[M] Imperial Battle Mage Academy [Holeypaladin and Kortaga]

[Kortaga]

“Nephinae…you will be gone a while…show them the power of elves…”

“Nephinae…you better not make any mistakes or else we all have to pay for them…”

“Nephinae…I don’t why mother and father chose you…I would be better no?”

“Nephinae…” “Nephinae…” “Nephinae…” “Nephinae…” “Nephinae…” “Nephinae…”

The shocked caused her to rock in her bed. She panted as if she had been running her whole life. She got up and moved quickly to her bathroom. She needed to move in some fashion to match her emotions. As she flicked her finger to the wall giving off a small alchemical glow she looked into the mirror. She saw blond hair and blue eyes…she saw similar traces…it was her. She felt her stomache move in a bad way and she puked.

She heaved and heaved but eventually she got up. She was scared but a warrior like herself needed to face it. As she got up she noticed…black…her purple eyes stood out in the low light. She must have just seen what she feared…

Well another night of lost sleep never killed anyone. She decided to perform her morning ritual early like the last few days.

She decided to wear her hair straight into a ponytail today. She would look proper. She pulled out earrings that would match her eyes. These would be stupid to bring into battle but since she did not expect combat on the first day of a new year of school she needed to set the right impression. She was also coming in late in terms of year to the university. The teachers said they would formally introduce her since combat groups and numbers had already formed. What this basically meant is no one will know where you stand so we will introduce you so you can start picking out your pecking order.

She was going to head out at the first crack of dawn. She could not eat…the phantoms that she sometimes saw in the mirrors haunting her. She attached her sword to her hip…a black blade for a dark colored elf. She laughed a sick laugh to herself, “Fine…I’ll smash all of those expectations and make you respect me…all of you. Mother and father were not wrong about me.” She gritted her teeth and instead of doing something productive she cried until dawn. The stress had overwhelmed her and she had not even had her first day.

She met with the head of the Battlemage Division. Apparently the numbers of people in this group were far lower than the amount of actual students at the school. She admitted she had been shocked when she first showed up. If there had been this many battlemages in total even the elves would have something to worry about. The tea had been pleasant but the shocked look she got when she first met him told her everything. She was not the stereotypical elf he was expecting. She would smash his expectations too…everyone’s…

Her hair did not stand out nearly as much here as it did at home, other than being particularly slender her pointed ears were what really told her apart. Well that and her high prestige she was giving off. She was formal with everyone, treated everything seriously and with ceremony but never ill-treated anyone. These people would be the next moves and shakers of the humans. She needed to gain good tidings with them. It would be hard to balance that with beating them in magic and swordsmanship.

She was lead to the room by a page and when she got to the door the teacher noticed her. They gave out her name as she walked in through the door, “Please welcome out new transfer student from the Elvin Kingdom, Nephinae Aeneiros Chaenorin Yesqirelle. She will be learning and battling with you all starting today.” She gave a strong straightforward gaze lifting her head up and made sure not to look anyone in the eyes.

“A pleasure to meet you all, let’s us better yourselves to better serve our patrons.” The teacher then continued, “Please have a seat anywhere you like.” This was when she started to glance around the room. There were seats available but not necessarily in any of the really good places. She mentally sighed trying to make a choice as thought filled as possible. Her thoughts were slowed down slightly by the way people looked at her. She could feel the thoughts already. She needed to banish them. Nothing changed on her face but she knew if she did not decide soon the teacher would just tell her where to go.

[Holeypaladin]

"Very little of who you are now will matter once you are who you will become."

These words, spoken by the Master Wizard at his orientation ceremony, still held a profound impact on Siegfried's life. He almost never spoke of his past, focusing instead on his studies and his future, as he entered the most challenging program of everything the Arcane University had to offer. He paid very little attention to the race and background of the various students, as it didn't matter under Imperial law, despite the fact that most of the Imperial subjects still held their own personal bias and racism dating back to the dawn of history.

Siegfried was a graduate student, having already passed all of the necessary requirements to be an Arcane Warrior, and was studying to be an Arcane Knight... the Magister level upgrade to an Arcane Warrior. It was considered the most elite of elite, and those who succeeded in passing the harsh curriculum were adopted into the Imperial family in order to be above the laws of other kings, answering only to the Emperor himself.

Needless to say, he was the only Arcane Knight candidate in the classroom, the rest being Battlemage students. While Battlemages were quite useful indeed, and were easily worth a dozen elite soldiers each, they lacked the rare talent required to utilize the Foundry circuit which made a knight who he was. Nevertheless, Siegfried trained and worked with these Battlemages as they had many classes in common, and it was during such a class that a mysterious transfer student was introduced by the teacher.

Siegfried glanced up to see a rather pretty, dark-haired elf. He was surprised to hear that she was from the Elvin Kingdom, since he recalled from his regional studies classes that the elves of that particular region tended to have much lighter hair color, though there were other elven kingdoms where such dark coloring was a bit more common. Since she was a rare female in a primarily male classroom, most of the male students seemed to want her to sit near them... though Siegfried himself shrugged. He was quite aware of the empty seat behind him, and saw no need to point it out to the pretty transfer student.

[Kortaga]

She waited for only another moment before she looked to the teacher and said, “Wherever you find is most advantageous I will follow your experience.” She immediately placed the decision back onto the teacher. Why should she make a decision like this in what she would consider a hostile environment?

From the outside she figured these students may think that she just entered in without any hard work. This was untrue she imagined she had been working longer than any of them. Still she had no idea how they would treat her until a free period.

The teacher on the other hand was skilled enough to get a sense of the room and he knew she needed to be in a spot that would be fair to everyone including her. As such he noticed that there was on other outlier in the room and one that did not seem all that interested in her. Maybe he would still be able to focus even if she was nearby. Yea that seemed like the best. “You may sit behind Arcane Warrior Siegfried. He spot will allow you to still see the board and mayhap give you a bit of privacy. Now take your seat so we may continue the lesson.”

She nodded and picked up her bag off of the ground. Since she had no place yet to store her belongings for each class she was carrying around all of her things. She would figure things out in time and not look so lost soon enough. She was already starting the map of the school so a tour would not be needed. She really needed to assimilate before long.

She moved quickly and efficiently behind the arcane warrior. She felt he stood out amongst his peers but why she was unsure. As she walked past she would give off the smell of forest and maybe even freshly baked bread. As she sat down she moved herself to be comfortable and quickly picked up her quill and ink. A quick analysis of the man before her was all things she liked. He seemed sharp and focused he did not look back on her at all. It showed he was dedicated to his studies something not too many of others strived for.

The current class was focused on Abjuration which was one of her fortes. While she needed to know where she was in comparison to what she was learning it did give her time to think about her situation. While she was still writing notes and things, her mind did seem to be elsewhere. At least there are not any blond elves in this group.

-----------------

Once the first class had wrapped up and the teacher began to move she knew she had about fifteen minutes until the next teacher came into the room to start class that was at least her perception she could be wrong. “Sir Siegfried…” She spoke gently almost as softly as she walked. Elves were quite good at making very little noise. She raised her voice a bit and said, “I was curious about our weekly schedules for Arcane Knight training and wanted to know how things moved.” She had no idea if everyone here was even becoming an Arcane Knight but she assumed they all were otherwise why would she be here.

She waited politely, moving a bit of her hair behind her elven ears.

[Holeypaladin]

Siegfried didn't pay much mind to the fact that the elf girl was directed to sit behind him. It wasn't unusual for Arcane Warriors to have girlfriends while still in school, and in fact it was almost too difficult to keep them away, but most of them were simply gold diggers looking to invest in their future by marrying someone who had great expectations in life, and so he figured he'd have plenty of time to find a girl after he graduated, rather than before, so felt no pressing need to flirt with the pretty young elf girl.

Abjuration, however, was a very useful school of magic, for anyone who planned on protecting himself in battle. For a knight trained in both martial and magical combat, it would be the key defensive school against mages and warriors alike, so he payed close attention in class. After it was concluded, however, he heard the voice of the elf behind him and turned around to face her, finally taking in the fact that she was wearing her traditional elf garment rather than the uniform robes of the University.

"Yeah?" he asked her. He was surprised when she brought up Arcane Knight training seemingly from nowhere. Sure, he wore the Imperial Purple colored garments of an Arcane Knight in training, but most of the rest of the class wore either the red of the war wizards or the royal blue of the battlemages. "You're training to be an Arcane Knight? But I've never heard of a female capable of using the Foundry circuit..."

While there had been a couple females trying to become Arcane Knights in the past, almost all of them had dropped out due to lack of talent. "Next up is Divination 401, a required class," he answered her question for her, "I don't have a lot of classes in the classroom, though... it's mostly field work, these days." Since Divination 401 was an upper division class, it required Divination 301 and 302 as prerequisites... classes which he assumed Nephinae would have taken by now, even though she hadn't.

[Kortaga]

As she moved her instrument to write out what the man spoke of, she noticed that he instead made a comment more so about the fact of what she was doing. He asked her a questions about her question which caused a blank look. Eventually though he moved onto answering her question. Next up the man had Divination 401…already…why? She felt herself already kicking her own arse over the matter. After that though he mentioned that he did not have a lot of classroom oriented classes and many more that required field based work. She figured she did not have the ability to do field based assignments. So they would be in this classroom for another class and then as an Arcane Knight trainee she would need to leave this to go somewhere else. While she figured her formal schedule would not have her following this man around everywhere at least she had not been so wrong on that front.

Going back to what he had asked her before she looked at him confused by his point about a female using a Foundry Circuit. Maybe this was something that they called one thing that the elves of her area called another thing. She was however coming her to study as an arcane knight which might have explained the mock battles and testing she had done before coming over here. They probably did not have a space for her just yet, or they were worried about her getting hurt on their soil with her direct say so. She was a diplomatic tool more so then just a casual student…they would sadly need to be careful with her.

She turned her gaze back to the man in front of her…”I assure you I am training to be an arcane knight and while I am not fully certain of what that Foundry Circuit is…the teachers have tested me thoroughly and it is the course I am studying in with the approval of the University Staff.” She said it a bit more defensively then she had intended. He doubted her like so many others did and he would just be another person she needed to prove wrong. She could also understand where he may come front. For her just to slide in from nowhere and assume a position of a difficult and prestigious position…well how would he know if she earned it.

As the teacher…whom she assumed was a Divination teacher, entered into the room she knew that he might get the say in the matter. She was told to follow an Arcane Knight trainee around provided she did not get in the way of their education. She admitted that she did not pay that much attention to the class and more so along the lines of what she needed to get done…thinking about getting her uniform and books among other things. She wanted to check out many of the other places. As she looked forward towards Siegfried she wondered if he could divine that she would be following him after this class was over. Why had the teachers picked him for her to follow…? Certainly he was not the only trainee…? Maybe he was just the easiest one to locate since he mentioned field work…he was in class now so he should be here and easy to find? She rolled her eyes as she almost ignored this following class. Thinking more on political intrigue then about looking at stars or the abyss of magic for answers.

