Abigail left Vincent at the Inn and found the Enchantress Hall, which is located in many large cities. She had not gotten over her failing the past three exams. She was not a failure. She had never failed this much before. However, in the few weeks since she had gotten her results, she had met a certain man who showed her that she could deal damage. She was entering into this with a renewed sense of hope and determination.
"Ah, Ms. Montall, it appears that you have returned for another attempt," a snobby-sounding voice appeared over the counter; it was another elf.
"That is correct, Mrs. Hope." Abigail couldn't disregard the irony in the elven administrator who constantly looked down on those who had hope.
"A little early for a retry, no?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
"With all due respect, Mrs. Hope. I can take this test as many times as I please. I can try as little or as often in between days as I please. I, just like the other times, have learned and adapted. I would appreciate it if you kept your tone to resemble professionality, thank you." Abigail said sternly yet respectfully. The elderly elf nodded without saying another word. After a few minutes, a small elf walked out of a door twice the size of it.
"Er, Ms. Abigail Montall," the high-pitched voice of the small elf said, "Ahh yes, I remember you. Right this way m'lady." The elf gestured into the big door and the testing room.
The Enchantress test was interesting; it consisted of real-life beings who were brought in with a life-threatening ailment that must be treated, along with a criminal who must be condemned for their crimes. The test is not meant to kill, as all criminals will be healed. It is to see that the Enchantress is not useless on her own and can attack when the defenses of her allies break.
"Would you like me to recite the rules?" The elf asked.
"No, thank you. I know them. I am ready to begin." She responded in a tone that meant all business.
"As you wish, m'lady." As the elf bowed in acknowledgment, a white portal opened in front of Abigail. Out walked a man whom Abigail recognized immediately, "Asher," she hissed. Asher was an elf of another rival family who was gunning for power in her kingdom. Asher was about six feet tall with very pale skin. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. His family were river elves, and his eyes matched that color. He was somewhat built but still the typical scrawny elf build. He had very pointy fangs and wore an eternal smirk on his face.
Asher and Abigail were never friends; they had always been rivals in class, in training, and in everything. Asher always won. She could never better the young elf prodigy, and she hated that. She wanted nothing good to happen to him, and yet it always did. When she heard that he wanted the throne, she knew that he would take it from her because he always did. A part of her really wanted the throne just so he wouldn't have it. Another part was happy to hear that because it would free her. But could she let her kingdom fall because she doesn't want to lead?
"Abigail.." Asher said with a weak voice, "I think I have been poisoned, please. Help. Me," Asher passed out on the ground. Abigail did not want to help this elf. This could be her opportunity to rise to the top and take back the throne. To finally get the better of her rival.
As she paused and nearly let another examination go on as a failure, she didn't want to be known as the person who didn't save her rival, though. Abigail kneeled beside him and felt his aura with her senses. He wasn't poisoned; he had internal barbs throughout his bloodstream, and he was given some sort of magical item that infected him. She first needed to purge his blood completely. This would give her 90 seconds before the brain will start to lose all function. She was wondering if there was a less extreme case, but she was running out of time. Without another word, she chanted her purging spell.
Blood began flowing out of Asher's every hole and pore. It rose into the air, swirling around Abigail as she began to examine the blood. Her time to heal Asher before he died started.
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"Ahem, all potential recruits, welcome to the Maverick assessment," Charles said to a small group of 5 creatures, his voice was stoic and boring. "With quite possibly our smallest cohort we have ever had, this means you will be tested in more detail. The test will comprise of 3 sections first we will enter into an unknown area, unknown to you that is. In there, you will need to map out the area to the best of your ability. The next section is to locate and kill a specific monster that I deem within the unknown area. After you kill it you must bring me a piece of that monster, again I will divulge that information when the time comes. Finally, the group will work together to defend a small town from a pack of monsters. After that, it will conclude our assessment. Any questions?"
A creature that looked like a mixture of a human and an eagle raised their hand, "Yes Bonny?" Charles called on her.
"Are we allowed to use any means necessary to kill the monster, including soul-links?" the creature asked.
Charles raised an eyebrow, "A harpy, asking to use a soul-link, I never thought I would see the day. Yes, you may use soul-links."
Harpies are real? Ob thought, Well, that's pretty awesome, not nearly as creepy as my world makes them seem.
"Any other questions," Charles asked. "No, very good. Step through the portal, please," His eyes flashed blood red, and a blood-red portal appeared in front of all the recruits. The blood-red wormhole was ominous, and some hesitated; Ob did not. He figured if this man truly wanted them dead, this would not be the means he would have done it.
As Ob entered through the portal, he saw total darkness. There was no sound. There was no smell. It was as if they were in a void. After all the recruits finally walked through the portal, the darkness started to fade. With the sound of rushing water, it was very apparent now. It smelled like they were near a beach, which Ob thought meant they were on an island, which was worrisome. Ob thrived in caves with a lot of shadows. That is how he was able to fight. If they were to fight a monster in the day, there would not be as many shadows as if they were on a beach. The night would be his best time to attack.
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"Welcome to High-noon Island; it is just off the coast of the Easdori Continent. For those of you who don't know," Charles added, looking at the faces of all the very confused recruits, "Andohull is on the Nordori continent, which is the continent north of the Soudori Continent."
"How many continents are there," another recruit asked, which Ob appreciated because he knew nothing.
