Okay, so my gaming group has decided to do a Magic the Gather Role-Playing Game. (Yes, I play Magic and RPGs as well as being a sci-fi enthusiast. I freely admit to living in Geek Central.) Anyway, the Game Master is adapting the 7th Seas system for the game, (since a Magic RPG doesn't actually exist), and we're all playing Planeswalkers.
Well, after we made our characters, he made the mistake of asking us to write a bit of back story...
...
To make a long story short, I got inspired. And now I have two Fics going instead of one. (Sorry to all my Pegasus Tango fans. This delay was entirely unplanned. I couldn't resist.)
This back story consists of two parts, both of which are pretty solid in my head, (and one of which you'll find below). However, beyond those first couple chapters, the plot and frequency of updating will be entirely dependent on how often we play and what the Game Master throws at us. I have no idea how canon it's going to be, so I'm calling it AU. (I'm pretty sure I've already taken extensive liberties with the Soratami race.)
One of my goals for this story is to make it interesting and appealing for gamers and non-gamers alike. We'll see how that goes.
And so, without further ado...
Happy reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own Wizards of the Coast, Magic the Gather, Meloku the Clouded Mirror, or any other Magic character. (Though I do own a huge pile of cards, many of which are shiny.) This story is for entertainment purposes only, and is strictly not-for-profit. The only things I own are: Keluki Floodbringer, the plot, and other OC/plot-related bits.
Character: Keluki Floodbringer - a Soratami (Moonfolk) planeswalker
Home Plane: Kamigawa
Keluki's Spark Awakens
The second of three children, Keluki was born a daughter of Floodbringers. Normally, she would've expected to take up the occupation of her parents, but once she'd begun her training, it didn't take long for her senseis to realize there was something odd about her. The rain from her cloud didn't always act the way rain normally acts. It would fly sideways sometimes, or upwards, or do bizarre loop-di-loops before heading towards the ground. And her cloud wasn't always a proper cloud color…
Recognizing the signs of magical aptitude, her senseis brought it to the attention of her parents, who were surprised, but delighted. Neither her mother's or her father's families had produced a magically-gifted offspring in several generations. Sensing an opportunity to lift their status and finally secure a place among the minor nobility, Keluki's family pooled their resources to send her to the great cloud city, and, with her senseis' recommendations, enrolled her in the renowned wizarding school.
(Not that they bothered telling her before it was a done deal, of course.)
Pleased to help her family, but not sure she wanted to live in the floating metropolis, (upper class nobles and powerful wizards are scary!), Keluki packed her belongings and journeyed to the great sky tower. Where she learned, happily, that even though she was living 'in' the city, she wasn't allowed to leave the tower often, and when she did, her wizard robes kept the noble punks at bay. (They didn't keep the powerful wizards from being scary, but, luckily, as a new recruit, she didn't see them much.)
Alas, it soon became apparent that Keluki was not the stellar wizarding jewel her family had been hoping for. Her ability was mediocre at best, and to her new senseis' dismay, she showed as much aptitude for the Soratamis' traditional magics as she did for those of the plains-bound fox samurai, upon whom she'd used to make it rain. Though not unheard of in her people, this trait was generally an indicator of low potential, and it was suggested, (politely), that she withdraw rather than face the shame of failure.
Keluki refused. She owed it to her family to make a decent effort, and with her unusually high energy capacity, (the one thing she excelled at, even though she couldn't use it effectively), she was confident that she could at least graduate with marks adequate for achieving the lowest wizard ranks. Maybe a Rainshaper. Or a Breezecaller. Perhaps even an Illusionist… (She despaired of joining the Mirror-Guard, like her father wanted.)
Time passed. Keluki steadfastly maintained her grip on mediocrity, displaying a grit and determination that earned a grudging respect from her senseis and fellow classmates, (who were mostly noble). Her place among the minor wizards was reluctantly assured. All that remained was to find out which she'd actually join.
Then disaster struck. The rankest of the feebleminded ground dwellers, the treacherous Nezumi, began sending spies on winged swamp kami to test the Soratamis' borders. They were overwhelmed, of course. But the bid for attention could not be ignored. The Soratami leaders elected to send their best ambassador to the rat people, a wizard certain to see through any tricks the cunning Ink-Eyes might weave to ensnare him. And, in a casually approved suggestion to kill two kami with one spell, Keluki's class, (which had not yet been sent to assist on the 'required for graduation' field excursion), were assigned to serve the ambassador's retinue on the trip.
It was a great honor. To serve in the Clouded Mirror's presence, even for such a short time, might very well make up, (in her parents' eyes), for Keluki's failure to fulfill their expectations. She threw herself into the preparations with gusto, feverishly attending to their senseis' last-minute instructions on proper etiquette. She would bring her family THIS honor, at least, Keluki dutifully vowed. Or die trying!
And she very nearly did. (Die trying, that is…)
The cursed Nezumi ruined everything! After agreeing to stop intruding into Soratami territory, they summoned a DEMON! WHICH, along with a small ARMY of Raving Oni Slaves, ambushed the ambassador's retinue while they were leaving! They were still in the swamps, a state of affairs that seriously hampered the Soratamis' ability to fight, and while Keluki didn't find the place as unsettling as her classmates, that didn't make her anymore useful. The fox samurai she summoned were effective, but woefully out numbered, and the close vegetation prevented her from flying out of reach to replenish her energy from the nearby plains. She fell back to the supply wagons. Her classmates scattered, some seeking to aid members of the ambassador's retinue, others, having exhausted their reserves, seeking to stay alive, just like Keluki. They drew swords and strung bows, risking physical injury to continue the fight.
The Raving Oni Slaves kept coming. The fox samurai, and her classmates water and sky kami were cut down, slashed apart by cruelly curved ogre blades. The students tightened their lines, backing up against the cart until there was nowhere left to retreat. The ambassador's assistants shouted for them to hold out. Great magic was being worked. The fight would soon be over. Just a few more seconds!
Then the monster came.
A massive Painwracker Oni, possessed of mad strength and crushing weight. It crashed through Keluki's classmates, splintering wooden supports, and toppling her from her perch on the cart. Keluki crashed into the swampy muck, tangled in the limbs of her fellow archers, watching helplessly as the Oni barreled madly into darkness. A chill fear spread in its wake. The damage was done. Their lines were broken. Oni Slaves waded among her friends and rivals, raising swords to cut their lives short.
A slavering nightmare appeared above Keluki. Claws gripped her arms, cutting her skin cruelly as she was pulled from the pile of struggling archers. Toothy maw snarling with pleasure, the Raving Oni lifted her by the throat and raised its sword.
Terror gripped Keluki. She was going to die. There was no honor in this! Failing to protect her classmates, failing to protect the ambassador. Failing even to live long enough to become a wizard! It wasn't fair!
The claws around her throat squeezed.
Keluki struggled furiously, a panicked scream tearing from her lips. The ugly sound cut through the humid air like a knife, alerting every Soratami in hearing distance to her shameful predicament, but Keluki didn't care. She didn't want to die!
The Raving Oni Slave's blade whistled toward her, a glistening deadly arc.
Something in Keluki snapped. The swamp, formerly a stifling, unusable morass surrounding her, sang in her blood, filling her with unfamiliar strength. She screamed again, terrified that some evil Nezumi curse was upon her.
The Oni Slave exploded, rent to pieces by some powerful, invisible force. Showered by bloody strips of flesh, Keluki staggered and clutched her torn throat.
Angry bellows filled the air as the flashing sword disappeared into the underbrush. Looking up, Keluki stared, wide-eyed as the nearest ogre dropped a struggling classmate and charged towards her. She stumbled, frantically casting about for a means of escape. There wasn't one. Surrounded! Panic renewed within her.
The swamp sang again.
