On a day when the sun felt closer to earth than it ever had before and the waters of the Nile threatened to wash away every home it came across in a gorged, drunken torrent, the lessons continued in a chamber deep beneath the Pharaoh's palace. It was deep enough in the shadows that the scorching weather would have no detrimental effect on either teacher or student, and the cool stone walls around them were an ever-present, welcome sensation.

A sparkling cloud of dust still hung in the air from the impact of a dozen ancient scrolls being dropped onto a stone table, shedding hundreds of years of decayed knowledge into the atmosphere. Mana had felt she was going to cough up a lung when it had first happened, but it had quickly passed under Isis' concerned gaze and comforting touch. The Priestess was her tutor today, giving her a lesson that she had described as being "Understood by Mahado, but unable to be taught", whatever that had meant. From what Mana could understand, it had to do with teachings from the early days of the pharaohs, when magic was a raw and untamed force. The teachings in these scrolls often made references to theories and concepts that had long since been debunked by far more logically minded magicians, like her teacher, Mahado.

"The power that you can wield is an incredible force, Mana, do not ever forget that." Isis said, a long taper between her fingers as she walked to the back of the ancient classroom, lighting the braziers. "You can bring forth the might necessary to scatter armies, or set entire cities ablaze."

"But Priestess," Mana said, looking up from the scrolls, wiping a stray fleck of dust from her eye as she turned to Isis, "Those are the sorts of things I learn from Mahado. In fact, he says I'm a natural." She beamed as she said it, and Isis couldn't help but find the smile infectious. It was true, the girl had incredible potential, which made these extra classes all the more important.

"There are two important parts to being a Magician, Mana," Isis told her, trying her best to sternly motion for the girl to continue reading the scrolls. "The first is how to use such magnificent power. The second, and perhaps more important part, is to know why you shouldn't."

Mana turned in her seat again; opening her mouth to protest, but Isis intensified her matronly glare. It seemed to work, as the sorceress-in-training turned back to her studies. Perhaps there was something to teaching after all… Isis could still feel the smirk on her face, and willed it away. She gazed into the back of Mana's head at, she fancied, the untapped potential within. Such promise, in such a shell.

"What's the point of having magic if you're going to teach me not to use it?" Mana muttered, disinterestedly unravelling a little more of the scroll.

"I'm not here to teach you to not use magic, Mana." Isis said, lighting the last of the braziers. "I'm going to teach you to understand your capabilities and the repercussions of their usage. That way, when the time inevitably comes, you can decide for yourself what the best course of action is."

"Use magic to help the Pharaoh. Don't use magic to end existence." Mana drummed her fingers on the papyrus. "It's not that difficult."

Isis felt a quiet laugh brewing inside her. She stifled it and walked back to her student, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, brushing a stray hair away with her thumb.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us," she sighed, shaking her head.

Four Months Later

"It isn't right, Isis." Mahado folded his arms across his chest, eyes fixed straight on the sand-strewn floor. "I appreciate that you're teaching her the ethical use of magic, it's something I've never been good at explaining-"

"You get caught up in the excitement of your work." Karim interjected as he wandered by. Shada and Shimon appeared alongside, chuckling about the time a much younger version of the court magician had summoned a storm of frogs, just to see what would happen. They passed and Mahado sighed, trying to ignore the blow to his professional integrity.

"As I was saying," he continued, "I appreciate what you're doing, it's important as lessons go. But Mana is spending more time in your classes than she is in mine these days. At this rate her powers will be squandered, she won't be able to achieve what she is supposed to."

"She chooses to spend time studying ethics and morality, Mahado," Isis stated, not rising from her seat. "It was rough going at first, but she wants to know more. I think we should respect that."

"She is barely an adult," Mahado threw up his arms. "In a few weeks she'll forget all that and be enraptured with another novel lesson. The girl needs structure and discipline. More importantly, she needs to finish her arcane studies."

"And she will, just give her time."

"There's more, Isis." Mahado clearly looked uncomfortable. "People are beginning to talk. The private lessons in the lower chambers, the way you two talk when you're outside of class time… There are rumours that you might be abusing the position of power you have over Mana. That you and her may be… Involved."

"I don't recall anyone raising such issues when you spent more time with her."

"I am a paragon of professionality-"

"And I'm not?"

"I didn't say that!" Mahado sounded like he was caught in a vice. "Look, just, promise me that nothing untoward is happening between you. Teacher and student. The scandal it could cause." He trailed off, muttering quietly.

"Mahado, I promise there is nothing untoward happening between Mana and myself." She rose from her seat, drawing her robe about her face as she set herself to going outside into the afternoon sun. "Perhaps you and these other… concerned voices should keep their minds on a much more wholesome level." She left him; fist clenched tightly, pace quick, breath short.

On a night when the moon hung low and fat in the sky, and the waters of the Nile sat almost entirely still and thick like spilled blood, Isis collected her literature for the morning's lesson. The library was home to every last collection of the history of the kingdom, and to the teachings of its most revered scholars. Even so, she was almost entirely out of material to bring to her student. The girl's appetite for knowledge was downright terrifying, as well as her capacity to understand concepts that had given philosophical nightmares to courtiers from throughout the ages.

A breeze brushed by her neck, rustling at the faintly lit brazier to her side. The fire sputtered and died, smoke trailing around Isis' smiling mouth. The tendrils of grey mist formed intricate patterns as they danced in front of the Priestess' eyes, turning back to mundane smoke as the warm, slender hand pressed down on her shoulder.

"In the library, again?" Isis whispered.

Mana's voice was still wrapped in confidence and clarity, but there was something else in there too now. Something she had picked up over months of lessons. The low, susurrating tone of a hungry animal pressing itself low to the ground.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us…"