Manifest War: The Weapons Within

A few days after Carmen's acceptance into LaVeda University, a familiar face made their way into Castle de Belouis. They were greeted by a maid and instructed to wait while they retrieved Carmen.

“My Lady, Sarah Lichen has come for a visit.” Said a maid to Carmen, bowing her head as she stood in the doorway of Carmen’s room.

“Thank you, I’ll be right down.”

After finishing up her hair, Carmen bolted down the steps and entered the grand hall where she saw Sarah standing.

“Sarah! How’ve you been?” Carmen asked with glee, feeling eager to hang out with her. Sarah glanced over and shot a big smile in her direction.

“Hey! I’ve been good. My training with Jorah ended a few weeks ago, so I’ve just been helping my folks around the house. They’ve finally gotten fully settled in from their move to Volaire.”

Sarah gave Carmen a deep hug, thrilled to see her friend after so long. They began to have a conversation and quickly caught up on various topics.

“Sooo, how has your progress been? Is your Strand fully mended?” Carmen asked with slight concern and curiosity.

“Yup, Jorah got me fixed all the way up! I can even do this now.”

Sarah held out her hand and exerted her Core Energy. A short burst of teal colored wind flowed from her arm and seconds later, Sarah’s Manifest was summoned.

“I can finally use Marabel again, but my resonance level is still significantly lower than what it was. I just need to keep training with her to get my strength back up.” She said while gently stroking the string of her bow. Carmen’s eyes lit up and she quickly gave Sarah another tight hug.

“I’m so happy for you! It’s been a long time, but you’ve done so well!”

As they ended their embrace, Sarah grew curious about something.

“What about you? Anything new going on?” Sarah questioned with an excited tone. Carmen began to grin from ear to ear, eager to relay the good news.

“I get to attend LaVeda University in a few weeks!! Azhane finally said yes! I can’t wait!”

Sarah applauded the news and asked a few questions about the school, her interest being piqued.

“So, are you coming with me? I’m sure my family could sponsor you easily. It’ll be such a fun opportunity for you!” Carmen asked, hoping to attend with her best friend. Sarah began to look a bit uneasy at the idea and her expression quickly shifted.

“Uhh… Yeah, about that. If I’m being honest, I don’t think the ‘academy environment’ is for me. Plus, I still have a lot of training and rehab ahead of me. Sorry, Carmen…”

Carmen’s big grin immediately shifted downwards as she felt incredible levels of disappointment wash over her.

“Oh… I see… I guess that makes sense...” Carmen awkwardly laughed, clearly no longer in a good mood.

“Aww don’t be like that. You’ll make plenty of new friends and have just as much fun without me there. Besides, you can still message me from time to time!”

Sarah tried her best to reassure and cheer Carmen up, but her response did nothing to change her mood.

“Yeah, I know… Just sucks that you won’t be there. Can’t be helped though.” Carmen said as she sulked. Sarah sighed before stepping forward, placing her hand gently on Carmen’s shoulder.

“Come on, let’s go hang out in the city for a bit. There’s this shop I want to visit, you down?”

Sarah gave a warm smile and Carmen took a brief moment to think before returning the smile. Carmen nodded firmly and the duo quickly headed towards the castle entrance, proceeding to explore Ariana city one last time together.

Heavy rain fell on the LaVeda University campus. The intricately decorated domed roofs glistened as the water rolled down them. On the top floor of the main building, a single room was lit up by the glow of a lantern. Sitting inside was an elderly gentleman with glasses and a short white beard. He hunched over his desk as he rummaged through a pile of documents.

Across from him was another gentleman that was cleanly dressed. Curiously, he wore an all white mask that had simple features indented into it and a black tuxedo with a green bow-tie. There was something incredibly mysterious about this individual, but his presence didn’t bother the elderly man in front of him.

The man adjusted his glasses as he read through a few papers, looking quite troubled in the process.

“LaVeda is losing funding left and right. We need to do something to prove to the nobles that this school still produces the best results. The other two academies don’t hold a candle to what we do here. We just need to show them that this is still the case.” The elderly man said with a worried cadence to his tone.

“Headmaster Quinn, be not troubled. We, The Watchers, find this establishment very important and beneficial for the future of Alaira. We’ve already taken measures to ensure that LaVeda doesn’t fall.”

The masked man reached down and picked up a briefcase that was sitting next to him.

