Kerrigan looked up, up, up. And there was Mistress Zahina… sitting on the ceiling.

Zina did any number of odd things during class, including many strange games that she’d apparently made up herself. But usually, she did all of these things on the ground. Occasionally, she’d float around with her legs crossed, like she was meditating, but generally, she hovered a few feet off of the ground. Not sitting on the ceiling.

“Hello,” she said cautiously.

“Hello, dear. Are you ready for your first test with me?”

Kerrigan looked at her skeptically. “Yes?”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“You’re on the ceiling.”

“Am I?” she asked in confusion. She looked around. “Are you sure you’re not on the ceiling?”

“Yes, I am definitely on the floor.”

“That’s a matter of perspective. Don’t you think?”

Kerrigan blinked at her and then slowly nodded. “Yes, I could see how that would be a matter of perspective. Considering, to you, the floor must look like the ceiling.”

“That is the ceiling. You’re the one who is disoriented.”

Kerrigan frowned. Of course it made sense in its own way. She had never considered it before. Did up always have to be up and down always down? If she was on a dragon upside down, could she also be right side up?

That was at the heart of all of Zina’s teachings. Everything they had been told and thought that they knew were building blocks for failure. They needed to close their eyes, forget everything, and relearn their magic.

“Do you plan to join me, or are you going to stand there, agog all day?”

Kerrigan gulped and took a deep breath. Zina had been working with them on floating and hovering in class, but she hadn’t had them fly to the ceiling. This wasn’t something she could have ever prepared for. Yet the other three had passed this exam, which meant she had the building blocks for how to do this.

“I plan to join you,” she said finally.

“Excellent. The tea is getting cold.”

“Tea?” Kerrigan whispered in confusion.

She closed her eyes and focused on what was important. The elements of Zina’s teaching were that energy was all around them. Air was in everything. They were built on air. The world was built on air. They didn’t need to feel for it because the magic was already there, all around them.

Kerrigan pulled the energy into her, letting herself hover slightly off of the ground. This was where they’d all struggled, trusting the magic to hold them for more than a few inches. But if everyone else could do it, then she could too. Unless they’d all had different exams. It would be the only way to ensure they didn’t tell each other what was coming next. They hadn’t shared, but the masters didn’t know that.