Acendia, Room 103 Fountain
@Nanaya

---

“Right. It's a win for you guys, you punched a hole in my PB."

The moment the professor said that, the adrenaline and endorphins that were masking the pain of Ciara's injuries pulled back like a scabbed bandage, reopening the wound. Ciara hissed where she was on the ground, dropping the borrowed sword numbly.

"I thought it'd be a lot to ask for day one, but you all pulled through. Nice work.”

Ciara blinked where she was. The professor was back to his old self. Or, was his ‘old self’ just a mask for who he truly was - what she truly saw - when he was on the battlefield? How he shamelessly associated her with Umbralists. Now what? Was she just supposed to forget that?

Ciara narrowed her eyes, a sour taste in her mouth as they claimed victory.

"Let me go! I was almost able to really teach him a lesson. Then he'd learn not to take us so lightly."

Ciara's scowl deepened, and she roughly held Chloe down. “It's over, stand down.”

"Thanks for that. I'd have done it myself, but apparently I overestimated where I stand in comparison to our 'amazing' instructor.”

Rio's response surprised Ciara, and for a moment she was at a loss for words. Positive reinforcement wasn't something she was, well, entirely used to.

She stared for a long moment, before offering a weak shrug. “It's nothing.”

After Rio heartily chewed Chloe out, Ciara slowly released her, satisfied that she was finished and they could put this messy battle behind them. Ciara shakily got to her feet, removing a sock, tearing it into two strips, and tying the gashes at her inner elbows with the help of her teeth.

It was with a bandage half in her mouth that she caught Iraleth's eyes, and the subtle nod. An understanding. Ciara gave a nod back. It took two to pull off the final move. One to restrain Chloe, one to restrain the professor.

Of course she admired the light. Of course this upcoming duel would be more challenging because of it.

But she couldn't afford to lose. Even if rebound took her that evening.

With the pet missing and the professor bribing everyone with a pizza party back in 'their world’, Ciara found herself listening carefully to Otis's words.

“Follow the dark.” Thought the Voice.

“What if the dark one is wrong?”

“So? It isn't tasty, not like the light.”

Ciara bit her lip. The Voices referred to the pet, of course. Expendable.

She considered her options for a moment, before she picked up her sword, re-established her barrier, and glanced at the professor.

“Ready.”

@Estylwen@Psyker Landshark@ERode@AThousandCurses@Sifr

ASCENDIA, ROOM 103 FOUNTAIN

From within the leyline, Chunji would witness the same event repeat itself, the same axe-wielding figure cleaving apart innocent commoners. As far as he could tell, nothing was changing within its landscape, and nobody stuck out as new or different - certainly no panicking Davil to be spotted darting about. Any trace of the boy seemed to vanish, at least within Chunji's vision. It was clear that the boy had vanished entirely, and was nowhere in sight. Alto regarded Chunji with a nod, cringing slightly at the boy's wounds and the creature he had brought forth from them. Then, he would return to face Iraleth. "Davil will be fiiiine. Otis was correct - if the kid disappeared, he'll show back up when we're out. There's really nothing to it!"

Chloe, stunned into silence, would finally pipe up with her jaw agape after Iraleth's jab. "What in winds' name did you just say? Say it again. Speak!"

The girl hopped to her feet and took a stomp forward, but was met with Rio's arm blocking her path, giving her a disapproving shake of the head. "We're done. All that's separating you from naptime is one smack," he would state plainly, then look towards Iraleth with a grin. "Besides, paladin's got a lot of juice left. I guess Astran knights really are trained as well as the preachers preach, yeah?"

Letting out a sigh, the frill-elf turned away in a scowl as she rebuilt her barrier for the exit trip. There was uncertainty in her eyes as she turned away, looking out into the woods, scanning back and forth with her limited vision as best she could amongst the sea of green. Rio stood by her, his own defenses repaired as he closed his eyes in thought.

"Alright! Taking us back now. No need to panic, we're all going to be okay," Alto would shout out so that students could hear him regardless of their position - perhaps even calling for Davil, in the hope that he'd somehow hear.

The sounds of breaking branches would echo across the area, and the familiar heat from Compact 3's entry into this place would return. Would Chunji look towards the leyline again, he would see the rivers of vines underground begin breaking apart and seemingly burning to cinders, falling as ashen rain onto the burning farmlands further down. The trees around them would begin to light ablaze as well, catching fire slowly. Alto seemed to pay this no mind, as if it were expected, and snapped his fingers.

And just like that, once again, vision would cut out for all inside, once the last vine had broken - seemingly in tune with the snapping of the professor's fingers. The same feeling of gut-wrenching speed across vast distances would overtake the students, impacting again and again against the Personal Barriers of all involved.

And then, they would be back. Vision would return, and the moderately warm room of 103 would be before them. They would already be at their desks, with one notable exception: Davil was nowhere to be found.

The instructor, with the smile on his face slowly breaking, would weakly utter, "...Oh no."

Upon lowering his barrier, a defense no longer required, Hildegunde's bullet would fly out of nowhere and drill straight into his kneecap, exactly where it was trying to hit minutes prior.

"FUCK."

He collapsed against his chair, a growl of pain as blood ran down his leg and onto his pants through the torn hole in them.

"...If that is the conclusion, very well." Chunji didn't bother to argue against the class's decision. It was pointless, and he understood their reasoning. Nothing could be done now, and Chunji had searched everywhere for the Wund. Overall, it was a personal failure on Chunji's part for being unable to fulfill his role. He would need to redouble his efforts so this would never happen again.

Yes, it was not an option.

He would need to reassess his evaluations of his classmates. While Chunji didn't consider himself morally upright, a few of his classmates were darker than him. Otis and Ciara didn't seem too bothered with Davil's disappearance. Otis did provide clear reasoning with solid evidence, and Ciara was the type to follow Otis's lead. Iraleth's opinion correlated to her general demeanor, so her assessment didn't need to be changed.

