Elegy for a Star Ch. 061-070

Gwen sat upright at her desk, awaiting the arrival of Professor Soveliss. A few other students were in the room, but it was mostly empty. She wondered if a lot less students decided to continue on this track. Professor Soveliss was far from an easy teacher, but he was kind and fair. The content of the class was just very complicated.

The class wasn't as empty as originally thought; Most of the students were arriving at the last minute. For a moment, Gwendolyn considered getting an extra half-hour of sleep tomorrow, but decided that would be wildly irresponsible. "Do better," her father had written. She could practically hear his voice. She would do better. She would be the best; for father, for mother, for Sir Strand.

For Tess.

Gwendolyn shook the thought from her mind. She didn't have time for distractions right now. She had to focus.

Class began with the Professor handing back their books, where they conducted the pre-exam to see how much information they recalled from the Basics class. Gwendolyn scored slightly above average. She scowled at the thought of it. She missed such obvious questions!

"Overall, I believe the class as a whole is prepared to go through the Advanced lessons, after our recap last week. Due to scoring the highest on the pre-exams, and the highest in the Basics class as a whole, I would like to extend a congratulations to..."

"Please be me," Gwendolyn thought, "Please be me. I need something to write back to father; I need to restore his confidence in me."

"Miss Chaezona."

Gwendolyn's heart ached. She looked over to the recipient of the honor. Lulu Chaezona. Pale as a ghost, hair as black as night and large, amber eyes. She hardly ever spoke. Never asked questions! Gwendolyn always asked questions; always participated. How could Lulu have done so well? How could she have done better than Gwendolyn?

She must've cheated.

Shaking her head, Gwen realized the bitterness in her thoughts. She had let distractions get the better of her in the last class. Lulu didn't. Lulu was better. Gwen frowned, further disappointment weighing her down until she sunk in her seat.

The class applauded for Lulu, whose expression didn't shift. Gwendolyn held at bay her dark thoughts for the dark woman.

"Let's begin," Soveliss announced.

The class moved at a slow pace. Slower than Gwendolyn needed. That was a point of pride, at least. She felt like she could answer some of the other students' questions, but she dared not appear so arrogant. There was still a little bit of review, but it was brief.

"Using your gifts will draw in the light of Thyr that's been trapped within the Black Sun. It attaches to your soul, giving you the smallest fraction of the fury of a blazing star."o

Gwendolyn recalled such events in the Void. They would act and begin to glow. They would burn with light. Gwendolyn could remember the feeling; power, speed, rage. It was an addiction, for sure, but maybe if she knew how to control it, the fight in the swamp would have gone differently. She could only remember bits and pieces; It had gone by so fast. Spider-creatures all around her, a massive, powerhouse of a monster swinging hammerfists her way. The thought gave her chills. The memory of the pain gave her aches in her ribs.

"This is your aura and it can be harnessed. There are ways to draw more of it, to wield it more effectively, and there are some things that a gift can only do when enhanced by an aura," Soveliss explained, "Some exceptional powers are gated until unlocked by the presence of an aura.

"There are varying degrees of auras," Soveliss continued. Gwendolyn was scribbling notes furiously to keep up with the Professor's explanations.

"First there is glowing. This stage is relatively easy to reach. It is unlikely that you have a fight without reaching this stage in aura generation. While it does make you slightly faster, slightly stronger, it doesn't tend to alter your abilities in any way.

"Next is fiery. This occurs after some exceptional uses of gifts, or a great deal of typical use. At this stage, just being near you is going to harm foes. You may find that you are capable of exceptional talent here.

"Radiant is the third stage. This stage is most easily recognized by the eyes turning white. The whole body glows bright. You'll have unlocked new, miraculous, unbelievable abilities. It typically takes pretty special situations or dutiful training to reach this level of control."

Gwendolyn focused on that word: dutiful. That is something that she could do. She was going to train and train and train until she could reach a radiant aura just by sheer force of will.

"Lastly," Soveliss continued.

This drew Gwen's attention once more. She leaned forward in her seat, attentively watching Soveliss for more information.

"And this is not confirmed," Soveliss explained, "But there is a theorized fourth stage. We have labeled it 'incandescent.' There has been one instance of an incandescent aura being attained, but whether this was the case or not, the wielder's aura burst into a catastrophic explosion, like a star undergoing a supernova, destroying much of the void pocket that he was in, and killing himself in the process."

