Dei was feeling particularly happy with herself during the next several days of travel as she frequently thought back to the ‘wandering emporium’ and the trade she had made there. In her unapologetic opinion, she got the far better deal out of the two of them considering not only was Alexander’s gift to her very useful, but she had found more than a couple of ways to make use of her trade to him as well. Fei took the reins of their body as Dei started to follow the thin line that mentally connected her to the bird corpse that was currently traveling with Alexander.
The small creature was currently perched upon Alexander's shoulder as he swung from one person to another in the crowded streets of a town market, hawking his wares to anyone who would come near him. Despite her snooping, Dei still hadn't managed to catch the man eating, so it wasn't entirely clear to her what he actually got out of his constant trading fervor other than ‘the joy of meeting new people’ as he had told them during their brief visit. While she was currently looking out on the crowds around the emporium, she wasn't entirely sure where he was, although the tall wooden palisades on the edge of the town gave her the firm suspicion he was staying in Camp Miller for a couple of days at this point. Bored, she allowed her mind to drift towards the other corpses she currently had under her command.
A quick check on the group of skeletons stored in the Camp Miller catacombs confirmed their continued presence, as Dei and the other embers still hadn't been able to think of a good use for the skeletons other than as backups. Another jump suddenly had Dei suspended in the air as the skeleton she had switched to was currently strapped to the top of a tree somewhere within Marren forest. She looked down upon the rough leather straps that were currently holding the skeleton in place high up in the trees, a self-inflicted imprisonment that Fei had thought might work better at hiding the skeletons rather than leaving them scattered on the forest ground level.
Over the last couple days she had also had one of the skeletons make contact with the monastery, writing an awkward message of greeting before knocking on the door this time and explaining why Dei had left a couple of skeletons behind. The cultists, her priests she supposed, were more than happy to know that she still intended on guarding them, and after a few minutes of discussion they agreed to hide one of the skeletal guards within the strange box of bones they kept within the basement. She was hopeful that one of the monks would be able to go into the basement and call for help if they ever needed it, but what she hadn't quite expected was the fact that the men started to hold daily worship services in front of the box. To each their own she supposed, and as long as it made her just a little bit stronger she wasn't all that annoyed at the strange sense of being worshiped.
She had, what was it, sixteen or seventeen different tethers tied to her heart of stone at this point? She felt like she could probably support many, many more soldiers even now since most of the orders she had given the skeletons were so simple, and docile, that they hardly affected her ability to control them at all. The one possible exception to this was the small bird she had given Alexander Dike due to its in-human form, but even then the creature was so small that it was also having a negligible effect on her ability to support more bones. The only problem with that was the fact she was struggling to see the point in raising more skeletons even when she found random bodies hidden under the shallow water by the roadside.
The problem wasn't that she couldn't support more soldiers, but rather why should she bother given the nature of their current trip? They were traveling through this country, ostensibly trying their best to avoid trouble despite the little hiccup in Camp Miller, with the end goal of possibly joining forces with the monarch of this land. A rather uninteresting goal to set for the group at this point, but perhaps one of the safer bets they could make in the situation. It was entirely frustrating to Dei that she couldn't really test out the full extent of her powers yet, and also somewhat good for her since it forced her to do some real testing with her magic during all the down time. Add to that the sparring practice that Matthew had started giving her when they set camp each night, and with the experiments the three embers ran throughout the nights she at least didn't feel at risk of growing bored like the first couple of empty nights on the road.
In their most recent experiment they had started elongating the bones in the body Xei was using until the skeleton was practically seven feet tall before they started losing control over the body bit by bit. At around six foot eight the simple orders had stopped supporting the body, while at seven feet Xei started feeling sluggish while moving, and at seven foot two Xei was struggling to even keep the body together before it completely fell apart at seven foot four. A bit of magic started reducing the overall size of the bone structure until they could start breathing life back into the body again somewhere in the six foot range, letting Xei take back control of his favored corpse. It was yet another nail in the coffin for Dei's idea of possibly creating super soldier skeletons to stand by her side, as this new information filed in alongside the restrictions to other body parts as well.
‘Sooooo disappointing.’ She thought, mostly to herself.
‘Yeah yeah, hope you're having fun in your little daydreams over there but we're about to walk up on something weird over here.” Xei's voice came in over the tethers.
Dei flitted back over the many miles that separated her bodies within a few seconds as her consciousness slammed back into her original corpse and looked up the road at a surprising structure blocking their path.
