"The first signs of what was to come were few. A slight surge in sightings around the forest border. Strange behaviour by the town inhabitants. But it wasn't anything to be concerned about. It was well within the limits of what we would consider normal activity. That only made it more heart-breaking when it happened. We really should have taken better action."

-Oliver Reddings, a Silver Private from the Siege of Tears

Nynae sat in the Class 1-B lecture hall, looking down at where Daniel's seat once was. After recent events, many noble families withdrew their children from the Academy in fear that it was too dangerous for them to continue learning there. Now, only around half the original class remained. They did that in spite of the fact they were training to become Guild members, one of the most dangerous jobs in existence. Why allow someone to work towards that yet fear for their safety when something similar to what they would experience in the Guild happens? Alandrians are strange. But is he really gone? Did the Inquisitor and his son really do all of that to him? Before, before... he...

"Attention! Class is starting!" Lanyon exclaimed as he walked through the classroom doors. At least he had finally returned after his leave. Nynae often felt like other than Daniel and her family back home, Lanyon was one of only a few people who were actually kind to her.

Many were suspicious of Lanyon, a person who suspiciously disappeared just as the Rogue made his return, and who bears a slight resemblance to the man in question. He vehemently denied the rumours citing his rank as one of the main arguments in his favour, even though he taught a class in the Academy that only high ranking members were supposed to teach, bringing not only his position into light but the possibility that people were trying to cover up who Lanyon really was. Personally, Nynae didn't see the semblance. From what she had seen of the Rogue during that so-called 'interrogation', they seemed to have been two completely different people. That face the Rogue had was not of the kind Lanyon but of a man full of so much hate he had forgotten what it would be like to feel again. Hell, other than the blue eyes and black hair, the two had nothing in common! If Lanyon was indeed the Rogue, Nynae wouldn't care. At least she still had a person who was kind to her.

"You're actually alive!" Astra said, one of the noble children who hadn't been withdrawn from the Academy, "You were gone so long everyone thought you dead!"

"I suppose I was gone for a long time. I had some problems with my family come up and they took longer than expected to resolve. I'll make it up to you." Lanyon replied, pacing up and down the length of the hall. Now that Nynae got a good look at him, he looked rough. Whether it be the loss of one of his students or his family situation at the moment, he did not look good. "I am guessing you have finished off the history of the Guild, right?" The class began to nod, "Okay, that's good. Have you finished the advanced basics of arts?" Again, the class began to nod, "That is great then. I had thought you were going to be behind but you're at the same level as other classes. We're finally ready for it."

"It?" Nynae asked.

"At the end of every unit you're supposed to learn at the Academy you go on a practice expedition. Now, since you've finished your first unit, you get to go on one... under my supervision, of course." Excited whispers rippled throughout the remnants of the class. It seemed that the vocal and loud nobles were mostly the ones who were removed from the Academy, leaving only the reserved or porcelains who didn't particularly belong in either party. In a way, Nynae could see how the two were related. "However, the expedition will only be for a few days and in well charted, claimed territories of the Voidlands no less. There's no way under Elase's good grace that you're meeting a redcap. And if you do, you won't be the ones to deal with it.

"Depending on how far Class 1-A has gotten too, we might go on a joint expedition with them. It will be good practice joining up with various different people you might not even know. For the rest of today we will be going over some techniques you will have to employ out there in the field, but after this, there's no more practice with them. You either do some more on your own time or hope that your current skills will get you through the expedition. The expedition will take place two days from now and I will give you the day off tomorrow. Don't waste it though. I will call an early break. After that, we met in the courtyard. Class is dismissed."

With that proclamation, Lanyon finished his pacing and walked straight out of the classroom doors. The class cliques began to form immediately, filled with discussion on what the expedition will entail or what they will learn or who they will hopefully join up with for the expedition party. There were two main cliques for the class and one for the leftovers. One group for the high ranking nobles such as the children of dukes and marquees and only a select few earls, with the other being of lower ranked noble children or people with enough power in the arts to be recognised as worthy in that group despite a lack of noble heritage. Nynae was offered a position in the lower class group but thought it to be too stuck-up for her and resigned to the outcasts. Most of the outcasts were those with less than remarkable abilities in the arts or those without any noble blood in them. All except one that stuck out like a sore thumb. Connor Harris. A boy who could stand with the higher classed group members and with a proficiency in the arts that passed others many times over. Yet he chose to stick with the outcast group.

"What do you think of all of this, Nyn?" Connor asked as he approached, "We've barely learned to defend ourselves and now we're gonna get shoved into the Voidlands."

"We should be alright," Sid said, bags under her eyes and a slightly dirty look to her blond hair as always. Despite what Nynae initially thought of her, she began to like Sid a lot and even admired her at times. Sid didn't really care about what others said of her sometimes weird habits or her almost permanent dishevelled appearance. On top of all that, she was only a bit older than Nynae was. Although she was often with the lower classed group, Sid liked to join with the outcasts sometimes when she was a bit sick of the noble children all treating friendship and casual conversation as a political game. "I mean we wouldn't have been put up to this expedition without the proper skills to deal with it, not including what we're about to learn."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"I agree with Connor on this one. It doesn't feel like we're ready," a second boy approached. Kurai was only a bit taller than Connor but with his practically perpetual hunched back and shoulders, he stood slightly shorter than Sid, who was to be fair quite tall for both her age and gender. Even though his posture was atrocious, Kurai always wore a bright smile that seemed to take up his entire face and had stupidly pretty eyes that you find new things to admire for days on end. With Kurai around, it felt like you could never have a bad time.

