Tala felt the gazes on her sharpen even as Master Cru walked back her way.

“Mistress Tala, you’ve only been an Archon for twenty-one years? Who did you learn under? Most have an incredible amount of trouble adapting to enhanced physiology, and I would love to know who taught you so well.”

She cleared her throat. “My apologies, Master Cru. I think there was a misunderstanding.”

The man seemed to relax. “Oh. I was going to say: Your magics and combat effectiveness did seem a bit too advanced for that.”

She shook her head. “No, once again, we aren’t understanding each other. I was born twenty-one years ago.”

The silence that followed was almost tangible.

Tala had no interest in sitting in that silence, so she continued. “As to who trained me? First, most obviously, I learned from the trainers at the Academy and from my own experiences fighting. Secondarily, I learned from a Guardsman Sergeant named Adam and a few other Guardsmen students and trainers. Adding to that is extensive sparring sessions with Master Grediv’s former apprentice, Rane. Finally, the most recent—and likely greatest—expansion to my capacities came while learning from the Eskau and Pillars of the House of Blood, while I was bound in servitude within the arcane lands.”

That did not help the silence dissipate.

Until it did. A Refined on her right snapped his fingers. “I KNEW IT! She made her memories available. Her memories don’t really include good views of herself, but I thought I recognized some of the things she could do.”

That started a storm of murmurs. It seemed like the comment about a major House in the arcane lands had drawn their attention away from her training with Master Grediv’s apprentice. For now.

-Or they already knew or assumed? You did come down here with him.-

Could be, yeah. But he also seems to be in rather a position of authority, here. He’s the local, head Archon, as I recall.

As it turned out, most of those present had seen at least a couple of Tala’s memories, giving greater credence to Mistress Ingrit’s numbers, provided and checked by Alat.

Huh… well, that might have just made things a bit more awkward. These people can all go watch me do all sorts of things now…

-Yeah, I suppose we didn’t really consider that. But hey! More gold and favors for us!-

Terry flickered up to her shoulder. Where did he go?

She glanced toward the food tables and thought that there seemed to be less meat laid out than there had been a moment earlier. Even if so, she didn’t bother comparing her earlier memories because she didn’t care much either way. Thus, she just scratched Terry as he preferred.

Tala cleared her throat, shifting mental gears, “Well. How do we proceed from here?”

Master Grediv nodded. “Yes, we need to place Mistress Tala within a defensive unit. Does anyone wish to withdraw based on what they’ve seen or learned?”

The unit leaders all shook their heads.

“Mistress Tala, do you have a preference?”

She frowned. “Can I train with, and learn from, people in other units?”

“Absolutely. Your unit only determines who you are most likely to fight alongside, and who you will most likely have duty and free time in alignment with.”

“Then, I would say I have no preference. I would enjoy working with anyone here, from what I’ve seen.”

She saw a few people smile, even with the obviously generic nature of her words.

Manners never hurt.

-Well…-

Not now, Alat…

Master Grediv nodded. “In that case, I believe we should assign you to the unit of Master Clevnis and Mistress Cerna. Theirs is the smallest group represented. You will make their sixth member.”

Tala frowned. “Didn’t you say that most units are ten Refined strong?”

“By the peak of the waning? Usually around that, yes. But we’ve two decades to go. Honestly, having the average unit size above five is quite unusual at this point, but as this is an odd waning, it makes sense.”

Tala grunted understanding. “So, it’s confirmed then? My unit is chosen?”

Master Grediv nodded causing Master Clevnis to smile. Mistress Cerna threw her hands up, “Woohoo! No more bottom-of-the-list duty!”

Tala cocked her head.

The Refined grinned at Tala’s confusion. “You are lovely, dear, and we’re glad to have you, but we are also excited because the team with the fewest members is often tasked to take longer assignments outside the walls, such as runs to newly discovered cells, or defending those sent to service known ones.”

