Alterial

Step 2 - Building foundations - What was your name again? The truth is that it is quite difficult for me to keep the names, although I am very good at keeping the faces and details of those I know - said the pandra rather quickly, turning Ren around as she hovered around him and inspected him carefully, to the discomfort of her interlocutor. - Rennell, but almost everyone calls me Ren. Are you always this nervous? -He sighed, trying to keep still in spite of everything, without taking his eyes off the movements around him- What we have been asked to do is to make an inventory of works of art, and I don't fall into that category... - Oh, that would deserve a good answer, like “you are, but you haven't discovered it yet” - she laughed happily - But I can tell you're not that kind of person, no... Ren cleared his throat, while the pandra rested only her front paws on the ground and watched him smiling. - As I was saying, we have a lot of work ahead of us and it will be better if we

Step 1 - A new (hi)story He knew that in part one of the places that gave him the most peace of mind was the library of the respective specialties. He was in the archaeology wing, getting an idea of everything he was going to need to know on that occasion. But all the books he picked up seemed like gibberish to him. -Help... - he said more to himself than to anyone else, leaning listlessly on the table. He was aware that one of his strengths was not giving up and studying even if he had to stay up for hours at night to make progress. Even if it was step by step and slowly, he was the typical person who always felt identified with the story of the tortoise and the hare... being the tortoise. But in spite of everything, it was starting to get hard for him. He wasn't too convinced about what to focus on during the course either. Trying to build buildings... for some particular reason it seemed like something he wasn’t strong enough for. He was much more resourceful than strong... so

“Dear Master, today is the day of the big test... calling it that sounds a bit silly when it's just the first step of something bigger, doesn't it? But it's important nonetheless. Even if I'm sure I'm only going to prove I'm good at it because I'm so lucky. I can't see the look on your face when you read this, but you know it's true! You had always known that trying hard isn't my thing. Still, I've been able to enjoy the course even though I've gotten several scoldings and reprimands for acting before thinking. That said... I have to leave you, but I will write to you as soon as I know how I did. I appreciate you very much maestro.” And with that last line, she folded the parchment carefully rolling it up and sealing it. No matter how much she said, those letters were important to her, and she held her tutor in high esteem. She looked out the window and realized it was time to get going. She put everything away and headed cheerfully to the area where the test would take place, at

Step 2 - Fertilizing the knowledge She still didn't contemplate that branch of study as her future entirely for certain, but otherwise, it was much simpler and more relaxing than the textbooks of the other courses. Sure, creating magic or mixing potions had its charms, but being able to skulk around the critter pens, relax near one creature that was quiet and say she had accomplished her tasks for the day was not something she could say about the rest of the subjects. Best of all, she had a very good eye for knowing when a critter was at peace with itself or was troubled by something. Perhaps it was that self-assurance that led her to think she might even be able to calm down any stubborn creature even if her teacher told her otherwise. That same day she would find that listening from time to time would be good for her, even if it was still not her strong suit. She woke up bright and early, totally eager to start the day with enthusiasm. They would see a new kind of creature they

Step 1 - Growing curious Eirlys was holding between her paws a pamphlet that contained the information about the tour they were going to do that day for the students who had just enrolled in the course recently. She had really been lucky to have arrived at the right time, because as far as she had heard if there was no tour going on it was the teachers themselves who gave the explanations but they were not so detailed. She sighed anyway, a bit nervous and holding back the urge to cry because she didn't know anyone from the course yet, even though her friend Wish had told her she was thinking of joining... but she completely forgot to ask if she could join her that first day. “It's okay”, she tried to thing that everything would be fine and with a little bit of luck she would meet someone kind that day. Maybe even the guy who was Wish's friend would be around and he seemed like someone decent. She got ready and headed to the place where the meeting would start. To her

He had finally reached the end of his journey, hadn't he? But the interior of the emerald castle gave him mixed feelings. On the one hand, he couldn't help but gaze in fascination at the intricate motifs swirling at his feet, carved into the floor slabs. On the other hand... those paintings hanging on the walls gave him a certain feeling of discomfort, as they were completely empty. Who would exhibit incomplete pieces in an art gallery? Of course, he soon found that they were not as meaningless as he had thought. When he heard a voice coming from the painting assuring him that they were not there to watch him or for him, he was startled and jumped up and down, trying to locate exactly where they were speaking to him from. He approached the paintings as those strange eyes extolled the wizard's virtues. And then… he tried to rest his paws on the painting to find out what was going on. Could he touch those red eyes…? Though he didn't quite get there, leaving his paws standing in

As he walked in that new landscape, on the yellow brick road… he kept rambling on about the idea of those books that made him momentarily hold himself "up there". Was he right now the main character in a story... Or was he just a sidekick? That's for giving himself importance, because most of the time he just let that place dictate how to continue. And it was all one big tangle where I couldn't tell if it was him or someone else. No protagonist or partner, just another character... One intended for... to what? Then, the signs caught his eye again... and he was convinced he had read them along the way. No doubt about it… Honestly, when he began to misunderstand them, he was frankly outraged. There were a multitude of paths! And he was sure he knew that information! What was going on? The worst thing was to feel that information slipping through his paws. Once again. …Or maybe the worst thing was to find himself in front of that flower that for a long time kept repeating how much he

Still without getting situated, he felt as if he had been submerged for too long underwater and had to come to the surface to take a big gulp of air to keep from drowning. Even if he wasn't wet, he shook his whole back, trying to think as he saw how his stardust aura among all that white fog was barely distinguishable. He stared at the ground, focused on such a banal thought, for a long time, without finishing reconnecting with his senses. Then he saw it. The red thread exerted the same presence as a luminous signal in the middle of the darkness. It attracted his attention powerfully, it was the only thing that existed in that place... but at the same time it was also frankly ominous. And not because it was not the only tangible thing in the fog… It had an aura that trapped him, that drew him back to it without thinking about it. As he began to walk, he tried to catch his consciousness, his name… How was he able to be navigating that path without being master of himself? He tried to