Inevitable, like the next sunrise, consciousness returned upon me. I immediately wished it hadn't. I was sweaty and I hurt all over. If I was in such a sorry state the beating I had received at the hands of my dear brother must have really been something else. Oh, how I wished I could just go back to sleep. That really wasn't an option though. I couldn't show weakness. I had to get back to my training. I stopped that train of thought in confusion. How long had I been out of it anyway? I scrunched up my nose. That was something else I immediately regretted.

“Careful. A little magic and a few hours of sleep are not enough to fix all the injuries you suffered today.” Mother brushed an errant strand of hair out of my face. The next moment she swatted my fingers away as I was about to prod my aching nose. “Leave it alone. Unless you want it to heal all crooked. Here, drink this. It will help.” With these words she handed me a steaming cup with some herbal brew. She didn't move from my bedside though as I accepted it. “Careful, it is still hot.”, she added almost as an afterthought.

She was right. It still was hot. Very much so. I turned the cup about in my hand, to keep it from burning my fingers and blew across the liquids surface carefully. At the same time I blushed. I hadn't even noticed her presence until she raised her voice to address me. It shouldn't have come as a surprise. After all she had that uncanny ability to go unnoticed under just about any circumstances. I was almost certain that it was some kind of spell. Still, I felt inadequate. She had been sitting on the bed right next to me and I hadn't even noticed her.

For the briefest of moments I considered sniffing the contents of the cup to make a guess at their nature. Then I thought better of it. Instead I took a small sip, careful not to burn my tongue or my lips. Glowberry juice, bitterleaf and a little honey if I wasn't mistaken. A common herbal medicine. The juice of the glowberries would help me heal while the bitterleaf would numb the pain at least a little. The honey was only in there to make the stuff somewhat palatable, at least as far as I knew.

I kept sipping the medicine. It brought back some fond memories. When I had been much younger I had always received this medicine when I had a toothache. Back then it had usually contained a more generous helping of honey though. Wasn't it kind of sad, that some of my fondest memories were memories of tooth aches? Back then, like now, mother had been sitting at my bedside though. That had meant a lot to me back then and it still did now if I were to be honest with myself.

Reluctantly I sat down the empty cup on the bedside table, to sit up properly and swing my legs off the bed. I almost didn't make it as a new wave of pain and nausea washed over me. It took me a moment to fight down the urge to throw up. In my mind I added a concussion to the list of injuries I would have to mind. No sudden movements for the time being. “I should be getting back to my training.” I pressed this words out in between clenched teeth. It was troublesome how much effort such a little thing took.

Before I could get up for good though mother placed a hand on my shoulder. She waited until I looked her way. “You know that I don't want you to hurt and suffer, yes?” She paused briefly, possibly waiting to see if I would object or argue the point. “I want you to learn, grow and prosper. Our world is not kind to those that are weak or unprepared ... and you might just need to be better prepared than most.” That last sentence had been barely a whisper, half choked by the tears that were flowing down her cheeks.

I stared at her wide eyed. It was not like her to be so openly emotional. What did she mean? Why would I need to be better prepared than others? Her words were both reassuring and confusing. I was grateful for the chance to keep sitting on the bed for a little longer anyway. Then I decided to seize the chance on a spur of the moment. After all I had no idea when if ever I would get another chance to talk with her when she openly showed her emotions. She usually was not prone to such behavior. “Agar'zan, why is he always so angry?”

That took her by surprise. Silence fell in the small infirmary as she pondered how to respond to my inquiry. Finally she shook her head. “I'm not sure. I'm afraid it might be because I spoiled him too much when he was young. I was always there for him and then, all of a sudden you and your sister came along and I couldn't be there for him all the time anymore. Obviously he was not at fault, so he looked to put the blame elsewhere.” She looked me square in the eyes. “It is a silly idea, really, but left alone for too long it might have poisoned his mind.”

She shook her head again. “That is my best guess anyway. I should have talked with him back then or at least years ago. Now it probably is too late. Some things, like that anger boiling within him, are just beyond reason.” She sighed. “Please bear with him for a little longer. Before long, one way or another the two of you will go separate ways anyway. Please bear with it until then.” She paused all of a sudden. “Or grow strong enough to finally knock some sense into him.”

Oh great. Go deal with your slightly crazy, murderous older brother on your own. What is the worst that could happen? She just had to put it that way. I wanted to sigh and shake my head. I was just in too much pain to follow through with the idea. In the end I just sighed. “We will see.” And I meant it just like that. One way or another we would see how this worked out. I just added a silent prayer to the maidens of the moon that I would be able to sort things out without bloodshed.

Just as I made another attempt to get up mother stopped me again, placing her hand on my shoulder once again. “You will spend the next days in the library, studying with your sister. Put that head of yours to better use for a little while before you make another attempt to break your brother's fist with it.” She gave me a stern look to make sure I understood how serious she was on that matter. “I already informed Uzzana and Kaele of this change in schedule.” And with these words she rose and left.

And just like that I was left to my own devices again, not that I did mind. Let's forget about the bigger problems for now. It wasn't like I could talk some reason into my brother and I couldn't make him see reason either. My most pressing concern right now was something else anyway. Clothes. Training in the sand pits was conducted in the nude. Good clothes, even simple ones, were too expensive to be wasted so thoughtlessly. I could only hope that someone had thought of bringing the dress I had discarded before that fateful fight, as I was a bit too old to run around my mother's house without anything on.

I looked around, carefully minimizing my movements. I didn't have to search long. It wasn't the dress I had worn, but someone, probably mother, had brought one. It lay folded on a chair next to the cot I had been resting on. I got up with a groan and slipped into it. The simple task took longer than it should have, but at least I got the chance to take stock of all the other bruises marring my body. There was no way around it, as every single one of them seemed to insist to make its presence painfully known to me.

Finally satisfied I set off to leave the infirmary behind me. I didn't head straight for the library though. My grumbling stomach insisted that my first target should be the kitchen. Maybe I would find some leftovers and if it was just some mashed ashroot with a little butter. Oh yes, mashed ashroot sounded really good right about now. I would even take it without butter and seasonings. Anything else that didn't require a lot of chewing would work as well. The thought of food was enough to invigorate me again. It was time to get some food into me!