"There are evil gods but Fharlanghn isn't one, for what that's worth. Tell me more about what it means to have an element?"

Scyelen sighs.

"Right. Every mage has a First Element. Um, a mage is classified by how many Elements they can combine. It exponentiates, up to square-class, which is four Elements. This also determines how many of the elements you can use. A square-class mage can use any of the four elements, regardless of their First Element's element, even if they usually get better results from combining four of the same element. But everyone starts dot-class with just one Element, which means they also start with just one element, whichever is most in their nature."

Scyelen looks at Raafi bleakly.

"I've never been able to cast any of the dot-class spells. Not fire. Not wind. Not water. Not earth. I... really am the Zero. You confirm it: my First Element doesn't have an element. I have Zero elements..."

"Hey." He floats down to sit on the air beside her chair and hugs her. "Magic isn't everything. And you did get me, that's not nothing."

Being hugged is wonderful. Trying to accept a hug without spoiling it, is terrifying. Less so, now. He's her familiar, she reminds herself. He can't change his mind about that, no matter what he learns about her. Well, he could kill her. But then she wouldn't have to worry about not having a familiar, if that happened, would she.

After a long moment she finds her voice. "Magic is everything. What kind of noble can't even cast a spell? And... yeah, you. But I messed up even that. You're lucky you still have a hand, to be honest. That was the... least unsuccessful spell I've ever managed."

"And you did manage it. - would you expect someone who actually had no magic to be able to do that? Real question, I'm not sure how your magic works."

"My magic? Um. My magic... exists? But it doesn't work. I've studied all year, I've tried every bit of advice. It doesn't matter what element I try or how precisely I perform the evoking. Every single time, instead of the spell, I just get an explosion. A completely element-less explosion. I can't even pretend to be a really eccentric fire mage because the explosions don't even produce heat."

"That sounds like something really strange is going on, to me. Maybe I'll see if I can find a scholar who has a guess about it, while I'm out. - have you tried Void? Would you even know how to?"

Scyelen sputters. "You can't just... try the sacred Void! That's not... how anything works."

After a moment she startles. "Wait, what did you say about that 'arcane' magic? It can be learned, right? Do you think... I could try that?"

"If we can get to my world, sure. That'll be a project if it's possible at all, though, for me. And not everyone has the aptitude - what kind of academics are you best at, that usually lets people guess about it."

"I get high grades in all subjects, actually. But I spend an, above-average amount of time studying. I was hoping you could teach me something I could at least use to prove that my magic isn't broken. Guess not."

He shakes his head. "I don't know enough about arcane magic to teach it, it's not my area. That does sound like you'd be able to learn some of it, though - maybe not more than second or third tier spells, but there's some pretty respectable ones even at that level."

"Any spell that actually worked for me would..." Wistful sigh.

...she really isn't sure how long Raafi can float like that for the sake of hugging her, but she can't figure out how to ask while she's busy keeping a lid on her inner degeneracy.

"Well, I can ask about getting back, too. I should anyway, people will be worried about me."

Scyelen nods.

Her body is tense as a bowstring, but she's also leaning into the hug to a much greater extent than that level of tension might imply.

She should probably... do something. Or say something. He'd be disgusted if he knew what she was feeling.

"You okay?"

"...no."

Yes. She meant to lie and say yes.

aaaaaaaa

"Anything I can do?"

"...that is quite possibly the most loaded question I have ever been asked," Scyelen remarks, almost marveling. And she goes red again because she didn't really mean to say that out loud either.

He gives her another little squeeze. "Not sure what you mean."

Scyelen tries and fails to form words for several long minutes.

"I... don't think there's anything you can do," she finally says. "Unless you have a spell that fixes broken minds."

"I suppose it depends on what you mean by that."

"I was... there's actually a..." She sounds more scared than hopeful, actually, but not zero hopeful.

"Clerics do healing, yeah. Bodies more than minds but I have a few tricks. I don't think that's what's wrong with your magic, though."

"I wasn't talking about my magic," she says in a small voice.

"Well, maybe I can help, then."