“First offer a chair: one comfy for a diplomat. Then offer a drink: usually cold, reverse if weather permits. After drinking, offer food: small morsel, two bites; one familiar to them, one familiar to us for unique experience. Finish with talk of proposal: call for a drink a second time. Make sure to shake hands - USE ONLY THREE FINGERS: Humans dislike the feel of scales.”

- Ambassador Gul’thizzt, Veronan Ambassador to Arteria, “ Gul’thizzt’s Pocketbook Page: Diplomatic Meeting Protocols”

Everyone looked sad. Elaria was deeply affected by Sophia’s suffering, which in turn meant Raylani got worried. Alodie was still cheerful, but there were definitely more moments in which the close brush with mortality stilled her joy. Miraevie felt distressed mostly stemming from the elf’s realization that there was nothing she could’ve done. Of course, most of all, Sophia was still hurting and unlikely to recover for a very long time. What a rotten week. And Sophie's off doing her own thing.

Aryana sighed, her own inability to lift anyone’s spirits weighing upon her. At least Yana seemed mostly unbothered by much of anything, the faerie busy snoozing the day away inside Ary’s coat pocket. What a carefree life, I wonder what my life would’ve been like if I was a fae. Rousing herself from her thoughts, she returned to the task at hand, the study of a horrifically dry magical text alongside her deskmates Kira and Christian, both humans also studying alchemy.

After the hectic weekend that followed the assassination attempt, classes had been put on hold for a week. But only after two days, they resumed once more. Whether the Guardians had found what they needed, or the deployment of a templar contingent from the cathedral on the mainland had soothed some fears, Ary didn’t know. All she knew was that things started back up quicker than anticipated.

Two days had already gone by and it was now Gratus. Classes were a bit tense but that wasn’t anything too spectacular. What did catch her off guard was that her alchemy class needed them to have a day to study magical theory, a great thing in any other circumstance. But one that meant she had no time to get rid of the still sleeping Yana. Still, no one noticed so far, and the one time Yana woke up, she had explained with the simple words ‘magic tower’ and Yana understood enough to remain in hiding.

Today’s lesson was mostly so that they would get properly acquainted with the theory of the different magical elements. Which in turn would allow for a better understanding of more exotic ingredients that would cross an alchemist in their line of work. It helped that amongst her deskmates, Christian also took the herbology course. The boy was quick to note any familiar ingredients, something which still took Aryana quite some time to recall. Kira was a mage adept who originally was taking this class, now having two newbies fostered onto her. The girl was patient at least, trying to help the two parse out some of the more dense verbs and phrases used in magical texts.

Then she felt it, a small tug at first, something snapping at her soul. Aryana fought to hold still, to restrain herself from gasping out loud. She felt the burning, the vice-like grip on her heart. She wanted to retch, to expel something from within. Sophie! No! You’re hurt! Gah! My insides. Aryana clutched her sides and vibrated in place, trying her best to contain the unwelcome sensations as well as avoiding disturbing her group. She wobbled unsteadily, feeling the pain travel from her stomach upwards.

“Hey… is she good?” Kira whispered.

“Huh? How would I know? I dunno?” Christian shrugged.

“Well you’re the ones in the same class. So? Is she good?” Kira tutted.

“I uhhh…” Clearly startled from his reading, the boy looked over at Ary.

She could feel both of them staring at her and tried to diminutively signal that she was fine. Neither of them noticed nor believed her in the slightest.

“She doesn’t look fine…” Christian half heartedly committed to his answer.

“Yeah? Hey. You good?” Kira rolled her eyes and then tried asking her directly.

“Y-y-yeah.” Ary managed to mumble. She could feel her head pounding in agony. Though based on all her limbs still functioning, whatever injury Sophie suffered wasn’t enough to take her down as well.

“You don’t sound so good.” Kira stated.

“Do you need to see a doctor?” Christian added.

“It-it’s fine.” Ary wavered.

She caught a glimpse of the other two sharing a glance before they exchanged a silent shaking of the head. Dang, urk, so much for not causing a scene. She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth in a futile attempt to brush the pain away, but it was useless. The pounding in her head was like a constantly unrelenting reminder that something had gone wrong. Spirits above, at least it isn’t like before.

“Prof! I think one of the alchemists isn’t feeling so good.” Kira raised her hand and called out.

“Oh? What seems to be the matter?” The elderly professor started walking over.

Kira just shrugged and pointed to Aryana.

