AELLARIA

Guarding the front gate was the responsibility of one teacher on call, four Junior students, and a dozen guards patrolling the gardens inside the wall. The front portcullis had two of these Juniors, and they were wearing their white robes.

One of the Juniors, a man covering his face with an enchanted cloth mask, stopped Aellaria and Marin as they approached to leave. “Freshmen, go back to your dorm room. The gate is locked for the night.”

Aellaria led Marin forward, “Curfew is only for letting people back inside. We are allowed to leave as we wish.”

The Junior with the facemask scoffed, the movement making the mask billow out as the breath became visible in the cold night. “Freshmen should stay where it is safe. Death dwells in the dark. You have no reason to make it too easy for your classmates to advance.”

Aellaria responded simply, “We are willing to take the risk.”

The Junior pulled back his hood to scratch his head, showing off a pair of enchanted goggles protruding from a bed of curly orange hair. “You are willing to put in the risk? What is worth that?”

Marin chimed in, “Howdy, I am Marin of Crowfoot Hill. It’s nice to meet you. We are going on Illicit Aellaria Adventures.”

The other guard laughed, an unassuming man with brown hair.

The man with the goggles chuffed and responded, looking at Marin, “You going to fuck someone’s grandma in the forest?”

“My name is Aellaria.” Aellaria stated.

The goggles on the man's eyebrows raised with his expression, “Oh…. Hello, grandma.” He flirted.

“Don’t hit on Freshman. It’s in bad taste, Jeff.”

“You aren’t supposed to call me that! I will be a rogue someday, and you can’t just use a rogue's name,” Jeff shouted. “Also, you’ve had the same girlfriend in Misftall since before the academy. Must be easy for you to turn down fresh blood when you aren’t looking, Lunas.”

“It’s also easy to turn them down when they are lesbians looking for privacy,” Lunas responded calmly. “And Fresh Blood? Control yourself, my guy.”

Aellaria hid her face. The whole conversation was so much more than it needed to be. Aellaria wasn’t sure if it would be more effort to correct the record or to just lie for the easy win. She decided to glare daggers at Marin, standing there with her innocent face, grinning ear to ear.

Marin said again, “Lunas, Jeff, can we go now?”

Jeff turned his attention to the girls, “We won’t be allowed to let you back in until the sun rises in six hours. Unless…” He tapped his goggles. “You submit to a magical inspection on your return.”

Lunas added, “Save yourselves the hassle, ladies. I’m pretty sure it sees through clothes. Get some rest, and go on a romantic weekend at the falls instead.”

Jeff shouted back, “It sees through everything, including skin. It’s policy. I’m not some degenerate.”

Aellaria said, “Professor Rietta has you use enchantments to let people into the gate despite curfew?”

Jeff responded, “Yes. I made this enchantment myself, and Master Rietta approved it.” Aellaria knew that the apprentice rogue may have been goofy, but he could craft solid enchantments if the goggles did what Jeff said they did.

Aellaria looked at Lunas, and he nodded, “He’s telling the truth.” Lunas begrudgingly added, “Despite his attitude, he is not, in fact, a degenerate.”

Seeing the responsibility and childishness in the two young men reminded her of Zenithor before everything that happened to him. She hoped that the reality in the world didn’t hit them too hard. Then she hoped the two young men wouldn’t graduate and enter the real world as master sorcerers.

Marin stepped forward beside Aellaria, “I think we’re both ready to go.”

The two Juniors raised the portcullis of Spire–rather quickly now–and Marin and Aellaria stepped through.

Aellaria could hear the two men bickering as Marin summoned a magelight and guided Aellaria toward the recently established clearing.

Aellaria thought about offering Marin money for her marble. It was a rare find, and the slightest advantage could help Aellaria achieve her grisly goals. However, a part of Aellaria also felt terrible for hurting Marin. She wanted to make it up to Marin through this act of service. If Marin were going to commit to selling the marble, then Aellaria would be ready to purchase it, but only if that was the choice Marin already made. Aellaria didn’t want to influence her friend.

MARIN

Marin was excited by the nighttime excursion. However, she became uneasy as they entered the woods. Her magelight bounced with her steps. One of the few reassurances of the darkness around them was the great fire atop the Spire looming overhead. Ozyid’s eye was almost entirely closed above. The Merchant’s moon waned to a sliver and was ready to give way to The Scribe.

“Can you make it a little brighter?” Aellaria asked. “I’m too inefficient to keep a magelight up.”

“Yeah,” Marin said as she increased the mana flow to the magelight. The trees and their shadows cast an eerie effect, making it seem like creatures are dashing around the forest. “Maybe this isn’t such a great idea.”

“When you slay a monster, you deserve the spoils,” Aellaria said.

