The destination could be seen on the horizon. They had only been traveling for a few days, but Theonis was practically bouncing at the idea of getting off the ship and exploring a new location. Especially where they were going next: The Academy of Magic.

At Dimileios’ request, Myrova had written to the academy to ask for their help. The data that Theonis had stolen from Aylmer was incomplete, and Dimileios believed that the seers at the academy would be able to help them narrow down their search parameters. Since then, Myrova had mostly stayed in her room, so Theonis hadn’t gotten to ask her any questions about what the academy was like. But he was very excited to find out firsthand.

Theonis was on deck with Adon and Ziniil when they arrived. There were actually two ports, one for the nearby town and a smaller one for the academy itself. Captain Markis had the ship brought to the latter. Even from afar, Theonis could see the influence of Miravan architecture. Many of the dark stone buildings had large glass windows of various colors and most of them had domed roofs.

Once the ship was anchored and the gangplank lowered, several figures in colored robes made their way on the ship. Theonis stood close enough to see that they all had the same rainbow irises that Myrova had. The mages approached Dimileios and Myrova, herself wearing a blue robe that Theonis had never seen before, and after some quiet discussion they all retreated into the captain’s quarters.

“Spooky,” Adon said.

Kosgoris probably had some work for him to do, but Theonis waited. It was nearly an hour before the mages emerged with Dimileios, who escorted them to the gangplank. Once they were gone, Myrova slipped out of the captain’s quarters and started making her way toward the stairs.

“Myrova!” Theonis cried, running up to her. “How’d it…?”

She was a little pale, and wouldn’t look at him directly when she replied, “It went fine. We’re going to talk to the seers tomorrow.”

“That’s great. Actually, I was hoping that you’d take some time to explain to me more about what being a mage is like?”

“Not right now, Theonis.”

“…That’s okay. Is everything alright?”

“Just bad memories. I need to lie down.”

He placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,” Theonis said softly, “if you need time to yourself, I’m sure that Dimileios will be able to talk to the seers without you. You shouldn’t be going through this if it hurts you to do so.”

Myrova smiled weakly and replied, “Unfortunately, he’s going to need me to act as a liaison. There’s no way around it.”

“Well, I’m here if you need support.”

“…Thank you.” She placed a hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I really appreciate that.”

A small smile flickered on her lips as she finally met his eyes.

He asked, “Why don’t we get dinner tonight? You look like you could use a good meal and some laughter to forget your troubles. We’ll get everyone together and I’ll ask the cook to prepare something special.”

“I really appreciate the gesture,” Myrova replied softly. “You’re really sweet. I’m glad to have you as a…” She turned away. “As a friend. But maybe we should put off having a big meal until we’re done here. I’m just going to be too stressed to enjoy it.”

“If that’s what you want.”

She nodded, saying, “Thank you.”

As she began down the steps, Theonis folded his arms. Something was really bothering her. And for some reason, she wasn’t willing to tell him what.

The next day, Myrova and Dimileios took the stolen information and prepared to head into the academy. Polithea waited with Theonis above deck for them. When the two emerged, Myrova looked remarkably pale. Theonis and Polithea approached her.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

“Don’t worry about me,” Myrova replied coolly, not looking directly at him. “I’ll be fine.”

Theonis exchanged a glance with Polithea, who told Myrova, “You’re going to do great.”

“The sooner we get started, the sooner it’ll be over.”

“I could come with you,” Theonis offered.

But Myrova shook her head, insisting, “This is something that you can’t help with. I have to face it alone.”

“We need to go,” Dimileios said quietly.

Myrova nodded solemnly and shared a quick hug with Polithea. She gave Theonis a long look as she followed Dimileios to the gangplank. Theonis gave her a little wave, which she returned. Once they were out of sight, Polithea led the way back below deck and toward the canteen.

“Has she always been this anxious about the academy?” Theonis asked.

“Always,” Polithea replied. “She’s quiet about her past for a reason. It makes her very uncomfortable.”

“So she’s never talked about it to anyone?”

“No… She’s told me a few specific details. But before you ask, I promised not to repeat them without permission.”

Theonis nodded, replying, “That makes sense; you’ve been friends for a while. I kind of wish she shared more about herself with me.”

“Have patience,” Polithea told him, opening the door to the canteen. “She’ll come to see you as someone she can trust.”

They each grabbed a plate of breakfast and sat down at their own table.

Polithea continued, “So tell me about your own past, Theonis. I feel like I don’t know you as well as I want.”

“What do you need to know? I’m the pirate boy, remember?”

“Boy,” Polithea repeated.

“Hmm?”

“It’s nothing. I’ve heard rumors, but I want to know your version of events.”

