Embers of the Past

by Bethany Atwood

  “Ready to go Mer? I wonder who we’ll see out there tonight, can’t imagine too much is going on yet.” Mer’ania nods before following Kagura out of the dorm, gaze easily able to drift about given that she’s easily two heads taller than the diminutive teen. As they step over to the common area they look around at the various other students milling about, some by their dorms chatting, either still in their uniforms or having already taken the liberty of putting on night clothes.

  Mer’ania strides over to an unoccupied arm chair, one of many in the large common area, then all too casually pulls Kagura right onto her lap, eliciting a startled reaction from the shorter girl despite how common an occurrence this had become.

  “M… Mer, do you really want to do this… In front of everyone?” The normally headstrong teen asks with a quiet nervousness to her tone, Mer’ania simply nodding in response before she nestles Kagura in close.

  “Of course I do, it’s not like we have anything to be ashamed about. Besides, I know how tired you get on a full stomach in the evenings, someone has to carry you back to the dorm if you fall asleep.” Kagura’s immediate unwilling reaction being to rapidly turn a bright shade of red on her cheeks, silence take over in place of conversation, her head gradually coming to rest on Mer’ania’s shoulder. While resting in this manner, she slowly looks around at the other students in sight, tensing up slightly when a hand presses to her side, this tension rapidly fading as the hand begins applying gentle strokes, much like how one would pet and soothe a cat.

  Chapter 3: Looking To The Future

  “Good morning students!” Professor Calum calls out in greeting as he steps into the classroom, smiling around at the various students stood in waiting.

  “Good morning Professor Calum!” As the class chimes out in an equally as upbeat greeting, he strides down to the front of the classroom, swiftly turning about face and looking at everyone once more. The tall, slender elf’s bushy black hair looks to be as neatly brushed as he seems to be able to manage, thin, rectangular glasses resting against the bridge of his ashen grey nose.

  “Welcome to a new year at Solenim everyone, as you all know I am, indeed, Professor Calum, your magical combat instructor.” Speaking with a particularly motivating liveliness to his voice, Calum’s golden hues gaze across the classroom, making note of the various states of wakefulness in the students given the earlier hour.

  “I’m sure you’ve all had plenty of chances to practice over the summer, so please, summon your weapon or weapons and bring them to a rest at your side.” The moment Calum’s last word echoes forth the collective of students, all stood around the center of the relatively empty classroom, thrust their right hands forward, eyes closing in concentration. Each of those outstretched hands gradually fill with a weapon or weapon pair materializing out of thin air, ranging from something as common as a sword and adjoining shield or a bow and endless quiver of arrows, to something far more extravagant, such as an ornate scythe or a dual ended polearm. Slowly but surely does each student bring their weapon to rest at their sides, blades directed downwards towards the ground as they’d been taught, ensuring a lessened risk of harm befalling those around them.

  “Alright, now that you have your weapons, please follow me outside. Today we’ll be practicing defensive tactics and how to counter-attack.” Calum guides the class outside through the side door, revealing a large, grassy clearing littered with all manner of things oft used in lessons, from training dummies, to an obstacle course, and even structures for practicing evasive maneuvers. As the group comes to a stop near the dummies he looks out over those gathered, a silent decision being made as he does.

  “Alright, now I’ll need a volunteer for a demonstration. How about… Kagura Melangreve, perhaps? Please, come stand yourself in front of me roughly ten feet away.” Kagura offers no more than a grin and a nod as her response to Calum before striding over to where she is directed, the fingers of her right hand tensing and relaxing against the handle of her right war fan, sleek black metal adorned with an elegant red and green floral design. Once stood in position she opens the two fans and assumes a defensive stance, Calum smirking slightly as he summons his own weapons, a pair of cutlasses with gold hilts and glistening silver blades.

