“It seems I was correct; the Keepers have become comfortable with their lives. Reaching my magic out so far was a dangerous move, but I got what I needed to finish the mapping out my plan of action.”

Rell

Sandals pattered across the tiled floors as Rell darted down the hallway, her white skirt and cloth headdress trailing behind her as she panted. Light streamed in from enormous multicoloured windows high above as she passed numerous doors and detours within the marble corridor.

“R-Rell… slow down, it’s still so early,” a voice behind the young princess called tiredly.

Rell looked over her shoulder. “It’s well past 7 o’clock, we’ve already overslept! C’mon!”

As she ran ahead, she saw a large crowd lined up in front of a door. She frowned and slowed her running as she wove through everyone. There were collective gasps and murmurs as the little princess dodged through quickly.

“P-Princess Rell?”

“That’s really her, isn’t it?”

“Your majesty-!?”

Rell did not even look at those around her. “Can’t talk; gonna miss the lesson!”

Rell rounded the corner in a hurry, hardly breaking a sweat as she heard a call from behind her.

“S-sister-!!”

Rell skidded to a halt and turned with a sigh. “What is it, Rune?”

“W-wait up… hah!” Still wearing her dark-blue nightgown, Rune stepped around the corner, her chocolate-brown eyes half closed. The thin dress trailed on the ground slightly as she slowed, panting a little as she did not even make eye contact with the bright-haired girl.

“Are you still not awake?” Rell said speed-walking over to her sister.

She heard the voices of the crowd again, frowning once more as she overheard their conversations.

“It’s like nothing happened at all.”

“Hmph, it’s awfully ignorant of them if you ask me.”

Rell grabbed her sister by the wrist. “C’mon, these people are grouchier than you in the morning!” She pulled her sister along.

“H-hey-!” Rune grumbled as she yelped at the tug.

The two princesses came out into the grand hall where the roof hung high above them and stained-glass windows decorated the walls. Rell stumbled down a few steps of stairs to reach the main floor, dragging her sister behind her as she took a left towards an open set of double doors leading to a bridge. The light shone brilliantly and danced through the glass ceiling of the bridge. Another beautiful day! The festival will surely be amazing if this weather keeps up.

She squinted as she ran out the door and onto the balcony, the courtyard only a short distance below them. She slowed to a stop as her sister panted beside her.

“Argh! it’s so bright…”

“I know! Isn’t it wonderful?” Rell replied.

“Good morning, princesses!” A voice called from the courtyard below.

The two girls looked over the railing of the bridge to see a young woman with blazing red hair wearing an azure robe waving up at them. “You two are up awfully early!”

Rell beamed at the woman below. “Good morning, Cael! We’re going to the academy for lessons!”

“I thought your lessons weren’t until later?” Cael wondered aloud.

“Yes, but there’s a lesson I really want to be there for this morning!” Rell explained.

Rune let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, I don’t want to go to this stupid lesson… Cael, can I come with you?”

Cael smiled painfully. “Sorry little one. Keeper of Magic is a busy job. I have to go test some new reagents Flain and I have developed…” She paused, a slight look of irritation on her face. “I also need to keep an eye on my little sister, uh oh… Variel? You better not be making trouble again!” Cael groaned as she ran under the bridge.

“Bye Cael!” Rell called as the redhead ran off, before continuing to drag her nine-year-old sister across the bridge.

“W-would you let me go already?” Rune complained as she flicked her wrist.

“Fine, but you better be right behind me!” Rell said as she released her sister just as they passed the arch leading into the academy.

As they crossed into the building, Rell grinned at the towering bookshelves ahead spanning several stories, an enormous convex window on the ceiling letting the sunlight grace the massive library of the school.

Taking a right, the children darted up a set of stairs curving with the wall to reach the second floor. They scurried down the hall as Rell pulled ahead of her little sister, past several doors leading into rooms full of empty seats and desks.

The two children stopped in front of a closed door where a voice was speaking on the other side. Rell peered through the door as Rune caught up to her.

