Introductions had passed over, Chrollo and I sat together at one of the tables in the dining hall for lunch once again, and our friendship slowly began to show. It had been a week since our first lesson together, and since then, I had become somewhat familiar with my weekly lessons and timetable. By the end of the first week, I was happy to know that Chrollo and I were in the same classes for other subjects too. Allowing us to get to know each other on a surface level.
However, the question still rested - irritatingly - in the back of my mind. What had happened when we fought? The entire class saw me win, but I knew I had lost. He knew I had lost - though he didn't admit it. That same night when I returned to my dorm after our fight, ticket in hand, all I could do was picture the moment over and over again in my head. It was as if he just simply gave up, or . . . he made sure that I knew he was stronger before intentionally taking the loss. Whenever I tried to bring up the subject, he would simply dismiss the question with a generic “I don't remember”, leaving me unsatisfied. Even now, as I sat next to him in the dining hall, I'm sure he knew that I wasn't convinced by his answers. And on top of all that, I think he kept hidden another affinity - Ice perhaps. If that was truly the case, then what a terrifying combination of affinities to have. Fire, and an affinity to one of the rarer elements, Ice.
“That sure does look good, the Professor wasn't lying when he said the staff meals were better,” Chrollo said while gawking over my plate.
“Well, to the victor goes the spoils” I replied while slicing into my food “looks like you should have tried harder in our battle” I watched his face as I spoke. No reaction.
He wasn't wrong, the staff meals were good, a bit eccentric even. For the entire week that I had gained possession of the staff lunch permit, all I’d eaten was well-prepared gourmet food. However, being the high-end school that this academy was, it wasn't like the new first-year students were being served slob. It's just that in comparison to what the staff and the higher year groups had access to, no high-born individual would be satisfied or content with the seemingly basic meals that the lower years received.
When we finished with our meals, we headed out of the cafeteria and to our next subject - which we coincidentally had together. “Arc stone manipulation”, was one of the more interesting classes. Aside from the fact that Headmaster Saudont himself was our teacher, I was learning things faster than before. Although, my only problem with him was that he seemed to pick me out among the class often. I would catch him now and then staring directly in my direction and whenever he would ask a question his eyes seemed to draw towards my side of the room. Though he was a great teacher, I couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable at times.
When we arrived in the West district for our class, we took our seats near the middle section of the room. The majority of the classrooms I had taken lessons in were all built differently and this one was no exception. It seemed to be a mixture of an indoor training field and my mana theory classroom.
Similarly to the mana theory classroom, the chairs sat surrounding where the teacher would stand in the middle, however this time, the area the teacher had to work with was much more spacious and readily equipped for arc stone ability demonstrations. A small barrier with one exit and entrance separated the center pit from where the students sat.
“He’s late again,” Chrollo said to me whilst taking his seat.
“Honestly I'm not surprised, he’s the headmaster of the school after all. He was probably caught up in some other business.” I replied
With a sudden burst, the double door entrance swung open and Headmaster Saudont strode in quickly with his persistent enthusiastic smile.
“Excuse my tardiness, first years, I was . . . occupied with the school board,” he said slightly panting.
“See,” I whispered to Chollo while nudging him.
“However, I am now here. And just as I promised last week, you will be getting your arc stone brands and we will begin to delve into Ascension stones.” He finally said. A gentle murmur from the class arose, as getting our arc stone brands was a sign of being a student at Haulburn academy - aside from the uniforms.
“Now, who can remind me what we learned last week about an arc stone.” The headmaster said, looking across the class. I kept my head down in hopes he wouldn't think of asking me specifically.
“You there, boy with the blonde hair.” pointing in my direction
‘Damn it’
However, as soon as I was about to stand, a kid with a blond hair bowl cut and thick glasses shot up from behind me and began to answer the question.
‘Hmmf’, I smirked, ‘so the gods are real.’
“Arc stones are special types of crystals, formed naturally from the monoliths, developed in arc beasts, and can be found within the Arcadian ruins. Once they are linked up with one of our arc slots, we are able to use the abilities stored within the stone. However, when a stone is fully integrated within a person's mana body after the twenty-four-hour process, the stone can only be removed willingly by the owner and cannot be taken out by any other person” He took a breath to continue his answer. “ Also, the arc sto-”
“Hold it just there.” The Headmaster interrupted, “Why is it that the stones cannot be taken out unwillingly?”
