Orin Alpheratz (15 years old) Location: Solaris Date: Year 873 / Crow Cycle (3) / Bard's Day (9)

  Orin moved briskly, almost at a trot, as the sky slowly darkened above him. His mind focused solely on seeing his friends one last time… on confirming they had made it safely.

  Hours had passed since he’d left Solaris. Though he hadn’t encountered any guards or Church soldiers, the exhaustion of the past days suddenly pressed down on him. He was panting, forced to stop every few minutes to catch his breath.

  “I need to hurry… I hope Sirius and Cor made it,” he muttered, trying to push himself forward.

  The final stretch was the hardest. His legs trembled with every step, his stamina nearly gone. But as the familiar outskirts shifted into the Academy grounds, the sound of many voices reached him.

  He slowed and crept forward cautiously until he could see several students leaving the Academy’s main entrance, heading toward the dormitories with tense expressions. Orin also noticed Church guards stationed nearby.

  Taking advantage of the crowd, he blended in as the guards finished their patrol near the gate. Risky—he wore the same Knights’ Course uniform as the others, but his was battered and filthy.

  “I can’t believe the Emperor accepted the Church’s terms,” one student said ahead of him.

  “Even Kasora, who has royal blood, couldn’t oppose them. I have a bad feeling…” replied another.

  “But maybe the Church is right," a third added. "If Minoris really plans to invade us, better safe than sorry, right?”

  Orin kept walking, absorbing fragments of conversation as he fought his way upstream through the flow of students until he reached the entrance hall.

  Inside, more students gathered in uneasy clusters, whispering. Church guards patrolled between them. He had to stay invisible.

  He slipped past two groups of murmuring students and managed to avoid the gaze of a pair of passing guards. But farther ahead, he spotted another soldier from the group that had escorted Schedar during the Academy’s takeover—the stern, bald knight. For a heartbeat, Orin thought their eyes met.

  Heart pounding, he ducked behind a cluster of students.

  “Did he see me?” he wondered, panic rising. “If he alerts Schedar… I won’t be able to find the others.”

  He risked a glance, but the soldier had vanished.

  Just as he exhaled in relief, a hand tapped his shoulder.

  Startled, Orin spun around, instinctively reaching for his dagger, only to find not a Church soldier… but Sirius.

  “Sirius! You almost scared me to death…” Orin hissed, still catching his breath.

  “Sorry,” Sirius murmured, raising both hands slightly. “I didn’t want to call your name with guards patrolling everywhere. I spotted you from afar and thought it’d be better to bring you to us quietly. We’ve been waiting.”

  Orin’s tension melted into exhausted relief.

  “I’m glad you made it back,” he said. “For a moment, I thought my time in Solaris had ended right there.”

  “We didn’t have the smoothest escape either,” Sirius replied with a weary exhale. “We had to split from Altair and the others. But the road to the Academy was pretty calm.”

  “I figured as much,” Orin said. “So Altair and his group aren’t with you?”

  “No.” Sirius shook his head. “We separated inside the city. They said they need to wait for their smuggler —the one handling the sorcerers— to return. They also told me to pass you a message: wait for them at the West Gate. But if you see too many soldiers… run for Dhamarr. They’ll find you there.”

  “…Understood.” Orin’s expression tightened. The idea of heading toward Dhamarr alone didn’t sit well with him, not after everything that had happened.

  “But enough talk,” Sirius said, lowering his voice as he glanced around. “Come on. The others are waiting.”

  “The others?” Orin echoed, raising a brow.

  “You’ll see.”

  They slipped into a side corridor, leaving behind the worried chatter of the entrance hall. Sirius kept checking over his shoulder, alert to any Church guards.

  “There was a meeting not long ago,” Sirius explained as they approached a row of rooms. “All the Knights’ Course and Warriors’ Course students attended. They… officially announced that the Emperor has granted the Church of Luminia authority as ‘protectors’ of the empire.”

  Orin remained silent. He didn’t need the announcement, he’d heard the bells, the chants, the soldiers celebrating. The memory still made his stomach twist.

  “But we only arrived moments before it ended, so we missed most of the details,” Sirius continued. “Anyway… it’s this room.”

  He opened the door.

  Inside, Cor sat with four other students. Orin recognized three immediately: Pyon —Sirius’s younger brother— and Rick and Padus, fellow Knights’ Course students he had briefly spoken to during the Hero’s Trial candidate announcement. But he didn't know the fourth student.

  Sirius stepped inside and closed the door behind them.

  “Now that we’re all here,” he said, “we should fill Orin in on what happened during the meeting.”

  “Orin, things at the Academy are more strained than we expected,” Cor began, but Sirius immediately cut in.

  “Wait, wait! Before we jump into that… you remember my brother Pyon and his friends, right?” Sirius said, pointing toward the first-years huddled together.

  Orin nodded, still unsure why Pyon and the others were involved in any of this.

  “But you probably don’t know Loki,” Sirius continued, gesturing to a tall boy with spiky black hair and a composed, trustworthy air. “First-year Warriors’ Course. He’s Rick’s cousin.”

  “I see… nice to meet you,” Orin said, extending his hand.

  Loki accepted the handshake with a polite bow.

