The second time through the portal was a little better, but not much as the cold seeped into his being. Luckily he was ready for it and so it was not so intrusive. When he emerged Raven was correct he found himself in his own room, the sunlight coming through his window told him it was still evening. "I made it, somehow."
In a trance like state, Kyroth put away his things, leaving the magic core and the Gale Saber's teeth on his desk. He spent a few minutes staring at the core before finding his way to the bath tub.
A hour of soaking in the hot water still was not enough to remove the coldness that had seeped through his body. The water had at least dampened the numbness that it had caused in him. True to Raven's words his body also began to feel the effects of what he had put it through in the past days.
As soon as he hit the bed he was out, the sleep was not as deep as he wished though. Several times he would wake up from a flash of a Scorpio or from the cold. Luckily it did not take him long at all to fall back asleep. The regular interruptions did hinder his ability to get good rest.
When Kyroth awoke, the light from his window was quite high. Scrabbling he fell out of bed, attempting to get up he found that his body was stiff and moderately unresponsive. Through sheer force of will, he got up and dressed.
Snatching up his map he scurried out the door tapping his foot as he rode the elevator. The first thing he tried to do was run all the way to class, but three strides in and he found it impossible. So Kyroth went at a slow speed walk, muttering about how foolish he was for being late to his first class back. His body was still cold, but not as bad as when he had fallen asleep.
Stopping in front of the door he let his pulse slow focusing on keeping his heaving lungs from bursting. A minute later he slowly opened the door and stood in. "So very sorry I am late." He winced prepared for a magical attack from Assera.
"Hmm, Raven send a letter saying you would probably not be joining us, something about two trips through his portal." Assera stated a amused smile on her face.
Kyroth just gaped at her, "I was unaware of any of this. I would rather participate." Moving towards his chair.
Glancing at the others he was surprised to find that most of them had changed, some more then others. Ia for instance was wearing her magical armor, it glowed a grey color. She looked at him, and did not seem to want to jump the table and kill him, progress he supposed.
Ash looked similar, minus the giant cloak that he wore. From what he could tell it was made out of black leather, a slit came down from the top of his back all the way to the ground making it into two pieces. It also came across his chest with what looked to be claws clasping it together.
Charvor had not changed, which was not a surprise. The typical look of disgust was on his face as he watched the interaction between me and Assera. "So if I am late I get kicked out, but if he is late it is fine, ugh." He muttered. No one even bothered with a response.
Nothing really special stood out about Nivora either, she had on her typical garb, and brilliant white belt that he had not seen before around her waist. She smiled, only slightly towards him as he sat into his chair. Wincing as he did so, he shifted a bit and looked over to see Syn.
The little girl was still small, but her demeanor was not nearly as timid. If he had to guess she probably was more confident in what she can do after a week of training. She was wearing only blue today, which was strange usually it was paired with another vibrant color.
A scar drew Kyroth's attention as his eyes fell on Isen. His sleeveless shirt must have covered most of it, but it came up towards his neck. It was not a deep scar like Ia's but it could be seen. Things must not have gone quite as well on his trip either. It was strange how all his teammates seemed different and here he was the same old Kyroth.
"Alright, now that our interruption is over lets continue. In the following weeks we will be working as a team more and more. We have a field trip scheduled, I was going to reschedule it but since Kyroth is here we can still go on it." Assera stated as she paced back and forth in front of the students.
"First though, I am going to teach you how to link your badges to your fellow teammates maps." Pausing in front of the classroom she smiled.
"I think I will pass on that one." Charvor stated. It was clear that he did not want anything to do with the rest of them. He was rarely even seen in the dorms.
Rolling her eyes Assera responded, "Well it is not a option." Scanning the room she eyed each of them. "Ia, please come up to the front and bring your map please."
Kyroth expected a glare from the woman, however she just nodded and got up walking to the front. As she moved he could tell that the armor was now head to toe instead of just the chest piece as before. It was beautiful armor, the way that the animal fur was interwoven to add flare but not get in the way of it.
Gritting at the pain he pulled mana into his eyes activating Augment and saw that she was absorbing mana at a constant rate even as she was moving. That was how she could wear it at all times. Kyroth was also shocked at how much more his augmented sight could see since the first time he had used it.
Now he could make out the general volume of mana in a person, as well as if the mana in the air was being pulled to them or not. Well, not everyone's. Assera still looked completely normal while he looked at her. Was it due to her strength or some other reason he was not sure.
"Alright, now this is a simple task, all you need to do is place your badge of the other map like so." She placed her badge on the map and it started glowing a soft red color. "Now all you have to do Ia is say, Bind and show yourself."
Taking a deep breath she let spoke softly but confidently. "Bind and show yourself." As the words were said mana was pulled from both and them and right before their eyes the little dot with Assera's name on it showed up.
"That simple. In order to remove yourself from someone's map you will have to do the same process just say Unbind and hide yourself." Leaning against her desk she looked out at them. This was her team, she hated that they were going to be held to such a high standard.
