*24*

We arrived in Crystal View about an hour before sunset. I was thankful to stay at an inn and relax for the night. I was exhausted from the journey and the training with Mystic. I don't even remember getting into bed after washing up.

In the morning, Mystic took me around the city to help familiarize me. There were dozens of shops and residential areas. Children were playing with the Fairies and Elementals in small grass patches. Couples sat by a small pond near the northern edge of the city.

In the exact center of the city stood the academy. I could see it in the distance as we walked around, the tall spires being a good landmark. We stopped at the end of one of the many roads.

"Remember, Kyrene," I looked up at Mystic. "If you ever get lost, all the roads here lead to the academy."

I nodded. "I understand. Thank you for taking me here. I really appreciate it." I wrapped my arms around her.

She returned the embrace. "Remember, I'll be by a few times to check on you. Your time at the academy will be long, but it'll fly by once you get the hang of everything."

"I'll miss you," I gave her one last squeeze before letting go. "Bye," we waved to each other and I watched Mystic until she was out of sight. With my head held high, I turned to face the academy. I adjusted my bag and walked for the large doors.

I pushed one open, the hinges creaking a bit. I carefully shut it and glanced around. Large chandeliers and wall sconces light up the entryway to the academy. I glanced around, trying to figure out where to go.

"Welcome!" I squeaked and turned at the sudden voice. "Sorry to startle you. My name's Kita. How can I help you?"

I held my staff tighter. "I've come to join the academy. Is Professor Rodnik around?"

She smiled. "He's in his office. I'll show you to it." I followed behind her as she showed me around. "Here in the academy, we specialize in all sorts of magic. For several hundred years, we've trained so many people and helped them discover what they can do. We do have an assessment for those wishing to join the academy, since we no longer have the Orelie."

We stopped before a door. "He's just in here. Knock when you're ready to enter." She gave me another warm smile before walking off. I took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in," I opened the door at the invitation. "Ah, Kyrene! Welcome! Come in, come in! I do apologize for not coming out to visit as often as I promised."

I smiled softly as he shut the door and guided me in. "It's alright, Professor. Things have been a little chaotic as of late."

"What do you mean?" He asked and pulled us to a stop. "Is everything alright? Where's Crae?"

I lowered my head at the name. "He's... not here."

"Did he just leave you?" He hummed in thought. "No, that doesn't sound like him. He's probably at an inn close by."

"No, he's not," I shook my head. "He's back at his cottage. Mystic brought me here." I tucked my arm behind my back.

"You look exhausted," he sat me down in a chair. "Relax here and tell me what happened." He poured me a cup of tea.

I carefully took the cup and sipped from it. "A while back, I was kidnapped by a Witch. She held me captive and tortured me. She took my blood, sweat, and tears. Apparently my body had addictive qualities and they feed off that to live."

He nodded slowly and held his chin. "Go on, dear."

"Well," I bit my lip. "After a few days of being there, I started to fight back. It greatly damaged my already weak form. When she started catching on and defending herself, I... called the Demon." I held my arm out.

Rodnik was silent as he stared at the scar. "I really am sorry, my dear. That must have been awful."

I nodded slowly. "The Demon arrived and killed the Witch. Then, it started to melt away into a different form. There before me... was Crae."

He gasped. "No... all this time?"

"Yes," I choked out. "Crae was the Demon. He was the King of the Demons, Coroncrae, all along." I sniffed and watched a tear fall into my cup.

"It's alright, child," Rodnik placed a hand on my shoulder. "You're safe here. Did he hurt you after he killed the Witch?"

I shook my head. "No, he just took me down to get me healed. Once that was done, I had him take me to Mystic. I haven't seen him since."

"You poor thing," he got up and came around the desk to hold me. I softly cried and gripped his cloak for support. "You did the right thing coming here. We can protect you, and we can train you. You're safe now."

"Thank you," I barely managed to whisper. When I had calmed down, Rodnik took me to get cleaned up. He showed me to the dorm area of the academy and helped me get set up.

"You've had a long day," he said from the doorway. "I'll be back tomorrow to help get you settled in. And don't worry about the assessment. I'll take care of it." With that, he shut the door. I looked around the room.

It's about the size of Mystic's front room. It has a decent sized four poster bed, a window over the bed, a desk with a large candle, and a three shelved bookshelf. A round rug covered most of the floor. I walked over to a dresser near the bed and emptied my things into it.

