Fringilla would always remember the moment the world changed for her. It wasn’t when she accidentally froze the cat with magic. It wasn’t even when her uncle, an illustrious illusionist, gazed at her with pride and declared that she would go to Aretuza.

No, the real moment of change was during her first lesson at Aretuza, when Rectoress Tissaia de Vries walked around the room and declared, “just because you are conduits of chaos does not mean that you are capable of magic. Magic is organizing chaos. And while oceans of mysteries remain, we have deduced that this requires two things, balance and control. Without them, chaos will kill you.”

The Rectoress directed them to use an encantation to lift a stone, and while everyone in the room tried, Fringilla was the only one who succeeded. And on her first try!

But then came the moment. The moment Chaos took the balance out of her hide, desiccating her hand and arm. 

And the Rectoress did nothing. Everyone did nothing. Even the girl who’d pointed out the cost didn’t move, though she stared in horror as Fringilla screamed.

At that moment, Fringilla swore that she would become powerful enough to destroy any who would stand by and let that happen. Aretuza taught her that pain was part of the exchange for power, but there was no need to be careless about it!

Fringilla firmly believed that when someone had the ability to protect another, even if it meant doing some measure of harm, they had the responsibility to do it.

The Usurper taught her that.