Chapter 8 – Prospective Events
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Upon meeting up with Kari and Rem the following morning in his room before classes, Remi and the two of them talked about what happened the previous night.
Remi thanked them profusely for their assistance. He mentioned if he had been on his own, things would have definitely made a turn for the worse. While he knew he had extraordinary Magicka control, there were limitations to his strengths, while there were glaring faults in his weaknesses where had no means to compensate for; the foremost of which was a way to deal with the Lestrin's Celestial Conclave barrier spell yesterday.
As he spoke of it, Remi thanked his sister once again for her help in their escape. It had been the second time he saw her personal spell Ivory Pocket, which utilizes Lunar Magicka, Order Magicka and, to a lesser extent, Element Magicka to create a temporary "room" or subspace within a small, fixed area. It was a her own creation after reading about "Celestial Alignment theory" and "Teleportation Magicka theory" years ago. After invoking the spell, Rem takes all living entities within the magical circle into the subspace for as long as she maintains the spell or until they leave the space. Since this subspace was larger than the barrier that was in place around it, they were able to leave the barrier because, thanks to the Ivory Pocket, they never technically intersected with it in the first place; the key to this was with Order Magicka aetherik.
Remi knew that Order Magicka was more of a theory of Magicka that gradually became a pillar due to its unmistakable truths, despite its many flaws. The theory held a lot of weight due to the circumstances around it, but in general it consisted of aetherik controlling the natural order or laws of the world, or "natural law" for short. For example, gravity was a natural law, and the order of the world upheld that law; however, due to aetherik manipulation, one could actualize phenomena that upsets that natural order. In the sense of Ivory Pocket, time and space was also theorized as natural law, so manipulating the aetherik around them could cause tremendous phenomena to occur. When that happened, if not controlled properly, a severe rebound, or backlash, could occur not only on the area where aetherik was actualized but also on the person, and the surroundings of that person, who manipulated it. He knew that Order Magicka had tremendous power potential, but carried incredible risks and responsibility, not to mention the sheer amount of strain the mind and body takes on to perform these spells themselves carefully.
"Truly, Rem, thank you. You really saved us yesterday, and I'm sorry I had to let you go to such lengths for us. Your talent never fails to impress me, but are you okay today? The last time you used that spell..."
He bowed to his sister, knowing full well she loved when he did so, while also showing concern. He was by no means trying to flatter Rem, either. Remi genuinely believed, and Kari concurred, that Rem was a true genius when it came to Magicka and aetherik manipulation. While her control was by no means on Remi's level, he knew that her natural talent and creativity was leaps and abounds above his. The one problem was that he knew her body was weak and she couldn't invoke spells for long periods of time, much shorter than most Invokers.
Flustered by his abrupt gratitude, Rem quickly replied.
"Oh Brother, you know I wouldn't have let us sit there while they got away. Also, I'm fine, don't worry; instead, please praise me more." She giggled, a hand covering her mouth.
Kari coughed at her display, then looked at Remi.
"You know, Remi, it had been quite awhile since I used that spell in such a fashion. It felt strangely nostalgic despite the situation." Kari grinned at him, her eyes searching for something. Knowing what it was she wanted, he thanked her as well.
"You're right, Kari, and thank you for listening to my request." Bowing to Kari as well, Remi added, "I just didn't want any real harm to come to those men after you had already broken that one guy's arm. I don't know if I could have lived with myself if we had retaliated in full, since they were just amateur thugs."
Seemingly lost in thought for a moment, Kari looked Remi in the eyes and earnestly said, "That man made me so angry; I hadn't been that livid in a long time."
"That man's thoughts and actions were despicable and he deserved far worse than a broken arm, Kari," Rem chimed in, with a frown. "Killing him would have been justifiable."
"Rem, we don't just kill people for no reason." Remi fired back at her nonchalant attitude of taking lives.
"Yeah Rem, If anything like that happened in front of so many people, in front of Katrina... would you have been okay with that? We would have had to kill everyone there to leave no witnesses, or leave the Academy immediately." Kari added, upset with herself that she lost her senses momentarily last night.
Rem sighed, relenting her opinion.
"Fine, you're right. I wouldn't have wanted to kill Katrina, I do like the girl even if we just met. I guess the bright side of that man having only a broken arm is it being a good reminder for those thugs to think twice before treating their fellow students poorly in the future."
Remi and Kari both agreed with that assessment, though Kari looked a little forlorn, so Remi changed the subject again.
"By the way Kari, speaking of that Lunar Magicka spell you did, it always makes for a wonderfully effective illusion. I still vaguely remember when we came across that demonic Horror in the woods. We were still kids at the time, I don't even know how we managed to kill that thing. All I remember is you and Rem did a lot of the work."
