Jackal Among Snakes

“You’re awfully casual about this whole thing,” said Elias as Argrave enjoyed a pleasant breakfast.

Argrave ate a great heap of eggs. He hadn’t liked them much before, but he found them quite delicious now, perhaps because he’d been eating frog legs and hippo jerky in a swamp not too long ago.

Argrave chewed and swallowed before saying, “Some people are blessed with great poise in stressful situations. Myself, though, I earned this temperament after dealing with the countless stresses of life facing Gerechtigkeit. I appreciate your admiration. I often feel unappreciated for my calm nature.”

“No, you—” Elias shook his head. He struggled with sarcasm. “More and more troops take their place in key positions around the tower. It’ll be difficult for you to leave.”

“I have to become a High Wizard—not my fault the test is scheduled a bit late. It might be just a title, but it opens a lot of doors, earns me a lot of prestige. It’ll make negotiations with the Magisters easier, too. On top of all that, a lot of valuable ingredients for alchemy you can’t buy without a high status in the Order. Last but not least… it’ll be good to maintain strong ties with this Tower,” Argrave concluded with a shrug. “Besides, leaving… that should be your concern, no? Young lord of House Parbon,” Argrave fiddled with his fork, twisting it about in his fingers.

“That’s why I’m leaving tomorrow,” Elias nodded. “My father is preparing a formidable escort. He’ll take us all out. Once again, I extend the offer to take you—”

Argrave raised his hand. “Forget it. Be careful, though. Vasquer won’t hesitate to attack this escort of yours. It’s practically a godsend to them.”

The act of raising his hand left his plate vulnerable, and Anneliese deftly stabbed out. She impaled a whole egg and tore it away ruthlessly. Argrave gave her a betrayed look as she enjoyed the egg but could not help but smile after a time.

Elias shifted on his feet nervously, then once again counseled, “Every day you wait to meet the Magisters, you—“

“Thanks for your concern, really,” Argrave twisted his fork against his plate, giving his best reassuring smile. “But go. I’ll be fine.”

Elias nodded. “I hope for your sake that’s true.”

“Bet you’d never thought you’d think that of me, huh?” Argrave noted.

Elias had a ponderous look for a moment, but he said nothing about the matter. “The room is paid up for six more days. You’ll still have to buy food from the places below—no deliveries, either. Felipe might pay some gullible fool with power but no sense to attack you, so stay wary.”

Argrave nodded and waved to Elias, and then the heir to the Margravate opened the door and stepped out, preparing for the day’s tasks. Just before he left fully, however, he paused.

“Oh—Mina told me to tell you this,” Elias stopped. “You still owe her for that favor, and she’s going to let the interest build up before cashing it in.” As Argrave sat there, mouth agape, Elias nodded and left quietly.

“Oh, gods…” Argrave planted his elbows on the table, entwining his hands and stewing over the words. “What does she have planned for me? She’s devious. I know it’ll be something awful.” Argrave shook his head. “No, I can’t think about this now. Let’s focus on the matter at hand.”

“More and more troops are coming,” Anneliese noted, relaxing slightly now that they were alone. “All of them leaving Dirracha, coming here…”

“Meaning security in the capital is laxer,” Argrave nodded. “How might that be our concern?”

“I wonder,” Anneliese smiled.

Argrave laughed lightly. “I suppose the whole point of stalling like this is that it won’t be our concern. Not later, at least.” He took a deep breath and straightened his back, doing light stretches. “So—the test for High Wizardry. You prepared?”

“It is more you I am concerned for,” She shook her head. “You have learnt no spells originating from the Order—both matrixes you have mastered are foreign to them. Even I have learned some of their spells, but not you.”

Argrave shrugged. “They can see the B-rank matrix. If they give me trouble… well, I’m good at solving problems.”

“Then it seems all we can do is proceed,” Anneliese concluded.

With everything in place, they enjoyed a pleasant breakfast together in solitude.

#####

“We apologize for the long delay for the test,” a polite Wizard of the Order spoke to Argrave as the two of them rode up the central elevator, feet fixed to the stone tablets. “Given the extraordinary circumstances of… well, the extraordinary circumstance of your recent…”

“Kinslaying?” Argrave finished.

“Um… yes,” the man meekly confirmed. “We had to seek out test-givers that were entirely ignorant of your events, so as to avoid bias in the confirmation. These people have been engaged in scholarly research for some time, and are consequently entire ignorant of your recent acts. Rest assured—the test will be fair and balanced.”

“Fair and balanced, huh?” Argrave laughed. “Those words are a bit tainted where I’m from, at least for some people.”

The man looked quite confused, but the stone platforms finally reached the floor they’d been trying to reach and Argrave did not need to elaborate. The man stepped off first, Argrave following just behind. They walked quite quickly, Argrave easily keeping pace with his longer legs.

Eventually, they made it to a room with a much larger door than most others. After opening it up, a wide-open room awaited, completely barren barring a table with chairs in the back. The protective enchantments were far thicker than most anywhere else. It was a testing room, some bizarre cross between an interview room and a colosseum. Here, mages could exercise their spells to their fullest extent without damaging anything.

“Good luck, sir Argrave,” the man bowed, then quickly left, shutting the door behind him.

