Thorin's First Thundersday of Harvestfall, 1442, Portal room of the academy of magic, city of Luminara.

Vaelith waved Leoric goodbye as the Recall ritual completed, her surroundings shimmering and twisting. The warm wooden floors of the weaver's guild dissolved into a swirl of light. When her feet touched solid ground again, they rested on the cold, immaculate marble of the Luminara Magic Academy's portal chamber.

She took in the familiar space with a long breath, a smile blooming as fond memories of her time at the institution resurfaced. All around her, the polished white walls gleamed with faint runes, carved so finely they were nearly invisible until the ambient light caught them. Soft pulses of blue and silver drifted along the arches above, and faint magical humming resonated in the air like a heartbeat heard underwater.

A Wind sylvani mage on duty nodded to Vaelith with a smile in recognition. Another mage next to her curtly gestured for her to vacate the arrival space by the teleportation anchor. She recognised both as fellow apprentices, now employed at the academy. Many who learned the magical arts never picked up adventuring as a profession—it was a high-risk career, after all.

Vaelith's body fell into familiar motions, the arrival protocol ingrained in her memory. She stopped behind a file of people waiting to be interviewed about their comings and goings. The situation was reminiscent of a real-world experience—awaiting customs processing upon arrival. She exhaled and waited for her turn, her mind wandering off in her own thoughts.

Something felt off about Luminara today. She should have felt at home here—this was where Vaelith had grown up and learned spellcraft, after all. But the feeling did not come, not fully. Her smile faltered.

Luminara, for all its radiance, now felt less welcoming to her than the shadowed trails of Umbraholme. It was easy to assume the opposite would be true—surely the city of light would be kinder, warmer. But Umbraholme, for all its initial gruffness, had offered something deeper than pleasantries.

There, even the coldest worker had eventually nodded at her like a sister-in-arms. They had seen her work and learn their ways, and they had slowly accepted her as one of their own. Here in Luminara, she did not feel seen as a person. Of course, people smiled and bowed. They praised and complimented her as they tried to get her to their stalls. Despite their apparent sincerity, the compliments conveyed an underlying sense of calculation and theatricality.

This fake warmth reminded Vaelith of illusion magic.

She recalled from her class on fundamentals how illusionists used light magic to weave their spells. It was a school of magic under the domain of Astralius. How could the siblings of light represent truth, knowledge, and compassion, but also hold sway over something as misleading as illusions? How could a city dedicated to Astralius and Luxoria appear so prosperous and inviting superficially, while still harbouring such greed and duplicity beneath the surface?

Why was Nocturne, the dark goddess, considered opposed to Astralius? He was the god of truth, and she was the goddess of mysteries, yes, but also the lady of discovery. She wanted the truth out there, the same as Astralius. Actually, no. Not quite the same—if Nocturne was all about revealing mysteries, then her role was to reveal new truths. Astralius did not focus on adding to knowledge. Instead, he cared only about spreading and protecting the truths he already held.

Instead, Vaelith felt like the actual opposite of Nocturne was her brother Umber. The dark god was, after all, all about keeping secrets hidden. In this way, Umber felt like a mirror to Astralius—neither of them cared about challenging the status quo. They were both focused on keeping what they held dominion over, not expanding it.

How interesting…

Could the same thing be happening between Astralius and Luxoria, then? Maybe the struggle was not between light and darkness at all. Maybe it was between two aspects of light.

On one hand, you had the god of illumination. On the other, the goddess of radiance. Superficially, the two appeared homologous. Vaelith wondered about the distinction between the terms. In her mind, illuminating something sounded perhaps more measured. Illumination allows you to see, to read, and makes her think of expressions like to shed some light on something.

But the term radiance? It made her think of something so bright, so pure, that approaching it or staring at it would end up blinding or burning yourself. Like the Sun was to Icarus.

"Miss? Anything to declare?"

Vaelith blinked, realising she was finally standing in front of the official at last.

She shook her head and pulled out a piece of identification from her satchel. "No. I'm here on adventuring business. I'm not importing or exporting anything."

"Very well, Miss… hmm, Dawnscale. Have a good day."

Vaelith nodded and left the room, stepping through the archway leading from the main atrium. She instantly recognised her friend's signature chlorophyll-green hair, catching the light like new spring leaves. Elyssia leaned against the wall, arms crossed, dressed in her adventuring gear. She noticed Vaelith, waved, and with one hand on the strap of her backpack, she walked up to meet her halfway.

