The Greatest Discovery

Kostanari Justice

Juliyah dared to shoot a glance from under her hood towards the far left corner of the room, where the unexpectedly booming voice came from. Storms, she hoped they would have enough decency to not bring this up, especially not with Aillia present in the room.

The ardent who asked the question, however, seemed genuinely curious and watched her with an inquisitive but open expression. He was tall and lean, his dark curly hair longer than of any other ardent in the room. Both attitude and hair betrayed a newcomer in him. He doesn't know, she realized with surprise. Unfortunately, ignorance could hurt just like cruelty did.

The older ardent that everyone called Jasuio hushed the scribe with a curt answer and attempted to set the discussion back on track. The brightlady, however, seemed taken by the question as well.

She thought for a moment and said, "I apologize if my interest is improper, but I have to admit that the young scribe's question has been plaguing me just as much. I feel that the missing information may be of immediate relevance to the situation and I think it unwise to make a decision without a full understanding of the consequences."

Juliyah heard Aillia exhale and shift her body - probably for the first time since the meeting began - towards Lilin. Juliyah expected her to give another evasive answer but the reply that came was brief but honest.

"Bifocus kills fast," she said. "Exposure to several surges transforms the body in a matter of months, often weeks, instead of years. Asking a soulcaster to master two surges is, at its core, a form of a death sentence."

The brightlady nodded softly, "Thank you. I suspected it, but it is important to me to hear the confirmation."

"Do not concern yourself with the consequences, your majesty. Every soulcaster ardent has entered the service aware of the implied sacrifice. They will do as requested," Malam said, reinstating her presence in the conversation.

Being aware of the sacrifice is not the same as choosing it, Juliyah thought, struggling to remain quiet. She has never been good at the whole 'stay impartial, patient, and silent' part of her soulcaster duty. Unfortunately, the majority of her brethren were better trained - they would turn to practicing the second surge without complaint and die before their curses reached those inhuman lips.

Turned out, someone was even less practiced at keeping their mouth shut than she was.
The tall scribe from the corner spoke again.

"There is another way", he said. "One that would not involve the murder of innocent people."

The room turned to his voice the second time, most looking annoyed at his repeated interventions. Exhaustionspren were now outnumbering the ripples of the concentrationspren; the meeting stretched long and the idea of finally leaving the gloom of both the room and the conversation lurked in more than one pair of eyes.

"Explain yourself," said Brightness Lilin, ignoring the mood, and Juliyah found herself impressed by the woman's composure. "And state your name, please."

"My name is Pattis and I believe that it is possible to heal the shattered emeralds to reuse in soulcasting," he said, stepping closer to the group.

The annoyance gave place to open frustration as several of the ardents turned to face Pattis.

"Young man, what you are suggesting is impossible," one of them said, gesturing curtly. "No amount of pressure or other ministrations - and I assure you multiple were tried - worked to repair a broken gemstone. The rumors of the repaired gemstones, common among the darkeyed midwives, dreaming of magically transforming their marks into a full brome, were repeatedly proved to be just that - fancies. If you believe them... well, you have not shaved your hair yet, so perhaps it is not too late for you to reconsider your acceptance to the ardentia."