistent, pushing her to head toward the upper city.

The guard allowed Hazel to go first, directing her towards the main road. He followed her towards the upper city through the main route instead of Hazel's shortcut. As they rose through the mountains, the clouds and fog thinned until it was gone. The city, made completely by man, rose far above the clouds.

Expecting the guard to lead to jail and court on the outskirts of the town, Hazel was befuddled when the guard alternatively pointed her towards the center streets each point the way up to the towering, golden, glowing Sun Temple. "Where are you taking me?"

"We're going to the Sun Temple, ma'am." The guard kept his eyes forward, devoting his attention, and Hazel's along with it, to the sun Temple ahead.

The Sun Temple, made of gold and white wood formed by Mages, had towering wooden doors. Intricate designs of golden metal spiraled around the surface, not a single imperfection to be seen. Hazel thought of the stories she had heard about it, the treasures that were said to be in the temple and how stealing some of it may give her opportunity to buy money for her brother; a small part of Hazel decided that, depending on where the guard took her, she wouldn't steal anything right away.

Two guards stood on either side of the door, bearing their own formal outfits and complex steel and gold swords. Not one of them glanced at Hazel or the other guard as they walked up.

As they approached, the doors, silently, swung open to reveal the enormous opening hall that spun upwards. Stepping into the room, it was revealed that there were dozens of floors that filled the Sun Temple. The guard, directing Hazel in, didn't give pause, not letting Hazel take in the sight of the temple.

Escorting Hazel through the halls, the guard moved with a strange aura of confidence. The confidence grew out of place as Hazel realized that they had passed the same parts of the Sun Temple over and over, seeing the same people they pass repeat. Eventually their circling ended as they came upon a large set of double doors, framed by gold and windows opening into the room.

Having only seen a fraction of the actual Sun Temple, Hazel was surprised by the details of the whole building. Hazel had, however, come to the realization that the entire building was made from stone and wood, worked into shapes and painted in gold and white. She was yet to find anything of any value that she could pick up to use to purchase medicine.

The interior of the room appeared ancient, pictures of stories of the mountain and the city being made mounted the whitewashed walls and ceilings. A large stage and pew were centered at the very front of the room, benches packing much of the floor. It appeared to have been made to serve some sort of religious reason, though Hazel had never been in the room before. Little dust was visible and the benches looked slightly worn, indicating that the room was still fully in use.

After taking in the sight of the room, Hazel followed the guard into the room, having to speed walk to catch up with the guard. The two of them immediately cut to the right and headed down the right wall of the room. They entered a smaller set of doors engraved in the wall at the side of the room. The next room that they entered was small, several basic wooden chairs sitting across from a small door with a bronze plaque on it, a worn name barley visible on the door.

The guard knocked on the door, the knock ringing out through the room. The door, almost the instant the guard knocked, swung inwards. A man, dressed in a golden tunic, appeared in the doorway. The outfit was instantly recognizable, even Hazel recognizing that the outfit was that of the Sun Priest, the greatest Mage of the Ocilliment.

Seeing the outfit that the Sun Priest wore, Hazel's blood began to boil. Memories of being refused the chance to request food from the Sun Priest popped into her head. The fraction of her that thought there was a chance that the guard was helping her vanished; Hazel had lost all faith in the Sun Priest, hating him with all of her guts.

"What do you need?" The Sun Priest showed little emotion, seeming to not be bothered nor concerned with the intrusion.

"Sir, I bring to you a Mage." The guard's language and posture changed again. He spoke with a different urgency and stood up straighter than before.

For the first time, the Sun Priest's interest seemed peaked, giving life into his face at last. "That's wonderful. See Mistress Havard in the tower; it's been years since I've dealt with this sort of thing."

"Sir." The guard seemed nervous to speak up; the Sun Priest cocked his eyebrow at the guard, expecting the rest of the sentence. "I don't know where the tower is."

"Ahh, a street guard are you? Well, then you may return to your duties and I shall take her myself." The guard saluted, fumbling to do so, before hastily leaving.

"How are you miss?" The Sun Priest seemed polite, his aura completely different from anything that Hazel would have expected from such a powerful Mage. His age threw her off even more, as he looked to be no older than his twenties and she had heard that the Sun Priest was nearing his seventieth birthday.

"I'm fine, thank you," Hazel responded as politely as she could, bowing her head slightly. Hazel grew even more angry, hating herself for bowing before the Sun Priest of all people. The Sun Priest nodded, offering the door to Hazel.

He walked slower than the guard did, keeping more of a meander and letting Hazel gawk at everything she saw for a few seconds. He, after his initial attempt to try and spark some sort of conversation, didn't speak again as he slowly directed their path through the Sun Temple. Hazel was still taken aback by the building, though she still fumed at being in the presence of the Sun Priest.

The tower that he had spoken of, as they neared it, appeared to be small and insignificant. It was only accessible through a single doorway, appearing to be nothing compared to the rest of the building's complex architecture. Until he turned the knob on the door, Hazel hadn't even noticed it in the room; the door itself was practically hidden away behind columns and paintings.

The door opened out, revealing a doorway into a small, nearly empty, room. The only thing in the room was a simple spiral staircase that wrapped its way around a central pillar as it spiraled up toward the top. The steps were small, made of wooden planks jutting from the core center.

