“More like a strong guess based on what your father told me,” Exarch Kuro replied. “However, Authority is less effective outside of Hearth, and it’s meant to be used against apostates in the first place, so I wouldn’t dwell on it.”
“A guess? What if it had worked on me?”
“Then… you’d all be dead and I’d be wailing at the center of a spiraling storm of remorse?”
Roun sighed and dropped the matter for now; maybe he’d try to demand a better explanation from the exarch after their evaluation. After all, Desantil and those legionnaires had been more than surprised. A lot more. It shocked them to the core.
Exarch Kuro clapped his hands. “Good! Now, there’s still the little matter of ordaining Laeshiro and Roun. Come, come!’
Roun and the large Rhalgr Grimoire made their way to the podium while the others watched. When they reached it, Kuro waved Laeshiro closer and bowed to the young man. When he rose, he placed a hand on Laeshiro’s chest.
“Laeshiro Rhalgr, I ordain you the Grimoire of Dewdrop Silk. Bear your title with honor and let it stand as an oath for your inevitable glory.”
Laeshiro gave the exarch a small smile and bowed slightly, then left the podium. Sethra and Kamil clapped him on the shoulders while Fane congratulated him and Oyrivia offered a warm smile.
Next came Roun’s turn to approach Kuro. The exarch bowed deep once more, then rose and, as with Laeshiro, placed his hand on Roun’s chest. A strange, almost sorrowful look passed across Exarch Kuro’s face, confusing Roun, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared and was replaced by a smile.
“Roun, I ordain you the Grimoire of Twilight.” Exarch Kuro’s voice seemed to grow ever slightly softer. “Bear your title with honor and let it stand as an oath for your inevitable glory.”
26
After ordaining Roun, the exarch waved them all into place and turned his attention towards their evaluation, which was to take place in a little more than a month. Roun stood with the others, arms crossed, and listened as Exarch Kuro explained both what Avyleir expected of them and what they should expect in return.
The evaluation itself was to be a mock mission, but only in that they would have far more support than usual; the task itself would be genuine enough. Completion of the task wouldn’t guarantee success, as the whole point was to evaluate their potential and trustworthiness as Grimoires.
Zareus would come as an observer for that exact purpose, but there would be other neutral observers working alongside them. The exarch also told them these initial evaluations weren’t meant to be failed and insisted that most Grimoires that did often failed themselves first. On the other hand, he cautioned that their performance would be scrutinized far more harshly than usual because they knew what failure meant.
Exarch Kuro finished by informing them that the library would grant them Copper centers for their medallions once they graduated, which officially sanctioned them as Grimoires of Avyleir.
With that, the exarch again waited for questions, but no one asked any. Exarch Kuro seemed pleased by the silence; he let it hang for a while longer, then nodded and left while humming to himself.
Roun and the others spent the month training. Yhul was all too happy to oblige them, and even Zareus attempted to be available as often as possible. For Roun, the days didn’t change all that much, but he now strove through them with confidence; his life as a Grimoire was at long last normal, relatively speaking.
Roun greeted the dawn eagerly now and worked on the density and depth of his Hollow. He noticed that the arbiter’s captive spirit dimmed a little each time, but not by much, and he judged it would last him a while yet; he had promised to tell Yhul or Zareus the moment that changed, especially now that they had expended all the knowledge his father had given them.
Roun left it at that and tried to push all the unpleasant thoughts—about his parents, his birth, and the mysteries surrounding his arte—and instead focused on what was right in front of him.
Some things did change, though, such as Fane and Oyrivia fully taking part in training. Yhul waved their quiet apologies away, and the Centurion agreed to favor the pair at the request of Roun and the others.
Yhul rotated Fane and Oyrivia as sparring partners between the rest of them, insisting that it was important for them to understand each other’s fighting styles, strengths, and weaknesses. Fane continued to learn a variety of unarmed combat techniques and even accepted Laeshiro’s advice, while Oyrivia practiced with her longbow. Roun found her an easy opponent, not because she had less experience with her weapon, but because her bow was at an extreme disadvantage. Yhul also forbade Oyrivia from using her arte, which only made things worse.
Despite this, Oyrivia never once complained, and only seemed to be filled with determination after every defeat. Sethra still admitted to Roun that she was a little concerned, and eventually asked Yhul what the point of Oyrivia’s training was.
Yhul explained that Oyrivia would likely fill a supportive role within a coterie and would also likely spend most of her time sheltered behind a line of allies. Yhul insisted that she needed to learn how to minimize risk to herself should she ever find herself forced into close-range combat—before it became a life or death gamble. And not just for her sake, Yhul continued, because the rest of them would no doubt fight better knowing Oyrivia could defend herself.
The answer seemed to appease Sethra, but it outright drove Oyrivia to work even harder. Roun couldn’t help but respect her for that because he knew how it felt all too well; and Oyrivia very much reminded him of his early struggles as a Grimoire. No matter how many times she bled ichor, Oyrivia always stood back up, thought over what had happened, then tried again.
They continued to meet with Zareus in the evenings, but he kept them longer and his additional lessons turned out to be another significant change to their routine.