Chunji turned to face the woods as Alto returned them to the classroom. Once verdant trees were soon colored with crimson fires. The forest soon turned into a wildfire as every vine that stitched it together snapped. It was clear to Chunji that this was the original state of the leyline. A burning home with its folk turning into ash. Alto wrestled the leyline under his control and melded it to his magic. That was the leyline overchange technique.

However, as they returned to the classroom, Chunji was not surprised by the lack of a present Davil. "As expected, since Davil wasn't inside the leyline, he wasn't returned with us. I wonder where he went?" Chunji stated. The last part was meant for Alto if Chunji didn't hear his howl of pain. Turning to Alto, walked over and knelt beside him. Hildegrund's bullet had met its mark.

With his still active, strained eyes, Chunji peered into the wound and began to provide immediate first aid. The legs had vital arteries that circulated blood in them. If one of them were damaged, then blood loss could prove to be a fast death. Chunji would have to remove the bullet and heal the injury before Alto's condition became crucial.

His worries were unneeded. Alto's flesh began to regenerate and started to push the bullet out itself. Once the bullet had been pushed out, Chunji wrapped a bandage around his kneecap. Looking up to Alto, Chunji asked a question. "Do you know what happened to Davil is?" There showed a lack of concern in Chunji's as he followed up with another question.

"Additionally, are today's class concluded? As you've said, the attunement ceremony is at ten."

"'Fuck' indeed."

Otis, certainly, didn't think that the Instructor was moaning over the bullet in his leg. He didn't particularly care about it either; if this was what killed Alto, it would be pathetic but forgettable. More interesting now was that Davil himself had disappeared from this classroom as well. He glanced over at the others, briefly catching Chunji's gaze. The bespectacled youth had opted to attend to Alto instead, leaving Otis himself to find a desk to sit down.

There were two objects that he had intimately involved himself with when it came to Davil. One were his boots, which were mundane but possessed some interesting essence. The other were his gloves, which Otis himself had made over the course of a night, and had gifted to Otis for the purpose of experimenting with his Ethos. It was the second one that the Strigidae ended up targeting. Placing two fingers between his eyes, he drew out the essence of a memory and joined it with his own Prime Essence, the Seeker that sought all wonders of the world. Holding that 'scent' in place, Otis murmured a quiet incantation to himself, ending with a more pronounced "Essence Hound."

From his desk, a translucent puppy glowing a faint green manifested from the aether, their droopy eyes gazing at their surroundings. They sniffed once in the air, twice, then thrice. Finally, they turned back to Otis and shook their head sadly, before poofing out of existence again.

Not even a faint lead then. He crossed his arms. It felt unlikely, considering the attacks launched in that forest, that Davil's gloves would be wiped out from existence completely. And if the gloves themselves were being cloaked by some greater spell, then it couldn't have been Davil who'd have been doing it. Interference, at least, would guarantee that he was alive somewhere in this plane of existence. The third case then...

Otis lacked Chunji's vision, but he had seen the brilliant nexus of leylines over Compact 3 when he had entered, and now, looking at it once more, he could see a difference too. The primal leyline had withered after being consumed by their Instructor, while the arcane leyline seemed to be altered in some way, twisting towards a separate room. Was it related, somehow? Could Davil have, through his Ethos, launched himself into an entirely different leyline? It was a room just across the hall anyways. He got up, moved to exit the classroom, and only stopped to turn towards Chloe and her burnt dress.

"Give me your clothes when I'm back." He could fix it before noon. As an unspoken apology for writing her off as Davil.

And then it was off to Room 104, a pause only to listen in on whether or not there was a lecture inside, before he swung the door open.

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Wingram, Room 103
@Nanaya

---

Others would snap their attention to Professor Alto's blatant cursing, grunts, and the sound of something wet dripping on the floor.

Yes, others would stare in horror. In panic.

But Ciara?

Ciara didn't have eyes for that.

No.

Her eyes were focused, as they were comfortably settled back in their classroom, on a certain half-elf. White hair, long bangs, focused and crisp eyes. And surrounding her, a bright, swirling, near-blinding aura of tangible deliciousness.

Ciara just stared, a bit of drool escaping her mouth. The wounds made her especially Hungry, the pain gnawing at her belly. How tasty would it be? How satisfying would it be to just have a taste?

“Too many people to kill to eliminate the witnesses.”

“Mm…”

“The dark one has left, and the little pet of yours is no where to be seen. Two less witnesses.”

“...Uh huh.”

“If you throw a curtain over the windows, you can be done in less than a few seconds, and sate our Hunger.”

Ciara wasn't actually listening this time, nodding her head absent-mindedly at the Voices as she sat there, in pain, half-delirious due to Hunger.

“The analyst is focused on the Astran-loving injured. Two that will offer up less resistance.”

The mention of the professor was the only thing that could snap Ciara out of her Hunger daze. She immediately narrowed her eyes, teeth slightly barred.

“You're forgetting how strong it is. Do you not feel the burns on my back? Did you not see the flaming sword?”

She broke off her gaze from Iraleth to glare at the professor, who was being given aid by Chunji.

“This is one to look out for. There's something… wrong here. It could prove to be a problem in the future, given our… history.”

The Voices echoed in agreement.

Ciara’s eyes slid to the door, sliding shut from Otis’ exit. He was focused. What did it know?

Ciara considered looking for the pet, but her pain spiked, and she held back a moan under her breath. No. There was another item on the agenda that took more precedence.

The clinic.

With a grimace, Ciara got up from her desk, passing her borrowed sword to a shadow to hold as she moved to the door. Her eyes hovered on the professor, a cold glare, before she too, exited.

She followed the signs in the school, the ones that Michael the janitor had graciously put back, to the northern exit. From here, she was within the quaint town of Wingram, and it was easy enough to pick up the large sign that said ‘WINGRAM CLINIC’. A few mannekin were stationed outside, but barely reacted as she eyed them as she walked past.

Not too busy, she thought, as she entered the building. Her eyes surveyed the waiting room, filled with a few students - none of whom she recognized. With the shadow shifting the sword held tip down behind her, Ciara moved to the receptionist desk.

