Millennial Mage

Tala and Rane took slow sips of their drinks as they chatted a bit more with the leaders of Astraya, the conversation continuing until a bit after all four had nothing but empty cups before them.

Finally, Mistress Cae and Master Kalfeir both stood, prompting Tala and Rane to do the same.

Terry flickered back to Tala’s shoulder where he shimmied down into a comfortable perch—he’d been sitting right up against the front view window, seeming to enjoy watching the world go by before him.

Master Kalfeir gave a genuine smile. “We hope that your stay is a profitable and enjoyable one for you, and if there is anything that we can do for you, please let us know. We have not forgotten where we came from, even if we have not returned in some time.”

Mistress Cae gave a shallow bow. “And do be careful. There are a few hot-heads here from the House lands to the south, and they don’t particularly like gated. Those in charge of the various groups are generally good at keeping them in line—otherwise they wouldn’t be allowed to stay—but I don’t want you to be caught unawares.”

Tala immediately looked after Lyn. “My adjunct—”

Mistress Cae waved that off. “Out here, people sometimes get as far as Fused with enough frequency that such won’t mark her as a Cycler. You two, however? With your veil dropped, it’s unmistakable.”

Rane frowned. “What of you two?”

Master Kalfeir huffed. “We are known as the leaders here. No one is so far gone into bigotry that they will attack their hosts.”

Tala found herself nodding along at the obviousness of that. The Houses were often depraved, but they had their own type of honor and courtesy which they held sacred. Rane gave a slow nod to that.

Master Kalfeir met each of their gazes for a long moment. “You are welcome to fight duels or in other sanctioned clashes, but I will be very displeased if you destroy part of my home, or attack any outside of the bounds of propriety.”

As he spoke, Tala felt the level of authority he possessed over Astraya, not as an oppressive weight, but as an unambiguous promise and statement. His word was law, and it would not be violated.

They bowed again, and Tala gave what she hoped was a disarming smile. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Then we look forward to seeing you around our fair town.”

Tala and Rane took that for the dismissal that it was and departed.

As the door swung shut behind them, Rane turned to Tala. “Do you need me for anything?”

She shook her head, “Not at this moment. I just need to go place the gate for Ironhold… as soon as Lyn confirms where it needs to be.”

“Alright. I’ll get back to what I was doing then.” He gave a wink, leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, then vanished with a flexing of his will.

Terry trilled at her implicatively.

“Do you want to go to the sanctum, or Ironhold?”

He gave a squawk that conveyed that such was a silly question.

She opened a small portal into the sanctum, and he flickered through.

That complete, Tala closed the portal, replaced her armor, and headed toward the marketplace, where Lyn had communicated the portal to Irondale should be placed.

-And she just confirmed it. Apparently Cait just gave final verification and authorization.-

Alright, then.

It was a simple matter to find the central market. Most corridors and ‘main’ paths seemed to be oriented such that reaching that central hub was as easy as possible.

When Tala arrived, she found it to be a three story affair, open to the air above, with two massive passages going out toward the sides on the lowest level, clearly used for moving larger goods in and out.

An odd elevator of sorts was in place to take anything large—or a large number of people at a time—up to the various levels and even to Astraya’s roof.

Each of the three levels was ringed with a thoroughfare that seemed as fit for a small wagon as for a walkway, allowing easy access to the more than twenty holds that Tala was able to perceive.

It was also immediately apparent that the higher up a hold was, the more value it was given, at least if the ornamentation around the entries was any indication.

Or the higher holds are residence oriented, and lower down are less or or not at all.

-That stands to reason given where Irondale is to be placed.-

Ironhold was authorized for placement on the second level up, as it was a residence hold but also had business to be about.

The spot for it was obvious once Alat pointed it out. It was a stretch of plain wooden wall directly opposite her current position, across the large open area.

It wasn’t the only such stretch of wall, but there weren’t that many.

With an easy extension of her aura and authority, she encompassed the space in question, and opened the portal to Irondale.

That caused a commotion among the couple of hundred people moving from hold to hold or passing through this central hub of the town. To be fair, part of that might have been the fact that the portal seemed to open on its own, with no one nearby to have been the cause.

Irondalians immediately stepped out to set up signage, and within a minute—even as Tala watched—a steady trickle of people began moving in and out.

Most of those who went in came back out quickly, either with smiles on their faces, muttering excitedly, or both.

They’d most likely be back now that they’d seen at least some of what was on offer in this mysterious new hold.

Tala took a moment to people-watch. Here at the hub of activity, most of those moving around were human—almost all of those were gateless—but close to thirty percent of those she saw were still arcane, and at least a small portion of those had an air of dislike toward the humans whom they passed.

Outsiders, then?

-That seems likely. I doubt any with that attitude would stay in a place ruled by humans for long, at least not if they had any other option.-

It is interesting how hard it is to get rid of biases.

-Like the fact that you keep calling them arcanes within our mind?-

Tala shrugged internally. It’s what they are.

-And some find that offensive.-

Well, then they can challenge me to a duel. I’m happy to own up to the consequences of my choices.