[Holeypaladin]

Siegfried felt perfectly justified in questioning the elf girl's talents when it came to the Arcane Knight curriculum. He was unsure if this transfer student knew the difference between war wizards, battlemages, arcane warriors, and arcane knights.... and since she lacked the necessary robes to designate her field of study at the time, she didn't really have a whole lot of proof that she met the requirements. Still, as she said she was training to be an Arcane Knight while denying knowledge of the Foundry Circuit in the same breath, he simply shrugged. "If you say so," he remarked, feeling no particular desire to argue with her.

He directed his attention towards the professor as she entered and began to teach the class on Divination. Much of Divination magic was based on ancient mysticism and primitive fortune telling, but there was no denying how effective it could be... and when properly studied with the excess religious element and unnecessary fluff trimmed, it was the school of magical knowledge upon which all Arcane magic was based. He knew the significance of Divination, and respected how useful it could be on various missions, though it wasn't his favorite.

As the class was finally concluded, Siegfried stood up from his desk and collect his belongings. He had combat training next, which couldn't be conducted within a classroom, and so he began to make his way out of the classroom towards the training area. The battlemage students remained, however, as their next class was Evocation 501, which wasn't part of his own curriculum. Siegfried paid little mind to what they were doing, not any particular regard to the elf girl as he made his way to the door and turned towards the training area.

[Kortaga]

The class went on and she paid attention to some degree but she also realized the class went by fairly quickly. If that was the case it meant she really had not paid enough attention to it. I guess I’ll find out who is open to speaking with her about notes and things. This school was competitive but people also had strengths and weaknesses, working in groups for these things would benefit more than harm anyone’s chances. She would need to play her part soon to make sure she was not left to her own devices.

The man before her got up quickly, packing his things efficiently, it caught her off guard enough that she needed to quickly get up and follow him. She felt the gaze of the other students as they walked out, apparently they were the only ones leaving. She noticed something different about the robes that the man she was following her moved and the way the others were dressed. She figured she would need to ask about that at some point.

As he walked she moved up to being on his right side. He looked like a strong and dedicated individual which meant he probably did not play the games some of the other people would do here. If she asked something he would probably answer her honestly enough. She would not really know him until they fought but that would come eventually she was certain. She looked around taking into account the looks of the grounds and the simple yet beautiful efficiency of the whole thing. As they walked she looked out into the sky and felt her stomach roll over at the concept of this whole thing being up in the air. It was both a magical marvel and a nightmare in her mind.

She noticed the man had remained silent the whole trip with her. Not a single question or anything. She figured he would say something at the minimum…

“If possible I would like to know about this field work you are doing, is it mostly combat situations and dueling or does it involve more macro management and efficiently of tactics?” She glanced over to him and then added, “Also I would like to know what the proper way to address you would be should I need to contact you in the future.”

She expected him to ask her when he became her baby sitter but maybe he was not the type like that. He seemed more like the one who would find her annoying until she proved she was actually worth anything.

[Holeypaladin]

The warrior made his way silently towards his next destination, though the fact that the elf girl seemed to follow him around like a puppy wasn't lost on him. She seemed quite young, and almost lost among the halls of the university. When she finally spoke up and asked him more about his line of work, he gave a sigh, wondering why she had decided to follow him of all people, but figuring he might as well show her around if she was going to act lost anyway.

"Basically, I solve problems throughout the Empire. Once my training is completed, I'll be dispatched beyond the borders of the Empire in order to carry out the Emperor's will... but for the time being, assignments are of a domestic nature. When a king, lord, or even a local village elder faces a dilemma they lack the means of resolving locally, they'll ask for Imperial assistance... and my training involves responding to those requests."

"Typically, it's something like bandits, monster attacks, or orc raids... though occasionally I'll be required to organize the local militia or defense force for larger scale operations. Really, Arcane Knights are supposed to be all-rounders who can solve most any situation through application of might and magic... though we're not at all subtle, so those type of jobs go to someone else."

Shrugging, he said, "I'm not much for formality. You can call me Siegfried, and I'll just call you Nephinae." He remembered her name from when the teacher had introduced her to the class, though it hadn't meant much to him at the time... still, attention to detail was essential for his job, as was being able to memorize things fairly quickly.

He made his way over to the training area... essentially a gymnasium type room, laced with illusion magic that could summon forth realistic versions of any number of different opponents in order to provide effective, life-like training. The illusions could even inflict pain, as a realistic illusion could have such an effect on the mind of the trainee... though safety protocols prevented any actual death. "You training?" he asked her briefly as he stepped in to the center of the room.

[Kortaga]

Irritation crossed her face as he sighed when she started to ask him a question. She glanced over, sorry am I bothering you crossed her mind. Did he not see any other Arcane Knights in the area she could speak to? She felt a pang of guilt but it was quickly swallowed up by everything else she was feeling. Who was this guy to dismiss her as an annoyance? Shouldn’t he be grateful that an envoy of the elves was even speaking to him? Then again…even at home she wasn’t treated as anything more than a pest or annoyance. Maybe even the humans pick up on her differences…maybe they also were disappointed in her…

She shook her head but turned it into a nod to the man…Seigfried…as he answered her question. Basically he was a government owned guildsman or adventurer. Less free but still as functional. Though here they were formally trained and made to be the best of the best. The more he spoke about it the more it seemed like that was right up her alley. She wanted to do everything, be better than everyone, and be respected. If she was going to carve out something for herself at some point…she never knew where that would be…an Arcane Knight fit the bill for what she realistically would need for the infinite possibilities of the future.

She was caught off guard when he informed her of what he would call her. Once again a pang of a nerve hit home. Who was he that he spoke to her in such a way. At least allow me to introduce myself and how I feel we should address each other based on our mutual respects. If she knew who he was she would talk down or up to him but he kept everything tight. She was at a disadvantage with him and the informality of it made her rather uncomfortable.

She admired the school as they walked. She did not feel a need to speak to him anymore since it was such a hassle to deal with her. If she found another Arcane Knight maybe she would see if they were more willing to work with her. As they were walking the fact that she was not wearing a uniform really began to stand out. She needed to get one directly after whatever he was doing.

Eventually they came to something like a training hall. She hesitated as the man walked into the room. Apparently this place was full of magic…decently strong magic at that. She grew wary to a degree and when he asked if she would do some training he just sort of kept going. What she did, did not matter to him. As annoying as it was…she like the freedom of it. She thought she would be more chained down here then she was being treated…is that how he was instructed?

She quickly walked forward into the training hall and immediately removed her shoes. They were too formal for anything like sword combat. Plus…she felt at home without shoes on. She never liked keep her feet of the ground…though the floors here were not the same as her homeland…not that she expected it to be as such.

As she came forward she started to stretch her arms back to back. Once she sat down and started to stretch her legs she asked, “Are we together or separate? Swords only, magic only, or both? Friends or enemies?” These three questions for her determined what kind of training they would be doing. Also considering her lack of a blade on her she would hopefully be shown where the swords for practicing were. She did flash a playful smile as she stretched.

Training is where you could only be who you were. No lies, no faking…you just do…

[Holeypaladin]

Truthfully, Siegfried was a bit interested in the elf girl, though he tried not to show it. It seemed it was working, however, to the point where she even seemed annoyed by his display as he made his way to the training room. There weren't actually any weapons in sight, as students were expected to bring their own, which Siegfried had done, though he wasn't visibly carrying any.

His eyes settling on to the pretty elf as he awaited her reply, he gave shrug at her answer. "If we were to fight against each other, we would do so in the Arena, as gladiators. This is a training room for cooperative combat... so we'll be on the same side, fighting against illusory opponents. Obviously, abjuration magic designed to dispel illusions is forbidden... aside from that, whatever weapons or magic you prefer, are fine."

Noting how she hadn't brought a weapon with her, he figured he'd need to supply her with one. Drawing from what he knew of elven weaponry and the fact that she had mentioned swords, he used his Foundry circuit to conjure forth an elven scimitar, handing it to the girl. "One sword, or two?" he asked her, noting that due to their superhuman agility, elves often fought with two blades... something which the vast majority of humans, even the best of them, lacked the coordination for.

As he waited for her to specify whether she wanted a second weapon, he focused on his Foundry circuit again, and a suit of heavy plate armor began to form around him, eventually covering him completely. "Need armor?" he asked her, trying to figure out if he knew of any suits in her size as he conjured forth a polearm in his hand, figuring he'd use a reach weapon if she was using close range weaponry.

[Kortaga]

So…humans did fighting in the arena if they were to train against each other? She had heard about these gladiator fights and was for some reason quite fascinated by them. She had a small amount of bloodlust in here that craved combat and watching those in combat always gave her a delight. So much so that standard training felt…empty…what could one learn by striking a blade against a non-moving enemy? At first when he mentioned illusion training she gave off in inward sigh. As she reached out feeling her legs straining against her stretches. As he mentioned it though it felt like this would be more hands on. If the illusions could hurt us…

She felt a pang of sweet joy spread in her heart. She got up having felt as if she was now quite limber enough to move. As she watched the man work she nodded to him showing that she understood how things work. Training with him would be an excellent way to find out what sort of man he was. Once again, everything was true in a fight. This would be far better than asking him to describe himself. When he gave her the elven scimitar she took it into her hand. It was a light quick striking blade. The craftsman ship was…fine, for a human making an elven blade. This could simply be prejudice though. The main issue she had was this expectation…She frowned slightly as she started to casual move it about. Sure she was familiar with it…

His question had hung in the air for a little too long as she was distracted and said, “Ahh…umm…no this will be sufficient. After all…it is merely practice yes? A warm up if you will, no need for us to go all out right?” He seemed like someone who took training very seriously and for that matter she normally did as well. Why waste the time on pointless training. Something was clearly wrong if he knew her but since he did not he probably would think she was a fool. She was acting the fool and she had no idea why…If she simply said it…

She moved the blade into her right hand. This was not her dominant hand but this was how she usually held a blade. He took up heavy armor and a pole arm and she admitted to be fairly impressed. “You are…quite adept at conjuration.” She would never admit it but he really was quite skilled. Better than anything she could make, though she normally just stuck to basic things. If she tried she was certain she could surpass him…

Her weird ego aside, she noticed he was about to take this training fairly seriously. If she messed up at the beginning he would see her as nothing more than a fool. She should not place her ego so high, especially not in combat. As such instead of rejecting armor…though not very personalized, “Yes…I suppose light armor would suffice. I will make sure to bring my specific gear next time…”

As such she moved to stand closer to him. She would be getting pretty excited at this point. Her feet barely holding still. She had a genuine smile on that she dazzled when she looked at him. This was where the good part came in. She would be fast, she would earn his and everyone other persons respect.

She would twirl the blade in her offhand. Once the actual fight started there would be none of that, but it did keep her hand and fingers warmed up.

[Holeypaladin]

Though Siegfried was curious to see how the elf would perform in combat, he was somewhat skeptical of her, and decided not to judge her until he had seen her fight. Though she had expressed interest in becoming a knight, the fact that she had referred to his reproduction of weaponry as "conjuration" indicated that she had little idea of the Foundry circuit that defined most Arcane Knights, and so he figured she still had a long way to go.

"It's not conjuration," he explained. "The Foundry circuit is a specialized magical circuit that allows me to replicate any weapon stored within the Foundry registry. That particular sword was created by a High Elven sword dancer, some five hundred years ago... or well, the original of it was. It's a copy, but it should perform just as well as the original in combat." The Foundry circuit he was referring to was a little-known source of magic imbued into the very genetic material of male descendants of someone called the Founder. He had heard rumors of females who could be artificially imbued with a Foundry circuit through a Spirit Melding ritual, but hadn't met any.

