Out of Time Chapter 8-- Not So Average

Eating with the rest of the barrack’s inhabitants was no small task. Sai pulled me through the various creatures on our way to get food. People seemed to genuinely respect the man, because they all stepped out of the way. Some slapped him on the back, and said something funny. I just followed him quietly, feeling all those inhuman eyes on me. That, and I focused on not tripping over a member of the fey.

The fey, I soon learned, were all very short. However, they were not all like Julian. Julian was an elf. Under the umbrella title of “Fey,” there were dwarves, fairies, and elves. They were even more diverse under those titles. I think the Irish had it right when they just called them all the “little people.”

A rather tall, hairy man served my plate. I wondered if having werewolves work in the kitchen was good judgment and resolved to check my food for fur. I ate quickly and stiffly. Everybody was staring at me, and I was about to go insane.

“M.C., are you well?”

I leaned across the table. “All these fantastical creatures are staring at me like I’m the one with feathers, or a tail, or fangs! I’m about to go insane! I’m not the odd one here, but I feel like a freak on display.”

To my surprise, he laughed. “My young friend, these people are as unused to seeing you as you are to seeing them. Most of them stay out of sight of humans. Really the only ones who walk among us are the vampires and the werewolves. The fey and other creatures do not resemble humans enough to pass by without notice.

I considered this. He had a point. Still, it was uncomfortable. After being the average one for so long, I was not used to having people look at me. I realized that in this world, I was the odd one.

Sai glanced at his pocket watch. “Are you finished?”

I nodded.

He gestured to what I guessed was a fairy—fairies usually have wings. “Will you take our trays back, Herman?”

The fairy bobbed his head and took our trays.

As he flew off, I asked, “Do you know everyone’s name?”

Sai squinted thoughtfully. “There is a distinct possibility that I might not know all of the names of the new dwarf recruits. However, there’s a fifty/fifty chance that a dwarf’s name is Thor.”

I laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind. What’s next on the agenda?”

He stood and led me out of the mess hall. “Well, Tyren wants me to train you until your hands fall off, so let us adjourn to the training wing.”

I gulped. “This isn’t going to be easy, is it?”

Sai stopped so suddenly I nearly ran into him. He turned. “M.C., you are not obligated to do this. If you do not desire to train with me, you do not have to.”

I thought back to what I guessed was morning their time and afternoon my time. I had killed those zombies with a mere thought. More precisely, I had accidentally killed them without knowing how. Taking a deep breath, I said, “I think I at least need to know how to control what I have. I don’t want to be accidentally hurting people because I can’t control it.”

Sai nodded, with a smile. “Ah, you are indeed wise.”

That was false, but okay. He turned and pushed open a door that looked familiar. As we stepped inside, I knew why. It was the large domed room that I had been in the day I left.

Sai closed the door and led me to the center of the room. Placing his hands in his sleeves, he began to teach me about magic. “We do not really know what magic is. We believe it is an extension of your energy. Magi have the ability to channel their energy to do things one would not usually be able to do.”

I was slightly confused. “So, can all humans use magic?”

“No. Some do not have the ability needed to channel their energy. Those that do are known as magi. Even some of the vampires, werewolves, and fey cannot use magic.”

I nodded, and he moved on. “Magic does not come about by chanting ‘magic words’ or waving staffs. It comes from your mind—your thoughts. Sometimes, a mage will chant to through a difficult bit of magic to keep his mind focused, but the power is not in the words. When you killed the spawn of evil, what were you thinking of?”

It seemed the zombies had many names. I frowned, thinking back. “I was scared,” I admitted. “I didn’t want to die, and I didn’t want Tyren to die. I just wanted those things to go away.”

He nodded. “So you stopped their hearts.” He shook his head. “Any normal mage would have been rendered unconscious after a spell like that. You just felt weak. As magic is an extension of your energy, you will feel weak after strong spells.” He took his hands from his sleeves. “Now that you know what we understand about magic, I will teach you to use it.”

He pulled a wave of water out of the air and threw it at me.

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Eh-heh. They changed how this blog works, and I'm not used to it, eeeeeeeeeeeeh. 

I'm done now. 

Sorry for the unintentional hiatus last week. It's been a busy past few days. It's finals here, and we leave Friday, and they want us to go to all this stuff, so yeah. Busy. 

Short chapter again, sorry. 

See you next week!