The ogre exploded, just like the other. Keluki shivered in shocked horror as gore splattered over her once more. Had she done this? No! She couldn't have! Not naturally! What had the ground-crawlers done to her!?!
They'd made her a target. The Raving Oni Slaves were turning towards Keluki in clumps, dropping her classmates, as if suddenly given new orders. She couldn't escape them all! This new strength, wherever it'd come from, was limited, like her normal magic. She couldn't explode them all, even if she knew how she was doing it!
But… They were dropping her classmates…
Turning, Keluki fled, using the last of the flight spell she'd cast earlier to soar over a group of ogres that'd homed in on her. If she was a target, she needed to lead them away from her classmates. Give them an opportunity to regroup.
The Oni Slaves charged after her. Keluki ran, pulling frantically at the swamp's energy, exploding the ones that drew near. But there were too many. She needed help!
The trees! She darted under the moss-dripping branches, hoping to slow her large pursuers down, then immediately darted out again, having come face to face with a rat shaman. No doubt he'd helped summon the foul horde!
The Nezumi's eyes glittered evilly as he joined the chase, chittering orders to the ogres pursuing her. Keluki turned back towards the ruined supply cart and despaired. Her classmates were more badly injured than she'd realized. They'd failed to rally, like she'd hoped. There was no reformed defense line to return to! The only Soratami still holding up were protecting the ambassador's chariot. She couldn't lead them there!
What should she do?! What shoul—
The decision was taken from her. Keluki tripped on a rotting branch and fell, sinking deep into a murky puddle beside the path they'd been traveling along. Her kimono was soaked instantly, and she floundered, dragged down by the heavy fabric, unable to pull herself out. The rat man squealed in triumph as his ogres bore down on her. Keluki splashed away from them as best she could, but the attempt was in vain. She could barely move. The puddle was soon surrounded.
The Nezumi chittered gleefully, and Keluki squeezed her eyes shut, praying with all her might that help would arrive before the last blow struck. Surely the great magic must be ready by now!? She needed help!
The swamp sang one last time. Pain ripped through her. That must be the curse, wrecking its final, deadly havoc upon her. Why did it remind Keluki of a time early in her training when she'd over extended herself…?
The pain intensified.
Keluki gasped. The sound was drowned by a deafening trio of roars and frightened squeals. She opened her eyes in time to see three dark shapes burst from the underbrush, driving shrieking Nezumi before them. Three huge, horrible, tooth-line maws dove into the mass of Oni Slaves surrounding her puddle. In between gasps, Keluki recognized them.
Razorjawed Oni. Demon spirits. Vicious ones.
If she hadn't been dead before, she certainly was now. Keluki curled against the side of the puddle, trying vainly not to be seen, but the Razorjaws ignored her. They tore into ogres and Nezumi indiscriminately, scattering them like stampeding herd beasts. Quickly exhausting their nearby prey, they turned as one and with a trio of blood-curdling roars began pounding towards the ambassador's chariot.
Shocked and horrified, Keluki dragged herself from the puddle, staring in disbelief at the newly deserted space around her. Fiery agony and numbing exhaustion sent her curling into a mud-slicked ball, but a new sound invaded her senses. Angry shouting in a ferocious, incomprehensible tongue… Oni language!
Forcing herself to stagger upright, Keluki turned towards the sound.
The first demon. A Pitlord she absently recognized as Kuro… He'd been attacking the ambassador. Now he was shouting at the Razjorjaws.
But the Razorjaws weren't listening. They were tearing into Raving Oni Slaves and Nezumi summoners, and none seemed to know what to do about it.
Keluki watched the growing chaos in dazed astonishment. It shouldn't be happening. Demons obeyed bigger demons. But these weren't. It was almost—
Pain cut her thoughts from her head. Exhaustion dragged. She forced her gaze to the chariot, hoping—Yes! The retinue was taking advantage of the chaos! Pushing the ground-crawlers back! And the ambassador—
The Pit demon shouted again, and Keluki staggered, fog encroaching on her vision. The exhaustion was irresistible now. She was spent. At the mercy of her enemies and the treacherous Nezumi curse. Pain washing through her, Keluki swayed…
The last things she saw before her sight fled were the ambassador's cold blue eyes, watching intently, boring into hers…
Everything went dark. Keluki crumpled, feeling the mucky ground crash up to meet her. Somewhere, far away, someone shouted in Soratami. Then a rush of water magic surged over her. Hope flickered. The great magic had finally come. It would save her classmates, though it was too late for her…
Consciousness fading, Keluki curled into a ball and let the blackness take her.
She woke fitfully to a rocking world, and the feel of sky magic cradling her. She ached… Her classmates' faces appeared fleetingly, hovering over her, peering… Sometimes the faces were unfamiliar. Members of the retinue, probably tending the injured. Into which category, Keluki obviously fell…
The shame of the knowledge was unendurable… She welcomed the sporadic returns of thought-numbing sleep…
When Keluki finally regained her senses enough to move, she discovered she was lying in a salvaged supply cart, along with several injured guards and classmates. The swamp muck was gone from her kimono, and the cuts on her arms and legs were bandaged with silver Healer's cloth. Her entire body ached…
…And everyone nearby was staring at her.
Looking at Keluki like she had some sort of exotic disease…
The students in the cart suddenly looked away, and began whispering to each other behind raised hands.
Remembering what'd happened, Keluki hugged herself in shame. The ground-dweller's decaying swamp magic still clung to her, even after the Healer's cleansing touch. Something had changed. And from her classmates' reactions, it wasn't necessarily for the better…
She resolved to ask a Healer the next time one visited.
Moving to the cart's edge, she cushioned her chin on her bandaged arms and looked tiredly over the rail. Plains swept by beneath. Keluki reached out to them, guessing they were only a few days from the city… Other carts, fewer than they'd started with, circled above and below, flying in a defensive formation. Clearly the ambassador's bodyguards were attempting to discourage any repeat ambushes.
At the thought of the ambassador, Keluki's gaze lifted. His chariot was there, safe and undamaged, (though its wheels looked a little muddy). He was talking to an attendant wearing a silver Healer's obi… Would that Healer come down—
The ambassador was turning!
Keluki quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to be caught watching. Such behavior was not polite in the great tower. Instead she studied the plains, trying not to remember the piercing stare the Honored One had directed at her in the swamp. The calculating eyes, the briefest glimpse of a lethal curiosity. Witnessing her shame, weighing and measuring the depths of her failure…
Father, forgive your Keluki for dishonoring you so publicly!
—Another memory—A flash—Unreadable blue eyes staring down at her. Hovering like her classmates. Murmuring to an unfamiliar face beside—
No! Impossible! The Honored ambassador had no interest in a lowly Floodbringer. He must've been checking on his injured guards.
And yet… Even now, Keluki could feel that piercing gaze on her back. A heavy, physically perceptible weight that stripped self-delusion away. Examining her thoughts, taking her apart piece by piece… Keluki KNEW with eerie certainty that if she looked up now, she'd find those blue eyes staring down at her.
Or were they teal? Was her memory faulty?
No! She mustn't look up!
A light step rocked the cart slightly. Keluki turned. It was the Healer who'd been conversing with the Honored One. The white-robed Soratami checked the injured, changing bandages and softly murmuring healing spells. Keluki sensed a faint hint of the magic of the plains on her. Just a little. Maybe, if she hadn't spoiled her wizarding career permanently with this fiasco, Keluki could try to be a Healer…
The thought hadn't occurred to her before. It had merit…
The Healer was beside Keluki now. "How are you feeling, Young One?"
Young One?! Keluki was an adult! Older than most of her classmates by a decade. Floodbringers began training later than most professions. She looked up.
…And saw the wrinkles crinkling the Healer's eyes, curling the delicate lines of her tattoos. Young One indeed. This lady was far older than her manner hinted.