  “Alright, I want you to give it your all, don’t let me hit you, and try to counter and hit me. Now… Begin!” The moment begin is uttered he runs straight at Kagura, blades thrust downwards and behind him to aid his balance, the teen leaping back a few feet with the aid of a summoned gust of wind before brandishing her right fan. Mentally recalling a specific spell, she channels that into the fan, and with a twirl sends a strong gust at Calum, diverting his course slightly when it impacts.

  Calum, using his knowledge of the fighting styles behind various weapon types, anticipates the next gust of wind as Kagura once more twirls in place, diving into a roll against the wind to keep his momentum before the flat side of the right blade is swung at her feet. Kagura barely manages to notice this and uses a gust of wind to propel herself backwards, moments before a well timed blow from the hilt of his left blade would have met her chest.

  “Very good Ms. Melangreve, I can certainly see you’ve remained practiced over the summer!” Calum compliments Kagura before again pressing on, keeping the teen on the defensive as blow after blow is aimed and miss it’s mark. However, unbeknownst to him, she closes her left fan before channeling two spells into the right, a twirl and a swift wave of the fan ending a wall of flames racing towards Calum. As anticipated he ducks and rolls to avoid the wall of heat, giving her the opportunity sought out to send her left fan straight for his chest, a timely burst of wind propelling it forward to its mark. The sturdy, heavy metal fan impacts within moments, sending Calum onto his back, a soft chuckle gradually escaping after he manages to catch his breath, defeat being conceded.

  “Color me impressed, that was very sneaky of you Kagura. You never let up from playing defensive, and, knowing I’d anticipate you using magic you’re most skilled with, changed things up to throw me for a loop. I hope you all were paying attention to our sparring, particularly important things to learn.” He says while rising to his feet with Kagura’s help, the teen bowing towards him afterwards before retrieving her fan from where it lay.

  “The best offense is often simply a good defense. Watch your opponent’s moves, anticipate where they will strike, and counter them with your own attack. As well, never hesitate to try new things, different spells work alongside one another to produce a variety of useful effects.” He says, desummoning his weapons before looking over the gathered students.

  “Alright students, I would like you all to pair off and spar, pick a partner, practice staying on the offensive and moving to the defensive as you work on your countering.” Everyone gradually begins to congregate as they find a sparring partner, Kagura looking over those nearest before a familiar voice calls out to her from behind.

  “Hey, Grins! Still need a partner?” Demetri asks as he makes his way over to her, currently clutching his bow in his right hand. Kagura looks towards him before glances over at the others, everyone dressed in the standard athletic outfit of dark grey shorts and a matching short sleeved shirt, a nod being given before she turns to face him proper.

  “Sure do, I take it you need one as well?” She quips in reply, Demetri merely grinning before gently brushing back his curly hair and readying his bow. Taking his movement as a resounding yes, Kagura unfolds her fans and assumes an offensive stance, crouching the barest amount before leaping forward and breaking into a sprint towards her friend. Just as she starts gaining speed an arrow impacts against the ground in front of her, exploding in a burst of flames which are promptly leapt over, a gust of wind being used to propel her forward once again.

  The next arrow fired by Demetri is countered by a gust of wind sent from her right fan veers it off course, the brunette quickly diving forward and into a roll against the ground to close the gap between her and him. However, just as she finds hersel
f near enough to him to strike and pounces forward, he deftly side steps and jabs the small of her back with the pointed end of the bow, sending her crashing forward into the ground as her advance is ended.

  A smug, satisfied grin is directed to the fallen teen while she remains against the ground, however before he gets a chance to draw another arrow she raises her right fan and slams it into the ground, a wall of wind sending him backwards a considerable distance before he too impacts roughly against the grassy ground.

  “Oof!” A grunt of pain leaves his lips as his back slams into the hard dirt, his bow topping out of his hand and coming to rest a few feet away. “That smarts… You got me there Grins, I’ll give you that.” Despite the pain he’s in Demetri manages to chuckle a little, slowly pushing himself up to a seated position while Kagura grins over at him, metal gleaming in the sunlight as her lips part a little.

