The First Halo of Ciazel,
The city of Reynor,
CLASSIFIED
Once again, Rhodes found herself irked by the stale must of air uncirculated since yesteryear. She squirmed on the rock-like seats, ignoring the whispers edging into the shut-eye she fought for, her brimmed hat perched on the bridge of her nose.
"Is it me, or is the hair on Archon Quiet's head a making of forgery?"
"Melaine," Olive hissed. "He can hear you."
"All the better."
"To gossip in the presence of this kind of audience… Only you, Mel. You, as well as—"
"Don't lump me with her." Fiona offered a lazy smile and jabbed her hat up, relenting and joining in on the conversation. "She's on an entire level of her own."
Melaine grinned, an emerald-green gaze so bright it cut through the dusky ambience of Committee's Say. Luscious dark hair cropped right past her ears, energy brimmed against her adventurer leathers— run-of-the-mill of a mage daring to brave the wildlands outside the Outer Wall.
"I was going to say Alan, actually." Olive adjusted thin-framed eyewear, legs crossed and voice no louder than the hush of conversation across the room. She'd strike anyone as composed—clad in a cloth skirt and a blouse—but Rhodes could never fully alleviate the formidable sight of the woman in battle.
"Isn't this a scary gathering of ladies."
Captain Rhodes' eyebrow twitched up at the interjection, lips arching upwards as she recognized the sharp, yet at the same time, the dull metallic aura of the man joining their group.
"Well, I'll be damned." She grinned. "Kaleb Kane—or should I say—Metal Incarnate."
"Whichever suits you." He mirrored her expression.
She pointed to Olive. "Here to see your guildmate?"
"I wanted to pick your brain on a subject, Rhodes. I—."
"The intermission has officially ended. Number twenty-three of the fifth assembly, would you please stand," a member announced, voice strengthened by an arcane art.
Captain Rhodes rose to her feet, nodding to the Kidraan man. 'We'll talk later.' Magus Kane returned the gesture, disappearing into the proximate aisles and melting into the surrounding darkness.
"Is there a particular reason you're in the Assembly of Mercenaries, Captain Rhodes?" the announcer went on, letting loose a snide remark behind the protection of obscurity.
Heads turned, a myriad of expressions visible as circular rows of members faced her. A dais as its center, lighting dimmed as one's distance from the podium grew. Stationed at the darkened edges of Committee's Say, the announcer was one of the rare few of his kind able to engage in an action besides voting, deprived of the right to choose.
"I believe an intermission had just been resolved," she answered.
"It's illegal to mingle with other Assemblies as it can be a cause for bias."
"Four people before me followed the same very actions of my own."
"That doesn't change the—"
"It does." Captain Rhodes made a point to head into the aisles, strolling in the opposite direction of him, towards the blinding center. "You're wasting more time than needed. I say we carry on."
"I agree."
A hush settled onto the room as one of the Chairs spoke. Several broad beams spilled from the ceiling, unveiling the presence of five Archons resting upon thrones of rose-coloured stone. Opposite of the abounding rumours, these mages seemed no different than the people she'd bump into outside, besides the extravagant robes they were clad in.
And that was the scary part.
To keep such a tight leash on aether emanation to a point where she perceived them no differently as the chairs they sat on was hair-rising.
Archon Quiet propped his chin using a closed fist. "As much as I would love to hear more about the falsities upon my scalp—"
Rhodes stifled a snort. 'I'm never going to hear the end of it from Mel, aren't I?'
"—please, state your name for the records." Archon Quiet was Kidraan, sea-blue eyes simmering with power and dark skin smooth, betraying his known ancient age.
"Fiona Rhodes, Captain of the armed forces, the twenty-fifth of the Military Assembly."
To the distant side of the Chairs, a scribe scribbled down the notes on his stool, looking no different than a Thundertail caught in the sight of a spell. 'Better than those dreaded automatic transcriptions mother employs.'
"Your primary choice, dear," Archon Lenson asked, grey eyes twinkling like she knew her choice already.
"Carielle Hayes."
"Saintsdammit."
An adventurer cursed where they sat and scraped their pen across their notepad. Waves coursed throughout certain assemblies at the announcement and Rhodes noted exactly who she was to cater to. 'Seems like you pulled an abundance of eyes, Carielle.'
Rhodes pushed aether into the channels within the soles of her feet and tapped her boot on the glass dais. Blue runes branched out all around the levitated circle, returning to dormancy as she pulled a device fresh out of her spatial pocket at a thought.
Swiping up on the IBR tablet, hovering screens of illusion-based videos appeared. She let the varied footage of Carielle play and it was as if she casted a mind spell.
Officers, Defenders, mercenaries, adventurers—the majority of combat-focused assemblies leaned forward in their seats, entranced by the surprising technical skill the lumbering teen displayed in weaponry.
A video played Carielle shimming up her greataxe's shaft to give a false sense of her range during a scuffle between an enemy team. In a vital moment, she extended like a tripped trap, cornering the participant in a precise manner.
Naturally, there was room for improvement, but for a sixteen-year-old to own that much finesse? The reaction of the weathered elementalists said it all.
Captain Rhodes could admit she was a little sad to tap her foot again, killing the energy to the holographic-like screens.
"As much as I know we could watch her all day, I want you to take a look at Miss Hayes' stats," Rhodes said. "I sent it to you all."
Rhodes watched as eyes traced the lines of Carielle's record—92% in the first exam, 98% in the second, and double the required points in the third. When they reached the script she hoped they would, their eyes bulged out of their sockets. "No, what you are seeing is not an error. Indeed, Miss Hayes' initial ASC is 171."
"That can't be." A Kidraan man stood and the ceiling shed a beam to make his visage clear. Rhodes recognized the doubter and hid a sneer as the repulsive memories of his son's trial attempt popped up in her mind. He sifted a hand through a thick beard. "We should've known as soon as she turned twelve, during Deduction Day."
"The key words there are 'should have'," Rhodes said. "After all, there is a reason we conduct tests prior to the second exam, Mister Tamaan."
"My goodness," someone else muttered. "She has more aether strands than half the scions of the First Halo."
A vein popped across the man's brow and he sat down with a huff, knowing his son was part of that half.
"Exactly." Rhodes pointed at the woman who spoke. "Not only has she excelled in the past within school both academically-wise and combat-wise, she never faltered despite the slights hurled at her. This young lady has fought to make her presence known and now it's hard not to take notice of her. An Aether Artifact would flourish under her hands. However, we need to be the ones to give her it. So, shall we?"
The Seer smiled at those words while the Kidraan Archon cast a glance at Rhodes, his eyes asking if she was finished. At her nod, he rose. "All those in favour, raise your dominant hand."
The chorus of clothes moving drew Rhodes' gaze to the crowd, though a part of her already knew the outcome. All fifteen assemblies—the Artificers, those in the Twenty, SI Agents, highly-ranked mages—all rose their hands up in support of her choice.
"It is settled. Carielle Hayes has been chosen to receive an Aether Artifact. Captain Rhodes, your secondary choice, if you will."
Rhodes' lips formed a hard line. 'Here comes the hard part.' She rehearsed how she would continue internally, opening up her next candidate's stats. "My second choice is Valory Efron."