Keluki smiled politely and bowed her head. "I am tired, Honored Grandmother. My body aches. Can you tell me what ails me?"
A gentle finger lifted Keluki's chin. The Healer frowned slightly as she began checking her bandaged throat. "You do not remember?"
There was no accusation in the kind voice, but Keluki glanced away, not wanting this stranger to see her shame. "I'm not sure what I remember, Honored Grandmother…"
"I see…" Not saying anymore, the Healer checked Keluki's bandaged arms and gave her a cool, herbal draught to drink. After the last drop was consumed, she gently caught Keluki's chin once more. "Honor me with your gaze, that I may enlighten you."
Keluki met the dark eyes reluctantly.
The Healer nodded in satisfaction. "You over-extended yourself, Young One."
Over-extended?! How!? She'd only summoned two samurai. Only used her two flight spells. It was the stupid rat curse that'd hurt her!
But the Healer wouldn't be in the great ambassador's retinue if she didn't know what she was talking about. And the pain had felt familiar, if worse than any she'd ever experienced before… Keluki thrust down her protests, waiting expectantly.
The Healer adopted a scolding tone. "It was very foolishly done. Extremely reckless. You could have killed yourself." Keluki opened her mouth to say she'd been trying to do just the opposite, but the woman continued as if she hadn't noticed. "Not satisfied with channeling energy far beyond your capacity, you channeled the land's essence in excess as well. Giving up your very life-force to summon demons," the Healer clucked disapprovingly, "Not a thing to be done lightly, Young One."
"But I didn't summon demons! I can't!"
The Healer eyed her sternly.
Mortified, Keluki looked away. "Forgive me, Honored Grandmother."
"You deny summoning demons?"
Keluki quickly nodded, "Yes."
"You deny ripping a dozen of Kuro's ogre slaves apart with your mind, as well?"
Keluki started to nod vigorously, but stopped. The awful ripping force that'd torn the Oni Slaves to pieces rose unbidden to her mind. She'd felt it… KNOWN it. And after she'd realized it was connected to her, she'd willed it to happen purposely. It was a spell, like her flight spell. Only awful. Horrible! And worse… She was sure she could cast it again. Keluki shook her head miserably, "That… I did do."
The Healer comfortingly stroked Keluki's ears. "Yes, you did. The instinct saved your life. And you summoned demons for the same reason."
No! "But I didn't—" Keluki stopped again. Her entire being cringed in denial, but she remembered floundering the mud, praying desperately for someone to help her, to drive her pursuers away. Wasn't that sort of prayer akin to a summons?
The Healer regarded her knowingly, as if reading Keluki's innermost thoughts. "Those Razorjaws were more powerful than their kind normally are. Only a summons enhanced by the caster's life force can accomplish that without additional spells." Her dark eyes blinked seriously, adding import to her next words. "The Nezumi are far too cowardly to attempt such a thing. They value their hides above all else."
Keluki looked at her, afraid to voice her next question.
The Healer answered it anyway. "When you succumbed to the burn, the Razorjaws went berserk. They caused quite a bit of damage before dissipating." The next words made Keluki quail in dismay. "Damage to both sides…"
Keluki's cheeks burned with embarrassment. An uncontrolled summons would do that. The Razorjaws would've been furious. Drunk on power and without direction, they'd have attacked anything that moved. She'd endangered everyone!
"But do not worry, Young One." The Healer's tone was gentle and cheery once more. "They injured none of us seriously. Our Honored Ambassador took care of the crazy brutes quite nicely. Dissipated the Pitlord's essence too."
Keluki remembered the magic washing over her. It'd happened quickly, after she'd hit the ground, but before everything went black. That wasn't much amuck time…
"Believe it or not, you came out in the worst shape." The Healer looked away, and her expression darkened suddenly. Bitterly, she muttered, "No thanks to certain mysteriously unnamed, and regrettably unavoidable, delays…"
Keluki cocked her head, regarding her curiously. "Honored Grandmother?"
The irritation marring the kindly face vanished as abruptly as it'd come. Delicate hands stroked Keluki's ears again. "Never mind, Young One. Perhaps you will understand one day. But in the long run, I doubt it'll make much of a difference."
"I see…" Keluki didn't see at all.
The Healer laughed, a musical, bell-like sound that reminded Keluki of home. Her Honored Mother used to laugh like that. "You eyes say that you humor me. But I am not offended. Rest now, Child. A long journey remains, and you are yet fatigued."
So saying, the Healer withdrew another drink from her bag, pressed it into Keluki's hands, and leapt lightly into the sky. A ripple of flight magic washed through the air as she soared gracefully down to another cart, and Keluki watched her, wondering how she'd managed to go from Young One to Child in the space of two sentences.
Truly, the ways of city folk were incomprehensible to her.
Realizing she was in danger of staring, Keluki sipped her drink, (a refreshing tea this time), and turned her eyes to the plains, trying to come to grips with what she'd just learned. She could touch swamp essence. Manipulate Death magic! Such a thing was unheard of for a Soratami, (to her knowledge, anyway). And what's more, she could touch three of the five great powers! Another rarity!
But… What did that mean for her future?
A chill swept through Keluki and she huddled against the rail of the cart, inexplicably exhausted once more. Bleak despair invaded her thoughts. The idea was exciting, but the reality? Reprehensible! Death magic was scorned by her kind… Ridiculed as the over-compensation of dim-witted ground-dwellers, who were unable to recognize and appreciate the intricate subtleties of Soratami mind magic. It was the art of traitors. The taint of rat filth! The realm of demons!!—
Oh, Little Gods! Keluki had summoned demons! Her parents would renounce her! Honored Father, forgive your unworthy Keluki! She'll never do it again!
But the great tower's sages would command it of her. Such a display was a surety! They'd want to see proof of her outrageous defilement. How could she keep news of such a debasing spectacle from reaching her Honored Parents?!
Tears burned Keluki's eyes, and she dipped her face to her drink, terrified her classmates in the cart would see. She didn't want to be subjected to their pity!
A slow glow woke within her. A tendril of swamp essence, no doubt acquired during the first half of the return journey, twisted in Keluki's mind, stirring with her unhappiness, responding to her emotions in a manner alien, yet conversely and mockingly similar to the sky and water essence she was also carrying.
A sudden urge to rid herself of the disgusting thing seized her.
Keluki almost did. She thrust it from her mind with an angry thought, only to frantically call it back, cringing at her selfish pettiness. Such wastefulness would dishonor the land that'd bestowed its gift upon her. Squandering it would anger the swamp's kami. She must accept it… The essence returned, settling in her contentedly, and Keluki willed it to sleep, praying the warm scent of decaying vegetation was just her imagination, not a symptom of a noticeable magical disturbance—
No such luck. The penetrating gaze she'd almost forgotten fell upon her bowed shoulders with an intensity akin to physical force. The hairs on Keluki's neck prickled.
HE was watching her again. Was her disgrace so fascinating?!
Apparently so. The weight remained, and seconds later, uncomfortable murmuring began spreading among the other occupants of the cart. Keluki slumped against the railing, manically concentrating on her tea. She would drink and rest! Like the Healer told her! Don't worry about the awful rumors sprouting in her midst. They would grow without her input. That's what rumors did. And they'd be bright and vibrant before they got back, ready to spread their tendrils throughout the great city. A city waiting expectantly for every detail of the Honored ambassador's success.
And she'd sent berserk Razorjawed Onis galloping at him! Oh, the Misery!
Downing her tea in record time, Keluki flopped her arms on the rail and buried her face in her kimono sleeves, trying hide her tears. The Healer was right. She was a Child. A Fool with dreams above her stature. Dedication and grit couldn't fight rumors! The city would eat her alive! She would stain the Floodbringer name for all eternity!
