Kosmos: The Witch

Morgana is woken up by a sound of knocking on her door. When she opens, she sees Cassandra standing in front of the entrance, her hair flaring up in excitement and her eyes sparkling.

- "What's up ! I asked Vanessa where your room was. The mansion is ready, come on let's take a loo- Why are you on fire ?"

- "Oh." Morgana realizes that fire is erupting from her skin, and it rapidly is extinguished. "It happens when. I lose focus. For too long."

- "Thank Hecate everything's fire resistant on campus. Without those enchantments half the dorms would probably be piles of ashes."

- "Enchantments ?"

- "Yeah it's when you apply a permanent spell to something, living or nonliving. Kinda works like curses, but less detrimental. Don't ask me about curses, I barely know anything about them myself since I don't really focus on that part of witchcraft, I only use the Crest aspect."

- "Oh. Like Adelaios' travel capes. So you can never. Remove the enchantments ?"

- "You still can, you just need a mage of skill equal or superior to that of the original caster of the enchantment at the time of the casting to overpower it."

- "That makes sense."

- "Anyways, you're already dressed so no sense in waiting around ! Pack your things, we're moving !"

Morgana goes back to her room to retrieve her only belongings, which are the magic core of one of the unicorns and the cape Adelaios lent her.

She comes back out, and suddenly remembers.

- "Adelaios said to. Give it back. He's going to be mad." she says, as she realizes that she started thinking of the cape as her own after wearing it for six months.

- "Don't know who that guy is, nor do I care ! Let's go !"

Cassandra drags Morgana through the castle grounds and back into the village, until they make it to their block, which had drastically changed.

First, they see what used to be their house, apparently having been replaced with a large marble mansion with a roof of red tiles. The neighboring houses had been reorganized to make room for a large garden, along with a lake on its side.

- "Cassandra, Morgana !" Magnus waves at them. He was next to the fountain in the middle of the garden, seemingly enjoying the scenery.

- "Oh Magnus you got there first ?" Cassandra asks.

- "Hello Magnus." Morgana replies.

- "They finished it yesterday, they're really quick ! They just called me to see if the kitchen was up to standard, and it is !" Magnus replies with a very mechanical laugh.

- "Well they did a damn good job ! This place looks expensive as hell, I've always wanted to live in a mansion like this !" Cassandra comments.

- "Didn't your mom hire attendants for you ? That sounds like the kinda place you'd normally be living in !"

- "My mother is… not very good with money."

- "Can't blame her, money's hard to handle !" Magnus cackles with his eyes closed, a vein appearing on his forehead.

- "What's up with you today ? Are you cosplaying as Morgana or something ? You sound mad." She comments, raising her eyebrow.

- "I don't think I need to tell you, you'll find out quickly enough !"

- "Anywho." Cassandra quickly changes the topic. "Let's go see what that mansion got in store for us !"

They all enter, and immediately Morgana notices that the interior is very different from the exterior. It was very wooden, with red and orange tapestry on the walls and many windows on the walls, letting in a lot of light. The walls were a mix of wood and marble, carefully carved together to form beautiful patterns. As they walk around, Cassandra starts to notice the complete absence of furniture across the entire mansion, even in the twelve bedrooms, which were only bedrooms by name. The only furniture visible was in the kitchen area, a very large room fully equipped with high end stoves, metal cooking utensils and multiple storage drawers and closets. There was a large, ornate wooden table in the center, with only four chairs surrounding it even though it could probably handle twenty.

- "Erm… Magnus ? The hell happened ? Why's there no furniture anywhere ?"

- "Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! Because you !" He points to her face. "Asked for too much !"

- "What ?!"

- "I asked Nova, and she said that our budget was spent on the house, so we had nothing left for furniture ! I actually had to trade my unicorn core yesterday, to get that kitchen !" Magnus laughs, his eyes empty of all joy.

- "Cassandra…" Morgana sighs.

- "That's a joke right ? The furniture is just on the way right ?" Cassandra desperately asks.

- "I wish it was !" Magnus replies.

- "Dammit !!!" Cassandra starts pulling her hair in frustration.

