File 2: Academia Mysterii

File 2-1: Starting the "Investigation"

As Soren's eyes cracked open, the sight he was greeted with didn't bring about the calm feeling of a new morning. Rather, the young man felt an immediate pang of annoyance as he found his eyes looking not at the ceiling of his dorm room, but the shining marble of a different style of ceiling. It was familiar to him, for reasons of which he did not like speaking of, but it certainly was not his own. The air carrying the mixed scents of flowers also didn't do well to ease his mood, when normally he would say such a thing would, in fact, do so.

But not when it came matched with being in that place. All around him was the lavish decorations of this chamber, filled to the brim in paintings and furniture, and perhaps surprisingly a rather modern computer rig that clashed almost comedically with the ornate wooden desk it sat upon. Soren was at least given the courtesy of being rested atop a plush lounge chair.

"My my, you seem quite annoyed this time! And here I thought I'd phoned you in at a good time."

"Any time is a bad time if it involves you."

As Soren sat up while the oh-so rude interrupter of his sleep laughed, he gave the individual a cold glare. The individual was a man who was both youthful yet of indeterminate age all at once. He was also the kind of good looking one could only ever call unnatural. Silver hair fell about the man's face and down his back in as billowy as fashion as his white robes, framing his pale face and accenting bright purple eyes a shade more vibrant than Soren's own.

And perhaps Soren could blame his nature as a Fae, but the mere feeling this man gave him was unnatural, as if something about him just didn't line up properly.

"Ah, as cold as that one you are," laughed the man, Soren rolling his eyes. "Really though, why always so harsh, hm?"

"Because, Merlin, every time you drag me here, it's either to mock me over some recent incident or drag me into some new mess with another wild request of yours."

"In fairness you do often bring suck mockery unto yourself," said the magus of old, earning a sharp glare from the annoyed teenager, "Well I mean, who accidentally brings an entire building down trying to deal with one Stray Devil?"

"You'd be surprised."

"And as for my requests, how else would you be able to follow any proper leads on your origins without my assistance?" The knowing smirk from Merlin brought Soren to click his tongue, "But, perhaps fortunately, now is not a time to make light of a small mistake, and you're not currently digging into just how you're break into that place to get your answers."

"… considering doing so involves getting to where Albion's damned corpse is buried," Soren grumbled, "And no way the Association is letting go down that deep without going through their crap. So out with it. If you're not dragging me here to indulge in your usual whimsies, then what is it?"

"It's about that lovely young lass you've brought into your care," Merlin said, Soren raising a brow. "Oh, trust me, I know all about such events. I do have a helpful eye on the outside tailing you even when you don't know it."

"The damn rat…" Soren's annoyed growl brought another amused laugh from Merlin. "Either way, what about Lucina made you decide to drag me here?"

"To offer a word of caution," the level tone Merlin suddenly had was almost a surprise, "As you've no doubt been made aware, the appearance of the Shining Empress means that the Dragon Emperors have risen once more."

"Obviously. Word about the White Dragon has been going around for a few years now. And we've only recently heard some speculation that the Red Dragon might have appeared in the Far East."

"Then keep in mind that, be it by a miracle or even a joke of fate, the Dragon Emperors of this generation are unlike any who came before them," stated the magus, "We can only hope we're so lucky the two of them have good hearts and won't become threats to the world at large."

"You're saying you doubt Lucina's potential?"

"Not at all. In fact, same as you, I have high hopes for that young lady. It may be different than the two she may need to deal with in the future, but her potential to master Empyria's power as her own is itself remarkable. She merely needs to be nudged in the right direction."

"So then tell me… what kind of 'unlike any other' are you talking about with the new Emperors?"

"Both of them wield more than just the powers of their Sacred Gears. As far as my own knowledge goes, both have been learning of their powers since a young age, yet it was the White Emperor who awoke his Dragon first. The Red Emperor has only awakened his far more recently but is no less quick in growing in power."

"Great, so we got two freaks of nature this time," Soren sighed, putting a hand to his head. "I'm just surprised that for once you're being serious when you drag me here."

"Oh, don't worry, next time will certainly be like usual. Now run along, I'd hate to interrupt your day. And, to repay you for the rudeness this time, I'll give you one other hint… look for the Left Claw. If you wish to reach her domain once more, finding that one will be important."

