Resting a nice hour from exhausting his magic, Rigesh found himself in his bed smelling of dirt and sweat. Morio had been sitting at one of the chairs in the kitchen, shaking his head at the pathetic display before him. If Morio hadn’t walked into the park to spy on Rigesh’s progress like usual, then he would have been in a ton of trouble, not just by the authorities walking around.

“I could feel a ton of magic from the forest when you were practicing.” Morio said, digging in his pockets for his carton of cigarettes. “The park authorities would have caught you, too, if I hadn’t had been there to save your ass.”

Rigesh groaned and turned on his side. Targesh took this opportunity to leap onto the high bed to make himself comfortable in a ball underneath his master’s torso. “Why were you there?”

“I went into the park because I know your stubborn butt is always going to be there practicing magic and getting into trouble,” Morio replied.

Rigesh swung his feet from the bed, then inhaled deeply. He was still light headed from earlier. Because he wasn’t used to expelling so much magic in a short time, he may have overwhelmed himself. All he really felt was drained. Of course, once he could go back outside and siphon some magic from nature, he would be fully replenished. As Morio watched his subordinate struggle to regain himself, he shook his head and walked over to the large glass window that overlooked the park and the lake. He knew that Rigesh had been serious about creating something that would help with channelling his magic, but he still couldn’t understand why he chose a pistol. There was no reason for that kind of fighting in Yulin-dai.

“Rig, I know that making this pistol was something you worked hard on, but there is nothing you can do with it.”

Rigesh tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean nothing I can do with it? Did you see me in the park? I can channel all elemental magic and I can finally cast some Water Magic without struggling. How is that nothing?”

“You work at the Transit Bureau in a booming city. You make a lot of money and have nothing to worry about, so why do you need to build this pistol?” Morio shrugged his shoulders in frustration. “I just don’t understand why going through the trouble of making something that won’t help you in the future. You aren’t a Knight anymore, Rigesh, you live here in Yulin-dai now.”

He turned away from the older man, clenching his fists in suppressed anger. This project was something that he had been working on well before he settled down in Yulin-dai. Once he left his first career, he couldn’t bring himself to stop something that he was passionate about. Making his pistols was a goal for many years. How could he stop now that he found a different place to settle in that wasn’t the capital?

“Even though I’m not a Knight anymore, and had no reason to fight, I couldn’t stop. If I gave up on it, then leaving the Knights would have all been for not.” Rigesh sat down on his bed, petting his cat between his ears. He sighed, then turned his gaze to his window. “Besides, there seems to be rumors going around that Titaneous might strike Vaikoln soon. Yulin-dai is the closest port to that continent, and they would want to reconquer land that was stolen from them.”

Morio scoffed. “Stolen from them? Gong-dai housed thousands of their refugees from several hundred years ago so they could escape the torture and crude laws concerning magic there. Those people left on their own.”

“They think they have a right to Gong-dai because we are descendants of their people.”

“Titaneous will always and forever be a continent full of delusional and ignorant people. Vaikoln will fight for Gong-dai since they have accepted the people as their rightful citizens.” It was obvious that the people of Gong-dai were different from the many other citizens of Vaikoln. Many of them were darker in skin tone, complemented with green eyes or brown eyes. Green eye color became more dominant as the time went on, however many people that had inherited brown eyes started to become more seen. Grey, blue and amber-like colored eyes were common in the western front of Vaikoln with the grey color being more prone in the north and the amber-like color in the south. Blue eye color was heavily scattered throughout Vaikoln as it is the most dominant trait of the true citizens. Darker hair color was also attributed to the people of Gong-dai, along with their harsh way of speaking Wa Shei, the language of their natives. The people of Titaneous detest the eastern front of Vaikoln, seeing them as washed down cowards, but Vaikoln will always appreciate the people that live there. However, it is not the same when thought about magical skill and noble statuses.

Morio put his hands up in the air as though he were feigning surrendence. “Look, do what you want. I’m just saying that there is no point. You aren’t in the army anymore. If you want to go become a lousy bounty hunter, then go for it, but I wouldn’t choose that over the easy life I have at the Transit Bureau.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Rigesh chuckled.

“Anyway,” Morio finally lit his cigarette and took a huge drag from it, “if you’re done with your pet project, I want your advice on some inventions of my own.”

“Oh?”