Alat huffed a laugh. -Very well. As it stands, you might just get your chance.-

Tala turned her focus, but not her head, to regard the group that Alat had indicated.

It was a group of five elves, all Paragon—Honored by their scale of advancement—making their way through the other foot traffic.

They weren’t making a nuisance of themselves. There was no comical shoving or tripping of those they didn’t like, but the hauteur rolling off them was practically palpable.

They were even moving their aura and authority back away from any human who passed in what seemed to be an unconscious desire to distance themselves from the ‘lower’ species.

This wasn’t the kindness of preventing the power of their presence from harming those less advanced. No, their true aura was kept close to their bodies. This was the marginal extension of power which allowed for the quick use of magic in a close area around them.

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-Maybe they don’t trust themselves not to harm them?-

Maybe… She then blinked a few times. Wait… When have we been able to see the distinction there? It’s showing up to my magesight, but it feels like authority.

-Hmmm… It looks like magic to me. Maybe they are using their aura in a different way than we’re used to? And one that isn’t visible to what we had available before Refined?-

She grunted at that. Maybe…

Regardless, the elves would pass her by in mere moments.

She had removed her veil before talking with Mistress Cae and Master Kalfeir and hadn’t bothered to replace it.

She could tell the moment they truly saw her, leaning there on the railing.

It was the one on the right in the back who saw her first, immediately stiffening, and gaining his companions attention. Two others were equally shocked, but the two who felt the most powerful just gave grimaces and all but rolled their eyes at the reaction.

It was only then that Tala realized it was a group of four men and a woman. The configuration tickled at the back of her mind, and it only took a moment to recall Thron’s training.

-A noble woman of some note, maybe something like a Pillar, either with less battle acumen, or abilities that take time to utilize properly. If that’s so, she would be young to still be Honored in advancement.- After a moment, Alat amended. -Actually, the fact that they have all retained their advancement in the low ambient magic likely means that they are all more advanced than their auras would indicate, and that isn’t accounting for any veiling that might be in place.-

Tala sighed. Great.

The woman had been in the center, and she actually looked a bit irritated now that Tala looked closer.

In less than a minute after Tala was spotted, the group had come to a stop some dozen feet from her, all staring at her expectantly, even if the elf who seemed to be in charge had a put-upon air to him.

That lasted for nearly a minute before Tala spoke, not bothering to look at them. Well, she actually just generated her voice as her mask was still in place. “Can I do anything for you? Or did you just come to admire the view?”

The female elf colored slightly—possibly in embarrassment, possibly in increased irritation—even as the younger males’ faces flushed with obvious offense. Even so, the oldest appearing of them responded in a level voice. “We simply noticed your advancement. It is rare to find a… Paragon among your kind.”

He said the word like it was distasteful to say.

“My men don’t believe that you are worthy of seeing as a threat, despite my attempts to explain otherwise. Would you be open to a friendly match? They have never seen what your kind can do, and those of lesser advancement can’t do justice.”

Tala felt a bit of whimsy pass over her.

-Oh, Tala, don’t. That’s so cliche. Besides, they might actually be much more advanced than they appear.-

Their advancement is irrelevant. She’d made her choice. “Just weapons and soulbound magics?”

The elf nodded slowly. “Would that include our concepts then?”

“That seems fair. All five of you?” She pushed off the railing.

He barked a laugh at that. “Oh, that hardly seems fair.”

She shrugged. “You can go get more if that would make you feel better.”

Alat groaned in her head. -So kitschy…-

The elf at their center let out a derisive snort, seemingly barely willing to tolerate the whole exchange. “If she wishes to be humiliated, Eskau Elnar, I see no reason to dissuade her.”

Tala felt her eyes widen behind her mask. Why would an Eskau be here?

-Well, you did think she might be a Pillar.-

I thought she was something like a Pillar. Why would a Pillar be out here?

Eskau Elnar looked to his charge and shook his head. “It would be unseemly.” With a glance back toward Tala, he seemed to relent. “Three on one to begin, and if you impress, I am happy to give you a demonstration on the worth of Eskau.”

Tala knew she was smiling an almost feral grin, but it was hidden behind her mask. “I would be Honored.”

Apparently, ‘friendly’ duels were rather common, and as such there were arenas within easy reach, even outside of the holds, in which Tala was not allowed.

To their credit, the elves didn’t make an issue of that, where they could easily have mocked or maligned her for the added inconvenience of going to the roof of Astraya instead of simply stepping inside one of the near-to-hand holds.

Up top was like an ancient forest that had been cultivated toward even deeper beauty.

With a moment of consideration, Tala realized that such was likely exactly what it was.

Regardless, there was a sparring arena, replete with containment magics to keep both the town and any bystanders safe.

Tala hopped down into the ring, and Eskau Elnar cleared his throat. “No armor, even hidden under illusion. My men will have none.”

She sighed, dismissing her physical defense, replacing her iron mask with one grown from her elk leathers. That was fine; it would have made things a bit too one sided. “Very well. What House do you hail from, Eskau? Minor or Major?”

