The Chronicles of Krarshe: The Hearts of Men, Volume 1

“Okay, now for this next one...” Professor Landry said, marking his book with his quill. He sat in the back of the training area, behind a wooden barricade he had his students erect following their first experiment session. The wood was heavy and thick, and had clay plastered on the front of it to inhibit any stray bolts of lightning that happened to come his way, though it was beginning to wear and crack under the constant barrage of the last half-cycle since the experiments had begun. “Looks like the last element is fire. Can you recite this? Ingriru, hias dzam do’e, se me hinoras. Mem krandza hindoo sem te, dun hias. Aim it toward the sky like you have been.”

Krarshe stood in the middle of the training area. The space was a mess, with shattered stone strewn about the room. Krarshe was covered in the dust from the impacts, so much so that you couldn’t tell his hair was blond. He waved his hand in front of his face, trying to clear the dust, and sucked in a breath of dusty air and recited the spell, while raising his hand straight up over his head. As the spell finished, a large column of fire burst forth from his hand into the sky, well above the stone walls of the enclosure. As with every other spell he had cast that morning, and in the past thirty days since the start of these experiments, electricity accompanied the spell, spilling out from his palm and striking the ground and walls around him. After a couple seconds, he ended the spell and the flame died out.

“Hmm... I see, I see,” said the old teacher, scribbling a few more notes in his book. “Not only were both elements there again, but the volume of the spell was beyond expectation as well.”

“Was it? What spell was it?” Krarshe asked. He had an idea already, but figured he’d ask.

“A simple flame spell. Like this.” Landry stuck his hand out from behind his barricade and recited the spell. A small flame, small enough to fit into his palm, came forth. “It’s typically used as an alternative to flint to start a fire, or light a lamp. So yes, I’d say the volume of your spell was irregular.” Landry closed his hand, extinguishing the flame, and slowly stepped out from the barricade. “How are you feeling this time?”

“Fine.”

“Hmm. No signs of fatigue again...” Landry scribbled something else into his book.

Krarshe sat there, dusting himself off. The sheer amount of debris that shook free from his hair depressed him. He knew he’d be cleaning it out for at least a quarter-cycle. Looking at the professor, he noticed some dust had snuck under the barricade where he was sitting, and the ends of his long mustache must have been in the blast zone; the tips of his exceedingly long mustache were covered in dust like his shoes.

“It appears to almost be time for lunch break to end, so we’ll need to make room for the junior class.” Landry stopped and looked around the room. ‘Chaos’ wouldn’t have done justice to the mess Krarshe made. “Actually,” he paused, bringing his hand to his mouth pensively, “I don’t know why I didn’t have you try this first. You must exhaust all possibilities, not just focus on irregularities.” He turned and hurried behind the barricade again, as quick as his old body would carry him.

Krarshe stared at the barricade hiding the teacher for a moment. I figured cleaning up a bit would have been the logical next step, but okay, Krarshe thought, kicking a few pieces of stone to the side of the room.

“Try this spell!” Landry called from his hiding spot. ”Se Esfiru hinoras, suesoo shu zeraus dzam mea’anom. Grunda sem te, mem krandza zonya, sem tsaru mrom, dun zerais."

Krarshe raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged and raised his hand. ”Se Esfiru hinoras, suesoo shu zeraus dzam mea’anom. Grunda sem te, mem krandza zonya, sem tsaru mrom, dun zerais!"

A bolt of lightning came from his palm the instant his spell finished, streaking into the blue sky. Krarshe stared at the sky in wonder. The spell wasn’t particularly interesting itself, a simple bolt of lightning. But that wasn’t the important part. It was that there were no stray bolts. A singular bolt, clean of any distortions.

“Aha!” Landry cried out, jumping out from behind his wood and clay barricade, betraying his feeble behavior to this point. “That was exactly right! Fool I was for not trying it first! But... Oh, the conjectures that stem from this discovery!” The elderly man hopped around excitedly, no sign of the fragile old mage Krarshe knew.

Krarshe was equally excited. Maybe not as outwardly excited as Landry was, dancing around like a maniac, but this was reassuring. He decided it best to just stay silent and watch the professor have his moment of jubilation. He then heard some murmuring coming from the heavy door. “Umm, Professor. I think the junior class-”

“One more!” Landry interrupted. “Just once more. I need to see this with more mana put into it, see if that affects the outcome. With that, we’ll be able to call it a day.”

Krarshe sighed. He didn’t really want to risk showing these experiments to his classmates, especially with how they had reacted to any of his prior spells. He knew how much mana he was letting slip out, and there was no way to know what would happen if he released more. Scaring his classmates more seemed the worst possible route. Though, could they really be considered classmates if he’ll never be in class that much going forward? He assumed the position again.

“Professor Landry, it’s time for my class-” Owyn said, entering the room. “What happened in here?!”

