"Let's do that last one again."

"But I've already mastered that one!"

"Once more. Remember, arrogance gets you killed."

Emma groaned, but she raised her oak staff nonetheless. She took a deep breath before she spoke the incantation.

"Vindicat ignis, ignis muro circumdant me."

The ocean-colored crystal seated at the top of Emma's staff glowed the same color. It formed into transparent fire, and then it expanded. It circled around Emma, forming a dome. Her mentor nodded.

"Good," he said simply. "Very good. Now let's test it." He gripped his own dark, spruce staff and pointed it towards Emma's bubble. An orange fireball formed above the staff, and the mentor shot it at Emma. The impact rippled off the bubble, but the mage inside kept her ground.

"You should always keep practicing," reminded her mentor, setting his staff aside. "After all, you can always get better."

Emma lowered her own staff, and the bubble dissolved. "Yeah, yeah, you've said this a million times," she said. "It's drilled into my brain now."

The old man gave her a look. "I know I've told you this a million times as well, but you and your brother are extremely similar."

"You're right, you have," Emma walked over to her mentor, "but you've never explained how."

He sighed. "Well, for one, you both have the same sense of humor. Secondly, you have the same unique sense of determination. You want to give up at every point, but you never do. You always keep pushing, but in your brother's case, he pushed in the wrong direction." The wizard paused, staring through floor as he thought. Emma gazed away longingly as well. It had been so long since they'd last seen her brother.

Her mentor spoke up again. "There's also a few other things, but I won't get into those right now. It's already very late."

Emma sighed. "I miss Grian."

He gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know. I do, as well. He was a young wizard with great potential."

"But he just had to throw all that away when he ran off to pursue a life of killing his fellow wizards!" Emma stomped the ground, her fists clenching with the anger and annoyance that had been rooted in her heart after so many years. "My stupid brother. He's so gullible and naïve. He knows he can train, but he had to be lazy and go. He just had to leave me!"

"Don't get mad, Emma. You know what happens when you loose your temper."

Memories flashed in her eyes. "Yeah, I know."

"Go get some rest. You will need your strength. Remember, you're leaving tomorrow."

"I could never forget. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Yajín."

Emma walked out of the rectangular room. She made her way slowly down the familiar hall to her own room. It was quite small, with only a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf. The only thing she didn't like about it (and the rest of their humble abode) was that there wasn't any windows. She knew Yajín needed her location to be a secret, which meant no windows, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

Emma took off her robe and changed into a dusty white shirt a pair of worn-out pants. Then she plopped down on the bed and hugged her staff to her chest, instantly drifting off to sleep.