“So, how did your journey go yesterday? I saw you guys entering the Ways.”

  Lara kept picking at her salad, “It’s not that much food.”

  After creating such an awkward atmosphere, Felix realised that neither girl would answer him.

  “I managed to get to my first gate…”

  Lara was clearly still not willing to speak, so it was Aster who answered.

  “We both got quite far. Lara’s reached her first gate, no real surprises there. She has to learn to cast her spell and pick up some basic combat. It’s the same for all martial artists from what we’ve heard.

  “I haven’t reached the gate yet. My affinity is quite complicated, but I’ll probably get there soon.”

  Felix frowned.

  “Huh, I reached my first gate pretty soon, I don’t feel like I’ve walked very far. I wonder why yours is so far away. Also, why does the gate make martial artists cast a spell? I thought it would be a requirement for Magi.”

  Aster shook her head.

  “Learning to cast the spell is the easiest way to learn about your mana. It makes the next steps of training easier. Basic combat is just basic combat. It’s not like you can be a martial artist without knowing how to fight. The next steps will probably be more individualised, but it’s a pretty good way to get everyone started.”

  With the conversation no longer focused on their meals, Lara felt confident enough to rejoin it.

  “The Guardian mentioned that we don’t get gates in the same places. The Ways adapts to us, I think it’s why the Guardian didn’t push very hard for me to swap to the elite group.

  “What’s it like for you, Felix? Do you also need to learn your spell?”

  “My trial is… well, it’s nothing like yours.” Felix frowned.

  “Are you sure it will be ok for you to wait six months before joining the elite group?”

  Lara nodded. “The Ways should be able to teach me everything I can learn for at least that long. Not that I’ve decided to go! I’m not going unless you can go as well.”

  Felix looked at her with concern, slowly taking in her look of resolve. With a deep, resigned sigh, Felix nodded. “Just promise me you won’t stop trying to clear the last gate in six months. I’ll do everything I can to clear it too. You need to believe in me. If I clear it and you don’t because you didn’t try hard enough, I’m going to be really mad at you. Ok?”

  Even as he said it, the words tore at him. ‘How in the creator’s shell am I supposed to clear my first gate, never mind the last one? I can’t be the reason Lara fails to become a Traveller, I’ll just need to find a way.’

  He could still see the doubt in her eyes, but Aster whispered something in her ear. Lara still looked concerned, but when she looked at him again, she nodded.

  “Ok, I’ll do it. Just promise me you’ll make it too.”

  Felix didn’t trust his voice, so all he could do was smile and give her a confident nod.

  “What do you need to do to clear your first gate anyway?” Aster asked, completely unaware of how much Felix would like to avoid the topic.

  Felix scrambled to find an answer that wouldn’t drive down Lara’s confidence even more.

  “I think mine's a different type… I don’t think it’s meant to be a short trial. I’ll need to prepare for it.”

  He gave them the basic rundown of his trial. He walked a tightrope, trying to downplay the difficulty to the point where it sounded achievable while making sure they didn’t expect him to clear it anytime soon. The more he tried to make the trial sound achievable, the more he felt like it was utterly futile.

  Even his sanitised version had the girls staring at him in disbelief.

  “It’s ok, Felix, we’ll try to think of ways to help you. It might take a while, but once you clear it, your way will probably be clear for a long time. I’m sure you can make it.” Lara encouraged.

  With everyone growing weary of serious conversation, they finally turned to lighter topics. Felix even managed to pry a little more information out of the ever taciturn Aster.

  “You really grew up on the Continent? How was it? We’ve heard so many stories. Is it really as big as they say? Are there really dragons there?” Felix and Lara raced to ask every question they could think of. Unfortunately, Aster wasn’t willing to rise to their level of excitement.

  “I don’t know, we had to move when I was really young. I’m only half beast kin. My father is human. My youngest brother was born unable to handle the wild mana on the Continent, so we had to move to a homeworld until he’s older. I’ll probably head back to our village when I’m ready. My mother had to stay behind with my grandparents to run the village. They visit home as often as they can, but I miss the rest of my family.”

  Lara quickly chimed in. “How many siblings do you have? Felix and I are the youngest, probably always will be. Grandma said she’d send our parents to farm potatoes on an asteroid if they have another oopsie-baby.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Felix was surprised by the genuine look of pity Aster gave them. “I have three younger siblings, and I’m the oldest. I have two baby brothers and a sister.” It took Felix a while to realise what happened next as Aster started sharing stories about her siblings. Somehow, he’d missed the signs, even being friends with James growing up, but Aster was most definitely another hopelessly doting older sibling.

  The rest of lunch was spent with them trying to redirect Aster to talk about the continent, her grandparents, her affinity, anything other than her siblings, really. Unfortunately, she was a master at redirecting the conversation back to them. By the end of lunch, Felix had learned nothing more about anything of interest, but he’d learned a great deal about Aster’s sister’s remarkable ability to capture deep emotion in finger paint.

  It wasn’t so bad. By the end of lunch, he felt as if he’d just managed a meditation session in the garden. Honestly, it was nice to focus on less serious topics for a change. But all good things had to come to an end, and after lunch, the three decided to head their own ways.

  Aster wanted to head back to the Ways to see if she could reach her first gate. Lara wanted to go to the gym and try practising her spell, while Felix decided to finally check out the Library in a vain hope that he could find some way out of his predicament there.

  The library was just as magnificent as he remembered. Bookshelves lined the walls and even protruded into the main hall, forming little nooks to hold even more books. Each shelf was stuffed full of books that threatened to spill over in an eager flood of knowledge. Felix had never seen so many books in his life.

