Mage Tower, City of Rivana, Kingdom of Astralia
Entering the tower of the Mages Guild, Aiden was greeted by the radiant light of white mana lights reflecting off of the meticulously polished marble-tiled floor of the welcoming chamber. Rows of pristine white pillars lined the room as a pair of impressive staircases shadowed both sides of the entrance, allowing access to the upper floors of the tower.
Men and women clad in vibrant robes were hustling in and out of the building, some of them forming lines that stretched to the rear end of the chamber. Adorning the wall opposite Aiden were grand portraits of five older mages, three men and two women. His gaze settled on one of them, recognising the aged figure of Velus, who he had seen arguing with the priestess at the Square of Worship a few days earlier. A plaque beneath the smiling depiction of the dark-skinned man identified him as 'Velus Amari, Headmaster of the Academy of Mages'.
Beneath the paintings were three counters, only two of them staffed. Behind the first one sat an arrogant-looking blonde boy in extravagant robes. He lounged with his legs sprawled across the table, and his face, marked by pox scars, was twisted into an unattractive sneer as he conversed with the person standing before him.
At the counter next to him sat a person with another face Aiden recognised. The redheaded Arabella, the young woman Velus had protected a few days earlier .She donned the same black tunic she had worn that day, its simplicity contrasting starkly against the colourful robes worn by the others. This time, her long hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her almond-shaped eyes were scrunched up in concentration as she shuffled through a stack of papers belonging to the man in front of her. Unlike the boy, who still hadn't moved on from the person he had talked to when Aiden had entered the room, the young woman seemed to handle her clients as swiftly as she could, prompting Aiden to join her line.
Despite her efficiency, it took a while until it was his turn. As he walked up to her, she was still engrossed in examining filled out forms on her desk.
"Next!" she exclaimed, finally looking up at him, her green eyes glimmering in the otherworldly glow of the manalights. "Guild Identification, please."
Aiden responded. "I'm just looking for information, I'm not a member of the Mages Guild."
"Oh, I apologise. This desk is for guild contracts only." She seemed surprised, her gesture indicating the staircase behind them. "For membership applications, head to the first floor. The staircase over there will lead you straight to it."
"I'm actually not interested in joining the guild, I want to purchase magical supplies, essences, and manastones if you have them."
Confusion was evident in Arabella's face as she considered his words. "I'm sorry, but I don't think we sell things like that to people outside of the guild. And even if you became a member, I don't think that they would sell that stuff to you until you are at least of Adept rank."
"Are you certain? I'm prepared to offer a significant sum," he said.
She groaned tiredly, her hands instinctively moving to run through her beautiful long hair. "I'm… fine. Let me see if I can find anything."
With a grateful nod, Aiden watched her as she pulled out an official looking book titled 'Rules and Regulations' from a drawer within her desk. Dampening her finger, she rapidly flipped through the pages, eventually finding a section that appeared to be of relevance.
"So, I have found something. I was right, kind of. You usually have to be of Adept rank or higher to be able to buy materials for personal use," she explained, giving him a grin, cute dimples forming in the corners of her mouth. "Buuut here is the thing– the elders of a guild branch can sometimes grant exceptions, even to people without guild affiliation."
"That doesn't really solve my problem," Aiden replied with a disappointed sigh. "Look, is there any chance you could purchase what I need, and I'll pay you back afterwards?"
"I really, really don't think that the elders would be okay with me doing that. And even if they would be, it's… I just can't." Arabella replied, her gaze intentionally avoiding Aiden's, as if avoiding eye contact would make the refusal easier.
"What our guild's biggest failure is meaning to say is"—a high-pitched male voice came from beside her, and the young man from the other booth appeared behind Arabella—"that despite being almost old enough to be my mother, she still hasn't even advanced past the apprentice rank, let alone reached Adept," the young man said, his eyes brimming with distaste as he directed his gaze at her.
"I'm only like three years older than you!" Arabella exclaimed, a mix of incredulity and anger tingeing her reddening face.
"And yet you are a full rank behind me," her rival retorted with a smug grin, then, shifting his attention to Aiden, he extended his hand. "Mage Associate Luca Burro, at your service. You might have heard of my mother, Elder Antonia Burro?"
Ignoring the outstretched hand, Aiden looked at the young man with disgust. He could sense Arabella's inner fury, her aura radiating anger like a newly stoked fire. And even if he had not used his aura senses, her demeanour made it evident that she was ready to lash out at Luca. She directed fiery glares at the mage, her flushed face contorted in anger, and her fists clenching so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
A scowl flickered across Luca's face, but he quickly regained his composure, plastering on an obviously fake smile. "Oh, come on. Don't let Apprentice Sliteyes over there ruin the mood. Unlike her, I'm sure that I'll be able to help you, for a price, of course."
Aiden shook his head. "I think you are misunderstanding, Luca. I don't need your help. Arabella was about to bring me to Elder Amari."
"I was…?" She looked at Aiden in surprise, then realisation dawned on her. "Oh yes, I was. Follow me, please."
Arabella retrieved a sign from beneath her desk that read 'momentarily closed,' placing it in front of her workspace to indicate that her counter was temporarily unavailable. Stepping out from behind her desk, she signalled for Aiden to come along.
"Hey, you can't just abandon me here! I have not given you leave!" Luca shouted from behind them, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the complaining masses in the lines as Arabella and Aiden ascended the initial flight of stairs.
Arabella's face was still flushed from the exchange with Luca as she led Aiden up the stairs. Following her, Aiden couldn't help but admire the sight. Even in her rather unimpressive black tunic, the young woman's beauty shone through. However, he couldn't ignore that the tension that had entered her demeanour during her altercation with Luca hadn't entirely faded.
