As soon as I saw the door opening, I had a feeling it would be her. That brunette with the innocent eagerness from the pier would be my new impromptu room mate during my self imposed incarceration. She smiled as she entered our new shared space, bowing to me and then to our third in the house. I noticed that before any words were exchanged, Drey marched right in behind her. While it was normal for me to see him and act cordial with the man, I believe Lillian was a bit intimidated by his presence on top of my own – yes, my name and his visage shared equal reputation in this land, after all.
Some banter I didn’t care to eavesdrop on took place, and I decided instead to ease the tension of our third a bit with casual conversation while the surrogate father and daughter finished their farewells.
“Don’t worry too much about it, Ragnis. I’m your equal in this house and in class, and she’s a commoner with high talent from what I remember hearing.” I stood and headed to the kitchen. “Are you a coffee person? Or maybe tea? I stocked our pantry earlier today.”
“Coffee is fine – Actually, why don’t I get that for you, Lady Aldritch?” she responded, to which I shook my head.
“Just Arceia is fine, Ragnis. I know you’re gonna take some time to adjust to that but at least try to warm up to the idea of using first names, alright?” I didn’t give her a chance to answer before I made my way into the kitchen. Ours was darker than the one in Alarice’s home, with cocoa colored wood that was finished with a somewhat reflective varnish, making the whole floor just that little bit more shiny than one would expect in a dorm. The counter tops, sitting above the brighter cabinets, were also a similar wood coloration. The entire room was actually laid out like a commercial bar counter, with all of the cooking fixtures behind a central island that had some pre-placed bar stools for seating. The stove top was completely flat, with runes underneath it for ignition spells I assumed, and the color storage sat as a chest and not a cabinet. When closed, the cold storage also blended in as part of the counter and could be used to prepare foods with.
My task, however, was to simply start the coffee for us, and so I bypassed all of the fancy descriptors of the kitchen and made my way to the back left corner where I’d stored a shelf of varying coffee beans from the Empire, some outer towns, and some from the neutral islands. After that, I brought them over to the flat top oven and snapped my fingers, igniting a small flame underneath it. I lamented the loss of my own spellcasting, and appreciated all the more strongly how potent the method of rune casting could be in times like this. Thinking back, Alarice made it so simple to seal my spellcasting away – All we had to do was bleed me out a bit. She seemed very familiar with the process, actually – I should ask her about that next time I see her. Once she had a sample of my blood, we distilled it over non-magical flames to boiling, and then the blood was readministered to my body. That might be up there as the most painful experience I’d ever had, and I recalled the pain the moment I felt the heat from the stove. Somehow, we ‘burned’ my magical potential away. It would regenerate over time as any injury would, but considering the nature of boiling oneself from within we both wagered this would take a year or more to even flicker back to life a little, let alone be usable.
Now the obvious question of how this didn’t kill me is one I can’t really answer, but I like to think it’s something magic can’t explain. It makes me feel less survivors guilt. But as quickly as the pain of recalling my earlier day faded, the coffee came to completion as well. It smelled faintly of berries, and I realized I must have grabbed one of the Imperial mixtures instinctively. Fine by me, I remember thinking, as I grabbed some of our mugs from one of the higher cabinets. I decided to do four mugs just in case Drey was staying a while, and poured the coffee for the first mug without really thinking too much about it. It was at that time that I remembered to turn off the heat, and snapped my fingers again, which accomplished the task just as well.
“Do not need a hand in there, Lady Aldritch?” I heard Ragnis call out. I refused to use her first name until she used mine first. Petty, yes, but have you met me?
“I’m fine! Just had to figure out which blend we would use tonight.” I called back. It was nothing exciting pouring coffee, but I did note that I felt something crawling down my arm before I went to pour the second mug. Looking down, I was immediately able to see that the wound we had made on my arm just below my shoulder was opening, a small trail of blood running down under my sleeve with a sizzling sound. I couldn’t feel it burning me, which it should have, and so I decided to leave it be and finish preparing the beverages.
“It’s all set, Ragnis. I’m going to go change, so can I trust you to get your own and let our guest know about it?”
I didn’t wait for an answer and immediately made for the room I’d designated as my own. Completely devoid of all flourishes save my Imperial flag above the bed, it was a basic wooden room with white wallpaper that had no windows, one door, and an iron rod running through it in place of a closet to hang my belongings, with shelves underneath that for shoes and underwear and likely whatever else I’d wear. The bedside table was my destination, however, and from it I grabbed some gauze I’d made sure to borrow from Alarice to tightly wrap my arm.
The wound itself was made by a kitchen knife along my arm, in a manner that left my arm looking like a beehive that was oozing blood. The shape of the holes in my skin formed a pattern of a sealing rune. She had only made a small surface level cut each time she dug in, so dressing the wound was as simple as waiting for the area to clot, but we couldn’t use magic to do so for fear it would act as a sort of solution to awaken mine again. The actual injection point for the boiling blood was the back of my neck, away from the horrific looking abrasion. I could not come into physical contact with magic of any kind for this purpose. From now on, unless I wanted to reawaken whatever that primal fire was, I needed to learn how to survive all over again, relying on my wit and resourcefulness above all else. Things I liked to think I was a natural at, mind you, but things I needed more than ever nonetheless.
