AELLARIA

While Marin ate with Syn and Behngi that night, Aellaria sat in the quiet dorm room with five of Lilium’s most beloved belongings: her hat, arcane focus, first wand, ring, and pendant. Trapped within these items were stories—stories of the five people who wronged Lilium from The School of Elemental Promise in Frostholm—five people who, despite the death of their friend or victim, managed to flourish and be sent to Spire. Five people who needed to own up to their responsibility.

Aellaria’s attention was always drawn to the pendant first. Within the pendant was an image of Celia, Zenithor’s wife and Lilium’s mother. This item held a story of pain—pain brought on by the Cryomancer, Callo. When Zenithor first reached his mind into the pendant, he felt searing heartbreak. He felt like a bird—a bird that soared on the breeze and suddenly broke its neck upon striking a glass pane.

Aellaria almost didn’t consider the other four items an option. Callo was weak. He would be a threat when he was stronger. He could remember what Aellaria did to him. Above all else, Aellaria had to know if he deserved the fall. Aellaria killed a man on the surface emotions Zenithor read from the pendant. With Aellaria’s thaumaturgical pattern, she could, with great pain, read Lilium’s history with that item and the impact Lily’s emotions had on it.

The reason against choosing the pendant first was that Callo would be a suspicious target. If Aellaria set up a scenario where Callo died– that would mean his death would likely be closely investigated. Not even the great Zenithor’s deceit could go hidden if under the fullest scrutiny of a master rogue.

Memories from the wand, ring, and arcane focus were tied to mages who were not in her class. To manufacture a tragedy would require her to challenge them to a duel. She would have to save Bren, Fassand, and Kyrine for later. Their deaths needed to happen organically.

That left Flair. Flair would be part of the free-for-all that is the midterm appraisal. So much could happen, and students are famously clumsy. Confirming Flair to be Aellaria’s next victim was an intelligent choice. The hat was smooth against her fingers but wasn’t the right choice for Aellaria.

Aellaria’s mind always wandered back to the pendant. Callo. Callo would be in the chaos, too. Aellaria opened the pendant and looked into Celia’s eyes. She was so beautiful. The shimmering silver pendant should be purged of the negative emotions living within. Those emotions could live inside Aellaria instead.

Callo. Aellaria needed to know if he deserved her wrath. Did she lose control, or did he genuinely deserve the pain she had brought him? Does he deserve more?

Aellaria put the other items in the dimensional pocket.

The Object History spell was a level 2 spell. Until a couple of weeks ago, Aellaria lacked the mana capacity to cast it. This would have been a trivial barrier had she been able to cast with the efficiencies of Zenithor, but Aellaria had to make do with what she had. Luckily, her body had mana capacity to compensate for a sliver of the shortcomings of elemental efficiencies.

Aellaria steeled herself for the pain that would soon flood her body. When Zenithor tried to read the emotions of the items, it was a sharp pain. Lilium and Zenithor’s patterns were so different that he almost killed himself just to get the names. Object History would take the item's experiences, allowing the caster to live life as the person whose emotions it captured.

No mind was designed to experience the memories of others, at least until Zenithor created Aellaria. He made a body with a similar enough pattern to experience the history of these objects and survive.

Aellaria focused on emotions related to Callo as she started to cast with one hand. With the other hand, she shook a mana potion. The shimmering blue juice mixed with the oil before Aellaria drank the entire vial.

Aellaria manifested the spell circle. She then signed cantrip runes, level one runes, and finally level two runes with her hand and sent everything through her arcane focus. The spell was exponentially more difficult with each layer of magic, but Aellaria had mastered the casting of level-two spells a lifetime ago. Her fingers weaved the spell flawlessly as she slowly lay back in bed, holding the pendant to her chest.

Externally, Aellaria appeared to be asleep, but internally, her mind felt the full range of emotions belonging to a young teenage girl.

LILIUM

Lilium held her pendant tightly, seeking her mother’s comfort as she surveyed the classroom. It was her second day of school at Elemental Promise, and the day before, she had accidentally summoned water and forced a temporary class evacuation. Some girls giggled when they saw her, but she noticed not everyone cared she was even there. Maybe things weren’t as bad as she thought they would be. Lilium reached her assigned seat and demurely set her stuff on her desk, using her hat’s wide brim as a shield from the eyes of everyone around her.

“Hey!” Lilium heard a hushed yet high-pitched voice beside her. She turned her head and looked into the eyes of a boy with white hair. His eyes were a mesmerizing deep purple. Callo smiled kindly and tucked his head like their correspondence was a secret. “What you did yesterday was so cool! And I love the stripe in your hair!”

Lilium was still trying to steel herself for the embarrassment of existing. She wasn’t even ready for words yet, much less dealing with compliments. Lilium shook her head ‘no’ as if to say, ‘Of course it wasn’t cool. I made a fool of myself with chaos magic.’ As she shook her head, the brim of her hat rotated, and its floppy tip swished back and forth.

Callo leaned closer, empathetically, knowing not to draw attention to their conversation. “I mean it. You created so much water. It made my feet wet, and pushed my desk. You must have so much mana.” Callo said reverently.