Aellaria pressed a hand to Marin’s chest, stopping her.

The magelight stopped bouncing with Marin’s steps, and Marin was surprised. She looked down to where Aellaria touched her sternum. “Hmm?”

Aellaria nodded and pulled out three potions from her belt: one blue and two orange.

As Marin approached the three downed trees and the dead Nature Revenant, the light continued to play tricks on her. Marin squinted and realized that it looked like the creature was moving. Then Marin saw that Aellaria’s caution was warranted. Something was moving.

Aellaria stepped toward the movement, prompting Marin to make an urgent little squeak of disapproval.

Marin tried to see what was happening. It looked like the nature revenant was wiggling, but it didn’t make sense. Maybe something was digging inside of its body? Maybe Cryonolon decided to come out treasure hunting? Then, the movement started to make sense. The trickery of light and perspective started to become understandable. It was two revenants. One was dead, and a second was alive. It was rooting through the body of the dead one with its long barbed branches.

Marin stood there, panicked. She didn’t even know how she killed the first one, and now there was a second one? She wanted to run away, but Aellaria kept creeping closer. Marin couldn’t properly shout at Aellaria, or the monster would react. For the second time that evening, it felt like Marin was going to see a friend get eaten.

Marin tried to remember what exactly she did to kill the first revenant. She could feel how the spell drained her before. Marin knew she hadn’t recovered enough mana to hope to be able to conjure a wedge of ice big enough.

Aellaria only crept closer before casting a spell. Marin caught that it was a wind-based spell. As Marin watched, the revenant opened its mouth and stopped its movements.

‘This is it, it’s about to attack her.’ Marin thought in a panic.

Then, the creature began making an excited whistling noise. The same noise Marin heard just before the first nature revenant was about to bite into Syn. The creature turned to look at the interloper and seemed to watch Aellaria with its open mouth. The whistling intensified momentarily before Aellaria tossed one of the orange potions toward the revenant. Aellaria cast a second wind spell, and the potion rocketed into the creature's mouth and shattered. Aellaria turned then and ran back toward Marin.

Aellaria shouted, “Run!” She pulled the stopper off of the mana potion and started drinking it. Marin turned and sprinted back toward the main road, but it was a long way to go, and the creature's eerie whistling only got louder and closer.

“We’re not going to make it!” Marin shouted, and she realized that Aellaria was faster than her. “Wait! Help!” Marin shouted as she saw Aellaria run ahead of her.

Marin focused on Aellaria’s hat, but the whistling noise only got louder and louder in her ears. Marin’s mind felt the air stirring behind her. The revenant was going to get her. Aellaria disappeared into the darkness ahead.

“Don’t stop!” Aellaria shouted from somewhere up ahead.

Then Marin felt it. A lash covered in thorns dragged across her back, throwing Marin off balance. She hopped on her right foot twice, praying to recover her balance, before crashing hard into the forest floor. The magelight floated above her as she was forced to look back at the revenant. Its mouth glowed an angry orange, like a murderous living jack-o-lantern.

The revenant shifted its mass back, preparing to grab Marin with its long lashes. Then, two stone hooks piston from the ground on either side of the revenant before sinking back in.

Marin crawled backward, and as she crawled, she bumped into Aellaria. “W-w-where?”

Aellaria looked down at Marin, “I’m here.” Then she tossed the second orange potion into the raging creature's mouth.

Marin realized that Aellaria had pulled the creature’s strong, thorned arms deep into the ground—like two sewing needles treating the monster's lashes as thread. The monster thrashed against its binds, futilely gnashing its glowing and seeping maw at the two women.

The orange liquid caught fire in the revenant’s mouth, and the burning liquid spilled out. The whistling noise was literally drowned out as its maw was filled.

Aellaria tapped Marin with her boot. “Are you okay?”

“I think it hit my back,” Marin responded. As she said that, she reached back and felt the torn fabric, but there was no pain.

Marin stared at the creature as its struggles became weaker and weaker. The glow faded from its body, and many of its legs stopped moving.

“It’s dead,” Aellaria said. “How is your back?”

“H-How?” Marin asked.

“Your back?” Aellaria asked.

“It’s fine, I mean. How did you do that?”

“Liquid Lava,” Aellaria stated as she approached the revenant.

“Huh.” Marin sighed. “Lava is a liquid,” She observed dreamily.

“Come on, Aellaria’s adventure isn’t over. Let’s get those marbles.”

Marin watched in awe as Aellaria cooled the Nature Revenant's corpse and then pulled a little marble from its body. “How did you kill it?”

“It's the power of alchemy,” Aellaria said. “You should ask Granite Guardian.”