A perfectly cube like piece of rock stood directly next to the road they were walking down. It was a strange shape to be sure, but what was much more alarming was the fact that Dei had just started to realize how big it was. As far off as they were from the block of stone, she had to guess that the structure was at least a couple hundred meters long in all directions, a massive building to say the least. She could only tell that the structure was a building as she saw the shapes of several humans walking past small cutouts that served as rare windows in the side of the structure.
‘Charity was just explaining to the group that this structure wasn't on any of the maps she had seen of the Golden Kingdom. She's been doing her best to avoid any large settlements as we make our way to the capital.’ Fei started to recount a discussion that Dei had apparently missed.
‘But if we were to double back now to try and avoid this structure it would set us back at least a day's travel.’ Xei finished the explanation.
Dei was fairly content with the group’s choice, fully aware that her antics in Camp Miller were probably the reason why Charity was trying to avoid civilization in the first place. The better part of her was excited by the chance to meet new people at this point, if only to break up the monotony of their uneventful trip through the wetlands. Now she just had to do her best to try and avoid getting into any trouble while they passed through the strange checkpoint in the road.
—
“You want to bloody test them? Out here in the middle of nowhere after my family has been traveling for the last week straight?” Matthew was yelling at a smaller man who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else at that moment.
“Uh, yes sir. It's just normal protocol-”
“I don't care what the protocol is around here, you're not taking my children away from me for any of your damn magical tests!” Spit flew out of his mouth as he barked at the man in front of him.
“Once again I apologize sir, but given the circumstances we have to-” The man was interrupted by someone else this time as a tall woman came into the tight room from a doorway that must have led deeper into the structure. More alarmingly, a thick ball of water perhaps a foot wide spun like a constantly moving globe above the woman's shoulder. A thin stream of water connected the spinning globe to a large leather pouch that looked like a massive wine skin tied to the woman's belt, only slightly drawing any viewer's attention away from the glowing blue crystal attached to her neck by a thin golden chain.
“Hammond, please take a break. I'll handle this situation.”
The man flushed and spun around to give the woman a short bow before leaving the back door of the room without another word. The woman then walked over to the only chair set up within the room and sat down at a polished desk across from the group of five weary travelers that had just been arguing with her administrator.
“Sir, what seems to be the problem today?” she asked in a knowing, yet respectful voice.
“Me and my family have just been traveling towards the capital when all of a sudden we're passing by this strange place you've got here,” Mathew waved an arm around at the ceiling of the perfectly cube like room cut into the massive stone rock face. “and suddenly a couple of guards usher us into this room where they tell me my children need to be taken in for testing!”
“Understood sir, but i'm still struggling to see what the problem is?” She replied evenly.
“What? Are you serious? I'll not have some strangers taking away my family while we're halfway through the wetlands in the middle of some creepy rock building!”
“Sir, do you know what this means?” the woman pointed at the glowing blue gemstone at her chest even as the globe of water remained spinning over her shoulder throughout the conversation.
“It means you're an arcanist.” Mathew replied hesitantly now.
“True, that it does. But more importantly it means that I serve the Golden Monarch as a direct extension of his power and grace. So when we ask this small thing of you, as servants of the Golden Kingdom and beholden to its laws and policies, the request comes by way of an extension of the Monarch himself. Now, if I were to guarantee to you that your children will be returned safely regardless of the results of the test, do you think we still have a problem?”
Matthew held her gaze for a moment even as Charity reached over to grasp his hand, cutting the image of a pair of concerned parents before he responded slowly.
“My children have been through an unfortunate accident that stole their tongues and most of their faces before we set out on this journey. Can you at least assure me that no one will take issue with their masks during the test?”
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“Of course sir. The test does not require us to see their faces, only the depths of their hearts and souls.” The woman replied easily despite the rather grand proclamation.
Matthew looked around at the two masked figures then, revealing a scowl firmly planted on his face before he gave the two of them a quick nod and returned to face the woman.
“So be it.” Matthew resigned himself.
“Alright, you three, please come with me.” The woman said cheerily, addressing the three people in the back of the group.
“Uh, me too ma'am?” John asked her as the skeletons started walking forward obediently.
“Yes, you too. You might have a better beard going than your brother here,” she gestured at Xei with the words, “But it's obvious you're still young enough to be tested.”
John looked over with pleading eyes at Matthew and Charity who pointedly ignored him as they both continued glaring daggers at the arcanist in front of them while she got out of her seat. He finally walked over to join the skeletons, mumbling under his breath, “But I've already been tested.”, but the Arcanist still waved him on with the rest of the group.
