Part 1 is here
Karina sat on the end of her bed, staring into the open doorway at the wood panelling that lined the hall. She hadn't had a vision for a few weeks now
– not even in her dreams – and so spent a lot of time contemplating the meaning of what she had seen so far. She'd seen a man fighting a dragon, the birth of a baby, a boy leaving his home with tears in his eyes, a massive tavern brawl ...
They were all pieces of a puzzle, lengths of a story she had to put together. It was important somehow. Karina had always been plagued by her blackouts, a problem she had always tried to hide, lest anyone see her as a defective orphan, not worth taking on as a worker. But ever since she was a child, she had never been able to stop her best friend, Dee, from seeing that she sometimes went away for a time. It was the blackouts that had somehow sparked off the visions, a fact that had only made her all the more determined to find meaning behind her peculiarities.
Dee appeared in the open doorway, a black bag slung over her shoulder. "You ready?" she asked.
Dee had only breached the surface of Karina's contemplation with her appearance, and Karina looked to her own bag at her side to bring herself back to reality. The bag was full of everything she owned; she was never coming back to this farm, and the thought of making her own way in the world was scary. "I guess so." She mumbled.
She must have stared at the bag for a little too long, or answered in the wrong tone of voice because when Dee sat beside her and put a hand on her shoulder, her voice was concerned. "What's wrong?"
Karina didn't look back at her. She shook her head. "It's just ... so strange. We're going out there, into the world, to live a real life. Our own lives. Freedom." She continued to stare at the bag. "I hope we're ready."
"You know ..." Dee said thoughtfully, shifting her position on the bed and dropping her bag. "I think we've been ready for a long time."
"It all reminds me of my visions," Karina sighed wistfully. "That boy was leaving home in one of them."
Dee took her hand away and pulled Karina around to face her. "You're not still dwelling on that." Her voice was cracking slightly. "I thought you hadn't had one of your episodes for weeks now?"
Karina looked calmly into her panicked gaze. "Yes, that's right." She paused, letting the words sink in and smother Dee's fears of a lack of honesty and trust between them. "But they're important. I think–"
"No." Dee hardened her look. "Don't think about them, you'll just bring them back. It was all just a consequence of stressing about our final exams, and that's all there is to it." She turned her eyes away.
Karina gave a questioning look to the side of Dee's head. She wanted her friend to understand. "Why would I see a boy I've never met in my visions?"
"I don't know." Dee sounded agitated, and she stood up abruptly, standing over Karina as if the extra height would bring Karina around to her point of view. "Anyway, didn't you see me being born the first time this happened? What does that have to do with a boy? They're all disconnected, and you have to stop thinking about them."
Karina looked down at her hands. "I wish it was that easy."
Taking on her gentle air again, Dee fell back down into position next to her. "It will be. Like you said, we're going to have new lives. It won't be a problem any more."
"Yeah." Karina sighed and finally looked back to Dee. She gave a tentative smile. "Who knows what we'll meet out there in the world? There's no point in worrying about the things in my head."
"That's right." Dee patted Karina on the shoulder and stood back up, looking pointedly between her friend and the full bag beside her.
Karina grinned and slung it onto her shoulder, Dee mimicking the action.
"Besides," Dee said. "We'll always have each other."
The two friends had made an agreement with a trade caravan on its way to Mana, the capital of magic. The journey was to take a week, as they stopped at smaller towns and villages along the way. It wasn't strange for young people with no place in life to head to the city of magic, because it was the best way to find a place, whether in academics like Karina and Dee, or in labour or services. Trade caravans to Mana usually had an entire cart reserved for travellers, and while it hadn't had many passengers when they first departed Gaville, it was full by the time they had their last pick up before approaching Mana.
They were still a few days' travel from Mana when the city was visible on the horizon. The road sharply inclined for quite some distance, and when it levelled, the view of the city from so far away was truly breathtaking. Buildings reached up as if they were trying to touch the sky. All of the young travellers were mesmerized, Karina and Dee included. How was it even possible for a city to be so huge? They started chatting excitedly amongst themselves.