The focus of those lessons centered on group tactics; they covered common pitfalls and mistakes, studied examples of how successful coteries blended their artes together, and worked through standard roles and formations.
Most of their time with Zareus still involved their artes, though. Oyrivia was again the outlier, and seeing her struggle to slow the fall of small sticks made Roun realize yet again that they had all come far with their own artes.
The girl was no less determined here, however; she continued practicing even after the end of the day, using a small children’s toy Zareus had given her that spun and fluttered down to the ground. Its lightness and portability allowed her to practice whenever she liked, and they always found her with it, even while eating a meal, and Sethra told them with amusement that Oyrivia even brought it into the bath with her.
They all gained over the weeks, but both Fane and Oyrivia were the ones that made the most impressive progress. Even better, they finally joined Roun and the others during their meals and evenings, though shyly at first. It didn’t take long before Laeshiro and Sethra’s blunt and unhesitant acceptance of the two loosened them up.
They ended up spending most days together as a group, and not always just studying or training. The rest of the time he spent on his own personal projects; the Eldest Throne still didn’t give him élan outside of dawn, but even that proved to be a substantial boost to his reserves. He also replenished a good deal of élan whenever he slept, and on better days, sometimes used less than his spirit squeezed out for him.
He still needed to make trips to the Burrow with Sethra, but went less often. On the days he didn’t go, he instead climbed up to the summit to practice his axe-throwing with Yhul. Sethra found out almost immediately—after asking what he did on the nights they didn’t go to the Burrow—and started joining him. To Roun’s dismay, Yhul set her to protecting his lanterns from his axe with her hexagons, which Sethra seemed to enjoy a little too much, but he had to admit that it made for good practice for the both of them.
The month overall passed in a blur, but it had been the most fulfilling month in Roun’s life.
At its end, Roun found himself back at the Blue Moon Tower’s summit with the others, filled with a bizarre mix of anxiety and confidence. Yhul and Zareus regarded them while standing in front of five wooden armoires.
“You’ll come back alive, if nothing else,” Yhul eventually said, but there was no disappointment in his voice.
Roun held back a grin; considering how hard it was to impress the obsidian giant, a lack of disappointment was probably the next best thing.
“Hopefully to continue living,” Zareus added with a sigh. He was shirtless as always, scalpel in hand, his hair a mess. He waved a hand at them. “Listen well. Kuro has asked the other exarchs to evaluate you all as one, meaning there are no individual failures or successes. He again offers you one last chance to transfer to another tower.” When none of them answered, the scribe sighed once again. “You should know that this isn’t typical, but—”
“—I don’t see the point in wasting time,” Exarch Kuro finished as he stepped up onto the tower’s summit, his parasol open and leaning against a shoulder. “They’ve already agreed to become a coterie and are complete.”
Zareus rubbed the back of his head. “They’re not even true Grimoires yet.”
Exarch Kuro waved the comment away and faced them himself. “My goal isn’t to raise just another set of wonderful ascendants, and that means the usual methods won’t be enough. None of you are idiots, so I’m sure you can see how that makes us an experiment of sorts. That means we’re going to need to have a bit of trust and a lot of faith passed around between us.” Exarch Kuro grinned. “In my case, I had such an overwhelming amount of both that I already registered our coterie!”
The exarch waved an arm dramatically. Zareus shook his head, but began opening the wardrobes while Yhul stepped aside. Each contained a set of raiments—one Roun was all too familiar with.
“They… look like mine,” he said. When everyone glanced at him, he shrugged and added, “Not that it’s all that different from Avyleir’s normal raiments.”
“You notice it when it’s next to them, though.” Sethra held her sleeved arm across his chest. “Darker blues, more blacks, and that weird texture, though you have to be close to notice that last bit.”
“And the mask, of course,” Kamil muttered. The others voiced agreement.
Roun had shown them his mask a while ago after Sethra had come up with a story to explain how he had ‘discovered’ his ability to store élanic items within himself. Well, she had really just explained how useful his arte was for storing food and water and keeping them at the perfect temperature, but it had led to him showing off how he could conjure and consume his raiments at will.
These sets, however, didn’t have any masks.
Sethra noticed right away and scowled. “Where are the masks, Exarch Kuro? The raiments are great and all, but Roun’s mask is what you won’t ever forget.”
“I want them to be as authentic as possible,” Exarch Kuro replied. “Which means they’re going to take a little more time to make. Besides, you’ll need far more training with Farsight before you can even use them.”
Roun raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think about that.”
Everyone else looked at him, then Fane shook his head and asked, “You weren’t using Farsight to sense through it?”
“I can see through my mask as if it wasn’t there,” Roun explained.
The others stared at him with mild surprise.
“It wouldn’t be the first time raiments were specially created for a Grimoire just as we do with weapons, but I admit even I’m not exactly sure what they did to yours,” Exarch Kuro said. “Anyway, Farsight, like all other artes, can be improved through practice, so worry not. In fact, some Grimoires even blindfold themselves to better hone their cantrip, and what’s a more motivationally deadly blindfold than the night?”
“We train most Grimoires against the folly of straying from the light where they are sovereign,” Yhul said from the side, drawing their attention.
