Over the course of the next few days since the orphanage incident and Ophilanna's adoption by the Baroness, she had adapted quickly to the ways of noble etiquette. While there were still some struggles—occasional lapses in decorum or flashes of her wilder upbringing—her progress was remarkable.

However, it wasn’t the dining protocol or the elaborate dances that truly captured her focus, no.

What drew her in completely was the education in magic she had been promised, it was her goal after all, which she worked towards ever since the dramatic incident at her tribal village.

Currently, Ophilanna, now referred to as Fia in public, sat across a rather intimidating lady. It was her teacher, the prominent sorceress Mena. Not just a sight to behold with her long, flowing red hair that seemed to shimmer with the hues of fire and copper - reminiscient of fire spirits from the Ifrit tribe - Mena also exuded a presence that was both commanding and ethereal. It was plain intimidating to Ophilanna.

Her reputation as a sorceress of the Ascended Tier preceded her, and her mastery of elements, among them water and wind, was unparalleled.

To Ophilanna, she seemed almost otherworldly, as if she had stepped out of the pages of an ancient tale.. right next to her own mother, who was the gatekeeper of the tribe's magic.

Elven tribes all had their own variation of ancient magic, usually revolving around a specific element. Unlike neighbouring villages and tribes, though, Tirula specialized in one variation specifically: it was glacial magic, a subcategory of water element magic. Not only is it useful and can be shaped to the bearer's will, mastery over the magic of ice is reserved for the strongest of mages in the world, because it consumes a lot of mana to cast, preserve, use, and more.

As such, it was Ophilanna's explicit goal to learn and master glacial magic. Of course, telling this to Mena would ellicit nothing more than mockery, as even ascended tier magicians would consider it difficult to use, but it's not like it was all that impossible.

Ophilanna had her tribe's secrets after all. To get to them, and take revenge on her father, she needed to become proficient in magic, just enough to.. visit her tribe, or what was left of it.

At first, the young girl seemed to stare wildly at the woman in front of her. Mena quickly broke the ice, making conversation.

Mena: "Little Miss, may I ask how old you are? I see.. you are an elf, yes?"

Ophilanna: "Uh.. You can call me Fia.. And I turn 15 years old next winter."

Mena: "Oh, well! Isn't that.. really young for an elf? They normally age slower."

Ophilanna: "That's because.. I'm a halfie. My father.. you know."

The sorceress walked right into a hole. She didn't think about this possibility, having made the young lady uncomfortable. An attempt to defuse the situation was made.

Mena: "Ah.. I see.. I'm sorry for asking. That was insensitive of me. My apologies, young lady."

Ophilanna: "It's alright.. Why did you ask for my age?"

Mena: "Depending on your age, I would use a different method to estimate your mana capacity. Some work better the more the individual to be measured has matured, while others are less efficient the younger they are."

Ophilanna nodded, going along with the sorceress' suggestion.

Mena: "Then, I suppose we do it like this. Stand up, place your fingertips on the insides of my hands like this..."

Showing the elven girl where to put her fingers, who quickly followed, Mena breathed in, exhaling in a long-winded sigh. "No need to be afraid. Close your eyes, young miss, and imagine you can feel the blood in your fingers. Think of it as water, like sweat, that is exuded from your skin. Have it converge at your fingers."

It was easy enough for Ophilanna to understand this process, as she had tried it many times before, in fact, this is how one goes about growing their mana capacity. It amounts to a set of daily exercises, similar in process to what Mena described, though gradually increasing the amount of magic one allocates.

As it stands, the young elven girl had a mana capacity that would have most magicians pale, compared to theirs. She was a monster in disguise, actually. Not just that.

Mena: "Oh.. Oh my.. Young lady.. You aren't in pain, are you? Is this your mana capacity? Do you not suffer from any disease?"

Ophilanna just shook her head. Before she could open her mouth and speak, Mena took another breather, exhaling into a big sigh. It was unheard of. No, it was something that would only happen every century, or rarer, for an individual, at this age, to have such a large mana capacity.

