Chapter 1: The runaway droplet

Here in the world of Elnamentin, a large world with a vast range of people and creatures, friendly or otherwise. Populated by the Sapenmies, the creatures whose natural instinct is to kill any humans that they may encounter, or that encounter them. Fortunately, this world is populated by the wizards, magic users who gain their title from specializing in the elements and forces of the world - those being water, fire, lightning, earth, ice, shadows, nature and air. In the largest kingdom of Elnamentin, Rovaphate, home to many magic users, capable of casting spells excluding the elemental ones, Lord Cornelius Baotin, ruler of Rovaphate, sits inside his extraordinary home castle in the capital city of Paserain. He sits, waiting for one of his close allies and subordinates to arrive for a meeting, he sits and waits, nesting in his overly large meeting room on the first floor, brooding, with just a stony expression look on his face.

Cornelius was a tight-fisted old man, an intelligent man of commitment who always commanded respect from everyone, everywhere he went. A well dressed man, who despite his fearsome appearance, had appreciations for humor and things most men of his status would see as beneath him. He was well dressed in his fancy suit which consisted of a royal purple blazer, black trousers, a red waistcoat underneath with a black bow tie to top it off, threads of gold and silver wherever necessary was on every article of clothing. But most significantly of all, hidden under his blazer, were his two over sized revolvers, the size of sawed off shotguns, 8 rounds in each with gold plating for the trigger, cylinder, outer rim of the handle and the hammer. The main body being a faded purple with the words "dominator" on one and "liberator" on the other, the underside having a silver piece of sharp, wavy metal, a wooden handle and holographic iron sights on the top.

Finally, as the sun begins to set, his ally arrives. Perosis Daraquin, a younger, powerful magic user with skills in negotiation, manipulation and being a bit of a joker, who also had a reputation for being cocky and thinking highly of himself and his achievement. He enters the room, his eyes lock with Cornelius's who doesn't break his unamused expression. Perosis gives him a smirk as he takes off his brown and black striped jacket with a large sewn on badge of a knife through a heart on the top pocket and golden buttons in the middle. He was dressed much more casually than Cornelius, opting for a simple pair of black jeans, his jacket and a plain white t-shirt underneath. Perosis takes a seat across from Cornelius, who still never broke eye contact all this time and unhappy that he had to wait in the first place. Perosis causally leans back, still smiling with a mixture of cheerfulness and smugness. The two men sit in silence for a few moments before Cornelius finally relents.

".....You're late"

"Oh just be happy that I showed up"

Cornelius raises an eyebrow in frustration but maintains his stern expression, which Perosis notices and quietly chortles to himself,

"I'm not in the mood for your childish amusements...Do you know why I called you here?"

"Ah, you've finally finished with your operation plans"

A devilish grin spreads across Cornelius's face, "Indeed I have. But it's not going to be a quick walk in the park, it'll still take time and will be a challenge"

"Have you forgotten who you're allied with?"

"By no means, but gathering the Alpha orbs will need to be done with precision, and without drawing too much negative attention"

"You think we can't?"

"Knock it off with the boastful attitude already. It's getting tiresome"

Cornelius's devious smile turns to a frown as Perosis finds the situation all the more humorous, he holds up his hands while smirking, "Alright, alright.... But I must inquire as to why you called me here specifically"

Cornelius sighs, "This is a large and tedious operation Perosis, if we're going to snuff out the elemental wizards. We're going to need allies with similar instincts"

"I see..... and?"

"Your diplomatic skills are required, as you know there are certain Wizard factions who don't like their current positions in the world"

"The Void of Liberation?"

"Among some others... yes..."

"You want to get involved with that bunch of psychos? you know they'll just stab you in the back once they get what they want"

"Not if we stab them first... It's quite simple, promise what they want in exchange for assistance and once they finally get their cut..... BOOM!

Cornelius takes out one of his revolvers out from under his blazer and fires it at the ceiling, creating a powerful bang and a sizable hole. Perosis looks up at the damage, slightly surprised. He then looks back at Cornelius who is swiftly putting away the revolver and sitting back down in his chair with a proud look on his face. Perosis smiles slyly and stands up.

"Very well then my Lord. I shall gather some of the others and depart tomorrow"

"Perfect", Cornelius grins menacingly as he watches Perosis make a swift exit, his thoughts filled with nothing but satisfaction as he feels everything begin to fall into place.

