A/N: Sorry for the long wait (over a year, gosh!) but this story-writing is pretty hard when I have no imagination to begin with. I wish I had a muse to conquer this writer's block. *sigh*

Also, there is no Winding Circle. Lightsbridge will be known for catering to both ambient and academic mages, though there is, of course, a rivalry between ambient and academic mages within the university.

No copyright infringement intended! (Refer to disclaimer in first chapter)

Chapter 2: A Chance Meeting

It was morning of the next day. Knocking can be heard from everyone's door as RAs notified residents that they needed to get to the dining hall for orientation. Having already been awake when the sun rose above the horizon, Tris placed her book on the desk next to the head of her bed before stretching and gathering her things. Pointless as orientation seems, it was mandatory to go and also have breakfast. It was also where they would retrieve the semester's schedule with maps from the RA after announcements.

Just as she opened her door, she spotted another girl diagonal to her right stepping out at the same time. Hurriedly locking her door, she headed past the girl and down the stairs, keeping a book in front of her face to avoid making small talk. Once downstairs, she noticed 3 other girls standing in the center talking to the RA and another girl idly standing a few feet from them. Determined to stay invisible, she walked towards the wall closest to the front door to sit down and read while waiting for everyone else to gather.

Daja had woken up early to take a stroll through the campus. She was well aware of the freshmen orientation that will take place in an hour but couldn't bring herself to care. Administrative affairs never held her attention. But being responsible, she had informed the RA about taking a stroll and was made to promise to at least try to be back in time.

In that hour, she had already familiarized herself to the area confined for freshman living—the bathhouses, the dining hall, the administrative building, the kitchen (where the chefs snuck her some breakfast), and the surrounding area that consisted of a lake and small fortress.

As she was nearing the clearing of the fortress, the sound of ringing reached her ears. Directing her attention to the Watch Tower, Daja noticed that it was already time for orientation and steered herself back towards the freshman dining hall, taking care to clear the way with her staff so as not to trip.

Noticing a group of girls going through a side door, she quickened her steps to trail in after them. At the sound of her footsteps, two girls at the back of the group turned around and upon setting eyes on her, quickly tried to close the door behind them. However, before they could get it halfway closed, another girl behind them stood in their way, hands braced against the door and jamb.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves, behaving like this." Turning around, both girls looked into annoyed cornflower blues. About to defend themselves, another voice spoke up behind them, seemingly a little out of breath.

"You're not doing anyone a favor by helping me, no—" Before she could finish her sentence, both Daja and Sandry's eyes clouded over.

( - - Flashback - - )

At Winding Circle Temple, in Emelan: Sandry toyed with her fork, bored almost to tears. She wished that the servers would serve. If they did, the other well-born maidens at her table would refuse to chatter with full mouths, and her aching ears would get a rest. It wasn't as if they ever said much that was of interest; all they spoke of were fashions and marriages. By now, after nearly eight weeks of their companionship, Sandry was sure that she was interested in neither. All around her, the dining hall thundered; meals here were booming chaos punctuated by food. When quiet fell, starting near the door and spreading out, it came slowly.

Ha!

"Oh, no - they let just anyone in here, don't they?" Liesa fa Nadlen whispered to a friend. Sandry looked in the direction of Liesa's well-bred glare.

A girl stood near the door, cup, platter, and eating utensils clutched to her chest. In her thigh-length tunic and leggings, both an eye-smarting shade of red, she could only be a Trader. She was big for a young girl, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted. Her skin was the color of the new, fashionable drink called chocolate; she wore her black hair in a number of short braids. Her lips were locked tight, as if to keep them from trembling.

"Hey, Trader," a boy demanded, "who'd you rob today?"

"Whose baby did you kill to magic a wind for your sails?" called someone else.

"Find a seat," ordered the dedicate who ran the dining hall, her voice sharp. "No one can serve until you have a place."

Everywhere people spread their legs, or moved apart on benches, or placed books and packs beside them. They didn't want a despised Trader at their table.

