"But... what happened then?" Leonidas asked, intrigued. 

"Well... if young Rhea decides to proceed with her pregnancy, she can; Mina's intervention gave her that chance. However, she’s still delicate and anything can happen. For now, she’s stable; she’ll need the support of her team and family to decide." Emilia adjusted her glasses as she took the third file. "This brings us to young Rax..." Emilia sighed once more. 

"...Erm..." Ithil faltered; part of him dreaded the results for Rax. 

"How... how did he do?" Inola asked for Ithil, who remained speechless, lacking the courage to ask. 

"It was very difficult... Rax suffered a jagged laceration from a Ferruginous feather, famous for their saw-like edges," Mina looked down at her hands. "The wounds were hard to treat; a lot of debris that could cause infection was embedded in the wound, bones, and marrow. We had to remove parts of the bone entirely, as well as tissue; the cut was diagonal below the knees. It will take time, but he will have to relearn how to use his legs; his journey is just beginning, so to speak." Closing Rax's file, Emilia looked at Ithil out of the corner of her eye, recognizing the signs of an impending breakdown, and added: "By no means are these wounds the end. His worth isn't just in that; it’s in many things and in how he faces the future. I’m sure young Rax will find the courage in Rhea and his friends to move forward and succeed. Anyway, there’s always someone to talk to, right, young Ithil?" Emilia smiled slightly and opened the next file. 

"Luan! Young Luan is the least physically damaged... but the one who concerns me most. Young Luan arrived not long ago with a Silver Bearer of Mercy application, which was rejected. The boy is from a family of great wealth, possibly from Brodovya or some family from Llyntia or Iphenor. The boy is consumed by guilt; I haven't been able to reach him," Emilia told them, while Jacob thought for a moment and, acting on a hunch, said: 

"Luan Rosewood. Of course, the last of the Rosewoods must still have plenty of influence around White Port." Jacob searched through his rabbit-skin notebook. 

"Rosewood?" Ithil asked, as if the name were familiar to him as well. 

"‘Rosewood Imports and Shipping,’ here it is. They’re a family dedicated to transport and cargo movement all over the world, so the kid has money." Jacob looked back at Emilia. 

"Luan is highly traumatized; in fact, I haven't discharged him yet even though he’s healthy. He must be by the chapels. The boy offered to pay for Rax, Rhea, and Nesta’s treatments. Right now, we’re doing what’s necessary to transfer them to a private hospital right here in Thar-Abbys." Emilia looked at her floor’s logistics papers, where she tracked discharges and admissions. The rental of the specialized equipment used to treat Nesta was charged to adventurer Luan Rosewood, rented for the next two years for the benefit of any adventurer who might need it. 

"Wow, two years? That’s a ton of money." Mina looked at the receipts for consumables, covered monthly maintenance services, and certified technical use training. 

"It’s almost an entire wing! They didn’t have this equipment a week ago." Inola looked at the receipts even more surprised than the others; it was the first time he’d seen that much money at once, even if only on paper. 

"Master Emilia, where is Luan?" Ithil asked, stunned. 

"He’s in the chapels. He doesn't have an appointment with me scheduled for now, but he does tomorrow. If you talk to him, I’d like to know a bit about what you manage to discuss." Emilia packed her small bag and left the files on a shelf in the waiting room. 

"Master Emilia, are you here?" A red-haired girl with dark skin knocked at the entrance; her expression seemed urgent. 

"Yes, just a moment! What’s wrong, Dr. Valeria?" Emilia addressed the young woman politely. 

"There was an accident in a kitchen oven in the commercial sector; two people are burned, we need your help!" Valeria gave a polite but brief nod to the others. 

"What? Quick, let’s get the injured to the ER!" Emilia rushed out with Valeria, leaving the others behind without another word. 

"Are you going to see Luan?" Mina asked, sitting in the armchair. Hours of work saving Rax's legs were taking their toll on her. 

"Mhh, but I don’t know, I don’t think I’m the right person," Ithil said, scratching his head. The others looked at each other; finally, they looked at Jacob. 

