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Huddled against the wall, Cire and several of his classmates watched the entrance as more notable attendees were announced upon entering the ballroom. Honeydrop, and kin, zipped around overhead. They moved so fast that he couldn’t keep track. One of the Cinnamonswirls had taken to annoying Cire by flying overhead with a glass of water and constantly raining small drops down like an angry spitting child.

Fizz shook his sandy haired head as an errant drop caught him. Cool as the ocean depths, he kept right on talking as he pointed out various people of note who had already arrived. He did his best at keeping his voice low, but the gnomes observations were not as guarded as they should have been. The relevance of elven handtalk in a town where the majority of folks could amplify their hearing was all the more apparent to Cire.

“Over there, by the table of drinks, that’s the Bellarian Crafter’s Guild representative Sirius Goldenspring. The wood elf talking to him, the one with the cane, is also a junior member of the Goldenspring family, Jace. They may be minor house members, but both have higher standing because of their positions. Jace is the head of the local Ionian League Adventurers Guild.”

Dragging one of her relatives down by their hand, Honeydrop deposited herself on Cire’s shoulder with her kidnapped prize. The newly arrived fairy, with strawberry pink and brown hair, leaned over and pressed Cire’s upper lip up to reveal his canines. Honeydrop pushed her kin away and hugged them, trapping their hands to their sides.

“This is my younger brother, Nutmeg. He’s happy to meet you!”

Squirming and wriggling his way free, Nutmeg hovered a fingers breadth from Cire’s nose. An over exaggerated pout smeared on his adorable features. Then he just flew away to rejoin the storm of fairies and pixies zooming overhead. Honeydrop chased after him, her gossamer thin wings beating rapidly.

Blinking, Cire recovered his composure from the odd introduction and looked back down to Fizz. Fae were a strange bunch, with even stranger predilections. Best to take it in stride.

“Adventurer’s Guild? I heard some of the other students talking about wanting to become members, but most are planning to rejoin their house after their education wraps up. What does the guild do? We ran into the guard on our way here, don’t they keep the monsters away from the town?”

Rolling his eyes, Fizz’s tone shifted and he started talking to Cire slower, like he was a child, who was hard of hearing.

“I know you’re not a local, sharp teeth, but you don’t even know the basics of how the guilds operate? You’ve been training in the administrative tower for weeks, haven’t you visited any of the floors not used by the academy?”

Shifting from foot to foot, Cire rubbed his hands together. Fizz knew he was from a different realm, and like the others, didn’t seem to care. The gnome had apparently decided to not cut Cire any slack in that area though. When the sun elf demonstrated ignorance, Fizz would good naturedly mock or exaggeratedly explain Cire’s faux pas.

Cire resisted ruffling his newly minted friends hair, it hadn’t gone well the first time he had tried it. He still didn’t know where the knife had come from that Fizz had deposited in his hand. After the gnome had discovered Cire regenerated, he had stopped pulling punches, and stabbings. It was one of the reasons they paired well as sparring partners. The gnome didn’t like to hold back, and Cire knew he needed to push himself as hard as possible. That happened most often with real stakes on the line, even if they constantly had to do a little extra cleanup.

“You know how far behind I am. How many skill abilities do you have, five? Six? I only have two. You going to keep basking in the blinding light of my ignorance or are you going to tell me?”

Taking an extra long drink of his wine, Fizz let his pause draw out before responding.

“The town guard stops wild animals, monsters, and people from getting through the walls. They man outposts throughout the forest to protect against attack from invasion and to secure trade. There is a base close to my home, Gearspoke. But the guard doesn’t proactively subdue threats.

“The Adventurer’s Guild is far more multi-purposed. They hunt down monster nests, gather difficult to harvest resources, investigate dungeons, and help ensure a larger order between settlements within the league. For small or isolated towns like this one they serve as an ad hoc embassy and bank. It’s nice to not have to carry around all of your gold, but it does make it harder to pinch the occasional big score. The guild secures records across various branches and often serves as guarantor for treaties between other guilds, clans, and territories.”

Flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder, a moon elf showing off her long elegant legs in a sheer dark blue silk dress strode right up to them. She held her hand out to Cire and introduced herself.

“Katherine Morningdew, it’s a pleasure to meet you young master Eventide. Would you accompany me for a dance?”

Cire starred at her hand, his mouth hanging slightly open. He hadn’t met, or even seen, this woman before. After a nudge to his leg from Fizz, Cire nodded and clasped Katherine’s outstretched fingers in his.

“It would be my pleasure, Lady Morningdew?”

Leading Cire towards the middle of the large circular dance floor, the wood elf giggled demurely.

“Katherine is fine. My parents put far more stock in titles than I.”

They formed two circles with the others who had assembled during the break in music. All of the men in an inner ring and the women in an outer one. A small group of flying folk joined them above, but their circles were much smaller.

As the music began to play, Katherine and Cire danced. It happened to be one of the last communal dances that Daphne had taught him. You would repeat several movements with your partner and then each circle would spin in opposite directions. Then you would dance those moves with a new partner, and repeat. By the time the reedy sounds of a cheerful flute solo finished, Cire was back in his starting positing across from Katherine.

The moon elf took Cire’s arm in hers and walked with him towards the refreshment table. Katherine pulled him close to the wall and angled her body to block him in. Giggling again, Katherine covered her mouth with her hand and the picked up a small plate.

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“I do insist that you join me for a conversation now that I have bestowed upon you a dance.”

“Of course Katherine. Is there a particular topic that you would like to engage?”

Cire took up his own plate and selected several slices of fruit, cheese, and meat. It didn’t escape his notice that Katherine was keeping herself between him and the rest of the guests. She seated them at a small table within full view of the dance floor and entrance.

There turned out to be no specific topic of note that Katherine wished to discuss. She asked him what he thought of the town and where he had been. After hearing how limited his exploration of the settlement was she insisted on taking him on a tour after his class returned from their patrol. Suspiciously, she deflected or redirected his questions.

Calix, a supremely skilled academy student, sneered openly at Cire as he had come off the dance floor. Sitting a couple of tables down, he snatched a wine glass offered by his partner and drank it. Muttering with enough volume to be overheard, but not loud enough for true impropriety, he levied a harsh grievance.

“It’s a disgrace they let that race defiling wildling into the academy, let alone despoil the ball.”

A hush descended on the tables around them, the lively music masking the soured atmosphere. Katherine looked back over her shoulder and scowled. With an apologetic smile she covered Cire’s hand on the table with her own.

“Some among the noble houses eschew proper manners when it most suits the occasion. Pay them no heed.”

Katherine pulled him back to the dance floor, and pointedly to the other side of the room from Calix. However, Cire’s appetite for frivolity had been sufficiently doused. He begged off another dance with the lovely moon elf, and returned to his place as a wall flower with Fizz.

Calix must have had a few drinks before arriving at the festivities, but still, race defiler? What brought that on. That’s the sort of sentiment that festers. I’ve never even beat him in a sparring session. This feels like high school drama, with life or death consequences, but I’m probably missing something.

Not long after Cire had rejoined the gnome, Lady Silverstar and the other heads of the Tempest Treetops’ aristocratic families were presented at the entrance. The only absence was the Tempestnight family, whose cypress tower the ball was being hosted in. Cire was eagerly anticipating his first view of a sky elf up close, enough to distract him from mulling over the earlier unpleasantness. He had seen them flying in and out of the towers at a distance, but there hadn’t been an occasion until now for him to personally interact with any of them.

Daphne was wearing a gorgeous white and silver gown, sky blue sapphires adorned her ears drawing attention to her eyes. Her hair was done up in curls and waves. It was practically sculpted in appearance. After making her way around the hall, Cire found her at his side.

“There you are child. Why are you hidden away from everyone? Come with me, I have several introductions to make.”

Totting him around like a trophy, Daphne showed off the oddity that was Cire to various other families. The Goldenspring brothers were more affable than he would have guessed by Fizz’s observations. Katherine’s parents, Duke and Duchess Morningdew, were inscrutable with politeness. Although, he could sense a strong underlying tension between the two moon elf families.