- "So we. Sleep on the floor ?" Morgana asks, concerned.

- "I'm going back to the dorms, haha !" Magnus says.

- "Me too." Morgana adds.

- "Ugh. It's fine, I'll buy furniture with my savings… I don't want news of this absolute fiasco to be spreading across Eretria, I'm going to lose all credibility." Cassandra says.

- "Oh. Then I'm staying." Morgana replies.

- "Same !" Magnus adds.

They exit the mansion and they hear a voice coming from the heavens.

- "Heeey ! You're the only ones missing for my tea party !"

They look up towards the voice, only to see a massive tower not too far from their mansion made of sand colored bricks. It had to be around fifty meters tall, and they could see Adriana waving at them from her balcony.

- "How did we not see that ?..." Cassandra asks, dumbfounded.

- "Haha, more like how did YOU not see that !" Magnus answers.

- "It's hard to miss. You were just. Too absorbed by. The mansion." Morgana adds.

- "I'm down to join !" Cassandra replies, disregarding their answers.

- "Me too." Morgana adds.

- "If they're going, I'm going !" Magnus concludes.

They enter through the door of the tower and start climbing up the spiral staircase leading to the balcony. It takes a relatively long time, and as they ascend they pass by multiple doors with labels such as "Bedroom", "Baths", "Kitchen", "Observatory", etc... When they make it to the balcony, Magnus is carrying Cassandra on his back and Morgana is gasping for air due to the sheer amount of stairs they just had to get through.

- "We're… here…" Morgana huffs.

- "Greetings everyone !" Cassandra shouts, seemingly full of energy.

- "Hello !" Magnus says. "Also I'm done carrying you, you can walk on your own !" He unceremoniously drops Cassandra on the ground.

They are faced with a cozy hanging garden, with a wooden table surrounded by fourteen chairs, seven of which were already occupied by the rest of the students from their class.

A teapot was placed on the table, and everyone had a cup of tea in front of them or in their hands, some sipping on it and the others talking. They stop when the trio make their entrance.

- "Good evening everyone !" Adriana enthusiastically shouts.

- "Hey Magnus." Sophia replies.

- "Greetings to the three of you." Theo says.

- "Hello." one of the four Melas brothers says, and the other ones rapidly follow suit.

- "Get a cup, I'll serve you some of my tea !" Adriana invites them to sit around the table, and proceeds to do exactly that.

Morgana takes a sip, and her palate is immediately taken by storm with a mix of flavors.

- "Oh. That's really good." she rapidly finishes her cup before asking for a refill.

- "I'm glad you like it ! You're supposed to savor it, so try taking it slow with the next cup." Adriana provides her with more tea.

- "Hey, that's actually not bad !" Magnus comments as he drinks. "Could definitely use some pastries with it though, haha !"

- "See ? I told you I'd change your mind ! Also, baking really isn't my strong suit, I always end up burning any food I make." Adriana replies.

- "I'll bring some snacks next time then !"

- "Sounds good ! I knew we'd get along !"

- "It's… just hot water. I don't know what you guys are so hyped about." Cassandra comments, disappointed.

- "Hot water ?..." Adriana instantly loses her usual aura of light, and her shoulders slump. "I guess I've got some room to improve… ha… ha…"

- "Why're you suddenly depressed ?!"

- "I'm not depressed… I'm fine… My tea is just sub par…"

- "Cassandra, that was rude." Morgana says.

- "I guess you have no taste, haha !" Magnus adds.

- "I have plenty of taste !! Alright listen Adriana, I'm sorry… that my taste buds are too different from everyone else's. It's probably good."

- "Oh ?" Adriana recovers her shine and has a bright smile.

- "How are you so easy to convince ?!"

Most people at the table have a chuckle, and then Adriana speaks up again:

- "So, now that we're all here, let's introduce ourselves !"

- "We already know each other's names though…" Cassandra says.

- "Oh I didn't mean names ! I want to know what brings you to the Academy, since I want to get to know all of you ! I'll start: I'm Adriana Charilios, a daughter of the sun Titan Helios, I'm here to make a bunch of friends !"

- "That's… it ?" Sophia comments.

