"... And that's our proposal," Astral said and rolled up the parchment. "We'll continue our studies after the thesis as well, to find the roots of magic. To learn as many forms as possible."

The arch mage and his right hand shared a look before both smiled.
"We'll be looking forward to reading your thesis, boys. It sounds like what you'll find out in the world, will be good additions to the college's knowledge. We will of course be offering financial support. Whatever you need."

We hadn't expected that. We were applying for some grants in our proposal but getting it all paid for? This went above and beyond what we had imagined in our wildest dreams.

We were both staring at our elders, our eyes very wide.

"Congratulations, boys. You've earned this. Now, you have a thesis to write and a journey to plan. I would like you to write up where you plan to go. Just to satisfy my curiosity." The arch mage winked at us. Actually winked.

And with that wink we were shown out of the office, so they could continue to hear more proposals from the other students. Castus stood outside, leaning against the wall.

"Did they pass? Or could they even pass through their laughs?" He smirked at us, looking dumb.

"No, actually we got full funding for our study journey after our thesis is finished. The thesis is only the beginning of a much larger study," I replied happily and turned to Astral, ignoring whatever retort Castus threw our way. "We need to go to the library immediately. There's some books we need for this that I think will be excellent."

"Lead the way," he replied and hooked his arm with mine, ignoring Castus as well.

I loved the library. And I loved wandering the halls of the college. It used to be a castle, built in stone and with large glass-less windows, but they had filled all the windows with stained glass, telling the history of the mages in this world. Astral and I had played here when we were kids. We had been sketching the windows in our notebooks.

The library was more like a maze of bookshelves, with tables at its centre where you could study. The librarian was an old mage who'd wander between the shelves to make sure no one messed with the order of the books. She was very precious about her books. She had caught Astral and me kissing between the shelves once and had banned us from the library for a full week. After that we helped her out instead of adding to her grief and since then she had always greeted us very happily.

Walking in between the shelves always made me so calm, as if a soft blanket had been put over me. I liked trailing my fingers over the spines, reading all the titles, and imagine that maybe one day, my studies would join this collection. My name would be among some of the greatest mages to ever live. Maybe I'd be the first non-mage to actually get their name in here. I didn't know how many non-mages had studied here, I realised. It wasn't common, I knew that much. Some took individual classes but not the full degree. But what if I wasn't the first?

I went to the librarian, and she smiled at me over her red-brimmed glasses.

"Yes, deary?" she croaked with her hoarse voice, grabbing her pipe and getting it going.

"I was wondering... How many non-mages have studied here before me?"

She bopped her head from side to side. "A few. A handful maybe. Very few without the magical blood gets access to these corridors beyond the entrance hall." She inhaled deeply from her pipe and blew out the smoke from her nostrils. "Why are you asking?"

"Astral and I are working on something the arch mage is very excited about. I was wondering if I could be the first non-mage to get a book with my name on it in here."

She smiled softly. "I don't see why not. Your essays are already available here for future students, you know." She rose to her feet, bringing her long pipe with her as she stalked in between the shelves, a trail of smoke left behind her.

I followed her to a spot with leather-bound journals. My name was embossed in a couple of them under the letter M.

"You're already here, deary." She patted my shoulder and left me to admire my own work.

It wasn't all of my essays, only the ones that had gotten extraordinary marks. I was never told they'd be kept in the library amongst some of whom would later become the biggest mages. Even Advar was here. He was the first to capture lightning in a bottle. He had been hit forty-two times before he finally managed to do it. Now it was a regular part of the curriculum.

I had already left a mark on this place.

Astral found me by the shelves much later. I had no idea how long I had been sitting there, just staring at my name amongst the others', but it was dark out now.

"Are you hiding?" he asked and sat down next to me.

"Not really."

"What are you doing here then?"

"Look," I said and pointed out the three leather-bound books containing my essays.

Astral leaned his head on my shoulder, sighing a little. "You nerd."

I chuckled a bit. "I was here now, Astral. I mattered."

"You would without your essays here as well, you know."