And before Soren could so much as object to the utter vagueness of that statement, Merlin's pointer finger poked his forehead, and the space of the chamber around him vanished in a flurry of flower petals as his eyes slowly closed.


This time, when Soren's eyes opened, he still wasn't greeted with his own ceiling. Well, in part. He could at least see it. But it was obscured by a nearly blinding something in front of his eyes. Something soft and fluffy… and right on top of his face to the point of making it hard to breathe. … the rat, was Soren's thought as a hand reached up. Finding a similarly softness under his palm alongside some cloth, his fingers gripped inwards on the thing stifling his breath. With a light yelp, the object began to flail in his grip as Soren removed it from his face and sat up.

"Are you trying to suffocate me you damned ball of fluff?" Soren growled, turning his gaze to the creature now dangling in his fingers.

The creature was somewhat difficult to pin down in what it was. Mammalian, small enough that most of its body fit snug within Soren's fingers, the fluff of its tail the same size as its body. If one had to say anything, the creature was like some mix of a squirrel, dog, and cat in shape. It also had a small, blue and white cape looped around its shoulders.

"Could you… not be so rough when grabbing me?!" The creature protested in a youthful voice, its paws whacking at Soren's forearm as best as their reach allowed it.

"Maybe if you didn't elect to sleep on my face, I would've given you a gentle prod instead," Soren bit, "What brings you back, Cath?"

"Please, I never left!" With a swift flip, the creature got free of Soren's hand and landed on his shoulder. "You think that loathsome being would even let me leave you alone?"

"Weren't you the one who said he chucked your butt out of Avalon to see the world?"

"That was before you came into the picture. And… I would admit due to my own nature, sticking around you only seems natural. Someone has to help keep that curse of yours in check."

"What do you think Norn does?"

"She keeps you from stepping out of line. I keep you from becoming like Vortigern," Cath's head turned as Soren lifted his right arm, a brief pulse of that black mana coursing across the limb as he flexed his fingers. "You can control it just fine… for now. Overdoing it would become a problem though."

"Well, that madman I call my guardian doesn't toss me into pocket dimensions for a sick joke," Soren glared at Cath as the creature laughed. "Would you like to know what happened last time?"

"No, no, the image is enough for me," Cath gently tapped Soren's cheek with a paw as they teased him. "And… well, sorry about almost choking you out, I suppose."

"If something was going to suffocate me in the morning, I'd rather it the nice posterior of a girl like Norn."

"Careful if she hears you say that," Cath chuckled, Soren shaking his head as he exited the bed at last. He had a day to prepare for, and if he now had to suffer it with the endless snark of his fluffy companion, so be it.


As was perhaps typical, Soren being an early riser meant that of his associates within Modern Magecraft, he was the first of the lot to be up. And so, he took to his normal routine while he waited.

Like many students getting ready for the day, he was dressed in the typical uniform of a Clocktower student. A black half-robe that was currently draped on the back of the chair he was seated on, the rest of his attire a black dress shirt under a blue sweater, and dark slacks only slightly contrasted by his choice to wear canvas sneakers.

And as was also usual, his choice of stop for breakfast as the street's local well known café. A place always milling with students and staff of the department, over the years Soren had become rather well acquainted with the proprietor of the shop, so his presence there was a more than usual sight to be had.

Of course, a part of him would have liked not having to pay extra to also feed Cath, the fluffy creature currently shoving their face deep into the pastry they had basically demanded he get for them.

"Can't you at least try to eat normally?" Soren muttered, taking a sip from his mug of coffee.

"I don't have thumbs," Cath muttered after swallowing a mouthful. "You try eating cinnamon rolls when you can't use a fork! You'd be shoving your face into it too."

"… all I'm saying is getting the frosting into your fur can't be good for it," added the young man, his fluffy companion only giving a dismissing huff before returning to their meal. "Well not like I could stop you if I wanted to. Sheesh."

"Soren!" a call from Norn's familiar tone drew Soren's attention from his phone, the lavender-haired girl arriving with Lucina in tow. As they approached, it was clear Lucina's gaze was suddenly stuck on Cath, and Norn caught sight of them too. "Ah, when did Cath get back?"

"Apparently, they never left. I only found this out when I almost got choked by that absurd fluff," Soren said, Catch giving him the nearest equivalent of a middle finger they could with a paw as their head poked up, covered in crumbs and flecks of frosting.

"What is it?" Lucina asked, kneeling and putting her hands on the table, "It's… so small and cute!"