“I… need to see the healer.”

She was painfully aware of the gashes on her inner elbows and the mild burns along her back.

Would Davil be fine? Hildegunde didn't feel at all eased by Alto's words, but she had greater worries. Partially, her reignited wariness of Chloe. Mostly, the upcoming fight between Iraleth and Ciara.

And, of course, most pressingly, if not as importantly, Alto's new injury, no thanks to her.

The bullet would dissipate after a few moments of being fished out. Apparently, whatever Hildegunde shoots with her Ethos isn't the same as her normal bullets. Once its job was done, it was gone.

"Sorry professor. You know how it is, can't un-shoot a gun," Hildegunde mumbles. Very thankful at the moment that she had shot it after all. If she hadn't, she might've gone with Otis's plan. That probably wouldn't have gone well.

She moves over to look over Chunji's healing, and makes a face. Oh, that's an artery. Did she hit that? She was specifically going for a nonlethal hit. Of course, it wouldn't be the instantaneous death a shot aiming for the brainstem would be - there were more than enough healers to prevent death, but nonetheless. This was a fact she'd keep to herself.

She felt a little bad, mostly because now that the lesson was over, this was a completely unnecessary pain And she was down a bullet for Ciara and Iraleth - not that it'd help now that they all knew about PBs. She'd have to be more careful in the future. Especially if, when the time came, she'd have to follow a plan like Otis's after all. Something like that could not allow for a margin of error. She makes a silent vow to be more careful.

Speaking of. Exit Otis, then Ciara. Was class even dismissed? No matter. Not like Alto could teach in this condition. It'd probably bite her in the ass if she followed, as much as she wanted to. Awkward situation and all, but he was her professor. Bad person to have a grudge against her.

"Do you want help getting to a proper healer?" Hildegunde offers.

According to the teachings, Iraleth really should have been more sympathetic to Alto's plight of a bullet in his knee. Of course, that was evened out by the fact that this really was karmic justice over the whole Davil situation. Chunji was already attending to him, so she wasn't exactly needed there. Still, she'd say this balanced the scales overall.

Otis went off in search of Davil and Ciara went off who-knew-where. Though if Iraleth had to hazard a guess, she'd be off seeing someone about those injuries she'd taken over the course of their lesson. No sense not doing so when the duel was still this evening. By Astra, it wasn't even ten in the morning yet, and she'd already felt like the whole day had passed her by.

Still, it wasn't as if she'd be doing anything productive sticking around here. Chunji had the situation well in hand, and Hildegunde already made the offer to call in more medical aid should the situation require it. Best to just move along until the ceremony. Iraleth offered the barest incline of her head in Professor Alto's direction before turning and exiting the classroom.

The Strigdae was in the corner of her vision as she left, and Iraleth followed after. It accomplished two things: she was also curious as to where Davil had ended up, and her suspicion of Otis had never quite lessened just yet. Iraleth caught up to him just as he was about to enter Room 104, fixing him with a neutral stare as she folded her arms, observing whatever it is he was about to do.

@ERode

@AThousandCurses@Sifr

CLASSROOM 103

"I- huh? Oh. Yes. Thank you for the offer, I will most definitely take you up on that," Chloe would nod towards Otis as he left.

"Wait! The gunshot doesn't dismiss you, I dismiss... ah, hell with it," Alto grumbled, waving his hand down in resignation as his students left. After the others had taken off, Rio would follow shortly afterwards, giving a brief wave to the rest of the class that remained. "It's been fun, but I'm gonna dip until attunement. Let me know when we get someone worth learning from," the boy would state plainly before exiting.

As the professor was attended to by Chunji, he nodded and sighed through grit teeth as he stared at the clock that read 9:35. The worst of the injury was healed such that he could focus on things other than pain, and acknowledged the healer's first question with uncertainty. "If Davil's not here, it could mean he's still somehow over on the other side. The overcharge lets us temporarily access Ascendia, but we aren't meant to stay there when it's done."

Alto's attention would shift between Chunji, Hildegunde and Chloe as he spoke, clearly glad that at least some students had chosen to remain rather than storm out. "But considering that documentation and studies into the overlapping world are still very much in their infancy, oddities and exceptions seem to always pop up. Unexplainable in many cases, until our understanding of that place grows."

With the squeak of an office chair long deprived of maintenance and oil, Compact 3's teacher leaned back to relax himself as much as possible before he'd be forced to walk to the attunement ceremony. At Hildegunde's offer of a healer, he shook his head as if it were an idea that'd bring too much trouble, as if it were a scrape or bruise instead of the gunshot wound that it was.

"He might also just be dead? Banished from existence. Nobody could fault him for that - it's certainly possible that he's simply gone."

Slam.

Chloe's hands smashed hard against her desk, her frustration brought to a boiling point as the professor finished speaking. Without a word and with the slightest hint of misty eyes mixed with anger, she rose from her chair and began to stomp out of the classroom while locking eyes with Alto, slamming the door behind her.

"...Was I that harsh?" Alto stared towards the ceiling, unbothered yet still pondering his choice of words. "You're both free to go as well, if you want. You've got about twenty minutes. We were going to wind down with some bonding exercises before attunement, but we'll save that for another time."

---

@ERode@Psyker Landshark

CLASSROOM 104

As the door to room 104 opened, it was made apparent immediately by the emptiness of the classroom that this group was still in session. Some students wandered the halls, clearly having finished early the same as Compact 3, and yet 104 remained within their overcharge - the primary sign of which would be faint blue outlines glowing ever so dimly around the floor of the classroom. Its dimness indicated it would soon reach the end of its battery, and with it, the return of the students and teacher. There was one thing that might stick out to the Compact 3 duo that entered, however.

By a window of the room on the other side, a white feather sat there. It seemed to be crumbling away slowly as if dematerializing in a world not made for it, its brightness unceremoniously dissipating into dust by the window gradually. If it was observed and studied before it fully dispersed, it would be made apparent that the feather would have no traces of essence of any kind on it. It was as if it was completely drained of all essence, or maybe that it was made such that it had none to begin with, and thus couldn't maintain a tangible form in reality as a result. Based on the size and shape, it was almost certainly a feather off of one of Davil's winged shoes. Despite all of this, the boy was nowhere to be seen, though the active leyline within the room did seem to glow inconsistently, as if flickering.