"Eermh... I feel like I’m being chosen for some mysterious reason." Jacob looked at them all, unconvinced. Taking a step back, he tried to retreat: "What could I even say to him?!" Jacob replied nervously, while Lizva imitated his concern, trying to defend him. 

"Hmm, you have a point, but of all of us here, I think you’re the one. First, because you’re an Evoker, and second, because you’re from the same social class as him. None of us could know the pressures and obligations of a boy like him." Inola replied, while Mina joined in: 

"Inola and Ithil are right, Jacob. None of us here can know what a boy like him feels. Besides, Ithil will be the one to talk to Rax—he’s almost awake—and I’ll talk to Rhea." Mina stole a quick glance through the room's curtains, slowly turning up the lights. 

"Aaawww, alright... but I don't know what to say to him..." With tears in his eyes, Jacob headed toward the chapels while Lizva encouraged him as best she could. 


Jacob walked back through the sterile corridors adorned with varnished limestone, arriving at the giant ammonite where some were already hanging paper ribbons. One of them bore the name of Lucernia, the girl they managed to rescue a week ago along with her team members Moltan and Varian; and another for the eternal rest of Shigure, the archer. 

"What could I possibly say to him?... Haaa, let's go, Lizva." 

The silent words of prayers peeked out from the edges of the hallways; nascent wishes rose while seas of tears and promises were offered in exchange for medical miracles. Jacob walked past the chapels representing the most important religions in Khuarhya. 

The Bimetists, with their altars painted in contrasting red and royal blue, and white candles. Their sacred symbols: the arrow and the blade—both to kill evil and excess, both to regulate and issue judgment, both to honor the word of the sister goddesses Enrya and Triariz. Composure and restraint. As was custom, a mirror on the floor at the entrance of their temples was present to leave the selfish self behind. Jacob peeked politely into this place full of twin images and found opposites, but not Luan. 

Further on, a screen carved in mother-of-pearl, shimmering with a multicolor glow, guarded the entrance to the temple of the Matron Effigies. Metallic mirrors and stained-glass windows reflected and projected the beautiful, iridescent rainbow of the Chromatic Mother, guardian of the Drakoorias and their families. Peering through the holes of the carved screen, Jacob didn't see Luan there either. That only left two places: the Room of the Ten True Laws or the General Reflection Chapel. 

"Alright, I don't think Luan is in the True Laws room; he’s probably in the General Reflection Room." Jacob headed to the room at the end of the chapels. 

At the end of the hallway was a room painted in pure white and lit with candles. The place, clean and lacking religious icons, presented itself as a comforting space of rest away from even one's own dogmas. The Iluminas flickered in a warm amber color and the scent of damp stone brushed against the skin. Crouched at the back, as if hidden from the world, was Luan, sitting in the corner furthest from the entrance. His Klauvra, leaning against the wall, bore its usual gray cloak. This time Luan didn't cling to it as usual, as if setting aside his profession as a Magicer wrapped in the armor of the cloak; he meditated in silence, as if viewing his own future as an adventurer from the outside. 

"...How... how are Nesta and Rhea, Master Jacob?" Jacob stopped for a moment; the word "Master" took him by surprise. He touched his own medal resting over his heart; the cold metal reminded him of his current rank. Not wanting to waste the advantage presented to him, he walked over to the boy. 

"May I sit?" Jacob left his gear outside, including Lizva, who wasn't very happy about it and stayed outside pouting. 

"Yes, yes, of course, Master Jacob." Luan stood up as quickly as possible, revealing a bottle of Rebril liquor that had fallen on its side by his feet. 

"Oh! Silly me, excuse me, I didn't mean to... haaa, up... up... up... ghaaa." Luan, clearly stressed, leaned over several times to pick up the bottle. Failing by a few millimeters, he finally managed to pick it up on the fourth try. 