“W-what even is this lesson about, anyway? Why is it so special?” Rune wheezed.

Rell backed away from the door to look at her sister. “Mr. Monagar is teaching about the first era today!”

Rune groaned. “You dragged me out of bed for history? I want to learn magic!”

Rell frowned. “Well, I think history is fascinating, especially the first era.” Rell paused as Rune seemed unimpressed. “Aaaand… maybe we’ll hear a thing or two about first-era magic,” Rell said with a smirk.

Rune raised an eyebrow. “Really? You think so?”

“I’m sure if we ask, he will tell us all about it,” Rell reasoned.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Rune asked.

Rell groaned back at her. “You, sleepyhead! Now quiet down!”

With that, Rell gently opened the door to the classroom, finding themselves at the back of a room that sloped down to a large desk covered in books and papers, where a gray-haired man with a well-trimmed and rather sharp-looking beard was speaking. “This, however, wouldn’t be the last time Lady Harmony would explicitly take disciples from humble beginnings. We see a more modern example in our own four Keepers, who are now stewarding both the kingdom and the very realm of Alarulin as we speak. Now that they have inherited Harmony’s four elements – magic, time, law, and mind – they act in her stead, maintaining balance on her behalf.”

Rell bit her lip. “I knew we should have gotten up earlier…” she grumbled.

“You could have gone on your own. I’ve heard all of this before…” Rune mumbled. “Are we going to have to memorize dumb years and dates again too?”

“Shh!” Rell hushed her little sister. “Pay attention and maybe you’ll learn something new!”

“Mr. Monagar, sir?” One student raised their hand.

“Yes, Indarin?” The teacher looked to the front row.

“How did Harmony choose her disciples? Was there any reason she chose who she did?” the student questioned.

“That is an excellent question. Little is known of how she chose her first disciples, though according to our own Keepers, they were sought by Harmony’s most devout followers and brought to her when the war between the Kingdom of Fendra and the Dragonkind broke out last year,” Mr. Monagar explained. “Take notes, you lot; this is information not yet in the history books.”

There was an uproar of pages turning and tapping of ink bottles as students quickly wetted their quills for writing. Rell felt her heart sink. “Oh no! I forgot my notebook…”

“You mean this notebook?” a woman’s voice whispered quietly from behind the two princesses. They both flinched and whipped around to find Madia smiling warmly and holding a thin book, its cover comprising a thick piece of parchment wrapping around the rest of its interior.

“By the sky, Madia!” Rell said with a sigh as the Keeper of Mind seemed to appear out of nowhere.

The Keeper giggled softly as she placed the book down. “I could hear you two from my room, so I thought I’d join you and attend the lesson!”

Rune crossed her arms. “You’re the Keeper of Mind, you could hear us from the other side of the kingdom if you wanted to…”

“L-Lady Madia, and your majesties, I didn’t hear you enter!” Mr. Monagar’s voice rose as he stared at the back of the classroom. “It is an honor to be graced with your presence!”

Rune rolled her eyes. “Oh, here we go…”

Rell waved happily. “Good morning, Mr. Monagar!”

Madia stepped around the desk the girls sat at and began stepping down the stairs. “I hear you are teaching about the first era this morning!” she said.

“Yes, namely about the earliest recorded events in history; Harmony’s journey to bless the realm with magic,” the elderly teacher acknowledged with a nod. “And by extension, what the magic of that era looked like.”

“Would you like a demonstration?” Madia asked.

There was some whispering among the students, and Rune’s face lit up with excitement, prompting a chuckle from her older sister.

“By all means, my lady!” Mr. Monagar said, gesturing ahead.

Madia rolled one shoulder back as she stepped in front of the desk and turned around. Rell tilted her head in fascination as the young woman sized up the classroom, visibly shifting a bit as the gazes of everyone fell upon her. She smiled awkwardly and cleared her throat. “W-well, you see back then, they didn’t use reagents for magic. It was more driven by feelings, expression and emotion. It was dangerous though... back then, since reagents didn’t exist, people say casting magic actually drained you of your very life, which is why lifespans were so much shorter back then,” she mused as she explained the magic of old.

