Feigned Delusion

Murmurs filled the air, whispers of the new girl’s identity growing louder with each passing moment. A sparse few students dared to press their ears to the door, hoping to catch a hint of the conversation within. There they sat, in the center of the empty room, the ideal specimen of a man and someone who you could confuse for his child.

“Alera, sorry my companions couldn’t join us. I’ll have them branded for the inconvenience.” He broke the silence.

“Please don’t.” Alera pouted sadly.

“Very well ma’am.” Azurael sat there, unsure of what to do, he looked down and tried to make himself less intimidating. Alera tilted her head curiously, wondering why he was trying to fit uncomfortably into his seat. He stole glances at her, a white mark lined the bridge of her nose, bright enough to stand out even against her fair skin.

“Um,” Azurael coughed, “You’re from the Astraelith family, aren’t you?” He held his breath.

Her eyes fluttered, she squeezed her hands. “Miss Asha told you?” Concern in her voice.

“No!” He quickly refuted. “I just figured it out. The concord dictates the sigils of the seven families must be visible at all times to avoid accidental conflict.”

It just paints a target on them, probably so they can justify using article 14 to raze a continent. He thought.

He said in a whisper, “Considering previous events,” raising his voice for her to hear, “It could only be someone from your family. You know, since the other six don’t really hide their family.”

“My family…” She narrowed her eyebrows as she delivered a soft glare. “I only know the representative, please don’t talk about anyone else.” Azurael noted her shaky tone and sulking shoulder as she spoke.

“I came to learn and Miss Asha said you’ll be teaching me everything about everything and all we’ve done is eat and take the girl to the infirmary and the boy to bed and sit here quietly for the past two hours.” Azurael looked at her solemnly.

The room was large enough for a dozen apprentices, it was empty aside from the two chairs. The corners curved smoothly, as three little rusted-iron bells stood suspended above their heads. No windows or ventilation was present and light seemed to emanate from the snow-white walls.

“It’s just like before,” she held her hand between her legs as she bent forward, letting her hair fall to her knees. Soft sobs bounced off the smooth walls.

His chest fell with a deep sigh, muttering under his breath, “It’s just standard procedure.” He had only heard stories of the seven families, powerful entities ruling over entire continents, their influence only matched by the fierce loyalty of their compatriots. As he watched Alera curl into herself, her small frame trembling, he saw no trace of the power or dominance he had heard about. She seemed more helpless than a newborn.

He held out his hand, fingers curled inward, his voice crisp and clear. “Photus Effunde.” The room grew colder. In the center of his hand, where the fingers would intersect, a prismatic light shone with the glory of a setting sun. Alera peered with teary eyes through her silvery curtain of hair.

In a swift motion Azurael jabbed his index finger into the light and held it at the tip. Slowly, he inched it closer to Alera’s face stopping at the tip of her nose, where the light seemed to balance as he pulled his hand away.

Alera's eyes widened, captivated by the glowing orb balanced delicately on the tip of her nose. She instinctively held her breath, not daring to move, as though the slightest shift might cause the light to flicker out of existence. It danced gently, refracting a spectrum of colors across her face and the walls around them, turning the stark white into a canvas of shifting hues.

“This is an incantation, the manifestation of a desire. Without it, no amount of action or knowledge could manifest it, let alone maintain it.” Alera’s attention shifted past the light on her nose as her pearly-silver eyes glimmered a kaleidoscope, enthralling even Azurael. He spoke carefully, “Give it time, you will find your desires. Maybe even discover your specialty.”

The hair on his arms stood on end, as he watched this supposed novice imitate his hand motions and repeat, with a break in her speech as she tried to remember the words. “Photos Effunde.” A brilliant white light sparked at her fingertips before going out with a sudden pop. The room chilled, the crisp air hurt to breathe, Alera hardly noticed as she focused on the tiny blisters forming on her fingertips. She braved the stinging pain as the smile across her face and quickened breath resulted from her mere confirmation that, “I can do this!”

Azurael held her injured hand, Alera gasped but kept still. “Photus Effunde. Sana Corpus. Regen Vitalis.” He strung the incantations together with no effort, though slowly, not a single doubt or hesitation. Her fingers glimmered as a blanket of warmth washed over her, the stinging slowly faded. She stared at Azurael who kept his eyes on her palm, examining it for other injuries.

“You healed me.”

“Uh huh, nice and good again.” He lightly slapped her palm, as if disciplining her, and gave her a pleased smile.

“If you can heal, why do you have a scar?” She blurted out, blinking curiously, brows furrowed, tilting her head to the left to get a better look.