They reminisced about the events of that day: running into the supposedly on the verge of extinction demonic Horror, somehow dealing with it after taking many wounds, their mother collapsing from exhaustion and Remi trying to carry her, as well as them running into a hoard of demonic beasts attacking a carriage of travelers, where most of them had been killed.
"Oh yeah, you even had to fight your way through those demonic beasts so they didn't come after us anymore." Kari said. "Rem and I couldn't help because we were both completely drained and wounded at that time. On the bright side, you were a hero to those survivors."
She grinned at him while Remi scratched his head, trying to remember exactly what occurred.
As the three of them conversed, Rem noticed a letter on Remi's desk.
"Brother, what is this?" She grabbed the sealed letter and showed it to him.
"Oh, that. I forgot about it. That was at my door when I came home last night. I was too tired to deal with it and completely forgot. Go ahead and open it if you want." Remi gave the okay and Rem gladly unsealed the letter and began reading.
As she read it, her face started making a dubious expression, causing Remi and Kari to exchange looks of curiousity.
"What is it, Rem?" asked Kari.
Before long, Rem handed the letter over to Kari and looked up at the ceiling.
"Just who is that woman and what is she thinking of in regards to my brother?" she asked to no one in particular.
Remi, confused by her question, stood next to Kari and began reading as well.
Remi,
I was informed about what Aleksander and Rufus had planned for you this evening from an acquaintance of ours. After hearing the details, I tried to put a stop to it but couldn't find them. I don't know where they told you to meet, otherwise I would have gone there myself.
The only thing I can do now is write this letter to apologize and try and convince you that I had nothing to do with their actions and would have stopped them had I known ahead of time.
I'm sorry for the actions, Remi. Please believe me that I had nothing to do with it.
You know, I owe you a lot, much than you think and I would never do something like this to you. Since you didn't seem to remember when I talked with you the other night, it would not surprise me if this confuses you. For that, I apologize.
The next time we get a chance to speak, I will properly explain and thank you for what you did for me.
Until then.
Chloe Cooper
Remi could only scratch his head. From the words in this letter, he had no idea what he might have to do with Lady Cooper in the past.
"So, Remi, what did you do with or for Lady Cooper in the past, huh?" Kari teased while punching his shoulder, trying to get a rise out of him.
Remi thought hard, but nothing came to mind.
"I honestly don't know what she's talking about. It's possible she's mistaken. She's from Lakecrest, a daughter of a Marquess. She said as much when we made our introductions to each other before we fought on orientation day. This is our first time on Ostes, it's not possible for us to have met in the past."
"Hmm, you're right. Sorry for teasing." Kari rescinded her previous taunt, with a smirk on her face.
"Whatever it is, this letter just smells like trouble to me," Rem declared sternly. "First they encounter you that night, then the next day they try to entrap you with some scheme and the very same night this letter just so happens to be here apologizing with sweet words, saying you did this and that for her? I don't buy it, not for a second!"
"Yeah Remi, it's probably best to just steer clear from that woman and her noble entourage." Kari added with a nod.
Remi didn't disagree. He was definitely curious what Lady Cooper might be referencing but for the sake of a peaceful academic life without being on the run or dealing with those people he wanted nothing to do with, he felt it was best stay away and make every effort to do so. He felt bad, but he didn't want to keep getting tangled up in their schemes.
"I agree with you both. I'll do my utmost to stay away from it all."
"Good. Now then, should we get to class?" Rem said as she walked to the door, school bag in hand and went outside.
As Remi was about to follow her out, Kari stopped him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
Unsure why she was giving him this rare embrace, he looked at her curiously.
"Kari?"
"Thank you, Remi, for helping me yesterday," she whispered into his ear. "I was embarrassed and upset, and I don't even remember the last time I cried, especially in front of strangers. You helped calm me down and keep me composed. Thank you."
Remi was slightly taken aback at her candid behavior. Kari normally never showed much in the way of affection or talked about such things openly, so he was happy to see a rare, shy moment of hers.
"It's fine, Kari, really. Besides, I'm in your debt for having you handle all the negotiations last night, at any rate." He gave her a smile and spoke in a reassuring soft tone, while returning the hug.
"Then, let's call it even." She said while grinning. She then linked her arm through Remi's and pulled him along with her outside, bypassing Rem completely.
"Kari, what do you think you're doing?" Rem asked from the doorway, her cold, azure eyes on them the whole time.
"Let's go!" Kari announced, with a big smile on her face, then laid her head on top of Remi's shoulder.
Remi shook his head with a grin and chuckled at her behavior, as he wasn't exactly unhappy with it. He leaned his head on hers as they walked.
Seeing that, Rem exclaimed then ran after the two, prying Kari's arm away from Remi, before inserting herself between them.
Kari let it happen, and Remi noticed she continued to smile all the way to class.