Trying not to laugh at her mention of light armor, he instead nodded at her words. "Knights typically wear heavy armor... but I'll see what I can do," he said. Searching the Foundry registry, the only thing he could find that came close to her size was the ceremonial armor (https://i.pinimg.com/736x/68/03/29/680329eaec931b4df056f69b92802c6d--warrior-angel-anime-warrior.jpg) worn by the Emperor's guardians. He considered it light as it was made of a celestial alloy that way lighter than iron, though elves might consider it medium as it wasn't cloth or leather, but he figured it was close enough.

"One moment," he said, placing his hand on the elf girl's shoulder. Channeling his foundry circuit, magical energy replaced her traditional garments with the fairly light plate and mail outfit. It looked good on her, of course, as the armor was designed to be visually appearing, but magical enchantments also made it quite effective in battle. Spending very little time admiring the way it fit her slender form, Siegfried said, "Let's start with something easy."

"Training simulation, program level C. Orc raiding party. Prepare." Speaking these words, the magical symbols in the room activated, and very lifelike depictions of Orc raiders began to materialize all around the two. "Are you ready?" he asked the elf, waiting only moments before saying, "Activate simulation." At his final words, the orc illusions began to move, moving to surround the two in order to attack them from all sides.

[Kortaga]

When he mentioned that it was not conjuration but something more along the lines of replication she gave him a blank stare. Did it matter…? Clearly it did. She would need to ask him more about it once the time came.

He nodded but mentioned that knights typically only wear heavy armor. Well…I am not a knight yet am I? Maybe I will start a new trend? She was ratting on him pretty hard despite the fact that he was making equipment for her. She just wanted to get to the good stuff.

He moved and put a hand on her shoulder and when he did she flinched. She was surprised to realize that no pain came through her. She had been expecting him to hurt her. Instead when she tentatively opened her eyes she noticed she was wearing…not very much. It was…lightish medium armor and while she would not it was uncomfortable…she blushed slightly even glancing over and noticing that he himself took a small amount of time to check her out.

Do not grumble…it’s better than what you had…

She felt a need to tuck on the bottom part of the shorts or skirt whatever it was. She felt naked…

As he started to speak a bunch of orcs appeared. When asked if she was ready she simply smiled, “Yes I have been waiting for this.” Once it was activated they started to move and surround the two of them. Siegfried did not move and as such she did not either. While she had never fought with someone…damn her family making her fight alone…she really needed to watch herself. She was always explosive and cared very little about collateral damage. If she hurt Siegfried though that would be a problem. Her basic training did come in first. With her left hand she allowed mana to trickle out of her index finger and she drew a symbol. “Ang rív than…” *Iron Bark Shield*, whispered from her lips. An elvish Abjuration spell that would hopefully compliment this armors defenses. It was not very powerful but it was quick to cast.

The orcs were moving in a smart manner not like the ones she had read about. She saw the disadvantage they would have if the backs left each other. “Siegfried while I am not worried I am a partial to flawless victory. I’ll cover your back, move freely.” What she aimed to do was use her natural speed and lighter armor to simply move and stick to his back. She would follow him wherever he went. This was not her preferred fighting style but she wanted to show she could be a team player.

She preferred dodging to parrying but her absolute goal was keep his back safe so she would improvise. He seemed used to leading…really it was on her if she could follow…

[Holeypaladin]

Siegfried got the impression that the elf girl was unsatisfied with the equipment he was providing for her, despite the fact that he was doing her a favor as she hadn't brought her own. He tried not to hold elves to the same prejudice that most humans did, but it was difficult not to see them as pompous, arrogant little creatures with a massive superiority complex when so many of them acted like that. Thankfully, however, this particular elf remained quiet, so perhaps she was better than many of her kind in that regard, at least.

He tried not to react too much at her obvious discomfort with the moderately revealing armor. If she reacted so strongly to the armor, then she'd have an even harder time with her Academy apprentice robes once she received them, as the trend for comfortable clothing in the hot weather environment had led to the development of quite the revealing garments for academy apprentices. The male equivalent was less revealing, but less comfortable in the heat, as well, so it was a double edged sword in that regard.

As she spoke up, he gave her a nod. "As you wish," he said, figuring she could fight as she preferred. Though he felt confident in his ability to deal with these orcs on his own, he also recognized that small group tactics were inherently beneficial in these situations, so practice in working together against simple opponents would provide them both with the expertise necessary in doing so against stronger enemies. "I recommend eliminating the archers first, then," he said, incanting "Fethosshield" in the Draconic language to abjure forth a disc-shaped shield of force energy which hovered in front of him, deflecting the projectiles fired from the orc bows and crossbows.

He noted the elven magic she had used to reinforce her armor, recalling how a fairy's allergy to weaponized iron and steel caused armor and weapons to interfere with their ability to cast spells. The armor he had provided for her, however, was of a celestial alloy, and therefore wouldn't interfere with fairy magic. His own magic was of Draconic origin, so iron allergies didn't apply as he stepped forward, swinging his polearm to sever two orcs in half as he made his way to the nearest archer, his force shield blocking an arrow as he thrust his polearm forward, impaling the orc archer on the tip, relying on the elf to watch his back as he struck down any orc that came within range of his brutal polearm.

[Kortaga]

When Siegfried said as you wish she could not help but smile at that. She could get used to someone saying that to her. When he mentioned that they needed to deal with the archers first she completely agreed with that. In most training courses elves were taught to defend their ranged units since that is what their specialties were. When he spoke in the draconic language she felt herself want to shrink and hide; a shiver crawling along her spine at the same time. She seemed confused…why would he not speak in the human tongue? She had only been around elves and it would have been weird to hear one casting in draconic…at least in her mind.

As they traveled she kept right up with him jumping backwards to catch up. Her feet barely leaving the ground almost as if she was floating behind him. As he cleaved two of the orcs in front of himself, two orcs ran up to attack them. Probably trying to take advantage of the slow movement after a pole arm came down. She could not dodge for if she did they would hit Siegfried. She was annoyed but she had to make do.

She felt the larger sword of the orc crash down onto her blade, she felt the impact and allowed her arm to give a bit to absorb the shock. She was unaccustomed to these types of blades but she had seen them used. She was using it wrong attempting a full block with them but she figured she should stick to her own guns then attempt something she did not know when it could hurt another. The second Orc that came up attempted to cleaver her in half. With her pinned like this she would normally be in trouble, however she had another idea. “Holui Galad!” Opening her left hand she allowed a bright light to escape her hand for just a brief moment. Siegfried was facing away from her so she did not feel a need to inform him. She closed her eyes in time with the light and allowed the sword she was blocking to fall and slam into the ground. Moving quickly she stabbed her blade into the eyes socket of one orc, she kicked off of that orc and with a leap stabbed her hand into the eye sockets of the other.

She made sure to twist her fingers as she tripped the Orc and she slammed him into the ground pushing in harder with her hand. She pulled her hand free and repeated the process with the other blinded one. The shock would only last a few seconds but it did give her a chance to break free. “Open back!” Her way of saying watch yourself. She pulled the Elvish weapon free and threw it like a long dagger into another orc who wielded a crossbow. She already knew that would not kill him but it would cause problems. She also wondered how much damage the illusions took. Maybe it would be enough for training purposes?

As she moved and slide back into place beside him she merely said, “Returned…” She had no weapon now which meant she would be relying mostly on magic. Her hands were lethal though against armored foes unless she could sneak into eye sockets…which she was already pushing one lucky shot…meant she would need to do this a different way. If she counted everything they had half the orcs down. She had not checked how many archers they had like an idiot, but she let out, “Two confirmed, one unsure, nothing at 6 two at four and five.” Meaning that most of the enemies would be either to his sides which he could see or in front of him.

Did Illusions feel fear?

[Holeypaladin]

Siegfried paid little mind to the elf girl's confusion... nor did he particularly notice it. To him, it was completely normal for humans to use Draconic incantations, since unlike elves, they had no Fairy heritage of magic to draw from and had been a non-magical race prior to the teaching provided by silver dragons back in the early days of human civilization. So it was completely normal for Draconic to be the language of human magic, and was therefore required for University education.

Stepping forward towards the next closest archer, he twirled his polearm with surprising speed and agility, dispatching a couple orcs as they attempted to protect their archer before removing the head of the archer himself with a swift blow. Though the polearm was considerably heavier than a sword, it was balanced well enough to be used effectively in combat, and Siegfried had more than enough strength to effectively use the weapon, so when an orc tried to take advantage of a presumably slow backswing, he found himself sliced in half as the backswing came faster than the orc had predicted.

"Got it," he said as the elf gave him a heads up that she wasn't at his back, making a quarter turn to deliver a lethal strike to an orc who had taken advantage of his open back. He frowned as he noted out of the corner of his eye how the elf girl had discarded her weapon. "What school of swordsmanship teaches you to discard your primary weapon?" he commented, shaking his head slightly as he thrust his weapon through another orc.

Deciding to increase his offensive power, he incanted in Draconic once again, "Bekir nar, shochraos." In response to the Evocation, the blade of his polearm began to radiate a powerful static charge of electricity, and as he swung several times with his polearm, waves of lightning began to radiate from the blade, striking the orcs at a distance, their bronze and iron armor only conducting the charge and frying them within. "My side is clear," he said once the remainder of the orcs had collapsed from either the polearm itself or the lightning magic that still surged within his polearm.

[Kortaga]

"What school of swordsmanship teaches you to discard your primary weapon?"

A playful smile and giggle would escape her as he commented on that. Well are you not my primary weapon in this fight? Now that they were not completely surrounded she was able to take a more back stance in their formation. She was a mage deep down and a practiced swordswoman but she was not what would be called an Arcane Knight. This fight was slowly showing her that she had been a bit presumptuous to call herself that. She would apologize after everything was over. Since she did not want to forget…she figured she would follow suit and wrap this up with him.

Watching the lightning come out of his pole arm she smiled…ohh…he is quite smart.

She was prepping a similar strategy herself. She was whispering into her hands, considering the noise of his lightning she would probably be impossible to hear. “Pelekta true ar' ripa, me'a dulin…” Soft as a feather she opened her hands she felt the drain from her as she pulled hard to create this magic. In her hand was now eight small lightning humming birds. With her intention she looked at the last remaining orcs on her sides and threw the birds like throwing knives.

The orcs saw this coming and would attempt to dodge only for the little birds to spread their wings to move towards their targets like little homing projectiles. Electricity was very effective against armored enemies. She watched as the tiny birds, two a piece, plunked into each remaining Orc. The electricity sounded like a hundred small birds chirping for a few seconds before vanishing.

"My side is clear” she heard him say. She turned to him with a smile. Giving him a bow and said, “Mine as well.” She felt a little lightheaded which would go away in a few moments. She might need to meditate a bit to recover some mana from the nature around her, though now that she thought about it…there was not a whole lot of nature here was there? She suddenly realized she should probably not expend mana as frequently as she did in the forests of home. A bit of panic crossing her face at this realization.

