(Resumed) Solstice

[Grace]

Stealth Artes comprise a collection of techniques, disciplines, and foci to permit the elusion of threats. You may elude a threat by avoiding it, passing through it, deflecting it, healing out of it, or, as I have specialised, killing it. This collection is considered cold, cruel, deadly, and heartless; for most practitioners, including the defiled Grace Gardner of the past, that's exactly how it is used, in direct contrast with a more peaceful arte like Shadowdancing.

In truth, the two forms are complementary. Shadowdancing is the redirection of hostile energy unto benign vectors, a method of elusion. Stealth Artes include ways of delivering techniques undetected. 

No one said one could not use the latter to deliver the former. Beside me stood a self-denying trans woman in desperate need of empathy. To her right, someone who must be kept in the dark until she was ready. We take the theory, then.

Clutch. Seal off every part of my body save the starboard hand of conveyance.

Shroud. Release the manifestation of my Will unto the Matra, yet not so bright that my friends notice and alarum.

Tell. Inscribe my Soul's voice within the Spell. I hear you, dear Sister mine. 

I would sooner die than say it aloud, but this time, my target audience was a Soul in trauma's throes. The sentiment would slither beneath consciousness.

Prayer. I filled my heart with the simple desire of reception. My Æther sunk into the deep ocean of Attunement. Still, I kept a taut lead on my thaumaturgy. 

True benevolence, after all, masquerades as inaction. 

And finally, Lapse. My missive flittered from my hand into the small of Emmett's back.

[Em]

There I was, in the middle of the road, flanked by Grace to my left and Patrick to my right.

The change, however, carried a pervasive subtlety. The road grew vivid. The tans and reds glimmered on the dusty gravel, the lime blades of grass swayed with the wind on either flank, the air brought a crisp plain scent along the breeze, and my robes felt heavy yet warm.

"You alright, Em?" I heard Patrick ask.

Ignoring him, I directed my attention to Grace. I felt a queer surety that she'd a hand in this, but no clue presented itself regarding how. "Did.. you do something? I feel kind of different."

She faced me and lifted her robe for a curtsy. "Nothing of the sort."

I tilted my head to the right. This didn't seem like the Grace I'd known at all. Did something change?

Whatever, it probably wasn't my business in any event.

I held out my hand, focusing my gaze on it, reflecting on everything that had happened to put me on this particular path of life.

"No casting!" the two of them chided in unison. Okay, something's messing with me. Why are those two speaking in harmony?!

[Ansel]

I drummed a snare roll onto Abe's room door.

"Get away!" I heard him shout. 

I shook my head. I might not like the guy at all, but he was my Squad Leader and Squadmates take care of their own. "What is your issue? Selene liter-"

The air warmed rapidly. I dove from the door instants before a cone of flame would have roasted me in place. I liked my skin brown like wood, thanks, not black as ash.

"KEEP THOSE VILE WHORES AWAY!!"

I squeezed my fists taut 'til my nails cut my palms. A deep anger simmered in my breath. If this shitestain only knew just how brave those women truly were, the lengths Leia strode to share her compassion...

And what in the Heavens and Havens was Abe doing pretending to be a Student of Æther when he bore clear expertise in an Element?!

No. I'd be a goner. And if I lose myself to hate, what kind of friend would I be to those who need me? To Selene? To Em, even, still?!

I let it go. I'll apologise to my half-sis later, but first, I needed Freya.

Reassuring myself I was making the right call, I raced to the stairwell and descended in my newly-fashioned Robe of Earth. I still couldn't use Earth reliably, but at least the Collegiate Transference paperwork finally went through. 

But this wasn't about that; this was about finding Freya and letting her know what the Heavens and Havens happened to Abe.

A few hallways later, I strode out the front door and kicked off a full sprint of about twenty metres per second. Considering I wasn't in PT, I had no reason not to Strengthen my run. I'd check the West Outer Ring in its entirety before migrating eastward. If I got to Admin without seeing her, then I'd bother the Headmaster.

I made the rounds about what amounted to the Colleges' Residential District with no trace of the woman I sought, but rather one with sleek black hair and contrasting pale skin waving toward me.

"You're an Earth Magus now?" she cooed.

"Hey, Elaine."

"What's gotten you running all over the place?"

"Need to find Freya."

Her lips curled up, her tongue darting out to caress them. "Scion Stahl? Are you perchance-"

"I'm gay, so no."

She raised her shoulders and lowered her visage. "A bitter shame."

"You and me both, Elaine." It still stung that Em was a woman. But dropping the chase and letting her find love elsewhere was the right thing to do. Despite saying I healed best alone, I'd cried into Selene's shoulder more than I cared to admit.

It helped to hear her promise that Em was in good hands.

