NOT EDITED

Tova Ardor was an odd figure, always felt out of place at the Academy. Plenty reasons why, she'd been found by one of the Elders, Ker. One of the youngest ones to be selected as an Elder. He'd found her alone, as a mere child, four or five at max, sitting under a tree in the forest. No memory of how she got there or who she was. Only her name, Tova. Right then and there, Ker had sensed magic within her, a burning flame deep within her. One that begged to be released. It wasn't that uncommon for children of mages to have their magic show at a young age, but with Tova it was a little different, riskier. He knew not of who her family were, not even knowing if she herself knew, who she was, what she was and the magic she possessed. She was a child after all. Dressed in nothing but rags, feet bare. She wasn't crying, rather staring at nothing, not even taking note to that Ker approached her. Not until he kneeled besides her, a hand on her shoulder he shook her.

"Hi there," it was barely a whisper, too afraid he'd scare her off, as if she'd vanish into thin air. "Are you lost?"

That's when she turned and looked at him, still no tears, no fear, nothing, an empty void of eyes. He'd felt a pang in his chest, an anger flared within him, who dare leave a child like this alone to die.

She whispered, "are you here to kill me?" Immediately Ker shook his head, no. No he wasn't there to kill her. Rather he'd fled the Academy to breathe, the Elders were suffocating. Thinking they knew better than him, doubting him, questioning him, never listening. It was harsh, to be surrounded by old minded men, who had only their or the schools interest in mind, which of course, to an extent was good. However, they'd rather put the continent of Briwor at risk, than have anything bad happen to the academy.

"No, I'm not here to kill you." He whispered, trying to find any emotion within her. "I'm here to take you to a safe place, if that's okay?" The girl nodded, allowing Ker to help her up to her feet. He smiled, hoping to make her feel better.

"What's your name?" He questioned as they started walking back to the Academy.

"Tova," she spoke. He sensed relief flow through her, curious, he asked another question.

"Last name?"

"I-I... I don't know." She stammered, tears were now springing to her eyes, but the child was refusing to let them fall.

Ker smiled softly, gripping her small hand in his, squeezing gently, trying to get her to understand everything was okay now. He'd take care of her. They'd get to the end of this mystery together.

The Elders didn't take a liking to Ker's new friend, telling him to throw her back from where she came from. It wasn't until Parker Hemway spoke, giving his blessing of Ker's taking in Tova. She was to be cared for by him. And was to join the academy where she'd be safe, protected and able to learn about her magic, control it, and be a valuable asset to the army.

The years that followed Ker and Tova only grew closer, becoming the only family they both had. They bonded over their magic, Ker being an arcane mage, and Tova a fire mage. Though she was rarely allowed to use her magic, Ker would sneak her off grounds, to the mountains that overlooked the Academy and its grounds. Teaching her tricks, delving into the history of mages and showing off his own magic. However, as they grew older, they had less time to spend with each other. Tova had been promoted to lead of her team, along with having to join the Archmages Guild. She was busy, and so was Ker. An Elder had passed away during the years, throwing him more work, forcing him to find another Elder to complete the circle of six. A feat that was by no means easy.

When Tova turned ten, Ker had bestowed upon her the name of Ardor. Tova Ardor was now reborn in flames, along side her brother Ker Ardor. It wasn't without her permission he'd created their own family name, making them formally brother and sister.

It wasn't only Ker she'd grown close to, but also Ava Senshi, a born and bred warrior. Descendant of Kasumi Senshi, relative of Parker Hemway, she was popular among the other students. Her parents had been fierce warriors that were legends. It had hit the school hard when Hemway announced they were no longer with us. Tova had grown close to Ava's family too, as her own brother wasn't able to be around a lot. It was a dark time, the school was mourning, Ava was tearing herself apart trying to get the council to agree that William Alastair was behind it. Everyone believed, hell, everyone knew it without her having to say a word. But there was no proof, and without proof, the academy cannot act. Innocent until proven guilty, they said, even when it came to the maniac that sat upon a throne he did not deserve.

Tova Ardor was the odd one out, all the students knew about her was that she joined at an early age, had no family and had been given a last name by the Elders. That's how she liked to keep it. Only one person knew, and that was of course Ava Senshi. Tova had broken down after a couple of kids bullied her for not having any family, being an outcast, not deserving of being in the academy. Ava had scared them off, punching one of the boys in the face, sending them away crying. After that, Tova had spilled her guts, her only wish that Ava would understand and accept. Ava didn't care whatsoever who or what Tova was, all she cared was that she was her best friend and that was it. Though knowing about her magic, and her relation to an elder sparked curiosity, she never asked anything though. Accepting Tova and realising she had been given a second chance only fuelled Ava's desire to make sure it was the best one.

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Tova woke up startled, jolting out of her bed, sweat pouring down here. Her breathing was ragged, uneven and she had a hard time calming herself. She was awake now, that was for sure. With that in mind she shrugged on some clothes and headed towards Ava's dorm room. She would be the only one that could calm her. The dorm rooms were situated next to the main building, a walk away. Surrounded by trees there were four buildings, forming a barrier around the park in the middle. Each house had a singular team in it. Ten rooms in each house, five single rooms and five double rooms. She'd been given a single room, on Ker's request. Which she was more than grateful for, he knew about the other students. It was cold outside, and she could see Ava's window, which was dark but slightly open. There were no guards, or teachers keeping tabs on them, believing they'd discipline us enough to keep us in our rooms during dark. That was true for most. Inside the Nothenn building, Ava's team, she hurried up the stairs to the top floor, room fifteen in the furthest corner facing the park. Downstairs all houses had a lounge room, a kitchen, bathrooms and a washing area. Though most of their food was eaten at the dining hall, they were allowed to have snacks stored in the kitchen. The loungeroom housed board games along with some comfortable sofas and tables. While the wash room was always full, of both clean and dirty clothes the other students had forgotten about.