“It’s a long story, so I’ll give you the short version since our time here is almost done. Six years ago, in a small village to the south of Eurenai. I was tending to my family’s Renn fields when it started to rain, then it poured, then it roared. The black sky lit up, at first I thought it was lighting but when it held out for a minute I began to doubt that, as I looked around I saw a brilliant light shining in the sky, I could see it even through the dense clouds. Not too far away, under the light, I managed to make out a group of four people in the treeline, the thunder came from their direction, the trees were being uprooted with each boom that came from there. I saw two figures go flying and I just felt something whispering in my ear, ‘Prove yourself.’

I ran for five minutes straight downhill, sliding a lot of the way. You hear about them in fairytales but you never expect to encounter one, so let me be the one to tell you, never approach a humanoid. That was my first, and so far only, run in with a catastrophe. The embodiment of natural wrath. It turned to me as he filled the third guy’s guts with silt and clay; you'd think an eleven year old would run after that, huh? The thought of this thing getting to the village held me firm, I stood my ground but– it decided to crush me, sucking me into the ground. I did the only thing I knew at the time, I punched. And I kept punching until the ground gave out around me, the clay became dry and cracked in large clumps; I didn’t really have time to consider my own strength as it swooped in low and almost blew a hole through my gut. With broken ribs and through blurry vision, my mind snapped into attack mode, I cracked one across its face, the rain stopped for a moment, continuing just as quickly as it decided to swap blows with me.

Lucky thing, I practiced with the boys in my village so I could dodge anything moving slower than a pebble from a slingshot. I lost track of the amount of hits I landed but the next thing I recall is the searing pain in my lungs, I froze as its rocky fist flew towards my face. But, it never made contact. It was just gone and my face burned, as it tried to regrow its arm I heard my mother’s voice singing to me in my right ear, one hand covering the left, she pointed at the catastrophe. Snap. Its torso just exploded, we stood in a crater and I met the headmaster.”

Azurael had hardly taken a breath as he recounted his story to Alera who sat staring at him.

“You’re so strong!” She squeaked, fists balled, trying to contain herself. “Tell me more stories, please!”

“Another time,” He clasped his hands, as the three bells rang, “Everything's cleared, that makes three hours so we won’t have to be back here for a while.”

Alera recounted the story again, and again, she pictured a human-like figure but couldn’t picture it well, too many details were missing. She could see Azurael speaking, but she could only imagine him engaged in battle.

How I wish I could have been there, I want to see this fight!

The three bells rang, the walls creaked as they glossed over with a thick layer of ice. Frost immediately settled on their skin, Alera blended into the white backdrop, her uniform being the only indication that she was still there. She yelped as she pried herself from the frozen chair. Shivering, she instinctively shuffled and slid her way over to Azurael who was in no better shape.

“We leave.” Azurael commanded, pulling her into a cold embrace, covering her from head to toe in his robe. One of the bells chimed again, shattering to bits as Azurael spoke hastily, “Vitam Expelli, Aer Ardesce.” The cloth became warm, Alera shivered with pleasure. He had picked her up and was carrying her to the exit, she could feel his careful steps, hear his sharp breathing, feel his slow, beating heart. A loud crunch accompanied the door slamming open, and no later she found herself laying on top of a shivering Azurael who had found comfort on the stone cold floor.

“Ah!” Alera jumped as the door slammed behind her.

Azurael laughed, “You’ll be the death of me, huh?” His eyes frosted over, the outside of his robes stiff and unbearably cold. Alera was no worse for wear, however–

Achoo!

She sniveled, “I don’t feel well.”

“We should get you to the infirmary.” Azurael responded cooly, shivering. She remained sitting on top of his belly, trying her best to stop herself from sneezing more.

She’s this fragile while being able to strain Kjarkonste's room? Miss Asha’s testing me again, and I can’t fight back this time!

A defiant smile curved his lips, he welcomed the challenge.

The infirmary was a rather large, sectioned-off piece of the institution, lying comfortably close to a sizable crystalline pond. You wouldn’t be mistaken if you smelled your mother’s cooking coming from it, much less if you could taste it; nor would you be wrong to hear whispers in the wind calling your name. You would much more be at fault if through the shimmer you failed to see the Rarry birds running up to send you to the nearby infirmary, if you were lucky.

Despite being taller than an average baby giant, they moved with unmatched grace, speed, and precision. Their beady eyes glinted with a predatory intelligence as they scanned their surroundings for the slightest sign of weakness, and with razor-sharp talons, they could tear through flesh and bone with terrifying ease. Blinding light gleamed off their polished-marble white feathers as their long necks stretched out to feast on eyeballs and soft tissue; for as vicious as they were, they were the preferred hounds of their handler: Anaq, Overseer of Eternity’s Scourge.