"I know I know, feel free to praise me," The sudden words from the creature made Lucina jump, prompting Catch to laugh. "Gets the newbies every time! What, is a talking animal so unusual to you? You did meet the Fae around your family's estate, didn't you? I'm not that different them."

"No, you're worse," Soren bit, Cath flicking their tail at him. "Allow me to introduce you to a long-term companion of mine. Cath Palug. As they said, they're a Fae creature… though one of a certain troublesome type. Thankfully, this one is quite tame."

"Please, you know well enough if I wanted to there's a lot of things I could do that'd make people scream," Cath chuckled, then looking Lucina over, "And seeing the girl for myself now, I see why you wanted to bring her here. Putting aside her exceptional bloodline, the potential she has is rather impressive."

"So, people have kept telling over the past two weeks," Lucina sighed, she and Norn taking the other open chairs, "Every time a lesson involves actually demonstrating something, I feel like everyone is way too impressed."

"Of course, they would be," Norn said, "You've got an incredibly rare Sacred Gear, not to mention you're a natural with magic. Not everyone picks up spells as easily as you."

"Is it really that hard?" Lucina asked, "I kind of just… think of the image, and it happens…" to demonstrate, as if it came quite naturally, a ball of water formed above Lucina's outstretched palm, then crackling as it froze, before melting into a flame she then snuffed out. "Once they explained that magic is mostly just using your imagination and desire, it felt pretty natural."

"It's a matter of compatibility," Soren said, "As I've said before, my specialization is with Maleficium. Thus, the magic I'm most compatible with is related to it, but by comparison my skills with elemental magic are… somewhat lacking. I'm by no means bad, but it doesn't come as naturally to me as someone properly aligned to them. I'd blame my Origin for that."

"Origin?" Lucina titled her head with a quizzical light in her eyes.

"Consider it the foundational concept of the soul," Soren stated, "Not exactly the time to explain it in full, however. But put simply, the Origin is the idea which defines someone's existence, be them human, Fae, or Devil. If one has a Soul, then they have an Origin, simple as that."

"Well, ain't this a merry band to find this morning!?"

"… and here's the troublesome one…" as Soren put a hand to his eyes, in came Wes with that ever chipper expression of his, downright crashing into the remaining chair around the table. "Good morning, Wes. I thought you'd have already run off to bother another Department before classes."

"Ah nah, have other ideas for today," the mischievous chuckle he gave didn't make Soren feel better. "See, I had this idea! Luci, you still ain't seen much of the other Departments, yeah?"

"Luci?" Lucina repeated, Soren shaking his head.

"He nicknames everyone. You'll get used to it… mostly…"

"Ah c'mon Raggy, it isn't that bad!" Wes's laughter was met with a clearly annoyed glare. "But anyway, Luci's only seen around this Department and the generals and Lore, yeah? Well… how about we do the good ol' way of showing newcomers around the others?"

"Not this again…" Norn sighed, Soren letting out a groan.

"Ah come on! It's a good idea!" Wes objected, and Lucina raising a brow brought the wily boy to snicker. "You see, Ms. Adamas, our humble campus is, fittingly enough, one of many mysteries and things only those in the higher echelons are privy to. Every Department has their secrets, their little hidden bits of history, mysteries too…"

"What this drama queen is saying…" Soren interrupted as he clamped a hand over Wes's mouth to shut him up. "Is that there's something of an old tradition for showing newcomers to the Clocktower around the Departments they aren't attending classes for. People like to joke about it being an "investigation" to spice it up, but really, it's just going to the Department's street and asking around people your guide knows."

"Ah come on, Sir Great Detective," Cath teased, Soren glaring at the Fae, "Where's your sense of fun about this hmm?"

"… if the fact I've been through this myself and had get dragged along to more than a few times as well?" Soren countered, Catch swishing their tail. "It gets hard to be in on the bit when you've had to go through motions a dozen times."

"It's really not that big of a thing," Norn said, turning to Lucina, "It really is just a tour with some extra flair. Besides, you wanted to see some of the other parts of the campus, right?"

"Well, I can't say I'm not curious," Lucina said, giving a hum, "Of the others… I was kind of interested in seeing the work of, hold on… Astronomancy, Evocation, Mineralogy, Zoology, and Creation."

