Troll in Reviews

As has been noted, there is a troll in reviews spamming guest reviews and trying to frame people by writing their name in the name slot. Just ignore it. It's not worth the effort of paying attention to and I'm only writing this message so people are aware.

He's also pretending to be me by writing my name in guest review slots. I would only ever review something from this (logged-in) account.

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 34

"WHAT!?"

"What?" Ruby asked back, smiling as she paused in the entranceway to the common room, offering Weiss a bemused and slightly amused smile.

"W-W-W-W-What is that!?" Weiss stammered.

"That…?" Ruby turned and looked down over her shoulder, almost as if she were trying to see if someone had stuck something to her back. Under the shocked gazes of a few others who recognised her, she turned and looked over her other. "I don't see anything."

Weiss continued to point, finger shaking.

"Is it my hair?" She fluffed it up. "I know it's gotten a little long. I was thinking of growing it-"

"Robes!" Weiss managed to get out, choking on the word. "Robes!"

"My robes? What about them?"

Maybe she pushed a little too hard there. It was a thought to consider as Weiss charged over, gripped said robes under her neck and yanked her close, so close their noses touched. The girl's eyes were blazing icy blue. "These robes. Explain. Now."

"Heh heh. I'm an Azurite now. Surprise?"

Weiss stumbled back, lips moving but no words coming out. Eventually, she said, "You're an Arcanist…?"

"What? No. No, no, no. Azurite. It means an initiate of the Azure Arcana." She flashed her Arcanum, still lacking a blue stone. "I'm still an Initiate, I've just been accepted into the Azure. Nothing changes. Like, at all. I'm still in every class I was before."

That assurance calmed Weiss down a little – she felt bad for the entire act once it was clear how worried she'd been. Before Weiss could tell her otherwise, Ruby swept in and gave her best friend a big hug. For once, Weiss didn't instantly push her away.

"T-This is great," Weiss said. The hesitation was painful. "Congratulations."

"Want to talk more in private?" Ruby whispered. Weiss' quick nod against her shoulder was all the answer she needed, the two slipping off while a few of the other less antagonistic nobles offered their own surprised compliments.

Most of it was just that, automatic and polite. They didn't care for her any more than they did Weiss. That didn't bother her as much as it did her roommate, but then she didn't have to deal with these people after the Collegium. They'd be important dignitaries and such that Weiss couldn't avoid forever. Once they were in their room, Ruby locked the door and pushed Weiss down onto the bed.

Weiss allowed it. "Explain."

"I'll tell you what I can, but I have to keep some secrets. That's the Arcana rules!" she hurried to say when Weiss looked upset. "There's stuff I'm not allowed to say. It'd be the same if you were in the White."

"Alright. I'll listen."

"I took and passed the trials. I've been accepted as an Initiate of the Azure Arcana – an Azurite – which means I can do more in the Azure and learn their spells and stuff, but-" Ruby stressed the `but`. "It doesn't change anything about what I do outside it. I'm still an Initiate, I still study here and we're still roommates. The only thing that's changed is that I wear blue robes and get to do a little study time at the Azure Archives if I want to."

"I see. What are these trials?"

"The Arcana has challenges that you have to complete to get into them. I can't tell you what ours is – no one would tell me. The White probably has them as well and the whole point is that we don't know what those are."

"Can you give me a clue?"

Could she? Well, Ren had basically told someone not affiliated so maybe it was okay. "My trial was to find something. The Azure Arcana is all about secrets, so I had to find something that was hidden. Ren – that's another Azurite there – said the Crimson is probably a combat test."

"That would make sense." Weiss nodded, a little calmer now that she had a grasp of the situation. "I expect the Emerald is a medical test while the Black involves creating or enchanting something. I wonder what the White would be…"

"You could go find out. My trials weren't timed, and they even said that if I fail, it's not like I can't try again later. It wouldn't hurt to ask about them, even if you don't sign up straight away. I bet they'd tell you. Ren said there's no requirement on when a person can try."

"Perhaps I'll enquire. Still, to complete your trial so soon – that has to be a record!"

"Eh. It wasn't that hard."

"Ruby!" Weiss chided. "Don't you see how incredible this is? Imagine it. No amateur could join the Emerald or Crimson – they'd need to master spells we have no means of learning right now. How is a new Initiate supposed to fight a Crimson Arcanist? How is someone who is just learning how to manipulate fire and water meant to seal a fatal wound or treat sickness? It's impossible."

But my task was easy, she almost said.

Then, didn't. Paused. Thought on it. Had her task really been that simple? For her, yes, but how would it have been for the average Initiate? They couldn't hope to trail after and follow an Arcanist without being caught. They couldn't hope to sneak through the halls avoiding detection to catch someone entering the Archives.