It was clear, though, that 104's overcharge would end within the next minute, give or take, and so anything that had to be done would likely need to be done fast. Time was of the essence.

---

@Estylwen

WINGRAM CLINIC

Many students rested within the clinic's waiting area, seated and browsing local Union news on their Adapa or sending messages to their friends from elsewhere. Some would be courteous enough to browse silently, while others filled the clinic with the unpleasant sounds of tapping or recordings of Strigari Academy skirmishes. Utterings of the rampant murders of a serial killer in Vaal Shakta, or of Mayor Highguard's continued push for closer relations with Mirris, filled the clinic in whispers and low tones as bored students passed the minutes by.

The receptionist looked up and down Ciara with concern, clicking his tongue as he turned a leatherbound book held up by a stand towards her on his desk. "Place your Adapa against the book, please. It'll tell us the important details of your age, blood type, height and weight, the potency of your prime essence, and the current status and specifics that make up your emotional, conceptual and elemental essence as well as any inconsistencies. No, we can't look any deeper than that, no we can't use this to determine the word of your prime essence, and no, we can't use this to pry into your brain and steal your e-mail. Questions?"

He blurted it all out so rapid fire and yet so monotone that it was clear he'd gone through this process dozens of times already today. If Ciara accepted and placed her Adapa against the clinic's book, it would feel as if something important within her mind was ripped out of her and given back in a split second. It wouldn't cause pain, but it would most likely be disorienting. The rest of the clinic would seem to regard this as normal, however, not paying it any mind.

Wingram Clinic
@Nanaya

---

Ciara eavesdropped on the scraps of news whispered as she stood there at the receptionist’s desk. The most recent events in her life, mainly the insane opening ceremony, having to duel to survive, and fighting her teacher, caused it to be easy to forget there was a life beyond these walls.

The serial killer stood out to her the most. At least it wasn't a thief. But she couldn't help but think if her apartment in Vaal Shakta was safe.

With a click of her tongue, Ciara tuned her wavering focus to the receptionist.

“Place your Adapa against the book, please.”

Well-practiced speech. Most of it went over her head, as she was simply in no condition to move much, nevermind string logical parts of sentences together.

Blame the blood loss.

Ciara blinked slowly, before she reached into her mind. “Adapa?”

“Yes, miss?”

“Do as they say.”

The Adapa, distinguished from all the rest with its red leaf hidden in its pages, appeared in front of her. As it pressed against the receptionists book, many things happened all at once.

Ciara felt a ripping sensation in her mind.

The sensation was so strong, so dizzying, that she nearly failed to notice the floor zoom in towards her as she fell.

The ringing in her ears as she swooned.

A hand shot out, catching herself on the edge of the desk as her head thought of meeting the floor more intimately.

The bandage of the arm holding the desk immediately darkened, the movement splitting open the wound and nullifying the first-aid. Drops of blood dripped on the floor.

Ciara, wheezing, got back to her feet, the Adapa disappearing into thin air as the receptionist got the information they needed. She examined the bandage, a sharp suck of air as she felt the sting of the spear wound.

“Maybe… I can be seen sooner rather than later?”

So, it was an experiment at best. Chunji didn't betray any emotion as he checked over Alto's leg one last time. There wasn't any need for medical help as Alto's passive regenerations dealt with the worst injury.

"Considering the outcome, harsh wouldn't be an apt word for this situation. The correct word for the situation would be 'failed' as not only has one student gone missing, but you have also failed to connect with us students on a personal level. While Rio's sudden attack was unaccounted for, you did escalate and supported a degree of aggression in the relationship between student and teacher. Additionally, your casualness with Davil's possible demise would exacerbate the issue further. Your following statement insinuates neglect for students' wellbeing, which may be the reason why Ms. Steeler had left in a rush. These are my thoughts on your question, 'Was I that harsh?' You may need to survey other students' opinions to form a general group consensus, as my opinions may differ from my peers. I have questions, but those can wait until the next class. Until then, have a good day, Professor."

After delivering his unpassionate thoughts on the class, Chunji left the room. He took out eye drops and, applied them to their eyes, and let them settle in. Professor Alto seemed rather unprofessional and inexperienced in being a teacher. The only sample of comparison would be Professor Lumyr, but further interaction would be needed to conclude the general mindset of the average teacher in Wingram Academy. Additionally, Chunji would need to interact with more teachers to support this study. He would allocate some of his time to that small curiosity.

Looking down the hall, Chunji would've spotted Iraleth and Otis at the class next door. Students shuffled into the halls with weary expressions, most likely from participating in the same exercise. Yet Did they think Davil went into the other classroom's leyline? A plausible, if not guaranteed, theory, given that Otis was leading the charge. From the few interactions, Otis was most likely the smartest in class, so Chunji had some faith in his intellect.

"消除污垢，消除触摸" In a few words, the dirt slid off of Chunji's clothes. He'd leave them to it in that case. There was no reason for him to join, and if he had, he would have offered very little to their plan. It'd be best if he went to meet up with Professor Lumyr and discuss something at hand.

Though Davil was his responsibility.

Against his routine, Chunji decided to head to where Iraeleth was to observe and leaned against the wall. If Davil was inside this overcharged leyline, then he'd most likely be kicked out of this one. Depending on whether or not Davil was a practical learner, he'd either be winded or broken into paste again. If the latter occurred, that's when Chunji would intervene.

Otis didn’t spare a thought for those who came after him, only to lean against a wall and watch. Time was of the essence indeed, the atmosphere in the classroom such that the twinned realities would collapse upon each other once more, this time within Classroom 104. His Personal Barrier manifested once more, that sense of distance, of isolation, segregating him from the charged atmosphere, the bucking and breaking of a fragmenting leyline. There was less than a minute now, hardly any time to consider the pros and cons of methodology, hardly time to even consider personal safety in the pursuit of knowledge.