  “I was half expecting that dodge… What I wasn’t expecting was the blow to my back, that hurt a lot…” Kagura releases her fans as she speaks, then forces herself onto her back, fingers reaching up and brushing stray strands of hair away from her face. “I really missed this, you know? It’s… As painful as I remember, I trained with mama a bit over the summer, but she never went all out, she just… Helped me prepare. This… Not holding back, giving it my all, I forgot how much I enjoyed this.”

  “I know what you mean Grins, even though I’m studying to become a combat medic I still need to know how to fight, and yet… What can I say, there’s a certain thrill to combat, summoning my weapon, doing the best I can to fight, and knowing my opponent is as well, it’s great.” He chuckles out, gaze slowly turning towards the sky as he reminisces, “Back home, with the abundance of trees, I get plenty of practice hiding, climbing to a higher perch to strike my target, and moving from tree to tree, but it’s nothing like here, not in the slightest. Here, I can’t hide, I have to face my targets head on, so it’s a challenge. I know how skilled you are with those fans of yours, so I suppose it’s good I’m skilled at playing defense, yeah?”

  “I guess…” Kagura forces out a quiet, pained reply before pushing herself up and propping herself against a hand, her other immediately pressing against her lower back. “That… Really did hurt… I’m definitely going to need some pain relief elixir after classes… I didn’t think I’d get this tired out after just… Sparring with Professor Calum, and then you…”

  “Here, let me help, I learned some things in restorative magic class last year.” Demetri gathers up his bow and walks back to Kagura while she nods towards him, the smaller teen leaning forward as much as she can before a sharp cry of pain echoes forth. Once near enough he settles onto his knees behind her, then brings his left hand to the small of her back where he hit her, a hazy amber glow slowly forming around the tips of his fingers and leeching out to her back. Kagura’s grimace almost immediately fades as the minor restoration spell works it’s magic on her, mending the damage that had been done slowly but steadily.

  “Ohhh… That feels amazing, Demetri… I forgot how wonderful healing spells felt when used…” She murmurs, eyes fluttering closed while he chuckles and continues tending to the injuries he caused.

  “Healing magic is, well… Pretty much the only thing I can reliably due without my staff, at least for now. This is just a simple restorative spell, not as major as what would be needed if you were seriously hurt, but it does the trick nicely.” Once satisfied he’s worked for long enough, Demetri clenches his hand into a light fist, the haze fading away just as quickly as it had begun.

  “I really appreciate it, I hate needing to visit the medical ward more than I normally do… Kind of makes me regret not taking restorative magic as a class…” Before she gets a chance to lose herself in her thoughts for much longer, Calum calls out to all the students, ending any ongoing sparring sessions as attention falls on him.

  “Alright everyone, I saw some excellent work today! Class is now dismissed, go ahead and get washed up, visit the medical ward if you have any injuries, and rest up before your next classes.”

  ~

  “Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to Historical Studies. My name is Professor Melangreve, and I am delighted to once again be your teacher for the year.” Rebecca cheerfully says in greeting once stood at the front of her classroom, a warm smile visible as she looks over the presently seated students. “Please open your books to page two hundred and five, today’s lesson will cover the War of Isolation.” As instructed the students open their textbooks to the required page, readying paper and pens for the day’s lesson.

  “The War of Isolation was a dreadful conflict between Sanctus and some of Earth’s magical communities that began seventeen years ago.” She begins to say, tapping at the digital whiteboard and bringing up an image of some of Earth’s magical communities. “These respective communities believed it was their right to treat other citizens as lesser beings, that those unlike them are not worthy of the same rights and freedoms they receive. However, the nations of Sanctus do not believe in such prejudices, our nations comprised of all races, including and especially those the Earthen communities see fit to oppress.”