"So? What is it this time?"
In her office within the Engineering Building, Headmistress Sarina Finnel questioned the young students why they were there.
The office was in disarray, with numerous stacks of paper spread along the desk, counters and large tea table which sat in the middle of the room. On the counters, besides the paper, there were two glass vases filled with water, containing palm fronds for decoration. There were also several magical devices, many of which were in disrepair but held sentimental value to the Director. At the desk where Lady Finnel was currently sitting, on it was a stone magical device shaped like scroll, with etchings in a language the students couldn't read. The white walls of the office were adorned with artwork depicting the ocean and beaches of Ostes.
Standing in front of the desk were three students: a young man with long black straight hair, a young man with short red hair, and a man with short black hair, whose arm was splinted and held in place within a sling. These students were Rufus Magnar, Aleksander Pyrefel and Ronnie Jinsal, there to report what happened the previous night.
After getting his arm treated by the medical staff on evening shift last night, Ronnie was told he would be unable to move it for the next month while it heals. The Magician on staff who can perform a Restoration Magicka spell said it doesn't heal broken bones nearly as quickly as other wounds, so it will need to some time.
The three had downcast faces while the Headmistress eyed them.
"Well? Out with it," she said, irritated at their silence, while focusing on the stone scroll on the desk once more. "Classes will begin soon, if you don't have anything to say to me you should get going."
The three looked at each other, then after a moment, the two others urged Aleksander to speak. He cleared his throat before talking.
"Um, Lady Finnel. We couldn't complete the request you gave us. The plan fell apart."
The Headmistress looked up from the scroll, staring hard at the three students.
"Is that so? I see." She sighed. "And? What happened? How did you fail?"
Aleksander took a deep, anxiety-ridden breath.
"Well, everything went more or less as planned at first," he reported. "Remi Naslund showed up by himself, and Ronnie and his guys intimidated him. They made him use a spell which ended up putting three of them to sleep in an instant. I've never seen any spell like that."
"Rydel's Lethargy, was it? Tell me, did they awaken maybe an hour later?" Lady Finnel asked, curious as to if her assessment was correct.
The boy nodded fervently.
"Yes, I'd say it was about an hour exactly,"
"Hoh? So he knows how to invoke that Spirit Magicka spell as well? That is certainly trouble. So? Why didn't he do that to all of you?"
Raising an eyebrow at Aleksander along with the question, the Headmistress had her curiosity piqued.
"Well as for that..." Aleksander looked at Ronnie's arm.
"The damn Dark Elf broke my arm, Lady Finnel!" Ronnie yelled, outraged at the indignity of the entire situation. "The boy used a spell on my crew, then that she-devil broke my arm before these two showed themselves."
"Is that right, Mister Jinsal? The Dark Elf, you say? She just happened to show up and break your arm for no reason? Is that what you would have me believe?"
Headmistress Finnel stared at the boy with fire in her eyes, awaiting his next words eagerly.
"No, that is... I may have provoked them a bit. Just a bit," he replied, sheepishly.
"Why don't you tell me the whole story?" She looked at Rufus, who hadn't said a word.
Nodding, he spoke at length of what he witnessed, start to finish. Throughout the explanation, Headmistress Finnel went through an array of emotions on her face: intrigued gave way to happy, which turned into mischievous and then troubled, while it finally remained at unsettled.
"This is the truth?" she asked, her tone incredulous.
"Yes, Lady Finnel, I swear it. They still have one of the two Voice Capture Crystals you gave to us for this purpose. On it is our acknowledgement of fault. I am sincerely sorry, but there was nothing I felt we could do but comply." Rufus said, bowing his head.
"Oh there isn't anything to be sorry about to me, I'm just an educator who was trying to help her students at this Academy. It's a shame they pulled one over on you boys instead, but that has nothing to do with me, right?"
Lady Finnel glared at the boys, making sure her point got across. The three of them gulped and nodded.
"Besides, if any word of my involvement in this matter did happen to get out, Mister Naslund would be the least of your worries." She smiled at them deviously, before frowning at Ronnie.
"Mister Jinsal, the next time I ask you to do something, you stick to it to the letter. If you decide to jeopardize one of my plans for your personal vendetta again, I will withdraw you from this Academy. I've allowed you and your group of thugs to run wild for my personal amusement, but if you fail to amuse, you have no more value to me. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Lady Finnel!" He responded quickly and obediently.
"Good. As I said before, it's a shame you boys failed, but I did receive some interesting information. I had no idea that boy was capable of subverting such a barrier. There are maybe two dozen Magicians in the world who know how to do such a thing, which begs the question: How did he do it?"
Holding an unfocused gaze into the distance, the Headmistress had a vulgar expression on her face as she was in deep thought. The three boys gave each other curious looks before she came to her senses.