The following day around four o'clock in the afternoon in the kingdom of Aquiria, home of the water wizards. Here in the city of Stremania, the third largest city in the kingdom, it's a mild day with a moderate temperature in the prosperous city, the streets are bustling as usual as all sorts of people go about their days. Among all this, in a quiet area, rarely frequented by people due to being an abandoned industrial site once home to many factories, far from the main city center sits Liquiria Tsuna. A seventeen year old girl with navy blue hair extending down to her upper back, her eyes blue like sapphires, small in build and wearing a grey long sleeve shirt with buttons on it as well as gold threading of a nice floral pattern on the shoulders, red outlines where the buttons meet and a black knee length skirt, her neck featuring a necklace with a sliver chain splitting off into five water gems in the shape of droplets. With her, in an over sized duffel bag, she carries a three pronged trident with the middle prong being longer than the other two, a unique design of a base colored silver handle with a point V shape at the end, four circles which gives the appearance of two eights on top of each other with large water gems in the center can be seen where the handle meets the start of the prongs down to the upper grip, which connects to the lower grip by an X shape which is faded blue and bumpy. The prongs are covered a fine looking metallic midnight blue, faded in from the silver handle, a distinct rain cloud on the middle between each prong. Liquiria sits, waiting behind some foliage, mildly annoyed that her partner for the training session she was supposed to have hadn't shown up yet.

"Hey!"

Liquiria looks up to see her friend Stiris, a boy around the same age as her, a water wizard in training wearing a navy blue uniform, approaching her. Liquiria smiles and stands up, readying her trident with all eagerness to begin, but she does take some humor in her friends odd choice of attire.

"Hey!" Liquiria steps forwards and looks Stiris up and down stifling a laugh as she does. "You're wearing THAT to train."

Stiris also stifles a laugh "I could say the same for you", a fair point, Liquira's attire was more for what someone would wear to a formal event, not something involving weapons and water magic.

"It's not my fault I don't have any cool wizard clothes!"

"I know, I know, anyway, let's begin."

Stiris takes out his sword, a curved standard length blade with a red and black handle featuring the letters "S.V". Liquiria and Stiris ready themselves and begin sparring, practicing techniques and stances and learning how to control water magic by channeling it and using it to its effectiveness, continuing this over the next few hours.

Meanwhile in the main part of the city, Absarath Tsuna, Keeper of Stremania and CEO of "Wizards Wants", the largest company for wizard items such as gems, potions and crystals in Aquiria and possibly all of Elnamentin, father of Liquiria and her younger brother Tidis Tsuna. He prepares his return to his large, pristine manor on the richest side of the city from a business trip that was supposed to last for a few days but was cut short due to some people on the other end having other immediate issues to attend to. Absarath steps out of his personal airship, fixing up his smart black suit with gold and silver threading on the hem. Tidying his short black hair and black shoes and trousers. He carries out his suitcase, containing with only the most essential items for his business endevours. He strides off of the airships landing pad, stepping into a ridiculously expensive limousine, which promptly transports him to his gigantic, towering house, no expensive being spared for this gorgeous, shining residence. Absarath steps through the door to his house, gaining a sense of familiarity, especially as his usual staff come to greet him as he heads through the door.

"Welcome home, sir, I've...."

Absarath doesn't even look the direction of the greeting maid. Just shoves his case in her hands, along with his coat. The maid bows dejectedly while Absarath makes his way into his dining room. It had been a long trip, Absarath had yet to have his hunger satiated, he continues heading in, but stops as he hears footsteps approaching behind him.

"Father?... you're back so soon?", his son, Tidis Tsuna has shown his face to greet his returning father, surprised but welcoming of his hasty return. Absarath turns around, with his natural scathing look branding his face.

"Yes.... my recipients had other matters to attend to, but the deal isn't over yet."

"Good, good.... shall we be dining now?"

"That's what I was going to do.... yes."

Absarath continues his walk into his dining room, with Tidis closely tagging along. They both enter the large, open room, a room no less fancy and luxurious than the rest of the house, filled with expensive decorations on every surface in the room. Absarath takes his seat at the head of the table in his custom chair, made of real spruce wood, black leather padding, two wolf heads carved in the arms with water gems for their eyes. Tidis follows and seats himself in a chair nearby, while Absarath places his order to his butler of a glass of brandy and tonights meal, a skillet cod with lemon and capers. The butler hurries to take his order to the kitchen. Absarath and Tidis wait for a while at the table for their meal, but Absarath still had to ask a question which had been plaguing his mind.

"Tidis, where is your sister?"

Oooooh, I'm not so sure where she is now, but she did go out earlier with her duffel bag."

"She's still out at this hour!!?"

Absarath seethes for a few moment, taking a sip of his brandy that was just brought to him. He presses a button to call over his head butler, Jeldies. Before long, Jeldis arrives at Absaraths' side, primed, and ready to head to his masters orders.

"Is this true!? Did my daughter leave today!?"

"Yes, master. Miss Tsuna left to take the train towards greater Milentris"

"A TRAIN TO MIL-" Absarath takes another drink of brandy filled with rage. "THAT DEFIANT LITTLE- SHE HAS NO BUSINESS IN THAT SCUM INFESTED RATS DEN IN MY CITY!!!"

Absarath begins breathing heavily, full of fury, finishing his glass of brandy at an aggressive pace. Jeldis remains composed and still willing to be informative to his master.

"Well, master, I do believe she may be training... as I've heard her mention"

"TRAINING..."

