The trio ascended the stairs up to the entrance, then entered through massive wooden double doors which swung smoothly and silently on their hinges. The outer face of each door bore carvings, ælfish symbols and runes alike. To a magiker, … Continue reading
Sif quick-stepped up the spiral stairs to her room, past the main hall. For the first few weeks, the climb had winded her. Now she barely noticed. She grabbed a pair of books, stacked on the end of her bed, … Continue reading
Sif blinked. The answer seemed self-evident to her, which in her recent experience meant she was thinking about the wrong question. She was cold because it was cold—she was surrounded by cold air. Not as cold as it could be, … Continue reading
They moved on to other topics as they ate. Einar Goransson was the son of a caravaner from the central plains, and had grown up on the roads, tenuous tracks carved from the wilderness, which linked the far-flung cities of … Continue reading
“That isn’t as interesting,” Sif said, waving dismissively. “Tell me about Einar.” Lilja shook her head. “There’s nothing to tell. We’re friends.” “I don’t—” Sif craned her neck to look past Lilja. “There he is now. Einar! Einar Goransson!” Lilja … Continue reading
For the next three hours, Sif managed to keep her mind from wandering. Leifsson reviewed another dozen cumulation forms, then taught two dozen more, along with a half-dozen new zephyrs. He dismissed them in the early evening, instructing them to … Continue reading
Like all the guilds, the Akademi der Luftsmagiker took most of its students at a young age—Sif was twice as old as most new aspirants. Yet it was not unheard of for older children, nearer Sif’s age, to show a … Continue reading
Sif sat at a table at the periphery of the Akademi der Luftsmagiker’s main hall, a round room filling the whole width of the tower. The wind howled outside, and through the panes of the nearest window, Sif saw snowflakes … Continue reading
Later on, after they had eaten their fill and the fire at the end of the lodge’s great hall had burned down to embers, Falthejn cleared his throat. “I am afraid I will be leaving den Holm tomorrow. Urgent matters … Continue reading
Sif’s next week passed in a blur. Under Falthejn’s comforting guidance, she signed a contract with the guild and received her aspirant’s allowance—ten crowns, more money than all the rest she’d ever seen put together. Much of it vanished over … Continue reading