"I hope you find her whom you seek." She bade me farewell with a gentle wave. "We're doing a study session tomorrow in the Student Centre. You want to join?"

I tossed a raised thumb her way. "Sure thing! Talk to you soon!" With that, I ran for the central campus. I was still a student after all, and I had to make my family proud, even if it meant helping someone who didn't deserve it because we were on the same Squad.

Passing through the West Inner Gate always carried this feeling of triumph, not that I had time to take it in on account of current events.

Freya Stahl liked to spend her time outside, so I ignored the buildings. Besides, she was a moving target who could enter a building after I'd searched it. At that point, it was just easier to petition a Communion Magus. Maybe Ser Feylance?

I blazed a trail between the Student Centre and the College of Water to give myself a straight shot to the Administrative building on the opposite side of the campus. I'd dart my eyes about on the off-chance I ran into her organically, but I wasn't going out of my way anytime soon.

If I could not find Freya, I had to inform the Headmaster: something cursed Abe, and even if I didn't owe it to my Squad Leader, nobody willing to assault a Scion of the Triumvirate would stop at a mere curse.

Past the College of Water I ran, past the Infirmary, past the North Inner Gate, toward the East Inner Gate, but veering left toward the rather-unassuming Administration Building. Seriously, if you looked at it without knowing what it was, you'd think it was abandoned or similar.

I slowed my run close to the entrance. Wouldn't want to kick a student or teacher into the wall and all.

The moment I decided to open the wooden front door, out popped a very familiar Student of Air.

Normally I wouldn't speak to him, but he would likely have fraternised with Freya at least a little, so I took my chances. "Hi, Samael."

The dark-haired light-skinned Samael turned to face me, his natural contrast of light hair and dark skin. "What do you want?"

Okay, a little miffed today, but aren't we all? "Two questions. First, have you seen Freya?"

"Scion Stahl."

A sigh whispered away from me. While Abe was certainly like this, Freya almost hated the term, and a real member of high society ought to have picked up on that. "Right, Scion Stahl, sorry." From what I'd seen of him, Samael was not worth the effort of a genuine bond, so a benign lie was fine. "Question remains; do you know where she is?"

Samael shook his head. "Probably either out slowing the Etsy advance or training to do so. You're a Presidential Combat-Coded Squad Member; why aren't you out there?"

I folded my arms up and clasped my elbows with my palms. "Because not all of us are fighters, and we still need some presence here. Speaking of which." I deliberately narrowed my eyes toward him in disapproval. "You're a Squad Leader. Where's your Squad?"

Samael scoffed. "I tried to lead them back here after they failed our Mission. They refused for some stupid reason, so I washed my hands of it and returned to report the failure and petition for dissolution."

The tears had started to sting the back of my eyes. I kept them at arm's length, but what I had heard left its mark. "Why didn't you stay with them?" This was a mistake. Everything in me screamed to let Samael go and report Abe's affliction to Headmaster Clarent.

"Because, Ansel, I don't want to waste time at the site of a failed Mission when I could instead be lining up the next one so we might one day earn the 'privilege' of deploying to the front eyes and fulfilling our obligation to our people! I'm not supposed to be waiting around. I'm supposed to be right out there with you, fighting the imminent threat! But I can't do that. Why? Because my Squad consists of a prat who thinks he's leader material, a woman who lets petty sentiments cloud her decisions, and deadweight."

My neck, arms, and legs, they all twitched. "You'll eat those words, Michaels." This was wrong; this was stupid; I was retarding my personal growth for starting this and knew it.

Even Samael gave me a look that screamed What are you doing, moron? "You challenging me? You haven't held your Element for very long, Bauer."

Was I really about to do this? Throw down the gauntlet against an experienced, far stronger opponent with few qualms betraying his own kith?

I was well aware of the anger hooking into the fell corners of my Mind, but I had more important-

"You know what? I don't have to put up with your slander. I challenge you, Ansel Bauer. five kilometres dead west of the West Outer Gate, to second blood, anything goes."

Second Blood? In Sollun, Magi had several options to pick from when selecting the victory condition of a duel. While the most notorious was the duel to the death, followed closely by to-yield because many of those also ended in death, more humane victory conditions included first spell, first strike, a contest wherein a peer judged who displayed the more skillful Magick, and last-to-hold-ground. A victory condition somewhere in the middle was first-blood, where the first strike that broke skin decided the match.

I was anticipating first blood, but second blood was a frostier fare. It meant that one was not out of the fight until a second hit, which always proved far more dangerous than the first. First-Blood Duels were more survivable than Second-Blood, and Third-Blood was right out. So why did Samael jump straight to Second Blood against a minor call-out?

I shook my head. "No to Second Blood. You can keep your reputation." It would be a mark of shame on me and Leia, but she would be even angrier if I had gone through with it.