The ephemeral force pressing down from above intensified, (Was that even possible?!), and a strangled sob escaped Keluki's mouth and burrowed into her sleeve.
Oh, Honored Spying One! Turn your Honorable gaze on someone else!
The weight of her family's doomed aspirations crushed Keluki to the rail, and just like that, the exhaustion was upon her again. A drowsy fog dulled the turmoil of her senses, and she felt herself slip clumsily to the floor of the cart. A distant turmoil surrounded her, vague presences and agitated calls. A ripple of sky magic…
She'd made a scene again. She shouldn't have wakened the swamp essence.
Gentle hands arranged Keluki into a comfortable position and stroked her ears. A pillow was placed beneath her head. Her attempt at apologizing was silenced by a stern finger-tap to her lips. "Hush, Child." A familiar, chidding cluck. "You need sleep."
There was a rushing sound, as of many bird wings, and Keluki felt the presences surrounding her withdraw. Someone new spoke. A cool, commanding voice. One she didn't recognize. A guard, perhaps?
"What's wrong with her now?" The man's neutral tone belied the interest his words implied. There was no concern audible.
"Nothing new, my Lord. She is fine."
"You'll forgive me for observing that she did not look it, just now."
The Healer's voice sighed, "The poor child's distraught. I gave her a mild sedative to help her rest."
A sedative… That explained it. It wasn't the swamp essence…
"Mild," The man's voice was not amused. Nor, however, was it UNamused. "Perhaps I should refresh my understanding of the word."
A soft, bell-like chuckle. "I must admit, I didn't expect her to down it so quickly…" The empty cup was gently removed from Keluki's listless grasp and the voices moved away a bit. They were talking about her still, but their conversation dimmed with her tired hearing. She could make little sense of it.
Snatches focused here and there as her mind drifted towards sleep…
"Why is she distraught?"
"She anticipates the stigma on her, my Lord."
Quiet, incomprehensible murmurs. Then the man's voice lifted again. He was easier to make out. "And you believe this will be a problem."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Such foolishness… It's a different flavor. Nothing more."
"Her peers have not the experience to view it that way. Their objectivity is yet lacking. Mark me, my Lord. She will have a difficult time of it."
"How irritatingly tiresome…"
The rushing of wings again. Keluki's senses slipped further into slumber, but the voices became louder, like their owners were close again.
"May I ask what will become of her?"
"You may. Though as usual, I reserve the right not to answer."
"I thought as much," the Healer sounded resigned.
Keluki shivered, dimly aware of the pressure of the Honored ambassador's gaze piercing the fog surrounding her. Gentle fingers stroked her ears and tugged a thin blanket over her. She could see it in her mind. Silver, like the Healer's obi…
"Your presence is not required here, my Lord."
"Is that a subtle request for me to leave?"
"One of my years has no need of subtlety, my Lord. I am merely stating fact. And…" The Healer hesitated, then lowered her voice, "It might help."
The man didn't answer.
The Healer's voice lowered further, becoming a meaningful whisper. "She feels your eyes, my Lord. Your power disturbs her."
"Does it…?" The cool tone was devoid of emotion. Emphatically, and deliberately, neutral… "I was led to believe otherwise."
"She is limited, my Lord. Not oblivious."
There was a short silence. Then the rush of wings returned and the pressure against Keluki's mind eased. When he spoke again, the man sounded further away.
"If it is truly not needed here, I will take my presence elsewhere."
The rushing receded, and gentle hands tucked the edges of the blanket in, smoothing the fabric over Keluki's shoulders. "Rest easy, Child. He is gone. Though I dare say you haven't seen the last of him. You've caught his attention, and not necessarily in a bad way. Whether for good or ill, it's yet to be seen." The Healer's tone became a bitter mutter as she tenderly stroked Keluki's ears, "Though some would argue certain attentions are best left uncaught…"
Such words might've worried Keluki if she'd heard them. But Keluki didn't. The instant the Honored ambassador had left, she'd fallen deeply asleep.
She woke many hours later with renewed energy, unbandaged arms, and a body no longer troubled by over-channeling aches. Except for her memories and the swamp essence within, the nightmare she'd experienced might've been just that. A dream.
But this was not a dream Keluki could wake from. The consequences would be real and terrifying. And when they came, she was determined to face them honorably. That meant stoically accepting her shame and putting on a brave face. For now, Keluki needed to serve the retinue. She felt well enough to resume her duties…
Keluki looked around, hoping to spot a sempai who could give her instructions. The guards' defensive formation had relaxed, and the delegation was spread out on varying levels. Clouds soared by, above and between carts, and river-dotted plains swept beneath them… These were Floodbringer skies! She peered eagerly over the rail, but soon realized this wasn't her relatives' territory. Keluki swallowed her disappointment. It made sense… They were less than a day out from the great city. Her family lived further away than—There! A sempai! A few carts over. Keluki recognized his robes!
Buoyed by her small success, Keluki drank in the sky magic surrounding her, (thankfully, doing so was neither painful nor tiring), and began casting a flight spell.
Correction. Keluki began failing to cast a flight spell.
Or rather, she cast it, but it fizzled before she'd lifted more than half an inch off the cart's floor. Something—No, she corrected herself—SomeONE had stopped her!
A now-familiar presence prickled the hairs on her neck, and Keluki barely stopped herself from looking up in hurt outrage. Why would the Honored ambassador stop her from serving?! Was she so defiled, she could no longer do anything?
Keluki was saved from disgracing herself further by the Healer, who alighted before her just as she was about to try casting the spell again. Keluki's services, it seemed, were not needed. Many of the injured had been excused from their duties.
"But I feel fine, Honored Grandmother. I want to help."
"You can help by resting and not taxing this new ability you've awakened."
Thus began the most boring day of Keluki's exciting, honor-winning, requisite field excursion. Carts shifted positions, but she stayed put. Attendants and sempais shifted positions, but she stayed put. Even the cart she was in stayed put, imprisoned in the middle of a constantly shifting formation that Keluki suddenly realized was a bizarre, entirely unnecessary, defensive ring. Exotic disease stares invaded the ring from all sides, making Keluki's skin crawl. She wished she could disappear. Her classmates came and went, serving her, instead of the other way around, and whispering in scandalized tones behind their hands. Some didn't bother turning away first.
She wanted to shout at those classmates. Keluki is right here! She knows you discuss her! At least make an effort to hide your rudeness!
But Keluki did not shout. There was no point. In their eyes, she was no longer worthy of being afforded politeness. She was disgraced.
She began swirling the swamp essence at the rude ones. That quieted them! It made them squeak and their expressions pop. They fluttered off like frightened sparrows.
The Honored One's gaze resettled on Keluki, and the Healer, who'd decided to remain in her cart, frowned disapprovingly at her.
Keluki sniffed disinterestedly and glanced away. Yes, she was being petty. When they reached the great tower, her torment would be much greater. She must learn to accept and ignore the rude ones.
Regretfully, Keluki stopped swirling the swamp essence.
Then began the worst game of all…
Yet this terrible game, worse by far than all the exotic disease stares and whispered murmurs put together, did not come from her classmates!
The Honored ambassador's presence, (abruptly, unexpectedly, and entirely unwarrantedly), crashed upon Keluki like a mountain. It pressed against her mind, as heavily and intrusively as the day before. It pressed and pressed, making her squirm. Then, when she fidgeted, trying not to look up, it flicked away as if it'd never been.
This happened several times before Keluki dared risk a glance. The Honored ambassador's back was to her. He was talking with someone, engrossed in conversation… And… He appeared to have been that way for a while.
No! Impossible! She knew it was him! She recognized the weight. Recognized it from yesterday. Recognized it from a few minutes ago! From hours earlier, even! It was the same weight that'd ruined her spell and witnessed her collapse.
