Private Tales Esprit de Corps

[Kristen Pirian]

Finally!

Some time to study.

One would have thought that in a place like Elbion College time to study would be plentiful. Mayhap for the actual students this was true, yet not so much for a visiting Dreadlord Initiate as it turned out. Kristen, along with several others, had been conscripted for this diplomatic gesture between Vel Anir and Elbion, a cultural exchange of sorts. The first couple of days, for various reasons, were bereft of free time—at least in Kristen's case.

Yet at long last, Kristen had the opportunity to occasion the College's Grand Library and pick up several books on Celestialism and Celestialist history (specifically with regards to the ruins of Sentinel's Home). Along with her from the Academy she had brought her own tome, an ancient thing, bound shut by metal and resistant to attempts both mundane and magical to open it. Within the books of the Library did Kristen seek a possible answer.

Only, she would be interrupted before long after sitting down and engrossing herself in the histories.

"Look at them," came a self-important voice from beside her table.

Kristen, sat there reading, took a moment to realize that this person was talking to her. Nonplussed, she glanced up. There was a young man, perhaps a year or two older than her, but clearly a student, and clearly one from an affluent family at that. His garb was splendid, his blonde hair groomed to perfection. He was flanked by two friends—boys who looked all the world like cronies, such was their grinning and cross-armed demeanor.

The student, whose name Kristen would come to know as Sebastian Lejeune, jerked his chin toward the small group of Initiates far off on the other side of the Library—they who had likewise come from the Academy with Kristen on this cultural exchange.

"Do you think those—pah, what do they call themselves?—'Initiates' can actually read? Anirians are far more known for their thick skulls and knuckle-dragging mannerisms than for any semblance of true intellect." Sebastian smirked, shrugged, and commented further in an Oh-what-can-you-do manner, "But the gods can be a little pernicious, eh? They give a bunch of apes like them the gift of magic, and what do they do? They think they rule the world, and go and make a mighty fine mess down there in the south, that's what."

Kristen didn't think she hid her appalled reaction very well—she could feel her brow furrowing and her lip slowly curling downward—but Sebastian didn't seem to notice at all. Smiling in a way which made Kristen sick to behold, he extended a hand down to her and said, "Sebastian Lejeune, my fair lady. That's right, you've heard that correctly: son of Francois Lejeune, of the Merchant Council. You must from one of the newer classes. I'd be delighted to know your name."

Kristen (and now she knew she wasn't hiding her glare at all) looked up at Sebastian for a long moment. Said slowly, "Kristen...Pirian...of House Pirian...of Vel Anir."

Sebastian, though his nauseating smile remained untarnished, nevertheless had an eyebrow twitch in surprise.

"I am one of those Initiates."

Both Kristen and Sebastian stared daggers into one another.

Henk

 

[Henk]

"Excuse me, Kristen. Am I interrupting something?"

Henk had not been one of the Initiates that Sebastian had been sneering down upon. On the contrary, Henk had actually implanted himself rather well into the student body; There was some apprehension on the part of many when it came to approaching the scar-faced Initiate with more piercings than he had school credits, but once the ice had been broken they'd found his ideas and opinions quite enthralling.

At least, the students who prioritized academia did. Others, like Lejeune, who cherished popularity and status above all else, looked at him much the way the pampered boy was leering at Pirian now. The interloper of the conversation leaned over the both of them as they sat, his head tilted towards Kristen and a small smile on the corner of his mouth. He knew, of course, what had been going on before he stepped in. This was his way of ensuring it escalated no further.

Even if the blonde boy and his friends were trying to kill him through sheer force of will, the way their eyes bore into the back of his skull.

"I've been trying to determine if a certain method would work when it comes to magically enhancing weapons and armor, and that's more your wheelhouse than mine. Would you terribly mind helping me?" It was both an olive branch and an out; Henk and Kristen hadn't spoken since their verbal spat in the armory of the Academy, and Kristen needed an excuse to get away from these instigators. The same ones that now sneered at his back, one even daring to shove him, the pressure against his back nearly sending him into Kristen's lap.

With a steady boot, Henk caught himself, dusting off his coat as he turned to face the three children.

"I am going to assume for all of our sakes that was an accident. I don't wish to have any sort of disagreement with you or your companions, Lejeune." A twitch of his lips, and he found himself unable to resist. "I do not wish to embarrass you in front of your classmates."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"...You?" Sebastian said, the singular word biting in the way that such words that served as the preamble to mocking laughter were.

