Ersia: Raven Dawn

Viena entered the Hall of Crystal alone.

The doors closed behind her with a muted thud, leaving her beneath the attention of every dignitary gathered in the chamber. For a moment, she stood uncertainly at the entrance, her gaze wandering across the long crystal table and the unfamiliar faces arranged around it. The hall was beautiful in a way that made her feel rather small. Sunlight streamed through the transparent pillars, scattering fragments of colour across the floor, yet none of that brilliance could soften the weight of so many eyes fixed upon a single child.

She had been told that the assembly wished to see her. No one, however, had explained what seeing her would entail.

At the head of the table, Queen Catalina regarded her with an expression that mingled sympathy with the exhaustion she had been unable to conceal throughout the morning. The Queen had spent the better part of the session answering questions about disasters, divine deception, and the uncertain fate of her kingdom. Now she faced a different difficulty, one that no royal secretary could resolve with a well-prepared report.

"Come closer, Viena," Catalina said gently. "You have nothing to fear. These people have gathered because there are matters concerning you that we must discuss together."

Viena obeyed, approaching the table with small, measured steps. An attendant had prepared a chair near the Queen, though she hesitated before taking it, seemingly unsure whether she was expected to sit among the assembled dignitaries or remain standing before them like a witness awaiting examination. Catalina noticed her uncertainty and gestured toward the seat.

"Please, sit. You have already endured more than enough hardship without having to stand through an entire assembly."

A few of the delegates exchanged glances at that remark. Some appeared to find the Queen's concern appropriate, while others seemed less interested in the girl's comfort than in the questions her presence might answer. Their expressions varied, but their attention was remarkably uniform. Whatever private opinions they held about the Hero Randia, the girl now seated beside Rosmayne's sovereign had become the centre of a matter that could affect every nation represented in the hall.

Once Viena had settled into her chair, Catalina rose.

"Before we continue our discussion regarding the guardianship of this child, I believe it is only proper that I introduce her formally. This is Viena, a young girl who, until recently, lived under the care of the Hero Randia. She is currently adopted to the Arbon family, a noble household of Rosmayne that has graciously taken her into its hearth."

At Queen Catalina’s prompting, followed by a few gentle questions from the delegates, Viena began recounting how she had first met Randia, how he had rescued her from trouble, and how she had gradually come under his care.

She told them how she had first come under Randia's care, and how the Hero had rescued her when she had found herself caught in trouble she could neither understand nor escape on her own. He had not simply removed her from danger and left her to fend for herself afterward. He had tended to her injuries, helped her recover, and remained by her side until she was well enough to resume her ordinary activities. In time, his presence had become so familiar that she had stopped thinking of his kindness as anything unusual. To Viena, Randia had simply been the person who appeared when she needed help, even when she had been too frightened or stubborn to ask for it.

Of all the things Randia had taught her, however, the knowledge concerning medevists occupied a particularly large place in her memories. He had introduced her to the principles of their work, the methods they used to examine injuries and illnesses, and the importance of understanding a patient's condition before attempting to treat it. She had learned about the care required when handling medical instruments, the patience needed to observe changes in a patient's symptoms, and the dangers of assuming that an unfamiliar ailment could be treated by ordinary means. Some lessons had been practical, others theoretical, and several had required her to repeat the same task until she finally understood where she had gone wrong.

The name brought an immediate change to the atmosphere. Several delegates straightened in their seats, while others exchanged looks that suggested they were familiar with the term. Even those who had little knowledge of the condition understood from the Queen's tone that it was no minor complaint.

"Blackburn is an arcane affliction," Catalina explained. "It is silent, painful, and particularly insidious as its effects are not always apparent to an ordinary examination."

"Her condition is one of the reasons we must approach this matter with care," Catalina continued. "Whatever conclusions we reach regarding her origins, her relationship with the hero, or the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, we must remember that she is a child who requires protection and proper care. She cannot be treated merely as a source of information or as an object to be claimed by whichever of us."

The words were measured, but the Queen's meaning was unmistakable. Her gaze passed briefly over the delegates who had been the most vocal in demanding guardianship of Viena. A few lowered their eyes, while others maintained their composure with the practised indifference of people accustomed to having their intentions questioned in public.

For several seconds, the only sound in the hall was the faint rustle of fabric as people shifted in their seats. Then one of the representatives leaned forward, his fingers resting against the documents before him.

"Your Majesty, I believe we demand more answers."

Catalina inclined her head, and the delegate turned toward Viena.

"You said that Randia rescued you and cared for you. How long did you remain with him?"

Viena answered.

Another representative spoke before the first had finished considering her reply. "And during that time, did he ever behave in a manner you found unusual? Anything that struck you as suspicious, even if you did not understand its significance at the time?"

The question prompted a stir among the delegates. Several had evidently been waiting for an opportunity to ask something similar, and once the subject had been raised, the others began to follow.

"Did he ever speak to you about his past?"

"Was there anyone he seemed particularly concerned about?"

"Did he mention a place he intended to visit, or somewhere he had been before you met him?"

One of the delegates tapped a finger against the table, studying Viena with an intensity that seemed rather disproportionate to the simplicity of his question.

"Before he disappeared, did Randia tell you anything about what he planned to do? Anything that might explain where he went or why he left?"

The questions continued to come, each carrying its own assumptions. Some were framed with genuine concern, others with the careful neutrality of an investigator attempting to avoid leading a witness. Beneath them all lay the same unspoken hope: that a child who had lived beside the Hero might possess some small detail that the rest of the world had overlooked.

