Ar'Kendrithyst

Past a different entrance to the Void Temple than the one Ezekiel had first entered, the experience of the Void Temple was much changed. There was no line at this entrance; there were simply pews and people praying toward the bell in the center. Those people were separated from the bell area by several meters, and also by the crowd that still walked single file around that central location. This secondary area was much less congested, though; it seemed most people just wanted to get as close as possible and then get out, and so they came in through the other entrance, following the crowds.

The sounds of the Void Song was still as strong here as it had been in line, though.

Xue silently handed Ezekiel off to a silent woman in white robes, standing beside a staircase that went up to a semi-private second level. There were no introductions, or words uttered, either telepathically or verbally, in the hand off. After that, Ezekiel recognized that there was no sound in the Void Temple except for the Void Song.

But up on the second level there were suddenly voices, and the Void Song was slightly muted. This area was a cloister, with the courtyard of the Void Song to one side, and offices, workspaces, and small meeting rooms to the other side. That was just what Ezekiel saw, though. There were likely many hidden places in the bright white stone of the very large Temple.

Julia, Tiffany, and Paul, filed in behind Ezekiel as their guide stepped inward, toward a large alcove past the top of the staircase. Their guide was an aged human woman of pale skin and blond hair, with bright red eyes. Unless Ezekiel was mistaken, it seemed a great many people of the highlands were demi.

In a no-nonsense tone, she began, “Scion Ezekiel. Welcome to the Void Temple of Eralis. I have heard some of what has brought you here, but I would like to hear it in your own words.”

Ezekiel gladly stated, “I have been making magic in unorthodox ways since I learned of the craft. Usually, I listen to what the magic tells me about itself, and then I—”

“That is enough.” She said, “You may call me Sister Kaffi. We will continue this discussion in a more private setting; in one of our practice rooms.” Kaffi turned, and started walking.

Ezekiel kept up with her.

In less than a minute, they had gone up a wide, curving set of stairs, where the sounds of the Void Song vanished completely. They entered into a long third-floor hallway that was open in the middle, with doors on both sides. Normal-sized stairs on both sides of the room led up to a fourth floor that was a repeat of this third floor. There was an opening in the stone between both floors, where bright sunlights held like glowing pillars from the third floor to the ceiling of the fourth, illuminating all.

Over half of the doors were closed.

The structure of the hallway reminded Ezekiel of the practice rooms of the Mage Guild of Spur, for that was what they were. With his mana sense, Ezekiel saw the nearby people practicing magic behind closed doors, either on their own or with an instructor.

The Void Song might have been gone, but it had been replaced by the hum of those people beyond those doors, each practicing their magic, either through incantations or otherwise. There were so many odd methods on ‘display’, from people using instruments to cast, to others singing, to others who were chanting with others in the same room as them. Instructors were in many of the rooms, but not all.

Some of the rooms were ‘dark’ to Ezekiel’s mana sense; no mana entered or left, and the sounds of those spaces were cut off from the rest of the world. This fact, combined with the fact that there were small benches in the center of the room and people sat upon those benches, listening to the people beyond, led Ezekiel to believe that any practitioner in any of the rooms was able to shut off their own displays, if they wished, but most people didn’t.

… Or maybe there was something more complicated going on. Probably nothing too nefarious, though, since Ezekiel neither sensed nor saw any bloodlust upon any of the faces in the grand hallway.

Kaffi said, “These are our various public song cells. Every day, we teach music and the arts to those who wish to pay. We also teach our versions of magic, but unless a person shows aptitude for the Song then that sort of training is canceled, no matter how much a person can pay. We have long discovered that the talent for Song is not present in everyone, and while the talent can be uncovered with extensive training, we will not engage in such endeavors unless there is something to be uncovered. Either way, a payment is expected for our time and knowledge.

“These rooms are usually one-way boxes, wherein the sound escapes, but does not intrude overmuch. Many people can come and listen to the Cacophony of the Hallway if they wish, but most do not. Some say it helps to unlock the talent of Song. Others say there is no benefit. But, mana is possibility, and so, some people do achieve the Song by spending their time listening to the Cacophony.” She gestured forward, saying, “Pick a room and we can discuss more, either with the blocking active, or not. If one of your people wishes to join us, they can, otherwise they may wait out here.”

Ezekiel glanced to Paul, then to Julia and Tiffany. The girls shook their heads. Tiffany tapped her bag, which held a few books that they had gotten at the bookstore on the way here.