“That's not what I meant,” Marin said as she leaned forward and stood up. Her thoughts started flowing clearly in her head. “I mean. It didn’t act like when we fought the other one earlier.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Aellaria looked at the marble closely and then locked eyes with Marin. After a quiet moment, she sighed and responded, “Monsters like the Nature Revenant operate on instinct. There are ways to trick and trap them using their strengths against them.”

Marin nodded, but as always, it felt like there was something that Aellaria was leaving out.

AELLARIA

It took some encouragement, but Aellaria helped Marin find the original revenant. The clearing was far enough from Spire for the beacon not to provide any significant light, so they continued to rely on Marin’s magic to illuminate the grisly sight.

Aellaria spoke as Marin searched through the corpse of the revenant for her prize. “It’s still there, and monsters are drawn to the marbles. Some afterlife bullshit that no one understands.”

“You are going to explain things without me asking now?” Marin asked, feigning shock. Before Aellaria could respond, Marin added, “Thank you. Please keep going and keep an eye out. I am so scared.”

“No problem– will do. Naturally, you would think that this means monsters are drawn to each other and would kill for each other’s marbles. However, the monsters avoid confronting each other for the most part because marbles only form upon death.” Aellaria explained.

Marin found an additional burned-out alcove near the wet exit wound she had created earlier. She must’ve climbed halfway into the revenant’s mouth to reach it. After scooping through some moist ash, she found the marble. “Eugh….I know it’s just wood, ash, and water, but I would take a hard day in the stables over fifteen seconds rooting around in that thing’s mouth.”

Marin walked back to meet up with Aellaria, examining the marble in the magelight. Marin’s robe was coated in wet ash and dirt. “So what exactly does it do?”

Aellaria looked at the marble between her fingers. It seemed so mundane, but it had an undeniable magical lure. As she turned it between two fingers, she saw it was a milky white color, reflecting the magic of the magelight. “It reflects our true selves. What lies behind the chaotic curtains within our pattern.”

Aellaria looked up and saw Marin wanted the less poetic response. Aellaria began walking back toward Spire and waited for Marin to be back at her side before continuing. “You know how there are six efficiencies of elemental magic?” Aellaria asked.

“Yes.”

“Well, there are more than just six efficiencies for mana. There are dozens. For emotions, you feel. For the faith you hold in the divine. My body has mana, but I am inefficient with any base elements. It could be that my mana is more potent with one of these other efficiencies, but it would take me years to study and find which ones and how even to begin casting spells with them.”

“Is there… like, a best one?”

“It depends on what you want. A synergy with an element you are efficient and comfortable with is fantastic.” Zenithor’s chaotic magic emerged as wind, further enhanced when he used his marble. “However, healers will make the most money by far, and the domains that typically enhance healing are Life, Light, Faith, and Love.”

Aellaria popped her marble into her mouth like a piece of candy.

Marin looked at her milky white marble as they walked. She only barely caught the tail-end of what Aellaria must have just done. “That’s dirty! Gross!”

“It was just in a tree.”

“A gross dead-person tree!”

“You come from a poor family. I bet you used wooden cooking utensils all the time.”

“That’s different! You can’t just put undead monster marbles in your mouth!”

“That’s how the body does it. You need to absorb it with willpower, and your body does that easier with ingestion. Unless you learn to manifest your will.”

“I can't imagine putting this thing in my mouth. I will probably sell mine. The gold would change my family’s lives forever. How much do you think this one is worth?”

“They are all worth the same, and that is whatever some rich asshole will pay for it. Probably enough gold for your family to buy more land and hire workers to build a tower and manor. Then they would still have enough money to hire labor for ten years. However, you would be doing a great disservice to the arcane if you sold it to some lord that probably has no magical capabilities anyway.”

“It won’t work for some people?” Marin asked, looking up from her magical marble as they walked through the woods.

“Right, you need some capability with the arcane to use it. Humans manifest these with the chaotic magic that emerges through puberty. However, some people see these orbs as a second chance at magic when mundane, even when it is implausible.”

“How did you know you had talent then?” Marin asked.

“My master saw it in me.”

“Wow. Your master must have been a great sorcerer.”

“He… He had his troubles.” Aellaria said.

“This would likely not be good use if I sold it then. Except for the money.”

“That is right. There is a chance your body will manifest magic so crazy that you could succeed in school or get rich anyway. Some people like Coach Tilly can run at inhuman speeds or turn their skin to rock like Granite Guardian. This marble is an opportunity that most mages never get.”

Marin looked conflicted as they approached the gate. It was so easy for Aellaria to make the decision, but Marin knew Aellaria had money. “Should I ask Jeff and Lunas?”

“As Juniors, they have probably already enhanced themselves. It couldn’t hurt,” Aellaria decided. The slightly older young men acted immaturely but weren’t malicious.

“Hi! Jeff! Lunas!” Marin shouted as she approached the gate.

