Ellis roused from a black sleep. His lassitude remained just as strong. The harness that kept him from falling numbly dug in. The sand in his tattered tunic was gone, blown away by the constant battering of wind. Right, an impossibility.
He wanted to ask if they had arrived. It was a stupid question. The dragon gingerly climbed down, giving plenty of time for him to observe the land that came up to greet them. A long, well-kept and well-traveled road cut its way from either edge of the bridge down to the rift’s base. The traveler dotted ramp led up to neatly packed buildings. Wide and imposing, a town with glistening, beaded buildings carved itself into thick natural stone that bridged a canyon.
On a hill on the far end of the town sat a stately castle. It was like a large eye with golden-forest sclera, slick-gray-stone iris, and golden courtyards for a pupil. Ellis hated how it stared so intently at him.
“Impressive, I know,” Tia shouted. They dove by the accessory to the castle, a hollering wooden tower. A dizzying number of decks jutted from its sides in chaotic fashion. On the decks came a menagerie of winged-horses, green deer, tiny elephants, and more.
The dragon’s wings wiped up a small storm of green dust, Ellis had to cover his mouth with his tunic. It was ineffective. Tia unlatched their harness, threw him over her shoulder, jumped from the dragon's back, and drifted gently to the ground. It was all so sudden, graceful, and fluid that it took Ellis a moment to realize what had happened.
“Take care of him, make sure he is fed.” She said to two strangers with the same weird colorlessness to their skin. Tia drifted past the two, gesturing for Ellis to follow in the same motion. Ellis had to jog to catch up. “If he takes off, do not try to stop him.”
Walking down the colonnade to the castle, a low rumble echoed from a large grated pit. He stood atop the balls of his feet to see down. It was too deep. The drone of squawks, whinnies, and barks rolled from the tower. In those familiar sounds, there were other noises he could not identify.
Ellis searched for the dragon. Opposite from the pit, a field sectioned sport-oriented grounds and one with poles and railings similar to where they would show animals. There the beast laid, basking in the morning light. The two attendees seemed to struggle with it, flailing their arms in a failing attempt to coax. Beyond the fields, the harsh slope this area was perched upon fell to a bed of trees.
His legs felt like jelly, his entire body ached or didn’t feel right. How long would he be able to keep walking? Tia kept a brisk and determined pace. She led him into the wooden colonnade, the auburn flooring glittered, the roof towered two stories above them. His bare feet met the wood with surprising comfort, swiftly stolen by uncaring stone of indoors. The dozens of weird calls and craws vanished the instant they crossed the threshold. He wanted to retreat to see if the noises were imagined. Undaunted Tia had him forfeit that plan.
The peculiar castle must have been carved from a single stone; there was no definition between where the floor ended and the wall began. The cavern made numbing ripostes to his near hobbled walk.
“My apologies, I’m quite busy and need to get back as soon as I can.” Tia spoke staring forward, so he decided to stare at the walls. “I know it’s odd, me bringing you here rather than a detainment center. But you will have to trust me.” The walls had brilliant ornate moulds of interlocking and twisting shapes. “And,” she stopped walking, “you must not say where I retrieved you from.”
“I really,” he started, “I don’t even know who you are.” Tia’s eyes burned with intent. Ellis wanted to turn back to the wall. She waited for the correct answer. Ellis, doubt yanking his heart, gave her. “I won’t tell anyone.” More waiting. “I won’t tell anyone where I came from or who brought me here.” He wanted to add, I don’t even know myself.
Azure light fixtures played shadows on the maze-like moulds. It was mesmerizing, the distraction he needed. Each time he would glance over, they would be inexplicably different. He wasn’t quite sure why he felt this, they were the same in his memory. Still, they were different each time he looked. It was a different feeling from looking to his past; there was no dread in this, of things not being the way he knew they should.
“Never doubt yourself.” She turned back to walking. Ellis took hesitant glances at her weird physique. Besides her tail, her limbs were thin with an ethereal quality to them. She towered, the top of his head only coming to her upper arm which swung at her side, dragging open cuffs covering her hands. Were her clothes always this loose? Ellis distinctly recalled her having tight clothing while on the dragon’s back, but now it was a billowing dress. her hair was still tied in the same bands that latched into the back of her top. Her apparel was the same glossy black that it had been, too. She must have, maybe while he was sleeping, changed. But under all that wind, in such a cramped space? At least her necklace was the same.
