Belated Gift (Aria, ask to enter)

[Deleted]

Adrain made his way across the grounds of the Arch of Ages holding a tome in hand and a quill in other. He was going over the preparation before the new semseter began. Reagents in stock and organzied, the groundskeeper golems in working order, the elementals at content with the balance of elements, there was nothing seemingly out of the ordinary. Adrain exhaled, his robe moving in and out with each breath as he surveyed. It was a mundane task, but one he had to do all the same since hopefully Yuki and others of stature would be going here soon.



Yet all the same, the mage had a nagging thought. He felt like he was forgetting something, something quite important that bothered him. The large cat Serai followed as he walked, yawning with a feline murmur as he was occupied enough with trying to pin down his next meal. The mage would stop and set on a bench carved into one of the halls of the tree, rubbing the side of his head in thought. Something was being forgotten....but what?

[Deleted]

A bird fluttered down and set upon the armrest of the bench Adrain sat on. A rolled up piece of parchment clasped between its beaks. It shifted from foot to foot impatient for the man to take the note; its eye never leaving the big feline that accompanied the mage. Once the man took the note the bird was off, having done the job asked of it.

Dear Adrain, 

I would ask you this in person, but the Arch currently out of the scope of my traveling range at the current moment. However I have been hoping to ask you if you when you have a spare moment if your able to perform a service that would be greatly appreciated. I recently acquired a parcel of land that’s I was hoping you would be able to create a portal to be able to travel back and forth from. I have already gotten permission from Noku to go forward with plans and have the paperwork in order. If you are able and when you have time I would love to discuss the details more in person, along with the terms of payment.

Sincerely
your hostage,
Seriously I’m trapped here going out of my mind with boredom,

Aria Wurud

[Deleted]

The bird appearing suddenly startled Adrain mildly, but when he recognized it was a sort of messenger, he reached for it. Serai meanwhile kept his eyes in interest on the bird, but made no move to pounce it.

It would be too small a meal for the large cat to trouble trying to handle.

The archmage opened the scroll, the bird having gone off, possibly after a stray tangerine left by a student not that far away, reading the contents of it. Something to the effect of a portal being made for Aria. A static portal required some work to set up, but the fact that Noku would allow it and was mentioned indicated that one of the way points would be at or around the castle. That was that surprised him the most, knowing Noku's general aversion to magic. The comment about being a hostage made him roll his eyes slightly as he then stood up.

"Well Serai, your friend wants to speak with us. I suppose we should answer." he states, the large cat perking up and getting up with a feline stretch. Adrain's eyes glew as he summoned his power forth, manifesting itself as an arcane gateway linking the current place he was at to a location on the grass outside of the castle and outside of the range of Roland's anti-teleportation ward.

Upon arrival, a couple of people were startled at the gateway, leaving Adrain to contemplate buying a small bit of property to create a safer place to manifest from nearby. He approached the guards, greeting them and then after a series of questions to get direction, he had figured out the information required to find Aria's quarters, or at least where she were at this time. He knocked on the door, announcing his presence, then going in once being told he could do so.
"Hello Aria." he greets with a neutral tone initially, looking at her in her bedridden state with a slight tange of sympathy coming in his eyes. "I got the summons and I have to admit I'm surprised you got the King to agree to having an anchor for a stationary portal at the palace. I do question the wisdom and security concerns of having said portal here. But aside from that, how have you been, aside from your obvious condition at this moment." he states, then taking a seat in a nearby wooden chair.
Serai meanwhile puts his head on the bed near where Aria's was letting out no sound, but the telepathy in play.

"And how did you get this sickness, little kitten? Running around nude in the snows again?"

[Deleted]

Aria sat up propped by pillows; reading yet another one of the books that was among the tall stack by her bed. Her hair was combed and braided loosely over her shoulder, tied by a purple ribbon. She wore a cream colored cotton gown with a sheer purple robe over the light cloth tied with a purple sash around her waist, and a dark purple velvet over robe with gold embroidery along the hems. The sleeves rolled up just past her wrists. Her hair was still slightly damp from a morning bath that had left her feeling quite refreshed. However the young red head was still significantly paler then her usual completion; and it tired her greatly to move any far distance. But at least she was allowed to begin to move about just with strict orders not to overdo it. The windows of the infirmary were swung open allowing the fresh spring air to stream in. Noky, the ever growing ebony drake had his head hanging out one of the said windows. Watching the going ons in the court yard below. His sharp gold eyes swinging towards the door as someone approached, alerting Aria enough to place down the book which she had been absorbed in.