After I was done, I set my staff against the wall near the bed and changed into comfier clothes. I crawled under the covers and glanced around. I guess this is my new home now. I closed the drapes, the room quickly getting dark. I settled down to rest up. I have a feeling it'll be a long day tomorrow.

~~~~

I awoke to the sound of someone knocking at my door. I sat up and grunted at my stiff muscles. "Come in."

"Good morning, Kyrene." Rodnik stepped in. "It's time for you to start getting ready. Classes start about an hour after sunrise. Get changed and put this on. I'll be right outside the door." He set a small bundle on my desk and shut the door after him.

I stood and stretched to help get rid of the soreness. When I was ready, I changed into clothes for the day and grabbed the bundle. It unfolded into a dark purple cloak. I raised an eyebrow at it, but put it on. I grabbed my staff and slipped on my shoes before leaving.

As he said, Rodnik was waiting for me. He motioned for me to follow him. "Each student is required to wear a cloak. Each cloak is a different color depending on which magic class they are going in for. Druids wear purple, Mages wear a forest green, and Alchemists blue. For those who haven't found a magic class, or specialize in one of the sub elements, they wear a white cloak. If you ever need to speak with a professor, they will be wearing a cloak like mine."

We stopped before a set of open double doors. A few students were sitting at large tables that spanned most of the massive room. "Here is our dining hall. It's always open until eight in the evening. It opens back up after six in the morning."

I was able to get one last look before we continued on. "I won't have you start today. I'll just show you around so you can get a general idea for where everything is. Just know that if you ever need to leave your dorm, or leave the academy, you must have your cloak on."

"I understand," I said as I slowly looked around. "But what magic will I be learning? I'm classified as a Druid, but I need practice in every element."

"It'll make sense tomorrow when I take you to your first class," he explained.

We spent the rest of the day touring the academy. We took a couple breaks for lunch and a small snack. Rodnik showed me some large training rooms where other students practiced. I was in awe when we walked through two different libraries.

When we saw everything the academy had to offer, we headed outside to the western edge of the city. There, I was shown three different outdoors training grounds.

"As you can see, we specialize in every magic available." Rodnik said as we headed back to the academy.

"Except dark magic," I gripped my staff tighter.

"Yes, except that one," his tone lowered a bit. "We can't lose any more magic users to that magic. Life is just too precious to be wasted like that. Anyway, we have all your magical needs here. I do hope you can get settled in rather quickly."

"Thank you, Professor." I smiled up at him. "I think I'll fit in nicely, so long as no one finds out what I am."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," he returned the smile. "You may wander and observe some classes, if you'd like. Though they'll all be ending soon, it doesn't hurt to see what they all entail." With that, we parted ways.

I turned for the town to explore a little more. There were a couple shops that I saw and wanted to take a look in. I stepped into the first shop and began browsing.

"Oh! You're from the academy!" I look up from a display of staff enhancements. "I haven't seen you around before. Are you new?"

The first thing I noticed was the blue cloak. The next thing I noticed was his black hair and bright green eyes. He smiled at me, hand extended.

I blinked. "Oh! I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting to be confronted. Yes, I'm new. I'm Kyrene."

His smile widened. "It's all good. I'm Aero, but everyone calls me Striker."

"Why's that?" I tipped my head in confusion.

"Who knows?" He let out a laugh. "C'mon. I know of a good place for staff enhancers."

"Oh, I was just browsing and-"

He didn't let me finish as he pulled me from the shop. "If you want the good stuff, ya gotta know where to go. I don't use a staff, but I know several people who do. They say this old elven woman named Madam Knola has everything you could imagine."

I grinned shyly as he wrapped my arm around his. "I guess it doesn't hurt to check the place out." I tried pulling my arm away, but he held on tightly.

As we passed through the city, people stared and smiled brightly, talking among themselves. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Why are you holding me?" I suddenly blurted out.

"You're so small," he replied. "Even with the cloak on, I could tell you were tiny. I thought the wind would carry you away."

My cheeks heated up and I somehow managed to pull my arm free. "I am very capable of keeping my feet on the ground, thank you. I don't need help."

"I also noticed a scar on your forearm when you brushed your hair to the side." I quickly hid my arm from him. "Did something happen?"

"Why are you so nosy?" I glared up at him. At this angle, I could see his ears had a slight point to them.

All he did was shrug. "I don't know. Human curiosity? Or Alchemist curiosity. Speaking of being curious, how did you get that scar?"

