When Theodore did eventually return to the bedroom—his bedroom?—his gaze was drawn to a haphazard pile of papers which had been left out on the nearby desktop. Shuffling over to the tabletop, he pawed through the sheafs lain there and found that each of them were separated into piles of newspapers, old timey magazines that were strangely shiny & new, a travel pamphlet with worn edges, a bottle of pills with strict instructions and a couple of crisp white letters addressed to either a Mr Theodore-Ent Hargreeves or a Ms Delilah-Weed Pitts.

"Delilah-Weed [Eighthborn Delilah of her name]?" Theodore mouthed to himself, "Must be that sélo I heard so much about" Putting aside that letter addressed to the other Garde, Theodore moved onto the travel pamphlet which seemed to be advertising Earth as a place to study abroad, of all things.

THE SPARROW ACADEMY STUDY ABROAD & EXCHANGE PROGRAMME

The Study Abroad and Exchange programme allows you to spend a year or two studying at intergalactic educational institutes, whilst still earning credits towards your home university qualification. On Earth, you'll be in the political, scientific and cultural heart of Earth, surrounded by the arts, culture, mountains, oceans and lots of great food. There, you'll be greeted by a residential guide alongside your peers, both Garde & Terran, and allocated to a compact, vibrant and safe city that the LONELY PLANEY calls "…the coolest little planet in the Milky Way…"

The Sparrow Academy boasts relationships with over 150 intergalactic educational institutes who we've partnered with over the centuries, but you may choose something outside of these, if you so wish. The Exchange programme, however, is only open to the students of these partnered institutes.

Afterall, we help students get admission to the best intergalactic educational systems on Earth and create lasting relationships amongst peers on our sister planet!

LEARN FROM THE BEST

The Sparrow Academy offers courses in over 130 subjects.

Make the most of your study experience by choosing subjects and courses that are unique to Earth.

Enhance your study abroad by getting involved with our community service and leadership programmes (Lorien Plus and the S.A.L.P.) or join one of over 100 different clubs.

GET AN INTERGALACTIC BUDDY

Meet local students by signing up for the Intergalactic Buddy Programme.

Offering a range of relaxed social events and activities, the International Buddy Programme will let you immerse yourself in terran culture and terran life. If you want to get involved, meet new people and try new experiences, this programme is for you.

ACCOMODATION

Accomodation is guaranteed for international students if you apply by the accomodation application deadline.

There are 15 different institute accomodation options for you to choose from, including both catered and self-catered.

All educational institute accomodation is within easy walking distance of each campus and the central city.

WHY STUDY ABROAD?

95% of the students who were surveyed from past years, said that studying abroad served as a catalyst for increased maturity.
96% of the students reported that they now held an increase in self-confidence and self-image.
And 94% of the students said that it had a lasting impact on their worldview.

"I'm so happy with my experience at the University of Dallas, on Earth and recommend it to anyone whose going abroad for school! My time there was nothing short of incredible and I was sad to see it go"

—Valerie-Weed Paraplu, Sparrow Academy, Lorien
Bachelor of Global Studies

FIRST YEAR ABROAD

Duration: 1 year
Fees: $9000
Schedule: Lectures
Intensity: Full Time Only
Starts: 21 July
Type: Coursework
Complete: 60points (3-4 courses)
Entry Requirements: Achieve the Intergalactic Bachelorette Diploma, or three GCE Advanced Level at Grace C or equivalent and bilingual proficiency (preferably English, French, Latin or Spanish)

CONTACT INFORMATION

The Sparrow Academy: 211A Elkin Spires, Elkin (office hours between 08:00-16:00)
Site: /explore/other-quals/study-abroad-and-exchange/overview
Email: office .lo

"A study abroad programme?" Theodore mused. "Well, that explains what I'm doing here, I guess. And Delilah or Lila, or whatever the hell her name is, must actually be someone doing the programme too…" Attached to that was a letter from someone called a "Greeter", whomever that was. Hopefully, it would explain a little more as to what was going on.

Apartment 2, The Stellar Suites
Vickery Meadows, Dallas, TX

April 2, 1914

Dear Mr Hargreeves,

I would like to express, on behalf of the Greeter Programme, our condolences on the loss of your mother. Many of us knew her personally and her bright smile was well-loved amongst our staff. She will be missed.

As you will have, no doubt, noticed, upon receiving news of your mother's death, Mr Hargreeves fell gravely ill upon the flight. Since you were already closer to Earth than to Lorien, it was decided that you would continue the journey, here and medicine has been sanctioned & provided to you. Should you need more, please contact me as soon as possible.

Attached are the required documents and the ones that you asked for. I hope that you'll find the closure that you're looking for. Again, we extend our deepest sympathies to you and your family during this period of mourning.

Sincerely your Greeter,
H. Andler

Which explained the pill bottle & the sticky note scrawled with: Take two as needed! And those aforementioned documents which turned out to be (forged) birth announcements for Theodore & Lila, respectively. Cutouts from the Dallas Morning News that had his printed on April 1, 1901 and hers on October 1, 1899. There was also a list of known Greeters (should they ever need to get in touch), known Garde (in the same or similar programmes) and a list of known relatives who were apparently in the area. Whether they were really related was another thing, entirely.

