"Right, anyone that wants to say goodbye to their families, or take a final look around before we go, do it tonight. We're leaving first thing tomorrow morning, so make sure you have packed everything you want to take with you!" Arikele's voice rang through the Library hall, instructing those who were travelling to the northern mage settlement known as Dragon's Teeth. Seventeen of the students had chosen to make the journey, with the strict Arikele acting as head of the group and a representative of the temple. "I will not be running back and forth to collect items you've left behind; Melira, I'm looking at you – if you forget something, you can live without it!"

Enkarini watched the rest of them from the balcony, leaning on the railing opposite the formerly locked door that led to the ancient magical gateway they would be using to make this pilgrimage. She had been packed for a month already, and had no family left to say goodbye to. Kandrina, her older sister and only remaining relative, had left for the newly built university in Yoscar at the end of summer along with her partner Remlik. Enkarini's former teacher Remlika had also gone to teach there, leaving the young girl almost alone.

"Feeling sorry for yourself again?" came a sly, teasing voice from her left. "I thought you'd have been impatient to get out of here, what with everything that's happened."

She turned to see a tall, dark-haired boy smirking at her, one elbow propped against the railing. Soris, one of her closest friends and another of the students going to Dragon's Teeth, had found her. It had taken them a while to become friends; the first time they met, Soris had attacked her with fire darts after she tipped a bowl of sticky sauce over his head. When they met again at the Inner Library, she had initially tried to avoid him, but when she found him alone and miserable late one night, she had realised his belligerent act was merely a protective front. Eventually the two had learned to trust each other, and he had proved a good friend, despite his habit of teasing people. "I was just… thinking."

He clicked his tongue in mock disapproval. "Dangerous habit, that. Could lead to ideas." He turned, gazing down into the main part of the hall at the milling students. "They all seem so excited, you'd think they've never been anywhere before."

"This isn't just like moving to another town, or going on holiday though," Enkarini said reasonably. "Remember, the Firsts were just some dusty, nearly forgotten legend until a few months ago. Finding a link to Trizes, the way it's all connected… you can't blame people for being a little excited about it all."

"Only a little? The twins are practically wetting themselves, they're so excited," came a bright voice from behind them. Enkarini turned and beamed at her other best friend, Caiara. The older girl had chosen to keep her reddish-blonde hair short and spiky, saying it made her look more mature than the waist length locks she used to have, and Enkarini had to agree. Unlike Soris, the two girls had got along from the moment they first met at the Spring Festival last year. Caiara walked over to the railing, a cheerful sparkle in her dark blue eyes as always. "I can't believe we're finally going, can you? It's taken forever for everyone else to get their act together."

Enkarini tilted her head, a habit she had picked up from her sister, who had in turn got it from Remlik. "A lot of them have families and lives they're leaving behind, Cai," she gently reminded her. "Goodbyes take time, or at least, they should."

The older girl wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Yeah. I guess they're lucky to have people to leave behind."

"Don't be soft. Here we are, about to seize this great opportunity and possibly change the whole field of magic, and you're being a pair of mushy girls," Soris mocked. "I can't wait to get out of here, and away from that pair of walking disasters who claim to be my parents."

"Soris, your dad is the Chief of Entamar, I'd hardly call that a disaster," Caiara pointed out. "I get how your mum could be a bit embarrassing, but still…"

"Caiara, my mother is a drunken whore who'll spread her legs for anyone who brings her an ale. My father is a power-crazed necromancer in league with a murderous cult. Or don't you keep up with current events?" he interrupted. "Chief Jindara and the others are trying to find a way to have him overthrown or arrested as we speak. He's practically got the entire Entamar tribe under bewitchment so that they'll follow his every order. Then there's this Church of the Mistress bunch, who are all too willing to sacrifice anyone he recommends. 'Walking disasters' hardly covers my parents, but it's the cleanest term I can think of and there are small children present," he said, jerking his head towards the group downstairs.

Caiara scowled at him and opened her mouth to argue, but Enkarini held up both hands. "You know what? None of it matters. We're going to a whole new place, leaving all this horrid mess behind, and we're going to start over. Your parents," she looked at Soris, "your mother," looked at Caiara, "my family, none of it can touch us any more. Agreed?"

Slowly, the other two nodded. "Agreed," they chorused.

