It had been a while since she had snuck out.

It would be at least one hour until dawn broke. There should be more than enough time.

She fastened the cloak about her shoulders and slipped her boots on. Staff in one hand and the other hand reaching out in the darkness, she found the door and eased herself out. Pausing, she listened for sounds of stirring people. When she felt she was in the clear, she tiptoed ahead, like a thief, along the corridor and up the stairs.

She heaved a sigh of relief as she slotted the roof lock onto the latch. She would be alone for a while.

The roofs were flat in Capital. The inn they stayed in was not the tallest one, so her Hearing would be impeded; nevertheless she had enough height so it should suffice. The sky was still near-black, with little grey clouds dozing in the darkness. She could barely make out the outlines of the other buildings across the street. Little blobs moved at ground level; no doubt the security guards still patrolled diligently whatever the hour. Whatever did King Ea have to hide? For what was he so fearful?

She glanced around and shivered. Without the sun, it was chilly. It was to her favour, however; sound travelled faster in cold air than warm air. She could Hear better in Capital than in Hume. She might not be able to gain news here in Capital and unless she snuck in a Hearing during someone else's Singing; she was unlikely to learn more about the current situation. Nevertheless, the Wind carried more than just Windcasters' messages.

She hoped it would work. She had only ever read it in one of Master Anu's tomes; she had never seen him perform Sensing before and most certainly had never attempted it herself. She grimaced. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

She spread her feet at shoulder-width apart, and planted her staff squarely in front of her. Keeping her face hidden beneath her hood and her breathing even, she closed her eyes and tuned her ears to the sound of nature.

Perhaps the king wished his civilians remain ignorant, thought Tia, suppressing a triumphant grin as she began to clear her head of thoughts; but he cannot block the passage of air.

The Wind sang to her, the gentle voices only slightly muffled by the other tall buildings. The volume was low, but audible against the quietude of the early morning. The harmony was sweet and soft, overlapping each other in a delicate caress.

It never struck her before, but this Wind was the very Wind that was used in the last Great War. This very same wind slew the thousands of Gwentians, twisted into a foul misuse by the very people entrusted with its powers.

She breathed deeply, emptying herself of thoughts again.

The Wind sang to her, relaying the lives, the deaths, and the emotions of the living things. She filtered out all that were irrelevant. She ignored the whisperings from the north and the susurrations from the east, tuning her ears to the south and west, where Ptarmigan Fortress and Elder Down, the two cities nearest to the Gwentian border, were situated.

Amidst the cocktail of feelings, the first that she picked up was fear : suffocating relentless fear. It hovered like a shadow above her shoulder, snaking around her chest and squeezing tight, and murmured unsettling sounds into her ear. Terror of impending doom and devastation. It was so strong – so many souls were holding such strong an emotion – that Tia felt sick.

Beneath the fear, there was resentment. Not jealousy, but resentment with abandonment. It was second in magnitude only to the fear, but she could not tell more details beyond that. The fear overlapped it again, slowly turning to despair and nihilism. Those feelings were stronger the further she reached towards the two peripheral cities. It was engulfing her to the very core.

She shuddered, withdrawing. Her heart was heavy as stone and her head ached. The enormity of the sensation tired her out. She knew there was a reason why the Master had not yet taught her Sensing – it was too arduous a task and too much to take on at once. Too many emotions. She released the medium from her hold; a weight lifted from her shoulders as her energy link dispelled from the Wind. She squeezed her eyes shut.

She hated this feeling: of seeing all the choices before her as various shades of evil. There were no good options, merely lesser and greater ones. When the time arrived, whatever she did, there would be consequences to pay.

Dawn had begun to break. The distant sun peeped over the square tops of the buildings of Capital, staining the skies a mix of liquid yellow and flaming orange, slowly darkening to a rich purple. The temperature rose. The quietness of the sleeping Capital started to be filled with the sounds of slamming doors, hurried footsteps and rustling pages as the scribes and scholars prepared yet another day of work. Before the light landed on the rooftops, she had slipped away.

****

Master Anu kept Enlil very busy. It was evident that he was wary about the boy's solidified plan, but with the king's duties keeping him occupied and away from his apprentices and the Casters' tradition of training the students together whenever the Masters congregated, there was little he could do to monitor the boy during the hours of daylight beside asking him to assist the stable boys. With the gathering of the Windcasters in Capital, there were more than enough duties stable boys must attend to throughout the day.

Tia and Mommu were sent to the training centre of Capital. It was not dissimilar to Hume: a large marble coliseum with pillars as walls, built on a hill not too far from the great white walls of the city.

She should be excited, thrilled, even; she knew Kingu and Ki would both be there as accompaniment to their Masters, and she had never met so many trainees in one place before. Two months earlier, she would have half-skipped, half-ran, humming to herself as she and her partner made their way down; but now, she nearly dragged her feet along the smooth, paved streets, past the scholars, priests, and other smartly-dressed people hurrying to and from their work places. Everybody appeared to be dressed in sandy-coloured or white cloths, matching the holy appearance of the city. The two Windcaster trainees' faded blue tunics and cerulean cloaks were a sharp contrast against everyone else.

"I am worried, Mommu." Out of the corner of her eye, Tia saw the boy tilt his head. "I am worried about Enlil. I worry about what he wants to do. What if there are also a lot of slaves here?"

"There are a lot of slaves in this city, Tia. You may not see them, but they are here. Hidden, but still, there are many. And I know Capital is not Hume."

"And you saw his face yesterday – when the king ordered the lashings–"

"I know, Tia," Mommu said with a sigh.

"I do not believe we can stop him if he wishes to cause an uprising."

Alarm flitted across his round face at the word, but he didn't reprimand her.

"I do not wish anything ill to come of our friend, Mommu." She knew there was little Mommu could do, but she had to say it. "But it seems he is adamant on overthrowing this... establishment. And he will resort to violence, come what may."

"I believe you are correct."

"And the king, should he learn of this, will have no mercy. He cared not for those helpless ones in Kiramone, nor the slaves of Hume, nor the poverty with Namru and little Aga... I cannot help but feel that Enlil is right."

"You do have a point."

She looked at him, puzzled. Before now, every time she expressed concern, Mommu would comfort her and try to cheer her up, and even tell her how she could solve the problem in front of her. There was always something positive, however small, that he could come up with to put a smile back on her face. But today, his manner of speech sounded different.

"What can we do?"

"Not we, Tia, you." Mommu gave her a small smile. "Do what you think is right, as shall I. Master Anu has said that Enlil has made his choice and he must live by the consequences; when the time comes, so must we. Our choices may conflict, but you must follow your heart – that is what he said to me."

"I thought I was the clever one," she said, sulking. "I do not understand what you are saying."

"You will one day, Tia." The rueful smile was still there.

Tia was quiet for the rest of their journey. Her chest felt very uncomfortable and she was overcome by a rush of loneliness. Mommu's words echoed in her mind. Sweet, silly Mommu, who would do her tasks if she persuaded him enough, who would take the brunt of the punishment for her if the situation was dire, and who always held her best interest at heart, was now letting her make her own choice. He wasn't telling her what to do or making her decisions for her. He wasn't making her do what is best for her.  He was becoming more and more like the Master, wise and impartial. She had never felt so alone.

Somewhere along their journey from Mooncliffe, the stupid, bashful Mommu she had known all her life had matured.

Our choices may conflict, but you must follow your heart...