As if sped along by magic, the following week went by faster than any previous in Meyer's life. Despite the slow pace of Adryn's classes, Meyer enjoyed listening to her endless stream of knowledge, and even as his classmates struggled to master the Zurasara charm, he rapidly progressed through new incantations from The First Hundred Spells. While Adryn walked between the other tempests in her class, assisting them make a bowl of water glow, Meyer practiced light charms and heat charms, and basic motion charms. Indeed, in one week he mastered the first twenty charms in his 'green spellbook' as he liked to call it.
At first Damian was astonished, but soon his attitude morphed into one of expectancy, as if Meyer was destined to be great. When Meyer showed him new spells he would say things like: "A true natural," or "You'll be putting Eric to shame in no time."
Besides his magical training, Meyer found himself thinking less about Vanroc, and more about the amenity of Eldrin's Dale. Every other day when he returned from his morning class, he found his room cleaned for him, with fresh clothes hanging in his wardrobe and the dirty pile on the floor gone, and on his fourth day living in the dormitories, a small stack of copper coins appeared on his desk. As Damian explained, all the tempests were given a weekly allowance to spend during outings to Lampern, the nearby village. Meyer also discovered the food in the dining hall was consistently delicious, and to his great relief, he no longer ate with Liam and Dirk. Instead he (and Damian after a fair bit of convincing) sat with Ander and Cade and a few other boys who weren't part of Eric's inner circle of friends.
As for Eric, he showed no signs of continued animosity towards Meyer. At the bi-weekly Ajah practice sessions in the Necromancer's Keep, Meyer would show Damian, Ander and Cade the newest spells he had learned, and it wasn't long before his exceptional magical ability became well known. Either out of a genuine change of heart, or a preemptive strategic move should his magical superiority be challenged, Eric encouraged Meyer in his magical training, giving him tips and pointers, and often asking him about his progress. He even invited Meyer to sit with him in the dining hall, and Meyer had no choice but to oblige, though he wished he hadn't.
During the meal Meyer ate quietly while the other boys bragged about magic, and talked about girls. At one point Eric got up and pulled the tall pretty girl with dark brown hair over to the table, making a joke about her disappearing during a recent trip to Lampern. Everyone at the table laughed, and the girl feigned outrage, elbowing Eric in the stomach. Meyer decided that Eric could teach him a spell to turn iron into gold and he still wouldn't like him any better. He did, however, learn that the pretty girl's name was Jaeda.
And so the week went by, each day ushering in a new sense of normalcy, and each day further warming Meyer to Eldrin's Dale. Finally the weekend arrived, when the tempests had two free days from magical training. Meyer was lounging in bed after a late breakfast, reading from his green spellbook when Damian burst in.
"What are you doing?" he exclaimed. "We need to go down to the Great Meadow for capture the flag!"
Before Meyer could ask any questions Damian was throwing athletic clothes at him from the wardrobe and forcing him out of his room. Meyer hurried after Damian, his shoes still untied. His legs were still slightly weak from the trance, but as he stepped outside into the sunny morning, he felt a rush of energy as he was met by the familiar thrill of games on a beautiful day.
On the rare days in Vanroc when there was no Martial Training, the boys had always gathered in the town square and other open areas to compete in different athletic competitions, and on the best of those days, they would organize large games of capture the flag.
As Meyer followed Damian towards the field, memories of hot afternoons running in the sun, and humid evenings, returning home at dusk, caked in dirt and sweat, filled his mind. He was surprised when Damian turned back to asked him if he had brought his Talisman.
"Around my neck," said Meyer who had taken to wearing it at all times. He was about to ask why he needed his Talisman, when they turned a corner around the main warehouse and a mass of Nahd and Delphi tempests came into view, running around shooting balls of colored light from their hand.
Meyer stopped mid stride. One group of tempests was shooting blue balls, while the other was shooting red, and as Meyer watched, he noticed a Delphi girl running from two pursuers who were shooting blue balls every few seconds from outstretched arms. Their spells flew haywire, and it looked like the fleeing girl would escape when suddenly one of the pursuers stopped running, and steadying his arm, shot a projectile of blue light. A moment later it collided with the fleeing Delphi, and the girl began to radiate blue light. She stopped running and the pursuers jogged over and escorted her to the corner of the field. Already the blue light around her had disappeared.
"Meyer, come on!" called Damian. He was several yards ahead, edging along the border of the field.
Meyer jogged to catch up with him. "So this is magical capture the flag?" he said.
Damian gave Meyer a puzzled look. "Yes, it involves magic... We just call it capture the flag."
"Where I'm from capture the flag is a game similar to this," said Meyer. "But with no magic. "
"Oh really," said Damian. "I didn't know they played capture the flag outside of the Dale. I thought it was something the tempests had invented."