- "I think it's a wonderful reason ! All my previous friends died in an accident at the temple I grew up at, and now I'm looking to make stronger friends, who will survive anything that happens !" Adriana says.

A silence falls on the table for a moment before Theo speaks up.

- "Are you not… saddened by their ill-fated demise ?"

- "Oh I am ! I'm just good at hiding it !" As she says that, she loses her light again and looks down at the table, the glow in her eyes gone and her smile quickly fades. "This is what I usually feel like when I think about them. It doesn't work very well to look like that when I'm trying to make friends though." Her light suddenly reappears after that, she starts smiling again and her irises flash brightly, reclaiming their radiance.

- "That's downright creepy." Cassandra comments.

- "I feel you !" Magnus lightly laughs.

- "If you're angry. You don't need. To hide it." Morgana adds.

- "Please, do mourn them if you grieve their deaths. This is a very unhealthy behavior." Theo says, looking concerned. "If you need someone to talk to, I can always lend you an ear."

- "Don't worry, I'm being 100% genuine when I'm not directly thinking about them ! Now can we please change the topic for now ? I don't think I'll be able to keep the façade up for much longer if you keep pressing me !" Adriana replies, her voice slightly trembling.

- "Very well. In that case I shall be next." Theo says. "As you know, my name is Theodoros Chronis, usually shortened to Theo. I am attending this school in order to gather the necessary strength to rescue my fiance from the predicament she finds herself in."

- "Oh you're engaged ? That tracks !" Adriana comments.

- "Yes. She was spirited away to the land of Britain during a trip to the Faerie Island, that I desperately tried to dissuade her from."

- "Faerie island ?" Morgana asks.

- "Yes. It's an island in the east, covered in strange vegetation and landscapes. It's well known that portals to Britain frequently open there, and both Faeries and Fairies travel to the continent of Greece from there. She wanted to meet a specific one that she had been tracking down for two years, and suspected that they might be located on the island. I couldn't stop her, and her escort came back without her."

- "Why weren't you in her escort ?" Cassandra bluntly asks.

- "I… I was too weak. And I still am. This island is infested with monsters from Britain, and you should know that the creatures managing to pass through the gates from this mystical land to Greece are either nature spirits like Faeries and Fairies, or extremely powerful creatures. My fiance is an extremely gifted and experienced mage, far more than I'll ever be. However, I refuse to give up on her, and I will use everything at my disposal to acquire the strength to get through this accursed island and reunite with her, come hell or high water."

Cassandra silently nods in response. She then speaks up:

- "I respect your resolve ! In comparison, my goal isn't exactly the most noble, but I'll still share it since you shared yours. My name is Cassandra, and the Pyranthis family which I hail from has historically been one of, if not the most worthless family of witches in Eretria. In status, we do not even compare to any of the other families using Fire magic or any derivatives. Kind of pathetic, right ? In Eretria, your family's social status is everything. It dictates what housing options you have access to, the minimum wages you can receive for any work, and many other things. My mother, her mother, and everyone that preceded me were unable to make any progress, and were all utterly talentless. I am the only witch of the family with any semblance of potential, to this day."

- "This is… terrible. All witch families at least make a little bit of progress every generation… I knew of the infamous Pyranthis family, but I didn't think it was nearly as bad as it is." Sophia comments.

- "This is why. You get angry. About your mother." Morgana adds.

- "Yeah, but I love her with all my heart, and I'm not letting her rot in that shitshack we called a house for the past four generations. So I just worked my ass off everyday to hone my skills, to single handedly give our family a better name and give mom a better life. I actually failed the entrance exam ten times." Cassandra continues.

- "Ten ?... But they only hold it once a year ! How old are you, even ?" Sophia asks, flabbergasted.

- "I'm turning nineteen in March."

- "So you've…"

- "Been attempting it since I was nine years old, yes. I'm happy I succeeded this time, I thought I was in for another fifteen years !" Cassandra laughs, throwing her head back and looking at the sky.

- "How can you be so calm about this ?..."

- "I just told you. I've exceeded my expectations." Cassandra gets up from her seat and flicks her cape. "Anyways, I'm here to get rich and famous ! Anyone in my way will be blown to smithereens, so make sure that you stay on my good side until I make it big !"

