The headmaster’s magic clashed with Athra’s seal backed by a Rhlar Lord’s seemingly never ending mana reserves, the seal held strong against the old man’s efforts. Seeing their headmaster struggle to break through a mere student’s spell was not a sight neither the students not the teachers expected to see, even if that student was a D’lora. After all, there was an age difference of around seven thousand years. None of them, after all, could know that there was a being almost as old as their planet itself using his mana to strengthen the seal.
“Not even a D’lora’s birthright should be capable of making up for the vast difference in time spent increasing my own mana reserve” Eldrinath thought to himself as he kept increasing the amount of mana he was applying to the seal. He could tell even though he himself was approaching his limits in terms of handling the situation in a reserved manner, the seal was nowhere near being broken, if anything it was seemingly getting stronger as the moments passed.
The stalemate went unbroken just as the seal did, going slightly above whatever strength Eldrinath was applying Uria ensured it to be so. The bored Rhlar was more focused on the possible ramifications of Alatrealis waking up than the facade of a contest he was in. This development meant it was of paramount importance for his master to get in the good graces of Alatrealis as she posed as the biggest threat to their existence as far as he was concerned. Perhaps if everything went perfect they could even enlist her assistance. After all he could form the fact her power had diminished over time tell that her immortal nature was no longer there. In his mind this meant there was a possibility of her no longer serving the goddess or at least resenting her servitude, little did he know that he was just scratching the surface of her anger towards their creator.
Athra could sense that Uria was thinking about something ever since the sudden power surge he had felt radiating from the north, due to the telepathic link between the two, but he wasn’t going to bother asking the ancient being. He knew if Uria wanted to share something he would do it without being asked, and if he didn’t share it willingly than there was no point in asking as he’d just keep it to himself regardless. Their pact was not yet of an absolute servant-master type as he was currently unable to deliver on his promises to Uria, so he did not possess the power to compel his so-called servant through absolute force. This was one of the reasons why he, instead of draining mana from Uria directly, was “commanding” him to use it. He knew the moment he would ask Uria would be the end of their pact, as the latter would probably see that as a step too far. He did not know that even if Uria allowed him to drain his mana, as he was currently Athra simply could not utilize it without spending a long time adapting to it as Uria’s magic reserves contained magic from outside the confines of this realm created and governed by Lumina.
Athra after resting for a short time decided it would be for the best if he left the room and dealt with the commotion outside in order to prevent further distractions. It’s not as if he could not understand why people especially the headmaster and members of the house L’rial would have issues with the way he was behaving, looking back it was quite selfish and thoughtless of him to act the way he had done. “I can see why the rest of my family act the way they do now.” He thought to himself, chuckling inwardly. He had always wondered why his older siblings were so dismissive of their subjects’ worries sometimes, but he now could see that it was due to the fact that in their eyes such things could be resolved rather easily. A privilege of being stronger than others, the very privilege of his birthright which was denied to him for reasons unknown, a privilege he had now acquired for himself through his own efforts.
“I’ll be going for a while in order to sort this mess out, or at least attempt to do so. Make sure the seal stands until I am back.” Athra communicated to Uria through their mental link, as he created a portal that would take him back to his room. He as the creator of the seal could freely exit and re-enter its confines, something no one else was allowed to do unless he willed it so. Knowing that Uria would not let the seal fall, he stepped out at the other end of the portal, without waiting for a reply. He wasn’t sure on what the best course of action to take was, all he was sure of was that he wanted to resolve this without his mother’s interference. Perhaps he could ask his brother’s help, after all Desta already knew his situation and could understand why he did not want anyone inside the room in case he overexerted himself again and showed physical changes again. However, bothering Desta with a problem he himself created would not be befitting of a prince, and more importantly increased the odds of his mother questioning what was going on. Therefore, he decided that option would be only taken if he couldn’t clean up the mess with his own means. Deciding he would try to talk to the headmaster alone first, he left his room. Heading in the direction of the infamy for the second time today.
