“Alive,” Marron said.

Yuriko’s heart lifted, joy suffusing her body that it spilt over her Anima and her skin started glowing faintly. Kato and Rami stared alternatingly at her and their eldest brother.

“You’d be damn useful underground,” Marron muttered in a deadpan voice before continuing. “We discovered traces and determined that they were alive, or at least Da was, as of the twenty-ninth or thirtieth.”

“That’s very good news.” Kato jumped to his feet but staggered against the dining table. “Urk.”

“Any news on where he is and when he can come back?” Yuriko asked anxiously, the previous elation tapering down. She managed to control her Animus and pull in the strands.

“What was that about?” Marron asked first, pointing at her arm.

“My Animus. When it circulates close to my skin, that happens.”

“Circulates?”

“When will Da return?” Rami chimed in.

“Oh, uh, we don’t know. The trace item is already with Vagaris. They will figure something out. As long as he’s alive, he’ll come back,” Marron answered. “Yuri, you said something about your Animus circulating? Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you circulating it around your body in the first place?”

“Don’t you remember how my Facet works?”

Marron stared at her for a couple of seconds. “What good would your skin glowing do you?”

“Er, that wasn’t intentional.”

His only reply to that was a raised eyebrow and an odd look. Yuriko shrugged but didn’t think much beyond that. He looked at Kato instead and his lips pursed disapprovingly.

“Hungover?”

Grimacing, Kato nodded.

“Anyway, both of you will leave on the forty-fifth? Good, there’s just enough time to finish some arrangements. Yuri, Kato, we need to arrange your residence, at least until you’re formally enrolled. Then you can either stay in the dormitories or rent an apartment in the city.”

He sat in front of Yuriko and started explaining what she could expect in Rumiga City.

“The Academies are located in the Upper Ring, quite close to its Central District. The Ducal Palaces are located on either side of the Chanel. I don’t recommend going into the Lower Ring, you wouldn’t like it there, too crowded. As it were, the entrances to the Beneath can be found in the Mid and Lower Ring, and it's highly likely part of the tests you need to pass involves going in there,” Marron continued rattling off what he remembered about the capital. “Things are at least twice more expensive there than here, so be careful of your coins. Don’t trust just anyone, you hear!”

Yuriko endured Marron’s nagging for half an hour while Rami listened beside her with wide eyes. Kato had begged off after eating lunch.

Marron wound down after a few more minutes and looked at her thoughtfully. “Well, with Da not being around, we’re in a bit of a quandary with funds. I can only send a little bit of coins for you every fortnight.”

Yuriko shook her head. “You don’t have to do that, I have some savings.”

“That won’t be enough. The enrolment fees alone would drain your savings. Don’t worry, Da and Mum have funds set aside for that, although,” he hummed with worry, “because of that letter I’m not sure you’d be allowed to enrol in any other course except what Mum wants but,” he sighed, “if you manage to get into the Elite class, not only will you not have to worry about the fees, they’ll even give you a stipend.”

“How much would that be?” Yuriko asked curiously.

“I wouldn’t know. Neither Kato nor I managed to get there. You realize this is a great challenge right? You could just follow along with Mum’s wish. Vagaris doesn’t take just Agaza alumni.”

Yuriko shook her head. “I don’t want to be a pencil pusher or a bean counter.”

“I don't think you'd be relegated to that. Your Facet isn’t suited for administrative work. At least, I don’t think so? Maybe your next Facet would be.”

Yuriko kicked his shin. “Don’t.”

“Haha, fine, I apologise. But it's not just administrative staff and warriors that make up a legion. There are Airship Pilots, Colossus Cores, Field Sorcerers and Spellweavers, among other professions. Any of those will allow you to pursue your dream.” Marron sighed. “You don’t have to be a ranged striker like Da.”

“It’s not the same,” Yuriko sighed. Virgil had defeated a Wave by himself, striking down a Chaos Lord from a league away. It was unlikely that she would be able to do the same, not without spending years more mastering the basics that the proper Heritage would have covered for her.