Keeping his cigarette in his mouth for convenience, he ruffled through his backpack and pulled out some blueprints for a new creation. Morio may be against Rigesh’s weaponry project, but he loved Magitech, so he always spoke to the man when new ideas came to him. Morio didn’t really care for advanced weaponry and fighting, he instead preferred looking into technology to further better living. Like many other citizens, he lacked powerful magic but he contained enormous technological knowledge. He didn’t really care about his inability to cast spells through magic weapons, but loved fusing metal together and imbuing them with magic. When he was younger and started his first adult years as a mechanic, he often went through steam cars after modifying them to channel more magic than normal through external runes knowing that steam cars can’t handle the magical strain from the runes. Steam cars would have to have their metal heavily enchanted in order for magic to possibly flow through the engines, but it would be too time consuming and expensive. That’s when Morio decided to test his hand at what he could modify, though it didn’t always come out in his favor. Without the knowledge of the Director at the Transit Bureau, he and Rigesh had been performing slight modifications to their work steam truck, at first as an experiment, to get through the hectic traffic when they needed to travel far out to the air and water port.

“So, hear me out, right?” He unravelled a long paper that had copious amounts of scribbles and marks. “We’ve been able to make some solid additions to the work van, but I was thinking about adding some magical protection to keep it from getting damaged.”

Rigesh looked over the scribbled plan with piqued interest. “You want to be able to have some elemental runes engraved on the truck so it can have a magical shield? What made you think about doing that?”

Morio took a drag from his cigarette and showed Rigesh a silly grin. “I’ve been getting a ton of flack from the Director about the presence of the work vans. He’s told me and four other supervisors that he’s gonna start docking our pay if he finds one more scratch on them.”

The younger man scoffed while rolling his eyes. “The vans aren’t supposed to be pretty, we literally work out of them. It’s bound to get covered in scratches. If he cares so much he should start paying people to buff them out.”

“See! That’s what I told him, but he refuses to listen to reason. Part of me just thinks he’s making a big deal about it just to mess with us.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Rigesh’s brows knitted together in frustration. “Let me take a look over some of these plans and add some adjustments.”

Mario placed a gentle hand on his friend’s shoulder and raised a concerned eyebrow. “Only add the necessary adjustments. No weaponry.”

The two had had multiple exchanges about why Rigesh couldn’t possibly think about adding weapons to their work van. Rigesh really wanted to do it for fun, especially since he was testing his strength and power with his pistols. However, he ceded to Morio and decided that he wouldn’t cause any issues for them at the Transit Bureau. The Director nearly had a heart attack at the mention of putting a single rune on the outside of their work vans. Though there was pure mischievousness in Rigesh’s heart, he relented, promising not to add any adjustments that could possibly get them fired.

The two decided on a later date to discuss more about adjustments to the work van as Morio gathered his things to leave. For a moment, his attention turned to the elemental pistol on the table. He had his opinions on what Rigesh should really be doing with his life, but deep down he had been proud of the boy and his creation. Many elemental technologies had been developed in the last three to four hundred years, but he had never seen a weapon that could combine elemental power. He had seen an experienced, but cocky mage overwhelm himself by casting Fire in one hand and Water in the other. He had almost died and overheated his body because of his stubbornness. Morio knew that Rigesh was more talented than the average person, despite lacking the skills to perform even the simplest of Water Magic, but he was concerned that his young friend would be too persistent in his ways and lose his life. In horror, he watched Rigesh’s eyes roll to the back of his head, collapsing onto the ground, unconscious. He feared the boy stopped breathing. There wasn’t a chance that the boy would listen to his pleas about not overwhelming himself with his new pistol, but he had hoped that he could at least condition himself to where he wouldn’t put himself in such a disastrous situation. No matter how powerful one could become, the human body could only take so much magic. It was probably the reason so many people couldn’t use as much magic as others. Morio hoped that Rigesh would succeed in all his endeavors, but not at the expense of his life.

“Why is Orantal here?” Nemedion asked, shaking his head in disapproval.

To keep you from getting distracted, Elanya thought.

After Elanya spent the whole weekend thinking about their awkward encounter at The Rubies, she had intended to discuss a topic for their major research project solo. However, as the hours began to slip past her, her mind anxiously thought about how their confrontation at the club left her distraught and confused. She had every right to be upset with the way he overlooked her previous feelings for him, but still, deep down, she knew he still treasured her as one of his closest friends. It would be beneficial for them if they could continue that relationship for as long as possible. People may see him as a stereotypical, rich aristocrat, but at the end of the day, she still saw him as Nem, her stuffy friend. However, she didn’t want to deal with her stuffy friend alone today.

She replied with, “Just to keep us company so we don’t overwork ourselves.”

“I don’t want her to be a distraction for me,” he said. Elanya nearly gasped, cautious of if he could possibly read her mind. She shook the thought away.

