190 - Aftermath (Patreon)

Lord Antigones stalked the length of the chancel, his fur boots clicking elegantly on the polished marble floor. Dissatisfaction rose within him even though he couldn't pinpoint exactly why. It was probably because this was not at all how he expected this evaluation to go.

Not that he'd expected to be greeted with fanfare and the usual devotion that his subjects award him. But he had expected some acknowledgment of his divine authority and his position on the council. It annoyed him that the head priest had so often ignored him and had even performed so much of the evaluation without his knowledge.

It especially annoyed him that he’d not seen any of what he’d set out to investigate.

He’d never attended an evaluation before, so he was curious about what it would entail. He was also curious about this girl who both Lord Wesley and Elric were propping up as a bizarre prodigy, specifically since it was the very same girl that his son had once told him about. 

“She's the one who broke my [Light Web],” Fiodor told him during the family day visit, gesturing towards where Arielle stood with the Earthbinders. “Her name is Arielle Blacksoil. She’s Elric Earthbinder’s cousin."

"Hmm." While the Antigones [Light Web] was powerful, a spell could only be as powerful as its caster, and his son had only just become an adept. Still, breaking it was an impressive achievement for a first year. "Perhaps her cousin taught her a spell to weaken your hold."

"No. She used [Air Slice]."

That gave the Lord pause. "[Air Slice]? The Tier 3 spell?"

"Yes. A modified version, I think.” Fiodor cleared his throat and put his hands forward, lacing his fingers together, his face red. “I don’t know how she made it, and I don’t know if it is a matter of concern that I should raise with the dean."

Lord Antigones shook his head. It wasn't like the dean could force her to reveal her spell, and breaking the [Light Web] was not illegal. There could also still be an element of this that was his son's fault for not maintaining a firmer hold on his bloodline spell.

Nevertheless, Lord Antigones had thought about Arielle Blacksoil occasionally after that, curiosity poking at him.

That was partly why he was here.

Because if she had been a prodigy all along, he wanted to know how that played into the things he'd heard going on at the academy. He supposed that made it better that she had beaten his son so easily, but he still didn’t agree with this entire business of making her a master. He didn't like young ones taking on that responsibility at baseline, and it did not sit right that so many had already worked hard and done so much for the position, while she got to simply ascend without the same amount of effort.

He knew it would raise a lot of discontent in ascendant society, and even though the girl might not know it now, she would need to do quite a lot to prove herself, even after this evaluation. Thanks to her purported abilities, they would probably put her on the front line of this battle against demons. 

Which was why he didn't understand why Elric would put her through this. Elric, of all people, who always seemed like the type to care about the rights of those less powerful than him.

Why would he want his ward to become a Master this way?

Something told him there was more to this, perhaps even a conspiracy that he couldn't see.

Was this a way to give the Earthbinders one more representative on the assembly? Would she be replacing the tragically deceased Anton, or would they argue that Anton had to be replaced by someone from the main branch, while Arielle could only take a secondary seat?

But that didn't make sense. Even as a Master, she was still some ways away from earning a seat on the assembly, much less the council.

So what was this for?

A door opened and closed, distracting him from his thoughts. A blank-eyed priest moved past them, walking to the altar to kneel.

What irritated him more about this whole thing were the priests. He’d never seen any this…devoted before, almost like they’d given their entire being over to be controlled by this higher power. They didn't seem to notice anything else around them, didn't greet, didn't bow.

It was vaguely insulting.

“Are we really going along with this?” he asked Master Cullen when he reached her.

She glanced over at him. “With what?”

“This." He gestured around him. "It's the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Letting an apprentice become a master.”

The Master smirked.

“Did you not hear what was said?” she murmured. “The girl has the most exceptional cores he’d ever seen.” Her eyes glowed with interest. “I, for one, would like to see for myself exactly what that entails."

He shook his head. He truly didn’t know what that meant. It seemed like such a grossly exaggerated statement, but the head priest did not look like the type to exaggerate.