He gave a grimace, but his honor wouldn’t allow him to ignore the question nor to lie. “A rising, though still minor house, if you must know. The House of the Awakening Wood.”

Tala blinked a few times, then frowned. Hadn’t there been an elven house with a similar name in Platoiri?

-No, not exactly, but in the same vein.-

Tala shook her head. “That’s no relation to House of the Slumbering Wood, is it?”

That pulled them up short, and Eskau Elnar gave her an appraising look. “How do you know that name?”

Tala shrugged. “I came across it in passing a few years back. The names sounded similar to one another, so I asked.”

“I… see.” He sighed and shook his head. “Well, we are an offshoot of that house. When the insane woman was rampaging through Platoiri, our central House refused to send aid. Thus, after we weathered the storm of death—and after she was banished despite the protests of the House of Blood—we left the city and severed ties.” He grunted. “It’s a common enough story. There are five or six houses on the rise coming out of Platoiri, and anyone would have told you the same information.”

He seemed to be rambling a bit as if to convince her that he hadn’t actually done her any favors by answering. She nodded. “Thank you for the answer. You didn’t fight her, did you? This madwoman?”

Eskau Elnar barked a laugh. “I’d not be alive if I had. No.”

Well, he’s not wrong… if it is Meallain. Something told her that it was, even though she had no evidence toward that effect. Regardless, it seemed like she’d have some investigating to do after this ‘friendly’ spar. “Shall we?”

The three guardsmen jumped down into the ring, loosening their tunics and drawing truncheons.

Tala drew Flow, keeping the sparring sheath on. It’ll be fine. I don’t need to use anything like my full power here. This sheath should contain my strikes without issue.

-Yeah, no heightened emotions to make you lose control here. Not at all.-

Eskau Elnar’s magic reached out and passed over Flow, and Tala allowed the inspection to penetrate all the way through the sheath, but she held her authority and aura as impermeable around the blade itself.

The elf didn’t try to breach her defense, simply allowing his senses to slide along it, seeing all that she allowed to be seen. “That weapon is acceptable. To incapacitation or surrender?”

She gave a curt nod. “You may call a start.”

Their preamble had garnered some attention, and already a bit of a crowd was forming around the shallow, circular depression.

Those watching were mostly human, but there were some dwarves, a couple unconnected elves, and a smattering of individuals of other arcane races.

Eskau Elnar raised his hand high, then brought it down. “Begin!”

Tala didn’t flicker forward, even though such would have been allowed under the terms of the clash. Instead, she flowed forward, relying on her long ingrained Way of Flowing Blood.

She’d had a moment of hesitation when this Eskau implied that he knew of a House of Blood fighter. She’d been concerned that she’d have to hold back for fear of his recognizing the techniques.

Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be a danger.

The first club came down, striking skillfully to catch her where she was about to move as well as making the only obvious avenue of escape be into the swing of one of the elf’s fellows, who was already beginning that attack.

Tala simply dropped into what amounted to a full, one-leg squat, the other foot extending forward with her momentum even as Flow licked out once, twice, three times, cracking against the elf’s forward knee, then the ankle of his leading foot, and finally into his hip. That last strike landed as Tala shifted to the front foot, vaulting off the back into a one-hand stand that allowed her to flick Flow out at the second man.

Each of her strikes had loosed a concussion of force, cracking bone as audible accompaniment to the first elf’s grunt, cry, and finally scream of pain as he fell to the ground.

The second elf fared little better, taking thrusting strikes to the gut that sent ripples through his flesh that were visible even through his thick tunic.

He didn’t scream, but he did fall over, clutching his abdomen even as he heaved convulsively, emptying his stomach across the sparring ring.

Tala sprang up off of her planted hand, putting her feet down as quickly as possible to avoid as much ballistic motion as possible, and deflected the far more controlled strikes of the last elf standing against her.

Still, it was immediately obvious who the better fighter was.

None of the elf’s strikes came close, and she took to giving him light taps after each of her deflections.

After the tenth such, the elf stepped back and gave a low bow, his face positively beet red with embarrassment. “I concede defeat. I have no hope of winning, and no desire to learn as my compatriots have.”

Tala smiled and gave a nod of genuine respect. “You are skilled, but unpracticed. If I may be so bold, I recommend that you work on fighting one-on-one against skilled opponents more often.”

The elf looked chagrined. “Eskau Elnar says I need the same.”

He bowed again and retreated from the ring. A couple of other elves—wearing the Awakening Wood colors of sunshine yellow and forest green—came to help the other two from the ring as well, one immediately setting about working healing magics.

Tala turned to face Eskau Elnar with a smile. “Did I impress?”

The elf shared a look with his charge, and the noble elf gave a slow nod. Eskau Elnar pulled a simple wooden switch from his belt and stepped forward. “I admit that I underestimated you, but you did exactly as I’d originally hoped. My men had it in their mind that you gated were nothing special.” He gave an almost vicious smile. “Thank you for disabusing them of that notion.”

“But of course.”

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