The weeks passed quicker now that Avakian had gotten relatively used to his new schedule. His lessons with Chiros had gone well, although he hadn't progressed as much as the swordsman would have liked him to. It was clear from their lessons that he was no natural-born warrior.

He held much more enjoyment for the erebology lessons; it had gotten to the point where most of his dreams were filled with the non-euclidean shapes. Avakian had taken to sleeping with a notepad by his bed, and would furiously scribble his half-dreamt ideas in it every morning.

He had also taken a particular liking to the cantrips class. Ellian might've called it 'poor man's wizardry', but casting spells with nothing more than your body had a certain romanticism. He had learned a simple flame spell, a light spell, a sharpening spell, and a very basic digging spell in case he was trapped somewhere without tools.

Avakian also spent a single day of the week practising with the two revolvers he purchased. He hadn't gotten much better with them, and after a few weeks had become convinced they were broken.

Josef of course had arrived to shatter his dignity, very nearly hitting a bullseye from several dozen paces on his first try with the thing.

He still attended his wilderness survival classes, although he stayed well clear of the forest where they encountered the Void critter.

---

Avakian woke. Today was his last day in the city, tomorrow he would begin his journey, a journey that would last the rest of his life. How long that would be, he didn't know.

For once his dreams weren't filled with glyphs and spells, but monsters and demons. Tall elves and imps, bandits that lacked personal hygiene, winged harpies and inhuman monstrosities, cackling villains and dashing heroes. He had an inkling that reality would be different, but he let himself have his fantasies.

Entering the dojo's kitchenette he was surprised to find Chiros there eating, and not in the hall.

"No training today? Thought you were too Spartan to take breaks." Avakian remarked.

"Nah. Big day tomorrow, it'll take weeks until we get into any trouble, but taking a rest day before a trial is symbolic." Chiros explained between bites of cereal. "By the way; what's a Spartan?"

Avakian thought.

"I don't really know. I have told you I was born with language, right? By my reckoning I can speak several dozen tongues."

Chiros nodded.

"Sometimes I use words that are archaic or outdated. I think my vocabulary was implanted in me artificially." He explained. "Spartan means ascetic or tough, I think."

"Heh. Spartan! I like it!" Chiros chuckled.

The rest of Avakian's morning was spent in relaxation. He was laying down in his bedroom, flicking through the pages of his most recent novella.

One of the minor 'superpowers' Avakian had discovered in his weeks at the academy was the ability to read almost as fast as he wanted. If he really strained his mind, he could read a single page in less than a second, devouring a book in minutes. Most of the time he preferred to pace himself though, as reading too fast left him in an inoperable daze.

In an hour or so he would be attending his last glyphcrafting class. Today was the day he would be saying goodbye to Samuel and Ellian. He hadn't been there long from their perspectives, but from his they were lifelong friends. The old eccentric wizard had served as a mentor role for him, coaching him through a spell or rune many a time.

Ellian especially, he had built a strong rapport with. He had discovered she wasn't especially popular at the academy, a result of her biting personality and refusal to 'associate with imbeciles' as she put it. They had found a mutual respect for one another, Ellian for her creativity and encyclopaedic knowledge of glyphs, and Avakian for his incredible acuity and occasional spouts of innovation.

He strolled into the department and down the familiar steps. He opened the classroom door to find the duo seated at a round table drinking coffee.

"Sup impecile." Ellian insulted him almost instantly.

"Impecile?" He asked, sitting down with them. "I thought it was imbecile?"

"Nah, you're short and dumb, so it's imp-ecile." She snickered.

"Ellian." Samuel chided. "Be nice to Avakian, you're going to be spending a lot of time with him and Chiros, remember."

The black-haired witch looked incredibly awkward at that, whilst Avakian was simply confused.

"I.. Uhhh.. Haven't actually asked if I could join them yet." She confessed.

"Really Ellian? You've had weeks to ask. Why have you waited until the last possible moment?" Samuel asked incredulously.

"I really don't like Chiros, Kamatie scares the piss out of me, and asking Avakian for permission is beneath me." Ellian whinged.

Avakian hoped she was joking.

"I know Chiros pretty well, I'm pretty sure he'll have no problem with you coming." Avakian insisted. "It'll just be the three of us though. Are you sure you're alright with that."

"Best I'll get." She shrugged.

They spent the rest of the 'lesson' eating a dessert one of the other students had brought, and discussing their impending journey. Samuel had gotten surprisingly emotional, ladeling gifts onto the two with fervour.

Avakian was given an enchanted armlet with an expensive storage crystal. The receptacles inbuilt into the armlet were even more powerful than the crystals Kamatie gave him, and would boost his Void reserves greatly.

Ellian was given a beautiful set of engraving gear, including a set of styluses. Avakian was almost jealous until he realised he could probably borrow them from her if needed.

They walked back to the dojo, Ellian knowing the way from the few times she had been before. Walking in they found Chiros still seated at the kitchen table, working his way through a pot of curry.

