Gracia jerks her head around when she hears the faint groan of pain escaping from Libarius. She sees him on the ground, his oversized jacket draped over his body, obscuring it. The metal tip of his sword pokes out from underneath the black jacket. His cane is standing alone in the ground nearby. Victoria and Favonius both stand around him, looking but unsure what to do. Gracia freezes up for a moment, then rushes over to him. She makes it halfway there, then turns back towards the rest of the class.

  “Umm… You all should keep on doing the exercise!”

  Gracia reaches Libarius, still moaning in pain on the ground, and kneels beside him. Now that she’s close, she can see him clutching at his leg. She reaches out towards him, but jerks her hand back before she touches him.

  “Libarius… Will you be okay?”

  “I ought to. In just a little while. Just a little bit of convalescence. Gracia…” Libarius lowers his voice. “Please cast a healing spell on me. Just a weak one will do.”

  Gracia quickly does so, and with much more strength than he had asked, and it seems to give Libarius some relief. Though he’s stopped groaning, he doesn’t seem apt to move. He keeps his hands on his leg, and he keeps perfectly still. Soon enough, however, he begins to move. He takes a hand off his leg and grabs the hilt of his sword. He flicks his wrist to drive the tip into the ground, using the blade to support him back to standing, so that he might hobble over and grab his cane. When Gracia realizes what he’s doing, she grabs hold of him and helps him up. Once he’s standing, he shakes her off. He takes weak steps towards his cane, dragging the blade through the ground behind him. He grips his cane tightly.

  “Well then, let us return to training then, Favonius.” Favonius can’t stammer out an answer. Gracia chides Libarius.

  “Libarius, you’re clearly not okay. Let’s go to the nurse.”

  “That would be an utter waste, and we’re already pressed for time, Gracia. I have no need of medical assistance.” Gracia grabs the end of his sleeve.

  “We’re going to the nurse.”

  Gracia starts pulling him along. Whether due to an inability or an unwillingness, Libarius lets her. He keeps step with his cane, holding his blade out behind him, just off the ground. They walk through the empty halls until they reach the nurse’s office.

  Gracia opens the door. The room is dark, the lamps unlit, and the nurse is nowhere to be seen. The two of them walk inside. Gracia pulls Libarius along until they stand beside a bed.

  “Lay down.” Libarius sighs but says nothing as he sets his sword and cane against the edge of the mattress and gets onto the bed. Gracia looks at him in bed as she turns on one of the lamps. “What even happened?”

  “If I had to guess, I would presume that I frightened Victoria too much. The image left her head completely when she lost her composure.”

  “What were you doing with her?”

  “She asked me for a spar, and showed me a curious spell, still unrefined as it is, and agreed to test a spell I created.”

  “And you won by that much? I didn’t know you could use a sword too.”

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  “Of course I can. I’ve seen my father use one before so it’s a simple enough task. Though I have no interest in swords.” Gracia looks at the long sword more closely, now noticing the waves along the edge.

  “I don’t know much either, but isn’t this sword strange? Aren’t they supposed to be straight at the edge? Why does the Major General use one like this?” Libarius remembers Salvo, and quickly he constructs a small lie.

  “All I had to draw from was the memory of his swing. Perhaps he was simply showing off an interesting object he had acquired abroad. The rest of the memory is hazy.” Gracia seems interested, as much as she can without caring for weaponry or war.

  “Do you know what this kind of sword is called?”

  “It is known as a Flammenschwert.” Gracia racks her brain when she hears the term.

  “Which language is that? It’s from the northern lands, isn’t it?”

  “Indeed it is, though that’s certainly not of any real import beyond Father likely only having shown it to me because of that novelty.”

  “I see. So then you were swordfighting, so you must have done something about your leg. Was that your spell you were testing?”

  “Indeed it was. It was a spell I completed en route to the city, but though I floated the idea of using it in place of my cane, it was summarily rejected by Father due to its impracticality.”

  “How does it work?”

  “It creates pseudo-fibers of magic, which fulfill the role of my missing muscle and tendon. It’s quite a bit more effective than other forms of magic prostheses, as it operates through a much purer form of magic, and as such operates through the image.”

  “If it’s mimicking muscle, then isn’t the image too complicated?”

  “Hence the impracticality. At the very least, it seems as though any image will relieve much of the pain of standing on my leg, which was the greater barrier in all truth. But in terms of full use, I would imagine that I alone have the proper image. And of course, as my test just proved, it’s unfit for combat, where I might desire it most.”

  “That’s true. Being in that much pain would be terrible in an actual battle.” Libarius’ face remains unchanged.

  “Indeed it is. I would never have to suffer this damnable curse if only the pain of my injury weren’t too great for the image to take shape. And even if I could cast the spell myself, even I am not infallible at all times.” Gracia remains silent, unsure how to comfort him, unsure if she ought to.

  Victoria and Favonius rush into the nurse’s office. Victoria nearly dashes across the room to reach Libarius’ bedside. She bows deeply to him.

  “Mr. Mitis, I’m sorry! I can’t believe that I lost my nerve like that. Are you feeling any better?” Libarius grins.

  “I’m quite alright. All this proved was where the spell was lacking, in both what I had already figured and what had passed me by. It was quite enlightening really. Quoth the Great Orator: ‘there is not one of them which was invented and perfected at the same time.’ This is simply another place for the spell to be improved upon. Now return to your practice, as it will serve you far better than any amount of worry can.” Victoria keeps her head low, unsure of where to focus her shame now. As she turns to leave, Favonius begins to talk.

  “Thank you for your instruction, Mr. Mitis!” He bows his head in respect. Victoria becomes flustered and does the same.

  When the students leave, Libarius turns to look at Gracia once more, the last remnants of his earlier grin still barely present. She thinks about what it means, why this man would smile there when he barely shows any feeling at all, and she comes to an answer.

  “Libarius…” She cannot bring herself to chide him.

  “Is something the matter, Gracia?” Gracia shakes her head.

  “No, it’s nothing. I… should return to the students soon. You should stay in bed and rest, Libarius.”

  “Very well.”

  Gracia leaves the room. As she softly shuts the door behind her, Libarius reaches out and grabs his cane, bringing it closer. He begins to get out of bed, having no intention of staying there, nor of listening to Gracia.