"Alright, let us get to it. I will check every map before we go on vacation so do not try anything sly. Charvor." She added at the end looking at him pointedly.
It was quite shocking to find that although it was a simple task it had taken over a hour to complete. Each of us had to bind to everyone else and that meant sometimes waiting on the others. It was also good to see all of us interacting even if it was a force interaction.
Once the group was done and back in their seats Assera cleared her throat. It was actually quite unnecessary as no one was really talking once it was done. Kyroth however was looking at the map and smiling, seeing all the little marks of his teammates in one group.
"We will break for a early lunch, be back here at the usual time and we will then go on our field trip." Assera stated as everyone started to get up. "Kyroth could you please wait?"
Confused and curious, he waited, watching the rest of them file out of the classroom. "Yes professor?"
"Raven told me about your ordeal. I just wanted to say that I am sorry about Zerif. We still have not heard from him, but I am sure he is fine. That man has gotten out of worse I suppose." She was rambling a little. Kyroth figured she was saying this not only for him but for herself as well.
Clearing her throat she smiled, "But is it true that you saw a Sylph?" Her eyes had cast off the sadness and was now in awe. He had never seen his teacher with this much excitement before and it was a nice aspect to her.
"Yes, she saved me from drowning and then bestowed some of her power to me." Kyroth answered not thinking it nearly as big a deal as everyone else.
Assera's jaw practically hit the ground. "Wow, I think you are the first to do that in at least a hundred years. We have found a few of the various Sylphs but none would ever dare give us some of their power."
"Well I am glad no one killed them for that refusal." Kyroth muttered remembering the words that Eva had told him. He could not imagine hunting something that could talk.
Chuckling she shook her head, "That is because powerful magic protects them if you attempt such a thing the attacker would die quite painfully. Even Raven as powerful as he is would not survive."
"She did mention that she was trapped there until something along the lines of when the eye closes forever." Kyroth stated.
Assera thought for a minute. "Yes, rumors of the prophecy are out there but none have been able to really figure it out. Eye could mean a lot of things, but it sounds like if things get real bad we might have extra help. Small comfort, but I do not wish to be alive when that day comes." Assera stated the excitement fading from her.
"When we get more time, I want to hear all about the experience please?"
"Of course, would be my honor." Kyroth stated finally getting to leave the classroom. His stomach growled violently as he walked to the cafeteria. He could not remember when he last ate, that probably was not good.
---
They all filed into the classroom once more, Kyroth had eaten alone, basically getting his food and finding the closest table to eat. The hunger and pain in his body had made the choice more then anything. By the time he had finished it was time to head back to class.
"Welcome back, one last thing before we head out. It is time to choose your leader." Assera announced as she pulled out pieces of paper and set them on the desks. "These are magical, when you write on them it shows up completely invisible unless you use one of these." Assera held up a monocle with a yellowish tint.
"So the rules, you cannot vote for yourself as that would be foolish. Think hard and pick who you think can lead this team the best." Placing them on each desk she walked over to the blackboard and started writing out each of their names in the order of the desks.
Kyroth had two choices in mind, Ash and Nivora. He could tell that both of them had been through quite a lot, making them grow up faster then they should. The downside was both of them tended to not want to work with others.
Isen and Ia were far to impulsive, they were warriors that was evident by how they held themselves. Syn was too young and lacked the confidence to fully take the job and excel, however she could proof very good at strategy with how smart she was. Charvor, well hell no to be honest.
Taking a deep breath he scrawled Nivora's name on the piece of paper and then slid it to the front of his desk to show that he was done. It did not take long for the rest of fill out there piece of paper.
Collecting them all she smiled, "Alright here we go!" Being the pain Assera is she scanned through them all first and shuffled them, most likely to make it extravagant.
"First we have, a blank one. I bet we can all guess who is being stubborn." Tossing it to the side she continued.
"Alright now here we go, first vote goes to ASH!. Next we have Kyroth. O look a three way tie for leadership with a vote for Nivora." Assera was enjoying this far to much, however Kyroth could not help but to grip the side of his desk. He had not even thought that there was a chance he would be leader. Nerves started to course through him.
"Alright TWO for Nivora, she has pulled ahead. Pulling the second to last piece of paper out she smiled and a second for Kyroth. With one last vote I wonder who it will be."
Glancing over he could tell that Ash was a little upset but he was looking at Nivora and Kyroth and nodded his head almost like he was okay with either of them winning. However Nivora glared over at him, not with the coldness he was used to but more just her competitive spirit.
"And the winner is, NIVORA!! Congratulations!" As the news sunk in Kyroth was actually a little hurt and sad. Nivora on the other hand was happy as she flung her hands up and cheered, she always wanted to be the best and now she was leader which was close to that.
"No one, not a single person voted for me are you serious." Charvor roared in a little temper tantrum.
"Why would we want a brat to lead us." Isen hissed as he glared at him with his arms crossed.
"Both of you shut it, it is time for our field trip let's go." Assera stated sweeping out of the doorway leaving them behind if they did not hurry.