Valindra watches you, her lilac eyes full of awe. Her gaze abruptly focuses on something behind you. She lets out a gasp as she quickly rises to her feet.
" Of course! " She cries out as she reaches out, her hands brushing past your cheek. Time slows down as you, from the corner of your eye, glance at her finger as it makes contact with the hilt of the great sword resting on your back. Somehow the fact that you had three weapons strapped to you completely eluded you until that very moment.
Three runes abruptly materialize on the hilt the moment her finger brushes against it. She lets out a hiss and quickly withdraws her hand. There's a faint smell of slightly charred skin. A small gust of smoke rises from the finger that touched the hilt and quickly fades away into the air.
" Astonishing," she murmurs as she creates a symbol with her other hand. A green transparent ring manifests around her hand and a smaller one around the affected finger.
There's a bright flash and the charred part is completely gone. So that is a mage art. She flexes her finger and moves it around, testing it. It seems completely fine as far as you can tell.
" It appears the weapons on you will only obey your will, " she elucidates as she slowly walks around you, watching each blade with great interest. " There was no number when I attempted to test for your aura level. Add the rune-covered weaponry and armor and that even makes you more fascinating. "
She walks to the desk and begins to search around, moving things and opening compartments. After a while, she stops and lets out a sigh and stops.
" Damn, " she curses under her breath. " The one time I required this, it is not here."
" Come,"
She steps out of the room and you follow. Draalsar slowly rises and lets out a yawn before following you both.
She strides down a hallway, calling out to those who were in her way. They watch with curiosity as you follow her to her destination. She takes a left at a T-junction and ascends a flight of stairs.
" Coming through! " She calls out just before going through what appeared to be a couple sharing an intimate moment.
" You can do that in your free time, not during work hours. " She says out loud as you both continue.
She stops at a door. On it, a gold plaque read ' Cleric Ahresdorf. ' She lets out a sigh and turns to look at both you and Draalsar.
" Whatever you do, " she leans in, " do not do anything rash. The Cleric is a good person but can be a bit temperamental. "
You nod. She does as well before knocking on the door. There is a brief moment of silence before a voice can be heard from within.
" You may enter. " The voice orders.
Valindra pushes the door and steps in but not before gesturing for you to wait outside. You take this opportunity to look around. There is no one here save for you and Draalsar. Down the hallway are a series of doors lining both sides of the wall. A window nearby shows the compound of the institute. You watch people of different races go about their business.
Valindra pops her head out and gestures for you to enter. The room is decorated with an assortment of things including herbs and jars containing small creatures in suspended animation. At the opposite end sits an elderly woman, a human. She wears a white robe with red and gold accents. Next to her rests an exceptionally large battle staff with a gem devoid of color sitting atop the staff. Multiple bookshelves line the walls, taking a large chunk of the already expansive room.
Her red piercing eyes watch you closely as you enter. Her hair is hidden away underneath a white cocktail hat.
" Show me what you saw. " She mandates with zero hesitation on her part.
Valindra nods and pulls out the A. D. D and gestures towards your arm. You stretch out your arm once more. The talon spreads out its digits before locking around your arm once again.
The talon releases its clasp much earlier than before. The eye appears once again. This time however it focuses solely on you. The iris is a cool shade of blue while the pupil is white.
" By the gods, " you hear the woman utter. You hear the sound of something being pushed back but you cannot pull yourself away from the gaze of the eldritch eye.
It begins to draw closer. As it does you take notice of voices which seem to originate from the eye. They gradually begin to grow louder as the eye approaches you. You try to move but discover that your feet will not obey your order. The discordance becomes too much to bear and you drop to your knees as the eye looms directly over you. You look over to Valindra who is frozen in fear and is unable to move.
You try to withdraw your blade but the cacophony only intensifies in response to your action. Without warning, a bright rivulet of energy strikes the eye, and it abruptly fades away once more. But before it does you are able to discern a single sentence; " Remember yourself. "
You look over to Draalsar who is hunched over, mouth agape. That beam came from it but it appears to have taken its toll on your four-legged compatriot, but it appears only you knew what happened.
" Are you alright? " The elderly woman asks as she helps you up. You are baffled as to how she is still able to move after what just befell all within this room.
" Valindra, " she calls, causing Valindra to flinch slightly, " prepare a transport. " She orders, leaving no room for discussion.
" Yes Cleric, " she says before rushing out.
" Can you stand? " Cleric Ahresdorf questions.
You nod and slowly rise, Draalsar aids you to your feet. She immediately makes her way to one of the shelves and looks around. Now that she is no longer behind the desk you have a clear view of her. She has a muscular frame which is highlighted by her toned forearms as she reaches high for a book.
She retrieves it and makes her way to her desk. She beckons you over and you shakily make your way to her, Draalsar aids you. She flips through the book and lands on a particular page.
" Does this mean anything to you? " She points to the page in question. On the page is a drawing of a serpent eating its tail. On the left side of the drawing is a dead tree while on the right is a sapling.
It seems familiar to you but you can't quite figure out why. Draalsar walks up to the table and climbs onto it with elegance you did not expect.
It looks at the drawing before projecting a single word into your mind, Ouroboros. Suddenly, you find yourself in the middle of a pastureland, surrounded by carcasses. Something frail strikes against your leg. You look down to see a rotting cadaver clinging to your leg. Before you can act, the vision is gone, and you find yourself back in the room.
" Cleric Ahresdorf, " Valindra calls out from behind the door, " the conveyance is ready. "
" Very well," she says as she closes the book and slides it into a bag, and walks towards the door. " Follow me. "
You follow her and Valindra into an open space with a private four-wheeled vehicle that is horse-drawn. A man sits atop the carriage and immediately disembarks to open the door to the carriage. He shoots you a curious look but ultimately says nothing.
As you enter, you remove your blades and place them on the footing of the carriage. Draalsar takes a seat right next to your feet and Valindra and Cleric Ahresdorf take the seat across from you.
" To the port!" Ahresdorf barks. The carriage jolts before racing out of the institute.
" Pardon me, Cleric Ahresdorf," Valindra looks to the elderly woman. " Where exactly are we going? "
Ahresdorf turns to her. Her red eyes added to her ominous aura.
" We are going to the seat of the council in Ethaesa, " She replies.
Valindra's eyes widen in surprise.
" But that's halfway across the kingdom! " She exclaims.
Ahresdorf shoots her a look that instantly shuts her up. She turns to you.
" It appears I am yet to introduce myself, " she says. " Let us fix that. And I was briefed about your condition. "
" My name is Keira Ahresdorf. I am the head cleric for Merrowfay and Valindra is my assistant. She deals with the day-to-day running of the sanatorium and reports any anomalies directly to me.
And that would happen to be you. Most races, save for a select few have a readable aura. The higher the reading, the more potential the individual has and the easier it is to classify them. The contrasting thing occurs at the other end of the spectrum. But just because the number is small does not mean so is their potential.
There have been cases where the number is a single digit. But no matter the race there is always one thing in common, a number is shown. But in your case, not only was no number revealed, an eye manifested and we can assume that it belongs to someone or something. Hopefully, we will find a satisfactory reason for this at our next destination." She clarifies.
So every being who has taken this test has been given a number, every being except you. You look over to Draalsar and wonder what the outcome of its test will be. Perhaps an eye too shall manifest for it as well.