They'd need a tracking spell. Something powerful enough to follow someone without being obvious – subtle and sneaky. They'd also need a way of mapping out the building to know where that person went, then either powerful detection magic or anti-illusion to get through the wall. And that was assuming they'd run out all the tracing and attempts to decipher the fake books up top. Most people wouldn't assume it was all a trick because most people weren't used to the tricks and trades of the everyday conmen of the slums.

I lucked out because I could sneak my way through it, but if anyone else tried then they'd need loads of tracking, scrying and detecting spells to figure anything out. They only knew of those spells at this point but had no idea on when or how to learn them.

That guy who was still searching after two months wasn't an outlier. He was on schedule!

"O-Oh. I guess I got pretty lucky…"

"Lucky?"

"I didn't have to use any spells. I just sort of stumbled on the answer…"

"And since your task was to find something you weren't then tested on how you did so." Weiss slapped her forehead. "Oh my lord, you're singlehandedly the luckiest and most idiotic person I've ever met. I can't believe this. Not a single spell?"

"Nope."

"Gods. Well, that makes me feel a little better about this at least. I thought you were leaving me behind, learning magic in secret and not telling me." Weiss picked at her bedsheets as she said that, and Ruby came over to sit next to her. "I know," she growled. "I'm being stupid."

"Yep. I'm not going anywhere. Besides, you can always try for the White."

"I will. Would you help me?"

"If I'm allowed, sure." There might be something she could find in the Archives, but then that was a question of the sheer size of it as usual. The book she'd skimmed through had some useful information on the Collegium, but yet again it just stated that the laws were to capture and subdue all Wildmages, not why. "There's another benefit to this, though."

"Hm. What's that?"

Ruby's grin turned savage. "Martyn is still an Initiate."

"You're going to flaunt your new robes all over him, aren't you?"

"Yyyyyyyep!"

Weiss laughed. "Well, that's one good thing at least! Are you going to tell Jaune?"

"I will when I see him."

"You should invite him for dinner and tell him then," Weiss suggested.

"In the food hall?"

"No." Weiss sighed dramatically for some reason. "And not with me like last time. I'm saying you should eat with him alone and tell him." Under her breath, she muttered, "I still can't believe you invited me the other day. If I'd known that was what it was, I'd have refused."

Why would she refuse? Jaune had invited her for food and said she could bring Weiss alone – she didn't really see the problem in it all. There'd been a strange awkwardness with just the three of them, but she'd assumed it was because Jaune was tired again.

"I don't understand…"

"That's because you're an idiot, Ruby."

"Hey…"

/-/

Not a class went by without people staring at her new robes in awe. Weiss had been right; she was the only one with robes not initiate-grey, and that made her stand out despite her best efforts to hide at the back of the class. The teachers were the only ones who didn't seem to care. Lessons went on as normal but for the occasional look she received.

The very second class was over, Weiss said she was going to visit the Cathedral of the White and ask about their trails. She had a feeling Weiss wasn't the only one, since Martyn and a few others had been giving her dirty looks all day, clearly feeling challenged.

It's just like the slums, she thought. One person does something and it works, then everyone tries the same. Usually, that was the latest scam or money-making scheme. It was funny to realise how alike the people of the slums and the nobles could be. The only difference was the people here did it out of pride, not to survive.

"Seems the Azure Arcana will accept anyone into their fold," Martyn remarked as he walked by. "Some people aren't as discerning as others."

"What does it say that everyone refused you, then?"

A few of the nobles either not allied, against or confident enough in their positions to eschew the politics chuckled at her words, one even going so far as to clap her shoulder on the way by. Martyn sneered his typical sneer, mumbled something about proving the Crimson above her and storming away. His hair was now swept over and cut short, giving him an unbalanced and awkward look. A shame they'd gotten the colour out of it. Shaking her head, she made her way to the Arcana, knowing Weiss wouldn't be around to miss her since she was at the White.

Would Weiss be as fortunate with her trials? Her biggest worry was that Weiss would face an actual challenge she wouldn't have any hope of getting by as luckily as Ruby had hers. That would hit her mood hard and probably have people comparing them again. Bad enough when it'd been because of her poor eating habits, but if people were going to say Weiss was weaker than the barbaric noble from Menagerie and that got back to her family, it might cause problems.

I'll just have to help her. If she needs a spell maybe someone in the Azure can teach me it. Even if she couldn't tell Weiss about the Archives or take her there, no rules existed against her finding knowledge inside and sharing it. Well, those rules probably did exist, but no one would be able to trace it back to her.

