Summary: In which we return to this storyline by addressing a certain loose end from Heart of Iron.
Author's Notes:
Here's the sequel!
Side note, I do have the LWA Chronicle databook (even though I can't read 90% of it and if I tried to translate it on my own it'd take my entire undergraduate life). All ideas from this fic and its prequel came before this databook was even announced, so sorry if it contradicts any canon LWA lore.
The timeline itself is a little funky. I didn't know the epilogue for the last episode occurs in April, the last month of their school year. I didn't have this in mind as I wrote Heart of Iron and this story, but I guess the events of this AU occur during Akko's second year at Luna Nova. As such, there is a large influx of new students since Akko revived the Yggdrasil. But I won't mention that explicitly in the story because… I didn't know as I wrote it LOL.
Oh, I also can't read the part that explains magic behind the Grand Triskelion and all that. So sorry for any contradictions there.
OPENING: A New Beginning - Prologue
In the silence of the night, a certain blonde-haired witch flips through a textbook unrelated to the current school curriculum. Only the dim light from her desk lamp keeps her company at such a late hour. Her two roommates are fast asleep, unperturbed by their third teammate's late night studies thanks to the bookshelf separating the room.
Life at Luna Nova progresses as it always does. However, the same cannot be said for the rest of the world.
Magic is once more abundant. Witches, wizards, and other types of magic practitioners are no longer bound by the amount of magic they can use. They no longer have to rely on the use of philosopher's stones as a source of power for magic. In essence, anyone with the ability to cast spells and use magic can do so anywhere with no restriction. For example, the witches at Luna Nova Academy can fly around Blytonbury instead of walking. It is a new convenience that everyone is grateful for.
What about the witches responsible for this grand achievement?
Only two of the involved nine were broadcast across the entire world long enough for everyone to remember. However, thanks to the intervention of the Ministry of Magic, any paparazzi or large reaction is greatly subdued. By the end of the month, no one has tried to bother the witches who stopped the missile from damaging a foreign country. It is, after all, the duties of the government that presides over the world of magic. Coordination with the government of the non-magic world was also essential to control everything.
And so, the witches at Luna Nova can continue with their studies without impediment from the outside world. Within the school, the professors try their best to limit any large disturbances. They cannot do much about flittering gossip, but as long as it is not hurting anyone they let it be.
Despite the advantages, there are certain problems that only a few have considered since the seal on the Grand Triskelion was removed. Despite the honorable reasons for the decision, there are certain consequences that the witches of Luna Nova responsible for unlocking the Grand Triskelion did not think about at the time.
An abundance of magic can mean many things. In this case, it means there is an unlimited supply of magical energy in the atmosphere. An amount that cannot be controlled. In some cases, spells that were once constrained by the amount of magic energy are now free to use. Some of these spells can be dangerous.
In another case, there are certain magics that do not require a spellcaster to activate. Some, like a self-regenerating dragon, thrive off of magical energy and will search for large accumulations of the energy to grow stronger. One will already be difficult to control. Any more will create problems that will be difficult to keep contained.
So far, no catastrophe has occurred from these concerns. Only a few have voiced these considerations. After all, only a month has passed since the Grand Triskelion was unsealed. There is no need for panic.
But that is on the macro scale. On the other hand, there are certain issues that are more pressing to a certain witch.
Two weeks have passed since Diana returned from her short excuse from Luna Nova to help the House of Reinhardt retrieve their lost succession artifact. Since then, life proceeds with no further complications. Diana spends a few extra hours every day to catch up on the days of class she missed. It takes three days for her to learn the material she needs and once again stay on top of her classes. Only one week is needed to return to her usual level, completely understanding the current curriculum and ahead at the same time.
However, that does not mean she can relax. For the next week, instead of staying up to catch up and stay ahead of the curriculum, she uses the late hours of the night and any free time to research information about a certain small change that originates from her time at the Regulus Caverns.
Diana flips the last page of the book. Once again, she has not found any useful information to answer the question she has. She decides to take a short five minute break before moving on to the next tome stacked on her desk.
She reaches for her wand and extends it. With a nearly inaudible voice, she removes the masking spell covering her palm to examine the dark affliction marring her skin.
A scar that does not heal, no matter how much time passes, no matter what magic and medicine she applies onto it.
For the past week, Diana exhausts all possibilities available in Luna Nova in her search for answers to this strange affliction. Even now, the tan is the same as the moment Daniel first pointed out the strange affliction back at the summit of Mount Leonis. With no solution to remove the scar, Diana turns to research about its origin and cause. Yet, nothing has come up. For once, Diana Cavendish does not know the answer to a problem.
The young witch waves her wand and applies Abscondam once more to cover the blemish. Having no initial success in her search does not change anything. She will continue with her research by whatever means necessary. She was able to learn about the Seven Words of Arcturus and the Grand Triskelion on her own. Surely she should be able to discover the origin of a strange scar that causes no pain or change of her in any way.
Diana takes the next book from the top of the stack; the fifth volume in a group of works on curses. She once more focuses her attention solely on her task and ignores the unsettling feeling in the back of her mind. A sense of unease that has been with her since she returned from the Regulus Caverns that does not go away, just like the marring on her palm.
The determination to continue her search is present. But Diana does not know if she will like the answer she finds.
If she ever finds it.
The realm of sleep is an interesting reality. Time has no meaning, logic has no place. During sleep, anything is possible. The visions we see during this period are what we call dreams. But are they always truly fabrications of our mind?
Diana dreams of a bright blue sky and rolling green hills. It is a fleeting scenery that she forgets the moment she awakens to a new day. However consistent they are, the memory of them fade away as the last of the night's darkness is covered by the sun's bright rays of light.
However, every time she returns to sleep and sees the scenery once more, she remembers the building desire to remain and discover what it means. Why is she having these visions? What do they mean?
The more she searches, the more an unseen connection is made. But curiosity and the desire to learn more are difficult to fight. As she dives deeper into her inner world, the connections weave together to create a firm, cemented link between herself and the unknown.
Stronger, stronger, until the new bond pulls her into a fate she cannot escape.
Author's Notes:
To everyone who's read Heart of Iron, welcome back. Otherwise, hi! I recommend reading the first story to get some background on Diana's experiences prior to this one. Summarizing in an AN only does so much.
This story is going to be long. It's at least twice if not three times the length of Heart of Iron. So please enjoy XD Reviews and comments make this tomato happy…
Yes, this story will have Diakko. I kind of (tried to) hint that Diana's been harboring at least something for Akko back in Heart of Iron. Akko has her own mess of feelings to deal with lol.
I still don't know if Ennor Fiendinorr is a spell that dispels ALL curses or just that specific one. Even if it can dispel different kinds of curses, I'm going to pull a handwave and say it can't for this particular affliction for reasons I can't disclose yet.
Fun Fact:
This is my first time writing a multi-chapter fic to build up a "romantic" relationship, rather than starting off with an established pairing. Please forgive me if I do them injustice. And the reason why romance is in quotation marks is because... writing romance is out of my usual comfort zone.
Also, this is slow burn. I thought it'd take at most around 30k words to get a confession scene, but I was very wrong.