"Good. Now come on, let's go and take a last look around Tewen before tomorrow." Enkarini looped her arms through both of theirs, leaving no room for argument, and led them out of the Library. If this was going to be her last night here, she wanted it to be a happy one, full of fun memories to cherish, and hopefully ease the pain of the last couple of months.

The greyish, shimmering oval flickered out of existence behind them as the last student stepped through. Glissia, the high priestess of Talri-Pekra, had managed to work out a spell from Taliana's notes that would shut the gateway while it wasn't in use; both the people of Dragon's Teeth and those at the Inner Library agreed it would be best not to leave it open permanently.

Cassandra Miller, the mayor Enkarini had met on her last visit to the place, was waiting for them alongside a few others. Some she recognised, like Alessa Willow and Malise Blackwood, others she hadn't yet been introduced to. "Welcome, all of you," Cassandra said when all the students had gathered in front of her. "I expect you're all eager to get settled in and start exploring your new home, but I'd like to ask you to first come with me to the council hall. The Clarke sisters have been preparing for your arrival; Rosemary will give you a short explanation of our little society and tell you about some of the things you may find odd, and then Saffron will introduce you to the families who will host you for the next few months until we can arrange more permanent lodgings."

There was a general murmur of assent from the students, and Arikele shepherded them after Cassandra. As they entered the village, several of the others muttered excitedly between themselves, pointing to various buildings and staring at the inhabitants, who seemed equally fascinated with the newcomers. One little girl, on spotting the approaching gaggle, squirmed out of her mother's arms and waddled towards them as fast as she could.

"Susie, you can say hello later!" the woman called, a light laugh in her voice. "Come on, come back here."

The little one stumbled, clearly torn between listening to her mum and investigating the strangers, and Caiara caught her as she fell. "Aren't you the cutest little thing?" she cooed, carrying the toddler back to her mum.

"He-o, he-o!" she was saying, as she waved a chubby hand at them all.

The woman took her with a beaming smile. "Thank you. She's been so excitable since we heard there'd be some new arrivals here, I guess she just couldn't wait to say hi," she said. "I'm Melissa Forester, you'll probably meet my husband Luke at the council hall, and this is our daughter Susie. It's so wonderful to have you all here!"

As they were ushered onwards, Soris scowled to himself at the back of the group.

"What's wrong?" Enkarini asked him quietly.

He glanced around at those nearest before answering her. "Don't you think it's weird how pleased everyone is to see us? I mean, I get that this doesn't happen every day, but… I don't know, something seems odd."

"Oh, stop being paranoid," Caiara scolded him. "It's like being reunited with people you thought were lost forever, of course everyone's going to be happy about it."

Soris rolled his eyes at her. "Look, a little excitement and curiosity is one thing, but this just feels downright bizarre. I mean, if a whole bunch of random people had suddenly arrived in Bewein from some lost settlement, how many people would be this overjoyed about it? Sure, there'd be a little fuss, but most people wouldn't really care. This is like… I don't even know what it's like, but it feels creepy."

Enkarini thought it over. "Maybe it's just because magic is so rare here, not only is it exciting for them to have new people but there's also a lot more we can teach each other about magic. It sounds like they're pretty cut off up here too, so they probably don't see new people very often, that might be part of it," she mused. "All this excitement will probably wear off in a few weeks, and everyone will be normal."

"You're just not used to anyone being pleased to see you," Caiara teased. "Once they realise how much of a pain you are, they'll stop being so happy around you." She yelped as a small ember bounced off her ear.

"Settle down back there," Arikele's sharp tones reached them from ahead.

The three of them fell quiet, and followed along to the halls with the rest of the group. Those who hadn't seen it before stared up at the place in awe; it looked like a miniature version of a castle straight out of a fairy tale, with pure white walls, steeply pointed blue roofs and high arched windows. A small gathering waited outside, mostly children, and called out cheerful greetings as they entered the building. Soris was the only one who didn't respond, and kept his head low.

Cassandra turned to face them once they were all inside. "This is our town hall, where the council meets and sometimes other functions are held. The council's meeting rooms are upstairs, but the Clarke sisters have their presentation set up in the ground floor hall through these doors here. Before I leave you to their attentions, I just wanted to offer you a personal warm welcome, and I hope that you will all settle in well and enjoy your time here. Alessa, lead them in; Malise and I have something to discuss."