No laughter came, for in the next second Henk showed. At first only Kristen's head turned up toward him, her eyes locked upon Sebastian for another moment before at last they followed. She was as surprised for his company as she imagined Edric was for hers outside of the Tiefling Professor's classroom. Yet on the other side of that brief surprise, she found that she was rather glad that he was here. A friendly face, a compatriot, beside her, here to share the burden of enduring these Elbionese ne'er-do-wells.

She knew quite well that Henk was in no such need of assistance. It was the providing of a tactful manner of excusing herself. Yet, oh how she wished to come to the defense of her homeland and excoriate these ignorant foreigners.

Especially after the blatant act of posturing one of Sebastian's cronies pulled; she didn't see it in its entirety, but she saw plenty of Henk, but for the grace of his steadying foot, coming close to toppling over.

Kristen stood. Lightly touched Henk's arm—reassurance, more for herself, that the path of forbearance was the right way. And she said, "I would not mind at all, Henk. Shall we?"

She'd only just turned, only just taken a few steps, when Sebastian said to their backs, "Is that it? Showing us the favored tactic of the Anirians, eh? Retreat."

Kristen stopped.

Glanced over to Henk.

And she strained to keep her countenance measured and composed. Oh how she wished to excoriate them.

Henk

 

[Henk]

Retreat.

It was rather funny that a group of students who had likely never been in a true battle threw the word around with such little weight, but the lack of meaning behind the accusation left it little power over Henk, who merely gave a roll of his eyes. Certainly the boy had a high opinion of himself, didn't he? He was lucky it hadn't been Noel or Edric he'd insulted without knowing it. They wouldn't have attempted to restrain themselves the way Kristen had.

"I think you'll find Anirian students aren't interested in fights that don't pose much of a challenge." Henk spoke back to them as Kristen walked towards the other side of the room with him in tow.

It was somewhat unlike Henk to poke the bear, so to speak, but he had no doubt that whatever remedial combat knowledge these students had paled in comparison to his own extensive training in the offensive use of magic. Surely Henk didn't want to have to fight these people, but he also certainly didn't fear them.

He heard nothing back, save for grumbles and muttered insults. They weren't incendiary enough to stoke his temper any further, however. Instead, Henk looked down at Kristen with that soft smile he'd come to use more and more often over the last few months. "Making friends, I see. You always were a people person, Kristen. Come on, let's find a place to sit down. I've been meaning to talk to you about something..."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"See you soon. Anirians," said Sebastian to their backs. The boy certainly had plenty of uncharitable things he wished to say to the faces of these (in his opinion) inferior Initiates. But the elevation of Elbion and the College by way of denigrating Vel Anir and the Academy would wait; he was patient enough to let them go and pursue it no further in the moment.

Kristen, meanwhile, eventually came to a stop just inside of one of the many tall aisles of books (towering things, these shelves, and further down the aisle was a ladder on wheels one might use to access the top levels). Closed eyes and a long exhale through her nose seemed to expel some fair portion of the lividity Sebastian had stoked in her.

She opened her eyes when Henk spoke. Again came that feeling of gladness just to see him there, all despite the uneasiness of the last time they had spoken with one another. That he had been meaning to speak with her came as something of an unexpected, but welcome, surprise.

"I would be delighted," she said. "Mayhap we could find an open table by the arching windows? A popular spot, so the usual crowds there would suggest, but we might find ourselves to be lucky."

Henk

 

[Henk]

For people needling them about fallback tactics, the students behind them certainly gave up on their confrontation rather quickly. Fine by Henk. He had absolutely no desire to get into a scuffle with them and cause a display that would attract undue attention to their group, but he would if he thought for a second they meant he or Kristen any harm. Recent disagreements aside, Pirian was like a little sister to Henk.

The Initiate was relieved as they weaved through the isles of books that he saw hide nor tail of any of their fellow classmates smuggling more literature out of the school, and at Kristen's suggestion nodded, and accompanied her to the side of the room with tables set by the windows where the majority of the sunlight entered into the chamber from.

Luck was indeed on their side, as one table was free, and the two of them were able to comfortably make themselves at home without any further Elbion interruption. Henk dropped the book he carried in his coat on the table, a heavy, leather-bound thing, as well as a few scribbled notes he'd jotted down as well.

