Orphelia was pale. Extremely pale. Lia asked someone at the market where the sick bay was, and led her friend through the corridors and domes of the station toward a small building that was directly attached to the docking bay and the main dome.

The white door opened before them with a hiss and they entered a very sterile looking room. A woman with purple hair, that fell in two strands around the head to her chest looked up at them. She wore a white vest with a little golden pin on her collar, and looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"We're from the Crystal Academy. I'm Lia Selena Eo, and this is Orphelia Deimos. She suddenly turned pale and is weak on her feet."

"Put her on one of the beds," the woman instructed, and gestured into the room. "Are you donar or imperi?"

"Donar," Lia answered as she helped Orphelia into the room and onto the bed, "both of us."

The woman stepped closer to them. "I am Impera Ojy, by the way. I'll make a few basic examinations. Is that alright with you?" When Orphelia nodded, the Impera started with shining a light into Orphelia's eyes, then measured her pulse. After taking her temperature, and telling her to hold some strange rods, she frowned slightly. "That's a severe mana drain," she observed. "Which imperi did that to you?"

"As far as we know we weren't even close to any imperi," Lia noted. "Can Imperi do that?"

"Yes, imperi can draw too much magic from inexperienced donar, once the connection has been established." Ojy frowned and looked at Lia, her eyes focusing on the crystal brooch Orphelia had gifted her. "Do you have life mana?"

Lia grabbed the brooch and looked down. "Would that be helpful?"

"It could give me insight into what caused her to lose a buch of mana. So, yes."

Officially she didn't have any life mana, but unofficially she could provide it. Lia bit her lower lip, then nodded. Orphelia looked at Lia, both eyebrows raised, but she didn't say a thing.

"Good." Ojy nodded to her, then looked at Orphelia again. "I'm going to take a closer look using magic." Lia reached out to the Impera and touched her on the back, then she concentrated, created the green strand of mana and provided it to Ojy. The Impera touched Orphelia and closed her eyes for a moment.

It was silent for several minutes, and when Ojy opened her eyes, Lia retracted her magic. "And?" she asked pensive.

"Everything seems normal. There is nothing wrong with her physically." The Impera rubbed the back of her head. "Are you sure you're not protecting some Impero, that's taken too much mana?"

Lia shook her head. "We were enjoying our free time on the market. Then came the big announcement with his majesty Amir Saggitarius now being king, and then she turned really pale. From one moment to the next."

The Impera looked at Lia, as if to say that she didn't believe her. "Very well," she said after a long moment and grabbed her pad from the desk she had been sitting at. After tapping on it a for half a minute, she turned to Orphelia. "You should be fine after a bit of rest. If you want, I'll attach a note of absence to your profile, so you can rest tomorrow."

"I ..." Orphelia hesitated.

"Yes please," Lia answered in her stead. "She has a pretty low mana regeneration, even though she has a large mana pool."

Ojy looked at her tablet again, nodded and tapped a few more times. "Take your time tomorrow and rest," the impera said. "I've added a notice to your profile, that you'll need some rest."

"Thank you." Lia smiled at the medical professional.

"Don't thank me," Ojy replied, giving Lia a sharp look. "A donar's mana just doesn't get up and disappears. There had to be an imperi sapping her mana. And if you don't tell me who it was, I won't be able to intervene to keep this from repeating. I hope for you, than you can keep that imperi in check, though."

"But ... there really wasn't an imperi close to us," Lia muttered in answer. Ojy's scathing gaze made it clear, that she didn't believe her.

***

Lia and Orphelia didn't talk with each other on the way back to the dormitory, and even when Lia sat Orphelia down on her bed, they didn't exchange any words for a while.

"You shouldn't have done that," her friend finally said. Orphelia's voice was quiet. She spoke slowly, as if she was still tired, or maybe even sad.

Just as Lia wanted to ask what Orphelia meant, her friend continued: "You shouldn't have given that Impera mana. She could've easily called in a specialized donar without you having to risk exposing that secret."

"I thought it was better to get a definitive answer as soon as possible," Lia admitted with a sigh. "What's done is done," she added after another while. "You should get some rest, though."