“Certainly, but our coterie isn’t going to have Grimoires like most others,” Exarch Kuro said. He shut his parasol, then waved it across them. “You will instead be sovereign wherever you stand. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday, and Zareus, Yhul, and myself will do everything in our power to help you achieve the potential I see waiting within you.”
Roun watched the exarch, drunk on the raw pride and hope in the man’s eyes as his gaze followed the sweep of the parasol. He sensed the others shuffling and knew they too felt the weight of his expectations.
“So go with that knowledge,” Exarch Kuro continued, “and when you return triumphant, it will be my greatest pleasure to reveal Avyleir’s newest Grimoires to all of the city.”
27
They departed Avyleir the next day dressed in new raiments and ready to face the challenges ahead. Rozaria City’s morning crowds parted for them as they marched through the streets, while more than a few curious gazes tracked them from windows and doorways on the way to the western gate. Beyond, however, they found only the rolling green hills and plains of the demesne.
Zareus led the group in silence, though it wasn’t because of any particular command; a glance told Roun that the others were simply lost within their own thoughts.
He understood that all too well.
During moments like this where he had nothing to distract him, he often thought of Yorin, wondering if he might still be alive, and his mother Jacira, who he didn’t remember and knew nothing about. In his mother’s case, he thought over the likely reasons she might have had for giving him to a warrior monk.
Roun sighed. Nothing he would easily answer, so thinking about them wouldn’t do him any good.
Sethra elbowed him in the side and pulled him from his thoughts. He frowned over at her, then looked around and almost stumbled. Roun’s shock only deepened when they finally arrived—at the same Burrow he had been using for months.
A large contingent of warriors in the uniform of the Rozarian Guard waited in formation. Behind them, the swirling storm of night persisted despite the Throne’s light, but it was gloomy rather than an absolute darkness.
Roun shook his head. It definitely looks different.
He lowered his gaze to find some warriors approaching and was surprised to see a familiar face at their head.
“Noban!” Roun cried before he could stop himself.
The aging Guardsman raised an eyebrow as his warriors reached their smaller group. He eyed Zareus, then panned across the rest of them before settling on Roun.
“Do I know you, Honored One?” he asked.
Roun remembered he was wearing his mask and withdrew it into his vessel.
Noban’s eyes widened for a moment, then he reached out to place a hand on Roun’s shoulder, paused, and laughed before instead pulling him into an embrace.
“Sorry; that wasn’t very respectful of me, Honored One,” Noban said with another laugh as they both parted sheepishly.
“I don’t mind,” Roun said. “You’re like a second father to me.”
“Bah, I hope you’re jesting.”
“It’s true,” Roun said with a shrug. “It’s thanks to you and the others that I’m here today. If nothing else, you helped me make it through some of my darker days.”
Noban nodded slowly. “I remember, Roun, but look at you now! A right fearsome Grimoire! What, hoping to scare your foes half to death before the battle even begins?” Noban laughed. “Works well enough for chimeras, I suppose.”
“Wait until you see his arte,” Sethra said with a wide grin from beside him, her eyes filled with evident delight.
“Oh?”
Zareus coughed. “That will need to wait.”
“Ah, yes. My apologies, Scribe Zareus.” Noban bowed, then turned to regard the group. “Well, I’m Captain Noban Volker of the Rozarian Guard. Avyleir asked me to be an observer for your evaluation, and we’ll also be helping you with your task.” He pursed his lips and turned to stare at the susp
ended shadows that was the Burrow. “You’re really helping us with ours though, if I’m honest.”
Roun watched as the others introduced themselves. Noban bowed to each of them and addressed them formally as ‘Honored Ones.’
Roun raised an eyebrow. “You can just use our names, you know.”
“I’ll do so when it’s just us, if it really bothers you that much.” Noban smiled. “But when it’s business it’s business, you hear? I won’t go easy on you or your assessment.”
“You never have,” Roun muttered, and the Guardsman laughed.
“True,” Noban said. “Now, about the Burrow; the chimeras are Copper, but we’re going to avoid dealing with most of them until after all that night is gone.”
Roun and the others nodded.
“The Guard usually handles mundane knots of night,” Zareus added, “but they only disperse Burrows with the help of a slayer coterie. You’ll protect the warriors while they work and will ultimately be responsible for clearing the region of chimeras. That is the sum of your evaluation. Questions?”
“Sounds simple enough,” Fane said.
Sethra hit Fane hard enough to draw a pained cry and glare from the boy.
“Go ahead and jinx us,” she muttered.
Roun helped a Guardswoman raise a tall metal and obsidian pole into place at the edge of the Burrow. Once they seated it into the hole they had dug, he wiped sweat from his brow and stepped back as the rest of the warriors crouched by the pole to secure it.
The Guardsmen called the contraption a bastion pillar, but to him it looked like several lamps bound together on a pole with a larger one thrown on top for good measure; the intricate script running along it was likely what made the actual difference.
Roun gazed northward. It was past midday and they were in plain view of the Eldest Throne, which meant the lights would remain dormant, but the Guard had scripted these to glow anyway.
Awakening Arte (The Eldest Throne Book 1) Page 22