The Mages College of Verdyn, Verdyn, August 2019.
Vi had been too excited to discover that indeed, a type of flying was a thing in Verdyn, that she insisted Rho show her straight away. To her delight, he had agreed, declaring that he had had enough of a shock for one day and that it was about time Vi learnt how to drift. He swiftly reversed the Earth charm he had cast upon the floor, re-set the desks and the led Vi down the many, sets of well-worn oak staircases and corridors, out into the College grounds on a shortcut past the greenhouses, an area that Violet had not yet visited.
Vi could not help but sneak glances at him as they walked, looking up at the curls of his hair and light curves of his chest. He walked closer to her, closer than was necessary, across the wide cobbled pathways which sloped gently along to the designated area where all Verdyn's food was grown. Rho explained the system as they walked, pointing out how the College was self-sufficient and grew food for the city, and how the Botanists followed a strict 24-hour work schedule. Vi noticed him also not-so-subtly glancing at her as he spoke. They headed through a leafy archway, which opened out into rows of greenhouses and plant beds. She caught his eye, smiled, and reached for his hand, heart hammering as he smiled back, fingers wrapping around hers.
On the other side of the archway, Vi looked around her, once again in amazement of what the magic of Verdyn had allowed the Mages to achieve. There, along one whole side of the College building were row upon rows of long greenhouses, each about 7 feet high. Inside each greenhouse were long immaculate soil beds, filled with row upon row of growing plants. Some greenhouses were in the initial stages of growth, full of soil and a few plant shoots. Others teemed with vivid greenery, full of fully grown plants.
Rho led her along a pathway between two of the greenhouses, along which a sloping irrigation channel of water also flowed, their joined hands swinging. Vi walked slowly taking in the sheer number of plants and he slowed his pace to stay steadily by her side. She could see the odd glimpse of black among the green, Mages, Botanists with their light green belts weaving their way through the plants, and some hydro mages with their dark blue belts, directing flows of water along irrigation channels and creating artificial rain, sprinkling gently over the growing beds.
Violet's father was an avid gardener, and she could not help but think of how he would react to this place. His garden, full of lovingly tended to rows of carrot and beans, paled in comparison to this grower's paradise. Vi peered in through the glass, trying to recognise the plants; there were some leafy carrots, ready for picking, vines of large ripe red tomatoes, vines of small green unripe tomatoes, cabbages, some sort of squash. In the next greenhouse, Vi spotted what she thought was a crop of tall oat plants, their small green florets pointing toward the ground. Wow, that must be where all the porridge comes from, the thought in amazement. In the next greenhouse was an entire partially grown wheat field, where many Mages were busy walking through the plants, inspecting them, Vi presumed. Then there was a space, a break in the greenhouses that could only be described as a magnificent vineyard, combined with an orchard. Vi marvelled at the grapevines stretching into the distance, and the neat, pruned fruit trees. There were rows of apple trees, all different varieties. Pears, plums, apricots, mangoes, coconuts, cherry's, lemons and limes, many of what Vi thought were almond trees, but she wasn't sure. Any many more rows of fruit trees that she did not recognise.
An orange tree, near the path, was ready for picking, full of giant football-sized oranges. Rho reached up and took one, peeling and eating as they walked. He offered Vi a segment, which was sharp and sweet and fresh, and miles better than any oranges she had ever eaten on Earth. She was sure that there was probably some College rule that they were flagrantly breaking about students not being allowed to pick the fruit for themselves, but Rho was not bothered. She reached out and plucked an apple from the nearest ripe apple tree.
