Progress

"Of course you should relax," Hachir said firmly.

Ryan's Magic Talent and combat skills had stunned him. He had thought he already understood Ryan's talent.

But everything that had happened since then made Hachir realize he had still underestimated him.

By now, he could no longer think of anything he could teach Ryan.

For a teacher, that was...

Both gratifying and disheartening.

With mixed feelings, Hachir glanced enviously at Ryan. Their talents simply could not be compared.

But at least he could watch Ryan grow from close by.

Standing beside Ryan, Hachir seemed to make up his mind. "Fallen leaves nourish the grass. Let these old bones of mine help you grow."

Ryan did not hear him. He was grateful to the teachers at Kamar-Taj who had taught him.

They had given him so much that Ryan did not know how to thank them enough.

Hachir told Ryan to keep up his training.

Then he left alone.

Some time later, Ryan came out of the Spell House as usual. He had nearly finished reading its books.

He had even committed forbidden texts about Dormammu of the Dark Dimension to memory.

He stepped through the Spell House doors and said goodbye to the guard.

Outside, the sun was sinking toward the horizon, casting the world in twilight.

Ryan walked down the road at dusk. Along the way, he saw flowers. The blossoms on the trees had finally reached the time when they would fall.

They had bloomed in spring and could hardly last until midsummer.

He held out a hand and caught a petal drifting on the breeze. With a long sigh, he thought of the day he and Hachir had parted.

He had not seen Hachir since. Mordo had told him Hachir had gone somewhere beyond Kamar-Taj.

It would