Meyer shook his head. "If we have it in the Outlands, it probably exists everywhere, but man, this magical version looks amazing."
"Oh, wait till you see the Ajah versus Sarren game" said Damian. "We have freeze charms, and speed charms, and wall enchantments. It brings the game to a new level."
Meyer tried not to appear disappointed. "I guess it'll be a week or two before I can play, seeing as there are a whole bunch of spells I'll have to learn first."
"What do you mean," said Damian. "No one knows all the spells, or at least, if they do, they don't use them all in one game. There are specific positions for each player: two enchanters, two charmers, one spy, one healer, and one general. Everyone else is just a troopie. Usually you play with between eight and twenty troopies, and all they have to do is shoot those tagger spells that you saw the Nahd and Delphi using."
"So all I'll have to do is shoot those weird balls of light?" said Meyer.
"Yeah. It's really easy. The incantation to shoot a red tagger is Farzuras and to shoot a blue tagger its Tarzuras. You've mastered the basic light charm and the motion charm for moving a pebble, right?"
"More or less," said Meyer. "I still can't move the pebble exactly where I want, but I'm good with the light charm."
"Then you'll be fine. I've never seen anyone who can do a light charm and a basic motion charm have difficulty with a tagging spell. Besides, even if you have trouble aiming, you can always just run up to someone and cast the tagger point blank—can't miss that way."
They arrived at the other end of the Great Meadow where most of the Ajah aged boys were gathered along with a smattering of Ajah girls. Next to them was a large group of Sarren tempests. Everyone was dressed in light clothes instead of their usual more formal attire, and it took Meyer several moments before he spotted Ander and Cade. As he and Damian approached, Meyer saw that there was already light perspiration on both of his friends' brows, though Ander was a wearing a red bandana around his head that had absorbed some of the sweat.
"Glad you made it," said Ander. "I convinced Cade to come down to the fields with me after breakfast, and we've been warming up since then."
"Convinced," said Cade. "You practically forced me down here, and Meyer's the one who's going to need the warming up." He turned to Meyer. "Have you got the Farzuras charm down yet?"
"Haven't even tried it yet," said Meyer. "I only learned about magical capture the flag when Damian explained it to me on the way here."
"You're in for a good surprise," said Ander. "It's about three hundred times more fun than what we used to play in the Outlands. Also, us Ajah are on the red team. Eric just finished sorting it out with Zach, the Sarren captain."
Ander reached into his pocket and and pulled out a red bandanna, but in the process two others fell out, both of which were blue. "Either of you want a bandanna?" he said, holding out the red one.
"Are you serious," said Cade. "You brought red and blue bandanas."
"I didn't know which team we'd be on," said Ander. "I had to be prepared."
Cade shook his head. "Why don't you pick up those bandannas and give Meyer a chance to practice the Farzuras charm. I told you no one would want them."
"Only if you'll practice the motion-freeze charm with me while I'm on the run."
Cade rolled his eyes. "Sure," he said.
"Before you go, toss me that red bandana," said Meyer.
Ander happily flung the bandana over to Meyer.
"You really shouldn't encourage him," said Cade. "He already takes this game too seriously." He turned and trudged off after Ander.
"Want to try the Farzuras charm?" asked Damian.
Meyer nodded, and reaching for the Currents, he uttered the incantation. He felt the magical force rushing towards him, taking the shape of the Farzuras charm, and as the spell took its final form, Meyer found there was a certain familiarity in its signature. Still, it was a new spell and only with great effort did he manage to bend his magical sense to the shape of the spell. Even as the Currents began to channel through him, Meyer found their perfect flow distorting. With a final push, he managed to hold the spell together. A red sphere of light shot from his hand and collided with Damian, whose skin took on a fluorescent red aura for a half second before returning to its normal tone.
"Nice," said Damian, "Though you might have to work on it a bit more. The tagger is supposed to glow for at least three seconds after hitting someone."
Meyer nodded and cast the spell again. After a dozen more attempts, he was shooting red balls of light that upon impact exploded into luminous shields around their target, lasting for at least five seconds. He still hadn't managed to cast the spell without slightly perverting its shape, but it was channeling through him easily enough.
"Tired of looking like a glowstone?"
"Oh, I didn't mind," said Damian, who had been acting as a target while Meyer practiced. "Also, you might want to try some long distance taggers. A skillful shot requires an odd combination between pointing with your arm, and casting the spell with the correct intentional variation. It's a real art."
"I'll figure it out as I go," said Meyer, whose magical sense was feeling hazy after casting the same spell so many times in such a short period of time. "Why don't we just review the rules again."
