“Hauptman Sodel of Sorester Fortress, your plea has been received. Elements of the Fifth Carradorian Irregular Reaction Force under Major Baylein are being deployed in conjunction with the regrouped elements of Army Group East under Count Oberlein. Hold firm brave soldiers. Help is on the way.”
- Message recovered from messenger pigeon in Fort Forester, Letter Signed by Grand Duke Ulbretch Platts, Feldmarschall of Carrador
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No matter how hard she tried, Sophie couldn’t get away. Aryana’s sleepy head had once more lolled sideways and now rested upon Sophie’s shoulder. The duo had decided to calm down after the encounter at the park by going to the library and performing more research on Sophie’s heritage. At least, that’s what she decided to do. Aryana on the other hand, refused to leave her line of sight and hovered around her like a worried puppy. Unfortunately, since Sophie was lingering around the history section, that meant the redhead who wasn’t as interested was also there. Thus, over the course of an hour or two, Sophie noticed her companion grow more and more bored until Aryana had eventually fallen asleep. She had tried fruitlessly to shuffle away but the slumbering girl had continued pushing until Sophie could shuffle away no more.
She sighed and settled in, continuing to read through the written records of a supposed soldier during humanity’s early day. The man had evidently served as a militia trooper in the rumoured First Kingdom of Mankind, posted to numerous fronts and surviving in hiding until he managed to distribute his works. A few researchers then gathered what they could and compiled what Sophie could only describe as tales of an apocalyptic time. At first he was part of the home guard, then the first mentions of Myndiri raids on the borders caused a troop deployment. Evidently a few documents were missing because the next part began with almost a year’s time gap, the man recounting devastated battlefields, scorched or flooded by elven magics, the armies of mankind struggling to even dent the oncoming tide. This section culminated in the battle of Tars Mor, something in which the kingdom deployed something that caught Sophie’s eye. The First Kingdom apparently utilised a contingent of winged knights, their own Griffin Guard with the griffin as their heraldic symbol as well. Noted. Sophie grumbled to herself as she jotted down the notes. ‘First Kingdom - Griffins?’
Her concentration was broken when her nose tickled uncomfortably and she sniffled, the hour spent in the relatively chilly library already slowly draining her health. Her brows knitted together as her mind finally caught up to what was happening, I’m catching a cold. She felt her lips curl up in displeasure at the thought, to have been stabbed, chased, torn apart, and broken all around, only to catch a cold and feel ill seemed wrong, felt wrong. But, like a lever having been pressed, the gates to her senses unclasped themselves and she shivered, her bare arms feeling like icicles whilst all her hair stood on end. Dammit, I knew this would come back to bite me, she growled at her sleeveless blouse. Pretty, sure. I mean it's cute, but, I’d rather not get sick, ugh.
Sophie sniffled once more and reluctantly sighed, jotting down the last few notes she wanted to take before closing the soldier’s chronicle shut. At least she now had two new leads, the First Kingdom and the Griffin Knights. Alongside the man’s speculation that the large domineering Myndiri towers were there to act as some form of mana net that granted the ancient elves unlimited power. That had been something that had her pause for a second; whilst they didn’t seem to emit power now, they certainly channeled it well during the Melisgrad crisis. Whatever the case, it was another avenue for her to examine and hopefully develop upon, should the time come.
She scratched at her nose before she pushed the books away, taking a long look at her sleeping companion. With a half sniffle and sigh, she then put her notebook and pen back in its little belt pouch, closed it tightly before the began prodding the sleeping redhead. It took a moment before her pokes elicited a reaction other than a prolonged snore, Aryana’s face finally scrunching up as if something had itched her. Sophie watched for another minute as Aryana slowly roused herself to consciousness, the girl swallowing a mouthful of saliva before her almond shaped eyes slowly flickered open. Sophie could see the tiredness etched onto the girl's face, but could not bring herself to push the subject. She’ll tell me about Tristan, in time, hopefully. Sophie nodded to herself and looked down to find the redhead staring at her in confusion.
“Wuh…?” Aryana managed to garble out.
“Wakey, wakey.” Sophie instinctively cooed before freezing, her mind instantly remembering that this wasn't Eva.