Mena: "Your capacity is off the charts, I have to admit. Have you been training it? Since when?"

Ophilanna: "Uhm.. since I was 5. My mother was our tribe's gatekeeper. She taught me this. I do it everyday."

Mena: "Certainly, that makes sense. But you would have to go beyond any normal amount of magic allocation to increase it any further than a fraction of what you have.. Just how much do you allocate..? What do you imagine?"

Ophilanna: "I always longed to visit the sea. A vast stretch of ocean unfolding in front of me.. so.. that's the thing I imagine."

Mena: "An entire ocean..? You are rather curious, young lady. How long does it take for you to channel this much mana into your fingertips?"

Ophilanna only mouthed the words she was about to say, but Mena wasn't having any of it. What she said astounded the sorceress. No. It was unbelievable.

Mena: "I cannot believe that. Your mana throughput must be ridiculuous. That is outlandish. Such mana veins can only be found in ancient dragons.."

Ophilanna: "What good is this amount of magic when I can't put it to use? Miss Mena.. I've tried casting spells. I had this one book, given to me by my grandmother here, but I was never able to cast a spell.. The only time I succeeded, was when I reverse-cast fire, and extinguished it. Can you help me with.. my issue? Or am I no good?"

Mena: "You did what?"

Mena, flabbergasted, scared Ophilanna with her sudden reaction. When she sat down, she apologised for her overreaction. A child of all things - reverse-casting a spell? Under pressure, no less. It was something most mages would trouble over their entire education, for some it used to be life-long research, depending on the spell. It was certainly easier with naturally-occurring fire, but..

Mena: "My apologies, again, for startling you.. But it's remarkable you extinguished fire by reverse-casting it. You undid a fire spell, basically. That usually requires extensive knowledge about spells of the same kind."

Ophilanna: "Then.. as I thought.. it was because of me. I overcame my blockade, and still, it did not work. How do you cast spells, Miss? I always relied on my imagination.. my intuition. But that misses a part, does it not?"

At this point, Ophilanna was begging Mena for help like a little puppy. The sorceress would feel hurt in her pride if she wouldn't help an individual with so much promise and talent.

Mena: "Before we come to spellcasting, young miss, there is something more important for your first lesson. It will be a short one. Tomorrow I will teach you more."

Raising her finger, Mena began explaining the very basics of magic, something Ophilanna seemed to have forgotten over time, if her mother even taught her.

She spoke of the levels magicians - and knights, who wield blades - could reach. The first, usually for the most basic of magic, was beginner tier. The sorceress likened it to the crudest, roughest of spells with the littlest lethality and impact, it was a tier every mage could reach.

Beyond, many would reach the Advanced tier, one where spellcasting becomes lethal and increases in mana usage.

Ophilanna raised a question. "Is reverse-casting part of the Advanced tier?"

Mena: "It is.. usually a tier above. The Master tier. One right below mine, and could be attained with hard work and effort, even if you have a small mana capacity or throughput."

Needless to say, she continued her lecture. Magicians at the Master level could not only comprehend spells of one element proficiently, but also study them, their structure, and how to shape magic.

Whereas Advanced level magicians struggled with casting higher-level magic, Master Magicians were able to give shape and form, and thus individuality, to their magic.

Mena: "However, Master Magicians are quite abundant. Above them stand the Ascendant tier sorcerers. It is said they are rather rare, often excelling in one or two elements like no other. Many of them can cast multiple spells at once, an impressive feat distinguishing Masters from Ascendants."

While Ascendants were definitely impressive, Ophilanna was bewildered by the tiers even higher than them. Sovereign tier magic could only be wielded by a mere handful of magicians in Silvale. The number of sovereign-tier magicians would determine the outcome of a war, with the side having more of them winning. Their attacks were large in scale, potent in lethality, and could cast multiple, incredibly strong spells.

