Maj had a hard time figuring who the man was that she found out in the Grasp. Most of the acolytes came from the trips that Serena took into civilization. Her sister was always going into the nearby towns to get supplies for one thing or another, all the while keeping her eyes out for people with Talents. Serena had a good eye for that kind of thing, and her own Talent always helped with confirming her suspicions.

This was the first person Maj had ever come across with a Talent seeking after her Father. By all accounts, he seemed a peasant. His clothes were tattered and worn, and he looked like he hadn’t bathed in weeks. He had a resilience in him that was commendable, though. Nobody makes it that far into the Grasp just by walking, at least not that she’d ever seen until now. He spoke as if he had committed some recent crimes, and Teroth help her if she brought some killer into the oasis. She just had this feeling about him that brought her to have compassion and sympathy for him, rather than fear. It was a feeling that he was somehow important.

Maj found herself wandering back outside towards the school. Her sister was likely in there training or tinkering as usual. Maj could use something to distract her from her thoughts right about now. If nothing else, heading to the school would give her an opportunity to blow something up, and that was always entertaining. As Maj opened the doors that led into the main training hall, a familiar voice called out to her.

“Maj! Perfect timing. I need you to try and blow something up for me,” Serena called out from one of the workbenches she had set up alongside the far wall. Maj grinned widely as Serena motioned for her to come over quickly. She came up to the bench and saw that her sister had somewhat successfully attached a large bronze-colored plate to one of her shirts. The thin plate covered the entire front of the shirt extending out down to what would be the wearer’s ankle should it actually be worn. The plate had a mix of wavy and angular runes inscribed on it that glowed a raw umber and it had small holes in the corners through which Serena had done her sewing.

“I know sewing was never your strong suit, dear sister,” Maj said with feigned sincerity, “but are you sure you want me to destroy such a beautiful attempt? I think Father would love to see the fruits of those many years of finishing school he paid for.”

Serena’s face soured. “Shut up and help me lift this thing onto the practice dummy over there,” she said. “I think it’s going to work this time.”

Maj lifted the bronze-plated shirt with her sister and walked over to the practice dummy. It was a thin piece of metal, for sure, but it was definitely awkward to carry. It briefly crossed her mind that she could have used magic to simply lift it onto the dummy, but Serena’s latest experiments have required a… delicate hand when it came to magic. She dared not attempt anything magical before she at least had a chance to try and protect herself from whatever was going to happen.

“Where do you get these things from anyway?” Maj asked as her sister finished straightening the shirt on the practice dummy.

“I know a guy,” Serena said with a shifty look in her eyes. “Don’t worry about it. All you need to think about is hitting that plate dead center with a fireball. It should be safe this time, I swear.”

Maj snorted a laugh. “That’s what you said last time and look at what happened to poor old Acolyte Sheman.”

Serena glanced toward the other end of the room where Acolyte Sheman was talking with Acolyte Barbus. He was casting a worried glance back at Serena and the practice dummy while he unconsciously touched his splinted leg. He then looked towards the door as if judging the distance to see if he would have enough time to hobble out of the school before this new experiment began.

“Can I really be blamed if the last experiment caused your fireball to ricochet off into a support beam that exploded into pieces large enough to crush a man’s leg?” Serena asked with a sigh. “It was your fireball after all. Why do I get the blame?”

“Because it was your idea,” Maj said with a smirk. “Which is exactly what I’m going to tell Father this time, too.”

“This time, it will work. Now, just aim that fireball dead center like I told you.”

Maj and Serena walked about twenty paces back from the dummy to where a wooden barricade stood about waste high from the ground. Months ago, Father had some of the acolytes build the barricade as a precaution against these experiments. His wisdom had proven itself in char and splinters since then. Serena ducked behind the barricade but kept her head above the top so she could see what would happen. Some of the other acolytes stopped what they were doing and looked intently toward the girls, interested to see what was going on. The door to the training hall slammed shut and Acolyte Sheman was nowhere to be found. Everything was quiet; all attention was focused on what was about to happen.

Maj took that as her cue to begin. She began to draw in the intense powers that governed the world. That power could create or destroy, give life or death. It was heat and cold and everything in between. It was what caused rivers to flow and dead trees to rot. In truth, it was much like the experience of life itself, sometimes bitter and sometimes sweet. Unfortunately, much like life, no great wisdom came from holding the power. This Talent simply gave a mage the opportunity for greatness, but not the know-how. Countless mages have killed themselves, not knowing how to properly wield the Talent they’d be given. Maj was not one of those mages. On the contrary, Father had said that Maj was one of the most Talented mages he had ever seen! She had an ability that could someday even surpass his own! For the time being, however, she had to content herself with blowing up another one of Serena’s experiments.

Moments after seizing the power, Maj brought her hands together and began to form a flame between her palms. As she spread her hands apart, the flame grew and began to spin, pulsating a dark orange and yellow. She raised her hands high as they continued to spread until the fireball grew to the size of her head and larger still. She thrust her hands forward suddenly, guiding the fireball towards the glowing bronze plate on the practice dummy across the room. As soon as she released the fireball, she ducked down beside her sister and readied herself for the worst. Many of the acolytes in the room ran for cover as well.

The fireball roared across the room ferociously, but as it did so, something strange started to happen. Instead of growing, as they usually did while travelling to their target, this one seemed to be getting smaller. Did she do something wrong with the spell? She looked over at her sister, who was smiling very broadly. The fireball in mere moments had gone from colossal destroyer to childhood campfire. Right at the moment where it seemed like flame and bronze would collide, the fire winked out of existence without even a puff of smoke. Serena excitedly put her hand on Maj’s shoulder and pointed.

“See, I told you it would work this time,” she exclaimed. “It had to work, sooner or later!”

She ran out from behind the barricade toward the bronze-laden shirt, and Maj stood as motionless as the practice dummy, neither of which seemed to understand what had just happened—though the practice dummy at least had an excuse. How was this possible? What had Serena found?

The acolytes in the room began to gather around Serena with cheers for her discovery. Maj walked up and inspected the plate. There was not a scratch, dent or burn to be found. Remarkable. Maj smiled and placed a loving hand on her sister’s shoulder.

“It’s a shame,” Serena said amidst the shouts of congratulations and buzzing conversations surrounding them. “This thing is so large, that wearing it would be extremely uncomfortable for long periods. I’m honestly surprised that the stitching held at all! If only it were smaller…”

Just then, the door to the hall opened and Barnes walked in. “Lady Maj, Lady Serena,” he called out as he gave a bow. “Pardon the interruption, but your father has requested your presence back at the manner immediately. If you would follow me, please.”