Behind him was his pudgy brother, Seiichi, the more pessimistic and gloomy of them. In spite of the brothers who were both complete opposites of each other, they were both quiet and only contributed a word or two when it mattered. And even more like his brother, he was always a welcome person to have around.

"I guess we just have to see." Nynae said, "Either way it seems like it will be fun though. We can only hope we will all end up together."

"Yep! It's only practise too!" Seiichi joined in, nodding vigorously.

"I still can't shake the feeling that we aren't ready. Other than the training we had when we first got out weapons, have we had anything substantial like that since? No, just personal training for those lucky enough to get some." Connor continued.

"What are you saying, Connor?" Nynae asked.

"They're trying too hard to make us seem fine. They're giving us a sense of security I don't think we've ever felt in the Academy before. When we were first given our weapons, we weren't trained formally beforehand to use them. Instead we got thrown into battle against fellow porcelains immediately. So why of all times through our experience in the Academy they actually try to prepare us properly for something?"

"Because the expedition isn't going to be safe at all, is it?" Sid answered.

"More than that. The expedition is going to be so dangerous that we have to get training. But-"

"But the training itself is a distraction from it too," Kurai interrupted, his brows furrowing and heavily accented voice coming through, which was usually obscured. "Because this is the first time we've had training and because they are giving us training when they've never done that before means that they're both trying to make us feel a false sense of security that we are safe and try to prepare us when we realise that it isn't safe at all."

"Mr. Pierce also looked a bit too.. how can I say this?" Sid said.

"Cheery?" Nynae tried to answer.

"Rigid. It was like he was reading from a script or at least trying to meet some points of a criteria or something." Kurai also answered.

"Formal?" Seiichi suggested.

"That's the word! Mr. Pierce would have at least put his own spin on a few of the words or been a bit more colourful in his presentation if he wasn't trying to be serious."

"We could confirm our suspicions if we ask around. See if the main points were covered either similarly or even exactly the same." Nynae said, looking up to Connor. "Reckon you could do it? Nobody would question someone like you snooping around."

"I suppose I could... Other than that, is there anything else I would need to ask?"

"After class you could try to wrangle something out of teach. Might be a bit too blatant though."

"You could disguise it as trying to get some information to organise the trip so you can notify your family. You're a noble Connor, Mr. Pierce wouldn't question if you needed permission from your family to go on an expedition." Sid added, glancing at a small desk in the front of the hall and nodding to it. "But maybe we might not need to snoop"

"What do you mean?" Connor questioned, not yet realising what Sid was implying.

"Lanyon's forgotten his things." Nynae replied. "He forgets things easily so what if he took a copy of what he was supposed to say so he didn't miss the key points. If we saw something like that, it could prove most of our theory without having to press some porcelains and the teacher. You can't be the one to do it though."

"What?! What do you mean, of course I'll-"

"Sid said it; you're a noble. And a noble can't risk his reputation looking through Lanyon's things. It would look like you were trying to steal something and in front of an entire class of witnesses, it would be more than damning. You can do everything else, I'll just do this bit. As a foreign kid nobody would suspect allegations against me. Just a dirty foreigner taking advantage of a wealthier person."

"You'd be shunned. Possibly even kicked out-"

"It couldn't be worse than it is now. You probably don't notice the glances I get, or the underhanded comments made in passing about me. Or something said just loud enough beside me for me to hear. Me and Daniel weren't just friends because we sat next to and liked each other. We both felt safer with another person around to stick up for them when things went bad."

"Nyn, Connor is right with this, you can't risk getting kicked out of here. You are not doing it." Sid commanded, placing a hand on Nynae's shoulder. Nynae hadn't realised how sad an expression she had when explaining the problem or even how she didn't dare look at the others' faces while doing so. So when she eventually looked up, she saw something she didn't believe she would see away from home. Worry. For her. A look of deep despair and concern was on Connor's face as clear as day, Sid remorseful and putting on her best attempt at a reassuring smile. As always, the two brothers hung in the back yet Nynae could still find similar expressions on the pair too. Friends. Not just Daniel. She really had friends. They weren't just a group of outcasts who spent time together because they were forced to. They were all friends. And friends with her.

Nynae didn't even have time to speak as she saw Connor run off towards the teacher's bag. He even made a bit of a scene with ruffling through it. At first, when he departed from the front and back towards his friends, it didn't seem he found anything. In Connor's hands, however, was a small piece of paper, rough handwriting scribbled all over it. Nynae could hear the surprise, shock and gossip that ensued from the incident from the other cliques, but it no longer mattered to her now. Connor was her friend. So was Sid. So was Kurai. So was Seiichi. They were all her friends, and Connor had just possibly ruined his own and his family's reputation among the noble families just for Nynae. He even wore a bright comforting smile all while doing it. Nynae could barely muster a small whisper for them. Her friends.

"Thank you..."