"Next!" A voice called through an opaque doorway

I had been standing in a line for more than three hours. After passing through the gates of Dulcrois, we were stopped for immediate processing by the constabularies. Berthold assured us it would be fine, telling the guards we were part of his group. But my hesitancy only grew when they chose to separate all three of us.

"Next!" The man repeated, growing impatient.

"Of course, sorry!" I shouted back.

I entered a room lined with immaculately carved marble as I passed through the threshold. A short man with a tidied appearance and fair skin sat on the far side of the room. I approached his desk but was stopped before I could get any closer.

"Ah ah." He corrected, gesturing to the center of the room. "On the cross, please."

A cross was engraved and gilded in the center of the pristine marble floor. Inside this design lay countless patterns, fractals, and spirals emanating from the center. These designs extended to the farthest corners of the cross. I didn't need Broke to know that this definitely had some serious magic behind it.

I hesitantly entered the border of the cross and stepped into the center.

That man is using the Mythic Skill: Appraisal on you.

The man behind the desk continued writing into a ledger before him, checking boxes and filling multiple pages. After several minutes of this, the man finally looked up at me and shut the book loudly on the desk.

"So, Mersault Star." The man started. "What is your offering to Dulcrois?"

"Well, my friend Bert explained that you all would want to see my skills and maybe run some tests. Then I'd be able to enter the city, right?"

"Maybe, that depends on what you can do. I'd love a demonstration."

"Oh! Right." I replied, digging through the contents of my bag for any kind of fabric or loose materials. "Do you have any children?"

"Yes, a daughter. Why do you ask?"

I showed the man several pieces of cloth and wooden dowels loosely piled in my hands. Then, focused on their properties, reforming and shaping these materials until they resembled the form of a princess clad in teal.

"Not a bribe, I promise," I said, gesturing to the doll. "May I?"

The man nodded as I walked the doll over to him, setting it on his overly sized marble desk. As I approached, I watched him fidget with a broach on his chest engraved with the symbol of a nine-pointed star.

"Do I need to go back on the cross, or?"

"No, that won't be needed." He replied, reopening his ledger and immediately working on filling the next page. "You may move on to the next room. Wait for the others you came with."

Before I walked away, I could see the words 'training,' 'useful,' and 'close attention.' I exited confidently, feeling it was an exam I had just aced.

Nev took a while but was the next one released after me. They joined me in a large waiting room similarly styled to the testing room but furnished much differently. Instead of a single oversized desk, chairs and couches filled the room. At capacity, it looked as if it could seat a hundred people comfortably though now only about twenty occupied it.

A buffet-style offering lined one of the marble walls, though I wasn't interested in eating. My nerves had the better of me, fearing that my companions would be allowed entry but not myself, or vice-versa. I assumed this was how more popular people felt back in high school waiting on college acceptance letters. Another reason I didn't feel like touching any of the food presented. Something about their presentation felt off. The food looked immaculate but stayed that way even after being handled and sitting for multiple hours. It reminded me of food people would film in my last life for commercials, covered in shoe polish, motor oil, and paints to give off the aesthetic of being delicious. But the actual taste was far from it.

"You okay?" Nev asked, watching my laser focus on the spread halfway across the room.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The guy I spoke with just psyched me out a little."

"Tell me about it." Nev sprawled on a couch, getting comfortable. "When the woman I spoke with saw my husk, she all but started drooling in front of me. Then went back to acting all prim and proper. Something about the energy of this place... I just hope the whole city isn't like this."

"Tell me about it. Hopefully, Berthold is having an easier time with this than we are."

Almost in response, Berthold entered the room we waited in, and his appearance undoubtedly answered my question. He looked far paler than usual with bags under his eyes he didn't have only three hours before.

"Woah, are you okay?" Nev asked, standing up from their relaxed state.

"Oh yeah! I'm great." Berthold replied, lifting up a clenched hand with two thumbs sticking up.

"What did they do to you?"

"Oh, you know, same old same old." Berthold threw himself onto the couch. "Questions, answers, a little bit of blood magic. No big deal."

"Lauer, Raist, Star. We're ready for you."

Nev and I walked on while Berthold dragged his feet behind us.

"You come to us today in an attempt to gain access to our city. That is correct?"

"Yes, my Sun." Berthold projected from behind us.

His skin was still pale, but his voice did not waver. Several beads of sweat ran down his face, though his focus was entirely on something else.

"And your offering?" Another cloaked figure shouted down from the balcony above.

The same marble flooring found itself even in this room, but the setting was vastly different. No windows allowed natural light to illuminate this space. Only nine loges layered into the farthest walls had torches fixed to the opening of their boxes. Whoever stood inside was cloaked with a veil of darkness, obscuring any features.

"I must be honest with your Suns; I have attempted to enter the city of Dulcrois once before. But, by your radiant vision, I was rejected and allowed another chance for entry."

The dimly lit opera boxes said nothing in response. Nev and I shared a look of confusion.

"I had offered myself before to be utilized to my fullest potential in exchange for access to your perfect city. Now, I offer the city this instead of one life of service." He upturned his bag allowing its contents to haphazardly spill onto the floor.

"One copy of Belinel's Unfamiliar Species, first edition. Haggas and the Silver Dawn. And if a different kind of reading is your fancy, I have Eufearia: A Collection of Horrific Exotic Prints."

He cleaned the books into a neat stack, stuffing the remaining goods into his bag. "And one more thing."

"Go on." A Sun replied.

"Instead of one, two servants for your golden city. The man can transmute at will, consuming very little energy." He pointed at Nev. "The other one can control and communicate plants, no casting or artifacts required."

"Berthold, what are you saying?" I asked.

"I should've killed you when we first met." Nev spat out.

"Very well." One of the Suns called out. "If there are no other objections."

"Wait!"

"Yeah, I've definitely got an objection right here," Nev called out.

"Then it has been decided." A different Sun called down. "Berthold Lauer will join our society and gain all the rights of Dulcrois citizenship."

"We'll need to restrain the other two for processing and transportation." The rightmost Sun called down.

As I began to backstep toward the door we entered, my limbs locked in place. I tried to shout out to Nev, but my throat closed, and lips refused to move.

You are currently being held by the Exotic Skill: Constrain Space.