Author Games: Path of the Guildpact

Finals: Elijah Karsur

Aurelia sat in the middle of the table. Her red hair was swept neatly over her shoulders, falling onto brightly shining armor. There was a vivid, distinguished look in her dark eyes. They were narrowed slightly, her head tilted at a bit of an angle as she glanced Elijah over. She held herself with her back straight and her hands linked, making her look almost too well put together. This wasn't to mention the pair of wings she had tucked behind her, which seemed a size larger than any other pair Eli had seen since arriving in Boros.

She pressed her lips together and glanced down at whatever paper she had been studying so intently when he first walked in. Aurelia looked up again and her eyes narrowed, the wheels in the back of her brain turning fiercely.

"What's with the magic that's surrounding you right now?" her voice wasn't nearly as harsh as Elijah had expected.

He knew the question well, and didn't complain that it was the first one on the board. He pulled his right hand from his pocket and held it up just enough for her to see the amber ring that was slid over his middle finger. "Concealment charm, perfectly harmless," he added when he saw her eyebrows buckle a little more.

"What's it for then?" she asked curiously.

"Is that really what you want to waste one of your questions on?"

Aurelia's expression soured. She placed a finger over her lips and stared at Eli for a long moment. He began to get a creeping feeling up his spine, but he didn't allow his lip t so much a twitch. Compared to the other trials, what was so hard about telling a few measly truths?

"Why do you want to be Guildpact?"

"What?" Elijah held back a scoff.

"Why do you want to be Guildpact?" she repeated, her feathers rustling and settling back down behind her.

Elijah's mind went blank. "Does there have to be a reason?"

"Shouldn't there be?" Aurelia countered with a skillfully raised eyebrow.

He pressed his lips together and crossed his arms. She had a point, unfortunately, and he was obligated to answer. What was a good enough reason? He didn't want the fame from it, that was for sure. Saying he was doing it to make his guild proud was a joke. The responsibility was soul crushing. Why had he wanted it? Eli pressed himself to remember. There had been an initial reason, a goal.

"Power," he answered finally, rocking back on his heels. He had wanted it for the magic, but the idea now to him seemed so very distant.

She gazed at him for a long moment, not indicating whether she thought the answer was right or wrong. A sigh fell from her lips and she cupped her chin in both hands, causing her red hair to spill down off of her shoulders.

"What was the deal you made in Orzhov?"

His throat squeezed momentarily. "How do you know about that?"

Aurelia shrugged, as if the question was nothing more than asking his favorite color. "It doesn't matter really. Just tell me what it was."

Eli sighed, his hand raking through his hair. He wasn't ashamed of what he had done, that fact remained the same. It was who he stood in front of that worried him."We were given an option, of sorts, if we wanted to move forward," he paused and looked her in the eyes for a long moment. "You have to understand the choices we had were limited."

She raised her eyebrow again, keeping her lips glued together.

"One option was to sell our soul to Orzhov for 2000 years after our death..."

"And the other?"

"The other, was to grant them a free pass on the first deal they suggested."

"So which one did you chose?"