Nightsworn | The Whispering Wall #2

Fifty One: Graduation

"We don't need to," Astra whispered to him, before Jordan could ask.

Jordan buried his fingers in Ren's fur instead, taking comfort in the familiar rumble and the rise and fall of her little body. The clearing grew even brighter, rings of glowing flames surrounding the central inferno. Koen took the sheaf of papers from Hap and thrust both the papers and the cloak into the fire; this time the flames ate through them as all fire would, smoke rising towards the canopy as they burned away.

A pause followed that stretched on for eternity and a second. Then Hap and Koen embraced, the balls of flame went out, the blaze burned abruptly to embers and the crowd surged inward. Jordan found himself wheeled quickly backwards to avoid being knocked over or trampled in the crush. Yddris brought him to a stop near the doorway of the main building, and Astra joined them a moment later.

"You alright here for a moment, boy?" Yddris asked. "I should go and offer my own congratulations."

"I'm fine," Jordan said faintly. His tutor strode away to join the black-clad chaos in the centre of the clearing.

"Oloe will be next," Astra said. Her voice sounded strangely stilted.

"Are you alright?" Jordan murmured. He supposed it would be hard for her to see it, knowing Kolter wouldn't ever be present for her own ceremony. The idea of going through this without Yddris already rang strangely in his head. Instinctively he searched for his tutor's aura in the crowd, and then a jolt of pain reminded him not to exert his magic yet. It also drew his attention to just how bizarre it was that he had felt a need to reassure himself that way.

"No," she said simply. "But I will have to be."

Taking a gamble and hoping he didn't look too desperate for her to like him, Jordan asked, "Koen and I were planning to hide out at Thirris's with a barrel of ale and some food as soon as he gets a free moment. Do you want to join us?"

"I would like that," she said. "As long as you make sure there's cake."

"I'm sure we can arrange that." He grinned. She was quiet, but he didn't think it was a disapproving silence.

Slowly the crowd was dispersing. With the threat of the storm gone, Jordan anticipated that the gathering would last longer this time, especially since the centre was the safest place to be. Even if the woods were stalked by an unnatural killer, they weren't known to attack Unspoken in any numbers. Already a group had gone to fetch food and drink. Jordan resolved not to drink nearly as much this time, no matter how much he was offered.

A figure detached itself from the rabble and wandered over. Bereft of his ability to sense aura as sensitively as normal for the time being, Jordan felt oddly apprehensive that he couldn't work out who it was until they were almost beside him. It was Thirris.

"Yddris is with Hap," he said by way of greeting. "The graduation can be just as hard on the tutor as the student. Especially if they're your last."

Yddris had mentioned once that Jordan would be his last student, but Jordan didn't dwell on that thought. "Was Yddris your last apprentice?"

"Oh, Kiel's beard, no," Thirris said, chuckling. "How old do you think I am? Yddris was my second. I've seen five Unspoken through graduation. I was what some might call a natural teacher – I enjoyed having students, and so I took on more than others might. Teaching is not for everyone. Some Unspoken only ever take one."

"Do any ever choose not to at all?"

"Of course. And there's always the issue of whether there is an apprentice to teach." Thirris's voice grew more solemn. "Back in my day, the Gift showed much more frequently than it does now. Yddris had fifteen peers, I believe, and he manifested at a low point. Three apprentices for the entire Guild is unheard of."