All of this jockeying for position and status. This is one of the clearest cases of a crab mentality that I have ever seen. All the families are trapped in the same small bucket, instead of letting any others ascend they would rather pull them back to the bottom.

Cire’s internal musings were cut short by blaring of horns and radiance, as prismatic sparkles erupted through the air. Laughing and flying between the cascading sparks, the pixies and fairies added their own fireworks. They cast small fire, lightning, and other visually appealing spells.

Swirling air stirred the room, ruffling banners and any guest who hadn’t properly secured their attire. Landing with barely a sound, five figures stood at attention on the main balcony. They were joined by a sixth, a tall lanky elf with large brown wings much like a falcon protruding from his back. King Zephyr Tempestnight’s wings spread out, blocking his family behind him, before folding against his back. The crooks of each wing poked out above his shoulders, but without them he strongly resembled the appearance of a wood elf. Except the eyes, all of the sky elves had yellow or golden irises.

Everyone in the room dropped to one knee and bowed their heads. Zephyr outstretched both arms in greeting.

“All rise and welcome the final days of spring. Raise a glass in celebration of cool breezes and thunderous storms, for tonight we feast!”

Following the toast, a round of clapping and cheers heralded the true beginning of festivities. Libations flowed heavily and the whole room was alive with the thrum of merriment. Late into the evening activity started to taper off, but not by as much as Cire would have expected.

Each of the aristocratic patriarchs and matriarchs he had been introduced to had displayed varying levels of interest. Cire couldn’t tell if the casual interest shown by Zephyr was out of politeness or genuine intrigue. Honeydrop’s great grandparents weren’t as rambunctious as their children, but after introductions they had soon bored of him and flown away. Sometime past midnight he completed the quest he had been working on since the first time Selene told him about the Tempest Treetops.

Standing on a balcony, with his back to the still energetic dance floor, he reassessed the experience. If he was the Shadowed Forest’s lord and this place was his capital, what would he change? What would he keep the same? What did he actually have control over?

I didn’t see a single centaur, satyr, or really anyone besides an elf, pixie, or fairy here tonight. It’s not like I went back to the farms since arriving. I got all high and mighty questioning Selene, but did I ever investigate?

No, of course I didn’t. I got tunnel vision like I always do. I’ve been acting just like every other free person or citizen. I’ve barely left the pillars. How many people live in this city without touching the ground for a whole year? How many slaves does it take to make that happen?

Having just piled on even more unanswered and unanswerable questions, Cire let out a long exasperated sigh. Pulling up next to him with her hands on the balcony rail, Selene gave him a sidelong glance before looking back out over the colorful lights dotting the town.

“Now you know why I was hesitant to make the offer for you to visit.”

“I do.”

Cire had watched Daphne parade Selene around to various guests just as she had done with him. Except, in Selene’s case there were more obvious overtures being made to families possessing young men of similar age. His friend had never put up with sophistry or dissembling back home, it had to be eating her alive.

They enjoyed the silence of each others company. Neither wanting to engage in any further dancing for the night. For a small moment, there was the solitude of the mountains around them, in spite of their true location.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t understand before. Why you were the only elf in the valley that is. Stout seemed odd enough, a single gnome surrounded by dwarves and humans. He doesn’t hide his displeasure though. With you, I couldn’t tell if you loved or hated Sunset. It’s a little surprising to realize it’s both.”

Selene nodded once. Bitter resentment lacing through her words.

“I’m still not exactly happy that my mother didn’t tell me why. But after reviewing the information she was working from I can see her reasoning. She had too little to confirm her suspicions, but enough to encourage them. I was the right tool for the job, and she used me effectively.”

Keeping his back to the gathered celebrants, Cire held his hands close to his stomach and signed a quick message in elven handtalk.

“Does she know?”

The pause before Selene’s shrug told him all he needed. Cire didn’t know when the crafty moon elf duchess had solved the riddle of his last unrevealed mystery, but he had inklings that she would. It really didn’t change much as far as he could tell. Daphne was always going to leverage his association with her family, in particular her daughter, to her best advantage.