Sun's Heart

Chapter 3 - The First Trial

Brittle silence filled the commons room the day of the Trials. The boys' and girls' hallways, extending back from either side of the commons room, were dark and empty. All five students sat around the unlit fireplace, staring at something unpleasant in the middle-distance.

Gale's knuckles whitened. Butterflies swam in her empty stomach.

Morning light filled the room with pale streamers, shimmering dust floating through them. The smell of soap was faint but noticeable, since each had visited the bathhouse behind the dormitories under Lady Quotl's watchful eye. She would have no uncleanliness on such an important day.

The patroness herself sat primly on an ottoman in the center of the commons room looking for all the world as though the Trials would wait for her.

In truth, the Trials had already begun. The Usaelis were few, and it took several to perform a Trial. While unable to control magic, their damaged spirits could still allow it to flow from them into relics. Despite their spiritual injuries, the academy kept them on as guardians of knowledge. No mage was cast out unless they committed crimes against other mages. The Usaelis were no exception.

It reminded Gale of something Maelis Corrik had growled to them when he'd purposely pitted students from the same village against each other for sparring.

"Mages have no loyalty but to magic," the mountain of a man rumbled when two second-years hailing from the same city had expressed reluctance. "Leave blood and love to the romantics."

Mages stuck together, protected each other from those who would as soon kill them for what they were capable of. They shared knowledge and acted as allies, if not friends. Magic scarred the lives of those who were cursed to carry it, forming bonds around those shared scars that other creatures of the world couldn't understand, not truly.

With a faint rustle, Lady Quotl, her hair pinned in a complicated rain of silky black, stood smoothly and straightened the front of her long, pale green silk dress, the thin skirt split to the thigh on one side. Silver leaves stood out on the high collar. She made the rest of them seem drab and dead in comparison, with only plain black robes, thick boots, and the white collars which marked them as first-years.

They followed her with their eyes, the tension becoming further palpable, if possible.

She swept to the front door, shadowed by the shapes of men outside, and opened it, revealing eight Usaelis like white-robed statues of marble. The covered openings of their hoods showed no hint of the faces beneath. One spoke in a voice at once hollow and filling the room.

"The First Trials will begin. Come when we call, and remember: take nothing with you. Leave expectation behind."

A shiver rippled through the gathered students as the last word rang like a gong, and it was no wonder. Their voices were empty and cold enough to drive the heat from any room.

A woman's weary voice echoed, "Wil. You are the first."

Wil inhaled, slowly rose, and slipped past Lady Q to join them. The door closed, and the shadows moved away, leaving them more anxious than before and sitting in thickening silence. No one dared make eye contact for fear of breaking what control they had over their nerves.

Seconds passed and turned into minutes. The air became heavier with each passing breath. Gale's mind filled itself with questions of what he was seeing. How real would it feel? Was it tailored to each person, or a single scenario for everyone? Perhaps there was pain. Or it would be nothing but a series of questions. She was skeptical about this last thought. Eight magic-users of any kind likely meant a circle. Usaelis meant using relics. It was a test of magic, not knowledge. It had to be.