Although…perhaps if she learned advanced Animus techniques meant for ranged combat, the Golden Silhouette would convert it into his brand of technique and teach her. Would it have a similar effect as having the Davar Heritage? No sooner had the thought crossed her mind that she threw it out. He didn’t look like he had any ranged techniques. For better or worse, her current box of tools consisted of body strengthening techniques and melee techniques.

“Go with what you’re good at. Why don’t you play to your strengths?” Heron’s words unexpectedly surfaced in her mind. Perhaps she wouldn’t be able to take out someone from a league away but she could do so to anyone who came near.

Either way, she needed to be in Agaza and either take the officer’s training courses or the specialist courses. It was only a matter of which path the Academy would let her take, pending the results of her exam.

“Anyway, I have to go.” Yuriko grabbed the plates and utensils, delivering them to the sink. “I have to register for the early exams and I have to visit the Imperial Bank.”

“Leave those, I’ll handle them,” Kato said.

“Thanks!” She went upstairs to change clothes. She picked a modest white, button-down short-sleeved shirt with blue maze patterns along the sides and down the front, grey slacks and black loafers.

The Imperial Bank was a few buildings away from the Temple in Faron’s Square, a few minutes walk from home. The midday sun felt nice and warm on her skin. The sidewalks were intermittently shaded by trees about three or four paces high though with the sun nearly directly overhead, it was of limited help.

Soon enough, she arrived at the square and headed to the bank. It was a small, unassuming building, two storeys high with a pristinely white marble exterior with green highlights. As she came closer, she noticed protective runescript tucked out of direct sight.

The doors swung open with a slight touch of her hand and a blast of cold air swept over her. She felt a chill deep inside her, though it quickly dispelled, leaving her blinking in confusion.

“Welcome to the Imperial Bank.” A pleasant voice said to her right, uncomfortably close. It was a young man, maybe a bit older than Marron, with a pert nose and fluffy light brown hair. “MissDavar, a pleasure to see you. How may the Bank help you today?”

“Oh, you know me?” Yuriko blurted out.

The young man’s smile widened. “Very few in the Central District don’t know who you are, Miss Davar. Zuldayn Madoc at your service.” He gave a small bow.

“Why?

Zuldayn stared at her for a moment. “Your distinctive look and beauty is hard to miss. And your distinguished father is the commander of the local militia and one of the few Knight-Captains.”

Yuriko felt her face redden. “Oh. Uhm, thanks. I suppose.” She cleared her throat, “I’m here because I will leave for Rumiga City in a few days and would like to have my funds available through the bank there.”

“Of course. This way please.” He led her through the antechamber and into a grand chamber that was taller than it was wide. The ceiling was painted with a mural depicting scenes from the history of the Empire. The centrepiece was of a likeness of the Empress, her facial features obscured by her armour and clothing. Thirteen green blades floated behind her countenance, each sword unique in its features. The centre blade’s cross-guard and hilt looked like a rose blossom while the blade itself looked like it was covered in thorns.

There were dozens of doors along the chamber leading into a smaller chamber where the bank’s clientele could discuss their business in perfect privacy. Glowing runescript on the wooden doors ensured that no sound would escape, while also indicating that those rooms were occupied.

Zuldayn led her into an unoccupied chamber, about five paces by five, closed the door behind him and slotted a black jade card he plucked from his pocket into a holder in the middle. This activated the privacy runescript and turned on the small clear crystal chandelier to shed warm yellowish light. He walked behind a desk and indicated for her to be seated on an armchair before it.

Once they were both comfortable, Zuldayn pulled out a crystal tablet and pressed his thumbs on either side, activating the Animatech database. He flipped the tablet and presented it to her.

“Please channel your Animus into your fingertips and press them on the screen.”

Yuriko pressed her left hand on the screen, with her fingertips glowing gold. The screen lit up and she felt a minuscule amount of her Animus drawn in.

“Thank you.”

He looked at the tablet for a while. Since the screen faced away from her, Yuriko couldn’t see what he was doing. She wasn’t worried though. The Imperial Bank had a sterling reputation of honour and integrity.

“Let me clarify, you wish to avail of your funds through a different branch, specifically the branch in Rumiga City?”