Paul said, “We will wait for you on the benches, Scion.”

Ezekiel turned back, and picked an open room to the right, saying, “That one appears fine.”

They went into the room and Kaffi closed the door behind them. Exterior sounds mostly vanished; the room was not fully silent inside, but it was close enough to be minorly maddening. Ezekiel could deal with the silence, for now.

The room was a five-meter wide cube with a dome at the top and a sunlightward in the dome. Control runes glowed by the side of the door, on a rotary dial. The room was currently on the ‘open’ setting, but he could turn the dial and set the room to ‘closed’, which seemed rather self-explanatory. Chairs were stacked to the side along with fold-out tables.

After a moment of adjusting with those tables and chairs, Kaffi sat across a table from Ezekiel.

Kaffi said, “That [Scry] eye behind you and the [Familiar] on your shoulder will both dislike what happens when the room is set to ‘closed’. Keep that in mind after I ask this question: Do you wish to give me the full story of your magics, or do you wish to keep certain things hidden? I am oath-bound to not reveal anything told to me, but that does not mean these rooms are not spied upon by others. The quality of the lessons you will receive might be dependent upon finding a personal Truth, which you might not want to do without the privacy activated.”

“I’ll keep the room open, for now. I rather think I know my own personal Truth.”

“You are familiar with the concept, then. Very well.” Kaffi said, “Next question. What is your worth? We charge on a sliding scale.”

“We’re going to have problems if that is how you charge. Can you give me a price, instead?”

Kaffi did not bat an eye as she said, “Five thousand gold, a thousand mid-grade cores, or five grand cores. Such is the expected patronage of a Scion for one month of instruction, which is all we give to outsiders.”

With reluctance, Ezekiel said, “Normally… I could pay that, but not as I am now.”

“We can apply this cost to your Clan, through your permanent record at the Records Office. You may pay this price within a year of the completion of instruction. Failure to pay will result in harsh penalties, but not of the accruing interest-type. The penalties of which I speak would be of the sort which would prevent your ability to do business in the Highlands. Such a failure of payment would be a black mark upon your record.”

Ezekiel said, “Then I will go with that option; deferred payment. We’ve gained hundreds of gold in a few days culling mist stone gluttons. I can dedicate some more time to that and have a full payment ready for the Void Temple soon enough.” He added, “If the instruction is as good as I hope it will be.”

Kaffi said, “Then we shall continue with a base reading, and if you should choose to continue after today and if we choose to teach you, then your debt will be added to your record, Scion Phoenix. Some of the balance of your bill will be expected sooner rather than later. A good amount is ten percent within the first week.”

Ezekiel nodded. “This is acceptable.”

Kaffi said, “If you are gaining outside help from your [Familiar] or from whoever is watching through that [Scry] orb, then you are doing yourself a disservice. This test that I will now conduct is a baseline reading of capabilities. All other lessons which might come your way will depend on the truthful outcome of this reading. Understood?”

“Understood.”

He had been looking for anything untoward this whole time, but Kaffi seemed completely on the level.

Kaffi said, “We shall begin.” Kaffi held up her left hand. “Can you hear this?”

Ezekiel looked to her hand, and then rapidly reevaluated everything he had thought of Kaffi, for she wasn’t doing anything. No mana channeled through her hand. No song echoed from her soul, which was rather stable. She seemed to truly believe that something was happening on her hand, and yet… Ezekiel saw and heard nothing. Was she a phenomenal liar? Was she lying to him about the sliding scale of payment, too? Had he just agreed to be swindled?

“Were you lying about the sliding scale of payment, too?”

Kaffi’s face broke into a tiny grin. “No.” She continued, “How about this?”

Still nothing came from her.

Ezekiel narrowed his eyes.

Kaffi lost her grin, turning completely professional. She held her left hand in the air and a hum entered the air, but not from her hand in the air. Her right hand, currently resting on the table, was humming, and only from her ring finger. She wasn’t quite channeling mana, but it wasn’t aura control either, or at least it wasn’t any aura control Ezekiel had ever seen. He saw no difference as he blinked on his mana sense…

She was truly just ‘humming’ the air from her right hand’s ring finger, giving a sound to the air that was similar to the sound of the Void Song, but different.

Ezekiel decided to answer her question, saying, “Your right hand, that finger there.”

Kaffi’s eyes went wide. She couldn’t help but grin again, and then she wiped that expression away, and held up both her hands, fingers splayed. “From your left to right. Numbers one through ten. Tell me what you can hear.”