She wasn't wrong in this! Confused and frustrated, Keluki looked away.
The weight came back.
She tried to ignore it. It pushed and wheedled, tickling curiosity. Keluki glanced up again, and it vanished. He was still talking. His back was still turned.
But… Did it not seem as if he'd just finished moving?
No, she was being silly. She stared hard at the plains sweeping beneath the cart, but the same thing happened. It happened several times in a row. Then several more… Surely it couldn't be coincidence. But how? Why—
Horror gripped her. The Honored ambassador was toying with her!
How dare he?! Disgraced she might be, but she did not exist for his amusement!
No longer caring if she was being rude, Keluki looked away, waiting impatiently for the weight to come back. The instant it did, she snapped her face up.
There! Was his chin not turned towards her slightly!? Were his robes not—No, he was only nodding. It could be her imagination. But it wasn't! She knew it wasn't!
Keluki baited her trap again, determined to catch him at it!
Again and again, she baited it. And again and again, the Honored ambassador evaded it. The presence brushed her mind. Lightly, heavily. Fleeting flashes and heavy knocks. Short waits, long waits. Each time Keluki snapped her face up, he was turned away, but showing sign of recent movement. Yet every sign was easily explained by conversation. There was no satisfying proof! How cleverly he disguised himself!
The game continued. Keluki stubbornly refused to give up. The touches grew feather soft, the intervals long and unpredictable. Ephemeral, barely perceptible breaths, then a flurry of lightning fast sparkles that left her dizzy with looking.
Yet still she could not catch him! He might've been drinking tea up there for all the reaction he gave! Would he never give himself away?!
The Healer was watching her from the cart's forward passenger seat with amusement. Yes, Keluki was making a spectacle of herself with this staring, but the Honored ambassador was being just as rude! He was merely being so invisibly!
Keluki couldn't do that. And if she was exiled for casting rat magic, she never would. This might be her only chance to expose his sneakiness.
The flurry of sparkles came again, and Keluki thrust her mind at them, trying to ensnare them with the energy she'd collected. If she could not catch him looking, she would catch one of these sparkles. She would hold it prisoner, and not release it! Not until he'd been forced to acknowledge her! That she'd never attempted such a thing didn't matter. She would find a way to do it. It was a matter of honor!
The sparkles darted and wriggled, slipping through her grasp like a school of fish. Like fish, she tried to hook them. Net them. Trap them in bubbles. Entice them with false blind spots. Bubbles within bubbles, nets within nets. Anything she could think of to stop them. Using her sky essence, she thickened their water, trying to slow their movement. That seemed to be working well, but the effort drained her meager reserve quickly and she couldn't spare the concentration to call more.
Frustrated, Keluki looked to her tormentor and recast her snares as the sparkles quickened once more. The Honored ambassador had finished his conversation. Now he stood at the front of his chariot, gazing at the passing scenery. Gazing at the clouds. Gazing at other carts. (But not Keluki's. Oh, no. Never Keluki's cart!) As she watched, his gaze shifted casually to something resting on the railing between his palms…
Something that glinted silver. Something metal.
Heart plummeting, Keluki abruptly understood. The object was a mirror. The Honored ambassador, an accomplished Mirror Mage. With that looking glass, he could watch anything. Anyone… Her efforts to expose him were in vain. He could watch her for hours and she'd never know. The mirror hid him perfectly!
And he was using it to toy with her…
Anger flared. Then mortification. She saw it clearly. He WANTED Keluki to chase the sparkles! He'd teased her into looking up. And then he'd tricked her into chasing. Even now, they slowed tauntingly, daring her to come after them…
No more! Now that she saw this game for what it was, she would not play it!
Heedless of the consequences her action might bring, Keluki thrust the energy of her mind past the sparkles and flung it upwards, spearing it towards their owner. She stared at the Honored ambassador shamelessly as she did so, willing him to turn. Willing him to squirm like she'd done earlier. Willing him to LOOK at her!
Show me your eyes, Honored Spying One. Keluki forgets their color!
But the Honored ambassador did NOT look. He merely gazed into the mirror lying before him, an expression of idle indifference on his face. Or was it vague amusement? Keluki could not tell. Either way, it offended her.
She shot more energy into her focus, pouring it from her mind like a river. Fast flowing, and never-ending. Mind energy was not land essence! It replenished easily, the one thing Keluki excelled at! She could maintain this indefinitely!
Keluki stared and the river flowed. The sparkles swarmed furiously, distractingly, but she ignored them. The Honored ambassador must play HER game now!
His presence buffeted her, but she stayed calm. The sparkles pricked like thorns, illusory flower petals obscured her vision, orange lilies and pink cherry, but Keluki held firm. She knew where he was. Eyes were not necessary to hit this target!
Murmuring rose behind her, once more. Stares from the cart's other occupants touched her. Exotic disease stares. Shocked, scandalized stares. Stares from afar. Stares from nearby. Stares and more stares. But not the stare Keluki wanted!
The Healer was no longer smiling.
Keluki didn't notice. She had eyes only for the Honored ambassador. She saw no one else. Indeed, she saw nothing, for his illusions were blinding her.
She remained focused on his presence. An eternity passed…
Finally her vision cleared once more. The Honored ambassador was lifting the mirror from the railing, passing a dismissive hand over it. As she watched, he wrapped it in a red, embroidered cloth and slipped it into his robe's heavy sleeves.
Lightheaded with anticipation, Keluki threw her reserves at hi—
The sparkles vanished. His presence coalesced around her, stiflingly intrusive, clutching in a way Keluki hadn't felt before.
"Enough!"
The word echoed in Keluki's mind like a shout across an empty room. The Honored Ambassador's cold eyes speared sideways. His face tilted towards her slightly.
Half an amphitheater away, Keluki froze in shock, recognizing the voice from the dimly remembered exchange from before. That'd been him?! Him coming to check on her with the Healer? Why? Why trouble himself over her? And now this!
Mortification colored Keluki's cheeks. What did he want from her?!
Suddenly his presence released her. She almost staggered. He was turning away, as if retiring to the canopied portion of his chariot!
No! That was all Keluki got? No apology? No explanation?
Stay! She threw every scrap of remaining energy at him, recklessly squandering it in a way that was not sustainable. He MUST give her more than that! Something to justify the way she'd been making a fool of herself this last hour!
At her renewed onslaught, the Honored ambassador stopped. His tattooed visage turned to her, facing her fully this time, and his presence gripped her once more.
With an icy shock, the spigot of Keluki's mind energy shut off. She had not willed it so! Her reserves were not yet fully tapped!
Eyes fixed on Keluki's own, the Honored ambassador paced to the side rail of his chariot. He gripped the shining wood with delicate fingers and braced against it, gazing down at her the same way he'd gazed at his mirror.
Keluki stared desperately back at him. Such cold eyes! Cold, reflecting the blue of skies and oceans. Framed by an unreadable expression. Had she angered him?
"I See you, Keluki Floodbringer."
No, she hadn't! His tone was pristinely neutral, but the words of acknowledgement resonated among her thoughts, making her weak-kneed with relief.
Giddy with success, Keluki dared to stretch her mind to his. Her Honored Father could Mindspeak. He'd taught her how to reply. She formed the words and pushed them into the presence surrounding her. "I See you too, Honored Ambassador."
The Honored ambassador pulled back a bit. Had the cold eyes widened slightly? Had she, perhaps, (impossibly), surprised him? The idea made Keluki reckless. Impudently she added, "I have Seen you a lot today."
It was a mistake. The Honored ambassador's ocean eyes narrowed warningly, and sky magic swirled. Suddenly Keluki was facing forward, neck demurely bent, gaze fastened on the clouds, hands composed politely in her lap.
A picture of proper courtly etiquette…
And no memory of how she'd become one.
