Maguerite meets me at the launchpad on the continent’s edge.

Our nation is not the only one orbiting the planet. The sky is dotted with the magical beacons of freighters and transports flowing freely between the Earth and the so-called “sky-realms.”

“It’s beautiful,” I say, looking down at the World.

“Yes,” agrees Maguerite from beside me. Turning to me, she asks “Are you ready?”

I nod. “Stay strong for me, Maguerite. With me gone, the Mistress will be relying on you for magics. Don’t let her down. Remember the place you can get to from our quarters. Leave messages you have for me there and I will retrieve them.”

“You’ll come back to us, right?”

“I always have.”

We stand in silence for a while, looking at one another. Finally I step onto the pad. Maguerite starts towards the control console, then doubles back and throws her arms around me, whispering a single sentence in my ear. She then scurries to the panel and inputs the sequence that will allow me through the shields.

Not sure how to react to Maguerite’s message at the moment, I do what I always do to cope: I focus on the task at hand as best I can. I chant a few syllables to focus the magic I need. A soft glow radiates from me as I am encased in a protective magical shell.

With no further warning, I launch. There is no perceptible acceleration; one moment I am standing on the launchpad, the next I am streaking towards Earth with incredible speed.

I feel the intense heat straining my protective layer of magic as I hurtle through the atmosphere. I could have used a spell to prevent the friction of reentry altogether, but the spectrum created by the extreme temperatures on my shield is an exhilarating sight which I rarely have the pleasure of experiencing.

Just before impact with the ground, I stop as abruptly as I began. I slowly rotate in the air, righting myself and getting my feet under me. I gently float the remaining inches to the ground, and the magic around me dissipates.

In my mind I can still hear Maguerite’s whispered parting words.

“I never stopped loving you, Aldain.”