By the time they returned to the Starless dormitory, they only had a few minutes to brush their teeth and change into their uniforms before the bell rang. Fortunately, every Starless dormitory came with a basin and a mirror.
Whilst Ester slowly brushed her teeth, Saphy hurriedly brushed her hair, complaining that no one had told her that she looked a mess. Ester was dumbfounded that Saphy somehow didn't realise how pretty she was.
They threw on their uniforms before heading back out, as the other Starless lined up behind a maid who took them to their next lesson.
They were escorted into the main building of the HoS, where they were guided toward a room with a massive mahogany door.
Once the doors opened, a large lecture hall spread out before them. Maps decorated the walls whilst a huge blackboard stretched behind the main desk. Rows of tables and seats curved upwards from the front of the room.
"Please wait inside for Instructor Lillia," a maid instructed with a bow.
Saphy immediately darted towards the back row, with Ester following behind. Geire sat in front of her, whilst Ezekiel and Kris shared a table nearby. Se'raf and Arthur found seats together as well.
"How are you feeling Geire?" Saphy stretched over her table to Geire who was suddenly startled.
"I'm...Fine…" He murmured hoarsely.
He turned back around before pausing. After a moment, he slowly faced Saphy again.
"I'm...Sorry for hurting you two before..." His eyes met Ester's briefly before looking back at Saphy then away.
Ester and Saphy looked at each other in surprise.
"...It's fine!" Saphy beamed. "Thank you for the apology." She turned to Ester. "Right Ester?"
Ester looked at the dishevelled boy. The uniform didn't quite fit him. His tie had been done improperly, and his long, messy hair hid most of his eyes.
"...As long as you don't do it again." She said.
Geire was taken aback before reluctantly nodding his head.
Ester managed a smile before she asked him who did his tie for him.
Murmurs continued whilst the door opened again.
Instructor Lillia entered, her blonde hair neatly plaited over one shoulder whilst a black cloak draped around her. Fastened at the collar was a silver clasp bearing the symbol of the Church, a C shaped crescent with a jagged crack splitting its upper-right edge. She regarded the Starless with a warm smile, a small book resting in her hands. Another figure followed quietly behind, wearing the same cloak, nervously shuffling into the room.
She stood behind the desk at the front of the room, resting her arms upon it as she waited for the Starless to settle down.
"Good morning, Starless." she said with a cheery smile.
A chorus of sleepy mumbles answered her.
"I hope you're all awake from Instructor Burnad's training." She said turning towards the huge black board behind her. "...Oh yes!" She smiled. "This is my shadow, Elise. She'll be helping me throughout today's lesson.
Elise gave a shy bow.
Lillia handed her a piece of paper before she quietly made her way through the lecture hall, whispering to each Starless as she scribbled down their names.
Facing the blackboard again, she picked up a piece of chalk.
"I hope you lot at the back can still see this…" she muttered.
She wrote a single word across the top of the board before drawing two large branches beneath it.
"Almost…" She paused. "...All Synchrites manipulate Flo through one of two fundamental paths."
She tapped the board.
"What is an Internal Manipulator?"
Hands immediately shot into the air.
"Internal Manipulators can manipulate their own bodies?"
"How?"
"..Um…"
"...Hmm." She gave a polite grimace.
"Internal Manipulators manipulate their own Flo Layer." She drew smaller branches beneath the Internal Manipulation section. "Each Synchrite has one, however Internals can enhance themselves, modify their bodies, or even project parts of their own Flo with it. Every expression stems from manipulating their Flo layer."
Quiet murmurs spread throughout the room.
"In the same way…" she continued, "External Manipulators manipulate Flo outside their own bodies. This includes manipulating phenomena that Flo flows through, shaping Flo into different forms…" She paused briefly. "Or even manipulating Flo signatures."
Ester immediately thought of Vanessa.
"An Aspect is simply an expression of one of those subpaths." Lillia looked around the room. "Can anyone give me an example?"
"S-strengthening?"
"For?"
"Internal Enhancement?"
