Travellers Trinkets

The sun beamed down onto the verdant freshly cut campus grounds as the headmaster of the academy was giving his long winded speech. Looking across the campus I figured it to be at least half a square kilometer of land, maybe more. Today wasn't particularly hot which I was thankful for, if it had been any warmer I'd have been clawing for some water. Scarlet however seemed perfectly fine, in fact despite her being warmer when we were in the caves she didn't seem fazed at all by the sun. None of the teachers seemed to mind the heat either, maybe they had some magic air conditioning built into that wooden podium or something.

Scarlet stood next to me as did a myriad of other students, many were around my real age and Scarlet's age but there were many that were older and younger. None of them were around my age apparent though, at least from what I could tell that is. If that white haired girl lived on the top floor like me then I could ask her if she knew any students around her age. But that meant finding her again and I doubted I could do that in this pool of hundreds of students. Maybe she was just visiting that building and actually had a dorm in another one.

“Scarlet, have you seen a white haired student that looks a little older than me?” I asked Scarlet in my loudest whisper voice. The headmaster Karizin or whatever his name was was shouting across the grassy campus towards all of us so I had to speak up a bit while not getting the attention of the other students.

“I haven't seen anyone with white hair except the faculty.” Scarlet responded to me absentmindedly as she tried her best to pay attention towards the headmaster as he spoke.

I turned towards the podium but I could barely see it through the heads of countless students that towered over me. The speech was the generic opening of speech that principals would give during the first day of school so I barely paid attention. I'd been through enough of these in my life that I didn't care if it was some school from another world, the speech would always be the same no matter what.

That quickly changed when I heard him bring up Diantha's name with an announcement. “I'm also glad to welcome my daughter Diantha into this institution as our newest history professor.”

Daughter? I'd heard that Diantha was going to be a teacher here but I didn't know that she was the daughter of the principal. Now that I thought about it that letter wasn't from the headmaster. It was from that Amaryllis lady who was somehow important enough to place Maisie onto my bed this morning. But now that I thought about it Diantha needed to have some connections to get me into this school in the first place so I should have guessed something like this. There was also a surprising amount of applause from most of the student body towards Diantha's name. Was she well known?

“I'm happy to finally join Rosurnan Academy as one of its history instructors. I hope my students will learn to love the history of Ennath as much as I have come to love it.” Diantha continued on after that with more generic greetings and introductions.

I didn’t tune out as much of it because it was Diantha who was speaking even though I didn't really care about what she was saying. Once Diantha's turn was over the next teacher was introduced, and the next, and the next, all of them were new teachers so I guess this orientation only has new ones. There had to have been at least a dozen teachers on stage with more probably not even being here. I couldn't imagine an institution like this having less than fifty teachers at its smallest with how many students were littering this field. Maybe there were more if every student here was new. And by counting the buildings around campus and how many floors each had there had to be at least a thousand students within the entire academy.

“And I would like to welcome our newest warfare instructor Kael into the academy.” That immediately grabbed my attention even more than Diantha earlier as the latest teacher on the podium gave up their spot as Kael walked onto the podium. He was wearing that leather armor I always saw him wearing.

Kael was here! And he was somehow a warfare teacher. How hadn't I heard about this before? Was Kael really good enough to be a warfare instructor? The last time I saw him fight he nearly died because of me and he was supposed to be a warfare teacher? I wondered how he could have possibly been chosen to be a teacher for the academy. It's not that I minded him being here, that last time we met he was nice to me but I wasn't sure he was going to be a good teacher. 

“Thank you Mrs. Aplina for introducing me. I may not be as well known as the rest of the staff here but I hope that my lessons will keep my students alive a little longer.” Kael’s speech roused barely any noise and instead brought confusion to the crowd.

“Those of you taking warfare lessons here have probably never actually fought with your life on the line much less have actually killed a person. I'll be teaching most of you how not to die when a monster or mugger tries to kill you.” Kael was about as harsh as I expected him to be. 