"You made it," Elyssia said, voice light but sure.

Vaelith smiled softly. "Of course. You called, I answered."

The response gave Elyssia pause—just long enough to blink and for her cheeks to turn reddish-pink. "Hmm…Would you mind if we talked before we got to business?" she asked.

I wonder what she wants to talk about?

Vaelith arched an eyebrow but nodded, nodding her head toward a side alcove. "There are private booths in the chamber next door—meant for trade deals, mostly. They're warded for privacy, and as registered adventurers, we're allowed to make use of them."

"Lead the way."

They stepped off the main marble floor and into a narrower hall lit by suspended aether globes. The booth Vaelith lead them to was curtained off and cosy—just a round table and two cushioned benches, with a shimmering privacy ward circling the entrance like a veil of mist. As soon as Elyssia crossed it, the ambient noise outside dulled to nothing.

Vaelith slid onto one bench, then shifted sideways slightly, knees together. Her tail settled sideways, resting along the bench. She gestured to the opposite bench. "Please sit."

Elyssia sat down and offloaded her sack onto the bench next to her. She did not start right away, looking at Vaelith for a long second—eyes tracing her features like they were trying to place something she had not noticed before. "First… I wanted to thank you," she finally said. "For agreeing to the photoshoot—"

"Oh, sure!" Vaelith smiled again. "Anything for Ewan."

This earned a small laugh—just a breath. Elyssia shook her head. "No, I mean—yes, that, obviously. But also… thank you for everything else. You never complain. Never push back. When I ask for support, or help, or porting, or crafting—any of it—you just do it. I didn't even really notice until I talked with Kaelyn earlier how much I've… well, taken you for granted. How I keep making you a keystone of the group's logistics."

"Okay?" Vaelith tilted her head. "I mean, I don't mind helping. You know I like to make myself useful to others."

"I know," Elyssia said quickly. "And I think that's the problem. You're easy to rely on. But then I realised I stopped asking you when I should." She leaned forward, elbows on the table, voice low but earnest. "Have I put too much on you? I keep trying to be efficient, to plan ahead, to think three moves forward—but I might've been planning with your time, your energy, your life, without checking if I had the right."

There was a pause, then Vaelith gently reached forward and placed one hand over Elyssia's. "You're not wrong to lean on me," she said, voice soft and level. "But I do appreciate you asking me now."

Elyssia exhaled, almost laughing through her nose. "Okay. Good. I wasn't sure if I owed you an apology or just a thank-you card."

Vaelith shook her head and smiled sympathetically. Elyssia had a tendency to take upon herself the weight of the entire world if left to her own devices. "No need for either. I should be thanking you for all the invisible work you put in to make this work, actually. Don't think the rest of us are ignorant of all the things you do for the sake of the party. You know it's okay for you to delegate?"

"It's fine, it's fine," Elyssia murmured. "I'm used to it. I had to organise raids before, remember? Herding cats is easier than raiders. A four-man party's—"

"—Elyssia, stop. Please don't belittle yourself or make light of the amount of work you put in."

Elyssia grimaced, then closed her mouth and nodded, her face solemn and serious.

Vaelith felt her brows furrow as she leaned forward. "Now, since there's just the two of us here, can I ask something? Real talk?"

"Serious talk?" Her friend furrowed her brow. "What's on your mind?"

"I wanted to ask about what your plans are. What's going on with Claire, with the kids? Have you told your brother, your parents? You work fully VR—will this impact your job at all?"

Elyssia sighed. "Some of that I've figured out. Most… I'm still working through." She looked away, fingers brushing the edge of the table as if trying to smooth invisible wrinkles from the wood grain. "Claire doesn't know yet. According to Maya, she doesn't believe the news about Kaelyn's transformation. Fake news, you know?"

"Ugh, I hope it will not become a problem for you to keep seeing your children. You know, if you change so much and can't legally prove you're her ex, and one of the legal parents."

"Ugh. I didn't even think of the legal transition…" Elyssia slumped and made a face. But then she brightened up and leaned straight. "Actually, I should check, but I think the legal aspect might be dealt with already…"

Vaelith tilted her head slightly. "Wait, already? Have you filed for an official name change already? Can you show me how?"

