Millennial Mage

Tala waited.

The attendant, against all odds, came through, and Tala ended up consuming close to three gallons of coffee. She had no idea how the attendant kept procuring the stuff, but it was there, so Tala drank it.

Terry slept.

Kit hung.

Flow rested in its sheath.

Tala was bored.

She didn’t know exactly what to expect, when her time for evaluation finally arrived. They were going to examine her star, that much was obvious, but she didn’t know why that took a special meeting or in-person evaluation.

Tala would have trained her void-channels, but she didn’t know what would be expected of her, and it would be horrible luck if she mentally exhausted herself right before she was expected to perform in some sort of rigorous test. It was wiser to wait.

Should I have applied my iron salve?

No, she didn’t need to defend herself from magical effects…she hoped. She snorted at that. “Yeah, Tala. The Archons are going to attack you, and you would have won, if only you’d had your iron salve.” She shook her head at the thought.

She had examined the waiting room and found it extravagant. I suppose it’s meant to impress Archons-to-be, or other visitors? If so, it did its job well.

It was sparsely furnished, and tastefully so. The ceiling was lower than the entry hall, giving a more comfortable feel to the space. The walls held a few, expansive masterpieces, each depicting landscapes in intricate detail. When she’d looked closer, she’d discovered that, even to her improved perception, it was hard to notice every detail, though the works weren’t crowded or cluttered in the least.

Each was done in a different medium: one with oils, one with watercolor, one was a simple charcoal piece, and so on. She could have spent long minutes simply basking in each one, under other circumstances, but she was feeling a bit too nervous to truly appreciate them at that moment.

She was contemplating the wisdom of taking out a book, to try to distract herself, when the attendant returned, hands empty of coffee. “Mistress Tala?”

Tala stood. “Ready?”

She nodded. “Yes. Right this way.”

Tala hadn’t seen Rane come out, but she supposed there were multiple exits. There might even be multiple evaluation rooms… Though, the attendant had stated that she would go in after Rane was finished, so the evaluations were likely to be held in the same location. Or at least with the same evaluators.

The hallways they walked through were simple, if well kept, starkly in contrast to the lavish entry hall and waiting room. Smooth, polished, unadorned stone made up walls, ceiling, and floor.

The attendant’s steps echoed through the corridor, but Tala’s careful footfalls made hardly a sound.

Finally, the attendant stopped outside a simple, heavy wooden door. “Here you are, Mistress. Best of luck to you.” She pointed to a small, padded basket, resting by the dark wooden entrance. “Your arcanous companion will have to wait, here.”

Terry chirped in irritation, but before Tala could comment, he was already seemingly asleep in the provided bed.

The attendant smiled, bowed, and walked away, the echoes of her steps fading surprisingly quickly. There are dampening inscriptions set behind the surface of the stone. The expense of keeping those properly inscribed must have been staggering.

Focus. Tala took a deep breath and knocked.

“Come.” The reply came almost instantly, and the voice was oddly familiar.

She pushed open the door and found a large chamber beyond. Three sides held tables, with just enough space beyond them for people to move and sit comfortably, with a walkway behind those left clear, near the walls.

The tables were long and thin, allowing for each side of the room to hold some twelve people. Archons. Tala realized. Thirty-six seated Archons.

Quite a few other people stood behind those seated.

While everyone she could see had spell-lines, she couldn’t see magic around any of them, save two.

Lyn and Rane stood side by side, off to her right. They gave subdued waves, and smiles, when she met their gazes.

Rane looked exhausted, seemingly requiring the wall he was leaning against to stay up right. Lyn looked a little better, but mostly like she’d also been wrung out, with a bit more time to recover than Rane.

A new hue, underlying their magic, pulsed in prominence to her mage-sight. Red. It was a deep red, barely into the front edge of the spectrum counted for that color. They were Archons in truth.

She grinned back, waving slightly.

An older man cleared his throat, and Tala turned, regarding the central table.

To her surprise, she recognized several other people in the room. Holly sat on one end of that centermost table, smiling her direction but not otherwise acknowledging her. Master Himmal sat on the other end, and gave her a slight nod, when their eyes locked. She couldn’t see him with her mage-sight, just like most of the others, but his invisibility seemed…different somehow. Is he using an item to blend in with his fellows? His Archon’s mark blazed on the necklace at his chest.

