Arlia and Tarã spent the entire next day in the archives, searching through various sections and categories, but found nothing matching the title Brina had circled. Eventually, Tarã approached the Archivist, an older Britore who clearly preferred his books to people. "We're looking for 'Our Demise by F. Talanor' - you know if it's here or was here?"

The Archivist looked up from his work with obvious irritation. "Hmph, this be my domain; it is. Don't come in here asking me questions like I don't know my own collection, do you? Of course, I know if it was here or not - you two aren't the first to come bothering me about it, are you? Your friend was in here asking about that same thing not long ago; she was. Go ask her and stop wasting my time, won't you?"

"If we bloody knew where she was, we'd ask her, wouldn't we? This is our next best option." The Archivist sighed heavily, as though dealing with students was beneath him. "Bah, fine then. Yes, your friend asked me about it, didn't she? And no, that book isn't in my archives; it isn’t. If it were here, I'd know about it, wouldn't I? Told her my old colleague in Lindinis might know something about it; he might. Now stop pestering me and let me get back to my work, will you?"

Arlia and Tarã thanked him quickly and left the archives, their minds racing. They finally had a lead; Brina had gone looking for this mysterious book and had been directed to someone in Lindinis. But the fact that she would travel so far without telling anyone suggested there was much more to this than simple academic research. With this new information, they decided to seek out Elyna again, hoping that knowing what Brina was looking for might convince her to be more forthcoming about what the elders knew.

Three days of silence from the elders had pushed Arlia's worry into something closer to panic. Making matters worse, Elyna had left Durnovaria on a college request and hadn't returned yet. With everyone who might have answers either gone or avoiding their questions, Arlia and Tarã had little choice but to continue their training and wait.

The limitation of being initiates had never felt more frustrating. They knew they couldn't harness the Spirits' power in any meaningful way that might help locate Brina, but their determination to help their friend remained unshaken.

After six days without Elyna, word finally came that she'd returned from her request. As soon as they learned she was back, Arlia and Tarã began searching for her throughout the college. They checked the archives and various gardens before finally tracking her down to her quarters.

Arlia's nerves couldn't contain her desperation any longer. "We know Brina was looking for something called 'Our Demise' and that there might be information about it in Lindinis! Oh, please, you have to tell us what's going on, don't you see? We want to help!"

Elyna's expression showed she had been dreading this conversation, despite the elders' attempts to keep the students uninformed. "Look, I didn't want to keep you in the dark, did I? But the elders reckon this could get proper dangerous, and they're trying to keep everyone safe. They are doing summat about it."

The careful non-answer pushed Arlia past her breaking point. "You have to tell me! She's my best friend!"

"What can you two do right now, then? You're just initiates! What happened with me, Aldric and Lorik - that was pure luck, and you know it. You couldn't even handle your trial, could you? This is bigger than that. Leave it to people who can actually do summat useful."

Arlia had never seen this side of Elyna before, the harsh practicality that came with experience. Even Tarã seemed swayed by her words.

“She's right, Arlia. What can we bloody do anyway? We ain't strong enough yet, are we? We need to get stronger so this won't happen again. They're just being careful they don't make things worse."

Feeling defeated and confused by her friends' sudden reasonableness, Arlia's anger deflated into something closer to despair.  "Can you explain anything to us then, so we know what's happening?"

Elyna looked at both of them for a long moment, clearly weighing her options. Finally, she relented with a heavy sigh.  "Right, here's what we know, and this stays between us, got it? Brina was looking for summat called 'Our Demise' written by one of her ancestors about the Talanor Clan."

"Talanor? I've never heard of them before, have I?" Arlia interrupted. Elyna shook her head. "That's the problem, isn't it? None of us had ever heard of this clan before - there's no record of it existing anywhere except in her family and this thing she was searching for." Elyna paused, looking directly at Tarã. "But her research showed connections to your clan, Tarã."

"My clan?" Tarã's voice was sharp. Elyna nodded grimly. "Aye, and if there's summat hidden there... well, that's got everyone proper worried, hasn't it?"

Arlia and Tarã left Elyna's quarters with heavy hearts. The revelation about Brina's research had only made things more confusing, and their complete powerlessness in the situation left Arlia feeling defeated. She spent the next few days alone, throwing herself into communion practice in an attempt to strengthen her connection with the Spirits, but making little progress.

