Leaving the Gray

The sky was gray and overcast. The ground below was also gray. Little dust clouds puffed up when people stepped down. Many people in town wore masks or goggles while outside to prevent too much from getting in their face. Today, little gray flakes were also drifting down.

Some people said the flakes were ash, but Tama wasn’t sure of that. What could possibly be burning so much that ash came down from the sky? Multiple times?

People said the reason the land was so barren was because of the Omens of Strive, demons come to the mortal realm to make life worse for everyone. Tama wasn’t sure she believed that either. The supposed demons lived a thousand years ago. They could’ve been powerful wizards people exaggerated about over time.

Well, she’d find out more about magic soon.

Tama worked on making her family lunch, sometimes looking out the window. It was quiet out right now, everyone already where they wanted or needed to go.

This was a mining town. Tama could see the top of the mine from the window. Some people grew plants, but mostly they traded with other nearby towns for food. Metal that was good enough to be used was actually pretty valuable. There were other things people did here. They might be blacksmiths. Or make clothes. Or be a doctor. But both of Tama’s parents worked in the mine. Tama’s only “job” right now was to help take care of the home while her parents were gone all day, and tired when they got back, but she was planning to do something a bit different.

Speaking of. A wagon was pulling into town. And it wasn’t bringing food.

Tama went out to meet the wagon. The driver was a reptilian, a man covered mostly in black scales, except for two ridges going across his head and over his eyes. Those were red.

“Excuse me!” Tama called out, waving. “I’m Tama.”

“You’re the one coming to Scalace?”

Tama nodded.

She’d sent a letter to Scalace, a magic school, requesting to be a student. Many people made their way to the school themselves, but you could send a letter with your interest, and they could help you out.

“I’m Isji, a teacher from the school. Are you ready?”

Tama nodded. Her parents knew she was leaving today. They might be disappointed she hadn’t finished making lunch, but she’d done everything else they’d asked her to finish before leaving. She had a small bag of anything she wanted to take, which wasn’t much. Isji stretched out a clawed hand to pull her up, and she took it.

***

The wagon raced across the road. Tama stood and watched the view go by. On one side the desert had plants, cacti or low growing scrubland. On the other side it was just sand, dunes creating subtle rises and falls. They rode for over a day. They stopped in a small town to get water. They stopped in another one to pick up other passengers. She talked a bit to the other people on the wagon, but mostly she watched the view.

Isji said there wouldn’t be much to see on the way up, and on the dune side she supposed he was correct. But the desert was more than she saw at home.

And then they were coming up to Scalace. She saw it rising up in the distance. A round building, three stories high, made of dark gray stone. As they got closer, Tama could see more details. Tall grass swayed in the yard. There were three small towers around the school, only one of which was made of the same materials as the main building. A river was running by in the back.

Tama leaned so far forward Isji grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back. She didn’t think she’d been in danger of falling out. Was she wrong?

She looked at Isji. He was smiling.

“Do you like it?”

Tama nodded.

“Well don’t worry. You’ll have plenty of chances to keep seeing it.”

The wagon rolled inside. All the way in. The front entrance was big enough to fit the whole wagon. The hall got a little narrower further down, but it was still grand.

The group got off.

There were things to be done. Tama would have to talk to the headmaster and make sure she was registered, and discuss payment. She’d get a tour with the others and find out where she was sleeping, where she could put her bag down.

But the others also had to talk to the headmaster. And when Tama peeled away from the group and headed further down the main hall, no one stopped her.

It was wide, some sort of symbols carved on either side, and on the floor. There was a light up ahead. She reached the source, and gasped, coming to a stop.

The hall opened up into a room with a large fountain. Clear water spouted out of the top and fell into a pool, the fountain a dark yellow metal. There was light coming from a hole in the ceiling, letting in the sun. The sun hit the water. The large stone room made the fountain echo louder, reminding Tama of music more than splashing water.

Openings on the second and third floor let people look over into the fountain room. It reminded Tama of the kind of structure some insects lived in, like bees’ nests.

For a moment, Tama understood. How someone could be attached to a place.

Oh there were things about home she liked. She was used to her food and clothes. She was loyal to her family. She loved them and her friends. But the place itself? Barely a thought to it. Being attached to a setting, a backdrop, sounded worse than an inanimate object. She’d just as soon move out and never look back.

She wasn’t saying she felt any loyalty to this place. She’d literally just arrived at Scalace, and didn’t truly know anything about it. But she did, perhaps, understand the appeal.