The Azure archives – the fake Azure Archives – was as busy as ever, but now that she knew everyone up top was only pretending to read, she could see how little time they spent there. Rather than go down to the Archives herself, she instead paced down the corridors retracing her steps from a week or so before, eventually reaching a door with "Lie Ren" written on a plaque. Coughing to herself, she knocked three times.

Ren's voice came back uncharacteristically annoyed. "I already told you I'm too busy!"

"Eh?" Ruby winced and called, "Sorry."

"Ruby?" The sound of footsteps came from within, then a bolt being slid aside and the door opening. Ren looked – well, to be fair he looked awful/. Sunken cheeks, dark rings around his eyes and his hair poking out at the strangest of angles. "It is you," he muttered, holding the door open. "Sorry. I thought it was someone else. Come in."

"I can come back later if you're busy…"

"I'm not busy," he said with a little sigh. "I'd like to be, but I'm too exhausted. Come on, it's fine. I need the break anyway."

The room was a little messier than she remembered it being, a few books strewn here and there along with reams of paper scattered on the floor and a spilt pot of ink. There was also a white diagram drawn on the floor in chalk, with the sides scuffed. Ren had been busy.

"Ignore the mess. I was running an experiment late last night." He shoved some books off a chair and offered it to her, slumping down into his own and running a hand through his hair. It didn't fix much.

"Have you slept?"

"No?" He said it more as question than an answer. "At least I think I haven't. Thought I had a breakthrough." He yawned. "Didn't."

"Oh. Sorry…?"

"It's fine. Failure is a part of success. If you find the answer on your first try, the question obviously wasn't difficult enough. It wasn't a complete failure either, I managed to enhance the muscles in my arm enough to lift more weight than I can normally." He waved said arm, which she noticed was red and sore. "It wasn't an entirely painless experience."

"Do you need taking to the Emerald Arcana?"

"I was already taken earlier. Torn muscle. It's healing." Ren sounded remarkably unconcerned about that, though she guessed having healers on hand whenever you needed them would make anyone blasé about injury. "What can I help you with? I see you're wearing our robes. It took you less than a week to figure it out. That's impressive."

"I'm not sure I believe that when you look so bored…"

"My head is messed up." He waved a finger by his ear. "Some of the Emerald spells include dulling of feeling and emotion to help with recovery. I'll be more amazed tomorrow."

Ruby giggled. "Okay. Shouldn't you be sleeping though?"

"Probably. I will later, I promise. I'm just cleaning up for now. Anyway, what did you need me for? Or did you come to tell me you passed? If so, congratulations, but as I said, I can't really react properly right now…"

"It's not that. I wanted to ask about the Archives. I-"

"You want to know how to find a specific book."

Ruby's mouth hung open. "H-How did you know!?"

"Hate to break it to you, but that's everyone's first, middle and last question in the Azure Archive. Tens, if not hundreds of millions of books, shelves that go on for miles in every direction and you want one book in particular." Ren cracked a weak smile. "It was the first thing I asked when I got in here, and probably the first thing Doctor Merlot asked as well. I'm still looking for books that'll help me. I've found some but the hunt never stops."

The disappointment settled in her stomach, dragging it down. "Oh," she mumbled. "Damn…"

The Librarian had said as much but she'd held onto the vague hope Ren might have someone to offer, which was ridiculous given his position as an Azurite like her. If the Arcanists didn't know, how was she supposed to?

"I'm sorry I can't help, Ruby. I would if I could. My own life would be made easier if there was a way…" He gestured to his research. "The only things I've found have been by searching on foot and collaboration."

"Collaboration…?"

"Asking people to report any on a subject I want if they find it by accident," he explained. "And in return, I do the same. I'm part of a small group. We're not really friends or anything, but it's five or six of us and we have a list of subjects we're interested in. If someone finds a book I want, they mark down on a map where it is. I do the same for their subjects. It's not much, but six sets of eyes are better than one. I can introduce you if you like…?"

Tempting, but she wasn't sure she could. The more people who knew what she was researching, the less safe she'd be. Maybe if she chose a subject tangential, she could get away with it. But even if I said I wanted information on the Sanctum, people would ask why. How can I say I want to know about Wildmages without coming inviting questions?

"I'll think about it. I'm not really sure what I want to research yet."

"Hmm. Well, you can let me know when you do. I'll help. On a side note, if you see any books that are about enhancing, strengthening the body or drawing magical power out in physical ways, I'd appreciate you noting where those are."

"Oh. Sure." Ruby grinned. "I guess we're all just wandering around like idiots hoping we find the right books."

"We really are. It's ridiculous, I know, but I'm not sure what the Arcana can do. The Black might be able to make a map to show things better, but we'd have to let them into the Archives – and they'd probably find a way to steal or copy everything down."

