Back at the Boarelk’s Tusk Liam tries to open the front door only to find it locked. Liam leans his back against the building and takes a moment to catch his breath. He had to avoid three sets of guards while sneaking through the city. The thick black smoke in the dawn sky acting as a call to arms for the bored night watchmen. Unsure as to when Godrick is going to open the door, Liam heads north to the temple.

It is a long walk to his destination, however Liam ignores his rumbling stomach and stays focused. Maintaining mirror coat while walking does not feel too draining, the first rays of sunshine on his face help keep some of the tiredness at bay.

Liam is no longer the only person on the street when he arrives at his friend’s house. City folk are now waking up and heading out about their business. Ignoring his paranoia that a guard is suddenly going to snatch him and find his ill-gotten gains, he ducks into a gap between buildings and releases his focus on the mirror coat. Visible again and feeling nervous, he heads approaches the door.

It has only been 12 hours or so since Ignissa told him not to come back for a while. Gingerly, he knocks on the door. Danielle greets him once again and allows him entry after he promises to make her sister better. Inside the bedroom a young girl sits on the bed, surrounded with pillows of roughly spun cloth. She does look a bit better, perhaps the healing potion helped more expected. Forcing a smile onto his face he greets her. “Hey there, I got you something.” She grunts in reply, still half asleep. Liam takes out the lava root and sets it on the bedside table. The wood starts to smoulder as soon as the root makes contact, Liam quickly picks it back up into his gloved hands. Ignissa’s good eye opens wide as she sits up, now at full attention. “Ask Danielle to get the orange glass” she requested, while pointing to the door. Liam relayed her request and a minute later she returned carrying a honey-coloured crystal bowl. She sets it carefully down on the recently charred bedside table and exits the room. “Well go on, put it in there, let’s have a look” encouraged Ignissa.

Liam sets it down carefully inside the container and takes a step back. After taking a moment to examine the root, Ignissa closes her eye and takes several deep breaths. The glowing veins on the black root seem to speed up as she cycles through a breathing exercise. A few moments later she opens both eyes and says, “That’s good stuff, how did you get it?”. Looking down at his feet, Liam replies “I might have done something stupid. I know you told me to leave it, but I just felt so guilty.” He looks up into her blue eyes. She meets his gaze and sighs. “Whatever you did, It’s not worth it. I was beaten half to death just because they thought I might have been involved with something shady. I would have recovered without this” she gestures to the root.

“Yes, it would have taken longer but nobody would have been taking unnecessary risks for me.” She sighs again. “Look, I can take care of myself, I don’t want you getting hurt because you wanted to play saviour”. Her words sting but don’t convince him. “I’m not trying to play saviour.” He hotly retorts. “I have power now, I can help people and stand up to assholes for the first time in my life. Why shouldn’t I?” he questions. Ignissa sighs for the third time “Please Liam, you can’t right every wrong in the world. Somethings just… are. They aren’t going to change. You’re going to get yourself killed.” She pleads. “I’m not stupid. Just rest up and don’t worry about me.” Liam starts to move away but she quickly grabs his hand, her grip is surprisingly strong. “You arrogant little… urgh ! You literally just got scammed yesterday. Do you think that little knife and some tricks are going to stop a Master Pyromancer from blasting you into pieces?” She takes a breath and continues “You’re talking the way my Dad used to and well… he’s not exactly around anymore, is he?”

Liam looks down at her bruised hand holding his own. He lets out a long exhale. Maybe she is right he thinks to himself. “Okay. I’m not going to do any other stupid stunts.” He says with a smile. Tearful eyes look up at him and relief floods Ignissa’s face.

The tense mood shifts, and the two teenagers spend some time chatting and catching up. Feeling his stomach rumble Liam decides to make his leave. As he makes his way across the room Ignissa calls out to him.

“I know it has been busy, but don’t forget to go to the academy” she asks him. “I’m going to head there today, see what my options are.” Liam replies. “Get some sleep first, you look like shit” she says with a smile. A bit embarrassed Liam exits the room while calling out “Rest up kiddo”. As the door shuts closed behind him, he hears her call out “Kiddo? I’m only a year younger than you idiot”. In the hallway a smiling 10 year old greets him. “That went well” she smiles. Evidently having heard their entire conversation.

Liam rounds the corner to Grayhawk Row, the street where the Inn is located. The door is propped open, inviting the summer air and members of the public to come inside. The room is empty besides an elderly couple eating breakfast at a small table in the corner. As Liam approaches the counter he notices Godrick arranging some glasses. The big bald innkeeper gives him a worried look “You look tired son, everything ok with the room? I can swap out the pillows if they aren’t to your liking.” Feeling a bit shy, Liam quickly interjects “No no, I think its just the air down here, I’m not quite used to it yet. Anyway, how about some breakfast, do you have any nice meat?” Godrick looks down at him with a grin. “I have just the thing, grab a seat” he motions to do barstool. He heads to the kitchen and Liam patiently waits, ignoring the delicious smells wafting out from the kitchen. He returns several minutes later with some fried bacon and eggs. Liam quickly tucks into the food after the plate is set down. After he finishes the innkeeper looks at him with a smile. “Will you be staying another night?” he asks. “I was hoping to, I’m not sure how much longer yet. I should know by this evening” Liam replies. “No problem at all, if you’re staying longer than a week, I can offer a discount”. Godrick confirms with a toothy grin.