Fear chilled Keluki to her marrow. It was all she could do to keep the ugly emotion from her face and pretend she'd meant to turn away like this on her own.
Long moments passed. The Honored ambassador's suffocating presence lifted, and she knew he'd retreated into the depths of his chariot. She felt no urge to check…
"That was foolishly done, Child."
Shaken, Keluki glanced to the side. The Healer had turned and was leaning over the back of the supply cart's passenger seat, regarding her disapprovingly.
Her tone was a cold rebuke. "Do not think to understand that one's motives."
Horrified at the audacity implied by the accusation, Keluki stared at her lap. "I presume no such thing, Honored Grandmother," she whispered humbly.
"His mind is as convoluted as the machinations of the stars. You are not even an apprentice. In everything you do, your ignorance betrays you."
"I understand, Honored Grandmother." Keluki's ignorance knew no bounds. She was a lowly Floodbringer. The politics that must've been in play throughout the exchange that'd just transpired were unknown to her. Had she responded properly? Should she have played his game longer? Was it even a game at all!?
Keluki despaired. She felt she was missing something terribly important!
The Healer's doom verdicts weren't over. "He could kill you with a thought."
With those words, the danger Keluki was in finally hit. The Honored ambassador was powerful. Both in magic and influence. Interacting with him was not a choice undertaken lightly. No matter that he'd started it! Keluki should've ignored him. She might just as well poke sleeping dragon spirits!
Chastised and ashamed, she met the Healer's gaze unhappily. The old Soratami leaned close and murmured, "Whatever he told you is likely best left forgotten."
Keluki looked into her grey eyes, unreadable as her master's, and replied truthfully, "He told me nothing, Honored Grandmother." Though welcome, the ambassador's acknowledgement had not enlightened her in the slightest.
The Healer's tone and expression both softened. She smiled reassuringly. "Do not despair, Child. There is hope for you yet. Even now, you are learning."
Then she turned away, leaving Keluki to her own thoughts. Leaving her to ponder the awful mess she was in. The terrible rat taint. Her Death magic. The shame her Honored Parents and relatives would feel when they learned their prized Keluki had been stained by the most scorned of the ground-crawler essences…
Whispers and stares plagued her for the rest of the trip. She ignored them. The great sky city appeared on the horizon. She stared at without seeing.
The Clouded Mirror's presence stayed in his chariot. It didn't touch her again.
Keluki didn't care. She would've ignored it, if it had.
Keluki's return to the great sky city was every bit the nightmarish fall from grace she'd expected it to be. The rumors that'd sprouted around her found fertile soil in the crowd that'd gathered to welcome the delegation back. The Grand Courtyard echoed with dismayed gasps and worried murmuring as the damaged carts and injured were perceived by astute eyes, and the retinue's swift extrication from its assigned attendants did nothing to stem the tide of speculation that swelled from curious onlookers. Keluki's classmates were whispering eagerly to familiar faces even before the last guards touched down, and the scandalous deviation from propriety went uncommented upon by their chaperones in the wake of the Honored ambassador's abrupt departure.
Unsure what to do, Keluki stayed where she was, hoping someone would tell her what her newly altered status, (whatever it might be), entailed. No one looked at her, and she might have embarrassed herself by taking root in the cart had not the aged Healer seen fit to pause by Keluki's shoulder as she climbed down from her seat.
Her warm breath whispered warningly across Keluki's sensitive ears.
"Nothing has changed…"
Keluki stared surreptitiously after her as the silver-obied woman hastened to rejoin the retinue as they regrouped to report to the Soratami Council.
Nothing has changed? How untrue those words rang!
Yet she took them for the advice they were and rejoined her classmates, taking up the duties she'd been temporarily banned from as if she'd never stopped. Everyone ignored her. Hands shied from her touch as equipment was passed. Conversations hushed as she walked by. Orders were given as indirect announcements of need instead of through direct, polite address. Keluki was being shunned.
The realization burned like a physical wound. She wished she'd never touched the swamp. Her treacherous instincts should've let the Oni Slave kill her…
Harried by such despairing thoughts, Keluki dispiritedly followed her classmates out of the Grand Courtyard, pretending not to feel the subtle shift of the crowd's attention as the rumors planted in its nourishing curiosity grew and spread…
Her reception at the great sky tower was just as chilly. Worse, even. The rumors, somehow, had inexplicably preceded her arrival. (In Keluki's burgeoning depression, it didn't occur to her that word might've been sent by mirror earlier.) The senseis' eyes fixed on her upon her class's reception, regarding her coldly as she filed past. Tendrils of thought pressed rudely upon her from all sides, seeking to taste the swamp essence held within her, each one verifying for him or her self the taint she carried.
Humiliated and ashamed, Keluki ignored their touches. She would not give anyone the satisfaction of knowing her distress. She had a place here still, (though she could feel it slipping away), and until they asked her to leave, she would keep it with as much dignity as she possessed. Her Floodbringer honor demanded it.
Even in disgrace, she would hold her head high.
But Oh! Honored Mother, Honored Father! Such things are so hard!
True to the Healer's advice, Keluki went about her routine as if nothing had changed. Yet from her first step back in the tower, she knew with diamond-hard certainty that everything was irreversibly different. Former friends avoided Keluki like the plague. Empty chairs surrounded her in every class. Enemies and strangers stared and whispered openly, and formerly benevolent senseis eyed her with cold disinterest and left her alone where once they might've called upon her to answer questions or demonstrate competency in the day's lesson.
She was not asked, (thankfully), to demonstrate her Death magic.
But nor was Keluki asked to demonstrate anything else, either. The hard won respect she'd acquired through months of stubborn determination and grit had vanished, seemingly, in the space of a single eye blink.
A puff of vapor burned away by the hot rays of a rising sun…
Her future, once predictably adequate, was in frightening jeopardy.
No more was there talk of Keluki, (maybe), joining the Illusionists. No more was there talk of her becoming a Breezecaller. Or a Rainshaper. There was no talk of her becoming anything anymore, and when Keluki dared ask her instructors why, the senseis invariably turned away with disapproving frowns and refused to address her.
Keluki couldn't fathom what she'd done to merit such universal scorn. It's not like she'd WANTED the swamp to touch her! They understood that, right? Right?!
Apparently not.
Or if they did, they didn't care. Which was more terrible by far.
Despair gnawed at Keluki's insides, threatening to undermine her resolve. Her last month of initiation seemed to stretch for a torturous eternity, each day dragging by more slowly and more painfully than the last. She put off telling her family of her disgrace, unable to bear their reaction on top of everyone else's. Hoping against hope that she'd be offered another, (polite), opportunity to withdraw gracefully. That would've salvaged the situation. Made it bearable at least.
It was not to be. There was no discreet summons to the High Mages' Council. No note with the official Tower Seal slipped beneath her door, advising her to leave quietly. She was to endure Graduation. Forced to endure the shame of standing with her classmates and watching as, one by one, they were claimed by the various Magery Orders while she was left alone on the Moonseal Dais. Forced to bear before the tower and the entire Soratami population, the public disgrace of rat-tainted failure.
And now her family would be forced to bear that shame too. Because they were coming to Graduation! And Keluki hadn't had the courage to tell them not to!
And there was no longer time enough to send such a message.
So she raised her head high and when the appointed time came, dressed in her best kimono, poor though it might be compared to those of her classmates. And she piled the long white river of her hair tall upon her head and pinned it in place with a storm weathered branch, as was the traditional manner of Floodbringers, instead of wearing it in the style of the Magery Order she'd be joining, (which she knew not, and which, in all likelihood, was a pipedream that would not be happening).
Lastly she looked in her Honored Mother's pocket mirror, (a gift received on Keluki's departure), and considered her ears, silky scarves decorated with the dots and whorls of her family's insignia. City Soratami wore their ears in ornate knots and elaborately twisted piles. The Tower Mages were even more intricate…
Yet she would be joining neither after this. And in Keluki's opinion, despite the rural-screaming fashion, she looked better with her ears down anyway.