However, it did not make sense. The system center famously saw sorcerers, some of whom had come close to killing the best of their archmages. The priest himself might have also met the High Ascendant, and perhaps he didn't scan his cores, so that didn't count, but still.

How would a young girl’s cores possibly be better than any of that?

Another set of doors opened, and this time, it was the right doors. Arielle and Elric walked through, flanked by the priest, and all of them had a strangely somber expression on their faces. Arielle looked annoyed, Elric looked strangely defiant, and the Priest looked, well, he looked the same as he had before he left. 

“The test is over,” he announced when they finally reached them.

“Truly?” Master Cullen said. “I thought it would be a more expansive examination.

“It was as expansive as it needed to be,” he said. “I have analyzed the subject’s cores in detail and concluded that they are indeed exceptional, at the tier of Master. There has been no tampering with her cores, either by herself or an outside force."

"So what gives her such exceptional sensitivity?" Lord Angenas asked.

"I believe it is a rare genetic gift," he said. "In any case, her system restrictions have been lifted, and she has been granted leave to use magic once more. Her new status is pending an confirmation and induction by the assembly, which I'm sure you will set up. After that, her new system screen will be visible."

Lord Antigones glanced at the girl again, who once again avoided his gaze. She didn't like to look into people's eyes, it seemed. He wondered if that meant she was hiding something.

He met Elric's gaze, who pressed his lips together.

He's definitely hiding something. Lord Antigones didn't need exceptional insight to know that much.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “I think this whole thing is a terrible idea.”

“Well, we had an agreement," Master Cullen said.

“I never agreed.” It simply made little sense to him that a young girl who had grown up on the outskirts of society had developed so rapidly in such a short time and was now on the same level as him, who had worked for decades for his post. Surely others would see it the same way. Even Selena Gregor had been a fourth year before she earned her title and she had done a lot to get there. 

This girl was still a first year crying out loud. A first year who would soon be able to take on quests and give commands to her lessers in the field. How was everyone  complying with that?

And if she could grow that fast, well...

Didn't that mean she might be able to challenge someone for the Archmage position soon?

How could they ask anyone to accept that?

He clenched his teeth. The rest of the mages here were not saying anything against it, and were staring at the girl with a mix of curiosity and fascination.

Even Gio Li.

He hadn't spoken much, simply glancing around from time to time. Lord Antigones wondered if Gio was learning something from this excursion. It didn't make sense otherwise that he was here.

He did not like to spend time with the council, and truthfully, they mostly preferred it that way. He had a way of making things uncomfortable and stirring trouble. Lord Antigones had wondered if he would do the same today, but so far he'd only been quiet and watchful.

"Alright," Master Cullen said. "I guess that's it." She sounded just as disappointed as Lord Antigones felt, though likely for different reasons. She might have wanted a bigger show of power to see what the girl was capable of. 

"Yes. We will have the final vote and set a time for the coronation." The words came out of his mouth begrudgingly. He already knew that he likely couldn’t change the outcome. Between Lord Wesley, and Elric, they had enough people to get their way. 

But he had a feeling this would not end well for anyone. 

Something told him this Arielle Blacksoil was about to turn everything upside down.

***

“I’m so sorry, Arielle.”

It was the first thing that Elric said since they left the system center.

They'd left in silence, even though he'd been much more vocal during the swearing of the oath.

Father Jade had sworn not to reveal Arielle's secret, as long as the terms were followed. Elric had added clauses stating that the man would not harm her in any way, and placing several limitations on the ways that he could 'study'.

Elric had also ensured that the spell was unidirectional, meaning that the oath only impacted the priest’s actions and not hers. She was free to do as she pleased, but if she missed more than three sessions without proper communication and rescheduling, that would be seen as abandoning their deal, which would then free Father Jade from his oath to secrecy.

Once they were in agreement, a contract was signed on sacred scroll and an oath spell was formed. 

Then it disappeared along with the scroll. 

The only sign of it was a dot on the side of her wrist.