Orphelia smiled at her comment. A smile that was replaced by a sigh shortly after. "Do you mind switching beds for the night? I don't think I can climb up at the moment."

"We can switch for tonight." Lia gave her friend a smile and got up from the bed, so that Orphelia could lie down. While she climbed up, she had to wonder what happened. Had something drained Orphelia through the station's metal lines? If that was possible, then it should have affected her as well. But it hadn't.

All that she had learned in school so far, and what she had experienced herself, mana could only be exchanged by touch. There was no way someone could drain her remotely, was there?

There was one other possibility: That Orphelia had drained herself. Her friend was in the unique situation that she could use her own mana herself. That she had become both a donar and an impera. It could be that it hadn't even been conscious, or that Orphelia was leaking magic all the time, which would explain her low recovery rate.

The only question that remained was: Where had all the magic gone? The station could have drained any unauthorized magic like the crystal academy had ... But why has that gone unnoticed?

Maybe she should've asked the medical impera whether she could somehow detect leaking mana. She could also ask Ludwig about this, although that thought made her shudder.

For now, she decided, it might be best, to observe, if it happened again. Then she could still raise those questions.

With those thoughts in mind, she turned around in Orphelia's bed and closed her eyes.

***

The next morning, Lia almost fell out of bed. The surprise made her forget what she had dreamed about. The memories of the dream were replaced with the things that happened the day before, and she remembered why she had traded places with Orphelia.

Lia slowly got up and climbed down. Color had returned to her friend's face. The other girl was still sleeping peacefully. Lia smiled and got ready for another day of finding out that she'd just be standing in the back, while the real work is done by some imperi.

Orphelia was still asleep when she left the dorm and met with her class mates in the main dome. Eclaire and Robert looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Since Lia didn't want to explain anything, the situation was only somewhat cleared up, when Ludwig arrived. "It seems Miss Deimos needs some rest. We'll visit the Sick Bay without her."

Ludwig ignored her. He maybe even ignored the exact reason why Ophelia had fallen sick. It once again showed that he didn't think much of donar.

They moved through the station's main dome in silence. Her gaze was drawn to the large tree and the black sky above. She wondered for a moment whether the tree was really made by mankind, by mages, or whether it was naturally created ... but that was one of the things they wouldn't learn on this field trip.

When they finally arrived at the Sick Bay, Impera Ojy was still the acting medical officer. "You're today's group from the Crystal Academy?" she asked.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Indeed," Ludwig answered and introduced their group.

"Nice to meet you. May I ask whether you can use life magic?" She addressed her two class mates explicitly. Of course she didn't need to ask Lia - she knew already.

When both imperi shook their head, she sighed. "Life mages seem to be rare nowadays," she muttered to herself, while leading them into her office. "When you're doing medical work, you're often confronted with things you're very familiar with. Someone got a cold, or a cut. Maybe a broken bone. These are all things that are easy to fix. Then there are the more unusual cases where you either have to act fast, or have to find out what the actual problem is. Magic can help in both regards, but it is used sparingly. Therefore it can be that you'll meet a donar as chief medical officer, or even a non-mage."

Lia perked up. There was a profession for donar, for her, where she could do actual work? There was really a place where it was expected that she wasn't just a background decoration?

"Since there are very few life mages, we life mages are only consulted, when there are really puzzling cases or emergencies. Otherwise the patient has to make due with whomever is currently on duty."

Now she just had to get the academy to change her elements and get into a medical career ...

"How does life magic work?" Eclaire asked.

"Life magic allows us to look into and manipulate a living body." Impera Ojy crossed her legs and arms. "We can find irregularities with it, and encourage the body to fix them. With more magic, we can even force changes, but that usually costs the donar a lot of mana. Therefore we reserve this for emergencies."

"How can one get into the medical field?" Lia asked.

Ojy looked at her, and a slight smile played on her lips. "First of all, as a donar, you need life mana. Then you'll learn the basics of human anatomy during your second year at the academy."

"Don't bother explaining this to her," Ludwig interjected. "She doesn't have any life ma-"

A blaring sound cut Ludwig off. The medical impera jumped to her feet. "Ojy here. What's the emergency?"

