It wasn't long before her destination came into view, an ebony dome swallowing a piece of the sky. The mammoth of a building was cleared out for the day, with hundreds of classrooms and its duelling arena of ten thousand seats free for use. Surrounding architecture rooted in an Auricean style, it bore a certain orderliness unseen elsewhere in the city. Perfectly-aligned stone branches alongside grass hedges snipped by the leaf—it all made Wyn's Institutional Place of Magic what it was.
Val yanked her earbuds and she vacated the bus, absorbed by the flux of participants. Sandwiched by people clad in elegant, thin coats, she snorted. 'Those rednotes spent on heating enchantments could be put to way better use.'
Either way, they all dressed the same underneath. A requirement of entrance into the Tripartite Trial was to wear their secondary school's uniform, even if they hadn't stepped inside institutional grounds in years. According to the administration behind the trials, it made them "easier to identify."
The stream split as the students circled past the water fountain statue of Celeste, a revered saint taking providence on the university's step.
Pure water spilled out of the cupped stone hands of the Azure Saint, billowing out in mesmerizing waves only to crash against its ceramic restraints.
Val watched as people dipped their hands into Celeste's crystalline waters, marvelling as the injuries lining their palms and fingers faded to reveal fresh, glowing skin. 'Healing the participants before they enter all hell,' she mused internally,
"Hold on."
Eventually, the flow led her to the stadium doors, and the person one spot ahead halted. A woman clad in a snug, dark suit and coat narrowed her glowing eyes. Seconds passed, the light in her irises shimmering off as she scoffed. "Really? You've inscribed protective enchantments on your uniform?"
"I-I have n-no clue about what you're talking about!" he stammered.
"You don't?" Her eyes took on a crimson hue as she gripped his arm. A burst of fire coated her hands, painfully colourful against the hue-drained wintery surroundings, spreading to the participant's light coat. He yelped and flapped his flaming limb around.
The lady cut her arm in a sharp horizontal motion and the fire died as fast as it came, revealing an unblemished sleeve underneath a ruined jacket. No smoke, no ash. "Tell me why there's not a single scorch mark on your shirt, then?"
"T-that's assault!"
"Read the guidelines come next year, okay? Next!"
"Hey, I haven't entered yet—"
"I said next!"
Val swallowed dryly and ambled forward. The fire mage gestured to the green band of fabric wrapped around her upper arm. "These bands indicate the wearer is a conductor. It is advised you listen to every word coming out of such a person, understood?"
Val nodded, gaze travelling to the leaving participant.
"I'll need your I.D. and any devices or items on you except for your uniform. Jewelry included."
"And my jacket?" Val asked with a shiver, detaching her cartilage piercings on her right ear and unclipping her wristwatch.
"And your jacket."
She was vetted by the conductor for a good five minutes, the lady asking questions ranging from her birthday to where she worked, checking off something on her tablet each with a digital pen. There was a quick glance at the bandages wrapped around her non-dominant hand, but it was deemed unimportant.
Done with that, she walked into the crowded halls in a white blouse, grey slacks, and a red scarf—the uniform of Vexal Prep. She plaited her shoulder-length hair into two tight braids tied off at the ends, green eyes almost vibrant as they looked around. 'Got ten whole hours of sleep. Unheard of.'
A hand jerked her backwards by the cuff and an "Urk!" sound escaped Val.
"Entrance period opened thirty minutes ago."
"And it doesn't end for another ten minutes." Massaging her throat, Val chuckled as she turned to face a steaming Caro. "Strung up, much?"
Caro rolled her eyes and playfully punched Val's shoulder, the two following the arrows placed throughout the halls. "Yeah, yeah."
Slipping past a group of people, Val's pounding headache became secondary news as Caro moved on to a new topic, clearing her throat. "So, it turns out that Aether Artifacts isn't the big secret we thought it was."
"You sure?" Val's eyebrows pinched together unbidden. "I'd never heard of it before yesterday."
"Though they didn't really advertise it, they sure didn't try to hide it either." The two claimed a space in the halls, Caro whispering, " It's pretty similar to the stuff scions buy from high-end Artificers, only better. Practically broken. First thing that pops up when I search the internet though are classes for how to wield these weapons. "
"Must have a high learning curve if there are university classes about them," Val muttered.