- "I see." Sophia lightly claps as Cassandra sits back down to sip on her tea. "That is some admirable dedication and self discipline, I clearly underestimated you Cassandra Pyranthis. My name is Sophia, of the Kaminoros family, and I am here for a very simple reason. I want to test my strength and measure my skill against adversaries capable of posing a challenge, like Magnus. My family specializes in Infernal and Reinforcement magics, and our Supreme Sorcery is actually those tattoos that you can see on my arms and legs. They're a permanent form of reinforcement that also works as a conduit for our Infernal magic."

- "What's a supreme sorcery ? And reinforcement and infernal. Magics ?" Morgana questions.

- "I'm surprised that you don't know, given that you're dressed like a witch. Since you are Magnus' and Cassandra's friend, I will answer you. A Supreme Sorcery is the ultimate spell developed by a given witch in a family. The most talented witches can have two or more, and generally they will attempt to pass them onto the next generation, to an extent. To unlock its full potential, I first need to get closer to my mother's strength."

- "Also, Infernal magic is a variant of Fire magic, using flames from Hell itself, the realm under the god of death, Hades', Underworld. That's where the worst souls go after they die, and its flames are very effective at killing the undead. They can also absorb the life force of living creatures if they come into contact with them. Reinforcement magic is designed to increase one's physical capabilities beyond the regular limit for a person." Cassandra adds.

- "Oh I see. So Magnus uses it ?" Morgana asks.

- "No he's just that freakishly strong."

- "It's not that big of a deal !" Magnus chuckles, looking concerned.

- "There he goes." Cassandra comments.

- "Yup !" He laughs louder, to get her attention away from the topic.

- "Actually, that's a good opportunity to ask you. So, mind sharing your story with the rest of us ?"

- "I do, actually !"

- "I'm being kind of serious here. You got there through recommendation, you have insane physical strength, you're using and you don't even have a last name. What's your deal ?"

- "Alright I'll tell you a little bit about it !" Magnus takes a few seconds to think before continuing. His smile was wavering, with the sides of his mouth going up and down at regular intervals and making him not look very confident. "I'm kind of in the same situation as Morgana, but with a twist !"

- "What's the twist ?!"

- "Who knows !" He cackles.

- "Ugh !! You drive me insane !"

- "I know !" He answers in a jolly tone, happy to have reached his objective. His constant smile returns to its usual form.

- "Actually, Morgana, what brings you to the Academy ? I'm curious." Theo asks.

- "I want to. Get stronger. So that I can. Beat mother and. Free the other children. That she is. Experimenting on." Morgana says.

Silence falls on the table as Morgana gets into detail about this statement and explains what happened up until now.

- "That's heavy." Sophia comments when she's done.

- "I see you are also carrying your fair share of baggage. This explains why you are devoid of a last name." Theo adds.

- "This is unacceptable ! Even though they aren't your friends and are just fellow experiments to you, since you still want to save them you can count on my help if push comes to shove !" Adriana shouts, outraged. Her smile was replaced with an expression of indignation, and she was radiating heat across the entire garden, making the plants slowly wilt.

- "Calm down Adriana, you're going to kill everyone, starting with the damn grass." Cassandra says.

- "Oh." she seems to notice, and the heat produced by the replica of the sun having appeared behind her head rapidly decreases down to a tolerable level. "Sorry about that, I got a little worked up !"

- "Yeah so since she's a mix of a fire dragon, a fire elemental and a fire spirit, it's no wonder she made it to the top two along with us !" Cassandra comments. "Actually, that brings me to the question I've been meaning to ask this entire time. We only made it to second place, even with our outstanding performance. Logically, the top one is sitting with us at this table, and these four have been awfully silent this entire time." she points to the Melas brothers, who all jolt up in response, startled. "Who scored more than sixty three thousand points ? What are you hiding ?"

- "Oh please do not suspect them of anything. They are part of my group, and we indeed claimed first place." Theo cuts.

- "Wait, you five are the top one ?!"