"My, my, isn't he an intriguing boy? I'd love to see him do it personally."
She clapped her hands in front of her, startling the three young men.
"Well, no matter! Thank you for the report, but there is nothing I can do for you at this point without playing my hand, which may-- no, it will tip them off. I fully suspect they already do not trust me, due to the events on opening day. I'd like to maintain my current position for awhile longer yet, as I am still unsure if they'll be useful to me in the future at this stage."
Unsure of what she was talking about, the three students remained silent.
"At any rate, if there is nothing else, you boys should get to class. Our involvement with one another ends here. Do not breathe a whisper of this to anyone. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Lady Finnel!" all three students spoke at once.
"You may go."
Watching the students leave, the Headmistress breathed a deep sigh. Moments after they left, a tall Elven woman with glasses and a white attire walked in, her arms clutching a clipboard. She wore white slacks, a black shirt and a white unbuttoned coat. Her brown hair was styled in a bun, and she held a serious expression.
"Perfect timing, Lina. Draft a message for me, to one Aisha, a student of the first year's Chaos Class. Tell her that we have business to discuss."
Lina took down the details the Headmistress laid out and went to deliver the message that day.
The next several days of the first week in the Academy flew by for Remi without any problems. Thinking there might be some retaliation for what transpired on the night of the first day, the trio were on guard but nothing happened. Incidentally, they never came across Lady Cooper, which made Remi breathe a sigh of relief.
The trio ran into Katrina a few times, but she always had other plans with some of her classmates, to try and ingratiate herself with them. She swore she wasn't avoiding the trio, but Rem still felt a little sad about it. In the end, Katrina said she'd hang out during the upcoming break.
Within their own Lunar Class, the trio's celebrity status died down considerably by the end of the week, as things normalized quite a bit. Classes remained simplistic, mostly review, but there were still several new things to learn that they did not know from their previous school in Kalnori, years back.
It was now the 6th day of the 4th month, the last day of classes for the first week. After this day, there would be two rest days, or 'free days', for the students at Aristes Magical Academy. Clubs would still meet but classes were on hold until after the break.
Currently sitting in the middle of a lecture on history, Remi was paying attention to it as the topic intrigued him.
"...as such, the Iriek Republic, before its downfall over 100 years ago due to civil war, was on the front lines in the battle for humanity. Seated between the Varien Kingdom and the Wilds, they dealt with their civil unrest for over two years, rumored to be ignited by several Varien Kingdom sympathizers holding official ranks inside the Republic. While trying to handle their internal conflict, they were also dealing with the external threat of the demonic Horrors sprouting up from the Wilds. Now, we know the Wilds today as the tamed lands of the two Elven races and their various tribes: The Dark Elves and Sun Elves. Coincidentally, while the Elves lived in the Wilds during the Horror invasion, not many humans dared travel out that far north on Kalnori except for the Iriek Wayfarers, who played a large part in keeping the Horrors and demonic beasts at bay, but that is beside the point."
The person giving the lecture, Professor Fairefield, was drawing an impromptu map on the blackboard at the front of the class. After she finished, she turned toward her students with an inquisitive expression.
"Now, all that said, there were actually two other races of Elves on Kalnori during this time. Can anyone tell me what happened to them?"
The students looked around quietly, seeing if anyone had the answer. No one raised their hand to respond.
"Nobody? How about you, Miss Naslund?"
After calling on her favorite student, Professor Fairefield looked at her with inquisitive eyes.
"Well, I don't know if this is true as it's just what I've heard in passing and from gossip," Rem responded in a bored tone."But apparently the Dark Elves and Sun Elves worked together to drive out the Wood Elves and Kaleyni from northern Kalnori during one of the Elvish civil wars over a century ago."
"That's only partially correct, Miss Naslund, but good effort nonetheless. In reality, we don't know exactly what happened. However, according to records from the High Elves in High Grove on Estes and the verbal accounts from various sects of Wood and Dark Elves, researchers have been able to piece together an educated theory. The theory is, a single Sun Elf tribe, specifically the Sol Kin, worked in secret with a single Dark Elf tribe, specifically the Lunar Kin, and made a pact. The Lunar Kin tribe wanted to expand their territory north and into the vast forest the Wood Elves occupied. The Sol Kin tribe wanted to take the entirety of Mount Xiri, the Sun Elf homeland belonging to the Xiri Royal Family, for themselves. Swearing to assist each other, the Sol Kin, under the guise of forming positive relations with the Dark Elves, took a representative of their chieftain lineage on a goodwill campaign northward, with a large contingency of soldiers for protection. After reaching Lunar Kin territory, they allied and fought together to wipe out the Wood Elves of the region, driving the survivors far to the northern tundra or the eastern seaboard."