Master Grediv nodded. “It risks fewer Refined at a time, and the smaller units are usually a bit more cohesive, which increases the chances of good outcomes.”

Tala hmmed understanding, “That makes sense.”

He smiled. “That said…”

The husband and wife paused, clearly thinking through something. Mistress Cerna’s shoulders drooped, “We’re still tied for last.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Well, at least we’ll share the longer duties, then.”

“You will.”

Tala shrugged. “It seems like fun to go outside the walls for longer stints.”

Mistress Cerna shrugged. “It is, but…”

Master Clevnis smiled, giving a tightly-squeezing side-hug to his wife, “She doesn’t like ‘roughing it' very much.”

Tala opened her mouth for a moment, then paused, grinning at them.

“What?” Mistress Cerna had caught the expression.

“Once I verify something, I think that we may get on even better than I’d hoped.”

-Oh! Yeah. That could work really well. We’ll need to check with Master Simon, though.-

Yeah. We still don’t understand all of this ‘integrity of reality’ stuff, yet.

Master Grediv clapped his hands. “Well, since our business is done, here, and it’s already a party, let’s…”—he trailed off, causing the Refined to lean in just a bit—“kick you all out, so Mistress Tala and her new unit can get to know one another.”

There was a collective groan.

“Exceptions are: Mistress Kaeti, Master Akra, Mistress Deigh, Master Doitean, and Master Cru.”

Everyone else started moving toward the door, a few coming by to wish Tala a personal welcome. Others swept by the food and drink tables, loading up on their way out.

A few did both.

In the end, the arena felt much emptier with only ten Refined, Tala, and Master Grediv.

Thankfully, it seemed that Master Clevnis’s unit had all been in attendance.

Or is it Mistress Cerna’s?

-You could ask.-

“If I may, who is the unit leader, Mistress Cerna or Master Clevnis?”

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The two shared a look and smiled before Mistress Cerna answered, “On paper, we lead together. In practice, we make all decisions together, but in the heat of the moment he generally has a better head for quick-response strategy, so his word is final in the field.”

He snorted. “And you have a much better handle on logistics and gathering intel, so while we make decisions together, your initial inclination generally lines up with what we go with.”

She shrugged in return. “We each have areas in which we excel.”

Tala found herself smiling. “I suppose I can understand that. Better two, united in leadership, than one without any checks or backup.”

“Precisely,” Master Grediv smiled as he inserted himself into the conversation, “We do prefer units to be led by a pair, usually married, but there are those like Mistresses Cupla & Caraid who work best with a sibling or another person. But that is beside the point. I asked the others to stay briefly so that you could arrange times to meet up with each of them for some training.”

Mistress Kaeti stepped forward. “I am definitely curious what you wished to learn from me.”

Tala smiled at the woman. “I need help with splitting my mental focus. I have enough mental capacity to do so with ease, but I’m not practiced at it so I struggle, and I feel like speaking with an expert would help me proceed more wisely.”

“Oh!” The woman seemed a bit surprised but also pleased. “Well, it would be my honor to teach you what I can.”

“Thank you. Additionally, I am very interested in your utility and manipulation of your own reality node.”

That seemed to take the woman off guard. “I… what?”

That seemed to have garnered everyone’s attention, even the Refined from her new unit whom she hadn’t met yet. Tala suddenly felt a bit self-conscious. “When you replicated yourself across the battlefield. They weren’t illusions… well, the ones you had dancing weren’t. They were all the same node in reality, but somehow you had it in multiple places at once.”

There was a long silence before Master Grediv cleared his throat. “Mistress Tala, your voidsight is highly unusual. I think it most likely that Mistress Kaeti isn’t aware of how that ability appears to such a sight.”

“Oh!” That actually made quite a bit of sense. “My apologies. Then, I suppose I would love to study it with you. Maybe, we can both learn something.”

The woman seemingly pulled herself back together quickly, smiling slightly. “That… that would be lovely. You have Archive access, yes?”

“I do.”