Mena: "Lastly, there are two tiers above. They are the stuff of legends: the Spirit tier of magic is so sparse in numbers of who can make use of it, it is said there exist at most a handful of people in this world that can use it. The tier above, Prophet tier, has only ever been attained by a Fae thousands of years ago, and never since. Even then, many believe it to be a legend, not a true story. Such magic would be beyond anyone's comprehension. A spirit tier magician is already powerful enough to level mountains, an army, a country. You name it."

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Though the sorceress hated to ask, something made her curious. "Young lady. May I ask about your.. scar? Or is it a stigma?"

The girl nodded. "It is a stigma, from Gaia."

Mena: "I see. Thank you for indulging my curiosity."

Nodding and content with the answer she was given, the magician judged the lesson to be over.

Thus Ophilanna left, while Mena made her way to the Baroness' office to debrief her.

Reina made it a point to only invite the best of the best - catching talent like Mena, and inviting them to her mansion. In the first place, they had discussed the potential talent of Ophilanna, who bore a crest or stigma of a special kind.

Though the young girl claimed, by virtue of her mothers' words, it be a mark of Gaia, the Ur-Goddess, Reina suspected differently, knowing well Gaia never lends her stigma to the living - a fact passed down throughout time, and it was never any different throughout the aeons.

As such, Reina asked Mena of her thoughts after the lesson. The magician was perplexed, drawing up on parchment the symbol she had seen. "I shall ask my friends at the Magical Institute of Rylanne. They will analyze it."

The institute of Rylanne was where the brightest minds of sorcery would gather to conduct research into the nature of magic, everything magical and the arcane.

Reina nodded, understanding of the process involved. She was thankful for Mena's help, thinking first she would doubt the Baroness' paranoia.

Mena: "Your Highness, I talked to Fia in person... and I must say. The girl is exceptionally intelligent, there is no doubt. She has tremendous potential in magic, I admit. Could you let me in on her past, perhaps?"

Reina: "It is a difficult story, and one I would consult her for."

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The day after.

At the training hall, Mena and Ophilanna stand in exercise wear.

The room was rather expansive, its stone walls enchanted to dampen magical energy and contain even the most volatile spells. These walls were able to withstand magic of an Ascendant magician and probably even of a Sovereign.

Mena stood at the center, her crimson hair catching the light streaming in from high windows. She held a staff of polished oak, inlaid with silver metal - although Ophilanna knew nothing about metallurgy, this metal was rather peculiar. It was Anthium. Metal that could conduct magic incredibly well, but being light-weight, making it perfect to be added to magical equipment.

A staff, or so Mena explained, allowed a magician to channel magic easier, quicker, and with more force. Certain tools, like wands, do too - though a proper staff is many times better, enhancing the spells cast.

Mena: "Although there is research on-going.. into wands and staves that let you cast magic silently, you either need to use runes, scrolls, circles or chants."

Ophilanna: "Is that just for the casting process? Uhm.. when I reverse-casted, I didn't chant anything.. no scrolls, runes."

Mena: "You did what?!"

Her staff dropped to the floor. Mena grabbed Ophilanna's shoulders. "You can reverse-cast silently?! That's unheard of! I've never seen someone cast silently - at least without the magic being messed up. But reverse-casting? How did you even do that?"

Ophilanna had a hard time explaining the process, but apparently, magic is easier to cast when using one of the methods she mentioned. This would definitely explain why Ophilanna struggled with her spells.

It might be possible to silently cast her spells, though, given that it happened before. So, Ophilanna made up her mind to come back to casting magic silently at a later time, when she reached proficiency and understanding.

The young lady bowed deeply to Mena. "I am grateful for your teaching, Miss Mena. Can you demonstrate basic level magic to me? Am I able to try it out myself?"

Mena: "Of course, but first, you must remember the lesson I gave you earlier."

