Chapter 99 — Talented Young Masters and Mistresses (Part II)

Aldri gave Ria a half-joking military salute and Kiera a mouthed “Good luck!” to encourage her as she passed on her way toward the steps leading on to the stage. Keira’s parents were behind the pair accompanied by others that were likely Kiera’s invited Ordermates from the Golden Dawn, if the feel of strong light-attunement was any indication. Ria acknowledged her friends’ encouragement with a nod and faint smile.

Faris and Iselyn were to Lady Asara’s side with Faris’ sisters, the diviner friend, and their same forgettable escorts as at the practice event. They were still congratulating Iselyn for her performance, but Iori saw her passing and held up a fist in front of her with a challenging grin and a “Show us something fun, Ria!” that Iselyn wanted no part of, pretending to not notice.

Ria nodded with a smile for Iori’s enthusiasm and let her gaze catch Lady Asara’s and Lord Jevaran’s and she stopped to curtsy to them as she arrived at their thrones set in front of the raised stage’s wide stairs. Beside her, Ranger made a gentlemanly bow as well. Both of Faris’ parents looked pleased and to be barely suppressing their eagerness to see what she would present from showing in their expressions.

Just past Lord Jevaran stood Presius and Venessa and their Silver Lions teammates, Tensley and Rone. Tensley was standing beside Sophia of all people, and the older girl with Rone wasn’t someone she recognized. Like Venessa, the other girls showed sneers and disdain. It was hard to know what to make of Tensley’s expression, but Rone looked curious and Presius had a judging smirk that seemed to say he would enjoy watching her fail.

She was careful not to meet their eyes, and keeping conscious of her posture and movement, Ria ascended the stairs head held high, drawing on her mantle of pride to cover her doubts about how her performance would be received. Keira had insisted that she didn’t have to do anything too impressive, but after the performances from the others, Ria was glad to have found something more impressive than just showing her skill at painting.

All eyes were on her now. She could feel it without even looking. The pressure didn’t give her a thrill to rise to the challenge as it had in the arena. Rather, it was an icy spike freezing her guts. Even so, the certainty that her heritage placed her above all of her detractors was something she couldn’t ignore, and it fueled her determination. There was no choice now but to perform and to surpass all of the others. Thankfully, Faris had done well enough that there was no need for her to hold back.

Moving toward one side of the stage, Ria accessed her vault key and made a regal motion with her hand, causing her easel and a side table to appear, the easel facing toward the guests. There had been an odd resistance to the summoning and it had taken longer than usual. Maybe because of the distance from the tower? She further summoned a tray with pre-mixed bowls of pigmented enchanting inks. On her easel, a large sheet of good-quality scroll paper was tacked in place and ready, its hidden enchantment inked to the back side.

Rallying her courage, she turned and faced the audience. Ranger did likewise.

“I am Ria of Shadewood. As a new oathsworn citizen of Crysellia, I thank City Administrator Asara for sponsoring my debut.” She nodded to Lady Asara and let her gaze travel the width of the hall from one side to the other. “For my performance, I shall paint an aura portrait. To that end, I will need a brave victim.”

A smattering of chuckles—some mocking, some amused—came from the guests at her emphasis of the word ‘brave’, and she smiled as she again surveyed the guests. From her elevated vantage point she saw many of the guests she had invited.

Martina in a fancy red dress winked and raised a glass in her direction as her eyes passed. The odd shopkeeper that traded in gossip and information was beside an official of some kind, no doubt buying or selling secrets.

Jax and Ellen, also with drinks in their hands, were watching her wide-eyed.

The entire Sages of the Nine Circles Grand Games team had shown up for her debut, and Katria and Wendra shouted out “Me! Pick me!” with enthusiasm, embarrassing Ulren and Endriese and drawing both laughter and scorn from the guests around them. Ria rolled her eyes at her rowdy Ordermates, drawing more laughter. They were clearly enjoying the celebration.

Ria mentally groaned when Joren discreetly signaled that he was interested. Thankfully, he hadn’t been obvious about it, since this was all a show. The choice had been made when Administrator Rente made her agree to help his daughter at school and events, and having to publicly snub a Greater House heir wouldn’t be a good start.