The woman exchanged places with the man Hammond that had remained standing just behind the door that she led the trio of ‘siblings’ through, deeper into the strange building. As she led them down a long hallway lined with doors she spoke to them over her shoulder.
“Don't you worry about this at all. We just need to conduct a small test of your magical aptitude to tell if you might be able to serve in a higher capacity to our great Monarch.”
She led them into a side door as she continued talking. “In the event that you do show promise, you will be given the chance to develop your abilities while undertaking your education here at the Academy. Of course, your family will be well compensated for your service to the King, and allowed every opportunity to visit you during your free time to check up on your wellbeing. It's not anything as bad as what your dad was making things out to be.”
The woman took a seat at a much more plain looking table this time as she reached over to open a small box to the side of her chair and pulled out a few strange looking tools. The first was a fist sized block of white stone with black marks speckled over the surface of it like someone had spilled ink onto the stone. Dei noted that the woman made special care to only touch the apparatus by the wooden base of the tool, neatly avoiding the gemstone as she set the mechanism down. The second thing she pulled out was a much bigger contraption as a wooden board shaped into an X was topped with glass except for a small black stone set at the center of the tool. In the four corners of the board it looked as though a piece of rock, a green leaf, a shard of metal, and a pool of water were all suspended within the glass tubes.
John took the lead out of the three of them as he met eyes with the woman and she nodded. It was obvious that he already had a fair idea of what to do, since the man reached out to place a finger against the white stone contraption set on the desk. The stone emitted a soft white glow as it responded to John's touch, and several more black marks could be seen appearing across the surface of the stone. At a short nod from the arcanist he released his hand from the tool and the dull glow winked out as she ushered him over to use the second contraption with a few words.
“Remember now, visualize yourself pushing down on the piece of Jasper with your soul and the mechanism will do the rest.”
For some reason John had started sweating a bit at this point, obviously a little worried about something before he did as he was told. The man reached out to set his hand on the uncovered black stone and Dei felt some sort of change in the air as the man tensed his body slightly. A black liquid seemed to ooze out from the stone in the four lines leading out from the center before they slowly met the edges of the four substances in the corners and then. Nothing. Dei felt like she could almost see the faintest vibration from the shard of metal, but it was so minute it might have just been from John touching the object in the first place.
The woman's eyes betrayed none of her thoughts as she addressed John, releasing him from the test, “That's fine enough, it seems you really have been tested before. You know with what little magical ability you do have you could certainly serve in some role to the kingdom if you so wished. Your last tester told you that as well i'm guessing?”
“Yes ma'am. I'd just prefer to be with my family rather than working for the State.”
The woman raised an eyebrow at that but moved on nonetheless, obviously expecting the answer as she drew her attention over to Dei, peering deep into the carved depiction of eyes on her mask.
“Your turn.” She said with a small smile.
Dei shuffled past John up to the front of the desk, acutely aware that whatever was about to happen might end up with a fight. Still, she did as she was told and reached out to lay her gloved hand on the top of the white stone that lit up like a miniature sun at her touch. She immediately felt an immense tugging sensation on her mind, like the stone was doing its best to erase her existence from the void itself, tugging her into its white pearly insides with the pull of-. It stopped all at once and Dei quickly slingshotted back into reality as her vision of the real world came back to her and a stunned arcanist stared down at an entirely black stone under her hand.
‘Well shit.’
‘Can we please not do that again?’ Fei asked
‘I could feel that pull even from another body, what the fuck is that thing?’ Xei seemed to agree with Fei for once.
The arcanist's mouth hung open as she picked up the stone contraption by the wooden base and turned it around several times, inspecting the now flawless black outside of the stone. Eventually, her eyes returned to Dei with a certain apprehension to her gaze as she merely gestured over to the X shaped device on the table.
This time, Dei was a bit more cautious as she reached out her hand towards the already black stone in the center, yet as she made contact this time nothing seemed to happen. The woman urged her to try pushing herself into the stone to see what would happen, so Dei tried to envision herself taking control of the stone in a similar way to what she did manipulating bones and a sudden force shot black liquid out to the four corners of the device faster than the human eye could even see. As violent as the reaction from the stone had been, when the liquid met the four corners there wasn't even the smallest of reactions to any of the different containers. Not even the metal shard stirred like it had for John. Dei felt like the moment had passed without event and she thankfully released the black gemstone from her hand.