After explaining this, it felt like all eyes were on Kari and the twins, being the only elves in the room besides Sonja, already a well known Kaleyni at the Academy.
"It was there that what remained of the Wood Elves ended up migrating to Estes across the northern channel, with the help of the Kaleyni, after making small boats to go from island to island. 150 years ago, the various Wood Elf tribes of the Northern Grove of Kalnori emigrated to Estes. They have since worked together to prosper there." Professor Fairefield said with a smile.
"Now, in the end, after these events occurred, the Lunar Tribe expanded their territory from the northern lakes of the Wilds into the forests within the valleys of the mountain. After which, the Lunar Kin then honored their alliance by helping start civil unrest in Mount Xiri for the Sol Kin tribe, setting the stage a coup on the Xiri Royal Family, which was successful. The Sol Kin then implanted themselves in as part of the royal bloodline, which ended up forcefully uniting the Sun Elves under a single banner."
Remi, who had been intrigued in this history, felt a little sick to his stomach after hearing such a horrible story.
"What's wrong, Remi?" a voice whispered from beside him. It was Aura Dawne, the friendly tomboy the trio had gotten to know well over the last few days. They could be considered friends but they don't exactly hang out much. "You don't look so good. You okay?"
Realizing his internal feelings were showing on his face, he shook his head and whispered back, "Ah, I'm fine Aura, thanks for your concern."
Trying to take his mind off it, he stared into his book before the end of class, drowning out the rest of the lecture.
At the end of morning classes, just before lunch, Professor Fairefield had an announcement.
"Listen up everyone, the details for the upcoming policy change have come in. They'll be posted on the information boards out front of the building during lunch, but I'll give summary of them right now."
On the blackboard, she began writing the changes as she explained them.
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The new policy is in regards to class participation in class-wide events with Crown wagers.
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Prior to this change, during such events where class participation required a minimum amount of Crowns for ante, when a class did not have the minimum amount of balance available for ante did not participate, resulting in neither a gain nor a loss of Crowns.
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After this change, classes which cannot meet the minimum amount required for ante will now have its students make up the difference. As such, each student will be forced to pay an amount of Crowns equal to the average of the difference, rounded up.
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If, for example, the class has 21 students and the amount of Crowns needed to make up the difference is 100, each student is required to pay 5 Crowns.
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If any student is unable to meet the average amount for participation, they will be withdrawn from the Academy until redeemed by their class at a later date. Withdrawal Penalties to the class will apply as per usual.
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It is advised that those students who are more wealthy in Crowns assist their classmates when this occurs, in order to prevent Withdrawal Penalties.
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"There you have it," said Professor Fairefield, who had written everything down for her students. "Now, since you are all first years and have yet to participate in a class-wide event, you may not understand the significance of this change, so I will explain. In class-wide events, the different classes compete with their full rosters available. This means, if anyone happens to be withdrawn from their classes, they are putting that much more strain on their classmates during the event, making it hard for them to win against classes who have more students, while also being harder for those who are already withdrawn to be redeemed."
A hand raised, its owner a slender young woman with her pale blond hair in a weaved ponytail draped over her shoulder. it was Monica Aube, Class Lunar's Crown Treasurer. She happened to have won over the class and obtained the post over the last few days.
"Yes, Miss Aube?" Professor Fairfield addressed the curious student.
"Professor, as the Withdrawal Penalty section of the handouts we were given stated: When a student gets withdrawn, their class is fined a 50 Crown fee. What happens if the balance is at 0 when that occurs?"
"A good question, Miss Aube, one I was hoping someone would ask! The answer is nothing. The Class Crown Treasury balance cannot go below zero."
The students murmured about this new change, as it seemed to be good news.
Raising her hand once again, Monica Aube was called upon by their professor.
"Yes, Miss Aube, go ahead."
"If that is the case, then why wouldn't you just leave your Treasury empty until just before a class-wide event with wagers occurs? Having a balance of zero also prevents Class Challenges for wagers being effective."
"Not true, Miss Aube. As we discussed the other day, Class Challenge wager amounts normally have a ceiling of 1.5 times the Treasury balance of the challenged class. There is a caveat to this, however, in the event of a student's personal balance being larger than the Treasury balance. When this happen, the Class Challenge wager amount will use that student's balance as if it were the Treasury for the sake of the Challenge. Meaning, if Class Lunar had zero crowns right now, Mister Naslund over there would be your new, temporary Treasury." Professor Fairefield explained as such diligently. "Unless of course, you've spent all your Crowns already, Mister Naslund?"
The students all looked at Remi, who could only shake his head in answer.
"This seems rather dubious," said Monica. "Why weren't we informed of this before?"
