Vye-Brante

Malik had warned me that learning Cure would slow the whole process down. As usual, he was completely right in this regard. Magic did take study, but it also took practice. I would study spells or have them described to me before I tried them myself. Once I actually felt the magic in action, that was when I felt like I really understood. Knowing about the spell wasn’t enough. I had to use it and often times, use it over and over. Because Cure threw me into MP Charge so quickly, I couldn’t really cast it or anything else until my MP came back. After a week or so of only casting Cure, I figured out that I could cast the other spells first, and when my MP was almost gone, I could then cast Cure with basically the same result. When I shared this discovery with him, he more or less agreed it was a good idea but didn’t seem surprised at all. I’m pretty sure Malik was aware of this and was waiting for me to discover it on my own. This helped give me more

The day following my battle with the Heartless and the memorial was my seventeenth birthday. Seeing how I wasn’t conscious for my last birthday, my family seemed determined to help me enjoy it. My father had two sisters, and my mother had a sister and two brothers. These aunts and uncles brought their families to the castle that day to help us celebrate. We just got together in the evening and had meal together. It was about as fancy as I let them get. I didn’t really care for anything more. I had tried to talk them out of gifts, but of course they all brought some anyway. It seemed they were trying to show their support in my magic studies. Many of them brought me different spell books, charms, and other equipment that could be helpful. I appreciated their thoughtfulness and acceptance of my studies. My mother was less pleased. I think my mother had it in her mind that I would learn magic but then never actually use it. She

I only vaguely remember what we did after the fight with the armor Heartless was over. I think we went to see my parents. I remember there was some shouting and I think Mother cried over me. I attempted to eat some breakfast but was only mildly successful. I think they were still talking about it when I asked Vander to help me get back to my room. The early start of my day and the unexpected strain from the fight left me tired. I went and crashed on my bed and fell back asleep. I slept until the afternoon. I was still in a bit of a daze, but I wanted to be ready for the memorial service that evening. I was going to make sure I was there no matter how tired I was. Malik had stayed by my side the whole evening. He had been waiting outside my door after I woke up from my nap. I wasn’t sure if he had been doing this on his own or if it was due to the argument he had with my parents. I noticed that the three of them would hardly look at each

“Magic does not reward the impatient or the overconfident. Seeking out a fight whether or not you will win will not prove anything. Do you understand?” “I understand.” I did understand. But… The question of whether or not I would win was not the question I wanted answered. Maybe it was silly of me to not have said so. When I had said I wanted to fight a Heartless, I was thinking I’d just go outside the castle walls and wait for a Shadow or two to come along. Maybe a Soldier. Since it would have been my first fight, I wanted to start small. This giant armor Heartless was the opposite of starting small. I held my staff in front of me as bravely as I could. I was trapped inside the courtyard with it. Malik and Vander were stuck on the other side of the invisible barrier. “Stay calm,” Malik instructed. “The worst thing you can do right now is panic. We don’t know what

Now they knew about the cracks in my heart. It seemed I was worried about nothing because not much changed for me. Malik stopped being suspicious about my behavior. My parents seemed to check up on me more, but largely my routine stayed the same. Malik would still skip days of study. I continued going into town to keep learning all the skills I thought could be of use. Eventually the accessory shop owner let me even try forging my own tools and accessories. They were low quality and didn’t do much, but I was satisfied with them as a beginner. They were still an accomplishment to me. Months went by and I continued to train and study to improve myself. One day Malik told me to study magic on my own and come back when I learned a new spell on my own. I practiced the day and went back to talk to him when I had learned Thundara. He then scolded me for choosing to simply upgrade a spell I was already really good at rather than pushing for something new. I argued it

A quick call to Vander confirmed he really had asked Malik to come teach me. When my parents found out about it, they welcomed him and gave him his own room in the castle. When Malik had first started, he had taken me into the city in search of a staff of my very own. He had said it was important that I choose one for myself. I had to make sure it suited me while also staying with one appropriate to my, admittedly low, level. After searching a couple shops for a few hours, I found one I thought would work. It was long and thin and was a golden color. One end had a small red orb while the other had a cloth tied around it. It was light weight and simple. I liked it. I hadn’t yet learned how to send it away or summon it when I needed it, so if I wanted to use it, I had to just carry it with me. I figured that was fine for the time being. I was still learning, after all. Malik seemed to just be glad to find something and said it would do for now.

By the time I was more or less recovered, the city had already settled into its new sense of calm. The guards patrolled the city constantly to keep the Heartless in check. They never disappeared entirely, but they did not swarm the way they did in that initial attack which made them easier to manage. The citizens learned quickly to not travel alone and how to avoid the Heartless. As strange as it was, after a while we all more or less became accustomed to them. They were still dangerous and missing people continued to be reported here and there. But we were learning. We settled into this new normal and continued our routines. Still, we took the threat seriously. We still could never determine the source of the Heartless. They seemingly had just appeared one day, and now they were here to stay. My parents were very busy as they did their part to keep people organized. Recruitment for guards had gone up and luckily there were people willing to answer the call. Our

The day before my sixteenth birthday. I remember it well. Just not for good reason. That’s when everything, and I really mean everything, changed. Back then, I stomped my feet and gave a loud huff. “What do you mean Vander isn’t going to be at my party?!” I demanded. “The negotiations with the Welkins kingdom are taking longer than expected,” my father attempted to explain. “They are at a very delicate point in the process, and he can’t very well leave in the middle of it all to be here.” I was aware of these facts, but this did nothing to sway me from my tantrum. My tastes were very different when I was younger. I remember I liked wearing pink dresses with frills and ribbons. I wore any jewelry I could whenever I could. I liked my hair long and curly, although I never did it myself. I remember that’s what I liked but can’t seem to recall any particular dress or accessory as being my favorite. I sometimes wonder if