The excitement died down when the city in the distance became a staple on the horizon and they had to stop for the night again. What had been energetic chatter was murmured awe in the late afternoon when they finally reached the outskirts of Mana, the passengers crowding the side of the road in front of a station building.
As the caravan finally left their large group behind, they all took their first proper look from inside the city of Mana. As an orphan, Karina knew she had been in the city before – all children were taken to Mana before being re-homed – but she no longer had a child's eyes, and her grown-up eyes were excited at what she saw.
The station building they were dropped at was as big as the Academy building, the biggest landmark in Gaville, but where all the buildings of her home town were dwarfed by the school, the station was tiny in a sea of giants. The huge but sturdy shining structures blocked direct sunlight and cast a massive shadow over the old stone building she stood in front of.
Dee stood beside her, looking just as awestruck.
The two girls stood and stared for longer than was strictly necessary, and it was Karina who finally broke their trance. "Well, I guess we'd better get started." She checked their map and nudged Dee with her shoulder to get her going and they started walking.
The city was like the future compared to Gaville. Or maybe Gaville was just stuck in the past. Alongside the horses and carts on the streets, driverless machines whizzed by, delivering people and goods to their destinations. Karina found it hard to keep her mind on her own destination with so many things to look at.
She saw it coming up: from a school in the country, to a school in the city. The university was the centre of this bustling city: a place where the magic that made this all possible was studied. Karina and Dee would have to prove their magical proficiency in order to attend the school, but Dee was amazingly intelligent, and Karina ... she was talented, at least.
In the same way that the Academy towered over Gaville, shockingly, the university did the same with the city. It didn't seem possible to dwarf the already enormous buildings, but the university did it with ease. Karina and Dee stood in front of the massive front doors, open-mouthed and once again in awe.
As the two girls stood staring, the giant wooden doors opened of their own accord, inviting them inside. This was magic, this city was the pinnacle of the world according to magic. The invitation for entry given, Karina and Dee had no more time to stare in wonderment, they entered the most gigantic building they had ever seen to embark on the biggest enterprise of their lives.
Karina sat on the end of her bed, staring into the open doorway at the wood panelling that lined the hall. She hadn't had a vision for a few weeks now
– not even in her dreams – and so spent a lot of time contemplating the meaning of what she had seen so far. She'd seen a man fighting a dragon, the birth of a baby, a boy leaving his home with tears in his eyes, a massive tavern brawl ...
They were all pieces of a puzzle, lengths of a story she had to put together. It was important somehow. Karina had always been plagued by her blackouts, a problem she had always tried to hide, lest anyone see her as a defective orphan, not worth taking on as a worker. But ever since she was a child, she had never been able to stop her best friend, Dee, from seeing that she sometimes went away for a time. It was the blackouts that had somehow sparked off the visions, a fact that had only made her all the more determined to find meaning behind her peculiarities.
Dee appeared in the open doorway, a black bag slung over her shoulder. "You ready?" she asked.
Dee had only breached the surface of Karina's contemplation with her appearance, and Karina looked to her own bag at her side to bring herself back to reality. The bag was full of everything she owned; she was never coming back to this farm, and the thought of making her own way in the world was scary. "I guess so." She mumbled.
She must have stared at the bag for a little too long, or answered in the wrong tone of voice because when Dee sat beside her and put a hand on her shoulder, her voice was concerned. "What's wrong?"
Karina didn't look back at her. She shook her head. "It's just ... so strange. We're going out there, into the world, to live a real life. Our own lives. Freedom." She continued to stare at the bag. "I hope we're ready."
"You know ..." Dee said thoughtfully, shifting her position on the bed and dropping her bag. "I think we've been ready for a long time."
"It all reminds me of my visions," Karina sighed wistfully. "That boy was leaving home in one of them."
Dee took her hand away and pulled Karina around to face her. "You're not still dwelling on that." Her voice was cracking slightly. "I thought you hadn't had one of your episodes for weeks now?"
