When the day of departure came, the three girls met before the castle of the 1st branch. On the grassy field, Koadriana was moaning happily, stretching, wearing nothing but a way too short hotpants and a lousy t-shirt with holes in it. On the other hand, Lia was dressed up in a frilly white skirt and a similarly designed cream-colored blouse. She was tucking her loose hair behind her ear while watching Koadriana's tanned body with her differently colored eyes. She was trying to decide if the same clothes would look good on her or not as deep inside, Lia did look up at the free-spirited cousin of hers.

Aurora was the only one who wore the Academy's issued uniform. It consisted of a white school shirt and a black vest over it with golden trims. On her legs, she wore black tights and a plain, black pleated knee-length skirt. She was fixing her tie with one hand, holding her coat with the other. Her uniform also had decorations on her shoulders, prompting a golden stripe, signaling that she was a first-year student. After getting into the Academy, everyone would have to dress like her and receive a differently colored emblem on their vest, signaling the element they chose to pursue. Behind them, Reyra and Kawu stood silently, watching their daughter with a smile, talking via voice transmissions. 

"I remember the first time I went out," Reyra said. "Instead of the academy, I was joining an adventurer group~."

"This is better," Kawu replied immediately. "I wouldn't want to put her in that kind of danger!"

"Well… I did meet you~" She smiled, looking up at him. "Maybe she also brings home a husband after the four years of learning?"

"That would be good." Kawu nodded. "I hope she finds a strong one!"

"Find one as caring as you, and I am going to be happy~" Reyra chuckled happily, turning her eyes toward Aurora. "Maybe she will find one too?"

"Doubt it." Kawu shook his head. "But that would be a pleasant surprise! Sending her… are you expecting trouble? From…”

"No!" Reyra answered immediately with a strong voice, reprimanding her husband. "Parthorn may be a hard-ass and aiming at my spot, but he is family. He wouldn't do anything that would hurt her."

"Isn't he doing this, expecting that Lia would fail and bring shame to us?"

"Haaah… I know how it was in your family, Kawu, but here, we are not like that!" Reyra sighed, looking into his eyes with a kind gaze. "Parthorn really just wanted to discipline her before she took up a bigger role in the family. One way or another, she is going to represent us when traveling the world. She needs to do that part well! Same with his granddaughter, or why would he risk sending her to the Academy? She is a bigger troublemaker than our child! No, there is no underlying ploy here, my dear papa bear! He truly wants them to mature so they can represent the House of Amarin, anytime, anywhere."

"Yet your two branches are bickering left and right every time… butting heads…." He mumbled, still not used to it, yet he had been living here for decades. Especially because where he grew up, these kinds of family rivalries were bloody and dangerous. In his homeland, might was right, and the weak were crushed by their own kin.

"That is that, and this is this! Believe me, if Lia were hurt, he would be amongst the first to retaliate with force. Same with me. If Koa gets into trouble, I will stand up for her."

"Then…"

"I am sending Aurora because people's ambitions and minds are not something you can predict for sure. Being who we are, there are always groups that aim at us. For one reason or more. Revenge? Jealousy? Fame? Madness? Whatever the reason, there will always be people to challenge us." Reyra said with a slight but wild smirk on her face. "I was the target of assassinations multiple times while growing up. Nobody who attempted it lives today. Neither do their families. Sooner or later, Lia needs to experience the world. A sheltered life is something that we can't afford to provide for our kin." She murmured, watching her daughters' figures. "Our duty is something we can not ignore. Not as long as we breath."

As she said that, from a distance, a slick, flying ship was closing in on the castle's grounds. It was shining in a silver light, and a greenish hue surrounded the bottom of it as it flew forward. It was just the same as any other ship sailing the ocean, only this one did so in the air, missing any kind of sails, only having the body of a caravel. It was made of silver, painted with gold trims and edges, sparkling in the sun's rays, circling a few times before landing on the clearing. As it was coming down, it produced a low, deep hum, shaking their stomachs and going silent only after landing. A ramp descended from the top as Parthorn walked down, nodding towards Reyra.

"I am happy to see everyone is ready, and nobody is late." He said, directing it mainly toward his granddaughter. 

"Uncle, can I try driving the Pearl?" Lia asked, raising her hand with a grin. It was not the first time she had seen or ridden the ship, and this was not the first time asking it.

"No." His answer came swiftly, the same as always.

"Tsk! Cheapskate…" Lia mumbled, drawing a chuckle from Koadriana and a slap on the back of her head from Reyra, who walked forward in the meantime. "Owie!" She moaned as her head bobbed back and forth. 

