I found myself in a tent. The ground had layers of thick rugs, the tent itself seemed woven of a thick canvas, and I sat at a table. Across from me sat a beautiful woman with striking eyes. Her irises were clouded over with what looked like mist. Was she blind, or farseeing? She stared right at me and smiled as if she knew a secret I didn’t.

“One of your companions will betray you,” she told me.

“That’s unfortunate,” I answered. “I’m Alexander, who are you?”

“I’m Iona, a Seer of the Cloudfolk.” Iona lifted a hand to brush it through her golden hair, then tapped her pointer finger against her deep red lips. “You’ve never heard of the Cloudfolk before, glance outside of my tent.”

I did as Iona instructed. The floor felt strange underneath the rugs, and when I pushed the tent open, I saw why. Her tent, and many others, were supported by thick clouds. I’d never heard of any nomadic sky fairing people before, but this could be a false-reality – the exam was a dungeon, after all. It could also be real, though, the System had that kind of power.

“Are these special clouds? When Arkaziel takes me flying he can’t land on a cloud without using magic.”

“You’re more interested in the clouds than in someone betraying you?” Iona seemed confused by that.

“Well, yeah. Wouldn’t you be?” I asked with enthusiasm. I poked the clouds a few times, then moved back into study Iona. She seemed older than me, but still young. Somewhere in her twenties, perhaps? The few lines on her face were those of knowledge, not age. She had a willowy build, and her white and blue dress, while flattering, actually concealed her charms. I wondered what kind of culture these Cloudfolk had.

“No, I would be more interested in one of my friends’ intention of betraying me,” Iona answered with brisk honesty.

“Well, tell me about that, I guess. Who betrays me? Why?”

“One who’s been with you for years, through fights and accomplishments. The truth of ones heart is a complex thing.” One of Iona’s hands slipped across the table and settled over one of my own. I could feel her elevated pulse and unnatural warmth immediately. It made me cognizant of where her heart lay, an indirect reminder that the slight cleavage on display was a paltry shadow of the wonder of her form. I laughed, and Iona laughed too.

“That sucks. Can you tell me why they betray me?”

“No, I cannot see that.” Iona curled her fingers around mine, and her thumb traced at the lines of my palm even though they were hidden by my gloves. Whatever Iona might be, a fraud she was not.

“The betrayal will come at the hour of your most dire need, against a terrible foe. You will slay Argarg the Barbarian, but the cost will be considerable.”

“And is there a way to avoid it?”

Iona laughed.

“Only by canceling out that future entirely. You could stay with me. With your patronage, the Cloudfolk could remain safe no matter our enemies, no longer would we be forced to rely upon stealth and live in constant fear of discovery. The clouds are not all that is soft at these heights.”

I swallowed. Iona laid it on a little thick there, but that didn’t make it any less effective.

“That’s a gracious offer, maybe some day I’ll take you up on it. But I’ve already vowed I’m going to end the scourge of Argarg, so I’m going to kill him. After that, who knows.” I shrugged. I didn’t know. Who would betray me? Why? Derrick? Aisha? Morgan? Cassius? Tyler? With enough convoluted logic one could even make the argument that my mothers were going to betray me with their ascension from this world. It certainly would count as leaving me alone.

“Very well,” Iona let out a slow breath. “Find our enclave.” There were promises in the look Iona gave me. Promises beyond those even Morgan made when looking at me. This conversation would not make Morgan happy, but it was just a Trial.

“Thanks for the warning, where’s the exit?”

It seemed asking was all that had been required, and a portal appeared behind Iona.

Which meant I had to walk past Iona. As I moved past her chair, she raised a hand to touch the front of my chest. I arched a brow at her, but she smiled and a faint magic glowed around her hand.

“Walk in safety, would be hero, and may your travels bring you back to me.” Iona’s genuine concern for my safety kept it from being as weird as it would’ve otherwise been. I’d never felt quite so much like a prize someone wanted to win, a meal to be eaten, or a stallion to be broken. Morgan didn’t look at me that way.

“Uh, yeah. Will do.” I took the exit, and floated in a world of colors for a moment.

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Summarization of Trial:

Act 1, Success. All Enemies defeated, and escaped with time to spare.

Act 2, Success. You completed the puzzle.

Act 3, Success. You resisted temptation and remained true to your ideals.

You have completed 3/3 trials, and have passed your final exam.

Reward: +2 to All Attributes.

Reward: +500 gold.

Reward: +Beacon of the Cloudfolk.

Beacon of the Cloudfolk: Call upon this boon to be guided to the hidden realm of the Cloudfolk.

Congratulations, you have reached level twenty. You have gained +2 Agility, +1 Intellect, +1 Will.

Progenitor of Peril (Proficient) has progressed to Progenitor of Peril (Advanced).

You have gained the Chromatic Decay (Progenitor of Peril) Ability.

Chromatic Decay (Progenitor of Peril). Targets are inflicted with a slow, relentless degradation of vitality manifested as a colorful shimmer that saps their vitality over time. The afflicted experience vivid, shifting colors which symbolize the chaotic and constantly changing nature of your powers. Not only does Chromatic Decay do True Damage, but it also curses the victim, making them susceptible to critical hits and other negative effects. Duration: 30 minutes.

