Back on the tower's first floor, everyone was sitting around a round table. They planned to have a fun little party to celebrate the forming of their group, but now the atmosphere was heavy and silent. It was broken by Raufon's question in the end, after they sat there for minutes, thinking about Sion's words after he told them everything.
"You really gave up your position? Just like that?"
"I was angry." He said, forming a weird smile, now regretting it a little, but not enough to change his mind or start making excuses. "What is done is done. I challenged the decision of the Student Council. Even if I stay with the Disciplinary Committee, they could use that against me or trap me in some kind of scheme…."
"Now you are just trying to rationalize your harsh decision." Aurora wrote, then she smiled at him, "I'm more approving of the fact you acted out of instinct, with honest feelings."
"Maybe…" Sion sighed, returning her smile and shaking his head.
"What are we going to do now?" Ceiline asked, nervous, asking the same question that had been bothering Keily since the start. He was fidgeting in his place, turning his head left and right, looking at the others. "We can't operate as a group. If we sign up for any tasks or competition and work together without being in the same group, the system penalizes us for conspiring against others!"
"We should beat them down." Koadriana scoffed, angry beyond belief which resulted in her silence so far.
"They are too strong for a direct confrontation!" Sion sighed, "I hate to say it, but I think we would fail even if we gang up on one of them! The power difference is too big between us!"
"And we have no chance to bring the case before anyone now after the school's system reviewed it," Ceiline said with a dejected voice as everyone fell into silence once again.
"So… we can't do anything?" Keily asked after a short minute, his voice dejected and hurt. He already liked the group and was happy to be part of it. He did not want to see it fall apart before it had time to truly take shape.
"We…" Sion spoke up, looking around, and then stopped. Soon everyone turned towards Lia, watching the same wild smile on her face that halted Sion from continuing his sentence.
"I thought of something!" She said, giggling like she had just come up with a great prank and was anxious to do it. Nobody said anything. They just waited for her to continue after giggling to herself a little more. "We will form different groups!" She said, leaning forward, explaining. "I'll form the Misfits of Fire with Keily! Koa, you form the Misfits of Water! Aurora will form the Misfits of Darkness, Raufon the Misfits of Earth, and Sion will form the Misfits of Light!"
"All of us form a group…?" Koadriana asked, mulling over the idea.
"Of course!" Lia nodded, bringing up her bracelet and showing them the rulebook of the Academy. "It is not against the rules! Anyone can form a group, even by themselves! Only Ceiline can't as she is not a student! But she can be the caretaker of our tower!"
"It can work…." Sion said, crossing his arms, looking interested in her idea.
"More than that!" Lia grinned, continuing, "We can start recruiting! My group will focus on people with the element of fire! Everyone will gather talented people of their own element then! We can even recruit others to fill up all the eight spots and have a group for each element! And then…" She fell silent, watching their excited faces, "We can form alliances! There is no mention of how many groups can form an alliance! Do they want to play the game of rules? So be it! I am up for it!" Lia laughed, standing up, both of her eyes twinkling, blazing with the flames of ambition. She was clearly angry, and she was turning that anger into motivation. "Our tower will be named the House of Misfits, and we will closely work together! Hmf! If they refuse all of our applications… then I won't lie down and go directly to the Headmaster!"
"And if he does not help us?" Keily asked, wholly fired up by her words but also expecting hurdles along the way.
"Their fears are going to turn into reality…." Lia said, her voice low, and she showed a wild side of hers, grinning in a way that surprised the rest.
"What are your names anyway?" Raufon asked, still not knowing it, as Sion also just mentioned that they don't want four unique individuals leading one group.
"I am Lia Amarin, daughter of Reyra Amarin, the strongest mage in this Realm!" She answered with pride and strength oozing from her, shocking Keily and Raufon. Especially the former. He suddenly realized what her last name truly meant. Finally, the features of Razael in his mind overlapped with Lia's, finding the similarities in their faces and especially their proud aura at that moment.
"EEEH?!" Keily stood up, pointing at Lia with a trembling finger, surprising her. "You are the sister of Master Razael?!"
"Eh?" Lia tilted her head, blinking her eyes rapidly before nodding at the weird question. "Yeah, he is my biggest of big bros!"
"He… he saved me, and he was the one who sent me here!" Keily said, his voice trembling a little, and it was clear he looked up at Razael.
"Oh!" Lia clapped, laughing, "See? We were meant to meet!"
"He gave me this!" He fished out his medallion, showing it to them.
"Oh?" Koadriana leaned forward, smacking her lips, "That is a Seal of Amarin. Invoking that means you are protected by the House in whatever manner you deem necessary. If someone dies while wearing that medallion, the House of Amarin is obliged to carry out retribution."
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"Woah… someone is liked a lot, eh?" Raufon laughed, slapping the back of Keily without any jealousy in his voice. "Now nobody can fuck with you!"
"So the one who hurts him would be dealt with?" Sion asked, smiling as Aurora signed with her hands and Ceiline translated.
"Not just dealt with. It would be a Bloodletting."
"A what?" Keily asked, gulping after hearing the word, and Ceiline answered instead of the three siblings.
"The Houses are feared because they won't let Meriath forget they have no time nor patience for petty politics. They let everyone do their thing as long the Houses remain undisturbed, and the kings' and emperors' plays and ploys do not endanger the Realm. Killing someone under their protection IS a disturbance. Maybe that someone was marked as an important asset, not just for a House's but for Meriath's sake. Acting against the Realm means you are a Heretic."