Now that she looked more closely, about half of the Archons present had such marks. Some wore them as a ring, others as a necklace like Master Himmal, still others had them tucked into pockets or pinned to their clothing as broaches. Master Grediv seemed to regard them as a crutch. So, are those the least among the Archons? She didn’t like putting Master Himmal in that camp, but he, himself, had told her that he was crippled, magically speaking.

She frowned, considering.

The throat was cleared again, drawing her attention to the main table, once more. The center of that table was dominated by a petite woman. She was likely just taller than Tala, herself, though it was hard to tell while the woman sat. She looked close to the same age as Lyn, but Tala had no doubt that she was much older. Not that I guessed Lyn’s age right… In fact, almost everyone looked on the near side of fifty, with Master Himmal being the most notable exception.

To the woman’s right, sat Grediv, and it had been his voice that had called Tala in and that she had thought she recognized. I knew it.

He gave her a nod, similar to Master Himmal’s.

She didn’t know the man to the woman’s other side.

The small woman straightened her back and lifted her chin, ever so slightly. “Mistress Tala, you stand before members of the local council of Archons, and those Archons who wished to participate in, or observe, these proceedings.” Her voice was clear and powerful.

Tala gave a slight bow. She was unsure what she should say, so she held her tongue. You grow in wisdom, Tala.

The Archon quirked a smile. “I am Mistress Elnea, Onyx Archon and current leader of the Archons, here in Bandfast.” The woman’s mage-robes were a deep black, with polished, black buttons as fasteners for their quick-releases. Likely onyx. It would be on brand.

Tala glanced briefly to Grediv and noticed that his clothes today were sapphire blue. Maybe it’s tradition to model your outfit after your medium? “Greetings, Onyx Archon Elnea. It is my honor to be here, today.”

Elnea’s smile widened a fraction. “It is. Never have we entertained the elevation of one so fresh from the Academy.”

Tala had nothing productive to say in response, so she simply waited.

Elnea’s smile grew marginally further. “To business.” Her voice shifted to one holding deep authority and following ceremony. “Who here stands for this Mage’s elevation?”

Master Himmal stood first, followed by Holly, then Grediv.

Elnea nodded. “Who stands against?”

The three Archons in favor sat and every other Archon at the three tables stood, save Elnea.

Tala’s eyes widened. What the rust? She opened her mouth to interject…something, but Grediv gave her a stern, warning look. Good thing he’s sitting right next to Elnea. She closed her mouth.

Elnea, for her part, saw Tala’s reaction and glanced to Grediv, before rolling her eyes.

The Archons returned to their seats.

Elnea’s voice resounded through the room. “As there is no consensus, we must see the evidence for your elevation.” She pointed to the end of the left-hand table. “Please present your star to Mistress Sonfia.”

Tala walked to the middle-aged-looking woman and held out the capped iron vial, containing her Archon star.

Sonfia took it, a puzzled look on her face. “What is this, child?”

“My star is within, Mistress.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “You are aware that stars do not lose power, if uncontained, yes?”

“Of course.”

“Well, it is out of your storage item, so the containment shouldn’t be necessary, and I don’t really want to touch that. It is iron, yes?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Then-”

Grediv’s voice cut through the room. “Just open it, Fia. You’ll understand soon enough, and the iron won’t bite you.”

Sonfia gave Grediv a searching look, then sighed. “Very well.”

Tala walked back to her place near the center of the room and waited.

Sonfia uncapped the vial and looked inside. “I don’t understand.”

Grediv simply grinned.

“Mistress Tala. What medium is this?” Sonfia lifted the iron vial up slightly.

Tala cleared her throat, suddenly a bit self-conscious. “Blood, Mistress Sonfia.”

The room exploded with mutters and sounds of surprise.

“Silence.” Elnea didn’t shout or pound the table, but her voice cut through the noise, nonetheless. “Please examine the star and pass it on. We can question the applicant once everyone has taken their turn to examine the star.”

Sonfia frowned, but nodded, looking into the vial for a long count of ten. Finally, she passed it to the man on her left.

