“Flirting with madness was one thing; when madness started flirting back, it was time to call the whole thing off.”
― Rohinton Mistry, A Fine Balance
Their journey had been delayed and the count had been furious. Why then did he himself tarry long into the night while in Dornenfurt? They could have been here yesterday or even earlier. The steward of the Nordmark family was at his wit's end.
The men had been walking straight through the early hours of the night and had entered Kronenburg just before noon. The roads were said to be unsafe so there was a battalion of men-at-arms divided into a van- and rearguard respectively adding to his logistic troubles. He was a chamberlain not a quartermaster for Meloris's sake!
Rumbling over the cobbled stones of Kronenbrug the coach was heavily draped in cloth and the only occupant Zygmund von Nordmark was covered by another layer of heavy linens sleeping like the dead.
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“Why are we only patrolling the northwest?” Alyssa asked innocently.
Kettra looked at her, “The answer should be obvious, we are not the only team working here, and it's better to divide the responsibility otherwise with how chaotic it gets here there will be neglected areas.”
Still chewing on the rock-hard trailbread they walked their section.
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“Halt! Stand by for inspection.” The guardsman called out to the heavyset merchant pushing along the large hand wagon containing a stove and a hanging board for cooking utensils.
The man gave a servile smile and rubbed his hands, “Naturally! Please, I have nothing to hide.” He chuckled trying for amiability but only sounded greasy. He was balding and had a paunch but did not seem to have any problems pushing the heavy cart.
The guard walked around the cart and lifted the edge of the cloth covering the shelving beneath the stove. He was an older man in his fifties with grey hair and while still hale had a face lined by fatigue and old pain.
The merchant walked closer and ignoring the expression of faint disgust on the guard's face said softly, “May the sun rise from the south.”
The guard froze and then gave the contents a cursory glance ignoring a tightly wrapped bundle in the back. “All seems to be in order.” He tore a piece of parchment and scribbled something before using a small metal stamp that glowed with heat for a second and burned a seal into the scrap.
“Thank you, good sirs, lady.” The man bowed and the so-called ‘lady’ a muscular woman in her forties who looked like she could have been at home on a sailing ship, tattoos and all gave him a disgusted look. He pushed the cart further into the stadium.
The female guard sighed, “Could have bet he would have something illegal. Grilling and selling rat meat would be right up his alley I think.”
The older guard looked uncomfortable spat on the ground and said, “Can’t go by appearance alone.”
“Too true.” The broad-shouldered woman grinned with blackened teeth.
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Grenzwald was in a bad mood. “That is going far too smoothly. I took some pains to dissociate myself from the Exhibition but if that continues it will only backfire. Thomas, you know what to do.” He had been sitting on pins and needles all morning. Illimen had done a really good job and even the small altercation he had witnessed had been expertly suppressed. He had really hoped for more. If fate and others don’t play along you have to nudge them along a bit. His preparations should have been perfect so be it.
The servant, a man in his early thirties with curly brown hair, a thin nose, and a hunched posture patted his buttoned coat made of dark brown wool and left in the direction of the student's seating area.
Melissa wondered how it had all come to this. She had been co-opted by Vivienne to play spy in return for help with her addiction fostered by those she had tried to lean on to get away from her controlling and poor family. Her talents were not bad, why could she not simply learn in this academy and leave the troubles at the door?
The servant looked at her somewhat coldly. “Otto von Landesend recommended you. He said you were reliable. You only have to give this box to the Crow girl. Don’t open it. You know her?”
The girl nodded silently and stretched out her hand. The servant looked a bit more friendly at that and quickly gave her the small wooden box folding her hand closed and pushing it back to her chest. “Take care. If all goes well your contribution, small as it is, will not be forgotten.”
Melissa brushed back her shoulder-long dark hair and sighed. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Remembering the look in Vivienne's eyes she looked up to see the object of her thoughts looking in her direction. The blue-green eyes gazed at her indifferently and she shivered.
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The junior student's exhibition started in the early afternoon.
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Reneus Flammensiegel was presiding over the proceedings and smiled contentedly as he watched the students display the fruit of their efforts. Clapping he commented to Valeria who stood beside him, “The fireball was well done, don’t you think? When I was a first-year I had trouble controlling the cohesion of the flames.”
“Yes, fire does not like to be caged.” Valeria smiled sipping on a flask of magically heated tea.
“Alyssa Miner.”
Alyssa looked nervous. Looking from outside the field had not seemed so big, now that she was walking in the middle of it there were eyes and people all around and she felt small and insignificant.
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She bowed before royalty Cyrus preened under the attention he was getting. Asandria hid wherever it was she went when she wanted to avoid notice.
She had thought a lot on this matter. Perhaps it would be better to go for a safe option and simply cast one of her enhanced firebolts with Asandria's help? But how did the saying go better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not?
She spread her arms concentrated and relaxed her hold on the gate. She did not need to open it anymore, it was like a door without a lock and the storm wanted to rip the handle from her hands. Cyrus coiled around her neck and lent his strength.
Darkness billowed between her hands as she incanted the third seal the sun seemed to dim, sound to cease. The mirror pressed against reality and reality...broke. Void spilled forth and formed a sea of blackness around her. She concentrated and shapes rose from the spilled matter. Persons, objects, trees. Everything she could think of she could form from this primordial matter. It reacted to her thoughts, mostly negative ones like fear and regret.
The stream of void energies rushed through her arm and the crystal embedded within throbbed with shadow. She build a palace out of void energies, ephemeral like ice in the sun. Letting go was more difficult than beginning the spell and she felt faint but much better than feared.
The crowd was silent, there was scattered applause and some shouts. The spectators were unsure how to react to this.