Aria’s face brightened as Adrain and Serai joined her. ”Hello, I’m glad you came. I’m actually surprised he agreed to my plan as well with all things considered. Its more complicated then it first sounds…” Aria smiled as Serai came over and rested his head on the bed; she reached out to pet the large cats head. Tilting her head in contemplation as he spoke to her. ”Nooo…wait…did I? Actually for once no. I pulled something my father would do…over did it and let my health get away from me.” Noky curious about the large cat….that he was more than sure he couldn’t eat without getting whomped, came over to investigate. Noky was only slightly bigger then the cat, but knew enough that even with his bigger size he wouldn’t leave unscathed if he decided to bug the large feline. Sniffing the large cat and catching the warning glance that he master gave. Aria turned her attention back to Adrain. ”I’ve been busy; up until almost three weeks ago when I was carted here and put on bed rest. I’m finally allowed out and about for short distances as long as I don’t overdo it. How about yourself? I trust Lucinda’s studies have been going well?” A sly smile coming upon her features as she mentioned the young princess who became giddy with just the mention of the headmasters name.

”However moving on to the mention of the portal” Aria looked around seeing how the infirmary was empty for the time being; she waved her hand and a golden hue of magic arched up around them as ruins etched themselves into the ground creating a silencing barrier. It would be safe to talk without being overheard. ”It’s not going to be in the palace per say. However it’s still on what’s considered castle grounds. Sort of. The other end of the portal will be going to a remote location that is to be my new residence.” Aria swung her legs off the side of the bed; her bare feet touching the cold stone floor as she shifted through the large pile of books by her bed to pull out a small box and a set of two maps. One of the castle grounds and one of Nova and the surrounding seas. She laid out the Nova map first; pointing to a crescent spec way off of Novas southern borders in the widow makers sea. ”This the location of my new residence; I have obtained a trade agreement with Noku along with permission to fly Nova’s flag. This extends Nokus borders and offers my land protection from the neighboring kingdom. Also makes me a Palico Duchess owning land under Nova’s rule…sooo …….NOky I swear by all of Sadens left shoes I will whomp you if you bite that cats tail.” The black drake which had its jaws wide open by Serais tail snapped them shut and looked away with a look of mock innocence. Aria glared at the drake just a bit longer before pulling out the second map of the castle grounds. Pointing to a path that lead down the cliff side to the royal beach. ”The location of the portal will be off this path tucked away. Unless you know it is there, it will be hard to spot. I already have had the small gazebo that the portal will be placed built. Its twin sits upon a mountain top on my island. I realize the distance is quite great so I wanted to talk to you to see if you would be able and willing to perform the spell. I can port there myself; however with mixed results and if I try to bring someone with me they’d get burnt to a crisp and sailing takes so looong. However considering the trade agreement I made deals in fresh produce, a portal to the castle grounds would make things considerably easier.

Aria opened the box which had two circular sapphires; ”These are the last pieces to go into the mosaics on each of the gazeebo’s floors. I figured they could be the anchor points for the spell. The rest of the floor is made with turquoise and mother of pearl which I know conducts magic easier then plain stone. If you don’t mind stops along the way I can show you where the gazebo is; I’ve been itching to get out of the castle.” That and with both Noky and Serai there she figured she’d be fine support wise. She looked over at the old tiger with a smile. ”You’re sure to love the island; should remind you of home as well.”

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda had been up late the night before, practicing magic in her bedroom and then playing her harp for a time before heading to bed. She had meant to get up earlier though and was surprised and a bit disgruntled at the late start. She wanted to visit Aria again before the day got too late.

The princess hopped out of bed and flounced over to her closet, digging through her available dresses. Eventually she settled on a fairly new one that she’d allowed one of the newer seamstresses in Palico to try her hand at, being in a generous mood that day. The dress was a two tone blue, half navy and half a lighter sky color. It had a very unique neckline that started with a ruffled collar around her neck, which was decorated with a blue silk rose, then flowed down over her chest at angle. Oddly enough, it covered her right boob better than the left and she hiked the edge up as far as she could, deciding it would probably hold.

