Chapter 7-1: Shining Stars

Aiden sighed as he put the letter back into his pocket. "I knew it." He mumbled and reached for the door. Just before his fingers touched the knob, the door swung open. Aiden stepped back to see Alfred. "Good evening, Lord Condor." Alfred said with a sly voice and bowed slightly.

"Good evening Alfred." Aiden said calmly. He'd given up on trying to get along with either of the twins. He brushed past the man and left the room. He could feel the sly man's deadly gaze on his back as he walked to the staircase.

He quickly passed through the common room and left the dorms. It was almost dusk, but he could probably make it before the sun set completely. He rushed to the woods by the northern courtyard and once he arrived, took the letter out of his pocket. He made a little cut on his finger with his sword and let the blood drop on the letter.

"May the winds carry my words." He whispered. The drop of blood formed a simple glyph on the letter. Aiden lifted his hand in the air and let the letter drop to the ground. An unnatural wind caught it just in time and carried it away.

"Why would you do something like that!" A shout echoed between the trees. Startled, Aiden quickly hid behind a tree. What was going on? He could hear more shouting in the distance, though it was near impossible to tell what was being said.

Hesitant, he approached the voices. They were coming from the northern courtyard. Worry gripped at his throat. Ren frequented the courtyard. Was he in trouble? Had something happened? Making sure to stay behind the treeline, he peeked at the courtyard.

Serana, Lena and a woman he didn't know stood there. They seemed to be locked in a shouting match.

"Do not make me repeat myself Serana!" The woman shouted at the young Tesfel. "Do not make me use my authority as the Fourth, because I would not hesitate to do so!"

Aiden flinched. Was that really the Fourth Battlemage? He'd heard of her, that she was one of the youngest people to obtain so much power.

He scrambled to go back to the dorms. Whatever was going on, he could not be caught spying on them. He had to be more careful now than ever. He was a little out of breath when he reached the dormitory. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He'd never be able to get used to seeing battlemages in the flesh like this. The level of their power was just so unbelievable.

But then again, he knew someone who could potentially be so much stronger, didn't he? The young noble couldn't help but wonder, if Ren had full control of his mana, just how smaller would the difference between him and Warthorn be?

"It's surprising to see you here, Lord Condor." Princess Iris' soft voice sounded from not too far. Aiden quickly turned to face her. She was walking up the path that lead to the main building. She had a book and a few parchments in her hand. "I'd like to thank you for your assistance today. And I'd like to think I can count on you in the days ahead."

Startled, Aiden nodded and replied. "Likewise, your Highness." The Princess smiled and brushed past him, entering the dormitory with grace.

Aiden breathed out in relief after a short moment. For a second, he'd thought Serana or the Fourth had spotted him back there. He waited for his breathing and heartbeat to return to normal, then also entered the dorm. He wanted to check on Ren before returning to his room.

* * *

"So, this glyph right here is for healing." Ren explained as Mirielle quickly took notes on a larger piece of paper. "And this one means 'cure'…" He raised his eyebrows. "Excessive, if you ask me." He mumbled.

"It's a pretty old spell." Mirielle said with a chuckle. "I didn't think this would take so much of your time, Ren. It's fine if you can't figure it out."

Ren shook his head. "It's fine. It helps to think about something like this. It's fun." He smiled as he pointed at another glyph. "Contain." He said with a confused expression. "Not sure how that has anything to do with curing and healing."

Mirielle shrugged. "I do know that this means 'pure'."

Ren nodded. He hadn't lied when he said he found this fun. Deciphering layered inscriptions was interesting. It helped him learn more about inscriptions. It was basically just a very difficult puzzle.

"Purge, mana, mend." He mumbled and Mirielle quickly took notes. "That's the last one of the first layer." Ren said. "I'm curious about this spell, it's unlike anything I've seen before."

Mirielle smiled. "It's something of a family heirloom." She gently touched the surface of the paper. "Of course, it's only a magically created image of the real ritual circle, but it's still valuable to us."

Ren nodded. "The original circle must be ancient. Do you mind if I ask where it is?"

Mirielle shook her head. "It's in our garden." She said with a smile. "We usually keep it covered with a large metal plate since we don't want people to accidentally activate it."

Ren nodded. That made sense. An unknown ritual circle could be potentially deadly. "That aside," Mirielle said softly. "I didn't know you could write ancient glyphs so…easily." She was staring at the large paper Ren was using.

He paused and lifted his brush from the paper. He'd copied the entire first layer. "Well, I'm just drawing what I see." He said with a shrug.

"It's usually difficult to do that in layered inscriptions." Mirielle replied. "I haven't met anyone who can read them so easily either. In fact, my grandfather said that the reason layered inscriptions are difficult to read is because the flow of magic prevents us from seeing the layers separately."

Ren nodded. "That's what I was told as well."

"But you're not affected by it. Is it because of your sensitivity to mana, I wonder?" Mirielle mumbled mostly to herself. Ren couldn't help but smile, the young girl seemed to really be eager to learn more about almost anything.

"You could say that." He said before moving on to the next layer. "Now," he focused his gaze on the second layer. "This one is 'nature'…"