Another Chapter of Their Stories (Samantha/Open)

[Riviera]

Riviera had spent a few days in Larguz in search of her brother. She had gone to the military academy where he had enrolled as an exchange student but she didn't find him. It seemed after the rebellion had become less intense and Ilia had decided to pull back their forces, some of foreign cadets were sent to safer place or back to their homeland. The administration was still in quite a mess so it wasn't easy to find information about where Riviera's brother, Marcus, might have been. Questioning the remaining students and staffs didn't help much either because most of them didn't know Marcus. She had to visit the academy a few times until she found some clue about him from a combat instructor who was quite close with her brother. Apparently, he and some of other Etrurian cadets chose to leave the academy for unknown reason, although most assumed they had simply gone back to Etruria. It was both bad news and good news. The good news...Marcus was probably safe now, he might have arrived in Etruria or still on the way there. The trip might be a bit dangerous but it was safer than staying in Bern. The bad news...if it was true than she had come her for nothing. She cursed the possibility that they might have missed each other in the gate, that would be ironic.

Seeming exhausted with her little adventure with the rainstorm on her way there, Riviera chose to rest in the inn for two days. This city didn't offer much luxury and seemed to lean more to practicality so she had to bear with it. Luckily, she finally found a good inn that didn't fall to far from her standard, at least. The Etrurian lady let her tired body and mind to rest, after nice bath and nice meal, of course. Her health had been deteriorated lately. This trip was quite exhausting for Riviera, who had never gone this far alone. Many new and thrilling experiences, some were bad, made her reckless adventure more colorful. Alright...she should stop remembering those things and just close her eyes and sleep.

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Two days had passed...

Riviera's face had regained its color and she seemed to have been recovered now. The blonde mage was enjoying her evening in Larguz royal library with reading books and drinking her favorite tea. She was engrossed reading the latest book of an anonymous writer who wrote the tale of Elias the Crimson Mage. The story of this red-obsessed mage was quite interesting and funny. For most part, Riviera liked how he went from one city to another and always found new adventures in the new place. Next to her was two romance novels she would read after she finished her current book. "What an interesting fellow...I wonder if I will meet this person someday..." she thought, taking another skip of tea.

The royal library was quite crowded but there was almost no noises because everyone respected the rule and kept their voices down. It was an ideal situation for Riviera who wanted to relax herself before she continued her difficult adventure. Sometimes people came by and chat with her, mostly young men, but Riviera's cold response especially drove them away eventually.

"This is quite good..." she commented, putting the book carefully on the table. The girl then went toward the window and looked down at the street. She leaned outside carefully, holding on the frame, and observed the road. Not that she wanted to see anything, she just felt a bit bored and wanted some fresh air.

[Samantha Khione]

Finally, she was here. Samantha had decided to travel to Larguz to visit their royal library. It had been a place she had wanted to visit for a while, but for one reason or another she had never found the time to make it here. But, finally, here she was. She had actually arrived in the in Larguz the night before, but she figured her time would be better spent getting a room and resting than trying to hurry straight to the library. Now well rested, she began to make her way to the building.

Sam was bubbling with excitement as she approached the building, not that it showed on her face. If there was one thing she was good at, it was hiding her emotions. Well, that and learning. But that was besides the point. She was finally here! She could finally start the research that she had been dying to do for years. Well, hopefully anyways. There was no guarantee she'd find what she was looking for, but that was part of the fun!

Due to growing up in Ilia, Samantha had always been surrounded by ice and snow. And when she began a mage, she always dreamed of being able to control that power. With it, there was a chance she could combat snow storms back home and help her family from being snowed in as often as they were. Which, in Ilia, is a lot.

Once inside, she took a moment to soak it all in. So many books! So much knowledge! Taking her time to look through a section on magic, she finally found a book that she felt would be a good place to start. Finding an empty table nestled in a corner, Sam sat down and silently began to read.