The rest of the dress fit perfectly, hugging her thin waist and then flowing into a loose skirt. A line of vines and roses in various shades of blue flowed from the one at her neck down the dress, following the line between the two tones and tying it all together rather nicely. The sleeves were strange. They started at her elbows, were ruffled at the top, fitted over her forearm and ended in tiny bell cuffs over her hands. It was, nonetheless, a gorgeous dress that really showed her skin tone and made her blue eyes shine.

Lucinda decided to leave her hair down, brushing through the golden locks and settling them around her shoulders. She tucked her feet into a pair of blue flats, not visible under her hem and then hurried out to the infirmary.

Once she arrived, the princess knocked on the door and the waited a moment before she let herself in. Even though she had come to visit Aria, Lucinda’s attention was immediately captured by another familiar figure. Adrain stood at the red head’s bedside, along with his companion Serai she noted absently. Her face lit up in a smile that would have rivaled the glory of the sunrise at dawn.

So distracted was she with Adrain’s mere presence, that Lucinda didn’t notice at first that though she could see their lips moving, no sound was reaching her ears. Her attention shifted to Aria after about a minute of staring at the mage, a blush rising to her cheeks and that was when it finally hit her. A small frown replaced the smile and she shook her head, her hair and chest bouncing for a moment. Still unable to hear, Lucinda looked back to Aria and Adrain, confused and frustrated. She wondered if they could hear her. “Good morning, Aria. Good morning, Adrain,” she said, working to sound pleasant despite the unhappy look on her face.

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Adrain tilts his head a little as Aria's initial comment gate way to something that was apparently direct toward Serai. The ability she had to communicate with the cat always made him wonder just what the cat really seemed to think since there was apparently a thought process more relatable to human than first thought. When the Dragon gave Serai a look that was perhaps more predatory than he would have liked, the cat took note but said nothing, allowing Aria to speak uninhibited.

Adrain nodded understanding the whole aspect of being busy all too well, the complex to start the mana farm was taking shape but was an immense amount of work to set up the hundreds of magical circuits and glyphs required to make it work as intended. He rose a brow and shook his head when she made a coy remark about Lucinda, whom at least at that second was still away as far as he knew.

When the subject moved to the portal, he noted the barrier having used a similar spell in the past to conceal sounds, meaning that Aria intended to prevent those from overhearing. He watched as Aria hopped up and pulled a map out, indicating the location of her new residence which was way off on the fringe of Novian territory.

"Ah I see, I think I've seen that island in the past when viewing the region along the coastline, but I had always assumed that was part of Kantonese territory. Hopefully, this arrangement doesn't cause any friction with Kanto. I'm not entirely certain how the whole 'family but not family' thing works with the Noru line and with regards to borders." he states, always concerned about the potential for war.

The cat noted the dragon's movement and just as Aria was calling the dragon out on his behavior, the cat raised a paw quickly, flashing his sword-like claws as a warning to the beast. Whilst the dragon had scales, the fierce tiger's strike could do damage if the dragon were to think his tail were a delectable feline sausage.

Adrain watched, then sighed. "Serai the last thing the castle needs is a fight between species." he states. Serai huffs, but says nothing whether in growl or telepathy. His attention then shifted back to the talk of location and waypoints for the portal. He thinks for a moment, doing calculations in his mind before input.

"It's possible...it'll require some significant crystals to power consistently to make that distance reliable at all times. I can acquire them, the process of laying the portal will take a couple of days to make sure it's completely stable, do you want a 'key' of some sort to be made that makes it so the portal is inert until a spell is used?" he states, still slightly distracted by the process involved.

Aria seemed to take this as an excuse to want to move, and he nodded. "Sure, why not. Do you need some kind of help.." he says then distracted by Aria's tangent about being reminded of home. He closed his eyes trying to draw forth the memories sealed within of what home was, but nothing came to. It was at that point he heard a familiar voice, turning to her and smiling at Lucinda softly.

"Hello Lucinda, I didn't know that you had gotten back from Palico." he says, though the words would not cross the magic field Aria had made and would appear to be muted to the princess. His eye couldn't help but take in her visage for a few long moments, waiting to hear Lucinda's response, the sound barrier for a moment forgotten between the various distractions the mage was under.