Ophilanna: "I remember, teacher. Magic has structure that can be molded by us.. and the higher we reach magical proficiency, the more it allows us to mold our spells, shape the magic, and how it works."

Mena: "Exactly. Well done, young lady. Keep in mind, though, that some elements and magic are antithetic to each other. They are opposites. Once we revisit the structure of magic, you will learn more.. for now, it wouldn't be important, since we will only cast a water spell."

Mena demonstrated, holding out her staff while concentrating, a very basic water spell - Water Orb. Basic spells are heavily reliant on visualization, she teaches Ophilanna.

Mena: "I summon here thee, converge ye rivers and sea."

An orb of water forms at the tip of her staff. It floats still, as if frozen in time.

Moving her staff, Mena also moves the orb - next, she moves it over a distance with her hand.

It floats around them, air bubbles visible inside the water sphere. "This is the basic demonstration for water magic. Think of it as a playing ball. It moves like one."

Mena has Ophilanna try, which she succeeds with ease: "I summon here thee, converge ye rivers and sea."

A sphere of water forms, grows, grows, and becomes as large as cattle. It was much larger than Mena's example. Apparently, Ophilanna misjudged the throughput. "Young lady! That was too much mana. But splendid. A beginner's first spell doesn't have this.. size. Can you move it?"

The young lady quickly noticed, however, that moving this monstrosity of an orb was harder than she expected. Naturally, it was massive. With both hands waving around frantically, the sphere would only move a little bit.

The sorceress decided to test Ophilanna. "Can you make it smaller?"

Ophilanna: "How, Miss Mena?"

Mena: "I believe you're smart enough to figure it out."

Standing still, she thought about the method. Then, Ophilanna had an idea, though she didn't tell Mena.

Getting closer to the sphere, the girl placed both hands right against the surface of the watery orb. She closed her eyes and imagined her hands sucking up the water, like a sponge. To her, and the sorceress', surprise, it seemed to work - she silently reverse-casted the massive water orb into a size more suitable for movement. The silent casting was the shocking part for Mena. Then, the young lady asked a question that puzzled the magician.

Ophilanna: "Miss. Permit me a question, please?"

Facing Mena, she scratched her head. "Is it normal that I.. can feel my mana return to me when I reverse-cast my own spell? It felt like I recovered some of my mana there."

The magician nodded, being unfazed by her intelligence. This girl was really smart, she thought, and has a quick grasp of things. "Maybe I should teach you the fundamentals of magical structure already", Mena murmured out loud.

She gestured for Ophilanna to sit, and the two settled on the smooth stone floor. Mena held up a hand, conjuring a delicate orb of water that hovered above her palm.

Midna: “Magic, at its core, is the manipulation of magi—particles that exist all around us. These magi form molecules, or magicules, which in specific arrangements become the building blocks of spells. Think of them as letters forming words, or notes composing a melody. As sand forms a beach, these are everywhere around us, but you cannot see them, much like the tiny rocks in sand.”

Ophilanna watched the orb intently, nodding. The sorceress continued. "See, this water orb - it is ordinary water, but imbued with remnants of my mana, having just casted it."

Mena: “The process of casting involves shaping these magicules into compounds. This requires energy. In a cold environment, creating fire magic is more taxing, because you are converting non-fire magicules into fire. Conversely, summoning water in a humid area is far easier.”

She closed her hand, and the orb dissolved into little droplets, landing on her hands.

Mena: “Your struggle likely stems from a gap in your understanding of this process. Visualization is key—you must see the magicules in your mind’s eye and understand their structure before commanding them. Additionally, chants or circles are a necessity, so practice them well.”

Ophilanna frowned. “That’s where I get stuck. I can sense the magicules, but I can’t seem to shape them all that well.”

Mena’s eyes glimmered. “Then we will start with what you are aligned to. Let’s determine which elements respond most readily to you.”

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A day later, in the training hall.