[Riviera]

Riviera brows twitched as he held her frustration for being slower than a blue-haired girl. The book that the other girl had just picked was the one Riviera was looking for, which putting the noble lady in bad mood immediately. Of course it wasn't Samantha's fault but the blonde mage wasn't used with failing to get what she wanted. This was quite frustrating. Her cerulean eyes focused on Samantha as she walked away, stabbing the Ilian mage's back with her glare. Oh well...maybe it was just a bad day. And there was a lot of books there so no need to got irritated over a single book.

"Well, I guess I have to go with this one instead. Hmm...The Depth Study of A Mage's Natural Element...sounds pretty good. I think I have heard about it before from one of the lecturers in academy..." Riviera picked another from the same magic section, although still feeling unsatisfied, and then read the summary a bit before finally decided to choose this one.

Riviera walked toward the table in the corner, where she had sat and read previously, only to find that the same girl from before was already sitting there. She could swear that this girl must be a stalker, probably, or just her bad luck taking a human form. The blonde mage liked sitting in the corner where less people passed by so she really wanted to have the seat for herself. Pretty egoistic, actually. Well, she was sane enough to know she had no right to force the blue-haired mage leave so there was only one solution...they would have to share.

Grumbling on her way toward the table, Riviera tried to hide her frustration by putting up dignified look. "Excuse me, is this seat empty? May I sit there?" she asked Samantha politely, gesturing at the empty seat next to the other girl. Riviera was still a lady after all. Etiquette was drilled into her brain since her birth. Just a little irritation wouldn't make her act rude (except to Vergil). Well, she would probably act rude and condescending later but she always played nice first.

[Samantha Khione]

Samantha had become engrossed in the book she had chosen. There wasn't a ton on ice magic, but it was a start. It seemed as those many ice mages resided in Ilia, unsurprisingly. There had to be others, though. People use magic all over, surely someone somewhere besides Ilia had mastered ice magic. Not that she was opposed to going to back Ilia, but she'd feel quite foolish if she had traveled all over the continent when the answer she sought was in her own country.

Beyond that, however, the book contained a large amount of information about magic in general that she found fascinating. She was even learning new things about the types she could already control! A new trick here, some little bit of history she had never learned there. Oh, this was heaven. How some people dislike reading and learning, she would never understand.

She was pulled away from her book at the sound of a voice. Sam was confused at first, as she didn't think she had ever been spoken to in a library before. Not that she had never heard anyone talk in one, but they never talked specifically to hear. She looked around to see a blonde girl standing next to her table. She guessed from her clothing and posture that she was of some noble house, not that ever particularly matter to Sam. She was never one too bothered with social class. She tried to treat everyone the same, which was politely, regardless of their birth. Samantha gave the girl a small nod and spoke in barely more than a whisper. "By all means, it's yours if you need it."

[Riviera]

Maybe because she still felt irritated about how Sam had picked "her book", Riviera forgot to thank her for the permission. The Etrurian mage carefully made her way to seat, trying not to shake the table and the chair unnecessarily. She seemed a bit uncomfortable One thing she had found unsatisfying about this library was the arrangement of the distance between the chairs, which unfortunately was too close for her standard. After she got into comfortable position without bumping to Samantha, she laid her books on the table and then picked the one with green color and blank cover. "This one looks kinda plain but I heard the author is quite famous in this region..." she thought. However, after flipping a few pages, Riviera's expression became smug and she put down the book. A long sigh showed her great dissatisfaction for the content of the book she had just briefly read. 

Riviera looked at Samantha and found that the Ilian was still reading the book she wanted. Just how long this commoner planned to read? Did she even understand the content? Well, judging from her expression, the book must be quite entertaining and enjoyable. "Should have brought one of my novels..." Riviera thought, sulking. At time like this, when her mood went down, she needed the most effective medicine. And that was her favorite jasmine tea.