Think. What did he know?

Davil had shifted to another portion of Ascendia. Ascendia was a place bereft of essence, and one burned personal essence in order to continue existing there. The Arcane leyline’s quality was the accelerated drain of emotional essence and the strengthening of conceptual essence. But who knew how much essence Davil had? He could not have used his Ethos in the situation. It had to be associated then, with his Prime Essence somehow interfacing with the overlapping worlds, for while overcharged leylines were consumed, the pathways of those leylines remained. A void, a vacuum of essence, in a world where it was still ever-present.

Was he sucked in, like a leaf down a drain? But, due to the imperfect nature of this method of traversal, caught in-between?

Focus.

It took him three seconds to cross the room. Less than that to pull at his own prime essence, the Seeker who reached across worlds. In the void of essence that made up the pallid feather, Otis filled it with his own, envisioning the form of the one that he sought. That deficient fool who had too many disparate parts to just be a fool. He wove threads into the aether, entwined those threads until they were chains, chains to pull, chains to weigh, chains to shackle.

The pathways of that arcane leyline still existed, its flow bound by another but its grooves remaining regardless. There were no other oddities present, so there was only one thing to do.

Tear Davil out, by the roots.

Frankly, she had no idea what Otis was doing. Or what to do, in this case. Her training had always focused on more...physical applications of essence. That said, it didn't mean she wouldn't try. Iraleth left Chunji where he stood, striding up behind the Strigdae.

A glance at whatever Otis was trying only revealed that it wasn't something she'd be able to replicate. But that was fine. She didn't need to. She reached out, a gauntleted hand gripping Otis's shoulder.

Whatever she lacked in knowledge of magical theory, Iraleth still had might to spare. Even with an overcharged leyline to empower him, that only lent energy. Not strength. Her prime essence cut both ways, and through direct contact, the paladin allowed the scholar to temporarily inherit her sheer force to bolster his efforts.

Moreover, Iraleth's aura further empowered her, and through her, him. Unbeknowst to her, if there was one thing Otis was sure to believe in about the half-elf, it was raw strength. The feedback loop created by this lent greater divine might towards the effort, contributing towards the endeavour to outright rip Davil out.

@ERode @AThousandCurses

Hildegunde watches Chunji go, giving a low hum as he exits the classroom. His words hang in the air, heavy on Hildegunde's shoulders, even though she was not the subject of them.

"If you're sure, professor," the hunter says simply, shrugging her shoulders all too casually. Chunji had more or less said what she had on the mind, and seeing no reason to stick around or add insult to injury, she follows suite and exits the classroom.

The original plan was simple. She was hungry before class, and hungrier now still; she would leave to eat in the precious few minutes left.

But without particularly meaning to have at first, Hildegunde finds herself following Chloe, a few dozen paces ahead of her. With her usual aversion to the girl now overpowered by pity and confusion, the hunter's curiousity wins over her hunger. She retains her distance and follows the misty eyed girl, so as to give herself plausible deniability that she is not following if noticed. All the while, she tries to make sense of three things:

1) Where Chloe is headed off to

2) If she should even approach Chloe

And, more importantly

3) What the hell she was going to do next once and if she actually approached. Or, more aptly, how to talk to her without further angering her and getting pruned.

Her mind draws a blank. For now, she simply observes, all while pretending she has elsewhere to go.

@ERode@Psyker Landshark@AThousandCurses

CLASSROOM 104

A strong swirling of power filled the room, as if a harsh gust from atop the peaks of vast canyons was unleashed upon the surrounding area. Otis and Iraleth would, for that brief moment, feel the sensation of flight despite possessing legs firmly planted on the hardwood planks of room 104. This feeling was not unlike the harsh yet exhilarating chaos of rapid travel brought on by transportation into an overcharged leyline, but with none of the crushing or intrusive assaults on one's defenses. They - and by extension the Seeker and the Inheritor - chased something intangible, while existing as nothing more than words themselves. The Seeker, relegated to the role of pursuer, required chains to bind down and draw closer the retreating blip that existed as, similarly but lesser, a word yet to be spoken. Many other blips resided in this place, but only this one was so erratic, desperate and exiled from the rest.

It was fortunate, then, that the Seeker would find support in the Inheritor's might.

This blip was, after some seconds of poking and prodding, restrained. It clawed in an attempt to remain free and true to itself, but its time was short and its light dim, weathered by Ascendia's unknowable rules. When the Seeker's chains had finally bound it, empowered by the Inheritor, the blip's exhaustion was unquestionable, its need for release obvious.

Though it wouldn't be longer than five or six seconds in reality, the full perceptions of the duo would once more return to the world on their own side, and Davil's screaming body would be flung headlong through the feather. He tumbled a few feet, landing on his back in front of the teacher's desk, bound in chains and shivering as if frozen solid seconds prior. His body appeared unharmed, and yet he continued to shake against the chains, his lip quivering and his breath ragged. "Huuu... huuu..." The Wund would attempt to stabilize his breathing, but he was near hyperventilating as he shivered. Despite this, he was seemingly unharmed, with no bruises, burns or broken bones to be found.

Davil's eyes were wide as he aimlessly stared at the ceiling while laying on his back, not even attempting to remove the iron bindings clasped around him. "Haaa... haaa..."

To complicate matters further, the arcane sigil on the floor at the room's center would go from nearly extinguished to near blinding, were one to look directly at it - a sign that the teacher and students of room 104 would return in mere seconds.

---

@Estylwen

WINGRAM CLINIC

"Wind out of my sails, you truly did undergo an extraordinarily hands-on first class, didn't you?" The receptionist looked over Ciara with a furrowed brow, then stared out into the waiting room at the other students. Some had nicks or bruises, others seemed to have sustained some kind of allergies or minor colds, but Ciara alone appeared to be bleeding and stumbling so drastically in comparison. After a few indecisive clicks of his pen and the biting of his lower lip, the weary receptionist nodded his head.