Escalating the stairs, Hazel followed the Sun Priest as they ascended the flights of stairs. The steps didn't seem to connect to any other floors, the walls on either side appearing to have a radius of no more than three feet in any direction. For much of the staircase, only a minimal amount of light came in through small windows that had been carved out of the walls.

From the inside, Hazel had no idea what the purpose was. She couldn't tell if it had any use and Hazel knew that it was far outside of the sight of people from the ground. Having never looked into the use of the Sun Temple much, Hazel had no idea what sort of use the tower had to Mages.

The final few steps opened up into an enormous room, many times larger than the staircase they had climbed to reach it. The walls appeared to be made of solid glass; looking threw them revealed a birds-eye view of Ocilliment below. Furniture decorated the floor of the room, buried in papers and books. The room as a whole had a very warm feeling to it.

At one of the many desks, a desk facing the window walls, a woman dressed in a simple tunic sat. Her back was to Hazel and the Sun Priest, and she was bent over what could only be papers. The Sun Priest coughed into his hand, a minute sound that drew the attention of the woman.

She rose to greet them, a large smile on her face as soon as she saw the Sun Priest. "Arthur!" she exclaimed, "why are you in your father's outfit?"

"He's ill, and I've been planning for his retirement and the contest," The Sun Priest, or his son, replied.

"Ooh, I forgot about that." The woman kicked it into gear, shuffling through her papers. Sliding a few onto the top of her stacks. Looking back at Hazel and Arthur, she blushed. "What was it you wanted?"

"We found ourselves a Mage. We need papers and a pin."

"Of course. This is going to take a while, you may want to get back to your work." The Sun Priest's son nodded, waving before heading back down the stairs.

"I'm Bri Havard. What's your name." Bri, the woman, seemed super bubbly and happy; the whole thing was throwing Hazel for a loop. She expected everyone in the Sun Temple to be more serious and wasn't expecting to be introduced to a Mage instead of throw in a cell.

"I'm Hazel."

"Wonderful! That's a very pretty name." Bri was shuffling through papers on one of her desks, repeatedly glancing up at Hazel while talking. "Why don't you come on up here; we have to get some things done."

"Like what?" Hazel stepped up a few of the steps to the desk Bri was at, looking out over the city. She could see where the church her brother was waiting for her was about, hidden behind buildings and stone. It instantly made her worry quadruple, as she remembered how much worse he had gotten just between her leaving and returning with medicine.

"Well, all Mages have to have their certification to learn to use glamours. They also need to be identifiable by a pin that we make for them. So we need to get you a pin, your papers, and an identifying card. We should start with the pin that's the easiest of them all."

Hazel paused, trying to recall if she had ever seen the tower from behind the Sun Temple, not recalling having ever seen it before. "Where did this tower come from? I've never seen it before."

"I've been experimenting with more permanent illusions that aren't fully realized. I've found that light crystals from Nalgappe work well, though I am yet to come across more than two." Bri was clearly enthused about the subject, speaking proudly of the magic.
[br' Hazel, not asking another question, watched as Bri held her hand out. Light sifted through her fingers, drawn in from the window. The light, gaining a slight silvery hue to it, gathered above her hand and, with her eyes closed, formed into a golden embossed pin. The glamour was seamless as far as Hazel could tell, and it appeared to have been a common task with the speed that Bri had done it.

The pin dropped into Bri's hand, and she offered the pin to Hazel. "Here you go. I think I did a fairly good job on this one."

Hazel took the pin from her hand, holding it cautiously. The pin appeared to be real, which was strange as the only magic she had ever heard of Mages casting was that of illusions, glamours. In spite of herself, a small amount of curiosity flowed into her voice. "How did you do that?"

"You haven't heard of 'making' glamours?" Bri seemed surprised, though the surprise faded away from her face as she thought more about the idea. "'Making' glamours are a type of extremely powerful magic. Only used by the most powerful and prolific of Mages, it is the ability to draw on magic so strong that reality itself can't determine what is fake and what is real, leading to it becoming actually physical."

"You mean you can make anything with a glamour?" Astonishment covered Hazel's face, fading after an instant; magic that powerful was unheard of on the streets.

Bri laughed, a merry laugh that sounded of birds chirping. "No. We can only create certain things and never destroy anything. No life forms and the closer to the main four elements, fire, water, air, and ground, the easier it is to glamour."

"That's still incredible," Hazel was awestruck: 'making' glamours were far more powerful than she had realized glamours could be. Her thought turned to Eli, thinking of how much it would have been able to help them to get food and money.

"Yes. I suppose it is. It's a rare gift, even among our people. The greatest accomplishment ever with it would have to be the founder making this mountain and the Sun Temple." Bri smiled, thinking of something far off. "But that's a little off-topic since we're just here to get you set up to learn your skills as a Mage."

Bri pulled a paper from off of one of her desks, unfolding it and moving onto the next paper until she found the one she was looking for. Hazel stood silent, waiting for Bri to address her again.

"We have to get some basic information on you and your family to have on file. All Mages are required to have information on them stored in this city." While explaining, Bri cleared off a second, simpler, desk closer to the inside of the room with two chairs by it. "Have a seat. This may take a couple of minutes to get through."