Dressing the wound was simple enough, and so I returned to the central hallway, just as boring as the interior of the one Alarice lived in, to see Ragnis guiding June around our small home. I’d hear her mention our common room having enough seating for five if we counted the two-seater couch against the wall, and the bedrooms being minimalistic but surprisingly spacious with the absence of a proper closet, and about how we decided on washroom schedules before she arrived, providing the times that each of us decided on for hygiene maintenance and offering her any other time of day.
It was surprisingly wholesome,
There was a notable absence of Drey along with them as well, and so I seated myself in the chair I’d deemed ‘my spot’ – the one closest to the couch with a table next to it, toward the center of the farthest wall from the hallway – and took a sip. Nothing I hadn’t had before, but I was eager to watch June react to this as if it was the coolest thing she had ever seen. Something as simple as a Wyvernberry coffee to me was more like a life changing revelation to her, considering the way she reacted to everything back at the pier.
“Wait so the stove runs on magic? How?” I heard June say. I supposed they’d found their way to the kitchen.
“There’s a rune for ignition underneath the flat top that heats it exclusively without burning anything else. It’s set to run for as long as the fuel source lasts, and then we have to call in on our Sending Heart to get a refill.” Ragnis repeated to her, the tone in her voice coming across as prideful to be a senior to someone.
“Wait what’s the fuel? Why not just use coal then?”
“Coal would burn everything else around it, this is more controlled. It’s fueled by the reserve tank of beast blood gathered by the Hunting courses students and faculty. Smells terrible, so don’t open it.”
Their conversation was fun to listen to, and for the first time since earlier today, I relaxed my shoulders a bit, sighing to myself in some form of reflexive contentment. The worst of my task was behind me, and now I could focus on the ultimate goal of figuring out who or what this entity living inside me was and what it wanted.
I didn’t have much time to muse on these thoughts, as the duo came back to the living room and sat down, mugs in hand. The facial expression I wished to see did become reality, with June reacting as if she had never had liquid before. The sheer ease of her amazement would be cause for much of my own amusement.
“Seems you’ve made yourself at home already, June. That’s good.” I said, calmly sipping my coffee again. I noted that Ragnis had her hair pulled back at the time, which was odd to me. Prior to my leaving the room, she had a very bland style, blond hair below her elbows that hung freely. Perhaps she pulled it back in an attempt to look more mature? After all, she had yet to change out of her Magnum uniform, either.
“The hair suits you, Ragnis.” I commented. “Really emphasizes how well kept your ears are.”
That struck her in a soft spot apparently, as she immediately flushed red. I’ve never seen a Lopriel display embarrassment like that before, but I have to say I found it as adorable as it was hilarious. I chuckled to myself, much to Ragnis’ protestation.
“I-i just figured-” I cut her off.
“No no it’s fine, I get it.” I winked at her. “Come on, you’re our senior here, shouldn’t you be a little more composed?”
June laughed as well, and nodded to agree with me.
“Thank you for the tour, Dame Ragnis. It is Dame, right?” she asked. Ragnis nodded.
“Technically, yes, but I’m just a student like you right now.” she replied, at which I laughed again.
“That sounds familiar, don’t you think?”
“Y-yeah, I know… I’m working on it, Lady Al– Arceia.”
“Better.” I nodded. “So, what class did everyone get assigned to?”
“I’m in Professor Ritter and Professor Faye’s classes.” June spoke up.
“I’ll be with Professor Yormun.” Ragnis spoke up.
“That’s kind of funny actually. June, one of your professors is my sister.” I spoke up, which made Ragnis swallow her coffe a bit fast and June got stars in her eyes like a lizard seeing a cricket for the first time in five minutes.
“That’s so cool! Small world, I guess. So then, who is Professor Faye?”
“Wait, you don’t know?” Ragnis spoke up then, and I could see she was speaking in short breaths thanks to the coffee. “That’s Jamie Faye. You know, Goddess of Destruction?”
June sat in silence for a moment, internalizing what that meant before suddenly blurting out, “That makes sense!”
“What about you, La- Arceia?” Ragnis asked. I shrugged.
“I think their name was Professor Viganne.” I shrugged. “I’ve never heard of them, but it sounds like none of us share a class right now. We must all be going into different specialties. I’m taking Scholarly courses.”
“I’m here for combat!” June piped up.
“I did that last semester. You’re in for a good time.” Ragnis commented. “This year, I’m learning Flux control.”
“What’s Flux?” June asked with complete ignorance to the world.
“That’s the basic term used for magic. It’s a bit complicated, but you’ll get a better explanation in your elementaries than you’d ever get from us.” I replied, finishing my coffee and standing to return to the kitchen. “Anyone else done? I’ll clean.”
I proceeded to the kitchen holding only my own mug, and smiled to myself out of sight. Even if I didn’t have my magic anymore, I felt as though I was in good enough company that I wouldn’t linger on it too much. When father receives my letter about attending school, I imagine he would have conniptions and recall me, but I made absolutely sure to include in that letter that I’m attending due to some research I’d got stuck into in regards to Crimson Mistress.
Everything would work out, going forward. I was sure of it.I became more certain with each passing laugh of three new friends together, either starting our lives or refining them. We stayed like that, idly chatting, lightly teasing, and just being normal young adults for a few hours before June was the first to go to bed. Soon after, Ragnis also turned in, leaving me to my own thoughts alone in our common room.
I sighed to myself, and closed my eyes, tempting whatever malevolent forces that existed to try and take control.
When they did not, I was equally relieved and exhausted from my day. It was my turn to head to sleep, now,
Magna Varia 