“Orantal is harmless, Nem. In fact, she can do food errands for us while we work.”

“Hey! I am not your servant. I can request one of those for you.” Orantal walked to a nearby bookshelf in their combined room, examining any for medical purposes. “Besides, I’ve been meaning to go to the library to study new herbs for my garden.”

Orantal was not gifted with mastery of all four elements, though she could cast them all proficiently. She surpassed most of the students at the University, even her friends Elanya and Nemedion, in healing magic. She excelled in Earth Magic, however, coming into the top ten with her friends, and being the number two student in healing. What also made the young blonde a top student is her efficiency with natural healing remedies and concocting potions used for medicine. Many have suggested that Orantal became an Earth Witch and stick to healing, but she argued that she should be doing bigger and better things. Becoming a healing Magus was a priority, a rarity among the Mages and Magus. The thought about becoming a Meister working under the Magus did not sit well with her.

“The library is definitely the place to start,” Elanya began to gather up her books, “let’s grab some articles, then head back to our cove.”

When it became obvious that Elanya and Nemedion would have continuous meet ups at the library, Nemedion had the librarians reserve a study room specifically for them. The librarians were the only people, except for Orantal, of course, that knew that the two rivals were close friends instead of enemies. Most of their books, tomes, school work and sleeping bags were stored for easy access. If either one had a question or suggestion, they would be able to access each other’s work.

Orantal walked in step next to Elanya, leaving Nemedion behind as he looked through some of the information on the bookshelf. She gave Elanya a mischievous grin. “Have you guys ever done it in there?”

“Orantal!” Elanya whined, turning her face away from her friend and to the approaching door to the library.

“What? It’s only fair so I know where to sit.”

“That’s not funny.”

The two nodded to the lone librarian at the help desk, then made their way through the maze of bookshelves through the library. Toward the back were several rooms. A few more rooms were on the second floor, a wooden set of stairs waiting off to the side was the only path to get to them. Elanya motioned Orantal to follow her up the stairs, then pointed to the last room in the corner at the end of the second floor. It was obvious that not many people took advantage of the upstairs floor of the library, and so, their secluded room was not in view for many to see. Orantal opened the door with excitement, but soon it diminished into disappointment at how the room reeked of normalcy. “So plain,” she said, turning up her nose.

“Whatever you’re thinking, please stop.” Elanya placed her things down in a nearby cubby and went to her desk. “Me and Nemedion don’t do that.”

“Anymore.” Her bright friend corrected.

Elanya sighed, but clicked her tongue in reluctance. “Anymore.”

Her friend patted her back in comfort. “There, there. He’s still a good friend.”

“He’s a good friend, but he’s just a terrible…” She shrugged, pushing a pen from side to side with her finger. “Whatever we were. I’m just over it. After he suggested that I become his mistress, all the feelings that I had vanished.”

“And that’s that?”

She nodded, sighing again as she dug her pen into the edges of her desk. She didn’t want to talk about it, but she just could not help her frustration. “To be frank, I want someone a bit more reckless. With ambition and drive.”

“You want someone as your equal, but the only person who even comes close to that is Nem,” she pointed a thumb toward the door, “Let’s just face it. You’re going to die alone.”

Elanya glared at her friend, the hazel in her eyes swirling with intensity. “So what? Nothing matters as long as I find my mother. I won’t stop until I do.” She clenched her sword, laying on the side of her chair. Through gritted teeth, she spoke her resolve. “I won’t be distracted any longer.”

Nemedion entered a minute later with a stack of books nearly spilling out of his arms. Elanya was happy for the respite from talking about situations out of her control. Instead, she was going to control something that had a high priority: picking a topic for their project and getting it done so they could enjoy the rest of their last free summer. Without preamble, she began running off a list of topics and information for Nemedion to use in their outline. He fell in line with her, continuing to write detailed notes as he gave her some suggestions and concerns about her topics. Orantal loved to watch the both of them debate and argue. To be honest, many students and teachers at the University loved to watch them lock horns in a debate because it provided fiery entertainment in a normally stuffy environment. She wouldn’t interrupt their passion with her own opinions or questions. The passion that passed between the two of them was unmistakable. When in a heated conversation, slight particles from their magic flickered throughout the air. While it would surely bring amazement to many others, Orantal saw that the magic marked with their particles was missing something. In the middle of the fury of their magic was a large, noticeable hole. A hole that Elanya had longed to fill.