“Well . . . well, because they merge to an indestructible part of the arc slots on our bodies,” the boy hesitated. It was painfully obvious he was not well-versed on this specific topic.
“And this part is called . . . ?” the headmaster trailed off, expecting him to answer.
“. . . I do not know sir,” the student said with embarrassment.
“The Seed,” Headmaster Saundont finally said. “Let me remind everyone else in the class to save embarrassment in the future.” he indicated for the student to sit back down and he began to talk.
“The Seed - like I told you last week - is a small piece of tissue resting under the skin of the arc slots on our bodies.” He walked around the stage as he spoke,
“The reason we wait twenty-four hours is because our mana bodies are not only integrating the information to use these stones, but the Seed is merging with the arc stone itself - hence the pain we feel -, and only then are they indestructible. However, If I were to remove the stone from the arc slot, the Seed will unbind from the stone and they both will lose their durability and become vulnerable to damage” He looked around the class to make sure we were all paying attention.
“And this has raised the question,” he continued “ ‘What would happen if someone died with an arc stone within their arc slot?’ Well, interestingly enough, for basic arc stones, while the host is dead, the Seed detaches from the arc stone and withers away. However, for all the other types of arc stones, the Seed and the stone stay merged and the stone is rendered useless, as the person who owned the stone must undo the binding of the stone from the Seed willingly, which they are - obviously - unable to do” he finished
His silence and the look in his eyes as they passed over the students in the room portrayed his impatience to move on, and within a few seconds, he did just that.
“Now, before you get your brands, let's begin ascension arc stones.” He pulled out a stone from his pocket and held it up for all to see.
“Can anyone tell me the difference between an ascension arc stone and a basic one?” He turned to look at the class again.
Multiple hands went up, and a girl stood after she was chosen by the headmaster.
“There are two main differences between ascension stones and basic: color and capability. While basic stones allow us to control the natural elements, ascension stones let us manipulate forces above normal comprehension.” She sat down after she was finished.
“Very good. That was a short and sharp textbook explanation.” He commended the girl ”Yes, ascension stones do allow us to control abilities above our comprehension. However, ascension stones also differ from basic stones in the fact that with their abilities, along come limitations” He gave the stone in his hands to the students to pass around and look at.
“For example, if someone had an ascension stone with the ability to breathe naturally underwater, a potential limitation on that stone could be the length of time. However, these limitations can differ depending on the stone.” The stone that was passed around finally made its way back to him.
“Also, the color. While basic arc stones naturally take on the pigments of blue red and green, ascension arc stones naturally come in shades of orange, purple, and yellow” He explained while putting the purple stone back into his pocket.
“Ascension stones are truly an anomaly. They are found - as the young man said before - within the Arcadian ruins - which are still a mystery to us today. Whether they are the relics of our ancestors or - what some people believe - that they are blessings from the gods themselves, we will never know.” He said.
“Any other questions before we continue?” he asked. However, the class responded with silence. Limited knowledge usually brings limited questions.
“Can we please open up our textbooks and turn to page fifty-three. It should be the chapter that says “Cultivation of Ascension arc stones”.”
Chrollo slightly sighed beside me as he pulled his books out from his bag, and the class began to write as we listened to the Headmaster read from the textbook itself.
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I had always questioned it in my head but never spoke about it out loud simply because no one else did. However, the fact that the students’ arc stones - well, from the students whose arc stones I could see - were black in color, always intrigued me. My father had, and the teachers I had learned from, told me that arc stones came in natural colors and black and white were not one of those colors. It was only after I was introduced to the branding process that I understood.
See, the school policy requires that all students must have their arc stone colors changed to black, most likely to show status or something hierarchical like that. The only people exempt from this policy are students in their final year, teachers, and staff.
The process by which they change the color is done by some stationary device that I don't quite understand yet, but I think it uses the power of another arc stone - an ascension one most likely. Although the procedure didn't affect me physically, it still felt weird to see the black-colored crystals resting atop my knuckles. It was weird having to take them out and put them inside the mechanism and watch them come out a different color, although it was nice to have them all the same color.