"Charming, wasn't he? I think he was trying to impress you before you told him who you were. Fancied you a bit, maybe." Henk let out a chuckle. "Looked like you could use an out."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen sat down at the table, the very act of her sitting punctuated by a sigh releasing the last of her lividity. She set her own tome down and brushed her artificial hand through her hair. And, when Henk presented the idea that the Elbion boy might have had a courting interest in her, she grimaced slightly and tried occupy herself with more little tasks of grooming to erase the thought from her mind. It...didn't work.

"I suspect an eminent personage the likes of Sebastian Lejeune will not grant for long this reprieve from his wonderful presence," she replied. "I shall, as the vivid image of the vernacular portrays, 'rake him over the coals' when the time comes. Such...utter disrespect of Vel Anir I simply cannot stand!"

Another sigh, again in the effort of expelling anger. It was good that Henk had gotten to her when he did, else that very anger might have coaxed her to the same level of disgraceful demeanor as Sebastian himself. When next the scion of Lejeune showed his countenance, Kristen would have to make the concerted effort to remain composed and collected whilst also showing firmness. A delicate balance, but an admirable one.

She smiled—or, at least, made the honest attempt at it. She wanted to sound warm, but she could feel an unavoidable stiffness in her voice, this born of the unpleasant conflict of emotions within her chest.

"How...have you been, Henk? It has been quite some time since..." the stiffness reached its peak, "...we last spoke at length."

Henk

 

[Henk]

It was a battle in and of itself not cracking a smile at Kristen's agitated tirade against Mister Lejeune using words he hadn't heard used since Proctor Weller retired a few years prior at the ripe age of ninety-seven. Kristen had a tendency to break into some extravagantly complex verbiage when she felt especially fired up by something, though he'd only seen it in person once or twice.

As soon as she'd made her point though, he felt that awkward tension settle between the two of them once more. It'd been there since their argument at the armory. Henk had been hurt at the time, as well as unsure of himself, but some things had changed since last they spoke. While Kristen struggled to break the fresh ice with a forced smile and stilted speak, Henk's scarred lips curled into a much warmer one.

"Kristen, you don't have to force it. I'm not upset with you." Her outburst towards him that afternoon hadn't been totally unwarranted; she was standing up for what she believed in, and trying to convince a friend that he was making a mistake. Her actions and words came from the heart, and not of malice. "You felt strongly about something and made it known to me. Even friends have disagreements with one another."

One could argue that this was less a disagreement and more a fundamental difference, but then both of them had been emotional. Cracking the book in front of him open and leafing through it idly, Henk continued. "Life is too short to surround yourself only with people with the same ideals as you, Kristen. There's an entire world outside of Vel Anir, as this trip goes to remind us. Yes, our city is important, but it's one of many, in the grand scheme of it all."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen's bottom lip curled into her mouth, and she nibbled on it.

"I...said some things...in the armory...which I have come to regret."

There. Finally had she climbed the mountain of anxious reticence, surmounted the peak, and said it. And once it was out it seemed that it been just that easy the whole time, as if there had not been a gigantic emotional barrier there at all. That mountain, that barrier, both obstacles of her own making, impediments which had kept her for months from telling the truth as she had eventually come to know it.

She did feel strongly, as Henk said.

They did have a disagreement.

But it wasn't worth hurting him over it. He didn't deserve that. He was a good man. A rarity.

Kristen rested an elbow on the table, leaning her head into her palm and cradling her temple in that hand. "I was shocked that day. To my ears then it was simply foreign to hear what you said: that you didn't want to be a Dreadlord, whereas I had enrolled willingly; that you felt no great love for Vel Anir, whereas I have never known anything but." She sighed, "So focused was I on these smaller things that I missed entirely that day what was truly of substance."

She looked up to him. Eyes glossy with heartfelt admiration.

"Through everything, you want to keep your soul and your conscience. And for this..."

A sorrowful smile, repentant for the harshness of that day.

"...I shall never fault you."

Henk

 

[Henk]

He hadn't intended on making her apologize. But as she did, spilling her thoughts out in an anxious, yet carefully worded speech, Henk couldn't help but let his smile widen. Kristen was, despite her loyalty to Vel Anir and her eagerness to be a Dreadlord, one of the purest souls of all of them. That one could be so devoted to a cause such as this, yet so well-meaning... Pirian was special, of that there was no doubt.

"We come from different walks of life, but our paths now converge. We do not have the same hearts, or the same minds, as such we can not be expected to follow the same beliefs. We can, however, support one another regardless of our differences."

