Chapter 21 - The Tale of Valestra
Tomorrow arrived far sooner than Lyra would have liked.
The morning sun greeted her before she was fully awake.
Synchronization.
Her eyes opened.
The familiar ceiling of the dormitory room came into focus.
Gray.
Plain.
Safe.
For several seconds, she simply stared upward.
Then reality settled in.
Synchronization.
Training.
Erix.
A groan rose from the opposite bed.
Amy pulled the blanket over her head.
"Five more minutes."
"You said that ten minutes ago."
"I know."
"That was your five minutes."
Amy slowly lifted her head.
Considered the argument.
Then pointed at Lyra.
"Counterargument."
"I don't remember Professor Alison teaching such a spell...."
"It is an original spell...that's why..."
"I presume the creator is the all famous magician Ms. Amy Valor..."
" Ofcourse..if not her who else can."
Lyra rolled her eyes.
Despite herself, a small smile tugged at her lips.
Amy noticed instantly.
"Aha."
The smile vanished.
"Aha what?"
"You smiled."
"I didn't."
"You did."
"I didn't."
Amy sat upright dramatically.
"Witnesses!"
"There are no witnesses."
"There should be."
Lyra grabbed the nearest pillow.
Amy wisely chose not to continue.
For now.
The morning classes passed without incident.
Amy continued her mission to prove that Lyra was capable of smiling while Lyra contemplated on how to take care of the evening training.
By the time history class arrived, most of the first years already looked exhausted.
The professor Thaddeus Merrow entered carrying three books - thick enough to qualify as weapons.
A collective groan spread through the room.
The professor ignored it.
"As always, your enthusiasm is inspiring."
Everybody looked at him in disbelief.
The lesson began.
Ancient kingdoms.
Trade routes.
Political alliances.
Lyra's attention slowly drifted toward the window.
The sunlight outside seemed significantly more interesting.
Then—
"Among the oldest surviving legends recorded within the academy archives is the Tale of Valestra."
Several students immediately straightened.
Others exchanged knowing looks.
Amy perked up.
Lyra blinked.
Valestra?
The professor opened one of the books.
"Most records from that era have long lost. Wars, disasters, and time itself saw to that."
He turned a page.
"And yet one story endured."
"A story known in nearly every empires"
"A story that survived centuries."
The professor looked around the classroom.
"The Tale of Valestra."
A few students nodded.
One even looked bored.
Clearly, this wasn't the first time they had heard it.
"The legend tells of two figures."
"A human named Val."
"And a phoenix named Estra."
The room remained quiet.
"The details vary depending on who tells it."
"Some versions are romantic."
"Some are tragic."
"Some are little more than children's stories."
"But every version agrees on one thing."
The professor closed the book.
"They were never meant to be together."
For some reason, the sentence lingered.
Lyra frowned slightly.
The professor continued.
"One was human."
"One was a phoenix."
"Different worlds."
"Different lives."
"Different destinies."
"And yet every telling places them side by side."
A student near the front raised his hand.
"Isn't it basically a romance story?"
Several students laughed.
The professor sighed.
"Unfortunately, that is the version most people remember."
More laughter followed.
"The legend became so widespread that references to it entered common speech."
That regained several students' attention.
"If you hear someone describe two people as 'another Val and Estra,' they are referring to the tale."
A few students immediately glanced toward couples seated nearby.
The professor pretended not to notice.
"The ending remains unknown."
That drew a few whispers.
"Unknown?"
The professor nodded.
"Every surviving version ends differently."
"Some claim they died."
"Some claim they vanished."
"Some claim they were separated."
"And some claim they found each other again."
He closed the book.
"History offers no answers."
"Only questions."
For a brief moment, the classroom was unusually silent.
Then the lecture moved on.
Most students immediately lost interest.
Amy did not.
Neither, strangely enough, did Lyra.
Val.
Estra.
Valestra.
The names lingered.
The bell eventually rang.
Students immediately began packing their belongings.
Amy turned toward Lyra.
"Lyra, why were you looking like a small child listening to a bedtime story?"
Lyra blinked.
"I wasn't."
"You were."
"I wasn't."
"You absolutely were."
Amy narrowed her eyes.
Then—
"Don't tell me you've never heard that story before."
Lyra hesitated.
"...I haven't."
Amy stared.
"You what?"
"I haven't."
"How?"
"I don't know."
Amy looked genuinely horrified.
"Lyra, I'm fairly certain every child in Eryndale knows Valestra."
"It's just that in Eryndale we're usually trying to survive another day."
Lyra slung her bag over her shoulder.
"We don't exactly spend our time discussing fairy tales."
"Fairy tale?!"
Amy pointed at her dramatically.
"That is incredibly disrespectful toward Valestra."
Lyra sighed.
"What?"
"Didn't the professor literally say there was no evidence any of it happened?"
"And besides..."
She hesitated.
"A phoenix?"
"Isn't that just a myth?"
"Maybe."
Amy gathered her books.
"But I think they're real."
Lyra looked at her.
"Why do you think that?"
Amy immediately placed a hand over her chest like an actress performing on stage.
"What do you mean why?"
She pointed dramatically toward the ceiling.
"A human."
"A phoenix."
"Two people from completely different worlds."
"Defying fate, society, and common sense for love."
Amy shook her head.
"That's peak romance."
Several nearby students turned to look.
Amy ignored them completely.
"If that's not real, I don't want to know what is."
Lyra stared at her for several seconds.
Then—
"I should have known that was a stupid question."
Amy gasped.
"Excuse me?"
"Especially to you."
"Lyra."
The warning in Amy's voice carried absolutely no threat.
"Lyra."
Lyra had already started walking.
"What do you mean by that?"
Amy hurried after her.
"Lyra."
"What do you mean by that?"
They joined the flow of students leaving the classroom.
The conversation quickly shifted toward lunch.
Then assignments.
Then Amy's ongoing complaints about early morning lectures.
Yet despite all of that—
the names remained.
Val.
Estra.
Valestra.
For reasons she couldn't explain, Lyra found herself repeating them silently.
The words lingered longer than they should have.
The rest of the day passed far too quickly.
By evening, there was no avoiding it anymore.
Training.
The academy corridors were quieter now.
Most students had already returned to their dormitories.
The lowering sun cast long shadows across the grounds.
Lyra walked alone.
Each step brought her closer to the training hall.
Closer to synchronization.
Closer to whatever Erix planned to put her through next.
The previous session still lingered in her mind.
The exhaustion.
The frustration.
The words she wished she could forget.
A fighter who cannot use astral reinforcement properly is crippled in combat.
She hated that the sentence still bothered her.
Part of her wanted to dismiss it.
To prove him wrong.
But another part—
a quieter part—
feared he wasn't.
The training hall came into view.
Its massive doors stood open.
Waiting.
Lyra stopped.
Only for a moment.
Then exhaled.
And stepped forward.
For reasons she couldn't explain—
she had the unsettling feeling that after tonight, something would change.