-|-

Bri asked simple questions and marked them down on her paper with a fancy quill. The questions, for the most part, were fairly easy: full name, age, gender. But towards the end the questions got harder: where do you reside(the lower city), do you live with your parents(no, they're dead), and do you have any family members. The last question made Hazel falter, as she hadn't expected her brother to come up. Recalling the wrong of the Sun Priest, and Mages a whole, Hazel made the rash decision to lie, claiming to Bri that she had no family left.

Bri, once the paper was filled, put it to the side, pulling out a second paper from one of the desks around the room. "You're going to need a residence, and for now we can provide one for you here."

"Do I have to stay in the upper city all of the time?" Hazel's only thought was of her brother, not wanting to leave him alone and, especially since he was sick, knowing she needed to get back to him before long.

"No, of course not. Most Mages studying here have their own homes or live with their parents, but I figured it would just be better if you stayed here rather than the lower city. Is that alright?" Bri looked concerned, not wanting to do anything too much.

"Yeah, I suppose that works." Hazel was a little surprised. She didn't know much about Mages or how they learned, but never would she have expected them to spend time in the Sun Temple.

Great, I can fill out the papers for that right now as well." Bri's bubbly attitude returned right away. She jumped right into filling out the papers, touching her hand to the paper. Ink appeared on the new paper, identical to a template paper next to her. The glamour was clearly made into the paper, Bri inking information onto the paper; compared to the perfect black, glamoured, ink, the ink that Bri was using looked chalk grey.

Stacking several papers onto the corner of her desk, Bri shuffled through the template papers and pulled out a smaller one, with a rectangle inked on it. She, just like when making the pin, close her eyes and held out her hand. Just like before, the light sifted through her fingers as grey smoke formed above Bri's hand. A silvery metal car slowly formed, spinning around her hand before it dropped down from the air.

"Here's your identification card." Bri handed the metal id, information indented on one side and a sun on the other. Hazel took the card; expecting the metal to be cold, Hazel was surprised to find that the metal was slightly warm to the touch. The card cooled off as she held it in her hands.

"I will have a uniform and a few gold coins delivered to your room when I get a chance," Bri spoke while making another note on the room page. "Sorry though, as it may take until later tonight to actually be ready. For now, though, why don't I take you back and introduce you to your magic teacher."

"Teacher?" Hazel echoed, growing slightly frustrated by how much of the conversation she was missing.

"Yeah. We have a group, five or six at the moment, of Mages who stay in the city and help to train newer Mages in the use of Glamours." Bri, despite the constant barrage of questions, didn't seem to be bothered by it. She continued to answer with the same enthusiasm as she always spoke with. "Why don't we head down?"

No protesting, Hazel followed Bri as they returned down the long spiral staircase. The trek down the stairs was far easier than climbing them, though once out of the large room, the walls seemed close. The darkness closed in on them, the only light, once again, coming from weak candles.

Opening the door, the change was instant. Retinas burning, Hazel squinted against the bright light, her eyes slowly growing used to the changing of rooms. Bri seemed to be less bothered by the light, sweeping away before Hazel's eyes had completely adjusted.

Stumbling after Bri, Hazel trailed behind her. Hazel, despite having kept pace with Bri on the stairs, was unprepared for the speed at which she moved through the halls. She, despite clearly spending an abundant amount of time in the tower, clearly knew the layout of the building far better than the guard and possibly better than Arthur, the Sun Priest's son.

Regardless of the fact they had just come from the stairs, Bri's path took them to the white, quartz, spiraling staircase locked in the wall in front of the entrance. Hazel, once again pulled behind a fast walker, had only slightly more time to look up at the floors towering above.

"Why are we going back up the stairs?" Hazel complained, hoping to keep most of the wining out of her voice.

Bri glanced back, smiling and slowing down a little. "Sorry, I usually walk fast when I'm alone. We're heading up because the upper floors are used for general Mage studies; the general citizens of Ocilliment aren't allowed, which allows the Mages to work in private."

They continued to climb the stairs, Bri slowing her pace down enough to let Hazel keep up reasonably well. The floors they passed each had halls sprouting off in every direction, leading to rooms of all sorts that Hazel just caught glimpses of.

Bri led Hazel off of the stairs on one of the upper floors, somewhere around the eighth floor up, and into the hall to the right. Bri, counting the doors as they passed, made her way down the hall. It wasn't until several rooms down that Bri found the room that she was looking for.

Opening the door, Bri lead Hazel into a large room; it was made in the same architecture as much of the surrounding rooms, but it had a different sense about it. The room was open, flat, and lacking the same detail as much of the other room. Lines were inked on the floor, each in a different color.

Mages of all sorts sitting at tables and working in pairs, the tables pressed against the walls. The oldest Mage, who still looked fairly young, was sitting at a more formal desk and working his own. Most of the Mages in the room were younger, likely studying glamours at their basic level, the youngest no more than two years younger than Hazel. They were enveloped in their books, though a few had glamours of sorts moving around in the air.

Bri didn't pause for long, striding up to the older Mage at the desk. Hazel, taking a second longer, stepped up behind Bri. The Mage, peering over fancy, stained, wooden glasses, the Mage looked at Bri.

Dipping her head to the Mage, Bri gestured to Hazel and introduced her: "Master Yahl, may I present to you, Miss Hazel Ester."

"Another Mage?" He seemed tired, more formal than Bri and the guard had been, and bored of his task.

"Yes."