Behind thoughts of transforming walls and dresses, a foreign sensation itched at the edges of his mind. It didn’t seem to be a bad thought, or a thought at all. The more he focused on it, the stronger it became. It evolved from an itch to a pressure to a voice. It was something else. It spoke to him, a friendly and nearby tone, “really? You…”
Ellis shut the voice from his mind, nearly falling to his knees as he did so. Tia swiftly draped a reassuring arm and used the other to hold him up. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Ellis found himself taking hurried breaths. That wasn’t his voice, that wasn’t him thinking, those weren’t his thoughts.
“I’m fine.” He searched his thoughts for the itch, for that presence. Gone. Assuredly, it had to be some other entity, some other thing intruding on his thoughts. But what madness was that? He knew and thought only within his own mind, there was no way it was external. Yet the feeling stayed with him, taunting him. With all Ellis had experienced, the idea of someone else invading his mind was no longer in the realm of imagination.
He righted himself and strode onward to assure Tia. Within a few steps, she was back in the lead. They twisted their way down several expansive hallways. The place was eerily empty, most sounds being the flapping of Ellis’s bare feet and the tapping of Tia’s shoes. Every now and then they would pass one or two hurrying people. Each one they passed set Ellis more at ease with himself, as they shared the same ashen complexion. Some looked like Ellis did but most were covered in dark fur all over their bodies with long thin tails, as opposed to reptilian Tia’s.
She halted. “My apologies, I must leave you to attend to an urgent matter.” From her silvery necklace that sparkled with colorful stones, gems, and jewels, she plucked a small brown stone and handed it to him, cupping it in his hands. “Do not lose this.”
She spun and swiftly disappeared around a corner. Just before she turned out of sight she, somehow softly, told Ellis to freely explore. He leaned under an azure light that cast white. Finally, he had time to think. He steered his mind from the past he couldn’t remember. Tia had brought him here, but to what end?
He wasn’t able to come to many conclusions before a group of youth came rounding a corner. At first, they were wholly absorbed in their one conversation. Then, one after another, they espied Ellis. It must have been his attire, ratty and filthy compared to their colorful and clean linens. He wanted to vomit, so he hurried on.
He was a gross stain in this immaculate building with radiant residents. He thought back to the group, how lively and opulent their attire. They had a deep azure motif, though unique in form and materials. Sashes wrapped the chests and waists of some while others had frilled tunics or flowering dresses or belled trousers. They were magnificent. He blushed.
Magnificent and underdressed. Some had loose bands of fabric covering their waist while some had what equated elegant ribbons covering select parts. It was cool in the building, but the coldness outside gave the notion that other attire would be more appropriate.
He continued his walk down the labyrinth, taking random turns down random hallways. A few times he would pass large glass panes enclosing well-kept courtyards. He would also pass darkened windows, peeking into empty rooms of assorted purposes -mostly classrooms. Nothing was small, the hallways arched a minimum of two stories, the rooms sometimes greater.
He passed more azure-dressed people with revealed plaid skin. Their eyes stung him every time. This poor wretch did not belong. He wanted to leave and be rid of the uncomfortable impressions the impossibly massive building and the people gave him. He came to open doorways to the outside on several occasions, denying himself release each time.
On his quest, he happened upon another small group of youths. They had the same azure motif and flamboyant attire, all but one of them. The one had warm colored tattoos all across their body; all could see everything. Cheeks warm, Ellis sought escape. Returning the way he came would take too long and the noticeable discomfort plastered on his face prevented him from sidling past. His only option was to duck into one of the rooms lining the hall.
To his fortune, the first door he tried was unlocked, granting him asylum. He pulled the door shut behind him, trying to make as little noise as possible while doing so. What were they thinking, jaunting about without any form of dress? Did they have no shame? They must have been under a spell of lunacy. Yet the others seemed perfectly content with their free friend.
Ellis rigidly turned, finding he wasn’t the only occupant in the dry-smelling room. The stranger sat at one of the long tables, hunched over in heavy concentration. He couldn’t quite see what they were doing, only that they waved their hands about in a routine manner. Ellis stole a glance out the window. With jubilation, the group slowly meandered down the hallway. He looked back, the occupant conducted the same motions they had been. In one hand they held a small stick, the other having their fingers extended.
“I just can’t get it!” After another moment they let their arms limp, the sound of many tiny pieces hitting wood echoed through the room. They wore much less extravagant clothing than the rest he had seen, a simple deep azure shirt and ebony pants, and obviously dyed, red hair.
