Word had spread throughout the city, first about the fighting outside Zerachiel, the Enlightener’s Temple, and then the ‘divine’ revelation. Even though Ori had switched off Aura Amplification shortly after he was apprehended, eyewitnesses claimed his aura had projected as a dome with an approximate radius of sixty paces. That was all Ori could gather as he left the prison, climbed several underground stairways, and then made his way through a stretch of buildings packed with guards, clerks, and officials moving at impressive speed.

  ‘So, this is big sis, Cordelia. Remember what I said: do not tell them about me. This is as much for your sake as it is for mine. Also, while she has rather an abrasive, rather taciturn exterior, she’s a softy on the inside with a protective streak a mile wide,’ Sera said, warmth evident in her tone.

  ‘She’s a mage? Like you?’

  ‘High Yellow Mage. Sovereign, or B-rank.’

  ‘Yellow?’

  ‘Defensive magic: shields, armour, barriers, permanent fortifications and structures. Earth and metal affinities. She’s the toughest person I know, but for her to be in this state? It cannot be good news.’

  “Lady Lavine of House Serilian, you stand before this court charged with three counts. Firstly, grand larceny of an Immortal-ranked artefact, an act in clear violation of Section One of the Theft Act, Third Era of the Seraphs, Year Nine Hundred and Eighty-Six, for intentionally and unlawfully taking property of immense value to the nation, with the intent to permanently deprive the nation of its possession.

  “Secondly, you are charged with burglary under Section Three of the Theft Act, Third Era of the Seraphs, Year Nine Hundred and Eighty-Six, for illegally entering the Astoria Reserve with the intent to commit this offence.

  “Lastly, the charge of conspiracy is brought against you, as per the Criminal Law Act, Third Era of the Seraphs, Year Nine Hundred and Seventy-Seven, for planning and coordinating this act with accomplices. These are serious offences that strike at the heart of our national heritage, and this court will proceed with the utmost gravity in considering these charges.”

  An overly officious voice echoed down the corridor Cordelia marched through. They passed two guards who were cowed by the woman’s glare alone, before Ori found himself swept into the middle of a crowded courtroom.

  ‘Mum,’ Sera whispered.

  Lavine was scarcely recognisable. She sat elevated in the dock, beaten bloody, if not broken, yet her rigid, ramrod posture still suggested steel beneath her nobility. Ori offered what he wanted to believe was his customary nod as she met his gaze.

  “Order! Order!” A gavel struck wood, the crack ringing across the courtroom as their entrance drew attention.

  “This is the summons,” Lady Cordelia announced to the chamber, as if she weren’t interrupting proceedings but conducting them. “As you can see, and as my mother claimed, he yet remains.”

  “Your Honour, this is highly irregular!” Fitzgerald said, wearing a familiar barrister’s wig.

  Ori took in the unconvinced faces and decided a little showmanship was in order. He activated Aura Amplification.

  Gasps and a cacophony of voices replaced the jaded murmurs from moments before. Cordelia scanned the room, registered the change, and gave a nod so stoic that Ori wanted to study it and take notes.

  ‘She is very hard to impress. Well done,’ Ori heard internally.

  “Last evening, five of Astor’s Sovereign champions sallied out to face Eltitus and his armies, only a day’s march from the capital’s walls. Only two of us returned.” Shouts and cries of dismay followed, attention snapping back to the crisis at hand. “My wards and protective auras were no match for the lich. Terresa was the first to fall. The High Red Mage took a cursed arrow to the neck. We were unable to dispel it before she succumbed to her wounds. Orick, the High Blue B-ranker, was next, and as he fell, our progress through the Ravager’s army became truly bloody. Of our host of twenty thousand, only a hundred or so survive. So when I returned to find my mother in chains and my sister dead, I was understandably furious. Doubly so when I discovered that the reason for their sacrifice had been languishing in the dungeons.

  “This man, our final chance, is a summons. Though he refused to sign any contracts or voice any oaths, he stays, while at any time since binding to that treasure he could have fled like a thief in the night and left us to our fate. There is no obligation keeping him here, no power that could compel him to stay, and yet he remains. By now, you may have noticed these Stygian Widows. I found him battling them in his cell, his wand poised to strike as if it were a dagger. I say let this man’s valour be the proof of my mother’s innocence, not this blustering snake.” She finished by pointing squarely at Fitzgerald.

