Millennial Mage

Tali grinned as Revered Sanguis returned to his position, floating in the air above the pit.

I won. I WON! She did her best to contain her glee. It would be unbefitting of her new station to make a scene.

-So?-

+…you were right. She did better than I could have.+

-We’ll get you there, but it’s not worth dying over pride. She’s had six months of dedicated training towards lethal combat, on top of the training embedded within her fake memories. We just haven’t, not yet.-

+But we will.+

-We will.-

The Pillar’s voice filled the air, “And with a final surrender, candidate Tali has demonstrated that Be-thric is the ideal choice for Pillar of the House of Blood.”

The Pillar waved one hand, and the hold flexed.

A moment later, the arena was gone, the pit that had been their arena was lifted to be level with the ground surrounding it.

Thorn still knelt, head bowed, and all the bodies remained where they had fallen, simply lifted up with the rest of the ground.

Huh… I wonder if that means there isn’t actually anything below the ground here?

+A little ways below us, under a thick layer of earth, is the edge of reality, in here. It’s not a hard concept.+

-Be kind to the girl, she hasn’t had much theoretical magical education.-

+She can’t hear me.+

-It is very possible to be mean to someone who can’t hear you.-

+…fair.+

Tali looked around and saw that the potential Pillars hadn’t been idle during the conflict.

Two servants knelt near Be-thric, each holding… paintbrushes?

What?

One was to his right, and the other was directly behind him.

Fake Assassins? Why did they stop? She continued her investigation of the surroundings.

+Wait…they were playing some sort of game, while their candidates died in the pit?+

-Yes, Tala, they are morally horrid. That’s been established. The potential Pillars are too valuable to let them all be killed.-

All but three of the other potential Pillars were eliminated: Jodup, Gallof, and Volena.

If Tali had to guess: Bobbau seemed to have been poisoned by a servant, his lips, tongue and teeth were stained black, and the little bear-man was glaring at one of the nearby servants; and Tornas’s throat had been slit, which in this case meant that there was a line of red paint across it and the front of his tunic was covered in drippings. The bull-man seemed more irritated than anything, if Tali was being honest. As for the final prospective Pillar, Derag, he had been killed by Tali herself.

Well, that makes Gallof’s reaction seem more reasonable. He wasn’t expecting any truly lethal threat.

Tali found herself frowning. What even was the point of the candidates fighting? Why let any candidates die? Why let the servants die? She doubted that she was the only one to have been attacked, either at the feast or after.

It seemed so pointless.

+Is she… is she coming around all on her own?+

-Hush, I want to focus on her introspection, not your guesses on it.-

Tali shook her head. No, the point is obvious. They need the most capable Pillars. The lives of a few candidates and servants are nothing, if it truly helps ensure the best Pillars rise to support the House.

The melee had been useful. After all, it had decided from among the three remaining prospective Pillars.

+So, so close.+

-It’s not easy to see the fault in how you were raised. To her, this is normal; this makes sense.-

Revered Sanguis was shaking his head, even while he smiled. “We had quite the… devious set of competitors this time around, didn’t we?” His grin broadened. “But that was expected, given a fight without restrictions. I do commend the four of you for remembering that this contest was between the potential Pillars. The candidates were simply your proxies in one arena.”

The three eliminated but surviving prospective Pillars bowed towards the Pillar, muttering their acknowledgements of his praise.

Her Master simply grinned proudly.

“Surviving candidates. Please bring all protian weapons to me.” Revered Sanguis had yet to move, but he was now standing on the ground, as if that’s what he’d been doing all along.

That is where he was floating before the pit was leveled out. It was likely intentional, though Tali didn’t know why.

Together, Tali and Thorn gathered the weapons and set them before the Pillar.

Tali felt conflicted about giving up the one that she’d claimed from Ogi, but she did as she was instructed.

Thorn seemed resigned to the act as he left his gauntlet with the others. Once he had complied, he returned to where he had been, kneeling down in the clover.

All the protian weapons had reverted to the form of a gauntlet, which made for easier transportation.