Theonis shrugged, pushing his food around the plate with his fork.

“I guess I understand Myrova a little better now,” he muttered, “because I don’t really want to go into details either.”

“That bad, huh?”

“It’s just… fresh wounds.”

Polithea put down her fork and began, “I haven’t had the easiest life, either. Try being one of the only black girls in your community. Even a local name didn’t help me fit in that much. But that’s not really relevant.  I was always a dreamer, though. I had big plans of leaving the town and seeing the world while everyone else just wanted to inherit their family businesses and get married off. They made fun of me a lot for not being realistic. I didn’t get exactly what I wanted, but you know what? I’m happier here than I was before.”

“That’s awful,” Theonis said. “I never really had dreams of adventure before leaving home. I just… I was so unhappy there, but my island was so disconnected from the rest of the world that I’m never going to feel like I fit in anywhere else. I’m never going to belong.”

There was a pause, then Polithea raised her tankard.

“To not fitting in,” she said.

Theonis gave a wry grin and toasted to their shared feelings.

The two of them separated after breakfast. Theonis headed down to the cargo hold where Kosgoris was working. He probably needed help with the supplies or taking care of the animals.

“Actually,” Kosgoris said when Theonis arrived, “I can take care of the animals today. There’s not much to do right now. And I’m sure that you want to take some time to explore the academy a bit.”

“If you’re sure,” Theonis replied.

“I am. Enjoy yourself a little; you deserve some time off.”

There was a lot of green space around the academy, with scattered trees, bushes, and flowers; some were clearly out of season, but the winter flowers were in bloom. A few of the buildings were clearly older than others, with cracked marble facades and tall pillars; authentic Ancient Miravian buildings, Theonis assumed. The rest of the Academy consisted of buildings all clearly built at roughly the same time, in the same architectural style. The most notable feature, though, was a large tower at one end of the academy. A massive clock that told both the time and position of the celestial bodies faced out over the rest of the academy.

Theonis felt really out of place here. This was so foreign to him. And yet people made lives for themselves in this place. Mages were able to find their sense of purpose here.

Sitting at a stone table in one of the green spaces was a group of mages. Some looked younger than Theonis, a few looked older. They were all wearing robes in various colors, but Theonis could see some of them wearing uniforms underneath. He got closer to try to and listen in to their conversation, but it was clear that they had already spotted him.

“Hey there,” one of the girls said, gesturing for him to come over.

Theonis gulped and walked up. There were about seven mages in the group. Some of them looked bemused, others curious, but they were all looking at him.

“H-Hello,” he mumbled, not looking any of them in the eye.

“Where did you come from?” one boy asked.

“Um… my ship is down at the docks. We’re here to get some help from the seers who live here. Can… all of you really do magic?”

“That we can,” an older girl said, opening her hand and letting a spark dance between her fingers.

Theonis took a sharp breath as his eyes went wide. A few of the mages at the table chuckled.

“She’s cute,” a girl said, causing Theonis to blush.

“Hey, um…” He resisted the urge to grab at the pendant beneath his shirt. “Can I ask you all some things about magical items?” There was a small murmur of agreement from around the table. “How are they made?”

An older boy replied, “It’s complex. You need a suitable material to bind the magic to, usually fine metals, occasionally stone or bone. The enchantment is placed through something called arcanographs, which are made by molding the magical energy into a particular shape and holding it there. Most mages can do it, but it takes a lot of skill.”

“But there are some magical items that are mass produced, right?”

A girl answered, “I suppose any magical item can be, but only a few ever are.”

“Speaking of enchanting,” one of the younger boys said, standing up, “we have that lecture to get to.”

There were a few murmurs around the table as the others began standing up as well. Theonis took a few steps back and turned away.

“Hold on.” One girl was reaching into a pocket on her robe. “You’re awfully cute. I want to give you something I think you’ll like.” She pulled out a small marble rabbit between her fingers and placed it in Theonis’ hands. “It was an early enchanting project. I never had the heart to get rid of it. Leave it in the sun and it will glow in the dark.”

“Oh, wow, thank you,” Theonis said, cupping the small rabbit in his hands.

“It’s a cute girl, just like you,” the girl replied before turning to follow her fellow mages.

A cute girl. Theonis didn’t have the heart to correct her. He sat down at the table and started turning the trinket over in his hands. Before long, though, a shadow fell over him.

“Hello, there.”

Theonis looked up. An older woman in an ornate red robe was standing over him, studying him closely. Her irises were made up of shifting rainbow colors and seemed to glow with energy.

“Hello,” he replied, slipping the rabbit into his pocket.

“Are you enjoying your time at my academy?” the woman asked.

“Your academy?”

“I am the archmage,” she replied, folding her arms behind her back. “I run this institution.”