The two darker-skinned women left, their heads bowed together as the younger one in the long white coat whispered rapidly to the mayor. Everyone's attention was called to the shortish, plump woman with olive skin, long brown hair and hazel eyes. "Well, I'll just introduce myself and we can head in. My name is Alessa Willow, I'm the headmistress of the school here and a member of the council. I expect most of you won't be needing my more mundane teaching services, but I'll be available to give advice and help to anyone who needs it. Now, follow me," she turned and led them into the hall, where a pair of tall blonde women stood on a stage, in front of a table covered in small things Enkarini couldn't quite identify at this distance. They were clearly sisters, from the strong resemblance, and Enkarini recognised the slightly older one as Saffron Clarke, one of the councillors she had met last time.

"Hello, all of you!" the younger sister called out. She was a fraction shorter than Saffron, had a red tinge to her hair, and a rounder face. "Don't be shy, come forward and have a seat."

Peering around the people in front of her, Enkarini noticed some rows of very comfy-looking chairs had been set out nearer to the stage. She grabbed Soris and Caiara's hands and led them forward, nodding and smiling to Saffron as she sat in the front row. The rest of the group joined them, and once everyone had settled down the younger sister began her talk.

"So, welcome to Dragon's Teeth, we're all very glad you've found your way here. I'm Rosemary Clarke, and this is my sister Saffron, we're both in charge of helping and housing new arrivals. Usually we only have one or two at a time, so this may not go completely smoothly, but we'll both be here to help everyone get used to things, and I hope we can all work it out amicably," she said. "Now, I'm sure there's a lot for all of us to learn about each other's lives and societies, but I just want to give you all a quick overview of how things are here.

"First off, our most important rule. While you are free to use the gateway any time you wish, leaving the valley on the road through the mountains is strictly forbidden except for official business. The nations to the south are mostly unaware of our existence, and we prefer it that way.

"Second, you may sometimes see dragons flying nearby, as their homes are in the mountains that surround us. I am unsure how much experience any of you have with dragons, but I can assure you they are quite friendly and often act as our protectors.

"Thirdly, there is a particular spot in town where we ask everyone to refrain from any magic use; this is the area around Dr Blackwood's facility to the north-west, where she performs a lot of experiments that can be easily disturbed by unexpected energy fluctuations. There are signs around the area, so don't worry about wandering into it without realising.

"Finally, you may hear some people talking about places called Oakshire, Aglendale, or Marali, which are other kingdoms to our south. Their societies are vastly different from ours, and from what I have heard even more different to your own. Some of our people have joined us from these places, and often they have been shunned or mistreated because of their gifts, so I would ask you all to be considerate and not pester them about their former homes." She paused, glancing over at her sister. "Although we have recently opened a dialogue with the Prince of Oakshire, this relationship is in its very early stages and as such, ought to be handled only by Mayor Miller and her deputies. If any of you hear or see anything related to this, please let her, Jonathan Miller or Ustin Fogsbaine know as soon as you can."

With that, she stepped aside, leaving the assembled students mumbling in quiet confusion. "Why would any of us hear anything about some diplomatic thing?" Caiara asked aloud, calling the sisters' attention.

They exchanged a look. "It's just that you might hear some gossip, or people speculating about things. Mayor Miller would rather hear everything, no matter how insignificant, than miss something that's going on," Rosemary said. "I'm sure you're all eager to explore our town, so to help you find your way around we've made each of you a little welcome bag. You'll find a map of the valley inside, along with a leaflet to remind you of what we've said here. There are a few other little things in there as well, welcome presents from some of our residents." She waved a hand, and a collection of purplish bags floated off the table behind them and into each of the eighteen new arrivals' hands. "Now, I'll hand you over to my sister Saffron, who's going to assign you families to stay with on a temporary basis, until we can arrange permanent housing for those who wish to live here."

The older sister came forward and looked around at them all, her turquoise eyes glinting in the light. "Thank you, Rose. I've tried to fit everyone to a suitable home, though without knowing your particular temperaments there may be some adjustment required. For the most part, there'll be one of you to a family, but I have been asked to house a couple of you together." She began calling names, and matching them with families. Several people had filed into the hall during Rosemary's speech, and one by one they led their assigned student out. "Jinna and Janna, I understand you are to be kept together, and with Andar. There should be room for you three at Miss Willow's house, if you'd follow her please."

