Fiona blinked, activating Spatial Awareness. The natural way in which she observed the world traded out for translucent lines. Now seemingly in a hollow cube, it would've been as if she were floating black emptiness if not for the creases where the walls met.
The chair Valory sat on was an amalgamation of hollowed shapes, Valory herself a complex maze. The light gathering behind her were specks, moving increasingly fast and wasting the little aether the girl possessed. In her mind, the captain outlined the small pieces she needed, activating Spatial Shift and warping them in front of every hidden camera.
Currently, from their point of view, it seemed as if Valory's manifestation had gotten out of hand.
[Winsford.]
Weaving the parts of the aura-based art needed, the Captain projected her thoughts and intentions straight into the Master Enchanter's head.
[You're seeing this, correct?]
Expecting a nod for an answer, she was partially surprised to detect a reply projected back.
[Indeed I am.]
There was a pause before he added, [Shocked I can use projection? It's a technique under aura manipulation and though any Artificer is more inclined to the Five Aether Arts, enchanters are—]
[We don't have the time, Winsford.]
[Time for what?]
[To hide her.]
[For what reason?]
[She's a rare talent. Too rare of a talent.]
[All the more reason to let her shine—I mean, can you imagine where she'll go?]
Rhodes inhaled a deep, calming breath. Wrapped up in the comfort of luxury, some people didn't realize talent without the right things in order was a spell for death.
It was a shame the one person she needed to get onboard for her plans was part of the few. [You're part of a clan here in the Second Halo, no? What happens when someone shows promise surpassing that of the heir?]
[Well, they would be bound to the heir, ensuring they never sought to usurp his place. It's different in other clans, where power demanded rights—]
[Okay,] the captain interjected. [What happens if the person is outside of the main family.]
[Damned to servitude, and if immensely talented, is made to be the right hand of the heir.]
[And the person is outside of the clan in general?]
[On our list to be recruited or, unfortunately, hindered so they become a minimal threat.]
[And if, say, the person held no lineage or status or background and is considered a threat to all families, houses, and clans. What happens then?]
[They…] A mental sigh reached the captain, realization dawning upon him. [At best, the threat swears never to be a mage. At worst… well they vanish.]
[Precisely,] was all Rhodes settled on to say.
[I see why we're conversing like so.] Another sigh from him. [I let my excitement get the better of me. It's a feeling I rarely get these days and it seems like this old man's forgotten how to deal with it.]
[I'm glad you understand,] Rhodes projected back. [I need a favour from you.]
[It involves building a defense around her that stems from Valory herself, doesn't it?]
[Yes. She needs to climb without the help of her elements to allow growth in a safe environment. A daunting task made possible by a little outside help.]
[Without the help of her—are you going to do what I think you're going to do? Without her permission?]
[I just have to hope she comes to appreciate the sentiment. I've worked too many missing cases after the Tripartite Trial. It's high time I remove a file before it hits my desk.]
[I agree,] he projected. [You know how to do it?]
The captain nodded as she shifted in front of Val, erecting a thin barrier of solid aether. Surveying the gathering elements behind the girl knocked out on the medical chair, Rhodes couldn't hide the excited grin that landed on her lips. 'She's going to give Alizeé a run for her money.'
Expending half of the energy residing in her Aetherial Vessel, amounting up to thousands of aether strands, the captain uttered an incantation under her breath and lifted a hand about Val's forehead.
The pad of her finger grew luminous and she began to mark a line down her brow. Her spellcasting faltered as another rune appeared on her cheek, broken down and in decrepit shape. 'Was this done before?'
Looking at the condition, it was poorly made and likely by someone who lacked experience, a person who held no inkling of the art. The captain shook her head. 'Kids are so bored these days they play with runes? Times have changed.'
She finished her runic character with two following horizontal hashes. "Banish."
The manifestation ceased at once, though Captain Rhodes kept her self-built cover on the cameras long enough for her to return to a normal stance.
A sweet sword now relaxed on Valory's lap. The endurons settled into a dark sable hue, characters glimmering on the weapon's spotless surface as if under the starry skies.
Winsford glanced at her nervously. [Did it work?]
Captain Rhodes honed in on the waking girl and focused on the magnitude of a presence currently hanging over her. She sensed only one gate behind her. 'It's appalling how easy that was.'
[Believe so,] she sent, pulling up her tablet and connecting it to the newly made artifact. Plugging in a few commands, she brought up the artifact's Quality.
'Atypical Quality: Temperament of Runes,' it read, raising the captain's eyebrows.
Atypical Qualities weren't by any definition rare, popping up every other awakening. On the other hand, the name suggested it held connections to Runic Abjuration. Though the subset of fortification was impeccable, it worked best for mages on the Path of a Bulwark.
The shape the endurons settled into implied Valory walked on the Path of a Hunter or Striker, possessing specialties that highlighted speed or flexible offence.
Neither catered to the defence inherent to Runic Abjuration, but time will tell why the xenosium developed in such a way.
After all, the girl herself was a mystery.
Although courageous like no other, her valour possessed a type of translucency. Stick the sixteen-year-old in front of an aether creature and she'd face it head-on; however, prod at her insecurities and she'd hunch over and ignore it—worse when eyes are on her.
Was it the attention itself or the subsequent expectation that came with it?
[Your handle of runes was great,] Winsford's projection torpedoed her train of thought. [Care to become an enchanter?]
[Recruit Valory instead. I'm busy.]
[Already within my plan.]
[Remember,] she projected right as Valory startled awake. [We keep this quiet, we keep this between us.]
"Again, already within my plan," he projected back right before saying, "Congratulations!"
"You're a metal mage!"
...
In the comforts of the Lenson Estate, the Seer shot out of her queen-sized bed, opening a pair of blind eyes. At a first glance, the threads of fate appeared no different. It twirled around the ever-present darkness. A double-helix of myriad colours, flowing as time did.
The golden threads of the clan versed in commerce remained, an ominous shade of green at its center, promising unforeseen failure.
Fuchsia-pink coated the red and black of government operatives, hidden secrets wrapped in glamour.
Crimson dyed the ends of numerous golden strings, healers bloodied and dusted.
Thankfully, the seed she planted in a vexed cadet had finally germinated. A viridian-green cable sprouted across the plane of destiny, attaching to bundles of yarns. From pink to crimson, straight to the baleful coalescence of deep emptiness, it did wonders.
Some colours were eliminated, others added and a few entirely changed.
"It has begun."