Kaffi proceeded to play a song to the air, through her fingertips, without moving a single part of her body, or her mana. She did not go slowly. The notes had no variation, except for location. She repeated her aura play three times, then she waited.

Ezekiel said, “One, five, nine, nine, three, four, three, eight, ten, seven, six, two.” He added, “Can people actually follow that? I could barely follow that.” His first lie of their interaction; he easily followed her overlong sequence. He was more than fine lying to this lady, though; she was lying to him about something, for sure.

Odin chirped.

Ezekiel nodded. “Yes, it was difficult, Odin.”

Kaffi, wide-eyed, smiled, as though basking in the afterglow of fulfilled anticipation. Then she sighed, but she was still happy as she returned to professionalism. “I apologize for the rudeness of my test, Scion Phoenix. I was informed of your capability and gave you the hardest version. I also apologize for asking this next question: But could you retake this test in a closed room, without your [Familiar]s?”

“No.” Ezekiel explained, “What I just did was all me, and I am not willing to let my guard down in such an unknown location, just yet. I am sorry if this offends you. Please believe me: my [Familiar]s are not helping me with your test. Odin has helped me to make magic before, but has not helped me here.”

Kaffi said, “Then we will move on to the rest of the test.” She held up a hand, and with the same sort of control which was neither aura, nor the channeling of mana, inundated the air with the idea of [Force Bolt]. “Name this spell.”

Ezekiel did so, eliciting another quickly-vanishing smile from Songstress Kaffi. And then he and Kaffi ran through every other basic Force spell, many of the utility spells out there, and all of Mana Altering, even hitting some esoteric elements like Mercy, Void, Holy, and Vile. As for her spells, though, if those were all of Kaffi’s spells she knew, then he knew more base spells than her. Soon enough, the test was over. Kaffi crossed her hands onto the table between them.

“You’re a rare talent.” Kaffi could not fully keep the grin off of her face, saying, “Let us continue that introduction you almost gave me, before we came to this room. Tell me why you have come here.”

“I have come here to learn from the Songstresses of the Highlands, for I heard that their magic was similar to mine. I have heard that you use incantations and song in order to make your magic, and to influence how your magic behaves after it has already been crafted; to heighten or lessen certain parts of spells beyond the functionality described in the blue boxes of the Script.”

“This is all true. How do you make your magic?”

“By channeling mana through my hands to hear the spells therein, and then I combine those sounds into a cohesive whole, which is then cast into the world.”

Kaffi nodded. “Do you use any of the standardized methodology popularized by any known schools of thought?”

“I have learned of gridwork recently, and that has been useful in understanding the shaping of spells, but aside from that, most Arcanaeum teaching has not been useful and I don’t do magic like the rest of my Clan, anyway. Mostly, when crafting a new spell, I imagine my desires for a particular spell to the fullest of my ability, and then I chant out those desires to the mana. The mana responds with what I want. The only difficulty I have had with this method was when I created [Prismatic Ward]. That spell took me a few months of trial and error and ritual.”

He could have left out the part about [Prismatic Ward], but to claim to have no problems about any magics he had made would mark him overmuch. Everyone had problems making [Prismatic Ward].

Kaffi smiled wider, then banished her smile from her face. “I haven’t heard of gridwork in a long time. Do you know of the Remake Quests?”

“Yes. I’ve remade several basic spells so far.”

A bit quicker, she asked, “Aura control, or Elemental Body?”

“The second.”

“Are you aura capable, at all?”

“… I assume that means to have competency with aura control enough to remake spellwork, or cast magic, or otherwise?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

His lack of aura control was likely his biggest flaw. If Kaffi was asking about it, though, maybe she was able to solve that problem, so it was better to be truthful, there.

Kaffi sat back in her chair, relaxing into the pose of a teacher. “Do you have any spells you are working on right now?”

“Yes. I considered making a Rift the other day, but I realized that I should wait and do so here, to see how you do it.”

“We can make a Rift some other time.” Kaffi asked, “Do you play an instrument?”

“No. And I have little interest in learning one.”

“The aura is an instrument, too.”

“Uh.” Ezekiel’s eyebrows scrunched together. “It is?” He rapidly added, “I never considered it as such.”

“Of course it is. Do you know the spell we use to sing the Void Song?”

“Not exactly. But I have heard people speak of it as a simple spell that doesn’t seem like it should be able to lock out all the magic that it does lock out.”

Kaffi gestured. A blue box appeared.