“What kind of magic can a Keeper of Mind do that others can’t do without practice and training? It’s all just sensory magic, right?” another student asked.

Madia opened her mouth to respond before hesitating. She raised a hand to her chin in thought as the student posed the question. “I- hmm… well ah, Mind is definitely the most limited in scope compared to the other three elements…” she began, speaking more quietly now. “I guess as the Keeper of Mind I can do just about anything regular sensory magic can do, just at a much larger scale and with much less effort.”

“So… it’s just more powerful sensory magic,” one student stated.

Madia did not reply at first, and Rell’s heart sunk as she saw the concern on Madia’s face. Thinking quickly, she stood up and raised her hand. “What about the Realm of Dreams?”

Madia looked up at Rell in surprise, before smiling in thanks as she cleared her throat. “Yes! This ephemeral realm is a place only accessible by the Keeper of Mind and those who she lets in. It is the place where all dreams occur, and where a Keeper of Mind can manipulate dreams to a limitless extent; it can be quite therapeutic, actually!”

The cacophony of ink bottles and scribbling told Rell that people were taking notes as Madia described the function of the ephemeral realm.

“Ah, but this lesson is about first-era magic, so I should instead demonstrate a little more thoroughly what that looks like,” Madia declared as she did a full-body turn. “As you’ll see, I don’t have any reagents on me, but with enough concentration…” Madia closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath and began to hum a tune, before slowly vanishing from everyone’s vision.

The gathered students all gasped as the Keeper of Mind completely disappeared. Rune stood up, placing her hands on the desk as she leaned forward in fascination.

Madia’s voice suddenly spoke from the place she had once been. “I can cast magic that makes me invisible to your eyes, but you can still hear me speak.”

Madia’s form faded back into view as she exhaled. “None of you should attempt it though, as, like I said, it reduces your lifespan significantly. Reagents are still the safest and most efficient way to use magic. Without them, the threats of various magical illnesses would increase tenfold. I’ve seen victims of such sicknesses firsthand… so please remember that magic like this is only ever a last resort.”

Mr. Monagar clapped softly, gazing at Madia with interest. “What a wonderful demonstration, Lady Madia! Thank you very much for giving us such a potent example.”

Madia gave a nod of acknowledgement as she stepped back up the stairs to join the sisters at the top, the elderly teacher taking his place behind his desk again as he opened a book. “Now, if you will all turn to page thirteen of your study guides, we will read more about the magic Lady Harmony first bestowed upon those who bore witness to her music. If you do not have a study guide, there are several to the side of my desk. Please help yourselves.”

Barely an hour had passed by the time Madia and the princesses sat down in the courtyard near the front of the castle. Having planted themselves on a flight of stairs leading into the main hall, Rell enjoyed the sweet sunlight while Rune and Madia stared down at the study guide they had borrowed from the class they had just attended.

Rell rested her hands on either side of her, hanging off a step as she let out a sigh. “That’s funny, I would have thought Variel would be out playing…” she thought aloud.

Madia, who was leaning over Rune’s shoulder as she read through her new book, was the first to respond. “Perhaps she went to get some breakfast.”

“She sure did,” a familiar voice spoke up.

Rune and Rell both looked back over their shoulders to find Cael standing at the top of the stairs, her hands tucked into her sleeves as she spoke. “The little scamp snuck into the kitchen. She won’t be coming out to play today.”

Rell smiled awkwardly. “Ah, that certainly sounds like her…”

Cael rolled her eyes in agreement. “Tell me about it. How did the lesson go?”

“It was wonderful!” Rell beamed. “Madia did a demonstration, and Rune was so interested she brought the study guide from it with her.”

Cael’s eyes widened as she held her hands behind her back and leaned down towards Rune with a smirk. “Really? Rune reading a book about history?”

Rell giggled. “I know!”

