Louise was in the academy library, flipping through pages, soaking in the content of spells; she was so excited to try them all. The book she was reading focused on the aspects of wind and air manipulation. With her eyes glued to the words, she didn't even notice the person walk up behind her.
"What are you reading?" She turned and gasped, clutching her chest. Noctis smirked at her reaction. "You should probably get better at maintaining your reactions".
"Noctis, don't scare me like that!" Her face was red with embarrassment, "I thought you were someone else".
"Come on Louise; it's hard to mistake me for someone else, given my accent", he remarked. Louise rolled her eyes and turned back to the book.
"I know, but it still unnerves me when people sneak up on me". She traced a finger over the paragraphs till she found the sentence she was reading. Noctis peered at the cover, his mind translating what he learnt with Colbert and applying it here.
"A-rial Man-ipu-lation?" He read out uncertainly. His reading was getting better, though he still had much to learn before he was fluent.
"Uh-huh", she off-handedly murmured. A page flipped to reveal more paragraphs and a diagram. The sketch portrayed an image of the spell in motion, giving the ability to create small scale tornadoes by manipulating the pressure and temperature of the moisture in the air. His eyes were drawn to the detail of the strange phenomena.
"I want to try this spell now, want to come to Noctis?" Louise said, hands gently shutting the book together.
He rolled his eyes, "Of course I'll come, this should be interesting…".
The normally packed spell fields were strangely desolate, the large plot of land whispering pleas for practice. Using a paint she found in the storeroom, Louise drew up a hollow circle about seven metres in diameter, perfect in symmetry. An incantation escaped her lips, and the circle glowed with power.
Noctis watched the display on the border of the circle with amusement and wondered how the spell would turn out. A small thought occurred to him that Louise hadn't had much practice with casting proper spells, only basic things she had studied in class; he probably should have said something.
Louise stood on the edge of the circle, her body a solid rock unyielding to the winds. Mutterings expelled from her mouth, reciting the spell softly, knowing and understanding it. The wand rose from her side, pointed at the centre of the ring of magic. Eyes squinted at the mark.
"Cumulonimbus Agitate", the spell acted instantly, winds swirling at high velocities. It was relentless, sucking grass, sticks, and debris into it's majestic and terrifying form. The winds darkened and began to take shape; the familiar spout of a storm formed. Louise moved the wand left and right, the tornado was compelled to obey its the new master.
With her eyes lit up in wonder and awe she turned to Noctis, a revelation of her power and strength right before their eyes. He nodded in approval, a glint in his eyes showing his respect for her. Her spirit rocketed to the sky, a sense of accomplishment and pride filled her soul. It then shattered when she turned around.
Without its master's watchful gaze, the tornado began to grow in size. Its freedom apparent, the tornado flew from her control, rapidly tearing into the magical circle. Louise struggled to maintain the integrity of the barrier; weight began to build on her body. At one point it felt like she was trying to bear the weight of the entire academy; she could no longer hold it. The tornado broke free and began its warpath towards the central tower.
"Oh…no", she whispered. Noctis quickly leapt to action. With outstretched hands, he quickly summoned the 'Shield of the Just'. Throwing his energy signature around, he warped in front of the raging spell.
The shield crushed the dirt as Noctis entrenched the crystalline matter. Branches of light exploded out of the shield. The tendrils of the matter linked together, filling in empty gaps to form a glassy shield larger than the tornado.
The storm struck against the shield, relentless in its assault for freedom. The swirling winds ground roughly, creating sparks of light that faded in an instant. Noctis held fast against the shield, face set in a permanent scowl. Though he seemed to be concentrating on the storm, this was simple compared to the assault of Daemons the had experienced during his journeys.
Eventually, the spell let up its futile assault. Without steady concentration from the mage that cast it, the storm dissipated into thin air, leaving behind torn up grass and debris. The storm left a path of neatly trimmed dirt.
Noctis looked up from the massive barrier he erected, gazing at the damage caused by the tornado. With one swift tug, he pulled the shield out of the dirt, cancelling the more massive shield. The crystalline surfaces melted away seemingly pulled back into the caster. With a wave of his arm, the 'Shield of the Just' vanished in the air. Noctis looked at Louise with an eyebrow raised.
"Well that turned out differently than expected", he joked, she stifled a laugh before taking a deep breath.
"I agree", Louise replied, "I don't know how to react to this, whether to be happy I almost destroyed the school or horrified that I almost killed people". Noctis raised his eyebrows. "Don't even ask, it's just weird".