The girl weakly smiled and tried to brush it off to no avail. She could feel the shadow of the mage loom over her, the man muttering some incoherent words that morphed into a spell. With the briefest of flickers, he had a glowing monocle over his eye and Aryana could see the exact moment his eyes widened in shock. Am I that bad? As he scratched his chin to try and hide his surprise, Ary looked down and her own surprise nearly got revealed. Spirits above! Yana! She could only pray that the panicked beating of her heart did not awaken the still sleeping faerie.

“Hmm.” The mage mumbled to himself, “Lady Kira, take your group to Karth Hall please. I believe the young lady here might be suffering acute abnormal Mana Absorption Syndrome. Does anyone in the class want to remind us what that means again?” He raised his voice. Ahh, does that mean he’s using mana sense right now?

Kira looked aghast at being ordered to leave the tower of the Stellar Conclave, but she kept her mouth shut and just frowned. Christian patted Ary’s back and tried to steady her, earning him a weak mumble of gratitude.

“Ahh, Sir Peters, go ahead.” The professor pointed to a kid on the opposite side of class.

“Uhh acute m.a.s. Is when someone has an especially potent mana absorption capability and overloads.” The student answered. But that’s not… I’m not getting mana… of course! The mana sense isn’t sensing me, it’s Yana! Gah, this is just adding to the damned headache.

“Correct. Have more confidence in your answer. You’re studying to be a mage, not a scribe.” The professor tutted, “Lady Kira, please take your charges to the clinic and be sure to tell them about her condition.”

“But our work…”

“Will wait.”

“Of course sir. Sorry.” Kira lowered her head.

“And learn to be more graceful when calling for attention, Miss Kira. We’re still in a classroom, so I do expect more decorum.” He chided, the girl in question turning scarlet.

“Sorry sir, of course sir.”

“Don’t worry young lady, symptoms of m.a.s are generally pretty temporary. However, I must insist that we meet after you’ve recovered because your case seems a little… bizarre.” He dispassionately stated to Ary, “Don’t worry, I’ll explain the situation to your instructor. I expect to see you next Astra for a check up, got it?” Damn it.

Ary nodded and the man seemed satisfied. He then gestured for the other two to assist her before turning his attention back to the class.

Christian and Kira lifted Aryana by the arms and collected the rest of their stuff, hauling her away from the classroom.

Circumstances, it seemed, wanted to conspire with her to ham up the situation. About a few seconds after she was taken out of the mage’s tower the headache subsided, visibly improving her outward visage and spirit. While the other two clearly seemed equal parts concerned and relieved at the development. Ary could only mentally tut at whatever Sophie was going through. At least this probably means it wasn’t the most serious of injuries.

She gingerly nodded and they set her down. Allowing her to walk the rest of the way in a tense silence as she could feel their gazes upon her. She counted herself lucky for having the chance to be here instead of back home. Away from the tribe and the bone chilling winds of the Frostwinds.

Her mind naturally wandered onto the cause of her current journey to the infirmary. Getting one’s life force sucked out of them felt awful at the best of times. This was arguably a better showing than when she had been brought to an inch of her life in the dwarven deep. But there was still a certain anxiety that she couldn’t quite shake. What happened to Sophie this time? In more serious cases, she knew that whatever pain she felt could help her dearest heal. Yet in an instance like this, all she could do was hope that whatever Sophie was doing went well. For she was very much aware of her own inadequacies when it came down to both fighting or magic use. I’d just be a hindrance if I travelled with her.

“We’re here.” Christian piped up.

Thanking him, the trio moved into the large building. Compared to a lot of the dorms and even some Academy buildings, Karth Hall was one of the older ones. Though it had been refurbished multiple times, Aryana could still see the signs of its ancient frame watching caring over the students under its care. The calming dark greens and blues welcomed them into where the Academy’s main clinic was barring facilities within the actual school of medicine. A few wandering students cast their curious glances over but nothing more. The first floor was split into classrooms and multiple little clinics. Each dedicated to different common problems such as mental health, diseases, general treatment, and even the one that Aryana now reluctantly ‘needed’ to see; general magical ailments.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The trio followed the signs until they arrived at one of the outer rooms. There was a certain sense of gravitas to the facilities here. The clinic of magical ailments took up the space of two classrooms and an office in any regular building, but not here. Giving the door a gentle rapt, the trio moved in to find a relatively quiet place with a thankfully minuscule amount of other patients. Relieved that none of this would involve more people than necessary to witness the awkwardness about to unfold, Aryana moved to greet the first nurse they saw.

“H-hello.” She squeaked.

“Ahh? Hello! How can we help you?” The nurse cocked her head, “We take care of any magical ailments that can be dealt with through medical and non arcane means. Just so you know you’re at the right place.”

“Eueh… right.” Aryana awkwardly nodded.

“We’re here to check her for abnormal Magical Absorption Syndrome.” Kira decided to speak up.