Lilium smiled shyly. She didn’t think of it like that. She was just embarrassed at the awkward display of chaotic magic. “Thank you… It was an accident, though,” Lilium said.

Callo smiled with his whole face, “We all have accidents. That’s why we’re here. I guess I’m lucky I create cool winds and frosty air, huh?”

Lilium couldn’t help but feel better looking at Callo’s smile. His face had a genuine way of drawing you in. “Ice magic is pretty. You’re lucky Paph blessed you with such a strong talent.” Lilium said, implying that water was worse and her lack of control was something to be embarrassed about.

Callo looked around, and then he responded, making his voice sound really deep and cool. “Of course, Ice magic is the best, and when I get bigger, my muscles will be huge, and my voice will be deep and awesome, but,” and then he did something she didn’t expect. He changed his voice to a slightly higher pitch than normal and cracked his voice loudly, letting out a sound akin to a goose honk, “hohh- RRRight now I am still just a learning child!”

Callo started laughing loudly at his display of how puberty affected him, and some of the class even laughed at the funny noise he made. Lilium even heard the familiar whispers of girls in class discussing the embarrassing outburst. Even then, it was like water off a duck's back, and Callo was still smiling.

Lilium smiled painfully. She felt eyes shift toward them, but if Callo could be happy after that, then maybe she could learn to be more at peace like him. “Shhhh! You are making people look at us!” she whispered.

Callo chuckled, “They will always look. We are mages now; we will be masters of magic one day. We can only get there with a curious mind.”

Lilium watched the way he talked. Thinking about what it would be like to explore magic with an almost innocent curiosity. Her father, Zenithor, always said magic was a science to be learned and done right. To Callo, magic was a toy you played with and learned from. There was value in every mystical mistake, even one done publicly and embarrassingly.

“Hey, Lilium, Ice and water go together super well. We should be friends.” Callo suggested.

This simple idea surprised Lilium. It can’t be that easy to talk with someone and become friends. Lilium always felt different from other kids—even before her talent emerged. “Yes…” she said softly, finding she wanted to be friends with Callo and learn from him.

***

As Aellaria felt the memories of the pendant fill her mind, the connection drained her of mana. Each memory taxed her mind. The more she experienced, the more danger she was in, but she had to know.

***

Weeks passed, and Lilium and Callo would spend most of their time in school and even quite a bit of time out of school together. Ice and water did, in fact, go well together.

Lilium was still embarrassed by her outbursts, but Callo had a solution.

One day, Lilium was expected to display the basic cantrip again in front of the class. However, instead of being alone this time, Callo joined her at the front of the class.

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“Young apprentice Callo, this is Lilium’s presentation.” The teacher said in admonishment. The teacher’s voice was distant and hazy in the memory. Callo was the only crisp thing in the room.

“That's right, teacher. We should let her focus,” Callo said simply. He stood next to Lilium. “You got this!” he said encouragingly.

Callo’s presence beside her was comforting but also made her more nervous. Having eyes on her was one thing, but having eyes within feet of her, watching her try to cast the spell, was another problem entirely.

Lilium began pulling open a spell circle and then focused on that point. She felt her wand in her belt, using it to focus her magic, but the pressure was overwhelming. Instead of casting a minor magic cantrip, her chaotic magic flowed freely from her. Her efforts resulted in a melon-sized ball of water right above her head.

Lilium could feel it. The water escaping her mind and manifesting into reality. She couldn’t stop it. She just wanted to push it to the spell circle, but that simply wasn’t how magical law worked. As emotion took over her body, tears flowed from her eyes and gently flew up to the accumulating ball. If she stopped channeling, the water would fall on her, and if she kept going, it would only ever come out as chaos magic and become larger.

Callo’s voice pulled her out of this terrifying loop. “I got it, Lily,” he said, and Lilium looked up at the chaotic ball of water she was forming. The brim of her hat pointed straight up to the truth of what was happening.

As the water manifested in that spot, Callo was freezing it. It was Callo’s magic now. She didn’t need to hold it. She cleared her mind, and the ball stopped growing. Callo grabbed the giant ball of ice, easing it onto the floor.

He whispered to Lilium, “Try again. You can do it.”

Lilium then focused her mind as Zenithor had always taught her. She did her very best to reset her emotions. Of course, it wasn’t a full reset. There was an embarrassed joy from Callo’s efforts that she held on to. Lilium realized she was holding her mother’s pendant with one hand while weaving the spell with the other.

Lilium tried the spell again, creating a slight mist in the air this time. It was the most basic cantrip, but enough to prove she could do it in front of people she wasn’t comfortable with. She let out an excited cheer as the mist fell over the front of the classroom. She turned to Callo, and Callo already had his hand up. She slapped his hand victoriously.

***

Aellaria felt these memories like dreams. She was in someone else's mind. The connection was painful, but it provided context. Callo and Lilium had been friends for over a year. They weren’t just friends but best friends. Callo was Lilium’s rock at school, and Lilium provided a complementary match for Callo that let him practice Cryomancy.

However, there was an incident midway into their second year at the academy.

