"The ravenous fire that crackled in your souls was one and the same, stoked by repressed fear and the overwhelming desire to survive in a world that only valued material power."
In their desperate battle to survive the harsh aristocracy, the desire...
Silver plates clinked softly as servants set the first course on the table, a mouthwatering display of the House's best: Pine-Stuffed Eggs arranged like bursting stars. Fresh spinach leaves tossed with vibrant berries in a unique concoction of lemon cider and sesame oil. Roasted Pillow-Top Mushrooms bronzed by cinnamon and freckled with salt flakes. Pale blades of fermented Bone Grass accompanied by a mound of floral Moon Cheese.
It was food fit for the start of a feast, but only four people sat at the long ivory table.
Hyunjin's gaze traveled politely over his mother's guests, the Sōrmār and Sōrsānt of House Sapphirine. They sat proud, squaring their shoulders and flaunting their adorned ears. Their grayish-blue Channeling Cores were cut into smooth round shapes, pierced in decreasing size from the earlobe to the helix. The blue of their attire was stark against the grim palette of House Amaranthine.
But that was as far as they stood out. Those Nilfyn were just like Hyunjin and his mother, aristocrats who were always scheming, devising, and calculating. Life was nothing but a mere game of power to them, and tonight's feast was an opulent performance of such.
The Sōrmār of House Sapphirine was stern-looking, with cheeks that hollowed in despite his wealth and eyes that never exposed his true emotions. His late wife bore him one heir, whom he paraded around like a prize.
Sōrsānt Juyeon was everything Hyunjin's mother wished her son had been. He was haughty, cruel, and powerful. All the things Hyunjin couldn't feign strongly enough.
They were both born with Hybrid Tilts, but while Hyunjin's was useless, Juyeon's was dangerous.
His Corrosive Tilt allowed him to create chemicals that ate away at human flesh and dissolved stone. He could bring down entire villages if he wanted, torture them until nothing remained but ghastly bones.
He saw it once, and while his mother clapped for the performance, Hyunjin couldn't silence the echo of those tortured screams as the human's skin melted off.
It was a wicked kind of pleasure he never understood.
Once the servants stepped away from the table, the dining began. Hyunjin kept one ear on the conversation happening between his mother and the Sōrmār while he scooped some of the salad onto his plate.
"Morileus' soldiers were spotted near the border earlier this week," the man had said, and his mother entertained him, "So I hear. They must be scouting for those rebels of theirs. They wouldn't dare cross over."
"It's unbelievable how the Ambellium continues to evade him after all these years."
"It is incompetency on the King's behalf, nothing more."
Hyunjin tuned out the rest of their conversation in disinterest. The bizarre political state of their neighboring Kingdom, Morynna, was a recurring subject in aristocratic dinners. Their seemingly immortal king had been ruling long before Hyunjin was born, and as far as anyone could recall.
Anyone but the citizens of his Kingdom.
To them, King Morileus was the Eternal King, his throne and power unquestioned. They found no fault in his endless rule.
Hyunjin visited Morynna once during a diplomatic trip with his mother. He remembered Moryns greeting them with glazed over eyes and tireless cheer. Unnatural, like sentient puppets. Royal soldiers permanently swarmed their streets, but they didn't seem to mind. All the people did was sing Morileus' praises, for he had saved them from the savage Silfyn.
The Nilfyn weren't always nature's favored children. Four centuries past, the old Morynna was ruled by humans alongside the powerful Silfyn, enchanting creatures that were said to have raised the Kingdom's imposing capital from desolate earth.
Their magic knew no bounds, transcending the barriers of one's soul and reaching for the seams of existence itself. If Hyunjin could make a flower bloom, then they could awaken gardens across deserts. If Hyunjin's mother could manipulate water, then they could split the mighty sea. If Juyeon could destroy a village, then they could bring entire kingdoms to their knees. It was even said that some could raise the dead from their rest.
Yet, all that power didn't save them from slaughter. Perhaps that was where the Nilfyn earned their abundant arrogance. Despite being restricted by their magic, they were the only remaining magical race.
"Is Hyunjin still Unclaimed?"
Hyunjin's fork froze on his plate, and he looked at the Sōrmār with masked nervousness. The memory of the blushing blossom in your hands flickered in his mind, fresh and frightening. Tender.
"Unfortunately. His Tilt is yet to show," his mother lied, to which the Sōrmār nodded sympathetically. His true condescending intent was obvious in his tone. "His case is a peculiar one, but a Nilfyn is a Nilfyn. His magic will appear eventually."
Hyunjin felt Juyeon's smug gaze on him, and he suppressed the urge to glare in response. In this game of power, he must've thought himself Hyunjin's better simply because he had magic.
Their patronizing didn't go unnoticed by the Ērmār, who responded curtly, "We are anticipating signs of his Tilt, but we are in no rush. Hyunjin's mastery of Azāri is unmatched and unaffected by his lack of magic."
Hyunjin wanted to feel the prickle of pride, to sit straighter and match Juyeon's smugness, but the sweet tanginess of his food turned bitter in his mouth.
Unmatched mastery? He scoffed inwardly. That was not what she had said when she stood over him in the training court.
"Ah, do tell! I've been eager to see your famed Azārāhis," the Sōrmār barked a resonant laugh, to which Hyunjin's mother smiled. Charming, but anyone who bothered to look would see the icicles behind her expression. "Of course. They are waiting for us."
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