“Eh? Really? You have m.a.s? Give me a second.” The nurse arched an eyebrow. She pulled out some papers and rifled through them until she stopped at a certain one. She muttered the arcane words under her breath and Aryana could feel the same feeling as when the professor did his magic sense. Ugh, will I always feel that shiver when someone does it to me?

The nurse’s deepening frown already told Aryana all she needed to know. Damn, with Yana here, it might just be-

“How strange. I do seem to notice you having gathered an abundance of mana but… could you stand to the side with arms outstretched please?”

“Uhh, sure.” Aryana complied.

“Huh… did you have any symptoms? Any bad reactions that made you think that?”

“Err…”

“She was shivering quite a bit just now. And she looked really out of it too.” Christian answered. Bless you.

The nurse pulled out a small paper and scribbled something onto it.

“Ah and your name please?” She asked her.

“Aryana…” She nearly sighed out loud, “Frostfyre.”

“Alright… shivering, disassociation…” The nurse mumbled.

“Professor Werncke took a look and was the one who said it might be m.a.s and told us to come here.” Kira followed up.

The nurse scribbled something else. Before tapping the pencil against her table, “Well… you look fine. And you don’t seem to be in pain or suffering any symptoms right now.”

Aryana could only sheepishly bob her head.

“Anyways, please sign here and we’ll check you in for now. Keep an eye on your for… fifteenish minutes? See if anything goes wrong? After that I’ll release you back to class if you’re fit for it.” The nurse declared.

“Thank you.” Aryana bobbed her head a little more gratefully.

“Well, you two can stay a bit if you’d like while I check her in. But do get back to class as soon as you’re able.”

Christian and Kira both chuckled and just gestured for the nurse to carry on.

“If you’d follow me, please.” The lady stood up from her desk and headed towards a curtained area.

Aryana quietly followed and waved goodbye to her new acquaintances.

They were in what felt like a small cubicle of sorts with a bed in the middle. The nurse pulled out a monocle similar to what the professor used and also a small glass vile that had a fluorescent substance inside it. What the hells is that?! Spirits help me.

The nurse beckoned her to sit and she did so, taking the moment to look around the small curtained cubicle. Besides the bed there was a rack where the vile came from, a small table for student belongings, a stand of sorts, as well as a mirror that Aryana could see her own reflection from. She flinched at the sight. I’ll never understand how Sophie can be so comfortable looking at herself.

“Please take off your outer layer, here, a hanger.” The nurse casually instructed her as she handed a clothes hanger to her.

Aryana was aghast, “M-me?”

“Of course. We have to check to see if it’s not an allergic reaction or something else. Since you came from Professor Werncke’s is it correct to say you came from the Conclave of Stellar Causality?” The nurse asked.

“Err…”

“Sorry, I forget I don’t need to be that formal.” She chuckled to herself, “Did you come from The Mage’s Tower.”

Aryana nodded.

“Well, they also process many different alchemical and arcane ingredients there. While I couldn’t detect any direct signs of m.a.s on you, there is the chance the abnormality is because of an ingredient or another. So would you mind undress so I can dab this on your skin?”

“Uhhh… uhhh… sure? W-what is that?” Aryana nervously asked.

“Oh this? It’s a base arcane reagent that can help identify the presence of certain, what we might consider as more intense ingredients used within spellcasting and arcana use.”

“Oh.” That’s pretty cool.

“So if you’d please?”

“Ah. Right.” Awkward, awkward, awkward!

It helped even less when she took off her top and was left in her underwear. Her eyes naturally tried to look at anything besides meeting the nurse’s gaze. She knew she wasn’t unfit, given her time spent living on her own. But she felt like she was staring at an alien when her eyes danced over the mirror and over her own body. So many damned… freckles, she shuddered. She saw them everyday when changing but seeing them in their whole, particularly how they dotted around her chest and cleavage made her feel tremendously uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry. This will just be a little cool and should be over quickly. Ready?” The nurse spoke. Huh? Right. I’m at the clinic.

She nodded.

The nurse pulled out a few swabs and dabbed them in the liquid. Aryana instinctively winced even though they didn’t hurt and were, as the nurse described, just a little cool. She watched as they were then put out on the stand.

“Please don’t touch these. I’ll be back in five minutes to check. Until then, just try to relax and destress a little, alright?” The nurse smiled.

Aryana smiled back in acknowledgement.

The nurse left and pulled the curtain shut, leaving her with a little natural light and mostly a dim blue interior.

From her discarded coat came curses and mutterings. The rustling fabrics slowly giving way to the tiny but incensed form of a little angry faerie.