As she resumed her position she would briskly walk over to where her weapon lay and pick it up. As to using it she cleared her throat and said, “I…admit…I am at a loss on what to say.” She walked back over to her stalwart knight and said, “The armor is marvelous, but I admit I do not know how to fight with this. I have watched but never really taken the time to learn it.” She looked at how efficient he looked, while she was not breathing hard she wondered how much mana this man had, he used a heavy weapon and used it efficiently while wielding solid magic.

She could have handled the orcs by herself but he had demonstrated the level each of these knights were at, as a student! Something she was unsure if she could place herself into. She bit her lip and gave Siegfried a quarter bow, paused and then a full bow speaking softly, “I underestimated you and your people. I am sorry for acting better than you. Your skills are impressive and I have come to respect the title of Arcane Knight, of which I feel I fall short on.” While he had not done anything impressive on the outside, she saw what it really took to reach his level, of control with both magic and swordsmanship. Even if she beat him in a fight, that would mean little for his dedication and prowess. His talent and potential was what she was looking at more so now.

She lifted her body and spoke,“Diola lle, Edan.” She paused for a moment and then lowered her head slightly again and said, “I mean thank you, Siegfried.” Humility was not her strongest suit but she intended to work with it all the same. Really she was reaching out but was unsure how. Maybe there were others who she could reach to here but…well she felt like she could really work with him. While she was serious her face was a little pink at the concept. He might see her just as foolish and small. He worked hard for all he had and she…well she had worked but there was a huge difference in their dedication.

She figured his ego would inflate at being complimented by an elf for his magic. She had terrible visions play out of what was about to happen but she tried her best to keep herself here and now. Her over dramatics would not serve her here.

[Holeypaladin]

As he cleared his side of the orc attackers, Siegfried noted from the corner of his vision the tiny birds of electricity landing on the orcs before the thundering sound of lightning signaled their end. Hearing the elf say that her side was clear, he gave a single nod and stood straight, allowing his polearm to dissipate as the short fight had reached its conclusion. "Not bad," he said, turning his attention back towards the elf. "I understate things a lot, by the way," he remarked, hinting that his "not bad" comment had been just such an understatement and that the elf had done quite well.

Watching as she walked over to recover her weapon, the knight loosened his control on it, and the elven scimitar faded seemingly back to the nothingness from which it was created. "Well, you're in the right place to learn now," he remarked. "That particular set is made from a celestial alloy, so it won't interfere with fairy magic... but the Academy will also require you to learn Draconic incantations for your spells and modify your casting techniques to allow for steel armor, as well."

Noting the way she bowed towards him and apologized, Siegfried gave a shrug. "Think nothing of it," he remarked, having understood the elven words without her needing to translate them. "You've got a good bit of talent, for an elf," he admitted. Though elves tended to have a higher aptitude for magic than humans, on average, Siegfried had been through the painful procedure of having powerful magical circuits inscribed into his being, and no longer considered himself to be human... though it seemed that Nephinae still considered him such.

"We could try this again sometime, if you want," he remarked. "I'm going to dismiss your armor now, though," he warned her, giving her time to prepare and perhaps cover herself up as the armor began to fade around her form, to be replaced moments later by the clothing she had been wearing prior to the fight, though the few moments between the time her armor vanished and the time her clothing reappeared had been the reason for his warning to the girl.

"What's your next class?" he asked her. "I can walk you there, if you like." As for himself, he had a bit of free time before his own class.

[Kortaga]

When Siegfried told her that she had not done badly she puffed out her chest a bit. She was quite happy with herself. It was her first time fighting the illusionary enemies and while normal enemies would take a better beaten than these guys, she knew and hopefully he knew, just how strong she really could be. She brushed a hand through her hair and said, “Naturally, and that was casting without a catalyst. I can do amazing things with them. Just you wait and see!” It was not a boast but she did want him to think she was amazing. What girl didn’t? It might have been weird that she took not bad as a compliment but it was vastly more than what she got at home.

She watched as the elven dagger vanish and she was quite surprised. She also noticed that his polearm was gone as well. This…confused her. He said it was not conjuration and yet they vanished after use? Maybe he was just confused. When he mentioned learning draconic she shivered a bit. In terms of magic casting it was like fire and water in her opinion. Dragons were forceful and natural disasters whereas fairies were natural and flowing. She gave a sheepish nod though know that at least learning it would not do her any harm. She thought about how little she heard draconic…it was like an evil language to her. Only heard when people were really angry at each other.

When he mentioned she had good talent for an elf at first she wanted to lay into him but as she looked…she really did not feel a need to defend herself. He had complimented her and he probably did not mean it as a backhanded compliment. She just ate it. Unhappy as she was…she thought she was starting to understand him just a little bit.

He mentioned they could try this again sometimes and of course she thought that would be a great idea. That was at least until her clothing started to fade. Her face flushed as she felt herself caught into the trap. “REALLY!? AT LEAST TURN AROUND!” She quickly moved to get behind him and stared daggers at him while the change occurred. How made could she really be? He gave her armor and a weapon. He warned him in advance so it’s not like he was trying to take advantage of her. Finally he was a solider and they usually changed together for efficiency purposes. He would not look at her like an object but she had never done that without anyone so she was more the issue here. “Thanks at least…for the warning…” She was not going to call him an idiot or a pervert. He was being rational. What more could she said.

As he asked her about her next class she walked back in front of him when her clothing came back. Still red from the situation. “My schedule does officially start till tomorrow. Today I merely need to gather my books and clothing. I was told by the headmaster to follow a knight around since it’s what I was applying for. Though I guess I should ask you as we walk. What are the options here?” She actually really enjoyed his company and any classes she could take with him she wanted to but…

She could not say that. It seemed too much like she was coming onto him. He did not seem to show any interest in her minus her magic casting but then again they had known each other only a few hours. Who knew what was really going on.

[Holeypaladin]

Chuckling somewhat at how proud the elf was of her casting, the knight in training gave a simple nod. "It's good to be able to cast without a catalyst... a good, solid sword stroke can cut a wand in half with ease, and even staves can be broken with heavier weapon blows. A wizard who requires such in order to cast can be... quite useless once he is disarmed." Her "wait and see" comment hinted that she would wish to show him more... something he didn't particularly mind, as training alone could be boring.

At the embarrassed reaction in the elf girl as her armor faded, the knight could only laugh. "I did warn you, after all," he remarked, feeling no particular need to act shy when she was the one experiencing the brief nudity as her clothing shifted back. She didn't seem to be particularly mad, so he merely nodded at her words, and began to head towards the exit of the training room.

"Alright then," he said to her. "I'll show you to the registrar, at least. They'll be able to give you your robe and wizard hat, as well as assign you a list of books and a residence. I'm guessing you'll be staying in the dormitory. As for options..." he thought over the things he felt she might qualify as he led her through the halls towards the registrar, "A battlemage might suit you. They're good at direct combat and evocation. War wizard uses some evocation, but most of their spells are geared towards force multipliers to enhance the performance of the Imperial Army and Airship Navy. Then there's the Spellblade, which channels magic through a specially designed runeblade catalyst. There are more subtle roles, such as a magical infiltrator, and research jobs as well, but you seem to prefer direct combat from what I've seen."

That was all he could think of at the moment, as he had arrived at the registrar, though there were several other options which he might have overlooked. "Looks like we're here," he said, gesturing for the elf to proceed on in to receive her robes and wizard hat. The thought of how she might react to wearing the apprentice robes of female University students, however, was a bit amusing, considering how she had reacted earlier to the armor he had provided for her.

[Kortaga]

Siegfried’s explanation of why a sword could best a castor reliant on a catalyst was the exact reason she trained so hard to be able to cast without one. A catalyst in her mind simply allowed the strain of the casting to not be solely on the body. Mana costs were the same but you just did not get heavy and tired with a proper catalyst. Thus allowing higher tiered magic to be used. Some magic simply needed multiple castors or catalysts, it was a fact. Hence why she had a very special two made for her. Knowing that she would need to learn draconic incantations made her nervous especially with her wondering if her catalysts would work through Draconic. Draconic was such a harsh and violent language she really did not care for it…but if Siegfried could do it than so could she.

Siegfried began to leave the training area and then mentioned that he would at least take her to the registrar. He mentioned that she would be given her school attire which would be good. She needed to stand out less and being a dark haired elf was not doing her any favors.

As they walked he thought about what would suit her the best based on what he had seen. Certainly this was not the do all be all of her ability but Siegfried made an astute guess. Once again realizing that his intellect was at least optimal, though why his intelligence mattered to her was somewhat of a mystery even to herself.

Battle mage was the first name that came out and she thought that it might suit her. War Wizard sounded silly as such she felt like she might steer away from it plus it sounded like it would not lead her to the goal she had set for herself. Spell blade was another concept she liked. Finally he did manage to say magic infiltrator and researcher which he thought she would not care for. She frowned a bit at that…for a multitude of reasons. Another thing that bothered her was the fact that he did specifically leave out Arcane Knight…She had not met his expectations…he was better than her in his eyes. Arcane Knight seemed to be the cream of the crop here. She scowled a bit but simply let out a sigh and looked away. She crossed her arms and said, “I will work my way up then. It would be better this way so no one doubted my ability…”

She would hate it if she was made Arcane Knight because she asked for it. No she needed her peers backing…she needed to stand on everyone’s shoulders and be recognized.

As he gestured for her to go inside she made her way to the counter. The lady at the desk looked lovely and when she came in she smiled. “Hello! How might I assist you today?” Nephy gave her a bit of an awkward smile and said, “Yes I am a new recruit I am here to receive my clothing and to figure out where I should go for lodging.” She of course would need to gather her things but that was a small hurdle. The lady smiled again and said, “Can I have your measurements as well as what field you are going to be a part of?” Nephy blushed slightly at the comment and decided she would whisper it to the girl and then louder said, “I will be joining the Spell blades.”

Out of everything he said that one would fit her the most…at least she hoped. If not she would always move to another group…like the arcane knights.

After a few minutes she received quite a few pairs of clothing, thankfully enough to be able to wash in between and then she also received a small case. As she looked at it the lady said, “That will be your school identification. Please carry with you at all times. It does give you special provisions outside of the school such as spell usage among other things.” Nephy nodded, smiled, and responded, “Thank you kindly.” The lady give her two bags one for clothing and one for books. She had not seen the clothing yet but that would have to wait till later tonight.

As she walked back out she said, “Th-thank you for waiting. Now I just need to register my accommodations and I’ll be all set. Is that also done here or should we go to the dorms themselves?” This was something she was nervous about. She knew she would have to have at least one other person if not more living in the same area. She figured it might be fun but it would also be easy to mess with her. She also really hoped that she did not get placed with a bunch of elves in a segregated community. Sometimes it was good to have people of similar culture together…but for her…she would rather not.

She also looked at him and said, “Is magic prohibited outside the school? She mentioned students had special…something outside the school. Oh and also I wondered what the living conditions were like. Oh Oh and also I decided to take your advice and start as a Spell Blade!” She gave him a confident expression like she was the best thing ever.

What that confidence really hide however was just how happy she was…she might be able to carve out something for herself here.

