Tori Transmigrated

Tori froze. She looked up from her drink and stared at JP. “How much money?”

“I don’t know,” JP said. “But it was enough for her and her father to get into a very intense argument at the inn. Our neighbor works there and said they had to paste a silence charm on their door and around the floor because they were so loud.”

“I heard she ran out of the inn afterwards,” Sonia said. “But that could just be a rumor to make things more dramatic.”

Tori let out a low breath and looked down at her drink. She aimlessly poked it with a small spoon.

It was likely that with Gideon playing in the final match of the tournament, everyone thought the central district would win. Even Piers had confidence in his brother’s ability. The odds had the central district set to win and Alessa must’ve been certain that they would. Thus, she took whatever money she could find to make a bet.

But the central district lost the tournament because of her brother. The only reason Sebastian was able to play was because he happened to be there. Because of her and the crystals in the delta.

Of all of my actions to affect this stupid game, it has to do with gambling. It just needs to use me to somehow put Alessa in a shitty situation where she can get help, doesn’t it?

“I can’t believe she’d bet her father’s money. Everyone knows that she comes from an impoverished barony. Where would they get more money?” Sonia asked aloud as she shook her head and then took a sip.

“Selling a carriage and horses, apparently,” Henrik said. “But that’s not our problem.”

“What’s not your problem?” Axton came down from the stairs and raised a brow as he saw them all seated around the unused hearth. “Piers did say you can go to the private room upstairs.” Tori and her friends looked around the cafe and then back at Axton with knowing looks. They were the only ‘customers’ there.

“Master, my parents would like to know if I can accompany you to the delta when you go with Tori,” Ewan said, sitting up straight.

“It will be good for you to train, and I will allow you to train with any knights that are willing to give their time,” Piers said as he appeared behind Axton. Aside from Tori, the others rose to their feet and bowed to greet him. Piers gave them a small nod. “Will Mr. Skuldsen and Lady Agafonova also be joining?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Henrik said. “Perhaps not as often, but we will need to go for our projects.”

“There has been substantial construction in the foundational work, so I think you’ll be surprised.” Tori sat up straighter and puffed out her chest.

“By the way, do you plan on naming it? We’ve all just been calling it the delta,” Sonia said as she sat back down and leaned against the chair. “That’s more a region and a landmark than a village or a city name.”

“I was going to let the villagers vote on a name after winter break,” Tori said. “We’ll start taking suggestions and then I’ll narrow it down to the top five.”

Ewan perked up and looked excited. “Are you accepting suggestions from non-villagers?”

“No.”

“Oh....”

“You’re putting all your money into this,” JP said as he lowered his cup. “Shouldn’t you get a say in what you want to name it?”

“I’m going to throw in a suggestion, but if they don’t agree, I’m not going to complain. There will be guidelines on the name to limit anything that may be difficult, pose an issue, or confuse us with another location.”

“That sounds fair,” Axton said as he stood behind them. He crossed his arms over his chest. “So...what do you want to suggest?”

Tori gave him a wide, cheesy smile. “It’s a secret!”

Her friends groaned and Tori finished off the rest of her iced coffee. When they were done, they left the cafe. The small group walked Tori and Ilyana back to the gates of Lycée, chatting about the olive oil from Karap Tori had sent to their homes and how difficult it’s been trying to get the food to taste the same.

“Okay,” Tori said as they reached the gate and turned around. “We’ll see you all in a few days-”

“Piers!” An excited voice sounded, and the group turned towards a carriage that was stopped a few paces away.

Fabian was standing by the door as Gideon finished helping Alessa out of the carriage. Dimitri got out after her, but Gideon was already walking towards them, or rather, to his brother.

“Gideon.” Piers gave him a nod of his head in greeting.

Tori and the others gave quiet mutters and small bows to Gideon, as they were not in school yet nor were they close to him. Even Tori gave him a small, quick curtsy.

“Your Highness, are you also scheduled to move in today?” Axton asked.

Gideon gave him a shake of his head. “No, I am here to see off our friends, Lady Hart and Mr. Guthry.” He stepped to the side and motioned to the two students already in their uniforms.

“We’re here to see off Tori and Miss Agafonova,” Axton said, smiling. Piers nodded and looked at the two.