"Professor," one of the other students asked, "Who was that person?"

"A man named Henry Ostmyrr," Soveliss replied, "He used this power to kill the Betrayer."

"Sir," Gwendolyn spoke up, "How do we know that's what happened?"

"There were a few others with him," Soveliss said with a thoughtful sigh, looking up toward the ceiling as he searched his memory, "Maeros the Mad, Krahe, Harkroth St-..."

"The Valkenlord?!" One of the students blurted out, "He was there at the defeat of the Betrayer?"

"He is the only survivor of the battle that is still alive today," Soveliss replied with a nod.

"I thought Elnaril was present?" A few other students spoke up, acknowledging this same sentiment.

Soveliss shook his head, "Elnaril was killed by the Betrayer about ten years before that time."

"Sir," Gwendolyn spoke up once more, "Why don't we hear more about Henry Ostmyrr? I wasn't even aware he was at the battle with the Betrayer, and he was the one who landed the killing blow?"

"Henry's story is complicated, and it doesn't lend a pretty light upon civilization as a whole, or the story of the Betrayer's defeat. When discussing the story to young children, Henry is often excluded. His side of the story is dark, to say the least."

"What is it?" A student asked.

Soveliss waved it away, "You can take a history class for that. Let's get back to Auras."

Chapter 62 - Meditation

For training today, Mairaela was instructed to follow the teacher's assistant, a woman named Filly Morgan. She was cute, but younger than Mairaela by a good deal. She was pretty certain that the girl was only 19 years old and already a TA for Scirocca. She was apparently a natural star mage and a disciplined student in the college. She must be, to have impressed Scirocca enough to learn under her.

Filly was about 5'6", brown hair, blue eyes. She was more cute than beautiful, but Mairaela appreciated that. She seemed to be pretty clumsy and socially awkward, bumping into things and going "Umm" and "Uhh" a whole lot. Mairaela thought it was pretty funny. Still, it made it hard to appreciate her as a wise superior that was supposed to help her learn.

Filly led Mairaela into a small room with a chamber that had a tall, steel chamber that reached from floor to ceiling. On the front of it was a hefty door with two runes engraved on either side of it. They were marked with three layered constellations of vibrantly colored powders encased in glass tubing. Filly brought Mairaela into the room and shut the door behind her. The inside of the room looked like it was covered in oddly shaped pillows. It was quiet here.

"Here we are," Filly said, directing Mairaela to the steel chamber, "You'll want to undress." Mairaela did as required, popping open the buttons of her shirt, which opened up in relief, exposing her bra-covered chest. The undergarments she decided to wear today were of the bare-minimum variety, which Mairaela was grateful for. Anything to get a blush out of Filly; She was just so cute to tease!

Filly began to turn around and Mairaela insisted, "Ma'am, please watch to make sure that I do it right."

"Uhh.. What? You're... you're just undressing. You know how to do that," she said, remaining turned around, but craning her head to the side to glance at Mairaela out of the corner of her eye.

"Well, should I take my bra off? It's pretty small, so can you check to see if it would be okay?" Mairaela spoke in an innocent, naive voice. All she had to do was mimic Tess! Easy.

Filly turned around, her face already as red as a strawberry, highlighting those freckles on her face. "Um.. yes, uh.. You'll want to take that off.." Filly insisted.

"Oh, okay," Mairaela hummed, as though she didn't understand what naked meant. She pulled the cups of the bra up over her chest, letting those heavy breasts spill out of their confines, bouncing and swaying. Filly pinched her lips together, her eyes glued to Mairaela's chest. The Fey was used to that. She had some great tits and she knew it!

"What about my belt?" She asked.

Filly nodded with a dumb smile on her face.

Mairaela pulled the belt apart, wiggling her hips to work those tight pants down over her ass. It was quite the effort, given the big butt she had, but she was used to it. Of course, she had to turn around for it, too. She looked back over her shoulder to see Filly definitely not making eye contact. Mairaela smirked, finally getting those pants down over her hips. It was easier to peel those skin-tight leathers the rest of the way after that.

Turning back around to face Filly, "Even my panties?"

Filly slowly nodded her head, only able to mumble, "Uhh-..."

"Okay," Mairaela said, hooking her thumbs into her underhead, tilting her hips forward a little as she pulled her underwear down. Admittedly, undressing in this way had her a little turned on, so the gusset of her underwear stuck to her wet sex for just a moment while the rest of it lowered. She stood there for a moment, hip thrust to the side, one hand resting upon it and the other tossing her hair back over her shoulder, "Even my earrings?"

