Chương 40: Chapter Thirty-Seven

It didn't take long for everything to change, Devero La'Tithe thought as he stood in front of a large fireplace, staring into the flames. Mere weeks after the incident at Tenoth he had been summoned by the queen where he had to defend what his family had done. What his family was doing. And he hadn't been ready. He had been gathering support. But slowly. Too slowly. His assumption that there was time was his mistake.

The only variable he could have controlled before that damned demon, who didn't know who her betters were, showed up. His eyes glanced at a stack of papers detailing the life of the damned upstart Lyra. He sneered. What type of person betrays their own species by evolving of all things? Pampaw Fruit? He scoffed. Worthless in his goals. He wasn't trying to make more demons. He was trying to raise elves up to their rightful place! Increasing mana before the Becoming is useless!

And only so starfel potions can be made in a year. The damned plants are too difficult to grow in quantity! He reaffirmed his path, standing in his study that night. The ancestors were right. The demons held the key. They just had to turn it. And to do that, they had to accept their place. He visibly scoffed at the Accord being broken. It was about time. The elves wouldn't be held back by stories of destroyed cities from the ancient past. Not all of them at least.

Even if armies were being gathered, and elves would fight other elves and whatever meager demon support they brought along, he wouldn't be stopped. Tenoth, Tithe, and Marineth all knelt to him. And there would be more. He would make sure of it. And if the queen didn't understand what he was doing, or why he was doing it… perhaps it was time the elves had a king.

"Father." A young voice cut through his thoughts, bringing him back to the office he was standing in. He looked to the doorway where his son had just entered, looked around frowning and fed mana into the light stones on the ceiling, destroying the ambiance Devero had unintentionally created as he lost track of time.

"We've just received a report on Ederall," he said, coming into the room and grabbing the wine bottle Devero had been slowly drinking through the night. Pouring himself a small measure, he continued.

"They put the subject in the Academy," Devero scoffed. Armies were being gathered and the catalyst was going to school as though it were just another day.

"It's suspected they're trying to shield her from events." That caused Devero to smile.

"Not the worst outcomes. We need to send someone to collect her. The reports coming from our research teams are…"

"Speculative," Deno stated flatly.

"It's speculative, father. We are going to war because something thinks they can do something."

"We're going to war for a way forward." Devero didn't shout. That would be crass. But his voice took on a cold edge that only the deaf could ignore.

"Send someone to retrieve her. They expect to be able to make strides in their research with her." He looked to his desk.

"If only we could increase mana by leveling."

"It wouldn't be enough," Deno stated flatly.

"Other news. The Toordor, Mithram, and Carthum clans are gathering." Devero didn't care what those kingdomless wanderers were doing, and it showed in his posture.

"Also, the humans are preparing for war." That brought Devero out of his thoughts, his eyes glaring at his son.

"The humans are going to join this war?" he asked. His son shrugged.

"The report says they are preparing their defenses. It could be they are simply preparing to stop it from spreading into their lands." Deno shrugged.

"But postures change. And humans are anything but consistent." If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Devero ground his teeth as he considered the new front of the upcoming war. *"The grix rune is a minor rune meaning 'transfix', unless it's paired with the nith or travix runes, which transform it to…" The first class I had today was Runic Grammar. And for some reason she was blurry. Almost fading out of my vision at times.

Wondering what magic she was using as I scratched the abbreviated information, which Narith informed me were notes, had kept my mind busy for the first half of the class. But somewhere in there my hands stopped moving. Notes stopped being taken. And she was fading even more from my vision. Thump! I jolted up as soon as my head hit the desk in front of me and found that the classroom had gone quiet. Beth was looking forward, pretending for all the world that she didn't know me as Stella giggled to my other side.

"Well, I suppose that's a twelve inch report on the grix, nith, and travix runes for the class." Groans broke the silence even as my cheeks flamed red.

"The minor runes are minor not because of what they can do, but because they do not form a keystone ability a spell can be based on." The woman looked directly at me.