“Meheh.” Aryana sleepily giggled before wiping off whatever drool remained on her face, “Wha the happen?”
“It’s time to go, and you should sleep in a proper bed. This is bad for your posture.” Sophie chided, attempting to hide her sniffle.
“Posture rosture.” Aryana grumbled through bleary eyes.
Sophie rolled her eyes and stretched alongside Aryana, the girl also yawning loudly as they stretched. Sophie ironed out the few cricks in her own back and stood up to return the books to their rightful place when she felt a small tug. The redhead looked up with a fierce look of defiance in her eye and vigorously shook her head.
“Minute.” Aryana blurbled.
Sophie organised her belongings until the girl finally collected herself, Aryana raising her arms up high for one last stretch.To her dismay, with every second that passed, her nose got continually more congested until she couldn’t hold it back anymore.
“Achoo!” Sophie sneezed aggressively.
The sound echoed throughout the room and down into the main halls of the library. Sophie froze in mortified terror whereas Aryana had winced and been temporarily stunned by the sudden explosion of noise. The redhead turned a concerned eye upwards but Sophie just played it off with a shrug and cocked her head at the books. Perhaps finally ready or unwilling to withstand another explosive sneeze, Aryana scrambled out of her chair and moved to follow Sophie, the pair putting the Myndiri books away.
“Achoo!” Sophie sneezed again.
This time, she was ready for it, the itchy scratchy feeling building up long before the sneeze happened. Aryana though, was not quite as lucky. The redhead practically jumped at the sound, letting out a frightful squeak before she calmed back down. Without a word traded between the two, Aryana then started hurrying Sophie out of the library, rudely but amusingly trying to drag Sophie away. Almost like Aryana had realised that the chill in the library was partly responsible for her friend’s malaise.
“Sorry.” Aryana grumbled to herself.
Sophie let herself get dragged outside and could only apologetically avoid eye contact from any other library patron who raised their eyes at the half elf who sneezed out loud. To her great relief, the moment they exited the building, the warmth of the sun wrapped her in its embrace and she instantly felt better. She sniffled again and felt a pounding headache approaching and disappointedly concluded that she was, in fact, still going to get sick. Ugh, the next few does are going to be so rough. But with a soft smile, on her face Sophie followed behind the now surprisingly awake Aryana, ready to head back to the tavern.
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“Wake uppp.” Aryana groaned as Sophie’s eyes slowly opened.
“Mmhmm.” Sophie mumbled.
“Sophieee,” The redhead whined, “The results are todayyy.”
“Mmm.”
“Ugh! Just get dressed soon!” Aryana huffed jokingly before she stormed out of the room. She is just joking, right?
It was almost heartwarming, in Sophie’s eyes. She had not just gotten sick, but the chill had, against her own expectations, stricken her down with a light fever for two days straight after. Weakened but not entirely bedridden, Aryana had transformed instantly into a furiously apologetic caretaker and fussed over Sophie’s every action ‘until you are well’. Since then she spent another day recovering, Aryana throwing what Sophie could only term as a fit, whenever she did anything the redhead found to be potentially sickness inducing. Such as wearing too little to bedtime or having tossed her blanket in her sleep.
Aryana had even brought her food and drink while she was resting, slowly but surely nursing Sophie back to health. Even if it was because of the slightly more powerful cold, Sophie appreciated the girl's presence during the quieter moments when she was left to her own devices in bed. Given too much time to think, her mind wandered to unpleasant places until some external stimuli could rouse her from her thoughts, an act that Aryana thankfully performed well, given the amount of times the redhead returned to check up on her. It very much reminded Sophie of herself whenever Eva fell ill, or vice versa whenever Sophie got injured during her duties and how caring Eva became.
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Today however, Aryana wasn’t just fussy, she was also agitated, and with good reason. It was the Twenty Fifth of Phaerus, the day of the exam results. Though Sophie was certain Aryana had already done exceptionally well and reassured the girl that she wasn’t worried anymore, she’d be lying. Sophie always held a small sliver of doubt about her performance during the exams, more so in the specialised elven segment. It agitated her all the more because success here would mean a chance to finally reunite with Eva, a goal she suffered painstaking injuries for, a goal now within her grasp.
