Running up the mountain, Tif’s thoughts where everywhere at once. Thankfully, she knew where she wanted to go and the path to get there, so her feet were able to take her in a single direction even if her mind was doing the opposite.
A large part of her was thinking about her parents. Despite asking her preference, they hadn’t been enthusiastic about her plans--at least not at first. They had warmed considerably to the notion after Tif explained how being around dozens of knights would be the safest spot for her in all of Lercel. Vak-Lav wouldn’t dare send risless goons to try and fetch her in such a place. Tif further sweetened the idea by reminding her parents that if she did manage to become a knight, she’d have money and influence to spare, which would not only give them protection but a much nicer home.
In truth, Tif wasn’t entirely sure if the knights would accept her with Blood ris in lieu of Gold, but she knew there was an aquaros from Tears who acted as a division leader, which to her seemed like a very good sign. She didn’t tell her parents that part though. Instead, she hoped the idea of a house in the future kept their spirits up while they were sloshing around in the tunnels beneath the city.
Tif began to pass some people when she reached the upper part of the lows, and her red tattoos drew immediate looks. Like her ma had said, no cyclops had been in Lercel in ages, and Blood ris was just as rare. Tif didn’t dare stop to converse with anyone, even the few she knew. If what Awt had said was true, Vak-Lav would be relentless in pursuing her and might have other teams out searching for her.
Tif believed Awt about that particular danger, but she wasn’t as sure what to make of his claim concerning Torgath. Awt had interrupted one of the toughs to say the cyclops was dead and then refused to say the same again when she questioned him directly--both of which made her think it was a lie. Tif had to restrain herself from spinning around and going to the hideout to check for herself if the cyclops was still there. Of course, if she did that, she would be taking the Blood ris straight back to where Torgath didn’t want it to be. He had obviously given her his ris to get it away from the underground.
But why her? They had barely talked at all for him to bestow such a treasure on her. Because she didn’t belong to the underground? Could it be that simple? Or because she had been nice to him or reminded him of his granddaughter? Those things were so little, nothing really when compared to her years of work at trying to win the lotto. Her ma and fa would tell her that in the lows you didn’t question fortune lest you scare it away, but Tif wished she could ask Torgath all the same.
She wished she could know he was alive.
Tif reached a corner that she normally paused to catch her breath when running up the mountain, but found that she was only slightly winded, nowhere near enough to have to stop and rest. It seemed that the stolen energy the Blood ris gave her hadn’t quite run out yet even after healing her fa. Tif could tell that her tattoos didn’t have the same luster as earlier though, so she doubted there was much more for her to draw on. Not that it would be hard to recharge if she wanted--all she had to do was touch someone. But that wouldn’t be very nice of her.
“You’re right, Pep,” she said, opening her left hand a bit so they could talk. “We’ll only do it to people who deserve it.”
And what about Awt? Had he deserved it? The fairy bracelet flapping on her right wrist was a clear reminder of him as she ran. Would he be okay? He had probably shouldered some of the blame for her and Torgath’s actions, if not all of it, and now without Gold ris he could easily face exile just by walking around Lercel. Making it worse was that when Tif thought of him, she didn’t even know what to feel anymore. They had known each other almost their entire lives and much more intimately this past year. Awt had always been Awt. To think that he might no longer be in her life was as strange to her as the idea of no longer having Pep on her hand--she could hardly fathom it.
The higher Tif went in Lercel, the more of a stir she created, but it wasn’t until she was halfway through the mids that Tif spotted her first Gold Aspect. She nearly tripped, unsure how the living statue would react to the foreign ris she carried. Would it point to her? Follow her around? Neither happened though as she shot by; in fact, Tif didn’t think it spared her so much a look as she sprinted past. The same was the case for each additional Aspect she encountered, which struck her as increasingly strange since the effect she was having on the people around her continued to intensify. It was clear from their often shouted exclamations of shock that they had seen Blood ris no more frequently than her and were quite surprised to suddenly be encountering it today. Their turning heads followed her even if the Aspects didn’t, and she was glad that none tried to stop her.
