“Headlines of the Week!


    - Primus Councillor Sigismund Opullus meets with Grand Duke Salias Leofric VII of Abenstadt and Lord Admiral Forrus Nareses of Nautica to discuss state of Tripartite Alliance amidst Traxian aggression against Carrador.


    Felling of Felsmarch: Survivors Talk of Brutal Occupation


    Hot War Goes Cold: Imperial-Elven Conflict Tapers off After Emperor Sets New Agenda”


    - Arterian Affairs, Weekly Edition


    <hr><hr>


    Sophie’s mind overloaded with information, her own body growing ever more lethargic with every page she read. She yawned and looked up at the library window, surprised that the daylight had almost wholly faded away. The duo had separated after purchasing the required reading materials for the week ahead. Uther had offered them little trouble as the merchant seemed to recognise Karzan’s name fondly. After that, not wanting to bore the redhead, Sophie had agreed to meet her within four hours back at the cafe as they both looked for books to read. At first Aryana seemed reluctant, hurt even at the thought of Sophie separating from her even for a while. But, perhaps after realising that she could eat and drink all the cafe food she wanted, the redhead eventually acquiesced and agreed to meet up later.


    Once they parted, Sophie scurried all around the library, ending up on the second floor of the main wing. She found herself tucked away at a desk after grabbing what books on the Myndiri that she could find. Some library staff were helpful, a curious glance here or there but directing her to the right place. Others were a little more hostile, glaring at her until she left. Regardless, she had accomplished her first goal, acquiring two massive tomes; ‘On the Myndiri: Life, Disease, and Warfare by Gaius Segosa’, ‘Chronicles of a Rebel in the Age of Elves by Leroch Kasmius’.


    They lay scattered on various pages, Sophie herself having to spend what little she had left to buy writing supplies and paper from Uther’s, who thankfully added a large enough discount. Around her were countless papers, now scrawled over with notes and script, all noting some part or another of the Myndir that caught her eye.


    Few specialised mages, most were good at a frighteningly high amount of spells of all disciplines, those who did specialise became akin to arch mages of nowadays if not more powerful. Many disciplines… but none mentioned the void. Armies formed by… fighting styles include… experiments and mass use of human and beastkin as test subjects. Not a lot mentions the dwarves, though a bit more when it comes to lizzardmen and drakes.


    She sighed at both how much she had learned and how much had proven nothing more than trivia. So much speculative information, even Segosa says that many remnants not preserved by magical means were deliberately burned and destroyed, the hatred between races at that point overwhelming any desire to learn about the past. But what am I forgetting? I feel like there should still be another lead. She grumbled to herself and played with her ponytail, what am I forgetting?


    Her brows furrowed in concentration when a vague shape passed by her eyes, the faint light from outside giving form to her memories. The feeling of saliva dribbling down her face, the tears that followed, and the green armour with weird birds… a griffin?! The Myndiri had a griffin corps, could it be…


    A chill ran down her spine and she couldn’t help but feel that she was starting to delve too deeply into the Myndir. A sickening rumbling within her tied her soul in knots and blared out all forms of alarms, the same feeling that she felt whenever she was on the cusp of doing something forbidden. It feels gross, but I can’t stop now. The green armour and griffin are a lead, if there''s a text about it... now I just need to-


    Frigid liquids similar to the Lemurach’s touch grazed her left ear and she jumped back in fright. She had thought some of the librarians and guards had thought her an elven supremacist given her stature and research topic, even if that couldn’t be further from the truth.


    “Gah!” Sophie yelped and got ready to run, only to pause at the slight noise behind her.


    Her ire was drawn to the subdued giggles emanating from a voice behind her. She turned to find Aryana’s red hair bobbing up and down as the girl tried hopelessly to contain her amusement. A small open canteen plopped itself next to her notes and Sophie glared at the source of the liquid before looking back at the redhead.


    “Not. Funny.” Sophie growled.


    “Sorry.” Aryana mumbled between giggles.


