From then on, Lull went all out in teaching the young being of Balance and Chaos the full extent of her powers. The faster she could learn meant the sooner she got to make the sacrifice.
But then, of course, Shewit fell in love.
He was a mage in the making, and a student apprenticed to one of the high mages in the School of Magic. Apprentices were not usually called upon to teach a being of Balance and Chaos unless, as in this case, the apprentice was exceptionally good at something. His name was Ermias, and with two years left to becoming a proper mage, he was already exceptionally good at Spell Studies. It was apparent that he had become more knowledgeable than his master mage, but appearances had to be kept for the sake of hierarchy. And so it was that when Shewit needed a spell master to help in her usage of the more formalized spells, Ermias was recommended as the best there was.
At first, Shewit had disliked him. He was too simple and rough in appearance. From his slim frame, his mop of curly brown hair, to his gentle demeanor, nothing about him radiated authority and expertise compared to the rest of her teachers. So she had started out being unresponsive, and even when she worked herself to give him a response, it was always cold. Normally, behaviors like this were to be reported to the headteacher – Lull. Shewit knew this and she expected it. However, to her surprise, Ermias kept coming back day after day, teaching her nonetheless; Lull had not come to her to complain about anything between the two of them. It only meant that Ermias had kept her little mannerisms to himself. Where others would have given up, Ermias still stuck to her, teaching her with the same fervour as though she were indeed interested in what he was teaching.
So she began to pay attention; too much attention perhaps, as she didn’t even realize when she started to develop feelings for the man.
A relationship of this kind; a being of Balance and Chaos and her teacher, had never been heard before. And as such, it was easy for them to surmise that it would be frowned upon. They were able to keep in touch under the cover of spell lessons. Everything had gone so smoothly until Ermias made a special discovery one day during his studies.
“You seem to be in trouble,” she said, studying him.
“Me?” Ermias said, looking at her, and then looking away immediately. “It is nothing,” he replied, and as if forgetting that he had added it, attached a smile to convince her. “It is just a case of bad food. Nothing that cannot be fixed.”
“You forget that I can read minds,” Shewit said, her face growing serious. “Do not make me read the words out of you.”
Ermias stared at her. He knew she was serious. Shewit never gave threats. She issued warnings which she would go ahead to take actions if the warnings were ignored. Also, for someone who kept a lot to herself, she disliked it when Ermias tried to do the same.
“Fine,” Ermias said. “The problem is, is that I do not think you are ready for what I am about to tell you.”
Shewit stared intently at him until he grew uneasy and said:
“Okay, okay. I will say it.”
He had gotten the message. Shewit was not flinching. She was never one to shy away from things no matter how extremely daunting they appeared to be.
“I was going through some ancient texts,” Ermias began, “which revealed knowledge about certain spells while taking the reader on a trip down the history behind the spells. They were a bit confusing at first, and so, it took me more hours of intense study to finally understand them. In the end, I not only grasped the knowledge of very valuable spells. I also found a way for you to avoid offering your life.”
He had finished the statement with a smile, but the stunned look on Shewit’s face wiped it off. He knew he had done something awfully and regrettably wrong even before she asked the question.
“What do you mean by offering my life?” Shewit asked.
Ermias looked at her with an uneasy expression on his face and said:
“Take it easy, Shewit. Let me explain.”
“What do you mean by offering my life, Ermias?” Shewit demanded, fixated.
Ermias began to stutter. He was caught between the suddenness of the realization that Shewit did not know the details of her role and trying to break the news to her – because obviously, she was meant to know but a lot later when she was ready to receive the message.
Frustrated and tired by Ermias’s inability to give her a response, Shewit threw restraint to the wind and plunged into his mind. She saw it all: everything that Ermias knew and was trying to properly organize so he could tell her, what her role meant, and what her life meant to all the lands and kingdoms of Toas.
Ermias fell to the floor at the impact of Shewit’s mind. Shewit did not know what to make of the discovery. She was furious. She was sad. But she was also scared.
“You knew this the entire time?” she said, turning to look at Ermias, fury glowing red on her face. “You knew all this time, and you pretended to love me!?”
Ermias tried to speak, but Shewit had choked him using her control of the air. Ermias opened his mouth and shut it as he searched for air. The only noise he could make as he stared pleadingly at Shewit was a croaking sound as his throat drew in nothing. Shewit stared at him, her lips trembled,
