The measuring ceremony commenced.

As each woman was evaluated, cheers came from the gallery.

The brown toned woman who had the earlier questions was next. She had a small nose and round cheeks, toned arms and legs. Her thick black wavy hair fell past her shoulders.

“Name?”

“Sophia.”

As they measured her, the device played a beautiful high note, “She’s a Sol!” The entire galley took a breath. Concern crossed Sophia’s face before she shuttered her expression.

Prince Hirote walked down the dais and reached to her. “Please stand, Lady Sophia. I am honored to welcome you into my clan.” Trembling, she grasped their hand as they helped her stand.

The elf in deep purple robes whispered, “Where was she found?”

“The Gongre Confederacy, Ambassador Zarvik.”

Prince Hirote gave them warning look.

“I object to this Red King!” Ambassador Zarvik called out.

“Now is not the time.” The King answered.

“No, now is the perfect time. As all of us know, the Sols are only assigned one per Adasion of Sol rank. They are there to maintain direct lines of descendants. If another Sol appears, where would she go? You cannot be thinking of giving two to your heir! Unless you plan to create a second heir.” Their voice dropped on the last sentence. Second heirs were rare and historically were frowned on. Their legacies always ended up with civil wars. The Red King knew what was implied.

“Silence!” The king’s curt booming voice shouted.

“May I speak? This is about my life after all.”

The King’s eyes softened. “Yes, go ahead.”

“I think I need time to adjust to this place. I’ll let your heir court me to your clan, but in the end, the decision of which clan is mine alone. Do we agree?” Sophia stood straight and did not glance away from the king’s eyes.

Ambassador Zarvik spoke, “That is the international law of Adasion. No clan may force a woman to join them nor to stay with them.”

“Then that is what I will do.” With that she closed the matter. Juliana admired her patience. She stood strong even though the hall could feel the angry energy of the Red King emanating from across the chamber.

Eventually, it was Juliana’s time to be tested. She held her breath before nodding.

As she gave her name, the pink haired elf passed the device over her. Once, twice. On the third time even the Lysarian Ambassador was impatient, “Well?”

“I’m sorry, but the results are inconclusive.”

“Inconclusive? That has never happened! Do you mean she’s like a man? Unable to conduct mana?” The Red King asked.

“No Dominator. If she were without ability, it would register it.” He walked over to Royce. The device played a sharp discordant note, “See?” When they moved it back to Juliana it played up and down the scales. Then it finally settled on a chord with the notes of Do, Fa, and the softest note of something high, but Juliana wasn’t sure which note it was.

He continued, “Maybe it’s because we had to use so much energy earlier on her pod. It could have messed up her readings. We’ll need to re-evaluate.”

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“How long?” the Red King asked with a note of impatience.

Juliana knew they all heard it. The Fa note. And the Do note. If they were expecting great things from her and she was a dud…she didn’t know who the Do elves were, but if they were the masses outside and they learned they could ally with her, things could become very bad, very fast. There was so much she didn’t know.

“Months maybe? She’ll need time for her body to adjust to Adasion’s resonance.”

“Give her the Re card.”

The elf accented and gave her a dull looking plaque.

Disappointed noises came from the gallery. She doubted they heard the King’s conversation. They saw only the plaque handed to Juliana. As she was the last one, the measurements had concluded.

Wait, did that mean they all thought she was basically a dud? If women’s whole hope in this society was finding a clan, then already Juliana was starting behind.

Ambassador Zarvik looked on with disapproval at the last rating. Cruelty caused the king to make sure the ambassador had a front row seating. However, luck was on their side. Zarvik heard the scales and cord from the last evaluation. They set Juliana’s and Sophia’s faces to memory. Maybe, just maybe, they could convince one of them to defect to their homeland. It was a loophole with tribute law vs the international law, and Ambassador Zarvik fully intended to exploit it.

The eldest spoke, “At this time we shall find sponsors for our arrivals from Earth.”

Each woman stood and her name and note were given. The elves in the aisle and in the galley spoke all at once. Flashes of color waved into the air as they twirled sheer scarves indicating their bid.

The blonde Fe was first. The gallery was silent as only the nobility on the ground floor bid. It was fierce. The Adasions insulted each others’ honor as the bid sounded very high. One group of blue haired Adasions versus orange-haired almost came to blows. The blue group won to cheers and slaps on their backs. They welcomed the blonde woman with a hug.

When a Mi woman was introduced, the gallery went into a frenzy. Their bidding was just as high as the nobles, as money had little import to the Adasions of middling powers. This was one of the few chances to change their status in society. A boisterous group of green-haired elves finally won her sponsorship.

It was finally the last awakened’s turn.

“What’s this about her number, Elder? We saw the reading!” An orange haired one from the gallery shouted down.

Shit. Would this be trouble?

“Ah, well, her result is inconclusive.”

“So she could be anything—including a rank too high for us to flow mana with or so low that she won’t be able to fully connect us to the planet.”

“That could be dangerous! Burn us out!”

Other such calls came from the gallery. They angrily looked at Juliana as though she was a threat to them. She wasn’t. She was trembling. With excitement or fear, she didn’t know.

Debating occurred on her right. The nobility shook their head.

“What if she’s actually too low? The resulting mana flow will be subpar.”

“I’m desperate to build my clan after losing so many to the war, but this… if we bid now, we lose the chance to next Welcoming.”

Great. Juliana was a pariah.

The pink haired elf who measured her called out. “Come now. She awoke filled will the power of Adasion. If anything, she’ll still help your family build connections.” With that, they started the bid.

Silence. No one made an offer.

The bid started dropping lower.

Then lower.

There were a few half-hearted bids.

Juliana stiffened. “This was outrageous! If this is how I am to be treated, I want nothing to do with the lot of you! I am a mayor back home. A whole city looks to me for leadership. I am more than an alien from Earth. Send me home!”

The pink elf who measured her shook their head, softly whispering, “I apologize. We know of no way for you to return.”

A wave of coldness rushed through her. She swayed.

Turning to leave, she stopped by an orange-haired elf in armor. It was a guard for the floor. Was she forbidden to leave the bid?

There was a pause.

“I’ll take her in. 2,000 jewels.” A voice like a bell came from the ground floor. A black, charcoal skinned elf with shockingly white hair and clothing stood up. The amount given was higher than the starting bids. They crisply spoke while standing stately with an upturned chin. They motioned for her to walk towards them.

“Do not worry. We will make sure you are treated better than you’ve ever known.”

Juliana looked at them with confusion.

“If you wish to study, you can here. If you wish to work, you may do that as well. You may do anything you wish as long as it does not break the law. You are welcomed here, Juliana. I am Nue’ant.” They led her to a free chair.

“And if I wish to leave? Is there no way to return? Is it true?”

“You mean to return to Earth?” he gently asked, “I am sorry, but no one knows how. And to be honest, no one would want you to return. The success of the planet depends on all of you.”

Juliana slumped in the offered chair.

“Are you sure you wish to sponsor her, Nue’ant?” his neighbor asked.

“Do you question me?”

“No, High Judge.”

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the eldest struck their wide staff on the floor. They led those gathered in a final song. The song was of goodbyes to the past and welcoming new beginnings. While was beautiful, Juliana didn’t want this new reality to be real. She bent her head and quietly shed tears.