[Deleted]

Indeed; she also hoped it wouldn’t cause any strife as her separation to the island was to specifically prevent it to begin with. However when she had made the proposition she had been unaware of …the fondness Noku held for Kanto’s ruler. She was looking forward to the dinner just to see what exactly made Noku wish the man would fall off a cliff. ”I happened across it during an endurance training trip with the drakes. The island happens to be a good nesting ground for them. I did some research after returning to Palico and found the island was unclaimed. Considering one of Silas’s conditions for agreeing to make a fated person a duchess was that I would not own any land within Palico, and since I was no longer a citizen of Nova, and unclaimed piece of territory seemed like a good option.”

Aria watched as Serai showed Noky his claws; chuckling as he did so. Giving the old cat a scratch behind the ears. Aria looked over at Adrain when he scolded the cat. ”Noky could do with a good lashing from a cat. Maybe it will teach him not to keep trying to EAT them….seriously he thinks it’s just so cute how they try to be so ferocious and crunchy at the same time…. Meanwhile Noky had gotten the message loud and clear and laid down with his head resting on the ground.

As the topic turned back to the portals Aria nodded. She did how ever take a moment to think about the question of having a spell activate the portal. After a few moments of silent contemplation she heaved a sigh. ”As much as I love the idea of some poor unknowing sap wandering onto the portal to end up miles away in a strange setting surrounded by possible deadly scaly beasts, I suppoooseee I cannot argue the wisdom regarding security of adding such a safety measure. So yes adding a spell probably would be a good choice.” Aria folded the maps and put away the box as she slipped her feet into some flats. After she pushed herself to her feet, her legs were a bit shakey and weak but Noky was up and standing beside her in a moment. She rested a hand on his scaly back which fortunately was at the height of her waist. She waved a hand, declining Adrains offer to help. ”I’m on strict orders from Noku to ask you no more then what I already have.” Honestly she probably did need the help, but was too proud to admit it. It was bad enough she needed Noky to help steady herself. Thankfully a distraction happened to walk in the room as Lucinda announced her presence.

Her presence offered amusement to Aria as well as she noted that Lucinda looked frustrated; and Aria was able to guess the reason why. Being in her weakened state she had used a less complex silencing spell then what she usually used. So their speech was no long masked with meaningless chatter on the other end. Lucinda would very much see their lips moving but hear no sound coming from them what so ever. Which would explain why she looked so bothered at the moment. She was even more amused when Adrain seemed to have forgotten the spell she had placed around them and greeted Lucinda. Aria let him continue without correcting him; once he was done she waved her hand and allowed the spell to dissipate. ”Good morning Lucinda; I’ve been deemed well enough to start meandering about. Would you care to join us? We’re just about to take a walk down to the royal beach.”

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda's frustration seemed to double when Adrain finally noticed her. She could see his lips moving and guessed that he was probably talking to her, considering he was looking right at her, but she couldn't hear him at all. It was almost infuriating. Really, she'd already been away from him for weeks. All she really wanted to do was throw herself in his arms and listen to him talk. She was proud of herself for the restraint she had but still.

The princess turned her attention to Aria, noting the amused look on the red head's face. Her frown deepened until Aria waved her hand and then began speaking. The relief on Lucinda's face was as Aria's voice touched her ears was almost comical. "I forgot you can do that. I was beginning to worry that I might have woken up deaf," the young princess explained, shaking her head.

"Good morning Aria, Good morning Adrain. It's nice to see you again," she re-greeted them before continuing, "I'm glad your getting better, Aria. If it suits you, and it's alright for you to be moving, then yes. I would love to join you. The beach at this time of year is beautiful," Lucinda agreed, smiling. At this point, she probably would have agreed to anything so long as Adrain was involved, as the look on her face clearly gave her away. "How have you been, Adrain? You look well." she asked politely, after composing herself. If they were to be walking around the castle, she needed to be more 'princess lucinda' and less whoever she was around him.

[Deleted]

"It makes sense, better to develop a land like that in your situation when you have the fated stigma following you." he says, sort of having a bead of sweat go down his head at the realization he had been spared a large amount of prejudice from his own situation though it wasn't openly stated from him. When Aria mentioned her dragon needed a beating from a cat, he didn't respond not sure if there was a correct way to either support what she said and support conflict or to decline it and disagree. Who knows.