"And families marked as Heretics are punished…." Sion murmured, "I read about families like those. Some got off easily. Just those of their people were killed who were involved in the act that brought down the hammer of one of the Houses. But…”
"But there are times when whole bloodlines are wiped from the surface of Meriath." Ceiline finished as everyone looked at the four girls coming from said powers.
"It is rare." Aurora wrote. "But yes… The Six Houses show no mercy if they are wronged."
"Then we should be fine, no?" Raufon smirked, watching the four. "Why were we even angry?"
"Because using our name is not what we do," Lia said while Koa, Aurora, and Ceiline nodded, agreeing with her. "You ought to know our backgrounds. You are all the foundations of our House of Misfits! But I… We don't want to spread it!" She said, and her gaze was deadly serious, drawing a smile onto Sion's face, knowing he was right with his feelings from the start. "I don't want others joining us because of our names! I am not afraid to use it when all options are gone, when injustice warrants us to step in as one of the Six Houses! But not until then! My Mom and Dad always told me that we are to remain Meriath's protectors and not its despots!"
"And they know." Sion interjected, mainly telling Raufon and Keily, "The Student Council knows; that is why they opposed it. But… Opposing it a second time will be much harder. Using someone's name is a double-edged sword. I am happy to hear you know when to wield it and when to sheath it." He continued, watching Lia, who giggled, showing a V-sign.
"Heh… so I fought with a direct descendant of the greatest mage alive…." Raufon murmured, finally remembering something important. "Hah! That is alone a bragging right!" He laughed, prompting the others to ease up on their moods.
"I still can't believe it…." Keily murmured, rubbing his medallion before putting it away, beaming with proud happiness, ready to follow Lia even further now.
"Let's draw up our applications!" Lia clapped, "We will bring them in, one by one! When one is accepted, the other comes in!"
"Now…" Sion leaned back, playing with his grey hair, "I really want to see Olivia's face…."
…
….
……
Kafka was in the office of the Student Council with two others. Olivia was not present this time, but every other member was already notified of what had happened only an hour ago.
"They played us." Another female member of the Council said. She was Narassa, a beast folk with sharp, cat-like ears and a tail wrapped around her waist. Her emerald-like eyes were glittering while she played with her long, straight, rust-colored hair. She did not sound angry at all, quite the opposite, as she was amused by the reports.
"Hmf." Another member, a man called Dahr, snorted, blowing out hot air from his nose but remaining silent. He was another beast folk and clearly from some kind of bear-like species, as his size was such that he had to come in and out of the room, turning sideways to get through the door. His brown, bushy hair was frizzled as his brown eyes darted left and right between the others, saying nothing.
"It is too late." Kafka looked at them. All of them were 4th-year students at the Speciali level. "By the time we realized what they were doing, three groups were formed. Stepping in now would be impossible and also problematic. Especially if they make it public; why they had to do it this way."
"This is all Olivia's fault!" Dahr said while the chair below him was creaking with every move he made, crying out for help, suffering under his immense weight. "That woman is unable to let go of the fact that her family was punished by House Berison, and now her anger against the Six may drag us into her petty bullshit!"
"We did agree with her reasoning." Narassa said, watching Dahr, then turning towards Kafka, "But I do agree with Dahr. She dragged us into a trouble that we have no time nor the energy the focus on. This is our last year! We have to do everything to guarantee we graduate with an Honorary. We can't let ourselves be distracted."
"Both of you think they would come after us? Mere 1st-year students?" Kafka asked, his voice calm and serious, asking for their honest opinions and not because it sounded outrageous.
"I never stood up against any of the Houses." Dahr said first, "And I have no intention to start doing it now! Whatever comes next, Olivia has to deal with it. I won't put my paw into the fire for her! Not when she is the one who ignited it!"
"I agree." Narassa nodded, "I was persuaded by her; she knows how to twirl her words. I give her that! It would have been good if they gave up on the idea, but as we can see… they are not afraid of challenging us, even as 1st-year students! I'd be lying if I said I'm surprised… ahaha~ Let them do it! I won't play any part in hurling more obstacles before them!"
"Mhm. Then that makes three of us." Kafka leaned back, putting down the paper that listed the newly created groups, all wearing the name 'Misfit.'
"Only us?" Narassa asked, surprised.
"Olivia has the 3rd-year students under her. The rest is… undecided. For now. Not that she can step in and stop them by now! But I don't know what is in her head. She has serious anger issues… she uses her passion and anger as fuel for her flames, which is why her spells burn as hot as lava! But she will burn herself sooner or later. Maybe even before graduating. I say; good!" Kafka stood up, walking towards the window, watching the night sky and the full moon. "It is best if she does it here and not in the outside world. Here, she can survive it."
"Going against a House… deliberately…." Narassa licked her lips, looking at Dahr, who just shook his head. "She is suicidal."
"She is strong; I give her that," Dahr said, standing up as they could swear they heard his chair sigh in relief. Now, standing, everyone had to look up at the 2-meter-tall giant of a man. "I couldn't defeat her. But that does not mean she can order me or anyone else around. The Council has no leader!"
"No, it does not." Kafka nodded, looking back over his shoulder, "We should step back and watch the show for now. By the way…." He raised his voice, stopping the two from leaving. "Have either of you found a candidate yet?" As he asked, Dahr and Narassa looked at each other before shaking their heads.
Candidate. As 4th-year students and members of the Student Council, they had a say in who they nominate for their position after they graduate. It was a customary thing that was weighed by the system and by the teachers before appointing a new Council member.
"No." They shook their head in sync.
"Me neither." Kafka smiled, "But I am starting to get the feeling I know where to look for one…."
The two said nothing more, but a sudden idea, a realization lit up in their eyes before they left the room.