Novalis, the Genius Magineer

Alright, today it begins. My checklist is made already.

[ ] Get to the carriage that will take myself and Miss Etherea to Starville.

[ ] Introduce myself cordially to Miss Etherea and explain my presence, to forego any grey areas to our arrangement.

[ ] Board the carriage and arrive in Starville.

[ ] Meet up with the various people in charge of different tasks, and oversee their work.

[ ] Attend the festivities, and keep to myself to avoid disputes over my eyes.

[ ] Return to Soluna, and attend my classes once more.

[ ] OPTIONAL (but highly recommended) Avoid making friends.

---

I checked my bedside clock, and noticed immediately I was late. My carriage was to leave at 9:30 am, and I was bordering 9 am already. I shot out of bed and grabbed my suitcase, glad I had packed last night. I dashed out of the door with barely a farewell to my family, and ran as fast as I could to the carriage pickup location. Everything was a blur as I ran past shopping stands and other folks along the way, thankfully not hurting anyone or myself.

I arrived with five minutes to spare (check), and immediately noticed Miss Etherea looking around agitatedly. No doubt looking for me. I jogged up to her and introduced myself (check), and apologized for my tardiness. She laughed nervously, mentioning my frequent tardiness in school, which we both chuckled about as we boarded the carriage (check) and began our long trip to Starville.

As we got comfortable, Dusk looked over at me with curiosity. Raising an eyebrow, I asked her to elaborate on her staring.

"Well, you have interesting eyes. I had heard about them, but we had never teamed up on projects, so I never got a chance to look at them. They are quite pretty."

"Glad you think so, Miss Etherea, but I'm afraid not everyone would agree with you. I seem to often find myself on the short end of a group beating because of them."

"That's so terrible! People really ought to learn how to behave. If only they read the book I did on behaving, which..."

My brain zoned out at this point. The stories of this girl seemed true, when she got started about what she read she could go on for awhile. Luckily I managed to bring my attentions in focus at the right time.

"... And furthermore, just because you're different doesn't mean you should be picked on, don't you agree?"

"I do indeed, Miss Etherea. But then again, I'm usually the one being picked on. It seems to be a power game, of which I am poorly lacking."

She huffed and sat back, staring moodily at the book she had been quoting. Apparently she had brought nothing else, I noticed in surprise, as her bags were overflowing with books. I silently admired her collection, and envied it. My parents thought toys were what I had needed as a child, when all I had wanted were books.

"Excuse me, Miss Etherea, but are each of these books your own property?"

"Well... yes..."

I could sense hesitation in her voice, and looked over to her. She wore a look of which I knew well, the fear of being ridiculed. So this was her vice. Come to think of it, anytime I heard about this particular girl, she was always described as a self important snob with her nose always in a book, with no time for anyone or anything else. Admirable, that she could so easily keep her attentions in a book with all the, shall we say less academically enthused, members of our classes. I nudged her gently with my elbow, and when she looked up at me I offered as gentle a smile as I could.

"Well, you know, these books are quite the collection. I have a penchant for reading as well, but my family of toymakers never quite got around to book collecting, I'm afraid. May I borrow a book for the long flight?"

She nodded enthusiastically as she began to rummage through her bookbags. I noticed one of the bags seemed to be moving, and carefully levitated it open, only to find a baby dragon inside?! When I inquired about it, she laughed and said that without his basket, Fangsly (he has a name?), liked to sleep in this bag, because it never shut too much to suffocate him. As we talked about him, he snorted once in his sleep, a green tongue of flame breezing out of the window, and rolled over, mumbling for five more minutes. I chuckled slightly. I remembered that a test for magic majors was the hatching of a dragon, phoenix, or sea serpent, but had never actually thought they kept them.

Dusk finally found a good book for me to read, an astrology book I had yet to read, and I set to it with contentment. Dusk herself pulled a large tome about The Sigils of the Starfall, and quickly became engrossed within it. After reading quietly for a few minutes, punctuated only by occasional birds passing by and chirping, Dusk let out a gasp. Looking up from my book, I noticed she had a look of concern and was reading over notes she had been taking. After inquiring her, she told me that some previous signs in our world pointed towards an ancient prophecy she had just read. After I asked her to show me, she presented the book to me, on a page explaining the imminent revival of Rathmaro. Not once, but twice. It said he would be weak the first time, but even weakened, he could only be defeated by the Sigils. I scoffed lightly, telling her not to put her not to worry, before she pointed out a star chart, asking me if this would be happening anytime soon. Looking at it, I immediately recognized it. It showed an extremely rare phenomenon, an alignment of the stars I had only just learned from Lunara's latest class. This would be the night when Helios would be closest to our own far drifting planet, and Earth would be barely visible in the sky. Apparently the book foretold that a strange energy from space, rife with chaos and destruction, would reawaken Rathmaro.

