Arenya Azural, newest accepted student at Ba’al Cedric’s Academy of Adventurers, grinned as she finished the morning prayers. She gingerly unwrapped the straps from her fingers, then those bound around her forehead. Removing the small cubes - one against her forehead, the other on her forearm - Arenya placed them into their velvet-lined case and closed it, before putting them in her bag with her other valued possessions. Mayhaps it wasn't normal for women to use them, but her family had always pushed the boundaries just a bt.

With that complete, she turned to her next obligation: breakfast. Her azure tail waved as she stabbed her fork into the first pancake in the stack, muttered a few words of blessing, and brought the whole thing to her mouth.

“Ari!” chided her mother. “Don’t forget your manners. You’ll be eating with a crowd starting tonight, you know. It’s one thing to eat too quickly in front of just your father and I, but you don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of all your peers, do you?”

Arenya resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I know, Mom. It’s just that I won’t get to eat apple pancakes again for months, right? I should enjoy them while I still can.”

Alavian looked at her daughter, brown eyes through brown bangs. “All the more reason to eat slowly and savor them, then.”

“Oh, let her be,” called out a baritone voice from the hall. Arenya's father Talvun, dressed in his finest (and indeed his only) brown suit and tie, walked into the kitchen. “It’s Ari’s last day here.” He sat at his prescribed chair - customized to fit a half-dragon, with a higher back for his muscled figure and shaped to fit his green wings and tail.

Mom gave Dad her most soul-piercing glare, reserved for when he and she had a parenting dispute. Arenya saw that glare rarely, but like clockwork she knew what came next.

Wait for it… three, two, one…

Both her parents burst out laughing.

“You know,” Mom said, chuckling, “my parents told me not to go out with a Follower. It’ll never work out. You’ll disagree on everything. Just stick to normal humans.”

"Yes, I've heard the story. Two years later you had a daughter together, and twenty-three you're still together." Still, the grin on her face didn't fade. She resisted the urge to flap her wings, knowing they’d simply hit the chair.

The conversation continued as Arenya ate her last breakfast with her family. They laughed at old jokes and old stories, reminiscing about times on the farm (“Remember the beetle infestation? We had to call in all the neighbors' help to save the harvest!”) and thinking how things would be so much quieter now that Arenya was leaving. For Arenya’s part, she smiled and laughed along, pushing her nervousness to the side.

With breakfast complete and the dishes in the sink, Arenya began to stride up the stairs to change into her nicest dress when her father asked the question she’d been dreading the most.

“You know, you still haven’t told us. Have you decided a major yet?”

Arenya’s grin vanished as she turned around. “I have, yeah…” She started toying with her hair, twirling it around one finger, took a deep breath, gave her wings a few flaps as she prepared herself. “I’m thinking BladeMage.”

Silence greeted her. I knew this would happen. They won’t approve.

“Honey?” said Mom after an agonizing pause. “You know about BladeMages, right?”

Arenya bit back a sigh. "That they're an old combat specialty that nobody cares about now? That they've been rendered obsolete by magitech? That the last true BladeMage was two centuries ago, and everyone since has given up? Yes, I know." Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "But they also say their power was extraordinary. That one who mastered those arts would be celebrated as a hero. And that they could easily hold their own against even the strongest of magitech today, if only someone were to try once more!" It wasn't lost on her that BladeMages being regarded as heroes meant that even back then it was viewed as impossible and hopeless, and their lack today was due to far more reasonable options rather than a recent laziness. Arenya tried not to think too hard on that. “I know it will be difficult, and I know I’ll need to do well to keep my scholarship, but I just want to try. I promise that if I think I can’t do it I’ll switch to something else right away, not wait until I’ve lost all the scholarships and it’s too late!”

“No way,” muttered Dad. “You won’t do it.”

Her heart sank. I knew they wouldn’t allow it, I just knew it!

“You won’t ever have to switch.”

“Huh?” She looked up.

“You’ll go out there and become the greatest BladeMage you can be! And when you become the hero you dream of, I’ll be at the market telling everyone who’ll listen whose daughter is out there! You understand me, Ari?”

Arenya blinked back tears. “I understand you, Dad.”

Even Alavian couldn’t bear to glare at her husband this time. “Let us know when you’re all packed and ready.”