"That's fine, I wasn't expecting a wound like that on day one is all," he would mutter as his own Adapa made contact with the clinic's leather book. Shortly thereafter, he would input some kind of code into his Adapa, away from Ciara's view, and then glance at her while pointing with his thumb to the door on his right, next to the desk. "Through there, last door on the left. Doctor Payton will see you momentarily."

Were she to comply, Ciara would spend the next several minutes waiting within a rather standard, modernized clinic room with all of the usual equipment afforded to such a place. What was once a luxury that only Shaktans knew would appear to even find its way into a Neroite campus - something that even the previous generation would have thought to be an impossibility.

As the clock struck 9:45, the door would swing open and in would walk a platinum haired woman. In her hand, she wielded that same leatherbound book from the reception desk as if it were a grimoire of untold secrets, striding into the room as if gliding through air. She'd stop to stare up and down Ciara, taking note of the most obvious places of injury immediately as the book seemed to flip open on its own. Finally, with an expression cold enough to freeze a mammoth, she spoke.

"Origin of injuries, context under which the injuries occurred, and to your best guess, any essence or magic that went into causing harm. Should I know these things to your best guess within an acceptable estimate, your healing may be swift and painless."

Clicking a blue ballpoint pen open, the doctor's hand hovered over her book with silent anticipation. "I am Doctor Payton Sylv. It is an honor to hear the stories of yet another wounded, that I may chronicle them. It is only through your consent and understanding that all of these things will be documented and recorded within this research journal that my Ethos may be of assistance to you. Knowing that your present suffering will not be a secret to me, while also knowing that I will not share it outside of this room, do you consent?"

---

@Sifr

CAMPUS GROUNDS, FOREST ENTRANCE

While moving through the halls of the main building, Chloe occasionally summoned and tapped away at her Adapa before once more dissipating it. She was in a back-and-forth with somebody through essence mail, and it didn't appear as if she was satisfied with their replies, grumbling as she stomped out the northern exit. This journey of hers would eventually take her northwest of the main building, where the frill-elf would continue with purpose towards what appeared to be the campus' forest entrance. As she stood by the stone path, glancing around at the rather empty sector of the campus grounds, it seemed as if she was scanning around to ensure that nobody was following her. Before she could get too deep into this, however, she jolted with anxiety as she pulled up her Adapa, the notification startling her out of her concentration.

"Unacceptable, utterly unacceptable," she would spit while clenching her fists. Her gaze was locked on whatever message was sent to her, glued to it for at least twenty seconds after finishing before she finally dissipated her Adapa once more.

Her eyes firmly fixed dead ahead, Chloe walked at a brisk pace down the stone paved path and into the forest proper. There most likely wasn't much time left before the attunement ceremony commenced, and yet this lady of nobility with a burned dress would storm off into the woods without hesitation.

Wingram Clinic
@Nanaya

---

Hands-on, indeed.

Ciara put the best pained look on her face as the receptionist mentioned the first day of classes. Indeed, it was nothing like what Ciara had experienced before. Even access to raw magic and how it worked up close was nothing short of miraculous.

It made her consider, once again, exactly what kind of school she had enrolled in, and had begun to attend.

Exactly what type of school was Wingram…?

A sigh as her head spun uncomfortably. More questions than answers. And they would have to wait.

Ciara nodded as the receptionist instructed her to one of the clinic's rooms, and she murmured out a soft ‘thank you’ as she walked unsteadily down the hall. The sword she carried was momentarily rested against the wall as she walked inside. Sitting on the patient's bed felt like mere moments until Doctor Payton strode in.

For a moment, Ciara felt like she was in trouble all over again with how the good doctor stared icily at her. As she opened her mouth, nothing but a surprised squeak came out. An alarmed clearing of the throat, and Ciara tried to speak again.

“They were received in a fight. My teacher used thorns to create the gashes-” she gestured to her arms, “-and a flaming sword’s steam caused the burns.” Another gesture to the fabric now fused to her back.

She took a moment to think, considering exactly what type of magic her teacher had sparred with.

“An overcharged leyline was used, so if I had to guess, a mix of Ethos and raw leyline magic was used in both instances.”

A pause, before Ciara tilted her head. “I was also subjected to the screams of the damned, I don't know if that did anything to my psyche or not…”

As Doctor Payton's book was held open, Ciara felt suddenly less like a patient and more like a research subject. The clinical detachment was evident, and it made Ciara's throat feel dry with anxiety.

But she needed to be seen. She needed as much of her strength back before the fight later that evening.

She had to be ready to defend herself, and put everything on the line against Iraleth.

So with no hesitation, Ciara spoke, “I consent, Doctor Payton. I am in your care, please do whatever you can for me.”

“Show me wonders of this world.”

...

When the students of Classroom 104 returned from their own ventures inside Ascendia, they would snap back to reality to find a door standing eerily beside the window. The door’s knob rattled, turned, and then swung open, briefly revealing a space of swirling stars and invented curiousities before three individuals emerged from it. One was the paladin, the raw power of the divine still leaking off her form. The other was the Strigidae, that cold-eyed arbiter who had stood upon the stage just yesterday, who decided their fates. And the third?

Hauled behind Otis Tan Arillo was a buffoon wrapped in chains, shivering in what could only be described as abject terror from the mental torments that the Paladin and Strigidae no doubt put him through. But clearly, there was nothing wrong enough about this for the professor to intervene, and instead, it was Otis who spoke up first, his voice ringing clearly.

“This person here was found while tracing the leyline that you all consumed in order to reach Ascendia. Did any of you see or sense his presence in there?”

Just a simple, clear question, and one that, once answered, prompted no further reaction from Otis as he continued to drag Davil out of the classroom. There was no sign, indeed, that the chains he caught his roommate in were going to be dispelled. No sign, even, that he would bring Davil over to the clinic.

Rather, he re-entered Classroom 103, significantly more empty now. Rio was gone, and Chloe too. Wasn’t a surprise that Ciara was gone, and as such, Hildegunde being gone wasn’t unquestionable either.