"Where do you keep finding these Mages?" The Mage rose from his chair, looking down at Hazel. Hazel, though not short, was a good third of a meter taller than her, nearing somewhere around 2 meters tall to Hazel's 1.67 meters. He had shaggy brown hair that framed his shallow cheeks and pale face.

"Your pin?" It took a second for Hazel to realize that he was speaking to her. Looking down, Hazel took the pin out of her right hand and held it up in her left. Master Yahl looked at it, blinking slowly, before continuing. "You need to have it on at all times; it should be placed on your right collar where it can easily be seen."

"Hazel, I must get back to working on other things. I suppose I can show you to your room, but I have to go. You will be fine, right?" Bri looked at Hazel, waiting for confirmation; swallowing back her fear, Hazel managed a small "yep", Bri smiling and leaving with a wave.

"Everyone else already has partners, so I suppose you'll have to be with Gray; he's the best student in the class and is capable of 'making' glamours," Master Yahl seemed reluctant to place Hazel with Gray, and turned to look at her. "He can help you to catch up a bit more in class, but unless we get another Mage soon you're going to have to work with him for a few years."

Master Yahl, stopping towards the middle of the room, pointed to a singular boy. He was the only other Mage in the room who was sitting alone, booking piled higher than his head around him. "He's over there; good luck."

Hardly pausing, Master Yahl turned and headed back toward his desk to resume whatever he was working on; he left Hazel standing in the middle of the room, not even bothering to introduce her to the boy, Gray. Putting one foot in front of the other, Hazel slowly made her way to the boy. The stress and worry of the arduous day slowly breaking her down.

"Hey, I'm Hazel."

Gray looked up from the three books laid out in front of him, giving a scrutinizing look to Hazel. "What do you want?" His voice was soft; it was hard to make out emotions in it, though it wasn't cold.

Slightly flustered, Hazel scratched the back of her head, telling Gray what Master Yahl had told her: "Since I'm new here, Master Yahl partnered me with you."

Gray stared at her, his stare not wavering. At last, it broke, Gray gesturing to the chair across the table from him. Hazel gratefully took it, sitting down across from Gray; he, Hazel having interrupted his work, was stacking some of his books and placing them on the floor to clear room off on the table.

Closer to the tables, Hazel could see that they were made from wood, stained in a faint white coat of paint that was similar to the walls of the building. The chairs, which sat at a meter tall each, were made of the same material.

"Do you know anything about glamours?" Gray's voice had taken on the same tiredness of Master Yahl's.

"Not really. I only know that some Mages are capable of 'making' glamours." Hazel's response seemed to drain Gray even more.

"Then I guess we have to start at the beginning. Have you even cast a glamour?"

"I don't know." Hazel instantly thought back to the morning and the strange violet light that had coated the lower city, but she still wasn't sure that she had done anything. The thought of the lower city drew Hazel back to Eli, still in the church. Hazel tried to keep Eli out of her mind, even the thought of how long it would be until she would be able to get back to him making her worried.

Gray rubbed his eyes, exhaling through his mouth. He rose from his seat, standing several feet away from the table. Taking up a slight stance, the room brightened around Gray. The pin, which Hazel noticed was pinned just below the collar on the right of his uniform, lit up with the light in the room. Drawing his hand upward, golden light pooled in the air and slowly formed into a sword.

The fully realized illusion was extremely detailed, though it just spun above Gray's hand in the air. The metal shone in the light; a golden handle, fitted with incredibly minor perfections, had formed below an elegant hilt.

"Glamours are instinctive." Gray let Hazel watch the sword for a minute before closing his fist and dispersing the illusion. "It is about knowing what to do and having the skill to do it. Forming the glamour is the easy part; forming it right, or detailed, in the hard part."

"How long have you been learning?"

Gray paused, thinking for a moment. "I cast my first glamour when I was ten, though I didn't begin to learn how to actually hone my skills until sometime around last year."

"Why wait so long once you knew you could?"

Gray shrugged in conjunction with his verbal answer, "My parents didn't find out for a few months and decided I wasn't ready to leave them until last year."

There was a moment of silence, Gray breaking it by offering Hazel a chance to try: "Try it, just a smaller, easier, glamour."

Hazel, holding her hand out, tried to summon light. She could feel the light of the room, the power of the sun shooting through her hands. Even with the glamour in her blood, Hazel had no instinct of how to cast the glamour.

"Just picture the glamour, and let it from from the light; close your eyes if you need, beginners and some full Mages find it easier," Gray spoke, his voice soft; clearly, he was trying to encourage Hazel to cast a glamour.

Hazel blinked, her mind instantly going blank as to what to create. A violet and pastel pink smoke formed around her hand; building it up, the smoke gathered up as a mountain grew from her hand. The temple rested on the mountain, the glamour not stretching as far as the recent city. Hazel, gazing at the glamour, was astonished by the clear detail in mountain.

"That's a good starting point," Gray spoke, seemingly genuinely impressed as the mountain expanded to fill the floor, the city, both upper and lower, building up. The illusion sped forwards, clouds forming around the lower city and moving as the lower city began to deteriorate. "An interesting idea, at the least."

The illusion held for several seconds before falling back to the floor in a puff of violet smoke. "That's a good starting point to build off of." Gray seemed to think of something, looking at Hazel. "Have you eaten, it's just after lunch hour."