Absarath squeezes his glass so hard it shatters, luckily he's wearing gloves. A maid is already rushing to sweep up the glass on the floor. Absarath sits, feeling nothing but frustration, feeling as if this was the ultimate offense and act of betrayal, like Liquiria had taken a knife straight to his back. An awkward silence fills the room, until Jeldis speaks up.

"Shall I summon your driver master?"

"No... Just... Get me another glass of brandy!"

Jeldis bows and exits the room with Absaraths demands. Tidis see's this as a perfect opportunity to interject with his own ideas of the situation, hoping to gain a hand out of this situation.

"I'm telling you, she's not fit to be your heir... If you'd just consider letting me be-"

"I know what you want! And despite her rebellious nature, she's still my eldest child and you are not! So I advise you to shut up and stop asking to be made heir!"

Absarath glares at a disappointed Tidis. This wasn't the first time his suggestion had been shot down by his father, a suggestion he thought was a perfect solution to this issue. Both continue to wait at the table, Tidis loathing in disappointment, Absarath silently burning with a furious rage as he waits, patiently.

Meanwhile, Liquiria and Stiris continue training, clanging their weapons together as they each try to gain the upper hand. Pivots, side-steps, tactical rolls, jumps all being utilized in the spar. The duel between the two eventually proves a victory for Stiris, as he leaves Liquiria flat on her back with a sly move with his sword.

"Hey! That's cheating!"

"There's no cheating in a duel!"

"Why... you..."

Liquiria gets up as Stiris laughs, receiving a playful punch in the arm for his efforts by Liquiria. She heads off to put her trident in her bag, a great big smile occupies her face, she felt more relaxed in this moment and happier in this type of environment. Something like this wasn't a common occurrence for Liquiria, so it was nice break from her less than ideal home life.

"Well hey, you're definitely getting better at using your magic, and that weapon of yours."

"You really think so?"

"I mean, yeah, you're no where near ready to fight proper sapienemies but you certainly have improved."

Liquiria, smiles, beaming at the idea that she's finally making moves forward. She's filled with optimism, visualizing herself as an all-powerful, life-saving, heroic wizard who everyone cheers for, standing on a pile of defeated sapienemies. She snaps back from her cosy little fantasy world back to her bittersweet reality. She's still a weak wizard. but her vision doesn't seem quite impossible.

"Hey, wanna get some dinner?"

"Sure!"

Liquiria and Stiris pack up their things and walk to a fast food joint, they order, get their food and sit down at a table to continue chatting some more. Though Stiris catches on to Liquiria's sudden quietness.

"Hey, you're pretty quiet, something eating at you?"

"Oh! uh, no, it's just... Even if I do get good enough to go out into the world and fight sapienemies... What am I going to do about my father? I mean, there's no way he'll let me do that."

"Say... Have you ever heard of Misrin?"

"Misrin?"

"You know... Misrin, one of the largest and most famous academies for runaway wizards..."

"There's a place like that!?"

"Of course, any wizard who wants to wants more wizard education properly can just go to an academy like Misrin."

"Even someone like me!?"

"I don't know... Most people who go there were already in academies and were either forced out or chose to run off."

Liquiria's optimism fades, she still fears the prospect that she can never be an officially recognized, properly trained wizard. She'll just fall further into her fathers grasp. Stiris catches sight of Liquirias saddened look on her face as she leaves her food untouched.

"Something up"

Liquiria sighs, "....I don't think I may actually become an official wizard..."

"What? Sure you can, you've just got to keep training and-"

Liquiria cuts Stiris off. "It's not about my ability", she pauses for a few seconds. "It's about my father..."

"....Oh... right..."

"I just don't think I could ever get away from him, with him making me his successor to take over his company and as Keeper of Stremania... I don't think I'll get to be a wizard with him around..."

Liquiria and Stiris sit in solemn silence for a few moments. Liquiria's mind fixated on that school. questioning it. Was it real? could she actually go? Is there even a small chance she could finally become a wizard? Liquiria lets out a rough sigh as she does not know the answers... for now, she just takes a bite of her food.

"Oh wow!, that is good!"

Stiris chuckles, "It's just fast food, it's nothing like the stuff you get at home."

"Yeah, but I don't get to eat food like this that often. It's a nice change."

Liquiria and Stiris finish their food, still pondering the situation. They exit the restaurant and they begin walking towards the train station for Liquiria to go home. There's some silence for a while until Stiris promptly breaks it.

"Say... about your dad..."

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Well, I was thinking. He won't let you go to a wizard academy or get any proper wizard training... But, he wouldn't be able to control that , if you weren't here... I mean his influence only goes as far as Stremania right?"

"Are you trying to suggest I run away?"

"Well... As you said, your father won't let you be a wizard, but it's your life goal and only aspiration. I think you should do whatever you possibly can to achieve it."

"Yes, but, how would I do it? I don't know the way to Misrin, my father has people at his disposal which he could use to track me down and if he does... He probably wouldn't take it lightly."

