Chapter Text
Terrasen
Alters that are confined to the ground. Examples include sorcerers, centaurs, and fauns.
Polusen
Alters that are capable of flying on their own. Examples include avians, faes, and harpies.
Fretusen
Alters that mainly live underwater and/or in aquatic environments. Examples include merpeople, nyads, and kelpies.
A pale, young woman paged through a thick book with a hard leather cover. The book had clearly been used for years now with the pages being wrinkled and coffee-stained. Her slim fingers caressed the different pictures of creatures on the pages, focusing on every single detail the drawings had to offer. The woman read the book some more, until her gaze wandered and came to a halt to look at one specific picture. A picture that looked a lot like her, far too much like her. Laying on her stomach with the legs swinging in the air, the girl drew her eyes closer to the image. It wasn’t colored, but the feminine looking figure had long hair that seemed to be floating, as well as huge wings on her back. Her ears were long, like a typical fae’s and the figure had been drawn to hold a glowing orb in her slim hands. Under the picture was written “Depiction of an Aurael.”
Just as the pale woman had read those words, a loud boom suddenly echoed throughout the vintage mansion she was in. Someone had kicked the door of the main entrance in with so much strength it sounded like the place had been bombed. The girl shrieked with fright, survival instincts forcing her to get up and hide. She looked around the study she was in, frantic, before deciding to go into an unused closet. She scrambled herself into the small space in a hurry and closed the door, but it wouldn’t close all the way. This gave her a small ability to see outside and look at what’s going on.
Currently, it sounded a lot like someone, a single person was roaming around the mansion. They weren’t stealing anything or turning the place upside down. No. They were looking for someone. Thump thump the woman could hear her heartbeat right next to her ears, it was nerve-racking. Trembling, she put up her slender hand over her mouth, trying to block off the sound of her heavy breathing. Her eyes kept darting across the room, trying to see where the intruder was, however with such a narrow field of vision she could barely see the study at all.
Just then, the woman could hear as well as scarcely see a glimpse of the door creaking open. She held in her breath, tears forming into the corners of her eyes from sheer terror. A figure appeared to be searching the room for people. It was dressed in all black loose clothes and a cloak, masking the identity of who or what it was. Just as the pale person was starting to run out of oxygen, shaking even harder due to the uncomfortable sensation it was causing, the figure turned back to the door. It’s leaving.. the girl thought in relief, but the figure did not leave. Instead, it looked right at the closet, the woman feeling as if it was staring right back at her although she couldn’t tell if it had eyes. A cold shiver ran down her spine. Then it began to draw nearer, and nearer, and nearer-
“Aurinia! Dear, come on and wake up!”
A voice called out. Aurinia opened her eyes with a slight, breathless gasp before her eyes latched onto the older woman hovering over her bed. For a moment she felt startled, but soon melted into a warm smile upon recognizing the other woman. Mrs Wilde, the runner and main caretaker of the Vallepars Orphanage smiled back.
“Did you have another nightmare?” the caretaker asked as she moved around the room to open the blinds.
“What? Oh, yeah.”
Aurinia replied, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she got out of bed. Mrs Wilde gave a sigh, sounding worried.
“Now, Amaryllis, surely you remember what happens today? Dress quickly and grab yourself a good breakfast. Oh, have you packed everything you need?”
The older woman continued listing tasks as the pale young one waved her away.
“Yes, don’t worry, Mrs Wilde. I’ve got it all under control.”
Wilde smiled with approval before stepping out of Aurinia’s room and closing the door with a flick of her wrist.
As Aurinia got herself dressed into the most sophisticated dress she owned, she could hear the other, much younger orphans waking up and running down the stairs. A smile rose up on her face. Hearing the children talk and giggle in excitement always made her day, however she wouldn’t be seeing her fellow peers in a long while. The young woman brushed her long white hair in front of the mirror, staring back at her yellow-colored eyes. Fixing her bangs and finishing the look with a cute bow on the side, Aurinia dusted off her clothes with a satisfied smirk.
Aurinia turned away, yelping in sudden fright as her wings knocked over a glass. That’s right, she was an avian, a bird–hybrid. Aurinia possessed the wings of a dove, as well as her enchanting yellow eyes and long ears. Cursing under her breath, she moved her big white wings for a bit as if to wake them up while picking up the glass. Fortunately, it had not shattered.