"Class Challenges are one of the 'hidden uses' of Crowns, that the Academy, as a rule, didn't want first years to know about so quickly. It's inevitable that you'll all find out the various intricacies eventually, but we leave that to you all to discover as a surprise. If you broach the subject like you did just now, Miss Aube, we are free to inform you."
The students came to an understanding with that brief explanation, but were still unnerved by the entire subject.
"Anyway, with that announcement, class-wide events with wagers are handled differently now, as they will have minimum Crown requirements to meet one way or another. With this policy change announcement, there is also one more announcement," Professor Fairefield said with straight face.
"On the 28th day of this month there will be the first class-wide event for you first years! The details are not set in stone just yet, but do look forward to it soon."
Professor Fairefield said this with a grin, causing every student to feel a little uneasy.
♦
With that, the morning classes were over and the students piled out to get lunch. The trio gathered and started conversing while walking over to the cafeteria, along with two other students they were friendly with: Arora Dawne and Edward Locke.
Earlier in the week, Aura joined the trio for lunch a number of times, and Edward seemed to follow her wherever she went. Remi concluded that the young man probably harbored a crush for her, and he could understand why. Aura was an easy-going girl with a good head on her shoulders, if a little bit too much of a tomboy. She had joined the Netball Club, a sport made popular over two centuries ago by the Iriek Republic who came up with the game, and it spread across the world. It was a game where the players used long shallow nets to grab and pass a leather ball to their teammates, with the goal of throwing the ball into a goal on the opposing team's side of a long field. She was quite good at it, Remi thought, as he saw her practice after being invited to watch one afternoon. Since she had joined the club, Edward joined shortly thereafter and two became friends as well as comrades.
"What do you think about that policy change, Miss Naslund?" asked Aura, curious of her honest opinion, as they entered the cafeteria on the third floor.
Thinking it over for a moment with a finger on her chin, she looked over at the girl before speaking.
"I don't think much of it, Miss Dawne. Class Challenges only happen once a month at most, so if we're smart about our Crowns we can handle them at any time. The problem is, will everyone be able to moderate their Crown expenditures?" She asked as she looked around the cafeteria.
There were students standing around in line or near tables, talking with others while holding magical devices in hand that played music or displayed artwork in illusory forms. Some students had new jewelry they were showing off to their friends, while other students were sitting at tables reading books they recently purchased.
Remi thought that with it being the first week, those who run out of Crowns so quickly will be in for a rude awakening by the end of the month their class doesn't earn more Crowns from the upcoming event, especially if they received a challenge wager before then.
"So what if we run out of Crowns? The rich students will cover for us so the class doesn't get penalized anyway," the rough Edward Locke stated with a cavalier attitude.
Remi couldn't believe what he heard, especially in light of what was just announced; he wasn't the only one, either.
"What are you even talking about, Edward? What an idiotic thing to say," Aura scolded him, shaking her head. "Honestly, you're such a hassle. What if everyone thought that way? We'd all be withdrawn from the Academy in no time."
"What do you mean? There will always be responsible people who pick up the slack, Aura! That's how society works." he stated, nonchalantly, as if it were the natural response.
Aura sighed at his thought process and looked to the trio for help.
"You know, Mister Locke, if we were to get challenged right now to the maximum wager amount, with our remaining 250 Crowns in the Treasury, everyone would still have to pay 6 Crowns," Kari chided in a calm manner. "Even if everyone hadn't spent any of their 23 personal Crowns yet, that is still more than a fourth of our totals. How many of our classmates do you think haven't spent any Crowns? All three of us have spent plenty, and I personally only have 14 Crowns myself after this last week."
"Yeah, but Remi there still has a lot left, right? He could cover for all of us if need be." Edward exclaimed as they got to the front of the line.
Putting the conversation on hold as they ordered food one after another, they then moved aside as they waited, while continuing the discussion.
Remi was wondering what made this man have such a misguided sense of responsibility. While he did have exactly 100 Crowns left, he also felt it wasn't his duty to make up the difference for his carefree classmates. He was always willing to help others, but gross negligence just made his head hurt. Though, he knew that if someone really were to get withdrawn when he had the means to prevent it, it would weigh on him heavily, so he held conflicting philosophies.
"Listen Mister Locke, my brother is a responsible person who is often times too selfless for his own good. Just the other day he ended up helping our classmate Mister Holmes against some bullying out of the kindness of his heart, which got him in trouble, as you well saw, right? That being said, don't expect him to shoulder the burden of your harebrained scheme of carefree Crown expenditure." Rem admonished the wincing Edward in a stern tone of voice.
Remi was grateful for his sister sticking up for him, as he didn't know what to say. He was conflicted in knowing that even though Edward was wrong in his way of thinking, he was also correct that Remi would probably sacrifice Crowns to help his classmates not get withdrawn should the situation arise.
