Val gulped handfuls of air, struggling to calm her breathing as she returned to the physical plane.
There wasn't any course in high school named 'Guide to Strange Arcane Phenomena' to help her out. Was that supposed to happen? By the saints, what of that liquidy portal, or the random flight of stairs?
Stairs!
Things occurred so quickly she didn't have a chance to decipher which was what. Grilled on awakening since the day she stepped foot inside Vexal Prep, it was obvious the happenings of the moments weren't normal. It felt like Deduction Day all over again and it took everything within Val not to shout in frustration.
"Congratulations!"
"You're a metal mage!"
Master Winsford and Fiona casted a type of sense-related spell, gaze sheathed in a faint blue glow.
"She looks okay to me," she appraised. "I think your awakening went well."
"I believe the same."
Val stifled a scoff, covering it up with a muffled, "Thanks."
In a motion to get up, something on her lap shifted. Glancing downwards, the past disappointing minutes mattered little.
She beheld a saber placed horizontally on her thighs, the object like hardened ink carved into an infinitely sharp weapon. A solid hold on the shuttering hilt—particles shifting to account for her grip—she inspected the inscriptions carved on the blade, the cursive print simmering a purple-blue.
Holding the weapon measured a little longer than her arm's length, she numbly rose to her feet and fell into a state of focus. Oblivious to the people around her, she lashed out with a horizontal strike, twirled, and finished with a vertical swipe.
In that undefinable moment, something clicked within her. This weapon was hers and it would follow her wherever she walked. 'A little weird to pair a one-handed sword with nothing, but I'll make it work.'
Her lips curled up as she found herself once again examining her Aether Artifact, lost in the mysterious print.
"Ahem."
Val broke out of her trance, chuckling and turning towards the two. Hesitant for a moment, she placed her artifact on the chair and stepped back. "I'm banned until the first day of university, right?"
Fiona's lips twitched. "It's not the end of the world, you know." She tapped a gloved finger on Val's forehead. "Pocket."
Val's Aether Artifact disappeared without fanfare and a dark ring covered in foreign characters wrapped around her index finger. "Woah…"
"This belongs to you." Winsford dangled a pamphlet. "Instructions on how to use the auxiliary functions allowed to a zero-class Crown."
She stretched a hand to receive it and winced, a sharp pang striking her head. "Ow!"
"Just as we thought," Winsford muttered.
Forcing her eyelids open through the pain, Val managed to glimpse a series of enchantments wrapping the sheet of paper in the Artificer's hands. Aether.
"Let me guess," Fiona began, "you experience a series of headaches when surrounded by people, which differs depending on said people and the amount. Or, in other cases, sharp instances of pain when the presence of aether is detected, among other things."
Val's mouth opened and closed. She felt… understood, for the first time in a long time. "...how?"
"We're led to believe you experience these bouts in the midst of energy," he said, "and we know why. The ability to sense aether coupled with the lack of the ability to protect oneself is a terrible combination. Rare, but terrible nevertheless."
Fiona sighed. "It isn't a lie to say PASTs and ASCs are connected. High bronzes tend to have more aether strands than low bronzes—it scales. The chances of results being on polar ends are negligible so, once again, your case is rare."
"Even then, pain at the cause of aether hasn't been recorded in humans for decades..." He must've seen the alarm in Val's expression, since he added, "Don't fret, your condition solves itself once the disparity between magical aptitudes even out. The energy you cultivate will begin to grow a protective aura of its own as it gathers within you, enough to protect from the surrounding aether."
Val inhaled a handful at the statement. 'My problem is fixable.' It hardly sounded real and it definitely wouldn't feel anything close to real until it happened.
"On a better note." Winsford smiled. "I'm offering you a spot in Age of Atera to both you and Miss Hayes. I don't know if you've heard of it since it's located in the First Halo."
"Heard of it?" Val echoed. "Of course, I've heard of it."
Age of Atera was among Ciazel's best guilds across any term, carrying all sorts of record-breaking feats from clearing the most rifts to possessing the lowest mortality rates.
"As long as you accept, your transfer to the halo is free of charge," he said. "To specify, I'm recruiting you to apprentice under me as an enchanter."
Val blinked, never believing the words would be said to her, a pickpocket and someone born in Quintar. As tantalizing as the offer was—like, asking her to work under the Prime Minister tantalizing—she shook her head. "I'll only accept if Caro does."
"Funny," Fiona puffed air through her nose. "She said the same thing."
A warm sense of pride bloomed inside Val's chest.
Fiona smiled at her. "While no longer under tight censorship, we ask that you be lenient in telling others of your ownership. At least, not until you enter university. Doing so helps protect you before you're ready to protect yourself."
"Understood," Val said.
"I suggest you get some rest, hmm? You can decide at a later time." Fiona tapped her back. "Once again, we're sorry about the mind traps and all. I'll make it up to you."
"Then, maybe you can teleport me back ho—?"
"That is a hard no."
"Aww," Val shrugged. "Worth a try."
...
A few moments earlier…
"Great." Winsford smiled, glancing the captain's way before recreating eye contact with Valory. "On three. One, two—"
Captain Rhodes never liked this part.
In the event that manifestations of a budding mage could harm themselves or others, she needed to be on guard and at the ready. Despite her greatest efforts, there was always one that went ballistic, ruining her day in seconds.
Inconsequential feelings on the side, she may have added an additional percent of vigilance to the person dear to Brad.
"Usually I can guess what element one might have in the first few minutes of meeting them." Winsford laid his tong inside the empty briefcase. "In Valory's case, it's like her true nature is veiled, leaving me lost on what's to come."
"I think it's the same for her as well," the captain answered, backpedalling a bit as she sensed a disturbance. "I suggest you take a step back."
Master Winsford moved, a coldsteel spike spearing right where he was standing.
"She's got the Elemental Gate of Metal?" the captain muttered to herself, rods of all kinds of shining materials rising to form a cage around her. 'And she's bound to the gate itself instead of one of the secondary elements in the realm? That's… odd.'
As the metal hutch winked out of existence and the magical phenomena faded, Captain Rhodes found herself thankful for the rather simple process. Out of all the Aether Artifact-induced manifestations, Carielle's proved to be the most difficult.
At a moment's notice, sand particles scratched at unprotected eyeballs and manga enveloped the ground. Those unable to protect themselves from the awakening dual-bound mage fled the scene in haste. 'Fled a disaster, to be fair.'
Right as she was going to retake her position, a dark void permeated Val's far-off gaze as purple and blue light thrashed to expand into space. Hardened radiance took form in an array of connected lines, sketching creatures of untold power. Far from an expert stargazer, the captain still believed the event resembled constellations. 'Could it be?'
The last time she'd seen such an element was during her first year in the University Games. That was nearly a decade ago!
Captain Rhodes didn't have time to be surprised as an imperceptible intention nudged one of her States of Being, though she couldn't discern which one. It was quick even by her levels—a fraction of a sliver of a second.
Whether it was the State of the Emotional Body, Physical Body, Spiritual Body or any of the others, she might never know.
What she did know was that if she remained idle, Valory might never walk out of the building alive should word of whatever else she was awakening reached the wrong ears.
Possessing a feeble backing like hers, the wrong ears were all ears except for family and friends. The stubborn geezers stuck in their old ways and the stuck-up scions of the First Halo wouldn't think twice about snuffing out her light due to where she's from.
Time was running out, and quickly.