This day, he had the honor of dipping his ladle into eternity to extract two drops of fragrance from the pond, for it wasn’t every day one could mend the wounds of a prospect ‘Almighty.’

Anaq stood at the closest edge of the pond, nearest to the infirmary, waiting. Not a plea, order, request, not so much as a sign came; for as it happens, Azurael couldn’t think of anyone but his most loyal companion to mend his body.

“Paragon, I don’t know if my incantations are enough.” Kari stood behind a shirtless Azurael, sweat ran down her brow, hands shaking as she tried to direct the effects of her incantations on the blistering white pustules spotting his back.

“It’s called field training Kari, if you’re gonna be a healer you’re gonna be seeing things a lot worse than this.” Azurael responded softly as he sat on his bed, cross legged, breathing just enough to not aggravate his lesions.

He raised his head, the room was silent aside from Kari whispering a string of incantations, she held her hands together. Kari steadied her breath. “Not a lot of people today.” Azurael commented. Kari opened her palms, directed them to his bare back. Her fingers tensed, palms cramped, her eyes lost in thought.

Too far, and nothing gets done. Too close, and I may hemorrhage important tissue. He trusts me, but… I can’t be confident, I need to be certain. I need to be ready to move if he does.

“Exuo Corium, Putresco, Renascor!” Azurael jolted forward and recoiled, thousands of pinpricks jabbed at his skin. The cold, still air jammed itself into his raw, exposed flesh, chilling him to the bone. Kari watched, wide-eyed, as his tightened back slowly relaxed, his sharp breaths becoming deeper with each passing moment. She kept close, careful to not touch or move away, hovering above his trembling skin, she prayed she had performed to his expectations.

She waited for a response. None came from him, however,

Hiss!

Kari nearly jumped out the window but was held close at the shoulders by Anaq, his lengthy black hair was spotted with the glimmering down of his fluffy assistants, a Rarry bird accompanied him. Kari stood still as the beady eyes of the bird appeared to look into her very soul.

“Remarkable work, dear. In lifting the layer of tissue you trigger the body’s natural response, however painful it must have been.” Looking at her with a cheeky smirk, as if he knew that she intended on the pain. She had not. “However, decomposition should only be used under the condition that the flesh is unsalvageable and may poison the rest of the body. You’re essentially cauterizing the wound, you should see the problem here.” His smirk shifted to a judgmental side-eye. “Whether you intended on letting his pool be the fuel for the rejuvenation, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.” He stuck out two fingers in a V shape. “Two of your incantations compliment each other, the third is very circumstantial. What I suggest is–”

“You can leave, Kari.” Azurael interrupted. With a slight jolt, Kari gave a slight bow to excuse herself. “Head to the alchemy lab, I’ll meet you there in a bit.”

Should I call somebody? I’ve never seen Mr. Anaq leave his grounds, the hell’s happened since I was out?

The room stood silent after the door closed.

Azurael slowly laid on his side and pulled a thin blanket over his back.

“She saved you about six months of recovery, small as it was, you really shouldn’t take chances with frostbite.” Anaq snapped his fingers and the Rarry bird writhed its neck, making painful sounding gurgles as it hacked up a small ampule behind Azurael.

“I ain’t touching that.” Azurael spoke firmly as he turned his head to glare at Anaq.

“Like I said, you’d sooner die of age than a drop of eternity.”

Azurael scoffed, “So you probably put in two.” The snide remark clearly upset Anaq as his left eye started to twitch, appearing as though he had just eaten something sour.

He looked away, turned to the Rarry bird at his side who was nipping at his robes. “I couldn’t care less if you trust me,” Anaq said, his voice tinged with irritation. “And I’m not giving this to you for free. I want to know how you got hurt. There aren’t many places you can get frostbite here, are there? So, I want to know—who hurt you?”

Kari heaved with all her might, splitting open the entrance to the alchemy lab, its two gigantic doors swerved slightly on their hinges, making just enough room to squeeze herself in. The sigil carved on its exterior pulled the doors back together. Before her stretched lush vegetation as far as the eye could see. Massive sprawling leaves weighed down the thick trunks of several massive trees, as if made of rubber, they bent at unnatural angles, a literal wave of wood created peaks and valleys in the distance. She was sure they would pierce the clouds if they were straight. Behind her, where the door was embedded, stood a small hill. At its peak, a house that bent light, refracted the sky above and reflected the light in and out at every angle.