She knocked, then once again, and then one last time, signalling that it was her. It took a moment before the door swung open, revealing a dishevelled Ava. She was wearing the same t-shirt as Tova, though Tova had changed her shorts for joggers and slung on a jacket. Ava rubbed her eyes with fists before acknowledging her.

"What's up Ardor?" She leant against the door frame, slowly gaining life. Tova couldn't help the sheepish smile from forming, while she had done this plenty of times, woken Ava up because of multitudes of reasons, she always felt the tiniest bit guilty. Only a tiny bit though.

"Nightmare... Wanna go for a walk?" Tova gestured with her hand towards the hallway, wanting nothing more than to escape into the forest, where one of her favourite places laid hidden. Ava nodded with understanding, leaving Tova at the door to put on some clothes. As she did, Tova noticed a body in her bed and what she would only assume to be a makeshift bed on the floor next to it. Who was in Ava's room? Ava finished putting her clothes on, slung on her own jacket, which only difference was the mark on the sleeves arm. She pushed past Tova, signalling with her hand to follow.

Tova glanced one last time at the body before gently closing the door and joining Ava outside.

"So," Tova was cut short when Ava interrupted her.

"It's Tempest, I have to share my room with her until, hopefully, they can find a spare one for her." Ava explained, before continuing. "And I couldn't let her sleep on the floor." She shrugged, leading the way to their destination.

"Oh, okay. That must suck," Tova whispered, not wanting the disturb the calm night.

Ava mumbled a response, a 'yeah' Tova assumed. They walked in silence to the creek, which was surrounded by trees, leaving it and them sheltered from everything beyond. The sound of the water flowing down always calmed Tova down. She wasn't sure why.

"What was it this time?" Ava broke the silence after they sat down on some rocks near the creek. She was sincere, worried for her friend. Nightmares of their past would always haunt them.

"The day we lost Kaden." Tova whispered, feeling the nightmare, or rather memory, resurface. Ava's face fell, a sullen look on her face.

"Oh," she whispered, staring down at the creek.

That day was supposed to be a fun one, with no worries, just them being kids. Tova, Ava and their friend Kaden had left to discover the school grounds, with the blessing of Hemway. They were having so much fun, it was a beautiful day, the sun shone high, the heat was amazing and everything was so, so green. They'd hear critters run around and jump from tree to tree as they giggled, walking higher and higher up a mountain. Kaden and Ava were jumping from rock to rock as Tova climbed up behind them, watching them tease each other on who could jump the furthest, fighting about who had better balance, who was fastest. They had finally arrived to the top, which barely had any trees to hide the view, or them from anyone. Tova found a spot for them to lay on, which didn't consist of too many rocks under them. They had stared at the sky, pointing out clouds, what they looked like, or didn't look like.

It wasn't until they decided to head back to school that it happened. One moment they were giggling, starting to make their way down, the next screams could be heard, Tova, who had taken point then spun around so quick she slipped, hitting her side on a rock. Enough to hurt her, but not enough to deter her from finding out why they were screaming. To her horror, a huge beast stood looming above Kaden, blood already sporting it's yellow canines. Saliva was spewing out of its mouth, down onto Kaden who was screaming in pain. Ava was frozen next to them, watching in horror as the obsidian beast snarled at them. It was their first encounter with an Kaareti, a massive cat like beast, with razor sharp teeth and claws, and a thin long tail with spikes at the end. It was also not their last. The Kaareti didn't waste much time, sinking its teeth into Kaden as he let out screams, blood was everywhere, the beast tore into Kaden's small body, silencing him. He was dead, gone, by the paws of a beast that wasn't supposed to be any where near the academy.

Though the action seemed to have woken Ava up from her frozen state, she leapt towards Tova, grabbed her arm and ran. They ran for what felt like hours, never looking back. Never stopping. Not until they stumbled into Ker who was visiting that day. Screaming, yelling, tumbling over their words they cried and Ker's face had only paled. Until he pushed them apart and disappeared into thin air, leaving a trail of purple smoke behind him. Seconds, then minutes passed as the two stood there, crying silent tears. Blake found them like that and not long after, Ker returned with a mangled body. Covered in blood. Tears streaming down his red face. He hadn't let the girls see Kaden. Only disappearing into the school.

Blake had brought them into the school, putting them in the care of Tots Lemming, the school nurse among other things.

Tova and Ava alike had refused to say another word, not even days after, when they had finally seen Kaden one last time, in the coffin about to be buried. It had taken Ava around two weeks before she started talking again, and Tova around a whole month. They were only nine, far too young to have witnessed such a horrific event. And Kaden, a boy who's life had been taken far too early.

Ava noticed a stray tear had fallen down Tova's face, her own threatening to spill.

"I miss him you know," Tova sniffled, rubbing her face. Her brown hair spilling down around her, she laughed a bit. "We would've been a deadly trio." She said, as her eyes lit up, trying to focus on some positivity.

"We would've," Ava agreed, smiling slightly at Tova. They sat there in silence for what felt like hours, until the sun started to peek. That's when Ava tugged Tova home, dropping her off at her dorm room, with a small hug she left to return to hers, wanting nothing more than to lay down and let sleep take her away. What she had forgotten was that her bed was not her own anymore. Inside her room, Edana slept soundly, small soft snores escaping her. Without a second thought to it, Ava left the girl. Headed straight for the indoor training hall near the outdoor one. Once inside, she shrugged of her jacket and boots, and let out her emotions on a dummy.