House of Amarin

Spring was coming quickly, and the Misfits' leaders were getting used to the No-Space telescope while trying to look for lost holding bags. It wasn't hard to operate, but finding something in the vast, chaotic No-Space was more challenging than anything they had to do before. Their second find was made by Lia weeks after their first incident. This time, they were standing battle-ready, but instead of another Undead, they found a room-sized place filled with books upon books thrown into it. Getting them all out took the whole group a full day, and flipping them through, they were varying from centuries-old cookbooks to faded magazines about the newest artifacts of the year 3E887. They quickly lost their interest in most of it, except one bundle that was wrapped in magic, keeping them protected and obscured. Everyone was sure they should be magic books, maybe about spells or treasure maps. Maybe lost diaries or some wild secret about the Undead… but all of that turned out to be nothing but false hopes.

"Oh my!" Koadriana laughed, grabbing a magazine as the magic surrounding them slowly cracked apart, unlocked by Ceiline and Stumpy's cooperation, revealing a bunch of porn magazines. "Oooh, she has tattoos down there!" She exclaimed, flipping through it.

"Really?" Raufon stepped behind her, looking over her shoulders. "Huh… really… and it glows..."

"Let me see! Where?" Lia jumped, wanting to see, only to be dragged away by Aurora. "Uuuu, I want to see it too; I am almost an adult already! And it is a girl; it isn't a big deal!" She protested, but Aurora was having none of it.

"No." She signed, "You would want to get a tattoo next. Come, you are going to help me bring all of these books to Cici. She can sell them or whatever."

"Uuuh… Okay…” She grumbled, and when she saw that Keily was also inching forward, wanting to see the magazines, first looking at their lewd covers, she shouted loudly, "Keily! Come and help us!"

“C-c-coming!” He jerked, turning away, flushed deep red, hearing Koa and Raufon discuss the models' bodies, while even Ceiline chimed in once in a while, surprised that there were transformed beast folks in there, posing on multiple, foldable pages.

"Let me help; we will finish faster that way." Came over Sion, making Aurora raise an eyebrow.

"Uninterested in the new find?" She asked.

"I will see enough naked women for the rest of my life in a few months. No thanks." He answered dully, making Lia scrunch her eyebrows but saying nothing, just thinking.

Their third find was a bit more interesting for everyone. This time, it was Opparu operating the telescope, confirming his new ideas. It was evident that his passion was reignited again by using it and learning from Somia's book. He managed to locate a vast, carved-out space almost as big as their tower. They looked on excitedly as the door slid apart, revealing a massive room behind it that looked like a neatly organized warehouse. There were hundreds if not thousands of boxes in varying sizes, labeled and marked, making the group salivate by just reading some of those signs.

"Conduction crystals? Amplifier weave? Tonx shells? What is a tonx?" Sion asked, looking at the others.

"Tonx were a species of slugs," Ceiline answered him, crossing her arms, watching with excitement as some of the boxes had names of long-gone species' on them. "Their shells were used in potions, pills, and artifacts… they were so popular they were driven into extinction in the 2nd era. It has a mind-calming effect! Perfect for keeping your mind focused in stressful situations!"

"Now, this is more like it!" Lia laughed, clapping happily, "Now this is a vault! Great catch!" She winked at Opparu, "You take whatever you want; it was your find!"

"Don't mind if I do!" Opparu laughed, not refusing the opportunity, "Worry not, I will only take what I can use! But sorting this out… well, this is going to take months!"

"I see no problems with that!" Lia grinned, "We will also be busy… my competition is coming up. I think that Zorgan fellow brought it forward because I refused to ask him for help! Thinking with the sudden change of date, he could scare me!"

"Brought it forward?" Keily asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he was still angry that none of their members were permitted to sign up for that competition. Everyone knew it could be used against them and Lia, but he was still eager to prove himself and felt robbed of a great chance.

