Right before they arrived, Calyn had been planning to leave Ethavel. With their arrival, however, all such plans had been put on hold. Even with her nonexistent interest in politics, she wasn't blind to what an opportunity it would be if their Sydrak clan could somehow be allied with the Draknar alliance, even tangentially. Which is why it came as no surprise when her aunt told them that they'd be staying a while longer as the Governor's guests. Of course, at only the second tier, neither she nor her cousin, Nerissa, were qualified to even speak in the presence of the seventh-tier mages. Not unless they were spoken to first. It was her chaperone, Aunt Lina who had taken up attempts to get closer to the two mages. Coming from a clan of Body-enhancing mages, it came as no surprise that her aunt chose to get closer Mage Grenad as opposed to Mage Hira. Given how long-lived mages were, relationships could sometimes take cycles to fully be established. As such, Calyn knew she might be too hasty in making this judgment. Still, she couldn't help the feeling that none of the people trying to win Mage Hira and Grenad, her aunt included, were making any headway. The two seemed only interested in their mission and nothing else.
One of the first things the Governor had sought to find out after he'd received the two seventh-tier mages was what they were after. This was, after all, what would determine how they would interact going forward. Not beating about the bush, Mage Hira had plainly stated that they were on the trail for a seventh-tier mage that they were trying to recruit. From the way the man's lips had pressed together, Calyn could tell that the Governor was a shrewd man. Just because the objective of the two mages didn't have anything to do with him didn't mean it couldn't be a disaster for him and his city.
To begin with, there was possibly a hidden seventh-tier mage within his city. Someone like the Governor was certain to have accrued several life-preserving measures throughout his life and tenure as Governor. Still, even if he didn't die, if a seventh-tier mage chose to attack him, he'd lose a pound of flesh in the process. And that was to speak nothing of the city itself. If half of it wasn't wrecked in that fight, then the Governor could only count himself lucky. The fact that Mage Hira and Grenad were on this hidden seventh-tier mage's trail, was a clear sign that he wasn't interested in joining the Draknar alliance. Though low, there was still a very real chance that negotiations might break down and things turn violent. The Governor was only a sixth-tier mage. If a fight instead broke out between two seventh-tier mages, then his only recourse would be to try and run as far as he possibly could before he was also caught up in it. As for Ethavel, there was no point in hoping to preserve it. The Governor would simply have to find a way to start over.
With this in mind, the most logical course of action would have been to try and get as far away from the two as possible. However, mages were exactly the kind of people to run headlong into danger if there was even a sliver of a chance that it would help them gain power either personally or through association. Being allied with one of the most powerful mage alliances was exactly that kind of opportunity. And so, like moths to the flame, all the most powerful factions in the city and beyond had been trying their level best to earn the favor of the two. For whatever reason, the chase the two had been on seemed to have hit a dead end in the city, forcing them to stay with the Governor for the past two months. In that time, they hadn't managed to go longer than three days before a social event of some kind or other had been thrown at the Governor's palace.
Everyone knew that it was just an excuse to try and get closer to the two high-tier mages. Still, every event was attended religiously by everyone who was anyone in the city. Calyn was certain that if not for the fortuitous fact that they were the Governor's guests at the time of their arrival, even her clan would have traded favors with others to ensure they always had someone present at these parties. Their luck didn't just end with being able to attend all these parties for free. The fact that they share the same roof as the two high-tier mages had caused the factions within the city to take note of them. Despite her dislike of politics, even Calyn had taken advantage of this. The number of resources she'd managed to accrue from the major players within the city and beyond was such that, even with the marriage falling through, this trip to Ethavel had proven more than worth it.
The factions weren't idiots, they knew that second-tier mages didn't hold that much sway with seventh-tier mages. In the fierce competition to stand out over others, however, none of them were willing to give up any chance they might have to gain an advantage. No matter how small, if throwing a few resources at second-tier mages happened to increase their chance to succeed at their larger goal, then they were more than glad to do it. That's why, despite having grown tired of these all-too-frequent events, Calyn was dressed in a form-fitting, rosy-red dress with a glass of Ember wine in her hand, watching the bishop as he tried to convince Mage Hira of his disciple's abilities.
"I am certain that your disciple is impressive," Mage Hira replied after the bishop had waxed lyrical about his student for a while longer. Despite her words, Mage Hira's expression was neutral and her tone quite possibly the most unimpressed Calyn had ever had. "Which is why I am certain you don't wish to see him die," she went on to say. Her words were calm and nothing had changed about her demeanor, still, those closest to the woman did their best to be subtle about it as they moved away from where she stood. Even the bishop seemed suddenly uneasy, wondering if he'd pushed a tad too much. High as his tier was compared to most others present, he wasn't willing to incur the wrath of the seventh-tier mage. His student had gone paler than a ghost. Despite doing his best to project calm, the adept's hands were shaking at his sides.
Calyn didn't miss the way Mage Hira's lips quirked upward for the briefest of moments. Despite her largely neutral expression, she had noted the reaction of those around her. "A seer is the first thing I sought soon after I began this chase. Unfortunately, every priest or sorcerer that has tried to scry out the identity of the one I am after, has mysteriously met a horrible end. Whoever he or she is, the one I am after is under the protection of a powerful entity," she communicated. Calyn didn't miss the way those around the blood mage visibly calmed down as they realized that she wasn't speaking of killing the bishop's disciple personally. The adept was naturally the most relieved of everyone present, a sigh of relief leaving him before he could catch himself.
