Night settled over the cabin slowly.
The fire in the hearth had burned down to a steady glow, its orange light flickering across the wooden walls while long shadows stretched between the thick beams of the ceiling. Occasionally a log shifted in the embers with a soft crackle. Outside, the forest had grown quiet except for the whisper of wind sliding through the tall pine branches and the distant call of some night bird.
Ruby y beneath her bnkets on the small bed tucked into the corner of the loft.
The mattress beneath her was little more than a stuffed sack filled with wool and straw, lumpy in pces and fttened in others, but after years living here it felt normal enough. Familiar, even.
Beside the bed, the small window looked out over the dark forest. The gss reflected faint orange firelight from below.
The house was quiet now.
Mira had gone to bed.
Darius had done the same after checking his shoulder bandage one st time, muttering something about stubborn mountain lions and stubborn daughters.
Even baby Evelyn had finally stopped fussing.
Ruby stared at the ceiling.
Her body felt tired.
Her mind did not.
Arkhavel drifted silently near the rafters, his faint blue eyes glowing softly in the darkness near the window.
“You must rise,” he said.
Ruby blinked slowly.
“Huh?”
“Get up, time to train.”
Ruby rolled onto her side with a tired groan and pushed herself upright, her hair falling messily around her face.
“I thought you said we’d start training tomorrow.”
The specter shook his head slowly.
“Nope.”
Ruby swung her feet onto the wooden floor, the boards cool beneath her bare toes.
“Why?”
“Because dark magic does not wait for comfort.”
Ruby stood and stretched quietly, her arms lifting above her head until her shoulders popped faintly.
“Alright.”
Arkhavel floated downward until he hovered near eye level with her.
“The first lesson of dark magic is not power.”
Ruby raised an eyebrow.
“No?”
“It is control.”
Ruby folded her arms.
“I thought you said power was important.”
“It is,” Arkhavel said calmly.
“But power without control destroys its owner.”
The specter drifted slowly across the room like a silent shadow.
“Dark magic is not like fire or wind magic. It does not simply flow through the body.”
His glowing eyes flickered faintly.
“It presses back.”
Ruby listened carefully, her expression sharpening despite the te hour.
“For most humans,” Arkhavel continued, “dark magic slowly corrupts the mind.”
Ruby frowned.
“Corrupts?”
“It feeds on unstable emotions.”
Fear.
Anger.
Grief.
Despair.
The specter looked directly at her.
“And if a mage cannot control those emotions… the magic begins to control them instead.”
Ruby swallowed.
“So how do I stop that?”
Arkhavel’s expression did not change.
“You train.”
“How?”
The specter raised one long finger.
“You learn to control your mana while your mind is unstable.”
Ruby nodded slowly.
“That makes sense.”
Arkhavel continued calmly.
“To begin that process… you will not sleep.”
Ruby blinked.
“…what?”
“You will remain awake for the next three nights.”
Ruby stared at him.
“Three nights?”
“Yes.”
“Without sleeping?”
“Yes.”
Ruby rubbed both hands down her face.
“…that sounds awful.”
Arkhavel nodded.
“It will be.”
He drifted slightly closer.
“After those three nights, you will only sleep four hours each night.”
Ruby blinked again.
“Forever?”
“For the foreseeable future or until I am satisfied. Then we will proceed to the next part of your training.”
Ruby groaned quietly.
“That’s brutal.”
“Yes.”
The specter folded his arms within his sleeves.
“Sleep deprivation creates emotional instability.”
He gestured toward her chest.
“While your body becomes exhausted and your mind grows agitated… you will learn to control your mana pathways.”
Ruby tilted her head slightly.
“Mana pathways?”
Arkhavel nodded.
“Close your eyes.”
She did.
“Now feel inside your body.”
Ruby focused.
The familiar warmth of her magic rested somewhere deep inside her chest, like a small coal glowing in the dark.
“Good,” Arkhavel murmured.
“Now imagine the mana moving through your body like rivers.”
Ruby felt it.
Faint threads of warmth flowed outward from that central ember, sliding along invisible channels through her arms, across her shoulders, down into her hands.
“Control those flows.”
Ruby concentrated.
The mana shifted slightly.
It obeyed her.
Arkhavel’s glowing eyes brightened.
“…impressive.”
Ruby opened one eye.
“What?”
“You sensed and adjusted your pathways immediately.”
Ruby shrugged.
“I’ve been using fire magic for years.”
