The nation of Astra was the last bastion of hope in the war against Terestra in the west. Many Kings, Queens, many countless nations have already succumbed to the overwhelming might of the Demon Queen, yet the Kingdom of Astra still stood firm and tall even through it all.

Many had attributed Astra's continued prosperity to the swift judgment of King Heral. Upon learning of Terestra's unstoppable conquest throughout the land, the King had brokered a deal with the Seven Churches of the Divines… in return for a deterrence to inhibit the march of the Demon Queen's army, he promised an eternal allegiance to the Churches' purpose.

The Churches proposed a great barrier to be erected, encapsulating the entire nation. Seven bishops representing the seven Divines to be entombed deep into the earth as catalysts for the barrier's summoning.

As a result of the King's actions, the Kingdom of Astra had attained no losses nor suffered any afflictions from the Demon Queen and her army. Due to the protection of the Seven Divines, Terestra nor anyone that had sworn loyalty to her cause can ever set foot onto the nation itself.

Thus, Astra continued to know peace and prosperity for years to come. Many, from continents desecrated, having heard of the nation's divine protection, sought refuge within the Kingdom's walls, turning the land into a haven of sorts.

It was here that the ambitious sorcerer sought to further amass his own fortune. A nation brimming with grieving heartbroken souls… yearning to reunite with loved ones once again. How could he ever ignore their cries… and the jingle of their coin pouches?

How could he ever, indeed…

Wasn't long before the rumors and stories started again.

In the Witherwood forest to the north of the region, many had been claiming that a girl with a violet cloak can be spotted wandering through its lush greenery alongside a man with words that exude so much charm.

Soon enough, it was business as usual for the sorcerer… the rustles of the forest greens, day after day, would echo with the cries and howls of friends, family, at long last reunited.

Sera had never really understood it all… for so long, the routine had turned to such monotony, and yet she found could never draw her eyes away from the sight of it.

When they cried… how could they do so with such a smile on their faces? Didn't crying hurt? Do the tears that fall not rack their body with unbearable agony?

That's just their happiness, explained the sorcerer to her one quiet evening, as he sat inside the rickety carriage joyfully counting the silvers of a splendid day's proceeds.

Happiness. Sera pondered atop a tree branch. She knew the word… she knew people smiled when they are happy as can be… but why are they happy? She still couldn't quite understand it.

Then one day… on a particularly busy afternoon of reunions and tears, a young maiden came to approach the duo just as the last of the customers left teary-eyed and with a smile.

This woman, Sera thought to herself, did not seem like the rest of the people that sought for them… for one, her garments, if they can even be called that, laid in tatters. Her hair too was but frazzled strands poking out at her sides. She also smelled something foul…

The sorcerer confronted the young woman with haste, and after realizing that she nothing to offer, gone was his ever-charming smile, beguiling comforting words replaced by ones that teemed with hostility. He demanded the woman to leave at once, to scurry away and never return, her words, her pleads in desperation going deaf to the sorcerer's ears.

But Sera listened. Peeking an eye through a crevice in the carriage, she saw and heard all.

Like all others, the woman begged to be reunited once more for one sorely missed… just one brief moment, not even for a single minute… please dear sorcerer, I beg of you… let me see my mother again.

Mother.

Sera's ears perked.

Just let me hold her hands again… let me feel their warmth, just one last time, please.

Her pleas continue to go unheard through the rest of the evening, and before long, night had already fallen… and though the maiden has gone, her cries would continue to linger.

For the first time since that incident in Creekwood, Sera had trouble falling asleep.

Over the weeks, the sorcerer and the girl in the violet cloak gradually kept growing in notoriety… more rumors, more hearsays continue to sprout in the bustles of taverns, the whispering in inns, through word of mouth across public places alike.

But something was different to the melody of their words… mentions of the charming sorcerer became few and far between. When people talked of the eccentric duo that resided deep within the forest, the discussion would instead drift to the little girl with the violet cloak.

In amused remarks, in profound realizations, in brief, off-handed comments, they would almost always say… does the girl with yellow eyes not remind you of sweet, dear princess Riona?

More and more, mentions of the princess lookalike spread throughout the kingdom… and eventually, it reached the point, where curious minds would gather, traversing the trenches of the forest simply for the sake of satiating their restless thoughts, eager to take even the slightest of glance at the unknown elusive princess of Witherwood Forest.

Sera had heard of the uncanny resemblance she shared with this princess one stormy afternoon from an old wealthy lady whose reunion with her dearly departed husband had just about done… and though the sorcerer had sternly advised her to not take such foolish nonsense to heart, much like the pleads of the woman long ago, his words fell upon deaf ears.

For throughout the years, the one thing that stayed unchanged about the girl with the violet cloak… was her ever-burning curiosity.

That night, amidst the thunder and rain, the royal guards came upon an unexpected visitor at the city gates. The rookies panicked, while veterans stared with eyes furrowed… for what reason would the dear princess be doing outside in the pouring rain?

Then they saw the yellow in her eyes, and the purple in her hair, and they immediately knew. Wordlessly, the girl with the violet cloak passed through the gates… stepping foot into the Kingdom of Astra unbeknownst to the revelations that she'll eventually find within…

Clutching her cloak tight… Sera's eyes drifted upwards to the castle looming far into the distance… feeling, for once in her life, a familiarity coursing through deep within the depths of herself, and also -

"Before I make my entrance, I expect some promising news."

I felt myself shoot upwards, like my entire body being so suddenly slingshotted onto the ruined ceiling. Wasn't the only either, Amanda was already scrambling up to her feet before I could get my heart to settle back into my chest.

Though our initial reactions couldn't have been more different, the ones that followed it up pretty much mirrored one another. Both our eyes went shooting towards the exit where a cross-armed figure slanting her head against the doorway, an eyebrow raised in question.

Amanda heaved a breath. "Couldn't have knocked? You scared us."

"That was your knock," The figure responded, leaning away from the doorway. "So, tell me, does he get full marks for now… or does he need to go hit the books again?"

My legs were aching, so I stood up too, raising my head up high, bracing and ready to hear my assessment.

Hands to her hips, and expelling away a weary sigh, Amanda spoke, "Judging from what I've heard up till now… yeah, he pretty much knows her as much as he knows himself."

I'd have clapped my hands in triumph, but I fear the resulting echo from it might actually just collapse the entire building from above us, so I restrain myself instead to just a little smile.

"And you?" I nudged my head. "You got what you needed too?"

Irene nodded, and my smile grew even wider. Second lesson was coming, second lesson was commencing… my training time was here and now.

Then I looked around and noticed that something else, somebody else wasn't here and now…

My smile disappeared. "Where's Ash?"

"Relax," Irene said, gesturing for us to follow her march through the halls. "She's waiting on the fourth floor, where everything else is."

As I went to pick up Mr. Black from his slumber amidst the pile of rubble, Amanda took it upon herself to further press on with the inquiries.

"Everything else?"

"Breakfast is one," Irene said, her voice echoing in the vast emptiness. "Some apples, coffee, juice… I even picked up something for the cat to eat."

I trailed slightly back, trying to control a squirming Mr. Black in my arms, wondering briefly just how the hell Ash does it… but even then I managed to ask.

"Where's my part of the everything else?"

Irene turned her head, giving me and the cat that somehow clambered up my head a very peculiar look.

"Yours…" She said. "Yours is Ria."

At the mention of her name, both Mr. Black and I froze in place. "Huh?"

"Your second lesson," Irene elaborated. "Ria's your second lesson."

Again, once more, with feeling this time. "HUH?!"