  “Boy, why haven’t you fled? You’ve gotten what you wanted despite attempts to foil Lavine’s dastardly plans. You are no hero, and this is no place for mortals and fools. Well, boy? Have you lost your tongue?” Fitzgerald shouted, face red and puffy with rage.

  ‘Just why did he betray your faction again?’ Ori asked internally.

  ‘I can’t be sure, but I discovered evidence that he was offered substantial benefits to destabilise the court by outside forces. Circumstances point to the high elves, but I have my doubts,’ Sera replied.

  ‘So not Eltitus then? And what is he? A mage? Could you have taken him in a fight?’

  ‘No. The Ravager would not work with anyone he couldn’t directly control. And Blue mages, beast magic and transformations excel in duels, an area where White mages are often weakest. He is dangerous in a head-to-head confrontation, but why do you ask?’ Sera replied.

  ‘No real reason. Just trying to get a sense of the guy.’

  “Well!?” Fitzgerald snapped, dragging Ori back to the present.

  A previous Ori would have lost track of the question, but his mind had been clearer lately: memories came easier, conversations even when overlapping were simpler to untangle. And now, when he needed to sound serious and ‘proper’, formal phrasing came with a small exertion of will.

  He framed his circumstances as a divine test of faith and perseverance, hoping it would fit the tone he’d picked up so far.

  “For me, this summoning is a trial, one where I get to understand the value of freedom. Back in my realm, there’s a saying: freedom isn’t free. You have to value it enough to want it, be bold enough to take it when it’s offered, smart enough to know when it’s threatened, and fight for it when it’s denied. The Ravager will deny you your freedom. I said I’ll fight, but as a mortal, all I can really offer is a chance. Do you value your freedom? Will you be bold enough to take it?”

  Ori spoke as he subconsciously pulsed his amplified aura in time with his emphasis, vivid blue astral light briefly washing out the pink.

  “Your Honour,” Cordelia said, stepping towards the judge. “Now is not the time for petty court politics while the fate, the freedoms, of millions hang in the balance.”

  “A priceless treasure has been—”

  “Enough!” The judge banged the gavel again, plainly frustrated by the disorder. “You there, cease this… manifestation at once.”

  Ori complied. Instantly, the starlight and pink-violet auroral sky snapped back to the low courtroom ceiling. The judge looked relieved. “Remove the manacles binding this man. He is under your parole, Lady Cordelia, until this crisis is averted.

  “Understood. And about my mother?”

  “As you say, it will be his honour upon which your mother’s guilt or innocence will be determined.”

  In a way, having Lavine’s fate rest on his actions made everything easy. Now things were personal, clarifying the hazy morality of saving faceless millions into the simple goal of not giving up.

  Stolen story; please report.

  After the trial, he was shuffled from one building to the next. The mana-stifling manacles were removed, his body washed, re-clothed, and he was finally allowed to eat. While the brusque treatment after his release came nowhere near Lavine’s pampering, it did give him a chance to feel human again.

  ‘Ah, this is funny,’ Seraphine giggled.

  ‘What’s funny? Is it how I eat?’ Ori replied.

  ‘Just, it’s like I’m a fly on the wall. I get to spy on all these people without anyone the wiser. See there, that woman with the striped apron and flour dusting her cheeks, that’s Gill. She used to feed me Salter’s pies when I snuck into the kitchen before dawn. I always suspected she had a thing for the Knight from Waltway, and now, catching her gaze when she thinks no one is watching, I’m almost certain.’

  ‘You’re a bit of a gossip, aren’t you?’ Ori laughed. ‘Anyway, how do you even see when your spirit’s stuck in the wand, a wand I’ve not even summoned yet?’

  ‘It’s wonderful, isn’t it? Spirit sight, one of the longest-standing paracausal mysteries of our age, and I get to study its effects and peculiarities first-hand!’ Seraphine gushed. ‘Suffice it to say, spirit sight, the sight used by many non-corporeal entities, produces effects similar to sight in presentation, so I can see just as well as I used to. Better, perhaps. It’s lightly influenced by the observer’s expectations, and I have several experiments to run when time allows.’

  ‘Uh-huh. Glad to see you in such fine spirits,’ Ori chuckled. ‘Seriously though, the being-dead thing, it doesn’t bother you? I would have thought the distance, the inability to interact… don’t you miss stuff, like eating?’