“Yes,” Arkhavel said quietly.
“But most mages take months to learn that awareness.”
Ruby blinked.
“…oh.”
Arkhavel nodded.
“You have unusual instincts.”
Ruby smiled faintly.
“Good unusual?”
“Yes.”
He drifted toward the window again.
“Now maintain that control.”
“For how long?”
“Until morning.”
Ruby sighed.
“…great.”
The first night was easy.
Ruby stayed awake sitting cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed while she focused on the slow movement of mana inside her body.
It moved like warm threads beneath her skin.
Arkhavel watched quietly.
Whenever the flow drifted, he corrected her.
“Too much pressure in the left channel.”
“Slow your breathing.”
“Do not force the mana.”
By morning Ruby felt tired.
But she had maintained control.
The second night was harder.
Her eyes burned.
Her thoughts wandered.
The mana inside her body became harder to sense as exhaustion crept deeper into her muscles.
“Focus,” Arkhavel reminded her.
Ruby clenched her jaw.
“I am.”
But her hands trembled now.
And the warm rivers of magic inside her body surged unpredictably whenever frustration rose.
“Again,” Arkhavel said.
“Control.”
By the third night Ruby felt miserable.
Her limbs were heavy.
Her thoughts felt slow and tangled.
The mana inside her chest pulsed unevenly like a heartbeat she couldn’t quite control.
She snapped at Arkhavel twice.
“I’m trying!”
The specter remained calm.
“That is expected.”
“You could at least pretend this is reasonable!”
“It is not meant to be comfortable.”
Ruby buried her face in her hands.
Her eyes stung.
Her head throbbed.
Even breathing felt exhausting.
By the morning of the fourth day Ruby was barely functioning.
Her hair hung loose and messy around her face.
Dark circles had formed beneath her eyes.
At breakfast she stared bnkly at her bowl of food.
Mira watched her carefully.
“…Ruby?”
Ruby blinked slowly.
“Yeah?”
“Did you sleep?”
“…probably.”
“You've been acting weird tely. Are you not sleeping?”
Darius frowned slightly.
“You look like you wrestled a bear.”
Ruby poked her oatmeal with her spoon.
“I’m fine.”
Behind her, Arkhavel spoke quietly.
“Maintain control.”
Ruby’s jaw tightened.
The mana inside her chest stirred.
“Don’t,” she whispered under her breath.
Mira looked confused.
“Don’t what?”
Ruby blinked.
“…nothing.”
The spoon slipped from her hand and cttered onto the table.
Her head felt like it was full of bees.
Inside her chest the mana suddenly fred wildly as frustration burst through her exhausted mind.
“Ruby,” Mira said softly.
“Are you alright?”
Ruby smmed her hands on the table.
“I said I’m fine!”
The outburst shocked everyone.
Ruby froze immediately.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly.
Darius and Mira exchanged worried looks.
Behind Ruby, Arkhavel watched quietly.
The mana slowly settled again as she forced control back over the chaotic flow.
But her hands still trembled.
And Mira was staring at her now.
Not angry.
Just worried.
“Ruby,” she said gently.
“…what’s going on with you?”
Ruby’s shoulders slumped.
For a moment she simply sat there breathing hard, staring at the scratched wooden tabletop like it might somehow expin everything.
Inside her chest the mana churned.
It felt like boiling water trapped inside a sealed pot.
“Control,” Arkhavel murmured calmly behind her.
Ruby clenched her teeth.
“I am,” she whispered.
Mira leaned forward.
“What?”
Ruby rubbed her eyes.
“…nothing.”
Darius watched her closely now.
“You’ve been acting strange tely.”
Ruby poked the oatmeal again.
“I’m just tired.”
“You’ve been tired every day,” Mira said gently.
Ruby didn’t answer.
Because they were right.
The days blurred together now.
She woke before sunrise.
Then Arkhavel began training again.
Mana pathways.
Breathing.
Control.
Every emotion had to be contained.
Every surge forced back down.
And it was exhausting.
Behind her, the specter spoke again.
“Your left channel is slipping.”
Ruby tightened her grip on the spoon.
Stop talking.
“It is drifting.”
I said stop.
“You are allowing agitation to disrupt your focus.”
Ruby squeezed her eyes shut.
“Ruby?” Mira said softly.
Ruby opened them again quickly.
“Yeah?”
“You’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“Talking under your breath.”
Ruby’s face flushed.