“Don’t worry about your lunches tomorrow. They will be ready for you both. Work hard,” he told the two of them.

“Thank you, Your Highness!” Ilyana gave him a curtsy and Tori nodded.

“Have a safe trip back.”

Axton then ushered the two of them through the gates, as if trying to steer them away from Gideon and his friends. As soon as they were through the gate, Ilyana looped arms with Tori and the two of them began to walk swiftly to the east dorm.

Once assigned a dorm in their first year, students would have that room until they graduated or left, providing there were no issues that required a room change. Many continuing students left behind anything they wouldn’t need during their break. Tori and Ilyana had left the majority of their school supplies and trinkets, only bringing with them things they really needed or had to be washed, such as sheets and clothing.

“Don’t forget that there is a meeting this evening to discuss tomorrow’s placements, schedule, and distribute the student guide sashes,” a voice said behind them.

Tori felt Ilyana’s grip on her arm tighten and glanced over at her friend. Ilyana had a dark look on her face.

“Thank you, Mr. Guthry,” she replied behind gritted teeth. “We are aware.” As soon as they were out of hearing range, she lowered her voice. “Does he think we’re stupid? All of that was on the letter informing us that we’d be guides.”

“Don’t worry about him. Just focus on being number one.”

Ilyana let out a little ‘hmph’. “Not only will I be number one, but I will also make sure others improve just to lower his rank!”

Tori snort-laughed. “Didn’t he go to your review session last time?”

“That was the last time. Now, he’s banned as long as he sides with Hart.”

“Sides with Hart?”

Ilyana nodded. “Sonia and I discussed it, and since she made that remark at your cousin’s succession ceremony, as with everything she’s done so far, she can’t be good and therefore, the boys who follow her around are also questionable. I am banning them from my review sessions.”

“I appreciate the gesture, but-”

“Solidarity, Tori!”

“Okay.” She didn’t want to argue. They went back to their dorm and Tori handed her the gift from Karap. Ilyana shook out the folded shawl and swept it over her shoulders immediately before going to admire it in the mirror.

As she inspected the embroidery and compared it aloud to what she had seen so far, Tori opened the trunk she’d had sent to her room and began to take out assorted items. She took out her uniform, which was on a wooden hanger and in a garment bag. She laid the folded garment bag on her bed and took out the picture frame she’d carefully packed in it.

“What’s that?” Ilyana asked as she looked over.

Tori held out the picture of a child’s drawing and smiled. “My little cousin, Ava, drew it for my birthday.” She brought it to her desk and placed it on the bookshelf, between the sheet of cork she used to pin up notes and a few of her textbooks.

She then fished out her wooden warlock and put it on the small shelves that made up her headboard. It was where she kept her dagger at night, along with several crystals, and a broken rose quartz lion she found in her room during winter break.

It had been buried in one of her drawers and, though it was broken, the engraving at the bottom hadn’t been completely cut off: From your loving bro-, Sebasti-.

When Tori held the crystal in her hand, she felt a gentle warmth and comfort, and decided to bring it with her.

About two hours before sunset, the duo headed to the main courtyard to meet with instructors and the other student guides. The top ten students of each returning year were asked to be prime examples of Lycée students and help guide the first-years, who were scheduled to arrive the next day. The older students got the busiest areas and so Tori and Ilyana were certain they’d be relegated to a field at the far end of the campus.

“Lady Guevera, Miss Agafonova, welcome back! I hope you’re going to have your review sessions again,” a student in their year greeted them.

“Miss Halschmidt, nice to see you again,” Ilyana smiled and gave her a nod. “I do plan to continue. It seems I was able to help many people last year.”

“That’s a relief to hear!”

A few more familiar faces greeted them as they sat on the chairs that had been set up in the courtyard. Someone complimented Ilyana’s shawl and she proudly told them that it was a gift from Tori from Karap.

“Students, thank you for coming and assisting us this week,” one of the department heads greeted them as he arrived with a few staff members and Headmaster Laurent. One of the instructors passed out maps. “These are maps to be used for your reference. Feel free to keep it with you when you are on duty tomorrow, as it will help direct the first years. It is quite common for first years to become lost, so if you see one appearing disoriented, please reach out to them.”