"Well... If you ever decide that you want to get away, let me know, I can try and help you."

"Thanks, but I am nearly 18, and as soon as I am, my father will watch me twenty four hours a day. He'll start wanting grand children right away."

"And you don't want to?"

"No! I want to be a wizard!"

Liquiria is upset to the point of tears. She wallows in teary eyed misery over the prospect of her future, they approach the train station and Stiris puts his hands on Liquiria's shoulders.

"Liquiria... Listen...", Stiris proceeds to hug Liquiria, she hugs back, tears slowly dripping onto his shoulders as she sobs softly.

"It'll be ok... I know how much you want to be a wizard... I know you'll be a great one, especially with that storm magic... I'll do whatever it takes to help you get out of here... And a secure spot at Misrin."

Liquiria spends some more time sobbing before calming down and smiling. She wipes her eyes and lets go off Stiris. She's happier within seconds at the comforting words, feeling so lucky to have someone like him in her life. She feels her hurt start to fade and the optimism reignites itself as her mood improves.

"Thank you... But, I don't know if I'll ever get the courage to go through with it."

"You can... I know you can..."

Stiris slowly lets Liquiria go. Both of them just spending the next few minutes taking in the moment.

"Well... I better go now."

"Ok!, bye Stiris and thank you for today."

"You're welcome!, goodnight!"

"Goodnight!"

Stiris leaves, Liquiria waves goodbye with a big smile on her face. A little bittersweet, but in a mostly happy mood after the events that unfolded today. She waits a little and gets on the train, ready to finally return home, as she is, she ponders various thoughts. "Hey I could actually become a wizard if I got into Misrin!". "Am I really prepared to go to a place like that?". "Yay! I can actually become a wizard! This might actually be happening!". "I'll never get away from my dad...". "Stiris said he'll help me! Oh boy!". Liquira's goes through an anthology of thoughts throughout her journey home, changing her face to match each one. She gets off the train as it arrives at her stop, still working her brain as she begins her walk home.

"Today was a good day... But do I really have the guts to just up and leave? I mean, I certainly could, just get out of the city and make my journey through absent lands up to Misrin, if I managed to find the way. But could I really just leave? My father has never been good with me and Tidis isn't much better, but they are my family... The only one I've really got, like, I want to further my path of wizardry but I don't think I could just-"

Liquiria's internal monologue is abruptly ended as she catches the sight of her father's limousine in the driveway instead of the private car lot, normally an indication that he had arrived back home recently. Liquiria's eyes go wide, her heart falls into her stomach, which begins to eat itself with an explosion of nerves. She transforms her casual stroll home into a panicked sprint up to her estate. She kept begging for her eyes for her to have deceived her sighting of the limousine, but alas, it was all real. She reaches the gate, opting to ignore the identification system and with some difficulty, manages to climb her way over, she continues her mad dash up to the house, stopping briefly at the door to catch her breath, once her supply of oxygen is sustained enough she opens the door, noticing the lights were on, but they were most of the time anyway. As she enters the mansion she's greeted by Cecil, a butler who Liquiria has befriended, he's older and has served the Tsuna family ever since Liquiria was little. Liquiria see's him as more of a father figure and one of the only people she can honestly confide in besides Stiris.

"Welcome home, Miss Tsuna."

"Hey Cecil... Is he in!"

"You mean your father? he..."

"LIQUIRIA!!!"

"Liquiria is startled and peers into the direction of her fathers booming voice coming from the lounge. She swallows hard and lets out a long, deep sigh. Cecil gives her a sympathetic look and takes her bag, disappearing upstairs out of the coming rain of hell. Liquiria hangs her head and begins the walk into the lounge to face her father. Her stomach knotted and feeling like she's on her way to her own execution, savoring every step which she isn't present in her father's sight. She reaches the lounge, her father sitting in his exclusive armchair, royal blue and silver with the Wizards Wants logo of a staff topped with a potion and two W's behind it. Liquiria feels his piercing glare as she enters his sights. She takes a deep breath.

"Good evening fa-"

"Sit..."

Liquiria briefly hesitates as she's cut off but sits down quietly in a nearby chair. The room is deathly silent with just the two of them present in the room, Liquiria feeling the burning idle expression of her father, despite him not even looking at her. Absarath takes a sip of yet another glass of brandy, which he does another two, painfully slow times, while Liquiria just sits there dying of anxiety and running every possible outcome of the ensuing conversation. Finally, after what feels like an eternity in a pit of lava, Absarath sets his glass down and directly strikes Liquiria with his gaze.

"You're home rather late!"

"O-oh! um... Yes! I-I was just... out with a friend..."

Liquiria tries her best to not sound like a nervous mess, but clearly isn't fooling anyone anytime soon. At this point she might as well just go find her coffin and take a long nap.

"And what exactly were you doing with this friend that would have you back at 8:30pm!?"

"W-well we were just... You know... Hanging out."

"I see... So would you like to tell me why Jeldis told me had gone TRAINING!!"