Hours later Liam arises from a bed with a yawn. After securing his leather armour inside of his travel pack for safe keeping. He quickly gets dressed and heads downstairs with a rumbling belly. Godrick is able to provide him with more food and directions.

With his belly full and directions to Ezalor Academy, Liam heads out into the street. Glancing to his right he sees the same teenager as yesterday being yelled at once again. He ignores them and starts to jog toward the south.

Standing before an impressive gatehouse, Liam examines his surroundings. A stream of people is steadily flowing in the same direction as him, a bored looking guard wearing scale mail glances at each person briefly. A dark metal portcullis hangs open, it likely weighs several tons and Liam quickly passes underneath.

On the other side a huge monument of stone greets him, it’s sandstone walls seem to be elegant and inviting at the same time. Beautiful gardens surround the building, no two gardens seem to be the exact same. A teacher seems to be leading a class in a large garden with mint coloured grass. Off to his left, Liam sees several duelling rings. Two young men are squaring off in one of them.

He takes a moment to watch the events unfold, it seems to be a practice bout as there is an adult standing on the side-lines to referee. On the opposite side a group of youths are also spectating. A robe wearing man with blonde hair extends out his hand. There is a flash of purple and crack of thunder. A bolt of lightning races toward the other man. Liam’s jaw drops as his opponent catches it on the end of his sword and directs the attack into the ground. After parrying the attack, he leaps forward, weapon held high. Purple energy blasts from the man’s feet, propelling him backwards and avoiding the slash. Mid dodge, he opens his palm and releases a much smaller bolt. Once again, the swordsman raises his weapon and sends it harmlessly into the earth. The robe clad man grins, he holds out both hands and sends two more attacks. Two bright arcs of electricity crack through the air, approaching their target from offset angles. There is no way he can defend against both at the same time Liam thinks to himself. His entire body seems to blur and suddenly the swordsman is standing several meters to the side. Dust fills the arena as the two attacks crash into the ground. I didn’t even see him move.

They dance around each other for a while longer, neither gaining an advantage nor scoring a direct hit. Both men are panting heavily, although the lightning-born seems to be sweating a lot more. They bow to each other and Liam can hear the sound of applause from spectating students, he finds himself clapping along with them.

He makes his way through the smooth grey stone path, thinking about what he just saw. Up north in Esterstone, physical fighters are usually weaker than mages. Liam is a bit shocked to see a swordsman handle the lightning-born so effectively. I guess it just comes down to training he thinks to himself.

The reception has fine marble flooring and sleek mahogany furniture. A skinny man with dark hair behind the front desk is talking to a student with a flushed red face, she seems to be very upset about something. Liam spots a small table and some comfortable looking chairs off to the side, he heads over and takes a seat. One other person is also waiting, a large young man with grey skin, his chair seemed to be groaning under the heavy load. The young student storms off in a huff, stomping out of the building, the grey skinned boy glances at Liam and approaches the desk.

Liam looks around the room while patiently waiting his turn. Large windows provide ample natural light, there is a corridor on each side of the reception. Occasionally a group of students exit the building after descending a wide staircase. Upon seeing the large boy finish his conversation Liam quickly stands up and approaches the attendant.

The dark-haired man looks up from his paperwork and greets Liam with a smile. “Hello there young man, my name is David. What can I do for you this afternoon” he asks. “I wanted to enquire about how I would go about enrolling here, I just arrived a few days from Esterstone” Liam replies. “Yes, we get students eager to learn all across the Arathorn Empire. With a lot of different backgrounds, skill levels and aptitudes to account for we don’t have a standard year-by-year class structure. We hold a publicly available entrance exam every month. It is possible for some to bypass this step for a sizeable donation to the academy.” He says the last part with a wide smile before continuing “However there is a waiting list right now and we are only accepting exceptional students who show promise during the monthly entrance exam.”

“When is the next exam?” Liam quickly asks. “In twelve days, it is always held on the first Saturday of each month. If you are interested in taking part, you will need to fill this out”. He slides a sheet of parchment over the counter. Liam quickly takes the offered quill and inkpot, with a messy scrawl he writes his basic information before handing the form back to the attendant”. The man takes back the offered parchment, a look of surprise briefly crosses his face while he scans the form. “A light spirit, how surprising, can’t say I have heard of that before, and I’ve heard of a lot. Taking this as a challenge, Liam holds up his hand and conjures a bright orb of yellow light for a moment. A few passer-by’s look over at the display and Liam quickly closes his fist, absorbing the mana back into his body and quenching the light.

The attendant blinks a few spots out of his eyes to clear his vision after the bright light. “We have strict a strict rule about not abusing spiritual powers in public areas, but I suppose you couldn’t have known that, could you?” Liam quickly shakes his head. “Alright then, well as I said, the next exam is in twelve days, be at Rathgar Square no later than 9 am, there won’t be any exceptions made for lateness.” He stacks Liam’s form on top of a small pile to his left. With his business concluded, Liam takes his leave after saying goodbye.