Updated 8/8/18
Chapter 6
The girls rushed in the building to try to find the room the panel would be held in. Luckily, the building wasn't difficult to navigate. The layout was pretty simple to understand, and there was a framed map as they walked in that illustrated the simplicity for them visually. It had one large central hall with a single centralized grand staircase leading to the floor upstairs. Two large rooms were located on the bottom floor and four smaller sized rooms were located on the top floor. The room they needed was on the bottom on the left side of the staircase.
The two made it through the double set of maple doors and stopped cold. They both thought that they had ample time to find a good seat after doing their round of window shopping but apparently that wasn't the case seeing as the whole room was swamped with people. The two frantically looked around for a spot with two seats beside each other. But, there wasn't any doubt that the two were worried they would have to cram themselves into a spot next to couple of people they didn't know.
Lucy's eyes grew wide when she spotted not only two available spots in the second to last row but a familiar figure seated next to those empty seats. She rushed over to his side so that she could quickly snatch those seats and interrogate him for being there.
"Hibiki, what on Earthland are you doing here?" Lucy asked. Her confusion by his attendance was grounded in the facts that he wasn't a celestial mage, a merchant, nor a reporter of any kind.
"Lucy! Yukino! Here why don't you lovely ladies take the seats beside me?" The girls did as he asked but Lucy eyed him again curiously once she was seated to his immediate left. "Uh, so explanation time huh? I came to the symposium to add some additional data to archive. It doesn't always update on its own. I have to constantly dig up books and virtually scan them in to gain access to the knowledge archive has. I planned on turning on a recording function while here and taking a nap. But now that the two of you lovely ladies are here I can't even think about snoozing the day away."
Yukino not quite used to such flirtations blushed brightly. Lucy also blushed ever so slightly, regardless of the fact that she was quite used to the group of boys from Blue Pegasus. She made the quick decision to ignore his trite attempts, and turn the tables on his behavior. "So, how is Jenny? Are you two still seeing each other?"
Hibiki raked his fingers through his hair. "Er, about that...I think her fight with Mirajane bothered her a lot more than she let on. Either that or it was how her plan to get Mirajane to pose nude backfired that bothered her. Either way she is lashing out at everyone around her. We haven't really went on a proper date yet. So I'm not so sure she is even all that interested in me."
"Perhaps, you just need to give her some space." Lucy suggested.
He sighed. "We'll see," he cast his eyes downward, obviously ending the current conversation.
After a few moments of silence Lucy began to people watch. She still was quite amazed at the multitude of bodies congregating for the event. She was so certain that there wouldn't be many. So, it stands to reason that several of the celestial mages in attendance had to be from other countries. Another telling characteristic that supported this theory was the fact that she didn't recognize any of their guild marks.
Is that a red crystal key hanging from that girl's keyring? Or perhaps it's cut from a ruby gemstone? What could that summon? She wondered to herself. It proved that there was definitely more keys than just the gold and silver like she had been led to believe.
Most of the people in attendance had to be reporters however. It was their notepads and recording lacrimas that tipped that off to her. Surprisingly Jason was not in attendance. Perhaps Sorcerer's Weekly had sent another reporter on this case.
There was another group of people that Lucy felt didn't seem to fit as a reporter or a celestial mage since they had no keys on them. Nor did they seem quite so anxious as some of the reporters did. That group has to be merchants.
The event organizer took the stage. "Welcome all of you! I'm so happy to see so many people in attendance. I know several of you have traveled quite a ways to be able to be here today. I hope the information you learn here today won't disappoint you. Now let me introduce your panel. The first set of people are all members of magic councils all across Earthland. Let me introduce you to first the magic council member from Fiore, Belno."
A tall older woman walked in. She had greyish blonde sandy colored hair that she wore in a large ponytail. The strands of hair seemed to have a mind of their own as they formed into separate groups each group seeming to form a flower petal like shape. Her nose was quite long but seemed to add character to her face, rather than take anything away from her appearance. Underneath the cloak she wore a ribbed purple turtleneck sweater. Her dark eyes assessed the room around her. She turned to her left side addressing someone that wasn't there. "No, Lahar, I want you to have Doranbolt take you there just like I explained before. I'm also thought projecting at the panel in Clover Town so I have no time to further discuss it right now."
Hibiki leaned in to whisper to Yukino. "Belno is here because she is the only one able to attend by thought projection. She isn't actually physically here at all. They must be quite busy in Era to have not sent someone to attend in person."