Alessa smiled gently at the twins, as they clung nervously to Andar. Enkarini caught a few mental whispers of reassurance between them as they followed her out.

"Caiara, you're going to stay with the Richards family." An older woman with a genial expression stepped forward to escort Caiara out, and she waved back at Enkarini as she left. "Soris, you're staying with us, unless you have any objections?"

He looked sideways at the girl standing to the side, with flaming red hair and ashen skin who they had seen before, and his lips twitched into a half smile. "No, no problems here."

Saffron nodded. "Good. Let's see, who's left… Arikele, you'll be staying with Dr Blackwood and her son, they have a spare room and you should have plenty of quiet for your religious practices, or if you need to communicate with your high priestess. Enkarini, Mr Fogsbaine asked for you specifically, so unless you have an issue with it, he'll pick you up from here shortly."

She blinked in surprise. The last time she had visited, she'd got the impression that the man in question preferred not to share his personal space. "Um, I don't have a problem but, why did he ask for me to stay with him?"

Saffron made a thoughtful face. "He said something about wanting to investigate your shadow magic, so I would guess he intends to help train you. You can ask him yourself in a bit."

"No need to wait," came a cool, firm voice from the doorway. Enkarini turned to see the dark, angular form of Ustin Fogsbaine approaching. "That is indeed why I requested you. Shadow magic can be a tricky thing to master, and I felt if you had an expert on hand at all times, you might find it a less intimidating subject."

Enkarini couldn't think of anything other than 'oh' in response, and that seemed rather inadequate. A small "thank you" found its way out of her mouth as she followed him out of the hall.

Ustin looked faintly uncomfortable, and simply nodded in acknowledgement. Enkarini got the feeling he wasn't much used to being thanked for things.

An hour later, Enkarini sat on her new bed, looking out of the little round window that faced towards the town. Ustin's house was one of the oddest she'd ever been in; tall and narrow, with the entire ground floor devoted to a large practice room, and one wall covered in glass tanks where he kept snakes, of all things! He'd mentioned putting a curtain over them if she was scared, but she'd quickly said she wasn't. She hadn't seen one up close before, and was too enthralled by their different colours and markings to be frightened of them.

The next floor was split into three small rooms, a kitchen, a study and Ustin's room. He'd told her she had free rein in the kitchen and study, as long as she tidied up after herself, but not to go in his room. She'd agreed to all that, and then they'd climbed the wobbly ladder into the attic space. This was going to be her room for the foreseeable future, and she'd instantly fallen in love with it. Despite the cobwebs still clinging to the corners and the faint musty smell not quite covered up by a huge bunch of flowers on the dresser, it had a light, welcoming feel.

Ustin had left her to get settled then, and she'd unpacked her small bag before taking a good look at the place. It was totally different from her room back in Tewen, which she was glad of – nothing to stir up memories and distract her. The bed was bigger than her old one, and stretched out under the window, so she'd be able to wake up and open the curtains without getting out of bed, if she so chose. She reached for the purple patterned bag she had been given at the town hall, emptied it onto the bed, and looked over the items. There were two papers, one a folded map and the other a thin booklet titled 'Welcome to Dragon's Teeth', which she decided to go through later. There were a few small trinkets; a carved wooden token for somewhere called Chen's Apothecary, a black ring with a polished blue stone, a little pouch that contained some coins, and a strange metal box-within-a-box she had no idea of the use of.

The ring sparkled in the sunlight, and she picked it up to read the thin tag tied onto it. 'A welcome gift from the Hexaril family', it read. It felt surprisingly light, and without thinking much she slipped it onto her finger. A sort of fizzy feeling spread through her hand, up her arm and then all over, making her giggle a bit, before the feeling faded and a see-through woman appeared in the room.

"Hiya!" The see-through woman waved cheerily. "If you're seeing me, then the ring I made must be working. If you're not, then I guess it's not, and you won't be hearing this anyway so it doesn't matter. I'm Astrid Hexaril, by the way, and you'll probably see me around town sooner or later. You're probably wondering what the ring does, other than make weird women appear in front of you. Well, I've put a little protection charm on it, as well as a basic directional spell to help you out. If you get lost at all, just give the stone a little rub and it'll shine a beam of light towards the spot where you first put the ring on. Hopefully that'll be either the town hall, or whichever house you're staying at. I'm about out of time on this thing, so welcome, and I hope you'll have a great stay here." She vanished again, and Enkarini blinked at the spot where she'd been. The direction spell sounded useful, and the ring was pretty. She decided to keep it on, and sat admiring it for a moment.