"Jake..." Riviera kept her voice down when she made the call but enough to get the attention to the boy standing not far from her seat. He was a boy she hired to be her personal butler since she had arrived in Larguz. While he couldn't provide service in par with professional high-class butler, the boy was quite obedient and quick with his work so Riviera kinda liked him. How they met? Well, it was quite simple. Riviera had found him looking for job in the street and thought he might be better candidate than the other job-seekers. "I am thirsty..." she said. Jake, understood what she meant, approached quickly and put a teapot and one cup on the table. He was about to leave when his master spoke again. "Make it two... I would like this lady to drink tea with me." Riviera made a hand gesture at Samantha and gave her butler a commanding nod. She didn't even bother to ask Samantha if she wanted or not. In fact, the mage secretly wished that the other girl would willingly gave her the book after this.

While Jake was serving Samantha her tea, Riviera looked at her and said, "I see you like the same genre as mine. May I ask what you find fascinating about the nature of elemental magic?" That wasn't bad as the start of their conversation. Some people had worse experience talking with the blonde mage. "Are you one of the students of the Royal Magic Academy of Bern?" she asked again.

[Samantha Khione]

Samantha had fallen back into the book, drowning out the fact that the blonde girl had sat down and begun to read as well. She was so enthralled in her reading that she didn't even notice the girl had some sort of servant approach the table until he placed a cup of tea in front of her. She looked up, quite confused at to how a tea appeared in front of her, before understanding what had happened. "Oh, thank you..." she whispered quietly. That was quite friendly of this girl. The fact that she had some sort of servant seemingly confirmed that she was indeed some sort of noble.

Sam gave her head a little shake. She didn't often care to talk in a library, but she also didn't want to be rude. "No, I'm not a student there. I've just been studying magic since I was young and I simply like to learn as much about it as I can." It seemed, from the way she asked, that she was a mage at well. Or at least someone who was also interested in magic. She had gotten a fair amount from her book, so she pushed it gently across the table to the girl.

"If you're interested, this book is very good. Feel free to read it, if you wish." She gave the girl a small smile before grabbing another book and diving into it, once again looking for information on ice magic. Maybe she would have more luck in this one.

[Riviera]

Riviera needed to restrain herself from jumping onto the book she wanted so much like a foolish immature child. She stared at the book for a second before her hand started to hesitantly move toward the book. It was just a book, or so she told herself. There was no need to get over excited about it. Thankfully the blue-haired mage had finished reading. Maybe she even sensed that Riviera had been wanting the book so much so she decided to pass it to her. Smile formed on the blonde girl's lips as she picked up the book and gracefully flipped the first page. Yes! Just by reading the first page was enough to interest Riviera. The content was mostly about ice magic, which was her second favorite element, so she truly enjoyed the book.

"Hmm so she is one of those...self-trained mages I've heard about. I am not sure if it is a good thing to learn magic without dedicated teaching from a proper academy." Riviera kept her opinion to herself, refraining to say her opinion regarding free mages to the other girl. While there wasn't any big distinction between mages who learnt in academy or not, Riviera knew some people who believed that learning magic was something that needed systematical education and she agreed with them. Controlling element and creating it into a certain form were much harder than it looked. Also, if things went wrong, it might lead to more destructive result than weapons. Because of her upbringing and society, the Etrurian mage had very little interaction with non-academy mages so she couldn't help but felt interested with Samantha.

Glancing at Samantha, Riviera read the titles of her books and their authors. She then noticed that most of the books she had were about ice magic. Another ice magic enthusiast, hmm? It was nice to meet another mage who wasn't a fire magic-lover like most of those common mages. "Eternal Frozen Mana by Andrea. If you are into ice magic then you might want to read that one," she said without taking her eyes off her book. Riviera herself wasn't sure why she had become more talkative with this stranger. She usually was more hesitant in talking with strangers, especially those from lower birth. "Just suggesting because I think that one is very good and informative. Half of the content is about theories that has yet to be proved but they are quite plausible," she add, this time looking at the other girl.