“Then, I will grant you access to a note, and we can arrange times. Right now”—she shook her head—“I think I need to go consider what you’ve said. Thank you.”

The Refined turned and strode from the arena, clearly already lost in thought.

-We can share the memory with her.-

Yeah, I was thinking of offering that, but it didn’t seem like the right time.

-That’s fair. We can discuss it when we meet up.-

Master Akra cleared his throat. “Now, I’m a bit unsure if I should ask why I’m here.” Even so he grinned. “So, I won’t. Aura control?”

Master Grediv nodded. “Yes. You are one of the best instructors in that area, save your old master.”

“You flatter me, Master Grediv.” He looked to Tala. “Is that something you are interested in working on?”

“I am, I mean, it is, yes.” She nodded, sincerely excited at the prospect. Master Jevin had helped her a lot, and learning from his student would be a treat.

“Then, let’s coordinate. I believe Mistress Kaeti had a good idea with scheduling through the Archive. Shall we do the same?”

“That works for me. Shall I create the touch point?”

“That would be wonderful. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mistress Tala.”

“And you, Master Akra.” Alat?

-I’ll do it in a few minutes, to preserve social niceties. People often get odd ideas if such things are done too fast.-

Tala didn’t let the grimace pass over her features. That’s an inefficient way to approach things… Even so, Alat wasn’t wrong. Not you. I don’t think your idea was bad, just the possible misinterpretation.

-I understood you. I’ll make sure it’s done soon.-

Thank you.

The shorter Refined bid the others goodbye and grabbed some food on the way out.

The three remaining Refined not of her new unit had been chatting, and Mistress Deigh cleared her throat, “I think we understand. I’m happy to discuss with her the particulars of how to utilize cold in a battle situation, assuming she hasn’t deeply investigated that already?”

Tala shook her head. “No, it’s been an ancillary effect more than anything.”

“I’ll be in contact, then. My husband is happy to teach you about breath-weapons and fire on the battlefield, as he said earlier.”

Tala nodded to the man, who simply smiled in return.

“And Master Cru always loves having new sparring partners.”

The man, himself, cleared his throat. “Thank you, Mistress Deigh. Yes, Mistress Tala. I am happy to spar with you or attempt to train you. Different people learn better in different ways, and I am happy to do either.” He glanced to Master Grediv. “Your apprentice…”

“Rane is not yet ready to spar with you, Master Cruinneas. He lacks the durability of a Refined, and while I trust your skill, accidents can happen in the best of circumstances.”

The Refined bowed. “Very well, Master Grediv.”

The three bid the remainder goodbye and left without getting more food.

Master Clevnis clapped his hands together. “Well, with that sorted, we really should do introductions.”

Mistress Cerna stepped forward, “If I may?”

“Of course, dear.”

“Then, I should start with myself. Aside from co-leader of the unit, I am a support specialist in group maneuvers. I am a Material Guide, generally, and I focus on thread.”

Tala frowned. “Just… ‘thread?’ What material? Cotton?”

“All materials.” Mistress Cerna motioned to the metal on her Mage’s robes. “With a little time, I can create most magical effects.” She then pulled open her robes, showing quite a bit of skin—as expected—but also rolls of incredibly thin metal on various spools on the woman’s belt. “I am capable of filling any role at need and taking advantage of my opponent’s weaknesses, once I know them.”

Tala’s eyes widened. She makes new spell-forms in the air with the thread? That’s…

-Genius, yeah.-

“Do you even need inscriptions?”

“Yes, but they are more akin to those that pure inscribers get, though not exactly the same, obviously.” Mistress Cerna gave a sly smile.

Her husband grinned. “And don’t let her bubbly nature fool you. She was a Mage Hunter for a few centuries.”

If possible, Tala’s eyes widened further, the implication hitting her like a runaway wagon, “You altered your opponent’s inscriptions?”

Mistress Cerna sly smile turned positively wicked. “You’re a quick one.”