The continued walking, still hand in hand, winding through the orchard, and coming out in another area filled more rows of greenhouses. And then, through the glass of the second greenhouse from the end, Vi spotted someone she knew. Linnea was kneeling, her hands buried deep in the soil, her face screwed up in concentration. Vi and Rho paused to watch their friend as little green shoots began to poke out of the barren soil. Vi gasped, as the green shoots thickened, grew leaves, and took on the recognisable form of young potato plants. It was like watching a plant growth time-lapse when a camera is left to capture a photo an hour but unfolding in front of her eyes in a couple of minutes. Linnea stood up and twisted her hands in a complicated wavy pattern, causing a sprinkling of water droplets to shower down upon her new plants. Satisfied with her work, she looked up at them and waved a dirt-encrusted hand. Vi followed as Rho pushed open the door and entered the greenhouse. She blinked, suddenly assaulted by a rush of heat, humidity, and a wonderful, fresh earthy smell. She looked all around her at the potato plants, in various stages of growth.
"Hey!" greeted Linnea "Welcome to the gardens!"
"Wow, so that's what you Botanists do!" Vi replied.
Linnea wiped her dirty hand across her sweaty brow. "Yes, it's quite something to behold for the first time! You haven't started Botany lessons yet, have you?"
"Reynold says not until I master control. Otherwise, I might unintentionally damage the plants"
"Yes, that makes sense. Botany is a very delicate type of magic. Can't risk anyone accidentally destroying a greenhouse." She looked around the potato plants, like a mother checking on her children. "So, what brings you out here?"
"Just passing through. I'm going to show Vi the Dryfters!"
Linnea squealed "Ohh, awesome, you'll love the Dryfters, Vi! Scary at first, but such fun!"
"You wanna join us?" asked Vi
"I'd love to, but I have to work. These potatoes don't grow themselves!" the three of them laughed, then Linnea ruined the joke somewhat by clarifying "Well, they do grow by themselves, but not fast enough to feed all of Verdyn!"
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Rho finally led Vi, out of the gardens and into a verdant flat open meadow. It stretched out an exceedingly long way, several miles if Vi had to estimate, before merging into woodland that covered much of Verdyn. A wooden hut, with sharply pointed gables and an arched doorway, that Verdynian architectural style that was becoming familiar, sat squarely near the entrance to the meadow. Rho reluctantly let her hand go and unlocked the door, using a sharp twist of his wrist, one of his bracelets activating and glowing. He entered the hut and came out shortly carrying two narrow pieces of wood, of a similar size to skateboards back home, a padded helmet, and a set of kneepads.
By the time she had secured the helmet and the kneepads, Rho was already standing on his board, which was floating about a metre above the grass. Vi stared up at him in amazement as he swooped back and forth, leaning lightly from side to side.
She picked up her board and examined it, noticing that the boards, or Dryfters, she presumed, were not simple curved pieces of wood, but magical imbued objects, each one with a line of Runes engraved around the edge. A large unfamiliar Rune took up the centre of the board. Some of the Runes she did not know, but she recognised from the ceiling beams in the college. There was one for Balance, one for Speed, one she thought was lift, or propulsion.
"For once, we can go through all the Runes later!" exclaimed Rho, hair blowing in the wind as he executed a sharp turn and came to hover in front of Vi. "So, these are the Dryfters, it's more, erm, assisted levitation, than flight, but it does allow you to get off the ground." He jumped off his Dryfter, landing lightly in the grass, the board remaining hovering in place.
"Right, erm, I've never tried to teach anyone how to use these before but let see. The large Rune in the centre is the Activation Rune. It links to all of the many other runes you can see around the edges. So first, all you need to do is activate that one."
He waited patiently, whilst Vi used the First Rune on her necklace to focus, to find and bring up her power, and then to push it into the Dryfter Rune. She was making great progress, getting quicker at finding her power and activating runes every day. Barely a minute passed before the Dryfter Rune lit up, followed by the row of Runes circling the outside of the board.
"Great! Now, erm, you just stand on it. One foot forward, one to the side, like this. And will it to where you want to go. Gently!"
Vi gulped, some of her excitement failing. She had tried skating once, borrowing Lily's brother's skateboard and it had not been successful. She had had to take a trip to the local A and E after landing heavily on her ankle. Whatever this magical method of flying was, it appeared more difficult and exceedingly more dangerous than skateboarding. She did not want to end up in whatever the Verdyn equivalent of A and E was, and face Healer Eliza's ire.