“Oh!” her shocked expression let Ellis know all he needed. He should have retreated to the hall, to take his chances with the nudist group who were all ready to ignore him. She stood up and bowed with one arm across her belly and one over her head. “I wonder if this person…” she paused, “is a student.”
“I… I am.” He wished for Tia to rescue him. He quickly came up with a lie for his squalid appearance. “I was just outside,” his mind clamored for the rest of the excuse, “I was helping tend to the animals.”
“Oh, it’s obvious now. So, they only let third years tend to the animals…”
Ellis didn’t want to answer; he wanted to leave. He managed to keep some composure. “I’m new here.”
“Really? I’m a first year too. I was actually just practicing before classes started. But you seem to be ahead of that. Actually,” she bowed her head in brief thought, then got up, “help is something that I’ve been in need of...”
He truly didn’t want to. “I don’t think I’d be able to help.”
“Oh come on,” she was now within Ellis’s personal bubble. “It’s supposed to be one of the easier spells they teach, I’m just having trouble with it for no reason.” Ellis let her lead him to the table. “I was able to get the first part…”
An assortment of various bits and bobs were strewn about. “I was able to disassemble it without anything breaking,” she said enthusiastically, “but again, just can’t put it back together.”
She proceeded to wave her stick in the air, chanting coarse words under her breath. The pieces slowly lifted into the air, pulled by unseen strings. Ellis thought he should have been astonished, but his recent experiences dulled him to the event. The pieces danced through the air, coalescing on a small violet marble.
Then, everything fell apart, the pieces clinking back onto the table. Her playful frustration eased Ellis’s nerves a bit. “I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”
She looked to Ellis. He coughed uncomfortably. Magical things must just happen, but him performing as she had, that was still too absurd. He swallowed hard; he might as well try.
To his utter disbelief, the objects on the table began to lift into the air. They hovered in place for just a moment, understanding and thrill welled within him. The pieces began to coalesce on the purple dot once again. Another moment and they were back on the table.
Ellis expected to see the same cheerful expression the girl had before, maybe with some other emotion altering it a bit. Her eyes were wide and jaw dropped. He was clueless. He had done less than she had, only fitting in one or two pieces while she’d done many more.
“Without a cat,” she sputtered. She snapped from her stupor to look behind him. The door was open, allowing in Tia and a man in a deep azure uniform. Ellis sighed.
“Tell me if this is him.” the man said.
“Indeed,” Tia turned to Ellis, “my apologies, I had not had the chance yet to get him in clean linen. It is, as I have said, short notice.” She and the man turned away in unison. Ellis got up, glancing at the girl. She made more clinks by putting together… whatever it was exactly.
Ellis felt like Tia was his shield, a bastion between him and the man, the girl, those he passed in the hall. The man, it wasn’t to say he wasn’t imposing, he was in fact shorter than Ellis. His refined posture combined with his lack of facial emotion made him feel like he loomed over Tia the tall.
“Arois,” the man said, “you have done much for this country, I suppose we could proceed with the exception.”
Tia spoke not fully to the man, “You may enter him as Ellis and you shall use my last name.”
Ellis stared wide-eyed. He would stay here? Alone? Ellis was not even sure what he would be doing.
“Very well,” Trivelis righted himself further, “Ellis Aro, we cordially welcome you to Prohweda’s University, may you come to serve Raehyr well.”
Ellis stood aghast. Why? Was his chemistry degree not enough? What was even his study here? With a look, he pleaded to Tia. Stone faced, she looked down her pointed nose at the man. He bowed, raising one arm over his head and mirroring the other across his stomach, “Arois, my humblest apologies, but you did catch me at an awkward time. I must return to my duties, we shall review all further proceedings on a later date.”
“Thank you. I’m sure he will be of benefit.” Tia bowed with both arms across her belly. It didn’t take long for the man’s steps to fade down the hall. She lead Ellis the other direction. “Well now, that was surprisingly painless. I am sure you have many questions, but I am going to have to request that you keep them to yourself for the time being. I am taking a large gamble with you and must ask that you place your faith in me.” Ellis frowned. “Alright,” she said, “I’ll answer some questions you have while I take you to your dorm.” She extended her hand, “first I must ask for that murn back.”
Ellis had forgotten about the brown pebble. He dropped in her hand and she snapped it into her necklace. Maybe it was magnetic? Ellis trailed behind down the endless hallways. Where to begin. Dozens of questions whirred through his head, one loudest: “why did you take me here?”