By the saint damned hells, I feel like I’ve gone through a lifetime of hell in… four months? Ridiculous. Her mind saddened though when she caught sight of the small novel tucked between Aryana’s heap of clothes on the girl’s bed. Gunmar and Aurelia, heh, and here I used to think everything a heroine needed to do was just be noble and virtuous. Her eyes traced their way back to her hands and for a brief moment she still felt the squelching, savage and primal feeling in them. The moment when she tore down one traitor, one traitor out of Goddess knows how many. Her brows knitted themselves into a frown and she had to spend a moment just unmoving, giving her mind time to clear itself once more.
She let out a snarky sigh and rolled off the bed bed. She hurriedly freshened up and made sure to tie her ponytail as formally as possibly, trying futilely to smother any stray strands of hair that poked out. For the briefest of moments she debated dressing pretty again, to wear the sleeveless shirt and its accompaniments. But, when the thought of her laying sickly and being just miserable flashed into her mind, she picked up her armour and donned her usual kit instead. Save the fancy outfit for ceremonies. With one last look in the mirror, she huffed proudly and moved to follow Aryana’s steps. Just one last obstacle. One last push.
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“...Passed!” The blue robed Professor Montroi declared loudly.
A cheer erupted from everyone involved, Aryana too had a joyous smile fluttering on her face. Sophie then grimaced as she met the eyes of the professor, the man staring her down before moving on, almost as if he was searching for someone.
“The first semester will end soon and you all will have the honor of trickling into the second semester given the stellar performances this round. Truly, you have all done well.” Montroi continued, “I will warn you that entering at this stage will mean a lot of catching up, but I am confident that you will all persevere…”
Sophie felt a wave of relief wash over her at his words. The feeling of success was certainly nice, though knowing that she had struggled to just be here, gave Sophie a sense of accomplishment that she revelled in for a few seconds. She turned to find Aryana smiling pleasantly at her, the redhead bobbing up and down. Sophie met her smile with one of her own. Together, the two turned towards where the majority of the elven contingent had gathered, trying to locate the siblings.
However, the elven students were a mixed bag to say the least. Most were clearly cheerful that they had passed, but Sophie caught a few expressions of disdain, jealousy and hatred scattered amongst the crowd. They were angry, resentful even, of how the ‘others’ had been able to pass without the same additional tests that were given to them. Nonetheless, Maylesa and Thalnor didn’t seem to mind. The duo seemed as they usually were, blissfully uncaring of the world around them if it didn’t concern them, animatedly discussing something between the two amongst themselves.
Sophie and Aryana looked at each other and shrugged, collectively figuring out that it was probably best to leave them be. Their gaze was soon snatched by the professor who had ordered his teaching assistants to distribute copies of the student’s exams back to them.
“Forty two.” The call eventually came, and Sophie hurried nervously to receive the paper, holding the bound sheets tightly in her hands as she shuffled back to her seat.
Her mind told her to open it, to unwrap and see the results within. After all, the professor had declared everyone to have passed, nothing should be amiss here. Yet, the nerve wracking feeling still persisted, her gut already anticipating for everything to go wrong.
“Fifty six.” Came Aryana’s call, the redhead hopping out to grab the paper, almost unfurling the sheets in the process.
When she finally sat back down, the two traded anxious glances at each other. But with one last grin between the two, they carefully unfurled their papers, opening it up to examine the contents within. Sophie caught Aryana looking joyful but not entirely unsurprised, the lack of corrective squiggles and circles alone a good indicator that the redhead had succeeded with no problems. Afraid, Sophie cast her gaze downwards, finding the page filled with small squiggles and circles here and there, but nothing being objectively singled out. The moment of truth. She flipped through the pages and found more corrections, more circled errors, more critiques of her essays. But, at the end of it all was a score, ‘78/100’, and the words ‘pass’, neatly written atop the last page. I passed, hah, I did it.
Relieved, Sophie sank down in her seat and let her shoulders sag, the tension built up over the past weeks gradually flittering out of her body in waves. Aryana had noticed this and flashed a supportive thumbs up.
“See? I knew you could do it.” The redhead declared.