"Alright then, you decide the spell and the key will be set up once the primary pathway is established." he says, then watching Aria try to get up, visible weakened and not completely well. When she said she was on orders to not bug him, he tilted his head slightly.

"It would be a lot less trouble to help a sick friend move around compared to establishing a long range permanent portal link." he says, but doesn't press the point able to tell Aria was a woman of pride but if she were to fall or stumble he would intervene without hesitation. When the point of the barrier was raised, Adrain looked visibly embarassed having letting that slip his mind for but a moment.

"Right, the barrier.." he says distantly,then looking at Lucinda admiring the dress she had for a moment, not complaining about the...enhanced...view on one side but he had to correct himself before Aria caught on and probably made some sort of mischief of it. At this point he could easily tell that Lucinda was restraining her impulses, he would likely be paid a visit later or something on another time. So Lucinda would join them, quite pleasant.

As she asked how he was, he thought for a moment how to reply.

"Well I've been quite busy with the preparations for the Arch Entrance Exams as well as the development of the Mana Farm complex on my land. I fear sometimes I end up in a never-ending pile of paperwork but such is life. How was your return to Palico?"

[Deleted]

Aria shrugged she had gladly taken on the stigma; even when she could have very much blended in with her knowledge and experience of Nova to begin with. She could do more to alleviate the stigma being one then not being one. Plus it was the truth. ”The fated are already making lives here; even if the choice to go back to where ever they came from arises. I do not think all would go back at this point. Those of us fated who are more in the public eye must lead an example that its very much possible that we can blend into society and be an asset rather than a detriment to the kingdoms wellbeing.” This was a matter Aria had given much thought about; and it was largely what fueled her to be so open about the conditions of her being here in Nova. Even if it came with a large burden to carry.

“Rak’teska” It did not take her long to come up with a spell keyword; it was phioric for To come Home. Both Nova and her island were home; so the word in her mind fit perfectly. Aria chuckled at Adrains claim that it would be easier to help her move then it would be to set up a portal. Which she did not doubt was very true. But still; Noku said not to bug him for anything else and she had given her word. Though the king probably did not know that she and Adrain were on friendly terms. ”Speaking of the work; does 10,000 noruvians sound like a fair pay? We can negotiate the pricing if you’d like. Last thing I would want to do is stiff a friend.”

Aria watched on with amusement as Adrain had taken the time to stop and appreciate the view. She could not help but be reminded of the way he use to look at Katrina; well the way he looked at her when things between them had actually developed. Though in her opinion Lucinda had much more of a view to offer then Katrina the flat chested had. Least with Lucinda Adrain didn’t look like he was robbing the cradle. Aria let out a laugh at Lucinda’s visible relief as she had let down the barrier. ”Really wouldn’t you have remembered your servants chatter? But yes; usually I would add on to something to make it sound like a different conversation was going on. However I just don’t have the energy to maintain such a spell at the moment. Unfortunately you got the simple one I figured out when I was younger. However it certainly has its uses when it comes to amusement.”

Aria was glad that Lucinda had decided to join them in their walk. ”Whether I’m allowed to or not I’m moving; I want to at least be able to stand at the dinner coming up. If I don’t start using my legs now that’s not going to happen. Plus there is an end goal to this destination.” Aria smiled; and lead the way out of the infirmary. Leaning on her drake who kept pace beside her. She listened as Adrain explained what he been up to; her interest catching at the word exam. ”What type of exams are required to join the arch?”

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda blushed as she noticed Adrain looking her over. This dress made her more self conscious than usual with the ill fitted bosom. Really, what had she been thinking? This was an accident waiting to happen. Her thoughts were interrupted though as Aria explained about the barrier and the princess nodded. “I remember you using this a time or two before but it’s tcertainly different being on the outside looking in. I’m glad you found it amusing at least,” she said, her voice falling into a wry tone.



She watched anxiously as Aria got out of bed, using Noky as a support but she couldn’t argue the reasoning as Aria explained that she needed to walk to get her strength back. “Very well, but don’t hesitate to ask if you need any help. I certainly don’t mind and I’m sure Adrain wouldn’t either,” she offered, giving the mage a pointed look as if daring him to disagree.



Lucinda’s expression softened when Adrain answered her question, a look of sympathy touching her blue eyes. “That does sound busy, but not bad. Except for the piles of paperwork, that is. That part sounds horrible,” she commented, her nose wrinkling a little at the idea of it all. “What’s a ‘Mana Farm complex’?” she asked curiously, realizing after a moment that she didn’t understand the term.