Silence filled the room as each seated Archon got a chance to see Tala’s star. Most seemed torn between not wanting to touch the vial longer than required and wanting more time to stare at what she’d brought them. Maybe, I should have put it in a glass vial, instead?

Master Himmal shook his head while he examined the Archon star, smiling to himself.

Elnea took nearly a minute for her own examination, no expression obvious on her features. She did swirl the iron vial, though, which only a few did.

Grediv only briefly glanced in, grinned broadly to Tala, and handed it off.

Holly passed it on, taking less time to look inside as it passed than Grediv had.

The other Archons reacted with mixtures of skepticism, wonder, and bemusement.

Finally, it got to the far end of the right table, and Tala retrieved it.

Elnea called for those ‘For’ and ‘Against’ Tala’s elevation, again. The Archons were now split fairly evenly: twenty for, sixteen against.

“Those who oppose may now inquire to satisfy their objections.”

Several moved to stand, but an older man was the quickest to rise, the others deferring once he was up.

“Mistress Tala, how did you keep the blood stable, in order to imbue it with your power in the required form? Is it from some arcane or magical creature? Is it alchemically treated?”

Elnea cleared her throat. “One question, please.”

The man spread his hands, palm down, and nodded. “Apologies.” He returned his gaze to Mistress Tala. “What is the nature of the blood, such that it allowed this feat?”

Tala quirked a smile. That was a clever way to combine the questions. “It is my blood, untreated and unaltered. I have never attempted to use any other medium, so I cannot comment on how it differs.”

The man hesitated, then nodded, taking his seat.

So, each objector is allowed a single question? Maybe if they object again, they’ll be allowed another.

A woman stood next. “Mistress Tala, what influence did Master Grediv have over the creation of this star? I cannot think his recent theories on liquid-medium stars are unrelated.”

Tala glanced to Grediv, but he simply shrugged, seemingly braced for...something. Tala shrugged as well, turning back to the current asker. “I met Master Grediv in Alefast, just under two weeks ago. At that time, he saw an earlier version of this.” She held up her iron vial, to indicate the star inside. “He examined it, then advised that I make a stronger one before going for evaluation.”

Many hard eyes turned towards Grediv, then.

Grediv sighed, clearly irately resigned, something about his reaction conveying that he’d expected this.

Elnea looked to him as well. “Master Grediv, care to explain yourself? A Mage’s first Archon star is the means by which they are measured. Though that not being her first explains why it is at peak power.”

Grediv waved his hand dismissively. “The star she presented me at the time was insufficient for her elevation. I recommended that she create one of sufficient power. That,” he pointed towards Tala, “I was not expecting her to come back with that.”

Elnea nodded. “That is the nature of her bond to the knife then, yes?”

“Yes, Mistress.” Tala nodded, drawing the Archon’s attention to her.

Elnea frowned. “This is most unusual. You should have been evaluated based on the first star you created.”

Tala cleared her throat. “With all due respect, that is impossible. The first star I created was absorbed into the second and third, which I forged. That combination is what Master Grediv examined.”

There was a long minute of stunned silence.

Tala turned to look at Grediv as he chuckled, breaking the uncomfortable pause. “Now you understand. Stars in a liquid medium might be able to meld.”

Several other Archons began speaking at once, but Elnea held up a hand to forestall them. “Mistresses, Masters, please. There are times to discuss theory and debate findings. This is not among them.”

The group quieted, if reluctantly.

“Now, Mistress Tala. Do you affirm and attest that that is the first Archon star you have created, which fell within the qualifying range?” She pointed towards Tala’s hand, which still held the iron vial.

There were mutters at that, some of which Tala caught. “Rusting stupid question, Archon stars can’t be stabilized outside of the qualifying range.”

Tala kept from smiling, barely. “To my knowledge, based on what Archons have told me, yes.”

Another of the objectors stood for their question. “How can we possibly believe your claims?”

Tala opened her mouth to answer, then hesitated. Wait… She smiled, widely, as she remembered something. She stuck her hand into Kit and took out another vial, containing one of her earlier stars, the one that she’d shown Holly. “This is one of the earlier created stars.” She walked forward and handed it to the objector. “Please feel free to examine it.”