  “Everything we know about the meeting comes from these four,” Sirius explained.

  “Are you finished?” Cor shot him a look. “We should focus. Orin doesn’t have time to waste here at the Academy.”

  “Alright, alright…” Sirius sighed dramatically, stepping aside with an exaggerated flourish to give Cor the floor.

  Cor crossed her arms, expression firm. “Orin, I imagine you already know about the Church’s victory, so I’ll skip to what matters. During the assembly just now, a student openly challenged the Church of Luminia and its authority here on Academy grounds.”

  “What?” Orin stiffened. After witnessing the Church’s behavior in Solaris, he couldn’t tell whether that person was courageous… or suicidal. “Who was it?”

  “That’s the important part,” Cor said, her eyes narrowing with intensity. “She’s a fourth-year Warrior… and she’s the Emperor’s niece.”

  “The Emperor’s niece studies here?” Orin blinked. It felt like Solaris Academy was determined to surprise him at every turn.

  “That’s right,” Sirius said. “And her younger brother is here too... actually, he’s one of Pyon’s classmates in the Knights’ Course.”

  Pyon and the others nodded to confirm it.

  Orin fell silent for a moment. If he’d known members of the Imperial family were so close, he might have tried to approach them — if only to learn something, anything, about Andromeda’s whereabouts. But until today, he had never heard a word about them.

  “I had no idea the Imperial family had relatives studying here… and I don’t recall anyone with the Imperial surname either,” Orin said.

  “That’s because they’re the children of the Emperor’s sister,” Sirius explained. “They carry their father’s name—he’s a powerful figure in the Kingdom of Armada. They weren’t even raised in Solaris.”

  Cor took over again. “The point is: during the assembly, they were the ones who confronted the Church. It caused a huge uproar. And because of their royal blood, none of the Church soldiers dared to touch them. From what the students say, Schedar looked ready to explode.”

  Sirius sighed. “And now rumors are spreading everywhere. Some students plan to form a group to oppose the Church’s presence here in the Academy.”

  Cor’s expression darkened. “If that happens… things will get ugly. Very ugly. Anyone who stands against the Church won’t have a peaceful life here.”

  “But don’t worry,” Sirius said with a confident grin. “If it comes to kicking the Church’s ass, I’ll be the first to sign up. By the time you return to the Academy, Schedar and his lackeys won’t even be a bad memory.”

  “So that’s what this is about…” Orin murmured. “All of you are thinking of joining the resistance movement, aren’t you?”

  “Not all of us,” Cor replied, her expression stiffening. “And that’s… the other thing we needed to talk to you about. It’s something else Schedar mentioned during the meeting.”

  Orin straightened. “What is it?”

  “The Church of Luminia has been searching for sorcerers in the villages across the empire,” Cor said darkly. “And when they don’t find the ones they’re looking for… innocent people pay the price for ‘concealment.’” She paused. “That’s why we wanted to ask you a favor.”

  Orin looked around the room. The mood had sunk instantly—everyone’s faces had taken on a grim, uneasy cast.

  “Alright,” Orin said quietly. “What do you need?”

  “These two… Rick and Loki,” Sirius began, glancing at both boys. “They’re from a town called Balabar.”

  Balabar. The name struck Orin immediately. The far-western edge of the Solaris Empire, brushing against the borders of the Dhamarr Desert. A frontier town once rumored to be Star Children territory, reclaimed by the Empire long ago.

  “I know Balabar,” Orin said sharply. “Don’t tell me they’ve attacked that town too.”

  “According to Schedar… it seems they have,” Sirius said. “That’s why these two are planning to return home to check on their families and the situation. Since you’re heading toward Dhamarr anyway, we thought it’d be safer if you all traveled together.”

  “I’m fine with that,” Orin replied. “But how are they planning to go back? The moment they leave the Academy, it’ll be considered desertion.”

  “We don’t plan on returning,” Loki said firmly. His eyes held a hard, unwavering resolve. “If our village is under threat from the Church… we’ll stay and defend it. You can rest there too, if you need to recover before continuing your journey.”

  Orin studied their faces—young, but resolute, consumed by worry yet refusing to waver. The weight of their determination struck a chord in him.

  “…Alright,” Orin said at last. “But then we leave immediately. It’s not safe for me to stay here any longer, and once tonight’s celebrations end, the Church will have soldiers patrolling the roads again. It should already be dark—perfect time to slip out unnoticed.”

  Both boys nodded without hesitation.

  “Good,” Cor said, stepping back. “Then there’s no time to waste. You need to be careful, Orin. There are still plenty of guards roaming the academy.”

  “You’re right,” Orin said, pulling the door open.

  “I’ll walk you out,” Sirius added. “I have to head back to the dorms anyway.”

  The group quietly left the room, navigating the Academy’s corridors with deliberate caution. The halls were quieter than usual—most Church soldiers were likely still celebrating their ‘victory’—but even so, there were enough lingering guards to force the group into detours and narrow escapes.

  After several winding turns, they finally reached the main hall. Orin, walking at the front, froze the moment he spotted the silhouette standing by the entrance.

  A tall figure. Arms crossed. Expression carved from stone.

  Hector.

  Exactly the person Orin had hoped not to encounter tonight.