House of Amarin

"How's your hand?" Lauron asked, looking at Simbad, who was standing atop the Tower of Light, in his master's study.

"All good." He answered, rotating his wrists, moving his fingers, and checking the fluidity of his hand's motions. "Your healing powers are unmatched, Master."

"I would say you are flattering me!" Lauron laughed, grinning, "But you are right. I am the best healer in my family! Mom is more of a warrior, and so are my brothers. I am the only one who went for the support role~!"

"..." Simbad silently listened, watching him before nodding, "If I could choose again, I may follow your path. But it is too late to switch now. I am too focused on being a soldier."

"Don't mind that!" Lauron shook his head, patting his shoulders, "For now, rest a few days and avoid straining your energy channels. My sister's magic has some unforeseen effects that I already reported to Mother."

"Mhm… it is more than simple freezing spells. Or at least more potent than anything I came across before."

"It is." Lauron agreed, "Your energy channels were frozen when you returned. I had to shatter and rebuild them, so don't push them too hard for a few days! Let your body recuperate! The only other people who I know that can freeze mana itself are all top mages of House Berison."

"And Lady Lia is only a Magi," Simbad added, his voice sounding really proud.

"Not anymore." Lauron chuckled, "I received a message from her, she advanced. Also, she is onto us, I think. She asked me if you wanted to join the Misfits or not."

"Me?" He asked back, showing surprise, "I thought they hated me now."

"Some. But my sister has a sharp nose! I think she is probing us with her question. I told her I would relay her message... So?"

"It is an honor to be invited, but I must say no." He answered after a brief thought. "I am soon to graduate."

"I will tell her." Lauron nodded, watching Simbad, who he had known about since coming to the Academy.

Simbad's grandfather was part of Reyra's adventurer group back in the day. He was their healer and primary support and died at the Battle of Mount Haleghern. He perished while protecting his teammates from the Undead. He was not the only one lost in that battle, and every one of Reyra's friends was honored by being inducted into the Amarins' Hall of Heroes, their name eternalized amongst many others from the family.

When Simbad showed talent, his father sent a letter to Reyra, and with the resources from the Amarins, Simbad's talent was let to bloom early. He showed great affinity towards the element of light, so much so he was admitted to the Academy as a kid, brought here when he was only 12. Besides the Headmaster and Lauron, few knew he was related to the Amarins, ensuring he wasn't getting any special treatment. Not counting Lauron's.

"Solren sent word." Lauron continued after a brief silence, "He is expecting you, and hearing what you did, he is happy that you took a load off his shoulders!"

"I did what, Master?" Simbad asked, confused.

"The girls, after graduation, are to be sent under his care. They are going to spend a year as soldiers in our 4th branch. Now Solren won't have to think how to hammer caution into our sister's head, teaching her that it is not a game!" He patted his back.

"It was Lady Reyra's idea," Simbad said, not understanding why the high praise; he followed orders.

"Ideas are only as good as their executions! Come! I have a lesson to host; you can help me with miscellaneous things while you recover!"

"Master, is it a group of girls… again?"

"No!" Lauron rolled his eyes, walking out of his room, "It is only two girls!"

…
….
……

"I am surprised." Echoed Lucian's voice on the library's fifth floor. He was watching Lia with his ruby-like eyes, his mouth slightly agape. "You recited the whole ten pages without an error!"

"I had enough time to read it from back to back," Lia answered, sitting behind a stack of books while on the outside, a blizzard raged on, making the windows rattle in the night's darkness.

"I thought I would have to push you extra hard, missing a lesson because of your injury and subsequent advancement, but I will be honest… you truly surprised me here!"

"I am not a bad student…." She murmured, pursing her lips. "I can put in the work if I have to..."

"I would argue with that, but I will let it slip!" He chuckled, closing a thick codex in his hands and leaning against the broad table they had been sitting at for the past four hours. "Now that you are at an adequate level of strength, I am going to give you a task."

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows, sitting up with attention.

"You are to travel to the north; I will mark it on your map. Your task will be collecting four unique herbs; they all grew in the black forest and only bloom in the winter." He explained, presenting her with four images. They all looked like lilies, only with differently colored petals; white, blue, turquoise, and yellow. "These are simply called the Winter Lilies of Old."

"Never heard of them," Lia commented, memorizing the images.

"Even if you were an alchemist, I think you would be in the dark. Their name alone is telling, you know! These flowers are extinct. They no longer exist in our Realm."

"Wait… Then… how should I get them?" She looked up at him, thinking he was playing a prank on her.

"Forty-sixth line," Lucian said, and Lia repeated by reflex, quoting the same book she was reciting to him an hour ago, directly from Somia's personal diary.

"After a successful fishing trip, I managed to locate the coordinates of an ancient holding space. It is small, only half a square meter. It shows great signs of degradation and should be gone after another few thousand years… but it had seeds in them that I could… recover…." She murmured, looking into Lucian's eyes.

"Those are the seeds Somia spoke about. She left behind a formation. Every year, at the start of winter, it comes to life, summons a seed from No-Space, and lets the flower bloom. We tried collecting seeds from them to try and plant more, but all our endeavors were fruitless." Lucian sighed softly, "The seeds spent who knows how long of a time in No-Space. Even when the lilies grow, they yield no seeds. They are infertile in a sense. They only live through the winter, and when spring comes, they wilt away. Still, their petals are precious, an extremely rare ingredient for alchemists. Gather them for me."