---

Arenya had to admit as she brought her last suitcase down, her mother’s judgement was good when selecting this dress for her. It was nothing too ornate, just a few floral designs here and there, and the blue matched the azure scales of her wings and tail, while being just a shade darker blue than her hair. She held her hair back in a ponytail (her mother tried to insist on a fancy braid, but Arenya managed at least to convince her that that was an unneeded step too far), and overall she did indeed look like a refined student from a wealthy family of scholars and sorcerers, rather than the farmgirl she was. Well, if you ignored the sun-weathered skin, callouses, and muscled arms, at least.

She shook her head a little sadly at that. She'd never been to a large city before, and had no experience spellcasting, but the other students there probably were at least a bit capable of magic. At least she was probably physically stronger than most of her peers, she mused to herself. Time spent farming has at least paid off that way. But still, was it the right kind of workout? Plowing dirt didn't exercise one the same way swinging a sword doe-

“Bwa!” she stepped on the hem of her dress and nearly tumbled down the last couple steps, but managed to right herself and keep standing.

Her father hoisted two heavy bags up over his shoulders, while her mother grabbed another. Arenya grabbed her backpack, supplies, and the final suitcase. She stopped for a moment as she passed through the doorway, to run her hand along the talisman affixed to the frame, and with that, they were off.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was out, birds chirped, and the plants she and her parents worked so hard to tend to were growing excellently. Arenya resisted the urge to flap her wings and fly around for a few moments. The three of them would be walking for a good half hour, so the nice weather was a fantastic boon.

“Did you ever consider going to an academy, Mom, Dad?”

Mom laughed. “I thought about becoming a scholar when I was your age and leaving farming behind, but we couldn’t quite scrounge together the money. You know how hard your father and I worked to save up for your education? My parents never did, so I didn’t get the chance.”

“If I do well,” said Arenya, “I’ll send back some money I get from freelancing and battle pay. It’s never too late, if I can help you pay for it!”

“You don’t have to send that much money to us, dear. We do fine he-”

“Put your hands up return to your residence!” cried a higher-pitched voice, clearly magically amplified to reach the entire farmstead and handful of nearby families. “We’re beginning a demon raid in five minutes, and those caught out will be killed without remorse!”

Arenya sighed. “Oh, for the love of The One Above.” She raised her voice. “Daniel, where are you?”

“What the -” A young man, a year or two Arenya’s senior, crept from under some nearby bushes. His clothes were the black and red of a typical demon underling or bandit, and his brown hair was cropped short. With pale skin, dark gray eyes, and thin limbs, he looked frail, but looks could be deceiving. His voice amplification, done with no focus or other external item, was proof enough that he a decent grasp of magic. He snapped his fingers. “How did you - oh, hi, Arenya!” His voice returned to a normal, unamplified tone. His lips curled in a smile - that, she knew, was genuine.

Dad looked back at Ari. “You know this man?”

“Remember that time last year I stayed out too long during the raid and almost lost your favorite hat?” Arenya gestured to Daniel. “Daniel’s the one who got it back. He's with the demons, but he's friendly, I promise - until he tries to scare us with fake raids, at least." Arenya turned back to the demon. “It *is* a fake raid, right?”

Daniel nodded. “We're off this month. I keep trying to convince them that it isn't worth it to burn down your apple trees, but this is the first time I actually got someone to listen to me. I think you may still have to deal with a few angry demons, but only a few. But when I saw you walking by, I knew I had a golden opportunity to ruffle your feathe - erm, scales."

Arenya grinned at that, before saying, “I’m actually about to head off to Ba’al Cedric’s. I was finally admitted.” At Daniel’s downcast expression, she said, “We can meet up there, once I’m ready, in a few months. Maybe I can show you the things I learned? I'll get you a pass so you can check out the library, too.”

“I’m holding you to that!” Daniel smirked. "When next we meet, I fully expect you to be a master spellcaster... Ari.” And with that, he dashed off, leaving Arenya exasperated at his use of her parents’ pet name for her.

“So, Ari,” asked Mom, “Do you think he likes you?” Her tone left no room for questions.

Arenya barely suppressed a laugh. "I've tried to explain to him that he'd have to become a Follower. I don't think he really understands. He's nice enough," she said, barely refraining from adding "and cute". "But I'm not interested in him that way."

“Seems like a good kid. Let’s keep going.” Dad strode along toward the train station, as though nothing at all had happened.

Arenya silently thanked him for the change of topic and followed along.