"A bunch of escape pods docked with the station automatically. The passengers are severely injured," a disembodied voice answered. "They look like burn marks. Second or third degree."

"Contact Lepius," Ojy said on her way out. "I'll see what I can do without him." The medical impera grabbed Lia's hand and pulled her along, before Lia realized what was happening. Even Ludwig was too slow to notice what was happening.

They were out in the station and on the way to the docks, when her teacher finally asked: "What are you doing with my student?"

"Saving lives!" With that, Ojy seemed to walk even faster.

"She can't help you with that," Ludwig insisted, "she doesn't have any life mana!"

Ojy didn't answer. Instead she rushed along, into the docking area and toward the commotion there. As she passed security, she quickly turned to Sergeant Hoss. "Keep the rest from the academy back."

"Yes ma'am."

Lia heard Ludwig argue behind her. Then one sentence stuck out, louder than anything. "Remember! You don't have any life mana, Lia!"

Was that secret really more important than other people's lives? Lia ground her teeth. Ojy knew her secret already, and Ludwig has to have figured it out by now.

"A lost life can't be recovered," Ojy whispered. "Things would've been easier, if he hadn't announced your name to the whole dock." Then she turned to the station personnel. "Where's the most severely injured?"

"Over there." The man pointed in a direction, and Ojy stormed off, with Lia in tow.

"This looks even worse than I thought," the medical impera said as they stood in front a stretcher. The man was breathing heavily, and he seemed to be unconscious. Lia had problems keeping her breakfast down. "I hope your mana pool is as large as indicated," Ojy murmured and touched the patient. Lia hesitated. The medical impera turned to her. "Lepius is on the other side of the station. We need to act now, if we want to save him!"

Lia gulped and reached out for Ojy. The impera nodded and touched the patient. A moment later, her mana flowed freely. She would've liked to see what Ojy was doing with it, wanted to know how her mana affected the patient. But all she could see after a few minutes of silence, was, that his breathing slowed.

"You can cut the flow now," Ojy instructed and Lia lowered her hand. She looked on in a daze while Ojy looked after the other injured. When the medical impera returned to her, she sighed. "The injuries of the other's are still severe, but Lepius can take care of that." Then she raised her voice. "Bring them to the sick bay immediately."

While the station personnel worked to comply with Ojy’s order, they returned to Ludwig and the others. The Impero glared at her as if he wanted to incinerate her. "We'll talk in private."

Eclaire and Robert exchanged glances. They probably were curious about what happened, but wanted to be somewhere else at the same time. Lia could more than emphasize with them on the latter part.

They returned to the sick bay, and into Ojy's office. As soon as the door closed with a hiss, Ludwig turned around to her. "What were you thinking?"

"She did the right thing," Ojy answered in her stead.

"She shouldn't have exposed that secret. And how did you even know?"

The medical impera shrugged. "She came with another donar to me, who was seriously drained. I asked whether she had any life magic, since they insisted, that there wasn't any imperi next to them ..."

Ludwig grabbed Lia's by the robes. "We keep these things secret to protect you! What were you thinking? Orphelia is just a donar-"

Lia felt her anger explode. "Just a donar?" she whispered angrily, and shoved. She shoved Ludwig and she shoved her anger against him at the same time. She barely noticed the temperature in the room rising, the hoarfrost collecting in the corner of the room and on the office table. The light flickered, and the ground rumbled.

"And the people we saved were just humans? I hate how you think that all imperi, but especially you are better than everyone else! Don't you ever dare tell me that Orphelia is just a donar!" Lia breathed heavily. She had thrown all her frustration, all her anger at Ludwig, and the Impero stared at her, his eyes wide.

Suddenly the room seemed to sway, and Lia grabbed for the table, barely keeping herself upright.

"What just happened?" Robert's voice cut through the silence. It sounded unnaturally loud, and her head hurt.

"Lia pushed a lot of magic onto him," Ojy answered in a quiet voice. "I think her mana pool is now almost empty." Lia felt a cool hand on her forehead. "It's nothing serious."