Thus it was, she packed the mirror away without using it further and made her way to the Moonseal Dais, where she took her place in line, chin held proudly, ears flowing freely across her shoulders, awaiting the judgment of her instructors. If she must bear the shame they thrust upon her, (it seemed unavoidable at this point), Keluki would do so with a grace and beauty befitting the Floodbringer name.
And Keluki WAS beautiful.
She tried not to draw attention to it most times, but it was a fact none could deny, and she would her picturesque poise to salvage as much honor as she could.
And so Keluki stood. Statuesque and beautiful. Trying to pretend she didn't notice how her name was left off the lists of the new Rainshaper and Breezecaller apprentices. How it was absent from the Illusionists as well, and from the other lower ranked wizardry orders. Keluki stood. Proudly motionless and exquisite. Trying to pretend it didn't hurt as the middle ranks took their pick. Savants and Mindsweepers, Cloudskaters and Seers. Trying to pretend she didn't see the expressions on her Honored parents' faces changing from pride to confusion. (For they'd known not to expect anything terribly exciting. THAT news had been broken long ago.)
Keluki stood. Miserably elegant and tragically beautiful. Watching through a veil of unshed tears as the Dais emptied around her. Watching as the Moonstair Balcony filled with the High Mage's Council, and the Tower's most renowned practitioners entered to witness the ritual naming of Mirror-Guard apprentices. Watching as her Honored Father's expression darkened with enlightened grief. Then anger.
Honored Father, forgive your Keluki for not preparing you for her disgrace…
But as the new Mirror-Guards' names were called, Keluki saw no forgiveness. Only blood chilling fury and the icy certainty of renouncement. Disownment.
She tried not to see as he got up and left before the Mirror-Guard's role was finished. Tried not to see her Honored Mother implore him to stay with sorrowful, shame-filled eyes. Tried not to see her Beloved Mother's silent weeping.
Keluki stood. Trying, yet failing, NOT to see. Trying not to tremble as the line thinned, leaving her standing on the Moonseal with none but her most gifted peers, from whom the Mirror Mage apprentices and Honored Chosen would be drawn, and a small handful of Initiates who'd failed to impress. Initiates who, like Keluki, hadn't been smart enough to withdraw when offered. Initiates whose faces mirrored her inner turmoil.
And two who waited with attitudes of stoic resignation. Who bore this terrible choosing year after year, unable to face the shame of returning home thus disgraced, yet equally unable to progress with their limited talents…
The Tower was cruel, yet not without mercy. Trying again could be a lifestyle.
Keluki turned her gaze from the Failed Ones. Their's was a choice requiring a different sort of courage. A choice she didn't think she was strong enough to make.
No. There would be no second chance for Keluki.
And so she stood. Terrifyingly still and defiantly beautiful while last year's Mirror Apprentices came one by one to the Moonseal to lead their new replacements to their masters' ranks. She looked past them, ignoring the scornful glances of ex-friends and former classmates as they deserted her. Their eyes did not touch her!
None would say Keluki bore her shame without grace!
Tears fogged her vision as the High Mage Council made ready to announce their Honored Chosen. She would not let them fall. Just a little longer! Her ordeal would be over soon. There was time enough for crying later, in the privacy of her room!
An acolyte of the Revered Erayo was introduced. He descended from the Moonstair Balcony on silver-clouded feet and returned the same way, leading a soft spoken girl who'd born Keluki neither goodwill nor scorn throughout their trials.
Familiar names flowed by Keluki's ears. Renowned experts and decorated Mages, each sending their top student to collect one of the specially groomed prodigies, (nobility, all), who preened proudly on the Dais around her.
A member of the Tower's High Council took one.
Then a famous Wind Mage, who frequently tutored at the Minamo School.
Keluki waited blindly for the end. Waited for the last name, (the Highest Honor), a disciple of Uyo, the Silent Prophet, (one who'd only recently, and entirely unexpectedly, declared her intent to recruit), to be read.
She waited for an eternity, (lists of honors seem long when one's name is not on them), and so all consuming was her misery, Keluki almost missed the very thing she was anticipating. The heralding of Uyo's disciple almost sent her fainting with relief.
A young woman stepped from the Moonstair Balcony.
So preoccupied was Keluki with her imminent release from the Dais, she failed to notice the subtle shift in the audience's mood as Uyo's disciple floated down. She didn't see the disturbance among the High Mages as a trio of late arrivals slipped in. The buzz of relief and deafening river of her Beloved Mother's silent tears drowned the quiet murmurs of the curious crowd as Uyo's disciple returned with her new apprentice.
Keluki waited. Waited for the words of dismissal. Waited for her disgraced release. Beautiful in her despair, she waited desperately, unaware that the sensei charged with uttering those fateful words had not returned to take his place.
"Tupeyo Mistmoon, of the Oboro Envoys."
An unfamiliar name. Shocked gasps echoed in the Gathering Hall as a young man wearing the O-Usagi seal of the Soratami's Ruling Council glided from the Moonstair Balcony and touched down lightly on the Dais. Colorfully dressed in rich reds and blues, Tupeyo stepped softly across the glittering tiles of the Tower's insignia.
He stepped softly towards Keluki.
Terrified, she glanced about, but there was no mistake. Aside from the Failed Ones, she was the only Initiate left on this side of the Dais. This Tupeyo Mistmoon was coming for her! But Keluki had no idea who he was! Who he represented?! Whose Honor merited reading AFTER that of the Silent Prophet?—
And abruptly she did know. A feathery touch, barely perceptible, yet instantly recognizable, even after more than a month's absence, brushed Keluki's awareness, making her gaze dart unbidden to the Moonstair Balcony.
The Honored ambassador was standing by the Council's Elder Mage, coolly staring at her with his impassive, sky-stained eyes. Catching her looking, he nodded.
Bewildered, Keluki quickly focused on Tupeyo, who'd almost finished crossing the Moonseal. Colorful robes swishing, the Envoy apprentice stopped before her and held out his right hand. Turning it palm up, he regarded her warmly and began reciting a personalized version of the ritual of advancement.
"Keluki Floodbringer. Those who would See your spirit's talents have Seen, and those who would Hear your mind's dedication have Heard. It is the wish of O-Usagi and the Moon Tower's Elders that you continue your studies under the tutelage of Oboro's Watchful Eye and the Guild of Mirror Mages. My Master, Ro-Kyu Minamo Wizard, Expert Mirror Manipulator, Senior Diplomatic Advisor, and Respected Envoy to the Daimyo's Court, Meloku the Clouded Mirror, has requested the overseeing of your training. At the behest of my Esteemed Master, I, Tupeyo Mistmoon, have been granted the Honor of escorting you into his service. Will you Hear his Calling?
Stunned, Keluki struggled not to stumble over her reply. Her voice trembled in her ears. "I, Keluki Floodbringer, Hear his Calling. And I accept."
Tupeyo Mistmoon smiled and bowed his head. "Then take my hand, Keluki Floodbringer, and be escorted into his presence."
She took his hand. Tupeyo's fingers closed firmly around hers, and Keluki felt the sky essence of his flight spell unfurl to encompass her. Her slippered feet lifted from the Moonseal Dias, encased in silver clouds, and then she was gliding behind him, floating up to the elegant curves of the Moonstair Balcony. She touched down behind him, and Tupeyo released her, moving quietly to stand beside his Master.