Tori and Ilyana received their maps and they looked it over to refresh themselves with the campus. After the instructor outlined their list of duties and how long they were expected to remain in their location, he began to call out names and where they were assigned.

“Miss Agafonova, the eastern green houses.”

Ilyana let out a little grumble. “I knew I’d be stuck far away, but not that far.”

“You could be assigned to the stables.”

Ilyana wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “Sonia and JP said their upperclassmen are overseeing that.”

“Miss Guevera, the sword practice training grounds.”

“Oh!” Tori perked up. That wasn’t bad. She was familiar with that area and could direct lost students from it back to the main campus easily.

“Tori.” A woman’s voice spoke behind her, and she turned around to see a brown-haired woman with gray eyes looking at her, excited. She was a fourth-year student and ranked 10th, but also the new captain of the Sword Association. “This is our chance. Try to get some new recruits if any of them stray near you.”

Tori gave her an affirming nod. “I’ll try to think of a small speech to get them interested and invite them to see our demonstration during orientation week, Captain Messer.”

“Heh...I can’t get enough of hearing that,” Captain Messer said with a grin. She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Hey, I heard that Ewan is being taught by both Lord Sebastian and Sir Nassaun. That’s very impressive.”

Tori’s brows shot up. “How’d you know?”

“I saw Captain Connor at the market, and he couldn’t stop bragging-”

“Miss Gisela Messer!” The instructor’s voice boomed before them, and Tori inhaled sharply as she sat up straight and looked forward. Behind her, Captain Messer cringed and slowly leaned back. “Please pay attention!”

“My apologies, Instructor Vinhaal!”

The middle-aged man let out a tired sigh and shook his head. “As I was saying: two of the fourth-year students are unable to make it here by tomorrow due to travel issues. So, the welcome guides in the main courtyard will be Mr. Dimitri Guthry and Miss Alessa Hart.”

Tori heard a surprised gasp from several rows ahead of her and saw Alessa’s blonde hair bounce as she sat up, looking at Dimitri beside her with excitement. Tori wanted to roll her eyes. How convenient that those two, despite being second year students, would get the posts with the most exposure to the first years.

“With that, the west dorm commons will be open for your dinner today and breakfast tomorrow. The east dorm commons will open starting at dinner tomorrow, at the usual time. We ask that all student guides wear their sashes the entire day and when they are on campus this weekend,” Instructor Vinhaal said. He gave the group an affirmative look. “Lastly, welcome back, students, to Lycée du Soleil.”

Unlike Ilyana, who had grown a little bit, Tori didn’t need to get her uniform altered. Even her chest, which she had hoped had grown a little, still fit comfortably in her blouse and blazer. Tori looked at herself in the mirror and adjusted the white sash with the words “student guide” across it.

She giggled, feeling a bit nostalgic remembering seeing the sashes on upperclassmen last year. It had only been a year since she herself entered the gates for the first time.

“Are you ready?” Ilyana asked behind her. Tori turned around. Ilyana was wearing an identical uniform and sash. Both of them also had a cloth bag in their hands.

“Yes,” Tori said. “Let’s get some breakfast and pick up our lunches.”

Ilyana nodded and they headed out. Their dining commons were still closed and so students who were in the east dorm with them had to walk across campus to the west dorm. They were told that there were more students in the east dorm and since there were less than thirty of them total, only one of the commons was needed.

However, Ilyana and Tori had planned to go directly to Cafe Fortuna for a filling, and free, breakfast. Mama J also had their order for lunch.

Unless it was to use the toilet, of which there was one close to each location assigned to a student, they couldn’t leave their spots until the end of the day and even then, they had to be relieved by an instructor. Students had been advised in the letter to bring snacks with them.

Tori thought this would be a clever use of her picnic blankets that folded into a bag to carry food in. She’d made one in her original world, as she and her friends had to line up in all hours of the night outside the San Diego Convention Center and the less things she had to carry, the better.

She’d never missed her sewing machine in her original world until she had to hand sew the thick canvas she was using. It took her a week to get it done and then she paid someone to make a second one following the pattern of her original. Ilyana’s bag looked much better as a result.

“Did you see Instructor Ignatius earlier?” Ilyana asked as they sat down. She looked a bit concerned. “He looked so depressed when we passed him in the courtyard.”