Avakian wondered if Chiros had any hobbies save for eating and fighting.

"Afternoon Chiros. You moved at all today?" He asked. "Anyway, Ellian says she'll be joining us when we leave tomorrow, that fine?"

"Of course." He looked up with a surprised expression. "She actually wants to come?"

"Yeah." Ellian claimed defiantly. "What's wrong with that?"

"It's not a holiday Ellian, it'll be difficult. A massive percent of pioneers succumb to either exposure or diseases; and they're the lucky ones." Chiros explained. Avakian could tell he wasn't trying to be patronising, but Ellian looked to be taking it that way.

"You know who my mother was, Chiros. The Starborne Sorceress had pretty much taken over a quarter of the Inner Folds while the Judicar were still fucking around with sticks." Ellian seethed.

Chiros nodded, he genuinely hadn't meant to be condescending, but he lacked a certain tact dealing with people like Ellian. He was more comfortable dealing with the straightforward Kamatie or Avakian.

"As long as you know the risks." Chiros still didn't look entirely convinced.

"It's the 71st Century, Chiros, women have just as many rights to do dumb shit that gets them killed as men do." Ellian quipped.

Chiros now looked even less convinced.

---

It was the morning of their departure. Avakian and Chiros had eaten and were about to head off. They had packed everything they were taking into two backpacks.

When they headed into the training hall they spotted two visitors entering, the monstrously tall Kamatie, and the comparatively tiny sociology teacher; Andy.

"Avakian!" He greeted him cheerfully.

He walked over to greet him whilst Chiros said his goodbyes to his mentor. Their farewell didn't exactly look heartfelt; Kamatie having the exact same stoic demeanour as she always had.

"Andy! I got you a gift for all the help you gave me." Avakian handed him a wrapped package. Inside was a fresh mustard-yellow suit that he had commissioned from Abarajitha's.

"Thanks, I had been meaning to buy a new set for a while now." The teacher sighed. "Suppose you best be off, bigger and better things await!"

"Yup! I might be back someday, who knows." Avakian laughed. "Probably not, though."

"Yeah." Andy echoed morosely. "Probably not."

His farewell to Kamatie was even shorter. He had stopped fearing the devil-woman so much, but they were far from being close.

"Goodbye Avakian. I suspect I will see you again." She said simply, before they departed.

---

The walk to the locomotive station was a sombre one. Both Avakian and Chiros had spent most of their lives in Aemonsford, and would be leaving it behind; most likely to never return.

The streets were not quite as crowded as Avakian was used to, it being so early in the morning. Due to the smaller crowd they were able to spot Ellian, also walking to the station.

Ellian seemed to have attracted quite a lot of attention, the young witch was carrying multiple rucksacks in a rather peculiar manner. Instead of on her back the sacks were suspended in the air, and followed her while walking.

"Mornin chumps." She smirked when she saw the two, carrying their bags the old fashioned way.

"You really needed two? What happens if you run out of Void and you can't carry them?" Avakian asked suspiciously.

Ellian looked at him with mirth. "Fortunately I know a couple of cretins happy to carry my stuff for me."

Chiros snorted in good humour, while Avakian glanced around exaggeratedly, as if looking for the 'couple of cretins'.

They kept walking to the station, Ellian's bags floating behind her.

When they arrived Avakian was surprised to see yet another familiar face. Josef was there, his orange-red hair poking out from a beanie.

"Hi." He started awkwardly.

"Hey Jos-" "Who's this old guy?" Both Avakian and Ellian said at once.

"I'm Avakian's friend. We do wilderness survival together." Josef looked mildly offended. "Also, I'm 28. In what part of the Manifold is that old?"

"17th Fold, the fly-people of Xaneth." Ellian replied almost immediately. "They die when they're 20, you'd be considered a revered elder."

Josef made an exasperated noise, which was quite a lot considering how inexpressive he was, then addressed Avakian and Chiros. "Look I heard you let Ellian in, so I figured anyone can join at this point. Can I join up with you?"

Avakian and Chiros thought for a moment, while Ellian made protesting noises that no-one paid attention to.

"You don't have anyone you're leaving behind?" Chiros asked. Josef shook his head. Avakian shrugged, on a purely technical basis he was the leader here, as it was his journey.

"Sure. Why not?" Avakian replied. Three became four, despite Ellian's protests. They boarded the train on the hour, Avakian instantly grabbing a window seat so as to get the best view.

Ellian sat across from him and was scribbling down runes in a notebook as she often did. Glyphcrafting was a lifetime profession; one had to be constantly improving or risk falling behind.

Josef and Chiros sat together in the aisle across. They didn't talk much but seemed friendly enough, both having rather stoic personalities.

---

 

Some art of I made but forgot to share on Scrib, it's Chiros, Ellian and Ellian's mother. I'm still trying to do art of Avakian + Kamatie but midjourney isn't cooperating.