Crow had barely gotten back to sit down in his quarters when he was drawn to stand by a heavy knocking.

He answered quickly, driven by the prospect of news from Sieve staff. Opening the door, he found shock leaving him senseless. It was made clear how futile his wondering had been, for no matter how much he’d thought, Crow would never have predicted a visit from the Gemini.

“Good afternoon.” The girl said, a smiling angel. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

“No.” Crow answered, forcing his leaden tongue to move. “You’re not. I was just… do you want to come in?”

He felt his face begin to burn, awareness of his every slip making embarrassment grow like a tumour.

“I’m fine, thank you.” She answered, paying his blunders no heed. “I’m not here to stay anyway, I was just going to pop into the reliquary and thought I’d ask if you wanted to join me.”

Crow couldn’t have hidden his shock, even if he’d had the sense to do so.

“Me? Why?”

“Do I need a reason?”

He thought for a moment, recalling the years spent seeing her as a distant idol in newspapers. The sight of her magic in the task before, the humility and bravery that seemed to come so effortlessly to her.

Try as he might, Crow could think of no explanation for why she’d wish to bring him along.

“Not needed, I suppose.” He mumbled. “But it would… clear up some confusion.”

She smiled wider, sweeter.

“Will you be coming along? I don’t mind waiting a few minutes if you’d like time to get ready.”

Crow considered declining out of sheer uncertainty, but the thought shrivelled away in his mind.

“I’d love to join you.” He forced. “Lead the way.”

They set off quickly, and Crow soon found the Gemini a more talkative person than he’d have thought. The girl seemed filled with conversation, moving from one topic to another almost without delay.

He was content to simply listen, though doubted he’d have gotten a word in edgewise even had he tried.

The girl had just described her own experience growing up with magic when she asked Crow a question.

“What about you? Are you really just from some town in the middle of nowhere?”

Crow found her dismissive tone somehow needling.

“I am.” He replied, curtly. “And proud of it. Selsis is a good place for anyone to hail from.”

“I didn’t mean to imply that it wasn’t.” The girl hastily answered. “But… well, it’s rather an obscure place for one as gifted as you to be found, isn’t it?”

He didn’t answer that, finding himself disquieted by the topic. Crow had heard tell enough of his anomalous birth, and it had quickly grown unsettling to be reminded.

“There’s really not much to tell.” He said, describing the broadsrokes of his upbringing in the hopes that they’d be of some distraction. He could practically see the Gemini’s eyes glaze over, focus returning to them only when he came to the discovery and honing of his magic.

“You really had no clue how gifted you were?” She asked, amazement colouring her voice for the first time since they’d met.

“It’s still difficult to believe now.” He admitted. “But no, I didn’t. My uncle always told Astra and I we were powerful and talented, and it wasn’t lost on either of us just how far above the other mystics our age we were. But…”

“But you didn’t know the true extent of it.” She finished. “Pit. You were robbed.”

Crow shrugged.

“I don’t see it that way. I can’t imagine how different my life would’ve been if I’d grown up knowing the full extent of my abilities, our uncle wouldn’t have withheld the knowledge if he hadn’t had good reason.”

The Gemini didn’t seem convinced.

“Well, in any case you ought to have strong words with him when next you meet.”

Crow stiffened, covering his expression an instant too late and watching as hers fell.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Nothing.”

“Is it about-”

“It’s nothing.” Crow repeated, voice ringing harder than he’d intended. The Gemini seemed stunned.

“I’m sorry miss Gemini.” He added. “I just don’t really want to talk about… that.”

“It’s quite okay.” She answered. “I can tolerate my curiosity going unsated for a while, I think. Provided you don’t mind making a small concession in return.”

He eyed her, instantly on edge. The girl didn’t answer until they’d turned a corner.

“Can you call me Gem, please? My father’s talent for magic is far above his gift for naming.”

He laughed, and the sound fed her smile. Crow allowed himself to marvel at it, then moreso at its wearer.