“Shh! Watch this!” Landry said, hushing Owyn. He wasn’t behind his barricade anymore. He, Owyn, and several students stood by the door, watching Krarshe.

Great, now I have an audience.

Krarshe recited the spell again, feeling the mana circulating through his body, coursing down his extended arm. Only a bit more mana. I don’t want to risk anything, he thought. As he finished the spell, an enormous bolt of lighting exploded from his hand, the clap of thunder shook the training room with enough force to knock over the armor stands. The force of the spell almost buckled his knees. Krarshe could feel the lingering static of electricity around his arm afterwards, along with some slight numbness.

“See? See? Aha! This is glorious!” Landry shouted excitedly.

Krarshe turned to see Landry hopping around again. More funny, however, was the look on Owyn’s and the other students’ faces: pure astonishment. And their hair. Their hair stood at attention, charged with electricity. Krarshe just stood there before his stunned class, in the center of the broken and damaged room, smiling nervously.

Krarshe sat behind the store counter, tapping his fingers rhythmically. Landry had dismissed Krarshe that afternoon as he danced off with his research data. Owyn didn’t say anything as Krarshe had walked past, still staring up at the sky. His eyebrows had been even more disheveled with the static electricity that was filling the air. Apparently Armand had been one of the ones watching. Like Owyn, he was gawking at the sky, his hair on end. Actually, all of the students who had witnessed it had pretty much the same response. Or lack thereof. It wasn’t until he got through the door that he encountered something different. While some looked frightened after the building shook, and others astonished as they watched Krarshe, all of them were whispering to each other. Tibault and Bri, however, didn’t say anything as he walked past. Both just looked at him nervously.

That’s what bothered him the most. Not the class’ reaction to him, but the reactions of the two he considered his friends. They had been astonished by his spells before, and that was perfectly reasonable. But this time was different. They actually seemed frightened. The silence as he walked past, the lack of reaction when he smiled at them. It all gnawed at him. Maybe he should have spoken first. Maybe he should have said something, anything, so he could understand what they were thinking. Maybe he should have done a lot of things, but it was all moot now. After fretting over it for a couple hours, he was more nervous than he was at the time, and knew that breaching the subject would be next to impossible. His stomach was in knots thinking about it. Now, being largely alone in the store with nothing but his swirling thoughts to entertain him, it made the whole situation worse and the knots tighten.

It was almost the end of the day, and there hadn’t been a single customer the whole time. The senior student in charge spent most of his time in the back room doing who-knows-what. Despite his uneasiness, his stomach growled ferociously. Since he was delayed because of Professor Landry, he wasn’t allowed to get food before going to the store.

I’m not even technically supposed to be here. And there’s another student. I don’t understand why I couldn’t quickly get something to eat, Krarshe thought, still gripping his stomach. The alternating feeling of knots and hunger were making him nauseous.

The click and creak of the door opening pulled Krarshe’s attention away from his stomach. He immediately recognized the customer as the blonde elf woman from the day before. As her eyes met his, she addressed him.

“Good afternoon, I’ve returned to make a purchase.” Her voice was soothing, but harbored a hidden confidence to it that was almost unnoticeable.

“A customer?” the senior student asked, immediately poking his head out from the back room. When he saw the elegant customer, the chubby student plodded his way out to the store floor, nearly pushing Krarshe out of the way. He brushed his hair back with his hand and cleared his throat. “How my I help you?”

Real smooth... Krarshe thought, rolling his eyes. Isn’t she a bit old for you, kid? He wasn’t sure how old she was, as judging an elf’s age was difficult even for those with a better eye for age than he was, but he would have guessed her to be a couple hundred years old. Her youthful appearance was misleading, but the mature way she held herself was indicative of someone with ample life experience.

“Actually, it is for my daughter,” the lady said. She stepped aside and guided a girl in.

Krarshe froze as his heart skipped a beat. The daughter was stunningly beautiful. She couldn’t have been much older than Krarshe, judging by her appearance in the short, red summer dress she wore. Her long, straight blonde hair hung down just past her shoulders, a single braid traced the right side of her face. The features of her face were delicate and fair, her pale skin shone radiantly, the perfect combination with her shining golden hair. She stepped into the store elegantly, her green, glistening eyes surveying the room as she entered.

The senior student appeared just as enamored as Krarshe was, as he began stuttering. Krarshe could see him begin to sweat as he tried to say something. The mother stood there watching the perspiring young man for a moment, creases in her forehead showing her concern. She turned to Krarshe, who still held a strong facade, and called to him. “Perhaps you could help us?”

It took him a moment for it to register what she had asked before Krarshe snapped out of this enthrallment. “Y-yes, of course!” he said, stumbling around the counter, knocking a book off the edge of it. He clumsily picked it up and put it back on the counter and ran over to them. As he approached, he caught the eye of the young elf girl, who promptly turned her attention to the shelf of goods next to her, tucking the braid behind her ear.