Sophie sighed and nodded, the crease on her brow slowly unknitting itself. Sophiie then found Aryana holding her hand out expectantly and paused for a moment before she placed her papers in the girl’s outstretched hands. Aryana flipped through it like a wrathful ghost, surprising even Sophie when she looked over. She spied the girl’s green eyes scanning each page in mere moments, yet they weren’t glazed over or bored, Sophie could see that with every blink, Aryana was processing the information before her and was actually solving it.
Damn, the power of outlanders. Sophie whistled quietly to herself. It certainly lined up with what she knew from having observed Eva growing up. Her mistress was an exceptionally gifted warrior and well rounded being, able to tackle most tasks sent her way without needing to worry. The same energy that she now felt as she watched Aryana double checking the corrections made on the test paper, a bright mind at work. But Sophie frowned when a small detail snuck up into her mind, a niggling factoid that she had only now just remembered. But why can’t she remember her past? Something definitely doesn’t add up there. Could something be… could something be deliberately holding her memories back? But how? But… wait, the entity knows my past, it still has more than a few cards up its sleeve, I just know it. Does that mean Aryana is being afflicted by the entity? No can’t be, but maybe a divine being perhaps, a God? The Goddess? Or whatever the mountain spirit is?
“Sophie.” Aryana’s voice caught her attention.
“Beh?”
“You’re frowning. You seem… not happy.” Aryana stated with a hint of worry.
“Mmm.” Sophie grunted, “It’s fine, I’m just mulling over some stuff.”
Aryana looked disbelieving, her lips pursed as if on the edge of pushing further. But when their eyes met, Aryana just sighed and let the matter drop, an act Sophie was grateful for.
“It’s fine, really.” Sophie insisted, “But, forget about that, see anything concerning?” She pointed at her test paper.
Aryana clicked her tongue and scoffed, but her expression grew softer after a moment and just shook her head. “No.”
“No?”
“Nothing egregiously wrong, I see where you made your mistakes and I can understand how you arrived at your conclusions. Mmm, I think with more practice you’ll improve.” Aryana tutted, “But that can come later, we’ve done plenty of studying for this already.”
Sophie couldn’t help herself and let out a quick chuckle.
“W-what?” Aryana asked, her academic bluster immediately fading away.
“Heh, I just find it amusing how now you’re fussing over everything I do just because I got sick the other day.”
“Am not!”
“No, no, I don’t mean it in a bad way. I’m touched actually. It reminds me of when Eva takes care of me… it’s nice.”
“Oh… oh.” Aryana acknowledged, though with a hint of disappointment in her voice.
“Hah, so don’t worry bout it, okay?”
“O-okay.”
“Besides, I passed, didn't I?”
“Mmhmm! You did!” Aryana affirmed.
“Reckon we deserve a reward.”
“R-reward? I mean yes! We do!”
Sophie smiled at how quickly Aryana’s concern faded away and gave the redhead the most sagely nod that she could manage. “And we have some unfinished plans we should have attended to.”
“Unfinished… plans?” The redhead queried.
Sophie cast a sly look back over towards the siblings, drawing Aryana’s eyes with her. She watched as the realization slowly dawned on the girl’s face, transforming it into a small but noticeable ‘o’. “The hatires…”
“Mmhmm. Last I remember, they still had places they wanted to show us. Might as well take them up on that offer, no? Provided they don’t already have plans, that is. That sound good to you?”
“Yes!” Aryana agreed enthusiastically.
“...So as the deputy head of the…” The professor’s speech carried on in the background.
“So focus up, we’ll be done soon enough.”
“But… but what if they’re busy?”
“Then we’ll just do something else.” Sophie clicked her tongue, “Besides, I’d like to explore the city a bit more myself anyhow.”
“Me too.”
The two settled on their silent accord and turned their attention back to the blue robed professor, the man too busy rambling on virtues of the academy, too busy to pay the duo any mind. With matters settled and the students looking like they’d be trapped until the professor’s speech ended, Sophie let out a satisfied sigh and closed her eyes. She leaned back in her chair and let her body relax once more. It’s done then, I’ve passed, I finally get to see Eva again. By the Goddess. After so long…