Henk leaned forward, lowering his voice a bit as his head tilted to one side. Graduation was looming over the heads of many, and with whispers as to what exactly that entailed, he began to worry that his chances to tell her this were quickly waning. It was something he felt strongly that she should hear from his own lips. "You're like a sister to me, Kristen. Despite your difference in age, you've learned every bit as quickly as your peers, and your spirit is like none I've ever seen. No matter the path you choose, I know that you will do great things, and you've made me proud, for what that's worth."

There was a substantial chance that when the end of their education came, Henk would never see the young Pirian again. He worried about a great many of his classmates in this scenario, but never about her. It was she he'd trusted to speak his mind to the first time, whom he'd trusted with his own well-being when he'd been blinded. Henk had complete confidence in the future of Kristen Pirian.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

All Kristen wanted to do was give Henk a hug in that moment.

She gave a little half-hearted glance around the Library. You know what? Let her reservations be gone. Let whoever might see, see, even if it happened to be any of their fellow Initiates. Such was the outpouring of warmth from her heart that it seemed to her outrageous to hide the truth of it.

She stood, circled round the table, bent over and wrapped her arms around Henk and hugged him where he sat.

"I will forever strive to remain worthy of that pride you've invested in me."

Henk

 

[Henk]

When Kristen stood, Henk thought perhaps something he said had upset her in some way. Kristen was as complex a human being as any of them, and it wouldn't have been the first time he'd accidentally stepped on the toes of others somehow. Maybe he shouldn't have even brought it up. Sometimes keeping your mouth shut is--

But before Henk could overthink any further, he felt her arms wrap around him and her body meet his in an embrace.

Oh.

It wasn't a feeling he was familiar with, the warmth of another. Still, even as his muscled yearned to stiffen in cold defense of her presence, his lips curled up into a smile, and he brought his arms up to return her hug, Whatever animosity or lingering doubts had been left floating between them dissipated into the wind like forgotten whispers.

"I know you'll do great, Kristen. You fight for what you truly believe in, and that's far more than many can claim."

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen sat back down, feeling quite a lot better. If there was one thing in which the Academy was still sorely lacking, it was camaraderie and affection. Such powerful things! Yet the Academy, still with the clinging vestiges of the old way, abhorred both as if they were somehow impediments and not overall benefits to those who felt them.

"You did splendidly back there," Kristen said, "countering Sebastian's vitriol with class and measured retorts."

She averted her eyes, thinking of the armory, and then looked back up with a little smile.

"I must say that it warmed my heart to see you defend Vel Anir so."

Henk

 

[Henk]

It was such a kind gesture on her part that Henk didn't have the heart to tell her it most definitely hadn't been for Vel Anir. The two of them did agree that closer-knit bonds were something the Academy and its students would benefit from, however. Kristen, of all of them, seemed to understand that most.

"The boy views us as savages, Kristen. To play into his taunting would only be proving his point, would it not?" Henk leaned back in his seat, idly leafing through the book in front of him as he spoke. He'd nothing to gain from fighting Sebastian and his friends, and plenty to lose. As much as he would have liked to wipe the grin from his face, the boy was saved by common sense.

"Regardless of what I've said in the past about our home, you're my family, and I will have your back, regardless of the circumstances." He shrugged his shoulders, smiling. "Though I admit it's easier when you aren't giving me sour-face every time we lock eyes." Henk teased lightly

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen disagreed with the point on savagery. Henk was correct on Sebastian, and clearly Sebastian was in gross prejudicial error, but rebuttals and repartee did not a savage make. Mayhap if Edric were in Kristen's place savagery would have been openly on display, as Sebastian would have been lifted off of his feet and thrown all the way across the library. That would have proven the boy's point very well.

She didn't know how much of her expression revealed this, but she hoped it was enough.

...when you aren't giving me sour-face every time we lock eyes.

Kristen flushed with embarrassment, the fact of his teasing only striking her obliquely. "I feel that an apology is due for the results of my inflamed passions." Her lips pursed in braced regretfulness. "I should hope that it was altogether not too sour."

Rather ready to move past that, she thumped her hands onto the locked tome before her. "Well! Before I was rudely interrupted by Sebastian Lejeune, this is the proximate cause of my reading and research."

To add emphasis, she tapped her fingernails in rhythmic session on the metal binding the tome shut.