“I wasn’t.”
Darius leaned his elbows on the table.
“Kiddo.”
Ruby winced internally.
When he used that tone it meant he was worried.
“What.”
“You sure nothing’s bothering you?”
Ruby stared down at the bowl.
Her head throbbed.
Her skin felt itchy.
Her eyes burned.
“No.”
Behind her Arkhavel continued quietly.
“Contain the surge.”
Ruby snapped.
“I said I’m trying!”
The mana inside her chest burst outward.
A sudden tongue of fme shot across the table.
Mira yelped.
Darius jerked back in his chair.
The fire sted less than a second.
Ruby smmed both hands down and sucked the heat back into her body.
The fme vanished.
The table smoked faintly where the wood had scorched.
Everyone stared.
Ruby looked horrified.
“…sorry.”
Mira slowly stood.
“Ruby—”
“I didn’t mean to!”
Darius leaned forward to inspect the burn mark.
“Well,” he said slowly, “at least it’s still standing.”
Mira shot him a look.
“This isn’t funny.”
Ruby rubbed her face again.
Her hands were shaking.
The mana in her chest still trembled like a disturbed pond.
“Control,” Arkhavel reminded her.
Ruby hissed quietly through her teeth.
Mira noticed.
“Honey…”
Ruby looked up.
Her mother’s expression wasn’t angry.
It was worried.
Very worried.
“You haven’t been yourself tely.”
Ruby’s throat tightened.
“I said I’m fine.”
“Sweetheart—”
“Can everyone just leave me alone!”
The words burst out louder than she intended.
The room went silent.
Ruby froze again.
Her eyes stung.
Not from anger.
From frustration.
From exhaustion.
From the constant pressure she had to hold down every second of the day.
“I’m just tired,” she muttered.
Darius studied her carefully.
“You sure this isn’t something else?”
Ruby frowned.
“Like what?”
He scratched his beard thoughtfully.
“Puberty.”
Ruby stared at him.
“…what.”
Mira blinked.
“Darius.”
“What?”
“She’s ten.”
“So?”
“That’s early.”
Darius shrugged.
“Could still happen.”
Ruby felt her face heat up.
“That is not what this is!”
Mira sighed.
“Well something is going on.”
Ruby shoved her chair back.
The legs scraped loudly across the floor.
“I said I’m fine!”
The mana inside her chest surged again.
Arkhavel spoke softly.
“Contain it.”
Ruby forced it down.
Barely.
Her hands trembled.
“I just want to be alone.”
Mira stepped forward.
“Ruby—”
But Ruby was already moving.
She turned and hurried down the hallway.
A second ter her bedroom door smmed shut.
The cabin fell quiet.
Mira stared at the hallway.
Darius leaned back slowly in his chair.
“Well.”
Mira crossed her arms.
“Well what?”
He gestured vaguely.
“Definitely mood swings.”
Mira sighed.
“I don’t think setting the table on fire is part of puberty.”
Darius gnced at the scorch mark again.
“…must be a mage thing.”
Inside her room Ruby colpsed onto the bed.
Her face pressed into the pillow.
“I hate this,” she groaned.
Arkhavel drifted through the closed door like smoke.
“Emotional instability is expected.”
Ruby lifted her head enough to gre at him.
“I haven’t slept in four days!”
“You slept four hours.”
“That doesn’t count!”
Arkhavel floated calmly near the ceiling.
“Your control is improving.”
Ruby threw the pillow at him.
It passed straight through his body.
“I’m miserable!”
“Yes.”
He folded his hands inside his sleeves.
“Dark magic training is unpleasant.”
Ruby buried her face in the pillow again.
From the other side of the door she could hear Mira moving quietly around the kitchen.
Darius speaking softly.
Her family.
Worried about her.
Ruby squeezed her eyes shut.
Inside her chest the mana stirred again.
Arkhavel spoke gently.
“Control.”
Ruby took a slow breath.
Then another.
The heat inside her chest slowly settled.
“…okay,” she muttered into the pillow.
“…I’m controlling it.”
Morning came slowly.
Ruby hadn’t really slept so much as fallen unconscious.
When Arkhavel finally allowed her the four hours of rest, she dropped into sleep so deeply that she didn’t remember dreaming at all. One moment she was awake, the next she was opening her eyes again to gray dawn light spilling through the window.
Her body felt heavy.
Her arms and legs ached like she had spent the night hauling stones.