A light knock at the hatch drew her attention, and a familiar head poked through. "Hey Rini! Mr Fogsbaine said it was okay to come up," said Caiara. "Wow, you get a whole room to yourself? I have to share with Josie Gates. She's nice, but still… I'm not used to sharing since I never had any brothers or sisters. It's going to take some getting used to, but I think I'll get there."

"I thought you were staying with the Richards family," Enkarini said, shifting over so her friend could sit down.

"I am. There's Mr and Mrs Richards, their three kids, Mrs Richards' sister Miss Gates, and her daughter Josie." Caiara flumped onto the bed, making the springs squeak. "It's super crowded there. I think it'll be fun though, and Josie already showed me a cool new lightning spell. That's her talent, she says, and she uses it to power some of the experiments at Malise's lab."

Enkarini leant nearer. "Her talent?"

Caiara nodded rapidly, excitable as always. "Yep, apparently everyone has a talent here, one kind of magic they're better at than all the other kinds. Josie's is lightning magic, Mrs Richards can do water magic, Mr Richards can see in the dark, and Miss Gates is really good at levitation. Mayor Miller wants Malise to do some tests with us all next week, to see what ours are," she said breathlessly. "I can't wait, this is all so amazing, isn't it?"

"I bet yours turns out to be Seeing, you're really good at it already," Enkarini said. "Everyone seems to think mine is shadow magic, but I don't know…" She trailed off, worried about the 'black magic' and 'evil sorceress' comments she'd heard since discovering her cloud. "What if I can't learn it properly, and it goes all out of control again like in those attacks?"

Caiara shrugged slowly, her hands spread wide. "That's what we're here for, to learn and figure out our magic, right? I'm sure you'll get the hang of it, you seem to pick most things up quickly. Besides, even if you really can't control it, you can always just not use it," she suggested. "If you don't do magic, you can't lose control of magic. I mean, I don't think it'll come to that, but it's a last resort kind of option."

"But…" Enkarini struggled to find the right words to express herself without upsetting Caiara. "It's a dark sort of magic though, shadow magic, it's all black and smoky and mean-looking. What if that means I'm all dark and mean inside, and the more I try to practise and control it, the more it turns me dark and evil?"

Caiara pulled her into a hug. "Rini, you're the least evil person I know," she said firmly. "If shadow magic was dangerous like that, people wouldn't have been encouraging you to practise it all this time, would they? Glissia would have warned you, or someone else at the Library would have, or your old teacher. Don't listen to silly superstitions about evil souls or whatever. Just try your best to learn it, with people here to help you, and if you find you really can't then just stick to other magic, or no magic at all."

Enkarini simply nodded. She could tell Caiara was trying to reassure her, but the worry still niggled at the back of her mind. Before either of them could speak again, Ustin's voice floated up through the open hatch. "Going to get food, if you girls want to blow things up while I'm out please confine it to the practice room targets." The door shut downstairs, and Enkarini scrambled around on the bed to see him heading down the path into the town centre.

Caiara stifled a giggle. "He seems a bit weird," she whispered, exaggerating the word weird. "Did you see all those snakes downstairs? Why would anyone keep snakes in glass boxes?"

"Maybe he likes how they look," Enkarini said, pushing her worries away for now. "There's one down there that's really pretty, did you see? It's a shimmery dark blue with silver lines down its back." She jumped off the bed at Caiara's head shake. "Come on, I'll show you. They can't hurt you while they're in the boxes, can they?"

"Well… I guess not," Caiara said, reluctantly following her down the old ladder.

Now it was Enkarini's turn to shake her head. If the snakes were roaming loose, she could understand a little wariness, but they all seemed secure in their tanks on the wall, so why be frightened? She'd have to remember to ask Ustin what they were all called sometime; with all the different patterns and sizes, she guessed they were different breeds or something. She'd never thought much about snakes, other than being told to keep away if she ever saw one, in case it was venomous. As Caiara peered from a distance, Enkarini practically had her nose pressed to the glass. This place was turning out to be interesting, even if she did have some reservations about her own magic.