It said that with the right alignments of the stars, and the proximity to Earth, this negative and tainted energy would reach him, giving him access to his old powers, allowing him to undo the age old enchantments placed upon him. He would break his seal, causing chaos and malicious events with a whim, tormenting all races to the edge of sanity. It foretold that the Royals would be unable to help, having lost the mystical connection to the Sigils after exhausting their power on him the first time.

Finally, the worst part, this night would be on the night of the Summer Solstice. Our preparations would be interrupted by Rathmaro if this prophecy would come true. Impossible. The only way Earth could possibly cause this, according to Celestina's description of him, would be if the offshoot humans on it waged ceaseless wars. I doubt any race of intelligent beings would kill themselves so senselessly, and any non intelligent creatures wouldn't know how. I laughed it off lightly when I told Miss Etherea my thoughts, but she remained concerned, returning to her book and frowning. I left her alone and returned to my own book, but in the back of my mind the prophecy nagged me ceaselessly.

Dusk Etherea's POV:

I can see the slight worry in his eyes after I told him about this. He might have tried brushing it off a bit, but he didn't outright dismiss the prophecy. Good. There might still be a chance this comes to pass, and I'll probably need his help. He was rumored to be able to make spells of his own, which if true would not only be irritating for me personally, but also useful against any ancient magics Rathmaro brought against us. 

I continued to study my book. It mentioned that the main reason the Royals could not defend themselves would be because he would awaken and immediately target them. The Sigils had turned to stone after their use long ago, and would only be awakened in a time of great need by the forging of powerful connections amongst humans and Celestials, when the two races worked together in perfect Order against Chaos. 

As I was a Celestial and Novalis was human, I wondered if we would need to work together against this trial of Chaos. Queen Celestina told me to make friends on my trip here, and knowing her, she knew about this prophecy. Maybe Princess Lunara sent Novalis so we could both fulfil this ancient prophecy. But... I knew he was like me. Making friends wasn't easy. For him his differences got him scorned and bullied. And I never really made time for anyone else. But while talking to him, I realized he was very kind and gentle. He didn't treat me badly for liking to read, in fact he seemed a kindred soul in that regard.

He was the first guy to not try to flirt with me too. It wasn't often, but sometimes males approached me as I was Celestina's student, hoping that by bedding me they could get closer to my Queen. It was disgusting. My Queen wasn't interested in suitors, or at least not male ones. And I wasn't going to allow my Lady to be approached by lustful men. I could tell though. Novalis had no attraction to me like that. It was nice to talk to someone without that undercurrent. 

I looked back to my book, re reading the prophetic passage for any clues.

On the longest day, during the stars' chaotic advent, Chaos would awaken and overthrow Order. In the Garden of Night, under pale moonlight, the malevolent force would confront the champions of Order. Should their hearts be true, the Sigils of the Starfall shall re energize, bringing Chaos back to heel. But should Order not find harmony, all will be lost under Chaos' veil, inciting destruction and warped Reality forevermore.

This could not come to pass. I assume the 'Garden of Night' was in the forest near Starville, as there was a large clearing in the center with moon lilies growing in abundance. If that's the case, we'll need to trek through magical beast infested woods, risking our lives just to have a chance at facing down Rathmaro. 

Princess Lunara's POV:

I was heading back to my room after gazing at the stars, and I knew it was this year at long last. Tina and I had both prepared for this day as best we could. Dusk would make friends, Novalis would make friends, and together those bonds of harmony and trust would re ignite the spiritual power in the Sigils. Rathmaro would be defeated. But they would need at least three humans and three Celestials to come together. The Spirits in the Sigils were fickle, and would no longer give my sister and I their protection. 

Without that power, we were helpless against the ancient might of Chaos Incarnate. Rathmaro held more power than even our father, my sister often warned me. We were lucky against him the first time, using his arrogance against him. Now the true inheritors of the Spirits' wills would need to subdue him.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't get any sleep this day, worried too much about my dear Novalis. I hoped he would do his best on the path laid before him, but at the same time I didn't want any harm to befall him. Selfish as it was... I wanted Dusk Etherea to tackle this duty alone. My dear Novalis... I hope you stay safe. Make friends, but don't be reckless...

---

I decided to watch over him through this day, seeing how he handled his duties away from me. I already knew I was falling in love with him as he loved me, though he would need to forge relations with non immortals. I couldn't take those experiences from him. His pure devotion to me, while heartwarming, was also dangerous. You need friends in the world, someone to support you when your lover could not. I needed him to have that support. I was even willing to let him taste the pleasures of the flesh with others, even at risk of him losing that spark for me. It would hurt if he did, but being with an immortal as a mortal is a painful trial in and of itself. And I don't want to be a cause for his pain.