Breakfast had graced the meeting as things proceeded in its due course. Once the food was presented, the meeting resumed.

Ihzyhur started things off, realizing someone had to. "Well, it feels like I'm going to betray one of Zyxaesteyln's greatest family secrets, even to a Qiciri to make everything worse, but not only can I assume there will be a fair trade, you really do deserve to know." Ihzyhur made a bunch of points at Xyithy during his statement, as he continued for his sister. "Our royal family has been very proud about how gifted our blood is, a rich blood with one of the strongest blessings in the known lands. Every member of our family who has inherited our blood has also inherited it's power. Power, and responsibility. You saw some of that power, ice that shatters metal. As one with the same blood, you are also so gifted. You could do the same sort of thing just as easily, with the right training." Ihzyhur was clearly troubled, trying to start off everything.

"Why was I never told of this stuff ever before, when in the world did you find time to learn?" "Everyone watched the naive girl tend to her flowers and didn't want to shatter her purity and freedom. Everyone had kept you away from such responsibilities, to keep you safe. Being so naive, there was a lot of concern in how you could have handled such naivety. So instead, while you tended to the flowers..." Thanrie was cluing in just how much of the world had moved behind her back, while she had been too ignorant to understand. Ihzyhur's statement kinda stung.

However, Thanrie wasn't out of steam yet. The back of her mind still remembered some of her Celesi grief. "Gah! That's why I was left feeling with nothing? You guys felt that since I was so empty headed, that I should be left empty handed too? That's exactly why I ran away from home, by the way, because no one left me anything. And now I hear that someone COULD have left me with something, but decided that I was too stupid. By the divine, you are all utter idiots!" Thanrie was infuriated, but she also started to cry. Sure, by all logic, having had these psychological changes kinda fixed the problem, but was she really so worthless without it? She herself knew, she hadn't changed all that much in the truth of things, she had a bit of a new perspective, but the her that had always been there, still was.

"Not that I'm feeling exactly excited to see if I can win in this competition, but.. Qheria.. you've also been kept safe from the truth. Being so shy and timid, throwing you into the world of danger just felt.. wrong. Do you remember the story of how I saved the royal family of the Qiciri? It wasn't just by rushing into a falling building and bringing the family out, it was by wielding power and tearing my way through the danger. Since I was young, I had worked hard on research to discover a way to gain access to the gift, since it was discovered I had some potential. After saving the royal family and being labeled as a hero, I had the royal family's support in this effort, and as a result found my blood enriched with the potential of the gift. Then, I gave birth to two daughters, which then shared the same blood. The royal family wanted this potential to stand in defense of our nation, and I had your older sister take up that request as I was obligated, but I had hoped I could spare you from the same fate." Xyithy fulfilled the trade by presenting the Qiciri secret weapon.

Qheria was shocked, even her older sister knew? She had always assumed that being the daughter of the hero was just.. a role. Not that blood had even the slightest thing to do with anything. Now she learned that, in fact, she was a national secret weapon, secret to even herself. Because just that many people didn't trust her, no one trusted her, not even her own family. She was starting to fully agree with Thanrie's assessment, full of empathy. "Is that why you sent me away at all times? Is that why I wasn't allowed time for even my family? Is that why I was left to nothing but myself and my own failures, to be everyone's walking disappointment? I was left with nothing, I had honestly left, believing I was leaving nothing behind, because there was nothing given to me." Qheria gave a deep sigh, she didn't know how she was supposed to react.

Aelyiq addressed Mhyl directly, leaving Yuxzn to translate backwards. "What Yuxzn has been saying about the others, I'm sure you can tell you've been in the same situation, left within the library. Your mother had never told you that the voice of nature had labelled you as a Saviour, chosen by the world itself. Being named a Saviour means you have been given the blessings of the world directly, without any blood obligation. It is perhaps similar to how Xyithy got her own gift. Your own blood is now enriched with the gifts of a Saviour, but it has been known ever since you were but an infant. Your mother had decided to keep you safe and sheltered, so that you would endure until the faithful time of choosing. I.. only learned about this myself when I was assigned to go search for you." Aelyiq's attempt to apologies on the High-Sage's behalf felt hollow to Mhyl. At the very least, couldn't someone have TOLD her something? Elves and Humans really were so much alike, even in their stupidity. Mhyl felt she had nothing to say, this wasn't Aelyiq' fault. If her mother was here, she would have volumes to speak of.

