Welcome, readers, to Hiraeth—a world of all your favorite fairytales, childhood stories, and books. Hiraeth began many years ago when it came into existence through the culmination of ideas and stories from multiple universes, forming a plane. The small plane then grew gases; the nenergy; then stars; then planets, solar systems, and galaxies, until it became its own singular dimension.
"A few years later, a planet gave birth to life," a male voice explains. "Life like monsters, beasts, animals, Eldritch creatures, and the like".
"Then finally, the first human, who marked the beginning of Hiraeth's core function: to birth lives that would live out these stories—each life given a role, a purpose they have to play," a female voice elaborates.
"As the narrators, we were also born of this world from the different ideas of a narrator across multiverses—maybe even yours". "Our role is to relay these stories to you," the Male Narrator pauses, then continues. "Today we shall relay a story to you about a young girl who, just like every modern female MC, wishes to defy the norms of society and forge her own path".
"We will now be zooming in to see what this young lady is up to"."Wait! Let's first check out the most perfect girl in the Dwarven kingdom's Steinvik Royal Wisdomhall of Magic, one of the next big things of this generation of stories," the FemaleNarrator interrupts, leaving the Male Narrator speechless as she continues,
A graduation is underway, filled with families of royal lineage. One would think it was a ball of some sort, but with chairs and a smaller hall. On the stage, the Master of Ceremonies—a dwarf wearing blue formal usher clothing—seems to be welcoming a prestigious student.
The Female Narrator, barely holding her excitement, quickly describes: The Master of Ceremonies excitedly announces, "Welcoming our best graduating student, Snow Aurora Rosalind Seraphina Valory Princess White, to make her speech as the leaving Seniorrette of this great Wisdomhall ! Head of the Students' Advisory and Management
Body; daughter of the Blessed Fall; a Princess of the ever-courageous and infamous Valory Household!". He lets out a chuckle as the crowd roars with excitement, laughter, and standing ovations. A figure of at least six feet tall emerges from the crowd with the intention of approaching the stage. She is a girl with snow-white blonde hair flowing to the top of her back, styled with expensive-looking hair clips. Her dress could make any noble daughter's wedding gown look pale and uninspiring; it is as bright as light itself. The dress reflects the sunlight coming through the hall's church-like mirrors like a living moon, making the already bright room even brighter. The white cloth flows so long it drags along the floor; but instead of getting dirty, the ground shines with beautiful bright white light where it touches, growing little flowers along the way. It is such an amazing sight you would think the dress itself is cleaning and purifying the floor.
"The gown, of course, shows the proud Valory House motif on its back, noticeable once the girl brushes her hair to the side to bring some forward," the Male Narrator quickly interjects. "She is wearing the graduation wear—a blue suit at the front covering the beautiful gown completely—though the rest of the front has floral patterns on it". The Female Narratorsqueals,.
"As she approached, the Master of Ceremonies kept the praise coming: 'An academic record-breaker; young and inspiring leader; the next head of her household with no competition in sight at all levels'".
The girl of so much praise had crystalline cyan eyes and beautiful pale skin as white as snow—exactly as everyone expected, because of course, she is Snow White herself.Wearing a gentle but excited expression, she climbs the stage, waving and blowing kisses towards the crowd with one arm while nobly lifting her gown with the other, all with the utmost manners and charm. "The next inheritor of the Snow White story... please keep the applause as she makes her way to the podium to give us her blessings!". The Master of Ceremonies finishes his greetings. She positions herself at the stand, now exuding poise, dominance, and elegance. Rosalind rests her hands on the stand, smiles once more, then begins her speech.
"I first acknowledge the representative of the royal family and his cabinet. Then, if you will kindly allow me, I would like to thank the Master of Ceremonies for his flattering greetings; they left me in awe. I blushed all the way to this podium". The crowd erupts in laughter. "I would also like to give thanks to our principal for his charismatic and sterling management of Wisdomhall; the chairman and the PTA for being ample pillars of support; the teachers fortheir continuous and thankless efforts in making sure the students of this Wisdomhall not only graduate as academic successes but also as the best royals they could be in preparation for the next phase of their life; and the non-teaching staff for going above and beyond to maintain the conducive and elating environment of this great school. I lower my crown in appreciation of all your efforts, including those that I failed to acknowledge in this speech".
"As everyone has inspired me and helped me in many ways, allowing me to stand here on this stage...". Snide remarks and gossip become louder in the crowd for some reason. "I she said loudly, 'Remember when I first came to this Wisdomhall three years ago when I was thirteen years old?' Admittedly, it wasn't the most joyous time of my life". Her voice fades, with the narrators' voices rising. "Snow Aurora Rosalind Seraphina Valory Princess White, the 396th inheritor of the Snow White legacy," says the Female Narrator.
