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The following weeks brought much knowledge and little rest. Wolloff felt that, since she was gifted with a unique strength of mind, she ought to be pushed harder than his other students. In weeks she learned spells that had taken the other apprentices months to perfect. She could soon heal everything from a bruise to a broken limb to any number of diseases. He would see to it that she practiced nonstop until the spell was casting just as it should be.
Surprisingly, Wolloff more often than not provided the meals. He seemed to believe that her education was of the highest priority. Each morning would see a new spell taught and rest would not come until it had been cast. Each day followed the same routine--until one morning more than a month later. On that morning, Myn was acting strangely.
The dragon had continued to leave with the approach of morning, usually waking Myranda in the process. Something was different, though. When Myn jumped to the floor, she sniffed at the air, clearly worried. She then climbed to the north window to gain a better sample of whatever scent it was that bothered her so. The little dragon was so distracted she did not even leave her station at the window when Wolloff entered.
"Oh, I see, we do not even do the old man the courtesy of pretending to follow the rules anymore, eh?" he said.
"Something is wrong. I think she smells something," she said, growing more and more concerned at the dragon's strange behavior.
"Do you have any idea how strong that snout of hers is? She always smells something," he assured her.
"Even so," Myranda said, straining her eyes on the horizon.
A sound, silent to the others, visibly shook Myn. She launched herself out of the window and ran to the north with a speed Myranda had never seen the little creature muster. There was something more than hunger driving her as she streaked through the snow. Myranda called out to her, but the dragon did not even turn.
"It is about time . . ." Wolloff said.
"This is not normal. Something is definitely wrong," she said.
"Oh, aye, but keeping a pet dragon in your bed with you every night is the very picture of normality," Wolloff said.
Soon Myn disappeared between the trees. Myranda turned to the wizard, who was about to begin the day's studies.
"I am serious. Something out there has got her attention like nothing else I've seen before. We've got to see where she's gone, and what she's gone after," she insisted.
"I do not see why--" he began.
"Please! You are a wizard. Surely you can do something to find out," she begged.
Wolloff looked at the desperate apprentice. Normally, he would be infuriated by the gall of a student interrupting her teacher, but looking into her eyes he saw naught but fear and worry. He heaved a frustrated sigh.
"I can see we are not likely to get anything done while this mystery stands," he said.
He gripped the amulet and spoke some arcane words. The crystal within began to glow.
"There is someone . . . a human . . ." he said, mumbling a few more words. "Aye, quite a few."
"Who are they? What do they look like?" she pleaded.
"I cannot actually see them. That would require a distance-seeing spell, and I have not cast such a spell in years. I am merely detecting their minds," he said, his next few comments scattered among lengthy pauses. "I can tell you that they are quite strong-willed. Not on the level of a wizard, or even you for that matter, though . . . I sense that they are looking for something. No . . . No, they have found it. There is anger. Perhaps a . . . yes, a battle . . . There are fewer of them now . . . fewer still. Whatever they found is putting up quite a struggle."
"It could be Myn!" she said.
"Aye, it could be." He nodded. "I've focused the spell on the discovery of human minds. Whatever they have found, it is not human."
"Well, search for her! Search for Myn!" she demanded.
Wolloff clenched his eyes tighter to maintain concentration.
"This may come as a surprise to you, but seeking out a dragon's mind has not been of tremendous usefulness to me over the years. I would have to do a bit of research to discover that particular inflection," he said. "At any rate, it does not matter. The ill-intentioned invaders--or, at least, those that remain--are leaving. Right, back to work then."
Myranda reluctantly turned her mind to the task of learning again. She tried to imagine that Myn had just gone off for the day as she had for weeks before. It was no use, though. She could not pull her mind from the worry she felt. Her spells fizzled and failed. Even spells she had mastered in her first days of learning were beyond her ability. Finally, Wolloff grew frustrated.
"Right. That is all for today then," he said.
"I am sorry. I am just . . . I can't stop thinking about Myn. She could be in trouble," she said.
"Aye, could be, and probably is. She is probably flayed open on the side of a road, but that is of little consequence. You are to be a white wizard. The tragedies of the world must cease to matter to you," he said.
"How dare you! My friend could be hurt. That will always matter to me. A healer should have compassion," she said.
"Caya sent you so that you could learn to heal the injured. To that end, you've shown tremendous potential, but mere potential means nothing. What matters is performance. Life would be wonderful if we were only asked to perform in the most pleasant of conditions, but the truth is that it in those places a healer is useless. If you are to be helpful at all, you will need to be treating men and women torn apart at the seams. Soldiers screaming in pain. Faces you may recognize shrouded in a crimson mask of blood--or, worse, faded white as a ghost with death's claws about them. At times you will not have the opportunity or resources to give help to all who need it. You will have to decide who must die and who can live. What good will you be if the imagined fate of a blasted meaningless creature renders you helpless? You are useless!" he proclaimed.
Wolloff rose from his seat and opened the door to leave. He slammed it angrily behind him as Myranda turned back to the window. She was shaken by his words. Their truth had struck her to the core. Casting the spell with nothing on the line was difficult enough, but to attain the necessary state of mind while a life hangs in the balance? Impossible. The emotions could not be pushed aside.
Perhaps the true test of a wizard was the art of detachment. Whenever tales of a wizard were told to her, they were cold and unfeeling, minds set solely to task. A part of her yearned to be free of the burden of her emotion--but in her heart, she recoiled at the thought. The image of herself showing anger and disdain in place of compassion and concern turned her stomach. Such a fate was worse than death. To deny her heart now would be to turn a deaf ear to it forever, and right now it was telling her that her friend needed help.
She marched down the stairs, her course of action clear.
"And what are you up to?" Wolloff asked mockingly.
"I am going to help Myn," she declared.
"And how do you suppose you will find her?" he asked.
"I don't know," she said, donning her worn cloak and tattered boots.
"Well, off with you, then. I have taught you the basics, and it was that which I was paid to do. My conscience is clear. You, however, ought to bear one thing in mind. Caya has invested a tidy sum and she is expecting a healer in return. How will she feel when I tell her that her new mascot and only healer has frozen to death seeking to rescue a beast from a danger that is not even certain?" he said.
Myranda gave him a long, hard stare, considering his words. Finally, she opened the door and set off into the cold. A single look at the sky and whiff of the air assured her that she could not have chosen a worse time to venture into the woods alone. As was the curse of the north, snow had come at least once a week for the whole of her time in Wolloff's tower. Most were light flurries, but some brought with them wind and cold sufficient to endanger any creature that could not find shelter. Today would be such a day. A stiff breeze foreshadowed the harsh winds that would be tearing a
t her face within the hour.