Sandry got to her feet. Liesa's voice cut through her burning anger: "Lady Sandrilene! What are you doing?"

Sandry ignored the other girl and walked briskly across the room. The Trader was glaring at everyone, her chin up, the dark skin of her cheeks burning red. Only when the smaller girl halted before her did she look down.

"My name's Sandry. Please join me at my table." Seeing the other girl blink, guessing that she hadn't understood, Sandry tucked a hand under the newcomer's elbow and tugged her in the right direction.

For a moment, she thought that the Trader might refuse - she didn't budge. Then she relaxed. "All right, kaq," she muttered in Tradertalk. "But nobody will thank you for this." She let Sandry pull her between rows of tables.

"If thanks was what I wanted," Sandry replied in the same language, "I would be sad indeed. Since I don't want it, I won't miss it."

The black girl stiffened. Finally she said, "Your accent is terrible."

Sandry beamed up at her. "Yes - I know."

"We don't want her with us," protested Liesa when they reached the nobles' table.

Sandry looked down her button nose at the other girl. "She is my guest," she said flatly. "She - what's your name?" she asked in Tradertalk.

Daja nearly refused. When she saw anger on the faces of the other girls, she grinned instead, white teeth flashing against dark skin. "Daja Kisubo."

"Lady Daja is my guest," Sandry told Liesa.

A girl nearby muttered, "If that's a lady, I'm a cat."

Reaching out, Sandry lifted the pitcher of milk from the table. Cradling it in both hands, she walked over to the mutterer. "I am Sandrilene fa Toren, daughter of Count Mattin fer Toren and his countess, Amiliane fa Landreg. I am the great-niece of his grace, Duke Vedris of this realm of Emelan, and cousin of her Imperial Highness, Empress Berenene of the Namorn Empire. You are Esmelle ei Pragin, daughter of Baron Witten en Pragin and his lady Colledia of House Wheelwright - a merchant house. If I tell you my friend is a lady, then you" - carefully she poured milk into Esmelle's plate - "you had best start lapping, kitty." She set the pitcher down and returned to her chair.

Daja was still on her feet. "You did no one any good with that," she said in Tradertalk. "Not me, not you, not even them."

"I don't care." Sandry spoke in Common, so that everyone understood. "My papa said that nobility has no right to be rude. We are supposed to know better." She plumped her bottom onto her chair and looked at Daja. "Are you going to sit?" she asked. "Big as you are, you look like you can't afford to skip meals."

For the first time since the sinking of Third Ship Kisubo, Daja smiled. Gingerly, she sat. "I hope other nobles aren't like you." She had a lilt in her speech when she spoke in Common. "I don't think I could stand the excitement."

Novices began to carry bowls and platters to the tables. Any talk about what had just taken place was drowned out in the rattle of wood and metal.

( - - End of Flashback - - )

Unable to take the silence between the two, the perpetrators in the middle tried to sneak out in between Sandry's arms but not without jostling her back to reality. At the sound of frantic steps, Daja shook her head to clear the daze that came over her, forgetting what she was in the midst of saying.

Looking into the slightly dazed and confused blue eyes in front of her, Daja said "Uhm…I should go find my table," and slightly moved Sandry's outstretched arms out of the way. Spotting her RA towards the center, she walked in that direction but not before throwing a glance over her shoulder at the girl still standing at the door. 'What was that about? Why did I just blank out?' Waving at her RA to announce her presence, she sat at the edge of the table where there was an empty seat. The girl next to her reading a book glanced in her direction and wrinkled her nose before going back to reading. Daja chose to ignore her and instead concentrated on the girl that was slowly making her way towards the tables where the nobles sat.

Two claps coming from the front sounded throughout the hall, catching everyone's attention.

"May I ask everyone to please be seated. Thank You." Though spoken calmly, there was an underlying authority that made everyone immediately obey. The noise died down and all attention was to the person standing in between a row of professor-look-a-likes on each side. "Now that I have your undivided attention, I would like to introduce myself as the Dean of Lightsbridge, Niklaren Goldeye—but please, address me as Niko." Sounds of admiration passed through the hall. "The Headmaster is currently busy with other affairs, so the task of boring everyone with administrative talk, unfortunately, falls on my shoulders." Chuckles ensued. "I specialize in visionary magics—both ambient and academic….."