“I-I-I’ve g-g-got this!” the senior student stuttered, but the customer and her daughter had already left him behind. He was left there, standing dejectedly. It was a sad sight to see, but Krarshe’s focus was elsewhere.

“What can I do for you both?” Krarshe asked, mustering all of his fortitude to not overtly stare at the daughter. His eyes weren’t in complete control as he continued to shoot quick glances at her.

“I’m looking for a staff for my daughter. Preferably one that is durable, and has no spells affixed to it.”

Krarshe turned to look at the daughter fully. She almost seemed to be hiding behind her mother, not wanting to look at Krarshe directly. He caught her eyes doing as his had done just a moment ago, flicking from him to random points in the room. Krarshe felt a twinge of tightness in his chest again.

That’s when the realization struck him: he still didn’t really know what was in the store. How would he know what kind of staff they were looking for? They all looked like sticks to him. He began to panic as he looked around the room at the shelves.

He looked at the daughter again. As before, she averted her gaze. He breathed deeply, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of this cute girl.

“Hmm... You appear to be a discerning customer,” Krarshe mused, as he looked at the mother. His merchant’s knowledge told him that she probably knew far more than he did on this matter, remembering how she had looked around the store the day before. “The staves are this way.”

He guided the two over to the side wall where the staves were leaning. He hoped that his judgment wasn’t wrong. “Is she training to be a mage?” he prodded, hoping for more information.

“Yes. She’s just beginning her training.”

“Oh? That’s wonderful! Who will she be training under?” Krarshe didn’t actually know of any mages other than his teachers, so he wouldn’t know who they were even if she was to mention someone well-known. He hoped it wouldn’t matter.

“I will be in charge of her training,” said the mother, smiling slightly. “I wouldn’t dream of leaving something this important to anyone else.”

Krarshe stopped and looked at her. She just smiled back at him and continued past him toward the staves. She’s a mage? And she teaches?? The daughter walked past him and he made brief eye contact. Her green eyes held his for only a moment before she looked away and hurried past him to where her mother was inspecting a staff. Krarshe could only stand there and look at them. I wonder how skilled she is.

“If you need anything else, please let me know,” Krarshe finally said.

“Thank you very much, young man,” said the mother, looking up from the staff in her hands only long enough to nod a bow to him. Her daughter turned fully to Krarshe and nervously bowed to him. Krarshe could only watch as her hair flipped over her head in a deep bow, still reeling from her beauty. Once he snapped out of the trance again, he returned the bow.

Krarshe walked back to the counter, still sneaking glimpses of the young woman between the store shelves. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. This was a new experience for him. Could this be charm magic? he wondered. They could be looking for a better price.

When they looked like they had chosen one and made for the counter, Krarshe looked away, not wanting them to know he had been watching the whole time. He noticed the senior student still over by the door. He was looking at the floor, pacing a bit back and forth, muttering to himself.

“We’ll go with this one,” the mother said, placing a staff on the counter, seemingly identical to the rest to Krarshe’s untrained eye. The daughter was still half hiding behind her mother, sneaking glances at Krarshe.

“... How much will that be?” the mother asked.

Krarshe blushed, realizing he had probably been staring at the daughter while the mother was waiting for a response. He wasn’t even sure how long she had been standing there. “Umm... That... That’ll be one and a half gold roses,” he managed to say. Truthfully, not only was he embarrassed at his own misstep, but he had no idea what the staff cost. One and a half seemed reasonable to him, though probably significantly cheaper than it really was according to the school.

“Oh my, so cheap?” the mother asked, fishing out a coin purse. “I would have guessed it would be nearly ten.”

Are they that expensive?! If that were the case, this could be bad for him. That’s too big to be called a discount. He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, but the deed was done. He’d just have to deal with it later.

The elf woman placed the money on the counter. “I’ll have to visit this store again,” she said, tightening the drawstrings of the purse and tucking it away. “The prices are fantastic. And the service was perfect, not pushy at all. Right, Lycia?” She turned toward her daughter, exposing her from her hiding spot.

Lycia looked toward the floor and nodded slightly. Krarshe could have sworn he saw her face redden a bit. He felt his own face growing warmer.

“Well, we best be going then,” said the mother, smirking at her daughter. “Thank you again, young man.”

“R-right. You’re welcome.” Krarshe wasn’t sure how he managed to say that without stumbling too badly. Lycia bowed quickly again to Krarshe and hurried after her mother. Krarshe watched her golden hair swinging behind her as she tried to catch up.

“G-g-g-good e-e-evening!” stammered the senior student, who hurried to stand beside the door as they left. With his stuttering, they had left the store by the time he managed to get it all out.

Both the senior student and Krarshe watched Lycia as the two elven women walked through the gates and off the school grounds. That was the first time Krarshe experienced that feeling when he saw her. He wasn’t sure what to do about it, but he didn’t hate it. In fact, he secretly hoped they would come back again.