Free Fiction Tuesdays: Seeds of Prophecy (Part 3)

 This week's installment completes the scene started last week. It's a bit long, i guess. I haven't done any editing so i'm sure there are a bunch of mistakes at the moment. I'll be posting some stuff this week to go along with this post, IE. a "what's what in Omoria series". lol I hope you guys like it. As always feedback is appreciated. Smooches.

 (Continued from part 1 in last weeks installment of Free Fiction Tuesdays)

“Very good, Mr. Lanae. We do in fact have many foreign students such as yourself, who much like you and your sister, will be experiencing different cultures in addition to studying their abilities in preparation for positions they will hold later in their lives.”

Sighing out a breath in relief that his answer had been satisfactory, Tobias raised his head to catch a pleased smile directed at him from the Headmistress’s mouth.

“Now Miss Lanae, since your brother so gallantly volunteered to answer my first question you can answer my second. “

Darting a glance his sisters way, Tobias wasn’t surprised to see her paling. In fact she was paling rather quickly, so he leaned over and touched her arm in solidarity. His gesture seemed to startle Phiobe out of her abrupt stupor, and giving him a relieved smile she took a few shallow breaths before speaking.

“Yes, Headmistress.”

 “Good. What do you know of me?”

Slightly disconcerted by the question Phiobe took a moment to answer, and when she did it was with a questioning voice.

“You are Knoirys Imsenko, Headmistress of The Universal Academy of Magical Arts, also known as TUAMA, in Neder.”

“That is correct. What else?”

Unsure as to where this line of questioning was heading Phiobe’s face began to take on a look of confusion. To Tobias the heavy pause and pinched lines between her brows was a dead giveaway that his twin was going over everything they had both learned about Headmistress Imsenko , her thoughts probably racing in their effort to find the answer to what was obviously not a simple question, but a test of sorts.

“You are obviously Susmarian, Headmistress. Your eyes mark you as being of the ruling class… Although in all honesty, I haven’t seen eyes quite like yours before which leads me to think their effect is not simply your Susmarian heritage. I’ve been told you’re a Dream Mage of the highest caliber, which probably explains why I’ve heard you referred to as The Starless Dreamer. You’re also an Elemental Master, having shown at least a Wizards level of competence in the eleven elements.”

By the time she had finished speaking Phiobe restless fidgeting made it obvious that she wasn’t very comfortable under the scrutiny of Headmistress Imsenko.

“Your information is accurate, Miss Lanae. I do in fact hail from Susmar, and I do belong to a very esteemed family, but that will have no bearing on my position at this school. As far as my eyes are concerned, part of what you’ll be learning here a TUAMA is that certain types of abilities have physical manifestations. In my case because of my strength as a Dreamer my eyes bear this appearance. There are other manifestations some far stranger than mine, but those are things you will be taught in your practical magic courses… My dear, something under your coat appears to be trying to escape.”

Apparently Phiobe’s continued fidgeting had agitated Ubrin, causing the child sized creature to journey forth from beneath her clothing, where she had hidden him, to investigate.

Taking in Ubrin’s turtle shaped face, it’s leathery skinned humanoid body, clawed hands, and shell covered back Headmistress Imsenko took a moment to glance at the file she had been reading when they entered her office. She then turned back to Phiobe where she sat with Ubrin in her lap, after picking him up to curtail his wonderings.

“I was not informed you would be bringing a…pet. I’m sorry to inform you that they are not allowed in the dorms and that you will have to seek out alternative lodgings for it.”

“Him.” Tobias quickly rushed to say, seeing the look of growing trepidation on his sister’s face.

“Excuse me, Mr. Lanae?”

“Him. Ubrin is a him, and he is not a pet. He’s a ground swan, and my sister’s Shouhana. They cannot be separated.”

It was obvious that the Headmistress was slightly taken aback by Tobias’s forceful tone, but he couldn’t help it when defending his sister’s best interests.

“Cannot be separated? I find that very unlikely, Mr. Lanae. It is the strictest policy of this school that pets are not allowed to stay in the dorms.”