That… that was terrifying on a level Tala hadn’t ever really considered. The lithe, unassuming woman gained a measure of fear-based respect. Interestingly, Mistress Cerna would have a similar issue to Tala. It would be hard to use that incredibly effective tool in low-stakes situations.

The Refined unit leader continued, “My husband is a close to mid-range combatant. He is an Immaterial Creator.”

“I create edges.”

Tala almost asked of what material, but she realized that that didn’t make sense with what they’d said. “Isn’t that… concept magic?”

One of the other men threw up his hands. “That’s what I keep telling him.”

Master Clevnis shook his head. “No, I don’t do anything with the concept of an edge. I create edges of magic.” He shrugged. “It works well enough.”

“Wait.” Tala frowned. “How could you use that effectively? Wouldn’t it dissipate within your opponent’s aura?”

“Yes and no. That is one reason I am a close to mid-range fighter. I generally create them on my limbs, close enough that I have good control.”

“But to hit your opponent, you have to get close to them, too. That’s what blades do.”

“True, but just like a fireball can be thrown through an aura and not vanish, a blade of magic doesn’t dissipate, not instantly.”

Tala opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it again. Obviously, it has to be at least marginally effective. I suppose I’ll just have to see it myself.

-We’ll also have to see if iron is an effective counter.-

Yeah.

The other man who had already spoken up waved a hand. “I’m Limmestare Gline. I started as a Material Guide. I specialize in wide area magics. Glass is my chosen material.”

Hard, sharp, variable. Tala found herself nodding. “I could see that, yeah.”

Off to the side, one of the men who had stayed behind was slowly moving around behind her, cloaked in magic. He wasn’t close, so Tala didn’t mention it, even as she tracked him with her mirrored perspectives.

The other female Refined stepped forward and gave a shallow bow, “I am Vanga, a healer. I began my career as a Material Creator, though I have done my best to branch out from there. I am afraid that I won’t be as much use to you as the others.”

Tala shook her head. “I disagree. My healing is Immaterial Guide based. I would much rather have your healing for some injuries than my own.”

That caused the other woman to smile. “Thank you, that is very kind, Mistress Tala.”

“It’s also true, Mistress Vanga. I look forward to working with you.”

There was a moment of silence, so Tala sighed, lifting a finger toward the man who had started drawing close. She didn’t bother to look his way, keeping her eyes on Mistress Cerna even as she pointed straight between the man’s eyes from fifteen feet away. “Let me guess, he’s stealth?”

The man faded back into visibility to mundane sight, and Tala was surprised to see that he was clad in stone that moved with him like a second skin. His shoulders slumped in such a dramatic manner that Tala assumed the affectation had to be an over dramatization. “Rust. I thought I slipped away without you noticing.”

Tala shrugged, still not looking at him with her eyes. “I actually didn’t see you fade away, but I did see you start sneaking about. Is that… rock?”

“Yup!” He proudly patted his chest. “I’m Girt Creag. Material Guide for rock and stone.”

“So… How did you go invisible?” She finally did turn his direction as she asked that, genuinely curious as to his answer.

“Simple, I changed the transparency and refraction index of the stone by manipulating the material on a minute level. I have to hold it in place, or it returns to its natural state, but it works rather well.”

Mistress Cerna was shaking her head. “His antics aside, it is actually really effective. As it turns out, most magical creatures who are known to be able to ‘see the invisible’ do so by detecting magical alterations to the air, or illusions and such. Most don’t seem to notice invisible rocks.”

Master Girt grinned. “Which also works for attacks quite well. The rocks lose their invisibility when they leave my control, but a fast enough rock—appearing a few feet away—is a rather effective attack all the same. Plus, I can move us through the ground at need, safely protected from most threats.”

Rust… Yeah, that would be a pain to fight. Tala smiled. “Good to meet you, Master Girt.” She then turned to Master Grediv. “I can see why you’ve been sending this group on more… unusual missions.”

The Paragon grinned. “Indeed. Speaking of which…”