Chapter 858: Mysterious Gate
The evening after my conversation with Sari dragged by, the sun slowly crossed the sky. My heart refused to settle down, fluttering every time my thoughts so much as brushed Fyren or Luke, making it almost impossible to focus on studying. I ended up calling Anrynth and having him give me a tour of the estate, asking questions on everything from the history of the family to the purpose of the individual rooms. Anything to keep my mind from tomorrow?
But, at long last, tomorrow came. I awoke with the sun and spent more time than I cared to admit rifling through my collection of dresses. There was a spacious walk-in closet attached to my bedroom that Anrynth suggested I keep my wardrobe in, so I took the time to carefully hang each dress, cloak, and sash as I decided what to wear. R’lissea knocked on my door just as I finished dressing, inviting herself in.
"Whoa? Feeling special today?" she asked, looking me up and down.
I blushed, shyly tugging on the neckline of my dress, a crimson and gold Blacksand garment, trying to close even some of the plunging neckline. I didn’t have much cleavage to show, but exposing that much bare skin was just... embarrassing.
"It’s been a week already?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
My tail went rigid. "W-what?"
She grinned, guiding me to the vanity with a hand on my shoulder. "Luke’s supposed to be here today, isn’t he? Let me help with your hair, then."
My face burned the entire time she fixed my hair. I couldn’t even raise my head to look in the mirror, afraid of accidentally meeting her gaze.
"I-It’s not like that," I finally managed to stammer as she finished. "I just wanted to wear it because, um...Elaine spent so much time choosing them out for me. They feel nice, too."
She hummed softly, pulling my hair back behind my ears and gently placing the wreath of flowers around my horns. "If you say so." She absently ran a hand over my shoulder, fingering the fabric. "They are rather high quality, too. And it’s nice to see you wearing something that covers your shoulder, even if it leaves other things rather...exposed."
She giggled and fingered the edge of one of the long arm slits that left my outer arm open to the air. I blushed again, pushing her hand away.
"It’s not too much, is it?" I asked.
"No, I think you look beautiful. Too much, actually. You should be careful if you leave the manor. The last thing you want is a train of young elvish suitors following you around."
"They wouldn’t do that, would they?" I asked, my heart skipping a beat.
She chuckled. "Just teasing you. The elves view marriage as a political obligation, meant to increase their connection with one of the noble houses. You might attract a few commoners or scoundrels looking to mess around a bit, but nothing serious. And certainly nothing the Star Guard can’t handle."
After slipping on a pair of ribbon-trimmed slippers, R’lissea and I joined the others for breakfast. Sari was already there, talking animatedly with Elise about something, while Korra was engaged with Aerion.
"Ah, welcome, Oracle," Aerion said, nodding as we sat down. "We were just discussing your rather...unique ability, and the utility it has in combat. Perhaps you could demonstrate it later? I find the idea of granting immunity to most magic rather...unbelievable."
I shot Korra a look. She shrugged apologetically.
"Sorry, we just got talking. But he’s our ally now, so it shouldn’t hurt to show him, right? And, well..." she scratched her cheek, avoiding my gaze. "I haven’t had a chance to see how much you’ve grown, yet."
"So you want to see it too?" I asked.
She nodded sheepishly, and I let out a long sigh.
"Fine, but you’ll have to get R’lisesa to agree."
"Me?" R’lissea looked up, startled. "But you’re health is fine. Why would I need to...oh."
"Yeah, Sari’s still helping me get a hang of my abilities again. Until I do, you’ll have to cast Link Soul for me."
"I could do it!" Sari said.
I smiled at her enthusiasm. "Not quite. This is a, um, modified version I created. Instead of sharing your own ability, it lets you borrow someone else’s."
"Didn’t you create that when you fought with Soltair against Ronin?" Korra asked.
"Something like that, but that version was...flawed. R’lissea and I improved it when I was recovering from Brithlite."
"Then let’s hurry up and finish eating. I can’t wait!" Korra said.
"Slow down, we just got here," R’lissea laughed.
But with her watching us take every bite, it was hard not to rush, and in a few minutes, we were gathered in one of the sparring fields in the outer courtyard. Somehow, Selena had heard about it, as had almost twenty young men and women. They were dressed in civilian robes and dresses, but there was no mistaking their confidence, alertness, or poise.
"I hope you don’t mind," she said, gesturing to the elves. "These are some of the mages raised internally in House Sunsinger. I’ve tutored most of them for at least a few months, here or there, and thought it would be good for them to see high-level mages other than myself."