She sat up slowly.
Her red hair hung loose and tangled around her shoulders. The dark circles beneath her green eyes had grown worse overnight.
Across the room Arkhavel floated silently near the rafters.
“You maintained control for most of the night,” he said calmly.
Ruby yawned.
“Most?”
“Near the end your breathing became unstable.”
Ruby swung her feet off the bed.
“I still slept.”
“For four hours.”
Ruby groaned.
“Don’t remind me.”
But even through the exhaustion she could feel it.
Something had changed.
The mana inside her chest felt calmer.
Still restless.
Still hot.
But no longer surging wildly every time a stray emotion slipped through her mind.
“…better,” she admitted quietly.
Arkhavel nodded.
“Yes.”
Downstairs the cabin was already awake.
Sunlight spilled through the small windows and the smell of fresh bread filled the room.
Mira stood near the hearth wearing a soft cream dress with the sleeves rolled above her elbows, her copper hair tied into a loose braid.
Darius sat at the table sharpening a hunting knife slowly against a whetstone.
Ruby stepped into the room.
Both of them looked up immediately.
Mira frowned.
“Oh Ruby…”
Ruby froze.
“What?”
“You look exhausted.”
Ruby shrugged.
“I slept.”
“Barely,” Arkhavel murmured.
Ruby ignored him.
Darius studied her.
“You’re getting thinner.”
Ruby crossed her arms.
“I’m fine.”
Mira didn’t look convinced.
But before she could say anything—
A loud wail filled the cabin.
Evelyn.
The baby kicked her tiny legs in the woven cradle near the hearth, her face scrunched red with tears.
Mira sighed.
“Someone woke up angry.”
Ruby’s head throbbed instantly.
The crying cut straight through her skull.
“Maintain control,” Arkhavel said quietly.
Ruby clenched her teeth.
I am.
The crying continued.
Shrill.
Relentless.
For a brief moment—
a dark thought slipped into Ruby’s exhausted mind.
Just burn her.
Just a little.
Give her something to cry about.
The thought horrified her.
Ruby stood up quickly.
Her heart pounded.
“What are you doing?” Arkhavel asked calmly.
Ruby walked toward Mira.
“I’ll take her.”
Mira looked relieved.
“Thank you.”
She passed the baby into Ruby’s arms.
Ruby held Evelyn carefully.
Her small sister felt warm and fragile against her chest.
For a moment the anger still buzzed inside her.
Then—
Evelyn stopped crying.
Instantly.
The baby blinked up at Ruby.
Then wrapped her tiny arms around Ruby’s neck.
And hugged her.
Ruby froze.
The anger inside her chest colpsed like a sandcastle under a wave.
Evelyn made a soft happy sound and pressed her face into Ruby’s shoulder.
Ruby’s throat tightened.
“Oh…”
Her eyes stung.
She hugged Evelyn gently.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
The baby babbled happily.
Ruby felt tears sliding down her cheeks.
She sat down slowly, holding her little sister while she cried quietly into the baby’s hair.
Across the room Mira and Darius watched.
Confused.
Concerned.
Darius leaned slightly toward Mira.
“…well.”
Mira whispered back,
“…I have no idea.”
Ruby wiped her face and rocked Evelyn gently.
“It’s okay,” she murmured.
More to herself than the baby.
“It’s okay.”
Behind her Arkhavel watched silently.
And for the first time since the training began—
He said nothing.
That night Ruby sat cross-legged on her bed again.
The cabin had gone quiet.
Outside the forest whispered softly in the wind.
Ruby closed her eyes.
Inside her chest the mana flowed.
Warm threads.
Slow rivers.
She breathed steadily.
In.
Out.
Arkhavel hovered nearby.
“Better,” he said quietly.
Ruby nodded without opening her eyes.
Hours passed.
When Arkhavel finally allowed her to sleep, Ruby colpsed instantly.
Four hours.
Deep.
Heavy.
Perfect sleep.
Morning arrived again.
Ruby still looked exhausted.
Her cheeks were slightly thinner.
The dark bags beneath her eyes were impossible to hide.
But something inside her had stabilized.
The mana inside her chest flowed smoothly now.
Not perfect.
But controlled.
Downstairs Ruby sat quietly at the breakfast table when—
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
A sharp sound echoed from the front door, rattling the wooden tch slightly.
Darius looked up.
Then suddenly grinned.
“Oh!”
He pushed his chair back so quickly it scraped loudly across the floorboards.