"Snow White, the popular Brothers Grimm story heroine who survived the bullying of the Evil Queen, her own stepmother," the Male Narrator elaborates, "but let's not get sidetracked. The main character of today's story isn't Miss Rosalind but instead—".
"It seems Miss Rosalind is about to finish her speech. Let's listen," the Female Narrator notes with an aloof voice, ignoring the Male Narrator. "To advance forward in my journey of becoming the best Snow White, I will be heading to Glen Hearthstone Atheneum, the most lush, largest, and greatest educational institution to ever exist," Rosalind announces.
The Steinvik Wisdomhall no longer possesses any more classes for Rosalind now that she has graduated from their highest level—middle school.
"As in the world of Hiraeth, the education system goes from beginner to basic to elementary to middle school then high school; the Dwarven kingdom of Steinvik only possesses up to middle-school level educational institutions," says the Male Narrator.
"Shhhhhhhh! Don't interrupt her speech!" the Female Narrator playfully warns.
"I, a great student of this Wisdomhall, shall be a great representative of all of you and everything this Wisdomhall represents".
Snide remarks, though quiet, ensue from the crowd as Rosalind delivers her speech—the loudest, of course, being, "I doubt it".This, of course, saddened Rosalind, but she makes sure not to show it. "Make no mistakes!"
Rosalind assures. "This Wisdomhall to me is not a stepping stone but a large part of me, as
it has forged me into steel that will shake Hearthstone's core; steel that will always remember the hammer that shaped it".
She pauses. The anticipation for what she will say next could be felt. Cameras flash and a clear aura now emanates from Rosalind.
She puts her hand around her chest and announces, "Just like the hunter couldn't betray Snow White, I, Aurora Rosalind Seraphina Valory White, would never betray Steinvik Kingdom Royal Wisdomhall of Magic—a great pillar of all the successes of all the students who have attended it. I'm sure, even if not, this Wisdomhall has at least built a foundation in me". She removes her hand from her chest and motions it charismatically towards the crowd. Camera clicks filled the air.
Before the grand applause could begin, a boy in the crowd shouted, "That's what she said!"
The crude joke threatened to derail everything, but the applause roared in just in time
drowning out the snickers. Rosalind herself let out a subtle giggle as she gracefully returned
to her seat.
"Was the perfect girl just laughing just now?" the Male Narrator remarks.
"No, she didn't," the Female Narrator replies. "I hope that rude boy gets what's coming for him—and the rest of those haters. Villains, villains, the lot of them!" she says vexingly. "No need to get angry now, partner; you'll leave the reader hanging if this goes on. But look, the boy seems to be seized by the guards, as well as many others," the Male Narrator says, calming the Female Narrator.
"But do villains always have to do this? They are just hampering their reputations, which is already bad. Our main character is also a villain with the same attitudes,it genuinely leaves me quite confused," the Male Narrator laments. "But wait—before we move on, Rosalind seems to be thinking about something," the Female Narrator interrupts.
"But we can't read minds, my dear," the Male Narrator sighs.Rosalind, now sitting on her seat among the graduating students, thinks to herself as the Master of Ceremonies continues the programme.
Glen Hearthstone Atheneum: the most prestigious educational institution established by the CZP, the Concord Of An Everlasting Zenith Pact—an organisation founded with the aim of ensuring the height of harmony and co-existence in Hiraeth.Rosalind smirks a little. She has heard a lot about the organisation. She doesn't believe their Ideals are plausible through the methods they have been using, such as establishing a school for everyone.
Rosalind herself was supposed to go to this school—her mother graduated from there and is part of the CZP—but was sent to Steinvik in hopes of building relationships with the dwarven inheritors of her story. It failed, as the dwarves left for Hearthstone as soon as she got to Steinvik. Steinvik, being the first school she ever attended after being homeschooled through basic to elementary studies, was a very lacklustre experience, made worse because she was sent here by her mother for political reasons.
Finally, after three years, I can go to Hearthstone. I've heard so much about it—established thousands of years ago, filled with students from all walks of Hiraeth. I hope I get to meet many people there... maybe just some like me.
As she remembers the inheritor of the Evil Queen attends the institution, her smile turns a little. "Hi!". A group of girls, bringing Rosalind out of her thoughts, approach her—many of them in posh dresses, except for one that caught Rosalind's attention. This one was nearly as tall as her and taller than all in the group of humans and dwarves.
Rosalind moved to approach them, releasing waves of Vim from her body. The energy acted as a tactical wave, slowing the girls' approach and cooling their haste towards her. This allowed Rosalind to peek at each of their Codex from a distance and position herself so that she wouldn't be caught in their middle as they arrived.