    Sophie just sighed, partly defeated, partly exhausted and partly too tired to really get upset. She cocked a brow at the flask, the motion seemingly bringing Aryana back from the brink as the girl slowly calmed back down.


    “Black tea with orange, it’s really nice.” Aryana let out a smile, “It’s fifteen silver Artes but that comes with the flask, which we can keep.” The girl pulled out a similar looking canteen and wiggled it in front of Sophie.


    Sophie was appalled at the price, that could foot the bill for dinner much less a tea. But, I suppose it must be an import item here, just like how Eva gets her teas. She grunted her thanks and took a small sip, her eyes widening in pleasant surprise. It was certainly cool, but also refreshing in equal measure. Fragrant notes of aromatic tea leaves blended well with the citrusy tang of the orange. The fruit offered hints of sweetness to enhance the subtle bitterness within the tea. Her eyes narrowed at the redhead. The girl in question put on the most sheepish smile possible.


    “You are forgiven. For now.” Sophie declared, her words sending the redhead into a jubilant frenzy.


    “Eheheh, I knew you’d like it.” Aryana boasted.


    “Hmpf.”


    “I figured you’d been busy. You said I shouldn’t just disappear but look at you! Tucked away in a corner somewhere and you’d already missed our time by an hour now.” Aryana pouted, the redhead’s mood flipping almost instantly.


    Sophie craned her neck to spy on the nearby clock and winced. Two had become six, six was now seven.


    “Sorry.” Sophie apologised before holding up the canteen, “And thanks.”


    Aryana harrumphed, but Sophie could spot the satisfied smirk growing on the redhead’s face. All’s well that ends well.


    “Sooo…?” The redhead drawled, “What are you working on?”


    Sophie cocked another eyebrow up before she yawned, pointing towards the two big books. “Research on the Myndiri, the uhh… ancient elves. Nothing exciting.”


    “Ancient elves…oh! I remember overhearing the tribes talk about how the land was once covered in magics by the ancients. Could they be the same ones?” Aryana tilted her head curiously.


    “Probably, the Myndir were master mages. Even went into a ruin once and their torches still contained magelight after a thousand years.”


    “Woah. But isn’t that, like a few lifetimes?”


    “Mmhmm.”


    “Can magic actually last for that long?”


    “Apparently so.”


    “Woah. Could I...” Aryana muttered whilst she looked at her own hands.


    Sophie watched as Aryana took another glimpse at the notes, the green eyes looking interested at first before slowly fading into boredom. For her part, Sophie welcomed the distraction. Her mind had been growing numb and now was a chance to refresh herself. She broke out of her sluggishness and took another swig of the tea, before moving to start packing the notes away.


    “Come on then. Let’s get out of here, I’ve been here long enough that my brain is starting to hurt.” Sophie quipped.


    “Okay! Dinner time?”


    “Yeah, dinner time. Just… don’t pick something too fancy, those funds are meant to last the year.”


    “Boo… we should be celebrating our time here. But fine.” Aryana sighed.


    “Think about it this way, once we pass the exam, we can celebrate all we want. So do you want to help me pack all this up?”


    “Fineee.”


    <hr><hr>


    Sophie watched over Aryana as the redhead slept. The girl had splayed herself over her bed with the blanket barely covering her. She smiled to herself, the girl’s peaceful state easing her anxiety ever so slightly. Today was relaxing enough if a little dull, yet Sophie was surprisingly fine with that. If the past few months had taught her anything, it was that danger lurked around every corner and she wouldn’t miss it much. She also hated to admit it, but she saw a hint of herself in Aryana, a sense of innocent na?veté that she almost envied.