Samael clicked his tongue and wagged a finger at me. "The Presidential Earth Magus, such a coward? I suppose I'll have to tell that boyfriend of yours how you disgraced him."

I shivered again. Once again I must mine anger swallow. "Go ahead." I knew Em. She would never hold this against me. In fact-

"Then challenge him to third blood for his blatant disrespect of both you and me."

You sick bastard. "You want to play that way, Samael? Fine. Second blood. Two hours to find seconds, then meet at East Outer Gate for rendezvous to the duel site."

"One hour." Samael strutted away without care.

Even one hour was acceptable. I could alert the Headmaster, seek out Grace or Leia, explain the situation, then meet Samael.

I touched the knob of the cobbled shack of stone that served as the logistical headquarters of the seminary, concealed in plain sight from outsiders yet defended all the same, for many of our enemies had this knowledge outright. The Emissaries were a prime example.

[Em]

The road was long and tensions roiled beneath dust and soil. Patrick had acted in a capacity never before seen, concerning me greatly that he had not made a single move to so much as inconvenience me. Meanwhile, Grace was shockingly cordial with the both of us, acting as if I wasn't immensely out of line hours before.

In my haze of puzzling out all of this, the closed South Outer Gate of the Can Vahs Arcane Colleges encroached with plentiful silence upon us.

Said Grace with cheer, "Home is upon us! Come on, let's circle back to the East!"

Said Patrick with aplomb, "About time. We had another life-changing adventure, but sometimes all a man wants is to eat good food and study in peace."

Said I... well, I just nodded. I still lacked a reasonable rationale for Patrick's change of heart. I just wanted to get away from them both and process everything that happened on my own for a bit.

I followed along, taking advantage of the sweet reprieve from torment for all it was worth. Smart Ems did not ask wherefore trouble its leave took. The grass felt welcoming yet foreboding. Or maybe it was just that we'd walked many kilometres without respite, not to be confused with Respite in two days.

Why was my heart so heavy? Why am I on the verge of tears? Questions descended in flood upon my head. Was I not just an impostor in the end? And one who endangered all she cared for, when the cards of fate were cast?

Grace leveled a glance toward me.

I shook off the doubt out of concern or maybe fear. I knew not, nor did it matter.

The opened iron gate stood before us, the East Outer Gate upon which I had failed my Entrance Exam. I would certainly clear it now, without a shadow of a doubt.

But that Havens-forlorn Obelisk put me through so much pain-

A soft-pillowed chest and two arms ensnared me in a constricting embrace.

I looked forward and saw shining hair adrift in my vision. "S-Selene?"

"HI EM!!" The embrace bound stronger.

I squirmed a bit. 

A warm breath on my ear stilled me with warm cheeks and a shiver. "Your Soul's hurt again. We're going to talk later," the breath whispered. "Just close your eyes and indulge yourself. You are safe."

Streams of salted water lapping my face, I returned the hug.

Time and space folded away in abstraction. Only warmth melting my cold pain remained.

I felt a strange Æther dance into my Shroud, slipping in and out akin to lips on flesh. It felt like a digit reached into and caressed me from within.

It reminded me of-

Nope, said Selene in my mind's ear, Whoever did that to you has no power here. This is your space. Only permit those you trust into here.

I nodded.

That includes me.

I know. I wasn't sure how to feel about what was happening, but it was like standing on a blazing current whose floodgates lay bare and open.

I felt scared, yet a want for this burgeouned.

In the distant world outside, I heard another friend talking to Grace about a second something or other, but I let it go. 

LunaSoltaer

It was really, really hard to write from Ansel's perspective, and I was stumped for several days! Even now I hope I managed to keep him having his own voice and not amalgamating him with my other characters. But I'm glad he's back, if in a trouble spot.

And... Poor, poor Abraham. A part of me feels so badly for him, but another part of me is cackling positively wickedly. Is it bad to enjoy watching your characters suffer?

Well, what if I told you I found another relaxing and not-deeply-darkly-terrifying book on SH? This one's from an new author named Euphridia, and it is The Last Rae of Hope, featuring two fangirls tricked into an isekai into a dead webnovel's world by that webnovel's rather-cheeky author. So far it's an extremely lighthearted satirical fantasy comedy, with some incredibly shady undertones hidden in the depths. So far I'm liking the read, and the banter is definitely a gentle reminder to enjoy the silly side of life as well. All things in balance.

It's rather amazing just how varied yet interconnected the literary tapestries of souls can be. If you ever want to jump into, jump back into, or challenge yourself in your word-weaving, then go for it, full blaze! We all have our own light to shine into the sky, and I would quite like to see some more spangling the world we all share.

Thank you for reading Solstice, and for listening to my random rambles.