Liquiria feels the phantom bullet go straight through her heart, she had a feeling it was coming but that still didn't soften the impact of her stomach doing a good impression of a bomb. But the worst of it, was still yet to come...

"W-well... I-"

"Tell me again... WHO ARE YOU!?"

"Liquiria... Tsuna", Liquiria says in a voice which would rival a mouse.

"AND WHAT IT YOUR ROLE!!?"

"Your daughter... And heir to Stremania and the Wizards Wants company."

"SO WHAT IN ALL OF ELNAMENTIN. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!!?"

Liquiria pauses, on the verge of tears, her father waiting for her response after his powerful verbal attack, the look on his face could make a dragon cower, just a still, terrifying look of insane rage which burns a whole straight through Liquiria, who eventually comes out with her own response after another damning silence.

".......I don't want that....."

".....What!?...", Absarath almost denies his ears are working at Liquiria's pitiful response.

"I don't want any of that! I don't want to rule stremania or the company, I want to be a wizard!", Liquiria chokes through tears, the last bit of strength holding them bag fading away into nothingness.

"THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!, I WILL NOT HAVE A DAUGHTER OF MINE RUN OFF TO BE A GLORIFIED MAGICIAN!!"

Liquiria suddenly stands up, throwing her hands in the air. "WHY!? are you afraid that I'd actually be happy for once!?"

Absarath swiftly stands up and slaps Liquiria across the face. Liquiria yelps in pain and holds her hand where she was struck, her father continuing to admonish his the ferocity of a wild animal.

"DON'T YOU EVER, TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!!?"

Liquiria can only muster a pathetic nod as a response as she continues holding her face in tears, still being torn apart by her fathers dominant stature

"YOUR MOTHER WAS A WIZARD... DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HER!?... SHE WENT OFF ON ONE OF HER, WIZARD MISSIONS AND NEVER CAME BACK!... DO YOU WANT THAT!?... SHE WAS HARDLY EVER AROUND, ALWAYS HAVING SOME WIZARD BUSINESS INSTEAD OF SEEING HER FAMILY... IS THAT THE KIND OF LIFE YOU WANT!!?"

Liquiria can't even feign a reaction anymore, just continues to hold her, tears making their slow descent down her face as she stares at the ground. Absarath giving her his frightful look then sitting back down in his chair.

"Honestly... I never thought someone who shares my blood could have such despicable goals... I GIVE YOU A CITY AND A COMPANY WORTH A FORTUNE, AND THIS IS HOW YOU THANK ME!!"

Absarath takes another drink of his brandy, finishing the glass, still burning with an intense rage as Liquiria continues hanging her head, all the life just drained from her, no energy left to even muster up a response to her father's tirade.

"Now... Get out of my sight. Do not face me again until you have learned to be a good daughter and shelved this ridiculous wizard business!"

Liquiria says nothing, but complies with her father's demand. She slowly make her defeated walk out of the lounge, up the stairs and into her room, where she just decides to let it all go. Neglecting to even close the door, she flops down onto her bed, buries her face into her pillow and lets out all the loud, tearful sobs she was unable to release before. Unfortunately for her, her sorrow doesn't go unnoticed by Tidis, who strides up to Liquiria's doorway after hearing her cries from the hallway. He examines his weeping sister and puts on a stupid looking smug smile as he gets her attention.

"Why... Hell Liquiria, you seem... Upset. About something."

The smug smile widens into a grin, he knows exactly what happened, but the little gnat just loves to rub it all in Liquiria's face.

"....Go away Tidis...."

"You really should be more thankful of father, he's giving you a whole city... You ought to be more grateful."

"I said go away!"

Liquiria picks up a pillow and throws it at Tidis, who avoids it. He laughs and scampers of down the hallway, satisfied at his successful mission to torment his sister like the annoying little shit that he is. Soon after, Cecil reamerges, steadily approaching Liquiria with a handkerchief and feeling every ounce of sympathy possible for her.

"Miss Tsuna?, is everything... Alright?"

Liquiria takes the handkerchief and wipes her eyes with it. Cecil closes the door and sits down on the bed besides her. Although she's still upset, she feels a level of warming comfort in Cecil's presence, like no matter what he would understand and she would be free from the torment and yelling.

"Hey Cecil... Just a little down, that's all."

"I'm inclined to disagree miss Tsuna, I can tell something is causing great distress for you."

Liquiria sighs. "Yeah... My father is just really insistent on me being Keeper of Stremania and stuff... But I don't want it! I've never wanted it!, but he just doesn't care! He says I'm selfish for wanting other things... I just can't continue like this!"

Liquiria once again becomes as blubbering, sobbing mess. She buries her face in her hands, releasing all her pain of shattered dreams. Cecil pats her on the back to try and comfort her.

"I'm truly sorry about your circumstances, Miss Tsuna... Please, if there's anything I can do for you, don't hesitate to ask."