Noctis glanced around the demolished area before his senses tingled, a small crowd of students were beginning to emerge from the west tower, their attention not yet fixed to the destruction. If there was anything that he had learnt during the road trip with the choco-bros, it was that attention was a bad thing. A hand roughly snatched up Louise's.
"Hey what are you doing?", She exclaimed. He pulled her hand and dragged her from the fields.
"Just follow me", he shot back. The pair made it into the void tower before she wrenched her hand out of his grip.
"Okay, Noctis. What's going on!", she exploded, "why are we running and hiding away from the other students?" Her anger was comparable to that of Leviathan when Lunafreya summoned the astral; Noctis wasn't phased.
"Because of the reactions", he retorted, "you don't know who could take advantage of your power and abilities Louise."
"Noctis, I think you are a bit paranoid", she suggested, rubbing her wrists gently. "Besides, who in this school would want to harm us seriously". His head shook from side to side.
"Maybe I am paranoid, but if there is anything I've learnt, it is that we prepare for the worst", he said, "especially when you can produce a powerful spell that only a higher class triangle mage can produce. Most of your group can barely even manage a decent line incantation except some". She smirked at that. Noctis was not amused.
"Wipe that off your face Vallieré. There are many more powerful mages than you, including your mother and if an enemy spy was watching you, they could take you out as a threat", Noctis let the statement hang in the air, "do you get it?" Louise's head could only sheepishly look down.
She nodded numbly. He was right; it was unheard of for mages graduating straight from the academy to be capable of strong spells such as the one she demonstrated. It required years for magical reserves to increase and practice to master it. She did something extraordinary, which would indeed attract unwanted attention.
"You're right Noctis; I didn't even think of that. I'm sorry". The pair of them sat in silence.
"Hey Louise"
"Yeah?"
"Is there a festival coming up?" he asked, "I've seen posters, as well as crates and wooden platforms set up around the school grounds. What is happening?" Louise frowned, trying to remember what it could be. A couple of events popped into her head. Then it came to her, like a cathedral bell ringing the time.
"Oh Louise you are such an idiot", she mumbled to herself, "it's the annual Tristain magical showcase. Where various nobles from across Tristain and some of the other nations come to showcase talent, they also make us students demonstrate our familiars to the royal family."
"Louise, why didn't you tell me this before?" Noctis was slightly annoyed; mostly about the fact, he was going to be paraded around like an animal in a zoo. She had an apologetic look on her face.
"It was announced a week ago when we had travelled to Bellaruse" she explained. "It changes dates depending on the year, but generally falls just after the summons ceremony".
"Any reason why they do it", Noctis asked. She placed her lithe hands onto a dusty crate and rested her weight.
"My understanding is that some of the prominent nobles in Tristain, even from other countries are looking for possibly powerful mages to take under their wings, some like the Tristain Air Corp which are always scouting for familiars that are large enough to ride into battle. Others would delve deeper into magic research, particularly on the subject of Brimir."
"What would they think of me being your familiar?" He questioned. Her muscles pulled tautly, a shallow gulp heard in the desolate room.
"They could think that I just hired a servant to become my familiar, it is simply too hard to explain how I summoned a human to become my companion." They both contemplated this issue; it was difficult to know how much the nobles would dismiss as lies and what they would do to Louise.
"What if we didn't do the display?" He suggested.
"That would humiliate me", Louise shot back desperately.
"Yes, but you don't have to do it do you?"
"Yes…but…"
"You could instead show off some of the things you mastered from using the conduit", he explained, "most of the things you did are more than enough to garner some good recognition, that way you won't be held accountable for a false summoning".
Louise glanced over to Noctis, hope glistening in her pink iris, "you think I can pull this off?" He paused, eyes glossing over the untapped potential that was Louise. Her lack of esteem blinded her and others to what was possible through her.
"I know you can Louise", he said, "I believe in you". She smiled and sniffed. Wiping her eyes, she grinned.
"Thanks…for believing in me", he smiled back.
"All right, enough with the emotional coddling, we still need to figure out what your display is going to be". Both turned the cogs of thought through their heads. Ideas were swirling in their heads, a tornado sucking up thoughts and spitting new ones out, recycled and unoriginal.
"What if we did a comedy sketch?", She replied, "And I use magic to make you look like a clown?". Noctis eyed her with murderous intent.
"Okay on second thought, what if we showed my ability to conjure a twister, but shrunk the scale to the size of my palm?". Noctis shrugged his shoulders.