"Every. Single. One. Is. Important." I jotted down the work in my notes. It had been three weeks since classes officially began and Runic Grammar was by far my least favorite. Each rune had a primary meaning along with enough interactional changes it would take a book to list them all. And I hated it. Why did the meanings have to change based on the runes that were next to them? And by changing its meaning, you changed the meaning of the pair on the other side of the rune. And a rune had four sides!

And that was with the easy spells! Each new dimension added two new sides that could be filled in and change the interaction of every other! Six for three. Eight for four. Whatever four dimensions was supposed to look like. I resisted putting my head back on my desk.

"Pay enough attention, Lyra," Beth grumbled under her breath. I smiled at the normality of the comment. After giving them an elixir it had taken me almost two weeks to convince them that I wasn't really a princess. Even explaining that demons didn't work that way didn't make them understand.

Even with Narith confirming my statements, I had to take them home where I had my parents explain to them, my brother, then accosted a couple of neighbors who happened to be passing by before they even entertained the idea that I was telling them the truth. We were finally basically back to normal. They now equated me with the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Which I frankly couldn't argue against. I groaned internally as the teacher continued talking.

This time picking a new rune to talk about, not contributing to the homework she just assigned. The rest of the class went uneventfully and I collapsed on my desk when we were finally dismissed. Several people sent rude glares in my direction, which I ignored. It wasn't my fault the subject was boring.

"You know," Stella said, touching her lips in thought.

"This really is an important subject," she stated. I groaned.

"I know. That's what makes it worse," I said into my arm as I rested my head on it.

"It's just so…" I grumbled.

"What type of crazy person would make up a language like this?" My voice had taken the whiny tone that had gotten all too familiar after a grammar lesson.

"It's not a language. Just runes," Beth stated, putting her things away. Stella was doing the same. With a sigh, I started to follow suit.

"It's a language," I stated simply.

"This is a grammar class. Grammar indicates language."

"Grammar indicates they didn't know what to call crazy rune interactions," Stella challenged, closing her bag. I laughed as I hurried to catch up.

"I like that. Maybe if I think about it that way it won't be so boring." Beth laughed at me.

"You've almost fallen asleep in every grammar class. I'll believe it when I see it." I stood up, putting my hand to my chest in mock outrage.

"Well, I never!" The three of us broke into giggles as we left for our next class. This time it was something far more interesting.

"How long do you think Spells and Casting is going to spend on basic defense and attack spells? I mean, you might as well call it a self defense class." I shrugged at Stella's question, obviously not knowing the answer.

"Honestly, I would like it if they focused on healing magics," I confessed.

"Oh. I heard those are hard. You have to have an understanding of the body before you can heal it or you could just cause more damage." I nodded, having been told something similar when I asked about it.

"That's why they have a 'Sapient Body' class as a requirement to take basic healing. And it's just the start of a three class chain on either of them." I tapped my chin as we walked.

"Honestly, it's easier just to make potions."

"For you, maybe," Beth said. I shrugged at her look.

"There are limitations to potions, Lyra. You can only carry so many. They can only do so much. You could leave them at home. Or the vials can shatter. Or…"

"I get it! I get it," I laughed, offering my hands in defeat.

"I was always going to pursue that class, and that hasn't changed," I got out between the chuckling. We entered the classroom and professor Drun was already standing in front of it, a shimmering gray shield surrounding him as a demonstration of what they would be talking about today. Honestly, I thought he just liked showing off his spells.

"Looks like it's shields today," I commented, as we moved to our seat.

"Again," Stella grumbled.

"Can you cast a shield yet?" Beth asked, curious.

"No," she grumbled out.

"Then, we all have something to learn today." I chuckled before nudging Stella's hip with my shoulder.

"Come on. This is the fun class!" Stella closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and changing her grumpy expression to something more determined.

"I've got this."

"You do," I agreed with her, taking my seat.