"I... Appreciate that, but I don't know what you could-"

Liquiria stops, remembering back to her earlier conversation with Stiris, the school that takes in runaway wizards and what she may need to do to achieve her ultimate goal. She thought of her options earlier but didn't have the bravery to go through with them... But now... Things, have changed. Her father has set in stone her future, her fate perhaps, but she couldn't let that stop her now... NO, it was now, or never.

"Miss Tsuna?"

"What do you know about Misrin, Cecil?"

"Misrin? It's a school for runaway wizards in Rovaphate. Why do you ask?"

"....Rovaphate... I need to get to Misrin in Rovaphate to become a wizard!"

"You want to run away to Misrin?"

"....Yes... I'm never going to become a wizard if I stay here, so I need you to help me get out of Stremania and on the path to Misrin."

"I understand... What will you have me do?"

"Just help me prepare for my departure, find information, supplies I'll need, anything... No matter what, I'm getting out of here..."

Cecil smiles, proud to see Liquiria taking some action after being held back from her dreams. Liquiria feels like her hurt is almost all gone now, a new found determination blasting away her previous sorrows. She feels like now is the time, she can't be held back, she won't just try to be a wizard. She WILL be a wizard.

"Yes... Miss Tsuna, I'll begin gathering some information for you."

Cecil gets up off the bed and heads to the door, opening it and then looking back at Liquiria.

"Goodnight, Miss Tsuna."

"Night Cecil... And, thanks..."

Cecil leaves the room. Liquiria spends a few moments gushing about her new plan, before eventually getting herself ready for bed. Her cheery demeanor returning, strong and fierce, no negative thought could break it now. She climbs into bed, almost unable to sleep as she buzzes with joy. But, she's not undisturbed in her sleep. As she drifts off, she finds herself in a strange land, consisting of a sort of floating ocean in every surrounding direction. Hearing a sound of running water in the distant and feeling like she's standing on pure water, but not sinking. She looks around, confused but awed by the scenery. Then, a voice interrupts her sightseeing.

"Why... Hello there..."

Liquiria jumps at the intrusive voice, it didn't appear to come from anywhere, but sounded like it was coming from somewhere close. She waits for a bit to answer the disembodied voice's sudden call.

"W-w-who are you...?"

Of course, that wasn't the only question Liquiria had on her mind, she was quickly forming a list of things she wanted to know, like, who was this voice? It wasn't anyone that she recognized. Where is this voice coming from? the voice feels like it's everywhere, but has no visible source. Where was she? Liquiria has never seen a place like this, nor does she know why she would dream something like this up. And possibly the most important question. Why is she here? What does this mysterious voice want with someone like her.

"That will be answered in time... First, I need to be sure that you have the proper... Capabilities."

"W-what?, I don't understand..."

"You will... In time, just keep pushing forward... I will continue to guide you..."

"Guide... Me?"

"Yes... We shall speak again at a later date, but for now I will leave you with this information... Are you listening."

".....Yes."

The stranger voice pauses briefly, forcing Liquiria to wait in confused anticipation, just standing motionless, wondering what this oddball entity could possibly have to inform her on.

"Floor 1. Library. The Legend Of The Water Titans. 1, 8, 4, 9..."

Liquiria's face contorts into a perplexed look. She strains her mind, trying to analyse every detail of the information, hoping to discover its meaning. But in the end, she finds nothing. She can't even figure out a starting point. What could the information mean? Does she just need to know it or does she need to.... Do something?

"Did you get all of that?"

"Yes, but what does it mean?"

"No time now... You are returning to consciousness..."

"What... No WAIT I-"

Liquiria's vision slowly fades to white, her pleas for the voice to give her more clarification are drowned out until they are nothing. The watery fantasy land gradually disappears and Liquiria wakes up, safe in her bed. She sits up, tired and rubbing her eyes as the morning sun invades her room, she just pauses, motionless, vividly remembering the events of her previous slumber.

"That was a strange dream... Never had one like that before..."

Liquiria ponders for a moment, before remembering her aspirations, no more thoughts of weird dreams. She picks up her phone and calls Stiris, after all he did swear to help if she needed it. The phone rings for a few seconds before Stiris answers the call.

"Oh hey Liquiria, good morning! What's up!"

"Stiris, I'm doing it..."

"Doing. What exactly?"

"I'm getting out of here... I've realized that, there's no way I'll get to be a wizard with life as it is now. I've got to do something before it's too late."

"I understand... So what do you want me to help you with?"

Liquiria, Stiris and Cecil spend the next few days planning Liquiria's departure, covering as much as they possibly can. They get maps, the exact location of Misrin, they make a route out of the city, pack essential items like bank cards, coins, personal belongings, clothes and anything else Liquiria could fit into her large duffel bag, along with her trident. Liquiria couldn't be more ecstatic, it was all falling into place, it was all happening, right here, right now. Though she did still need to hide it from everyone else. Finally, the morning of the big day comes, carefully scheduled for a day in which Absarath would be gone for most of the day. She walks downstairs, along with Tidis, as their father had summoned them to bring up some important matters.