However, the girl in black remained entirely unaffected, her confidence unshaken by the pressure. "Ah, her Vim," the Female Narrator admired, her voice softening. "Such a beautiful colour, and the density is quite high for her age; exactly what you'd expect from a prodigy in the making". "Vim," the Male Narrator added smoothly, "is the natural flow of energy that every living and non-living thing in Hiraeth possesses. It can grow in both capacity and density through Cadence—the deep understanding of something—and through dedicated training. A strong Cadence combined with the right training lets even a modest amount of Vim become far larger or denser".
"Miss Rosalind must have trained a lot to have Vim like that—large and dense enough to affect people even a little—and the properties of her Vim are so beautiful," the Female Narrator elaborates. "She must be using it as a precaution to approach the group of girls. You never know with royals," the Female Narrator guesses.
The girl that caught Rosalind's attention only became more confident in her approach. She had jet-black hair and eyes, wearing a white and black simple noble dress and a cap that possessed beads and was slightly bigger than her head, nearly covering her face completely.
"Uh, who is this? I've never seen her. Is she a noble, Puritan, or witch? I can't seem to identify her," the Female Narrator inquires. "I don't know. She seems to be a noble—the brooch on the purse she carries is definitely that of a noble—but I don't know which noble's motif looks like a broken, badly drawn shark.
But she must be of high power, definitely above Rosalind. I hope things turn out for the best," the Male Narrator laments.
Rosalind quickly pulls out a pocket watch from her cloak right as the girl gets right in front of her. The mysterious girl's confident look immediately drops as she tries to pull something from her bag but fails. "I'm so sorry for my horrible display, Your Grace," the girl says. "I flew all the way here to congratulate you on passing Glen Hearthstone Atheneum's entrance exams and getting admitted. It is truly a remarkable feat. The Athenaeum is known for its hard exams and picky admission process, but our Princess not only passed but got listed on the first list—truly the best of your peers graduating today, of whom only a few passed the entrance. Your Grace is as great as the tales the Queen tells us every day," the girl says, praising Rosalind, who is still scared but lets out an obviously fake laugh as the rest of the girls finally get there. "Only the Athenaeum could ever be a befitting school for you, my Grace," the girl quicklysays.
" That's okay. Thank you. Please, could you tell me who you may be?" Rosalind says, trying to probe the girl. "Are you an older student? An alumni?". "Dear, no. I am—". A bunch of guards came up to the scene, immediately apprehending the girl.
"Oh my, gentlemen, there seems to be a misunderstanding," she explains as she is dragged away, but not before screaming, "They call me Jet!". She then went on to curse the guardspulling her away.
The rest of the girls scoff at the unsightly show that just took place in front of them. They turn to Rosalind, who seems to be focused on the leaving girl. "I think she is trying to peek at the girl's Codex to get some general information on her," says the Female Narrator. "A Codex is a personalised stat that everything in this world possesses. It simply shows relevant or needed information of anything that comes from Hiraeth," explains the Male Narrator.
Rosalind, confused, tries peeking at the girl's Codex, but she could only see their nickname, school of attendance, workplace, and profession. The rest were uncomfortably blurred, and the Codex appeared like a fake—too generic, as Codex is usually personalised per person. "Jet; Glen Hearthstone Atheneum; CZP Manor; Mercenary and Witch," Rosalind exclaims as she is deep in thought amidst the ladies who are trying to get her attention. She is drawn back to reality by a dwarf guard. "Your Grace, we saw your pocket watch and intervened as fast as we can. Did that suspicious woman cause you any harm? If so, I will ask the royal family to use my eye to compensate," the guard asks.
"No, I'm fine, and nothing happened. No need to lose your eye; the woman seems to be quite strong. Maybe a Primordial, we can't say. But do please be careful with her". "A Primordial? That is impossible, Princess Rosalind. What will a Primordial be doing here of all places?".
A brown girl from the group, dressed the best and holding a fan, interrupts. Rosalind waves the guard away.
"I'm only making a guess." Rosalind sneakily peeks at this girl's Codex. "Your Honourable, Samantha Fuchs. I was only guessing. I would never suggest such a thing for fun. Please forgive me," she apologizes.
"No worries. I heard quite the number of people calling you 'Your Grace.' Your mother's reputation really shines through," Samantha remarks as she looks around, envious of the eyes on Rosalind.
"I personally don't think I'm deserving of the title as I'm not my mother," Rosalind chuckles.
"Ughhh," Samantha gasps. "Miss Aurora, someone of your stature should own the title and not make such crude statements! As your mom is great, you are great too; being related to greatness inherently makes you great!" she snaps. The girls in the group, feeling the tension, start to disperse. Rosalind's eyes start to shine, but she closes them, making it clear she is displeased. Rosalind could not believe someone of Samantha's position was correcting her behaviour.