Finally, after at least an hour of running, more likely two, Tif reached the end of the mids. On the border with the highs there was a large, open section, similar to the square outside the lotto house. Tif had visited the space a few times before since it was used for seasonal events like holiday shop carts, outdoor das tournaments, and performances by singers from the Opera House in the highs. Now, the area had a line of tall pavilions that created a colorfall wall for the recruitment that lay beyond.
Tif had never been within before, but reaching it, her bubbling thoughts settled into a few certainties: she hated that she couldn’t be sharing this moment with Awt and desperately wished he had done about half a dozen things differently so that they could. Knights had a lot of power though, and with it, she could save him from whatever he had gotten into with the underground, including getting him new Gold ris. Whether they ended up together or not, she wanted that much for him at least. She also knew that he was smart enough to survive long enough for her to make those things happen, and the same for her parents in the sewers. Tif had to believe in all of them, just like she had to believe in herself now. She’d be facing people like Sur-Rak in recruitment, who were more trained and knowledgeable than her, and if she let herself be distracted, she’d never make it through.
“Let’s do this, Pep.”
A small crowd of pointing people had cropped up around Tif while she’d been holding still, but when she marched forward they jolted, going back to their previous business a half-step faster than before. There was a line of people waiting to enter the largest of the pavilions in the center, which was tall enough to have flaps pulled back an Aspect could get through.
Before she could reach the start of the line though, a male keshe with Gold ris approached her. It only took a glance at him for Tif to catch the shimmer in the air, announcing that he was a knight. Tif brightened. She knew about the division leaders and this didn’t seem to be one of them, but seeing any knight was always something she enjoyed.
The keshe came to a stop about ten feet away. “What is your business here?” he asked in a voice smoothed by ris, and there was no question as to whom he was speaking.
Tif halted as well to not be rude and said, “I’m here for recruitment.”
The knight’s yellow eyes narrowed, but Tif didn’t elaborate. She had wanted to be a knight even longer than she had known Awt, so the long-rooted desire should be easy for him to feel. If that didn’t convince him, her words wouldn’t do the job any better.
“Follow me,” the knight finally said, but to Tif’s surprise he didn’t take Tif to the main tent. Instead, he went over to the left, to one of the pavilions that created the surrounding wall, and pulled a flap back Tif wouldn’t have ever guessed was there.
Inside the fabric enclosure, there was a human woman kneeling on the ground who didn’t seem perturbed in the slightest at their arrival. Like the servants Tif had seen in Sur-Rak’s house, the woman had no ris on her face and wore light yellow robes.
“A potential recruit,” the male keshe said. “See to her while I alert the regulator.”
The knight left, and Tif turned to the woman, who was maybe ten years older than her.
“Regulator?” Tif asked. “Is this part of the challenges?” If only she had gotten more information from Sur-Rak, she’d know what to expect.
The servant chuckled in a kindly way, and Tif promptly decided that she liked her.
“Everyone else has already had their measurements taken, most years ago,” the woman explained in a soft, comforting voice. “You look to have enough, but the regulators would never let someone participate without checking them first.”
“Oh,” Tif said, feeling foolish.
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” the servant said with a warm grin.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Tif turned and saw the shortest keshe she had ever laid eyes on entering from a flap opposite from the one she had used.
“Regulator,” the servant said with a bow, but the old keshe didn’t even seem to notice as she angled straight for Tif.
“Standards must be maintained,” the regulator said, “as well as legitimacy. It wouldn’t do to have someone enter the field without a protective seal because they decided to ink their body the day before. Though it’s not often we see attempts made with red ink.”
“People wouldn’t do that, would they?” Tif said. “Fake tattoos? They would get hurt.”
“Naive as you are pungent it seems,” the regulator commented, coming to stop in front of Tif and squinting up. She was only as high as Tif’s shoulder, like a wizened Sur-Rak in miniature. “It has happened and often with fatal consequences.”