“To Me.” In an instant, the air seemed to warp, and armor clad Revered Sanguis from head to toe.

+That was a word triggered working.+

-He could have just called on the hold to move it to him, but instead, he bent reality to arm himself in an instant. I think he could do that from anywhere in the world, Tala.-

+So, Pillars are never undefended?+

-They are never far from being defended.-

+Yeah. That is an important distinction.+

Revered Sanguis stood in all his glory.

Tali could detect fifteen founts in his armor, and another in the massive maul that now rested on the ground beside him.

“Prospective Pillar Be-thric, candidate for Eskau Tali, step over there.” Revered Sanguis gestured to another circle, which lit up in the clover.

Her Master walked across the blood-speckled ground, uncaring of the bodies of the other candidates that he passed.

Tali moved to meet him and stand within the indicated circle, both seeming slightly hesitant. This was not normally a part of the ceremony, at least not as Tali had had it conveyed.

Thorn was still kneeling where he had been, and there he would stay until instructed to move.

The ancient Pillar swept his gaze around those assembled.

“Some of you may be dissatisfied with these results.” He continued moving his gaze over those surrounding him. “The rules for this test were among the most favorable I could have selected to test Pillar Be-thric’s idea. This is true. However, it did not favor her over the other candidates.” He spread his arms wide, his armor moving soundlessly with him. “Any who would dispute this, let them do so, now. I will face any who question my judgement and no retribution will be taken upon their associates after the clash, or upon them should they survive.”

Jodup stepped forward, bowing at her waist. Her tall rabbit ears brushed the ground as she bent low. “While I do disagree with your choice, I would be a fool to test myself against you so armed. I will not make an issue of it.”

“Really? My death would open another position for a Pillar, though you could obviously not fill it. If memory serves, your sister is almost ready to make a play at becoming a Pillar, is she not?”

“She is. I was chosen as more likely to succeed. She will participate at the next trial, whenever that may be.” The beast-folk female seemed hesitant, though her anger was still obvious, even to Tali’s eyes. “Even so, I am no fool. I will not contest a Pillar in all his glory.”

Revered Sanguis shook his head. “Begone.” Reality itself warped once more, and his arms and armaments vanished. “What about now?”

The rabbit woman’s eyes flared with undisguised rage as the veneer of civility fell away. “As you wish, Revered Pillar, I will contest this trial.”

Power was pulled into the beast-folk female like the incoming tide.

Tali felt her own power respond, though it could obviously not be taken from her. She saw several of the observers lose the power that had been within them, their control and grip on the magic insufficient to keep it contained against the rabbit-woman’s pull.

Then, with a flicker, a hundred rabbit-folk filled the open space, all exact clones of Jodup. They had the same meticulously-cared-for, brown fur; the same almost down-soft-looking, white fur on their faces, hands, and peaking out around their chests; the same cold fury in their hazel eyes.

Tali’s eyes widened as she recognized a final feature that they shared.

They were all Honored in their power density. How?

+What the rust? Did she just create power? She doesn’t have a fount on her, right?+

-While she could be hiding one or more vestiges, I think she drew in this power from the surroundings and from the spectators. She can’t hold it all herself, so she shunts it off into other versions of herself. Incredible.-

They spoke as one, “Be Bound.”

The command resonated with power as magic suffused the air once more, now entirely bent towards restraining Revered Sanguis.

+Why not go for a kill?+

-I don’t know what magic she’s using, but it’s something in the conceptual range. I’d guess that she doesn’t trust that a lethal strike would work. She’s got to have another method for…oh, there it is.-

All the Jodup’s drew long knives. Those closest to Revered Sanguis rushed straight forward, while many of those behind bounded into the air, to come down at him from above.

Tali almost gasped, fighting the urge to move to the Pillar’s aid.

Revered Sanguis hadn’t moved.

Is he actually bound? That much power… how could anyone resist it? She was suddenly very grateful that the prospective Pillars had not been allowed to participate in the conflict down in the arena. I’d have been…useless.

No, she wouldn’t have been useless, but she’d have been much less effective.