[Holeypaladin]

Siegfried didn't think it odd that the girl didn't show signs of meeting the same standard that he himself held to. Though he took pride in being in the Arcane Knight program, he knew it wasn't for everyone, and figured her talents were better suited towards a field that was less martial, and more magically focused. After all, there was no denying her magical aptitude, and it was clear she didn't favor the heavy armor and weapons of an Arcane Knight like himself.

He nodded at her words. "It's usually best to start off in a field where you know you can excel, prove yourself better than everyone else in your class, and get a recommendation to a more advanced level of study, after all. Most Arcane Knights start in the Arcane Warrior field, though it's not unheard of for them to come from Battlemage or Spellsword schools."

He stood outside the Registrar, listening to the conversation between Nephinae and the secretary. He chuckled a bit to himself when the girl refused to speak her measurements out loud, glancing over to see her whispering them to the lady instead. It was rather adorable how the young elf was so shy about such things, though it did make him a bit curious as to what her measurements were.

Before long she was returning to him, and he gave her a nod as she mentioned which field she had chosen to start in. "I believe Spellsword apprentices are required to craft their own rune blades, which is something more unique to their field of study. I rarely use a rune blade myself, though perhaps I should practice a bit more with one... it never hurts to gain further knowledge in martial and magical combat, right?"

He gave her a slight smile, noting her confidence and positive mood despite her attempts to conceal how happy she was. "I'll show you to the dormitory next, then," he remarked, motioning for her to follow him to the dormitory. Lower division dorms for non-combat apprentices were divided into male and female dorms, the more crowded of which being, interestingly, the female. This was because male apprentices often preferred combat-focused fields of study instead. The dormitory for combat focused mages was coed, though it was rare for roommates to be of mixed gender.

Walking up to the dormitory, the knight said, "I'm guessing you'll be moving in to your room now, so I guess I'll see you later then... Nephinae." Waving to her briefly, he headed up to Room 409, which he currently inhabited by himself. While it was normal to have a roommate in the dormitory, he did not currently have one, as the dorm was not yet full to capacity.

By the time the elf was given the key to Room 409 and told to head up and change in to the blue apprentice robes of the Spellblades, Siegfried was already sitting at a desk in the room, reading a spellbook on Abjuration that was written in Draconic runes.

[Kortaga]

Siegfried mentioned something that she had been wondering herself. The different classifications always lead to an advanced class. As he said she would work hard and get recommended to an advanced type of class. She nodded at this…it made sense really. No one started privileged so everyone worked their way to what they desired. It was as she would call it a classless system. Did not matter if you were noble or commoner. She personally liked this system, this is what made a solid country, for the ability to rise and the ones who were cocky to fall. She needed to watch herself, she was very confident and as she had noticed sometimes overly so. Such was that of elvish higher class…not that she fit that mold very well.

When he mentioned that she would need a rune blade she held up her head in noble confidence. “I already have one! If they ask me to craft another for practice purposes I will. Mine however is a lovely blade made from linyenwa Isil alda. It is very powerful. I think you will be quite fascinated by it. Maybe if you are nice I’ll let you swing it around.” She glanced at him with a teasing smile, of course she would let him she owed him for today. Plus the blade while of high quality was not one of the ancient treasures so no one should make a fuss if a human touches it.

“Nehtar Arauco is what my great grandmother called it. She gave it to me with the expectation that one day I will be fit to wield it.” She nodded to herself at that, attempting to ignore her brother’s and sister’s protests pounding in her head. She shook it slightly trying to focus on the matters at hand.

As they made it to the front window of the dormitories Siegfried bid her Farwell. She bowed to him and said, “and I you Siegfried.” As he walked away she was surprised at him. He was stoic but if you catch him he gives small smirks and chuckled. If not for her elven ears you might never hear him make a sound. He was gifted for a human and she wondered how he got to where he did. She imagined he was popular in a number of ways and hated by many more. Nephinae was exceedingly gifted in magic even for an elf but the only thing she got was scorn and hate. Thinking only to her great grandmother; the only one whom showed her neutrality.

The fact that he waved to her…was that normal or did he actually enjoy her company. They stuck to mostly school topics not really getting to know each other. If he knew about her…would he still be this way. Her eyes squinted slightly…this man, a closed secret to her.

The lady informed her that she was already registered by the headmaster and that she would be staying in room 409 with one other occupant. She smiled and nodded to the desk lady and then she was informed that her bag was brought here. She thanked the desk lady again and together with all her bags, struggling slightly, carried her things up the stairs. A few boys had tried to offer their assistance but she declined them. She would not be a very good warrior if she could not carry her own things. She noticed she was a rare thing in the upper dormitories. She saw a few elves on the lower floors all of which gave her either a cold shoulder or spit out that terrible word as she passed. She paused at the third floor and said, “Guess that name is going to follow me to any elf I meet huh?” She would not be surprised if one of her relatives had warned the elves here. I pray that it is not an elven roommate. Please be anything else…

Finally making it to the Fourth floor she made her way down to room nine. She paused as she put her things down…then she reached out and turned the key. As the door unlocked and she opened it she saw…saw…

“S-s-s-s-Seig…” he was sitting at a desk in the room. He was…not comfortable but…her face turning pink she back peddled out of the door and looked at the room number again. She then checked her key again and confirmed it for herself.

They were roommates…haha…ha…so funny…

She made her way back into the room and said, “Th-thank you for having me…” he mind buzzed wondering why in the seven hells did they put her in a room with a boy? Was this staged? If so why would the headmaster do this? Was Siegfried way more important than she realized. Should she have been more respectful to him? What if he was a prince or something?

She moved her three bags into the room and closed the door. She felt like such an invader…she felt her skin crawling…”I…I…umm…need to…change…” She quickly grabbed the bag with her new outfit and rushed into the bathroom.

Okay Nephinae listen up you are a respectable girl. No one is going to judge for this, this was forced upon you. You are a big girl and would be used to staying with guys in the military anyway. He is probably thrilled to have you as a lovely addition to his room. On the brighter side…he has to at least be your something now. She thought they might vanish from each other lives but now they were stuck. She thought she would be placed with a Rune balder like herself. She wondered how planned this…the thought of Siegfried saying see you later made her wonder…no…he does not seem like the dishonest type.

As she finished putting on her attire she looked at herself in the mirror…a pause caused for concern. Unable to contain it she lets out. “HOW DOES ANYONE FIGHT IN THIS?” She felt like she was…well not naked but this was probably the most revealing thing she had ever worn. “It shows off more than my night garments…” She suddenly covered her mouth and realized Siegfried could hear her…

She opened the door and tentatively stepped out. She felt like a whore…dressing up for a Spirit based event…

Thankfully her shoes were knee highs with small heels but the skirt she felt had to be extendable…she felt like any sudden movements might cause it to blow up. If that was not the worst part she had gloves but it exposed her elbows and even her shoulders. Even the weaving at the top was intended she show the tops of her…she both attempted to pull up her top and down at the same time. An eternal battle for her. She also noted that she should have been more prepared…she saw the uniforms on her way up but was too focused on her issues to even notice.

She pulled her hat down as if vainly trying to hide her face. To be fair as far as colors go Blues and blacks with a little silver fit her hair color well and her eyes came off like a demons if she could manage a cold look down on you stare like a normal elf could. Looking at her now though she doubted Siegfried could ever see her as evil.

She sat down on the bed and crossed her legs to cover what little the skirt did not. A blush on her face she said…”I…I…sorry. I thought… it would be a girl. I should have knocked…umm…so…room rules?” She tried to smile but she was overwhelmed at this point. At least he did not come off as a pervert. She needed to change the topic of her mind…

[Holeypaladin]

The knight chuckled somewhat at the words of the elf, giving her a nod. "Show it to me sometime, and in exchange I'll show you a bit of how the Foundry circuit works. Seems fair, right?" Judging by the name of the sword, it was a very old elven blade, likely older than Nephinae herself. "Mithril, I take it?" he asked a bit more about her sword, figuring that it was unlikely to be a cold steel blade due to the fairy origin of elven magic. "It should serve as a useful main weapon, though they'll likely force you to take classes as to how to make runeblades using draconic runes instead."

Heading up to his room, he opened up the spellbook of Abjuration. He was reading about the Destroy Barrier spell, a very useful, yet rather difficult spell to cast, when he heard a key turning at his door. Curious, he turned to see who it was, only to see the pretty young elf yet again, with an absolutely adorable, embarrassed reaction to his presence. Chuckling a bit at her stuttered words, he said, "Oh, hi. I kinda figured I'd be getting a roommate at some point."

Though surprised at the fact that his roommate was a pretty young elf girl, it wasn't completely unheard of, and he simply chuckled and nodded at her words, watching as she went in to the bathroom to change. Hearing her startled expression about how to fight in the apprentice robes, he couldn't help but laugh in response, though likely a bit too loud as he figured she could hear him just as he could hear her.

As she emerged from the bathroom in the blue robes of the spellblade, he glanced over at her, briefly looking over her. "Looks good on you," he remarked. Due to the short length of the skirt, it seemed like he saw a brief exposure as she sat and crossed her legs... though it might have been his imagination. He shook his head at her apology. "No need to worry. As far as room rules are concerned... common sense consideration and respect should cover it. Don't bring a boy in here if you don't want me bringing girls in here. That sort of thing."

"Oh..." he said, as if realizing something for the first time. "If you're my roommate, then we'll most likely be partnered up for special missions. That's typically the way things work around here, at least. So I guess we already have a head start in our training together."

[Kortaga]

He complimented her...and when he said that she looked at him timidly at first but then went to squint. He was just being nice...she knew that she was not attractive in the slightest. Everyone around her had made that clear early on in her life. The only thing she had was strong magic and her dedication. She still was rather thankful...she needed to lighten up. Siegfried had done nothing but been exceptionally kind to her and here she was judging him. She had to let out a small sigh, physically trying to relax.

He mentioned that common sense consideration was what she should follow. She did have one significant problem...she had never lived with anyone before...she had a “Family” but they did not allow her to live in the same home as them.

As such she was thankful for the following explanation and he even then went on to mentioned that they would more than likely be going on special missions together. This got her excited. She wanted to prove to him and everyone that she could be useful and strong. Plus, if Siegfried’s performance was affected by her. she had to do her best.

Going back to his comment though she quickly stood back up. She moved around and started to go through her clothing bag again. “You do not need to worry about me bringing anyone here. I wouldn’t want to kill anyone by giving them affection.” One might consider that she was making a joke except for the fact that she said it in such a matter of fact, serious, and slightly sad manner. “If you aim to have a significant other, just allow me notice so i can give you privacy. I know young males such as yourself enjoy the company of lady’s upon occasion.” She had a younger brother who was always around ladies showing off. She knew what roughly went on between a man and a woman.

She had no idea…but she thought she did.

“Besides you seem desirable so I imagine you have the occasional suitor.” She suddenly picked up a piece of cloth that made no sense to her. It was small black and seemed to have one larger hole and two small ones. She figured it had nothing to do with her top...so not a shirt…

She then found another one that looked liked the straps she wore around her chest. These ones however seemed curved in a way...she gave them both a confused look. She noticed she had quite a number of these. Only ever in white or black. Three of each color making six pairs in total. She took out the rest of her blue outfits and wished she had something different. She only brought two outfits with her so she supposed in total she had eight outfits in total.

She played with the fabric and smiled...hoping for a new beginning.