“Oh… You must be pretty powerful, then.”

“I’ve been called the most skilled mage of my generation, yes.”

She flashed him a small smile. Theonis resisted the urge to grab onto his pendant. She couldn’t sense it, could she? What would happen if the archmage discovered he had stolen a magical relic?

“You’re fond of magic, aren’t you?” she asked.

“It’s amazing,” Theonis agreed. “I wish I could do it.”

“Many people do. But we only take a select few here at the academy. And magic sadly isn’t something that can be learned as an adult.”

“Why is that?”

Ignoring the question, the archmage asked, “What kind of magic do you like the most?”

“Um…” Theonis thought it over. “I’ve only seen a little bit. Being able to control energy is really cool. Communicating through thoughts is very useful. I think the one I really want to see more of, though, is illusion magic.”

“Violet magic,” she replied, nodding sagely. “You know, a person’s favorite kind of magic says a lot about them.” Without giving Theonis time to respond, she continued, “You’re from the Polaia, correct?”

“I am.”

“Then you know Miss Athissis? Myrova, I assume you call her.”

“We’re friends, yes.”

“Well, I hope that she’s found somewhere that makes her happy. As for me, I unfortunately have a busy schedule to attend to. Please, though, enjoy your stay.”

She walked off, and Theonis breathed a little easier. It seemed like she couldn’t tell that he was carrying the pendant after all. Still, it was probably better not to risk being caught with it. He made his way back to the docks and onto the Polaia quickly.

On his way to the canteen, Theonis stopped at his bedroom. He opened the drawer to his bedside table and placed the little marble rabbit inside, right next to the little compass he’d bought. He had a collection now. Smiling to himself, Theonis closed the drawer and headed off to get something to eat.

Satiria found him as he was finishing his meal.

“Theonis, can we talk?”

“Yeah, sure. Right now?”

“After lunch, in private.”

“Oh, alright.”

She was clearly bothered by something. It seemed like everybody was having a bad day of some kind. Theonis finished his meal quickly and followed Satiria out of the canteen. They made their way to the meeting room and sat down at the table.

“What’s going on?” Theonis asked. “Is everything okay?”

“There’s no big pressing concern, if that’s what you’re worried about. But we do need to talk about something. Honestly, I’m still upset that you stole those notes from that man. It was wrong and you shouldn’t have done that. But that’s in the past. What’s really bothering me is the way that you sought to defend him at first.”

“That was a few days ago, Satiria.”

“And I’ve tried to brush it off as nothing,” she replied. “But I keep coming back to it. Theonis, you know that he’s our enemy, right?”

“Why does he have to be our enemy?” Theonis asked. “He’s just an adventurer.”

“But he’s in the wrong. That man—”

“Aylmer.”

“Aylmer. He travels the world and steals from other cultures, taking the things he finds away from the people who live there, to whom his finds actually belong.”

Theonis shrugged, then asked, “Is that really so wrong? Why is it so different from what we do?”

“Theonis, we’re working to uncover our own heritage. We don’t go out into the world to rob the graves of other ancient civilizations. Everything we do, what the capital commissions us to do, is all about returning pieces of a culture—that was lost when Miravia conquered the islands—to their rightful descendants.”

“Sure, I guess that’s why you do it, but I’m only here because I love adventure and want to stay with all of you.”

“You don’t care who benefits from our work?”

“It just doesn’t really matter to me. It’s way out of my hands anyway.”

Satiria clenched her fists on the table and sat back. She took a deep breath, then released it slowly and closed her eyes. It seemed like the support Kosgoris had been giving her was helping.

“I think I know your problem, Theonis,” she finally said, opening her eyes. “You don’t have a sense of cultural identity. You were so isolated growing up that you don’t feel any connection to Pelakevi at all. That’s something that the rest of us all have, and it drives us to want to help our countrymen.”

Theonis thought it over, then nodded.

“You’re right,” he said. “I feel like a foreigner. This world is so much bigger than the one I’ve always known and I feel completely lost. But I don’t see how that makes me wrong about Aylmer.”

Satiria shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “We won’t be seeing any more of him, anyway. But I’m very disappointed in you, Theonis.”

Stung, Theonis replied, “Well, that’s familiar, at least. So that’s one thing that helps me feel like I belong.”

He stood up and walked to the door. Satiria didn’t make a move to stop him, nor did she try to apologize. Theonis closed the door behind him, biting back tears.

“Theonis?” He turned to face Polithea, who asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Just a disagreement,” he said, sniffling. “I’ll be fine.”

“Well, I’ve got some time to myself at the moment, if you want to hang out and forget about it?”

Theonis smiled softly.

“I’d really like that,” he said. “Thank you.”