Riviera pushed her hairs that feel straight to her chest behind as she spoke again. "Riviera Mayfield. You can call me Riviera. It's not good for us to keep calling each other 'you'. So, may I know your name, miss?" It was refreshing to be able introducing her full name in this country without worrying of unnecessary attentons that might come. In Etruria, especially in Delfia, some people would make a fuss after knowing that she was the heir of Mayfield family. She didn't really hate the attention but she simply despised how people would change their behavior after learning who she actually was.

[Samantha Khione]

Sam was deep into her book, thought she had to admit she was slightly disappointed. She hadn't found anything she was looking for so far, and she had little hope that it would come within the rest of it. But that was ok, it was part of the fun. It wouldn't be worth it if you found all the information you were looking for right away. The search for knowledge was the best part. She closed the book with a sigh, deciding that it was going to get her nowhere when the other mage suggested a book to look into. Huh. Well, it was worth a shot.

Digging through her pile of books, Samantha found the one the girl had suggested and pulled it over to her. She gave the girl a small nod and a quiet thank you. It seemed she was interested in ice magic as well. Or at least was interested in enough magic information as a whole to know what would be good reading for a number of types. Looking at the table of contents for the book, the girl seemed to know her stuff. It might be theoretical, as the girl said, but theories could still be proven right.

The girl then introduced herself as Riviera Mayfield. Sam could tell that, as a noble, she probably got a lot of reactions from people hearing her last name. She, however, didn't recognize it at all. She gave the girl a polite nod. "Nice to meet you, Riviera. I'm Samantha. Samantha Khione."

[Riviera]

"Samantha Khione..." Riviera repeated the name to memorize it better. Not that she was forgetful or anything but she would like not to forget her new acquaintance too quickly. "I will call you Samantha then," she said again, smiling. The blue-haired mage seemed quite friendly and smart so Riviera felt a bit relaxed. She was quite picky for people she talked with. Judging from her demeanor and clothing, Samantha probably wasn't from nobility or royal bloodline. Riviera decided to make an exception this time and would try to converse with the other girl. It seemed there wasn't much difference in their age. Samantha looked like 18 years old at most, probably younger. Hmm...that would mean Riviera was the younger one... Oh well, she never bother by age difference anyway.

"So how's the book? The one I suggested... Do you like it? I would like to know your opinion since that book actually has been trending subject for discussion for the last two months in my academy in Delfia. Well, some others you picked are actually quite famous too so I can only guess you have a good taste..." Riviera said, making a small smile. "Or maybe you are just an ice magic lover? That's fine too. I don't have many friends who are interested in ice magic. Most people in my generation tend to study fire or thunder element instead of ice and wind," she added, shrugging. Riviera herself wanted to study every element without focusing too much in one or two elements, aiming to achieve perfection in her dream to be a great master. However, she couldn't help but feel interested more to wind and ice element.

"Hmm...I hope you aren't one who hate discussion because I would like to ask you something. What you find so fascinating about ice magic? I notice that all your books are about ice magic," Riviera asked, averting her gaze toward Samantha.

[Samantha Khione]

Sam smiled at the girl before returning to her book. Hmm. She hadn't even gotten too far into it yet, but it was already presenting some interesting ideas. Like the girl, or rather Riviera, had said, it seemed to be mostly theories that were so far unproven. But if they were true, they would be helpful in her question to learn it. Before she could get much further, however, Riviera spoke up again. Samantha listened to her as she spoke. The girl asked several questions that she did her best to remember, not wanting to be rude and cut her off before she was done.

"It's very interesting so far, but I'm not too far into it yet. If some of the theories that I've read are true, though, it could go a long way to helping us fully understand ice magic. And yes, I do have an interest in learning ice magic. I already have a good grasp on fire and am working towards wind and thunder, but ice has always been the one that interested me most." She gave a small pause. She didn't often talk about why she wanted to learn ice magic so bad, but that was probably because most people didn't ask her. She mostly got that it was an interesting choice before moving on. "I want to learn it, partially because so few people seem to have learned it, but also to help my home. I'm from Ilia, and obviously we get a lot of snow there. If I can somehow find a way to learn it, I might be able to prevent some of the storms we get from burying my town." They could deal just fine with the smaller storms, but the bigger ones could trap them in their houses for days. And when you had to leave your house to make a living, it could really put a strain on things.

