A Change of Heart

Still Monday March 1, 1490

Whimpers jerked my attention to the clump of terrified children cowering by the door to the dormitory. Boldly defending them were Gus and Lily, who bayed furiously at a massive lion crouched in the center of the yard. Beside it, an alabaster dragon recoiled from something behind me, and I spun around to see flames dancing across the roof of my library.

"What did I do?" came a familiar wail. "Verrus, why did you make me roar? Marina, your books are on fire!"

The dragon rapidly collapsed back towards Tel form. With a human head, one deformed wing, three fully dragon legs and the last one oozing and bubbling back into a human leg, the ungainly monstrosity crumpled to the ground and began sobbing. A few of the children started to retch as they stared, transfixed, at the sight. Verrus placed a half comforting, half reproving paw on Tel's shoulder. Where was my comforting paw? It was my library on fire!

Regardless, I didn't have time to deal with Tel's self-pity. As I faced the inferno now devouring the walls of my library, Ynez ran up, awkwardly holding her skirts so she wouldn't trip over them. "I can help," she offered, and began to chant in Enochian. However, since I was significantly stronger at Ars Essentiae, I still had to lay down the main Effect. I whipped out my knife and a fresh piece of wood and rapidly carved a Tel-dragon (or how the Tel-dragon had looked before it started mutating into a human anyway).

Brandishing a spear in one hand and a round bronze shield in the other, Ghallim dashed over from his temple, easily leaping a fence to reach us. When he took in the scene, he arranged the spear and shield on the ground and began praying over them. "Great Lady Athena, guide me to those in need of rescue." Receiving no response, he started counting children and looked relieved that they were all present.

At our backs, the leyline leading to the south blazed up even more dramatically, casting an eerie green light over the entire courtyard that clashed with the bright yellow flames. Apparently satisfied that Ynez and I had the library fire in hand, Verrus bounded over to examine that catastrophe. Throwing back his head, he roared majestically at the Quintessence that arced and crackled along the leyline.

Ynez stopped chanting just long enough to scan the crowd of terrified orphans and dogs. She singled out Ashton and screamed wildly at him, "Get Astera!"

In my hands, the wooden dragon burst into life and tore itself upwards, expanding like a bubble and turning translucent as glass. Summoning all the winds to it in a tornado, it flew straight at the library and circled the inferno faster and faster, dragging the winds after it, throwing up clouds of dirt and leaves, and whipping our clothing and hair around us. Timo let out a long howl, Helen gave a little shriek and clung to Sy, and I hung on grimly to my Effect, even as the dust stung my eyes and tears blinded me.

Then, all of a sudden, flames, wind, and dragon vanished at the same instant. The air went still. Leaves and small sticks and dirt drifted down gently all over us - followed by scrolls and books flapping down like birds. Cursed Paradox! What did it think this was - the Tower of the Winds? Only House Bjornaer let its library fly everywhere! Irritably, I snatched a scroll out of the air as it fluttered past and surveyed the damage. The roof of the library was gone, the tops of the walls were burnt black and crumbling, and all my books and scrolls lay scattered about the yard, their edges slightly charred - but blessedly, everything had survived the fire.

A little shamefaced, Lil came up bearing an armful of manuscripts. "I wasn't fast enough to help," she said apologetically. "I should have been. I knew what to do. I just wasn't fast enough."

"It's all right," I reassured her. "It just takes practice. We can run some drills."

"I should have practiced more." She was still obviously upset. "Ynez does, all the time."