"Thank you for the lesson, Honourable Fuchs. We royalty should be looking after one another," Rosalind begins, her voice dropping to a low, cold tone. "But I can't help but notice that you haven't congratulated the best graduating student and your leaving Seniorrette for her accomplishments, as common courtesy dictates".
" We were also eavesdropping on a conversation between a royal and a guard, you know," Rosalind continues, now standing close to Samantha Devon Fuhre and looking down on her. "Security issues are private matters, and eavesdropping can be charged as spying and a breach of privacy—or worse, sovereignty".
As Rosalind spoke, her Vim began to expand with aggressive intensity. Samantha shivered as the energy washed over her; she had initially thought she could tough it out and stand her ground, but the sheer density of the Vim made the entire atmosphere around Rosalind turn bone-chilling. Rosalind's tall figure and glowing eyes only made the experience more frightening as she stared her down with a blank, menacing look. Samantha immediately backed away, her face pale, and fled the scene—hoping that Rosalind didn't have enough Vim to cover the entire hall. "Wow, the hall must be cold right now with the amount of dense Vim Rosalind is exuding, commanding attention and respect at such a young age," the Male Narrator admires. "Amazing, right? Who did Samantha think she was—a failed royal talking to Rosalind likethat and using the name given to her by the Valory Household head?" the Female Narrator says. "Though I'm sure that Rosalind's Vim would be soothing and not chilling," she adds,the Male Narrator scoffing in the background.
The event came to a close around evening, but the day wasn't over for Rosalind. She needed to be on her way to Glen Hearthstone Atheneum. The red and white carriage she was in was being pulled by a sole Pegasus about the size of the carriage itself, with no driver. Rosalind, exhausted, taps on a mirror. A light appeared, showing a dwarven guard. "Your Grace, sorry for disrupting your peace. I called to inform you of grave news. It seems you were right: the woman in the black hat was indeed a witch of at least Primordial status," the soldier says. "She has now escaped, knocking out all the soldiers in her way and leaving them all barely alive".
"I knew it," Rosalind says, her right hand resting on her chin as she stares outside the carriage. "I was unable to read her Codex and my Vim seemed inferior to hers. Was she able to reclaim her possessions?". "Unfortunately, she got away with it all. We are sorry for our continued incompetence," he apologizes and kneels on his right foot, looking down to the ground.
Rosalind scoffs and looks further away from the mirror. "Please get up. There was nothing
we could do. Is that all?". "Yes, Your Grace. What should we do with the rest?" he asks. "The rest? Who are you speaking of?" she asks. "You know—the people interrupting your speech. Among them is the boy who made that crude joke". Rosalind looks at the screen and bursts into laughter. "Of course, them! Release them and give them all compensations. They have done nothing wrong. If that is all, I will be cutting the call now".
"May the world's light be with Your Grace on her journey," the guard prays as the call ends. Rosalind breathes in the fresh air, filling her mind with how life at Hearthstone is going to be. I just know it's going to be great, she sighs, staring out the carriage window at the clouds.
"Glen Hearthstone Atheneum... that is also where our main protagonist resides. Let's move on to her now," the Male Narrator suggests. "No—let's wait till Rosalind gets to the gate, please," the Female Narrator begs. "But the chapter is already ending and we haven't even met the main protag," the Male Narrator says, shocked at the Female Narrator's request. "But look—Rosalind seems to be in a rush. Look," the Female Narrator notes. "Mercy, please, can you go faster? I want to get there as fast as possible," Rosalind urges the Pegasus. "You know Silvy boasted you were the fastest racehorse we had. Are you feeling under the weather today?". Mercy was not taking that insult and sped up significantly, going so fast that to people on the ground he seemed like a star passing through the sky—travelling hundreds of kilometres in seconds, turning a normally thirty-minute journey at the speed of sound into seventeen minutes. Rosalind enjoyed every single moment of it. How many times does someone get to ride a carriage breaking the sound barrier with no rider? Silvy really trained you, didn't she? I'll give you a carrot once we land. No, I'll give you some sugar. "Oh! Is that not Glen Hearthstone down there? Who are those by the gate... a welcome party, perhaps?". As the Pegasus carriage broke through the final clouds and the grand gates of Glen Hearthstone Atheneum came into view under the deepening evening sky, Rosalind's eyes
caught a tall figure standing just beyond the welcome party. She was a girl with striking white-and-jet-black hair woven together. Her purple-blue eyes glowed faintly in the twilight, locking onto Rosalind's for a split second—cool, defiant, and impossible to forget.
Around her stood a quirky group: one girl floating a few feet off the ground, glowing bright red like a spirit of some sort; another on the ground holding a sign and wailing dramatically; a girl in a modern sleeveless pink clown outfit doing energetic cartwheels; and the only dude there, casually reading a magazine while holding his glasses in his free arm, somehow reading perfectly without them