She noted several of her instructors and their invited child or grandchild, who she still needed to visit with afterward. Phoebe was there together with the girl in the odd Silent Sky robes that Ria had seen with her when getting her insignia and licenses—that felt so long ago. It was only two weeks! Would the rest of her school year be this busy?

Jarrel was still by the food table and, annoyingly, was watching the crowd and not her. Shouldn’t he at least be interested in her big moment?

Oddly, she didn’t see Hulle. Though she found Desi watching among some other third-years, a notepad and quill ready. Did Lady Asara have Hulle busy doing things behind the scenes? Inside the manor?

Even the High Priests and their attending priests and acolytes were watching with interest.

She couldn’t hold up the performance any longer. Turning in the direction of her new friend, Ria proclaimed, “The threads of fate choose… Young Lady Leriah of House Revelle!”

Ria let the corner of her mouth lift at the mix of excitement and stunned and hushed murmurs that rippled through the guests at her choice. “If the young lady would please come pose on the dais.”

(“It is a trick! Do not do it, Young Lady Leriah!”)

(“She is just trying to pay you back!”)

(“Does she dare further offend the Greater Houses?”)

Leriah, of course, didn’t hesitate long before stepping out proudly. The girl was wearing the lightning pendant Ria had gifted her earlier in the day and had amusement in her eyes as she proudly strode onto the stage, meeting Ria’s eyes with a smirk before taking her place on the dias the thrones had earlier occupied, hand on her hip and head held high, festival decorations forming an artistic frame and background behind her.

Closing her eyes, Ria felt and tasted Leriah’s aura and truths with her sense of touch. Joren had been right. Leriah was like her element, prickly, direct, and loyal to a fault. Ria used Ranger’s magic-beast eyes to visualize the colors as she used her energy control to draw pigments into her brush and distribute them onto the paper’s twisted mess of fibers. She focused on the truths until each brushstroke contained hints of sigils, incorporating them into the painting by feel. She didn’t stop there, also imbuing the feel of Leriah’s aura into the crystals and magicite within inks and within the paper itself.

The style was similar to ink and wash, a technique she had originally used as a child to make her colored pigments last longer. She liked the delicate colors that could be achieved, and after proudly showing her mom, her mother had shown her the proper use of the style with dark inkings used to suggest and define the shapes. Ria had always found the style to be sophisticated and like how she imagined a princess would paint. It was a demanding style requiring skill but had the advantage that paintings could be made quickly. Combined with her enchanted inks and her ability to cheat with magic thanks to her enchanting skills, it was perfect for impressing her peers and their parents.

To make the scene more delicate and princess-like, Ria chose to exaggerate the flowers in the background, but to keep the painting elegant, she refrained from inking them with too much detail and used refined and muted colors, preferring more vivid colors to depict Leriah and Leriah’s aura to flatter and draw more attention to her. It was an idea she had thought up when trying to make Ana’s family look more heroic.

As she worked on the painting, Ria couldn’t help thinking back to how she found out from Hulle during their dance practice that Luventi had painted aura portraits as a hobby. She had fixed upon the idea immediately, certain that it was the answer to help her stand out, and when they were taking a break during the all-night marathon etiquette session, Hulle used the time to teach her about aura visualization.

His enchanted glasses gave a fascinating view into, not just auras, but the qualities of energy present around them. Much more detail existed to be teased out of reality than what Ranger’s magesight normally provided her—and Hulle spent every day observing and analyzing the world at that level of detail.

The insights gained from Hulle’s level of dedication must be terrifying indeed. Even with just the basics, when combined with her natural feel for glyph creation, she had quickly realized that she was onto something special.

During her guided practice with Hulle and Lady Janacythe, it had taken her several attempts before realizing that incorporating hints of glyphs was more effective than attempting to incorporate completed glyphs into the work. The answer was obvious in hindsight—it was the same as suggesting a shape with the lines and color and letting the viewer’s mind, experience, and imagination fill in what was missing. In that way, not only did she not need to fully understand the glyph she was hinting at, but each squiggle that contained a piece of truth could suggest many different but related glyphs.