Henk

 

[Henk]

He'd half a mind to assure Kristen that he was merely pulling a bit of jest with her over the purported egregiousness of her behavior, but she seemed so genuinely remorseful about it all that he would have felt worse if it was over nothing. So, he kept his mouth shut for a moment and held back the smirk of amusement that threatened to show its face.

Sebastion was a non-issue in the end. Those types used their tongues far more than their fists, and so long as they maintained their composure Henk doubted any sort of physical altercation would occur. Kristen he trusted, he could only hope Lejeune stayed clear of Edric and the others. Turning his attention to the book Kristen presented, Henk raised a brow and curiously reached out to pull it towards him.

"Oh? Find something of substance?" The book certainly looked a fair deal more tended to than some he'd seen in the main library, and the lock greatly intrigued him, to say the very least. "I figured you would be the first to make some actual progress. Good to see my faith isn't misplaced."

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"Well," Kristen said, and she patted the ancient tome, "this is a relic that I found by chance whilst returning from a mission with Delaney. 'Twas in an old and storied ruin of a castle, Sentinel's Home, a bastion of a bygone time for militant Celestialist faithful."

And well earned was the tome. The incursion of an ogre and goblin hunting party almost spelled disaster for herself and Delaney. Curiously, that was...right around the time Henk and a few others were deployed to Vel Janix.

"No ordinary book, is this," Kristen said. "For something so old, it shows nary a sign of dilapidation. The metal is not rusted, the pages are not frayed, the cover is not cracked. And this lock here has proven, truth be told, a source of exquisite consternation, for the means by which it may be opened has eluded me, all attempts of both magical and mundane nature failing. I have been researching what material the College Library has on offer—"

She paused. Blinked. A new idea striding upon the stage of mind.

"Henk, do you think the College has a specialist in artifacts and relics?"

On the one hand, she thought, Oh surely they must! But on the other hand, the Academy had no such person, and thereby did doubt make its case heard.

Henk

 

[Henk]

Pursing his lips, Henk turned the book around in his hand, looking it over from all angles. He was vaguely aware of Sentinel's home, but he knew not the details of the place, only that it purportedly existed. That Kristen had brought something so valuable back and it hadn't been turned over to the Academy was a rather interesting tidbit, though.

"So, enchanted then? It's not out of the question that some protective spells could account for it's pristine condition. Though I admit it seems odd such protection would last so long..." For something to be so well maintained even after its keepers have passed, whatever lies within must be very important. "You asked anybody else about this? I understand the Proctors would probably confiscate it, but maybe one of the other Initi--"

Henk was cut off by her question, a good one at that. His lips curled into a small grin at that sudden gleam in her eyes. "I'm certain they do. The Academy specializes in magic mostly for the use of combat. This College covers a far wider range of topics and uses for the arcane."

Henk stands, tucking the book under his arm.

"Come, we can go find out together. Suddenly I'm rather curious about your find."

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Quite the good thing that she hadn't given any Proctors the occasion to confiscate the tome! Mayhap she could tell Proctor Magomo of her find, but only after she could prove that by having it in her hands her magical prowess could be enhanced far more than her regular book of verses. This, of course, was banking on the idea that the mysterious metal-bound tome would do such a thing for her. Yet on the other hand, the hopeful hand, how could it not? Surely within there would be something to bolster her bond with Aionus.

Kristen stood as well, clutching the tome protectively to her breast and mostly unaware that she was holding it so.

"Indeed."

Then came, of course, an afternoon's worth of walking, walking, and more walking. The College was massive. Certainly the size of the structure rivaled, or even eclipsed, the mighty Keep of Anir, and surely the College was not just a marvel of mundane engineering but a marvel of magical construction as well.

Misfortune was the watchword of the day, apparently. For every time Henk and Kristen got a lead on this Professor or that, something ensured that said Professors were not available. Oh, Professor Yiggrith isn't currently in his office? Well, maybe you could try Phillipa Ebonheart. Ms. Ebonheart? Who told you that? Well, their information is grossly out of date. Here's who you need to find...

On and on it went. Even the useful whole of the College's Department of Acquisitions were out on some big conference in Oban. Gah!

Finally though, it seemed like Henk and Kristen struck gold. A gnomish Professor (how small!) had overheard them asking someone their questions, had come up, and directed them just down to hall to someone who could help. When Kristen asked if they were actually there in their office, the gnome said, "Oh yes, Istra just went back in."

