Dread Mage

Sonder was flipping through the pages of the old grimoire.

It was her first encounter with such a tome, yet it wasn't very different from any other book she had come across.

Although she had only managed to read a portion and skimmed a few more pages.

She wanted to learn, but it seems that even that was too much for her.

Hiraeth, who couldn't go to sleep again after being roused and spirited away from slumber by Vell, ventured to her tent. Sonder was half inside, half outside to make use of the campfire's light for reading.

"Struggling, are we?" He asked.

She nodded, biting her nail.

"Forgive me if I seem impolite, but are you literate?" He queried.

"You don't need to be sorry; many in my village couldn't read; there was no need to. Even... even my brother couldn't read." The words were difficult for her to express: "My mother wanted me to have a better education so I could be a more valuable bride when I came of age. I want to believe that they had a better future planned for me. I often had the dream of traveling the world when I was older. My brother would take over our farm, so I wouldn't have to look back. But now..." Noticing a shift in Hiraeth's expression, she questioned, "Do you know what it feels like to lose that which is most dear to you?"

"I have experienced it," the sprite retorted, sitting down next to her, his voice heavy with concealed sorrow.

"I'm sorry," she managed to say. "May I ask, who was it?"

"Not who, but what. You might have heard tales of sprites resembling fireflies in their flight and glow. I was one of them, until I lost my wings."

"How did you lose them?"

"They were severed by..." Hiraeth hesitated before revealing, "By your kind, Sonder. Humans. They trapped me and, unfortunately, subjected me to torment. I would have perished if not for Vell's intervention. We have a shared experience in that sense."

"I'm sorry," Sonder repeated, taken aback and unsure of how to respond.

"Don't be. My anger is solely directed at those individuals, and that matter was settled long ago. Now, I am more akin to a nix than a sprite, yet they seem to lead fulfilling lives without wings. But, oddly enough, I can still emit light when I attempt to flutter my nonexistent wings."

There was a faint hum, and Hiraeth started to radiate a stunning green light.

"I'm sharing this because you need to understand that even if you lose something vital to your existence, you can still continue living."

Sonder felt a warmth in her heart from the sprite's words. She moved a bit closer to him and lifted the book.

"I'm having difficulty understanding some words. Could you explain what 'epistemology' means?"