Argrave was left alone in the vast open space. With the vision lent to him by Garm’s eyes, he could discern each of the mages before him were certainly B-rank mages of significant prowess, perhaps even beyond B-rank. If they were A-rank, the changes their body underwent by becoming A-rank were not outwardly displayed, and so Argrave was uncertain.

Being alone before four High Wizards in a vast, empty room was a good way to whittle away confidence—perhaps that was the intent—but Argrave strode forward boldly, doing his best to appear big and confident. The big part was easy because he was big, but the confidence… he couldn’t be so sure.

“Good morning,” Argrave greeted cheerfully, his voice bouncing against the walls loud enough to make anyone self-conscious. “It’s a very pleasant day, isn’t it?”

“It is,” the man in the center of the four answered—a cold-eyed man with a graying beard. “Let us get down to business, shall we?”

“No time for pleasantries? All the better,” Argrave nodded, a plastic smile on his face.

The man nodded, then picked up a piece of paper. “Wizard Argrave… named Wizard a little over six months ago, your thesis marked for ‘special interest.’ Age… twenty,” the man looked up from the paper, staring down Argrave. “I am obligated to say this by the Order. This test has rigorous anti-cheat measures—the enchantments in the walls and floors are not merely for protection. The penalties for cheating can go up to the point of expulsion from the Order. If you wish, you may call off the test now. You will not be given another opportunity to do so.”

Argrave shook his head and scratched beneath his nose. “I’m fine.”

“We are aware of your status,” a woman by the cold-eyed man’s side said.

Argrave paused and took a breath. “What does that mean?”

“It means that your father cannot have any bearing on the results of this test,” the woman continued.

Hearing their complete ignorance, Argrave laughed loudly. “Old Felipe? I imagine he’d be the last person to sway this towards a positive outcome.”

“Alright,” the woman nodded, content. She launched into professional instructions, saying, “To begin with, before administering other portions of the test, you must pass a bare minimum rank requirement,” she explained. “You will need to demonstrate any B-rank spell that you have learned—one will suffice. If this spell is illusion magic, special measures will—”

“It’s elemental,” Argrave cut in.

“Alright,” the woman nodded. “Then, please turn in that direction and demonstrate the spell,” she directed, pointing off to her left. “Ensure your hand is outstretched, and the matrix unobscured.”

Argrave pulled his glove off and rolled down his sleeve, then turned and held out his hand as instructed. He formed the matrix ever-so-slowly, so as to give his onlookers ample time to examine it. Once the fourth dimension was put into place, he set the spell into motion. It whirled about in impossible ways, then, [Pavise Gale] activated. A knight of wind sent out a tremendous gale with a backhand of a great tower shield.

The wind raged throughout the place for a time, then the man on the far right of the table immediately commended, “Excellent. Well done, Argrave.”

Another concurred, but the man with cold eyes interrupted, saying, “Hold a moment. Is that a spell that can be found in Order libraries?”

“Which Order?” Argrave asked. “If you mean the Order of the Rose, yes.”

“So, it’s not a spell commonly used by mages trained here,” the man continued, his words seeming to draw people’s attention. “It’s something none of us are familiar with. More easily fa—”

“Well, I could bring the book I learned the spell from,” Argrave said at once, before the man’s words could make too much sense. “The four of you could examine the matrix in great detail, either in my own hands or from the book itself. And failing that, I know there are many Magisters in the Order that have an interest and specialization of some of the older spells of the olden days. You could call them, ask for assistance,” Argrave suggested, waving his hand upwards with a smile.

Get in line, or I’ll talk to your manager, Argrave thought, half-hoping he could escalate things.

All three of the others looked contented by Argrave’s answer, each looking to the cold-eyed man waiting for his opinion. He bit his lips for a few second, then nodded.

“Everything seems to be in order,” he concluded.

Argrave nodded politely. “I thought so as well.”

#####

“The old always have to trample on the young,” ranted Argrave indignantly to Anneliese. “Should have seen his face when he read out that I was twenty. I’m sure the guy arranged some harder questions just for me. I’m supposed to be the bastard, not him.” Argrave sighed and shook his head. “Whatever. Just have to wait for the conclave’s assessment.”

“Mine went well,” Anneliese noted. “The test was fun. It was interesting to see how much I know put to the test. The extra requirements as an Honorary Wizard demanded I learn some of this Order’s history.”

Argrave nodded. “I’m glad for you. But now… we have to make arrangements for the meeting.” Argrave pulled down the paper that Elias had given him of people that agreed to meet. “Hegazar… and Vera.” He looked to Anneliese. “Ever known some couple that broke up and got back together dozens of times, like… like there was something they both hated and loved about each other in equal measure?”

Anneliese frowned. “No,” she shook her head.

“Me neither,” Argrave looked back. “We will soon, though. These are our lucky opportunists. Two real pieces of work, feeding off each other like vampires in their ascent to the top… they’ve screwed each other in many ways countless times, some of these acts incredibly cruel, some of them… well, pleasant, I imagine.”

Anneliese stared down at the papers with a complex expression.

“What?” he asked her.

“I am starting to question if Elias might have been right. Courting such a tempestuous relationship…” she trailed off.

“No, no, trust me,” Argrave soothed. “All the other options we have will skin us and leave us out to dry. Only by having two opposing forces can we get through this.”

“Also means we might just get crushed between their quarrel,” Anneliese pointed out.