R’lissea looked around, brow knit together. "Aren’t we just, like, demonstrating an ability?"
Aerion coughed, rubbing his head. "Well, uh, I thought that sounded a bit boring, so, well, it’s been upgraded to a formal sparring match! Isn’t that great!"
"You want me to spar?" R’lissea asked, eyes narrowed. "Against who?"
It was Selena’s turn to look embarrassed. "Me. I’m sorry, I thought he would have informed you already. Just treat this as a friendly spar so I can properly judge your strengths and weaknesses. This part is essential if you want me to tutor you in life magic."
"I just didn’t think it would be so public," R’lissea said. "But everything I’ve learned so far is augmentation magic. Would you mind if I borrowed Fable to demonstrate it?"
"That’s fine with me. He’s getting bored and lazy without someone to fight all the time, " I said.
"Then I’m fine with it as well. Shall we get started?" Selena asked, gesturing to the field.
"Yeah!" Elise looked around. "Where exactly is Fable?"
The question caught me off guard, and I looked down, half-expecting to see his tail curled around my feet. When it wasn’t there, I turned, looking over the courtyard. He really wasn’t there. As the elves began to whisper, I flushed red, hastily summoning my staff.
"Fable, get over here already," I said, reaching out to him through our bond.
The golden portal appeared, and a ripple of gasps spread through the courtyard. Not so much for the blatant use of spatial magic, but the scene beyond. The gate overlooked a sprawling sequence of hills and valleys filled with purple mist. The sky was black without a glimmer of starlight. Flashes of colored light lit the fog like lightning in a storm cloud, outlining the silhouette of towering, maze-like walls zig-zagging through the valleys.
Fable stood directly in front of the gate, ears pricked as he looked intently into the valley. Sensing the mana fluctuations, he turned and cocked his head at me. A well of confusion filled our bond.
"Is that...a demon?" R’lisesa gasped.
I blanched, looking where she was staring. Beneath one of Fable’s claws was a colorless, amorphous form that vaguely resembled a human. It jiggled, trying to seep away like sentient water, but Fable’s claws glowed faintly, pinning it to the ground.
"Fable...?" I called tremulously. "Are you in a gate?"
Fyren’s face suddenly appeared, all but poking through the entrance. I jumped, and a few elves let out startled gasps.
"So that’s how it works," he said, rubbing his chin. "I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed your wolf for a bit."
"You what? But when? And why?" The questions made my head spin. Fable had been here just a few hours ago. Where could they possibly have gone that had a demon gate that I wasn’t able to sense?
Fyren had the sense to look embarrassed, yet his amusement oozed into my soul through the mark. "Never mind that now." He turned to Fable, frowning sharply. "As for you, get back to your master. You’re making her wait."
Fable shot him a reproachful look before lifting his paw and trotting over. The demon let out a shriek and started to ooze away. Without ever turning from us, Fyren flicked his hand, and a small arc of flame leaped from his palm, striking the demon in the center of its flowing mass. It writhed as brilliant flames wreathed its body, consuming it into fine, white powder. But the fire didn’t die, consuming the ash until nothing remained.
The last embers winked out as Fable leaped through, padding up to me and rubbing his head against my side. My frown slipped as he raised his head and licked my cheek, his tail thumping the ground. Fyren gave me a little wave as the portal swirled shut and vanished.
"Damn it, is he clearing gates without us?" Korra muttered, walking up to us. "And what the hell was that attribute? I’ve never seen anything like it."
Fable, evidently concerned with my lack of response, intensified his greeting, nuzzling my chest harder, knocking me off balance. I let out a squeak, tearing my gaze from where the gate had vanished and grabbing him tight.
"Stop that!" I complained, giving him a little shove. "What were you thinking, disappearing on me like that? What if something had happened?"
He whined, lowering his front legs so he could properly look up at me and give me his best approximation of puppy eyes. His image was slightly ruined by the excited swish of his tail and the memories of fighting demons in the gate that leaked through our bond. But he was so cute...
I hesitated, tail flicking, until my shoulders sank in a sigh. "Fine, I’ll forgive you. But don’t do it again!"
"You’re too easy," R’lissea laughed, petting Fable’s shoulder. "You’ve got to give him a proper scolding sometime."
"That was...interesting," Selena said, speaking for the first time since the gate appeared. "I’ve got more questions than I know what to do with, but if everything’s fine for now, we can address those later. Now that the wolf’s here, R’lissea, are you ready?"