"I just... ha... I just want to get out of here." Luan looked at the bottle in his hand. The cold liquid condensed water droplets on the surface; staring at the reddish tint of the container, the drops looked like blood to him. Panic seized him again, and he quickly used his sleeve to wipe them off the bottle. An ephemeral spirit of guilt slinked behind Luan. Jacob chose to pretend he couldn't see the spirit, which only looked at him timidly while whispering in Luan's ears. 

"Yeah... Nesta and Rhea, mm, well there’s good news for both of them." Jacob smiled and approached the young Magicer, who slumped back into the armchair where a finely made blanket lay, sighing in relief. At that moment, Jacob acted: moving his hand furtively, he pretended to pick a couple of pieces of lint off Luan's shoulder, and as he did, he detached an arm from the ephemeral spirit. The spirit was so surprised that, enraged, it tried to lash out at Jacob. Lizva interrupted, ringing a beautiful wind chime that hung in the middle of the room. 

"Haha, did what I did at least accomplish something?" Luan, sad but relieved, asked Jacob. Annoyed, the ephemeral spirit tried to reclaim its territory, but Jacob silently used all his power to push it back with every word he exchanged with Luan. 

"Yes, it did, and it won't just serve them—it will serve others too... You know, when I arrived at the academy, I was also a Bearer of Mercy." Jacob smiled, a bit embarrassed. 

"Eh? Seriously? Where are you from, Master Jacob? From how you talk, you seem to be from Brodovya." Luan relaxed a bit; the spirit was losing its grip on the young Magicer. 

"Haha, well, I’m from Ghillin." Jacob showed the scroll of his old rank letter. Beside it, the discreet threads of the Rosary of Domination used by Jacob to exorcise spread through the room. 

"Ma... MAHOGANY!" Luan, shocked, leaned back. For a moment, he forgot the weight of his situation, allowing Jacob to seize what appeared to be the spirit's chest. Lizva grabbed the threads and began to pull, separating the young Magicer from that spirit bloated with Luan's grief and fear. 

"Shhh, there are still patients." Jacob put a finger to his lips, lowering his voice, as he tucked away the scroll with the Mahogany emblem. 

"Luan Rosewood at your service, Mr. Mahogany." Luan stood at attention and gave a deep bow. Jacob, nervous, froze for an instant. 

"Up, up, Luan! Right now, we’re adventurers!" Jacob urged him to stand; his abrupt movement further separated the ephemeral spirit, which tried to cling to the boy in anger and desperation. 

"That’s the beauty of this place, Luan... Here in Thar-Abbys, we aren't Rosewoods or Mahoganys, we’re just adventurers... and comrades. I’m proud you didn’t run away; if you’d just paid and fled, you’d probably have more problems, especially with your family... I know what it’s like to carry all that: the names, the suits, the manners." Jacob spoke from experience, remembering hostile family parties and gatherings. 

"The horrible guests! The snotty, spoiled daughters of daddy..." Luan continued the list. 

"The table manners!" Jacob replied. The ephemeral spirit choked on light and gasped desperately, disintegrating into dust. 

"Who needs six forks?" "Who needs four knives?"—they both said at the same time. 

"If only..." Jacob looked up at the beautiful chandelier of metallic tubes and Iluminas. "I just need to know that at the end of the day..." Luan continued. "Your family will support you and... that among all of them, at least one... just one! Just one of them cares about you because you’re you, and not because of your last name..." Luan took the liquor bottle and emptied its contents into an empty marble-carved water basin. 

"Luan, the enemy was strong, and even though they were defeated, they can move forward if they want to." Jacob stood up and straightened his clothes, patting him on the back. 

"Thank you, Master Jacob, I feel better. And I think I’ll stay here at the academy... Haha, I was thinking of quitting, you know?... I’ll take responsibility for my mistakes... Thank you!" Luan fell asleep right after saying that. 

"Hehe, looks like you hadn’t slept at all, kid. Get some rest." Jacob took Luan's gray cloak and noticed he was wearing it inside out, so he shook it out and placed it over the boy. A wine-red lining and the Rosewood emblem in gold thread on the button were visible. Jacob took his things and returned to the others.