“Yeah, history of magic…” Rune grumbled. “It’s kinda neat…”

“Oh? I’ve got something even more neat,” Cael said confidently as she hopped down the stairs a short distance, before pulling a small cloth pouch from her cloak.

The two princesses stared for a moment as Cael held it in front of them. Rune was the first to speak. “A coin purse?”

Cael laughed. “Oh, but it is what’s inside the coin purse that matters!” she said as she opened the pouch and reached in, lifting her hand out with her index finger and thumb pinched together as a few specks of a pale-blue fluorescent sand seemed to trail beneath them.

The princesses leaned forward with interest, as Rell took in a breath as she processed what she was looking at. “Oh! Is this that new reagent you and Flain have been working on?”

The Keeper of Magic flicked her hand upwards, causing a small scattering of the sandy material to float into the air. She then pointed her fingers at the tiny cloud of dust and it immediately burst into flame, causing the other girls to jump as a wave of heat rushed over them. “Behold! It’s like a bag of tricks; a general-purpose reagent that you can simply tie to your hip instead of carrying around dusty old tomes,” Cael declared.

Madia clapped as she laughed nervously, still looking a little flustered from the heatwave. “Bravo, Cael; bravo!”

“Truth be told, it’s been done for a while now… but today Flain and I tried a more consistent way to produce it, so it’s much more cost-efficient now,” she said, before handing the pouch to Rell. “Here, you can have this batch.”

Rell’s eyes sparkled with wonder as she accepted it, looking inside as she took in an excited breath. “Wow! Really?”

Madia cleared her throat. “Cael, I don’t think we should treat the princesses as test subjects…”

“I want some, I want some!” Rune cheered as she leaned into her sister to gaze into the pouch.

“Oh, the stuff is perfectly safe, Madia… we’ve been testing it for weeks! However, that is why I have given it to Rell and not you, Rune,” she says, locking eyes with the younger princess. “We don’t need a repeat of your last fireball.”

Rune frowned as she crossed her arms, letting out a grunt of frustration. Madia, meanwhile, did not quite seem totally convinced. “Well, alright, if Cael says it’s safe… but do be careful with it.”

Rell nodded. “I will Madia, I promise!” she insisted as she closed the pouch.

Cael grinned as she rubbed her hands together, looking at Madia smugly. “I’m quite proud of it, myself. This could eliminate the need to carry heavy reagents and tomes with you if you ever want to cast magic.”

Madia, however, was staring into the distance blankly. Her nervous excitement had vanished off her face. Cael tilted her head and waved a hand in front of Madia’s face.

“Madia? Hello, friend; not still dreaming, are you?” she said with a smirk.

“It’s an unusual time for foreign visitors, isn’t it?” Madia muttered.

“Foreign visitors?” Rell wondered as she followed Madia’s gaze.

Suddenly there was a shout from the castle walls just beyond the courtyard.

“Halt! What business have you in the castle?” a guard called from above.

The girls exchanged glances, but Cael just shrugged. “Probably another merchant.”

Madia was staring into the sky, her eyes blank again. “No, they’re a Dragonkind,” Madia said bluntly.

Rell gasped and placed a hand to her mouth. “Dragonkind, here?” she said nervously. Rune narrowed her eyes as Madia shared the news.

Cael bit her lip. “Just one?”

Madia nodded. “He seems anxious.”

“You’re letting your mind wander again, Madia,” Cael said.

“Sorry! My curiosity is hard to control.”

Rell glanced between the castle gates and the two Keepers. Dragonkind… we have hardly seen them since last year, she thought nervously. She looked back at her sister, lowering her voice. “You wait here; I will go take a look.”

Rune seemed like she was just as curious, but her fear got the better of her as she nodded and stayed put.

Rell broke away from the conversation Madia and Cael were having and jumped over a bed of flowers to reach a flight of wooden stairs. The wood creaked beneath her as she stepped onto the wall.

“I don’t have the patience for this-! I’ve come a long way to speak with those in the castle!” Rell felt a chill go down her spine as the gruff voice she heard from below brought back vicious memories of a sky dotted with winged warriors.

