quiet. Eventually, her curiosity became impossible to suppress.
"Why are you going to Rianza? Are you hoping to find work there that doesn't involve being up at dawn?" she asked teasingly.
He was silent for so long that she knew his answer before he spoke. "I'm going to see if I can find my mother."
"Why Rianza? Is that where she went when she left?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. My father wasn't one to talk about her willingly, and I haven't heard from her since she left. I don't even know where she was from. She never talked about it when I was little. Rianza just seemed like a good place to start. It's big, and close enough that I can start looking right away. If I don't find any sign of her there, then I'm not sure where to look. I'll think of something though, if it comes to that."
Fay considered this for a minute. "Maybe I can help point you in the right direction, give you some people to start with. I spent a lot of my childhood in Rianza, and I started out at that academy. I'll give you some names of people to talk to before we part company. I'm not even sure if they're still in Rianza, but at least a few of them probably are. They might be able to help or at least get you started." She paused before going on, "Have you thought about what you'll say to her if you find her?"
Tavis shook his head. "I'm not really even sure why I'm trying to find her. I guess I just want to see her, show her... I don't know. Maybe just let her know that Nevon's dead, though I'm not sure she'd care about that."
They both let the silence lengthen and the day moved on. Near dusk, they found a spot that looked like it saw regular use as a campsite and agreed it was a good place to stop for the night. Tavis took care of the horses while she gathered wood from the forest around them. After a while, he dropped her bags next to her and took his own to the other side of the pit while she arranged the kindling in preparation for the fire.
"Fay, what's it like at an academy?" he asked hesitantly. "I don't know if you're supposed to talk about it or not, but I'm kind of curious."
She shrugged. "It's a school, just like regular ones I would guess, except of course you get to study magic. But like I said before, you have to study other subjects too." She saw his disappointment with her answer and tried again, pushing aside her discomfort with the subject. "I've been to two of the four now, the ones in Rianza and Voleno. I can only tell you about those."
He leaned forward, nodding for her to go on.
"Both are housed in large castles. Actually, I think all four are. There are a lot of rooms for students in each and those in their final year get their own room, while the younger students are housed in larger more dorm-like rooms. There's usually about six or eight sharing a small hall, really, depending on which school they're at. For the first few years, it was like going on a fabulous long vacation, because you go home for the summer."
She found herself smiling as she continued, "The main libraries in both schools are amazing, more books than I could imagine reading in a lifetime, and on so many subjects. That was probably my favorite place in the whole school at Voleno, other than Professor Ganson's study."
"That's your mentor?" Tavis asked.
She nodded, but felt the smile start to slide from her face. She forced it back on and continued in order to distract herself. "Most of the teachers I had were nice, encouraging and helpful, as you might imagine. They were always willing to answer questions or give you a little extra explanation when you needed it. Also, sometimes you get to go on trips to visit the other academies. There are inter-academy activities every year." Not that she'd ever gotten to go, because they were for bound Magicia, but she wasn't going to explain that to him. He might ask her about the bond and she didn't want to try to explain it, or her situation.
He stared into the distance for a while, a wistful expression on his
"Why are you going to Rianza? Are you hoping to find work there that doesn't involve being up at dawn?" she asked teasingly.
He was silent for so long that she knew his answer before he spoke. "I'm going to see if I can find my mother."
"Why Rianza? Is that where she went when she left?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. My father wasn't one to talk about her willingly, and I haven't heard from her since she left. I don't even know where she was from. She never talked about it when I was little. Rianza just seemed like a good place to start. It's big, and close enough that I can start looking right away. If I don't find any sign of her there, then I'm not sure where to look. I'll think of something though, if it comes to that."
Fay considered this for a minute. "Maybe I can help point you in the right direction, give you some people to start with. I spent a lot of my childhood in Rianza, and I started out at that academy. I'll give you some names of people to talk to before we part company. I'm not even sure if they're still in Rianza, but at least a few of them probably are. They might be able to help or at least get you started." She paused before going on, "Have you thought about what you'll say to her if you find her?"
Tavis shook his head. "I'm not really even sure why I'm trying to find her. I guess I just want to see her, show her... I don't know. Maybe just let her know that Nevon's dead, though I'm not sure she'd care about that."
They both let the silence lengthen and the day moved on. Near dusk, they found a spot that looked like it saw regular use as a campsite and agreed it was a good place to stop for the night. Tavis took care of the horses while she gathered wood from the forest around them. After a while, he dropped her bags next to her and took his own to the other side of the pit while she arranged the kindling in preparation for the fire.
"Fay, what's it like at an academy?" he asked hesitantly. "I don't know if you're supposed to talk about it or not, but I'm kind of curious."
She shrugged. "It's a school, just like regular ones I would guess, except of course you get to study magic. But like I said before, you have to study other subjects too." She saw his disappointment with her answer and tried again, pushing aside her discomfort with the subject. "I've been to two of the four now, the ones in Rianza and Voleno. I can only tell you about those."
He leaned forward, nodding for her to go on.
"Both are housed in large castles. Actually, I think all four are. There are a lot of rooms for students in each and those in their final year get their own room, while the younger students are housed in larger more dorm-like rooms. There's usually about six or eight sharing a small hall, really, depending on which school they're at. For the first few years, it was like going on a fabulous long vacation, because you go home for the summer."
She found herself smiling as she continued, "The main libraries in both schools are amazing, more books than I could imagine reading in a lifetime, and on so many subjects. That was probably my favorite place in the whole school at Voleno, other than Professor Ganson's study."
"That's your mentor?" Tavis asked.
She nodded, but felt the smile start to slide from her face. She forced it back on and continued in order to distract herself. "Most of the teachers I had were nice, encouraging and helpful, as you might imagine. They were always willing to answer questions or give you a little extra explanation when you needed it. Also, sometimes you get to go on trips to visit the other academies. There are inter-academy activities every year." Not that she'd ever gotten to go, because they were for bound Magicia, but she wasn't going to explain that to him. He might ask her about the bond and she didn't want to try to explain it, or her situation.
He stared into the distance for a while, a wistful expression on his
Similar Books