As Ria finished the final stroke of the scene on the paper, she gracefully motioned for Leriah to join her as she stepped back to look over the work. “Young Lady Leriah, come judge the painting.”

While Leriah was approaching, looking immensely curious and doing her best to not rush, Ria decided she was pleased enough with the balance of the work and formed a quick water magic spell matrix to accelerate the drying.

Ria thought her use of magic in the process and the displayed knowledge of glyph creation would have been more than enough to adequately impress, but there were undeniably some confused murmurs about whether the visual style of the painting demonstrated skill or not, and the mixed reaction from the audience seemed to embolden those predisposed to be critical of her. It was more than a little frustrating.

Leriah’s eyebrows rose upon seeing the finished painting, and the Ravelle girl stared mesmerized for several moments before muttering, “It’s… how? I mean, I had no idea something like this could be done with paint and brush…”

Ria smiled at her friend’s overwhelmed reaction. “Will you present it to Lady Asara and Lord Jevaran together with me?”

Leriah looked at her with surprise but smiled and firmly nodded. “I will.”

That set the crowd to further muttering, some surprised that she had not only treated Leriah fairly but received a favorable response from the girl.

When Ria untacked the paper and a corner curled down enough to show the lines of enchantment on the back, a familiar voice—Sophia’s voice—cried out, “That’s not a real display of talent! The paper is enchanted to prevent mistakes! She and Leriah arranged this ahead of time! I saw her exchanging letters in Abjuration class! And to only be able to produce something that looks like a sketch; it’s an embarrassment!”

Both Ria and Leriah and pretty much everyone else in the great hall turned to stare in disbelief at the girl. The sudden accusation and shocked silence brought a wash of fear that momentarily chilled Ria before she realized that the girl was effectively accusing her of being a good enchanter, and feeling her confidence bolstered, Ria was about to dryly remind the girl that enchanting was a talent worth showing off when, to her surprise, Joren stepped forward and defended her.

“Young Lady Sophia, if Lieutenant Ria prepared and practiced beforehand, what does that matter? If you cannot see the truths contained in this painting then that only shows the extent of your understanding of the talent that has been displayed. Such works could easily become House treasures, aiding the young in their pursuit of magic.”

“What? How?” the girl sputtered.

Nods of agreement with Joren’s statement and some quiet discussion rippled among some of the older guests, while many of the younger guests conveyed opinions closer to Sophia’s sentiment. The lord and lady hosting the event showed amusement at the commotion and were watching to see how it would play out before intervening, which seemed to encourage further speculation.

“Even if it is how you say, Sir Mage Joren, if it is true talent, surely she can paint another without the enchantment on the paper?” a certain smoke idiot butted in.

Ria mentally groaned. Of course, Tensley would try something! He probably pushed Sophia to accuse her just to set this up. It took all her willpower to keep her gaze unconcerned and aloof and to not narrow her eyes at the pair.

“Then let us have her paint me. Or does that not prove anything because I danced with our shadowy lieutenant here?” Joren challenged.

Ria really wanted to groan aloud even more at that. She reluctantly looked to Lady Asara for permission and received a nod.

The woman spoke from her throne, “I think another painting would be enjoyable. But let us let others have a chance to display their talents afterward.”

Even if Ria was feeling complicated feelings about Joren’s motives and him being the one to defend her, her pride and craftsman's spirit wouldn’t let her back down from painting a worthy painting.

As Ria excused herself from the group around the hosts, Phaelys readily received her with an encouraging smile and congratulation for her performance and led her back to the others who were also surprisingly complementary—even if Nielle was grumbly about it and had some critiques on the style. Both Lady Asara and Lord Jevaran had praised her performance, and both paintings were now prominently displayed on the table currently featuring Ophesia and Nielle’s statues.

Even Iselyn had snuck her a nod of approval while Iori and Rienne were congratulating her on an impressive display.

Without the enchantment to add interest to Joren’s aura painting, she had focused more intently on imparting the Sorrel boy’s truths into the depiction of his aura, the pigments, and the paper itself. She was pleased with how both came out, and she didn’t have to only go by her own opinion. Joren was looking pleased enough that Leriah was rolling her eyes at him.

