House of Amarin

Lia was back in their dorm room, sitting alone on her bed. Koa and Aurora were still out as the clock barely passed by noon. She was reading through one of her books, the Basics of Potion Brewing. Even though she would not start exploring it in depth, she still wanted to have a basic understanding for two reasons. That way, if she ever started an adventure group like her mother did, she could rely on some extra support out in the wild. Plus, she would be less likely to be swindled by another. The old book described the steps for choosing a good cauldron for different types of potions. Their material was already critical, depending on whether the alchemist wanted to create a healing solution or something that replenished mana. Not to mention the plethora of other options.

"Huh… mom always used her own mana forming a cauldron…." Lia murmured, flipping the yellowed pages and reading further.

The book went into detail about making basic potions, not just listing the ingredients or the heat of the fire that has to be used, but it also had descriptions of recipes, substitute materials, and examples of emergency concoctions easily craftable in the wild.

"This will come in handy!" Lia licked her lips, kneeling on the bed, as even if the formulas looked complex and challenging to learn, she was not complaining. Now she truly believed Lorin that a successful alchemist had to spend his life studying and practicing his craft.

After she flipped through the rest, ignoring the more unique brews in its second half, she excitedly picked up the other two books she had bought. The one called Acting Cool was the first to land before her; She hurriedly opened it up and started to read with excitement. It had a weird title, which is why she chose it from the inventory in the first place. Yet only after reading the first pages she had an odd look on her face. It was not a thick book; it had no author quoted nor a date when it was written. She quickly flipped through it, reading into the different chapters before closing, letting out a long and defeated sigh.

"This isn't what I thought it would be…." She moaned, knowing she had just wasted CP on it. It was a handbook on how to act mysterious before girls, to pique their interest without talking to them. It detailed many scenarios and 'roles' on how to play a cold persona and grab the attention of others with 'coolness.' "Uuuu!" Lia pursed her lips, wanting to throw it out, but she could only blame herself. Its title was not lying at all. "I need to hide this; if Koa finds it, she will tease me until the end of school!" She patted her face, quickly putting it back in her small bag, deciding to hide in plain sight for now. "I hope the third won't be similar!"

Her third and thickest book had a faded, old cover made out of some kind of bestial leather. Once, it had to be crimson in color, while the title was written on it with deep blue ink. It was still readable, but it had already lost its old luster.

"Fire of Noon, Ice of Midnight," Lia whispered, opening it and the dry, yellowed paper gave out a bit of crunching sound as she did so. "Oh… this… is not going to be easy." Lia blinked her eyes rapidly as the book was written in an older version of the common tongue. Reading it was not impossible, but she had to stop and think multiple times to understand what it wanted to convey.

Soon, she was laid back on her bed, nestled between her pillows, legs pulled up, resting the thick book against them as she read it. Back home, she was taught the old language, the same that her ancestor, Erias, also spoke and wrote in. They had multiple handwritten codexes straight from his pen, so she was not as stumped by it as others would be. It became quickly evident to her that the book was separated into two halves, readable from both sides. The one she started with explained the element of fire. It had tales of old, from the first who managed to harness its power to those who could wield it via magic. Flipping the book over, she could read about ice similarly, how it originated from water and evolved further when the first mages appeared. As she went through the pages, nearing the book's middle point, more and more paragraphs spoke about how hot and cold, ice and fire, flames and water were the antitheses to each other yet also not.

“This gets… harder to understand…” She groaned, feeling a slight headache creeping in as the book became more and more philosophical, speaking about concepts she had no insight into. It told her about what energy sustains the eight elements and about a different plane of existence, a world above the world called the Cosmos, and how everything must be in harmony to work. It was simply mentioning things she had no understanding of. Finally, flipping the pages straight to the middle, there was a magic circle drawn into the two pages, each half occupying one with a handwritten quote in the middle:

"Twelve hours of Fire, Twelve hours of Ice, yet the day is only One. When Fire burns, Coldness recedes. When Coldness creeps in, the Warmth weakens. The Scale is balanced. Warmth must be found in the Coldness. The Flame brings forth Chill."

Reading it aloud, Lia shivered a little, looking at it, before closing the book, stretching, and rubbing her head.

"This booooook is haaaaaaaard!" She moaned, ruffling her blonde hair. "And my brain hurts reading it!"

"Then stop reading it!" Koa's voice interrupted her, which made Lia jump on her bed, yelping out in a cute voice.

"K-koa? When did you come back?" She asked, her heart beating rapidly from the sudden scare.

"Half an hour ago! You were so into that book that you did not even hear me coming in or speaking to you!" She laughed, lying on her bed, wearing only a towel while eating an apple. Looking at her still-wet hair, she just had to get out of the shower. "I thought it was that fascinating that it enchanted our little princess, but if not… why the hell do you read it? I thought it was some kind of erotic novel!"

