Her fingers clenched the cold earth—damp and covered with moss. "Where am I?.." The thought flashed through her mind as she opened her eyes. Above her, tall dark trees rustled, seeming alien, oppressive with their shadows.
Anris... Anri...
"Milady, it's time to wake up... Milady Anris..."
A sharp transition—and she opened her eyes again, this time in familiar walls. Tall arched windows let in the dawn light, gliding over intricately carved curtains of silvery silk. The air smelled of lavender.
"What?.. Where am I?.." she rasped, trying to sit up.
"Milady, you are in your chambers," answered the maid, bowing low. "Today is your first day at the academy. The bath is already prepared."
Anris rose, wrapped in a thin nightgown of white linen. At the foot of the bed lay an outfit already prepared: a long dress of sky-blue color with silver embroidery along the sleeves—the sign of her ducal house.
Today marked the first day at the Luxarion Academy—a place where heirs of the four duchies and the Imperial family underwent their final training before receiving their hereditary titles.
"I am the heir of the Empire's Second Duchy," Anris reminded herself silently, "and must master the air element perfectly."
"Pardon me for interrupting your thoughts, milady. Your outfit is ready, and the Duke awaits you for breakfast," said the maid, bowing.
"I will come down shortly."
I am nineteen. My life until now has been calm. I am here only by my father's will, for he sees me as the future head of our house.
Some time later, in the grand dining hall, whose walls were adorned with silk tapestries bearing dragons—the symbol of their house...
"Good morning, Father, Mother, Uncle, Tessia."
"Today is your first day at the academy. Behave accordingly. You are the heir of our house. I expect great achievements from you," said Duke Sayrion without taking his eyes off his cup.
"I am not claiming the inheritance... There is my uncle, who suits the role much better. He... I hope, will soon be chosen as the wielder of the great elements," she said quietly.
The wielders of the great elements—the chosen ones. Those whom the First Emperor gifted with the power to command all four elements. Their descendants became the founders of the Great Houses.
"Let Anris live her life, brother," Duke Deyner said calmly. "You see yourself: she has no desire to become a countess."
"Sister, are you going to live in the Imperial dormitory or will you commute here?" asked Tessia, her younger sister, carefully pouring herself some tea. She wore a simple lavender morning dress, and her hair was braided into two thin plaits.
"I think I will move there. It will be hard to travel back and forth every day during my studies," Anris replied, adjusting the silver dragon brooch—the emblem of the lost guardian, the symbol of the Eastern Duchy. This dragon was not just a crest—it kept the memory of tragic events from a thousand years ago.
Back then, one of the Northern ducal families sought all power for themselves and made a forbidden pact with cunning demonic beings. In response, the dragons of the Elyafir duchy gave their lives to protect the Empire from falling. The war was brutal: the northern traitors were executed, and the demons sealed away with powerful dark magic.
But the price was high—the Eastern Duchy lost its dragons forever, its symbol and protector. Since then began a new era—a time of peace and restoration when the Luxarion Empire united under a new banner.
"Then I will ask Father to send a carriage for you," Tessia said cheerfully. "To help you with your things. The training lasts six years, and you can't keep postponing."
Anris smiled slightly. Her younger sister was always livelier, free from the burden of expectations that weighed on Anris. For Tessia, everything was still ahead—while she herself stood on the threshold of a path that, in her father's eyes, was to lead her to the top.
"Thank you, Tessia."
They spoke briefly, but everyone knew: after this meal, something greater than mere study would begin.