Lia could see Ojy tending to Ludwig. "He got overwhelmed by all the magic, but managed to channel it into effects without hurting anyone in the room." She touched his wrist and looked at his chest. "He's still alive, but probably a bit out of it." The medical imperi sighed.

"But ... how?" She heard Robert gulp. She wanted to know something else: Why was the room still spinning?

"Because she's got all the elements," Ojy answered. "It happens, rarely. When a donar has all elements, their talent is kept secret, and they'll later find themselves in the employment of the royal family."

"What will happen now?" Lia managed to ask, and forced her eyes shut.

"Probably nothing," Ojy shrugged. "I did some research. Apparently he was thorough enough not to let your elements spread too far. I think I can just swap an element, and attach a note that there has been an error while recording your elements. That happens from time to time." She lowered her voice. "You're very lucky that this station doesn't have a sophisticated magic surveillance system. I'll blame the healing of the patients for the excess magic released here."

There was a knock on the door. "Coming!" Ojy shouted and left them alone, probably to really tend to the patients.

There was silence for some time. The spinning slowed a bit. Ludwig gasped, and looked around wildly. "Class ... is dismissed ..." he stuttered, breathing heavily. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed how Eclaire and Robert wanted to leave.

"Wait!" Ludwig instructed, and fought himself to his legs. "What happened here will stay a secret." Silence. Lia couldn't see the reactions of her class mates. "Have I made myself clear?" Ludwig's voice regained the old sharpness. There was another moment of silence. Both imperi probably nodded, because Ludwig said "Good. Now leave us. I have still something to discuss with her!"

Lia heard the hiss of the door, the clutter of her class mate's shoes, and then the door hissing again. Both imperi had left the room rather quick.

There was silence between them for a long time. Finally Ludwig spoke. "This was the second time you almost killed me."

"Then maybe you need to be more careful with what you say around me," she shot back weakly.

Ludwig didn't answer immediately. When he did, his voice sounded strained. Almost as if he tried his best to sound friendly.

"We've both been thrown in a situation, where we need to work together. The academy, and I, were trying to protect you. Both of you." He pulled Ojy's chair to him and sat down on it. "There are pirates and rebels out there that would abuse your mana."

"Like the royal family uses people like me?"

"Yes." He sighed and leaned forward, folding his fingers. "The secret of the tenth color is known to more people than the royal family or the academy." He looked at her, his gaze piercing through her very soul. "These forces are not below using force to reach their goals. Sergeant Hoss told me that pirates attacked the vessel these people were from. That it probably was in response to Amir Saggitarius taking power."

"What has that to do with me?"

"An imperi can use time mana to determine the best places to attack, the best way to hurt the empire."

"The empire hasn't really done its best to endear itself to me." Maybe pirates would treat donar better. Or rebels would.

"It's important that we avoid a civil war," Ludwig whispered. "Do you know why?"

"Because war is bad?"

"Because innocent people are always the first victims in war." His gaze felt as if it was piercing her heart. "A good rebel commander knows that he'd need to target the moon colonies, because they are the backbone of the empire. Do you really want to risk the safety of your parents?"

Lia stared at Ludwig. She stared so much that she had the impression that her eyes grew. "My parents?"

"They could be safe, of course, but there is no guarantee, should there ever be a civil war."

"So I have no other choice but to put up with people like you looking down on us all the time?"

"Yes." His voice sounded sharp. "That's at least what I'd prefer. But I have learned that I should watch my tongue in your presence. Which means that you will get less looking down from me."

Another person might have smiled when delivering that last sentence. Ludwig kept staring at her with his ice cold gaze.

"I shouldn't do this too much though, or the rumors about you and me will get worse. I for one don't know whether Eclaire and Robert will keep our private talk secret."

"You should've quashed those rumors."

"Here is a bit of advice for you: The more you try to stop a story from propagating, the more it will spread. The more you try to silence a rumor, the more people will see that as confirmation of it being true." He slowly got up. "The only chance you have is to ride out the wave without inadvertently feeding it."

Ludwig walked past her. A moment later, she heard the hisses of the door as he left her alone.