  ‘Yes? No? Maybe?’ Seraphine sighed. ‘I’ve always been a bit detached from society, preferring academic pursuits. Don’t get me wrong, I had my share of friends and dalliances, and I loved gossip, but… I’ve always felt a bit disconnected. It’s hard to explain.’

  ‘I think I know what you mean,’ Ori said.

  ‘Oh?’ Sera asked.

  ‘It’s like you’re living the wrong life.’

  ‘Living the wrong life. Hmmm,’ Seraphine pondered. ‘I suppose through that lens, my choice to pursue a brief stint of unlife makes sense.’

  Ori laughed aloud. ‘Exactly.’

  ‘And what about you, Ori? Are you living the right life now?’

  ‘I’ll get back to you on that one. What is this called, by the way?’ Ori asked, lifting a spoonful of salted ham and berries swimming in a savoury, porridge-like soup.

  ‘Ghral’hok. Why? Do you actually like the stuff?’

  ‘It could grow on me. The last few weeks have made me realise you never really know when your next meal might come. Even now, I’m still stuck in a prison, so I’m trying to savour it,’ Ori replied, fishing out a particularly large chunk of pork.

  ‘I can only imagine what you’ve been through, even those hours in the cell…’

  ‘That reminds me. I’ve told you all about me. What about you, Miss Lady Seraphine? I want to know more about you.’

  ‘Well, there’s not much to tell, really. Born the youngest child of House Searilian, with the smallest share of the Grace…’

  ‘Share of Grace?’ Ori asked, recalling some of Freya’s knowledge on paracausal energies, where Grace was most often associated with divinity.

  ‘Grace is one of the few ways we humans can increase rank to, and beyond, immortality. Gain the trust and faith of your subjects, and you shall gather Grace. Gain enough Grace, and you may ascend to divinity, but the amount of faith required for such… well, anyway. In House Searilian’s case, our share of this nation’s Grace allowed my mother and father, and more recently big sis, to rise from Greater, or C-rank, to Sovereign,’ Sera continued, while Ori was still turning over the implications of Grace and becoming a god. ‘As for me, not only would I have to evolve one class to Arch, which would be impossible during a normal human lifespan, I would also need a racial evolution, which is required to progress to Sovereign without Grace.’

  Sovereign (Boundary: Level 75, B-rank): At the Sovereign realm, the aura of individuals naturally extends their impact beyond personal boundaries, influencing the larger community and environment. This involves unconsciously shaping dwellings and landscapes, communities and practices, or leading or guiding others in the realm of magic. Most individuals seek to ascend to this rank over their prolonged lifetimes, but vanishingly few ever achieve it.

  Requirements: x10 Accolades. Peritia (varies). At least one class at the Arch realm or racial evolution to High, comprehension of a Sovereign rank affinity to Immersion or higher, or a requisite amount of Grace. The merging of every spell or ability within one spell constellation. Unification of two characteristics.

  Freya’s gift continued to provide context as Ori mulled over Sera’s words.

  ‘And humans can’t evolve. They just ascend as divinities with enough Grace?’

  ‘Exactly. Goodness, just imagining what might be possible if humans could evolve. But I digress. I, as the youngest child in a noble house, born to caring, wealthy, influential parents, was mostly left to my own devices. I entertained myself mainly with academic pursuits, never feeling pressure to commit to any specific path, and free to ignore the court for the most part. I wouldn’t say I was a spoiled child. I tried to be aware of the lives and hardships of those outside my social sphere, and help where I could, but I was a daddy’s girl and shared in his passion for practical alchemy and enchantments. Like Cordelia, he was a High Yellow Magi, and I had planned on following in his footsteps, but after his death, everything changed.

  ‘I think it was then I truly connected with my mother. Her quiet strength, her nobility, she became my example, and seeing her there, in the dock, it reminded me why I chose the White over the Yellow.’ Sera’s voice wavered, then steadied.

  ‘Your mother believed you were too smart to stay in Astor and would go on to do great things.’

  ‘Well, so far her premonitions were accurate, because turning an unbound Immortal Wand into a phylactery using White magic and a touch of blood alchemy was no mean feat. Give me a few weeks, and Seraph knows what else I will do.’ Ori smiled at her contagious enthusiasm, imagining how much better his odds of escaping Ghigrerchiax would be with her by his side.