[Riviera]

Riviera couldn't describe it well but she had a feeling that Samantha was a more capable mage than her. Maybe they were on par in term of knowledge but the Ilian gave a vibe of experienced mage. The noble eyed the older girl curiously. Since leaving Etruria, she had kept up with her studies but she had eventually hit a wall. For someone who was pampered with excellent tutors and the most updated tomes, it was quite hard to start learning new knowledge and practice it all by herself. Samantha probably didn't have Riviera's luxuries but she seemed doing fine. This lifted the blonde's mage spirit. Maybe learning and practicing without her teachers might not be impossible, after all.

"Oh, that means we are pursuing a same thing. I am interested with ice element too. But not like you...I still can't say confidently myself having good understanding about any elements. I am still learning but so far the progress is quite smooth. My friends and teachers don't call me prodigy for nothing." There wasn't any hesitation in her tone when Riviera called herself a prodigy. She had confidence to back up her claim, after all. Although she would need more time and practices, the blonde mage was a quick learner who had memorized all the theories she had learnt so far without missing even tiny details. Being a hard-worker also helped her develop her potential. Riviera might be prideful and cocky but she was taught to boast only for something she had confidence in, like her potential in spellcraft. "I am mostly leaning toward wind and ice but I aim to master all of the elements," she said.

So Samantha was an Ilian. And like most of mages from the land of snow, she liked ice magic. Geez...Ilians really couldn't live without snow and cold. Riviera crossed her arms and pondered Samantha's words for a moment. "I don't think ice magic will help much. One, you will need enormous magic power to fight off a storm. Two, don't you think wind magic will be more useful in this matter? Well, maybe you need both elements but you need to mix them skillfully and that won't be easy. However, it isn't impossible. In fact, there are some people who conducted experiments about how to control natural occurrence and they have produced some success." Riviera's cerulean eyes trailed toward the bookshelves. There were so many sections for different genres in this library that made finding a right book quite difficult. "This library should have it somewhere. Just look for Our Nature by Alexandra. I would like to recommend that title if you really want to learn how to control storm." Riviera had read a lot of books about magic and she still remembered most of it, especially her favorites.

"Coming from Ilian to Bern must be quite a journey. You have to cross the Sacaen plains first unless you take a detour through Lycia. What bring you to Bern, Samantha?" she asked. The blonde lady hadn't noticed that she had closed her book and focused more to Samantha.

[Samantha Khione]

Oh, so Riviera was interested in Ice magic as well? That made sense, then, how she knew of a number of different books concerning the topic. Obviously, she was no closer to actually learning it than Sam, or she would have most like have done some sort of demonstration. Especially if she was still learning the basic elements. Huh, so that meant Sam was slightly ahead of her in her training. Granted, Riviera seemed to be younger than her, so maybe that wasn't exactly so be proud of.

If she was younger, however, she still was able to make Samantha feel slightly foolish about herself and her dream. Well, not entirely. She had started off making it seem like a foolish idea, but by the end she had seemed to talk herself into it a little more. She was right, it would have to be a combination of ice and wind. People always seemed to think she would only need wind, but in Sam's mind, understand how to control the ice was just important. In a full blown storm, it would take an immense amount of energy to gain control of that wind. But if you could partially control the wind as well as the snow...

It was obviously just a theory, but in her mind, it was worth trying. "I actually crossed both Sacae and Lycia before coming here. I've been traveling trying to learn as much as I could, so this library was always on my list of places to visit. And after Lycia, it seemed like the logical place to come next."