    However, she was now preoccupied by anxieties of the present. Worries about Annalise and Mila’s sudden departure to the north, the upcoming exam, the Mydiri and the cult, and Elaria’s warning. She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked back at her notes, by the saint damned hells, I haven’t gotten any closer to figuring out anything. Just more questions and not a lot of answers. She let out a deep sigh and stared at the ceiling, her eyes open and closing as she tried to wash the thoughts away. Riza, Gil, Sara, Thulgrim, Wilfred, Maud, Albert, Prince Alvin, Lilian, and those are only the faces I directly remember, much less the countless others. The barrows too, by the saints, I let those people die. She shivered at the thought, her hands unconsciously clenched into a fist. And there’s nothing I can do, not against the cult, not against the undead, and whatever the hells is happening with the orcs.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    But I can worry about all that later, got one more hurdle to cross. She brought herself back to focus and stood up from the desk, shuffling over to check on Aryana. Making sure that the girl was asleep before she got back to her notes. She made one last analysis of the Myndiri notes before turning her attention to the exam materials.


    To her increasing horror, she found a bevy of questions focused on mathematics, geography, literature, philosophy and history. Topics that, in her opinion, were far more suited for one of noble background which allowed time to read works that related to such matters, less so for the common folk. She muttered a soft thanks to Karzan for the dwarf’s shopping list having included a study guide that touched on the relevant topics without needing them to buy more. For a brief moment she despaired at the idea that she would fail, that given how little time they have to prepare, it would be impossible. To be so close to Eva but so far. Yet, her mind was already made up. No matter the struggle she would try to push through. She never really had any other options anyways.


    With another heavy sigh, she pulled out some papers and glanced over at Aryana, watching the rhythmic rising and falling of the girl’s chest as she slept. I guess I should write out my notes for her, she mused to herself. I wonder how much she already knows and whether or not she can recall knowledge for the other world. It would be helpful if she managed to parse that knowledge without having to study for it. Sophie chuckled quietly to herself, not that it matters, I should know this material regardless, I hope she’ll appreciate my notes when the time comes, I’ll just say it’s to repay the tea. Satisfied, Sophie finished off what was left of her canteen and buried herself into the books, ready to study the night away.


    <hr><hr>


    A Few Days Later


    So it was that much to Aryana’s dismay, Sophie had the two of them double down on preparing for the academy’s exam for the next few days. Though the redhead chafed initially at the beginning, through a mixture of coaxing, bribes and a few pledges of friendship, Aryana had eventually begrudgingly agreed to Sophie’s provided regimen. They had then spent most of the days studying, two hours for lunch, two hours for dinner, an hour of relaxing and then repeat all over again after a night of sleep.


    It was a mind numbing array of miscellaneous knowledge that Sophie wasn’t sure would help them in any real capacity, but they learned it nonetheless. They had sought to find a variety of meanings in poems, debated the meaning of life, practiced crafting intricate essays, solved an innumerable number of math problems, and memorised what historical trivia they could. A grueling task that sapped the joy from Aryana’s face, a journey which allowed Sophie to watch as the redhead got progressively less excited, despite still remaining determined. At the very least, it brought a little bit of hope to Sophie, allowing her to at least pretend that most of what Aryana would now go through would be challenges like these. Soul sucking and draining to be sure, but far from life threatening or deadly like that outside the walls. For now at least, she could rest easy about their safety, and that was good enough.


    Today was the eighteenth of Phareus, a day before the exams. With the both of them on the verge of collapse and mental implosion. Sophie had made the decision to have them both spend the day relaxing, de-stressing themselves in preparation of the exams ahead. To Aryana, Sophie suspected it was like a welcome reprieve, a break from the studying. For herself she saw it as just another part of the process, a part to ensure that the exam wouldn’t overwhelm you. Much like how her duties at the estate dulled the senses, requiring small breaks just before key functions to ensure that everyone was functioning optimally when they needed to.


    Truthfully, it felt a little strange to her, to have dedicated a whole day to just, nothing. Perhaps after sensing Sophie’s hesitation, Aryana had very quickly seized control and taken the lead in their trek exploring the city. The redhead was like an entirely different person, bright, bushy eyed and energetic where a mere day ago she was lethargic, drowsy and on the verge of revolt if they studied anymore. Though, what truly surprised Sophie was not her mood, but her aptitude for such academic tasks. At first she was skeptical, but, as they studied more together, Sophie would often double check their answers to find Aryana possessed a seeming mastery over mathematics and essay writing. What shocked her even more was when she had asked Aryana about it, the girl simply replied, “Ehhh I don’t really know? It just all feels right to me.” A savant, a genius even.