The rest of his speech held the exact same tone as its beginning and I could tell the study body was starting to get irritated by him. Most of them were probably preppy rich kids so it made sense none of them had ever been talked down to like this before. As much as I disliked Kael I also loved that he didn't care who he was talking to. Most people here probably needed a talking down to like my parents would always give me, they always kept me humble. Soon Kael's speech was over and the headmaster of the school took the podium again.

“Now then, that will be all for today's orientation, your class schedules will be provided in your rooms and tomorrow begins the first day of classes. Welcome to Rosurnan Academy.” As the headmaster finished his speech a round of applause rang out through the crowd of students as we all dispersed towards our dorms.

Scarlet quickly left towards her dorm with an apology towards me as if the two of us would have hung out. With nothing keeping me in the field I left towards my own dorm as well. When I reached my dorm I found someone sitting in the middle living room of my dorm. It was that white haired girl and her pet snow fox cuddled up onto a nice chair. In her hands was a thick book that had to be at least two hundred pages long, she had it open but her eyes were face forward at me instead with a bright grin on her face. Her pet fox was on her lap as she pet it as if she were some kind of evil villain plotting to end the world.

“You're Mikayla right?” She asked nonchalantly.

“I am. Who are you?” I responded with a hint of curiosity.

“I'm Lily. Your mom's Diantha right?” She said plainly as if she wasn't asking an insane question.

“Wh- what? No! She's my…” I sputtered out the words at that absurd accusation as I struggled to find a word that fit what Diantha was to me. “She's just my friend.”

“Really? Everybody knows she brought you here yourself, apparently you even rode on the same horse as her. It's not everyday that Diantha Karizin appears with a wayfared girl.” Her smirk widened as she went on about Diantha.

“Why does that even matter?” I asked with hostility.

“Do you even know who Diantha is?” Lily asked with glee in her voice.

“She's a nice person.” I wasn't sure how else to respond to that question except with the truth.

“You really don't know who she is, do you?” Her question was genuine this time but still held that teasing tone that irritated me.

“I don't care who Diantha is to you, just leave me alone!” I nearly shouted at the teenager before I realized that I should be the bigger person here and end this conversation.

I scampered off towards my new room as I looked back at Lily, she didn't even seem to be too bothered by me leaving so abruptly instead going back to her book. Turning back towards my room I entered it and made sure not to slam the door accidentally. The first thing I did was kick off my shoes and fall down onto my new bed. I wanted to take off the uniform but I knew there wasn't a single article of clothing comfortable enough for me to change into. Instead I buried myself into the soft cushions and for the very first time in months I felt comfortable sleeping in a bed. 

Next to me sat Maisie, that plush doll of myself that Amaryllis or Diantha had left on my bed before I even got here. I looked at her and grabbed the plushie with both my hands before bringing it to my chest. Nobody was going to see me unless Lily barged into my room, no it was just me and Maisie. I didn’t hesitate to hold her, after all she was a present from Diantha, the last time I got a present was that Quatro console my mom got me when I was seven. Diantha cared about Mikayla enough to make her a plushie, I just wish I was her.

—

Damian walked anxiously through his family manor's moonlit halls. Karizin manor was made of an oak so dark it could almost be called black, so gothic that a place like this could only be owned by his father. It sat right outside of the campus grounds, far enough to be private property but close enough to watch over the students. Though Damian would stay in his own dorm, his father said it was unbefitting of a student to live off campus. His school uniform clung onto him like molasses, stiff, as if he could only move how it wanted him to move. Soon Damian arrived at the living room of Karizin manor, a private place meant for solitude, or for sitting when forcing your children to stand up straight.

