First Meeting

"Would you mind if we join you for breakfast, my brother?"

Isvhara's voice was soft and attractive, her eyes filled with warmth as she stood there in her fresh white school uniform. It was a stark contrast to the silver-haired woman by her side, who had chosen to don an outfit that mimicked the traditional Alorian attire. 

Alorian couldn't tear his gaze away from the woman before him. It wasn't just her beauty that captivated him; it was the uncanny feeling that he had seen her somewhere before, maybe in a dream or a distant remembrance. He needed to be sure if she was the arcane figure from his visions.

The unease in the woman's eyes was evident as Alorian continued to examine her with an intensity that bordered on unnerving. He seemed both shocked and investigative as if attempting to unlock a hidden truth. Isvhara, sensing her friend's discomfort, couldn't help but interject with a slightly raised voice, "What's the matter with you, Alorian?"

Startled, Alorian quickly snapped out of his reverie and managed to stammer, "Ah, sorry, of course, I don't mind." With those words, Isvhara drew out a chair for herself, and the silver-haired woman, who remained unknown to Alorian.

"Althea," Isvhara said, gesturing towards the woman, "this is my brother, Alorian." She then turned her attention back to Alorian and continued, "Alorian, this is Althea."

The air was filled with an unspoken tension, as Alorian and Althea exchanged a brief but meaningful look. Alorian offered a polite smile to Althea, accompanied by a nod of appreciation. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Althea," he said. "I apologize for my behavior that made you uncomfortable."

In response, Althea didn't immediately break her silence; instead, she chose to lower her head, her demeanor still bearing traces of trepidation. Nevertheless, she mustered a reassuring smile and shook her head. "It's fine; I might have been too sensitive to being watched like that."

"Also, Isvhara has told me a lot about you, Alorian," Althea added, her sights sometimes drifting toward the young man in front of her. "I'm sorry for your loss."

A faint, somewhat disheveled smile remained on Alorian's face, though the light in his eyes was faded. "Thank you... but everything is fine now."

Sensing the awkwardness in the air, Isvhara tried to lighten the mood. "Alright, let's relish this breakfast!" Her words brought a hint of improvement to Althea's demeanor.

As they began to savor their meal, Alorian, still pondering in his mind, chose to follow their lead after his gaze shifted from Althea to a dish of rice mixed with brown stew. However, he realized something odd when he was almost finished with his food.

"Althea... are you a temporary student here?" Alorian inquired, noticing the resemblance in their attire.

Althea tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before looking upward, her stare fixed on Alorian as she nodded. "Yes, I came here to explore a certain field about mana."

Mana, a term steeped in mystique, was a familiar concept between them. Alorian was well-acquainted with this mystical element, which was a current counterpart to the ancient Prana. While Prana had its roots in the chronicles of history, the era had ushered in the term "Mana" as the dominant force.

Alorian couldn't help but discern the resonance of this magical essence, for it was the very lifeblood of their craft. "So, you have a devotion for the arcane arts?" Alorian asked.

His question sparked a radiant glow in Althea's expressive hazel eyes. Bathed in the soft beams of the sun, they seemed to twinkle with excitement. "Yes, I aim to master the intricate complexities of restorative magic and alchemical experimentation."

Althea turned her attention to Isvhara, who was still engrossed in her meal. "Isvhara mentioned the existence of a concoction room here, stocked with a vast collection of herbal ingredients."

Alorian nodded, deftly savoring another bite of his meal. After he'd swallowed, he added, "My sister here has a remarkable talent in the realm of alchemy; I believe the two of you will find yourselves kindred spirits."

The black-haired woman, having now finished every morsel on her plate, quenched her thirst with a sip of water, and contributed to the conversation with a sense of camaraderie. "We've been sharing knowledge since our rendezvous yesterday. Where were you at that time?"

Alorian's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights at his sister's unexpected search. Admitting that he had come perilously close to killing himself in the solitude of his room was out of the question.

The memory of his recent reckless actions sent electric shivers down his spine, and he struggled to keep his composure, swallowing hard several times as his anxiety swelled. "I was in training with Master Vedana."

"No, no," Isvhara swiftly refuted, her apprehension evident. "After our collision, where did you disappear to?"