“They’re here!”
Ruby blinked.
“…who?”
But Darius was already walking toward the door, excitement practically rolling off him. He wiped his hands on his worn brown tunic and brushed at his beard as though remembering at the st moment he should look respectable.
Mira gnced over from the hearth where she stood rocking Evelyn’s cradle with one foot.
“Perfect timing,” she said.
Ruby frowned slightly.
Perfect timing?
The door opened.
Cold morning air drifted into the cabin along with the scent of pine, damp earth, and distant wood smoke.
Then the visitors stepped into view.
The woman standing in the doorway was unmistakably elven.
She was tall—taller even than Darius—with long silver-blonde hair that flowed down her back like liquid moonlight. Her skin had the faintly luminous smoothness Ruby had only ever seen described in storybooks, and her ears rose gracefully through her hair in elegant points.
She wore fitted traveling leathers in deep forest green reinforced with darker panels at the shoulders and arms. A long cloak hung from her shoulders, csped with a bronze hawk-shaped brooch. At her hip rested a slender sword with a curved guard, and hanging from her belt was a polished mage’s rod carved with faint spiral runes.
But it was her eyes that drew Ruby’s attention most.
Pale green.
Sharp.
Observant.
They moved through the room with quick precision, taking in everything.
Behind her stepped a broad-shouldered human man with dark brown hair tied back loosely and a short, practical beard along his jaw. Faint scars crossed his cheek and temple, the kind that came from bdes or cws rather than accidents. He wore a thick charcoal coat over a quilted vest and carried himself with the rexed confidence of someone who had spent years surviving dangerous roads.
And beside him stood a girl.
Ruby’s age.
Maybe a little taller.
She had ash-blonde hair cut just above her shoulders and the same pointed ears as the elven woman. Her green eyes were bright and curious, constantly moving as she took in the cabin.
Across her shoulders she banced a smooth wooden practice staff, her hands hooked casually over it like she had been carrying it for years.
Ruby stared.
Arkhavel drifted behind her shoulder, invisible to everyone but her.
“…an elven mage,” he murmured with quiet distaste.
Ruby felt a slight tension ripple through him.
“How inconvenient.”
Darius stepped forward with a wide smile and csped forearms with the elf.
“Lyriel.”
“Darius,” the elf woman replied warmly.
The greeting had the easy familiarity of old comrades.
The human man stepped inside next.
“Still standing, I see,” he said.
“Barely,” Darius ughed.
Mira approached from the hearth.
“It’s been far too long.”
Lyriel nodded politely.
“Much too long.”
Then her eyes moved.
And settled directly on Ruby.
The elf mage studied her carefully.
Not unkindly.
But thoroughly.
Ruby suddenly became aware of the dark circles under her eyes.
Darius gestured proudly.
“This is Ruby.”
Lyriel tilted her head slightly.
“So this is the girl.”
Ruby blinked.
“…the girl?”
“The little fire mage your father wrote us about,” the man said with a grin.
Ruby slowly turned toward Darius.
“You wrote about me?”
Darius suddenly found the ceiling beams fascinating.
“…a little.”
Mira coughed politely.
“You wrote three pages.”
The man chuckled.
The girl stepped forward slightly.
“You’re the one who burned two sabre-tooths?”
Ruby choked.
“…who told you that?”
Darius scratched his beard.
“It came up.”
Ruby covered her face for a moment.
Great.
Arkhavel chuckled softly behind her.
“Your legend begins in catastrophe. Excellent.”
Ruby ignored him.
The girl lifted her staff slightly.
“I’m Lena.”
“Ruby,” Ruby said.
“I know.”
Lyriel stepped closer now.
Up close she smelled faintly of leather oil and crushed leaves.
“Your parents asked me to train you.”
Ruby froze.
Wait.
Train?
Her head turned slowly toward her parents.
Mira smiled warmly.
“We thought it was time.”
Darius nodded proudly.
“You’ve got talent.”
“And talent needs guidance.”
Ruby’s heart skipped.
For a moment her exhaustion vanished.
A real teacher.
A real mage.
Her parents had actually found her one.
Her face brightened immediately.
“Oh.”
Then louder—
“Oh!”
She stood quickly.
“You’re really going to teach me?”
Lyriel blinked once at the sudden enthusiasm.
“Yes.”
Ruby’s eyes lit up.
“That’s amazing!”
Mira smiled.