"Hey, and I'm just thinking out loud here, don't you think the whole Crown system is flawed and extremely punishing? I didn't want to participate in it in the first place but they forced this system on us." Edward asked Rem, who was looking at him like he was an insect.
She retrieved her food that was being brought to the counter they were standing around.
"Of course, I think it's an absurd system that doesn't need to be here. While it has a lot of incentives for free currency, it comes with all these limitations and restrictions, especially in regards to being withdrawn from the Academy, so it just seems like a hassle," Rem gave her candid opinion. "There is nothing to be done about it, however, so we should get used to it and find a way to not worry about it so much in the future."
After they all had their food, they walked to a nearby empty table and set their trays down to eat.
"The ideal scenario available to us would be to just win every event and challenge thrown our way, behave ourselves, and do well on the exams," Kari offered to the discussion. "That way we will be rich in Crowns and won't have to worry about anything."
"You heard our upperclassman Miss Seno though, Kari. She said to 'enjoy our Crowns while we can'," Remi reminded her. "She was obviously alluding to the fact that we'd all be grasping for Crowns soon enough. I'd like to make sure that doesn't happen, but..."
Everyone looked at Edward.
"What? Don't look at me like that. Besides, you don't even know that she was telling the truth. Maybe she was just trying to scare you a little, being first years and all." Edward retaliated at the gazes coming his way as they ate.
"At any rate, the only thing we can do is just deal with things as they come. If worse comes to worst, we'll have our ace Remi to get us out of trouble," said Aura, winking at him while trying to lighten the mood a little bit.
Remi thought she was mostly joking, but he also felt there was a hint of sincerity in her words.
"Sorry for changing topics suddenly, but Remi, you looked awfully pale in class earlier. Are you sure you're alright?" Aura asked, mild concern evident in her voice.
"Brother? What's the matter? You're not getting sick I hope?" Rem asked, putting a hand on his forehead. Kari looked at him with worried eyes from across the table.
While he felt lucky to have everyone fuss over his well-being, he wasn't sure what to say. He decided being mostly honest here was good enough.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me," he said, taking Rem's hand away. "The history lecture earlier just rubbed me the wrong way. The things those people did to each other just had me feeling a little ill, that's all."
Rem and Kari looked at each other and gave acknowledging nods. Aura and Edward looked confused.
"You're way too empathetic, Remi," declared Edward, a laugh accompanying his words. "Don't let it get to you. It was people you didn't even know over a century ago. So they drove out some Wood Elves, no big deal. It's the price of war which happens all the time."
"What about my kind, you vermin?" a scathing voice spoke up from the side of the table, belonging to a woman with dark, forest green eyes. She had a tan colored toned body and cropped, auburn colored hair. Well known to Remi as being spiteful to him, this was Aisha of the Northern Grove. Behind her stood three students, likely her classmates, Remi assumed.
The first was a tall, fit looking High Elf male; his fair skin, rust-colored eyes and slender facial structure being traits of the race. He looked at them with a blank expression.
The second was a human male, short and thin almost childlike in appearance belying his age. He had short white hair and emerald green eyes that almost seemed to glow.
The third was a white tiger Beastkin race called a Tatryo, one of the many Beastkin races that live in the Southern Grove of Estes. She looked completely human except for the two soft, white and black spotted furry ears at the top of her head, amidst long, snowy white colored hair. Behind her was a furry tail in the same pattern as her ears, swaying back and forth slowly. Her body was slender, but toned, and her two gray eyes stared at the group of them, before locking eyes with Remi. A small smile crept over her face, causing him to avert his gaze as he turned to Aisha.
"Huh?" replied Edward, unsure why he was receiving hostility from this woman he never met. "We were just talking about something that came up in our History lecture today. Who are you?"
"As if you didn't know. I am Aisha, a Wood Elf from the Northern Grove. I overheard you, the way you spoke so casually about the atrocities committed on our people. As expected of this one's company," she said icily, as she turned to glare at Remi.
"Do you have a problem with Remi, Lady Aisha?" asked Aura, trying to keep things civil.
"Of course I do. He and his half-breed sister are stains on the pride of the Elvish people. This Dark Elf harlot with them is just as bad. My kind will never forget the crimes their people committed on us. We are taught from birth about the cruelty those two tribes showed us, who were only trying to live peacefully. So yes, Miss Dawne, I have a problem with him."
Aisha spat as she condemned his family for things they had no control over. The disdain Remi felt at that moment for this spiteful woman in front of him made his vision begin to go white. He started to stand up when he felt a tug on his left arm. Looking over, he saw Rem pulling him down, with a smile on her face. He sat back down, bewildered at her composure, then looked across the table and saw Kari with fury in her eyes.
"What do you mean, Lady Aisha? Sure Remi and his sister are Half-Elves, but I don't understand the hate you feel toward them. They're good people." Aura tried to smooth things over between them.