Tris tuned out the rest, having already familiarized herself with a copy of the campus rules and regulations as well as the academic code of conduct beforehand. Turning her eyes back to her book, she tried to continue where she left off but the words swam in front of her. Rubbing her eyes, she looked at her book again and noticed specks of silver gleaming in and out. She turned to the front of the room and caught dark eyes staring at her before it was diverted elsewhere in the room. The brief smile that appeared on his face only added to the mirth she saw in those eyes. 'How'd he do that without interrupting his speech?' Looking around, no one else seemed disoriented; all eyes and ears were listening to the dean. 'I guess the famed Niklaren Goldeye is no one to mess around with.' Closing her book again, she gave the Dean her full attention.

The sun was high above, indicating the long hours they were kept in the dining hall. Looking at the Watch Tower, Briar noted that it was half past midday. They had kept him for 3 and a half hours, nevermind that an hour was spent eating (hey! I'm a growing boy, I can eat for an hour if I want). Needing a refresher, he headed towards the small fortress. Being surrounded by greenery always relaxed him and he needed that especially today, after all the boring talk.

Once he stepped into the forest, all the plants around him rustled and trees bent their branches down to touch him—they were excited for the sun-like presence that appeared before them.

"Calm down, you wouldn't want to scare any student that will wander here later."

Untangling himself from them, Briar continued his trek deeper into the fortress but whispers to his right made him change his course. His silent footsteps kept him hidden from the group of boys that were crouched behind a bush peering at a girl in a small clearing. She appeared to be oblivious to their presence, seemingly concentrated on staring into the space in front of her. The boys in front of him were chuckling and whispering amongst themselves. 'Did they do something to her? She seems frozen in that sitting position… I probably shouldn't interfere, it's none of my business anyway.' About to turn around, he noticed the boys get up from their spot and head towards the girl. Now that they've stepped into the light, Briar could clearly make out the faces of the six boys he encountered the day before.

'I'll probably regret this later,' Briar sighed as he also broke into the clearing a few steps behind the boys.

"Why am I not surprised it's you six again. You should be ashamed of yourselves—going against a lady, no less, when you clearly outnumber her."

Tris had come out to explore the fortress immediately after orientation ended—only stopping to grab a roll from the kitchen to accompany her trek back later. Tucked under her left arm was a copy of Quicksilver's Winds' Path – said to be the ultimate book on wind magic that Tris read extensively and repeatedly. For some years now, Tris had entertained the idea of trying to scry on the winds. If one can scry in elements like water, surely one can scry on the winds as well!

Seeing a small clearing in front of her illuminated by the early afternoon sun, Tris walked into the center where she sat down and proceeded to read over the section on wind scrying. Reaching the exercise portion, she set the book down on the grass and started her counting for meditation. Having already read the book numerous times, the instructions recited in the exercises were already engrained into memory. The sounds of the forest faded as Tris fell into the core of her power. Opening her eyes again, she saw the outlines and shapes of each passing breeze but nothing else. Running through the routine of a whispered magical formula then tracing signs on her left and right temples respectively, Tris placed her hands on her lap over her knees and waited for her breezes to change.

Sitting inside a clearing of a dense forest made the wind around Tris twirl around in a slow hurricane fashion with little choice as to where to go besides back up into the sky. As she concentrated harder on the slow breezes, minimal wisps of color started to appear within each breeze. A bird's wing, maybe. Some leaves and branches. Then a glint of gold and breeches followed by an image of gray-green eyes.

Alarmed that there might be someone nearby, Tris used a counter-clockwise motion to wipe the signs from her temples and jumped at the voices behind her. Trying to move her stiff legs from her sitting position, she clumsily stood up, gathering up her book in the process and demanded, "What is going on here?"