“I found him.” Otis gestured towards Davil. There was no sense of smugness in the way the amber-eyed savant did this, but there was a sense of demand, a scientific curiosity aflame. “Instructor Alto, this is interesting to me. Who can you refer me to in order to investigate this further? You must have learned how to perform the Leyline Overcharge from someone else, yes? Who was it?”

@Nanaya

Curious.

Very, very curious. While the pity from earlier was still present, it was drowned out by that all encompassing force; that human wonder, the cat killer. Her eyes twinkled, her lips tugged to the side. Hildegunde had half expected the half elf to go storm off and cry, but this? This was much more interesting.

She also had the suspicion that being caught following here would have higher stakes than anticipated. She paused for a moment, just a moment, to recenter herself. Silence was casted upon her boots (and out of habit, her gun), obscurity over her clothing. Up went her hood, leaving all but her lips concealed. At first, she considered following Chloe through the gaze of something else in the woods - her typical target were birds - but she ultimately deemed it too unreliable. No - she would continue to follow herself by foot. She was sure to breathe shallowly, step with purpose.

In a way, it was almost routine. After all, while she had only been here once before, she had, in a sense, been here many a time. Different woods, different prey, but the same concept rang true. Watching in silence. Her element.

Finding out what was written in her Adapa or who Chloe was talking to was likely a bridge already burned, but to find out where Chloe was heading off to with such purpose and secrecy, and more importantly, why, was still on the table. What was hiding in the woods that Chloe knew of that she did not? Or, perhaps, what was Chloe hiding, that she was trying to hide in the woods?

Observe and note.

It seemed his line of reasoning was pessimistic. Otis and Iraleth had successfully retrieved a unwounded Davil from the leyline which meant that Chunji's presence was no longer needed. Having not entered the room, Chunji left without a sound and passed by Room 103. The bright light that shined in 104 shined the same in 103. Chunji didn't know why Otis chose to return back to the room, but it was a situation that didn't matter to him.

As soon as Chunji left the building, he staggered a bit. The loss of blood was getting to him, but he could persevere until the Attunement Ceremony ended.

There wasn't much time left, so it was quite pointless to run back to the dorms to change into more suitable clothing. His spell had cleaned off most of the grime and he didn't break much of a sweat during the fight. That left him in the odd situation of spending the few minutes he had left. It left him with time to reflect on his day.

Bonding with his classmates was an extremely hard tasks. All, except Iraleth to an extent, had drastically different personalities that Chunji found difficult to interact with. Combining the fact he had one of the most green teachers he had in his life, Chunji felt that the journey head was a lot more rockier than he had expected.

Alto said that it was the 'leyline attunement zone.' Was the attunement going to take place in an overcharged leyline? He could have searched for it with Ethos, but he wanted refrain from straining it too much.

"Dayin." In the next moment his Adapa appeared. "Tell me of your functions." In the next few moments, he would familarize himself with the Adapa while he waited. Other than essence mail and the other function, was it possible to utilize the Adapa for something else? Either way, it would good use of his time understanding how it worked.

Iraleth wiped a bead of sweat off her brow as they emerged from Otis's Door. Lending him so much strength had winded her ever so slightly for the moment, but it was nothing she wouldn't be able to recover with a bit of rest. Compared to the previous day's expenditure of invoking her Ethos at full strength for nearly an entire hour, it was a drop in the bucket.

Still, rescuing Davil proved one thing: Professor Alto had been wrong as to Davil's safety. Again. Really, one could assume the man was deliberately trying to get him killed at this point. The alternative was ignorance, and considering how much Alto seemed to know of ley lines, that boded extremely poorly should it hold true.

The half-elf accompanied Otis back towards 103, an eyebrow raised in judgement at his choice of dragging Davil, chains and all. It was true that it was likely best for Davil to not move so much under his own power until he was treated at the clinic, but this manner of movement still risked some sort of injury for someone with broken ribs not too long ago.

She kept an eye on Davil as Otis questioned the professor, waiting for him to finish before looking back towards the Strigdae.

"Otis." Iraleth said flatly, her arms folded across her chest. "If you'd care to release him?" She gestured towards Davil. "He still needs medical attention. If I must, I'll take him to the clinic myself."

@ERode

@ERode@Psyker Landshark

CLASSROOM 103

Otis' inquiry would be met with varying responses that all gave the same general answer - the shaking heads, shrugs, confused head tilts or otherwise quiet stares all indicated that, including 104's teacher, none seemed to detect Davil's presence within their overcharge. It almost seemed as if the boy were a ghost, if not for his physical body being present and dragged. The teacher, who was a minotaur, nodded with a firm and succinct, "If that will be all, excuse yourselves," before running a curious hand across his goatee.

By the time the pair had returned to room 103, their dear instructor had already begun to engage in combat with some rather rubbery slices of ham in the ham and cheese sandwich he had packed for lunch. He'd already sustained battle wounds of mayonnaise and mustard stains on his trousers as he listened, giving a thumbs-up while mid-chew upon casting a glance down to see Davil's chained figure. When Otis had finished speaking, Alto would promptly rip an entire ham slice out of his sandwich, sending a messy splatter of crumbs and sauces across his desk before swallowing and nodding.

"The guy who taught me everything I know about magic, including control over leylines, was Strigari Academy's headmaster, Gorias Velyphus. But..."

Alto withdrew a napkin from his backpack and began wiping the stains and crumbs off his desk, tilting his head and squishing his face in uncertainty. "You can understand why inquiring about this with him might prove troublesome. He's the biggest big shot there is in Vaal Shakta next to Mayor Highguard, so he's popular and a significant travel away."

After unceremoniously flicking all of the loose sandwich bits off of his desk and tossing the dirty napkin into a nearby garbage can, Alto once more looked towards the curious owl. "I can relay a message to him over email if you'd like, though. Provided it needs to be him."

A finger wag of approval would also be directed towards Iraleth's words, eyeing Davil's chained, shivering body as the boy muttered gibberish under his icy breath. Alto would raise a concerned eyebrow towards the inconsolable Wund, finger to lip as he leaned back in his chair.