"I'll make sure we travel safely," Parthorn said, and Reyra just smiled, nodding while Kawu was loading his daughters' baggage onto the Pearl. Aurora quickly came forward, helping her while Koadriana just yawned, walking up the ramp as her stuff was already on it.

"Lia." Reyra turned towards her excited daughter.

"Mhm? I'll be good~" She grinned in answer.

"I hope so!" She laughed, ruffling up her hair. "What I wanted to say is that this will be the first time when you can't hide behind Kawu or me! If you land yourself in some trouble, your name of Amarin will not be a boon but a hindrance! People will either expect more from you than from anyone else or are going to try and use you! You have to be sharp!"

"Oh…" She blinked her mismatched eyes, a bit surprised at her serious tone. "I will be… cautious, mom! And… it is just four years! It will be quick, and I am going to tell you everything when I'm back! It is going to be so much fun!" She clapped, already regaining her happy-go-lucky attitude. 

"I am sure of that~" Reyra laughed, hugging her daughter closely, rubbing her back as she returned it with love, kissing her mother's cheek. 

"Do I get a hug too?" Kawu asked, coming back down.

"Nyahahaha!" Lia grinned, jumping up at him, rubbing her head against her father's face, and showering him with kisses before letting go. "I'll call you when we arrive!" She showed a V-sign, rushing up to the ship, excited beyond belief for her first, real adventure. 

"She reminds me of someone," Parthorn said, standing next to Reyra, who by now had moist eyes.

"So…?" She said, gulping loudly, holding back her tears.

"Nothing." He said, walking past her and going up the ramp. "I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic. Those years were filled with excitement for me too."

"Heh!" Reyra chuckled, watching the ship quickly rise to the air as she waved to her daughter while they left. 

"It is not the first time one of our kids left the security of our home~" Kawu chuckled, rubbing Reyra's head. 

"I know!" She moaned, wiping her eyes, "Hmf! I can't help it, okay!"

"It's not like you abandoned her! She just goes to school for four years!" Her husband laughed, picking her up and letting her sit on his shoulder.

"And after school, she is going to be an adult already! Haaahh… Now I really want another kid…." Reyra whispered it into her husband's ear, who stumbled a little, but his grin grew wider.

"Again?" He asked, licking his lips. "Well… Lia was conceived when Solren left for the 4th…."

"Kaaawuuuuu~" Reyra moaned, rubbing against him. "I want oneeeee! Snuggling up to a baby while she or he is little is the best! Hauuuh! Let's try for it, pleeeeease~ Pretty pleeasseeee~."

"Roger! Leave it to me!" Kawu replied, hastening his steps, hurrying towards the castle, followed by Reyra's laugh.

…

….

…..

"She is not really bothered by it, huh?" Koadriana chuckled, leaning against the Pearl's white railing. She was watching Lia being her usual energetic self.

The moment they were above the clouds, she immediately bounced towards Parthorn, asking him if she could go and play, holding a long, metallic board. He looked at her, seeing Reyra in Lia for a moment before nodding with a sigh. She just laughed happily, rushing towards the back of the ship and jumping off the boat without hesitation. She stood on the board, slipping her fair feet into the straps on it while in mid-air, and with a wave of her hand, a red, energy rope flew out from her palm, tying around the ship's railing. Since then, she has been surfing atop the clouds, doing flips and jumps, and enjoying herself to the fullest. Especially when whale-sized birds flew close by or skyfishes jumped around her, flapping their scaly wings.

"It's not like you are going away forever," Parthorn answered. Plus, she is Reyra's kid; when Reyra was her age, she was already touring the continent. Reyra is the family's 2nd youngest member to reach the rank of Magi Adepti by the age of 8."

"Uuuu…" Koadriana twitched her eyebrows, looking a bit lost as her grandfather immediately caught onto her expression.

"Don't tell me you don't know…." He grumbled while Aurora just waved her hand, writing into the air.

"Not everyone remembers the old titles. Most people use the modern naming conventions in the outside world. Initiate, Mage, Adept, and Archmage. It is much easier to remember those."

"Which is incorrect!" Parthorn replied with a stern and commanding tone. "Mage, Warlock, Witch, whatever they call themselves is an insult to the real titles! True wielders of power still use the ranking system of old! Same with the school you are going to attend!" He reprimanded not just Koadriana but Aurora too. "Its ranks are acknowledged by nature itself! You can't simplify it, no matter how tempting it seems! You are not some wandering smucks! Come on, list them for me!"