"Eh?! No! Eh... It is fascinating, but it is hard! It is written in the old tongue!" She said, a bit flustered.

"Eh… I hated learning that!" Koa grimaced as she bit into the apple, munching on it loudly, "It was hard enough to learn it! I don't get it; why do we need it? All of our old tomes and books are translated into the modern tongue!"

"Mom always said it is best to be able to read the original! Translations can carry mistakes with them!"

"I doubt our previous family heads would make those kinds of mistakes… but who cares?! Listen!" She switched topics as Lia put away the books back into her backpack, leaving them next to her bed. "I found a fancy complex; it has multiple pools! Turns out they even host competitions and whatnot, so I signed up for one! It will be hosted by the school teachers, and the winner gets a free entry into the Tower of Water!"

"Really?" Lia's eyes lit up suddenly, and before she could say anything, Koa continued.

"Ahaha, I knew you would be interested! When I win, I'll let you go into the tower in my stead!"

"First, you have to win," Aurora added as she just arrived, coming in, writing in the air, hearing their conversation. "I think there will be people joining in from all classes!"

"I know!" Koa nodded, filled with confidence, "There are going to be multiple things to compete in! I signed up for water manipulation!"

"Hmmm…" Aurora and Lia looked at her, tilting their head before nodding. "You do have a chance to win then." Aurora wrote as it was undeniable she had an excellent talent for commanding the element of water.

Nobody denied in the family that she had the potential to reach a high level with it. It was also the case why Parthorn and Tamuas felt a headache whenever she rebelled against their wishes. In their eyes, she was wasting her potential that could rival the children of Reyra.

"What about you? You had a good day?" Lia asked, looking at Aurora, who smiled and nodded before writing it out.

"There are missions on the island for hunting and fighting beasts! The forest and mountainside are curated and maintained by people from Nerifit."

"Oh?" Koa and Lia looked at her as Nerifit was another of the Six Houses. They were a family of Dragons.

There are ancient tales and proof that, at one time, many species of dragons lived in the Realm of Meriath, but their low birthrate slowly killed them off. The House of Nerifit originates its bloodline from those mythical beasts. All descendants of the House of Nerifit possess a clear, distinguished trait of a dragon, be it scales, horns, lizard-like eyes, or physical prowess. To this day, their House is one that keeps itself close to nature and tends to the Realm's magical beasts. It was not accidental that their family was also sending helpers to the Academy, regulating and keeping the ecosystem on this floating system stable.

"I already signed us up for a mission!" She added.

"Wait!" Koa sat up, letting the towel fall onto her lap. "What is this talk?! Us?! I did not remember giving the nod to it!"

"Adventure! Yeeey!" Lia laughed, clapping.

"Relax, I settled the date, so we can do it on Sunday! No other events should happen then!"

"Even worse!" Koa groaned.

"What is it? What will it be?!" Lia asked, taking a completely different approach than Koa.

"There was a notice in the Mission Hall that the forests at the northern part of the Academy are overrun by spiders. They are asking students to go and burn up some nests and cut back on their numbers."

"NO!" Screamed not just Koa but also Lia after reading it. The latter quickly jumped over Koadriana's bed, hiding behind her. "Nonononononono!" She repeated, whining like a broken kettle.

"TOTALLY agree! Hell no! No way! A-a! Fuck that!" Koa nodded repeatedly. "Go if you want; leave us out of that!"

"No can do!" Aurora shrugged, ignoring the two, aiming at their bathroom. "I already signed the contract with your names on it. If you refuse, all three of us get a strike until the end of the year. We just need to go and destroy the nest assigned to us on Sunday! We'll be back before sundown!" She entered the bathroom, leaving her words to float in the air.

"FUCK YOU!" Koa screamed, and she was not alone because Lia uttered the exact words in complete sync with her cousin for the first time in her life.

…
….
……

Nothing could lighten the mood of Koa and Lia after the news, not even that it was Aurora who, in the end, paid their visit to the cafe that Lia had chosen previously. As the weekend was getting closer, they were getting more and more irritated, and when Friday came, both of them had visible circles around their eyes. They dreamed about spiders coming for them in their sleep, crawling out from under their beds. Lia even ended up in Koa's bed, nestled between her breasts, finding solace in her embrace, only able to fall asleep with her.

"Uuu…." Lia and Koa moaned simultaneously, holding a can of coffee between their fingers, while Aurora just rolled her eyes, sending a message to the two.

"Crybabies. What? You will run when monsters come for you in the outside world?"

"I'd rather fight the Undead than spiders…." Lia complained with a tired voice.

"You wouldn't," Aurora added, her gaze severe and solemn. "Trust me."

