It was another day at the Institute of Thaumaturgy. The long, stretching hallways were bustling with students and professors. A woman pushed a breakfast cart through the hall, shouting.

  “Missed early breakfast? Come get something from the cart!”

  A few students pushed through, forming a line.

  “Hey, so after classes, are we meeting at the library again?” Yadani said.

  Vera leaned against the wall, tilting her head toward Yadani.

  “Sure, you’ve been doing well on the quizzes. I just want to make sure you’re consistent,” she said.

  “I’m not stupid, you know? That test is going to be an easy ace.” Yadani rubbed her hands together, a bit of steam building between her palms.

  “Right, I actually wanted to ask about what you said back there,” Vera added.

  “Huh, what did I say?... You know I’m quick to forget.” Yadani arched her brow.

  “You said something about… Giving up your strength to abide by the rules. What’s that about?” Vera asked.

  “Oh! I did say that in the council room.” Yadani replied.

  “Yeah, you did, so what’s it about?” Vera asked again.

  “In Leviara, if you’re a race or species with a history of uncontrollable power—like me, it’s mandatory for it to be suppressed under special circumstances. In my case, it’s under complete suppression. Incantation seals are woven into my mana channels. They clamp down on anything above a certain level.” She explained.

  “I didn’t know they did that… That’s unfortunate.” Vera said.

  “If I could just… Use some of it for a bit, I’d have sent that dragon crawling back wherever he came from.” Yadani clenched her fist.

  “Don’t stick on that anymore… It’s already happened, which means we can’t do anything about it.” Vera pats her shoulder.

  “I know… I just wish I had broken the rules a little more. Anyway, I have a lecture I need to be at—see you at the library.” Yadani slipped through the crowds of students.

  “Clear the way, clear the way!” Professor Kai’La shouted as students stepped aside.

  They gasped, the hallway going silent, and eyes turned to the middle of it. Vera weaved through the throng of students to see.

  Veyric and Xena were following behind Professor Kai’La. Vera felt a knot in her stomach while her eyes followed Veyric. His golden gaze pierced through the crowds of students, causing them to back up further.

  “I haven’t been able to hear my footsteps for weeks in these hallways. What is—” Aephyra’s jaw fell slack, eyes focusing on his horns and the glow of the runes.

  The three of them continued through the hallways. Veyric felt their stares of awe on him and his hand instinctively reached for his hood—but he hesitated, letting his hand drop back at his side.

  “All right, all right! Everyone get to class, the first toll already rung!” Another professor shouted, hurrying them along.

  The hallways began to clear. Professor Kai’La led Veyric and Xena across the institute and into the room where the four heads of approval were found dead.

  “... Here, this is the room they worked in. Their job was to approve inventions that could benefit Augus, and deny any harmful ones or ones that served no purpose.” Kai’La said.

  “They’ve denied thousands of people… Many times, the people have been understanding, and that’s because it’s relative to what they know about runes. Yet, they were strangely disappointed with one man’s invention, and not because it was useless… It was well thought out, ground-breaking even, is what they said.” Kai’La added.

  “So, why did they deny it?” Xena asked.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t have the time to ask them why, and they’re not here to answer, so I doubt we’ll ever know.” Professor Kai’La replied.

  “What was the invention and… Who was the person that thought of it?” Veyric asked.

  “I believe it was a mana-circulating device. The person who thought of it was Zeta—he’s a part of the inventor’s circle. I would tell you where to find him, but the problem is, we sent officials to his home last night to find him, but they never came back. It’s significantly more concerning because they checked the others in the inventor’s circle and had no issues.” Kai’La explained.

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  “Sounds to me like he’s responsible for something,” Veyric said.

  “Agreed,” Xena added.

  “We haven’t told the students in the Institute about this just yet… There are already enough things going around. But as long as they’re in their dorms before night, they’ll be safe. The incantations on the doors are incredibly powerful.” Professor Kai’La said.

  “So, there’s an active maniac on the loose?” Veyric asked.

  “... Yes. We don’t know if it was exactly him, but… Many things are pointing towards him.” Kai’La said.

  “How’s Professor Gildan?” Xena asks.

  “He’s… Coming around. The burns are still severe—it seems like the medicine is only halting the effects instead of curing them.” Kai’La explained.

  “I see… Well, we’ll have our knights patrol the institute to keep an eye on the students and for this… Zeta man.” Xena said.

  “Thank you.” Kai’La nodded, her jaw unclenching a bit.

  “How’s he look?” Veyric said.

  “White hair, red eyes, and really pale skin,” Kai’La replied.

  “... That’s odd. Is he some kind of elf?” Xena asked.

  “No, he’s human. He’s not a half-elf either, just to make things clear. I’ve seen him around, but we’ve never spoken.” Kai’La said.

  “Thank you for explaining. We’ll be around.” Xena walked out of the room.

  Veyric followed, walking beside her.

  “White hair, red eyes, and really pale skin?... Sounds like he’s an albino.” Xena said.

  “Probably?… So, all of the people who interacted with the heads of approval were all where they needed to be, right?” Veyric asked.

  “Yes, most likely. Looks like they want us to catch him before anyone else dies, which makes sense. The previous nights, the officials came back after checking on others, but after going for Zeta, they didn’t come back.” Xena crosses her arms.

  “... Yeah, that’s strange. I say tonight we go ourselves and try to catch him,” Veyric said.

  “Agreed, once we have knights patrolling at night, we’ll go check it out,” Xena said.

  “Also, did you ever ask the king about what that dragon said to you?” Xena asked.

  “Not yet. I’m thinking about it, though… I want to know, but he doesn’t trust me enough to tell me. So, I’ll just try to win his trust by helping out Leviara.” Veyric said.

  “That’s not a bad plan at all. You’re already helping out by being here on an assignment with me. Not to mention, I’m slipping in good words about you.” Xena grins.

  “Thanks…” A hint of a smile played on his lips.

  Veyric exhaled, his shoulders loosening.

  A cup came flying at his head from behind. He maneuvered out of the way, the wooden cup falling onto the ground, rolling a few inches forward before stopping. Veyric turned his head.

  “You just randomly throw things at people?” Veyric said.

  “I was just checking to make sure you were… Capable of reacting.” Aephyra let out a smile that never reached her eyes.

  “Capable? Yeah, right.” He grumbled out.

  “Shouldn’t you be in class?” Xena asked.

  “I’m beyond the curriculum. Frostveil is where the real learning begins.” Aephyra replied.

  Veyric and Xena met gazes for a brief moment.

  “Okay…” Xena said, tilting her head back.

  “What are you two doing in the institute? Especially you. You stick out like a sore thumb, I mean, just look at yourself, you’re a dragon.” Aephyra said.

  “How about you run along and go… Be a student and learn something. You’re getting in the way of our work.” Xena grabbed Veyric’s shoulder and tugged him along.

  Aephyra’s eyes narrowed, her arms crossing.

  “Getting in the way of their work?... As if they ever accomplish anything.” She muttered to herself, then walked away.