With lunch finished, the group made its way slowly to their homeroom class. Along the way, they stopped by the holodeck and made a short stop at Innes's request. He wanted to make sure they could practice together or if they needed to reserve time at the bigger holodeck. Fortunately, they lucked out; the maximum group size the normal holodeck could accommodate was ten. While it could serve fifty times as many people as once, it could only be simulated for any single group to a headcount of ten. Once he checked that, they continued on their way to Morris's class. He was sitting in the front row of his own class like usual when they came in early. Gatrie called down to him, "Ser Morris, why do you always seem to be in here?"
"I've learned a type of specialized magic called teleportation," Morris replied without turning around, "When you all step foot into my classroom, I teleport from my office to here and back once you have left."
"Wait, you can teleport? That's very advanced magik, isn't it?" Tana asked.
"I don't think I would call it advanced," Morris corrected as he got up and turned to face them, "It is very specialized, so it is rare because of that fact alone."
Tethys asked, "Can you teleport anywhere then? How do you know where you're going?"
"I can only teleport to places that have been marked by my seal. Right before I land on the other side of my teleportation, I can look around and narrow down exactly where I go," Morris briefly answered.
"That's pretty handy, Ser Morris," Gatrie lauded, "Are you going to teach us how to do that?"
Morris shuck his head, "Teleportation is a restricted magik. Can you imagine how chaotic it would be if people just teleported where they needed to be?" The group didn't agree with his logic but knew they had hit a roadblock. So, they sat down in the back and waited for the rest of the class to file in.
Once all the students were there, Morris began his lesson on the great battles and tactics of the war. Though most of the class groaned, Morris let the class know that this section would take at least two weeks as it was important to talk about the failures from last time and how humanity could learn from its mistakes. He also let them know that they needed to take notes and pay attention because a written assessment would take place at the end of the section. This caused even more groans from the class, but Emory wasn't bothered by it in the least. She was good at passively listening to the class while she worked on what she wanted.
While she was in class, she would draw stick figures to illustrate different ways she could fight
given the three open hand strikes she knew. When class was finished, the group made their way to the library before dinner. Emory, however, returned to the dorm room and picked up her library book and parents' journal. During class, Emory and Sam had passed notes back and forth and decided to bring the boys up to speed about the Fae. They picked a secluded table and waited for Emory to return. Sam, Tana, and Tethys brought Gatrie and Innes up to speed while they were waiting. Naturally, the boys were shocked by the information, though still less than Sam was initially. "Sorry that took so long," Emory apologized as she walked up to the table, "People are lining up for dinner already."
"Is it true that there's a secret race of people who taught humans magik?" Gatrie blurted out.
Emory nodded as she elaborated, "Yep. Well, if this book is accurate." She put the book on the table; Gatrie snatched it up immediately. His excitement quickly turned to discontent when he found he couldn't read the print.
"What gives?" Gatrie complained, "This book is in a different language. How can you read it?"
"It seems this book is written in some other language, one not known by even the database here," Emory laughed, "But for some reason, I can read it when I focus my magik." She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them to reveal their crystal blue hue that replaced the normal green she had. The boys at the table leaned back in their chairs when she did this.
"I'll read a bit and then summarize that section for you all, if that's okay," Emory said definitively. Gatrie sighed while the rest of the group nodded and started chatting with each other about how their fighting classes had gone. Emory started on the section entitled "Hexbloods" but felt anxious. "Am I a Hexblood? Why didn't my parents explain any of this to me?" she thought uneasily. When she had read for fifteen minutes and turned a couple of pages, she put down the book for a moment, signaling to the others that she was ready to sum up what she read. Gatrie and Sam were on the edge of their seats as Emory started.
Hexbloods were born from the union of either a Fae and a human or another Hexblood and a human. In many ways, they were like the Fae. Like their heritage would suggest, Hexbloods also varied greatly in height, but, like the Fae, they had perfect skin and a fit build. Over time, it was hypothesized that they would develop pointed ears like their Fae parents; however, the book mentioned, due to their rarity, it was unknown if that was true or not. Hexbloods also healed from injuries faster, reacted to stimuli, and lived longer lives than humans as well, though they were not biologically immortal like the Fae. Most importantly though, Hexbloods had a natural well of magik like the Fae. Surprisingly, some reports recounted Hexbloods actually had a higher capacity for magik than even the Fae; however, there were very few examples of Hexbloods to compare against the Fae.