"A clinic likely won't be necessary, but release him all the same. Maybe all he needs is a hot cup of tea and the love and kindness of his friends, eh?"

---

@Estylwen

WINGRAM CLINIC

As Ciara recounted her injuries, so too did Payton furiously write each word down with determined precision, her pen taking to the page as if it were a bard composing their latest epic. All the while, the doctor's listless and neutral face did little to match the passion with which her hand danced upon her journal. She would occasionally mutter her patient's words under her breath as well, making sure that every detail was recorded with perfect accuracy.

As quickly as her writing flew across the page, it stopped just as fast when Ciara was done speaking. Glancing once over what was written, the doctor released a brief grunt of acknowledgement before closing the book entirely. "Then I, Doctor Payton Sylv, accept you as my patient on this, March 2nd, 1526 of the Sacred Record. Etched Experiences Echo - in you."

The moment the last of the words left her lips, a page shot out of the closed journal in Payton's hands, levitating in the air. It would hover over to Ciara, just above her head, and seemingly begin ripping itself apart, raining upon her as tiny scraps that would seem to absorb into her body as essence upon making contact. As this process occurred, she would hear her own voice from moments prior, stating her injuries. As she did so, the corresponding wounds would begin to heal rapidly, causing simultaneous stinging pain and refreshing coldness as the absorbed essence mended her every sustained injury from the battle with Professor Alto. It would even numb some of the mental damage sustained from listening to the screams of damned souls, attempting to soothe or relax Ciara away from those voices were she ever to dwell on them.

"Your page as my patient will regenerate in this book twenty four hours from now - March 3rd, 1526 SR at 9:47 AM. Should you sustain injuries like this before then, I can administer basic healing magic or medicine, though it will not be as effective against more serious wounds. Please try to avoid being maimed, especially in such cases as limb loss - those cannot be healed quite so easily, if at all, depending on the situation."

Just as dry as before, the doctor would state these things while flipping through other pages of her journal - notably, showing signs of many ripped pages already within.

"If that will be all, I have many others to attend to, and you have already been given the privilege of line cutting that many will undoubtedly scowl at me for. For all the good it would do them."

---

@Sifr

CAMPUS GROUNDS, FOREST

It had only been a day since students had resided in Wingram, and yet the pink half-elf strode up the main stone path as if it were her own home; if she were angry about being home, at least. She glanced to her left and right as her cotton candy colored hair swayed in the wind. She'd yet to repair her dress, and thus the smell of burnt silk carried on the wind in Hildegunde's direction as she followed. For brief glimpses, Chloe would retrieve her Adapa only to once more dissipate it, as if checking for a reply that just wouldn't arrive. "Completely unbelievable," she would growl under her breath, no longer even checking to see who was nearby, completely hypnotized in rage at the idea of getting to her destination.

After a couple minutes of walking, she stopped and stared to her left. She'd move off the path towards the left, wading through bushes and thorns, raising a Personal Barrier to avoid scrapes and bruises from the rugged wilderness. "At least that's some kind of payoff," she'd mutter.

Eventually, she would stop in front of a tree, slamming a hand against it forcefully. "I... cannot be here long, but you read it. You promised there would be no interference."

After a few moments, the sounds of a vaguely male chuckle could be heard from the other side of the tree. It sounded distorted, as if unnaturally deep and low in pitch. "The whims of the wind were especially fickle today. You can understand that, can't you? All you good little Astrites love to cuss with the wind's permission, to call upon it for aid, and yet you can never accept the truth."

"The truth? What truth might that be?"

"That privileges demand payment. In this case, for all of Astra's blessings in the eyes of your people, her gracious wind also decided to deal you all a losing hand today. A shame, but as people like to say... 'it is what it is', maybe? A kind of 'c'est la vie' situation, even."

Chloe's fist slammed against the wood, her barrier the only thing stopping her from breaking her hand from the impact. "That's not good enough! You promised Wingram would be different. That these people would help, but all that's happened so far is a series of near-death games and attempted executions!"

A pause hung in the forest. Even insects would cease their symphony as an odd feeling of uncertainty gathered about the area, before Chloe's hand uncurled and a sigh released an untold amount of stress.

"Give it more time," the voice behind the tree would state plainly. "If you had died or given up this early on, your goals would never have been reachable. They still won't be, as far as I can tell."

Another sigh from Chloe, the girl not even attempting to mount a defense against the unseen voice's words. It would continue with a sigh of its own, with words tinged with venom that would immediately make the hair on Chloe's neck stand and her eyes widen.

"Not as long as you can still let yourself be followed so easily by unwanted eyes."

---

@AThousandCurses

CAMPUS GROUNDS

Chunji's Adapa, in its own way, would begin to go over the basic functions of an Adapa. Its core features included messaging between others who possessed one, access to news articles from all across the Vaalin Union and the Kingdom of Mirris, cable television from Vaal Shakta's various recorded programs, radio, live feeds of Strigari Academy's skirmish battles, and many miscellaneous features. One could install additions such as alarm clocks or alter their settings such that they can disable mental pinging sounds when essence mail has been received, browse a public message board for the students of Wingram, or write down text notes using one's voice. It also had brief articles installed by default that would cover the basics of essence manipulation and essence itself, for those who may be truly untrained and uneducated in such matters, as well as a manual detailing actions one can take to try to fix a malfunctioning Adapa.

It would be compared to Vaal Shakta's 'Leylight', which is a non-sentient interface conjured through a series of hard light screens anchored to an individual's prime essence with permission from Strigari Academy's headmaster - a privilege typically only given to students and faculty of the academy, as well as government officials of the city. It also differs in that Leylight privileges can be removed from those the headmaster deems unfit, while an Adapa can't be forcibly removed once bound to an individual.

As Chunji was going through these explanations, crowds of students would eventually begin walking in the same direction nearby. As time ticked down, it was clear that the attunement ceremony - and by extension, the decision to join the Sword of Wund or the Shield of Nero - would draw near.