Darius chuckled.
Behind her, Arkhavel floated in absolute silence.
Then he sighed.
A long, irritated sigh.
“Well,” the ancient necromancer muttered, “this is unacceptable.”
Ruby winced slightly.
His ghostly form drifted slowly through the rafters above them like a disapproving shadow.
“A second master, trying to steal my disciple,” he continued.
“How charming.”
Ruby tried very hard not to react.
Because he sounded deeply offended.
Lyriel’s gaze sharpened again as she studied Ruby.
Then she asked calmly,
“Has she been ill recently?”
The room went still.
Mira straightened immediately.
“Ill?”
Darius frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Lyriel gestured slightly toward Ruby.
“She looks fatigued.”
Her pale eyes examined Ruby’s hands.
“There’s a tremor.”
She looked back to Mira.
“With the fever outbreaks moving through the southern towns this season, it’s something I’ve learned to ask.”
Mira’s expression tightened instantly.
“Ruby.”
Darius leaned forward.
“You feeling sick?”
Ruby blinked.
For a moment she was confused by the sudden tension.
Then she remembered.
The fever.
Two vilges west had been hit earlier in the year.
Travelers had talked about it for weeks.
Mira stepped closer.
“Have you had chills? Fever? Headaches?”
Ruby shook her head quickly.
“No! No, I’m fine.”
Darius still looked uneasy.
“You sure?”
Ruby nodded.
“I’m not sick.”
Mira folded her arms.
“Then why do you look like you haven’t slept in a week?”
Ruby hesitated.
Arkhavel floated behind her shoulder again.
“Careful,” he whispered.
Ruby exhaled slowly.
“…because I haven’t.”
The room went silent.
Darius blinked.
“…what?”
Ruby rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.
“I’ve been practicing.”
Lyriel tilted her head.
“Practicing what?”
Ruby gnced at the table.
“You remember the sabre-tooths.”
Darius instinctively touched his bandaged shoulder.
Ruby continued quietly.
“I lost control that day.”
Darius started to interrupt—
Ruby shook her head.
“I almost killed you.”
Silence settled over the room.
“So I thought…”
Ruby exhaled slowly.
“If I can control my magic when I’m exhausted…”
“…then I can control it when I’m scared.”
Lyriel’s eyes sharpened.
“How?”
Ruby shrugged.
“I stayed awake.”
“…and practiced keeping my mana steady.”
Calder blinked.
“You did what?”
Lena stared.
“You stayed awake on purpose?”
Ruby nodded.
“Three nights straight, and then just four hours each night since,”
Mira looked horrified.
“Ruby!”
Darius leaned back in disbelief.
“That’s not training!”
“That’s torture!”
Ruby winced.
“I know.”
Lyriel leaned back thoughtfully.
“…interesting.”
Lena whispered,
“That’s insane.”
Calder nodded.
“Aye.”
Lyriel raised one hand.
“I am not encouraging it.”
She looked back at Ruby.
“But I will acknowledge it.”
Her voice softened slightly.
“That level of determination is rare.”
Ruby shifted awkwardly.
Darius groaned.
“Don’t tell her that.”
Lyriel’s tone changed again.
“But.”
Ruby felt her stomach drop.
“A sleep-deprived mind is not disciplined.”
“It is chaotic.”
She leaned forward slightly.
“If you train under me…”
Ruby straightened.
“You will sleep.”
Mira nodded instantly.
“Yes! And if you love your mother you will sleep.”
Darius pointed.
“That.”
Lyriel finished calmly.
“A rested mind controls magic.”
“An exhausted one merely survives it.”
Ruby nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
Behind her, Arkhavel sounded extremely annoyed.
“Ridiculous.”
Ruby could practically hear him crossing his ghostly arms.
“Rested minds grow soft.”
“She teaches comfort. A mage can't surpass his limits with safety, you must always be on the edge. A true warrior faces death countless times in a day and comes out ahead.”
Ruby sighed internally.
Two masters.
Two completely opposite philosophies.
And somehow…
She was stuck between them.
Lyriel stood.
“Understood?"
"Yes... Master Lyriel."
"Good. Lyriel will be just fine though."
Her eyes moved between Ruby and Lena.
“Now let's begin training.”
Ruby felt excitement spark again despite everything.
A real master.
Real lessons.
Real magic.
Arkhavel muttered behind her,
“This arrangement is deeply unsatisfactory.”
Ruby almost smiled.
