Vorina Elewyn-Asher was most decidedly unamused. Well, perhaps a touch more than just unamused. Fuming, might be a more accurate description of her mental state.

Soft sunlight filtering through one of her classroom’s windows landed upon her visage, highlighting the silken strands of lavender-violet hair brushing past her ears and coming to a stop a little before her chin. Her powder blue eyes were lost in thought, her brows furrowed in consternation and her expression one of uncertainty as she made sense of the words spilling out of her teacher’s mouth.

Even though her mother had informed her a day in advance, Vorina still found herself equally as flummoxed as she would if the announcement had come entirely by surprise to her.

An energetic buzz spread through the class as the tedium of Elementary Herbology I was overshadowed by word of not one like the usual, but two new students joining their class. Their teacher, Prithiva Teri-Magstra, a Tier 1 Earth Mage, wore a wry smile upon her face, having known to largely expect this reaction. Teaching a bunch of restless eight year olds how to identify the difference between benign and poisonous flora when all they wanted to learn about was the mechanics of lobbing a ball of flame around wasn’t exactly the most rewarding of tasks.

Nevertheless, it was necessary and Prithiva was not cut out for a life of adventure. Both those factors synergized well enough and the next thing she knew, she was responsible for a class thirty one strong.

Having taken a seat in the front row, Vorina Elewyn-Asher was unmoved by the spark of excitement that had gripped her classmates as they engaged in impassioned discussion. Some wondered which part of the Veilands the newcomers would be hailing from. Others were more interested in who their parents might be, whether they were the intimidating Aura Masters or Noble Mages. Or perhaps Alchemists, Healers or even Artificers, one of the many non-combat professions that were greatly valued in any Dungeon Town.

In Vorina’s eyes, two newcomers were hardly something to raise a fuss about. Though she would never say it out loud, she looked down upon her classmates. That was, of course, nothing to be ashamed of— the strong had the right to look down upon the weak— that was one of the many precepts her parents had taught her. And as the daughter of Asher, a Peak Tier 2 Wind Mage and Elewyn, a Tier 2 Ice Mage that stands at the border of Tier 3, she would most naturally become a force to be reckoned with once she unlocked her Inner Spark.

Her mother and father were said to synergize so well with each other in combat that they were the rare few in the borderlands that were acknowledged as capable of challenging a Mage or Aura Master with strength at the third tier— an accomplishment that Vorina took great pride in.

It was also the reason why Vorina was fawned over by her classmates. Why she always made sure that her dress was prim and proper instead of worn and wrinkled, like a child’s dress was expected to be. Why she cared about her appearance and presentation at an age where children cared about learning new things and discovering new facets of the world.

She liked being in the spotlight— that was the conclusion Vorina had come to.

She liked capturing the attention of everyone around her. She wanted to be noticed— admired— to become the object of other’s envy.

That was her right as the child of the two most powerful adventurers currently present in Nereus Aquillion, was it not?

Except, the two newcomers were no ordinary newcomers.

The Town’s overseer, who, for some reason never stepped into the Dungeon Town herself… The newcomers were her children, who had been sheltered outside and had yet to experience Nereus Aquillion for themselves.

The Town’s overseer was of Clan Enferi.

That meant that the children, too, belonged to Clan Enferi.

Her mother had told her as much.

Her parents were famous, yes. Their accomplishments led them to be initiated into the famed Magic Circle, Veritas— meaning that Vorina or her family would never have to worry about money or lacking resources ever again.

But compared to Clan Enferi… they were little more than a dried out blade of grass in the vast savanna.

It wasn’t just her spotlight that was about to be stolen.

In a reversal of fate, it was her mother herself, who had imprinted the importance of being proud and unyielding into her very soul who… had told her to befriend the Enferi siblings. They would be new in an unfamiliar environment and mother seemed to be certain that the Town Overseer would not be accompanying them.

It was Vorina that was expected to do the fawning this time around.

It was humiliating. It was unfair. It weighed down on her pride.

Yet…

It was also the first mission that her Mother had given her.

Vorina knew herself to be more intelligent than her peers. It was not hubris that had led her to that conclusion, but knowledge. Though her parents might have come from humble beginnings, their bloodline was likely far removed from ordinary Mages and Aura Masters considering the abrupt and meteoric nature of their rise amongst the ranks; even if the Clans they belonged to were likely defunct or the relics of a bygone era.

Fourteen was the universally acknowledged age where a child was considered to reach mana saturation; the natural limit of mana that the body could latently draw from the atmosphere, an ongoing process that reinforced the physical body and enhanced it’s adaptability to the rigorous demands regularly channeling mana exacted from the future Mage or Aura Master.

Though Vorina’s parents liked to claim that they had shifted residence to Nereus Aquillion, a Dungeon primarily formed of Wind and Water Mana, to aid in her father’s advancement to Tier 3, she was perceptive enough to understand that it was far likelier that they had relocated in search of a safe place to raise their child, at least until she was capable of igniting her Inner Spark and wielding Mana like a true Mage would.

Vorina did not know if she was necessarily smarter than her classmates. But she was sure that Mana gravitated to her far easier than most, the pull she latently exerted on the world far more vigorous than the norm. For Vorina remembered instances and incidences that the mind of a child would not normally encode, mundane moments and small subtleties that hinted at greater truths that an eight-year-old mind would not normally pick up on—such as the reason why her parents had relocated to Nereus Aquillion.

The Mana enhanced her memory, enabling her to easily keep up with Miss Prithiva’s lessons with ease— memorizing the general shape of common plants and herbs that were found in the immediate vicinity of the Dungeon Town along with the traits generally associated with poisonous botanicals allowed her to effortlessly answer any questions thrown her way.

Most days, Vorina was grateful for the blessing the world had offered her, allowing her to perceive the true nature of the world far easier than most, at least amongst her peers.

Some days, however, Vorina found herself wondering how life would have been if she was just a smidgen less perceptive. If she didn’t understand how dangerous the Vortera Veilands was, how the Magic Circle, Veritas was no place to raise a child and how important allies that could help you weather the storm were if one wished to survive in the chaotic landscape.

Emotionally, she was but a child and the frustration she felt at the possibility of her limelight being stolen away was very real. Yet at the same time, Vorina saw too much of the blood-stained real world to simply turn a blind eye to it. She was destined to become a Mage, one who exerted control over Nature’s elements. And this was but a fraction of what would be required of her in the future.

She would not fail the mission bestowed upon her.

Vorina was forcibly extricated from the gloomy vortex of thoughts that had engulfed her as two sharp knocks sounded out in quick succession. Miss Prithiva’s gaze shifted to the classroom door, for she had been expecting the visitors.