Revered Sanguis shook his head, the magics around that part of him cracking as they failed to hold him in place. “Break.”

Every knife held by a version of Jodup shattered, the shards seeming to have lethal intent.

The bodies fell in a wave. Those already airborne still came crashing down towards Revered Sanguis.

The Pillar’s eyes widened fractionally before he spoke again. “Drop.”

The bodies lost all inward momentum and fell straight to the ground.

“Fascinating.” He took a step forward, the power within him seeming almost to flex. With a whine that Tali felt in her very soul, the rabbit-folk’s magic that was attempting to hold him in place shattered. He looked over to where the last remaining rabbit-woman stood, eyes wide. “These aren’t illusions? They aren’t constructs of magic? They are physical bodies?”

Jodup swallowed, nodding slowly in response to each question. Her own knife was still in its sheath.

“And you even replicated their clothing and a magical weapon, if a weak one. How long would these copies have lived?” The Pillar seemed utterly unconcerned with the hundreds of bodies surrounding him.

“With this working, they would have lived for as long as I did, Revered Pillar.” She lowered her gaze, finally falling to one knee. “I retract my complaint.”

“Wise of you, Honored Jodup. You still have a bright future and much worth to the House. I am glad that I do not need to kill you.”

Honored Jodup looked up gratefully. “Thank you, Revered Pillar. I am glad for that as well.”

The Pillar had already returned his attention to the bodies. “So, these really won’t just fade away?”

“No. They exist.”

“Truly fascinating. Begone.” Reality warped once again, and the bodies vanished, leaving only the blood that they had lost behind.

The Pillar smiled once more. “Be-thric, come forward. Step into this circle.” A new glowing ring appeared, surrounding the protian weapons. Those weapons had remained undisturbed during the short clash.

Her Master did so, stepping in without hesitation.

“Bind.”

Tali felt power flex throughout the entirety of the hold.

+What the rust?+

-He’s doing an incredibly complex working.-

+I can see that. So, what was with the short statement?+

-Look here. See? There was no magic tied to the words. It was for show, either for those with little magical perception, or as an attempt at making it look as if he can do incredibly complicated magics with a single word.-

+Huh. So… theatrics?+

-There do seem to be a lot of that, yes.-

Incredibly intricate threads of power dance and wove around her Master and the powerful weapons.

The protian weapons distorted before snapping to Be-thric’s body. Two became pauldrons, tightly fitted over his shoulders while allowing complete freedom of movement.

One began a breastplate, one a back-plate, and the remaining two became greaves, tying into his torso armor as they wrapped around his thighs.

“Your armor is incomplete, Pillar Be-thric. However, it is sufficient for what is required.” He snapped his fingers, and Tali watched as the magic within the protian weapons altered, the powerful magics that had reshaped the weapons into armor seeming to come to a head before completing in this final act.

No longer were the former gauntlets morphic weapons, capable of taking any shape. Instead, they became focused on rebuilding their wearer. They also seemed to toughen, even while having their own ability to reshape altered into the simple ability to return to form, if damaged.

Tali felt herself grinning with mad glee. Her Master would be nearly unkillable, now.

+...Rust+

-Indeed.-

Her Master’s armor was obviously incomplete, especially when compared to that of Revered Sanguis.

“As tradition dictates, your first task, and that of your Eskau candidate, is to capture the protian weapons of other great Houses. We will then forge them into the remaining pieces of your armor.”

Tali then looked more closely at Revered Sanguis’s own armor. The forearm guards each seemed imbued with magics of light and fire. The House of the Rising Sun.

His helmet seemed to warp the air around it, and indeed around the Pillar’s entire body, for protection as well as purification. Tali suspected that Revered Sanguis would have no issues fighting at the bottom of the ocean or in a void. He could breathe anywhere. There was more to the helmet that Tali couldn’t interpret at a glance, but it seemed like the wearer should also be able to distort the air around themselves, amplifying their own voice, enabling far-sight, suppressing background noise and so, so much more.