“I, uh. That'll be enough dear.” The older woman assured her as she took away the first test to put it back in a box next to her legs then pulled out another piece of white speckled stone on a similar wooden base. She shook her head as her eyes raised to meet the gaze of Xei as he quickly took his cue and walked up to the table.
This time both Dei and Fei extended a part of themselves to latch onto Xei's essence, metaphysically holding on to him within the void as they braced themselves for the test again. On Xei's part he seemed to be just as apprehensive, since he merely willed the body he was using to ‘TOUCH’ the rock, then retreated to the void room to watch the events play out with bated breath.
Slowly, the automaton reached out towards the polished white stone, moving closer and closer with awkwards jitters to the arms movement that made the woman across the table look strangely at the man. The corpse finally made contact with the stone, first with just a passing graze of his hand, then with a more well formed grip as he slowly placed his entire palm on the device.
And nothing happened.
Not a single bit of light escaped from the almost purely white stone as the corpse made full contact with the device. The woman's gaze hardened into the withdrawn look of pity as she looked down on the stone then back up at Xei.
Released from his awkward embrace with the other embers back in the void, Xei tentatively shifted out his perception to start reaching back into the body touching the stone when the three embers started to feel a wind blowing within the void. The closer Xei came to taking control of the bones again, the more viscous the wind blew through the empty space, starting to resemble the intense sucking sensation that Dei had only just experienced a minute before and she reached out to stop him.
The woman across the table took in Xei's body as he remained touching the white stone, unmoving. “You can let go of it now, the test won't change just by spending more time with it.”
The trio of embers looked on at the corpse, suddenly realizing that it might be stuck without Xei's help. Dei started to give an order to ‘WITHDRa-’, but she cut herself off as the wind started whipping up again, growing violent at the mere suggestion of any of them controlling the corpse in that moment. Five sets of eyes now looked on at the awkward corpse still clutching the white stone, each of them either set in confusion from John, uncertainty from the embers, and finally pity from the arcanist.
It was that resigned look on the woman's face that saved them then, as she reached out and plucked the instrument out from under the hand of the corpse to put it away. The corpse, still under an order to touch the rock, started to reach out across the table, but the arcanist shook her head at him even as Xei took back control of the body and willed it back into normal behavior.
“I'm sorry kid, your siblings might have more than their fair share of magical energy, despite their lack of control over their power, but you? Spending more time on the test isn't going to change the result. You just don't have the magic touch.”
The woman then looked back over at Dei's body with a side long glance, “Although if your sister would be willing to commit herself to one of the non-elemental schools here, i'm sure we could find you a place to serve the monarchy at her side.”
Dei realized the woman was trying to comfort Xei, even as she shook her head at the offer from the arcanist ahead of them. For some reason Dei had the distinct impression that she could find herself in some unique and interesting situations if she took the mage up on her offer. And yet, she also had the basic wherewithal to know that enrolling in a magical school of elementalists was not on her list of things she wanted to do, at least not in this lifetime.
The woman nodded understandingly as she pulled out a handful of small stone chits with carvings on the broad face of each stone the size of a fingertip.
“These chits should allow you to get out of any further testing that you might run into on your travels. They basically tell our men in the enrollment program that you've already been through the tests, and they're also your ticket to get into one of our schools if you ever change your mind.” She looked over at John and Dei during the second part of the explanation. “I would be more than happy to see the two of you undertake our program here at the academy, although I can't force you to do so considering your skills don't quite match the four elements of our lord.”
With that, she led them back through the hallways to the entrance their ‘parents’ had been waiting outside of, relaxing in a couple of chairs set out under a large tarp canopy that stretched out over the road for shade. The arcanist bid them a respectful farewell speech as the family set out once again onto the western roads even as dusk was starting to wash over the open fields.
If they had looked back on the woman then, they would have noticed a cascade of rolling waves and choppy currents had overwhelmed the spinning ball of water by the arcanist's shoulder. A single set of concerned eyes looked down the road until the group could barely be seen any longer as she stood there in thought. Eventually, a man finally came out of the nearby door to address the woman as night fell around her.
“Lady Tellerond, would you like me to leave the tarp out tonight until you are ready to come back inside?”
“No. I'll be going now. Thank you for the chance to test that group Hammond. It was quite interesting.”
The rolling waves above her shoulder continued to churn as the woman returned to the depths of the Academy building, already thinking about the message she intended to write to the capital.