"Yeah, I can help, but…" Elyssia shook her head. "No, I haven't filled out anything—not quite. Someone or something did? Because my superior said something about HR receiving all the paperwork for my official name change, and they've updated my files accordingly."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Wait… you're serious?"

"Hundred percent. First thing this morning when she swung by my desk, my supervisor just casually dropped in and let me know. Strangest thing is, though—I've never, ever told anyone about the name Emmanuelle. Yet somehow, it might already be my legal name now."

Vaelith frowned. "So the game plucked the name right out of your mind, then? I suppose with everything else it showed it can do—body transformation, magic and skill transference—reading your mind should be the least surprising one. Clear violation of ethical rights, however."

Elyssia shrugged. "Whoever is behind the transformation is clearly well past the point of caring about privacy issues, I think. But let's back up a bit—you mentioned transformation, but magic and skills…?"

"Oh," Vaelith said, realising she had not shared about her telekinetic accident. "Huh, well, before you called, I was, huh… baking raspberry swirls and—"

"—wait. Hold on. You were baking cookies this morning? Like in the real world?"

She nodded. "Mm-hmm! I saw we had the ingredients, and everything I learned in the game about cooking just came to me, and I started making some."

"But why?"

Vaelith felt her cheeks burn up at the memories of the princess carry. She nervously scratched behind one fin, which fluttered as her fingers approached. "I just needed something else to focus on while I was sorting myself out."

"Uh-huh," Elyssia said, one eyebrow lifting knowingly. "I'll leave it at that—but only because I'm feeling generous. Anyway, you're saying the skills you picked in-game carried over? I mean, memory is memory. It doesn't feel like a stretch to think if you learn about the right ingredients and instructions to make cookies in here, it would actually work over there."

Vaelith rubbed her chin with one hand. "Sure, but the crafting system is still a gamified one—I would never manage to make a complete cosplay outfit in such a short time. The real-life version of the raspberry swirl recipe couldn't quicken steps or approximate them."

"Still, if the system can read into my mind to pull out a name I've secretly wished for but never told anyone—"

Vaelith finished the sentence. "—then it doesn't sound like a stretch that it might have planted the full recipe in my head the moment I learned the simplified one."

Elyssia closed her eyes and drew in a long breath. "… Okay. So the game—or something connected to it—can read and write memories in our brains, and can change our bodies. Maybe we should start to journal our activities, see if we're noticing discrepancies or oddness?"

Vaelith nodded twice, slowly, before agreeing. "Yeah. That's probably a good idea, actually. Not just journal what we do now, but also report what we've done in the last few days. Hindsight is twenty/twenty, after all."

"Right. But let's go back a little. Back to the bombs you casually dropped before." She raised her index finger. "First was skills." Then she raised her middle finger. "The second was magic. What's this about?"

Vaelith's eyes lit up, and she brought her fist to her palm with a light tap. "Oh, right! That's why I brought up the cookies in the first place. Okay, so I was baking cookies. When the timer told me it was time, I put on my oven mitts and grabbed a plate out. Then, I—huh…—got distracted, slipped, and almost dropped the tray of cookies."

"Go on…?"

"Well, that's the thing. I didn't, actually, 'almost' drop them. I literally did. But then, in panic, I reflexively, well, caught them. With magic."

Elyssia blinked twice, probably in stupefaction. "Get out of here, you're kidding me? You say you levitated a tray of cookies. Just like you keep doing in-game?"

"Mm-hmm," Vaelith agreed, nodding. "Just like that. Except, my real-life body is not a trained mage—not yet, at least. I burned through my 'mana' in seconds, then collapsed. Good thing Lisa was right there."

"Let me get this straight—you cast a spell. Like, a real one. And it worked."

Vaelith shrugged apologetically. "Panic reaction. Didn't think—just did."

Elyssia leaned back, eyes wide. "Okay. So you've got muscle memory for your spells, which in itself isn't surprising, given how often you use them in here. The problem is that it worked. What is going on? Are you sure you haven't just imagined any of it? We were just saying how the game is capable of writing things inside our brains."

"If you think that's possible, you can always ask Lisa? She was there. And, as far as I know, she hasn't used any FullDive rigs since the game came out. If anyone should be safe from the game's influence—assuming the game is what's doing all this—then she'd be the perfect control group."

Elyssia exhaled. "Right. Maybe we can see each other in the real world later? Because if this is as big as it's feeling like, who knows if a video chat or message won't get intercepted and doctored before the answer gets back to me?"