Callo and Lilium would spend more time outside of class. Aellaria was distantly aware of her daughter lying to Zenithor about time spent with Callo. There was an incident where Callo and Lilium were caught kissing at school. The school informed Zenithor of this incident. Zenithor confronted Lilium about the kiss, but she lied to him. It hurt, but he knew this was a private matter, and discussing your feelings with your father would be scary. Aellaria remembered Zenithor telling Lilium that it was natural to have these feelings.

Aellaria now knew how much this moment meant to Lilium. Zenithor taught Lilium the dangers of love but trusted Lilium to make good choices. This made Lilium cry, and she loved her father more. Aellaria could feel the memories from both Zenithor and Lilium’s minds, and they were overwhelming.

As Aellaria dreamed, tears started to form in her eyes. Lilium and Zenithor's tears streamed down the emotionally wrecked body.

Zenithor learned who this other student was from the teacher but decided it was innocent young love. Zenithor remembered the women he loved over his long life. Aellaria, Xenadas, and Celia. The lessons these women taught him made him a man, and he wouldn’t take those lessons from his daughter– even if some of them hurt.

***

Things went wrong after that. Callo was distant from Lilium. There were no more stolen kisses in their rare private moments. Callo seemed to make sure there were no more private moments between Lilium and him.

Callo’s sudden absence hurt. Lilium was in pain, and Aellaria felt the pain too. Pain that went through the psychic connection to Aellaria’s mana-starved body.

Lilium tried so hard for Callo. She tried to spend time with him, but he would give her the cold shoulder and surround himself with the men of the class.

Callo was her support, and that support was gone out of nowhere. Lilium had no one else in the class and still had trouble approaching others. Lilium loved Callo. She thought he loved her, too. What they had together was so good. Why was he acting like this?

She still sat next to Callo, but he might as well have been on the other side of the world. Her heart skipped a beat, hoping to hear his voice talk to her again, but he never spoke to her.

Lilium decided it was because she needed to give him more of herself. Callo needed a grand gesture of love, and then he would love her again and be her support again.

Lilium waited at the park for Callo. It was on his way home from school, and Lilium knew that if it was a private moment between them, she could convince him to love her again. As she watched Callo, she felt emotions rising in her throat. Lilium held onto her pendant for comfort, and she readied herself.

Callo saw her but didn't approach. Lilium expected this, so she walked up to him.

Callo waved her off, “Lilium, I have to go home. I don’t have time.”

Lilium grabbed his forearm and held it. “Callo… it's okay. It’s just us, we can talk. I'm sorry.”

Callo scoffed, annoyed at Lilium’s antics. After only a year, he was taller, his voice deeper, and he blossomed into a strong young man. “Lilium, I’m not able to play games with you anymore. I need to take life seriously.”

His words impact Lilium and Aellaria like a punch. “I- I am serious. I love you, Callo. I just want an opportunity to show it.”

Callo turned around and looked at her. His purple eyes burned with alien anger and fear. “No, Lilium, you are not serious. You are among the weakest in class, and I can’t spend my time lifting you up while you drag me down.”

Lilium sobbed, unable to control her emotions. “I’m not pulling you down… how can I help? How do I give you what you need? How do I become enough?”

“You can start by not following me home! What are you crazy?!” Callo shouted.

“I need you in my life, Callo… I need your magic in my life.” Lilium cried. As the two walked, she tried not to be a burden. Even now, she struggled to appear normal when everything in her life was on fire.

Callo put a hand on Lilium’s shoulder. She looked up at him, hope kindling in her eyes. “Lilium, it is finished. You have nothing to offer me. You are a burden on my future.”

Lilium’s world shattered as the two teenagers stood outside Callo’s estate. Those words made her body shake, unraveling Lilium’s mind. “Callo… please…. I can give you everything I am. I can give you my magic. My lips are yours. You are my heart—I need you inside me…” Lilium begged, knowing she was offering Callo her mind, soul, and body for as long as she lived. Even so, the distasteful desperation in her voice made her hate herself even more.

Callo looked down into her eyes. Time stilled; this moment lasted an eternity. Aellaria and Lilium look at Callo. This moment was everything. Aellaria’s body was completely out of mana. She was suffering from mana suffocation. Aellaria was dying, but she needed to know Callo’s answer. Aellaria needed to understand what this man did to her daughter.

Callo’s lips parted for a response. Lilium yearned for those lips, but Callo’s gentle voice was passionless and distant, “Lilium, I don’t have time for the weak. I have a future and won’t throw that away for a child with no promise. I don’t need your lips. I don't have the energy to be your heart. I don’t have time for your body. Goodbye, Lilium.”

Lilium collapsed, but Callo turned away and walked up the drive toward his family’s estate. It was over.

As Lilium’s pain wreaked havoc on Aellaria’s body, the color drained from her eyes. Then, light faded from her world. What was left was the sound of Lilium sobbing—sobbing and darkness. Even then, the sobbing dulled to faint chokes of emotion. Aellaria wasn’t alone in this dark space. She looked out into the void, and a single set of massive glowing predator’s eyes opened and stared back.