Damian obliged, diving into a thorough if not long-winded explanation of capture the flag as played by the tempests of Eldrin's Dale. Meyer soon learned that besides tagging other players by shooting them with a Farzuras or Tarzuras charm, the basic rules were all the same as the capture the flag he knew. The playing field was divided into two territories, and the object was to capture the opposing team's flag and bring it back to your team's territory without getting tagged. If a player was tagged, he went to a designated jail area in the opposing team's territory and had to be freed by one of his teammates.
In addition, non-troopie players provided a vast array of magical embellishments to the game, according to their position. The enchanters defended the flag by casting enchantments such as earth defense barriers and molasses patches around their team's territory. Charmers enhanced the abilities of the players on their team by casting shield charms and speed charms, while hindering the ability of players on the opposing team by casting freeze charms and anti-tagger charms. The healer's job was to undo the damage done by the enemy team's charms, and the general had a combination of all the other special positions' powers. The only non-magical position was the spy, who couldn't capture the flag, but if captured could free prisoners for his or her team.
Once Damian finished explaining the roles and abilities of the special positions, he started to explain their common tactical usage. At first Meyer listened as Damian explained how it was critical to provide diversion at the start of the game so the enchanters would have time to set up defenses, but soon Meyer became lost in the abstract strategies and stopped paying attention.
The groups of Sarren and Ajah tempests had mostly dispersed, gravitating toward the two ends of the pitch according to class, and only a few tempests remained in the middle of field. Meyer spotted Cade and Ander among them, but as he watched Cade chase Ander in circles around the other tempests, he was unsure if they were practicing or fighting. Turning his gaze to the near side of the pitch, Meyer saw Jaeda standing with a few other girls.
Just then Eric's voice, magically amplified, echoed across the field. "The game will start in one minute," he said. "Everyone to their sides."
"And here we go," said Damian jumping up and down a few times. "Follow me."
Most of the Ajah players were already lined up, and Meyer and Damian jogged past them, making their way to the end of the line where Ander and Cade had taken their places. As they ran, Meyer was surprised to hear someone call out at him.
"Nice bandanna! Way to embrace the team spirit!"
Meyer turned in time to see that it was Jaeda who had spoken. "Thanks," he said instinctively over his shoulder.
Taking his place at the end of the line, Meyer noticed his pulse beating a little faster than it should have after such a light run. Jaeda had said something to him, he thought to himself. She had said something.
"Hey, Meyer," said Ander. "Did you hear that Eric decided to put Fedge as charmer instead of me. He's such a prick."
"Oh," said Meyer, not entirely focused on Ander. "Sorry."
"Everyone knows I'm better than Fedge," said Ander. "Stupid favoritism."
"I told you that you could be charmer instead of me if you want," said Cade.
"No, you deserve the position," said Ander. "I just can't believe Eric is really playing that thick headed tree-stump as charmer."
Cade looked as though to respond, but then there was a loud crack, and a blue and red light shot into the air from the middle of the pitch. Immediately Cade, Ander and Damian shot off towards the far left border between the Sarren and Ajah territory, and Meyer bolted after them, feeling very unprepared. On his right he could see other Ajah players swarming forward, and one boy kneeling on the ground shouting incantations.
"What are you doing?" shouted Meyer as he drew even with Damian.
"I told you a moment ago," said Damian. "Quick diversion into Sarren territory!"
Meyer chased after Damian and soon they crossed into their opponents' territory, with Sarren tempests chasing after them shooting taggers. Meyer saw a large Sarren boy sprinting across the field towards him, cutting off his angle with the sideline. He put his head down, trying to run even faster, but he knew he wouldn't be able to turn the corner in time. Just then he felt a jolt as his legs took his next six strides at an inhuman speed, and suddenly his pursuer was left in the dust.
He turned back to see Cade giving him a thumbs up. "Hope you liked the speed charm!"
Meyer returned the gesture and continued running. Glancing around the field, he saw that the flag was well defended, and the Sarren tempests who had made brief incursions into Ajah territory were now returning to their side of the field to tag Ajah tempests who had done the same. Seizing his chance, Meyer turned around, and angling himself for the center of the field, sprinted down an empty gap towards Ajah territory.
As he ran, he saw Damian to his left, dodging taggers from all directions; he had never seen someone so quick in his life. Reaching the safety of Ajah territory, Meyer paused to watch Damian, now being pursued by two Sarren tempests while another one came at him head on. Ducking the incoming tagger sent by the tempest in front of him, Damian hit the ground in a roll, and then came up on the other side of the Sarren tempest who had been in front of him, leaving all three of his pursuers in his rear.
"Did you have an acrobatic charm cast on you when you did that roll?" asked Meyer as Damian rejoined him in the safety of Ajah territory.
Damian laughed. "Just an advantages of being small!" He took off at a run. "Come on! The Sarren are attacking on the left side!"