"Real question is… where do they grab 'em? Not like I can just walk in a store and buy one."
"Didn't you check out that group I talked about?" Val asked. "Aether Artifact Allocation Committee, I think it's called."
"See, while there's a bunch of info on the Aether Artifacts themselves…" Caro sighed. "There's absolutely nothing on the committee. And trust me, I dug in deep. However, I did make use of the facts you gave me about them using the Tripartite Trial as a way to choose candidates and it all aligns almost perfectly. Most get them right after the trials, others before uni starts. It adds up. This committee…"
"...uses the trials to pick and choose who takes home these must-have weapons," Val finished.
"Meaning we better go crazy out there today."
"Well then," Val glanced Caro's way as they neared a pair of charcoal-coloured doors, its height thrice their own. Only the Alphs of the distant mountains could pass through them and not feel akin to an ant. "You ready?"
"As if that's a question."
...
Val didn't know what was worse, the clamorous din of thousands of conversations occurring or the wave of aura that nearly took her off her feet when she entered the arena. Her eyes slid down to the wood-plated floor as she used all the internal power within her not to melt into a pile of uncomfortable pain.
In doing so, she failed to witness the way fervent discussions slowed at their entrance, eyes wide as they sensed Caro's attention-demanding aether pool in alarm.
"By the saints, who's that?"
"Carielle Hayes."
"You know her?"
"Hard not to, she scored purple on Deduction Day."
There was a sharp inhale.
"Her ASC is one hundred?! You're lying."
"Ask anyone else here!"
"Yep, he's telling the truth."
"I know her, she goes to my school. She's an absolute pain in the ass, though."
Caro acted as if didn't hear anything, a hand on Val's arm as she led the way. "Let's get you somewhere less noisy."
The task proved to be difficult with thousands of teens and young adults in every corner. Aura radiated off participants, ASC on a whole different level compared to those walking on the streets, almost alarmingly so.
They settled at the edges of the arena walls.
"You know," Caro said, retying a bundle of curly hair that refused to cooperate. While Caro inherited some of her Auricean mother's light pigment, she acquired her father's luscious, coily locks indigenous to those from the country Kidra. "I didn't say anything yesterday 'cause I realized we were trying to play it cool, but how sick was it for Fiona freaking Rhodes to be in my house yesterday?"
"Yeah she was chill," Val answered, taking a seat on the arena floors.
"Hold up…" Caro's eyes narrowed. She pressed a steady gaze from above for three seconds, shaking her head with a wry grin. "You don't know who Fiona Rhodes is, do ya?"
"Yeah," Val replied in the affirmative once more. "She's Bradley's close friend. Emphasis on the close."
"I mean like, as a mage. Her lineage. Any of it," Caro said. "You don't know."
"Am I supposed to?"
Caro groaned, her reply drowned by a voice that thundered across the arena.
"Welcome all, young prospects of Ciazel. It is an honour to commence our annual Tripartite Trial!"
All eyes found their way to the far end of the structure, up inside the stands. A man in ceremonial robes stood with his hands clasped behind his back. "Today marks an abundance of things; it marks the first of the new year, it marks the beginning of the 32nd Tripartite Trial as well as the 40th year since the end of the Third Great War—the very reason we have this event."
He paused as he let the solemnity of his words settle. The Third Great War's repercussions were still felt to this day. It was the reason the Laws of Secrecy were made. It was the reason the social distance between non-mages and elementalists drifted away to a point of no return. It was the reason a lot of people of the previous generation were orphaned, her parents included.
"The Tripartite Trial is an event to test the underlying aspects vital to potential prospects aside from magical aptitude—to sift the genuine mages from the fake. Heavens knows it's far from perfect, but you all have ten tries to beat its imperfections. More than enough don't you say?"
The wave of muttering that went through the crowds gave a different impression.
"Now, now, settle down. I'd like to move on to the first section of the Tripartite Trial. Please find a seat up in the stands. Do not, under no circumstances, touch the papers. There are no cameras, so I am trusting your integrity. You may now move, prospects."
Ignoring the eyebrow-raising set of instructions, Val and Caro set out for the staircases lining the arena walls.