"I'll be leaving shortly and won't be back until very late, so I'll miss dinner! I'm heading into Helfrin to make some decisions. Tidis, I'll be be arranging a marriage for you, it's time you thought about continuing the family name... As for you, Liquiria, from next week onward you'll be out of school and coming with me to the offices and the grand council building. It's time you learned of your future duties! Is this understood!?"

"Yes, father."

"Good, now, I'll see you both later."

Absarath leaves and Liquiria both go about their days, for Liquiria, this meant making last minute preparations for her departure. She prepares the last of her things at an opportune time as most of the staff was on a break. However, ever since she had that dream, she couldn't stop thinking about it. The water, the voice, what it told her. "Floor 1. Library. The Legend Of The Water Titans. 1, 8, 4, 9...". She's distracted by it, she had never dreamed of anything like that before. Liquiria is overwhelmed with curiosity at the voice's Intel, going over every detail of the so called important information that she needed to know. She stops what she's doing and decides to put a theory to the test. "Library". That was the first thing the voice said and Liquiria knew that the mansion had multiple libraries. "First floor". Liquiria puts two and two together and makes her way to the library on the first floor, being sure to stay alert of any maids or butlers who could be around. Liquiria looks around the library, wondering what she's possibly in there for. "The Legend Of The Water Titans". What does this mean?, It isn't a room, or object, or even a person that Liquiria knows of. Liquiria sits in one of the chairs in the room, stumped, trying her best to solve this cryptic puzzle. She spends some time doing some mental gymnastics, trying to decipher the message, she glances up and catchers her eye on a particularly large book on one of the shelves, a thick book which stood out compared to the others, it looked new and had a dark blue cover with a silver outline. Liquiria inspects the book and notices its title on the side - "The Legend Of The Water Titans".

"That's it!"

Liquiria eagerly grabs the book, but it doesn't move off of the shelf, it only goes about half way off before Liquiria can't pull it anymore. The book stays stuck, until the bookshelf starts... Moving? Liquiria jolts backwards, startled. She watches the bookshelf slowly open up like two doors, revealing a small, stone room. A room which looked quite out of place compared to the rest of the house, the room manages to be illuminated by some automatic lights and a strange white metallic looking circle on the floor. A million questions race through Liquiria's mind, but she pushes them aside, swallows and ventures into the unknown. She slowly enters the room until she reaches the circle, which reveals itself by emerging from the floor and rising up to form a cylindrical pillar with a holographic green key pad at the edge of it. Liquiria is surprised and pauses in her movement, then, upon seeing the keypad, she remembers. "1, 8, 4, 9." She inputs the code into the keypad, which, causes it to disappear and the top of the pillar to open up, revealing a small, red, personalized looking box with two golden moons spewing waterfalls on the sides, and the word "LIQUIRIA", written on the top.

"What the..."

Liquiria's confusion intensifies, as if this situation wasn't weird enough already, now she had this box to add to the pile of mysteries. Liquiria longingly stares at the box, while creating more questions for herself. Liquiria asks herself the how, why, who and when and then gets to the most important question - what is in this box? She admires the box for a few more moments, before taking it back into her room. Once inside, she sets it down and slowly lifts open the lid... The first thing Liquiria sees is two, metal armor like cuffs, dark grey with a slight purple tint and a silver image of a rain cloud and a Kraken, partly encrusted with water gems on both the cuffs. Liquiria picks them up and looks them over thoroughly.

"Do these... Fit?"

Liquiria attempts to put on the cuffs, spending a fair amount of time meddling with the ties on the back, but once that battle is won, she discovers that they do indeed fit. Liquiria looks over her new found attire, feeling a sense of pride and excitement from wearing them, despite not knowing their origins, but she feels jumpy nonetheless. She turns her attention back to the mystery box, where she discovers a key, about twelve centimetres long, the back being shaped like a five pronged trident, made of a strong black metal, the body is adorned with a cyan fish, leaping out of water with a silver outline, they main key part is blocky and pointy. Liquiria's excitement wears off and her mood goes back to puzzled, she couldn't fathom what this key was for or where it could've come from. Still, she thought she better hold onto it as it looked important. She puts it in her bag with the rest of her supplies, then she turns back to the box to unveil its final item. She takes out a black, circular patch with a light grey outline with a water droplet, the symbol of the water wizards, covering most of it. The patch is well made and well detailed, and clearly meant to be sewn onto an article of clothing. Liquiria actually recognizes this one and feels a sense of thrill, with this patch, she could actually be recognized as an offical water wizard. She slips the patch into her bag and gets even more caught up in thoughts, the box, the voice, how it seemingly knew about the box, why it lead her to the box, it was all a slum of unanswered questions.

"Miss Tsuna?"

Cecil knocks on the door, causing Liquiria to snap out of her little trance and start frantically packing the last of her things.

"J-Just a second Cecil!"