Meyer took a second to catch his breath and then ran after Damian. For the next hour he chased after Sarren tempests in Ajah territory, took part in raids into Sarren territory, was tagged, freed from jail, and then tagged again. Like Damian had warned, he found that shooting accurate taggers spells was difficult, especially while on the run, but he made due by chasing opponents down and then tagging them from a yard or two away. Finally, the game ended when Zach, the Sarren team general sprinted back onto his side of the field with the Ajah flag.
Exhausted, Meyer made his way over to the barrels of ice water that dining hall servants had brought out during the game. After drinking what felt like a gallon of water, he walked off several paces and lay down. He was still lying on the ground when Damian came over.
"What are you doing?" said Damain.
"Slowly dying."
"What do you mean!" said Damian "We still have more games!"
With a groan of both joy and agony, Meyer pushed himself back to his feet and followed Damian back to the Ajah side of the field.
Indeed, the games continued all day, though the number of players slowly dwindled. At noon, the su-chef Ollie directed the dining hall servants in setting up a plentiful spread of fruit and sandwiches, which they replenished until the late afternoon. Soon many of the less competitive players had taken to lounging on the side of the field, enjoying the refreshments and watching the other tempests play. It was only when the picnickers all left, and Ollie announced the dining hall servants would be clearing away the food, that the games finally paused, and Meyer had a chance to eat. Even afterwards, the games continued long into the afternoon until the sun had sunk behind the trees surrounding the Dale. By the last game, there were only seven players on each mixed age group team, the Ajah versus Sarren format having long ago eroded in favor of creating balanced teams. Meyer was just starting to master the subtle adjustments he needed to make based on his speed, stability, and his target's location in order to cast an accurate tagger spell when the games were called for the day. Disappointed that the games were over, but tired to the bone, Meyer began a slow walk back to the dormitories with Ander, Cade and Damian.
"Did you see that freeze charm I cast against Zach in the second game?" said Ander. (After a pitiful first game performance by Fedge, Eric had named Ander as charmer, a position he kept for the rest of the day.)
"No, I missed it," said Damian. "But I did see when you cast the shield charm that helped Reed get the flag in the third game."
"And what about that wall the Sarren enchanters constructed in the second game," said Cade.
They continued rehashing the games all the way back to the dormitories, though Meyer mostly listened. He was pleased to hear that his friends all agreed that he had taken to the game with ease, but as they walked, Meyer's post-field-day, bone-aching bliss, evolved into a melancholy feeling. He had just experienced by far his best day in Eldrin's Dale, and perhaps even partaken in the most fun of his life, but in a perverse way, his high accentuated his low, and suddenly, Meyer longed for Vanroc in a way he hadn't since the early days of his capture. Looking at the smiling faces of his new friends beside him, Meyer fought against his emotions. Tomorrow would bring a new day.
Yet as Meyer lay in bed that night, sleep did not come. His thoughts kept on returning to Vanroc, and he couldn't ignore the aching pit in his stomach. He was about to get up and read from The First Hundred Spells when a piercing sound sent him lurching into a seated position. The noise was screeching and unpleasant, and reminded Meyer of the sound he had heard when entering his room at the Morning Star Inn.
No sooner had he brought his hands to his ears than the sound stopped. All was quiet, his room nothing more than a collection of black shapes representing his furniture. But then there was a flash of light, and where previously there had been blackness, glowing letters shown red, superimposed against the wall. They were a foot high and seemed to hang in the air.
You are not safe here. Trust no one.
Meyer read the sentence three times over, a chill running through his body. Then there was another flash, and the words were gone. The room was veiled in darkness. Meyer stood up and removed the curtain from his glowstone lamp, taking several deep breaths. It was probably just a prank—he would have to devise a plot to exact his revenge on Ander...
Yet as he re-covered the glowstone lamp and eased back into bed, the red letters kept invading his thoughts. He couldn't help but feel that what he had seen was not a practical joke, and increasingly, the other oddities he had experienced since arriving at Eldrin's Dale played through his mind: the strange ring, the list of tempests which indicated he was from Dagareth instead of Vanroc—the ideas floated around as he tossed and turned in his bed, and still the longing within him remained. He wanted to go home. The night blurred into an endless darkness, and finally his thoughts began to fade, his mind drifting into a semi-conscious state...
And then he was playing capture the flag, running towards the woods at the edge of the Dale... He entered into the trees, running ever faster, deeper into the forest... The Blackwood Forest... They divide perth from Ormark... And the Magician has been amassing his power in Ormark for years... The Magician... The Magician...
Meyer sat up with a start. He was sweating slightly, his sheets twisted up next to him. He had been dream—running through a mass of trees... but that was all he could remember. Meyer shook his head, and pulled his covers back around himself, at last falling into an uneasy sleep.