Kaelin stood outside Professor Aldrin’s study, clutching the neatly penned request in her hands. The parchment was smooth beneath her fingertips, but she knew the weight of what it contained.
She had rewritten it three times, each draft more carefully worded than the last. Even now, doubts clung to her like mist. Would Aldrin see this as overstepping? Would he think she was leveraging her name again?
She exhaled softly, pushing the heavy wooden door open. The scent of parchment, ink, and aged wood filled her senses as she stepped inside. The door clicked shut behind her, muffling the distant hum of the hallway. In the quiet, her pulse felt too loud—an unwelcome reminder that, despite her carefully composed demeanor, she still wasn’t used to asking for things. Especially not from Professor Aldrin. His reputation for precision and scrutiny made her feel like a novice all over again. Most instructors at Lumen Hollow had a flair for drama or at least a touch of arrogance. But Aldrin was different, calm, composed, and as difficult to read as the old runic texts he favored. His approval wasn’t given lightly, and his disapproval left no visible wound, only the slow burn of doubt.
Shelves sagging under the weight of tomes both ancient and new. Sunlight filtered through the stained-glass window, casting shifting colors across the polished wooden desk where Professor Aldrin sat, quill in hand.
He barely looked up as she entered. “Miss Nerys,” he said, his deep voice smooth and expectant. “I assume you have a good reason for interrupting my afternoon study.”
Kaelin straightened her shoulders. “Yes, Professor. I’ve prepared a formal request to obtain more resin from Verdant Spire’s reserves. Our stocks are running low, and I require it for my tincture research.” She laid the parchment on his desk for review.
Aldrin finally set his quill down, steepling his fingers as he studied her. “Verdant Spire does not part with every resource lightly,” he mused. “Their supplies are limited, and they may prioritize their own needs first.”
After a pause, he added more thoughtfully, “But there’s more to this request than supply chains, Miss Nerys. You know, Lumen Hollow and Verdant Spire have always maintained a strong relationship. We don’t just trade materials—we share philosophies, lineage, and legacy. It would do you well to understand the deeper connection between our institutions.”
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Kaelin tilted her head. “Deeper connection?”
Aldrin’s lips twitched into the faintest smile. “While Lumen Hollow trains its students to master the arts of healing, battle, and Skythari command, Verdant Spire acts as the keeper of what came before. Their halls are filled with seeds, scrolls, and secrets most here would dismiss as myth. They believe knowledge should be cultivated, not just applied. In contrast, we forge knowledge into action. They are the roots; we are the reaching branches.” They see themselves as caretakers, whereas we are practitioners.”
She absorbed his words carefully, considering what he meant. She thought of her parents, of their arguments late at night—about bloodlines and duty, though they never said those words aloud. She had never been told what they had argued about that night. But she knew that one day she would have to lead the academy, the weight had always been there, magnified by envious glances and silences. Maybe Verdant Spire had seeds and scrolls, but she carried a legacy in her bones that she still didn't know anything more about.
“And yet, we rely on them.”
“As they do us,” Aldrin corrected. “A relationship of mutual need. Remember that, Miss Nerys. It will serve you well.”
Kaelin nodded slowly. She hadn’t considered the depth of the partnership between the two academies before, but it made sense. They weren’t just trading partners—they were intertwined in ways she hadn’t yet realized.
“Now,” Aldrin continued, handing back the approved request. “Deliver this to the courier, and we shall see if Verdant Spire is willing to part with what you need.”
Kaelin accepted the parchment, offering a grateful nod before turning to leave. Just as she reached the door, Aldrin spoke once more.
“Oh, and Miss Nerys?”
She glanced back.
“Keep your curiosity sharp. It might lead you to places you never expected.”
A shiver ran down her spine, though she wasn’t sure why. Bowing her head slightly, she stepped out, the weight of his words settling over her as she made her way back toward the apothecary wing. Her thoughts were still caught in the echo of Aldrin’s final words. Keep your curiosity sharp. But curiosity had teeth, and it often bit the ones who dared follow it. The corridor outside felt cooler somehow, the sunlight filtered and pale. She hadn’t realized how tightly she’d been holding her breath until her lungs begged for air.
