In the morning, Theo woke before the others to buy some early bread and gain a little more information. He was pleased by how much they'd accomplished in one day and had every intention of keeping up the momentum. With one year until the deadline, there would be time to relax later, but for now they needed to get the ball rolling.

When he returned, he found that Fiyu had departed to clean up, while Nauda brushed her hair in bed. As soon as she saw him drop the bread beside her, she gave an odd smile. "Somehow, I think that your infinite wisdom has decided on the path we're going to take today."

"It doesn't take any great wisdom," Theo said, "plus we caught a lucky break: House Crimson is conducting a trial today to induct new members."

"House Crimson? From what I've heard, they're powerful and influential, but their reputation is... cold and indifferent at best. And disturbingly unstable in recent times, according to rumors."

"We don't need them to be our friends, we need them to benefit us."

Nauda shook her head and chewed on a piece of bread for a while before swallowing and answering. "They apparently have the promising soulcrafters they want, so would we even stand out? We can't earn anything from them if they don't think we have enough to offer."

Theo waved the objection aside. "There's no reason not to start with the most powerful House. We can work our way down if absolutely necessary."

They continued to argue over it, Nauda bringing up other Houses that had made a better impression on her, until Fiyu joined them in the room. She was fitting her mask to her face, both of which appeared to have been freshly washed. When she smiled at them, he thought it was authentic. He'd suspected that she would recover quickly, since she had known she would be separated from her relative for a long time.

Unfortunately, Fiyu seemed to have no opinions whatsoever about which House they should join, so they remained stalemated. In the end, the fact that House Crimson was offering them an opportunity that day won out, so the group headed out to make their attempt.

House Crimson crowned a hill in the northeast, actually within the innermost circle of the city, which clearly proved to be the oldest and wealthiest region. The grand outer wall to the House complex was the same red of the city buildings, a fact that the House had exploited in propaganda to imply that they best represented the city. To make it clear that this was private territory, in case the reinforced gates and soulcrafter guards weren't clear enough, there were bright red banners hung every few paces along the walls.

Normally they would never have been allowed inside, but today the House was conducting a trial to select new members. The three of them joined a large group of hopefuls, some of whom seemed like mere workers, and Theo counted soulcrafters in the crowds. He saw some rough soulhomes, but there were Archcrafters among them and even two Rulers, which suggested fiercer competition than he'd expected.

Eventually the entire group assembled in a courtyard, buildings on all sides looming over them. Theo noted that the building ahead of them was the first true palace he'd seen on Fithe: the outer walls might be formidable, but the huge curtained windows and balconies couldn't be defended. Of course, if they really had a Stronghold-tier soulcrafter among them, that was defense enough. He could just see someone watching them on one of the balconies, though it wasn't likely to be their true leader, not for something like this.

"All of you are here today because you want to join the House Crimson." A Ruler rose over them on a platform of wind, staring down at the group somberly. "But our House has more hopefuls throwing themselves at us than we can possibly accept. For that reason, we have devised tests that will determine your worth in many different ways.

"Listen closely, because these rules will be explained only once. Over the course of today, there will be seventeen different trials, some of them announced and some hidden. Your performance on each will be graded, and your scores tallied. A sufficiently high score in one category could earn you entrance, or-"

"Nah." The lazy voice cut through the Ruler's speech, magnified by cantae. Theo wasn't sure where it came from, but the Ruler turned toward a balcony and immediately bowed.

"Lord Tythes!" Though thrown off his speech, he quickly managed a smile and gave a sweeping gesture. "Everyone, today you are honored by the presence of Tythes of House Crimson. He is one of our most talented Authorities, destined to become our second Stronghold."

The destined future of House Crimson slouched over the edge of the balcony, wearing disheveled robes that failed to cover his chest, though whether by design or by accident was anyone's guess. Wine stains covered one side of them, and the offending bottle of wine swung up to his lips for a long drink. Dropping the bottle, Tythes looked out over the group as if he found them particularly boring.