"No; I've didn't really get a chance to even eat breakfast." Hazel realized that she had no idea what time it was, for all she knew it could have only been an hour since she had arrived or the sun could have been setting.

Gray hardly moved, golden smoke appearing on the table. It hardened into a platter with a few pieces of bread and cheese on it. Hazel gaped at it, surprised to see it appear. "I thought you couldn't make anything living?"

"What?" Gray seemed slightly confused, though it was drowned out by the lack of emotion in his voice. "Do you think that that's alive?"

"Yeah. It came from grain and cow milk."

"Those aren't alive; they may have been alive, but since they're dead we can make it all we want, though it takes a lot of effort to learn to make food. It's easier to just have farmers." Gray sat back in his seat, opening on of the books from his stack and flipping through the pages. Hazel took the opposite seat, picking up the bread.

Despite having come from nothing, the bread was fluffy, light, airy, and delicious. The cheese was well made and cold, which was a surprise as everything that had been made before was warm from Hazel's experience. Gray took little notice as she nibbled at the food, making noted with ink and quill, which he had summoned, on a piece of paper he had used to mark his page.

Finishing the food, Gray took the plate from her and put it to the side. "Would you like to try something a little harder; though don't worry if you fail."

"Sure." Hazel reluctantly rose from her chair, standing across from Gray.

Gray, standing at the other side of the table, held his book in his hand. He read from it, describing the glamour: "Close your eyes and let the sense of light flow through you. The light is all around you, and if you wish it to a shape you can make anything. Form something small, a rock, a stick, or even a drop of rain, and create it from your light. With your light, feel the object in your hand and let the magic take over."

Gray's voice, the exhaustion from it gone, was calming. Hazel listened to him, and as it happened, picturing a perfectly smooth sapphire. Hazel let the image come into her mind, imagining it clasped in her hand. She could feel the perfectly carved surface, cool against her skin. She drew the light, which she could feel but still slipped through her fingers as she reached for it, to her hand as best she could.

"Once you have everything perfect, open your eyes and look at the glamour." Gray finished, letting his voice go silent. The only sound, for a fraction of a second, was the other Mages around them.

Hazel followed his directions, opening her eyes. The smoke that always surrounded a glamour was obscuring her had slowly drawn together. A perfectly carved sapphire sat in her hand. The light of the room shifted through it, leaving red marks of light along the floor and wall.

"Amazing." Gray breathed out, his voice hardly a whisper. "Can I hold it?"

Hazel, expecting the sapphire to disappear when she moved her hand, was surprised when the sapphire was cupped perfectly in her hand. She let it slip from her fingers, dropping perfectly into Gray's outstretched hand.

Gray observed it for a minute, looking at it from all angles. The glamour had become real, a 'making' glamour like Hazel had seen others do. "You can use 'making' glamours." A slightly shocked expression colored his face, small but clear compared to his normal expression.

-|-

The rest of the day was spent practicing the use of glamours, Gray teaching Hazel more aspects of both regular and 'making' glamours. Much of it was more complex, but still easy enough for Hazel to learn before too long. Gray taught her the nuances of texture and was hoping to begin the study of 'direction' glamours, a type of glamour that appears different from opposing sides.

It wasn't until night had fallen, Ocayl falling beyond the horizon, that Master Yahl dismissed all of the Mages for the day. As she headed out, Hazel decided to see if she could buy more medicine for her brother, using 'making' glamours to create coins. She had yet to find anything in the whole Sun Temple that she could trade or pawn off for medicine or coin.

Leaving the room, the halls were lit by lanterns, made of golden metals without rust. Small candles, worn away every night and replaced by workers from the lower city, gave the only light to the hall. Even the dim light was enough at night, for it allowed Hazel to leave the Sun Temple without trouble

Heading down the streets, many of the stores were lit by torches. They often stayed open for just a little after dark, knowing that there were still some shoppers out and about. The merchants that lined the street, at least those who remained with supplies, had begun their packing. Many of them would make camp just outside of the limits of the city, spending the night before continuing on their travels.

Outside of the shop she had stolen from that morning, Hazel paused, sitting against the stone wall. Holding her hand out, she went through the mental moves and began to summon a glamour. The fading light was just enough to support a glamour, the firelight giving it a polish.

Violet glamour magic spun from her fingers, drawn to her palm. Each formed into a small golden coin, the currency of Usterent. It would be more than enough to purchase enough medicine to help her brother and give a little tip for stealing medicine from them earlier.

Closing her fingers around the glamoured coins, Hazel righted herself into a standing position and entered the store. The door swung open, a creaking echoing through the emptied store. Hazel, seeing no one in the shop, looked at the shelves in an attempt to find a medicine that could help Eli to get better.

"Thief!" An exclamation shattered the silence. "You broke out of prison?"

"No! I didn't go to prison." Hazel stepped back, unsure of how to react. The old man, who was the shop owner, was being very harsh and seemed to not listen.

The old man shouted back into a room behind the main store, yelling for his son to get a guard from the streets about an escaped thief. Hazel, to no avail, sought to right the misunderstand. She had to yell over the old man in her attempt to explain. "I've got gold to pay you, and I need to purchase some medicine."

"I don't care. You're a thief and on the run." The old man seemed angry, apparently having not experienced thieves before. He set his body in front of the door, hoping to keep Hazel from leaving the shop.

