Ray
Ma opened the book, going through the index for a few minutes before opening the proper page.
“The High Fae are Fae nobility. Have an average talent greater than human nobility, blah blah blah.” Ma said, her eyes scanning through the page looking for what she wanted. “Ah, yes. The characteristics.”
“The High Fae resemble most humanoids in overall look, save for the addition of wings behind their back. But a curious thing I noted during my stay in Fae society is that High Fae children are born resembling other species more than their own.” Ma continued.
“The property is hereditary and passed down from the mother. The children of a mother that resembled an Elf on birth, for example, would also resemble Elves.” Ma read. Ray’s face darkened, that did not bode well. A mother that resembles Humans may not be so easily caught.
“But the distinction ends there. A Fae child is, in the end, Fae. The children will lack certain qualities common among children of the Species, marking them to be different. An elf for example would not have eyes that glowed in the dark.”
“The Fae have eyes that glow in the dark?” Ray exclaimed in surprise, “I don’t!”
“Jorenson is talking about the children that resemble Elves, Ray, wait for the Human part. I know you’re worried, but being impatient will not change the result.” Ma said, her tone firm.
“But despite this, High Fae children would make excellent spies with their ability to imitate other Species.” Ray’s heart leapt into his throat as he waited for the other shoe to drop, what qualities differentiated a Fae child from a human? Ray could only hope that he would have none of them.
“The children that resemble Humans, for example, could easily be mistaken for troubled children. Not a good situation to be in the Human Empire, but a possibility nonetheless.” Ma read, her tone turning grave. Ray was what could be called a troubled child.
“A Fae child would lack body hair, something a Human child would have. The lack would no doubt confound doctors to no end, but it would simply be marked as a disability, in the end a Fae child simply does not go through.” Ma sighed, looking at Ray, her message clear.
The likelihood of Ray being one of the Fae had just increased by a large amount.
“The Fae childhood, unlike the Human one, does not end with age. No, a Fae could be a hundred years old but still be a child by his society’s standard. But such a situation is unlikely to occur.”
“A Fae transits into adulthood when they go to a Fae stone and pass a trial there. On passing, they receive the characteristics that adult Fae are known for: The wings.” Ma finished.
“Well, Ray, it looks like you might be a High Fae after all.” Ma said, her tone somber. Ray’s mind scrambled, trying to find some reason why he wouldn’t be a High Fae.
“The blood! High Fae blood is poisonous! The doctor would have found out if it was. And there is still the question of talent…” Ray said, making his argument. Ma just calmly opened the book again and said.
“The trial also gives to the High Fae other, lesser known traits: The poisonous blood and access to old magic. The access in particular is important, for a High Fae child often has access to only a tiny portion of their mana pool prior to the trial, leaving them virtually defenseless against other Species. As a result, high Fae parents are known to be extremely overprotective of their children.” Ma replied, her tone tired.
“Ray, regardless of whether this is true or not, it might be in our best interests to continue forward acting as if you are High Fae. The facts check out. The reason your mana pool is so small and your element is so useless despite having such a high affinity is simply because you’re High Fae.”
“The Xnarthan will not care whether you doubt yourself, they'll kill you if they think there is even a chance you’re High Fae. The best policy is to never approach them at all, the average person in the Empire would be completely unaware of how High Fae are, the Xnarthan are another matter.” Ma said.
“I suppose.” Ray said, he’d known that it was unlikely the System was wrong, but still there was hope. As for avoiding the Xnarthan, it should be easy, he’d never met one before, how likely was it that he’d meet one now?
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“Now how about we you show me the glitter, you said it could turn to fire.” Ma said, going to the luggage to bring out a rough piece of cloth.
Ray opened his palm and conjured yellow glitter, throwing it towards the cloth. The glitter approached the cloth and hovered about it for a few seconds, doing nothing but making Ray nervous. And then it happened. The glitter burst into flames and the cloth burned. Ray let out a big smile as he looked at the cloth.
Ma cracked a smile too, though hers was a tad more inquisitive. “Well, it looks like you have some combat ability after all.”
“Yes,” Ray replied as he used the last of his mana to send a little glitter towards the cloth. As he had predicted, Ray could control the glitter, to a point, but he couldn’t stop it from turning into fire. The glitter would burst into flames in seconds, depriving Ray of any control over the fire. The only way Ray could fight was close range.
