LOCATION: DORMITORY BUILDING 238
PLANET: LAPIS DIVINUS, ORION LUMINARY INSTITUTE
ARRIVAL DAY
Kaela forced herself to pull her eyes away from the placid lake, reflecting the evening sky like polished glass.
She followed Navinia inside dormitory building 238.
“The dorms all have names,” Navinia said. “They were named by the first class who occupied them on this planet when the school was first relocated here so long ago.”
The lobby opened before them, and several couches and chairs were interspersed throughout the room. Most had square tables next to them with lamps.
It all felt very familiar to Kaela. Which, of course, made it strange on this alien world.
“This building is called Sapphire Gaze.”
“That’s beautiful,” Kaela said, following her guide through the lobby.
A few dozen students were lounging in different seats, some on their tablets and others staring into space, clearly working through their interfaces.
At the far end of the lobby, they turned left and entered a long hallway. At the last room on the right, Navinia stopped.
“This is yours,” she said. “Room 1112. Go ahead and raise your hand to the door. Your credentials should be intact already.”
There was a shape of a handprint on the center of the door at shoulder level. Kaela placed her hand on it, and the door popped open as if it was automatically unlatched.
“Very good,” Navinia said, pushing the door open and entering first.
“This is your common area,” she said. “There is a restroom for guests, a kitchenette, and storage for food items. You can see there are couches and chairs here also.”
She walked straight ahead and pulled the blinds open. A perfect view of the lake welcomed Kaela, and she felt calm wash over her once again.
“When the blinds are closed, you will have access to an entertainment system that features hundreds of thousands of channels from multiversal broadcasts.”
She bristled for a moment.
“But it’s turned off for the first month for first years. I think they don’t want people getting lost in the variety.”
Kaela laughed.
“I could see how that might happen.”
“To the left and right of the common room,” Navinia continued, “are the private quarters. Your roommate has the one to the right, and yours is here. You know how to open the door.”
Kaela nodded and placed her hand on the mark. The door opened and she stepped inside.
An oversized bed was against the far wall. To the right, another set of blinds covered the floor-to-ceiling windows. There was a viewing panel on the wall opposite the bed.
“The entertainment system can be accessed here as well,” Navinia said, continuing with her tour. “And over here is the private restroom, shower and bath.”
She led Kaela into the back room.
A beautifully appointed tub and shower sat side by side.
“I’m not sure how often your species bathes, but cleanliness is encouraged here,” Navinia said. “Some of the species at the Institute have extremely sensitive senses of smell.”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Kaela laughed.
“I bathe every one-to-two days, so no problem there.”
They finished with the tour and walked back to the common room, where a tall elven male stood. He was looking out the window at the lake and turned toward the two as they entered.
Navinia smiled.
“Milanon Stormsong, this is Kaela Sirova, your roommate.”
Milanon, who was more than six inches taller than Kaela, bowed deeply at the waist with a graceful flourish. To Kaela, it looked like a gesture out of an age long past.
“I am pleased to meet you, Miss Sirova. I am Milanon Stormsong, from Namarien.”
“Wait,” Kaela said. “Namarien, as in the country on Evirond?”
Milanon smiled proudly.
“I see our reputation precedes us. Excellent. Yes, that is correct. And where do you hail from?”
“I am from Earth,” Kaela said. “We are a recently inducted planet.”
Milanon bristled. “Oh… well. Congratulations, I suppose.”
Navinia laughed.
“Milanon, I caution you to not underestimate Earth.”
She turned toward Kaela, then back to Milanon.
“Or Kaela herself. You will find her skilled, wise, and kind, and I hope you two will get along well. The Framework makes the room assignments, and there is always a reason.”
Milanon bowed again, although not quite as low this time.
“I apologize for my candor. I am usually more a master of my emotions and manners. I am the first student Evirond has sent to the Orion Luminary Institute for thousands of years. There is a lot of pressure on my shoulders.”
He looked directly at Kaela.
“I will do better. This, I vow to you.”
Kaela chuckled nervously.
“There’s no need for all of that. I look forward to getting to know you. I have been to Namarien before. It’s a beautiful country.”
Navinia clapped her hands.
“Well, Kaela, this concludes our tour. I suggest you two get some dinner at the restaurant nearby and get some rest. You are both weakened from the integration. Food is fuel, remember that.”
She took a few steps toward the door and turned once again.
“Your class choices should be available to you now. Kaela, I suggest looking through the combat courses first, as they will take up much of your budget if you select them. You can build the rest of your curriculum around that.”
“That’s good advice, thank you,” Kaela said.
After Navinia left, Kaela and Milanon took her advice and had dinner at the nearest restaurant, which was only two blocks away.
They talked over roasted meats and cheeses, sipping ale and getting to know one another.
Milanon was an adept storyteller, and Kaela was captivated by his background. Being from a long line of Bards, he spoke with a lyrical precision that just sounded like art rolling off his tongue.
When they returned to their room in the Sapphire Gaze building, he retrieved a lute from his room and played a ballad for her. He called it The Legend of the Storm, and claimed it was the tale of his family’s history.
They had left the door open when they entered, and as Milanon began strumming his lute, a crowd gathered in the hallway. As he played, they slowly entered the common area of room 1112.
The Legend of the Storm
When moonlight crowned the emerald spires
Of Namarien’s silver throne,
And whispers crept through courtly fires
Of shadows overthrown,
A tempest stirred beyond the vale,
Where black-winged riders flew.
They came beneath a starless gale
To claim what no one knew.
The princess of the Summer Line,
With dawn-fire in her hair,
Was seized beneath the cypress vine
By hands of midnight air.
Steel had failed and spells had cracked,
The warding runes lay torn,
Till one lone bard stepped through the tract
And faced the rising storm.
No sword he bore, no armor worn,
No sigil burned his skin.
Only strings by starlight drawn
And breath held deep within.
He struck a chord of trembling sky,
A note both fierce and bright,
And thunder answered from on high
As lightning split the night.
The winds bent low to hear his plea,
The clouds obeyed his cry;
Lightning crowned his melody
And lit the midnight sky.
Rain fell hard as drum and shield,
Fire fled in shame,
And storm itself was forced to yield
To music’s spoken name.
The riders broke. The darkness fled.
The princess stood unbound.
Where fear had stalked and blood had spread,
Now silence filled the ground.
The tempest bowed to mortal song,
To rhythm, breath, and art,
For power flows where notes are strong
And courage guards the heart.
So sworn that night by royal decree,
Before the courtly flame:
“Let Stormsong be our melody,
And honor bear their name.
For when the realm meets claw or chain
And hope begins to wane,
Call forth the line who sings the rain,
And storms shall rise again.”
“Call forth the line who sings the rain,
And storms shall rise again.”
The final notes lingered in the air like distant thunder.
As Milanon repeated the final chorus, all 68 of his fellow students who had listened to the haunting melody received messages.
---
You have been inspired by Milanon Stormsong.
[The Legend of the Storm]
Effect: +5% to all stats
Duration: 12 hours
---
It seemed Kaela’s new roommate possessed far more than just simple talent.