“Upheval. You’ll understand later. Trivilis has informed me that you shall be rooming with a third year. Paseht was their name, I believe. Oh, Before it slips my mind,” she pulled out rolled cloth from her sleeve. Ellis opened it. The letters, they were marks made by burning holes in the cloth, the edges being brown and fading into the, otherwise pristine, white. In alien letters he read lists of items, times, subjects, and other information pertaining to his enrollment. It was difficult for him to walk and read, so he rolled it back up to finish later.
More dire questions pressed: why things were different to how he knew they should be, who he was and where he came from, how he was able to make objects float in the air at will, what was the reason for the casual nudity? The questions were accentuations that everything he knew was wrong, down to how people act.
Tia carried on with her own answers to questions unasked, “I have signed you up for village leadership, if you wish to stay longer and pursue an alternate leadership role, I will be more than willing to help you in your endeavor. As for your craft centered classes, you will be taking animal husbandry.” The hallways stretched on forever, it was a wonder she maneuvered without a map. “And about that murn I asked you to hold on to, do you know its purpose?”
“I don’t even know what a murn is,” Ellis found himself callously responding.
“I suppose so.” She coughed, almost laughed. She pushed open an elegant, enormous double door, revealing a three storied domed room. Each layer had a balcony lining the edges, just wide enough for four people to walk comfortably. Just opposite the door they came through was a long grand hall. The two floors with the aureole walkways expanded down the hall allowing for access to dozens of doors. Staircases with trimmed railings zigzagged up and down.
Tia’s answers continued, how he was to become a leader of some sort like all other students here.
In the center of the dome towered a kind of a suspended entanglement azure ribbons. It endlessly shifted, the strands twisting around one another in a confusingly intricate system. The grand structure was encircled by cushioned benches.
The two passed by the central line of wooden chairs, pillowed couches, desks and tables. Then, they ascended, the railings smooth to the touch. They finally came to a halt at door ‘209’, brandishing two names: ‘Paseht Kepiri-Wosnet’ and ‘Ellis Aro-’.
“Unfortunately this is where we must part.” Tia’s shoulders slumped. “I am already far enough behind in my duties with this little diversion. Before I depart, I want you to have this.” From her necklace, she gave a coin-shaped flaxen gem; it was warm to the touch. “This should cover all expenses.” She took Ellis’s hands into her own. “I am truly sorry we must part this way, I had wished I could have time to answer more of your questions, but this will work out for all of us, of that I lay my heart.”
Ellis trembled. He wanted to respond in kind, but ‘don’t go,’ was what left his lips. Tia smiled as she bowed her head, let go of his hands, and strode back down the stairs. The large door closed, the sound reverberated through the great hall, and he found himself waiting alone once more.
Tia did not return.
What was he to do now? He assuredly did not want to venture back out into labyrinth. He stood, then decided to retreat into his… dorm. His hand recoiled after realizing the handleless door was solely adorned with a gunmetal semi sphere. His attempts to push and slide the door open were fruitless. He stared quietly, trying to puzzle out its secrets.
Unable to make any headway with the door, He pulled out the scroll Tia gave him. The first set of burned letters detailed information about the school, faculty, and facilities. The second part was of Ellis’s classes, their dates and times, and their locations. The next portion was a burned map, it detailed its ienumerable halls, floors, and peripheries. His head swam. The final section was written differently, the burn marks being thinner and more wave-like.
“Dear Ellis,
My humblest of apologies for my offhandish departure. I write this to you in the sincerest hope that this multifarious milieu shall bring about the hasty return of your memories. When this occurs, I humbly request that you inform Trivelis or a like official to send word to me.
May Shia’s winds guide,
Tia Aro-Oshe.”
So I am alone.
Below her message an ornate design encircled an azure flame. The scroll leapt from his hands, landing in a heap. It did not burst into flames. He tentatively reached, flipping it to reveal the azure. It stayed in place, not eating the paper as it should have. He drew his hand over the mystical fire, to see if it had any other divergent properties. It was warm, but not hot. He plucked the flame, wincing instinctively at its weird sense of mass.
The flame, no larger than a pea, sputtered in his hand. The door rushed open, sliding into the wall. Ellis knew he should have been surprised, but he was more relieved than anything.
The door shut with a click. The room was in disarray; wrinkled clothes, sheets of the same written cloth he had in his hand, and trash topped the bed on the left. The bed on the right was clean, apart from the sheets melting over the sides. The cream walls were lined with paintings of people and things, the most predominant being a large mural of, what could only be, musicians over the right’s bed. A window behind a soft curtain illuminated the room, two lamps on a stout dresser just below it for when darkness crept in. To his right was another door, open to a bathroom.