She took a deep breath and took a step onto the board. There was a strange tightening, squeezing sensation around her feet and ankles as if the board were helping her to stand and stay in place. But she remained firmly on the ground. Now what had Rho said earlier? Once a Rune is activated, trust yourself that it will remain activated, focus instead on what you want the activated rune to do. It had been something like that.
Vi focused on where she wanted to be. Which was just a few centimetres higher up of the ground than she currently was. She willed the Dryfter to lift her up. And up she shot, straight up about twenty meters into the air, with a huge scream. Rho also shot up rapidly, but intentionally, to join her.
"Well, that's one way of doing things!" he remarked
Vi wobbled nervously. She thankfully did not mind heights – unlike her mother who feared going up ladders – but the sudden, unexpected change in altitude had shaken her.
"What if I fall?!" she cried in alarm.
"Trust the board! And this whole meadow is covered with Cushioning Runes in case of any sudden impact. Sorry, should have mentioned that earlier."
"Yes, you fucking should have! Now how do I get down?"
He gave her an amused smile. "You just will the Dryfter to take you down. Gently, of course. But why would you want to do that, it's so much more fun up here!" He started sweeping up and down, making sharp turns before dropping down, turning and rising back up again.
"Show off!" joked Vi.
"Who, me, never!" said Rho, spinning round in fast sweeping circles.
Vi, realising that she was not about to imminently plunge to her doom, tried to stand up straighter. The charm that kept her feet and ankles in place helped support her somehow and made it easy to balance and stay upright on the board. She tried to steady her breathing, lower her heart rate, control her fear. She watched how Rho moved surely and swiftly, leaning his weight as he turned, how he moved without thinking of what could go wrong, trusting that the Dryfter would move how he wished. She leant forward, trying to emulate him, willing the board to take her along the meadow, but in a steady, controlled manner. And off she went, at a nice walking pace, blowing in the wind.
"That's it, Vi!"
As she got more comfortable, she began to pick up speed. She tried leaning into her turns as Rho did, changing direction without losing too much momentum. She spun round in big lazy circles in the sky. She tried swooping gradually up and down in an undulating pattern.
Then, with a bit of encouragement from Rho, that she would be bruised and sore if she fell, but not dead, she tried a big drop down and back up again, which, was terrifying, but a lot of fun. She tried it again, this time going down faster, and swooping back up again higher. It was like a drop on a roller-coaster, but without the coaster. Or any of the restraints. And standing up. She was flying. She was actually kind of fucking flying. In another world. Just when she thought Verdyn could do no more to surprise her, Rho only had to go and inform her, that yes, a type of flying is possible here. She started laughing uncontrollably as the whole situation.
Rho, who was totally, being a show-off, then decided to execute a loop-the-loop.
"Seriously!" Vi exclaimed, reigning in her giggles as he then proceeded to drift along upside-down. "How do you not fall!"
He gave her a terrible upside-down shit-eating grin and answered simply "Magic!"
≠
On Friday night Vi found herself in the familiar-yet-bizarre situation of rummaging through all her clothes deciding what to wear to a party. After inexplicably banning the students from entering the Southern Woods before Vi arrived in Verdyn, that morning Master Reynold had revoked his ban. The young Mages had all come together to organise a party in their usual spot in the woodland clearing. It was gearing up to be quite an event, the first proper party in the two months or so that Vi had been here. What do you wear to a Mages party?
She reached for her Conveyor and called Riley, who eagerly knocked on Vi's door moments later. Vi opened the door for her friend remotely with a push of her will and a large sweep of her hand. The subtly of that would come with time, Rho had assured her. Riley was wearing a golden-yellow top, and gold dangling earrings, and a navy skirt. Vi, who at this point was so used to everyone wearing mostly black exclaimed with delight "Riley, you look amazing! Love the skirt! You have to help me! What the hell should I wear?!"
"Thanks!" replied Riley smiling wide "It's good to get out of the uniform and wear something colourful for a change!" She gestured to Violet's open wardrobe, "Are the clothes you brought with you from home?"