Aria’s question about the exams brought another curious look to her face as it was something that also interested her but made her think of another question as well. “Will I need to take those, Adrain?” she asked, since she was learning magic from him after all, despite the little study she’d had in Palico. She made a little ‘oh’ of noise at that thought, having forgotten that Adrain asked her a question. “I had a nice visit in Palico, Adrain, thank you. I made up with my brother, which is good and managed to study a little with the mages there. I much prefer your teaching methods, I have to say,” Lucinda answered, smiling.



The princess followed Aria as the red head led the way out of the infirmary and through the castle. Her gaze drifted from worried looks at Aria to side glances at Adrain and she tripped a few times because of it. Eventually, her curiosity got the better of her and she cleared her throat lightly. “Aria, where exactly are we going? I know you mentioned walking the beach but did you have some sort of specific reason behind this?” she asked, taking a moment to discreetly tug up her dress when they were out of sight of anyone and blushing a bit.

[Deleted]

"Right, well still there is a large...bias that has to be handled. The idea that fated are different needs to be suppressed as much as possible in the minds of others." he says, then moving on knowing that this was a subject that idle talk about wouldn't do much to advance or change. As Aria spoke of payment, he rose a brow, then chuckled slightly, closing his eyes with a wry smile.

"I'll just do it for no charge. You see I've been a loss of what to get you in return for the Midwinter gift, the whole 'I know you like a sibling but I don't really know you' part makes it very hard to shop for you, so consider this favor to be that gift." he says, never the sort to be motivated monetarily.

Aria noticing the look that he gave Lucinda for a moment wasn't caught on his end, but when she entered and made a comment with some sort of look as if 'dare to disagree' with me about what he had literally offered Aria moments earlier made him frown slightly. Where exactly did such a demanding subtlety come from. The comment about the Dinner, he didn't really have anything to add to.

He shifted his expression when asked about the mana farm complex to a more thoughtful one. "The mana farm is a project to maintain food growth at a more accelerated pace as well as year round using a variety of magics to stimulate food growth and rate. The missing supply ship put things tight for awhile last winter, which made it apparent to me it was time to move the concept from the small scale theoretical to a more larger scale application. With this in place, it should be possible to lower the cost of food as well as provide additional employment and resources." he states, using the short version of the entire concept. As the subject shifted to that of the exams, he shrugged.

"A written exam related to the discipline the student will be applying for as well as a practical demonstration. While we try to not exclude any valid students, we have to make certain there is seriousness and effort involved and that there isn't just an idle effort. As far as you Lucinda, your arrangement is more of a private tutoring in lieu of a normal curriculum, so there will be no exam for you. he says then nodding in response to the comment of Palico and the teaching method. He spoke first when Lucinda mentioned the beach and asking why.

"Aria wanted to show me a location for a small job she asked of me. Besides, why not spend a bit of time with the sea breeze versus the dreary indoors?"

Serai meanwhile followed Aria as she moved, noting and simply made ready to stop her from falling if needed.

[Deleted]

Aria blinked; such a large project she was not expecting to be done for free. Nor was she really expecting a gift in return. ”Adrain for as long as I have known you, you’ve rarely given me a mid-winter gift in return… mainly because you’ve done so much random shit for me that we eventually count it as a gift and call it equal. Plus both of us share the trait of not expecting something in return when we give a gift…it would totally defeat the purpose.” Aria scratched the back of her head with a slight frown; she really didn’t like the idea of him doing the work for free. Even if it was a midwinter gift; she would just have to find a way to pay him the money in another way. A donation to the Arch perhaps? It did seem to be his baby; and knowing him he wouldn’t accept the payment any other way.

He did have a good point about not really knowing her…especially if he couldn’t remember her. She certainly did know a great deal about him in comparison. ”Well I suppose the whole knowing but not knowing me thing will have to be remedied during this project. If you have any questions about me feel free to ask.” She would answer within reason.

Aria raised an eyebrow at Lucinda offering Adrain’s help; ”Adrain already offered; but honestly it’s bad enough that I have to rely on Noky here to hobble about. Plus I’m supposed to be the feared dragon trainer according to your brother….having help would totally ruin my image” She chuckled. Seriously did he know how hard it was to maintain an image of fear when normally you were barely 5’ and had boobs? Either way, she was sure Noky; and Serai would have her covered. She already noted the old cat watching her movements carefully.