I’m speaking to the Gemini. On her team, fighting by her side in front of the entire world. Bloody pit.

His moment of reflection was cut short as the girl nodded ahead.

“I think we’ve arrived.”

He followed her gaze to a door tipping the end of the hallway, adjacent to a sheeted glass window allowing clear sight into the room beyond. Even from fifty paces back, he recognised a shop.

Display shelves filled it, all lined with bizarrities that grew clearer with every step. Laid out like any other mundanity, holding the farthest things from it.

Crow washed the interior with his eye, the sights so dense as to choke his mind. Blades, chained weapons and a dozen other variety of killing tools were placed along in rows, all with carefully carved stone plaques to house their descriptions in place of cheap labels.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

They were at times beside other, less obvious items. Vials and pots housing intrepidly coloured liquids, scales and claws that seemed torn from creatures a dozen times Crow’s size, even tufts of hair.

It was an overwhelming sight, leaving him strapped for breath and unsteady on his feet. An anomalous shop. Arcane bleeding into the ordinary without seams.

“You can stop gawping at any time, you know.” The Gemini remarked. Crow flushed, but found himself smiling at her teasing grin.

It made him realise how like his sister the girl was. Both would mock relentlessly, yet never cruelly.

“Do you have any idea what you’re looking for?” He asked the girl, glancing around again and finding himself stumped by the maze of artefacts.

“An edge.” The Gemini answered, shrugging. “Truth be told I never looked into the Sieve much. I can imagine the sort of things I’m likely to find here, though. The Factions likely won’t give young mystics access to anything too dangerous…”

She trailed off, eyes seeming to burrow into a nearby display. Crow followed them.

“What did you see?” He asked, half disappointed at the thought of their trip ending so quickly. The girl grinned as she answered.

“I haven’t the foggiest idea, but it looks powerful enough. Follow me.”

Crow did so, soon finding his eyes settling upon a great, hooked claw. Ivory, like any other, yet as long as an arm and edged like a sickle blade. It seemed the sort of thing a beast might use to take limbs with a single slash, or else make purchase to grip another's flesh as they wrestled.

Either sent a chill down his spine, Crow could scarcely imagine a beast big monster to fit the weapon. The Gemini barely gave it a glance.

“A sand terror’s talon. Sharp enough, but not overtly magical. Expensive too. A poor choice.”

Crow noticed something peculiar as he turned back to the girl, a dull glow about her eyes- seeming to bring true incandescence where purity of colour had left only the illusion. It vanished quickly.

“Are you using magic?” He asked the girl. She eyed him, confused, then realisation settled on her face.

“Oh, you noticed my eyes?”

He nodded.

“No. Well, not really at least. I was just seeing it. A Menza trick.”

Before Crow could ask anything else, she’d already shot off after another relic across the shelf. He didn’t follow so hastily the second time, and the girl was already shifting her attention again by the time he reached her.

Things continued in much the same manner for the better part of ten minutes, all without a final decision being made. Soaking in the sights left Crow with a burning question.

“Why are all of the relics… Bodyparts?”

He saw no better way to phrase the question. It seemed to him that scales, skins, fangs and claws made up nearly all of the items on display. That such a thing came purely from the organisers’ morbidity seemed far fetched.

“It’s easier to find them.” The Gemini answered, not looking up as she eyed a goblet filled with hissing green liquid.

“What do you mean by that?”

She glanced over her shoulder at him.

“How much do you know about relics exactly?”

Crow hesitated, torn between equipping her to answer his question and keeping his embarrassing ignorance hidden.

“Nothing.” He said after a moment. “I never really spent any time researching them. Never assumed I’d encounter one.”

She hummed, not seeming remotely surprised.

“I shouldn’t have expected any different. Alright, long answer then. Relics are physical items with magic bound to them, more than a lacquering but not quite the same as something like a mystic. Following?”

“I’m not an idiot.” Crow bristled. “You don’t need to pause every sentence.” The girl smiled, somehow aggravating him. She seemed to think herself addressing an imbecile.