She walked around the hill, making her way over on a path of black stone that cooled her feet even through her thick leather boots. Each step up the slope challenged her patience as her hair ruffled more and more, clumping up and tying together in a messy haze. The humidity had settled on her skin, soaking her top beneath the robe; she promptly removed it, hanging it carelessly over her shoulder, pulling the door to the glass-like house with a waning resolve.

The room was lit by small openings in the opaque ceiling, with no windows or torches, the room was eerily reminiscent of being locked in a basement; the natural light was hardly enough to navigate through the dozens of aisles of small potted plants, molds and a couple sealed containers labeled, “WARNING: EXTREMOPHILE PATHOGEN, DO NOT EXPOSE TO LIVING ORGANISMS.”

Uninterested in the little botanical garden, she continued. The air chilled, with a sudden sneeze she could tell peppers had been recently burned. Crossing through an aisle, she made her way to the back, the room opened up to a dark little section, a small fire crackled, heating a curious pot of purple-pink liquid. With an exacerbated sigh, she turned her gaze to the very corner of the dark room.

“What’s your deal?” She asked, eyes half shut as she looked around for somewhere to sit. A figure sat in the shadows, almost blending with the darkness, but the soft glow of light revealed more. Kari’s eyes adjusted, recognizing Oren on the floor, Alera’s head resting in his lap. Her peaceful, pale-ish face seemed to glow with an otherworldly quality as the speckles of light caressed her form. “That your girlfriend?” Kari sneered teasingly.

Oren glanced up at Kari, unamused, he responded, “This is Alera. She wasn’t feeling good so Az asked me to get her some medicine.” He kept stroking her hair, pulling it behind her ear, keeping it out of her mouth as she kept trying to chew on it.

Kari stood still for a moment then, her teasing expression fading, and with renewed interest, she went off. “How’s she doing? Do you have a current temperature?” She walked briskly over to Alera and knelt down, using the back of her hand to feel her forehead and neck. “Have you been keeping a record of her temperature fluctuations? Have you given her anything? How long has she been asleep? Has she been complaining about any pains? Have any other symptoms manifested that you’re aware of?” Slowly, Alera’s eyes opened up, revealing both her moon-like eyes, Kari once again paused.

“Kari…” Oren said softly, as if addressing his mother. Alera raised her shoulders, as she shivered from tensing her body, giving a great wide stretch. She gave a great smile as she, without hesitation, pulled the kneeling Kari into her arms and into a tight hug.

Giggling the whole time, Alera kept a firm hold on Kari. Kari, however, was quite upset by this development as the moment Alera had smiled she understood why she had been laying on the ground, feeble and sickly. “Is this girl drunk?” Kari asked Oren loudly.

“It was the witch! The witch of the woods said, ‘This elixir of life will make your body and soul stronger! But the choice is yours little one…’ and this one was all like, ‘Yes! Make me stronger!’ and downed the whole thing.” Oren blamed, clearly shook by the prospect of himself being blamed for the situation.

The witch of the woods, the greatest healer of her generation, McNellie Uvs’Hert. She wouldn’t harm one of us, right? Kari doubted. Alera soothed herself, rubbing her face over Kari’s cool top. Using her chest as a pillow, she, once again, peacefully dazed off, a soft whistling came from her breaths.

“Well, Azurael should be here soon, let's hope he knows how to deal with this.” Kari resigned herself to being Alera’s pillow for the meantime, staring thoughtlessly at the ceiling. With a wide yawn, she felt her eyelids closing in on her, Alera was warm to the touch. Kari wrapped her right arm around her to make sure she wouldn’t slip off; before she knew it, it was her that had drifted off instead.

A fog of forgettable moments revisited her: the day she stubbed her toe, falling to the floor with two cups of mint tea; the time she took an involuntary mud bath in the training grounds after a particularly long rain, soaking the towel she had kept dry for hours; and the first time she got here, sitting alone at her table, looking around at the plebs who were sneaking glimpses of her, never meeting her eyes—except for the one who was sitting across from her, unnoticed until it was too late, making her panic and inhale her drink, spilling it all over herself.

Forgettable, yes, quite forgettable… she would want to believe, but how could she? Through them, she could almost feel, almost relive those moments without all the embarrassment—or at least without anyone around to notice it. Those moments when Azurael would give her a helping hand, taking off her boot to massage her toes, running hot water to complete her task. When he ran to get her a towel, returning with a dozen and wrapping her up like a mummy, only to carry her to her dorm room and wait for her as she washed up. (How nerve-wracking that was.) How he apologized for weeks for not making his presence known, triggering her primal response. In her dreams, she could say for sure why these things had happened, she could answer why he was remotely interested in her to begin with. In her dreams.

