Exile Read Free

happen to you as well?”
    “Sort of. They flash according to your spirit’s color, so mine flash red. It’s pretty creepy to watch—your pupils disappear altogether,” he answered, beginning to walk again. “It happens with any sort of intense emotion, if you know what I mean.”
    “You’re disgusting.”
    “I am,” he answered, not losing his grin, “but in all seriousness, if you get really angry, happy, upset, anything, really, your eyes flash. The same goes for when you talk to your spirit, or use its powers for a bit…. Old Master Serac never told you that?”
    “No,” Aless replied. “So it means we’re communicating with our spirits?”
    “Well, not really that either….” Piers said. “It’s a sign the restraints are failing, and your spirit is on the verge of breaking out.”
    “That seems like something we should be looking into,” Aless pointed out. “I don’t recall that happening during my training at all.”
    “Ah, well,” Piers replied, laughing nervously, much to Aless’s confusion, “it’s been happening since the beginning of time, really.”
    “You’re not acting like yourself, Piers,” Aless mentioned. “It’s like you’re hiding something.”
    “You haven’t seen me since I was twenty-three winters old. People change over time,” Piers said.
    Aless sighed at this. Piers was hiding something, Aless was sure of it. It was just a matter of figuring out what it was. Finally, after a few more minutes, he was able to see the monastery between a few trees. He smiled slightly, remembering all of the times he had there before his restraints had broken.
    The monastery itself was surrounded by a tall wooden fence, complete with a main gate with elemental seals on it, allowing only those trained in the elemental arts to be allowed in. It was mainly for the safety of the clan members, though once every few years someone would venture out, or in, to keep in touch with the citizens and gain access to some of the newer inventions. However, beyond those rare occasions, it was fairly uncommon for anyone who could to open the gate and venture out for any large amount of time. Even with their strength, it was dangerous to wander around the area—if a group of slave traders or militia discovered an unprotected mage, theywouldn’t rest until theyhad captured him or her or been killed themselves.
    Piers immediately walked to the gate, placing his hand without a moment of hesitation and releasing some of his mana, causing the doors to immediately part in his favor. He gave Aless a small smile, walking in and approaching the main temple.
    Aless followed, sparing small glances toward the Water and Fire Temples, both positioned close to the gate on opposite ends. There were five temples dedicated to the worship of the spirits, positioned in a pentagonal shape around the main building.
    However, use of the individual temples was largely outdated at this point for anyone besides the guardians. Before the restraints had been created, the vessels were sealed under the podiums in deep, locked vaults, and many students would bring food or make prayers in their honor. While his punishment was still being decided, Aless himself had been sealed inside the Water Temple’s well, and he remembered it as an awful experience. The pits were deep, dank, and filled with nothing to stop the endless boredom the days brought.
    In modern times all apprentices, scribes, and guardians would stay in the Main Hall. There were five different barracks in the basement—several to house the various groups of elemental trainees, as well as five separate, slightly larger rooms to satisfy the guardians’ needs and allow them to work closely with their apprentices before the spirit needed to be transferred.
    On the main level there was a library, a room of several seamstresses, a small nursery for the children of scribes and abandoned orphans with a gift in the elemental arts, a large dining hall, a kitchen, and a