Lwyn looked around, feeling very out of place. "Well, I guess that makes me the odd one out here, huh?" "Not exactly. I should ask before I begin if I have your permission to speak of your own bloodline. Lwyn, knowing what that means exposing, do you want to hear your own story?" Lwyn froze at this question from Ehryinae. She knew right away what was being asked here. To get more information, she would have to admit to being a half-elf in front of all the others. However, her curiosity was insane at this point. This was an opportunity to learn more, even with the heavy cost. She also got the feeling the answer would leave her in the same situation as the others.

Lwyn carefully nodded. "Alright then. While I have very little information on your father, I have an abundant of information on your mother, specifically on your mother's parents. In all simplicity, your grandfather is the Arch-Magus himself, and your grandmother was one of the Circle Elves. You then have the combined blood of the Arch-Magus and a Circle Elf. I've even been told that the particular Circle Elf involved had a very strong bloodline. You've inherited both." Ehryinae didn't exactly name her as a half-elf, but everyone at the table could follow along with this really easily. Anyone who didn't know, knew now.

"Hold on, miss Ehryinae." Aelyiq spoke up while Lwyn was busy registering all of this in her head. "I think I might be aware of the particular Circle Elf you're mentioning, considering the timeline. Everyone had thought she had passed away without any descendants, her seat has stayed empty ever since. She had presided over the circle as one of their most gifted. I know the structure of human societies run differently, but this effectively is the same as labeling her an elven princess." "Not just that, she's also the heir of the Arch-Magus' entire estate at this point, as his eldest descendant. As a neutral territory, that wouldn't even conflict with an open seat at the Circle, according to my research. In fact, it would only make the Citadel become included in elven domain, with clear context that Lwyn's own bloodline would have exclusive authority over it." Aelyiq avoided mentioning how being a half-elf would cause a dramatic scene in and of itself, but that would probably be true in both societies. Ehryinae's statement being added just made Lwyn completely pale, the combination of being an elven princess AND the heir of the Arch-Magus.

"Hold on, wait, I always thought that him being called an Arch-Magus was weird, like it just meant he was some wise-man who just was.. really smart. But doesn't the word include at least a bit of reference to..." "Yes, the Arch-Magus is more than just some wise-man, he is one of the most gifted too. His disciples train under his guidance, to try and learn from his gift as we pursuit our own potentials." Lwyn was cut off before she could say the word, a word she didn't exactly know of in either Celesi language. Magic, the thing wishes and dreams were made of. It was like the world, the 'real world', was mocking her for having that thought. Ehryinae clearly meant that the disciples in magic were trained to use spells. The names of the Pillars, Ehryinae's fire magic, it was all making too much sense now.

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"Well, I suspect this then answers my question. This.. gift, as you call it. It was what you brought to bear against the Destroyers to great efficiency, and then had commanded against the Bandits just the other day. I can see having you around for our operations will be invaluable, and given our circumstances, we would be excited for any help we could get. However, given the.. exceptional personal circumstances of all of this information, I think the best course of action at this point is to give everyone the chance to come to terms with all the information presented here. As you have seen, this facility explores the capabilities of our enemy, so making good use of it would only increase our potential. We will continue with our research then for the immediate future, while giving everyone the opportunity to.. get a chance to catch up to one another." Rhyde was basically adjourning the meeting.

Everyone got up, but Qheria looked at her three friends and realized they all were thinking the same thing. "I'm sorry to cause delays, but the four of us will need time to collect our thoughts, before involving our families and such. This has been a lot to take in, and having come to count on each other, it would be a lot simpler this way." Qheria looked to the other three, who were each nodding. They needed a break away from this, to collect their thoughts, before returning to reality. Everyone else stopped, realizing that this too was inevitable.

The four girls eventually made it back to their original room from that morning, reverting to full on English in mutual comfort. "Holy F~~k.. I mean.. shit. I know I'm not alone in this, but what the F~~k kind of shit was that to drop on us out of no where. So I'm not only some princess, I'm a wizard princess, or some shit. Oh, right, sorry. I'm not even the ONLY wizard princess. Lwyn just got the royal label slapped on her right out of left field. When I think back to how you were treated at that Inn.. F~~k, and you're next in line to basically own the place. Why the F~~k did we get the crappy side of this deal?" Thanrie was going full tilt. She was developing a bit of a mutual kinship to Lwyn, realizing they were now both officially, effectively royals.