Interesting.

Once more, he'd managed to hide the spell form. The elves had done the same thing too, except theirs hadn’t involved any sacred scroll and had been triggered into appearing when Arielle had attempted to break it. Ari remembered what Vittoria had taught her about oaths and them occasionally being anchored to other items or existing elsewhere that one could not see through compound spells. The spell here was still linked to Father Jade, but perhaps also to Arielle in a way, hence the dot. 

All in all, the brief flash of the spell form she'd seen had not been nearly as complex as the one formed by the elves. 

“It’s okay,” Arielle said to Elric. “It’s not your fault. “

“Yes, it is,” he said. “I should never have brought you into this in the first place. Perhaps if I had left you alone in Fenway, and simply pretended like you didn't have powers, none of this would have happened.”

"No." Leaving her alone meant that she would never have met Lyra and Maus and Vittoria and Inara and any of the people who had become her friends. She would be alone and friendless in Fenway Basin, and her routine would be all she had to look forward to. 

No matter what she was going through now, it was certainly preferable to that. 

“We can’t accept this,” Elric said as the carriage climbed higher into the sky. “I can’t just let him use you as a lab rat for heavens knows how long. Not to mention, we don’t actually know what he will be doing to your cores in that time."

"The oath stated that he wouldn’t hurt me," Arielle mentioned. Oath spells, at least human ones, could be fairly specific and Elric had ensured that the priest had added in his declaration, all the ways she could get hurt. The two men had gone back and forth on the language a lot, but the gist of it was that the priest could never intentionally set out to cause her pain, or damage her cores in any way. 

“He could find a way around it,” Elric said. “Nevertheless, I don’t trust him or his damn oath. I'm going to figure out a way to get you out of it.”

Arielle nodded slowly, staring at the tiny ink drop on her skin. It resembled a beauty mark. No one would know what it actually was. No one would know the deal they made. 

Ari thought back to how Father Jade had hidden the spells that he’d used against Elric. How was he doing that? Compound spells? Where was the link and could she break it if need be?

“Arielle."

“Yes." She looked up to Elric's gaze.

“Are you alright?”

She nodded. The effects of the test had faded somewhat, and she was feeling better. She was, of course, not looking forward to the next round, but she couldn’t deny there was a part of her that was also curious as to how this entire thing worked. She'd felt the sensation of her cores being crushed, and yet she’d still been able to grab hold of the orbs. How?

Did he let her, or did she overcome his hold?

Could she get used to the sensation? Could she push past it?

After they arrived at Elric’s mansion, they immediately teleported back to outside Vittoria’s sanctuary. 

As they walked closer, Arielle sensed a change in the air. It felt more alive for some reason, more vibrant. Certain broken spells had been fixed.

Could it be…?

Arielle broke into a run, and dashed ahead of Elric despite his calling out to her.

When she got to the door, she heard voices, and her elation jumped to it’s max. She threw it open, and saw her, sitting there, with wounds all over her body and an annoyed expression on her face.

"Vittoria!"

Vittoria, who had been talking to Catriona, turned around to regard Arielle. Her eyes widened and she said nothing. 

That was when Arielle realized...she'd come in without her disguise.

The good news was that Inara didn't seem to be around. Also, there was a chance that Catriona might not put two and two together and would still believe that Arielle and Tamsy Lous were different people.

But in that frozen moment, Sir Spendulon immediately waddled out of the kitchen, making his signature chuffing sound, and shoved his entire head into Arielle's center.

Arielle saw the second understanding dawned on Catriona.

"Aha," she said in a distinctly amused tone. "No wonder you had such a ridiculous name."

Ari frowned at the barb and Vittoria sighed deeply, bringing up one of her hands to rub her face. Arielle saw that the sores on her forearm were very deep; the black seemed to be necrotizing. They also smelled pretty bad.

"What happened?" she asked, temporarily forgetting her gaffe.

“It's a long story. But before that, would you..." Vittoria gestured to Ari’s face with her hand, and Arielle obliged, taking the pill that transformed her back into Tamsy Lous.  