  A line of benches with plush chairs and reading lights ran down the centre of the library, while larger nooks had sofas and carpets that formed little spots where groups could get together and read.

  Felix was so distracted by the books that he almost missed the librarian. If it weren’t for the Lizlings' uniquely flamboyant taste in attire, he might have missed it curling up on a table in the middle of the room. It let out soft little snores as it basked in a patch of afternoon sun streaming in through a window.

  It definitely wasn’t the type of thing he expected to see a Guide of the Crossroad doing. He wasn’t the only one who found the sight odd. All around, children would send occasional sideways glances towards the Lizling. Though they all seemed content to let it rest.

  After taking in the bizarre sight, Felix made his way into the library, eager to see what it contained. With a massive smile stretching his cheeks, he shuffled from shelf to shelf and nook to nook, gawking at the treasures the library offered.

  The more he wandered, the more his smile wilted, to be replaced by a look of confusion.

  ‘History’, ‘Cooking’, ‘Sailing’, ‘Trade and Negotiation’, ‘Gardening, Agriculture and Herbs’, ‘Antiques’, ‘Carpentry’, ‘Bookkeeping and Tax law’, ‘Flora and Fauna of the realms’, ‘Advanced sociology and Economics’.

  No matter how many bulging shelves and precarious stacks of books Felix inspected, all of the topics they covered were decidedly...mundane. Not a single book had anything to do with Travellers or mana. After an hour of prowling the hall, his excited shuffle had become a weary slog. His bright smile had long vanished, only to be replaced by a furrowed brow.

  Eventually, he had to admit defeat. There clearly wasn’t anything there. He stared hard at the Lizling, wondering if he should wake it. During his entire journey, no one had approached it. A tingling sense of danger told him that it wasn’t without reason. Still with no better option, he mustered up his courage and prepared to take the plunge.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” A soft voice called out from behind him.

  He turned around to see a familiar face, a short, stocky guy with dark skin and amber eyes peering at him over an economics textbook. He’d seen him before. He’d been with Eugene’s group during lunch the day prior. Felix never committed any of their names to memory, but even with the textbook covering part of his face, Felix recognised him.

  Not quite able to keep the frustration out of his voice, Felix snapped at him in a curt tone. “Do what?”.

  Not bothered by Felix’s unfriendly attitude, he simply responded. “Wake the lizard. The last guy who tried had his skin turned blue and his hair turned orange before being tossed out of the library. Didn’t even get to ask a question.”

  Felix stood there staring blankly at the guy.

  “You can’t be serious?” He asked doubtfully.

  “You can try it.” The guy shrugged while taking out a device Felix recognised, it could be used to take pictures.

  Giving one last sceptical glance at the Lizling, Felix turned back to him.

  “No, I think I’ll take your word for it.”

  “Pity...” He put the device away, looking slightly disappointed.

  “Well, what were you looking for? Maybe I can help you —I’m Henry, by the way. I can’t remember if I introduced myself before.”

  “Felix, thanks for the warning. Uhm, I wanted to see if there were any books that would help with the Ways.”

  Receiving a scrutinising look in return, Felix started feeling a little self-conscious and wanted the guy to stop staring. He asked again.

  “What?”

  “Unless you’re facing a very specific challenge, you’re unlikely to find anything useful here. You’re probably better off focusing on the books you were given with your spell until the Ways give you more.”

  “What books?” Felix asked, bewildered.

  Henry stared back, confused.

  “You should have gotten some along with your spell. Didn’t your guide give you some? You should have information on how to access them in your token.”

  Felix quickly pulled out his token and pressed it against his forehead. A few moments later, he lowered it, looking sheepish.

  “You didn’t check?” Henry asked with a twinge of amusement slipping into his voice.

  “I– Maybe not.” Felix sheepishly responded.

  “Well, you know where to find what you’re looking for now, don’t you? Good luck.” With a chuckle, Henry went back to reading his book like the encounter never happened.

  “Yeah, thanks for the help.” Felix eagerly made his way out of the library in part due to his hunger for answers. Mostly just to run away from the shame he felt.

  ‘I really need to take some time and see what else is in this token.’

  As soon as Felix stepped outside the library, he turned back to the door. Raising his token in front of him, he walked back in. This time, instead of entering the normal library. The doorway rippled, and he entered a smaller reading room.

  It was just as cozy as the rest of the Crossroads. The room didn’t have much, just a bookshelf, a single window with a reading nook looking out towards the Ways, a cozy armchair, and a small fireplace. Felix was so enamoured with the effect that he left and entered two more times before giving the room his full attention.

  Of course, as soon as he did, the first thing that drew his attention was the bookshelf. Felix rushed to it like it held his birthday presents, eager to dive into the surprise. The shelves were notably barren compared to the overflowing bounty of the main library. Quickly scanning the titles, he was glad to see that among the more questionable ones, a couple sounded like they might be of some use.

  ‘Abbot Moss’ guide to inner peace, sounds like one of the books everyone keeps buying Damien.’

  ‘A beginner’s guide to Martial artists and Magi, sounds informative but unlikely to help me with my first gate.’

  ‘The meaning of life by Faelar, that’s either a self-help book or has something to do with my life affinity.’

  ‘When sad things happen, ok… this is clearly a children’s book.’ Feeling a little insulted, he turned to the last book.

  ‘A beginner's guide to understanding mana. Finally, one that sounds helpful!’

  Quickly grabbing the book and settling into the recliner, Felix got ready to spend the rest of the afternoon reading. Perhaps he’d finally get some answers to his burning questions.