Tori let out a heavy sigh. “He probably wants to go back to the delta. You know, he never complained about having to leave Horizon or having to work there. Not once, and he was living in a tent the whole time.”

“It did sound like he was very eager to work on your crystal projects.”

“To be honest, I was worried he wouldn’t want to come back.” Tori shook her head. Crystal fanatics are a different breed of people.

Halfway through their late breakfast, the door to Cafe Fortuna opened and a familiar figure walked in with a warm smile.

“Nanny Rey!” Ilyana, who had been seated facing the door, lit up. Tori turned around and stood up as the old training instructor walked towards them.

“My angels!” She enveloped the two in a warm embrace. “Look at you two! Student guides! I am so proud!”

“Nanny, I’ve missed you,” Tori said as she nuzzled the woman’s shoulder.

“I’ve missed you too, my angel.”

“Have a seat. Join us for breakfast,” Tori said, pulling out a chair for her. Ilyana nodded.

“Nanny Rey, when did you get back?” Ilyana asked.

“Just last night,” the woman said as she took a seat. She raised her arm and Mama J’s youngest son rushed forward to take her order. “Just a coffee, a soft-boiled egg, and an oatmeal porridge.”

“Nanny Rey, the next time I see you, I have to bring you the olive oil from Karap that I got everyone,” Tori said. “I heard it’s the best in the empire. Oh, and you have to come to our brunch. Sebby and I brought cured meat from Karap, and Mr. Zisos showed me how to prepare it to taste authentic.”

Nanny Rey nodded, amused, as the girls told her what they had done over their break. After breakfast, they were escorted back to Lycée.

“I don’t want to resume your dagger classes until after your first week of school, so that you can get settled first,” Nanny Rey told Ilyana.

“I’ll be sure to tell Albert and Ewan, too.”

“Oh, speaking of Ewan, he may have to adjust his schedule with you. Axton is training him. Ewan is working towards La Garda,” Tori said.

Nanny Rey’s eyes widened a bit before they crinkled up with approval. “That’s good! Ewan is an adaptive person. With the right tempering, he is very suitable for a high level imperial knight.” Nanny Rey’s look became determined. “I will train him harder, as well.”

Tori turned her head to grimace, a bit worried what being trained harder by an elite training instructor like Nanny entailed. She and Ilyana gave Nanny Rey one more embrace before they walked towards the gates of Lycée.

The banner above the gate welcoming new students had been hung and there was a buzz of activity happening as instructors prepared tables to welcome students just beyond the gate. Carriages were starting to arrive, but most people seemed to be dropping off their things last minute.

“Excuse me!” Someone called out and as there were others around them, Tori and Ilyana didn’t really pay attention. “Wait! Excuse me! Seniors!”

Ilyana gasped and grasped Tori’s arm. “That’s us! We are seniors!”

Tori pulled her lips in to keep from laughing. She looked past Ilyana and saw a girl with a dark-haired French braid over one shoulder rushing towards them, almost dragging a large bag. “Good morning. Welcome to Lycée du Soleil,” she said, using her professional voice. “How can we help you?”

“I’m trying to find the check in table, but I’m not sure where it is,” the girl said. “Or if it’s open.”

Tori nodded. She walked towards her and picked up the large bag. “Come with us. The tables are still being set up, but you can drop off your bag to be brought to your room first.”

“What’s your name?” Ilyana asked. They helped the young student check in her bag, and they brought her to the check in desk.

“Hold on, hold on,” one instructor said as they looked over the papers. “You’re early. The materials are not yet ready.”

The student and three other first years who were waiting looked disappointed and didn’t seem to know what to do other than stand around and wait.

Tori glanced at the clock tower; they had over an hour left until it was time to officially start welcoming in students and they were to report to their posts.

“You kids want a tour?” she asked, casually. Ilyana gave her a confused look. Tours weren’t a planned thing.

The girl they’d helped perked up and nodded. “Yes! Can we?”

“Why not? We have some time,” Tori said. She looked at Ilyana. “Coming?” Ilyana nodded. “Instructor, I’m going to take these students around and bring them back in a bit to check in.”

“That’s fine.”

“All right,” Tori said as she turned to face the students. “First of all, welcome to Lycée du Soleil. My name is Tori de Guevera, and this is my friend and first-ranked second year student, Ilyana Agafonova. We are starting off here, in the entry plaza just before Lycée’s main gates. If you follow me, we’ll walk directly into the main central courtyard, surrounded by our administration building, library, and the largest of our auditoriums.”