    “Come on Sophie, you’re too slow! And you’re making a sour face again! You said today was to de-stress, not to get more anxious.” Aryana clicked her tongue.


    “Sorry.” Sophie grunted, still lost in thought


    “Ugh. Spoil sport, hurry up.”


    “Mmmhmm.” Sophie replied.


    Aryana managed to snag Sophie’s sleeve and dragged her along, slinking their way through the heavy crowds around them. They had traveled back into the markets that they had passed once before, but now, instead of cutting through, Aryana was determined for them to join the throngs. Reluctantly, Sophie followed her and made sure the girl wasn’t overwhelmed from the crowds, though Aryana seemed too excited to care. Ironically, Sophie was the one who found the crowds too dense, the gathering of people making her senses tingle with danger, the uneasy feeling of her ears being the focus of judgment once again. Her only consolation was the ease at which Aryana seemed to be able to find gaps in the crowd allowing them to fast track their way through the stalls.


    Jingles and chimes echoed loudly across the market, shouts, laughs, curses, and cries soon followed after every one. Hundreds of merchants hawked their wares. Their attire ranged from the familiar to the strange and downright alien. There were prim and proper Carradorians in their doublets and blouses, tables organised in neat little rows; wild but refined Meltonians sometimes adorned with furs and other times in fine linen garb, throwing out crude jokes more quickly than they sold their wares; turban clad merchants from Lucuria whose clothing smelled as fragrant as their spices; Traxians in their sleek, elegant and dark uniforms, their wares reflecting much the same with blades and trinkets of equally elegant design. But humans weren''t the only ones there; there were Dwarves who bellowed about steel, gold and all manner of ore and of fine blades and finer beards; Veronan lizard folk who towered over their customers but smiled just the same as they hawked their exotic baubles; and even a few elves, though Sophie could tell from a glance that most were halfies like her, a few purebloods likely from the supposed elven quarters in the city.


    So grand was the market, that before she could even comprehend the presence of the variety of beastfolks from felines, canines, minotaurs, lions and others, she found herself already dragged to the next sector of the marketplace. Here even more merchants of even greater variety stood at attention. Men who wore long flowing white robes, with a little crescent of leafy greens in their hairs much like the flower crowns Eva and her would often make together back at the estate gardens. Warriors clad from head to toe in bodypaint and bearing tattoos so extensive that Sophie questioned how much skin did they really possess. Sailors too roamed the stalls, some even openly selling their bounties, their baggy but comfy looking attire reminding her of the Meltonian sailors that they had traveled with. Even more hailed from distant lands further to the east, even beyond the easternmost Traxian frontiers. Yet, she had little time to question them or even gaze at their wares, for another battle had raged almost immediately afterwards.


    In her time spent gazing in awe at the absurd blend of cultures and peoples on display, Aryana had burned a hole through the allocated budget for the day. By the time Sophie had clocked on to her antics, the redhead had already nabbed enough trinkets for the entire party and then some. Horrified, Sophie had stepped in a played tug of war with the redhead, gently easing her along from little trinkets and baubles that looked pretty but served no real purpose. Aryana had even lingered around little cages with potential pets in then, the maujurrin beast tamer just as surprised as Sophie when the redhead got ready to haggle for a pet. It took Sophie forcefully prying Aryana away to finally make her give up on a pet, prompting the maujurrin to let out a small chortle. “You have a tougher beast than these to tame, girlie.” Sophie had no idea who the tamer was talking to, but blushed regardless. The thought of having Aryana gently comforting her proved to be an amusing image in her mind.


    Aryana, unfortunately for Sophie, remained undeterred. The only rest they got in the busy market was when they finally stumbled across a familiar looking dwarf. Karzan bowed politely at a red and white robed customer who had just bought a handful of miscellaneous items when he turned and spotted the duo.