"Correct." She smiled. "Any others?"
"Flo barriers...for External Flo shaping?"
"Oh my! Yes!"
She looked around the room, satisfaction shining in her eyes.
"...Excuse me..."
Ester had been so focused on Lillia's explanation that she hadn't even noticed Elise standing beside her.
"Could I please have you're names…" She said quietly.
"This is one of the biggest differences between Pure Synchrites and Awakened Synchrites." Lillia folded her arms. "Whilst an Awakened Synchrite has the potential to learn multiple expressions within a path, Pure Synchrites are born naturally attuned to only one expression, whether that's a single Aspect… or an entire path."
She took a breath.
"...Any questions?"
"What about Beast Bonding?"
She cocked her head.
"What about beast bonding?"
"...How does it happen?"
She sighed.
"Well… I was going to save it for another lesson, but.." She looked around. "One. You do not have to be a Synchrite to bond with a beast."
Uproars of confusion could be heard. Ester leaned in.
"And two. There are different ways you can bond with a Beast..."
"The result, however."
She stretched out her arm and almost instantly, shimmering blue crystal began spreading across her skin until her entire arm resembled polished blue glass.
"...Is that you can incorporate traits from your Flo beast."
"Is it true you can only bond with one beast?" Another said.
"That is…not true…" she replied. "However having more than one is extremely, extremely hard on your body."
Soft whispers spread across the room.
"For the next few minutes," she said, setting the chalk down, "I want you all to discuss five different things you can do in each subpath of a path."
The rest of the lesson was spent discussing Flo theory before she dismissed them for lunch.
"It's a shame lessons with Lillia won't be every day." Saphy sighed as they ate together in the Starless courtyard. "I was enjoying her lecture."
Ester nodded.
"...I didn't even know non Synchrites could bond with Flo beasts."
"There's a whole nation who are known for it," Se'raf said. "Ever heard of the Qingzhou Province?"
"...In Seema-Khan?" She replied.
Se'raf nodded.
"Even though their Flo beasts are more common and usually nowhere near as strong as Elijah's or Lillia's, they can still inherit their beast's passive abilities."
Ezekiel let out a thoughtful hum.
"I wonder what my Flo beast will look like," he said wistfully.
Kris snorted in response and Ezekiel shot him a confused look.
"What?"
"Nothing." Kris smirked, taking another bite of his food.
"...Unlike you guys..." Ezekiel continued, stretching his arms over his head, "I'd rather do than learn."
Arthur nodded in agreement almost choking on his sandwich. "I can't wait to see the one-eyed king in action."
Ester frowned to herself, replaying the title again in her head.
The One-Eyed King.
Besides his scar on his face, he seemed so poised and hearty...She wondered how someone could earn a title like that.
Once their lunch time was up, they were taken back outside to a different part of the training fields, filled with sparring rings, racks of weapons and armour, training dummies worn from use, and the distant clang of steel from other years already at practice.
They found him wearing silver and red armour, a cloak swaying behind him. His hands clasped behind his back and his chest puffed out with a smile.
"Starless!", he announced. "Today you'll be learning the basics of combat and Flo manipulation."
"I know you've already watched Ezekiel fight both Lucius and Elijah.." Ester noticed how smug Ezekiel looked. "But I think you'll find this one even more...insightful."
Markos glanced to his right and they all followed his lead, revealing a familiar looking boy, shuffling forward with huge glasses and a hand soothing the back of his neck. Elijah followed beside them, hands buried in his pockets and a yawn escaping him. Another freckled boy with messy ginger hair and a prominent smile walked with them.
"Third year second Star Cosmo Alauris…" Markos called. "Third year third Stars Nathaniel and Elijah will be helping during today's sparring."
A wave of surprise spread through the class.
It came as a complete shock to Ester when she began to realise.
"Wait… Alauris… as in...?" One said nervously.
Markos looked confused, glancing at Cosmo.
"...Yes? He's my younger half brother." He said it like it was obvious. "...Do we not look alike?"