With a heavy sigh, the hybrid picked up her two hefty suitcases, stepping down the wooden staircase to the 1st floor of the orphanage. Two young fauns ran past her, shouting a quick apology on their way as they nearly bumped into her. Mrs Wilde stepped around the corner.
“Got your suitcases, Amaryllis? I’ll go and set them ready for you. Go eat some warm porridge, will you dear?” she spoke softly. Aurinia responded with a grateful smile as Wilde grabbed her luggage.
Aurinia stepped into the large dining room, where the rest of the orphans were bustling with lively conversations. She grinned at the sight before grabbing herself a bowl of warm porridge, leaning against the counters of the kitchen. A young, timid centaur girl came up to her.
“Good morning, Lilithe. Something wrong?”
Aurinia greeted the child, who seemed a little down. The centaur looked down and asked with a soft voice.
“Um.. Auri? Can’t you really stay with us a little longer? I don’t want you to be gone for so long..” she spoke, sounding like she was holding back tears. Aurinia frowned at the sight, she knew many of the orphans were likely going to miss her when she left for school.
“Oh, Lilithe. You’ve had all summer to prepare for this. I promise I’ll send letters every week and come back the moment summer begins again. Okay? Don’t be so sad, Mrs Wilde will still take great care of you.”
Aurinia spoke as she gently petted the girl’s hair with a comforting smile. The centaur looked up at her and gave her a sudden, tight hug. Aurinia couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Lilithe was always shy which made her super adorable.
“I want to be all ready and on time there. Hence I must leave so early, Portantum is quite far away.”
Lilithe nodded in silence before letting go. Wilde hurried into the dining room, holding a piece of cloth and walking towards the young avian.
“Aurinia! Here, dear. Don’t forget your wingcase. Better to be safe and not make a ruckus with your wings on your first day, hm?”
Aurinia gave a polite smile to the caretaker, but frowned at the case. Mrs Wilde had made a sort of jacket for her wings to keep them confined. They were noticeably bigger than that of a normal avian’s, and used to cause accidents all over the orphanage. However, Aurinia didn’t fight back and simply turned around, allowing her to zip up her wings, which now felt like they were tightly closed together.
Only a few moments after, the whole orphanage was gathered at the main entrance, looking and saying their goodbyes to their dear big sister as Aurinia gave a warm embrace to Mrs Wilde, the kind and knowledgeable woman who had taken it upon herself to raise these abandoned children. Outside the mansion was a peryton, a giant winged deer waiting with its owner to take Aurinia Amaryllis to Portentum Boarding Station.
“You be Miss Amaryllis, I assume?” the old man asked. Aurinia studied him. He resembled a human, so he must be a sorcerer. The young avian gave a polite nod, and the sorcerer tilted his head towards the saddles the peryton was equipped with. Aurinia hopped onto the saddle as the man took a seat in front of her, gripping the leash of their ride.
“Off to Portentum we go.” he announced before Aurinia let out a gasp as the deer soared high up into the sky with magnificent speed. Aurinia was holding on tight to the saddle, knuckles turning white. If she fell, her wings would be closed and she wouldn’t be able to save herself. However, after a short while, the peryton became more steady, finding an appropriate height to fly at and was now continuing straight forward.
Aurinia smiled as she carefully peeked down to the rest of her country of Conlise. The breeze messing up her hair was nice and cool. And the sight? Breathtaking. Aurinia herself could never have brought herself so high up as she was right now.
“Oh, excuse me, sir. How long will this ride take?”
“Mm, about 4 hours. We’ll have a couple stops along the way, but for now you’re better off just relaxing and taking in the view.” he answered with a low grumble. Aurinia took a deep breath. Soon she would actually be in Portentum Boarding Station, a large castle made to teach young alters, creatures, different skills in life. They accepted anyone: ground alters like Mrs Wilde and Lilithe, air alters like Aurinia herself and water alters, such as mermaids and sirens. Up until now she had heard nothing but excellent things about the school, about how lucky the students were to attend such a sophisticated school. But at times, she couldn’t help but wonder how a random girl like her from a random orphanage had been chosen to attend?