Tif had guessed that recruitment would be more brutal than a duel since most candidates would have two seals of Gold, giving them the protection of a shroud. The more defense the participants had, the more they could let loose with their offense. But guessing a thing and hearing it said aloud were two different things. Could the healing her Blood ris offered mend fist size holes in her body or a snapped neck? An involuntary shiver passed through her, and the pavilion wasn’t cold.
“Well?” the ederly keshe said. “Take off those rags so I can check your measurements.”
Tif started to pull her shirt over her head but stopped when the old keshe tsked loudly.
“Not here. Around there.” She pointed to the dividing sheet that hung from the ceiling to the left.
The regulator followed Tif to the desired spot, and Tif dutifully took off her shirt, giving the keshe a full view of her back.
“Why are you stopping?” the regulator asked, clearly annoyed. “I need to see all the ris you have, not just your upper body.”
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Tif frowned. Was the keshe going to look at her actual ris? There was no need when seals of ris formed along a person’s spine for every fifth of body coverage they had.
“Can’t you just count the seals?”
The keshe snorted. “As if I would trust that alone. Get on with it.”
Tif undressed the rest of the way, noticing as she did that the regulator had a hand tool at the ready. It was two long pieces of metal joined at one end, forming a V of sorts. Tif hadn’t seen the like before and wondered if the regulator was going to stab here with the two pointed ends. Tif wasn’t far off in her guess: the keshe did poke her with both and then kept one in place while spinning the other, again and again while working across Tif’s flesh, all the while mumbling to herself.
It took Tif a bit to realize what she was hearing as the old keshe worked around her body, but when she did her respect for the regulator increased enormously.
“You can keep all those numbers in your head?” Tif could count past her fingers and toes and had seen shop sellers use an abacus before, but as far as she could tell, this keshe was doing it all without any such visual aid.
“Indeed,” the regulator drawled from where she was now behind Tif. “Though it is easier when I’m not being asked inane questions.”
Tif was quiet after that, but she found it difficult not to squirm under the points of the tool pushing into her skin. Perhaps if she already knew for sure that she had enough ris to qualify she wouldn’t have been as worried. Her fa had said that her tattoos were everywhere, and it seemed to her that she had two different seals’ worth of abilities, but what did she really know about Blood ris?
Tif suddenly realized that she wasn’t being stabbed anymore, so risked turning around to face the short keshe. The regulator had her eyes closed, but Tif could see them moving behind her lids. Perhaps doing some final calculations?
To busy herself, Tif began dressing and had just gotten her shirt back over her head and was pulling up her pants, when the keshe suddenly opened her eyes, causing Tif to freeze half bent over.
“Sixty-eight and a half percent of body coverage,” the regulator said.
Tif sighed in relief but then heard the numbers in her mind again. Over sixty? That much meant she had three seals, not just two. What did the other do she wondered?
“These are freshly acquired,” the regulator said, pulling Tif from her thoughts.
“You can tell?”
The regulator sniffed. “Of course I can. Your skin is a touch raw at the edges from the new acquisition. Harder to see with red ris, of course, but it’s there sure as the Aspects. If I couldn’t spot something as simple as that after all these years I’d hang up my caliper.”
Tif did her best not to give away her sudden concern. Not about the edges being unhealed--that was probably just a peculiarity of the ris’s power. No, it was the ‘new’ part that worried her. As far as she knew, the Blood Plains where Blood Aspects resided wasn’t anywhere close to Lercel, which meant explaining how she had gotten freshly acquired Blood ris would be extremely difficult. And if she told them about Torgath, what then? They’d probably think she didn’t have the skill to be at recruitment or want her to give the ris to them, and then where would she and her family be?
However, the regulator didn’t seem interested in quizzing her about how she had gotten her ris. Instead, the keshe was staring idly just above Tif’s chest. Tif dropped her eyes and stopped breathing. She couldn’t see everything right below her chin, but she could tell that some of her Blood ris was forming a more distinct shape than the usual series of dots and lines. And that more distinct shape had two points at the end curving down, just like the picture she had seen in Awt’s book.