Outside of the shop, a small commotion was beginning to arise. Hazel knew instantly that it was the shopkeeper's son who had sought out a guard. Knowing she couldn't get caught again and leave Eli, Hazel made a break for it. Shoving her way past the man, she fled the medicine shop.

Tearing down the unlit streets, Hazel's fleeting looks back allowed her to see several guards, their forms blurring together, chasing after her. Turning down an alley, Hazel realized her mistake when she saw that crates had been placed along the back, leaving her trapped. Spinning around, Hazel went to continue to run before remembering that she could cast glamours.

Violet smoke sprung from the ground, the aura of glamour just barely reaching into the main cobblestone street. A wall, not made from a 'making' glamour, solidified. Hazel could see, and nearly feel, the texture of the wall. From her side of the wall, Hazel could see that it well mixed into the surrounding buildings.

Adrenaline pumping, Hazel stood in the alley for a minute. Catching her breath, Hazel bent over with her hands on her knees. No guards came bearing through the wall, implying that whatever Gray had taught her was effective enough to divert the attention of the guards.

Slowly inching out of the alley, poking her head through the intangible glamour, Hazel looked around the street. The guards were gone, heading off in search of her. Slipping the golden coins, still tightly clutched in her hand, into her pocket, Hazel rubbed the indentations they left in her palm away.

Hazel swiftly made her way back towards the Sun Temple, keeping quiet as the moon lit her path. Entering the large doors, no guards next to the entrance like during the day, Hazel was surprised to find Bri waiting for her in the main entrance.

"Where were you?" Bri's voice was tense, layered with enough worry to surprise Hazel. "I told you I would find you after the class and show you to your room."

"Yeah, I went to buy some medicine. I think I might be getting sick," Hazel responded sheepishly. "The shops were closed."

Bri sighed, though she didn't attempt to press her point further. Directing Hazel up the stairs, Bri trailed a few feet behind. They got off of the staircase on the second floor, Bri leading Hazel down one of the long hallways. The doors were spaced several years apart, far smaller than the door to the room that Master Yahl had been in.

The room that Bri directed Hazel to was only a few rooms down the right side of the hall, opening the door to a bare-bones room. A small candle had been light on a wooden table, lightly illuminated the room in shadow.

Bidding Hazel a good night's rest, Bri took her leave. Hazel stood in the doorway for a long minute before closing the door and latching it, laying down on the bed.

Staring at the ceiling, Hazel sunk into the soft mattress, unaccustomed to not sleeping on the floor. She lay awake for a long while, her brother plaguing her thoughts. By the time that all other sounds had faded, Hazel knew that she couldn't wait any longer.

Hazel stood from the bed, opening the door into the hall. She looked down both ends and seeing no one in sight, she slipped out of her room, leaving the door just slightly ajar. The light in the halls had faded further, though Hazel could still see well enough to navigate her way down the spiraled stairs and out of the Sun Temple through the main entrance.

The path, once out of the Sun Temple, was easier for Hazel to follow. The streets were harder to navigate without falling, while still being a simpler path to follow. Hazel remembered how to get back to her brother through the city, but wasn't fully sure-footed without any light on the rough and rocky cobbled streets.

The church stood out against the night sky as Hazel camp across it. She hadn't seen it at night before but knew it immediately due to its size. Climbing through the window, Hazel was careful to keep quiet. Eli moaned slightly as she entered, shivering and uncovered by his blanket. Hazel sat next to him, grabbing the medicine leaves that she had left on the ground.

Since she had last had a chance to visit, Eli had grown far worse. Scantly holding onto the threads of consciousness that remained, he hardly acknowledged that Hazel had returned. He appeared weak, not moving other than jagged breaths, under his thin blanket.

Touching his forehead, Hazel was astonished by the heat. His forehead was drenched in sweat and far above a normal fever. The church was still cool, a slight breeze making it even colder at night, but even so, Eli was shivering and barely conscious under his blanket. Hazel sat next to him, sitting on the floor.

Hazel just sat next to him for a long time, not moving in the darkness. Knowing that she needed to keep a closer eye on him, and still wanting to continue to want to learn to cast glamours to be able to learn how to make money to keep her brother alive. Hazel also knew that, without the skills of being a Mage, she wouldn't be able to keep up with stealing. Keeping her options in mind, Hazel decided that she needed to bring her brother back to the Sun Temple. Not knowing how the Mages of the Sun Temple would react, positive or negative, Hazel decided she needed to sneak her brother into the temple.

Lifting him from the ground, Eli's frail, weak, body fit easily into her arms. Hazel faced no struggles climbing back towards the upper city, Eli bearing hardly a burden at all. The guards, who were normally so abundant in the upper city, were gone. No one was up, especially so late at night in a city made to worship the sun.

Approaching the Sun Temple, Hazel became suddenly aware of her every breath. The sound of her foot against pavement became loud in her ears, the silence amplified as Hazel realized how easily someone could see her. Hazel ignored the sounds, trying to just make her way inside.

The large doors of the Sun Temple, still unguarded, had remained cracked open from when Hazel had left. Sliding through the door, which was large and heavy, Hazel left it cracked. Now that she was in the temple, she needed to get back to her room as quickly as possible.