Koadriana wanted to ask something, but then their teacher, Dayen, arrived with two men in tow. They were tall, armored warriors, both of them clearly from a bull-like beast folk tribe. They reached almost 3 meters in height, their bodies were bulky, and their heads sprouted sharp, lightly curved horns. Their steps were like iron bells, waking up everyone instantly, especially because they carried a weird, 2-meter tall, and a meter-wide container. It was surrounded by a robust, white energy shield, obstructing everyone's view.

"What is going on?" Lia whispered, asking what everyone was thinking.

"Students!" Dayen clapped, her gentle voice echoing next to everyone's ears. While she spoke, the two warriors with chiseled faces placed down the container on the podium, guarding it, their armored hands glowing in pure, white light. "I want to warn you all to be ready! Please, make sure you are mentally prepared!"

"Huh?" Koa flinched, looking around, but everyone was just as confused.

"Today's lesson is going to be about the Undead! Our world's most dangerous creature and the enemy of all!"

Her words quickly sobered up many students' faces while Lia curiously leaned forward, her mismatched eyes focused on the weird container as they were just talking about them.

"Most of you never met one before. They are unnatural beings, defying the law and order of our Realm!" Dayen continued, walking to the sides. "They have a bizarre and nefarious aura that can paralyze ordinary people! When meeting one in the outside world, you have to be ready… so I always introduce my students to them early. Even if some of you are not ready…." She said, her voice lamenting about some dark memories that resurfaced in her mind. She just waved to the guards, who nodded, clapping in sync, and the light barrier flickered, turning off sequentially. As soon as it was gone, a strange, unnatural aura rushed forward, like a sick wind, sweeping through the rows of the auditorium.

"Ugh!" Lia grabbed at her nose, but it was useless. It was not her sense of smell that got a whiff of it; it was her soul.

"It is no use." Aurora wrote, looking on calmly. "The stench comes from their soulless existence."

"Soulless?" Koa asked, trying to wave it away without success.

"Not literally." Aurora added, "But they are no longer… living. This feeling comes from them because this is a weak one… Solren told me that those that can speak, think and act according to their plans… can hide it."

"I feel sick…." Lia groaned, breathing much more heavily than before and starting to sweat. What she felt coming from the sealed box was frightening her.

The guards stood ready, only watching the now completely visible metal container as it opened up by itself. Inside of it, strapped down, stood a young, human male. Maybe 14 or 15 years old. He was around 170 centimeters tall; his short, black hair was messy, and his eyes were glowing in an unnatural, greenish color. His skin was surprisingly smooth but also ghostly white. He was not rotting, and his skin was not showing any kind of degradation. He was like a perfect porcelain doll… He could be considered an otherworldly beauty. Under the straps, he was naked, but nobody found it to be some kind of perverted prank. Those girls who never saw a naked man's body forgot to react to it, and the boys failed to make any jokes at that moment.

Every student, be it human or beast folk, was fighting their own instinct to stand up and run. Whoever the Undead's gaze landed on, those kids felt sick to their stomachs. They felt their mana fluctuating by itself, showing signs of going berserk, escaping their subconscious's control. It could easily backfire if they tried to cast magic in that state. The creature was not loud, wasn't making groans or painful moans; it stood there, strapped in silently. Sometimes it tried to move, but the magically reinforced straps kept him in place. On the other hand, his eyes never stopped moving, watching the kids, measuring them. He acted like a predator, looking for prey until his eyes suddenly snapped upwards, focusing straight on Lia, Koadriana, and Aurora. When it happened, it no longer looked away, did not blink his eyes, just watched them… After examining the three, he settled directly on Lia. His actions caught the attention of Dayen's, waving her hand, and the warriors immediately started to close the container and reactivate the protective formation, sealing him away.

“A… Au… Aur… Koa…” Lia whispered, sounding like a whimper, trembling in place, and when the two looked at her, they could see the huge stain on her skirt and hear something dripping from her seat to the floor. Lia's eyes were filled with tears, her lips were trembling, and she looked terrified, turning almost as pale as the Undead was.

"Sssh…" Koadriana immediately hugged her, but she was also trembling a little. As soon as the Undead focused on them, she felt like looking into the eyes of a terrible monster that had no compassion nor love for anything… that thing only wanted one thing… to devour them.

"It's okay…." Aurora wrote, getting out a handkerchief and going to her knees to wipe up the stains from Lia's legs. "I had a similar reaction at first…."

"Students…" Dayen spoke up, her voice solemn, reaching everyone's ears. It was not just Lia who was on the verge of crying… or soiling herself, but many others too. "Never forget what you experienced today. Or you are going to die and become one of them." She looked over them slowly. "We will end it here today… go… reflect on what you experienced." She murmured, leaving the auditorium with the guards in tow, carrying away the Undead.