- "That's completely nonsensical." Sophia adds. "Everyone here made it by the skin of their teeth, and most groups were trimmed down to one or two members, except Cassandra, Magnus and Morgana who were three to begin with. These guys don't look like they are strong enough to even withstand the temperature of the volcano."

- "That is because I helped them get through everything. I shielded them against the heat and I fended off the monsters inside the volcano until we made it out with my Glass magic." Theo says.

The table falls silent again, until Cassandra gets up and breaks the silence:

- "You're telling me that you essentially single handedly passed the practical exam ?... Is this some kind of sick joke ?..."

- "No, it is not. I do not mean to ridicule your accomplishments in any capacity. It was still an arduous task, and-"

- "Spare me the humble bullshit ! You did that with a magic that's just a mix of Fire and Sand magics, what are you even doing here ?!"

- "...I apologize if I offended you."

- "Cassandra, calm down please." Morgana says.

- "Damn it all." she sits back down, looking furious.

- "Who recommended you ?" Sophia asks, looking suspicious.

- "Officially, my brother." Theo responds.

- "Oh." Morgana seems to realize. "You look like. Andreas, the doctor."

- "So you've met him."

- "Yes. He gave us apples."

- "And who really recommended you ?" Cassandra cuts.

- "Queen Medea." Theo replies.

- "Oh that's just rich isn't it ?"

- "My fiance was a good acquaintance of hers…"

- "Who's queen Medea ?" Morgana asks.

- "She's the vice queen of Eretria, and Queen Circe's direct apprentice." Sophia replies.

- "Yup. Must be really nice to have acquaintances like that." Cassandra mumbles.

- "Relax Cassandra ! You look angrier than Morgana right now." Adriana jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood.

- "Right, you're recommended too aren't you ? Who was it ?"

- "Erm… my father…"

- "Oh that's great. A literal Titan vouched for you."

- "What's a titan ?" Morgana asks.

- "They are ancient gods, born from the Earth…" Adriana replies.

- "Oh so you are. A demi goddess ?"

- "Yes ! But I don't agree with the guys from the demigod faction if that's what you're asking !"

- "I see. Thank you."

- "Which leaves us with Magnus." Cassandra finishes.

- "Oh it was just Sulfuris, like Morgana !" he responds.

- "Right, just Sulfuris. The damn dragon, that's also the dean of the entire Pyromancy Faculty. Cool. I'm going to go shop for furniture to fill up the mansion, I'm done." Cassandra gets up and walks away towards the staircase, storming out.

- "Way to ruin the mood ! Cassandra, wait up !" Magnus runs after her and they both rapidly are out of sight.

- "She has a tremendous amount of pent up frustration." Theo observes.

- "Who wouldn't in her situation ?" Sophia says. "When you're part of one of the bottom feeder families in Eretria, you're treated like dirt under the higher ranking witches' shoes. This probably was her life until now."

- "I wish I could do something…" Theo despairs.

- "Not much we can do. Our sheer existence is just rubbing it in her face, that some people are just born a lot worse or a lot better off than everyone else. She just has to toughen up, that's how life is"

- "You might be right, but it still feels... wrong."

- "Maybe you just need to toughen up too, Theo."

- "Perhaps…"

- "I'm sorry for Cassandra's. Behavior. Thank you for this. Tea party Adriana. It was nice. Most of the time." Morgana says as she gets up.

- "Oh don't mention it ! I'll make sure to still invite everyone for the next one, I know everybody's got their flaws ! I like Cassandra, I'm sure she doesn't bear any ill will." Adriana replies.

- "Ahem…" they hear, and they all turn to see one of the Melas brothers talking. "I'm Telamonis Melas, the eldest of us. We unanimously agreed that we're going to drop out…"

- "Why ?!" Adriana exclaims, causing all of them to flinch simultaneously.

- "I am surprised. I thought you wished to deepen your understanding of magic ? Isn't this the best opportunity ?" Theo adds.

- "Yes but…" Telamonis pauses. "We're very unremarkable mages in comparison. I don't think you understand how terrifying this is for us. Our teacher is a half dragon, and anything she would use to test your skill could outright kill us before we had a chance to do anything, we saw what you were capable of back in the volcano. I personally care too much about my siblings to risk their lives for the sake of magic research."