-That is the helm of a general. Most features seem geared towards command and perceiving the terrain. Only a few are geared directly towards personal protection.-

Each piece, beyond those that had clearly once been protian weapons of the House of Blood, carried with it some capacity of incredibly useful magics.

“We will select your targets together, that we may be wise in whom we strike and what equipment you acquire.” His voice shifted, taking on the tone of one quoting from a sacred text, “Weep, oh foes of the House of Blood, for a new Pillar has arisen. The House is made strong, may it never fall.”

A response came back from all the members of the House who had been watching. “May the House never fall!”

Tali knew her part as well. She was to remain silent, awaiting the next portion of the ceremony.

Revered Sanguis continued with his versicle, “Blood will flow, and with it we will build our House.”

“From their blood, the House of Blood rises.” The watchers supplied, clearly familiar with the words.

“Now.” Revered Sanguis clapped his hands, regarding the onlookers, who were silent once again. “Are there any further objections?”

Pallaun stepped forward.

Revered Sanguis turned towards his Eskau. “Eskau Pallaun, do you have something that you wish to say?”

Eskau Pallaun bowed. “I do.”

“Then, by all means, speak.”

“The candidate Tali is an excellent choice to be an Eskau. She is well trained, powerful, clever, cunning, and lethal.”

Tali felt herself straightening, standing taller as he spoke.

+Yes, it was obvious that he liked her as the victor even before the battle.+

-Hush.-

“However, she has no protian weapon. She cannot be elevated. She is what she is, and she is not an Eskau of the House of Blood.”

Murmurs ran through those watching, even as Tali flinched back at the words.

Revered Sanguis gave a slow nod of his head towards his Eskau. “Quite correct, Eskau Pallaun. I was just coming to that point.”

The Pillar turned back to Tali and her Master.

“Under normal circumstances-” He hesitated, then shook his head and chuckled ruefully. “Under all but the most extreme circumstance, this is when I would bond you to your own protian weapon, raising you to be a full Eskau. But I cannot do that, as you do not have such a weapon to begin with. Those which were used to form the Pillar’s armor could not be spared from their use, either. Even if they had been, it is unwise to bind two founts together.”

Tali hung her head, uncertain how to feel. She was victorious but still lesser. Will I ever be a true Eskau? Will I ever be enough?

+Oh…wow. That…that hits close to home.+

“Pillar Be-thric. What do you propose? Shall you be a Pillar without a proper Eskau?” An almost predatory smile pulled at his lips. “Which is to say, no Pillar at all?”

Tali’s head snapped up, as her focus locked on her Master. Would he have an idea, a solution for this as well?

Be-thric stepped forward, giving a shallow bow. “Thank you, Revered Sanguis, for placing this upon me to address. Were this a standard elevation, as you have said, we would now bind the protian weapon to the Eskau.” He gestured towards Tali. “She is already bound to a fount, her own in fact.”

There were some chuckles from the audience.

“Thus, she has no protian weapon because she is the weapon.”

Revered Sanguis gave a slight smile. “That is the logic which got you this far. Proceed with your suggestion.”

“Next, we would devote significant resources to expanding the capacity of the protian weapon’s power source. I propose we do just that.”

+What?+

-What?-

What?

Revered Sanguis was already nodding. “Expanding her flowrate would allow for a greater depth of power. Continue.”

“We would stuff the new Eskau with magical food. While I have bent my own wealth towards this end already, I ask for the resources that would normally be given, so that I may expand and improve that which I provide. It is standard practice to create an enclave specifically to raise sustenance for an Eskau for the length of their career.”

The other Pillar nodded again. “This is in line with tradition. Go on.”

“Finally, I ask leave to advance my Eskau as only one such as she can advance.”

The murmurs of conversation which had been growing among the audience cut off instantly, everyone’s focus turning towards the newly raised Pillar.

+He…wants to Refine us?+

-That’s what it sounds like.-

What does he mean? One such as me?

Her Master was nodding and smiling. “I wish permission to infiltrate a wild human city and discover the means by which they Refine their Mages.”

Mutterings and explosive whispers rippled through the watchers in waves.

+Well… I didn’t expect that.+