Chapter 2: Ranelfa

A bright blue sky illuminates a beautifully warm day. Great fluffy clouds dotted the sky to provide coverage from the bright sun. The wind flowed ever so gently. "No, no, no!" A woman pants to herself as she rushes toward a massive stone building. She trips over a large crack in the wood pathway, and as she falls to the ground, she drops the things she is carrying. Books and scrolls go tumbling and flying all over the road. She gets up in a huff and touches her forehead gently. As she touches her head, she feels a sharp stinging pain and pulls back her hand. A bit of smeared blood was covering the tips of her white-gloved fingers.

"Oh damn, the gods!" she shouted in anger and pain. She slammed a clenched fist into the wood. A man came over and stood in front of her for a moment. Observing her, then began picking up the books and scrolls she had dropped.

"That's an awful way to treat the beings who brought you into this world, Child." The man said with a touch of amusement in his voice. She looked up at the man in red and blue robes. He was an older man with gray hair, and his skin was rough and tan.

"My sincerest apologies... Master Lindu." She said with the sting of embarrassment in her voice. She proceeded to get up. A flash of anger was still present on her face. "They really did mess me up today though." She thought to herself. Scared she'd be struck down just for having the thought.

"It's alright, Ranelfa. I know you bear no ill will with your statement. But the Gods could find offense in such a flash of rage. Be sure to give them an extra offering at your hearth tonight." Master Lindu said with a bright smile. He handed the items back to her. Then she began walking to the stone building again. Now she had someone to talk to and keep her mind off what was coming.

"What has put you in such a rush today, Child?" Lindu asked. "It's my thesis for the magical arts of Ty'la City, and I can't be late! I have to be there and be ready to present. Now I have a huge scratch on my forehead..." Ranelfa said solemnly.

"Hm... Indeed that is a frustrating turn of events." He rubs the scruffy stubble on his chin. "Does it hurt?" He looked at her, worried. She touches her forehead and brings her hand back. There wasn't any blood this time.

"No..? I swear it was hurting and bleeding just a second ago!" she says in astonishment. She looked at Lindu as she stopped walking.

"You did not! You did not just do that to me!" She stomped her right foot in an angry movement. Lindu shrugged and, with a smug smile, he said. "You can't go to your magical arts thesis with a bloodied forehead... Can you, daughter?" Ranelfa sighed in a great huff and began walking to the great stone building once again, alone.

As she entered the grand hall of acolytes, future magicians of Ty'la and the evergrowing territory of Asmyae sat around a large marble table that encircled a single teacher. The building's massive walls are higher than most trees in the city. The walls meet a ceiling made of wooden support beams and clay tiles. The air was thick with tension. Every student was on the edge of their seat. Waiting and hoping the teacher didn't pick them to present first. The sticky smell of fresh ink painted the smell of the room. The scent of aged paper from a bookcase filled wafted through the air, carried by a breeze through a window.

The tall man looked over at the door as the weight caused it to slam shut, and there stood his star pupil with a bloodied glove.

"Excellent timing, Ranelfa. It just so happens to be your turn for your thesis display, and I must say. I am more than excited to see it."

"Oh...right..." She said while placing things on her desk. She took a deep breath and began to give her thesis on Magical Arts. She put her hands out and made a circle with her thin, fragile hands.

The air in the room immediately becomes ice cold. A vein bulged from Ranelfa's forehead. Thin lines of air made of crystals started to form in the space between her hands. A light blue light grew at the center of Ranelfa's hands as it gained brightness.

"This is working! Just as i planned! I can do this!" Ranelfa exclaimed to herself in her mind excitedly. The sound of cracking ice was deafening.