She glanced over to her roommate and with a smaller voice said, “Umm...I know I may ask...alot of obvious things...and I am sorry for being so naive. If I bother you in anyway please be direct about it. I cannot fix myself if you do not tell me how to.”

[Holeypaladin]

Glancing over to the girl as she stood up again, the knight thought for sure he saw something this time, though her words caused him to chuckle somewhat. "So are you some kind of princess or something? Not permitted to get too familiar with a man, lest you become unsuitable for an arranged marriage?" It was considered law in the Empire that in order to be suitable for an arranged marriage, a princess or noble's daughter had to be a virgin... for her to be otherwise could be considered an act of war, rather than a treaty of peace.

He shrugged off her comment regarding his desire for young ladies, and though her comment on him being desirable was flattering, he paid it little mind. "I don't have much interest in whores, or in girls who only see me as a means to improve their own social and political standing." Watching as she held up some women's underwear and gave it a look of confusion, as if she had no idea what it was, he suppressed the urge to laugh. He had heard that elves didn't wear them, and given her confusion, this seemed to be true, at least in her case. Which indicated she currently wasn't wearing anything under...

Well, being a guy, he felt it would only be more awkward if he tried to explain the purpose of the garment to the elf girl, and thus made no comment. He shook his head at her meek comment, saying, "You don't need to worry about that. I imagine this is your first time away from Elven culture, so of course some things will be new to you. I can answer obvious questions, but there's a chance you might find the answer embarrassing." Especially, he figured, if it was a question involving her undergarments, or current lack thereof in this case.

Closing up the spellbook for the time being, he made his way over to his own bed, sitting on the edge of it and looking at the elf girl. Watching as she began to sort her garments, he wondered if she felt any embarrassment doing so in front of him, though her confusion as to the purpose of some of them was almost as adorable as her inexperience in wearing such urban fashions of the Imperial City. "So you mentioned having a spellblade?" he asked, figuring it was among the things she had packed.

[Kortaga]

"So are you some kind of princess or something? Not permitted to get too familiar with a man, lest you become unsuitable for an arranged marriage?"

They each had a desk so she started to move her things onto it. “Oh ahh…no. My Grandfather is one of the main foreign affairs officers for the elves. I am the youngest and most likely last of my father’s children. So I really am not worth much of anything though to humans it sounds like I do. As for marriage…” She felt her siblings and parents bashing their comments again and she closed her eyes briefly hesitating as she placed the ink down onto the desk. “The uhh…last time I gave someone a kiss they…well they uhh…erupted in purple flames.”

She remembered her family bringing her into the room. Watched as she was told to help a man and that she needed to give him a healing kiss. She was small and young and thought how amazing it was it was that she could heal people with just desiring and loving them. When she gave him a peck on the cheek though she watched in horror as he suddenly started to scream and her father told her to watch. He died slowly and smelled worse than anything she had ever seen. She hated flame magic for that very reason. She was over it enough to use it…but she made sure never to show affection to anything again. It had been a trick…someone scheduled for death but she had no idea. She believed she was cursed…

As she went back and examined the clothing some more she slowly started to figure out what her clothing was actually doing…he mentioned he had no interest in whores or those who wanted to improve their standing. This caused her a bit of confusion as she started holding the undergarments in different places attempting to see how it would fit. “So you want someone of higher status than yourself and she needs to have not slept around. That is some tough criteria you have laid out. I am certain there are a few though that would meet it and find you worthwhile.” Finally it clicked and she paused for a moment…really? She turned her head and gave her him an awkward smile. “Another…moment…please…” She went back into the bathroom and attempted what she thought was right. Ahh…so this was why they were okay wearing such short clothing…

As she walked out a little flushed she cleared her throat. “Yes…thank you…and I’ll live through any embarrassment. As for the blade.” She moved over to her last bag and reached in pulling out a summoning scroll. She smiled with glee as she opened it up and biting onto her thumb she dabbed a small bit of blood onto the scroll. She laid her hands on it and hummed to herself while she called out to the blade. As she did the ink began to light up and then vanish. In front of her though was not a blade but a small piece of parchment. Confused she tilted her head to read it.

Cin gar- baw foeir na ha.

She leaned back against her bed and felt a wash of new darker emotions. She whispered to herself giving a slight chuckle. “You do not deserve it…” It was either in her eldest brother’s or father’s handwriting. It was the only thing she had received willingly…and they took it from her. She placed the paper back onto the scroll as if it was sacred. She stared at the paper for only a few short moments before remembering that Siegfried was in the room. She wasn’t embarrassed she could just slowly feel her value dropping. How she stood in his eyes…she had no idea if he could read it but she tried to roll it back up into the scroll.

“Ahh, I am sorry Siegfried…I guess…I guess…I’ll have to show you…another time.” She wanted to curl up into a ball and weep into her pillow but not in front of him. She cannot be weak not now…not in front of someone so kind. Her catalyst should have been with her blade…if she had been reliant on them for casting…Thank you grandmother…for teaching me to not rely on tools.

She put the scroll into the bag again and slide it under her bed. As she sat down on it she held her hands in front of her. “I’ll have to just show you how good I am at crafting!” She tried to smile but it was weak. She needed to change the subject and said, “So what are you strengths? Mine are Abjuration, Evocation, and Transmutation!” Siegfried might not allow her to dodge considering what happened but she would let that be his decision. She was not going to push down on him. “I am fine enough with Alteration and Illusion. Though those are mostly self-taught.” From possess of elimination he could guess what she had no training in.

[Holeypaladin]

The knight in training gazed at the elf girl, listening as she spoke of her circumstanced. "Purple flames? Like, literally?" He thought of what this could mean. Typically, magical fires were fire-colored, or sometimes white if they were particularly hot, but purple flames weren't typically the result of any evocation he knew of. Any fire hot enough to shine violet light was far too bright to look at directly and would blind the viewer rather than look violet, but there was a distinct difference between violet and purple, even still.

He was thinking over this purple flame as she returned and spoke of status and sluttiness, immediately shrugging it off. "I wouldn't say that's the case, either. It's not so much about status to me, but it's important that a girl doesn't see me as a means of improving hers." Noting how she played a bit with the undergarments, it didn't take the elf girl long to realize what they were, though he made sure not to miss the flash this time as she got up and went into the bathroom to put them on, figuring it might be his last chance for awhile.

As she returned, he chuckled and shrugged at her comment of embarrassment, watching in anticipation as she pulled out a scroll. However, instead of a sword, it instead produced a note that visibly dampened her mood quite a bit. Frowning a bit, he noted from the way she sat that she had indeed fixed her clothing, her words slowly registering on him. It was times like these that he was grateful he could use the Foundry circuit, but he didn't bring it up as he didn't want to make her feel even worse.

Listening to her saying which schools she was good at, he noted the conspicuous absence of one of them. "Are you saying you don't know much Divination? You'll have a hard time at this school if you don't, since it's required for all mages..." Shaking his head a bit, he said, "I focus on the typical Arcane Knight schools. Among which is Abjuration, just like you. Speaking of Abjuration, though..."

He browsed through some of his spellbooks, finally finding the one he was looking for, and walked over to sit next to the elf girl. "Can you read this?" he asked her, opening the book to a spell titled "Leor arcanisstok chikohk." It was a spell to remove magical curses, of intermediate complexity, yet presumably within her ability to cast, as it was within his. "I'm betting that whole purple smoke thing was an illusion, but if you're cursed, this spell should remove it. I want to prove that your affection is not lethal, but if I do start to burn a purple flame, you can use this spell to put them out," he said, flipping the book to a spell titled, "Leor arcaniss vers." It was a simple dispel, which every Abjurer should be proficient with. "Are you ready?" he asked her, wanting her to be sure she was ready before he continued.

[Kortaga]

Siegfried seemed surprised by the fact that the man had erupted into purple flames. He asked about the flames themselves. She hesitated for a moment to make sure remembered. “They were not black and not blue I am certain they were a dark purple…” Maybe he image of it was changed this was when she was really young but causing death at such a young age…she felt like there was no mistaking her memories.

As she thought about his other answer it was simple. He wanted love…he wanted it to have nothing to do with anything else; though if he was interested in love he certainly did not make it out like he was searching. He was probably just focused, it was not easy to be an Arcane Knight and a woman would probably just get in the way if she was not just as serious as he was.

He mentioned what he was good at, he was probably good at most things and was just humble. He started to mention something and began to look through books. As he did that she moved to sit onto her bed and then picked up the note. She frowned at it and then with a small enchantment allowed it to burn away. She hated her brothers and sisters. Her parents and the elders were different but something about her siblings drove her to feel that dark emotion.

Siegfried sat next to her and she glanced over at the book. He asked her if she could read this. Thankfully she studied the language before coming here so she could. She would be a mess otherwise. She made sure to speak it so he knew she could not that it necessarily needed a vocal component. “Leor…arc-anis…stok chik-ohk” She looked perplexed until she kept reading more, it looked like it would be hard for anyone not trained in her field but since she was a three trick pony she felt she could handle it easily with a tiny bit of practice. Casting on the fly was a specialty of hers.

He flipped to another spell that was similar but different. This one she knew or at least the eleven equivalent to.

‘I want to prove that your affection is not lethal’ this repeated a few times in her mind and suddenly her blood pressure raised. She felt her face flushed and she said, “Wait…Wait! I am not about to destroy the only person who has been nice to me in years! What is wrong with you…why would you even take that risk or trust me to fix you?!” He had to be stupid. Stupid…why…?

“It’s incredibly foolish of you…” She didn’t know what to say. “You get nothing out of it…” Yet she continued to talk. “Why would you ask me to hurt you…” It wasn’t mistrust…it was all internal fear. Her hands were shaking and she looked at them with rage. She hated how weak she was.

[Holeypaladin]

Siegfried tried to think of what sort of flames would be purple, but all of his knowledge of evocation told him that flames usually burned yellow, orange, or white. He never studied elven magic, or fairy magic, though it wasn't out of the question that fairy fires might be different colored than evocation magic. "Strange..." he muttered somewhat under his breath, gazing at the elf girl and nodding as she managed to pronounce the Draconic runes in a heavily accented voice. "Close enough," he said, figuring the spell was mostly for her own benefit than for his.

He gazed at her, noting how she began to blush profusely as she spoke out in a flustered voice. He couldn't help but laugh a bit, shrugging somewhat at her words. "I'd say that no reward is needed when it comes to helping a pretty girl..." he began, "But the truth of the matter is, if we're going to work together, we need to make sure you aren't cursed or anything. Besides... if I'm so weak as to die to something like that, better for it to happen sooner rather than later."

As the elf flustered over how else to respond, the knight in training mumbled an abjuration spell to boost his resistance to fire, incanting, "Eligne ixen." While he doubted he'd need it, it should at least serve to ease her anxieties, at least a little. Turning his attention towards Nephinae, he recited the spell from the spellbook, incanting, "Leor arcanisstok chikohk." To his surprise, he actually did feel the magic dispelling some sort of curse.

"I guess you were telling the truth about being cursed," he remarked, "But I just dispelled it. Now to prove that the curse is, indeed, gone..." Leaning forward, he gave the young elf girl a soft kiss on the lips, to prove that he wouldn't burst into flames. He felt no immediate sensation, aside from the soft sensation of the elf girl's delicate lips, and so he felt this was sufficient proof that her affections wouldn't cause him to be enveloped in purple flames.