As if in a dream, Keluki bowed low over the glowing silver marble, paying her respects to the Tower's High Council. Murmuring filled the air around her. Eyes touched her from all directions. Suffused with a surreal sense of disbelief, Keluki didn't realize until later, (when she recalled the memory), how many of those eyes were not friendly. Offsetting the welcome of some gazes were polite neutrality, mild disdain, and frowning disapproval. In one or two cases, even open hostility. And the Elder Mage wore a tight smile, which in retrospect seemed pinched by the smell of sour grapes.
But Keluki did not notice this now. Bouyed by the dawning awareness that she had not eternally disgraced herself, that, (on the contrary), she was being afforded Honors beyond the highest of her noble-birthed classmates, Keluki rose to her feet and approached the Honored ambassador. She bowed low once more, gracefully curving her back, dipping her shoulders so the Floodbringer markings on her ears almost brushed the smooth stone, turning and extending a cloud-slippered heel with all the charm and exquisite poise her Honored Mother had taught her. Keluki was beautiful. She'd stood beautifully upon the Dais and she'd stand beautifully for him, here. None could say from Keluki's conduct that she had not expected this all along! She'd waste not an ounce of that blessing in thanking the Honored ambassador for turning his eyes upon her!
Keluki tilted her face, letting the line of her neck mirror the swinging of her ears.
A warm palm touched her forehead. Then the tip of one of the Honored ambassador's long claws traced her cheek and pressed gently into the soft skin of her chin, hooking beneath to bid her rise. "Look upon me, Keluki Floodbringer."
Keluki uncurled from her bow as gracefully as she'd entered it. She looked up.
As coldly unreadable as she remembered, the Honored ambassador's intense blue eyes gleamed with dispassionate reflections of the Balcony's silvery moonlight while they regarded her. "I have high expectations for you, Mirror Apprentice."
Euphoric with excitement, Keluki forced herself to reply calmly, trying to match his impartial tone. "I will endeavor to exceed them, my Lord."
The Honored Ambassador nodded approval and let his claw drop from her chin, releasing her. Keluki bowed again, as beautifully as before. Then she rose and moved to stand by him, gracefully stepping to his right like Tupeyo, (on his left), subtly indicated.
"This one could do well for you just by being worn as an accessory."
The unexpected Mindspeak, familiar in tone and obviously meant to be overheard, almost broke Keluki's poise. She glanced back and recognized the Healer she'd met on the excursion. Emerging from a cluster of Mages, the old Soratami came quietly to stand behind her, and a quick smile and reassuring touch to Keluki's back reassured her that the sarcastic comment had been affectionately intended.
The Honored ambassador declined to respond to the Healer's words. He fixed his attention upon the Moonseal Dais, showing no sign he'd heard the remark. His presence, however, brushed lightly against Keluki. It filled the space between her and the other woman, confirming that he was aware of and listening to whatever might be said.
Below them, the sensei charged with leading the closing ceremony began beseeching the blessings of the Moon Kami. His voice rose in chant.
As the lilting invocation soared to the vaulted ceilings of the room, the Healer commented again. "Is that rain-robed woman fainting in the middle rows your mother?"
Chagrined, Keluki glanced down at the audience. A small flurry of activity obscured the area where her parents had been sitting. Her Honorable Mother, overcome by the conflicting barrage of emotions elicited by thinking her daughter was forever disgraced and then seeing her elevated beyond their wildest dreams, had fainted clean away and was being fanned by several of her nobly-robed neighbors.
Pushing tentatively at the Healer's presence, (it was much dimmer than the Honored ambassador's), Keluki tried to keep the surprise and worry from her mental voice as she sent her reply to the woman's mind. "Yes. That is my Honored Mother."
The Healer paused, as if startled, but recovered quickly. "Did you not prepare her for your Calling, Young One?"
"Nay, Honored Grandmother. How could I? I was not prepared myself."
A hint of wary disapproval entered the Healer's tone. "Explain."
Still euphoric with her narrowly avoided shame, Keluki recounted her woes without concern, speaking, (in retrospect), more brightly than she probably should have. "I have been shunned since we returned from Takenuma Swamp. No one told me anything. I was not expecting to be Called at all."
The Healer spoke carefully. "You thought to stand with the Failed Ones?"
"Yes, Honored Grandmother."
"Yet you dress like this, for it."
Keluki almost smiled, "I have my pride."
The Healer's voice frowned. "And your parents…?"
"They expected me to become a Breezecaller. Or an Illusionist." Keluki faltered slightly. "I… had not the courage to tell them that was no longer the case."
"So when you were not Called earlier…?"
"They assumed the worst." A sudden pang of sadness made Keluki's breath hitch. "Even now, my Honored Father makes ready to depart the city. He walked out as they Called the Mirror-Guard Apprentices. I…" The Healer touched her back comfortingly as Keluki faltered again. She forced her tone to stay neutral.
"I am certain he intends to disown me."
The Healer was silent for a long moment. The sensei's chant filled the Gathering Hall, suffusing the air with the power of answering Kami spirits. Above the audience and below, the silver marble of the Moonstair Balcony and the Dais began to glow, shimmering softly with the white light of Kami blessings.
Finally she spoke again. And her merry tone shocked Keluki to her core.
"So THAT was the ill-mannered personage we passed on the Tower steps. I hesitate to say it, Child, but I do believe you're right. He seemed quite irate."
Another voice, bubbling with restrained amusement, joined the conversation. Keluki recognized Tupeyo. "Perhaps I should send a messenger to bring him back?"
"I'm sure his reaction will be delightful. Yes, Tupeyo, go and do it."
The idea horrified. Her father had made a bad impression and they wanted to drag him back in a rage? "No! That will only make him angrier!" Keluki quickly reined her emotions. "Better to let my Honored Mother handle it. He will not leave her."
"Are you sure, Child? It seems a pity to waste such an opportunity."
"I am sure, Honored Grandmother." Relieved, Keluki let herself relax once more, "He will find out soon enough. And besides…" Blinking quietly as the growing Kami light swirled up around her slippers, Keluki schooled her tone to deliberate impassivity, "He has spent many years trying to impress upon my brothers and me the extreme importance of not jumping to premature conclusions."
"He will feel a veritable fool," Tupeyo's mirth-touched voice,"I approve."
The Healer's bell-like chuckle echoed in her mind, and a flicker of movement caught Keluki's peripheral vision. She glanced surreptitiously to the side.
The Honored ambassador, (No, Keluki corrected, her new Master), had temporarily discarded his familiar mask of neutrality. A smile, faint and almost imperceptible, tugged deftly at the corners of his delicate lips. Their subtle curve bespoke an elusive pleasure, a tantalizing hint of inwardly directed satisfaction.
His voice whispered in Keluki's mind. "Yes, Mirror Apprentice. One must avoid jumping to conclusions. One must avoid such a thing at all costs. Lest an opportunity beyond imagining be allowed to slip from one's grasp. Water pouring from a sieve." The sky-blue eyes slid to meet her quizzical stare, "Look well at the faces in this room, Apprentice. Such a thing has happened here today. When realization of their folly dawns, a storm such as this Tower has never seen shall shake the very foundations of this city. Yet by then, it will be too late. What they seek, they have already lost."
With those words, the enigmatic eyes released her.
Confused, Keluki did as she'd been bid and glanced carefully about the Moonstair Balcony. Though she memorized as many faces as she could, their expressions told her nothing. She knew not what opportunity her Master referred to…
Baffled, she glanced to him once more as the sensei's chant rose to a high, brilliantly shining crescendo that set the Gathering Hall ablaze with Moonlight.
The Honored ambassador didn't look at her again. But his smile remained, deepening slightly under the intensifying glow of the Kami-blessings.
Keluki wouldn't appreciate until many months later how rare those smiles were. Nor could she predict how she'd come to cherish the infrequent displays of emotion. For now, she simply memorized his face along with the others. Then she turned her attention to the final parts of the ceremony, basking in the knowledge that his satisfaction had something, however small that something might be, to do with her.
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