HELOISE VAN ASTELL

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The Hierophant is the fifth card of the Major Arcana in a Tarot deck. The Hierophant stands for tradition and can represent marriage in an arranged setup and a teacher or counsellor who will assist in learning.

When the Nelbrandts usurped the throne, they started the tradition of reading someone’s fortune through Tarot cards. One would pull a single card from the deck and that card would represent them and their future.

Tarot card readings were nothing more than a tradition started by the Nelbrandts. But tradition or not, everyone was still obsessed with them a hundred years later to the point that people would base important aspects of their lives base on what card they drew. I got my reading back when I quit adventuring and drew The Hierophant. I didn’t think it would hurt, so I based the next chapters of my life around what that card meant like what some people were doing.

I became a jynx tutor and, unfortunately, it had gone nowhere. Most of the time, I was hired to become a private home tutor and teach children, but I always ended up leaving a fortnight later.

The children were too impatient and would rush what I was trying to teach just so they could start casting the cool spells. These families paid well and most home tutors would tolerate the kids just so they could earn the coin. I was not one of those tutors. Jynx was something I was passionate about and I didn’t care if the ones I was teaching it to were children. If they had no respect for it then I would not teach them.

On some occasions, I would get hired by families who wanted me to teach a very young child around the age of five. What would happen was their kid would show an inkling of jynx talent and the parents would go overboard, throwing their kids in deep water when they didn’t even know how to swim. They would hire me and their kid would be in the hospital just a couple of days later because their gates were too fragile.

As much as I was annoyed with children who had no respect for jynx, I’d prefer teaching them over the young kids who showed a little bit of talent. Over-exhausting one’s gates was a painful thing and an incident like that would haunt a child for the rest of their years. If an accident like that were to happen, a child that showed some potential would be too afraid to try again.

The jynx world would lose a flower that never got a chance to bloom.

Because of this, I decided to quit being a jynx tutor and go back to adventuring. It was more physical work and I would be lonely without my previous party, but I needed to escape from teaching.

I also have a State Jynxist licence. If I ever had to, I could get treatment at hospitals for free, gain access to forbidden information, or even stay at military bases if I needed a break.

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And I could make extra money if the military was to put out a state of emergency.

I already told the landlord I was leaving by the end of the week. I never owned many things so the cramped room I was renting looked as bare as the day I began living here.

As I separated my things into a pile of what I wanted to keep and sell, a heavy knock came on my door.

“You have a letter, lass.” The landlord handed me an envelope. “It seems you are ready to leave. It was a pleasure having a heroine live in one of my apartments.”

Lass? I may look like a young lady, but I’ve lived his life three times over. Two hundred and twenty-one years is young for an elf.

The letter was from a Colonel Ray Van Camaro of Gilead.

This is the first time since he’s left the Capital that he’s contacted me.

I opened the envelope and found a one-paged letter.

Hello Silver, I know it’s been a while and I hate asking for favours, but a dear friend is in need of a home tutor and I thought you would be perfect.

Before I state the specifications of my request, I want to tell you what I’ve been up to. After we both passed the exam and acquired our licenses, I entered the military (I’m hoping you remember that we went out a lot on my days off). I’ll skip over the boring parts, but I am now a colonel in jurisdiction of my home village. Sorry if I didn’t try to find you before I left, but the promotion was very sudden and I haven’t gotten the chance to visit the Capital since. I hope working as a jynx tutor has really been rewarding for you. But now for my request.

I’ve got a close friend that’s basically a sister whose boy has shown talent in jynx. You may doubt me, but I’ve shown an interest in this boy as well. He’s really something special. I know other tutors either wouldn’t take my request seriously or would be a complete jest, so, as a former Requiem teammate and the only other participant who passed our exam, please consider this request.

You will be a private home tutor and since the family wants you to hone her boy’s skills and teach him general education as well, they will be providing a room for you. This is also because they don’t want you wasting your money at an inn. You will tutor for however long you deem fit and your payment will be two gold and twenty-five silver coins. The boy is smart and if he feels you are teaching him properly, an extra twenty-five silver coins will be thrown into your salary.

Please keep this request in mind and write back.

Sincerely yours, Chariot

I sighed.

A lot of parents got too excited when their child showed a bit of talent. I knew enough about it. There were too many times I was called to tutor a child because they showed promise, but it was nothing more than the mother and father holding their child in too high of a regard.

Camaro was a boring man, but there was a reason why he passed the State Jynxist Exam. If he held this child in high regard then I would trust him that their talent would truly be something special.

I was planning to head west and Gilead was along the way. I guess I could drop by and see if this child of prodigy really was worth teaching.

I went to the desk and began writing a response.