“Welcome back, lovebirds,” Lunas said casually, waving through the portcullis.

Marin sauntered to the gate, “Sorry about our deception, but we ain’t lovers. We are monster hunters!” Marin shouted triumphantly, holding the marble up as proof of their victory.

Aellaria looked shocked again. ‘How does Marin so easily find the worst way of approaching a conversation?’ She asked herself. “By Jest’s testicles, Marin.”

Jeff almost knocked his goggles against the portcullis as he leaned in to get a better look. “Woah! That is pretty fuckin impressive, ladies. What did you bag? A banshee?”

Marin casually looked at her fingernails, eyebrows raised. The mud and soot plastered to her robes betrayed her casual expression. “Just a little Nature Revenant. Nothing too dangerous.”

“I’m pretty sure you peed, Marin.” Aellaria taunted, leaning against the wall out of sight of Jeff and Lunas.

“I did not pee!” Marin shouted.

“Pee, no pee. It is quite an achievement. Congrats. You shouldn’t go monster hunting alone at night, though.” Lunas said.

“Yeah, this will be the last time. It was pretty scary.” Marin said, her false bravado disappearing into the frigid night air. “Aellaria thinks I should use the marble. Should I? I was thinking maybe I should sell it.”

“If you have talent and the option to enhance yourself, then you should always use it,” Lunas said without hesitation.

“If you don’t use it, and it turns out you have some amazing chaotic ability, you are missing out.” As Jeff talked, his body turned invisible. He then appeared about ten steps back shortly after. “I can turn invisible without casting a single spell and for about ten seconds.”

“Wow, that seems like it would be super useful to a rogue…” Marin noticed.

Jeff stood back, making a heroic pose. Just making it to Junior year was a massive feat in the eyes of Freshmen. Now, he was a step above that in Marin’s eyes—a super useful Junior.

“What can you do?” Marin asked Lunas.

“Well, at the end of my Sophomore year, I still hadn’t slain my first real monster yet. So, I went out to do contracts around home during the summer. I killed a harpie, and its orb allowed me to see outside the eyes of birds I manifest. He closed his eyes, and a tiny hummingbird appeared in front of Marin, hovering in place. Marin saw it turn its head left and right curiously.

“Aww, it’s so cute!” Marin said.

When Lunas opened his eyes, he smiled. “An earthquake hit my home village not long after, and since I’m not a Geomancer, I had to rely on this little guy to help me find survivors among the rubble. I wouldn’t trade it for all the money in the world. There are many people alive today that wouldn’t be if I had decided to give it away or sell it.”

Marin still seemed unsure but was moved by Lunas’s tale. She gently placed the marble in the pocket of her robes. “Thank you. I will think about it, I guess.” Marin knew that everyone was overwhelmingly pointing her toward using it, but she couldn’t commit right now, especially when she was this tired. “I’m ready to get scanned, then I want to rest.”

Jeff didn’t approach. “Are you sure? You don’t want to try them on first and see what they do?”

Marin gave Jeff a playful smile, “I’m having such a good night. I wouldn’t mind whatever you saw.”

Jeff walked up to the portcullis and slid the goggles into place. He looked carefully at Marin. “This one is clean,” Jeff reported in a forced professional tone as if he were a mindless drone to the machine that was Spire. “And you?” he asked toward Aellaria, who was still out of sight against the wall.

“I’m fine. I have a thing about being scanned with unknown enchantments.”Aellaria said.

“I am only checking for magical enchantments and cataloging weaponry. You can see through them if you want,” Jeff said. Aellaria started thinking he was proud of his toy and wanted to show off.

“You said that it sees through skin and stuff. No thanks.” Aellaria said.

Marin looked back at Aellaria. “Are you sure? We have class tomorrow…” Marin said, not wanting to wait behind with Aellaria but not wanting to leave Aellaria out in the cold.

“Go on, Marin. I will spend the night on guard with Jeff and Lunas.”

Marin smiled and walked over to Aellaria, embracing her in a hug. The hug was visible to Jeff so that he could confirm nothing was being smuggled into the campus under the cover of friendship. “Thank you for everything tonight, Aellaria. When you aren’t beating the shit out of me, you are the best.”

“You’re welcome, Marin. Have a good night.”

The portcullis raised, and the proud Marin sauntered back into Spire. Aellaria could have sworn she saw Marin give Jeff an encouraging look as she made her way to the great doors of Spire.

Aellaria spent the rest of the evening with Jeff and Lunas. It wasn’t for any modesty reasons that she stayed behind. She knew that if Jeff or Lunas saw the dimensional pocket on her waist, it would need to be searched. There was a lot of money on her person, and surrounding this gold was evidence of who she was, what she would be doing, and what she had already done.