Aria listened to Adrain explain the manna farm; it certainly was an interesting concept. However she questioned the effects of eating manna produced food over an extended period of time. Along with how it would effect a non-magical body. There was also potential for soil conditions to plummet more quickly….so yes there were most certainly room for hazards. But the idea if proven to have no ill effects or ill effects could be treated, it would be revolutionary. She also listened to a broad answer over the test; peaking her curiosity. ”Any chance I could take that test for haha’s?” She was curious to how much of her …unorthodox lessons compared to what most mages would know.

It may be slow going but Aria managed to get around with help from Noky. She had the lean against him a good bit more when it came to the stairs. However she was determined; to get around. Worse came to worse she would ride on either Serai or Noky for the rest of the way. However for now even though her legs were shaky, she was happy just to be able to be moving again. A small chuckle escaping her throat when Lucinda questioned the motive behind the impromptu beach trip. Nodding when Adrain answered for her. She didn’t know what went into setting up a permanent portal but maybe there was a chance they would have to visit the island that day. She would like to see how her palace coming along.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda noticed the look Adrain and Aria gave her when she volunteered his help, blushing after a moment. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know Adrain had already offered,” she said quietly. She smiled as Aria chuckled though, nodding in agreement. “My brother does seem to have rather high expectations. He’s around here somewhere, let’s hope we don’t run into him,” she said, frowning slightly for a moment. Though the two had made up, she knew him and Aria didn’t get along all that well and she also didn’t want to have to be more guarded with Adrain than she already was in Aria’s presence.

She listened intently as Adrain explained his idea for growing food en masse for the kingdom, impressed with the ingenuity. “That sounds amazing, Adrain. I never would have thought about doing something like that. I really hope, for the sake of Nova, that you can make it work. It sounds like it might be complicated and require having quite a few details worked out,” she said, sounding impressed and excited. If he could make this work for Nova, there was no reason they couldn’t apply the same concept to Palico, after all.

When the conversation turned back to the exams, Lucinda breathed a sigh of relief as Adrain assured her she wouldn’t have to take them. “Thank you. I wish all of the students good luck, though. May the gods shine on their progress,” she said, giving Aria a curious look as the red head mentioned wanting to take them herself.

Adrain answered her question about why they were walking out here and she nodded, still following along behind Aria. She was glad Serai and Noky were there to help. His comment about the sea breeze brought with it a memory of their evening in the ARC and she blushed. “That is a very good point. I do enjoy the beach and it’s nice to spend some time with friends,” she said, smiling. She was also curious about whatever this task was that Aria had for him but said nothing on the matter, figuring an answer would present itself soon enough.

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"Right...well the thing about that is that there is a substantial dissonance when I don't know information that I am supposed to know but have to ask about. In any case, what exactly was the nature of our relationship prior to this realm." he inquires before Lucinda was involved and would likely not ask much further once she was in the conversation.

As the subject came to the reactions to the mana farm, he shrugged. "There is a long road ahead with testing and refining the process such to make sure the production is safe on a large scale. Mana Corruption from consumption is at the very top of my mind and I have to make certain that the process is completely harmless and perfect before I can confidently make this broadly available. As a backup plan, the land in question can be converted into normal farmlands with a magic green house effect able to be used to keep the production going while at normal speeds."

When Aria asked to take the test, he chuckled slightly and shook his head. "No, I fear we will have much on our hands with the sincere applicants at the time, but perhaps at a future date you can take the written if you are so insistent."

When the group arrived at the gazebo that Aria had in mind for this teleporter, he looked around admiring the construction and the extensive mother of pearl used to make the foundation. He sighed a little and then looked at Aria for a moment.

"This is a good base, but there is much to be done to determine if it's possible to connect to ley lines or if it must be a full crystal network setup to do so to maintain the charge and the link. I will also have to see the other end of the portal to make this work correctly so we'll have to travel there at some point." he says, then looking to Aria and Lucinda.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll have to etherealize to survey the area here.." he states as he then turns from flesh into a manifestation of energy and shadow, leaping literally into the ground, leaving Aria and Lucinda seemingly alone for a bit.