Tif quickly finished putting her clothes on and walked back out to the main space of the pavilion, hoping the regulator wouldn’t ask about the marking or anything else. The diminutive keshe did seem to lose interest because she left without another word. However, no sooner was she gone than another keshe swept in: much taller, male, and wearing a voluminous robe with wide sleeves.
“Who are you?” he demanded in a booming voice pitched two levels too loud for the small space.
Tif jerked. “My name is Tif,” she said, “and who are you?”
The keshe’s eyebrows lifted so high they looked like they were planning to go foraging in his braided hair.
“I am the one asking the questions.” His eyes raked up and down her body. “I am told you have three seals of Blood ris. How did you come by such a vast amount?”
Tif didn’t like the way he was asking or the way he was looking at her--like he was searching for an excuse to sweep her out of his way. But could he? She had just met with someone called a “regulator,” so if she was going to be denied entry, Tif was fairly certain that the regulator would have been the one to do it. That meant she just needed to avoid saying anything that would give him a reason to stop her from participating.
“The usual way,” she answered.
He worked his ris covered jaw. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Blood to a Blood Aspect,” Tif said. She could lie in a pinch if needed. You didn’t make it long in the lows or on the das board if you couldn’t do that much.
“And how did you have enough for three seals?”
“Lots of blood.”
“Ah,” he said, a sharp smile gracing his face. “You think you are clever, so let me be clear. I am the administrator of this recruitment, and I will not have some trashy, blood covered human girl appear here in the last moments before we begin and ruin what I have been planning for over a year.”
“I wouldn--” Tif started.
“I’m not finished talking,” he snapped. “If you don’t answer my questions satisfactorily, not only will you not be entering the field but we will be keeping you for additional questioning. Are we clear?”
Tif could tell from his look that he didn’t want answers from her yet, just obedience, so she nodded.
“Good,” he said. “Now, why would someone with so much Blood ris wish to join the knights of Lercel? Are you a fugitive among your own people? Exiled, perhaps?”
Despite his threats, Tif thought it best to still keep things simple, knowing that he was likely also listening to her desires with every inch of Gold ris he possessed.
“I’m not those things, and I’ve always wanted to be a knight,” Tif told him. As she did, she thought of all the times she’d spoken the wish to Pep, all the times she’d said it to Awt and her parents. She let that part of her dream fill her until hoping for it was almost all she felt.
His lips pressed together in an unhappy way, but he didn’t argue. “Why?”
“To help people.”
“Are things so sublime on the Blood Plains there isn’t anyone there to help?” he scoffed.
“I want to help people here.”
“Why?” the administrator repeated, more forcefully this time.
“I’ve traveled the streets here,” she told him. “They need it.”
He put his fingers to his jaw, still looking unconvinced. “And your family knows how you are using your considerable ris. To join a foreign city?”
Tif nodded, happy to be able to discuss something so fresh. “They know I’m here and support me.”
He stared at her, shaking his head ever so slightly as he did, almost like a tick. Tif didn’t like the look of it. “No,” he finally said. “No, something isn’t right. This is much too odd, and too last minute.”
“What?” Tif said. She was truly worried now. If she didn’t get in, how was she going to protect everyone? “But I’ve answered all your questions. Ask me more if you need,” she pressed him, to which he grimaced. “What else do y--?
The keshe snapped his long fingers, interrupting her. “Servant, bring me one of the division leaders.” The servant’s eyes widened, and she glanced quickly at Tif, before dipping her head. “Yes, administrator.” She ducked out of the tent, into the recruitment field.
Tif felt a spark of hope but then she noticed how the administrator was eying her--as unfriendly as ever. What’s more, he didn’t look like he was still trying to make up his mind, which she had first thought when he sent for help. Instead, he looked like he knew exactly what he had planned, and it wasn’t going to be any good for her.
Involuntarily, her back went up.
“Ah,” he said, “so you are a touch clever. The division leader will decide where to keep you while the recruitment is being run. We won’t let a spy or whatever you are ruin this day.”