When Tori was eighteen and touring colleges in her original world, all her tour guides walked backwards, and Tori decided it would be fun to do that, too. Though careful and walking slower than normal, she spoke about the school as she did so. She took her four underclassmen and Ilyana clockwise around the main portion of the school before making a turn and going counterclockwise in order to pass and point out the facilities away from the main campus.

Every so often, they would stop, and Tori would point out important buildings, useful locations, and sprinkle some tips she’d learned, such as how to secure a study room and to get maps of their excursion location as soon as it is announced.

She and Ilyana also took questions for the students and after about thirty-five minutes, they returned to the plaza with the check in tables appearing ready.

“...and we’ve returned to where we started!” Tori said, smiling. “Do you have any final questions before we conclude our tour?”

She heard someone behind her ask ‘there was a tour’?

“Senior Tori, what do we do if all the study rooms are taken and we want to do a group study session?” one young man asked, appearing concerned after they were told that the rooms filled up almost immediately during exams.

“You can always arrange to meet with your study group elsewhere, or speak to your instructor to see if they would be willing to open a room for you to study,” Ilyana answered. “Anything else?”

“No, thank you, seniors!”

“All right, good luck!” Tori gave them all a smile and sent them off. She hoped they were a bit more confident now.

“Excuse me, senior, when is the next tour?” Tori looked over her shoulder and saw over a half dozen students looking at her expectantly. Tori’s brows rose and her mouth parted a bit as she looked at Ilyana. Ilyana looked back at her, also at a loss.

“I would also like to join your tour,” Headmaster said as he appeared.

“Oh, Headmaster, we’re not really doing a tour....” Tori said, trailing off as she looked at the hopeful students.

“We have time for one more....” Ilyana said, softly. Tori drew in her lips.

“Okay. One more.”

Following the same path as last time and pointing out and saying the same things, Tori, who continued to walk backwards, and Ilyana led the students and an interested and amused Headmaster around the campus.

They reached the plaza once more, finding it much busier than when they left. There were more students around wearing white sashes and a few instructors had lined up outside the gate to greet students and answer any questions from their guardians.

Tori’s tour group was energetic and seemed to have already made friends amongst each other after their little journey.

“Any questions?” Ilyana asked as she clapped her hands together and looked over the first years that had followed them around.

“No, thank you, seniors!” Several voices repeated their thanks.

“Great! Remember, if you’re lost the next three days before orientation week, ask another student with a white sash. We will be around in case you have questions or lose your way.”

“Yes, feel free to ask us anything.” Tori looked towards the main courtyard and suppressed the urge to roll her eyes as Dimitri and Alessa arrived. She looked at Ilyana and the two exchanged wordless nods before slipping away to go to their respective positions.

Tori arrived at the entrance to the training grounds on time and settled under one of the large trees just outside the gate. She carefully untied her canvas bag and unraveled the cloth to spread out her picnic blanket. It was just enough material for two people.

She set aside her paper wrapped sandwich and folded cones of various snacks Mama J and her sons prepared for her. She also took out her water jug and placed it beside her.

After stretching out on her blanket, Tori looked around and eyed the old garden she and Sonia weeded last year. It looked to be in need of some weeding, but it was nowhere near as bad as it had been when the punishment started. In addition, she had managed to get the gardener to fix the dilapidated fence around it, so any trash that the wind blew into that specific corner didn’t get into the actual garden.

Since they had put in so much work, she wanted to utilize it somehow. Uncle Maurizo heard about it from Ewan over the summer, while they were in the delta, and, as she should’ve expected, offered to donate some seedlings of hearty medicinal plants.

Uncle Maurizo made a good point: the medicinal plants for small cuts, bruises, and swelling, as well as for dehydration and headaches, would be good to be grown right next to the training grounds. Ewan thought it was a good idea, as well, and agreed that they should ask permission to grow them.

Tori planned to bring it up to Master McDouglass and have him ask on their behalf. If they were clever about it, they could get some help from the agricultural niche students.