"He's not just any Half-Elf, Miss Dawne. Did you not know? That this man is a bastard of the heathen Sol Kin tribe? They're a secretive bunch, so that doesn't surprise me. This filth's eyes are the same as the men who fought with the Lunar Kin to slaughter our people. Those eyes are a trait of the males of their lineage. So, Miss Dawne, I have twice the amount of hate toward this man. If it were up to me or our tribe, he wouldn't have been allowed to live."
"Oh, shut up!" Kari yelled loudly as she stood up.
The students inside the wide cafeteria froze, all eyes turning on her and Aisha, who were in each others faces.
"How dare you condemn Remi for something he had no control over, especially when he's had to throw it all away!" Kari screamed at the woman, who stared at her with cold eyes. "I bet you, who likely have lived a life in relative safety and seclusion, have never had to fight for your right to live since you were young!"
"Kari that's enough, you're saying too much," Rem said in a calm, but stern, voice. "Don't let it get to you. This vapid xenophobe can say whatever she wants. It doesn't make her look any less of an idiot or have any less personality. If all she lives for is 'her tribe' and all she does is condemn other people for trying to live their life, she isn't worth being upset over. Look, she's making a moronic face that tells me all I need to know: that I'm 100 percent correct."
Aisha, who had been glaring at Kari, turned her scorn toward Rem who was sitting with her arm over Remi's, holding him in place. If not for that, Remi would likely have done something he would regret, so he was grateful.
"And you three, what kind of people are you that you'd regularly tie yourself to this horrible girl?" Rem continued to berate the group who interrupted their discussion and meal. "As far as I'm concerned, if you are her friends, you should be scolding her for her behavior and attitude, not standing by while she condemns innocent people for things beyond their control. Hmph."
Rem turned her head to focus on her meal and began eating slowly, while all those around stayed in shocked silence. The three students with Aisha said nothing, but continued to glare at the twins. Slowly, the cafeteria that was frozen had begun to thaw as it became noisy once again, mostly with talk of what had just transpired.
"Why you arrogant mutt," Aisha began speaking in a low, coarse tone. "I should reap your life for the way you spoke to me just now. If it weren't for this public place, I would--"
"You would do what, Wood Elf?" Rem said calmly, without looking up at her. "Have you forgotten how my brother toyed with you at the opening event? What makes you think you could possibly do anything now?"
Frustration and animosity ran rampant among Aisha and her group.
"Tch," Aisha's tongue clicked. "Prepare yourselves, Lunar Class,"
She gestured for her group to follow her as they made their way out of the cafeteria.
After they walked away, the five of them left at the table breathed easier and began eating once again.
"What an unpleasant person," Remi muttered.
"Don't let it get to you, Remi," said Kari, grabbing his hand with hers. "Like Rem said, she's just an idiot who doesn't understand a thing, especially about us."
"Of course, Brother, don't waste thoughts on that woman." Rem added, taking a bite of her meal.
Remi felt annoyed that he didn't do anything to aid in their defense of him, but this was how it always was. They protected him from others all the time. He was grateful, but felt a bit emasculated every time it happened.
"So, I didn't think Lady Aisha was that kind of woman," said Aura, quite stricken by the event. "She's part of the Netball Club, and always seemed to get along well with everyone. This was a complete surprise to me. Remi, you didn't do anything to her did you?"
Remi shook his head.
"Even during the opening day event, she had been giving me glares the entire time and spoke out to against my opinion when someone asked for my advice before their fight. Then again, after we fought, she had looked at me with even greater disdain, refusing my aid. I didn't do anything to warrant it, as far as I know. She just seems to hate me for being me. Not that that is anything new," Remi said with a frown.
Rem rubbed his back, trying to cheer him up, then hugged around his waist.
"It's okay, Brother. Kari and I know."
Kari nodded, then looked at him, eyes filled with concern.
"The same goes for me just earlier this week, right Remi?" she asked. "Don't worry about it."
"Hey what was she talking about with regards to you being Sol Kin, Remi? Is that maybe who your father was? An Elf from the Sol Kin tribe? You said you had no idea, so this could be a clue!" Aura said, as if it were a happy revelation.
Shaking his head, Remi just gave a wry smile.
"It's okay, Aura, I, we, have no interest or intention in finding out who our father is. Others have made the Sol Kin connection in the past and it has caused a lot of grief for us, to say the least. We want nothing to do with any of that."
Edward coughed, then spoke to clear the atmosphere.
"So, she said for Lunar Class to prepare themselves. Does that mean...?"
"Probably, right?" Kari answered, happy to change the topic. "A Class Challenge."
2
Mmm, is this as far as we get? I'm quite interested to learn who all these characters are.