He gently placed it onto the desk and opened it up, revealing the contents inside. Multiple stacks and rows of little purple colored pills lined the inside, looking like neatly placed grains of rice.

“What are these?” Headmaster Quinn asked with great curiosity.

“These are what will save this school. Simply provide them as supplements to the under performing students and their connection to the Core will increase greatly. The strength of their abilities will rise significantly and should provide the results these nobles seek.” He replied with a matter of fact tone, laying out all the facts.

Quinn looked down at the pills and after examining them for a moment, he glanced up at the man while wearing a devious smirk.

“I thank you, oh great Watcher, Delandy.”

The Headmaster slid the briefcase closer as he closed it shut, feeling eager to set this plan into motion.

Church Bells rang as the doors opened to the great, Holy Core Church in the Lumen Theocracy’s capital city of Volta. People flooded out of the building, signaling that service had just ended. Within the crowd was a teenage girl with striking, long blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and a fairly voluptuous build for her age.

She quickly made her way down the busy street, navigating past multiple blocks and rows of baroque style buildings. Eventually she found herself at the central hospital, located on the eastern side of the city. She walked inside and traversed the hallways with ease, proving that she had been here countless times. After reaching the top floor, the girl stopped at a patient’s door before sliding it open.

Sitting on the bed inside was a female that looked eerily similar to her, only in a much more mature body and with boyishly short hair. Interestingly, the lady in the bed didn’t move or react to her visitor, she simply remained still while staring blankly at the wall in front of her.

“I made it just in time, Claudia!” The girl said with excitement. “Church ran a little longer than usual, but I made sure I came to visit before I left for LaVeda today.”

Despite the conversation starter, Claudia showed no expression to the girl’s words, sitting lifeless and empty. The girl continued to talk to the female as she wiped her body down with a cold, wet towel. She then approached a dark blue vase sitting next to the window and changed out the flowers, humming a simple tune in the process. As she placed the last flower inside, someone started to enter the room.

“Ah, Lady Bridgette, I see that you’re here again?” Von Melrose said with a slight bow, causing his pristine white cape to slide over and reveal his missing right forearm.

“Hello Captain Melrose. I didn’t know you were visiting today.” Bridgette replied with a surprised tone, setting down the vase and approaching the bed.

“I was in the area, so I simply stopped by. How’s she doing?”

Von sent her a charming smile as he gently placed his left hand on Claudia’s shoulder.

“I’m glad there’s someone that still cares enough to see my sister. And she’s been doing fine, still no changes in her vitals or mental state. But, since her coma was induced by a Manifest, the Head Doctor doesn’t think she’ll ever wake up again…”

Bridgette sighed as she took a seat on the bed, feeling frustrated by her sister's unfortunate circumstances.

“I see… I hate that I wasn’t present during her battle with Zalthia of One. She definitely would not have succumbed to her abilities had I been there.”

Von’s tone shifted to that of great irritation as the memories from that day flooded his mind.

“Don’t blame yourself, Captain Melrose. You clearly had your own problems to deal with.” Bridgette replied while looking at his missing forearm, reminding him of his fight with Azhane Belouis. The room was awkwardly quiet until Von posed a question to Bridgette.

“Sorry if this is too frank, but has Master Vandel made a decision about Vice Captain Claudia yet? Surely he won’t let her stay here indefinitely, especially since she is healthy enough to be held at home.” He asked with a troubled tone. Bridgette simply shook her head.

“No. As far as my Father is concerned, Claudia isn’t welcome back home in this state. He finds it to be humiliating to the Vandel name… She might as well not even exist to him at this point.”

“I see… That is truly unfortunate, My Lady. Well, I’m sure Claudia greatly appreciates your visits. As long as you continue to give your support, that’s all that matters.”

Von gave a firm, supportive nod as the breeze from the window caught his long platinum blonde hair, causing it to dance with great elegance. Bridgette looked over and smiled, appreciating his kind words.

“Well, Lady Bridgette, I must be going. I pray to the Core that good fortune smiles upon you and Claudia. Take care.”

He bowed his head and made his exit, closing the door gently behind him.

Bridgette stood from the bed and got close to Claudia, brushing her sister's short blonde hair away from her face. She closed her eyes and sighed before saying a quick prayer, hoping that Claudia would awaken from her eternal slumber soon.

“Alright, it's time for me to head off. Wish me luck and take care!”

She kissed Claudia on the cheek and began to exit the room, her next stop being LaVeda University.