"Idiots," A human said. This human had red irises and black skin, with white marks along his body. Sort of making him look like a reverse Bengal tiger. "There are 4 major continents, Nordori, where Andohull is located; this is the most northern continent; far south is Soudori; Easdori is far east; and Wesadori is far west. There is a massive ocean in between all the continents with many islands. Every continent is its own massive island with its own multitude of terrains."
"Thank you for that explanation, Hasem. May we move on?" Charles asked with an annoyed tone.
Ob thought how helpful that was. He needed to look at a map. He also wondered how big this world was and how it compared to Earth. Based on that explanation, it seemed smaller, but there were also two moons, so he wasn't sure.
"There is a creature here that produces the sweetest fruit," Charles began to explain the assessment, "the creature is a river hog. River hogs are unique in that they lay eggs and give birth like mammals. Their eggs are often not fertilized and will hatch a delightful fruit. The fruit can be harvested and used in various potions and high-end cooking. Your test is to bring me back the fruit of this hog. Before you go hunting for the egg, I will need a map of the island. The map can be as comprehensive or not as you would like, as long as you can read it and it can help you. After that, I will give you a more detailed report on the river hog. At this point, there will be no more questions; I will be watching you with these," he chanted a spell, and 5 clear spheres appeared over the recruits. They looked like fortune teller balls, "these will show me what is going on in your area, including you.
If you want to be a Maverick, well, here is your chance. Good luck, be strong. You have two weeks to complete these two sections." With that, Charles disappeared into another wormhole portal, leaving the recruits on the beach alone.
"What the hell is she doing?" The high-pitched voice of the elf said to the other judges.
"Quiet Bart," another elf scolded.
Abigail's eyes turned her magical teal green, and they began sensing all the bards within the bloodstream. While moving her hands like a conductor, Abigail continued to chant her purging spell, eliminating tiny black barbs every half second; the blood was becoming clearer each moment. It was working; she was starting to clear and heal the infected blood successfully. She realized she was not moving fast enough, though, so she took a breath and forced the blood, still partially infected, back into the body of Asher. As she did that, she chanted her healing pulse spell, and pink rings of aura and healing magic began to manifest and splash all over Asher. She was able to heal any outside wounds, and this helped her prevent any more of the barbs from infecting the body.
Since she was not sure what the actual cause of the barbs was, she figured it was safest to use that spell to give her some time to figure it out, if she even needed to figure it out. She once again used the purge to withdraw all of his blood. She began removing the bards out of the blood. The sight was hauntingly beautiful; like an orchestra conductor, she would be waving her hands and motioning for the blood to flow around her in a dance. Then, she would have the barbs removed and destroyed with another chant. She was moving with grace and confidence. She was in total control of the situation, and she was doing great.
As she began to finish and eliminate the final barb, she replenished the blood. She then watched the body of her rival begin to sparkle. It was transforming, and a mirror-looking lizard was staring back at her. This was a reflection lizard. It used magic and its mirrors to replicate another being perfectly. They were often used in tests like these because of how realistic they could make scenarios.
"Well done, Ms. Abigail Montall. You have exceeded all expectations. We did not give you an easy test. You showed wise provision by healing the outside body. There was a small cut from the blade that was constantly reproducing the barbs. Your healing powers effectively eliminate reproduction. Even if you did not know that was there, your vigilance in doing so was important." The elderly elf said, nodding her head in approvement.
"Now is the time for the second part of the assessment." Another portal opened, and out walked a werewolf. The werewolf was in chains and sneered at the young elven princess. "This werewolf was caught slaughtering the livestock of a small town farm, effectively making the farmers poor. Subsequently, the farmers committed suicide because they were ruined. This werewolf must face justice for its actions."
Abigail had issues with this portion of the test because of the ethics behind it. She pushed that aside and went to touch the werewolf. She lied and said it was to assess any damage. She whispered her chant to release the toxins into the werewolf from her point of contact. She took a step back and watched as the werewolf began falling to its knees. The toxins were spreading fast and were killing quickly. In a rage of pain, the werewolf attempted to lunge at Abigail. She took a step to the side and used her senses to sense how fast he was dying. Right before it died, Abigail called back out the toxin and bowed in a sign of task complete.
"What are you doing?" The elderly voice asked, anger rising, "Why did you not finish the job?"
"I am not an executioner, I am an enchantress and a guardian." Abigail said, with no shaking in her voice. She was stern and serious. "The objective is to show that I can deal with damage and deal it effectively. Well, that is done."
"No." the elderly elf spat, "The objective is to do as we say. We said. eliminate the target."
"If that is the case then fail me. If that is how you view being an official Enchantress, then I decline. I will not be a part of a group where being an executioner is required."
"Given the chance, young elf, this werewolf would maul you alive. Then send your head to your father, you pathetic weakling."
That word… weak. She understood Ob's perspective now. This wasn't being weak. This was showing strength. She could have easily let that werewolf die; all she had to do was sit back and wait two more seconds, and the task would have been done. But the wolf was not going to recover from this anytime soon. She had an understanding of her magic powers the more she trained with it. This cut off any ability to self-heal. The only way it would heal is to be healed.
"You may see it as a weakness, Elder. I do not. The wolf cannot heal on its own. It can only be healed by a healer. I have eliminated this werewolf from doing any further damage.
If this werewolf were to attack me directly, I would put it in the ground. In an instant, without hesitation. However, it did not attack me or deal any damage to me. I cannot in good consciousness kill this being." Abigail said with flint in her voice, then bowed. She didn't wait for a response; the test was over, and they would send her the results. She gathered her stuff and left the training hall feeling more proud of herself than she had ever been.