As Chrollo and I walked to the library by my request, it became more apparent to me now as the location of his own arc slots. He had five on each of his arms, running down their length from shoulder to his backhands. And, I was able to see the outline of his arc stones under his white shirt, as he liked to walk around without his blazer. Not to my surprise, there were two outlines, one for the fire arc stone, and if my suspicions are correct, the other would be for his ice arc stone.
“Why are we going to the library again?” Chrollo asked.
“There’s someone who wants to meet with me” I replied, “and besides, it would be nice to look around for a bit. The library is so big, it wouldn't hurt to get familiar with it”
“I suppose so,” He said while kicking rocks as we walked. “Who’s this person anyway? Don't get me wrong, but you don't seem like the type to be going on dates in the library.” he snickered. “Or, any date at all. No, you're too reserved”
Stolen story; please report.
“It's a guy”
“By Arcinose, I didn't know you were like that!” He acted surprised with a hand in front of his mouth.
“Shut up, it's not like that, '' I laughed. ‘But with the way Leo has been lately, he seems to be obsessed with me’ I thought jokingly to myself. Leo was becoming more of a disturbance to my peaceful life at Hualburn than I would have liked. Ever since he saw the mana ring on my finger, he had been bugging me all through my time here. He Irritated me so much that I got comfortable with him being around me. Somehow.
As Chrollo and I had finally entered the southern district and located the library, we made our way in search of Leo. He had told me he usually sits on the fifth floor of the building, but even when we had climbed the stairs to make it there, it was still a struggle to find him.
“Elex, over here” I could hear someone shout from a distance. Leo was at a desk by himself, surrounded by books and waving in our direction.
“What took you so long?” He asked as we approached him.
“We decided to walk. We don't have any more classes today and the sun was out. Seemed like a good time to be outside.” I replied
He looked over at Chrollo scrutinizingly. “Who’s he?”
“A friend.”
“My name is Chrollo,” Chrollo said.
Leo looked back over to me without greeting him. “It's barely been a week and you’ve already made friends with nobles?”
“ I never said I was a noble?”
“Oh please,” Leo stressed “Just look at you. You won't fool anyone with your words”
Chrollo rolled his eyes and took a seat at the desk, muttering something under his breath.
“Anyway, did you find what I asked for?” I said.
Not long ago, Leo and I made a deal. I asked him to find out who the important lords and members of the council within this kingdom were for reasons I did not disclose to him. In return, I would tell him where I came from. Which, of course, he already knew, but for some reason, he acted as if there was something I was hiding from him. He seems to think I'm not from here. A complete foreigner. It may seem like I’m tricking him, but to be honest, the only reason I asked him was because he seemed to have a knack for getting around things like this, and high society was often kept a secret from the lower class. It would be strange if I just went around asking people things I should already know.
“I have,” He said as I took my seat next to him.
“Well . . . ?”
“Well, to be blunt, there isn't really anything of interest to tell you,” he said whilst filling things out in a notebook. Anything worth telling he most likely meant. “The royals - as you know - are the Porlovs, and the king himself is guided by the council.”
“Tell me more about them then. The council, that is” I asked
“They are made up of six members - excluding the king. Each member oversees a specific area of the kingdom, such as finance and infrastructure or law enforcement and army regulations. You know, basic things like that. Nothing major that happens in the city rarely isn't managed by them” He said
“This is pretty basic knowledge if that's all you were able to figure out,” Chrollo said leaning back in his chair.
“Well let me finish,” Leo said irritatedly “All of the council members are nobles with lordships. As you can imagine they are very competitive with one another in the quest for political power.”
“Lords?” I said “What land are they the lords of? Don't they all live in the capital that's owned by the king?”