Kristen went up to the door. Upon it could be read:

Professor Istra Lejeune
Master of Alteration​

"Professor Lejeune," Kristen said flatly, glancing over to Henk. "The House of Lejeune certainly are a...prolific family, I should say."

Misfortune was, indeed, the watchword of the day.

Henk

 

[Henk]

If Henk was going to be traversing every inch of the massive College, at least it was with Kristen, who shared a similar desire for knowledge and respect for the institution as he. What would have been a boring trod through miles of crowded hallways was made more bearable by interesting conversation on what exactly she might have found, and what else they'd seen since arriving in Elbion.

She was probably the only other Initiate here who would entertain such chatter for very long. Still it was beginning to seem as though none of the Professors were willing to offer them the time of day. Henk didn't entirely blame them for prioritizing their students over foreign visitors, but it grew frustrating nonetheless.

Even if their bad luck held, at least they could say they tried. Besides, they were to be here for a few days. Nothing was stopping the pair of them from going on tour again after a good night's rest. Eventually though, a small gentleman who'd been clued into their crusade for communication was kind enough to turn them in the right direction.

Amazing what some manners can do isn't it?

The office they were directed to was a rather important looking one, and Henk too groaned a bit when he saw the name embroidered upon the door. Yes, that checked out, he supposed. Oh well, nothing to be done about it. Looking over to Kristen, he nodded towards it with a smile. "Think I'll do the talking. Sound good to you?"

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"I am quite alright with you taking the lead," Kristen said. Hopefully boorishness didn't run in the Lejeune family, yet if it were so then Kristen was immensely glad to not be inquiring of this Professor alone.

She knocked on the door. From within, after a small moment's delay, came the response of "Come in." Though Professor Lejeune's voice was muffled by the door, to Kristen's ear it sounded courteous enough.

The door was opened, and Istra Lejeune was, going off of appearance alone, not what Kristen was expecting at all. Where Sebastian had features more typically found of the Elbion area, with his blonde hair, chestnut eyes, and fair skin, Istra was possessed of features which made it hard to believe they were related—a big family indeed, or perhaps she married in?

Istra was sitting at her desk reviewing a stack of papers turned in for a class's recent assignment. Around her office were display cases of materials—metals, stones, clays—all fashioned somehow into incredibly intricate shapes and designs, like geometric snowflakes. It would have been impossible to fashion those materials in such ways with mundane means.

Istra looked up. Squinted for just a moment as she didn't recognize either of them. Yet, judging based on their age, she said with a professional cordiality, "Are the two of you newly enrolled students? Do you have an interest in or aptitude for Alteration? We can add courses to your curriculums if you wish."

Henk

 

[Henk]

It wasn't out of a lack of trust in Kristen that he chose to take charge here, rather he wished to spare her from having to play nice with the mother of the boy who'd nearly taken her to the absolute brink of her sanity. Henk could certainly think of a few souls back home he had a similar issue with himself. Admittedly, even he wondered if he could avoid showing the distaste on his face when Istra finally called them to enter.

Thankfully, the woman busying herself from behind a desk cluttered with papers all vying for her time and attention seemed a deal more agreeable than Sebastian and even spoke to them with a hint more politeness to her tone than any of the other professors so far, besides Ammorath at least. Granted she addressed them as students, causing Henk to shift uncomfortably atop the hardwood floors of her office, eyes struggling not to drift elsewhere in avoidance of her gaze.

There was the option of pretending to be just that: New students with a question they just burned to have an answer to. It would make Lejeune more likely to cooperate with them, but only if it worked, and Henk didn't like his chances of bullshitting somebody with the title of Professor in front of her name. Biting his tongue and taking a brief look at Kristen, he stepped forward, boots heavy against the floor as he took a bow.

"My apologies, Miss Lejeune. We're foreign students here to sit in on College classes and broaden our own education. My colleague here has come into the possession of a rather beguiling item, and we were implored to inquire if you might be so kind as to enlighten us on its properties."

Wow, he was going to give Kristen a run for her money if he kept adding words like 'beguiling' into his speech.

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Istra understood quickly. "You're part of the deputation from Vel Anir—the Initiates. My apologies for addressing you incorrectly. I had only a distant awareness of your presence here in the College, yet that is no excuse."

She stood, walked around to the front of her desk. "Yes, I will have a look at the item in question. Do you have it with you?"