Joren’s painting might not have been as flashy as Leriah’s where the lightning painted around Leriah’s figure appeared to glow and spark, but the Sorrel boy’s sinister vines did make for an imposing countenance especially with the way the depth of the truths imbued into the paper and presented as hints of glyphs drew the viewer’s perception into the paining to experience his aura.

Neither painting was a masterwork, but Ria felt that this was a direction she would enjoy pursuing further. Overall, she considered the result a success, and the general sentiment of the guests seemed to agree. Sophia and the other detractors certainly didn’t seem pleased, neither did the Phaelys fan-girls that had been following them, most of which were happy to grasp onto Nielle’s criticisms as a lifeline.

Of course, the most important measure of success was the approving nod she received from Lady Janacythe.

As her companions debated the merits of her performance, Ria turned her attention to Keira who was already mounting the stage. After confidently introducing herself, Keira worked a complex spell matrix and delicately crafted a rose entirely made of light magic, gifting it directly to Lady Asara as thanks for sponsoring her. The rose made of light joined the other items on the talent competition’s display table.

Leriah and the others were quite impressed by Keira’s effort, as were a good many of the other guests. Ria could only think that Keira must have spent the last few days practicing incredibly hard to make something like that. It was definitely a step up from her usual trick of changing a flower’s color.

Young Lord Esten’s and Young Lady Belmina’s turn followed—the two she had embarrassed during the dance—and they did a joint performance where Belmina created a fog that spread across the stage behind her and recited a famous story in poetic meter while Esten disappeared into the fog and made shadows that acted out the scenes.

Ria didn’t try to further sabotage either of them and politely clapped along with the other guests, smiling her approval as the pair passed by. Appearing magnanimous would further the appearance of her fairness and the opinion that her earlier action taken against the two minor nobles was directly in response to actions taken against her.

The performances continued one after another showing magic, artistry, or both, with many demonstrating a musical instrument and singing.

Ria was surprised that, when Arthur’s turn came and he mounted the steps with a lute in hand and his jester bells jingling, Aeri continued with him, joining him on stage. Like Ophesia and Nielle, and Esten and Belmina, they were apparently doing a joint performance.

Curiosity about her friends’ performance had Ria watching intently as Arthur found a spot a little to the side and made a stool appear, seating himself and strumming a few notes to check the tuning on his instrument. Aeri took up a position center-stage, and while she waited for her partner to finish preparing, a faint sense of magic began to stir around Aeri.

Since when could Aeri use magic?!

Ria blinked and tilted her head, switching to Ranger’s magic-beast sight, and sure enough, Aeri was forming a spell matrix. A closer look showed the energy flowing unsteadily from the ring Arthur had given her to an inscribed metal ball held in the palm of her hand.

“I’m Aeri of Vorshan’s Hills, attending the Astacio School of Beneficial Planning and Governance here in Vesali City, and my accompaniment for this performance is Arthur of Vorshan’s Hills, grandson of Master Enchanter Rigure of Vesali City. We thank Lady Asara for sponsoring us.

“Arthur and I will be performing a simple folk song popular in the outlands of Vorshan’s Hills called The Hunter of the Wilds. During the song, I will make use of items Arthur has enchanted. Please enjoy our performance.”

Arthur was ready, and as he plucked the opening notes, Aeri’s magic reached out to darken the stage, leaving only her illuminated in a circle of light. Hundreds of glowing lights began to rise up around her in liquid motes reflecting off of her princess-like crystalweave dress designed by Lady Vienne.

Aeri’s pleasant voice soon joined the lute’s haunting notes in a song about a hunter that frequented the north wilds and how he falls in love with a frost spirit, as they approach the tragic end of the song, the lights begin to change into illusions of snowflakes creating a snowy scene and turning Aeri with her frost-edged dress into an embodiment of the frost spirit. It was obvious now that Lady Vienne had designed Arthur and Aeri’s outfits with their performance in mind. Though shouldn’t Arthur have been the hunter instead of a jester-like troubadour?

Watching all sense of magic retreat from Aeri as the performance ended, Ria politely clapped along with the others and wondered… rather than a ridiculous huge-gemmed engagement ring, was Arthur’s secret project… a ring to let ordinary people use magic through enchanted tools?