"You really think whatever's going on is big enough that it can hack into regular satellite calls and direct messages?"

She raised both shoulders, flipping her palms up. "Heh, no, I don't. Look… right now, I have green hair in the real world. I'm turning into a petite elf girl. You're telling me you remember how to make cookies and how to cast spells—things Vaelith can do—and now you can do both in the real world. I think my capacity to fight this absurdity is all tapped out."

Vaelith gave a small, apologetic smile. "So… you're saying we've reached the 'just roll with it' stage?"

Elyssia let out a breath that was halfway to a laugh. "No. I'm saying we've blown past that stage." She tilted her head, her tone more cautious now. "So… what about you? What are your plans work-wise? Are you going to go back? Teaching, I mean?"

Vaelith pursed her lips. "I'm technically still on medical paid leave for now. I would love to keep my job, but I'm not sure if I'll be allowed to. Looking like this, I mean."

Elyssia gave a tired nod. "Right. Your school's real sticklers for protocol and dress code. Kinda hard picturing you, small as you are as Vaelith, in front of the class, commanding any kind of authority."

"Well, yeah. The school admin would probably agree with you. But maybe I can get my job back, even if they complain. One of my students visited this morning. She didn't speak for the entire class, but apparently, most of my students want me back as soon as I can."

Elyssia squinted. "Wait—she visited? Like, in person?"

Vaelith nodded. "Yeah. Brought me a bouquet of peonies. She connected the dots about my mysterious appearance from yesterday morning after she saw the news yesterday."

"Okay. So you've let a student see you… the new you, that easily?"

Vaelith gestured with both hands, pointing at herself. "The entire class saw me yesterday. My changes weren't subtle, you know? So, why would I be bothered with one of them seeing me at the halfway point?"

"Right, it slipped my mind—my mental image of what you look like has already switched to your dracan avatar, apparently… I almost forgot how big of a change it must be for you, huh…"

"Yeah… anyway. Madison's parents, and the parents of a bunch of my other students? They have the money and the means. If they want to, they can probably strong-arm the school to let me back in, even if I look like I belong at one of the students' desks. And you? What will you do about work?"

Elyssia shrugged. "Like I said earlier, I'm officially in quarantine. But once they decide whether it's contagious or not, they'll probably expect me back, as usual. As long as I dress my avatar in clothes appropriate to my presenting gender, they don't really care about my hair colour or pointy ears. IT companies are surprisingly more tolerant than other industries. They already have me filed under my new name. Then it'll all be back to normal."

Vaelith smiled wryly. "Hard to 'return to normal' when you've got fins and scales."

"Or green hair," Elyssia added, beaming. "Which I kinda love, to be fair."

Vaelith tilted her head, smiling. "You pull it off."

The two laughed until the room fell silent. Vaelith scratched at the scales at the back of one elbow before looking up into Elyssia's sapphire-blue eyes. "Well, now that this topic has apparently run its course… Are Maya and Ewan aware, then?"

Elyssia bit her lip, bobbing her head slowly in affirmation before speaking. "Yeah… They both are. Maya called me this morning, actually. I didn't even have to say anything. She saw the news, wondered if it had happened to me, and checked."

Vaelith gently placed one hand in the centre of the table, palm down, a silent reminder that she was here, ready to help take any burden off her shoulder. Maya and Ewan are practically her niece and nephew, after all. "And I take—since Ewan is the one asking for the cosplay screenshot—that he's also okay with it?"

"Hah. Yeah, he's fine with it." Elyssia's smile appeared filled with parental pride. "I think he'll be happy as long as I'm happy."

"… and your parents? You told them yet?"

Then Elyssia stiffened a little. She looked down toward Vaelith's offered hand, and her eyes lingered there. "I… No, I haven't, but, yes, they know. Maya took it into her hands to share the news with the family. Those who matter, at least."

"So Sam knows too? How are they all taking it?"

One of Elyssia's hands hesitantly crept closer to Vaelith's. The dracan lifted hers off the table—just a little—and reached out, grasping her friend's trembling hand.

Elyssia's head turned sideways, her visible cheek reddening. "Sam's… Well, he's a good bean. You know how he is. He said he'd make sure the parents would come around…"

"I expected nothing less from my junior. I take it your parents aren't taking it too well?"