The next day, Elanya met up with her father in front of his hotel. She apologized for making him come out for such an insignificant occasion, but he felt honored. It gave him a reason to see his daughter much longer than usual, especially since the two only saw each other for the Frost Festival when she travelled back to northern Vaikoln. Once they moved to a small cottage on the outskirts of Asarian Frost, a festive mountain city in North Tallus, they vowed to always spend time together at that specific festival. Elanya hated being that far. She hated the snow and attention she brought because of how dark her skin was. People in Tallus were more naturally pale, as the sun was not as harsh and the winters longer. It was rare that people from the East would travel so far to the North of Tallus, explaining why there were barely any citizens from Gong-dai living up there. Elanya missed the farm shack she inhabited with her father in northern Gong-dai. There were an equal amount of seasons from hot and cold and she could freely go outside without people staring, although they lived mostly in the forest, away from the prying eyes of the nearby village. Blending in with a temperament climate was one of the reasons why she chose a University on the other side of the country, among other reasons.

“Papa, I’m so happy you came to visit me. I hate to see you go.” She hugged him as fiercely as she could hug a bear. The bearded man lifted her from the ground to engulf her in a bigger hug, almost tight enough to take her breath away.

“I hate to go, too,” he said, “but work is calling me back. I have a ton of wares and potions to sell.” He opened up his pouch to produce a smaller one just for her. “I saved up a bit to give you extra for the summer.”

She gently pushed the pouch back into his large palms, a slight red tint decorated her face as she looked up at him. “I have more than enough, Papa. You don’t need to give me so much.”

Her father grinned, then he ruffled her short, red bob. “We aren’t strapped for money, little one, so it’s okay. We haven’t been poor in many years despite what you think.”

“You can never be too sure.”

“Don’t worry, Yaya, your future is set and you will continue to be prosperous,” he chuckled, massaging her shoulders with his massive hands, “I just don’t want you to be in a bind. They say negotiations with Titaneous are petrous right now.”

Elanya grimaced. “I don’t want to be at war with Titaneous.”

“Neither do I. If you’re still housing in Yulin-dai when war breaks out, you run away.” Elanya’s father cradled her face softly. “Don’t try to be a hero.”

The two concluded their small talk and started to make their way to the airport. He gave her another bear hug as she saw him off. As his flight departed into the air, she watched the airship flutter into the distance, leaving a raw ache within her chest. Each day apart from her father saddened her, but she couldn’t be coddled by him forever. She knew she could never replace the void left in his heart by her mother’s disappearance. He had never been the same afterward. Eventually, he realized that he would always have a piece of his wife in Elanya. Presumably like her mother, she could conjure Moon magic and she was able to wield her soul sword, Valla.

Elanya opened her compact device to her roommate. With a little bit of Air Magic, she touched the light colored magic stone, hoping to get through for a moment, but the line went dead. Again she called, but Orantal did not answer, so she opted to do some walking around to clear her head. She and Nemedion still hadn’t come to a decision on their topic for their research project. He wanted to do specific research on ancient spells used for sealing dangerous entities, yet she wanted to do something much more wild, more taboo, in fact-- Blood Magic. The proper and prim Nemedion rejected the idea immediately, refusing to debate with her about it. Blood Magic was forbidden. If they performed any as an example, they could be executed on the spot. Strong and weird use of certain elemental magic can be an outlet to perform Blood Magic. Intense therapy was recommended for powerful magic users. Elanya had been dodging counselling services for the past two services in defiance of the Dean who recommended she be surveyed just in case she lost control of her Moon Magic. Something she knew would never happen.

She thought about practicing with Valla to spend extra energy until she met up with Nemedion again tomorrow. They had an appointment to meet with the Dean for approval of their topic. Meeting with the Dean always left her drained. Despite being the only Moon Meister at the University, something he reminded her almost daily, she felt as though the Dean thought little of her. Often, he taunted her for not being able to use Sun Magic, even though it was even rarer to conjure Moon Magic. Each day after class, she would go to Laoshin’s Training Ground to strengthen her use of Sun Magic, much to the cries of her body. She still couldn’t do much with it besides occasionally draining energy from the sun’s rays. And her sword drained her more than usual when she fought using both of the powers from the magic stones embedded in the sword. Maybe going to the training ground will be a good thing. If war were to break out she would have peak stamina when she escaped. Titaneous soldiers were distrustful of most magic from Vaikoln, and if she or her father were caught, they wouldn’t be hostages. They would be dead.

Entering Laoshin’s Training Ground, Elanya sighed in relief at the empty venue. She longed to practice her magic in peace without the prying eyes of others. A bored student barely paid her any attention, fully engaged in a graphic novel. She never really dealt with this student before and was unsure on how to approach him.