In a haze, Kari, still half asleep, could feel herself moving, yet her body remained limp and unresponsive. A distant thud could be heard, echoing in her ears. Her body shook each time she heard it, lost in thought. On the third thud she finally realized– it was the closing show for the night’s event. Suddenly everything came rushing back to her, with a sudden gasp, tightening her arms and legs; panic stricken, she jolted up in her stupor, remembering her plans for the day: Spend the Commencement Ceremony with Azurael.

How could she have made such a mistake? She rejected the requests of several instructors, who had asked her for assistance, just to make sure she could be with him for the start of her first PyreBlossom Festival. There won’t be another for three whole years! How did she even fall asleep to begin with? The short walk up the hill wasn’t that bad, maybe… it was because the headmas–

“The fireworks are beautiful, but if you miss them, don’t worry. We have all night to watch the stars.” The voice was unmistakable. Slowly, she opened her eyes. A dark spiral stairway led upwards, their way being shone by a lue of vibrant colors, kaleidoscopic in appearance; they were moths to a flame. She hung limply on Azurael’s back, his hand grasped her legs firmly as he leaned forward to keep her from falling. She tightened her arms around his neck, knowing very well that he would insist on carrying her, keenly aware of how quickly he could wear away at her. But right now, what mattered wasn’t her embarrassment, but the understanding that this, too, would become just another forgettable memory.

The expansive grounds of the Institute came into view as they reached the highest deck. Kari’s eyes widened as she could see the immense size of the pyrotechnics in use dwarfing the entirety of the surrounding landscape. From beyond the horizon, at all sides, from distant mountains and through thick groves in the far off distance, day turned to night as the relentless, innumerable fireworks lit up the sky with every color imaginable.

The scent of fireworks was inescapable, its tinge made Kari’s nose tingle with an odd satisfaction. It hadn’t occurred to her until a tap came to her shoulder, followed by a cheerful, “You are Kari, aren’t you?” That the enormous explosions in the sky were going off with a mere, distinct thud.

Kari looked back, not too far, Oren sat and waved a simple hello. Looking lower she locked eyes with her as she finally got off Azurael. Alera looked expectedly at Kari waiting for her answer. “Are you feeling better?” Kari asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

“Yeah, look!” Alera candidly pointed further along the deck where a woman stood.

Her deep crimson hair seemed to have brightened, it shone a vivid scarlet as a number of luminous balls hovered around her. She waved her hands, seemingly conducting the explosives as they seemed to match the graceful swing of her arms perfectly. The four stood silent, respectfully and delightedly watching the headmaster perform her elegant routine. Finally, she brought her hands together and allowed the stars to reclaim their rightful time slot once more. Azurael brought his hands to Alera’s ears as she turned to look up at him, he warned, “Cover your ears.” Which the other two quickly heeded.

Asha threw her left arm to the sky, as far as she could, holding in her hand her thumb and middle finger held together tightly. And, at the peak of her motion, she uttered “La” before quickly snapping her fingers; her arm was thrown back as if she had just fired a gun, but the sound did not come from her fingers. The luminous balls had shot far, far into the sky and seemed to disappear into the darkness of the night sky. Before anyone could question what was going on, day had once again reclaimed the night and with it came a thunderous BOOM that shook the very foundations of the Institute. Glass shattered, birds flocked by the hundreds into the sky, the clouds parted around them in the distance. The source of this glory stood with open arms and a pleased smile as the balls danced around in the sky wildly, slowly losing their vitality as they fell back down beneath the torn up clouds.

Oren had been knocked onto his back; Kari had fallen over, struggling to breathe; Azurael was tense but standing; Alera was trying to copy Asha’s movement, Azurael promptly stopped her by refusing to teach her how to snap her fingers.

Asha held her hands at her hips as the sky slowly darkened once more, a satisfied smile across her face. Silence fell upon them, pierced only by a shrill and constant ringing in their ears. She turned to the four, her head tilted upwards in a prideful display for them, as if waiting to be praised.

Oren sat up, rattled and delivered light applause. Kari held his ear and her own, casting a simple numbing incantation for them both. Alera was beaming, her hands delivering frenzied applause. Azurael remained still, his eyes delivered a slight glare as he tightened his fists. It wasn’t just the power that unsettled him—it was the way she wielded it, effortlessly and without regard for the aftermath. A roaring applause could be heard from below. Asha’s gentle voice boomed as she spoke through the thunder below, “I welcome you all once more, and I wish you all good fortune through these three Lunas, I hope you are able to discover yourself. Do your best!”