    “Karzan!” Aryana waved cheerfully at the dwarf.


    “My favorite customer! And the elf lass.” Karzan greeted them.


    Sophie grunted her greeting, her mind still somehow failing to comprehend the vastness of the market.


    “How can I help the two of you lovely ladies?” Karzan smiled.


    “Books! Do you have more adventure books? Not like the boring ones Sophie keeps forcing me to study.” Aryana asked.


    “Of course!” Karzan affirmed before turning towards Sophie, “Does she study?”


    “Hey! Of course I do!” Aryana protested.


    Sophie just met the dwarf’s gaze and rolled her eyes, “It’s bad.”


    “What do you mean?” He asked, a look of curiosity behind his beard.


    “She not just studies, she’s a natural.” Sophie shook her head sadly.


    “Oh… oh ho! Well aren’t you a lucky lady!” He turned back to Aryana who just smirked with pride, “I guess in that case…here ye go. Take a pick, Gunmar and Aurelia, volumes seven to eighteen, though I’ll snag the nineteenth one once it releases.” He hoisted a row of books onto the table.


    At the sight of this Aryana seemed enraptured as she peered through the books, reading their little blurbs to see which one interested her the most. But she wasn’t the only one, Sophie gingerly approached the table and carefully picked up the fourteenth and fifteenth book, the memories of the Mistveil flooding back in an instant. Yet, she found herself unwilling to let go, and after what felt like a minute, she finally sighed and looked up at the dwarf.


    “How much for these two?” Sophie asked.


    Having heard Sophie’s voice, Aryana froze and turned a hawk-like gaze at what Sophie was holding, the redhead seeing her in a new light.


    “You… you read these too?” Aryana prodded.


    “Well… yeah. I’ve gone through the first up to the fourteenth. And this one,” Sophie held up the fourteenth volume, “let’s just say I borrowed a copy and it got… destroyed with me.” She finished with a dark grin.


    “Destroyed… with… you… oh…” Aryana’s shoulders sagged before Sophie let out a small snort.


    “I’m here though, eh? Might as well catch up.”


    “I…”


    “Don’t think too much about it Aryana, it’s all… well… in the past.” Sophie gave her a reassuring nod before turning back to Karzan, “So… how much?”


    “Hoh!” Karzan bellowed, “Normally it’d be five gold artes for three, but for you,” He winked at Aryana, “It’ll just be two gold artes and one silver.”


    “That’s a mighty big discount master dwarf.” Sophie raised an eyebrow.


    “Aye, and I’ll make it one gold arte for both if ye do me a favor. Just you though.” He nodded at Sophie.


    “Oh?” Sophie inquired.


    Karzan beckoned her closer, leaning in to whisper like conspirators much to Aryana’s chagrin.


    “I heard there’s some… trouble in the academy. I have a man there, Ivarsson. Find him and bring him this,” He discreetly shoved a small scroll into Sophie’s pocket, “stout lad like me, but bearded and with a fucking mohawk, can’t miss em.”


    “This isn’t going to be the trouble, is it?”


    “Nay, not illegal if that’s what yer thinking. Nah, you two are good customers, call it a merchant''s intuition, I’d just rather not try to make a trip into the academy myself. So? Deal?” Karzan held out his hand.


    Sophie took it. “Deal.”


    “Well then, one arte for the two books! Anymore?” Karzan boomed.


    Aryana shook her head and paid quickly, her grip on Sophie’s sleeve tightening once more. “Th-thank you Karzan, we’ll go now.”


    “Alright then lasses, stay safe!” Karzan bobbed.


    Sophie frowned and looked at Aryana as they bid the dwarf goodbye. Gone was her cheer, excitement or joy. Now she was nervous and afraid. In fact, she was the one who hurried the two of them along for a change. The redhead still walked cautiously, but there was no mistaking it. Her gait was one of someone eager to escape. Sophie cast her gaze upon the crowds nearby but saw nothing but more strange faces in the sea of people. Something spooked her while we were talking, but what?