"Good! Soren happens to know a few people who work in basically every Department, so finding people to help us tell you about them is gonna be a cinch!" Wes stood from his seat with a laugh. Soren hung his head with a sigh of resignation, choosing to flick Cath when they snickered at him.

"I can only imagine the histories you have with them all," Lucina chuckled.

"Depends on the ones you ask me about," Soren said. Lucina smirked, clearly taking it as a dare.

"Alright then… Creation. Who do you know there who'd be helpful?"

"…" Soren suddenly gained a tense expression, an eye twitching. "Well… he'd certainly be a helpful sort for sure… the problem is if I can stand his incessant prodding to get his hands all over my Grimoire."

"Soren doesn't really like it when people try to mess with that Grimoire," Norn leaned into Lucina's ear, the bluenette nodding along. "He's really protective of it and the things he keeps inside of it."

"You would be too, if it was the one of the only things you possessed that gave you even a vague idea of your origins," Noé said, Norn and Lucina going rigid at being caught, granted not that either didn't think he wouldn't hear. "It's not as if I think ill of my associates, far from it… sometimes they just annoy me is all."

"You say that about everyone!" Wes chuckled.

"You most of all."

"Anyway, how about this?" Wes seemingly ignored Soren's snipe and leaned on the table. "How about we head to Zoology first? See, Zoology was the last Department I was in, so in terms of being able to tell you about it, I am quite the expert!"

"They kicked you out because you tried making a Chimera with a combination of a Drake, Nemean Lion, and Gorgon traits," Soren dryly recounted, Lucina's eyes about bugging out wondering just what kind of incident that had resulted in. "It took a week to undo the petrification that thing did to some of the lab staff."

"Ah come on it wasn't that bad…"

"You put five people in the hospital," Norn added, Wes then twiddling his index fingers together.

"I mean it seemed like a good combination to run with. Besides, it was all part of the experimentation process!"

"… not when it nearly tears down half the lab building," Soren shook his head as Wes pouted at him. "But, fine. Zoology's Street isn't too far from here anyway. Once classes are done, we may as well start there before heading to the rest."

"Then that settles it!" Wes laughed as he trotted back. "See you after classes then! Gonna go scope things out while I can!"

"… will we really be okay if we go there first?" Lucina asked.

"As long as Wes doesn't cause trouble, they won't stop us from looking around," Soren said, "We just won't be allowed anywhere past the main entrance of the facility so long as he's in our company is all."

"… won't be much of a tour then huh?" Lucina joked.

"Well unless you want to be dragged into helping deal with experimental Chimeras or whatever creatures they keep in the preservations," Soren joked, Norn reaching across the table and chopping him on the head. "I'm kidding."

"Hard to tell with you sometimes," Norn said. "Anyway, we should get something to eat, classes are gonna be soon."


Zoology was what Soren would have referred to as one of those Departments. One of which keeps its activities under a veil of something that appears normal, but once you look underneath it, suddenly the entire thing becomes clear the "public" side is a complete farce.

If Lore was one massive R&D foundation, then Zoology was a zoo. A zoo for the supernatural.

The outward end of the Department, found on a street by the name of Faun Road – creative – was equal parts nature preserve and tourist destination for the supernaturally inclined. A massive complex of various artificially kept biomes meant to house magical creatures that were kept for study purposes, or in some cases preservation as the encroachment of human civilization forced more and more out of their normal homelands.

Unsurprisingly, it was filled with the type of people Soren often found more than a bit insufferable to listen to. While it was true that as a Fae he had a closer connection to nature than most, it wasn't quite in the normal manner. A being like him could easily continue to exist within modernity. So as such, he found it quite annoying to be around types who liked to prattle on about "the destruction of nature" when they stayed cooped up in their research halls doing little about it.

He tended to stay away from the place as a result.

"And so welcome to one of the biggest preserves for supernatural creatures in the human world!" Wes gave the all too loud, eye-drawing declaration as they stood outside of the gates of the main locale of the Street. "Despite the outside appearances, all of the facilities around here and even underground are dedicated to the research of all beasts of magic origin, no matter the plane in which they come from. So long as they're not sentient, anyway."

"So, like… creatures like what you'd hear about in storybooks? You know, like… well, I guess asking is completely redundant," Lucina looked to the side as she felt increasingly awkward feeling the urge to ask what no doubt were going to be incredibly obvious questions. "Ahem, so what kind of research does Zoology do when it comes to the creatures they keep here?"