Catalina remained silent for the moment, allowing the assembly to hear Viena's answers without interruption. She knew that the delegates would not be satisfied with a simple account of the girl's life. They had come seeking explanations for events that had shaken their understanding of the world, and Randia's disappearance was among the most pressing of them. If Viena knew something that could help them understand his actions, the assembly would want to hear it.

---

After listening for some time, the delegates began to form their conclusions. Some regarded Viena as an ordinary child with little of particular value to offer, and a few even suspected that her condition was nothing more than the result of malpractice by a medevist. Others remained steadfast in their original positions, whether continuing to press their demands or simply observing the proceedings without committing themselves.

Then a delegate from Sindris raised her hand.

She was an elf named Merielle, a woman who had spent the entire assembly cradling a tiny lantern suspended from one of her bracelets. Her eyes were golden, matching the colour of her long, perfectly straight hair, which gleamed in the sunlight and fell so far down her back that it nearly reached the seat beneath her. Yet neither her hair nor her peculiar accessory was what most people noticed about her.

The first thing was her height. Merielle was exceptionally short, standing only a little taller than Viena. Even while seated, she required an extra cushion on her chair, much as the girl did.

The second peculiarity lay in her eyes. Each pupil contained nine narrow vertical lines, arranged in layers that brought to mind the cross-section of a layered cake. Anyone who looked closely might have thought of a torta garash or a medovik, with their distinct bands stacked one above another. It was an unusual feature, to say the least, and one that made her gaze difficult to forget.

"Yes, Lady Merielle?" Queen Catalina asked when she noticed the raised hand.

"I've been trying to let it pass," Merielle said, looking around the table with mounting disbelief. "But are you people seriously not seeing that?"

She pointed directly at Viena.

The delegates turned toward the girl. Viena sat quietly in her chair, looking much as she had throughout the discussion. Nothing appeared amiss, and the collective bewilderment in the hall only deepened.

"I'm afraid I fail to understand your point, my lady," one representative said. "Could you please elaborate?"

Merielle clicked her tongue. She beckoned to her aide, who promptly rose to help her climb down from the chair. Once her feet were on the floor, she made her way toward Viena, the tiny lantern on her bracelet swaying with each step.

The surrounding delegates fell silent to watch her approach. A few leaned toward their neighbours to whisper questions, but nobody seemed willing to interrupt. Merielle stopped in front of Viena and began examining her with a concentration that made the girl shift uncomfortably in her seat.

For a long while, Merielle said nothing. Her peculiar pupils remained fixed on Viena, the nine vertical lines in each eye seemingly adjusting as she studied the girl from different angles. Then, quite suddenly, Viena noticed one of the lines in Merielle's eye growing faint, as though it were slowly fading from view.

"Oi, brat. Take off your earrings."

Viena blinked at her. "Why?"

"Tsk. Just do it, quickly!"

The abrupt command left little room for argument. Viena removed both earrings and held them out, uncertain what Merielle intended to accomplish. The elf called for a small bowl, then used her magic to draw a pattern across its outer surface. She examined the markings for a moment before instructing Viena to place the earrings inside.

Viena complied once again.

Merielle lifted the bowl with her wand and sent it floating across the hall. It drifted over the crystal table before descending neatly into Nio's arms. She was seated toward the back of the chamber, beside Minerva, who had accompanied her while they kept Nicholas company.

Merielle turned to her.

"You can see them, can't you?"

"A-Ah... Er... I..."

Her unexpectedly loud question caught Nio off guard. She stumbled over her words, visibly flustered by the attention of the entire assembly. Fortunately, Minerva was sitting beside her and quietly helped her regain her composure. With a deep breath, Nio turned her attention to the bowl and concentrated on what lay inside.

"Go on," Merielle urged. "Tell everyone what you see."

"I see... a fluffy pillow? And... uh, what is this? A gecko?"

Nicholas reacted before anyone else could speak. His eyes widened as he leaned forward, his attention fixed upon the bowl.

"They're his familiars!"

His declaration sent a ripple of astonishment through the hall. Several delegates rose from their seats and hurried toward Nio, eager to inspect the earrings for themselves. They crowded around the bowl, exchanging stories about the two entities bound to Randia by contract and comparing what they remembered of the Hero's companions.

Yet to most of them, the earrings looked perfectly ordinary. Two beautiful pink diamonds rested inside the bowl, their surfaces catching the light from the crystal pillars. No direwolf or frog was visible to the naked eye, and there was nothing about the jewels themselves to suggest that they housed anything beyond their own brilliance.

"Is it true that they reside inside these earrings?" asked a delegate from Zarim. He peered into the bowl, then looked up at Merielle. "They look perfectly normal to me."

"Would you like proof?" Merielle asked.

"Well, that would certainly be helpful."

Rather than answering immediately, Merielle turned toward Queen Catalina.

"Your Majesty, if you lend me one of your knights, I can give you the answer."

Catalina regarded her for a moment. The request was certainly unusual, and destroying a pair of pink diamond earrings in the middle of an assembly was hardly a conventional way to settle a dispute. Nevertheless, the Queen's curiosity had been growing since Merielle first raised her objection, and the prospect of discovering the truth about Randia's familiars was proving difficult to resist.

"Hm. Very well," Catalina said at last. "Let us move somewhere more suitable for this."