With closed eyes, I groan as loudly as I can manage to let the small crowd around me know that they’re being too noisy. Immediately, I can hear someone hush at the others and soon they’re all quiet. I once again open my eyes to take it what’s happening around me.

“Are you okay, Rez?” A blond girl asks, and even though she’s sounding very sweet and kind there’s something about her that makes me suspicious. “I, I mean we, got so worried when we saw Sirtiore carry you towards the infirmary, so naturally we came here as fast as we could. Unfortunately, Ronia didn’t let us in - which is weird because she let Sirtiore in - but we stayed outside and waited anyways.”

“Oh.” I say. “I’m sorry, but… I don’t really remember you… I recognize you, yes, but I can’t… remember.”

At first the girl looks very confused before her face takes a very disliking expression but in less than a second it’s back to her normal, pretty face.

“It’s okay, I can understand that you’re a bit dizzy after your first day and passing out and all that. Well, I am Merigold. We share classes together. And I’d love to become friends with you, you seem to be such a great person. And your magic is amazing!”

“Oh, thanks… what about you, girls? Who are you?” I turn my face to the others.

“Well, this is Belladonna, that’s Erica and that’s Holly. Behind me is Iris and next to her we have Tanzy.” Marigold answers and points in order at the girls.

“Ah, thanks, but I did ask them, not you.”

Evidently, this blond girl has a short temper for my words instantly make her eyes flash in anger.

“Yes, but I thought it’d be more convenient if you didn’t need to listen to ten voices at the same time again.” she snarls.

“Right. Anyway, I think I’m done with all of you for today, I’m not feeling very well. If you could be so kind and leave me so I can rest?”

“Of course,” she answers, now with her sickeningly sweet voice again, “But I really hope you’ll be back on your feet soon enough, Rez.”

Instead of answering I just turn away from her and her friends. I close my eyes and listen as several feet shuffle out of the room. When I only a few seconds later can hear another pair of feet walk in, I sigh irritatedly.

“Sorry if I’m disturbing you, but I just… wanted to see you again. Now that you’re awake.” This voice, I recognized without problem.

“Seth!” I turn around so quickly in my bed I get dizzy and get a foretelling feeling that if I move too fast I’ll get sick.

“Whoa, take it easy there, Tronder, you’re still far from fine enough to move that fast.” Seth says as he puts his strong hands on my upper arms to stabilize me. I blush slightly and mumble an incoherent apology. “Don’t sweat it. So, how was you girl meeting?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me, it was awful.”

“Really, and here I was thinking that you were exactly like them.” The tone of sarcasm is heavy in his voice and I can’t help but smile. “No but I can imagine that it was. That’s why I talked to Ronia about not letting them in until you were ready.”

“I figure she didn’t have much to say about it anyway. Marigold seemed quite eager to meet me. Do you know why?”

“I don't, sorry. I do however have a quite valid suspicion of why. But it might take a while to explain and it also means that I have to explain what your name means, so if you’re not fit for it right now it could wait.”

“No, no, I’m fine. As long as I don’t have to talk to a bunch of girls I’m good.”

“Alright, but since I am a girl, that means I have to go then?” He smiles widely at me as he sits down next to me on the bed. After I’ve moved a bit sideways he also moves to lay down before he starts to tell the tale.

“As I’ve known Marigold for some time I think I’m right to assume that when you came into that classroom this morning she was the first to introduce herself. ‘Hello there, I’m Marigold, daughter of Rose Blee and Currant Blee. Welcome to our school of Magic.’” he manages to draw yet another laugh out of me with his legitimate imitation of Maigold. “I can also guess that she was quick to ask for your name, right? Well, that is because to most families in this… magic part of the world, our namesake is everything, and therefore it is also very important to have the right social circle and such. Marigold’s family is one of those that hold the tightest to tradition and Marigold herself is no exception. So, when she saw a new student she wanted to know whether or not you was socially acceptable for her to associate herself with. And, well, your name is quite famous around here, or everywhere in fact, so evidently she’d like to be close to you.”

“But I never told them my name.”

“Hm, that’s weird, but maybe word got around that a new student had performed a great deal of magic and passed out and so she decided that you were powerful and therefore somewhat important to her. I don’t know, but anyway, about your name. As I told you, names and namesakes are very important to us. That goes back to several centuries ago, and it is all part of the most famous legends of our people. So there’s a lot to tell but I will only tell the most important. If there’s something specific you want to know afterwards you can either look it up in one of the many books about our legends or you come ask me, okay? Let’s start then.

“According to legend, magicians became through one and the same family.. So, some sort cosmetic action resulted in one big family, with all it’s relatives and related to earn some sort of magic ability. The family name for most of them was Brielle, though there was still a lot of people in the family that had changed name. One of those ‘new’ names was, as you can guess, Tronder. In fact, the family of Tronder happened to be the family with a woman who became the greatest magician of them all due to the incredible powers she had. Everyone is able to train and practice their magic ability to a higher level, but no one can grow as strong as a Tronder, for you hold the greatest power within. No one knows what it is that makes it that way, or why that is, but it has been the same way ever since that day. The other families, such as the Blee’s are too descending from that same family, but there’s not a single family line except the Blee’s that’s cleanly magician since then. That’s why they’re the most proud of their name, because they think they’re pure. Yet, they can’t even come close to the magic powers you possess. And honestly, my family is only a quarter of as magic as their family, yet I excel better than most so it doesn’t mean a thing whether you’re entire family is magic or not. Obviously.

“Great magic power, though, is not the only thing that’s typical for a Tronder. Routinely, you are also very warm-hearted and you are great leaders. Because of that, the Tronder’s have been leading us magicians for centuries. Until a dozen decades ago. There was this great war between an evil dragon tamer and his army of magicians he’d tricked and the magicians that stood against him. Naturally, the Tronder’s were the ones to fight the fiercest against him but after we had won, thanks to Myosotis Tronder, he and his family disappeared from the magic world and couldn’t be found. In the place where their house once had stood was instead a burnt message on the ground. Well, it wasn’t a message, precisely, it was a prophecy that told us that a hundred years from then, a Tronder would be born and she would be the first one to take back the powers to the name of Tronder. There was no explanation as to why this had happened or been done, but it didn’t take long until people forgot about wondering about that and instead they began to sort out how to rule our magic world now that the great leader was gone. In the end, it was Blee’s and Netzach’s that got the throne. And honestly, I don’t know if that was the best, because they’re not even close to be so much as good at leading us…”

“So, what you’re saying is that it’s my destiny to rule a kingdom of magicians?! How am I supposed to do that?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll do fine. And it won’t be necessary for you to get there immediately. First you need to learn more.”

“Right.” Yawn.

“You tired? It is quite late and I’m sure you need your sleep, so maybe it’s time for me to go.”

“No, it’s fine. You can stay if you want to. It’s…” Sigh. “Very nice to… talk to you and listen to you talk. You voice is not as shrill as the girls’.”

“Haha, lucky for me. But are you sure you want me to stay?”

I can’t answer for I am already asleep.