"Well, as mentioned, you get experiments like the creation of new Chimera types, done to analyze the compatibility of different traits among the various stock," Wes said, guiding their little group over to a kiosk that displayed various windows of information about the district.

"Another is for the provision of Familiars to Clocktower members," Norn added. "A lot of the menial work done here is carried out by the Familiars of the staff, and just about any magical creature can be made one."

"So… would Cath be Soren's?" Lucina asked, turning to Soren, then noticing Cath was seemingly missing. "Did they… go somewhere?"

"Nope," Soren angled his eyes up, Cath then popping out from atop his hair and back to his shoulder, "Cath just doesn't like this place, so they were hiding."

"You'd hate it too if you were me!" Cath mewled. "If those beast researching whackos in there got near me, I don't want to know what they'd poke and prod to try and convince me to let them dig into my deepest secrets."

"Cath, you could be bought out with a cookie," Soren sniped.

"Depends on what kind of cookie," said the creature, prompting a thought of "Not even a denial" from Norn and Lucina. "But as it is, no, I'm not actually this one's Familiar. I'm more of a… let's call it specialized helper."

"… isn't that basically the same thing?" Lucina said, Cath's tail furling up. "Alright then. So, since it was kind of the purpose, what happens to be Zoology's 'little secret' you want us to check out?"

"Well, since I'd rather we not get kicked out due to… the mentioned incident," Wes coughed into his hand as Soren gave him a look. "I'll explain it out here as we keep walking."

"Better than knowing they likely already have eyes on you," Soren glanced up, spotting several bird-like creatures perched on both the walls of the front gate and some light poles. All of them had their beady gazes aimed right at Wes, who could only chuckle nervously as they carried on down the road.

"So as of recent times, last I heard from a good ol' canary in the coal mine…" Wes began, that mischievous smile coming back to his face. "As I mentioned, one of the things that's often done for research is Chimera experimentation. There's lots of magical beasts that can be artificially created given the right materials and methods. And the reason for all the Chimera experiments is trying to find a way to recreate some older species that were recorded but lost with time."

"Remember my explanation about how our world exists as 'Sides'?" Soren said, Lucina nodding. "Most of what we would call Magical Beasts come from the different Sides. Our Side has had plenty of its own cases, but there's others that exist within the others that occasionally eek into ours. However, there's one Side, one far, far away from the others that rarely ever sees anything leave it."

"And the intent of these experiments is to see if it's not possible to bring some of these ancient, nigh unknowable beings we have some trace knowledge about back into form!" Wes said, with a hint of excitement to his voice, "That was actually what my experiment was trying to do! Figured I might as well try my hand at it, y'know?"

"Well, I suppose one could say it's always worth an attempt…" Lucina murmured, though the stilted, awkward way she looked to the side brought up Wes's clear guilt about the incident at hand involving said experiment. "Still, I suppose something like that isn't so bad."

"Well in most cases things that exist on that Side are meant to stay there," Empyria suddenly speaking up caused the lot to collectively flinch a bit, though Lucina only drew her hand up, being quite used to the dragon's presence by now. "Though perhaps it is worth the research. If something does make its way to this Side, it usually ends up being dangerous. Best to be aware of threats before they arrive, wouldn't one say?"

"Depends on the way one looks at things," Soren mused, pulling out his Grimoire and flicking it open, his eyes dwelling on a particular page for a moment before he clapped it shut once more. Lucina gave a curious look, wondering just which of the things kept in that book brought about that moment of pondering from him. "Well then, since we clearly don't intend to stay around this Street for long, shall we move on to the next one?"

"Ah come on, how about we show Luci around a bit more?" Wes said, Soren giving him a flat expression.

"You just want an excuse to try and sneak in and cause trouble, don't you?"

"Maaaybe…"

"Hagh… let's just move on. The closest Department from here would be…"

"Mineralogy," Norn chimed in. "This one we should also be able to actually tour in a proper sense. Considering one of us isn't outright banned from being on the premises of their facilities."

"That… is fair," Wes admitted.

"Then I guess that'll be next," Soren gave a hum, "Actually… that does work out. I've still got something on me I was meaning to give to that Department. Found it when I was in Wales."

"And you've been sitting on it for two weeks?" Norn mumbled.

"In fairness, coming across Lucina kind of put it to the back of my mind," Soren said, Norn shaking her head with a shrug. "So, let's be off then!"