"I know, I know!" Came the laugh of Lia, who was listening in from afar. Pulling on her energy rope, she flung herself onboard the Pearl, wiping off the sweat from her forehead, replying with a grin, "Mom always tested me!

First level: Magi Initiati

Second level: Magi Discipli

Third level: Magi

They are representatives of the first level of magic! Nowadays, people already call them mages! But the first two are nothing; really, anyone can reach those levels!" She grinned, explaining to Parthorn with a proud face. "Reaching the third level is what makes a true mage! Then comes the following:

Fourth level: Magi Adepti

Fifth level: Magi Speciali

Sixth level: Magi Extremi

Hehe! Mom gained the title of Extremi when she was 35! She was the youngest in the family to ever do so!"

"Yeah." Parthorn nodded, smiling a little as his official title was also Extremi. Namely, Extremi of Ice. "Your mother made the family proud that day."

"Teehee~" Lia giggled, sticking out her tongue. "But since then, mother already rose two levels! The second trio is what the world knows as adept mages! After that comes the archmage, but there are three phases in reality!" She continued the explanation, and it was evident she was frequently lectured about it. "Everyone in this stage is an expert of the Realm!

Seventh level: Magi Supri 

Eight level: Magi Legendri

Ninth level: Magi Ascendri

The 'Three Ri-hfhf!" She grabbed at her tongue as she managed to bite it. "Ouchie! I hate that word! Hauh…."

"Ahaha~" Parthorn laughed, watching her, but he nodded with an approving look in his eyes. "Good, at least one of you is not afraid of reading books! Being at any rank of Three Ri is a celebration in itself. When Reyra reached the rank of Supri, her strength alone propelled our House into the rank of the top three Houses. Reaching the status of Legendri… Our family is now a contender to be the first of the Houses." He said proudly, standing straight behind the wheel of the Pearl. Of course, before Reyra, he would never say this, nor would he display such a proud look.

"What about Ascendri?" Aurora asked, writing in the air. 

"Erias Amarin. Warlock of Darkness, Magi of Light. He was the last Ascendri in our ranks. None since then managed to reach the same height."

"Why is that?" Koadriana asked, receiving a stare from her grandfather, while Lia just chuckled, answering her.

"Tribulation. The last rank requires to survive nature's test!" She said, pointing towards the sky. "That is why Uncle Parthorn said it is a system recognized by nature! Every three batches have their tribulations, but the last is the most dangerous!" As she explained, Parthorn nodded with a smile, letting her play the role of the little teacher. "The first tribulation comes in the form of flames. It attacks the body, like having a heavy fever! Mom already prepared me on how to go through it!"

"Very few ever died from it," Parthorn added. "Even untrained individuals can go through it as it is nothing but your body opening up for the mana of the world. Your nine energy points from then on are yours to control!"

"I hope I won't suffer like my dad…." Koadriana murmured, not wanting to experience it at all as her father had such a fever for three days straight that one could boil an egg over his head. 

"I am ready for it whenever it comes," Aurora added as both girls were at the Magi level. When breaking through to the next trio of ranks, they would experience their first tribulation. Listening to them, Lia was slowly pouting as she was the only Discipli here. 

"The second tribulation," Lia continued, scratching her throat, not wanting to stand out as the only one who was not a Magi yet, "Is a tribulation of your mastered elements! It goes rampaging around you, and you must reign them in, or you will be destroyed!" She said proudly as she had already listened to her mother's explanation of her own tribulation when reaching the Supri level. "The last…" She murmured, looking at Parthorn, who smiled at her.

"It comes not at the end of the Ascendri level. It is the start of it. Nature bombards you with three red lightning bolts. Surviving it, you became someone who could travel anywhere in the Realm and even beyond it."

"Beyond it?" The three asked, raising their eyebrows, but Parthorn just smiled.

"There are legends that there are worlds above ours. Of course, I can't say anything about it as I am not in the levels of Ri. When I asked Reyra, she remained silent about it. She said she couldn't explain it. You have to feel it for yourself… maybe she wanted to motivate me. Hah, you girls should not look farther than your eyes can truly see! Focus on your current strengths and work on your weaknesses! That is why these four years will be a great experience for you!"

"When I get back, I will be already a Ri!" Lia exclaimed, showing V signs with her tiny fingers, making Parthorn laugh loudly. 

"If you manage to do that, girl, your line will remain the 1st branch for the next millennia!" 

"Fufufu!" She huffed and puffed, placing her hands on her hips. "You just wait, Uncle!"