“Whoever’s woken me from my sleep. I, Yana, will make you weep!” She roared as only a faerie could, with a cute little squeak.

Aryana found the wings fluttering almost endearing if the faerie didn’t immediately land on her chest and begin mockingly beating against her.

“What is the meaning of this? Did the half elf come for a kiss?!” Yana demanded, her exasperated hands pointed at Aryana's barely covered chest.

Aryana couldn’t help but giggle at the defensiveness in the faerie’s voice and shook her head. The faerie’s look of disbelief was unsatisfied and she puffed out her chest to look more intimidating to the human.

“Do not look down on me! Or the one to regret will be thee!”

“I know.” She tenderly smiled, giving her companion a gentle bop on the head.

“Grrr.”

“I’m getting a medical checkup. We’re at the clinic.” Aryana whispered., hoping to not draw attention to herself.

“Medical? Checkup? What’s up?” Yana’s beatings ceased as curiosity took hold.

Aryana bit her lip, on the cusp of answering but holding back just a little. On one hand, there was nothing inherently wrong in telling Yana the truth. But on the other hand, she didn’t want Yana to think any worse of Sophie for the pain caused. To that end, she tried her best to act confused and shoot Yana an apologetic look.

“I felt a little unwell during class. The professor took one look at me and decided that I could potentially be experiencing “Mana Absorbtion Syndrome '' where I take in too much mana and end up getting sick.” She explained.

“Too much mana? You?! What happened?” Yana broke character.

“I dunno. One moment I was good then the next…. Not so good. But look at me now, I at least feel fine.” Aryana tried to reassure her.

Yana still looked doubtful. The faerie had decided to take her investigation airborne and began fluttering all around the little clinic cubicle, searching. With her search inconclusive, the faerie chose instead to cause a fuss over the pile of clothes.

“I don’t believe that tale. I’ve read better in your mail.” Yana taunted.

“Well that’s not… huh? You read my mail?”

“Ack.” Yana squeaked, retreating under Ary’s coat “But what’s wrong? This place isn’t for the strong.” She continued to mutter.

“Mmm, as you can see. I promise.”

“Promise…” Came the dissatisfied murmur in response, “AH! It must have been the elf!”

“Guilty.” Aryana sheepishly admitted.

Yana took this as her chance to pop back out, the faerie’s tiny head peeking out from under the coat. A little furrowed brow and scrunched up expression told Ary that Yana had found something unsatisfactory.

“Yana?” Aryana asked, herself a little curious about the faerie’s deductions.

“Mmmm.” The fae scowled, “Nothing seems… wrong.”

Ary faintly smiled, “See, nothing to worry about.”

“Hmpf. This time.” The fae crossed her arms.

A click clack of the nurse’s shoes sent Yana scrambling back into her coat pocket. The curtains drew open moments later as the nurse waved before taking a look at the swabs and reagent vile. With her senses now fully restored, Aryana could smell a brief hint of perfume cutting into the sterile scent of the clinic. It was a contrast she didn’t fully appreciate, but she could respect the choice in adding some difference to the clinical surroundings. Given that there was an eerie sense of stillness that existed here.

“Well, it’s to be expected, I suppose.” The nurse sighed, “Nothing here indicates that you’ve had any exposure to potentially allergic arcane materials and considering you aren’t displaying any symptoms of m.a.s, I guess you can be discharged. Are you feeling better?”

Aryana nodded.

“Well, then sign here.” The nurse produced the same paper, a few extra words and notes jotted across it.

Aryana obliged.

“Get dressed then. Your friends are waiting in the hallway.” The nurse dutifully smiled before turning away.

Aryana hurriedly obeyed, only now starkly reminded that she was caught with nothing covering her. Yana let out a few squawks of annoyance at the rapid movements disturbing her little den.

Pleased at being released so early. Aryana moved to exit, following Christian’s hearty laugh as he shared something with Kira. Rounding the corner, she put on her best smile.

“Yeah, it’s been a long time. Good to see she’s in good hands though.” The familiar, jovial tone echoed down the hallway.

“Hah. Small world though, to think you’re the one Prof Werncke sends to check up on us.” Kira chuckled, “She seems to be a good kid if a bit absent.”

“Oh! There she is!” Christian called out, “Hey, Aryana. Glad to see you’re out. Nurse told us to wait a tad since she didn’t think anything was wrong.”

Kira nodded at her, friendly if still a little guarded.

Then came the final face of the trio, one that made her heart stop, the smile dying on her face.

“The professor got worried about you and sent someone to check on you. Who knew he’d send your family though! You never told us you had a brother in the magic studies department.” Christian joked.

Aryana’s eyes met Tristan’s.

“It’s a relief to see you’re doing well.” He smirked.