[Riviera]

To be honest, Riviera didn't see Samantha as adventurous type. The older girl looked more like someone who more suited to studying in a library. It seemed Samantha's determination to stop storm for her village was stronger than Riviera had thought, causing the Etrurian to feel slightly guilty for judging her wrong. Sacae and Lycia...so Samantha had gone out a lot huh? Riviera herself realized that she had never set foot outside Etruria before she had started her frantic search for her brother. To come here from Etruria she had crossed Lycia, mostly by hiring cart as for her transportation, and some part of Bern with much difficulty. The journey had been quite rough. Actually, most adventurers might find it easy but for Riviera who had just embraced her first journey alone, it was quite a challenge. She had experienced some dangerous moments, which fortunately she got saved in time by some individuals. She must have a good luck as the help from random strangers had come repeatedly everytime she had bumped into trouble.

"I see... I crossed Lycia too. Not the safest place seriously. I wonder when the Lycian League can solve their problem with monster infestation." Riviera's remark was followed by her dissatisfied expression. While it wasn't really her place to judge how the Lycian handling the monster outbreak, she wouldn't refrain from complaining. She had a point though. The problem had been left unsolved too long. It was unclear if it was caused by lack of manpower or by indecisiveness of the Lycia government.

"Well, it's a shame. If learning more about magic is what you want, you should have chosen Etruria instead. I think it's a common knowledge that Delfia is the best place to learn about magic, no? Hmm...but maybe it's too late now. Our countries are at war with each other now so I won't recommend going there..." Riviera realized that their origins had put them in different sides. However, it was their countries that were fighting not them so she saw no reason to start throwing fireball at Samantha right now. Besides, they were in Bern so they probably didn't need to bother about war right now. 

[Samantha Khione]

Samantha listened to Riviera's comment about monsters in Lycia. She had heard of such things, but wasn't too sad that she hadn't run into any. She vaguely remembered Mila once saying something about trying to fight monsters there, but she had been left behind before anything could come of that. Maybe she had actually started to do that, her and Drei. Sam felt sadness in her heart. She had thought the three of them friends, but clearly she had been mistaken. The pair had run off without her, leaving her alone once again.

But she had moved on. By herself, she had been able to refocus herself on her studies. She had become distracted from them for far too long. Thus, she had made her way to the library. While she somewhat wished Riviera would stop asking her questions so she could focus on her stack of books, it was nice to have someone to talk to after all this time. Traveling by yourself could be lonely. An obvious thought, but a true one.

She shook her head at the blonde haired mage. "That was never really an option for me. We didn't have the money to send me to anywhere like that. That's part of the reason why I taught myself. My parents saved up in order to buy me my tomes, and once I had them I'd stay awake until late at night just to read through them..." She was half surprised they were still intact with how much she had read them. It meant the world to her that her parents had set aside some of their precious money just to buy them for her. Samantha didn't have many worldly possessions, but those tomes meant more to her than any of the others.

[Riviera]

Riviera looked confused as she stared at Samantha. Money was never a problem for the rich girl so she couldn't understand Samantha's hardship. Why Sam's parents couldn't send her to the academy? Was it expensive for them? For Mayfield family, paying for Riviera's tuition was easy with their great income from their land. Once again, the blonde mage was reminded that not everyone was blessed with luxury like her. "Oh so it's about money, huh?" Riviera thought to herself as she looked away. It was a little troubling to learn that someone had to work hard to get even less education than she had received.

Brushing her bangs to the side and locked her gaze to the book before her, Riviera tried to look unaffected by pretending to be engrossed with the book. "That...must be hard..." she remarked shortly. Samantha had said something about her parents saving up just for buying one book. Something that had never happened in Riviera's life. She just needed to choose the book and buy it. If she wanted to, she could buy the entire library easily as well. "I am quite lucky I guess..." she thought.

"So after this do you intend to go back to Ilia? I mean...after you study enough books in this library?" she asked. This question was her attempt to change the topic and made things less awkward. Not sure if Samantha felt down or not, but Riviera guessed that the blue-haired mage probably felt somewhat bad after telling such story.