"Please, really, don't get me started. I'm going to strangle my mother for this, I don't care if she is the High-Seer. You don't EVER just dump 'saviour of the elves' on someone and then leave them thinking they are just garbage stuck in a hall of books. Urgh!! How am I supposed to be saving anyone if people think it's cool to keep me locked away from society, learning almost nothing practical. It was stupid, seriously. Qheria, what do you think? I know your own mother did the EXACT same thing to you, next-to-be-hero of your own nation. At least you GOT access to society.. though, I guess they did make you feel even more like trash than I did, didn't they?" Mhyl meanwhile was finally setting lose her contained feelings, as she realized that both her and Qheria were effectively given the position of heroes, and no idea how to do what was required of the position. She was considering just how mutual their situation was.

Everything had just blown out of proportion, leaving them with no feeling of control over their lives. "That's not even the whole of it, this lucky trend we've been having.. now we learn it's actually the cause of some inescapable destiny leaving us trapped to its whim. Considering how we still have an enemy, and how we've barely survived sometimes, I get the feeling that this 'luck' is still not all powerful, so we can't even depend on it for doing anything more than taking away our free will. .. I feel so helpless right now." Qheria was even thinking back further, to the part discussed before breakfast.

"So.. it looks like we were chosen for this mess not only because of all the other stuff we figured out, but because all of us had a really good bloodline.. the 'gift' as everyone keeps calling it. Magic. Something absolutely zero people EVER talk about. Zero, no one, not until now. Not even considering everything else. Princess, hero, world destruction fate.. none of it was enough to even hear a word about magic being more than just a fairy tail. Really, what probably sucks the most is that with all of these obligations, after seeing just how much it's capable of, Hammer-face being burned alive.. even the feeling of the... Wardens.. I think that's what they were called.. that was healing magic last night, wasn't it? It almost feels like we're watching a world work from behind a glass window, a world we have very little influence over." Lwyn was still particularly upset about this. She knew it had saved her life, but if she had been able to cast blazing fireballs herself, she could have gotten her own revenge against Hammer-face. Now it will forever be denied to her.

Something about Lwyn's speech was clicking in Thanrie's head. The part that hit the most was actually the part of watching from behind a window. It reminded her of her dream scene, over the night of her injury. That dream had sat very memorable, for reasons she still could not figure out. But near the end of the dream, as the waters came, she felt a warmth that had been soothing, that had made her feel refreshed. It was a feeling somehow similar to the warmth she had also had last night, while fully awake.

"Actually, I wonder how much of this is really denied to us. That night I almost died, we were certain it was miracle-level luck, but that's not how luck works, luck causes other more normal things to happen to great effect. While I was near death, I could still kinda feel a strange comfort wash over me, like a mist that refreshed my very being. Meanwhile, Lwyn, Qheria, how did last night's healing feel to you?" Thanrie started putting things together as Lwyn and Qheria blinked, looking to each other. They actually couldn't deny that description. "If what we saw last night was any example of how it works, it's a fairly close range healing magic, requiring the caster to pretty much be right next to the target, and for quite a while in that instance for that particular process." Thanrie painted the picture for everyone, as Mhyl started to pale filling in the blanks.

"I swear, I didn't do anything like that. I have no idea how to do.." "Mhyl, I don't think Thanrie is blaming you, I think she's saying you reached for it subconsciously. You slept almost the whole time yourself, you were really out of it. So.. by luck, Mhyl had happened to reach into her gift in a nearly sleeping state, by absolutely fluke, and managed to heal Thanrie over that time. That's also how Thanrie recovered dramatically faster, just like last night. I'm sorry Mhyl, but this idea actually makes more sense than anything else." Mhyl was having trouble denying that this assumption was less correct than any other. Lwyn was feeling jealous that, even if by sheer fluke, Mhyl might have actually used some magic that night. None of them had any actual idea how magic actually worked, after all.

Lwyn still managed to perk up a smile. "Don't worry Mhyl, it's like you said.. I forget the law thing you said that one night, about magic and science." "Oh, Clarke's Third Law? 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'?" "Exactly, that one. We might not know how actual real magic works here, but we really did kick some ass that night with our gadgets. Steampunk wizards is still a kind of thing. We're still the best ones at figuring out all the tech stuff around here, and if we get even better at it, we will be kicking ass. Oh, even better, if we do actually learn a few spells too, we can just add that on top of everything. But we shouldn't feel like crap, our families just needs to see how much potential technology can bring. Maybe that will make them extra sorry for treating us like caged animals." For dramatic emphasis, Lwyn turned on the magnet of her gloves, and picked up a metal fragment she had found on the ground. It wasn't the most glorious display, but this place was bound to bring more opportunities. Mhyl still laughed at Lwyn's encouraging display, finding comfort in that Lwyn had remembered that one little quote from back then.

The four of them kept idly chatting at this point, finally starting to relax thanks to Lwyn. Even with the world as crazy as it was, they were very thankful to at least have each other.