Kristen held up the metal-bound tome, stepping forward. Encouraged by Istra's levelheadedness and air of professionalism, she felt at ease saying, "This is it. A tome, as you can see, but one, I sense, of great import, for I recovered it from the ruins of Sentinel's Home. Though it is far from Elbion, are you familiar with these ruins, Professor?"

It took only a moment's thought, and Istra recalled what she knew from memory. "A castle garrisoned by a number of Templar Chapters. There is more to its history, I am sure, but it is not my area of expertise."

"Before the Templars, it was home to a bygone order of knights named Astra's Legion, and the chapter of this knightly order which garrisoned Sentinel's Home worshipped the god Aionus." She smiled, pleased that, at least here in Elbion, she could freely say, "The very god to whom I am devoted and faithful."

"I see." Istra accepted the tome and set it down on her desk, giving it a brief inspection. "Well, you are indeed in luck. I have seen a number of old tomes bound in a similar manner as this one." She touched the locking mechanism with her hand. "I suspect it should only take—"

The moment she tried to use her Alteration magic on it, a great POP drowned out all sound in the room, a flash of sparks erupted underneath her hand, and Istra was flung backwards, stumbling right toward Henk.

Henk

 

[Henk]

Well, that went far better than he'd expected.

Perhaps Henk should have expected that a woman with the distinction of a professor's title would be a bit more agreeable than her brazen offspring, but then his experience with the Proctors of his home had somewhat spoiled his view of teachers to some extent. Istra carried herself with a level of respect and poise that Sebastian merely pretended to have.

Henk took a step back as Kristen explained whereabouts she'd come across the strange tome, and the history behind its resting place. To hear her speak of her religion was surprising, as she was understandably closed off about her personal beliefs in their home city, known so famously for its 'tolerance' of other belief systems. It had never stemmed her loyalty though, had it?

"Astra's Legion..." his lips formed the silent words, repeating them to his mind. He'd heard the name, but he couldn't place exactly where. Kristen hadn't mentioned them to him before. A Proctor maybe? It didn't seem terribly likely, but... Istra was reaching out with what seemed to be a primed spell and Henk saw the crackle of magic on the book's surface a moment too late, jumping forward less than a second before the bright white flash and the sound of a detonation ringing in his ears filled the room.

Something heavy had hit his chest, and the warmth gave him reason to believe it was a person, Istra, if he had to guess. Blinded by the flash, all he could think to do was hook his arms under hers and hold her against his chest until he was sure they were steady.

"Lady Istra! Are you wounded?"

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"Snickerdoodle!" Kristen shouted reflexively once the lock's startling safeguard was activated. She was...trying to break the habit of saying that as an exclamatory word, but old habits did indeed die hard. Yet this funny little slip of hers was the least of the worries in the room.

Fortunately, Henk caught Professor Lejeune, sparing her a tumble straight out onto the floor.

And she seemed alright. Shocked, certainly, but alright. "No. I am well." She steadied herself on her own two feet, taking a look at her hands a second time as if to confirm what she had just said. Nothing was amiss, however. "In hindsight, perhaps I should have anticipated a safeguard. Yet for one to still be active after so many years is...astounding."

"What does this mean for us? Can the tome still be opened?"

Istra straightened out her robes and fixed her hair. "It merely means that Alteration magic is unsuitable for opening the book. Furthermore, I am certain that if you did not find the corresponding key in Sentinel's Home that it is likely lost to time and misfortune."

Kristen, a touch dismayed, said, "So...is that it then? The tome shall remain forever closed?"

"No. My experience in matters like these has shown that there are other options. Some form of anti-magic or nullification is one, but I would not recommend it—that might allow the book to be opened, but it would also ruin whatever other properties it has."

"Most certainly not that, then."

"You said that you found this relic in Sentinel's Home. If you believe it to have been left by Astra's Legion rather than any of the Templar Chapters which occupied the castle, then I would suggest visiting one of the churches of Celestialism here in Elbion. Speak with a priest or priestess. Perhaps they can do what my magic cannot."

Kristen glanced over to Henk, twin sparks of excitement in her eyes. "Oh! Mayhap we will!"

Here in Elbion, where faith was allowed to practiced openly and freely, this might be her only chance for this in a long while. And indeed, she was curious how Henk—who was likeminded with the overwhelming majority of their fellow Anirian citizens in his lack of religious belief—would feel about being inside a holy place.

Oh, goodness, who was she kidding? This would be a first for her too! For, as it was, her practice of her faith was by necessity something she could only do as a secretive, solitary act. At least before the Revolution.

Henk