Hazel climbed the stairs, heading to her room as quickly and silently as possible. No one else appeared to be in the hall, giving Hazel the opportunity she needed to make her way to her room. Opening the door to the room, a sound came from behind her. Spinning around, Hazel expected to see one of the Mages only to find the hall just as empty as before.

Hoping that no one had seen her, Hazel closed the door behind her. The room was large compared to some of the placed that she and Eli had slept before. Laying Eli on her bed, she lay the blankets that she was given over him and folded the blanket that he had been using. Sitting on the bed next to him, Hazel fingered the leaves that she had stolen.

Hazel dozed off there, not leaving her brother's side as the night grew older. When she woke the next morning, Hazel was sore; when falling asleep she had slumped forward leaving her neck and back in pain.

She woke in the morning to a knock at her door, just loud enough to wake Hazel. The sound was gone by the time Hazel was conscious; rubbing her eyes, Hazel yawned and stood up. Checking her brother's temperature, Hazel was unsurprising to find he was still burning hot. Another knock drew her attention to the door of her room. Opening the door to find Bri standing before her, Hazel blinked against the sudden light of the hall compared to the more dim lighting in her own room.

"Morning." Bri was cheerful as always. Hazel noticed that she carried a book and a bunch of other papers in her arms. "I figured I should come and warn you; today is Master Rattel's day to teach, and he always has those who are last contest."

"Contest?" Hazel, still tired, was struggling to think perfectly clearly.

"A contest is where two Mages or, in your case, lesser Mages, show their skill by creating glamours of different sorts. Challenged placed by the judge in an attempt to prove one Mage better than the other.

"You should get going soon though, as Master Rattel starts earlier than most of the other Mages, wishing to begin as soon as the sun rises. He'll be in the same room as you were in yesterday." Bri waved, heading down the hall and taking her silvery light with her. Hazel stood in the doorway for a long moment before realizing that her brother was in full sight. Calling back, Bri reminded Hazel of one last thing, "Don't forget to wear your uniform today."

Lightly closing the door, Hazel stepped back into her room. She combed her fingers through her hair, habitually picking at the small knots that formed over the night. Yawning again, Hazel looked for a uniform. A stack of clothes, placed on a basic wooden stool in the corner, was the only thing that caught her attention.

Unfolding the uniform, Hazel held it out in front of her. Taking in the uniform, Hazel looked at it. The uniform was similar to what she had seen Gray in the day before. It was a simple, golden, tunic, a pair of white pants, and a pair of leather boots, resting on the floor. The fabric was super soft in her hands, though the shape of the uniform seemed to be a little larger.

Dressing into the outfit, the clothes fit better than Hazel expected. She placed her pin on the according spot with her uniform and placed the identification card in a small pocket in the tunic body. Brushing Eli's hair out of his face, kissing his forehead and murmuring a goodbye.

Leaving the room, Hazel climbed up the stairs to the floor above, noticing that no natural sunlight was yet to enter the Sun Temple. It was far earlier than she had realized when Bri had mentioned that Master Rattel started early. She climbed the stairs, counting as she went; Hazel climbed until she reached the eighth floor, following the halls to the same place that Bri had taken her the day before.

Entering the room, Hazel noticed that a new Master, likely Master Rattlel, was sitting at the desk Master Yahl had been using the day before. He had darker skin and appeared to be far older, a contrast to Yahl's pale white and young appearance. It had been moved next to one of the painted lines of the floor. To Hazel's surprise, she didn't see Gray there yet and there were two Mages stand across from each other working illusions; the Master was yelling at them, though Hazel's couldn't hear the words.

Master Rattel, seeing Hazel enter the room rose from his seat. Speaking to Hazel, his voice echoed around the silent room. "Are you a new Mage?" He didn't need a response, noticing the pin on Hazel's tunic. "If you haven't heard, I don't enjoy working with Mages who have no proper etiquette."

Rattel's voice was dark and strong, the opposite of Gray's Hazel realized. He, as he rose from his seat, seemed to tower above the desk. Hazel only noticed slight amounts of glamour around him, but she was also aware that she knew nothing about glamours.

The door behind Hazel swung open again, another Mage entering the room. Master Rattle looked past Hazel, an eerie smile creeping across his face. "Gray; you should know better than to arrive late."

Gray nodded, bothered. "Apologies, Master. I'll participate in whatever tricks you want."

"What if you contested me?" Master Rattel seeming intrigued by the idea. Gray looked up, shock echoing in his eyes; Rattel took it as a sign of fear, continuing on. "I would even let you and the new one work together."

"I don't think that would be wise." Emotion had grown across Gray's voice, ambiguous in form.

Master Rattel, a crazed look in his eyes, laughed maniacally. "I'm the master here, aren't I; your lesson for today is to show me how powerful you've gotten and for me to understand the girl's power."

Hazel was surprised, the conversation between Gray and Master Rattel sounding like quarreling siblings. Gray seemed to not respect the Master at all, irrational behaviors from Hazel's perspective.

"Fine, but leave her out of it." Gray walked towards the ended contest between the Mages, taking a position where one of them had stood.

Master Rattel ignored Gray's wishes, turning to Hazel. "Follow him."

Hazel stood next to Gray, the two of them opposite to Master Rattel. His own black smoke curled around his feet. Golden smoke fell from Gray's hands, as he shot Hazel a glaring look at Hazel. Turning their attention against each other, Master Rattel shouted out the contest: "Knock your opponent out of the arena."