As the book indicated several times, Hexbloods were rare throughout the world due to their limited heritage. The book guessed that even time would not drastically change the number of Hexbloods on Earth for two major reasons. First, unions were rare initially between the Fae and humans, limiting the starting number of possible marriages. Second, Hexbloods, at least those studied by this book, were generally solitary people. It could be due to their unique nature, but it was more likely because of their power. The Hexbloods the book had looked into were the strongest mages on the planet at that time. In fact, according to this book, the Council of Witches was originally found by a Hexblood named Merlin Aurelias.
When Emory repeated what the book had said, Sam shrieked, "Merlin Aurelias did start the Council of Witches! He was the first Supreme Warlock!"
"Okay so?" Tana scoffed, "What's the big deal?"
"You're such an idiot sometimes, Tana. You all probably won't know this but Cassandra Black or better known as Cassandra Aurelias is the current Supreme Witch. As in she is his descendant!" Sam exclaimed.
"Wait, you don't think," Innes followed up, "You don't think she's a Hexblood too, do you?"
Emory raised a finger, "Actually, as long as the last name isn't just a coincidence, she has to be. The book says that being born from a Hexblood makes you a Hexblood."
"It would honestly explain a lot of odd discrepancies with her," Sam nodded as the pieces were all coming together in her head, "It would explain the Arcane sphere she has and explain her appearance as well. She became Supreme Witch as a young woman over fifty years ago, yet she doesn't look any older than her mid-thirties. Plus, it sounds like Hexbloods are capable of incredible magik, something she is well known for."
"Does that mean you're related to Lady Black?" Tethys asked cautiously.
"I don't know," Emory replied quietly, "I grew up around my father's family. Now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever met my mother's family. Maybe is all I can say."
Innes redirected them, "Does it mention any other Hexbloods by name?"
"Merlin had two sons, Sain and Kent," Emory read straight from the book, "Sain had two children, but Kent had none. Those are all it names; of course we can't verify the age of this book, so it could have been finished before there were more." Everyone pondered the parts that stuck out to them while Emory continued reading ahead.
Strangely enough, the book had limited knowledge about the Aurelias family, but stranger still was that no other families were named. Similarly, they were said to be on Earth but gave no specific location. And being part human meant they were part of human civilization, though it did mention that Merlin had a place of authority next to a human king. Then it started detailing the relationship between the Fae and humans. Being as powerful as they were, the Fae were treated like gods among humanity. Fae seemed to visit several places on Earth, bearing gifts of magik to anyone they came across. However, that doesn't mean they were universally liked as some people saw them as heralds of peace while others saw them as envoys of chaos.
Those that saw the Fae as peaceful told stories of mystical beings that bettered the lives of the communities they stayed in. Beings that had the power to transform cities overnight. The only demand these beings had was that the people bring them stories. It was a small price to pay for all the wonderful gifts and knowledge the beings gave to the settlements they lived in.
On the other hand, those that saw the Fae as agents of chaos described scenes of idyllic establishments going into an uproar over the Fae. These creatures would come in and change society just by their very nature, uprooting the proud traditions of one place and replacing them with a system of freedom. Naturally, the ones who spread this story were oppressive rulers and tyrants.
But after some event or passage of time, the Fae left Earth. Where they went or why they left are still questions left unanswered. But two major things happened shortly after they left Earth: humans cast magik and Hexbloods started popping up. Though it was possible and probable both events happened while the Fae still inhabited Earth, they didn't become apparent until after the Fae left. Emory paused to check the time and quickly shut the book. "We'll have to read further later. There's only twenty minutes left until the cafeteria closes," Emory spouted with urgency, "I'll tell you what I read when we get food."
The group rushed to the cafeteria and made it through the empty line quickly. Everyone was anxious to hear what Emory had read. After they sat down, Emory told the group what she had read. They chewed their food in silence, thinking about what she had told them.
Sam was the first to speak, "I think the Fae were good beings, or at least free spirited." The group nodded their heads.
"I agree," Tana said, "But I really want to know why they left. It had to be for something big, right?"
"But what is big to them? Could we even imagine such a thing?" Innes pondered out loud.
"I can think of something big enough to draw them away," Emory brooded, "The threat of an invasion. If something was going to come here, what if they went to meet it instead?" This somber thought silenced everyone through the rest of dinner. The mood lingered as they headed back to their dorm rooms; in fact, the girls got ready for bed and sat on the edge of their beds.
Before they lay down, Tethys whispered, "What if the threat was the Mantoan? If it was, does that mean the Fae lost?"
"We don't know it was the Mantoan," Emory pointed out, "But the threat of them returning is terrifying enough for me to want to train harder." The girls nodded before saying goodnight. Emory tossed and turned while she dreamed of a force strong enough to grieve the Fae.