Filly just stared, gazing at Mairaela's wonderful form for quite some time before she looked up at the Fey and blurted, "Wh-what?"

"My earrings. Do I take them off, too?"

"Uhm.." Filly started, pausing, glancing down Mairaela's body once more before she had to close her eyes and shake her head clear, "Y-yes."

"Oh, you shook your head but said yes..."

"Y-yes! Take them off. Everything off," Filly replied, taking deep breaths, "Um.. we'll put you in the tank, now."

"Tank? Is it going to fill with water?"

"Oh, no," Filly insisted, keeping her eyes off of Mairaela's body as best she could, "It's already full." She pried the door open to reveal an open chamber full of clear liquid. The runes on the outside of the door glowed for a moment, and the water didn't spill out even a drop.

Mairaela's eyes widened. That was quite the creative ritual there. She wondered how many attempts it took to figure that one out. She reached out to press her hand into the liquid, drawing it back. Her hand came back completely dry. The liquid couldn't escape.

"I assume I'm going to wear something to keep me from drowning? And it's not going to, like... pull out my blood when I step out, is it?" Mairaela asked, "Seems like a painful way to go."

"Oh! There's a rune on the inside, at the bottom, see? That'll let you breathe in it. And no about the blood, but... wow, that's a good point! I never thought of that," Filly replied, stroking her chin.

Mairaela's eyes grew lidded as she stared at Filly in disbelief, "You're kidding me."

"I am," Filly nodded, "So you're going to step in and I'll close the door behind you. It's a sensory deprivation chamber. It's got enough salt in it to keep you afloat, but not so much that you'll bump your head. We had to measure it based on your weight and shape. It's quite the science!"

Mairaela lost interest the moment Filly mentioned salt, "So what do I do?"

"You'll just float. The darkness, the weightlessness, the silence. It'll be peaceful. Meditate. Think about your Void Exercise. Think about your soul. How can you get into harmony with it? How can you find peace so that you can defy more laws of reality while you're in the Void? Things like that, but honestly? I've found more success in just letting your mind take you wherever it goes."

Mairaela nodded her head, "Should I start now?"

"Umm.. yes," Filly replied, "I'll open the door in, uh... a couple hours, okay?"

"Okay, just.. Make sure that I don't come out gasping for air before you lock the door."

"Umm.. sure!"

It was hard to have much confidence in Filly, but Mairaela supposed she would try today, "Scirocca said that we could actually advance by doing this?"

"Mhm," Filly replied, "It's significant, but a lot smaller than an Old Gods' boon. But possible."

Mairaela nodded, stepping toward the tank, firm breasts bouncing as she stepped. She assumed Filly would be staring at her ass as she walked in. The feeling of entering a layer of water in a vertical direction was a little disorienting, but when she did, she found herself floating almost exactly in the middle, and able to breathe. It was a frightening experience, but she grew used to it with some time.

She gave Filly a thumbs-up and the TA shut the door. The moment she did, everything went silent. Everything went dark. She was weightless; floating.

Chapter 63 - Do Better

As far as scores in the classroom, Gwendolyn was still behind Lulu, and that fact drove her crazy. She needed to get top marks, to be the best in the class, so that she could impress her father. She needed to. She needed to do better.

"Could you stop that?" A student asked her. She was garbed in red, with flame tattoos up her arms. A fire witch in training, it looked like. Hadn't earned her goggles yet, though, so pretty new to it.

Gwendolyn realized she was fidgeting with her inkpen, tapping it against the table rapidly, making quite a bit of noise, and biting her lip. She pulled her teeth from her lip and could taste blood. She felt sore, realizing that her whole body was tense. "Do better," she thought, "Do better."

"Right," she said back to the fire witch. She should've apologized. Would apologizing be weak or was it the knightly thing to do? Gwendolyn wasn't sure anymore.

She scored well on her last test, but Lulu just edged out as the winner. Gwendolyn was irritated. She couldn't stop staring at the back of Lulu's head. She should sit in the front. She shouldn't be in the middle. What was she doing? I'm being lazy. Move to the front. Go. Do it now.

Gwendolyn rose from her seat, grabbing her belongings and stepping forward to find a seat at the front. The only one she could get was the seat directly beside Lulu. There was a sense of joy in the thought that no one wanted to sit next to her. Gods, why was she thinking this way? She was a knight.