He didn't feel like an Authority, but Theo presumed that he had a shielding wall in place. The one curious detail about his appearance was that his skin was an odd purple and he had a single horn poking from his hair on the left side - he couldn't have looked more like a half-breed if he'd tried. Getting mixed signals, Theo reserved judgment until he had more observations.

"Lord Tythes," the Ruler eventually continued in a lower voice, "I was just beginning the test of our newest potential recruits, so if-"

"I said nah." Tythes raised his hand to his face, glanced down as if deeply offended that the wine bottle was no longer there, then refocused. "Seventeen tests sounds like way too many. There's going to be one test, and it's going to start now."

Stepping forward, Tythes pitched over the side of the balcony, but instead of falling, he floated upward, flipping a few times before turning upright. As he did so, Theo felt his soulhome and seriously considered retreating: Tythes might be acting like a fool, but he wasn't just an Authority, his soulhome was a dangerous one. Only the possibility that it might be a test of nerves kept Theo motionless in his position.

"My lord, I think-" The Ruler cut off the instant that Tythes waved at him, then the Authority focused down on the group below.

"What's going to happen is that I'm going to slam a bunch of cantae down on all of you. If you can keep standing, you win! If not, you can get out. Sound fair?"

Everyone stared at him in silence and he chuckled.

"Good answer, because it doesn't matter what you say. Okay, I'll count to eight so you can leave if you want. One... two... three... never mind, it starts now."

With no more warning than that, cantae pressure crushed the courtyard and nearly everyone crumpled. Most of the first tier soulcrafters never had a chance, smashed down to the flagstones immediately. Fiyu and a few others managed to drop down to one knee instead of collapsing, bowing in the face of such overwhelming force.

Theo considered resisting for a moment but decided to do the same before the cantae flattened him. He wasn't sure if using a reversed gravitational field would have been wise, since his gravity couldn't possibly affect the cantae. It was essentially like a solid wall descending on them, so sending himself upward might just smash him against it, which could be deadly if Tythes was as reckless as he looked.

Only three people were left standing... one of them Nauda. She had her staff braced against the ground and grimaced to stay in place, but she was resisting the cantae flooding down over her. The difference between an Archcrafter and an Authority was too vast to possibly overcome, but she might have endured.

Unfortunately, Theo doubted that this was really a trial at all.

"Oh, some of you are standing. That's nice." Tythes floated lower, looking over them. "The thing is, you have to keep standing. Good luck."

He could have brought them down just by keeping up pressure, but Tythes didn't wait more than a few seconds before he suddenly made a downward swatting motion. A column of light slammed down on one of the soulcrafters still standing, not just pressure but an established technique. It hammered them into the flagstones, eyes and mouth bleeding.

"That's one..." Tythes started to turn, but the next man in line wisely dropped down immediately. With a wry grin, Tythes floated on, shifting toward Nauda... who remained standing. "Hmm, are you not very bright or just stubborn? Are you really going to stand up to me?"

"It's obvious that no one else will." Nauda grated out the words, sweat now covering her body as she struggled to remain upright. Theo glanced at her in surprise, since she obviously understood what was happening by that point. What would drive her to take a stand against impossible odds for nothing?

"Oh, that's fun." Tythes clapped his hands together, then raised one, cantae gathering in it. When Nauda didn't flinch, he gave another lazy grin. "I'm not sure where you're from, but is it one of those weird places with strange views about striking women? I will absolutely flatten you."

"I know." Nauda couldn't last much longer, but she glared at him with everything she had left.

"Okay then."

With that, Tythes brought down his hand and slammed Nauda to the ground with just as much force as before. That left everyone in the courtyard bowing except the House Ruler, who seemed to have retreated off to the sides. Most of them stared up at the rogue Authority, wondering what they could do if he started killing people, but at that moment Tythes threw up his hands in an elaborate shrug.

"Looks like everybody fails! Go away and stop disrupting my sleep."

As soon as he landed on the balcony, his power veiled itself again and the oppressive force lifted. The vast majority of the former contestants scrambled to flee, while a few looked over to the Ruler as if hoping this had been part of the test. But the other man simply looked shaken and didn't respond, so they soon retreated as well.