“But--” Tif said.
The administrator took a step back, his voluminous robes flapping. “And don’t think of trying to escape,” he said, raising the fists within his wide sleeves. “I will break your legs as many times as it takes to keep you here.”
The way he was talking, he clearly knew about her ability to regenerate. Even so, with three seals of ris to burn, Tif thought she might be able to escape if she tried. But that left her in the same bad situation. Tif glanced at Pep for help, who stared back at her calmly. That was it. Tif just needed to stay where she was and keep her head. The only person she knew who outranked a division leader was the Archon, so for all the administrator’s bluster, it was the division leader who would hold sway when they arrived. Tif just needed to convince them of her intentions, and the best way to do that would be to appear at ease when they arrived.
She heard the clank of their steps before she saw them and knew right away which division leader would step through the tent opening. Sure enough, only a few moments later a brass leg moved into view. The metal was actually just on the side of the leg and the same for the other, both of which belonged to the Archon’s brother--the inner division leader. He was a tall keshe, with angled features and deep yellow eyes that glowed with the intensity of the sun. Everyone in Lercel knew that he had broken his back in his youth, but after mastering the fourth seal of Gold, was able to use his shroud to manipulate the metal frame around his legs to walk.
And now here she was, standing in the same tent as a legend. Tif felt her smile long after it had started she was sure.
“Division leader,” the administrator said, bowing slightly. He no longer had his fists pointed at Tif, seeming to think such things were no longer needed with someone like the Archon’s brother present. “I need--”
“Help determining if the Blood girl can participate today. The servant already told me.” The division leader’s voice was pure, deep, and perfectly pitched, just like what Tif would expect from someone with nearly as much Gold ris as the Archon. She could listen to him speak all day and never grow tired of hearing it.
The administrator hesitated for the first time Tif had seen. “Actually, I alrea--”
“Tell me one way we fail to benefit by letting someone like her participate?” the Archon’s brother cut in, and Tif almost giggled at the puffed up keshe being the one interrupted for a change.
The administrator choked back what he was about to say, taking a moment to find his next words. “But we don’t know why she’s here. I’ve never heard of Blood sending--”
“Those things have nothing to do with my question, and so have nothing to do with this decision.” The Archon’s brother turned away but then spoke without looking back. “End this quickly and come see us. There are some particulars to discuss before the recruitment begins.”
The division leader clanked away while the servant that had brought him remained behind. The administrator stared after the Archon’s brother, looking like he wished to follow and argue his case, but instead he spun on the servant.
“What are you doing just standing there?” he snapped. “Get her changed into something, anything. How are we supposed to look like the shining jewel of the north to the other tribes if one of our candidates looks like she just emerged from the gutter?” He stepped closer to Tif as if to check something, only to reel back, bringing his long sleeve in front of his nose. “At least they won’t be able to smell her from the stands. Hurry!”
With that, he stormed out of the pavilion.
Tif looked at Pep sharing a relieved smile. This hadn’t been one of the challenges for recruitment, but after going through it, it had certainly felt like one. She was so glad she hadn’t tried to run. If she had, she would have thrown away the opportunity she had dreamed of for so long and for no good reason.
The kind servant appeared in front of Tif holding a stack of clothes, including a new shirt and pants and even slip on shoes, all of a light yellow.
Tif donned them quickly, discovering that everything was a bit tight and rougher than her own heavily worn clothes. Strangest of all, they smelled like...lemons.
The servant noticed Tif’s expression and immediately apologized.
“I’m sorry. All we had was servant clothes.”
“No, thank you,” Tif said, feeling suddenly terrible to have made this woman think she didn’t appreciate her after all she had done. “They just--” Tif couldn’t quite figure out how to explain it, “smell like food.”
The woman chuckled again, like she had at their first meeting, and herded Tif to the pavilion exit.
“I’m sure you’ll get used to them. Good luck.”
Tif smiled back, took a citrusy breath and then, finally, walked into the recruitment grounds.