The gang had whirled around, a startled look in their eyes, to face Briar when he announced his presence. Upon seeing who it was, they took up defensive stances while the leader righted himself and snarled at him. "This is no business to you, thief boy. Now be on your way."

Briar, about to respond, could see the girl had stirred and was getting to her feet unsteadily. She turned around with a scowl on her face, seemingly unsurprised at the party that had gathered around her.

"What is going on here? Can't a girl meditate quietly without distractions?"

Briar was startled to see the stormy gray eyes that looked at him before sweeping over the group between them. It had looked like there was lightning dancing around her spectacles for a second before they disappeared, but Briar chalked that up to his imagination. The air around the forest picked up and was now tugging at everyone's clothes, though the girls' dress remained still. He kept quiet while the other boys turned their heads back to the girl and briefly forgot about him.

"Stay out of this fatty. After we're done with thief boy here, you're next!" The wind had picked up considerably, and the leader of the gang was shouting to be heard. Briar saw that the sparks around the redhead's glasses had returned after that from the situation, the girl probably had some kind of power with the weather. Briar spoke up before something dangerous happened to his tree friends. He wouldn't want the wind to rip them out of their roots.

"Now, why don't you leave the lady out of this?" Those stormy eyes were on him now and despite the malice in them, he couldn't tear his gaze away. "I don't need you to fight my battles."

After that statement, the girl held her arms straight up despite the heavy book in one hand, and closed her eyes. The air around them twirled and became stronger with the girl in the center. Briar quickly pushed his magic into the ground and into the trees around the opening they were in to protect them from the harsh wind and to root himself to the ground. The gang got caught up in the small tornado that had formed and were thrown in the air. They spun a few times before the wind subsided and they fell to the ground unconscious. The girl lowered her arms and he felt the wind escape up and into the open sky. The air around them went still and Briar retracted his magic into himself, satisfied that his tree-friends didn't take any damage.

Though shaken, Briar managed to say, "One would have thought there'd be a warning when you pull a stunt like that."

When the girl opened her eyes again to look at Briar, he could see she looked a bit confused but that vanished and she was squinting at him now. Probably because I'm still standing.

"You have green magic?" It sounded more like a statement than a question, though Briar couldn't tell how it was relevant to the current situation.

"And you, weather?" She scowled at this – why does she always scowl? – and marched past him and out of his sight. Briar shrugged at her behavior and walked over to make sure the pile of boys were still alive. Not that I think she was a killer, but that tornado was pretty strong. Feeling their pulses, Briar walked in the opposite direction the girl took and went deeper into the forest, intent on continuing his stroll.

Tris stomped her way out of the forest and back to her room. How dare those boys try to gang up on her during her exercises. Though the one that was standing at the end, Tris scrunched up her nose—thief boy, they had called him—was interesting. He had to be strong to have stayed standing after her wind fiasco. To her magical vision, she had seen the green magic surrounding the trees retreat into the boy. And when she met those gray-green eyes of his, there was a sense of familiarity that settled over her. It had disturbed her since that was the first time she had met and seen the boy…right? There was no way they could have met before. She didn't know or associated with any boys, especially those that were not of merchant blood but a thief!

But why do I keep feeling like I've see—no, know him. Like we were once friends thicker than blood. My magic was almost tugging me towards him when I walked past him.

Tris rubbed at the goose flesh that had appeared on her arms at thinking about the boy. She threw herself into reading and familiarizing the schedule and map she acquired during orientation and ignored the memory of the thief. No way was she going to see him again. I'm not associating myself with a thief, no matter what my magic tells me.

A/N: All four mages have now made contact with each other, one way or another. Now begins the adventures! Maybe…

If a muse miraculously appears for this story, the chapters will be more frequent, of course, but I'm sorry you'll have to settle for long infrequent updates for now. Sorry!

Also, I was searching amazon one day, and saw that Battle Magic has a release date in October of this year! FINALLY a circle-universe book! It's been 6 years T_T I'm excited to read about Briar's adventures in Yanjing, but more excited for the next book of Tris going to Lightsbridge. Can't wait!