"That already sounds like a perfect solution, not being too powerful, but powerful enough to maintain that spell at that size", Noctis said, "I guess that's the idea you'll have to go with, but you'll need some practice beforehand". She grunted with displeasure and rolled her eyes. The door slammed, and she was gone.
Weeks flew past Noctis. Between coaching Louise and studying in Colbert's lectures; the monotony reminded him of his adventure with his old friends. Driving the Regalia, hunting monsters, being hunted by monsters and so on. It was a wild ride and something he would cherish.
The lessons although difficult and gruelling, bore fruit as he slowly, yet surely began to understand the language and was able to read books. On the recommendation of Colbert, he began borrowing massive amounts of text to practice reading and to understand the literature.
Already he had read sixteen different texts, all of them historical books detailing the past of Tristain. The history behind the country was something that peaked his interests.
The country used to be much larger than it is currently. Its borders were double the size and possessed much of what became known as Gallia. The line of royalty originally was of Jacques de Trué and his descendants from when Brimir established the four nations.
Over time, the political climate changed and the last de Trué died centuries ago, unable to produce an heir. This power gap then led to a small civil war between the nobility over the throne. Unfortunately, this is what allowed Gallia and Germania to seize large portions of territory from Tristain.
These circumstances allowed the La Roché family to unite the nobility and repel the invaders, albeit still with a territorial loss. They then claimed the throne and adopted the name 'Tristain' as a symbol of their ownership of the throne.
Noctis flipped through the next couple of pages, translating the symbols into words when he noticed something strange. Under nations, he could see the usually five: Tristain, Albion, Gallia, Romalia and Germania. There were also other lines which should've denoted other nations; however, they were crossed out in black ink. Bits and pieces of the words were still visible, but Noctis still couldn't make it out.
Closing the book, he stared at the cover, eyes scanning for the Author. 'H Erving' was engraved on the hard leather of the crusty book. It was clear that this author had more to say on the world of Halkegenia than most books even hinted.
A craving sensation filled his body; fingers brushed the edges of the book before grasping it. It plopped into a leather satchel. Noctis sealed the bag up, perhaps Colbert would have some idea of where it hailed from; after all, it was in the library.
He exited the library, walking briskly in the direction of Colbert's office, he caught the stares of other students. Some whispered about him; others stayed clear of his path. The shivering feeling of being judged and watched was slightly unbearable. This reputation wasn't what he wanted when he reprimanded the noble kid.
After passing through noble-engorged hallways, he stopped by Colbert's office. He knocked on the door. A faint reply before Noctis twisted the latch and entered. The professor looked up briefly from his papers before a small smile grew on his face.
"Ah Noctis, how may I help you?" he asked cheerily.
"Hey Professor, I was going through some of the texts that I had borrowed and stumbled across a blotted out section". He pulled out the history and flipped to the section mentioned above.
"See, it has all the countries, but then it adds a couple more which have been blotted out with some ink." The Professor looked at it curiously. With furrowed eyebrows, the older man attempted to infer the missing information.
After minutes of silence, the Professor shook his head.
"I'm sorry Noctis, I haven't got a clue what these countries could be or even existed. Who was the author?"
"A man by the name of H. Erving", Noctis replied. A look of familiarity spilt onto Colbert's face. "Professor, you seem to know this Author".
"I've heard of him yes", he adjusted his wiry glasses, "though I haven't been able to read any of his works. He's well known for his thesis on 'The Probability of Void' which garnered universal acclaim." The professor rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Noctis, would you kindly let me borrow the book for a short time?"
"Of course professor." The stout old book was laid carefully on the oak desk.
"I'll tell you what I find Noctis after the showcase", he cleared his voice, "speaking of the showcase; have you decided on what you would like to do?"
Noctis nodded. "Yeah, I've been helping Louise shape her magic and channel it into something usable. She has so much potential that would probably surprise her peers". Colbert smiled at that.
"Thank you Noctis; I appreciate you doing this", he said, "it has been a long time since I saw Miss Valliere in a good place". He sighed, "I've tried to support her and give her hope, but you have been able to do above and beyond that".
"I am grateful that you are her familiar, thank you for sticking by her Noctis". Noctis smirked.
"Its no biggie, I just had to get used to being in a new place". The two shared a knowing look.
"Well you best be off, I have a lecture to teach in four minutes, and I need to attend to these papers." Noctis bowed his head in acknowledgement and exited the room.
Colbert stared at the book on his desk. Its presence in the library cause concern to well up inside of the professor. Were there things in this book that even he didn't know?
He grabbed a quill and ink, quickly jotting down some words. There was only one thing he could do...