Even the bishop seemed to have gained a second wind as he smiled widely at Mage Hira. "Charlatans!" The bishop declared loudly. "Before the light of Seraphia, all other so-called deities can only pale," the man declared with complete conviction, earning scowls and looks of displeasure from those of other faiths. This was one aspect of the school of faith that had always befuddled Calyn. It was common knowledge that there were several deities in existence, most of whom weren't even interested in humans, mages or otherwise. And yet, for some reason, priests and sorcerers who were perfectly rational in most other areas of their lives would swear that their particular deity was the only true deity and all the others were pretenders to the title. It came as no wonder that even among mages who were all bloodthirsty in their own right, the school of faith magic boasted the largest amount of bloodshed. When all your power was dependent on your faith in a deity, any attempt to denigrate that being was a direct threat to your power as well.
This was the main reason that Calyn didn't like the school of faith magic. To have all your power entirely dependent on some external entity was far too glaring a vulnerability as far as she was concerned. No amount of swearing up and down by the members of this school would ever make her willing to give up control of her fate in such a way. It was for this same reason that Calyn loved being a body-enhancing mage. She might not have as many direct spells as those from other schools, but all the power she needed was already in her body. She didn't have to rely on an external entity, or on how fast she could weave together magic. Her body was her weapon. Her strength and speed were things she could call on without having to worry if they would answer or not.
"Are you willing to stake your student's life on that claim?" Mage Hira questioned, in a clearly disinterested tone. In a way, it was an unfair question. To do anything but agree to the question, would call into question the bishop's faith. By the same token, however, the man had been testing the blood mage's patience and she was hitting back by calling him out directly. If the man disagreed, he'd be casting doubt on his faith. On the other hand, if he agreed and something did happen to his disciple, then he'd have no one to blame but himself.
Of course, as was the case with most members of the school of faith, there wasn't even a hint of hesitation before they fanatically proclaimed their faith in their particular deity. Even before the bishop had the chance to gamble with the life of his disciple, the adept stepped forward, head held high, and voice full of conviction. "Seraphia's light shall preserve me. Please, allow me to shine His light on your quarry." Under any other circumstances, the fourth-tier priest wouldn't have dared speak so forwardly to a seventh-tier mage. When it came to the defense of his deity, however, there wasn't even a hint of hesitation or faltering in his voice.
Mage Hira quietly regarded the man for a while before a drop of blood separated itself from the blood arrow that had been floating before her all this while. This was the blood of someone related to the one she was tracking, at least according to Mage Hira. Through a modification of the blood resonance spell, she could get the blood she controlled to point her in the direction of the one she was after. Calyn couldn't for the life of her figure out how the arrow was supposed to guide her as all it had been doing since she arrived was randomly turn this way and that. It's almost as if it was unsure where exactly its target was. Also, she couldn't be too certain, but, Calyn couldn't help feeling that the blood arrow had shrunk in size in the time that she had been in the city. Why that would be, she didn't know, but it helped Calyn understand the Mage Hira's frustration. If she was already losing the medium through which she was tracking the mage, then any request to give away some of the blood was only diminishing the amount of time she had left to continue tracking the seventh-tier mage she was after.
Chants started to resound within the hall, as the drop of blood came to float in the air before the adept. Unlike other schools of magic, the school of faith made use of rituals and prayers more than actual spells. Yes, they could cast a few spells, but only the simple, low-power ones. This made it so that priests tended to be weaker in direct combat. They, however, were a deadly force to be reckoned with if given the time to chant their prayers and perform their rituals. If this had been a combat situation, any competent mage would have attacked the adept right as the first words were uttered. At present, however, people just watched on with curiosity as he worked his magic.
The rhythm of his chants quickly picked up speed, only half his words intelligible as he sought an answer from the higher power he served. The adept's eyes started to glow before golden light burst forth from them and landed on the drop of blood. Neither of the two rays of light coming from his eyes had landed on Calyn. Still, even looking at them left her with the feeling of the warm morning sun landing on her skin. It was the kind of warmth that made one forget all their troubles and for one second, just close their eyes and angle their face toward the sky to take it in. So taken in by the feeling was Calyn that her mind didn't immediately register the scream or smell of cooking flesh. It wasn't until the light turned harsh and unforgiving that she snapped back to her senses.
If anyone present had somehow missed the screaming man, then the light show was certain to catch their attention. It was as if the light of the sun had been placed inside a broken jar. Like broken pottery, cracks seemed to have spread out all over the adept's body as light, harsh and unforgiving, spilled out of it. The robes that the adept had been wearing had already burned away leaving him completely naked. No one present, however, was even remotely interested in that. If by some bizarre chance, there had been anyone whose attention hadn't been drawn by what was happening to the adept, then the aura that suddenly started rolling off him in waves changed that. Everything within Calyn wanted to run. She wanted to be as far away from the walking calamity before her as possible. She, however, didn't dare move. She didn't even breathe loudly. This was a being so far above her in power that to try and run would be mocking him. If nothing else in the world was true, then this one thing was, she was entirely at the mercy of whatever entity it was that the adept had inadvertently called down. The adept's eyes had long since popped from the heat that seemed to be cooking his body. Still, there was zero doubt in Calyn that this new entity was looking at the drop of blood with a mix of surprise and curiosity.
"It's been so long since I last heard of you old friend,"
Whatever language the words were spoken in, it most certainly wasn't in the human tongue. And yet, she understood every word perfectly well. It was as if they had been spoken in a language that transcended simple words and sounds. Calyn was certain that even if she was deaf, she would have clearly heard what was said. Rather than speak words that you'd first have to hear and then decipher, this language communicates the meaning directly to the mind. So direct was the communication to her mind that, for a second, Calyn found herself wondering if they had actually been spoken or that she was imagining the being had used sound because that's what she was used to.
