Dread Mage

“I think we should leave,” Vell said to Sonder.

She sat in the inn, eating breakfast, and his words hung in the air, but she didn’t respond immediately because she didn’t know how to.

“You may think that there are still too many things here that bind you,” Vell continued, his voice steady and calm, “but what exactly are those bindings? Do you even know?”

He raised one finger, emphasizing his point. “Languor figured out what your ailment is and how to treat it. The only thing left for you to do now is to apply what he has taught you. You know you must take that step.”

Then he raised a second finger, the seriousness of the moment deepening. “And Inure, your swordsmanship teacher, is not here. He’s gone missing from the city, and the king and his men have been unable to find him. Without him, there is no one else here who could teach you what you need to learn. So I ask again—What binds you to this place?”

His words settled on Sonder.

She had thought that she would be spending more time here with Vell, Inure, and Languor, and she looked forward to it, but now it seemed that there was no reason to stay.

"I don't know," she admitted, “I guess... nothing does, not anymore.”

Vell watched her closely, his expression softening as he took in the turmoil in her eyes. “It’s time to forge on, Sonder. It’s time to take charge of your destiny and not wither away in this uncertainty. You deserve more than to be trapped in a place where you feel lost.”

That phrase ignited a flicker within her. "So, what's next? If we leave, where would we even go?"

Vell leaned forward, his red eyes gleaming with purpose. “I have a few ideas, but before I share them, I wanted to ask you first. Where would you want to go? What would you like to learn? Languor more or less confirmed that we have a lot of time ahead of us, but that time shouldn’t be spent idly, waiting for something to change.”

To Sonder, the answer was obvious.

“Magic,” she said, “I’ve spent the better part of a year training physically. I want to train that which I neglected.”

“Magic, eh?” Vell replied, a thoughtful look crossing his face. “I guess that’s a sensible choice. How about this: I’m friends—actually friends, not just tolerated—with a circle of druids. They’re a fascinating group, deeply connected to nature and the magic that flows through it. I’m sure they would love to meet you, and they’d be willing to train you in the very topic you seem so interested in. What do you think?”

“Druids?” Sonder echoed that, though she didn’t know much about them, she accepted the idea, “It would be nice to be in a place where we’d be accepted.”

Vell nodded.

“Druids live in harmony with the land, and they possess knowledge that is ancient and powerful, blah, blah, blah. You would learn not just spells and incantations but also how to listen to the whispers of the trees, the songs of the rivers, and the wisdom of the winds. That’s the part I've always been fascinated with. Maybe a refresher on that would also do me some good.”