Lucy honestly thought that seemed a bit unfair. She quickly shrugged off how poorly she thought about Fiore's magic council in that moment as the introductions by the event organizer continued. There weren't council members from every country present but there were quite a few. The ones able to attend were council members from Stella, Desierto, Minstrel, Midi, and Ca Elum. Lucy guessed that the mage from Desierto was also there through thought projection magic because his form seemed to fizzle a little just before he took his seat.
"We are honored to have the Princess Hisui here to discuss research she has found regarding celestial magic." The princess came in with Arcadios only few footsteps behind. He pulled her chair out and pushed it in like a gentleman before taking his station against the wall only a few feet behind her. She smiled out at the people in the crowd. Her smile growing a bit brighter when her gaze landed on Yukino and Lucy.
"Finally, I am sure the man I am about to introduce you to now needs no introduction. But humor me all the same. Earthland's renowned author, Syneviar Ixarium."
Lucy and Yukino couldn't contain their excitement. They jumped up from their seats applauding exuberantly as the author they admired walked into the room. Many other people in attendance doing the same, the room now an uproar of enthusiasm. Lucy would have taken her seat at this point but then she wouldn't have been able to see since the rest of the room was still standing and applauding. She took this time to begin mentally cataloging his physical features. He was an elder short wizened man who wore a conical hat that was just as tall as he was. The tip of the hat curled over forward with a weighted crystal dodecahedron. It amazed Lucy that the weak looking thread of fabric could support the crystal. She only took a second to wonder over its importance before taking in the rest of his appearance. Syneviar also wore a long robe which landed just at the top of his shoes. The only indication he was wearing shoes at all was the fact that his toes peeked out. He bowed slightly with his head to visually address the applause he was receiving. Then once everyone had sat back down in their seats he took his own.
The event coordinator retook his station and explained that for most purposes the magic council was mostly there as public officials. They were there as more of an observatory position. The only two true panel members were Princess Hisui and Syneviar Ixarium himself. Princess Hisui stood up and visually addressed the people before her.
"I know my social and political standing as a princess is widely known. But many do not know that I am also a celestial mage. I don't really announce it to many because as a princess I don't have a lot of time to practice my magic. About seven years ago a mage I considered my idol disappeared. She was believed dead by many. I had originally learned about her through articles published in magazines and word of mouth. It was my wish to grow up to be like her someday so I began to do research. I planned on using my research to find her lost keys and follow her footsteps. Through the studying I did I found more magic a celestial mage could perform that didn't require keys." She nodded her head at the coordinator who signaled a couple of men, one standing on either side of the room. They each began passing out thick parcels of paper. "You are about to receive what I have documented of my findings. I figured this would take a lot less time out of your schedules to be able to research it on your own. I'd like to address the merchants that are here now. To you I ask that you do not bind this pamphlet and sell it off as some lost text. You might think I can't stop you. I remind you as a princess my clout is much more impressive than you may imagine." She took a breath before turning her eyes toward Lucy and Yukino. "I truly do hope that the information I have provided will be helpful."
Someone coughed in an obvious effort to grab the princess' attention. All eyes turned the direction of the audible disturbance. A gentleman with unkempt brown hair, a long gaunt face, and a reedy frame had his hand raised above the other heads around him.
The announcer quickly fielded the obviously questioning man. "All questions will be answered at the end of the panel."
Said man dropped his hand and stood up. "I understand that but I'm a bit confused at the purpose of a symposium panel if all that is going to happen is thick bundles of handouts are just going to be passed out. Not to mention that I think we all are curious who it was that Princess Hisui considered her hero."
The princess, who was still standing, glanced at the announcer and nodded as if to say it was okay. "I chose not to name my hero for a few reasons. First, that's not what the symposium is about. It didn't seem right to take that time away from the allotted time slot we were given. Secondly, while we all have our own heroes I didn't want to diminish the importance of every celestial mage that is here in attendance. The last point is mostly a throw away point but I will state it regardless. Referencing back to the history I mentioned it isn't hard to research who I might have been talking about. If you didn't already know the answer that is."
It was quite obvious that the princess was stating the last snidely as a jibe to the man's represented ignorance. He knew it too judging from the way his face tightened, and how his ears and cheeks grew red. He paused for a moment, probably counting to ten in his head in an attempt to calm down, before he took a deep breath and spoke once more. "That answers my second question. What about my first?"
The princess was obviously not at all pleased with the way the stranger was carrying himself. "Answer me a couple questions first. Who are you, and what do you do for a living?"
His mouth opened in astonishment as he realized his obvious faux paux. "I do apologize, Princess Hisui. My name is Gabe Nevitt. I'm a reporter for the magazine Modern Day Magick from Bellum."
