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Chapter 46
Leland, in all of his lone glory, let loose a heavy exhale. His chin lifted into the air as he dug his hands deep into his pockets. He may have been underneath his cloak, but Leonora was far too acquainted with his mannerisms to think otherwise. It was as if she could see his shape well and clearly. It was most certainly laid back and might have even slouched a little.
The amphitheater came alive with a dense cheer. At any moment, this year’s class of candidates would be presented before them in the festival’s opening ceremony. Traditionally, it was a display for the people. A showcase of all the fresh faces that they would be seeing for the next week. And, should they become Attendants, they were faces that the realm would be seeing well into the future.
As a precursor to the official start of the ceremony, the amphitheater was treated to a sequence of performances. Most were simple, as though they were the same as those made on the streets of the city. There was music at first, given by the amphitheater’s in-house orchestra. They were sat on a low portion of the venue, where they could be hardly seen save for their conductor. From them, music played often and made sure that there was no dead period among the crowd. It was safe to assume that it was their job to entertain the people when the entertainment itself was not on.
At some point, Leland did not pay quite enough attention to know when, there was a brief play based on the life of a wandering echo spirit. His name was Tiko. He was lost and had no friends. The Echo had shunned him for his weakness. Or rather, he escaped from it because of his fear of being overwhelmed by those more powerful. So, he traveled the realm of Ardyn instead, in search of companions and a life of quality instead of conflict. - It was a children’s story at its core. Which is probably why Leland paid so little attention to its performance to the point in which he almost did not even realize it was happening.
“Strange to see our world in such a positive light, isn’t it?”, Leonora commented. She suddenly stood beside him on the ledge of their balcony. Her eyes remained forward, but her heed wandered into the distance.
“Is that what this thing is about?”, Leland replied. This head tilted to the side as if it was too tired to stand up right. “I thought we were watching a comedy.”
“It might as well be.”, Leonora chuckled. “The people seem to love it though.” Below them were the lifted cheers of children. She could see their animated expressions. They were jumpy in their seats and their guardians strained themselves to hold them down some. - “How was your meeting with Atalanta?”, she asked suddenly.
“And, you knew about that because..?”, Leland was not surprised in the least, but he still asked for the sake of knowing.
“Word gets around. - That thing in Angoulet, was it the same as what you and Soren faced down a couple weeks ago?”
Leland gave her a look, then turned back to the amphitheater. “It was.”
“Then we’d ought to tell Xavier about it, don’t you think? - If those ‘knightstones’ had made it that far north, that means our investigation isn’t doing much to deter those responsible.”
“We don’t know that it came from Caellum. It would be unwise to assume so without any evidence. - My gut tells me that your brigade is only investigating a small part of the puzzle.”
“Our encounters with those stones have only grown more frequent. We have to-!”, Leonora paused. She caught herself just before her voice was raised a little too high. “They’re dangerous, Leland. The longer we take to find its source, the harder it will be to contain.”
“Thanks for the advice.”, Leland shrugged. “But, I’ll hold things down here. You just worry about your Brigade’s part of the realm.”
“Please don’t take any of this lightly, Leland. - Even if--.”, Leonora held her tongue once more. There was no need for her to question Leland’s resolve. She was certain that he would be fine.
A blaze lifted from the floor of the amphitheater and a wave of heat pressed outward into the crowd. A show of flames danced across the air, bending and twisting itself into a host of different forms. It curled into a pouncing wildcat. Then, the rushing horns of a bull. It all lifted the sound of awe from the audience.
“Has Ezabel shown any signs yet?”, Leonora asked after a brief pause in their conversation. She wondered in a quiet, subtle way.
“I have not seen anything. But, Soren will tell me if anything happens.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Make sure he does, even from the slightest hint.”
“You sure are invested in that girl. - You know Xavier won’t like you any better just because you’re taking care of his sister, right?”
“You wanna say that one more time?”, Leonora glared at him. It was the same glare that threatened Leland for years. And, he knew quite well that it was not a front.
“H-hey, hey. I’m just saying: Xavier is all business! Y’know how he is.”
“Stop joking around. - I know what I saw in Angoulet. If it’s true, you might be the only one who could help her.”
A pillar of fire lifted from the show. From it came a potent heat, though neither Leland or Leonora shrank from it. Not even when its shape twisted into the winding visage of a striking dragon. The beast unfurled its wings and descended onto the crowd. It circled the audience and went screaming into the main floor, where it collided and burst into a shower of crimson specks.
“Leo..”, Lelaned uttered as he gazed into the flames. No longer was he slouched or bent. His back was straight, shoulders broad, and his head was held high.
“Yeah?”
“I’m hungry.”
°°
Ezabel had lived a relatively safe life, aside from an instance in which she stumbled upon the wrath of a great bat in the woods of Alm. It nested in a cave against a steep hillside. Her younger self was unlucky enough to have passed by it whilst gathering firewood, only to have the beast spring out from its lair. It bared wide the grabbing claws on the ends of its wings and nearly took her away. She screamed as loud as she could, as if nothing would come to her aid otherwise. But, that was completely far from reality. Bastion had been there the entire time. And, with steady control of his sword, pressed the beast back into its cave. All while he held Ezbael’s small, child frame in his arm.