[Kortaga]

She was starting to get annoyed about how much he laughed or chuckled. He looked very serious on the outside but maybe he took things casually? His personality was hard to pin down and it almost made her wonder if he knew how he himself felt. Most people did not just casually handle burning alive. When he mentioned that no reward was necessary when helping a pretty girl she felt herself fume. So he was just horny and stupid okay that’s fine! She felt like her heart was racing for a number of different reasons mostly bad ones. Then he mentioned that they needed to make sure she was not cursed or else there could be problems…that made sense…then the kicker…if he was going to die now it might as well be now. Idiot…stupid…cocky…laminya…

As she mentally thrashed him she caught him give off some spell…she could not quite place it but she was certain it was some type of protection spell. Even he was not stupid enough to try something without any sort of defense or protection. He then spoke of another spell that was totally arcane to her. While she did not understand what he said she did feel something like a spark on the back of her neck…it was worrisome and she felt like the spell was directed at her.

When he mentioned she was right about being cursed she looked away sheepishly…yea apparently…not that she really wanted him to know about how all elf kind treated her. Without much more time to think he started to lean forward and she looked back at him like he was crazy. She was clam in battle but now she was frozen…she kept saying wait in her mind but somewhere deep inside…did she really want that? She saw him bursting into flames in her mind and it made her squirm. As his lips touched her she did not feel the any flames…though her heart was about to burst…she felt herself relax and she felt herself calming down, she could maybe…feel comfort…

She felt herself push him away and she let out a small whimper. She felt a burning sensation on her neck and it was sliding down her arms…she felt something like chains wrapping around her limbs neck forehead and waist…as well as her arms and legs. As she fell forward she caught on glance to Siegfried that begged for help and she landed on the floor. While there was no fire the dark chains emitted blue electricity. She felt a chain wrap around her mouth and kept her screams to a dull noise. Every time she tried to move or resist it hurt and she felt like she was tied up. The pain was horrible but this would allow Siegfried to see an intricate seven layer seal appear from her neck and eventually down along her back.

While the pain needed some kind of trigger to stop she still squirmed against her fate. She felt a need to bang her head in an attempt to struggle and slammed once and then she froze up. She got block spots in her eyes and between that and the tears she could not see…three of these chains seemed to be weaker than the others…some of his magic holding back their negative effects. Still they would need to be broken…
Was such a thing necessary for one small elf girl…?

[Holeypaladin]

Siegfried could tell that the elf girl was incredibly anxious... for good reason, if she really did believe she was cursed, though his spell had already dispelled whatever curse had been afflicting her... or at least, it should have. After feeling the soft sensation of her lips, the knight gazed at the shy elf girl... only to have her push him away. At first, it almost seemed like she was trying to get him away from her, though her reaction afterwards indicated that there was something else at play.

As she fell forward, he noted magical chains of some sort wrapping around her. His first reaction was to prepare another abjuration spell to dispel whatever was affecting her, but the seal that appeared on her neck was important, and complex, and he would first need to memorize it in order to figure out whatever complex curse this was. Focusing on memorizing them, he eventually incanted, "Leor arcaniss vers." The Dispel Magic abjuration spell caused the chains to fade from around the elf's body as well as breaking the first three seals, as well as the accompanying pain, but it was clear that four more seals were in place. A more powerful abjuration spell would be required, it seemed, but the remaining seals soon faded from view, their effects still present.

"Are you alright?" he asked the elf girl, rolling her onto her back into a more comfortable position. "You don't appear to be injured... but it seems like someone really, really hates you." The type of curse he had seen required an entirely different level of malice, as simply killing the girl might have been more kind. He quickly began to scribe the seal that he had seen on her neck onto a nearby blank parchment, glad he had memorized it prior to the seal fading from her neck, but needing to examine it closer in order to figure out its nature.

[Kortaga]

She felt like she was in a really white hazy place…her body could not move and anytime she started to panic she felt herself immediately get calm. Was this…a forced serenity? She would normally be anxious in a situation like this but her emotions were wrapped up tightly. She felt like somewhere far away she could hear herself struggling and in pain. This weird duality struck her as bizarre. She was trying to think but nothing was coming…as if she never really existed.

A wave of magic swept her up suddenly and she felt herself slam back down the floor. She felt tired…she could feel the burning sensation of the chains. She felt like she was tasting the wood and it was not pleasant. She was suddenly rolled over onto her back and she thought briefly about how strong this man was to just spin her like that. The glow of magical light made her eyes flinch slightly but they focused…looking towards the man who had helped her…yet also caused her this pain.

He mentioned that there was a seal on her neck and she felt a painful headache…like remembering it was plaguing her. She held her head a moment and suddenly felt a deep emptiness in her stomach. He moved over to his desk and began to draw or write something. She felt drained…in every sense of the word. “I…think I am fine now…and it would not surprise me…that my family would do this…”

She felt a sadness creep in but as she looked over at the boy who had known her for not even a day working on something for her she smiled. She got up, albeit a bit wobbly and moved over to him. As she looked down at the symbol he was making she gave him a small peck on the cheek…why because he deserved it. Not that it mattered much…if he burst into flames her deserved and if he cured her he deserved. It was win, win for her. She suddenly felt flush though and realized she was feeling…different…

As he finished the drawing she said, “Odo fuin…” She wondered…why…

She cleared her throat and found it to be a little raspy, “This…uhh sorry I am unsure how versed in Elvish you are. This looks like seven interwoven seals against the seven darkness’s of humanity…” Elves were inherently in belief they were better than everyone and as such evil of course belonged to man but that was for a different discussion.

She pointed to the outer one and moved down until she made it to the core. “Mael…lust, sorry…Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Sloth, Envy, and Pride.” As she looked at it she wondered why they were on her but her mind started to race…she was feeling close to a panic attack but she gritted her teeth and sat back down on her bed. “They never let me learn about seals…They never let me learn a lot of things, hence my lack of understanding of things you found basic. I imagine they never wanted me to work around..this…” It would explain why she was so knowledgeable on some aspects but not on others.

At this moment her stomach let out a large growl…she gasped and put a hand over it. She had never heard her own stomach do that before. “Sorry…I’ve…never felt so hungry before…” She normally ate almost nothing and now…

She looked almost panicked as she looked to Siegfried.

[Holeypaladin]

The knight in training observed the reactions of the elf girl, grateful that his spell managed to get rid of the immediate problem for the time being, but also the subtle changes in her behavior. Well, at least she no longer seemed to be concerned about the apprentice robes, though she had bigger, more important issues to worry about. Watching as she got up and wobbled over to him, he spoke up. "Careful.. try not to move too quickly," as he was still concerned over how unsteady she seemed.

He had already begun to piece together the meaning of the elven spell, though as she explained it to him, he no longer needed to decipher it himself. Giving her a nod as she spoke, he chuckled as she claimed them to be the darknesses of humanity. "Humanity, huh? Strange how the worst of the seven is Pride, yet whoever decided to use this on you is undoubtedly far more proud than any human I know... nearly as proud as a dragon, even," he remarked with a chuckle.

"If they wanted to hide the meaning of these seals from you, though... they sent you to the absolute worst place in the world to do so. The University library and staff have everything we'll need in order to lift this curse for good." He observed her as her stomach let out a growl, chuckling a bit in response. "Well, the first three seals vanished, so it makes sense that you'll start to feel more horny, hungry, and greedy than you did before" he pointed out. His eyes drifting down to her soft thighs as the inexperienced elf sat back down, he thought for a moment.

"The fact that they would go this far makes me wonder just who... and what... you are. I think before we lift the rest of the curses, we should figure this out. One of the Divination professors can likely tell us everything we want to know about the seals placed on your neck, as well as why they were placed there, and what they're sealing. But before that... we should fill you up a bit," he remarked, knowing full well how difficult it was to focus on an empty stomach.

[Kortaga]

As Siegfried spoke about the person who put this on her had to be as proud as a dragon…well…there were a few people who came to mind. Elves were actually highly known for their pride in themselves and their race. The fact that she wasn’t…was it also because of this. If she tried to be prideful would it activate again. She decided that she never wanted to be prideful anyway…no use poking the rabbit. As she looked down the seals she thought…okay so I kissed him and I got hurt…she guess now that three were broken…she just needed to really avoid Wrath, Sloth, Envy, and Pride. All of those seemed easy enough to avoid…at least she thought as much.

As Siegfried began to explain that if whoever put this on her should never have sent her to this school if they wanted it to be hidden. He mentioned that both the staff and library itself would have ample information for them to be able to break it for good. At first she nodded to that but then he commented on the fact that she was now going to be hornier, hungrier, and greedier than she had ever been. She rolled her eyes and commented, “Now look here! I am not a terrible person. Maybe these seals were just a good check to make sure I stayed the respectable young girl I was supposed to be. Also I doubt I will grow horns from removing it.” As the term horny whooshed over her understanding she got up. She was feeling restless now.

As Siegfried made his comment about wonder who or what she was her eyes glanced over. What did he mean by that…I am me? Simple…

He wanted to bring this up to a divination professor and she immediately got nervous…when he mentioned food though she nodded agree to the food part. With that Neph and Seig made their way to a late dinner where Neph ate more than her little body could ever hope to carry.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Later that same evening a dark figured looked at small wooden plate with seven small marbles embedded into it. As he looked he noticed that three of the small marbles had been destroyed. “Nephinae…I expected this but…the first night? It both impresses me and worries me…” As he looked over another figure stood by. “Father…what would you have us do? Three already is unheard of…too fast. Either she knew about them the whole time or…” The man whom the boy was speaking to put down the marbled wood and stepped forward.

“You will go, bring the blade just in case and only three of your best. Find out who was involved and re-apply the seals. Her strength has grown quite a bit do to the breaks…do not underestimate her. She is not only unleashing but is now getting the best magic swordsman training…be careful.”

The boy crossed his arms over his chest and left.

As the man stood there he said, “He will not make it until the end of the month and we are still waiting for the human that is supposed to meet our lands for this “Exchange” we cannot make any powerful moves until we have our princely hostage… Nephinae I told you that if you were successful you would be welcomed…I hope you are thinking over there…”

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

In week had passed since the day Nephinae and Siegfried had met. Nephinae had gotten adjusted to classes well and was starting to get into the flow of things. Considering her Spellsword focus now she would not have very many courses at the same time as Siegfried. Her aptitude tests that she did show him revealed what horrid amount of scores she could conjure. Her Abjuration, Evocation, and Transmutation scores were all perfect even she could not help but brag about them. Her Alteration score was above average which was respectable. Her Illusion testing was average which Neph could only shrug as well no one is perfect.

Nephy had tried to walk away at that point but Siegfried had blocked her saying that if they were going to work together he needed to know everything. Dejected as she was she showed him her other “impressive” scores. As she watched him she felt like she could feel bewilderment and annoyance. Her Conjuration was below average. Bad but not unfixable. The problem came from her four absolutely abysmal scores in Compulsion, Desecration, Divination, and Restoration. While she had gotten over resounding praises for her three upp scores these four were…just laughable. What this meant was according to the school and her rankings she was average. What it meant for her partner however was she had server almost crippling weaknesses in certain fields which would have him beg for a run of the mill average at everything person any day.