Theo found himself alongside Fiyu as they rushed to help Nauda. The column of light had come down on her hard, but he judged the force had been somewhat evenly distributed. She lay on her back with no sign of broken bones, though she was bleeding from her nose.

"Nauda, are you alright?" Fiyu bent down beside her and Nauda gave a low groan.

"He didn't kill me, but... the pressure felt like it was crushing my chest. I think... I should see a healer."

"For now, you must rest. We will take care of you."

Fiyu gingerly touched the other woman's robes, then looked to Theo for help. He neutralized Nauda's gravity so that she could remain floating on her back, then the two of them slid her out of the courtyard between them. As he went, Theo glanced back over his shoulder, trying to evaluate what he'd seen. Parts of it felt like a performance, but he was also certain that Tythes had wanted the trials to end and would be willing to strike anyone else who ignored him.

That meant no challenging House Crimson, but their position had unquestionably worsened. Even if Nauda's injuries proved minor, it would take time and effort for her to recover, plus their strongest option for a House alliance had closed. Then again, given what they'd seen, staying out of House Crimson might have been for the best.

A glow behind them made Theo start to move for cover, but it wasn't the rogue House scion again. Instead, he saw a robed woman descend from the sky beside the soulcrafter who had first been crushed, then bend down beside him. Violet light flowed from her hand over the man, who suddenly sat up gasping.

It had obviously been a healing, but Theo was more interested in what he had seen. The woman's soulhome was expertly hidden, so his only chance to examine her strength had been in the moment of healing. There, he'd felt an Authority's cantae and gotten an impression of a highly polished soulhome. Perhaps this was another ranking member of House Crimson come to clean up the mess.

"Theo, should we avoid her?" Fiyu asked the question softly, but they didn't have a choice. In another moment, the woman was standing beside them.

Up close, Theo realized that he'd gotten the wrong impression of her age. Though her back was straight and she looked reasonably young, the wrinkles in the corner of her eyes and mouth suggested that she was far older. Perhaps she had soulcrafted excellent health for herself, but not yet true immortality. They would have to hope that her experience had made her less volatile than Tythes.

"I must apologize for my nephew." She spoke in a quiet voice that still seized their attention. "Please forgive his youthful indiscretions. The House has placed a great deal of pressure on him, and it causes him to lash out."

"He is your relative?" Fiyu asked. The old woman responded with a practiced half-shrug.

"I used the term in the sense of being my junior within the House, as we are not actually related. However, I trained him when he passed beyond the abilities of his parents and his tutors, so I bear the responsibility for his actions."

"Never mind that," Theo said. They might not have any leverage except the woman's honor, but he thought that could be exploited. "Are you going to heal our friend?"

"Yes, give me but a moment." Again he caught a glimpse of an Authority's soulhome as a violet light spread over Nauda's body. When Theo relaxed the gravitational field, she returned to her feet with wide eyes, no sign of her injuries except a bit of dried blood above her lips.

"Thank you." Nauda gave the woman a friendly touch to the arm, but she immediately shook her head.

"We do not deserve your thanks. For now, I suggest that you depart. It may be quite some time before House Crimson conducts future trials, so you will need to be patient." She disappeared in a blur, back into the House grounds. Whether she was going to reprimand Tythes or clean up after more of his messes, Theo couldn't be sure.

As they wearily put some distance between themselves and House Crimson, Theo considered the encounter. It seemed plausible that Tythes was simply lashing out, and if he was really so essential to the House's future, there might be no one to stop him. Many Authorities were like the old woman who hadn't given her name, managing to break through later in life and unable to soulcraft further. Soulcrafters who could ascend to Stronghold and beyond at a young age were rare, which gave them entirely too much power. The fact that House Crimson hadn't anticipated such behavioral issues spoke poorly of them.

"Our first attempt has not gone as we'd hoped," Nauda said mildly. "Tell us, Theo, where will your enlightened guidance take us next?"

"Hey, I'm not sure anyone could have predicted that." Theo glanced at the other two, but was glad to see that their spirits hadn't been broken. "Let's try a House with a calmer reputation next, shall we?"