Page 47 of The Sundered Realms

Liris’ hand shot up.

The lecturer glanced at her. “Do you have a question?”

“No. The pattern is a guide for Ceingpol floral arrangement.”

The hall went silent.

The lecturer blinked and looked over their shoulder. “Ah. So it is.”

The woman with the skimmer swore, and now Liris was the center of the whispers around her. Field operatives were rare, and an unknown student had just seized a coveted opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge from behind them without apparent effort.

That, she decided, was either a useful way or the worst way to start at school.

“What’s your name?” the lecturer asked.

“Liris.”

For the first time the omission of her home realm felt like its own statement.

The lecturer looked thoughtful, but the field caster was already turning toward the door. “I don’t care what your name is,” she said. “Get moving or I’ll leave you behind.”

Liris grabbed the blank pad of paper and pen in front of her and ran.

Liris did not get her own skimmer.

Instead she stood on the small board with her feet spread apart, behind the caster who’d finally deigned to introduce herself as Jiechit. This was not what skimmers were specced for, but after Liris explained she didn’t have any licenses yet because it was her first day, Jiechit wouldn’t show her how to fly it herself or show Liris the spells she cast to increase her muscles’ natural capacity to reach the realm of Thous faster.

Liris had to admit she didn’t yet understand enough to know how that might be done or what the risks were, but now she knew it was possible.

In theory, anything was possible. A heady revelation.

Almost as heady as the sensation of flying.

A thing she never could have done in Serenthuar.

Opening a whole new world to her, in more ways than one as they flew through realms.

She focused on keeping her balance, moving as Jiechit moved while the caster spelled furiously, her pad magically linked to the skimmer they stood on to direct it.

They flew through the forest, zig-zagging between the trees. Over water. Through a Gate, even—Liris did tumble off the skimmer then, much to her embarrassment. Jiechit hadn’t looked particularly disgruntled though, merely frowning at her thoughtfully.

Liris hoped that meant she was proving to be less of a hindrance than Jiechit had initially anticipated, but she could do better than that.

This was a chance to demonstrate that she could be more than a hanger-on to Vhannor; she could be an asset in her own right. No: she was.

So once she was confident she could keep her balance on the skimmer without all her focus, Liris spent the rest of the trip explaining in detail how Ceingpol floral arrangement worked, answering every sharp question Jiechit thought of, and then keeping quiet while she worked out in her head what that meant for dispelling.

Liris hadn’t seen the whole pattern yet, but the spells they’d been deployed to deal with were situated near the Gate to Thous. Jiechit stopped suddenly, but Liris kept her balance.

Until she saw what was behind the Gate.

Sand below like some places in Serenthuar, but leading to water, more water than Liris had seen in one place in her life. Like she could walk away from the sand forever and never reach the end of it all—until she hit the edge of the realm.

A sea.

Jiechit didn’t wait for Liris to pick herself back up.

“Ceingpol floral arrangement,” Jiechit barked, striding forward with the skimmer as Liris scrambled after her.

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