“A child…” Catriona said, pushing a vial of yellow liquid into Vittoria’s other hand. “You’re harboring two children with you?”

Vittoria shrugged. ‘I suppose I am.”“Why?”“It’s another long story.”

“I see." The side of Catriona’s lip quivered as she picked up Vittoria's hand and began using her healing magic on one of the wounds while Vittoria chugged down the vial. "How on Earth did you, of all people, end up harboring two children?”

“Believe me, it wasn't by choice. It started as one favor, and then it kind of ballooned out of control." One of the wounds on the back of her palm faded, and Vittoria analyzed it, turning her hand over. “Oh good. It’s not rotting off anymore.”

‘What happened to you?” Arielle asked, horrified at what she was seeing and smelling.

“A demon managed to inject me with a flesh-eating poison. I thought I stopped its advance, but it seems to be overriding my antidote."

"You need a real healer," Catriona said. "To ensure you're not suffering any other side effects."

"I have you."

Catriona rolled her eyes, and Vittoria grinned.

Despite Vittoria's terrible-looking wounds, Arielle was relieved. It felt like she could finally breathe fully once more now that she was home. 

“I thought you were…” Arielle couldn’t even voice her worst fears. Vittoria did it for her.

“What, dead?” She smirked and raised an eyebrow. “It will take a whole lot more than that to kill me."

"So where were you all this time?"

“I killed a bunch of demons, including the one who tagged you. He’s not coming back so you’re free to move around again. They managed to get a few poisons in me, but I’ll be fine. I also decided to stick around the demon realm and listen to more of their plans." She shook her head. "The entire realm is pretty much in chaos right now. A lot of their leadership is dead."

"Meaning it's the best time to strike."

"Probably," she cracked her knuckles. “I heard that the party got attacked and you got hurt.”

She nodded. “I did. But I'm okay now."

"Actually," Elric spoke up. "There is something we need to discuss. A lot of things." He gave Vittoria a questioning look, likely wondering if he could be open in front of Catriona, especially given that she now knew the truth about Arielle’s true identity. 

Vittoria glanced at Cat, and hesitated, but the woman was already rising, straightening her sleeves. 

“Do not worry,” she said. “I have no desire to know your secrets or get wrapped up in whatever antics you’ve involved yourself into Vittoria. I’ll go help Inara with dinner, since it seems no one else in this home does.”

Elric had the decency to blush, and Arielle blinked, but Vittoria drawled. "I’m injured. Besides, she doesn't want anything I'll make. Trust me."

"Sure." Catriona gave her a sardonic smile, as she drifted out of the room. Vittoria watched after her for a long time, even once she was gone. 

She finally ripped her gaze away. 

"Okay," Vittoria said after she soundproofed the space. "What is it?'

“Arielle is going to be inducted as a Master.”

Vittoria blinked. 

She stuck her pinky in her earhole, cleaning it out. "I’m sorry. I think I misheard you. I thought you just said that I was inducted into being a master.”

"I did," he said. "And beyond that, we have a huge problem.” He took a deep breath before he launched into it. “Arielle had to extend herself to save people at the ball, and as a result, her abilities triggered a system reevaluation. I had to tell Wesley about some of Arielle’s peculiarities and her skill, in order to convince him to help convince the council to give her a Master designation rather than just suppressing her. They said they would as long she passed her system reevaluation to determine whether or not she engaged in clandestine behavior to gain or boost her abilities. While there the head priest realized Arielle’s cores were special and that she could possibly produce essences and so now he wants to use her as a test subject in return for keeping the secret of Arielle’s true ability, and the fact that she has developed another core.” He finally took a breath at the end and seemed to be waiting for Vittoria’s response. 

It was a long time coming, as she stared at them, a stunned expression on her face.

“Shit,” she said. 

AN: Not a cliff, finally. Thanks for reading! I’m still reading through the comments from the earlier author’s note, so please give me time.