Ellis wandered to the chaos’s center; he made sure not to touch anything. His stomach grumbled to a faint aroma of warm food. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten.
“Chorma underneath! Who are you?”
Ellis spun to see the annoyed visage one hair-covered & long-tailed. The man held a scroll with a metallic core in one hand and a mug with steaming liquid in the other. The boy’s snowy hair twisted into dozens of braids, glowing a silky coral hue from the flames on either side of his head. “You some kind of servant? Already got plenty.”
“No, I-I think I’m supposed to be here. I’m a new student.” I think.
“Yeah, so what are you doing in my room.”
“My name’s Ellis, I think I’m supposed to be your roommate.”
The boy shrugged and stepped past, flopping on the open bed. He placed his drink down and unraveled the scroll. One of the fires hugged the steaming cup, the other swayed by the written cloth. The boy, Paseht, made no further comment. He merely lounged on his bed, occasionally rolling the scroll. It was surprising how nonchalant he was, that this stranger in rags was standing in his room claiming to be his new roommate. The smell that emanated from his drink made Ellis’ stomach pang.
Ellis felt a weird need to clear up what confusion this Paseht must feel towards him. “Paseht?”.
The boy gave Ellis the most sour of looks. “It’s Pasehtis to you,” each syllable pronounced deliberately. “Explain what you want.”
His heart pounded from his foolishness. “What are those things?”
Paseht’s frown deepened. “I wonder what this stranger is meaning.”
Ellis cleared his throat, “Those little flame things.”
“The jairoth? You can rent three for a day.” Paseht returned to his reading, taking a sip of his drink.
Ellis clenched his scroll and two charms, his face flushing. Before Ellis brought forth the courage to actually leave, Paseht spoke, “For the future, try being a little less rude and a little more presentable. It’s not a good look for us.”
“I will.” Ellis turned to the door. The opening mechanism must have been linked to the azure flame. It drained into the indentation etching a glowing “accepted.” Next, the semi sphere flattened, and the door rushed open before him. He left.
Yet more glances by passers by. Ellis tried to ignore them, but their eyes stabbed his back. He needed to find a place where he could be alone, where others wouldn’t scrutinize him. Many rooms would have been suitable for his desires.
He brought up the azure key to the semi circles. Door after door would etch “Denied” into the protuberance. Only a few had handles on them; all of those doors had occupants within.
Ellis did hate being out in the open. With his quest, he would at least appear to be involved in something; leading to the people he came across to be less likely to stop him. Whenever he would have to pass someone or a group, he would keep his eyes fixed to the inexorable moulds.
The floor ramped up before him, windows for walls on either side. Just before the opaque ended and the transparent one began, there was a door of an inharmonious style. Gouges decorated the tired wood, aged far beyond everything else. It lacked any plaque, insignia, sign, or semi-spherical protuberance.
It pulled open without resistance. A hole beyond that sunk down. The wall's shiftings worsened inside. This must have been some long-since-replaced never-used stairwell. The treads were absurdly shallow and grooved from traffic. The railings were black, cool, and silky to the touch.
He creaked the door closed and began his descent, guided by a yellow light that had no source. The walls were a rusty color, contrasting the overall paraded bluish-gray. It smelled of must and… something else.
Each step eerily echoed down the flight of stairs. He persisted, this must be an area where few came, an area where he could collect his thoughts in peace. These thoughts, these fears, he would have to come to deal with them sooner or later, and he would rather be alone when facing them.
The landing at the bottom forked. The left opened up to storage, nondescript objects covered in linen, cobwebs, and dust. To the right offered a door, similar in design to the one at the top but cleaner and without as much abuse.
He doubted anyone would ever find him in the store room. He found himself heading right. Heavy shuffling rumbled from behind the door. Maybe it shouldn’t be opened? He looked back to the long neglected room.
He heard the shuffling again, it must have been big. He couldn’t help himself. The door fell open, revealing a large open room filled with rows of simple pillars holding up the clay ceiling. His heart skipped a beat.
The mass stood up, deep onyx scales glistening in the sourceless amber glow. The spines on the arch of its back stretched in a wave with its wings. It stretched its long neck towards Ellis; its ghostly silver eyes twinkled. In a voice that shook his core, it spoke. “Tell me who you are.”