“Yes.”

“Very well. Please come back tomorrow afternoon. Your transfer papers should be ready by then. Have a nice day, Miss Davar.”

Yuriko stood up and nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Madoc.”

“You’re welcome. May I help you with anything else?”

“No, thank you.”

Zuldayn opened the door for her, taking his card out of the slot to deactivate the protections. A couple of men were walking into the grand hall when she came out; she recognised one of them as a local merchant while the other looked oddly familiar, though she was sure she'd never met him before.

The merchant, Mr. Morgan, if she remembered correctly, led the other man into the end of the hall where the conference rooms were. She nodded to them in greeting and they nodded back. The other man’s eyes lingered on her face for half a heartbeat more than Mr. Morgan’s though she paid it no mind.

Her next errand would be at the campus to formally register for the Academies’ examinations. She headed to the Circuit Tram’s waiting shed while idly wondering if she should have asked Krystal to accompany her.

The waiting shed had a half dozen people waiting in line. When the Circuit Tram arrived, she boarded when it was her turn, dropping three copper pennies in the till before she found an empty seat near the back. The next stop, the empty spot next to her, was occupied by a middle-aged woman.

Yuriko stared out the window, letting the breeze ruffle her fringe. The town had quickly recovered from the assault and after the hullabaloo of the Harvest Festival, people once again focused on repairing the broken homes in the outlying districts. The harvest this year was lean, in terms of wheat, barley, and other grains anyway.

The town needed to import grain during the year but Yuriko didn’t know how much would be needed. At least, remembering the price of Chaos shards and dust, there was enough coin to pay for it. She heard that Northwold had been decimated and, while she hadn’t been more than acquaintances with Gilda and Keir, the two kids who came from that village, she nevertheless offered a prayer to the Ancestors for them.

When her stop came, she excused herself to her seatmate and made her way off the Circuit Tram. The mid-afternoon sun painted the town with its lurid rays. While she wasn’t bothered by the heat, the glare was something else.

The shade of the campus building was a welcome relief. She headed to the registrar where the attendant there was playing Tracer Board with a colleague. The board they were using was the more advanced version from the one the twins and she had wagered on. There were twice as many nodes and the duration of each turn was about forty seconds.

“Excuse me,” Yuriko said once they finished a round, “I’d like to register for the Agaza’s elite level entrance examinations.”

“Oh, you surprised me there!” the woman exclaimed, having jumped nearly a pace off her chair. She patted her chest while her companion snickered to herself. “Oh, I’m fine. What was that dearie?”

“I’d like to register for Agaza’s Academy’s elite level entrance examinations.”

“Are you sure? Those examinations are brutal. Anyway, I need to access your records, what’s your name?”

“Yuriko Mishala Davar.”

“Oh, Miss Davar, was it?” She accessed a crystal screen for the database. She frowned after a moment. “It says here your course has already been logged by your guardian. There’s no need for you to take exams.”

“What course was logged?” Yuriko asked, her back suddenly damp with nervous sweat.

“It says here you’ve been enrolled at Sharom Academy. Preparatory Sorcery and Spellweaving.”

“Eh? But I don’t even have a single clue how to do either of that!”

“That’s what the classes are for, dearie.”

“And I don’t want to learn how to do those either!”

“Ah, so it was like that,” the woman muttered. “Hmmm. Oh, it says here that if you wish to attempt the elite examinations, you are to take all four, not just Agaza’s.”

“Fine.”

“That’s the spirit, dear! Well, you have to be at Rumiga City for these, before the Fifty-fourth Day of Fire. Here’s the examination schedules and venues. I’ll need your Animus brand for these. “ She presented the tablet to Yuriko who did the same things she did at the bank. “Thank you. Come back tomorrow for the exam tickets. Have a nice day!”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Yuriko was well on her way back to the waiting shed when she realized that her mum had basically predicted that she would want to take the elite exams and thereby forced her to take all of them. She sighed to herself. What was her mum’s real goal here?

All of a sudden, she felt that dealing with Shillogu and the Chaos Lords were much easier than dealing with Mum.