It was a frightening memory. The chilling screech of the great bat was still clear in her mind. But, to this day, it remained the only time she ever felt true danger. She was very young and had since lived a modest life. So, as she stared blankly at the rack of equipment in front of her, she felt nothing but indecision.
It was busy. People moved all around her and picked at the stands with care. They oozed a sense of purpose and it only made Ezabel more anxious to choose. Her gaze fell first on the surface of a small buckler that hung tight on the rack. It was either brand new or superbly maintained. All she knew was that her own reflection in it was absolutely pristine. Against it, even the smallest strands of hair could be distinguished as they dangled across her cheek.
She dragged the finger of her glove cautiously across its face. It was entirely too smooth and sleek, like a piece of art that she would rather hang on a wall than use against another weapon. Still, her hands went around in order to unfasten it from the rack. Between her palms, it spun lazily like a coin and emitted the deep toll of steel. By typical consideration, the buckler was supremely light and wieldy. However, Ezabel simply could not imagine being herself with such a tool.
To some degree, she felt as if the equipment around was being forced onto her, regardless of compatibility. On top of that, there was the added pressure of the other candidates claiming enough equipment to make clear the beginnings of a shortage. - At once, Ezabel returned the buckler to the rack. It dropped clear off and fell to the floor with a sharp ring. Right, it was tied there at first. Everyone around stopped for a moment to stare at the tumbling shield, then they lifted their faze to Ezabel who promptly turned away to face the stand before her.
She needed to approach her selection with poise and common sense. It took an absurd amount of effort to ignore the judgment of her peers then. So, with the last remnants of her control, she resolved to gather a slew of miscellaneous tools. What else was there better to do at that moment, if indecision was plaguing her mind. - Her feet went swiftly away across the spread. Her eyes danced diligently across each stand.
First, a bag. It may have been unintuitive, but redundancy was key to survival. She had learned as much thanks to the heavy snow of the north. Too much firewood was enough firewood. Enough Firewood was too little firewood. ‘Get as much as your feet can carry, right up until our door gets buried by snow!’. Bastion’s proud voice rang true in her mind and it saw that she smiled bright. - Ezabel squeezed through a few of the slower candidates until she arrived at a rack that displayed a black pouch. It hung by a single strap and was very much akin to that which she used on the road. Only, it was new and far better crafted. Even its fabric seemed exceedingly expensive. It was perfect. She clenched a fist around the strap and gave herself a mental pat on the back. To think that such a thing was left by everyone else, she felt quite lucky.
“Onto the next!”, Ezabel whispered to herself.As she stood, the bag was slung around her right shoulder and held tight. There was no time to adjust it to her frame. Or at least, she felt so rushed that the step was skipped altogether. Soon, following the bag onto her person was a completely haphazard set of items that were found between objects that were far more sought after. Admittedly, it was the rush of the moment that had caused her to grab them so quickly. There was no cohesion in her thought process, which left her staring as a bag full of objects she was unfamiliar with.
Within, she had placed a handful of small, dark pearls. They had initially come in a compact, brown box. It led her to believe that they might have been sealstones. Bastion had kept his in a similar container. An unfortunate coincidence. - Bouncing in her bag beside them was a jumbled mess of things that immediately dissatisfied her. In fact, there were items within that she had no intention of even grabbing. She must have picked them up by accident during her brisk pace and aim for other things.
Ezabel nearly groaned aloud and tossed them aside. What was it that she needed back home? Would that help? Her senses returned to the warmth of Bastion’s bookstore, where the woods engulfed them on three sides. Every time they had left its safety and trekked into the wilds together, there was one thing that Bastion stressed to have, even as children. It was not a jacket, even though they always had one. It was not the boots on their feet. And, it was most certainly not a book, which Ezabel pleaded to carry around everywhere they went.
It was a knife. - Her eyes darted to and from the aisles. With this amount of stuff, there had to be one somewhere. Weapons were abundant in the spread, so her attention shifted towards anything with a blade. First, she spied a rack of spears. They stood upright and bore a shining blade at the tip. Then, at their feet were a slew of axes with dense heads and robust edges. When her gaze crossed atop a good many swords, her chest relaxed. They were perhaps the most comforting thing about the spread. Of course, each and every sword she laid eyes on were supremely well crafted and blew anything she ever wielded out of the water. But still, their form was as comfortable to her as snowfall.
Yet, she could not quite find a knife in the midst. Not even--. Ezabel perked up with sudden realization. Her right hand shifted towards the back of her waist and pressed against the corded handle of the knife there. She had one this entire time. How could she have forgotten? Its curved shape molded comfortably between her fingers. And, though she did not draw the weapon, already could she see its image in her mind.
However, there was a single problem. Could she use it during the trials? It was not a tool she found among the spread. It was her own, given to her by Leland for a purpose she never quite knew or cared for. There was a strange attraction she had to it, as if its foreign facade was just a creative decision in the end. Without hesitation, but not before she took a good look at those around her, Ezabel unfastened the dagger from her belt and tossed it into her bag. If it was there, then it would be safe to say that she found it here, right?
“What do you think you’re doing, miss?”
A voice called out from behind. - Ezabel was immediately startled, so much so that she nearly tossed the bag from her hands. Her shoulders shrank and she bit onto her lip at the sound of an iron cane. Cautiously, she turned to acknowledge the question. It was then that she saw before her, none other than the man who prompted all of this. Priam Volitis.
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