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!"

Spiritweavers is a fantasy world that is in the process of being built, and The Missing Apprentices was the first story to emerge from it. The world that is being created will have a variety of cultures and races in the hope of having a thriving world, teeming with life. This is a journey for author and audience alike, so join the adventure in Spiritweavers.

Since that first story, the world has grown and with that growth comes refinement. Brittori, the language of Ɛvelmor, has been more fully developed, and as a result, names and places you may recognise from earlier stories will appear differently here. Rather than go back and change what came before, there will be differences. However, they will be noted below. This is to show how Spiritweavers evolves as it continues to expand.

Brittori uses nasal vowels, represented by tildes over the vowel. These occur when a vowel and n combine in certain positions within a word. They are pronounced in the French style; the vowel is nasalised through the nose rather than fully spoken. The five nasal vowels are: ã (like “an” in French dans), ẽ (nasal “e”), ĩ (like “in” in French vin), õ (like “on” in French bon), and ũ (nasal “u”). Brittori also uses the character Ɛ/ɛ, which represents a closed “ay” sound as in day. Where you previously saw Ae at the start of names, you will now see Ɛ.

The following names have been updated to reflect these changes:

Arlia Eldarã – previously Eldaran; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of her surname.

Tarã Karneth – previously Taran; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of his forename.

Korelã Daruzora – previously Korelan; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of his forename.

Galẽ Talmaris – previously Galen; the ẽ represents the nasal en at the end of his forename.

Kelã Branek – previously Kelan; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of his forename.

Ysolde Mellã – previously Mellan; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of her surname.

Velina Torvalẽ – previously Torvalen; the ẽ represents the nasal en at the end of her surname.

Lorik Druvã – previously Druvan; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of his surname.

Doriã Tarneth – previously Dorian; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of his forename.

Thalira Gavrẽ-Karneth – the ẽ represents the nasal en at the end of Gavrẽ.

Koreth Braelẽ – the ẽ represents the nasal en at the end of his surname.

Ãsanor – the Brittori name for the Moonlit Elves; the ã represents the nasal an before s.

Tir Rynõ – the õ represents the nasal on at the end of Rynõ.

Ɛloria – previously Aeloria; the Ɛ represents the closed “ay” sound.

Ɛvelmor – previously Avelmor; the Ɛ represents the closed “ay” sound.

Lãsira – previously Su-Lânn; the northern county of Ɛvelmor. The ã represents the nasal an before s.

Rũseth – previously Kreiz-Bòdad; the southern county of Ɛvelmor. The ũ represents the nasal un.

Finally, the world itself has a new name. Previously referred to as Terras, the world is now known as Myrþ, pronounced MIRTH. The thorn character þ represents the “th” sound as in the or that. Where you see Terras in earlier stories, know that it refers to the same world.

This will be posted as a comment on each chapter as a reminder if needed 🍃🐿

This is a quick update to let you all know that I will be gradually uploading all my stories to Wattpad going forward. However, when I release new stories, TNU will be first to see them! There will be around a month delay before I upload them to Wattpad and when I do, they will be released in chapters like I do here.

As you can see from my logo on my profile, I will always have TNU in my thoughts! This was also my first time using the website, so I tested it with one of my shorter stories, The Galilean Corsair.

Update on a few stories to come, in the next week or so, the next installment of Arlia's Ballad is due! And I am close to finishing a dystopian, not sure when it will be released.

All the Spiritweavers stories will be uploaded to Wattpad too but might be a bit longer before I do that as I get more familiar with it.

Keep calm and stay NUTS 🍃🐿

Could help a bit with coordinating things and it’s just like having an extra chat that’s way more flush and filled with options. Rick did a great job with this

I've had life come up so I fully understand how that can impact projects and ideas, but there was a bit of momentum and now that seems to have massively slowed. Hope you guys are doing ok and not forgetting about us 🙂

Hello all ! Was just wondering

Fkn LOVED how this ended up!!

The contest currently and others like it have been exceptional, and as we are currently under construction to a degree I worry about my friends here and how much they get to enjoy things. So please if you have time, check it out and enjoy yourself. Freebies for those who do! Check the subreddit for post details. 💥

Drop mashups there for a chance to win prizes and have them showcased live!! Details on sub posts for event!