Liquiria finishes her packing and turns towards the door, getting one last look at her room, feeling a wave of sadden as she feels she'll never see this place again, the place she had spent her whole life in... Oh well! No time for mourning now. Liquiria grabs her bag and heads for the door to greet Cecil.

"Are you ready Miss Tsuna?"

"Yep! All set!"

Cecil escorts Liquiria downstairs and out the house where a pre-arranged taxi is waiting to take her to a train station further away. As they approach the car, Liquiria turns to Cecil

"Cecil..."

"Yes? Miss Tsuna?"

Liquiria wraps her arms around Cecil in a hug, fighting back tears.

"Thank you... For everything you've helped me with over the years..."

Cecil returns the hug. "You're... Welcome Miss Tsuna..."

The two stay in their embrace for a few moments, taking in the fact that they may never see each other again. Cecil eventually releases Liquiria.

"Now... You best be going, you don't want to be late for the train."

Liquiria and Cecil smile at each other before Liquiria gets into the taxi, waving Cecil goodbye as it leaves. While on her journey she gives Stiris a call and professes her thanks and goodbyes to him as well. They talk about all the good time and who knows? Maybe they'll see each other again one day. Not as student and wannabe, but as powerful, badass water wizards. Before long, the taxi arrives at the station, Liquiria thanks the driver of the taxi and goes to find a seat at the station, ready to wait for the train.

Some time later, in the evening, Absarath has returned home, he barely has time to walk through the door, one of the maids runs up to Absarath in a panic.

"Master! Your daughter! Miss Tsuna! She's gone!"

"WHAT!?"

"She never came down for dinner! We searched all over the house, but we couldn't find her anywhere!"

"Absarath immediately takes out his phone, he checks the tracking software in Liquiria's phone, but Absarath is met with disdain as he finds that it's been disconnected, he tries calling Liquiria, but is foiled again as the call fails to go through. Absarath tries two more times, growing increasingly furious as the call fails both times, while also hiding a mild panic on the inside. After accepting defeat at his inability to contact his daughter, Absarath comes to a drastic solution.

"JELDIS!!"

Jeldis rushes to Absaraths call at light speed.

"Yes master?"

"Did anyone see my daughter leave!?"

"No master, no sign of her leaving, she never said she was going anywhere either..."

"Absarath puts his theory of what he thinks happened to Liquiria into fact."

"Jeldis!, Send out an alert to the whole city, if anyone has seen her they'll report to me!, Make sure the police AND the city guard are in full alert!"

"At once!"

Jeldis leaves to fulfill his duty. Absarath heads up to his private office, he boots up his network of communication systems to contact the Keepers of all the other major cities of Aquiria. He calls an emergency video conference, once the other Keepers answer, Absarath immediately starts in on his situation, demanding the use of their police and city guard services to search every inch of Aquiria to find his daughter. They tell him to slow down and that they have to prioritize which only makes Absarath more and more insistent. He was a proud man, one who never bowed to anyone, he never requested, he demanded and expected whatever he wanted, had had power and he knew it, he never begged or showed desperation and this was the closest he'd ever come. He would not stand for his heir and someone with his name to be out of his grasp and in someone else's. There's some more discussion which ends with the other Keepers agreeing to at least inform their police force and guards to report anything if they see it. Absarath disconnects from the conference, seething at the other Keeper's unwillingness to take more action, while in the meantime he has posters with a reward on it made and the military stationed in the city, moved out to look in further areas. Absarath just sits in his office chair, stressed and with a masked fear that his heir had been abducted. During this time, Jeldis has returned to Absarath with an update.

"The city guard and authorities are on full alert Master, as well, a city wide red alert has also been distributed."

"....Good...."

"Can I... Get you anything, Master?"

".....A glass of brandy...."

Jeldis leaves to retrieve Absarath's drink, while Absarath sits in impatient frustration at the disappearance of Liquiria.

Liquiria, in the meantime, has now reached the city borders, she makes her way to the exit on the Northern side of the city, being sure to wear a hood, just to be safe. She leaves on the footpath, ready to set off to Misrin, a smile finds its way onto Liquiria's face. All that stands between her and her wizards careers beginning is the wilderness, the mysteries of the grand outdoors, as well as some small towns and villages she can stop and rest at along the way. Despite lacking the experience, she is confident she's prepared to take on an unknown environment. Liquiria can hardly contain herself, she'll finally get to see and do all the things she's only ever dreamed of, she'll get real wizard training! And her own little adventure while doing it! Liquiria is almost drooling at the romance of it all. But, as she's makes her exit as the sun is setting, she fails to notice a pair of eyes, carefully observing her from a safe distance. Those eyes belonging to a mysterious man of many secrets, upon seeing Liquiria's departure, he turns on his phone and delivers the news to the recipient on the other end.

"Yeah, Liquiria Tsuna, spotted heading North out of Stremania..." The man pauses as he listens to the person on the other end, before making his response to their command. "Sure... I can pursue..."