“Of course. Sorry if this sounds condescending, I really can’t explain things very well.”

“It’s fine.” Crow hurriedly said. “Please continue.”

He was in no mood for placations. Fortunately, the girl seemed not to scrutinise his answer. She beamed at him, her smile making his stomach squirm like a waking animal even through the annoyance.

“Alright then. Well the issue with truly enchanted objects is that they’re impossibly hard to make. You’ll generally find only one mystic among millions who can do it at all, and even they take weeks or years for their best work. Every one is a masterpiece.”

The Gemini paused.

“Does that make sense?”

“Yes.” Crow said, slowly. Truth be told it was sinking in slower than he'd have liked.

“So I suppose most relics are taken from naturally magical creatures, as they’re more common than mystics capable of making new ones entirely?”

“That’s right. And such relics tend to be worse than the ones produced by mystic craftsmanship, which is why, partially at least, you’ll find an even more overwhelming number of them displayed here.”

“How inferior are they exactly?” Crow asked, recalling tales of enchanted armour turning aside cannon balls.

“Enough that they won’t eclipse the magic most contestants can muster. Hopefully not so inferior that I won’t get any use out of them at all.”

Before Crow could consider how he ought to respond, the Gemini was already moving away. “Aha!” She grinned, hurrying back across the room to some unseen prize shelved a dozen feet back.

Crow was too tired to rush after. Instead he neared the girl at a walk’s pace, watching and waiting for her excitement to drop down as burning cyan eyes revealed the frailties of whatever prize she’d found.

Instead, however, her grin only spread.

“I’ve found my edge.” She said, triumphant.

He saw the item she held up, a seemingly plain leather jerkin. Easily overlooked, were it not for the trembles its magical infusement sent down his spine.

He still felt uncertain. Worried in a way he couldn’t put his finger on.

“Are there healing relics?” He asked.

“You mean in the world?”

“In here.”

“Yes.” The Gemini answered. “Are you thinking of getting one?”

“I’m thinking you should.”

She smiled, just as indulgent as before.

“Worried about me?”

Crow didn’t meet her teasing gaze, shifting his eyes to the girl’s forehead as he answered.

“Yes, actually. It’s a precaution worth taking at least, don’t you think?”

Her face hardened at that, voice turning to a murmur.

“Yes, a precaution.” For a moment the girl remained still in thought, then her eyes shot back up to his own.

“Very well, I shall see if I can find a restorative relic as well.”

Crow felt a genuine smile blossom, surprised to see her heed his advice. Perhaps he wasn’t such a fool after all.

“I still can’t believe you voted in favour of that girl leading our team in the opening task.” Astra muttered.

Deka eyed her wearily, still fidgeting with the puzzle box that had kept her entertained for the past half hour.

“I know.” The luminar replied, voice thin and weary. “You’ve told me so.”

“I’d have told you so sooner, had I known you’d push her to the forefront of everything.” Astra snapped. Deka sighed, as though the conversation were simultaneously tedious and beneath her. Uncharacteristic.

“She’s the strongest of us.” The girl said plainly. “Even you can’t deny that.”

“I wouldn’t want to deny that.” Astra answered, not liking her teammate’s implication one bit. “But power is far from the only factor in a battle.”

Deka eyed her sceptically.

“Are you implying you could match her skill?”

“Obviously not.” She snapped. “But she’s far too confident in herself. That sort of complacency breeds disaster.”

“Perhaps.” Deka conceded. “Though overconfidence only provides so much of a weakness. Gilasev Menza would be cocky, competing against mystics our age in the Sieve. But I can’t see it providing any chance of victory against him either.”

“The Gemini is not Gilasev Menza, nor is she even close.”

“And yet she’s a cut above you in near every way. Two cuts, in some. I’m sorry Astra, but her arrogance isn’t nearly as much of a weakness as her power is a strength.”

Astra didn’t answer. She couldn’t trust herself to, not without compromising the stability of her voice.

“I can only hope you’re right.” She said at last.