"Actually, better than I had anticipated—"

Vaelith squeezed Elyssia's hand a little tighter, silencing her. "—Girl, you were planning to take your real name and identity to your grave. You were bracing for disaster on every front. If I graded your worst-case list against reality, you'd maybe score ten percent."

Elyssia's head snapped back, frowning. "Harsh! … Wait, who do you think I'd be right about?"

"—Claire, obviously. I don't gamble, but if I did? She's the one I'd stake it all on."

Elyssia nodded. "Yeah. Not looking forward to her finding out."

"It doesn't really matter if she does at this point. You're divorced, so her opinion shouldn't weigh you down. Plus—you know what—it might actually help. The image of you leaving your marriage is stuck in her head, like an unsolved puzzle. If her learning the fact you've been a woman all along manages to get her to move on…"

Elyssia's hand relaxed. "Yeah, you're right. I suppose it could help her. To finally learn the truth."

"Both of you. It might help both of you finally close this chapter of your lives."

A gentle hush settled over the booth as their conversation naturally slowed. No ward shimmer, no clock tick, no idle footstep beyond the veil disturbed the stillness between them. Only the faint sound of their breaths—two friends sitting in a small pocket of calm while the world outside pressed in with impossible weight.

"And your folks?" Elyssia asked. "Have you… talked to them about any of this?"

Vaelith looked down, the thumb of her free hand brushing absently along the grain of the table. "No, not yet. You know them, and how they are… I was the only one in the family who didn't graduate with honours. But I'm also the only one who knows the names of her students' cats."

"Yeah…"

"Mom would probably try to solve this like I'm some kind of advanced Rubik's cube or Sudoku. Dad would probably immediately jump to which law the game developers broke, and how to sue them. As for Thomas…"

Elyssia grimaced. "He'd fly over, run a battery of tests, try to understand what's happening, and how to fix you?"

Vaelith nodded. "Yeah, most likely. He'd absolutely want me at his clinic, and I can't imagine he'd leave my side afterwards."

Elyssia raised an eyebrow. "So I take it you're not planning to let them in on the secret?"

Vaelith gave a humourless laugh. "Not yet, at least."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Ely."

"No, but I understand what it is to carry a secret and hide it like that from your family."

Vaelith mouthed a silent thank you, smiled faintly, her gaze falling down. Elyssia was the first to break the silence. She looked down at their joined hands, thumb brushing lightly against one of Vaelith's scales. "…How's Lisa taking all of this?"

Vaelith blinked, then softened. "She's strong. Stronger than me. Said she'd just have to learn to fall in love with me all over again, if you can believe it? But I can tell she's worried."

"And she saw you collapse after casting?"

"Hmm. She carried me to the recliner—"

Elyssia grinned. "—carried, not dragged? Like princess-carried?"

"Yes…" Vaelith rolled her eyes. "She carried me to the recliner after I fell to the floor. She didn't panic, not really—not in the way people usually do. Once I was safe, she got me some honeyed water, sat by me, made sure I was okay. Like it was any other fainting spell." A small smile tugged at her lips. "Then she fed me some of my raspberry swirls and basically instructed me not to do that again."

Elyssia laughed gently. "Doctor's orders."

Vaelith nodded. "Yeah, and as for us, well. She hasn't said anything outright, but… I think she's scared of losing me. That I'll change so much I won't be me anymore."

"It's a valid fear. I can't think of many things more difficult for a couple to endure than a sudden transition…"

Vaelith looked away for a moment, then back. "Right. Transition may not be a significant figure on statistics tracking the causes for divorce, but that's probably because trans folks are such a minority. It's a seismic change for a couple, no matter how you look at it. For now, she still sees me underneath my new body. But I can't promise her it will still be true tomorrow. Change doesn't ask for permission."

Elyssia nodded slowly. "Not in our case, it really doesn't."

Once again, a momentary silence settled between the two. Vaelith squeezed Elyssia's hand once more and tried her best to smile despite her topic still weighing heavily on her mind.

"You ready for your one-way ticket to Altansuun?"

"Yeah... Let's do this. Thanks for the chat, Jae."

"Hey, what are friends for, if not for conversations like this?" Vaelith stepped past the veil of the ward and held the curtain aside for her. "And free portal rides. Honestly, having adventurer friends is way better than calling the Space Taxi."

Elyssia snorted. "Girl, please."

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