"Yeah." Lia nodded, "It should have been after the Egg Hunt, but a week ago, he notified me it would be held at the end of the month!"

"Are you ready?" Opparu asked, but Lia just shrugged.

"As much as one can be!" She answered, spreading her hands with a not-so-honest smile.

…
….
…..

A few days later, Lia was sitting in the garden, next to a small table, rocking in a chair with a book in her lap, sipping on a milkshake. The weather was already getting warmer as time passed, and it was a clear, peaceful, sunny morning. Ceiline's plants were all growing nicely, already reaching up to her ankles. Lia could see multiple dozen of them, sitting in their spots, blinking their beady eyes with a simple, friendly look, bouncing up and down on their spring-like bodies. They looked like her previous peashooters, but this time, by Ceiline's estimation, when they were grown to their fullest by the end of summer, they would be capable of moving around and not just sitting in one place, waiting to be slaughtered.

Some of them were slowly turning from green to a different color, showing red, blue, golden, or black patches on their leaves. They were starting to display the characteristics of the various elemental mana with which they were fused and fed. Between the multiple rows, Stumpy was lying on its back, enjoying the warm sunlight, clearly in a much better mood than through the winter, happily playing the 'guardian' role in their garden.

"I wonder if House Nerifit would be angry if Mom employs her…." Lia thought, turning her mismatched eyes from the plants back to her book, her smile slowly disappearing.

She was reading Zorgan's note about the upcoming competition where she was going to be one of the judges. Going by the rules, there will be three judges; One who will measure the intensity of the flames and their power, one who will grade the competitor's proficiency, in how much mana they used to perform their spells and how efficient they were with it, while Lia's job is going to rate the qualities of the flames, determine how well defined they were, compared to their source, to the original fire found in nature.

"Haaah…" She let out a long sigh, diverting her eyes to the thick book in her lap. There were thousands of different flames out there, many that were barely different from each other. She was surprised to find blue-colored flames in the book that were very similar to hers, at least in looks. The only difference, none of those were freezing anything at all.

Throughout her studies, she learned that every element had its uniqueness. For fire, it was the different types of flames, while for water, it was the three stages; Fluid, solid and gaseous. Earth had its same quirks, going from hard as a rock to soft as mud, while nature had abundant healing properties that could often turn into vile poisons by adding more mana into the spells. It was a new experience, learning that the so-called 'basic' elements were so complex. One just had to look more closely and dig deeper to realize one could not call him or herself a master of an element so easily. Now she understood why her mother, so many times, refused to be called a master of light when teaching her.

"What's the frown for?" Arrived Koadriana's voice, bringing along another chair, sitting down, and taking a sip from Lia's shake. "Mhm, banana one? Nice~!”

"Ehehe…" She giggled, watching her, "Isn't it? And don't mind my frown! I'm just trying to sort out the many flames I have been memorizing! Yours at least only have three states to remember of!"

"Yeah, sure!" Koa rolled her eyes, "Switching between those states of water is no mean feat! I am fine with manipulating simple water as well as I can!"

"Well, you can do that to perfection! I heard you won a tournament?"

"We swept it!" Koa grinned, showing a V-sign with her fingers, "I came first, Jellybean was 2nd, and Ash was 3rd! My guys were all in the top 10! Honestly, the judges' smiles from the Tower of Water were not honest, seeing the results, haha! Same with the other competitions! Our members are all at least in the top 3!"

"Fufufu, wait until we sweep this year's Egg Hunt!"

"I think there will be an uproar if we manage that!" Koa said, biting her lower lip, looking excited, "Can't wait! I am only sad you forbade your people to sign up for your competition."

"Had to." Lia moaned, closing the book and focusing on her shake, "I dislike Zorgan a lot, and I don't want to give him any ammunition to use against me! I'll do my best, and if he is unhappy with something, I will tell him to scram!" She finished, proudly pushing her chest out.

"Hmmm." Koa looked at her, nodding. "You have grown."