Mena placed an array of crystals before Fia, each attuned to a specific element: fire, water, earth and wind. She explained that, when Ophilanna channeled her energy into the crystals, the ones most aligned with her would resonate. If none of them were to resonate, she added, one last crystal in her bag could indicate resonance with spatial magic, but it was extremely rare, and she knew little of it. After having placed the spatial crystal among the others, Mena gave Ophilanna the sign to place her hand right above them.

She focused, her hands hovering above the crystals. One by one, a green crystal reacted, then the blue, and lastly, the grey one. The strongest reaction, Mena noticed curiously, was with the water crystal, but in a rather.. weird way. Instead of glowing brightly, it pulsated like a star. The green crystal, recognized for air magic, shone in the dark of the testing cellar they were in.

Mena: "I see.. you have affinity for wind and water magic. But.."

The sorceress paused, but suddenly remembered the meaning of a pulsating crystal.

It indicates affinity for a variation of the element. A likely variation.. would be ice, she thought.

Despite its rarity and difficulty, this child had a knack for ice magic, too?

Mena kept being surprised by the young lady, elliciting a sigh of hers.

Mena: "You seem to have an affinity for ice magic, too."

Ophilanna: "I do? Is wind and water magic any good..?"

Mena: "Certainly. They can be mended and shaped, taking form easier than earth and fire, too. Plus.. ice magic is excellent, yet difficult. I believe you will need a reliable teacher versed in the arts of ice magic. Luckily, I know just the person."

Ophilanna: "Thank you so much, teacher."

The young lady seemed to smile brightly at Mena, who couldn't help but feel pride for teaching such an excellent student.

Ophilanna: "What is with the grey crystal, though?"

Mena: "It's not shining, is it?"

The sorceress didn't notice, and once she turned around to face it, the grey crystal was brighter than even the blue crystal. It had, actually, grown its shine as they discussed the two elemental affinities of Ophilanna.

Mena: "... You are a bag of surprises, young Miss."

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Apparently, Ophilanna could control water, wind and ice magic with ease, better than other elements. The biggest surprise was her affinity for spatial magic. It is one of the few magics that were, for the longest time, mostly known to the dragons, a secret art of theirs for aeons.

Since Ophilanna quickly gained knowledge and expanded her horizons, Mena would soon run out of things to teach, making enormous effort in finding teachers that would be able to teach the young lady ice magic. Spatial magic would be the hardest nut to crack - as it stands, Mena would need to track down a dragon, AND convince it to teach Ophilanna. The only place to do so, that she knew of, would be on the demon continent.

Mena spoke to Ophilanna, sighing at all the work on her table. "Young lady. I will be teaching you water and wind, but for ice, a proper teacher is key. As for spatial magic.. while you attend the academy, I will be on the look out. Until then, you would have to be satisfied with books on spatial magic."

Grinning from ear to ear, Ophilanna nodded and thanked her teacher for all she's done so far, and for the future, too. "I am grateful to have you as my teacher, Miss Mena."

With those words, Mena went to her room, falling asleep immediately. Ophilanna, on the other hand, visited the hard-working Erica during her sword training. She was in a mock battle with the knight commander under Reina, Adalbart van Streif. He was reknown for his Sovereign-level skill with the sword, being one of a handful on the central continent with this power.

Erica would soon become a Master tier swordswoman, he said. "Your growth is incredible, Erica. The same for the little miss, Fia. I only hear praises from Lady Mena. Such talent under the Baroness.. it is a relief for an old bag of bones, like me."

Despite his age, Adalbert was still active in the military, being in one of the highest positions in Silvale, as he achieved many feats one would only attribute to a proper hero.

He slew a sleeping Kaiser Salamandar and destroyed its nest, successfully pushed back against Isrule and prevented a war many years ago, and ended the war against the Holy Kingdom of Rans decades prior, with his cunning and tactics.

Ophilanna hugged Erica, both exhausted from their training, but happy still.

In the coming days, they grew tremendously under their respective teachers.