Karina looked calmly into her panicked gaze. "Yes, that's right." She paused, letting the words sink in and smother Dee's fears of a lack of honesty and trust between them. "But they're important. I think–"
"No." Dee hardened her look. "Don't think about them, you'll just bring them back. It was all just a consequence of stressing about our final exams, and that's all there is to it." She turned her eyes away.
Karina gave a questioning look to the side of Dee's head. She wanted her friend to understand. "Why would I see a boy I've never met in my visions?"
"I don't know." Dee sounded agitated, and she stood up abruptly, standing over Karina as if the extra height would bring Karina around to her point of view. "Anyway, didn't you see me being born the first time this happened? What does that have to do with a boy? They're all disconnected, and you have to stop thinking about them."
Karina looked down at her hands. "I wish it was that easy."
Taking on her gentle air again, Dee fell back down into position next to her. "It will be. Like you said, we're going to have new lives. It won't be a problem any more."
"Yeah." Karina sighed and finally looked back to Dee. She gave a tentative smile. "Who knows what we'll meet out there in the world? There's no point in worrying about the things in my head."
"That's right." Dee patted Karina on the shoulder and stood back up, looking pointedly between her friend and the full bag beside her.
Karina grinned and slung it onto her shoulder, Dee mimicking the action.
"Besides," Dee said. "We'll always have each other."
The two friends had made an agreement with a trade caravan on its way to Mana, the capital of magic. The journey was to take a week, as they stopped at smaller towns and villages along the way. It wasn't strange for young people with no place in life to head to the city of magic, because it was the best way to find a place, whether in academics like Karina and Dee, or in labour or services. Trade caravans to Mana usually had an entire cart reserved for travellers, and while it hadn't had many passengers when they first departed Gaville, it was full by the time they had their last pick up before approaching Mana.
They were still a few days' travel from Mana when the city was visible on the horizon. The road sharply inclined for quite some distance, and when it levelled, the view of the city from so far away was truly breathtaking. Buildings reached up as if they were trying to touch the sky. All of the young travellers were mesmerized, Karina and Dee included. How was it even possible for a city to be so huge? They started chatting excitedly amongst themselves.
The excitement died down when the city in the distance became a staple on the horizon and they had to stop for the night again. What had been energetic chatter was murmured awe in the late afternoon when they finally reached the outskirts of Mana, the passengers crowding the side of the road in front of a station building.
As the caravan finally left their large group behind, they all took their first proper look from inside the city of Mana. As an orphan, Karina knew she had been in the city before – all children were taken to Mana before being re-homed – but she no longer had a child's eyes, and her grown-up eyes were excited at what she saw.
The station building they were dropped at was as big as the Academy building, the biggest landmark in Gaville, but where all the buildings of her home town were dwarfed by the school, the station was tiny in a sea of giants. The huge but sturdy shining structures blocked direct sunlight and cast a massive shadow over the old stone building she stood in front of.
Dee stood beside her, looking just as awestruck.
The two girls stood and stared for longer than was strictly necessary, and it was Karina who finally broke their trance. "Well, I guess we'd better get started." She checked their map and nudged Dee with her shoulder to get her going and they started walking.
The city was like the future compared to Gaville. Or maybe Gaville was just stuck in the past. Alongside the horses and carts on the streets, driverless machines whizzed by, delivering people and goods to their destinations. Karina found it hard to keep her mind on her own destination with so many things to look at.
She saw it coming up: from a school in the country, to a school in the city. The university was the centre of this bustling city: a place where the magic that made this all possible was studied. Karina and Dee would have to prove their magical proficiency in order to attend the school, but Dee was amazingly intelligent, and Karina ... she was talented, at least.
In the same way that the Academy towered over Gaville, shockingly, the university did the same with the city. It didn't seem possible to dwarf the already enormous buildings, but the university did it with ease. Karina and Dee stood in front of the massive front doors, open-mouthed and once again in awe.
As the two girls stood staring, the giant wooden doors opened of their own accord, inviting them inside. This was magic, this city was the pinnacle of the world according to magic. The invitation for entry given, Karina and Dee had no more time to stare in wonderment, they entered the most gigantic building they had ever seen to embark on the biggest enterprise of their lives.
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