The objector opened this second iron vial, and stared into it, clearly stunned by what she found. “Not possible.”

Elnea cleared her throat. “Would you object to allowing the council to examine that one as well, Mistress Tala?”

Tala shrugged. “I see no reason against it.”

Thus, another space of time passed as each seated Archon took their turn with her weaker star.

Once that was complete, the mood had shifted drastically. Each of the Archons seemed deep in thought, some almost excited, others seeming disturbed.

Tala received the vial back, and Elnea called for another vote, and the results were thirty to six.

“Who taught you this spell-form?”

“No one. It seemed a logical progression after having my blood tested for power density.”

There were mutters at that. From the mutters, the Archons took meaning from her answer that she, herself, did not understand. Who cares if I came up with it on my own?

Another of the objectors stood in a rush. “Blood for power density tests is empowered within the body.”

Tala frowned, it hadn’t been a question, but she felt the weight of the collected gazes upon her. “Yes…?”

Another stood. “Are you trying to tell us that you made that star within your own body?”

How did they think I did it? Bleed myself then try to dump power in? Would that work? Probably not. “Umm…yes?”

There were waves of mutters and exclamations at that. Even Grediv, Holly, and Master Himmal seemed startled to learn that.

I didn’t know it was that big of a deal. If their reactions were any indication, it was not only a critical piece of information; it made many of them nervous.

No one else stood immediately, so Elnea called for another vote.

Only ten stood in favor of her elevation.

Tala frowned. What?

Only one stood against it.

What does that even mean?

That single Archon stood. “Are you human?”

“Yes.” She was frowning. “What kind of question is that? You should all be able to see my gate. Are there other options?”

Only silence came back to her, though she did see several small distortions of power, which made her think that some of the Archons had briefly activated their mage-sight to examine her.

Grediv stood. “May I speak in favor?”

Elnea waited a moment, then nodded when no one spoke against the request.

“Mistress Tala is an unusual Mage. No one denies that, but she has cleared every requirement for advancement, and has done so spectacularly. You might be uncomfortable at some of what she has done, and at the specter of what she will certainly do in the future, but is that a reason to deny her elevation? To keep her from joining us, when we are ever in need of Archons? If you have true objections, then object! Air them before this council and let wisdom guide this decision. If she is…” His eyes flicked to her, then away. “The worst of what could be, will be proven one way or another, soon enough.”

What does that mean? Tala was frowning.

Another Archon spoke. “This isn’t even your city, Master Grediv. Go home, and let us handle this.”

There were several murmurs in response, but Tala couldn’t determine whether they were supportive or not.

Grediv laughed. “I say: Foreign wisdom is better than home-grown folly.”

A ripple of laughter moved through the room, then, and that seemed to break the tension that had been growing.

Grediv took his seat, and Elnea called for another vote.

Thirty-five in favor, one against.

The single opposing Archon stood. It was the man who had told Grediv to leave. “Why should we allow your elevation to Archon?”

Tala thought for a long moment, a thousand rash responses whipping through her head, each being discarded. Finally, she shrugged. “I’ll get there, one way or another. I would prefer the guidance of my predecessors, and the wisdom they gained along the way, but I will forge my own path, if I must. More importantly: I qualify to be raised. The question isn’t: Why should you allow it? It’s: What reason could you have to oppose?”

The Archon gave her a searching, thoughtful look, then nodded. He turned to regard Elnea. “I withdraw my opposition and stand in favor.” He then, ironically, sat.

Elnea stood. “We, as representatives of the Archon Council of Bandfast, are united.” She looked directly at Tala. “Mistress Tala. Swallow your Archon star and join us.”

Tala blinked back at her. What?

Her mind immediately began frantically scouring through various possibilities. I had to fight for control, against my star… Have all these people succumbed? Did the stars win and take over? Am I surrounded by Mages who are no longer quite human?

She glanced to Lyn and Rane. And they got them, too?

Because of her. Lyn had only made her star because Tala had brought Holly’s attention down on Lyn.

Tala looked to the Archons around her, none showing any visible reaction, though she thought she could feel some undercurrents of magic, building.

Something is wrong.

She took a step back, drawing Flow and preparing to flee. “Yeah…No. Rust that.”