The Azure Archives were theirs, not the Black's. She'd only been a part of it officially for a day now, but she already felt defensive about it. All the Arcana have their secrets. If they won't share theirs, the Azure shouldn't return the favour.

"How do the Arcanists do it?"

"Experience. They've been here longer than we have – at least four years, sometimes ten to thirty. They've naturally covered a lot more ground in the Archives, so they know where the subjects they want are held. Some also post rewards. There's a noticeboard in the Archives. Take a look next time you're down there. You can make decent lien scouting for the older Arcanists. Some of the Azurites do that to finance their own experiments."

That sounded interesting. "Have you?"

"Once or twice. The problem is it's time consuming because you need to roam deep into the Archives for them. The books they want aren't going to be anywhere near the entrance or they'd have found them already."

That was as far as she'd been, doing a rough circle around the portal. Ruby swore under her breath. Of course that wasn't the right way to find what she was after. If the Archives were so huge, the shelves closest to the entrance would be the most known of all of them. She could probably find someone who had marked down every single book within an hour or two of the entrance.

It was the shelves further away that would hold the biggest secrets.

But the Librarian said I could walk for days in any given direction and not reach the end. I can't just take a week off lessons to do that. Weiss would freak. Not to mention Ironwood and his Specialists, who were still looking out for any anomalies.

"Hey Ren. How does the Archives work with these trackers from Atlas?" A quick look at his arm showed that he had one as well, like every Initiate. "Wouldn't they be able to find the Archives by tracking where we are?"

"Didn't you attend the meeting? Oh wait, you weren't a member then." He yawned into one hand. "Sorry. We had a big summons about this where it was explained, but it was before you joined officially. Basically, no, the Archives are technically and magically located here, so even if you spent a month down there, it would look to Atlas like you spent a month in this location. Nothing suspicious at all."

Other than not going back to her room to sleep, but she knew what he meant. The Azure must have been worried about Atlas finding the Archives, so they'd have picked apart the bracelets to figure out what was what.

How deep did the Archives go? The Librarian said people could get lost in them, but was it large enough that she could let off a surge without anyone noticing? If so, that might be a way around Ironwood's plans.

"Hey Ren. Do you think the other Arcana could help make a way to find the books we want?"

"Possibly. You'd want the Amber or the Black. Amber for a spell, Black for an object. The problem is convincing the Amber to do anything like that. They're like us in a way – they'll have a spell they want to make, and it's not easy to convince them to do something else."

"How about the Black?"

"They're the same, but their work tends to be a lot more expensive because they need materials. You can usually find one willing to help if you have the lien to pay for it." Ren's fingers drummed on his leg. "Is it something you're looking to explore?"

"Yes." Finding a single book in the Archives within a time limit wasn't going to be possible otherwise.

"Hmm." He sighed. "Alright. I have a friend in the Black. If you tell her I sent you, she might be willing to give you a bit of a discount. I'd go myself but… well, she tends to lose focus when I'm around." He picked up some paper and started writing on it with a glass quill. "Give her this. Tell her I sent you. If nothing else, she'll probably listen and offer you a price."

Ruby took the parchment eagerly. "Can I just enter the Black Arcana?"

"It's free to enter just like ours. I'm sure they have their secrets like we do, but they're not on display. Just be polite. And remember that they can be a bit eccentric." Ren sighed again, loudly. "Her more than anyone. Whatever you do, don't touch anything she's working on. Chances are it'll explode. Violently."

"Is that what happens when the Black Arcana messes up?"

"No. If their enchants fail, the object is inert. The explosions… well… that's just her. And it's what she's after. Explosions are kind of her thing, always have been." Ren shook his head, muttering something she couldn't quite hear. "If nothing else, she's friendly. Just be sure to be open about what you and I are."

Ruby blinked. "And what are we?"

"Friends. Nothing less, nothing more."

No prizes for guessing who that might be.

I'm hoping to use this coming week of no updates to get a little ahead on the week after, which will with any luck mean chapters return to normal lengths again. For those wondering, my event this week has been converted from a live event to a streamed one, which is going to make it easier in some regards, but harder in others.

I'll be spending the week making everyone aware of that (and you just know some idiots will still try and show up at the venue no matter how many emails I send), and also trying to get all the sponsors ready for their speeches, make sure all finalists are in online attendance and such. Honestly, this is the first time I've ever had to do an online only event, so it's all confusing to me. I'll be spending Monday talking to some event specialists to try and sort something out and running through the tech and requirements, etc.

Luckily, my team is very crap on computers and digital content. Wait, did I say luckily? I meant, fuck my life, I'm doomed.

I complain, but obviously I'm very pleased I finally got through to the sponsors on this. It's more work for me, but so much safer for all of us.

Next Chapter: 5th April (TWO WEEKS)

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