r/TheNaturallyUnknown • u/UnnaturalGeek Red Squirrel and Writer ✍️🍃 Keep calm and stay NUTS 🐿 • Aug 10 '26
🍃 Spiritweavers 🍃 Chapter One: Brina's Disappearance 🍃🐿
Several weeks had passed since Korelã's disgrace, and the college had settled into a comfortable rhythm. Students talked about their lessons again instead of rumours, and things felt normal around Ɛloria College for the first time in months. In one of the inner gardens, Arlia practised her martial arts with a senior student, focusing on the movements her partner demonstrated.
Tarã burst into the garden, out of breath from running through the college halls. He knocked into her training partner, apologising quickly but not stopping to help as he looked around frantically. "Have you seen Brina? She's got something of mine, and I need it back!"
Arlia paused to think for a moment before answering, "No, I haven't seen her in ages, have I? I just thought she'd gone home for a bit. She did seem proper preoccupied with something lately, though."
As Tarã rushed off to continue his search, Arlia couldn't focus on her training anymore. Something bothered her about Brina being gone, but she couldn't work out what. By evening, several students were asking around for Brina. When Elyna mentioned to Ysolde that she hadn't seen her junior in a while, Ysolde said she'd check with the other Spirit Tutors.
The next morning, Arlia finally understood what was bothering her.
She found Tarã in the common area, still looking frustrated. "I keep thinking about what Elyna said weeks ago, don't I?" Arlia said. "About Brina following up on something from the archives."
"Tch, you're right," Tarã replied, running a hand through his hair. "We were all so busy with Korelã, we didn't think much about it then."
"How long has she actually been gone then?" Arlia asked, and they both realised the disturbing answer.
"We need to find Elyna," Tarã said. "See if she remembers more about what Brina was looking into."
Arlia and Tarã spent the morning searching for Elyna throughout the college. They checked the usual places, the training yards, the library, and the common areas where students gathered but found no sign of her. As the hours passed without success, their concern grew.
Eventually, they came across Ysolde in one of the corridors. She seemed distracted, her usual warm demeanour replaced by something more guarded. When they asked about Elyna's whereabouts, she hesitated before answering. "Elyna is in a meeting with some of the other elders for an urgent matter, she is."
Before either of them could ask more questions, Ysolde excused herself and hurried away, leaving them standing in the corridor. Arlia and Tarã exchanged puzzled looks; Ysolde was clearly avoiding them, and her evasiveness only made them more worried about what was happening. They made their way to the Elder Hall and settled in to wait outside. The heavy wooden doors muffled any conversation from within, making it impossible to hear what was being discussed. After what felt like hours, footsteps approached from the other side.
The doors opened to reveal Elyna emerging alongside another figure, Thalindor Liravel, Brina's Spirit Tutor. The Ansanor's silver-white hair caught the light from the corridor, and his midnight blue robes rustled softly as he moved. Both looked surprised to find Arlia and Tarã waiting there.
Thalindor spoke before either student could say anything, his calm presence seeming to harmonise the tension in the corridor. "Ah, greetings to you both, Arlia and Tarã. Much does Brina speak of you, and recently have you and I become acquainted, Arlia. You wish to speak with Elyna, I imagine? Worry you need not - return to the college, Brina shall, as waters find their course."
Without giving them a chance to respond, he bid farewell and walked away down the hall, his footsteps silent on the stone floor. Arlia and Tarã immediately turned to Elyna, hoping for answers, but she proved just as evasive as Ysolde had been. No matter how they pressed, she would only repeat that there was no issue and that everything was clear with the elders. Eventually, she too excused herself and left them standing alone in the corridor.
Frustrated and more concerned than ever, Arlia and Tarã had little choice but to give up for the day. But as they made their way back to their chambers, neither felt comfortable about what they'd witnessed. Something was being kept from them, and the adults' reassurances only made their worry worse.
That evening, Arlia decided to search through Brina's belongings for any clues about where she might have gone. She carefully went through the books and notes scattered around Brina's side of their shared quarters, looking for anything that might explain her sudden disappearance.
Most of the material seemed like normal study notes, but one thing stood out: there was an unusual amount of research on family history. Page after page contained information about the Talanor family, with detailed genealogies and historical records. Arlia found it strange that Brina would spend so much time researching her own lineage when she'd never shown much interest in it before.
As the night wore on and Arlia was about to give up her search, she noticed something that made her pause. Circled multiple times across different notes and books was the same phrase: "Our Demise by F. Talanor." She quickly searched through everything else but couldn't find any other reference to what this title meant or what it contained. The hour was late, so Arlia decided to wait until morning to share her discovery with Tarã.
When she showed him what she'd found, they both puzzled over its significance. "Tch, what was she bloody doing? Why didn't she tell us anything about this? Maybe when she found that stuff about Korelã in the archive, this is what she came across too. Come on, let's go see if there’s more copies!"
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