"But now I'll matter to the future as well. Even more if our study becomes a book. Imagine it, Astral. We'll be featured amongst the most prominent mages if it all goes well."

He tipped his head up and kissed the side of my throat. I couldn't help but laugh. It tickled. Astral grabbed my shirt and pulled me back towards him, as I tried to dodge him and his treacherous tickle intentions, but to no prevail. We tumbled down on the floor and he ended up on top of me, pinning my arms above my head.

"Come on, come back to ours with me," he murmured softly, looking down at me.

"You don't have to beg," I laughed and tried to get him off me.

"Great." He jumped to his feet and hauled me off the floor, pulling me close and kissing me.

"We don't want the librarian to catch us again," I murmured against his lips, my hands balled in his shirt.

"No, let's get out of here," he chuckled and grabbed my hand, fitting his fingers in between mine.

Something woke me up. Abruptly. It took me a few seconds to realise it was Astral and he was having a seizure. I tiredly wrapped one arm around him, shoving the other in his mouth. He was making a lot of weird sounds, his body shaking violently.

"Astral, come back now," I murmured in his ear. He only responded with a loud wince. It sounded like he was in immense pain from the amounts of groans he was making. His eyes were wide open but completely white. It always frightened me to watch him like this, knowing I couldn't end it. There was no magical cure for the trauma he was going through with these visions and it was only a matter of time until his body gave up. It put so much strain on him and his recovering time was getting longer and longer.

The candle hit the next stripe before he finally stopped. A full hour had gone by. His eyes finally returned to normal, and he looked scared up at me. He grasped at my nightshirt with his fists, and then he broke. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he pressed his face to my chest. And I held him. Stroked his green curly hair. Spoke softly to him, promising it'd all be alright soon again.

"Are you in pain? Do you want me to brew you some tea?" I asked softly, stroking my thumb over his cheek, drying his tears, after a while.

"It hurts so much, Mars," he whispered and hugged me closer.

"I know. Just relax now. I'll brew you some tea with ginger in it. That usually helps, right?"

He nodded. I bundled him in the furs and then went to the fireplace to make him some tea. It didn't take long but when I got back to the bed, he was fast asleep. I put the cup on the small table between our beds and sat down on mine, planning to wait on him to wake up again. And if he got another seizure, I'd be able to be there for him immediately.

He opened his eyes again and smiled. "I fell asleep."

"You did. You wanna sleep or do you want your tea? You only slept for a couple of minutes."

"Tea," he murmured and pulled himself up. I helped him get comfortable with pillows in his back and then the tea in his hands. He sipped it carefully and scrunched his nose. "I'm not a lover of ginger."

I leaned in and kissed him softly. "Be a lover of me then," I whispered.

He chuckled. "See, now that's easy."

"Drink and I'll kiss the foul taste away."

He took another sip and I kissed him, tasting the ginger on his lips. We kept going until the cup was empty. Luckily my reserve of kisses couldn't be emptied.

"Feel better?" I asked and helped him lay down again, cuddling up to him.

"Much. Thank you," he said softly and kissed my forehead. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"You don't have to apologise, Astral, it's not like it's within your control."

"No but... I could sleep in my own bed and not wake you."

"And then you could also swallow your tongue and suffocate. I don't mind looking after you when this happens, you know that."

He looked up from his position on my chest. "I know that," he whispered.

"Good, now try and rest some more."

He repositioned a little, getting more comfortable, almost moving entirely on top of me. I held my breath for a couple of seconds and then slowly exhaled. He sighed and wiggled down in between my legs.

His eyes flew open, and he tipped his head up looking up at me. "Something you wanna tell me?"

"Uhm..." I bit down my lip. I was maybe getting a little... Excited. By him lying in the position he was.

He chuckled and moved up, kissing the side of my throat. "Do you like it?"

I sharply inhaled and barely got a 'yes' out from between my clenched teeth. He chuckled and then stopped, getting back down on my chest again.

"Another day, Mars. When I'm not in pain."

"Alright," I whispered, warming up with the promise he was giving me.