According to this, their stay was initially being funded by the Greeters whilst they mourned the loss of Vanya Harkovich-Hargreeves. Apparently, his only living relation—R. Hilde Hargreeves—was a professor at the Sparrow Academy and was often seen travelling abroad, so they might very well run into him, at some point. Whether he knew about Theodore, was still up for debate. As for their Greeter, H. Andler, there was little else there to say about her, other than the fact that she often spent her time working abroad. Understandable, considering her role as a Greeter, he supposed.

Popping two of the little blue pills into his mouth, Theodore picked up one the freshly delivered letters addressed to himself. Just like the other mail, he found himself curious as to what was inside but what he found made his heart skip a beat. He knew she was gone, but this just made it feel all the more real.

Dearest Theodore,

A mother's love is the greatest gift that we'll ever receive.
You were blessed enough to have such a caring lady to call "Mother"
Our sincerest condolences on the passing of your mother.
She was a very special woman and she will be missed by many.
Sending prayers to you and your family
Much love, the Gills.

Most of the other condolences appeared to be much the same as the first card that he'd picked up. But with each envelope that he opened up, it was becoming more and more apparent that his vera was really gone and that he had a life here…Was…was the whole time travel thing just a dream? A fever dream cooked up by the grief of losing his vera? Because, even with all of those Legacies out there, time travel was still a little far fetched to be real.

And that would explain why he'd forgotten about his fellow Garde who he was supposedly living with, wouldn't it? How else could you forget that you weren't as alone as you first thought? But then again, he could still sort of recall things that would not make sense, otherwise. Maybe—if these study abroad pamphlets were to be believed—he knew about those kind of things thanks to studies at the Sparrow Academy?…Studies he couldn't quite recall with certain clarity.

There, lain bare, was everything that Theodore had ever needed to know. That didn't mean it wasn't hard to swallow. 1914, I'm in 1914. Theodore nodded to himself as he shifted through the papers, drinking in every word. Of COURSE I belong in 1914! What was I thinking? 2019? TIME TRAVEL? That's ridiculous! The stuff of fairy stories! A frown pulled at his lips as he realised that if he was truly in 1914 of the Earthen calendar (as all signs pointed to), then he was all alone (save for the other Garde here with him)…maybe he was just feeling homesick? Afterall, he had been sick—sick enough that he couldn't rightly remember the names of anyone else aside from Lila or their Greeter, and his extended family. Which meant no one to get in contact with.

According to A'Vera Katerina & Cêpan, the Fall of Lorien hadn't come around until 1950, when the Mogadorians has invaded the glorious blue planet in search of power & resources. Following that, those who could escape, did; but the travel time between the sister planets took at least a year, even with all of that advanced technology. Meaning that when A'Vera Katerina's shuttle had landed on Earth, it was closer to the mid-to-late 50s, but by then two of the nine Council Ennead would already be dead [Evangeline-Ent in 1954 & Maggie-Zvee in 1957].

If that were true, then they were both deaths that had yet to happen in this timeline. However, Theodore had no clue as to where or how to find them because Lorien had yet to fall and so, they had yet to make the harrowing journey to Earth. But if Theodore remembered right (and he hoped that this was fact & not feverish fiction) then A'Doro—Hilde—was Evangeline-Ent's Cêpan and the owner of a Dallas business known as DS Umbrella MFG Co.

So, if Theodore waited long enough, then A'Doro may very well come to him. Theodore just had to make sure that the old Loric would listen to what he had to say when he did. He could only hope that he would see sense because if Vera's stories were anything to go by, he was a harsh man and not one to be trifled with.

Shaking off those thoughts, Theodore turned to the other sheafs of paper before him. There was nothing there about Theodore's dons [uncles] or ven [aunt], so he could only assume they weren't in their lives because they just didn't care. But there was things such an old DNA test which highlighted the unknown indicator of the Loric gene; Lila's shone more brightly than Theodore's, but they were still there. And then there was the subsequent enrolment letters which stated that both teenagers were to attend Saint Patrick's College & Boarding House in the new school year.

Whatever the case—be it, time travel or a sick fever dream—here he was, in a world on the cusp of war with no way home and no one to aid him. He was alone again it scared him. If those fever dreams were to be believed, then the First World War would begin this year and, according to the flyer he had found when he'd first arrived, they were currently in the middle of an influenza epidemic (which he was thankfully protected against thanks to the shots he'd gotten as a kid).

But before his thoughts could spiral any farther, the sound of a door opening further into the apartment caught his attention. It was soon followed by the sound of strange murmurs; something which had Theodore fleeing for the bed once more. He dove back under the safety of the covers, ignoring the way his body screamed at hime for the abrupt movements as he scooped up Mr Pennycrumb along the way (much to the pup's glee) and prayed that the covers would be enough to protect them. He pulled the blanket back up over his head and hid there like the scared child he was, dog and all.