Tori reached into her pocket and took out a small shard of a pale green crystal dotted with brown splotches. She’d seen it while in a marketplace in Mezzaluna. She hadn’t been looking for crystals, but Master Ramos had told her to keep an eye out, as she never knew when she’d stumble upon a crystal that called to her.

The piece of terrastone, as Sebastian identified for her, called out to her at first glance. He said it was a stone good for conducting earth energy, but this particular one wasn’t charged. That wasn’t a problem, considering they were going to the delta.

Master Ramos showed her how to charge the small piece to connect with her. Connection to the user wasn’t something they learned in metacrystals class yet; Instructor Ignatius said it would be learned in their second year.

“A good crystal user should be able to connect to a crystal they charged. At the very least, at close distances. As long as the crystal is somehow tethered to the earth, a crystal master can feel their energy within it,” Master Ramos had told her. It sounded amazing, but Tori had to quickly lower her expectations.

While she felt she had improved a bit with some help from Master Ramos, she was nowhere near her brother’s ability. When she was having lunch on Anahata Island, she’d take time to try to feel out energy in crystals she’d charged. Admittedly, it was cheating since she was on an energy vein and as soon as she grounded, she could sense her crystal like a beacon in the dark.

Now would be a suitable time to test this in a more realistic setting. Tori played with the shard in her hand before opening the gate to the garden. She picked a spot in a corner and looked around, unsure why she was nervous about getting caught when she wasn’t doing anything wrong.

She dug a small hole with the tip of her boot and dropped in the crystal before covering it with dirt. She took a step back and knelt down, taking a deep breath before placing her hands on the ground.

Instructor Ignatius had once described visualizing energy as a smokey light in the dark. Any energy they gathered and passed through the user would have a distinct feeling to it that was familiar to the user. As Tori closed her eyes, she tried to visualize a hazy lavender-colored smoke she saw her energy as. She sent it out into the ground, like tendrils combing through the dirt.

It didn’t take her as long as she’d thought for one of those tendrils to connect with a faint, matching energy coming from the terrastone.

Now that they were connected, Tori sent more of her energy into the stone to have it used as a medium to put energy into the soil. Energy seemed to wrap around the terrastone, and it began to appear brighter to her. It pushed against the soil, but seemed to have trouble coming out of the terrastone.

Tori furrowed her brows. Why is it collecting in there? Am I doing it wrong? I’m collecting the energy and forcing it up when it’s full, but it’s like it’s blocked. She forced more energy into the crystal and suddenly, the visual in her mind burst and she heard a ‘poof’ sound in front of her.

Pieces of dirt flew off the top of the buried crystal and splattered against her face.

Tori opened her eyes and narrowed them.

She looked around as she wiped the dirt off her face. Luckily, no one was around to see her little experiment literally explode in her face. She dug out the crystal and brushed off the dirt. There was still some energy within it.

“One more try....” Tori dug another hole and dropped the crystal in. She stepped back, dusting any remaining traces of dirt off her uniform, and knelt down. She put her hands back on the ground and closed her eyes.

Attempt number two would work with the visualization technique Master Ramos taught her. There were no wrong or right techniques, he had assured her; some just worked better than others for specific purposes. In this case, if an explosion of energy didn’t work to gently overturn the earth, she’d try to ‘flood it’.

“Imagine energy like water being pulled from the energy source in the earth, collecting inside you as a vessel. Then pour that water into a crystal. The crystal can now release that water and you control the speed and pressure,” Master Ramos had said.

The ‘water’ was lavender and Tori imagined it once more reaching out to find the crystal. Instead of wrapping around the crystal, Tori imagined the energy filling it up like a cup, then released it as if it were overflowing. It spread out further as it pushed up and Tori peeked to see if the dirt over the crystal moved.

Her eyes widened as the soil moved up and separated, as if lifted up by a trowel. She snatched her hands off the ground and stared at the displaced dirt.

“Holy shit....” Tori looked ahead of her and closed her eyes, slamming her hands back on the ground and repeating the procedure, only this time, having the energy move like an underground river in a line before working its way up. She opened her eyes and there was a single row of upturned earth two paces long in front of her. Fucking a...I’m bending earth-wait no. The hell is this called...terrakinesis...is that a thing? She shook her head and reached into her pocket to get her comcry as her heart slammed against her chest. “Call Benedict Ignatius!”