- "I will respect your decision. But I wouldn't want to be the one who ruined your chances at making progress. If you muster the courage to come back for next year's examination, I will make sure you are recommended so that you get the maximum amount of preparation time for the practical exam. I swear it on my honor. I sincerely apologize, as I clearly did not think about the reach of my actions." Theo replies.

- "That's sad ! At least make sure you're ready for next year's exam, I will be rooting for you !" Adriana says, pumping her first into the air.

- "...Thanks." Telamonis replies before he gets up with his brothers and leaves through the door.

Morgana follows shortly after them, and returns to their common mansion. She finds no beds, so she decides to sleep in the dorms for the night.

Date: December 31st Location: Common mansion, Pyromancy Faculty

Cassandra has spent an unknown amount of money to acquire furniture for the mansion, and apparently sold off her unicorn magic core to that end. This caused Morgana and Magnus to move back in, and this day they were sitting in the living room on the first floor, on white and red couches around a central wooden table, enjoying Magnus' cooking. Suddenly, in the middle of the night the sky becomes a lot brighter, illuminated by thousands of stars. They all approach the window.

- "What's happening ?" Morgana asks.

- "The new year officially begins tomorrow, so tonight is Helios' festival." Cassandra answers.

- "Helios ? The sun Titan ?"

- "Yes, the Sun essentially serves as an anchor for Gaïa to spin around. I'm not very versed in the topic though, I'm sure Adriana could tell you a lot more about this stuff."

- "Talking about Adriana !" Magnus comments as he points towards the tower she lives in.

They collectively look towards that direction, and see an extremely bright light at the top of the tower, looking like another star among the night sky, albeit a lot brighter due to how close she was. They could distinguish Adriana's silhouette floating and emitting that light, and she seemed to be praying while looking towards the sky.

- "They say that Helios can make miracles happen for his followers around that time of year ! They just need to pray to him !" Magnus adds.

- "Also his children, like Adriana, get a lot, and I mean a lot stronger. She could probably melt the entire island in one spell if she really put her mind to it right now." Cassandra says. "That's why criminals who are children of Helios are usually executed rather than thrown in jail, because seriously, who wants to deal with something of that scale whenever they try to escape every new year ?"

- "I see. What do you think. Adriana is praying for ?"

- "Beats me. She already got everything, and Helios can't revive the dead."

- "And I thought. Magnus was insensitive."

- "Oh shut it. I'm a follower of Hecate, so the new year is just a nice occasion to see the stars since Helios allows us to see them despites light pollution. I'm gonna go stargazing for a bit." Cassandra leaves and her footsteps can be heard downstairs.

- "What about you Magnus ? Do you worship. A god ?"

- "Yep ! I follow the god of war, Ares !"

- "Oh. There is a god. For large scale conflicts ?"

- "That's a funny way to put it ! I like my fights small scale, but I'd definitely be down for a one man war one day !"

- "I see. I don't know many. Gods. So I probably should. Follow Hecate."

- "Hey that's a serious matter, you know ! Make sure you pick a god that's aligned with your values, or you'll regret it later when you change your allegiance and they curse you !"

- "Oh I see. Noted."

- "Anyways ! We should join Cassandra !"

- "You like stars too ?"

- "I mean they're kinda cool, yeah ! But really, she wants us to come along, she just doesn't wanna ask directly !"

- "Oh. She's hinting."

- "Yeah, even though she's terrible at it !" He cackles.

They make their way downstairs, and find Cassandra in the garden on a chair next to the wooden table she installed not too far from the lake, looking up at the sky. She notices them and turns.

- "Oh, so you've decided to join me ! Come over, I just happen to have two extra seats !"

They also look up at the stars, and Cassandra takes this opportunity to boast her knowledge, as she usually does. She starts pointing out constellations and describing certain stars. Magnus is uninterested, but Morgana listens as she always thought stars were just lights in the sky and not actual celestial bodies. Eventually they are interrupted by Adriana's light, who became so bright that the stars were no longer visible from their position due to the light pollution.