"Mind if I sit here?" Gwendolyn asked Lulu, gesturing at the seat beside her.

Lulu looked over and nodded her head, "Be my guest, Dame."

So she did know Gwen, or at least she noticed the person who was on her ass when it came to grades. Was she nervous that Gwendolyn would overtake her?

"So," Soveliss began the class, "Last week we discussed the stages of Thyr's aura, and, well... more history than this class needed to talk about. Who can remind the class how one can gain an aura the quickest?"

Gwendolyn shot her hand up. Soveliss picked her and she explained, "Performing feats according to your gift."

Soveliss nodded, "That's the basic method. What's the more difficult method?"

Gwendolyn's mind went blank. Gods, what was it? She could remember discussing it. She began to flip through her notes, scanning through the pages as quickly as she could, before she heard Lulu's voice, "Performing in ways that Uthr would approve of. Self-sacrifice most of all."

"Perfect," Soveliss responded, "That's a difficult one to remember. Thank you both."

Gods, Gwendolyn knew that. Why couldn't she think of the answer in time?! Instead she let Lulu take the answer. Gwendolyn pushed a shaky hand through her hair. Do better. Do better.

Another student raised his hand. Did Gwendolyn miss a question? Stupid!

"Do corrupted lost souls have an aura?" The student asked. Oh, thank the gods, it was just a question that the student had, not a question that the professor asked.

"They do, but not like we have," Soveliss explained, "In fact, theirs is the reason that they are so dangerous. Theirs is composed of the absence of light. When getting close to them, it can pull your own aura away."

One of the students behind Gwendolyn blurted, "Oh, shit."

"Oh, shit is right," Soveliss responded, "They draw their power from the Black Sun, and unfortunately while we're in the void, the Black Sun is all around them. This is why it typically takes an entire team to defeat a singular corrupted soul." Soveliss sighed, "It's recommended that you keep your distance as much as possible so that they cannot drain your aura. Ranged gifts are extremely important against corrupted souls."

Gwendolyn scribbled down in her notebook, marking Mairaela's name beside the rest of what she'd written. She paused for a moment. She slowly wrote down "Tess?"

"Now, what do you expect would happen if two auras merged together?"

Gwendolyn's hand went up, and once called on, she said, "Both auras would be enhanced.

"Not necessarily," Soveliss replied. Gwendolyn's heart dropped. She felt sick. Tears almost welled in her eyes.

"Yes, Lulu?"

Gwen hadn't even seen Lulu's hand go up. Her eyes were down, looking at her notes.

"Both auras would combine into one, stronger aura, but only equivalent to the two added together," Lulu explained, "This is why it isn't necessarily any better to merge auras. It adds up the same, but if you want to hurt something all in one burst, it's good for that."

Soveliss nodded his head, "Good thoughts on the strategy involved. I don't think we've gone over that just yet."

Gwendolyn's stomach was in knots. Do better, Gwen. She needed to fucking do better, that fucking-...

Suddenly, she felt ill. Her insides were all twisted. Her hands were shaking. Her chest hurt. Her throat was tight. She couldn't breathe.

Gwendolyn shot out of her seat and made her way to the back of the room, toward the door. She left her belongings at her desk, pushing the doors open.

Once the door closed, she bent forward and braced herself with her hands upon her knees. Her chest was heaving, her brow was dripping sweat. "What is wrong with me," She thought, "Now I'm skipping class?"

A few students were approaching from down the hallway, so Gwendolyn jogged toward the gardens. Soveliss' classroom wasn't too far from it, so she managed to weave through the bushes and find a spot that was relatively concealed from the outside. Gwendolyn's legs were shaking.

She clumsily dropped to the ground, resting upon her hands and knees. Her chest was hurting so, so much. She couldn't stop breathing heavily; rapidly. Tears dripped from her eyes. She felt like her head was going to explode.

"What are you doing?!" She screamed in her mind, "Get ahold of yourself!"

"Haa.. You're.. haa~.. a knight.. haa," she gasped and wheezed, "Stop-.. Haa.. s-stop.. Do better..." She began to sob, tears dripping into the grass, and she thought, "Do better, you fucking idiot. Do better, do better."

She collapsed forward, remaining on her knees but resting on her forearms and bawling into the grass.

Gwendolyn howled in agony.