Althea keenly observed the sudden shift in the young man before her. The once-confident Prince of Caeloria she ever heard now appeared somber, as though he were reluctantly confessing to a grave misdeed.

This was an unprecedented encounter with Alorian in such an informal, unguarded state, diverging sharply from her initial impression of the regal figure. The contrast left her bewitched and slightly anxious.

"I was in the forest, sister. Why do you need to know?" Alorian's response wavered, his gaze occasionally flickering towards Althea.

"Well," Isvhara began, a trace of suspicion lingering on her face despite her attempts to suppress it by looking elsewhere, "I was searching for you at your usual spot, but it seemed you weren't there."

"Sorry, for making you feel concerned. Now, if you'll excuse me," Alorian abruptly stood up, carrying his empty plate, and walked off in an unknown direction. "I have matters to attend to."

"What? Where are you going?" Isvhara got to her feet, calling out, trying to stop him. "Brother, wait!" The urgency in her voice mirrored the suspense that had settled over their unexpected breakfast encounter, leaving questions and unease in its wake.

Althea couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss with Alorian, something he was trying to conceal. However, he appeared to not recognize her true identity as the Princess of Avalornia, a secret she had chosen to keep even from Isvhara herself.

Even after deciding not to hide her name, it seemed that very few, perhaps only the Masters of the school, were truly aware of her royal lineage. This was due to the tradition in Nisiar, which aimed to withhold detailed information about the children of the king from other kingdoms.

Only their people knew.

The breakfast crowd came to an end, and Althea parted ways with Isvhara, who had a martial arts routine ahead of her. Dressed in black, Althea didn't have a strict schedule to adhere to, affording her the freedom to seek knowledge to her heart's content during her allowed time.

Seizing the chance, she hurried to the chamber of Master Indari, a skilled teacher in the magic aspect. Her room stood apart from the others, evident in its distinctive decorations and architectural style.

She cautiously knocked on the door several times, but there was no response from within. "Is she not here?" Althea wondered with a hint of confusion. "Strange, she was supposed to be here after she told me to do so." As she stunned there, uncertainty clouded her thoughts, wondering what might have caused the absence of her mentor.

With an unwavering resolve to meet Master Indari, Althea gave the door another series of firm, insistent knocks. Each contact on the door echoed her determination to seek guidance.

After a brief yet tense wait, the door creaked open, revealing the figure of an old woman adorned in a mage's robe of soft, ethereal blue. Her countenance exuded an air of both warmth and wisdom. 

"Ah, Althea, please accept my apologies for the wait," Master Indari spoke with a courteous smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners with kindness. "Do come inside!"

The room beyond beckoned with an air of enigma and a wealth of knowledge, inviting Althea to step into a world of witchcraft and secrets. Althea then exclaimed in astonishment. "This... this is incredible!"

As the child ventured further into the room, various spellbooks and herbal concoctions were scattered everywhere! They were greeted by unfamiliar runes and magical lights emanating from various corners, making the room feel like an otherworldly place that never ceased to amaze Althea.

"I have been busy with my incantations," the elder said, walking with a slight limp due to her age. "Feel free to observe, child."

"Incantations?" Althea suddenly turned her attention to Master Indari amidst her exploration of every object in sight. "Is that something I can do?"

She hurriedly approached her master, staying by her side as they made their way to an open room dedicated to deeper learning, filled with numerous books. "Of course, but it's not something easily done by an apprentice like you, my dear."

Althea was once again captivated by a thing in the middle of the room, levitating in place! The spellbook emitting a bluish glow seemed to hold incredibly powerful magic, casting an aura of heaviness and foreboding over the room.

"Don't come any closer, dear! Stay right there!" Master Indari's command was met with a hesitant nod from the bewildered Althea. The elder stopped right in front of the mystical book, closed her eyes, and began chanting something that sent shivers down Althea's spine.

"In the name of Prana, the life force of nature's grace,

In the name of shadows that rest beyond the light's throne,

Rise, dormant fire, bathed in endless night's embrace,

With furious flame, emerge for eternity's space."

After that ominous, reverberated incantation, black fire emerged from the book with tremendous speed to the air. Althea was shocked back and she now fell on her bum, her widened eyes did not believe what she saw in front of her. A dark flame that looks like a snake slithers toward Althea's existence.