"Of course! I am not afraid of him just because he is stronger!" Lia nodded.

"No, no." Koa shook her head, grabbing forward, holding Lia's chest, who looked on curiously, "Here, I mean! Geez, are you getting close to mine? Already? What the hell? What have you been eating?"

"Mmm?" Lia tilted her head, looking down at Koa's hands, which were examining and weighing her chest. "The same thing, you lot!" She answered, grinning, feeling even prouder than before.

"Hmph! Cheater." Koa grumbled, letting her go. "Well, on the other hand, you have already outgrown your mother, at least! Not just in height!"

"That wasn't hard…" Lia added, and both of them started to laugh like morning bells.

While they were having a good time back in the Amarins' castle, Reyra was just about to end a call with Lauron, confirming to him that many marked realms were found empty after revisiting, void of Undead.

"Achoo!" Reyra sneezed suddenly, feeling a cold sensation rush through her spine. "Someone is badmouthing me."

"I bet it happens daily." Her son joked, easing the mood as their talk was not exactly cheerful.

"Yeah, yeah…" She shook her head, "Stay there and work with Lucian. The school has to be ready at all times."

"Don't worry, Mom. How's big bro and his group?"

"Good. None of them show symptoms of possession or mind alteration. He will be let out at the end of the year."

"Told you." Lauron smiled.

"I know!" His mother moaned, rubbing her head, "But we can't be lax! Don't you think I want to snuggle up to my boy every day, every hour? Keeping him down there is not just painful but also a waste! He could be out there, helping us!"

"Speaking of help, what about Solren?"

"He is back home." She continued, shaking her head, "He will rest a little, then meet up with Lia at the end of the year; I have a mission for him… them."

"Oh? Can I know what it is about?"

"If you won't tell Lia!" Reyra grinned, making her son roll his eye on the other end of their connection.

"I didn't tell her about Simbad either; she figured that out!"

"I know, I know! You know her young friend? The one from the Lavarentian family?"

"Sion? Yes. Oh… are we stepping in personally?"

"Yes. And no." Reyra flashed a playful grin. "I'll send Aurora, Lia, and Solren to the Berisons with the boy. On the one hand, they are opening up a sealed Sub-Realm that is like a labyrinth. It was never fully explored because it has deadly miasma in the deepest part. It dissolves your flesh from your bones… Solren will be my representative in their attempted descent for checking its state."

"And at the same time, we are going to lobby for the kid," Lauron added, already guessing his mother's plans.

"Yes. We are taking the boy in. One way or another!"

"What if they won't yield?" Lauron asked, but it was not Reyra who answered, but Solren, coming into the room right then, already hearing half of their conversation before entering.

"We are going to say that he was chosen to be Aurora's husband." He added plainly. "Marrying someone who is part of the direct family of one of the Six trumps any other claims."

"You ain't playing around, huh?" Lauron whistled, watching his brother and mother.

"I personally do not like the idea." Solren commented, "Forcing others to marry someone is very old-fashioned." He sharply commented, glancing at her mother as she was the prime example. Marrying a beast folk and all… championing against anything that would be forced upon her.

"They won't have to marry!" Reyra groaned, looking at Solren grumpily, "It is just a ruse to get what we want! Duh… they will remain 'engaged' for a year, and then it falls through. Whoopty-doo! Come on, be a bit more flexible, Solry!" She poked at his side, trying to tickle her son, but she remained calm and didn't laugh at all. "Haaahh… whatever!" She stopped, breathing out through her nose, "We may not even use that specific card! If you can negotiate with them, my boy, then it would be all good!"

"Does Aurora know about it?" Lauron asked, looking at her mother, already knowing her answer.

"Not yet. I'll tell her, don't worry!"

"Are you sure?" Both of her sons asked simultaneously.

"Yeah, yeah! Promise!" Reyra smiled happily, but somehow, the two were doubting her words.