Master Rattel made the first move, his glamour forming into a flame that carried across the metallic floor. "Be careful; Master Rattel is capable of 'making' glamours. He is a formidable Mage." Gray's twisted his hand, a wave of water washing the flames away.

Hazel drew on the light of the room. It flowed through her veins, sparking trails of smoke from her own hands. She tried to cast a simple glamour, something to try and help. As the magic drew itself out, her body shook. Coughs racked her body, her legs wobbling. Dropping to the ground, Hazel lost all strength as she coughed.

Gray looked at Hazel, taking his attention away from Master Rattel. "Are you ok?" Gray seemed concerned about Hazel, seeing her on the floor. Master Rattel used the distraction to turn more of his smoke into yet another wave of flames.

Master Rattel's fire was a black color, lit by the power of Master Rattel's magic. It spread quickly, pushing towards Hazel and Gray. Gray, being the only Mage left capable of reacting, raised his hand. His smoke stuck quickly, forming into a wall of metal, forcing the fire to stop.

Hazel continued to cough, unable to respond. Flames and wind tore at the metal wall, breaking it apart in seconds. Gray looked at the flames, Master Rattel's attempt to force Gray and Hazel away. He held out his hand, palm extended towards the flame. Golden smoke flew against the flames, forming into ice. It pushed Master Rattel back, forcing him completely out of the painted lines. Coated in ice, Master Rattel was unable to move.

Gray knelt beside Hazel, a slightly worried look crossing his face. Hazel was still coughing, struggling to breathe. Hazel was able to cough out just a few words, "I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine." Hazel continued to cough, not responding to Gray. "Maybe I should help you back to your room."

Gray didn't look for a response, helping Hazel to her feet; on her feet, Hazel's coughing lessened, though still came in waves every couple seconds. With all of her coughing, Gray struggled to help her at such a slow pace. They made their way slowly down the stairs, forced to pause every few seconds when Hazel started coughing again. Their pace gradually slowing as Hazel's coughing continued and her legs continued to give out.

As they neared Hazel's room, her coughing faded as she lost consciousness. Slipping from Gray's arms, Hazel fell to the floor. She, just as her brother had, lost consciousness. Coldness shot through her body and she fell, long gone by the time she hit the ground.

-|-

Days slowly passed, Hazel coming down with the same, possibly deadly, illness that plagued her brother. Sleeping in her room, the Mages of the Sun Temple, especially Bri and Gray, helped to get medicines and nurse her back to full health. It took five days, slowly nursing both Hazel and Eli back to health.

Hazel woke staring at a complex while ceiling, a complete silence surrounding her. Lifting her head, Hazel started to glance around. Throat tickling, Hazel burst into a coughing fit. Struggling, Hazel fell back on the bed.

"Hazel!" A small voice cried out, Eli clambering onto Hazel's bed. His face, full of far more color than the last time Hazel had seen him, appeared over Hazel's. "You're awake."

"Yeah, bud." Hazel's voice was dry and raspy. Reaching up, Hazel ruffled Eli's hair. Struggling and weak, Hazel pushed herself up into a sitting position.

She spotted Gray sitting on the floor at the end of her bed. His stack of books was surrounding him and he was back to etching notes on his pages. "Feeling better?" Gray's voice was almost too quiet for Hazel to head. He spoke softly, his voice light.

"Yeah. What happened?"

"You, foolishly, caught an illness and nearly died." Hazel almost missed it when Gray said died, taken aback by the statement.

"Died?" The words were whispered, breaking a silence that had fallen over the room like a smothering blanket.

Gray shrugged, continuing to take his notes. "Whatever it is your brother caught wasn't great."

Hugging her brother close, Hazel thought for a moment. The room fell silent once again, the situation fully realizing itself in Hazel's mind. "Next time you should tell us about things like this. You, and your brother, are a valuable resource as a Mage." Gray was the first to break the silence, giving Hazel a warning against her foolish actions. "But you should try to catch up, none of the Masters care to spend time working with you to reach a reasonable level of skill."

Eli got up from the bed, sitting on the floor across from Gray and watching him fill in his papers. "How in the world am I meant to learn this stuff?" Hazel questioned, recalling the complex texts that Gray had been looking over.

Gray looked up, just looking at Hazel. He rolled his eyes, responding, "I can help. We're going to be partnered since you can use 'making' glamours."

Hazel pulled the covers back from her legs, sliding to the floor and sitting next to Gray. She looked over his shoulder, trying to make sense of the sporadic notes that Gray was taking from his books. "What are these notes for?"

"I am studying glamours to write a book on the complete capabilities of glamours." Gray said it as if it was the most natural thing ever, continuing to take his notes, switching out his books.

"Here." Gray pulled a book out from the bottom of his stack, handing it to Hazel without ever looking up. "This covers the basics of general glamours and touches on more basic glamours of other types of glamouring. Why don't you start with forming basic illusions and work through the book."

Flipping through the pages, Hazel skimmed through the book. The beginning, consisting of much of the first quarter, was fairly basic stuff that Hazel already understood. Delving further into the book, the content got more advanced. She only flipped through some of the pages before seeing content that was far out of her league, returning to the beginning.

From that single book, everything would grow. Hazel would begin her journey as a Mage, leading to adventures far beyond anything she could have ever expected.