"For you? Not for the Academy?" Lia asked with a slight grin.

"For me," Lucian repeated. "Then I can trade it for some quality fire seeds. If you-"

"When do I get to go?" Lia asked, shooting to her feet, her eyes twinkling.

"That is more like it!" The headmaster laughed loudly, "I know of your deals… But to leave an impression on Zorgan, you will need the same quality of seeds he has. Those are not cheap!"

"We are going get them! All of them! We will set off immediately!"

"Slow down!" Lucian exclaimed, pushing her back to her chair. "This is going to be a solo mission."

"Ah… why?"

"Because the lilies are sensitive flowers. You can only touch them while surrounding yourself with ice magic. Or, in your case…."

"Ah! Okay! But…”

"No buts!" Lucian interjected, "Any other type of magical interference, and it may cause the flowers to wilt before their time!" He warned, producing four small, blue crystal boxes. "Put them in this after you collected their petals. You have to do this alone. There are times when you can't rely on anybody."

"Mhm…" She nodded, calming down, "I will do it."

"Be prepared for battles. Somia's formation is in the middle of the Evergreen Forest. It is a big patch of land on the other side of the mountains you visited previously. It is dominated by silver fir trees and is home to multiple beasts that can get extremely territorial. Especially in the winter! The deeper you go, the stronger they get."

"The flowers are in the deepest part of the forest." Lia cut in, her voice speaking as if she knew it already.

"Yes." Lucian nodded, smiling at her.

"Of course!" She sighed defeatedly, "Where else would they be? So… how strong are the beasts there?"

"With your current strength, you should not die."

"Er… Hey… Silly fox… are you trying to get me killed?"

"If you keep calling me that, I might." He retorted, looking at her with one eye closed.

"Tsk… fine! Give it your best shot!"

"There is no free lunch in this world! Go, get ready, and set off! The quicker you get them, the earlier I can trade them for your pills! With that, you can get a feel for many different fires and be prepared to judge the students!"

"Ah, I wanted to ask!" She shook her head, remembering her initial thoughts, "Why does Dumb Zorgan have it out for me? Wanting me to learn something in a year so well that I can judge others? That sounds... ridicoulus! And unfair!"

"I don't think he is out for you. He's just a bit grumpy." Lucian answered, smacking his lips. "It isn't an impossible task that he gave you! It is hard but doable! It is something that can be expected from someone of your stature!"

"Pft, sure! I know he is angry because Olivia left school! I did not make her do it! I did not tell her to take one loss so badly to quit! Should I also go home now?"

"You did not. That is true." Lucian agreed, his voice becoming more solemn, looking into her eyes, "Maybe if you did, she would still be alive. That would have been a good reason to argue against the order of eliminating her."

"Wha…?" Lia asked, frozen in place, her eyes widening just like her mouth.

"She is dead, Lia. Executed, just like the remaining members of her bloodline. All of them are dead, killed by Master Zorgan."

"He… killed her… them? But… why?"

"Because I ordered him to do it."

"You did?!" She jumped to her feet, but Lucian continued calmly.

"I did. And the rest of the Six Houses did too. Including your Mother. Look up her past more thoroughly, Lia… and ask your mother what the punishment is for what her parents did."

"..."

"I think this is enough for today." Lucian continued, leaving Lia's mouth hanging wide open. "Your homework is the lilies and to learn about Olivia's past. That should tell you a lot of things. I will excuse you from the winter classes! Two weeks should do; if you are quick, you can get back by Victory Day!" He clapped, and the books flew up, returning to their places in the library.

Lia didn't remember how she left the school or how she got back to the tower, still floored by the news she received. The others were also surprised when she told them, but not as much as she was. Aurora was the calmest, writing in the air with a knowing look.

"Of course, she is dead. Open hostility towards any of the Six is not something you want to do. Especially not if your parents dabbled with raising Undead!"

"Good." Keily said, surprisingly coldly, crossing his arms, "People like that should not be left to their things!"

"Wow… since when did you become so ruthless?" Koa asked, flicking his forehead, but Keily just stared at her.

"Anyone who turns others to Undead is worse than the zombies! They are real monsters!" He repeated slowly.

"I also agree." Raufon chimed in after a short pause. "The dead should be left resting and not be brought back!"

"I am on with Pipsqueak on this!" Sion came over from behind the counter, bringing hot chocolate to everyone. "Kill them. Kill them all! If they love the Undead so much, they make more of them… burn them along with their creations!"

"Undead are dangerous." Ceiline joined in the conversation, too, watching Lia, who was still sighing, learning about Olivia's past, "It had to be done."

"But…" Lia murmured, "If nobody studies them, how are we going to destroy them?"

"Careful with words like those!" Sion warned her, being wholly serious, "Even if you are the daughter of Reyra Amarin!"

"Um." Koa agreed, "Don't really say it out before others. We know what you mean, but that cannot be uttered just like that!"

Lia did not share her remaining thoughts in the end, but the news left her awake for a long time. Even when she went to bed, she couldn't help but look out the window, thinking about it, not knowing how to really feel about it at all.