“My friend, the size of Haulburn is bigger than you probably think. The king isn't able to administer every section of the kingdom, let alone the city. So, just as he offers the land of the kingdom to those who he rewards or to those who can afford it, the king offers up sections of the city to the lords who live within the capital of the kingdom. Just the inner city itself is bigger than some neighboring cities around here. So, when I said the lords - more specifically the council - are competitive over power, I really mean they compete over land within the capital. If you own the land, you can regulate the propaganda of that area, you can change living expenses in that area, and you can ultimately influence election votes and much more” Leo explained
“Wow,” I said, a bit shaken. Corruption wasn't something that was unheard of, especially within the upper echelon of society. I had read many books about governing and ruling a country and I was able to see some of the rules that could easily be exploited.
“Now, with all of the land dispersed between the many ambitious lords of the city, the competition can get ruthless. Corruption is prevalent and schemes are hidden beneath the surface of every plan made to benefit the people. Just look at this school for example. During the war, Haulburn was said to be created as a training academy specifically to create soldiers. However, If you dig deeper, it was made as a place where the lords and people of power can cause their children to mingle together and keep the power for themselves.” He said. Leo turned his head and pointed at the building and the students around us. “Even today - though the students may not know it - connections between lords are secured here by the friendship of their children”
It made sense. The groups I had seen forming within the first couple of days weren't just random. Either these kids knew each other through their families before they came, or, everyone knew who they wanted to make companions of. It won't be easy to get into the higher society on my own.
“What do you make of this?” I asked facing Chrollo
“It's the truth,” he said bluntly. “The higher up the ladder you go the more you can see the corruption of this continent” He seemed reserved. Like he didn't want to talk about the topic. “The Demon kingdom is just the same. The lords and nobles of Vientor love to leave the burden of the future of their house upon their children” He said randomly flipping through the pages of a book
“But right now, that is the least of your problems.” Leo continued “Who you make friends and enemies with here, may affect you down the road. For example, the most powerful council member - Lord Kadmin - rules over a large amount of the city and has wealth and influence that would make a regular lord look like a peasant of the outer city.”
“Why should I worry about him? As far as I know, he has no idea any of us exist” I asked
“Well, it's not specifically him you should worry about, it's his son. His only son goes to our school, and better yet, he is in our year as well,” he exclaimed. “Of course, I've never actually seen him, simply because I don't know what he looks like. But, when a rumor like that spreads around, it can't be fake. The Kadmins are treated like royalty in the kingdom, you don't just make these things up. I'm sure all of the lords who heard he was sending his son to Haulburn have also sent their kids to this school to mingle and make connections for them to climb their way up the ranks of society”
“Ok, so all I need to do is avoid this Lord Kadmin’s son, right?” I asked
“Not so much avoid him, just don't get on his bad side” Leo answered. “Don't forget, the Kadmins are powerful enough that they don't need to make connections like a smaller house would. They are self-sufficient and will put down anyone who gets in their way.”
“Well for me to not get on his bad side, I'll at least need to know more about him. What is his name?”
“Caesar”
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CHRISTINA PORLOV (POV)
‘Take your time, act natural. No one here is different from you, and above all else, remember your purpose’ I reminded myself. The words of my father rang deep within as I traveled across the grounds to address my arrival at my first class. The words had been drilled into my head before he was confident enough to allow me to attend Haulburn, causing me to miss the first few weeks of school. However, It most likely wouldn't affect my image. The students would understand, and they wouldn't think twice about why the Princess didn't start at the same time as everyone else - whatever their reasons may be.
I didn't understand in the beginning why I had to go - a part of me still doesn't. But, my father's unusual request fell upon me, and I wasn't going to disappoint him. All I know is that It includes my brother, who, despite being just two years older than I was not granted the same opportunity. It's things like this that cause confusion within me. Sometimes, my father acts as if all he cares about is my brothers, and then all of a sudden, he entrusts this seemingly important task upon me. I don't know what to think anymore. I was excited to attend the school, as the idea of learning secluded within the palace bored me. Although, does an opportunity like this only arise for me when another goal is involved? Why couldn't father just let me have this one thing, let me be independent? I truly wonder what the extent of his love looks like . . . for me anyway. It was already apparent when you looked at my brothers.
Despite his newfound trust, and my release into the school, I was given an assistant of sorts. Someone to help me with my needs, a friend thankfully. Erika and I had been friends since we were kids and because my father and hers were friends, I was allowed to invite her over many times from the countryside - where she lives - to the capital and play within the palace. My father had already told me that she had been informed of our task, so I could rely on her to hold information.