“Then we will have to make other arrangements. My sister must not be separated from her Shouhana under any circumstances; it is the will of our goddess.”

Tobias was upset that they wouldn’t be able to stay in the dorm, but his sister’s wellbeing trumped whatever previous plans had been made. Reaching out across the gap between their chairs, Tobias took her hand and received a smile in gratitude, before he turned back to face the Headmistress.

However, the look on the Headmistress’s face was not the anger he had expected. Instead he found the Headmistress had slightly tilted her head to the side and was looking at them in an almost quizzical way.

“What do you mean it is the will of your goddess?”

Withholding a sigh of exasperation, for Tobias had assumed that the Headmistress of such a renowned center of learning would already know the intricacies of his sister’s position Tobias spoke carefully in response to the Headmistresses question.

“As you already know, Tsurans share a close bond with the Spirit of Wood. So close in fact that when one of our people is in need and invokes the goddess she will often assist them in some way. Phiobe and I are twins, and at our birth there were…complications. Our birth mother is the High Priestess of Viridpla, the voice of the goddess among our people. This closeness gifted me with a stonger connection to the goddess then most of my people, but it left Phiobe with pieces of herself missing. Don’t misunderstand, there was nothing wrong with her physically or mentally, but spiritually she needed more than what she was born with.
So the goddess gifted Phiobe with Ubrin.”

“How did this gifting take place?”

“The High Priestess told us that the goddess called all the creatures that would come to Phiobe to her. So for many days all sorts of strange creatures, fearsome beasts from the wilds, and gentle domestic animals came to where Phiobe was kept. Then one day all the animals departed the infant Phiobe’s side and a large ground swan matriarch appeared. In the matriarchs arms was what appeared to be a runt of a ground swan liter, Ubrin. He would have died, but after being placed next to Phiobe it became obvious they were meant for each other, that they were Shouhana. They complete each other. So I hope you can now understand why their being separated is unthinkable.”

For a few moments the Headmistress was thoughtfully silent before pursing her lips.

“I am unfamiliar with this term, Shouhana… but listening to your explanation it bears a remarkable similarity to something in the magical community we call a Familiar. Natural Familiars, if that is what Ubrin is for your sister, are exceedingly rare. However, Familiars in general are quite common among magic users.”

“Does that change things, Headmistress? If Ubrin is a Familiar?” Phiobe said, the hope obvious in her words.

“Yes child, it does indeed. There are special rules regarding Familiars. They are not considered pets, and so they are allowed in the dorms, but they are not allowed to wonder freely upon the ground of the school. You will be responsible for… his care as well as his behavior. Is that understood?”

The way Headmistress Imsenko was looking at her made it quite clear the woman wasn’t actually asking a question as much as letting Phiobe know that while Ubrin would now be allowed to stay in the dorms with them, if he caused trouble they would find themselves in quite a different situation.

“Yes, Headmistress.”

Gathering a few packets of papers off her desk, the Headmistress handed them to Tobias and Phiobe.

“Moving along then, these are your welcome packets. Inside you will find your initial schedules, as well as copies of our schools policies. You are scheduled for testing and class placement tomorrow, Firesday. Sunsday night is the New Term Celebration Ball. Attendance is mandatory for foreign students. I will be seeing you there.”

A soft knocking sound carried across the room before the door opened to reveal a young man with shockingly red hair.

“Ahh, good timing, Reginald. Mr. and Miss Lanae may I introduce Mr. Werth. He will be assisting me by giving you a tour of the campus and showing you to your dorms in the Foreign Students Housing Quarter.”

With that the Headmistress once more turned her attention to her papers making it clear they were dismissed.

Saying a soft “Thank you” before quickly gathering their packets, Tobias followed Phiobe and their unexpected tour guide through the Headmistress’s outer office and the halls of the Administration building until they had reached the entrance.

Reginald gave them a smile before opening the door and walking out into the daytime sun. Taking a deep breath and his sister’s hand, Tobias and Phiobe stepped together into the unknown.