Nothing Of Note

Chapter Three: Rallenyien Mansion

"Since the formation of Sellheria, the Rallenyien family has always been an important figure for the kingdom. Being the leading provider of alchemical goods and services will do that to any bloodline. Almost every shred of Pre-Calamity magic and alchemy has come from their revered labs and family legacy. Without them, Sellheria would not be the powerful nation it soon became. Naturally, the family has enjoyed the blessing of the Sellherian royal family, drawing the ire of jealous competitors eager to topple their empire. Rumors and conspiracies quickly spread of possible corruption within this seemingly tight knit relationship. Likewise, these rumours were simply dispelled as nonsense. Like most nonsense, these rumors were only partially correct."

Approaching the Rallenyien Mansion, Elliot was greeted by a swarm of photographers and news vans. A limousine pulled to a halt at the front gate, bearing the insignia of Sellherian Royalty. Dammit the royals are here. Making sure no one spotted her, Elliot swung around to the back of the mansion wall and made her way to a clearing in the surrounding forest. As she tapped her foot on the ground in front of her, she heard a soft ping. "Foresight." The ground in front of her parted to make way for a secret passage. "Good evening Ms. Kolaru." Elina's personal servant Aurora emerged to greet the teenager. "Never call me that." "Of course Ms. Elliot." The servant was met with a loud groan as they entered the passage.

"Lady Elina, your tea is here." Elina was met with Aurora pushing the tea cart into her room. As quickly as the door was closed, her best friend fell out the bottom of the cart and sprawled out on her floor. "That never gets any less nerve-wracking." "Technique learned: Stealth." "Could you not-" Elina ignored her friend's complaints. "I'm SO sorry, I have no idea where it went! It was right here, in my closet, and when I checked right after school it-" As Elina rambled Elliot calmly opened her closet to reveal the staff, sitting right where it had been in the morning. "I swear that wasn't there ten minutes ago." "It wasn't. The staff teleports wherever I go and ends up in lockers, closets, what have you." Both girls failed to noticed that Aurora had not left the room, and was currently standing perfectly still, staring at the Staff of Dreams. "I-Is that?" As Elliot facepalmed at their collective oversight, Elina approached her most trusted servant. "No one can know about this, okay? Not even father." Aurora paused to take in this sacreligious command. Meanwhile, Elliot grabbed the staff and prepared for the worst. Realizing this, Aurora cleared her throat. "M-My duty is solely to Lady Elina. Not a word will be spoken about the events that have transpired." "Technique learned: Intimidation." "Can you PLEASE STOP-the staff keeps learning stupid techniques like intimidation," Elliot explained as a clearly concerned Elina and Aurora looked at her in fear. Aurora broke the sudden silence. "I have to tend to the Sellherian royals, so I'll just leave you two to... uh, sort things out." As she left the room Elliot asked, " Are you sure we can trust her?" Confidently, Elina responded, "It's not the first secret we've kept and it won't be the last. Your entrance for example."

"Fire: Sets a nearby object ablaze. Proficiency: 1." Elliot sighed disappointingly. "So I went from having a broomstick, to having a broomstick with a fire rune on the tip. All powerful staff huh." Elina took a break from the healing potion she was currently working on. "I mean, eventually you get to world breaking power levels, right?" "Do not remind me about him." Putting her hands up in defence, Elina continued working on her potion. "Hey, I didn't mean it that way-where did my draggleroot go?" Elliot points out the key magic ingredient of the healing potion on Elina's desk across the room. "Thank gosh, I was worried I'd have to give Aizy sugar water instead." As she waited for the potion to finish brewing, Elina had a realization, and proceeded to strike the staff, still in Elliot's hands, with her stuffed bunny. "Technique learned: Block." "W-W-Why?" "You are the prodigy Elliot. We need you to be as strong as time allows. By the way, how do those techniques work anyways?" Elliot closed the spell text in her vision and opened the techniques window. "Basically the same as spells, except I don't have to call on them. They're just things I would do normally." "Oh, wow. That's pretty underwhelming." Elliot took a glance at her cell tome; 4:22 PM. "When is Aurora coming back? I told my mom I'd be back soon." Right on cue, Aurora entered the room. "Lady Elina, your father needs to speak to you." Elina turned to Elliot before she crawled under the tea cart. "I'll come over by your house tomorrow evening."