Ray sighed, there had to be a catch. But he could deal with that later, he had one important question to ask right now.
“Ma, why are we really moving here?” Ray asked. Ma had given an explanation to Aunty Ariana, but he had a feeling that wasn’t the whole story.
Ma sighed as she gave her reply, “The reason is quite simple, the move gives us a chance to grow. A couple of days ago, I received the first mana I had in a decade. And I did not kill anything to get it. The System gave it to me for doing things in accordance to my class.”
“At the moment, only about ten percent of the Human population is a Mage, Ray. And only that population can rise in station. But that’s not the case anymore. The System will enable anyone, from the cleaner down the street to the Emperor himself, to get more mana and raise their Tier.” Ray’s eyes widened at the declaration, this would destroy the very base of the society.
“And this means that people around here will suddenly have a lot more money than they had before, money that they may have chosen to spend on buying their little ones some nice treats from our new bakery.” Ma finished.
“And I wasn’t lying about not being able to stay there anymore. Yes, I know you were listening in on my conversation with Ariana. The Merchant’s district was becoming less and less popular as time went by, and we were getting less income.”
“Not to mention there was no reason to anymore, with you leaving school, living in the Merchant's district served no purpose but taxing our coffers.”
Now we can actually own our own place instead of shifting around whenever our lease ended. But enough of that. I have some good news for you. Ariana has gone out of her way and got you a student position at the Alchemic College.” Ma said.
“The one in the sky?” Ray exclaimed. Did Aunty Ariana really go ahead and get him a position in the same college he had tried to get into?
“Yes, that same one. I have no idea how she managed it, but this should allow you to pursue Alchemy even if you didn’t get into the Mage program.” Ma said, smiling.
“But now…” Ray hesitantly replied.
“Now nothing. The fact that you are High Fae is not known, and it should remain that way. The Xnarthan are not an enemy we want to face.” Ma said, her tone firm. Ray nodded, he did not want to face the Xnarthan either.
“Now, how about you help me move these things upstairs, so we can set up our rooms?” Ma said, getting up and moving towards the luggage. Ray followed her out.
“Ma, would it not be better if I ran away?” Ray said, exposing the thoughts going through his head as he lifted a bag of clothes. “As long as I remain in the Empire we will be in constant danger, but if I leave…”
Ma sighed, saying, “Ray, you are underestimating how hard it is to cross half the world and travel to the Fae continent. The Satyrs are the only Species that can accomplish it, but they will not help you. The Empire, for all its faults, has succeeded in keeping us safe.”
“But once you leave its borders, that protection does not apply. The beasts are out there, and they will hunt us. No, we can’t take that journey until we’re Tier 15 at least. But I promise you, we will go if you want to. And even search for your birth parents if you wish.” ma said, her reluctance apparent from her tone.
“I…sure Ma. And which is my room, I’ll move my things in.” Ray asked.
“Just choose one, there are a bunch of them on the second floor. The third is off-limits, though. I don’t want you on a different floor than me again.” Ma said.
Ray felt heat rise up his cheeks again as he answered. “Yes, Ma.” and hurried up the stairs, looking at the house as he did so.
The house was simply built, though its age was apparent. The wooden stairs creaked as he climbed them, nervous that they would fall under his weight. But the stairs held, and he passed through to the second floor.
The second floor was, as Ma had said, full of rooms. In fact, that was the only thing there. Ray saw a total of six rooms connected to the corridor the stairs lead to. A window gave a view of the road outside, and three doors flanked the corridor on each side. Ray chose the one on his immediate right as his room.
The room wasn’t the most beautiful thing in the world, it was filled with dust, the floor was creaking, cobwebs adorned its ceiling and the cupboard door was ajar. Sighing, Ray set down his pile of clothes on the dust filled bed.
The entire thing would need to be cleaned, but Ma could do it later using Magic. Just about anyone could use the three main spells of Magic, levitation, shield, and observation, Ray just didn’t have the mana to sustain them for long. Ma could easily levitate the dust out of the room as a Tier 3, but Ray would need several days to do it. The Academy did not require high mana pools for no reason after all.