Reaching the top of the stairs, she turned back to him with a shy smile. "Thank you for what you did. I'm Arabella, by the way. I know that Luca already told you my name, but…"
Returning her smile, Aiden extended his hand for a handshake. "No need to worry about it. I'm Aiden Silver, but please, just call me Aiden," he responded, subtly looking for any signs of recognition as he shared his name. But there were none.
She delicately clasped his hand and shook it, a fraction of the tension leaving her posture. "Pleasure to meet you, Aiden. I'm sorry you had to witness that. Luca and I… well, we don't exactly get along." She sighed, her expression clouding once more. "He's always been a bit of an arrogant jerk, and he likes to remind everyone that he's better than anyone else."
Aiden nodded understandingly as the two continued their way through the tower. "It seems like there's quite a history between you two."
She let out a sigh, absentmindedly toying with her ponytail as they climbed the next flight of stairs. "You could say that. We practically grew up together here in the tower. His mother, as he's so fond of telling everyone, is one of the Elders, so he spent most of his time here. And me, well… let's just say my own mother didn't really care much about me, so I ended up here."
Aiden offered her an encouraging smile, and she went on. "Anyway, we used to be friends when we were younger. But as we got older, he became more and more like his mother. He started caring about status, and then… one day, he got right in my face and told me that 'socialising with Sliteyes' was beneath him."
Giving her a warm smile, Aiden placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to briefly halt in her steps and look at him with surprise. "I'm sorry you have to go through that."
"Thank you. It wouldn't have been as bad if he were the only one," she said, exhaling deeply. "You might not know this, but his family holds significant influence here. Especially his mother. So when he began mocking me, everyone else joined in. And ever since he passed me in rank, it's only gotten worse."
As they ascended another flight of stairs, Aiden observed the dwindling number of people on this level. The expansive corridors from earlier had now transformed into narrower hallways, branching out to various smaller rooms. Some of the doors to these rooms stood ajar, revealing what appeared to be classrooms. "Are these rooms part of your guild's academy?" he inquired, circling back to their initial conversation when Arabella gave a confirming nod. "So, how did Luca pass you in rank? He doesn't strike me as the competent type."
"He is not," she replied through gritted teeth. "Luca is a pathetic mage. He is lazy and weak. But his mother is one of the Elders, so…"
"So he gets a free pass, despite his incompetence," Aiden completed her thought, earning a grim nod from her. "Alright, but that only explains his position within the guild, not yours."
Her cheeks flushed a deep shade of red, and she stumbled over her words. "I… I'm not in sufficient standing with the guild to gain a higher rank."
Aiden couldn't help but let out a chuckle at her response. "Oh? And what does that mean exactly?" he inquired playfully.
Arabella's embarrassment intensified further. Avoiding his gaze, she fiddled with the hem of her black robe. "I may have violated some rules, and gotten punished for it."
It took her a moment before she resumed her explanation. "One of the punishments was that I have duty in the welcoming hall every day, another one is this ugly thing." She pointed at her black garment before continuing. "they have also stripped me of much of my accomplishments towards Associate rank, I won't be able to advance for years…"
"That seems like a harsh punishment. What did you do to deserve that?" he asked curiously.
Still avoiding eye contact, she mumbled, "...it wasn't just one thing…"
"Sounds intriguing, tell me about it," Aiden chuckled.
She glanced at him for a brief moment, seemingly weighing whether or not to share her story. Her silence lingered as they continued to ascend the tower. When Aiden's patience wore slightly thin, he decided to be a touch more direct.
"Does your issue with the Church of Veridania have something to do with it?"he inquired, carefully watching for her reaction.
Her gaze shot toward him immediately, her almond eyes narrowing as suspicion entered her face. Arabella stepped in front of him, her fists clenched and her face filled with her fiery anger. If she wasn't a slender woman, and a full head shorter than him, he may have found her intimidating. "How do you know about that?" she asked, her voice holding an accusing edge. "Do you work for the church? Why are you here? Has the Highpriestress sent you?"
Aiden gave her a kind smile, holding up his hands in an attempt to calm her. "I have nothing to do with the church, nor with your quarrel with them," he said in a soothing voice. "I travelled through the square when you had your little confrontation with the priestess."
Thankfully, the anger seemed to crumble as quickly as it had arrived. She retreated a few steps and began, "I… I apologise. I shouldn't have gotten into your face like that…"
Aiden waved off her apology, giving her a slight smirk and gesturing that they should continue on their way. "Don't worry about it. A little passion never hurts anyone, but do tell me why you hate them so much."
"Doesn't everyone with a functioning brain dislike them? They're fanatics that act like they're the rulers of this city," she responded evasively.
Aiden didn't even need to use his aura senses to know that this was at best a half-truth. "Maybe. But that isn't all of it, is it?" he probed gently.
Arabella went quiet again. However, this time she spoke up after a few moments. "They've taken something precious from me... something I hold dear to my heart."
Observing her closely, Aiden absorbed the profound sense of loss that emanated from her. He wondered how far he could inquire before she might close herself off from further questioning.
"I am genuinely sorry to hear that," he sympathised. "What did you do to cause the commotion at the Square of Worship?"
A war between shame and anger played across Arabella's features. "I tried to get back what they stole," she said, sighing deeply. "I may have entered their quarters without permission, and got caught."
"You broke into the church?" Aiden burst into laughter, prompting Arabella to give him an incredulous look "Whatever they have taken from you must indeed be quite important to you if you're willing to go that far."
Arabella was spared from responding as the two of them finally reached their destination. At the end of the corridor stood a large wooden door adorned with sleek silver fittings. A plaque labelled the room as the 'Office of Velus Amari, Headmaster of the Academy of Mages and Elder of the Mages Guild.' Arabella opened the door, and they went inside.