The living room was made up of dark fine shelves containing a myriad of books, all historical and nature with no lenience for fiction. Dark red patterned carpet filled the floor large enough to fill Damian's dorm room once over. There were only three pieces of furniture in the room placed precisely to his fathers liking, a foot stool, a fancy chair and a chairside table. All were made with only Damian's father in mind. Beyond the furniture stood the fireplace, half burnt logs already crackling within. Above the fireplace stood the centerpiece of the room, an X small enough for Damian to hold in his hands. A man was carved on it, each limb chained to another prong of the X, his solemn smile contrasting the engraved blood flowing from his hands and feet.

Damian looked away from the visage of the Didact and looked towards the figure waiting for him. Dariel Karizin stood in front of the fireplace near the dark velvet chair situated close enough to the fire to feel the flame yet far enough to feel a breeze from the empty mansion. In his right hand a glass of blood red wine was half full, not that half was already drunk but that it was only ever filled halfway. His father always said that a meeting isn’t complete without a bottle of wine, though at this moment the bottle seemed to be missing. Damian stood there for a moment adjusting his tie making sure it was appropriate and tidy before speaking.

“You called for me father?” Damian asked with politeness and force, his father demanded both.

“Do you know what sacrifice means Damian?” Damian's father asked, barely even glancing at his son's direction, instead looking up towards the Didact hanging above the fireplace.

The question wasn't unexpected, his father had always been one for philosophy so Damian tried his best to give an answer he would like. “It means to give yourself up so that others may prosper.”

“Correct Damian. We must all suffer so that others may grow beyond us. The Didact sacrificed himself so that we may prosper, giving up his life so that the gift of sparks could be spread across the world. He set the precedent that all should follow, he who gave up his ‘System’ so that we could be here today.” Dariel spouted on about the first wayfarer and his suffering.

Damian barely cared for the Didact and his ancient religion, it was taught to him growing up but in the end it was merely a religion. The first wayfarer etched into history who had brought weaving into the world with his magical sheet of paper that showed him all. Surely the stories are exaggerated and the myths made up, apparently in some retellings he had a dozen wives. Yet for all his sacrifice Damian was born with no spark of his own to weave with, no talent like Diantha. 

“What have you sacrificed Damian?” The question caught Damian off guard, it wasn't something he ever thought of and his father seemed to take his silence as an answer.

“Nothing, you have sacrificed nothing for Rosurnan or for this family. Do you know why you stand in that uniform now?” Another question, but one Damian had anticipated earlier.

“So that I can help capture Mi-” Damian was immediately cut off by his father.

“Monitor, not capture, you already failed at that when the network was able to get a hold of the Wyrm. You were supposed to be there to keep track of it until we could capture it. Instead you chose to hide away in your room as it was stolen by the network. Your failure forced me to anonymously tip off your sister about the network caravan's whereabouts. No, your purpose here is to monitor the Wyrm and graduate as you should have years ago instead of gallivanting like your sister. Do you understand Damian?” Throughout the entirety of Dariel's talking down to, Damian didn't squeak a word out, his head falling lower with each sentence.

“Yes father.” Damian responded with resignation in his voice.

“One more matter before you are dismissed. I've heard rumor that you have been completing guild jobs with a Cambionite. You are to sever all ties with it during your stay at the academy.” Dariel said plainly and matter of factly.

“She's just a wayfarer fath-” Damian was once again interrupted by his father as he tried to defend Scarlet.

“Do not talk back to me.” Dariel spoke with a silent rage within him that Damian knew far better than to provoke. “It does not matter if it was once normal, it is a Cambionite now and I will not have my son gallivanting with such a creature.”

“Yes father.” Damian said once again trying his best to parse away the anger so it did not reach his father.

“Good, you are dismissed, do not forget you are to observe the Wyrm until an opportune time in which it can be captured without drawing suspicion to us.” His father reminded him of his mission once more before sitting down into his chair to gaze upon the flames.

“I will not forget, father.” Damian said bitterly as he left his father to his own devices.

Damian left the manor and headed back towards his dorm. It was a tiny room of solitude with barely enough room for his body laying and his arms stretched. Damian changed out of his uniform and fell asleep hoping that his fathers words would not haunt him that night.

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