Elegy for a Star

Gwen sat upright at her desk, awaiting the arrival of Professor Soveliss. A few other students were in the room, but it was mostly empty. She wondered if a lot less students decided to continue on this track. Professor Soveliss was far from an easy teacher, but he was kind and fair. The content of the class was just very complicated.

The class wasn’t as empty as originally thought; Most of the students were arriving at the last minute. For a moment, Gwendolyn considered getting an extra half-hour of sleep tomorrow, but decided that would be wildly irresponsible. “Do better,” her father had written. She could practically hear his voice. She would do better. She would be the best; for father, for mother, for Sir Strand.

For Tess.

Gwendolyn shook the thought from her mind. She didn’t have time for distractions right now. She had to focus.

Class began with the Professor handing back their books, where they conducted the pre-exam to see how much information they recalled from the Basics class. Gwendolyn scored slightly above average. She scowled at the thought of it. She missed such obvious questions!

“Overall, I believe the class as a whole is prepared to go through the Advanced lessons, after our recap last week. Due to scoring the highest on the pre-exams, and the highest in the Basics class as a whole, I would like to extend a congratulations to…”

“Please be me,” Gwendolyn thought, “Please be me. I need something to write back to father; I need to restore his confidence in me.”

“Miss Chaezona.”

Gwendolyn’s heart ached. She looked over to the recipient of the honor. Lulu Chaezona. Pale as a ghost, hair as black as night and large, amber eyes. She hardly ever spoke. Never asked questions! Gwendolyn always asked questions; always participated. How could Lulu have done so well? How could she have done better than Gwendolyn?

She must’ve cheated.

Shaking her head, Gwen realized the bitterness in her thoughts. She had let distractions get the better of her in the last class. Lulu didn’t. Lulu was better. Gwen frowned, further disappointment weighing her down until she sunk in her seat.

The class applauded for Lulu, whose expression didn’t shift. Gwendolyn held at bay her dark thoughts for the dark woman.

“Let’s begin,” Soveliss announced.

The class moved at a slow pace. Slower than Gwendolyn needed. That was a point of pride, at least. She felt like she could answer some of the other students’ questions, but she dared not appear so arrogant. There was still a little bit of review, but it was brief.

“Using your gifts will draw in the light of Thyr that’s been trapped within the Black Sun. It attaches to your soul, giving you the smallest fraction of the fury of a blazing star.”

Gwendolyn recalled such events in the Void. They would act and begin to glow. They would burn with light. Gwendolyn could remember the feeling; power, speed, rage. It was an addiction, for sure, but maybe if she knew how to control it, the fight in the swamp would have gone differently. She could only remember bits and pieces; It had gone by so fast. Spider-creatures all around her, a massive, powerhouse of a monster swinging hammerfists her way. The thought gave her chills. The memory of the pain gave her aches in her ribs.

“This is your aura and it can be harnessed. There are ways to draw more of it, to wield it more effectively, and there are some things that a gift can only do when enhanced by an aura,” Soveliss explained, “Some exceptional powers are gated until unlocked by the presence of an aura.

“There are varying degrees of auras,” Soveliss continued. Gwendolyn was scribbling notes furiously to keep up with the Professor’s explanations.

"It typically takes pretty special situations or dutiful training to reach the higher levels of an aura, but the lower strengths are rather easy to attain. Meditation is an important aspect of strength in the Void. The closer you are in harmony with your body, mind and soul, the more you are able to use your aura, your gifts, and the law-breaking nature of souls.”

Gwendolyn focused on that word: dutiful. She hardly heard anything after it, as her mind filled with words that her father would have said. "Dutiful" is something that she could do. She was going to train and train and train until she could reach the most radiant aura just by sheer force of will.

“Lastly,” Soveliss continued.

This drew Gwen’s attention once more. She leaned forward in her seat, attentively watching Soveliss for more information.

“And this is not confirmed,” Soveliss explained, “But there is a theorized level of auras. We have labeled it ‘incandescence.’ There has been one instance of an incandescent aura being attained, and the wielder’s aura burst into a catastrophic explosion, like a star undergoing a supernova, destroying much of the void pocket that he was in, and killing himself in the process.”

“Professor,” one of the other students asked, “Who was that person?”

“A man named Henry Ostmyrr,” Soveliss replied, “He used this power to kill the Betrayer.”

“Sir,” Gwendolyn spoke up, “How do we know that’s what happened?”

“There were a few others with him,” Soveliss said with a thoughtful sigh, looking up toward the ceiling as he searched his memory, “Maeros the Mad, Krahe, Harkroth St-...”

“The Valkenlord?!” One of the students blurted out, “He was there at the defeat of the Betrayer?”

“He is the only survivor of the battle that is still alive today,” Soveliss replied with a nod.

“I thought Elnaril was present?” A few other students spoke up, acknowledging this same sentiment.

Soveliss shook his head, “Elnaril was killed by the Betrayer about ten years before that time.”

“Sir,” Gwendolyn spoke up once more, “Why don’t we hear more about Henry Ostmyrr? I wasn’t even aware he was at the battle with the Betrayer, and he was the one who landed the killing blow?”

“Henry’s story is complicated, and it doesn’t lend a pretty light upon civilization as a whole, or the story of the Betrayer’s defeat. When discussing the story to young children, Henry is often excluded. His side of the story is dark, to say the least.”

“What is it?” A student asked.

Soveliss waved it away, “You can take a history class for that. Let’s get back to Auras.”