  “It is not clear as to why they treat Demons, Elves, Angels, and the Werefolk as anything other than equals, but what we do know is why they fought us.” Speaking further, Professor Melangreve taps at the whiteboard once more, the image switching to one that shows the aftermath of an early battle in the war. Ruined buildings, fires raging on, and people watching in shock, their safety and comfort reduced to ash in the span of a single night.

  “They dislike that we treat those they oppress in a kinder light, that we regard all as equals, perhaps they feel it is weakness to accept and embrace those who are different from us. The beginnings of the war were rife with skirmishes, smaller battles that sprung up at random, often targeting our settlements near the larger sanctuary cities.” The whole time she speaks Rebecca’s face bears a neutral expression, calm and unfeeling, starkly different from that of the students.

  “In the night they’d strike, a time when it was least expected, capturing our citizens, burning down buildings, defying the peace we had formed with Earth, time and time again.” The screen once more blinks to a new image, of mages fighting back against the Eartheners, a combined coalition of elves, humans, demons, angels, and werefolk facing those who struck first.

  “Six years the war raged on, Earth’s forces pushing forward and taking territory that was once given to us as an act of goodwill, and our defenders fighting to protect those who couldn’t fight, to ensure we wouldn’t be beaten. Near the end of the war, our five leaders were in talks with their leader, it had seemed things were about to change, and that they were interested in coming to an agreement. We were foolish to believe them.” A video flashes up on the screen instead of an image, this particular sight surprising and horrifying many students who hadn’t yet seen the horrors of the war’s final battle.

  “The Fall of New Lunaria, the last battle of the war. As you all know, Lunaria, located in the human nation of Homenia, is a place where all live together in peace, a peaceful city filled with the most wonderous of things all races could offer to one another. New Lunaria was our Earthen equivalent, a place where even the races oppressed by the communities surrounding it could exist in peace. They struck amidst the talks between our leaders and theirs, all of their forces amassed and together they laid siege to a once beautiful city. The only thing that could be done was hold them back, evacuate as many people as we could, and once we had, we retreated to Sanctus.”

  “Victory was in their hands, yet there was no cause to celebrate. While evacuating our citizens, we began evacuating allies from other territories, those we could protect, who would otherwise be left to the mercy of cruel people. Once sure we had everyone we could rescue, our leaders departed Earth for the final time. We severed all relations with their magical communities, whether or not they took part in the war, and we’ve recovered.” Once the video ends Rebecca gesture
s around the classroom, her expression finally darkening, if only slightly.

  “Many of your classmates, those you see around you, are victims of this dreadful conflict, and while it may be a painful topic for some, it is an important part of our history. I would like for you all to read the next five chapters of the textbook, it covers the war more in-depth, and next class we will begin discussing the finer details of the war. I know it’s only the beginning of the year, so there will be no homework. You are dismissed for the day.”

  The students begin to put away the notes they had taken alongside their textbooks, most hardly having turned even a few pages while they listened to the lesson. For many, they knew only of the war but not what occurred, yet for others still they had firsthand experience of what it truly was like. With classes over for the day, most students depart to their dorms to stow away their school supplies, while others elect to linger in the common areas or the courtyard socializing and making use of the remaining sunlight.

  Kagura steps into her dorm and roughly drops her bag at the foot of her bed, slumping down onto the mattress afterwards with a groan. Seraphine picking up on her miserable mood and bounds over to her, promptly curling up on her lap to provide what comfort she can.

  “Rough day?” The grey feline purrs out as she looks up at Kagura, the teen just sighing before rubbing at her eyes blearily.

  “I really wish mom would’ve told me our first lesson in Magical History would be about the war… She knows how much talking about it bothers me…” Seraphine mewls in understanding before nestling against her owner’s chest, the gentle purring that quickly begins helping Kagura relax.

  “I know, right? I mean, it doesn’t bother me as much, though I’m not you, I’m me.” Mer’ania says as she steps into the dorm, Kagura quickly bolting upright and looking to her while Seraphine topples off her chest and onto her lap with a yowl.