The princess nodded. "Well, it is definitely nice to be able to put a name with a face." She smiled slightly before continuing. "Now one more question for you. Would you mind looking at the timepiece you have in your front vest pocket?"
Gabe arched an eyebrow at her but did as she asked.
"What time is it now?"
"9:20," he was quick to answer.
"We only have the room for the hour and already twenty minutes have elapsed. I predicted that this may be the case and that's why I only prepared the pamphlets. If you look at the last page I did indicate that I would be having another panel tomorrow, the final day. That panel will be in a smaller setting where I can answer any questions someone may have about the information given."
"With that, I believe it's time we move on to our guest speaker." The announcer quickly interjected which prompted Gabe to sit back down.
Syneviar cleared his throat and everyone in the room turned their heads his direction. "I could discuss the precious metal silver and gold keys of celestial spirits that are most common in Fiore. I could discuss the crystal keys of the elemental sylphs of Bellum. I could even discuss the small music box melody keys of Minstrel. But I won't be doing that today. Instead I am going to discuss the legendary platinum god keys."
Everyone in the room began whispering to each other which created a great cacophony of sounds. Syneviar shook his head, the light catching off the crystal that decorated his hat, and the room quieted down again just as quickly. "Before everyone causes a ruckus I must assure you all that these are merely elevated rumors at this time. Those rumors indicate that supposedly somewhere represented by each cardinal direction lies the answers to obtaining each of the platinum keys. To the north somewhere in the icy tundra of Iceberg is believed to be where the key of Genbu the Great Black Turtle is hidden. To the south somewhere near the warm climates of Midi is rumored the key of Suzaku the Vermillion Bird resides. To the west somewhere amongst the Ca Elum archipelago is said to be where the key of Byakko the Great White Tiger resides. Then, finally to the east somewhere around the country of Enca there have been rumors of the key of Seiryu the Azure Dragon being hidden somewhere in that vicinity. Unfortunately, I don't have anything other than hints about the locations and can tell you no more information than that. However, I do think that perhaps it is time for these god keys to be utilized in the world of Earthland once again." It surprised the two celestial mages greatly when Syneviar looked directly in Yukino's and Lucy's direction. He kept his eyes focused on them as he continued. "I imagine the trek to uncover the locations would be quite perilous. I believe only a couple of you have the heart and magic to persevere to find these locations." His eyes cast again over the entire room. "But, I also believed it only right that all of you present have the same amount of information about these legendary keys that I have."
After his speech the crowd began tossing questions left and right at Syneviar. (The lecture Gabe Nevitt was just given a few minutes before obviously immediately forgotten.) Yukino and Lucy were not among those asking questions. No, the two mages both just stood there stunned. Hibiki was the one to pull them out of their trance like state. "This is the first time I have heard anything about a set of platinum god keys." He began typing it up in archive. The two mages thought he was inputting the information but those thoughts were contradicted when he continued. "There is nothing in archive about platinum keys at all. I am sure I could input Syneviar Ixarium and pull up his research and still find no hints about this topic. It's like he kept this information close to himself on purpose. I can't fathom why when he makes his jewel from his research. Why would he keep something so close to the vest like that?"
Lucy sighed. "Because, he didn't want this information to be released until this moment. I'm not sure if he expected this overwhelming pandemonium or not. The amount of people that know of this information now is quite worrisome. Only four keys and so many celestial mages and merchants are salivating to obtain them. It terrifies me that the four platinum keys and their power might fall into the wrong hands."
"Then, perhaps we should call this trip short." Yukino stated beside her.
Lucy nodded. "Let's go make arrangements at the train station to leave in the morning." I hate to waste jewel but I hate the idea of some corrupt mage getting their hands on those keys even more.
"I'm coming with you." Hibiki suddenly stated.
"What?! Why?" Lucy asked.
"Because, think of all the information I can obtain on such a trip. Archive could use the surplus of data, plus you would be going to amp your own magic partially right? I could easily do the same with access to more data." Lucy conceded that his reasoning was as good as any and nodded at him.
The three got up and left the room while people were still loudly discussing the platinum keys. It surprised all three of them when somehow the short author was now in front of them. "Lucy Heartfilia and Yukino Agria, you are the two mages I was hoping to see most in attendance." He pulled out a small book from his robes. "Tell no one of this. I give this to you two in confidence that you will be the ones to earn these keys. I believe you two to be the most deserving."
Lucy opened her mouth to thank him when suddenly he was gone again. The three mages looked at each other, and without saying a word agreed to go back to the girls' hotel room to pack.