“Damn,” I whispered in awe as the System read to me the properties of my new ability. I’d never heard of True Damage before, but it sounded awesome, and a thirty minute damage-over-time effect with a curse? I couldn’t wait to test it out on some enemies and find out if that counted as two different afflictions or not as far as my buffs went.

The darkness receded, and I jumped out of a portal back into the training grounds of the academy. A small cheer went up for my appearance, and before I could take more than a dozen steps both my mothers slammed into me in a big hug.

“Ma’am, Ma’am, you can’t be here, no parents near the portal!” One of the newer Professors tried to chide my parents, and was completely ignored. Arkaziel got stuck with the job of soothing the disgruntled teacher. He didn’t try very hard, and instead made elaborate gestures at Kallos and Telos, asked what were they supposed to do, then shrugged and came over to join us.

“Good job, Alexander. I’m very proud of you and the young man you’ve become.” Kallos whispered into one ear.

“You did amazing, honey. I don’t have any fears left about entrusting this world to you and Lilith.” Telos whispered in my other ear.

Entrusting a world to me seemed a bit much to dump on a seventeen year old.

“Hey, you graduated. Longest two decades of my life!” Arkaziel even pulled me into a hug, but the moment he gave me a hug, both of my parents elbowed him out of the way and lead me towards the manor.

“I never even thought to ask…. What happens now?” I looked around the training grounds. Whenever a student appeared there’d be some cheers, and then groups would move off to do their own things.

“The formal graduation is tomorrow, today we’re having a party.”

“We are?” I asked surprised.

Sure enough, a large assortment of friends and family were gathered at the manor’s gardens. Lilith, Aisha, Derrick, Hanna, Morgan, Kara, Tyler, Cassius, and even Akari had already assembled. Their parents stuck more to small groups, but they were all here too.

“The fastest one of us is the last one? That’s kind of ironic. Right? Did I use ironic right?” Derrick asked exactly as a lull in the conversations in the garden occurred.

“Yes, that would be ironic, Derrick.” I answered the awkward silence for him.

“Everyone passed?” I looked to Lilith for confirmation.

“Yes, you were the only one I was worried about failing.” Clearly, Lilith hadn’t gotten a Seeress telling her about inevitable betrayal. Or maybe she had, and taking out frustrations on me was how she decided to feel better about it.

“Lily..” Telos muttered, and Lilith stood up a little straighter and mouthed an apology at me.

Then Morgan stepped up and wrapped their arms around me. I only got a kiss on the cheek, both of my mom’s were right behind me after all, but the hug felt great, and I bonked my forehead lightly against Morgan’s.

“Hey stranger,” Morgan greeted me.

“Why hello there, Enchanter of the Whispering Shadows.” I greeted Morgan.

“That’s enough cuddling in front of everyone, you two.” Lilith gave me a dirty look.

“Fair is fair!” Aisha cried.

“We had to tell them to cut down the public kissing,” Telos explained. “They were making people uncomfortable.”

Morgan grimaced and quit pressing so aggressively against me. From the reactions, I had to wonder if Morgan hadn’t been one of those to complain just to piss Lilith off, but if that were the case, karma had come calling.

“You all made it through the academy, even the final exam. That means you’re all adults now. Eat, drink, make merry.” Aunt Bobbi called out as she set pitchers of a reddish-brown liquid with lots of fruits floating in them on tables. No one argued with her declaration though, and that meant we were actual adults now. We could do what we wanted.

My head spun with the possibilities. I could use silk scarves to tie Morgan to.. I mean, I could defeat Argarg now. Then what? Did I want to come back to Winona after one small adventure? Would I stick with Lilith? Would any of stick together? Morgan and I got on well, but we’d never used the L word with one another. I absolutely loved my time with Morgan, but did I love Morgan? We bickered sometimes, Morgan was terrible with money, sparred like a cat with Lilith, and we’d never talked about a future past Argarg.

When I thought about it, none of us had.

“Hey, whatever happens, why don’t we all try to meet back here every ten years if we can?” I suggested.

“I’m in,” Lilith agreed without argument. Everyone, well all of us kids and Aisha’s dad, Idris, ended up echoing Lilith’s short answer, and we all stacked our hands atop one another. I noticed both of my mom’s had a wistful look, but they didn’t join in like Idris.

After that, the night turned into a blur. Alcohol felt good, then bad.

My first morning as an adult? I spent twenty minutes trying to make the room stop spinning, before I finally remembered I could clear ailments, and pulsed Aurora Burst while still in my bed. The spinning and headache fell away immediately, but the smell of vomit only grew more and more intense. I did have a Purity Kinesis, and it turns out that could clean up messes. It seemed like a waste of what felt like a sacred power, but I didn’t want to spend the first hour of my morning changing sheets and cleaning.

It was all for naught. Minutes after I had my room in order, Telos knocked and cracked my door.

“Good, you’re awake. Come help clean up the garden, we made a real mess last night.”

So much for being an adult.