Rell carefully glanced over the parapets, staying low as she peered at the Dragonkind below. Sure enough, a man with auburn hair was below, his skin tinted a soft red, and dragon-like wings folded behind his back.

Rell shook her head and walked over to the guards at the gate, clearing her throat. “Who is it?” she asked, speaking up a bit as though to sound more mature.

One of the guards jumped and let out a breath. “Oh, your majesty! Ah, this Dragonkind had the audacity to show up at our gates on this early morning.”

Rell looked over the edge to see the man again. His clothes are all tattered… he looks hurt. Rell bit her lip as she looked at him.

“Is that the princess? Princess Rell?” The man’s eyes went wide as he knelt a little. “Forgive me and my people, your majesty. I merely come to speak with you and the Keepers.”

Rell stared for a bit, trying to process the voice of the man, but finding it was unfamiliar. The guard tapped his gauntlet against the parapets as he leaned over again.

“Your people were forgiven when they were allowed to stay in this land, but the destruction you wrought will not be forgotten!” the guard called down.

The Dragonkind man stood tall again, extending a hand. “Your majesty, will you not hear what I have to say?” he pleaded.

Rell’s eyes widened, and she stepped back a bit. The gatekeeper stepped in front of Rell and held his arm in front of her. “She has no reason to speak to you, outsider.”

“My people are lost, your majesty!”

Rell pushed the gatekeeper’s arm down. “What?” she breathed as she leaned over the wall again.

The Dragonkind man looked down and away. “We are a proud people, but we are lost in this world. We had never seen the sun before coming here.”

Rell’s expression softened.

“Your majesty, do not let this man manipulate you. His people murdered hundreds, including the late King and Queen,” the guard said.

Rell winced and closed her eyes. Thoughts swirled in her head as she refused to make eye contact with anyone for a moment.

“I know… but it was Mennic who murdered my parents,” Rell finally said. She let out a shaky breath and continued. “Th-the people of Muurin had no choice but to follow their King…” she managed. She looked to the guard, giving him a look filled with anxious determination. “Open the gates.”

The guard looked shocked and frowned a bit, before raising his hand and looking over his shoulder. “Open the gates,” he repeated begrudgingly.

There was a loud and deep click as the gates unlocked, and a man nearby grunted as the gate slowly lifted. The doors creaked on the other side of the gate, opening the way. Rell looked over the wall again to see the man’s expression had changed from one of fear to one of joy. Rell could not help but smile at his relief.

“Your majesty,” Rell’s own relief dissipated quickly. “I understand that you are the princess, but to so easily let him in when his people were our enemy but a year ago,” the guard said, crouching down to her a bit.

Rell turned, her mouth open as though to respond, but nothing came out. Did I do the wrong thing? Should I not have done that?

“Don’t be daft, Durian. It is a single Dragonkind man in the presence of the world’s most powerful magicians and rulers,” Cael said, stepping across the wall towards the gatekeeper.

“M-M’lady!” he exclaimed, suddenly standing tall.

“Honestly, Durian, sometimes you do your job too well,” she said with a serious expression, before laughing again. “You should lighten up a bit!”

The gatekeeper, who was clearly much older than Cael, frowned and looked away. “Yes, m’lady.”

Rell looked at Cael, who placed a hand to the princesses back. “Come on, Rell. Madia will speak with the man. It looks like he’s been through a lot, eh?” she said, looking over the other side of the wall as he walked into the castle.

Rell followed her eyes sympathetically, seeing Madia step in front of the man, her gaze gentle as she sized the man up. Her mouth moved as though she was speaking, but Rell could not make out what she was saying.

“Breakfast will be soon, why don’t we get ready for that?” Cael suggested. “Looks like you could relax a little. Madia will handle this.”

Rell nodded, not even looking at Cael. Durian is right though, Rell thought. We were enemies just a year ago, but I can see the suffering in him.

She continued to stare a moment longer, recalling the armor-clad men that lay siege on her home not too long ago.

Are all Dragonkind like this man, now?