Gasping from the exertion Alyssa bowed again with a bit of grim satisfaction as she saw pale faces among the students and the general crowd. The dark building she had conjured was soon pierced by the rays of the sun and melted away.
Soon after the other students had their time to shine.
Mireille stood before the crowd. Countless people looked at her and she was taken aback before she remembered to bow before the royal platform. The king graciously waved for her to continue. It hit her how far away from home she was. The light glinted on the falling snowflakes, the stands were packed and the citizens merry. Heat wafted from the formation circles making the temperature bearable. She felt cold nonetheless.
She had requested a target for her demonstration after she had seen it used by some of her fellows. A stone statue stood in the middle of the field depicting an armored knight.
“Sialysalethussar” It seemed that it had been ages since she first spoke this word that had become a part of her as much as her arm or her leg. Lightning gathered inside of her, the gate to the elemental planes opened and wind whipped around her small figure like a miniature tornado. She raised her right arm, stabilizing it with her left. Her eyes glowed and each breath spat sparks into the air. With a crack of thunder deafening all in a wide radius and a bolt of lightning thick as an arm hit the statue more than double the height of a man and smashed it into pieces. The bolt continued before being caught by the defensive wards. Glyphs shone brightly under the strain. And in the burning energy there twisted a reflection of a gigantic many-winged serpent.
Trying to control the raging energies she shook her arm carving great smoking gashes into the ground before she forced the gate shut again.
After everyone had recovered their senses, with some still having a ringing sound in their ears applause burst forth and many people whistled and shouted.
One minister leaned toward the king and asked, “This child! We should acquire her for the royal guard.” The king quietly nodded.
Bowing smugly toward the stands Mireille stood up and went back to her friends, a bit shaky but satisfied. Two mages smoothed the ground and disposed of the pieces of smoking stone that had once been a statue.
A tall girl that she had seen sometime before in the morning courses walked past her giving her an acknowledging nod. She seemed the serious sort and somewhat pretty with dark brown hair and pale skin.
After she was back in the stands she was embraced by Alyssa who whispered “Well done!”
Many of the other students looked at her with envy in their eyes. Even if Mireille had been a bit distracted they had not missed the interest in the eyes of the nobles watching the Exhibition.
While she was preoccupied a rushing sound and the roaring of flames sounded behind her and screams came from the spectators. Turning around she saw the female student flailing while dark flames burst from her form. Several mages rushed forward but before they could act there was another explosion and the girl was violently thrown to the side.
“Alea!” Alyssa grabbed the smaller girl and together they ran for the field.
Huffing with the exertion Alea took several tries to call to her overeager friend, “Won’t we get in the way?”
“We will see.” Alyssa did not want to waste much time explaining. But she was very sure that the twice-blessed Alea and herself were not inferior to most other healers at least when brute force was counted and from what her left eye was seeing the girl was near death.
Sarah the motherly healer ran from the side accompanied by a skinny, pale-skinned man with dark blonde hair both began to invoke spells to close wounds and stop bleeding.
The girl was heavily burned and blood seeped from split skin, there seemed to have been something in a pouch on her hip that exploded, the pouch was in tatters and the burns radiated in a starlike pattern from there.
Alyssa looked at Alea with worry in her eyes, “Can you do something for her? My waters of life cannot do more than they...” she gestured at Sarah and her helper, “...are already doing.”
Alea nodded and concentrated on a spell forming glyphs with her hands while the gate inside of her cycled open. Warm light burst from her form and Alyssa took several steps away, her left arm and face were burning. The light shone on the wounded student and flesh knitted back together while life was forcefully returned to her cooling flesh. Nodding gratefully Sarah focused more on delicate repairs.
Grenzwald hit the table before him with his cup splashing tea everywhere and scalding his hand. Cursing he blotted the hot tea with a handkerchief and spoke a short spell cooling and healing his burns. He looked around seeking his servant. The poor man ducked instinctively as he saw the murderous look pointed in his direction. Whispering furiously Taberus asked, “Did I not make myself understood? How could you blunder like this! This is the young daughter of the Saltmarsh house! If they find we did this there will be hell to pay!”
Melissa retched and hugged herself before sinking to her knees. Why!? She had not known what she was putting into the pouch but it was clearly something malicious. Should she have denied Vivienne?
A voice whispered in her ears seemingly born on the wind, “Your debt is paid.”
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In the eastern section
Halvar von Landesend looked at his men and ordered, “Wait here and keep a lookout, I seem to have seen something in the enclosure over there. I will be back shortly.”
The sergeant assigned to his unit nodded and ordered his men to spread out to better survey the surroundings. ‘Good subordinates are very valuable’ Halvar mused.
Entering the arch leading into the walled area he looked around and saw some guards that alertly inspected him. “Everything alright here?” He called.
“Nothing to report, sir.” One of the younger guards took the initiative.
“I will have a quick look to see if anything has been disturbed. This will not take long.”
“Sir, the mages already checked this one.”
“Better to be sure.”
“I understand.” The men shrugged and took position again while Halvar inspected the circle.
He was really bad at magical theory and should have someone looked at him at this moment he would have found the ‘intellectual’ look of an illiterate posing with an upside-down book. He gripped a small crystal tablet and activated it quietly, an illusion covered him and his surroundings simply fixing the last image in a sphere a few meters in diameter.
Then he pulled a small vial from a pouch and emptied the contents on a mana crystal after making sure he got the right one by comparing the positions with a small schematic. ‘Prince, I hope you will remember my family when it is time.’ He patted the crystal dust from his hands, pocketed the empty vial, and turned to go as the illusion flickered and died.