  ‘You said you had three classes, and you’re below level sixty. What level are you anyway?’

  ‘It’s generally uncouth to ask such questions, even of a loved one or close family member.’

  ‘Really? Well, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.’

  ‘The details on your sheet from the Library of Fates are as close to sacred as any secret one could keep, so keep them safe, especially as I fear even the smallest detail would draw attention you can’t afford. However, as you have already disclosed your aspects, and given our unique situation… the most pertinent details from my sheet are that I am a level fifty-seven human. My classes are Clerk, Alchemist, and Chromatic Magi of the White. I have Spirit as my inherent, and Life, Light, Order, Regolith, and Minerals as my minor affinities, with no titled accolades as of yet. And if I were to speculate, your unified characteristics vastly surpass my own,’ Sera said.

  ‘Most of my characteristics looked pretty low. I don’t even know what they mean.’

  ‘Barring lifeforce, which is the universal characteristic used to determine one’s rank, all your characteristics are between one and ten, which is the realm of the Awakened. You also unified Will, Spirit, Presence, and Perception into Domain, and unified Perception and Dexterity into Polydexterity, which means, compared to someone like me, a single point in your Domain would equal ten, or perhaps one hundred, in my Will, despite being three realms higher than you. Your Polydexterity will allow you to compete against those at Nascent rank or higher. In all but mana and lifeforce, you already stand at, or beyond, the peak of human mortal ability.’

  ‘But it doesn’t feel like I’m that much stronger,’ Ori said.

  ‘Because you’re mortal: unAwakened, unclassed, and unpractised at accessing the bound portion of your abilities. Remember those spiders in the jail cell?’

  ‘I’ll remember those fucking spiders for the rest of my life, thanks. But yeah, you somehow helped me… what, access that strength? And what happened there anyway? Was that our soul bond?’

  ‘I am unsure, but I’ve heard tales of something called the Resonance of Battle Harmony. A link can form between those of similar affinities during periods of extreme stress. It can happen at random, and while I’ve not read of it in this context, I would not be surprised if our soul bond enhanced or even enabled the resonance in the first place.’

  ‘Resonance of Battle Harmony? That sounds sick, bruv, but what does it do?’ Ori mused.

  ‘Sick bruv? Should I even ask?’

  ‘Nah. Just slang.’

  ‘I see. Well then. As for your question, I’m not sure what the resonance does exactly, but from what I experienced, it seemed to let us share our instincts when our goals were aligned. Perhaps with practice, the resonance could grow stronger.

  ‘As for the rest, yes, I helped you, but that strength, those reflexes, your mind, it was all your own power. While you’re far from challenging most classed Awakened in a direct confrontation, you’ll be able to surprise many with your quickness,’ Sera added.

  ‘And your classes?’ Ori asked.

  ‘Chromatic Magi of the White, also known as White Mage, Alchemist, and Clerk.’

  ‘Clerk?’ Ori laughed.

  ‘You would be remiss to take the Clerk class so lightly. Many branching paths extend far beyond the reach of human progress. Some even say one of the librarians of the Library of Fates started as a lowly clerk.’

  ‘One of these days someone will explain to me what this library is exactly, and who the librarians are,’ Ori grumbled.

  ‘Goodness. Do you really not know?’

  ‘I have some idea. They’re like the gods of this world or something. They created the system that you all use to measure yourselves by.’

  ‘That is somewhat correct, though to call them gods would be misleading on so many levels.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘The librarians… how should I put this? They are to the gods as gods are to us, except they didn’t create the gods, nor reality, and they do not interfere with daily life, except on matters relating to the Library of Fates.

  ‘However, it is said that when you transcend, your Authority, something intrinsic to every being above Immortal, becomes interwoven into the very fabric of reality. This is how the librarians, with their Authorities unified by shared purpose, created the Library of Fates.’

  Ori found it all a bit much: that you could become a god and still have mountains to climb and beings you’d have to tiptoe around. This idea of Authority, and of altering reality for everyone just by becoming strong enough, was wild. That you could even become immortal, or that souls were real, was something he still hadn’t fully processed. He could only imagine the chaos such news would cause for major religions on Earth.

  ‘Ori? There was something more I was hoping we could discuss.’