Ugh, this sucks, Thoma thought as he writhed beneath the covers of his bed. The thatched roof above him - saturated from earlier in the day - hung lower than usual, and the distinct drip-drop from it helped him keep track of the sleep he had lost. He closed his eyes once more, and held them shut for a few minutes before giving up and smacking the cold, stone wall behind him. It had hundreds of individual scratchings on it. Names, dates, and drawings of all sorts had turned the plain granite wall into a canvas by the ones who came before to express themselves however they saw fit.
Doesn’t look like I’m going to be getting much sleep tonight anyway. I should probably use this time to review my spell, just in case… he thought. It was one of the most mana-demanding spells he had created, and he knew it would be devastating, to say the least. He calculated every movement to the degree, the amount of mana needed to condense his newly-forged spell, how it would react with the ring's ward and if the ward would hold. He rolled around in bed more times than a dung-beetle would roll a turd-ball back to his home.
I absolutely cannot fathom waiting any longer to try it. Although, if I go out and test it now, my energy levels for tomorrow will be severely drained, and I'm certain Master will pick up on the mana it will disperse, he thought.
He decided against going outside and tugged on the woolen blanket he was using to keep warm in the cold night. This blanket is a bit itchier than I thought. I can’t seem to find a comfortable spot around my neck for it. Since it had rained all day long, the ground was saturated with near freezing water, which made the air even colder and more difficult to stave off. The gray, cotton pajamas he wore to sleep did little to keep the cold off his skin, and what little hair he had on his arms and legs stood up on their ends.
Goosebumps riddled his skin and he shivered.
It's absolutely freezing in here, he said . I wonder if I can use that spell I had seen Roburn cast earlier this morning, he pondered. Roburn was another one of the synners who had graduated some years before that fateful night. He often liked to show off his abilities with mana cloaks and masterful sword techniques. Although Thoma had never used a mana cloak before, he had read about them in the dark hours of the night, and decided to try one for himself. What’s the worst that can happen? he thought.
He reached into his memories of his late night adventures and chose the Pyrus spell. Ah, this should do the trick. I remember Roburn using it to keep warm during winter training last year. Now, if I can just condense the mana properly around me…
His eyes darkened, and he stretched out his hand once again to draw from the sphere in the sky. He knew he only needed a little and used his will to control the flow from the spiraling rings of light above him, although he wasn’t fully attuned for just how much he actually needed. The mana tendrils wrapped around the tip of his finger, down his arm, and onto the rest of his body, encapsulating him in a cloud of mana.
He cut his connection to the realm, and his consciousness of the world around him returned. He still felt the pulsating cloud of mana around him, warming him like the heat of a small hearth. I think that’s good enough, he thought. He was - in reality - unsure of what he was doing, but he put the thought out of his mind, and told himself it would be alright.
He condensed the mana around him, lining his entire body, creating a small barrier between himself and the blanket. He flicked his index finger against his thumb, as though he were lighting a flint and tinder kit, sending sparks of mana from the inside of his palm towards the barrier. As soon as the sparks touched the barrier, it appeared to burn like the coals at the end of a wood-fire’s life. However, it quickly gained copious amounts of heat in such a short period of time, that Thoma could feel the heat coming through his pajamas.
Ah, I fucked up, he defeatedly, yet sarcastically said to himself.
The heat from the barrier set the blanket ablaze. The barrier disappeared as quickly as it was formed. Damn it, it was too hot! I have to do something! He knew he wouldn’t withstand the heat for much longer. His eyes darkened once more, as he drew more mana to shield himself from the ever intensifying heat. The mana surrounded him once more and acted as a shield between himself and the blanket. He tried to swat out the newborn flame with his hand, but to no avail. The fire engulfed the blanket and Thoma threw it to the floor beside his bed.
Shit, shit, shit! That was too close for comfort, he thought . The fire spread onto his bed and he began to panic even more so than before, given the fact that he had just lit something on fire at an hour when he should not even have been awake. The fire continued to spread, as he desperately searched for a way to extinguish the flame. This is probably the second worst idea I’ve had today, he thought as he noticed the piss bucket next to one of the other boys’ beds. He raced over to it, and proceeded to throw the musky liquid onto the fire. A strong, musky steam filled the air, and he began to choke on the stench he'd just created. Well, that was dumb. Ten points to the dumbass of the day for thinking that would work!
If I can't stop the fire itself, I can at least prevent others from getting burned, he thought. “Fire!” he shouted. The three other young synners in the same dorm abruptly woke up and, after having noticed Thoma’s mistake, displayed little more than pure, unadulterated panic. The flame that had now spread to the bases of their beds. The three were just as - if not less experienced - than Thoma, and they all yelled the word “Fire!” sporadically.
The fear in their eyes was real enough, for none of the three had ever seen a fire-based spell in such close proximity, as they would only begin to meddle in such matters the following year. Thoma, influenced by the panicking trio, felt his stomach churn. Oooooh, this is bad. This is really bad. Bernar will have my head on a platter, and there’s no telling what Master will do, he thought. The three youngsters desperately attempted to douse the flames with their blankets, however, since the flame had been mana-borne, it spread to their blankets as well. You're a fool, Thoma Fayren. You could probably have a more intelligent conversation with a rock than with me, he thought as he shook his head. The three boys were wailing, but through their desperate cries, Thoma heard a distinctive command. "Keep away from the door!" the voice shouted.
It was the Master.
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