“I still can't believe you're finally here, it's been so long since we last saw each other” Erika exclaimed as we approached the building.
“Neither can I,” I replied “This all feels a bit surreal to me, to be honest. Despite the eccentrics found in the palace, this whole situation is . . . overwhelming” I could feel anxiousness pull on my nerves.
Growing up and watching my brothers hone their skills and intellect at home was enjoyable because they were always around. However, as I grew out of my phases of needing attention, I came to the realization that I didn't want the same for me. I wanted to go and explore the kingdom, perhaps even the continent - let alone the city. And in contrast to what I had seen growing up, being taught that a person of my position wasn't to get too close to common nobles, or even associate myself with the common folk. I found myself here, in the prestigious public school of Haulburn academy.
“Don't worry, you’ll be fine, your highness. The other students will welcome you gladly” she said smiling. “Your arrival will undoubtedly bring unwanted attention, but you have already missed so much. Things have happened, and there are new people to meet”
‘Your Highness?’ I questioned in my head. God, what happened? She never would have called me that before. Growing up and becoming independent is an exciting process - necessary even -, but that feeling of joy is quickly sapped away as we all begin to understand our positions and responsibilities in society. The days of running through the palace corridors with Erica by my side were now stored as a slow fleeting memory in my mind.
“Things have happened?” I repeated to her “Anything worth taking note of? I mean . . . relevant to our task?”
“To your task.” Erika corrected “ And yes, definitely worth noting. There have been some fights - sparring, nothing real. I took the names down of people who I thought were worth looking into” Erika said while handing me a piece of paper with a plethora of names.
“With the help of your father, I was able to place us within classes so that you could see these people firsthand.” She continued. “I recommend, you look especially carefully into the one at the bottom,” She said
I glanced through the names, seeing if any of the students were from powerful houses I knew. Some of them, I could see were from strong houses - threateningly strong, while others, I had never heard of, and some . . . .
“Hold on,” I said, “Why is there no second name for this person?” I asked Erika, pointing to the name she had written down.
“There simply was none.” She replied. “ I tried to figure out more about them, but even the staff at the reception building had no record of their second name.”
“What?” I said surprised. That wasn't possible, only the top percent of the nobility had that kind of power, and those lords liked to copy the king in keeping their children at home to be educated. “You know what this could mean, right?”
“Yeah. Either the person I saw was able to get into the school with no family backing them, or, a high noble family doesn't want people knowing their child is attending the school.” She said, Her face changed to an expression of deep thought.
“But, if I'm being honest” She continued, “I think it's the latter.”
“Well, we will have to confirm, before making accusations,” I said. “This class we are going to, will they be in there?”
“No,” she said bluntly. “This class has someone else in it” she pointed to another name near the middle of the list.
“Hmm, Vinspear? I’ve never heard of that house before. Are they well known among the common nobility?” I asked
“No, not them specifically, but the house they branch from - The Boldwicks”
“Boldwick? Isn't that the name of the elixir brewery in the inner city?”
“Yes. After I got the name, I sent a letter to someone outside of the school to look into it for me. Turns out the owner just named the company after his house. They’ve done well for themselves. To the point where people associate the name with the company and don't actually know that it's also the name of the house,” Erika explained
“And what subject is this then?” I asked
“Funnily enough, it's “Elixir Brewing”.”
“Great, I suppose they will be amazing at this” I joked
We were getting closer to our destination according to Erika. And I was getting more nervous as I had never been around many other people my age before, especially not in a learning environment. What if I messed up, what if they all thought of me as strange or made fun of me for not being familiar with the customs?
‘That stupid’ I thought ‘Just calm down. There is nothing that can go wrong. All I'm doing, for now, is observing’. My thoughts were reassured by Erika
“Don't forget, it's your first day, no one is expecting the world from you. Just sit by me, smile, and watch. No need to put on a spectacle.” She said
“Ok” I breathed nervously.
“You’ll be fine your Highness” She tried to comfort me
By Arcinose, I'm the Princess. I cannot allow something like my nerves to get in the way of my task. ‘I can do this I told myself
“Alright let's go,” I said following Erika to the classroom door.