Alitia: Welcome to Millenia

XIV: Michaela

"I think Zylphia traumatized Sophia."

When Luce sat down at the lunch table, Tanith was sitting beside Sophia. The latter was frowning deeply and glancing around nervously, as if she couldn't sit still. Tanith had one arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, you know. She gives that speech every year. You're going to be fine. While fighting is dangerous, we're here to train and improve our skills. By the time we graduate, we'll be perfectly suited to battle evil out in the real world. It'll be fine, really," Tanith assured her. "I know her speech is on the intense side, but I want you to know she was going over the edge today too."

"It just worries me to think about," Sophia sighed, shaking her head.

"We're going to be fine, promise," Luce agreed as she took a bite out of her apple. S.M. sat down next to her and Sylvia, the latter of which was asleep with her head on the table.

"The magical combat teacher seems pretty nice, I must say," Iris commented before taking a chug of her water bottle. "It's strange to think she's teaching us how to fight people with magic, as she seems so nice... To me, she has that aura of somebody who wouldn't hurt a fly. It's odd."

"I haven't had that yet," Luce frowned. "What's it like?"

"Her name is Michaela Apollo. She's a sweet woman with light magic. Maybe you two have something in common in that respect," Iris said with a loose shrug. "What are you planning on doing after school today? Maybe you could talk to her more about your magic."

"I was going to see Professor Ogun or Cessair, the history assistant. Professor Ogun and I are going to try and figure out what my powers are. Cessair seemed to know something about my father. When she heard my last name, she asked if we were related. When I said we were, she freaked out. She clearly knows something I don't, and I want answers. I heard he attended the Millennium Six back in the day, but I don't know any of the details," Luce explained.

"I don't know if that's going to be possible. I got a text from Zylphia that a last-minute meeting was scheduled between all the teachers of the Millennium Six. They want to discuss what's going on with the hooded figures attacking people. The repeated assaults are starting to become a concern to the media, and some influential figures, such as nobles of various realms, are thinking of pulling their children from the school. The danger is proving itself to be an issue. They're on publicity control, I guess you could say," Tanith shrugged. "I don't know if you'll be able to see them for a while because of the extra work they have to take care of."

"Damn," Luce muttered, shaking her head. "That sucks. It looks like we'll be waiting quite a while for the truth about my magic. It isn't convenient, but it'll have to work."

"It's fine, I think. I mean, we'll get there eventually, right?" Helena asked.

"I don't think we're necessarily locked until Alistair and Cessair can get time away from the media," Tanith frowned. "Just because we can't ask them doesn't mean we can't look around for ourselves. Alitia has a huge library. All we need to do is head inside and look around for light magic and categorize it from there. We need something that repels possession magic. I'm positive something like that exists. We just need to do is do some digging of our own."

"It's the start of the year, so we don't have much homework. I think it would be a good idea to look into," Iris agreed.

Carys rolled her eyes. "Why are we bothering to investigate when we'll get the answers we need eventually anyways? It seems like a bit of a waste of time to me," she muttered.

"Think about it this way. Luce can repel the possession magic of our enemy and free innocent people from his influence. If we learn more about that magic, then it'll be easier to defeat whoever has a vengeance for us. Plus, if we defeat them, it'll be easy to figure out what they want from us. It's just a good idea on all fronts. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be put in extra danger because we didn't read some books we have easy access to," Iris explained.