Vi nodded, whilst Riley, who was silent for once, looked through her limited options. She had only packed to be away for a month after all. The younger girl came to a sudden stop, holding up a familiar light-purple knee-length dress with thin shoulder straps. "Violet! You have to wear this! It's perfect!"
Vi shortly found herself standing in front of her mirror in the violet dress and her purple converse, hazel eyes heavily outlined, and her long black hair loose down her back. She couldn't help but think back to Clara's fateful party where she had last worn this violet dress. Lots had changed but she still looked about the same.
Hopefully, this party would not be as eventful as the last. Only this time Violet's jewellery all had inbuilt magical abilities, and the party was taking part in the grounds of a school for Mages. She ran her hands through her hair, one last time then declared to Riley, who was sitting on her bed waiting.
"Let's go! So, what is a Mages party even like?"
≠
The Mages party turned out to be pretty similar to the parties Vi had attended on Earth. There were groups of teens, wearing bizarre assortments of colourful clothes standing in small groups, drinking, and chatting. There were inappropriate shoe choices for the terrain, and public displays of affection. There was a small group awkwardly dancing, which Vi presumed would grow as the night progressed.
The clearing was a beautiful opening in the trees, it had a special, secret quality to it that made Vi intuitively knew why it had ended up being the party location. Where Earthlings would have strung up fairy lights, wrapping them around tree trunks, and draping them between close together branches, some of the Advanced Mages had borrowed some white crystals and gemstones and fixed them to hover between the tree's bathing the clearing in a shifting rainbow glow. To one side was a round dining room table laden with drinks and snacks.
There were two noticeable exceptions to the parties Vi was used to. Firstly, the drinks were all strong colourful concoctions. And secondly, the music was really shitty.
Vi couldn't figure exactly what she disliked about it, perhaps she was just accustomed to the produced, electrical quality of Earth music and found the absence jarring. Perhaps it was the ethereal high notes, fast string melodies and fast unfamiliar Verdynian lyrics. Theo had brought his guitar to lunch a few times, and she liked his jaunty tunes, but she was not a fan of this sort of orchestral party music. The growing group of dancing young people however was evidence many of her fellow students were indeed fans.
Riley headed over to join Cassidy and Freddy, who were trying to enchant more crystal lights into a tree. Vi looked around the crowd for a certain tall blond boy who had said he would be here. She spotted him and took a deep breath, then headed across to the drinks table, where Rho was refilling a cup with something bright green.
"You were right, the music on Earth is better! No offence to Theo of course." She said by way of introduction.
Rho turned around, eyes widening as he took in Vi, and what she was wearing. She willed herself not to blush.
"The Verdynian variety does grow on you, but I have to agree..." he sipped his drink "You look great, Vi"
She felt the heat rising from her cheeks. "Thanks, so do you," she replied. It was true. Instead of his usual black loose shirt, and linen trousers, Rho was wearing blue jeans that he had worn on Earth and a garish dark green shirt. His hair was pushed back, revealing his pointed ears.
"Makes a nice change to get out of the uniforms sometimes. Perhaps that's another area where Earth has us beat..."
He was uncharacteristically rambling. Vi reached over to the table and selected a bright blue drink. She took a sip, expecting a familiar cocktail. Alas, it turned out to be wine, a sweet crisp rose. She shook her head and took another small sip before responding.
"Hey, at least you could choose to wear a different colour belt some days!"
Rho chucked "Makes all the difference!"
"I assume the colours all had a meaning once?" asked Vi, genuinely curious.
Rho sipped the green liquid before responding "Yeah, pyro was orange, hydro was blue, earth got stuck with dark brown, air was light blue, botanists had green, the healers also wanted green, so had to go for dark green, erm, I'm not gonna list the rest. Then the Governor, the one before Reynold, decided that the five levels should each have their own colour..."
"Like karate!" interjected Vi "When they pass one level, they get a new belt of a different colour!"