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In front of the door to the infirmary, the crowd was getting larger, at a pace matching the news of the headmaster’s failure to unlock Athra’s seal spreading. The proud Eldrinath was growing increasingly more agitated as the whispers about how he was getting too weak and old to run the academy grew louder among his own students as well as teachers, only the head teachers present were not saying anything. He already disliked Athra’s attitude with classes even though he had begrudgingly allowed the special privileges the prince had requested, now he was growing visibly irritated with the young prince. He also refused to believe that Athra alone could pull this off, he suspected that one of the elder D’loras or perhaps both were helping their brother. It was the only possible explanation, there was no way he’d lose to an Ira who was not even seven centuries old yet, however with the older siblings’ backing it was possible.
“Headmaster, I believe you and I should have a word” Athra’s voice resonated from behind the crowd, making the students and teachers alike turn around dumbfounded.
“Young prince, I hope you have a good explanation as to why you are denying entry to the infirmary for the rest of us. As you can imagine, your decision has not been exactly popular.” Eldrinath was furious, however he was not stupid or inexperienced enough to let his anger effect his tone. Truth be told he was slightly less agitated than before as Athra being out of the room meant there truly was someone else in there helping him, his theory seemed to be spot on.
“I’ll give you a proper explanation, but I can only do so in private.” Athra replied. His aim was to make this seem more important than just his whims, if he was lucky the headmaster and the others could even fool themselves into thinking that this was a royal matter decreed by his mother.
“Very well, let us go to my office then.” Eldrinath responded as he stopped trying to force his way through. He snapped his fingers and within the same moment both himself and Athra disappeared from the view of the curious onlookers’ eyes.
The headmaster’s eyes stared at Athra with a gaze that indicated he expected an explanation, and he expected it fast.
“The spell I am using to cure my two injured teammates is of my own creation and requires unbroken concentration. Therefore, I decided to seal off the area with help from an individual I’ll not name.” Now that they were in private, Athra chose to be truthful to a certain extent. Both of the reasons were perfectly acceptable reasons, no self-respecting mage would just divulge a spell of their creation.
“I can see why you wanted privacy if that’s the case. However, you should have come to me first, I could have made sure this whole mess was avoided. There is a proper way to handle such matters, young prince, and you as a potential ruler of the future can not ignore it and be so tactless. Surely you don’t need reminding of the fact that you have an heir of house L’rial in there with you, understandably their members are not pleased with you having the possibility of crippling the future of their family.”
“I am ready to sign an absolute contract dictating that if she suffers irreversible damage due to the actions I have taken today, then I will forfeit my life.” Athra proclaimed calmly, indicating the confidence he had in his abilities.
Eldrinath’s eyes widened in shock for a split second, but he managed to get a grasp of his emotions fast. He pulled out a piece of parchment from one of his drawers and quickly created a contract, following Athra’s suggestion. In his mind, this was a win-win situation for him. If the prince succeeded, then there was no harm. If instead the result was failure, then he’d be ridding himself of the future headaches he would cause. He knew the contract was enough to make members of the noble house stop bothering him, after all, if the prince himself was ready to forfeit his life who were they to doubt his skills.
“If you truly are so sure about it, then I will not stand in your way. Just sign here” Eldrinath said while pointing to an empty line.
Athra quickly glanced at the contract to analyze its contents and make sure what he was signing was exactly what he had said, nothing more, nothing less. Satisfied with what he read, he signed it. A faintly glowing seal appeared on the back of his right hand, a testament to the contract being finalized.
“I hope this enough for you to convenience others to leave me alone until I am done with what I am doing.” said Athra
“It should be.” Eldrinath’s reply was short, perhaps he was still dealing with the shock of Athra’s actions.
“Am I free to go then?” Athra questioned
“Yes, you are dismissed.” Another swift reply came from the old man.
Without wasting any time, Athra created a portal that lead back to the infirmary in order to resume the treatment he had started. He hurriedly stepped out of the portal on the other side, leaving the headmaster to sort everything else out.