“Excuse me, can I purchase some elemental runes for the terrain room?” She asked politely.

He still ignored her, grunting at being pestered while reading his comic. He swung his chair around so his back was facing her, his pages on full display. Lewd drawings were now permanently instilled in her mind.

“I really only need a few, then I’ll be out of your hair.” She managed to ground out through her fake smile, despite the disrespect that she was being given.

The student exhaled harshly, slamming his comic on the desk. If that action didn’t express his displeasure, he added a barely contained growl. It was obvious that he didn’t want his peace interrupted, but he failed to remember that he was working the front desk at a well used facility.

“Look woman, I’m here reading and you’re bothering me. Everyone went home! Why are poor overachievers like you coming in here ruining my peace?” He aggressively looked her up and down, noticing her plain clothing and lack of family emblem decorating them. He pointed a stubby finger at her rudely, almost close enough to touch her nose. “Oh, I get it! You can’t afford to go home because you’re a commoner. You’re here attempting to train your pathetic magic to become an upstart. The only thing a magicless, commoner woman can do is--”

Elanya grabbed the boy by his collar, engulfing him with her shadows. The graphic comic started to burn into a blue flame, too hot for him to put out with his measly magic. He felt the air leaving his body, suddenly unable to breathe, squirming against her grip.

“All I wanted were some elemental runes to practice with. I didn’t ask for your rudeness with your condescending attitude.” The shadows began to spread out across the desk and floor, painting it with black. “Are you going to continue with your rant or let me be on my way?”

She released him quickly after her warning, adjusting herself and reigning in her emotions. At blatant disrespect toward her, Elanya had a temper, though usually good at holding her anger in well, however, she had lingering frustration at her father’s departure. The whole semester stressed her out from keeping her grades and magic top notch to trying to maintain a good relationship with her two closest friends. She certainly didn’t want to deal with this creep.

The student shook in fear as she quickly picked up a pouch of elemental runes onto the desk counter. Graciously trying to pay for the pouch, the student rejected her offer, shaking his head as though he were having a seizure. “I apologize, Ms. Shunra, it won’t happen again.”

She nodded her head, then made her way to the room. He wasn’t familiar with her when most people in the training ground did. After scaring the piss out of him, there was no mistaking who she was--only one student in all the University could use Moon Magic. She hardly needed time to cast any of her magic. She just hoped that she won’t get suspended for using magic against an underclassman.

The terrain was just what she needed. She casted a large firestorm, next putting it in a whirlwind of water. Afterward, she threw up an avalanche of rocks, using a shield of air to protect her as she cut them apart with her Moon Magic. A large rock came toward her, bouncing off the walls of the room. Elanya inhaled then exhaled harshly. With one fist, she went forward and broke it in half with her Sun Magic. Afterward, the feeling of the sun left her and she felt empty. As much as Elanya loved using her Moon Magic, she wanted to continue to feel the warmth of the sun.

Orantal had finally called her back, the woman nearly walking into her when Elanya was making her way to her room. Sweaty, but overall refreshed from her training, Elanya yearned for a long hot bath. However, her roommate, ever the busy body, had other plans.

“Let’s go out.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m tired and I don’t have time to deal with your foolishness.”

The doe-eyed woman pouted. With a sigh, she begged her friend with no remorse. “Ellie, please, please, please.”

Elanya turned away, avoiding the pleading eyes of her best friend. “I’m tired.” She repeated.

“Well, let’s get you awake. I know just the place!”

“Ora, I’m really fucking tired. I just have a lot on my mind right now and I won’t enjoy myself if I go out with you.”

Again Ora’s face set into another, pleading pout, but Elanya ignored her. “You’re pushing yourself way too hard thinking about so many things at once. If a night out won’t help I’ll call Nem to stay with you--”

Annoyed, Elanya turned to the smaller woman and snapped. “I don’t want to see him. I want to be alone. Please stop begging me to!” She passed Orantal and headed into the bathroom, welcoming the enclosed space. She was happy at exhausting herself without even using her sword. Mentally fatigued, she closed her heavy eyes, focusing on the pittering of the water against her dark skin in the shower. Maybe she should start to think about the future in a different light.

By the end of the summer, she will start her last year of University, that one step closer to becoming a Magus. A Knight position would have been good for her, but she didn’t feel right to pledge her soul to the kingdom. And being stationed in Zalatine was just too overwhelming. She just needed all the available resources to find her mother. In the end, that was her primary goal.