And Cinders Remain.

[Aelin Valth]

Dawn's virgin breath sighed across the cresting waves. Salty spray misted in his face as Aelin stood near the bow of the ship, safely away from those more qualified to move freely about its deck. He hardly minded that the sailors considered him a burden; instead, he found himself thankful that he would not embarss himself with fumbled attempts at manual labor. At stark contrast with his striking silver hair and fair features, the rest of his body lacked for musculature and the vestments of his station hung loosely off him.

Aelin fidgeted uncomfortably when one of the larger sailors brushed past him with a snort, then proceeded to secure the rigging. "Excuse me," he mumbled self-consciously. The brutish fellow grunted, and Aelin felt his shoulders sag when the man seemed to take no notice of him. On this ship just as in the barracks, he was invisible.

With a sigh the youth returned to watching the horizon, lazily waiting for the sea to break beyond. Now and then a fish jumped out from the waves and danced for a moment in the morning sun. Aelin clapped merrily at the sight of a whale as it evacuated its spout off the port bow, but sobered quickly when it disappeared into the depths. "They rarely keep vigil with large vessels." Aelin snapped his gaze around to regard the speaker, a soft spoken blonde with kind eyes. He managed a rigid salute, only to be dismissed by a casual wave. "Initiate Valth, is this your first time at sea?"

"Ah, yes," he admitted, glancing away from the woman as she interrogated him. "I have not traveled far from Tylmerande, and only as far as my father bade me. I take it you are fairly well traveled, Lady Bethany?" Aelin felt his cheeks warm at the mention of her name.

Bethany chuckled and shook her head. "You can call me Beth, if it please you, Aelin," she smirked when he shifted and turned his gaze further from her. "But yes. My commission as a Knight has taken me as far west as Alerar, and to the southernmost reaches of Salvar. If you prove your worth, you may yet see the world for yourself."

Aelin rested his cheek in hand on the rail then closed his eyes. As the ship bounced in the waves, he considered what she might mean by "see the world." The young Arcane Knight fostered a love for knowledge that drove the intensity of his studies, so the prospect initially excited him. As the nature of his vocation crept back into his mind, Aelin found that excitement slowly morphing into dread. "You think too much," Bethany chimed in sourly when he failed to respond. Aelin glanced over at her and noticed her chewing a mouthful of apple. Her eyes studied the fruit in her hand. Once she swallowed, she spoke again. "There's no point in worrying," she told him as if reading his mind. "Today, tomorrow, a week from now- conflict is inevitable. Your position as a Knight demands it."

Aelin flinched. "Y-yes," he admitted painfully. "I understand that."

"I have no doubt that you do," Bethany smiled. "My worry is that you are ill-prepared to face that conflict."

"In that much, we are agreed." Aelin did not try to hide his reluctance. His lips tightened as he tried on his best look of determination. The Superior Knight guffawed. The novice visibly deflated.

"At least you embrace your shortcomings, Valth," she crooned, and he blinked. "There are many knights in the order who would not have. There are many brothers and sisters of your rank and better who, faced with situations beyond their control and ability would let pride ruin them. Here you are, weakness laid bare, and you display such graceful humility."

Aelin shrugged. It was all he could manage in answer to the kind words she paid him, for he had no good reasons to offer for his behavior. "Seemed the logical thing to do," he finally said, and she shook her head.

"If only there were more men who thought that way," she lamented. "And women. We would benefit as a society if people considered everything logically." As she finished her thought, the watcher crowed out from above.

"Land-Ho!"

Several days of sailing had come to an end. The boards beneath his feet creaked as Aelin leaned over the rail. "Raiaera," Bethany confirmed. He could hear in her voice that she had seen it before, and something about her words felt like fondness. He glanced to her, directly and breathlessly beside him and noticed the transfixed gaze she stared at the coast with. "There she is, Aelin. Once the seat of the greatest magic power in all of Althanas. There is a wealth of knowledge in this land that Corone could never hope to offer you."

She knew just the words to say. Aelin renewed his watch on the horizon, staring with lusty eyes toward the land that now commanded his attention. "I doubt that I've been sent here on account of knowledge," he spoke to sober himself, and to remind Bethany that he still did not know his true purpose on this journey.

"Patience," she smiled wryly. "There is no room in your mind for doubt. Cast it aside now, so that you have space for the important lessons."

Her words served only to incite more questions, but Aelin seemed content to watch as Beinost grew larger in the distance. "And Aelin," Bethany took several steps back and glanced skyward. He ripped his gaze free long enough to see her lose focus. It unnerved him. "Don't forget to live. Work doesn't mean you have to stop being you."

"Uh..." His eyes bloomed into two wide circles. "I... won't?" he stammered.

With a smile, the Lady Bethany turned from Aelin and continued her rounds. He watched her for a few seconds before Raiaera called to him once more. The young magician sighed and scratched his head. "I hope I get to study at least some magic..."