"Yeah, that was the plan, but it didn't go down well. It became too complicated, all the affinities and levels to keep track of. Most Mages enjoy more than one area of magic, even if it isn't their affinity and refused to pick just one colour. So gradually it just devolved to people wearing whichever colour belt they wish. Some, like the Botanists still proudly wear their colour, but mostly it's a personal choice thing."
"Like the necklaces?" she asked, taking another sip and gesturing to her dangling jewellery.
"Yeah. There was a time when mastering a new charm earned you a bead, but now they are more of a tradition than functional..."
"Wow, I've got some fascinating lectures to look forward to in History class!" Violet joked leaning in as the music became louder.
"You bet! The belt thing takes up at least four lessons!"
"Great! I'll look forward to that" they both laughed.
Riley chose that moment to approach the table, select a gold drink that matched her shirt, and drag Vi and Rho over into a complex game of luck and skill involving levitating cards and coloured stones. Vi was surprisingly good at the levitating part, but her unfamiliarity with the rules let her down. Literally. Riley, inversely, knew the rules but kept loosing focus, often dropping stones and scattering cards wildly. Rho, of course was an expert, who was matched equally by Theo. Vi couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so hard as when Linnea, made a sudden comeback out of nowhere and eliminated both a startled Rho and outraged Theo in a series of improbable moves.
As it got later, the louder the music became, and more and more people joined the group dancing in the centre of the clearing. Vi was well on her way through completing the rainbow of coloured drinks (the green, ginger flavoured one was her favourite) and had even tried some strange burning herb the others were partaking in.
The world was fuzzy at the edges, and everything had never been so marvellous.
Riley and Cassidy, each seized one of her hands and declared that Vi could not attend her first even Verdyn party without setting foot into the dance area. Vi was about to proclaim, that she certainly could do just that when she was swept away by the music and the strange luring magical-ness of the night.
In the centre of a forest clearing in another world, surrounded by her new friends, Vi was caught in the ethereal, enchanted, fast-paced beat.
They danced wildly and freely, swooping their arms, leaping in circles, swinging each other around. Her wide eyes met with Rho's from across the crowd. Then Vi found him grabbing her hand and pulling her close and then he was holding her tight and they were spinning round and round and round.
≠
Hours later, Vi, found herself walking slowly back to the College after the party had come to an end, with Rho. Riley and the others had shot them smirking glances as they hurried on ahead with the other departing partygoers.
"So, what did you make of your first Verdyn party?" Rho asked quietly as they headed through the trees.
"It was awesome! So much better than the last party I went to!" she shook her head at the unwanted memory "Especially at the end of the last party."
"When you accidentally made a portal?"
"Yep, that was the one. Admittedly I was very upset and a very drunk and a little high at the time."
"I think you missed out the 'little high' part in your explanation to Reynold!"
Vi chuckled. Rho laughed, and then continued "However you ended up accidentally creating that portal, Vi, I'm very glad you did and that it enabled me to meet you."
Vi froze and turned to face him. His cheeks were flushed, whether, from their conversation or the night's wild dancing, or the alcohol she could not tell. She felt a blush rising in her cheeks as she replied: "Rho, I'm very, very glad that I ended up meeting you too!"
He was so close. So very, very close.
And suddenly there was no distance between them and his arms were wrapped tightly around her, and her arms were wrapped around him and they were kissing. Kissing deeply, kissing passionately, as if nothing else existed in the universe other than the two of them and that moment. Vi ran her hands through his hair, something she had admittedly had wanted to do ever since they first met. He did the same, lightly brushing her rounded Earth-ears with his fingertips, before settling his hands firmly on her waist. She shifted slightly, adjusting her hold on him, pulling him even closer, marvelling at how warm and steady his hands were, how greedily and wildly their tongues mixed together and how neither of them wished to stop or pull away. They were all alone amongst the trees Vi realised, there was no reason why they could not stay entwined like this for hours.
The light of dawn was peaking over the treetops when they eventually walked back into the Mages College of Verdyn clasped hands swinging between them.
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