"None of your business." I stated firmly as I kept my arm to my side. "Just show me where Madam Knola is so I can get back to window shopping."

He chuckled. "Feisty. I like that. Anyway, it's not too far from here." I ignored him and remained silent the rest of the way there.

We came up to an old, slightly slanted building. It had one window in the front with a cracked frame. It looked like the place could give out at any second.

Striker knocked on the door, making the whole frame shake. "Madam Knola! I've brought a Druid! She's in the market for staff enhancers and I told here to come here!"

"I never said I was buying anything!" I hissed at him.

I went to protest more, but was cut off by the door opening. An old woman with droopy pointed ears stood before us. Wrinkles covered her slightly hunched over form. More wrinkles formed as she smiled at the two of us.

She fixed her pale blonde hair into a bun. "Welcome, Aero! My, it's been ages since you've come by! And what a pretty young lady you've brought! Come in, come in!"

I hesitantly stepped in after Striker. "I'll make some tea. Take a seat and I'll bring out my wares." Despite being worn down on the outside, the inside was immaculately clean and bright. Her furniture felt new and the paint on the walls looked fresh. One whole wall held dozens of photos.

"How old can Elves get?" I whispered.

He chuckled. "I've heard many different numbers, but from different Elves, I've heard similar numbers. The most common is about seven hundred years. I've heard rumors that Madam Knola is almost a thousand years, though."

"Well, I see you two are quite comfy." I quickly leaned away from Striker as he laughed and relaxed. I had one leg crossed over the other, putting as much space between us as possible.

"Just chatting," Striker picked up one of the cups she set down. "She's new to the academy and I was showing her around a bit."

"She a new fling, or a more permanent engagement?" My cheeks heated up as I stopped reaching for a cup.

"I don't know yet." I quickly took the cup and leaned my staff against the couch. "I've only just met her today."

"And I say I won't be either of those." I sipped the tea so I wouldn't burn myself. "I'm only here to learn magic, then I'm going back." I was about to say home, but thinking the word made my heart ache.

"Back where?" Striker asked.

"With a friend." I set my cup down on the table. "That's all you need to know."

"Don't be nosy, Aero." Madam Knola scolded him. "She doesn't have to tell you everything about her life."

"Yes, ma'am." He slumped back a bit, but quickly brightened. "So, what do you have for her to look at?"

"Ah, yes." Madam Knola set her cup aside and pulled out a small bag. "First, I'd like to take a look at your staff and see exactly what it needs."

I handed her my staff. She took it in her hands and inhaled deeply. "Ah, you bonded with the sycamore. Does he like what you've done with the staff?"

I nodded. "Yes, he loves it."

"Good, good..." she spoke softly as her hands trailed over the staff. "It seems like the staff is more for magic control. Very excellent craftsmanship. The placement of the stones are exactly what it needs. Though, it's still missing something..."

She rifled through her bag with one hand. "I know it's here somewhere... Ah! Here you are. I'll need a strand of your hair, dear." I reached behind my head and grabbed a strand of hair from underneath. Carefully, I singed off a piece and handed it out to her.

"Your staff is missing an activation gem." She said as she traced her fingers over the wood. "Judging from where I've seen your hand placement, I'd say it should go here." She used her magic to create a small indent. She set the stone in place, then wrapped my hair around the gem and staff. Much like what Rodnik did, she used her magic to set everything.

"There," she held my staff out to me. "That should do it. This stone, Alexandrite, should help you. Your emeralds and sapphires store your magic, but you didn't have a way to release it. This stone will allow you to use the magic stored within with no cost to your magic energy."

"Beautiful," I stared at the stone as it shimmered between a greenish-Blue hue.

"Child," I met her stern gaze. "I'd like to speak with you. Alone." She cast her eyes to Striker at the last part.

"Alright, I can tell when I'm not wanted." He stood. "I'm gonna head back to the academy. Maybe I'll see you around."

I rolled my eyes as he left. I hope I don't see him again.

I gasped as a hand suddenly took up my wrist. Madam Knola turned my arm over and ran a finger over my scar. "You were branded."

I pulled my arm away. "I'd like to not think about it."

"That Demon will always be with you." My heart skipped a beat at her words. "Even though the brand has been damaged, any injury to that brand, minor or major, will alert the Demon and bring him to you."

"Great," I mumbled as I held my hand over the brand. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

"I'm sorry, child." She stood me up.

I didn't say anything, except to thank her for the gem. Instead of continuing with window shopping, I headed back for my room. My day had started out great, and ended miserably.

I stared down at the brand. "I'll never be rid of you, will I? Eventually, you'll come hunting for me to get my blood again."

I took off my cloak and hid under the blanket.