As such Siegfried had in no small some of words informed her to get special extra tutoring or classroom assistance. This she was now packed with classes that she only really saw him in the evenings and she had been unbearably tired. There had been no more romantic movements, no more talk of seals or curses, no more anything. Why was that you ask…?

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Sunday was a day of rest Nephy had been worked too hard to dream which she was thankful for. She was worried Siegfried would think she was diseased or something if she kept puking. She usually woke up just as early if not earlier than he did. She wondered if he slept in on these days. As she got up she stretched a bit she had a night time outfit but was still quite embarrassed about it, often diving into her bed to hide from his eyes. She caught him only rarely looking at her and she figured it must have been due to him being worried about her seal.

As she looked at the ground she saw a letter on the floor. She eyed it quizzically before picking it up. It was addressed to Imperial Knight Kriegsberg and Spellsword Chaenorin Yesqirelle. It said nothing else but as she looked at it she wondered… Nephinae Aeneiros Chaenorin Yesqirelle… Nephinae Aeneiros Kriegsberg. She placed a hand on her chin and thought…well it did not sound bad…though she felt like she had heard the name Kriegsberg before…maybe he had told her his las name and she just forgot?

She giggled though all the same and wondered what this was about. She wanted to open it but it was addressed to both of them. Maybe he was just fake sleeping? She suspected he might be…though she was suspicious of him for everything. She could not contain herself and dsipite the sun not really even creeping she hopped over in her dark blue nightdress and said, “Lord Kriegsberg!”

She paused and held the letter out like a small child. “I know it’s early but I need to know! Read it read it!” When she slept it was one of the few times she kept her dark hair down normally she ran away in the morning to change but in the excitement of a new letter she had stayed in what would otherwise be flirtatious attire. Nothing too scandalous since it was school issue but if the uniforms themselves had originally made her uncomfortable…these were definitely not better.

[Holeypaladin]

Siegfried chuckled to himself at the girl's misunderstanding of the term "horny," deciding not to elaborate and merely giving her a nod. "Well you never know... this sort of elaborate seal looks like the kind used to seal demons. You might be half demon, and not even know it... in which case, you might very well get super horny once the seal is fully removed."

He was a bit concerned with how much food the young elf had decided to eat that evening. It was as if she was starving to death and hadn't eaten in months, though she hardly ever looked the part of a starving teen. Figuring it was just the result of accumulated hunger, he decided to give her time to adjust, but also a friendly word of advice about making sure she ate healthy.

In the time that followed, he began a bit overworked with schoolwork and assignments of his own that he didn't see much of the elf girl, despite her being his roommate. It wasn't as if he was avoiding her, though he did figure it best to give her some space. Rather than talking to her about the seals, he decided to follow up on his own, seeking out the University's professors.

Rather than simply solving the problem for him, however, the professors instead decided to make it a sort of Magister's thesis project for Siegfried to solve it himself, providing the bare minimum information needed to get him started. It was an elaborate sealing spell, meant to contain Nephinae's non-elven nature, as she was, most likely, only half elven, as indicated by the fact that she looked absolutely nothing like her father. Most likely, her mother had been unfaithful, and her father had attempted to cover it up in a typical High Elven way, punishing Nephinae for the very act of being born.

This disgusted Siegfried, of course, but he kept the information to himself, for the time being, as he instead began to spend most every waking moment in the Great Library studying the seals and how to break them. Nephinae seemed to be struggling too much with her class work to contribute much, so rather than asking for her help, he instead provided assistance and tutoring, especially when it came to Divination, as she seemed to be failing the class. It seemed the fact that the classes were taught in Draconic was problematic for her to some degree, so he hold short, simply conversations with her in the language to assist with her proficiency.

After a long night of research, he was sleeping in when he was woken by the elf girl. In his fatigue, his eyes drifted over her slender figure and soft skin for longer than he usually would have, though pnce he realized he was admiring her for too long as he blinked his eyes and reached out to take the letter. "Now that's something you haven't called me yet," he remarked on the name she had used as he opened the letter and briefly scanned it. "It's our first assignment, alright. It seems we were requested by name... not all that unusual for me, but quite unusual for your name to be included." Suspicious, in fact...

"How are you feeling, Nephinae?" he asked her as he turned his attention towards her, though the way the silky garment clinged to her elven body was distracting in its very nature. "Are you still sick?" He realized that her vomiting was most likely due to overeating, but decided not to point this out as he wasn't exactly her father or anything. As he asked this, he began to read over the assignment on the letter. It didn't seem particularly remarkable... almost too ordinary, in fact... as if it didn't even require the assistance of University mages. "I'd like to try something, if you don't mind..." he remarked, unsure how to bring up the topic of seals as he hadn't spoken of his research into them for the past week.

[Kortaga]

He seemed…tired. She felt like he normally seemed very strong and proud though in a more, calm manner. She actually looked a little worried. Normally when she caught cursory glances she would flinch from them but his lack of tact must really be attached to just how exhausted he truly was. She decided to not scurry away or hide if…this…made him feel better then she really could not be too upset. As long as he did not make a habit of it. She had been absorbed in her first series of testing and make up work that she had…well neglected her roommate. They talked so much the first night only to really not speak all that much until late evenings at best. If his performance dropped because of her…then she would need to make amends.

He remarked on how she had not referenced him in such a manner before. Her gaze going to an oh really sort of look. “Well you told me you did not like formalities…Normally I would have started by addressing you by your last name as would normally be custom. We however already seemed well past that Siegfried.” Did he enjoy it…or was he remarking on the annoyed names she started calling him? She really hoped he was not actually thinking she meant the things she said. She just figured he might like a change of pace.

He mentioned that him being requested by name was not unusual but for hers to be included was…unusual. Among the non-elves she was already starting to get some recognition. Her blade skills and magic casting for what she was good at well surpassed most of her peers…as such was also true of her rumors at being abysmal at anything that did not directly deal with damage. Now that Siegfried had started to teach her draconic she could understand some of the side comments other students made. A fact she wanted to keep hidden as long as possible.

Siegfried seemed deep in thought about this letter. She wondered what he could be pondering. He then asked if she was okay. The first three or four nights she had been puking in the middle of the night…it was not overeating like she did the first night but she just…had dreams. The last three nights though she was saved from dreams and as such, she felt great. She decided to give him a big smile and twirl once striking a pose and winked at him. “I’m combat ready!” As she winked a small bit of magic leaked out of her left eye. These little ejections of magic were starting to become more and more common. Usually it was in her spell casting she was having trouble doing delicate magic. She had noticed it once or twice on days she casted less these emissions, but only because she had been looking in a mirror. She shrugged it off as her just not getting used to the increasing amount of mana she was handling. Ever since her seals had been broken her magic was rising.

She tugged at the bottom of her night dress and said, “I know let’s go hang out today! We can bond some more and get ready for our mission.” She shifted slightly but then ran over to her bed. She pulled out her Spell blade and hugged it. “Maybe we can spar with each other!” Nephy’s professors had noticed that she was a bit of a battle maniac. Her professors had noticed whenever she disagreed with them she challenged them to a fight. A boy had approached her on her fourth day and asked her to go on a walk with him on this very day but when she challenged to a fight for it…he backed off. Whether or not her roommate was aware or not was a different story. “or…maybe you are too tired…”

The school itself did encourage fighting among the knights but in formal officiated battles. This was something completely foreign to Nephy. She figured people wanted status and social ranking, so as she thought more it made more and more sense. Either way on the fifth day she ran around school on her free time challenging anyone she thought was strong. After the third random challenge she was brought to the schools advisors saying that she could not harass people to fight her. She had also been clueless as to why everyone was so against fighting her. What she did not realize was she was too new…too much a wild card and to unknown. She only wanted to fight strong people but strong people knew to never fight something they knew nothing about.

As such today she was determined. Most people did not spar because sparring matches did not affect rankings and were basically just a breeding ground of bad decisions. If she just wanted to work on form and moves it would be fine but the way she wanted to do it, it would just allow everyone to see their moves. Nephy had three settings off, interested, and one-hundred percent. None of those would benefit anyone trying to prepare for rankings.

As she held her blade like a newborn she cradled it and rubbed it. “Shh…soon my beloved Nathron.” As she set it back down she looked over at him. “I can understand if we have a lot to prepare and we can’t. I also suppose it might be bad if I hurt you before our mission.” The fact she clearly was not worried about herself would probably amuse him considering she knew he was strong but obviously holding back in their orc fighting. She sat down and kicked her legs back and forth. “So what did you want to do? Also if I may ask what rank are you in terms of strength? I want to know who I should make my first challenge!” Clueless as to how ranking worked she might be annoying or cute…depended on who you were.

[Holeypaladin]

The fact that the elf had been quite shy around him hadn't been lost on the knight. He knew that she usually hid under her covers when she was dressed in the revealing night dress that she was wearing, which made him wondering somewhat why she hadn't immediately run off to change. Perhaps she was simply getting used to the fact that the clothing worn by Academy girls was more revealing than what she was used to back in the more temperate weather of her elven kingdom.

Continuing to gaze at her, he chuckled somewhat at her words. Sitting up, he soon realized that his lower body was... doing what most men did early in the morning, and quickly concealed this from the elf. While it wasn't unusual for her own soft skin to provoke a similar reaction, he knew it was best not to be obvious about this, as he didn't want the girl to feel any more uncomfortable than she already was.

"True enough..." the knight remarked. He chuckled as the girl did a cute twirl, enjoying the view it offered as it caused her short night garments to twirl as well and reveal more of her attractive physique. He noted the ejection of magic from her left eye... an indication of unstable magic, likely leaking due to the release of the first three seals. It was clear that they were intended to contain an immense amount of magical power... an indication that unlike the other half-elves in the University, she was not half human, but something far more powerful.

Noting how she tugged at her night dress as if realizing she had flashed him in her twirl, the knight chuckled at her words. "A date, you mean?" he teased somewhat. "Usually people don't practice killing each other on their first date, though... plus, how would it affect your elven pride when I beat you?" Pausing for a moment, he said, "Oh right... Pride is the seventh seal." He hadn't meant to blurt out the reminder of the seals, but in his sleepy state, it had just happened.

"Perhaps it's time to break the fourth..." he murmured somewhat to himself in a tone too low to be heard by human ears, once again not thinking of the fact that pointy elven ears were much more acute than those of a human. Shaking his had, he stood up. "Right then!" he said, shifting the topic back to duels and challenges. He had heard of the way she was quick to challenge others... the impulsiveness of youth, some would say, but not the sort of thing most students did in their first week.

"Currently, I hold a B rank in the Arena league solo matches," the knight answered the elf's question with a shrug. "The graduation requirement for an Arcane Knight is an A rank, and I believe your own graduation requirement is a B rank." He gazed at the girl as she sat and kicked her legs, once again noting the flashes that came with her inexperience in wearing such short dresses. "There's also a pairs match, which we'll need to do as well. You might want to work your way up to at least a C rank before challenging someone like me to single combat, though," he teased somewhat as he allowed the young elf to provide him with a pleasant view of her smooth thighs, trying not to make it obvious that he was looking.