Chapter 126: Book 2-21.1: Bitter Work

Emyr Kinnock approached Yuriko just as she was about to get up and head out for lunch. He stopped about a pace away from the desk, glanced at Ella-Mai and gave her a friendly nod before he faced Yuriko and gave a small bow of greeting.

“Miss Davar, I understand you are acquainted with my elder brother, Kale Oona Kinnock?”

Yuriko blinked in surprise, though she really shouldn’t have been. They had the same mid and surname after all.

“Yes, I met him briefly during the training camp at the Watchtower and we were on the same Commuter Tram on the way back here. We sparred during one of the layovers.”

“Ah, good. When I spoke to him about you being in Sharom, he was bewildered and thought I was mistaken. But there couldn’t be more than one lady of your, er, beauty, within a batch of students. That would be stretching coincidence too far.” He gave her a brilliant smile.

“Oh, uhm, thank you.” Yuriko shrugged uncomfortably.

“Anyway, my brother said that the Yuriko Davar he met was incredibly gifted when it came to the Martial Sciences and I’m curious how you managed to enrol in Sharom’s Elite class instead of Agaza’s. Oh, er…” he spluttered to a halt while looking at her.

Yuriko tried to control her frown, and just sighed.

“A mistake,” she said, “on my part. Excuse me, I’d like to take my lunch now since I have to meet with Master Alfein afterwards.”

“I give my apologies if I offended you,” Emyr said anxiously. “But from what you did earlier, I’d say that you’re better off in Sharom. You have the gift.”

Yuriko just shook her head and left. She placed the schedule next to the Treatise while walking, the clicking of her heels on the marble floor a counterpoint to her turbulent emotions.

‘I really shouldn’t be bothered by this,’ she thought furiously. ‘There’s nothing much I can do about it now. And these people who ask don’t know any better.’

Emyr resembled his elder brother but only up to the colour of his hair and the shade of his skin. He was much skinnier and his cheeks retained quite a bit more baby fat. He wasn’t as confident as his elder brother and his posture reflected that. Still, his eyes were the same burnt orange colour.

There was a cafeteria in the building, down on the ground floor and towards the back. There were several actually, if she understood the sitemap posted just beyond the main entrance correctly. The one she selected was closest to Jade 101. The Cognizance Chamber was in another building and it would be quite a walk from here.

The cafeteria had about a couple dozen four-person tables and there was a line up the front to pick up food. It wasn’t too long yet so it only took a couple of minutes for her to reach the counter filled with a wide array of food.

“What would you like, dear?” the middle-aged lady behind the counter asked in a tired voice.

“Stew, roasted potatoes, and buttered vegetables, please,” Yuriko said.

“Good for you.” She handed over a tray with the dishes and an empty glass.

“Thank you.”

“That’ll be three Sovereigns, please,” the cashier at the other end of the counter said. “You can get water at that fountain over there.”

Yuriko paid, headed over to the water fountain and filled up her glass. She picked an empty table and sat down to eat quickly. Her appetite had returned to a much more manageable level--still much more than before the Atavism Ritual but not as much as when she had just used Golden Strengthen Physique. It happened since her training had plateaued.

The table didn’t remain empty for long. A couple of boys sat beside and across from her. She only glanced at them before continuing to eat. They didn’t seem inclined to talk either.

“Yuri!”

She looked up and saw Orrin, Ishika, and Maryn just entering the cafeteria. She waved at them but at this point, she had almost finished anyway. She finished quickly, gathered her dirty dishes and dropped them off at the bussing area. She passed by the other three on her way out. They had just gotten their meals and were looking for a table. There wasn’t one that had more than two seats together so Ishika and Maryn sat together and left Orrin to his devices.

“Done so soon?” Orrin asked.

“Yeah, I have an appointment with my class adviser right after lunch, so…” Yuriko shrugged. “Enjoy your meal.”

“See you tonight?”

Yuriko raised an eyebrow. “Why? Did you want to spar?”

“Well, hehe, how about a game of Tracer?”

“Hmm, I’ll think about it. I still have to finish the first part of Treatise.”

“Oh, do you need help with that?”

“I suppose.”

“I’ll help you then. Meet you at Golden Willow’s lounge?”

“Sure, Orrin. See you later.” She waved goodbye and headed off.

Sharom’s building layout was similar to Agaza’s in that it had a central park surrounded by buildings. The Cognizance Laboratory was in the opposite end of the rectangular field from where she was. She walked on the cobblestone road and stayed out of the shade. The noonday sun felt wonderful against her face.

Sharom’s park wasn’t a hedge maze. Instead, it was covered by short trees with wide crowns. There was a cobblestone path that meandered through the park, and well, since she was still a bit early for her appointment, she changed her mind and took the scenic route instead. A dozen paces into the park and she could no longer see the buildings for the trees. The path was wide enough for three to walk abreast, and there was a bench, wood on wrought iron supports, every fifty paces along the path. There was even a short wooden beam bridge across a brook. The water flowing underneath was crystal clear and she could see silver darters flitting about.

She came out the other end feeling a bit better from the tranquillity of the park. She came across a few students along the way, most relaxing on a bench, or reading. A couple were napping under the shade of an acacia while another couple had a plaid cloth spread out on the grass and were picnicking.

The Cognizance Lab was in a building labelled Nevaeh Hall. Like the other buildings, it had two wings, was about three or four storeys high, and had a bronze-plated central dome. Unlike the other buildings, neither her uniform nor her elite pin gave her immediate entrance. The guards in the blue with orange overcoats that she only saw in the Upper Ring, stopped her just as she was about to enter.

“What’s your business here, kid?”

“Master Alfein asked me to meet her in the Cognizance Laboratory.”

“Name?”

“Yuriko Mishala Davar.”

He looked at a small crystal tablet, nodded and said, “Go straight through the entrance hall and up the second stairwell. It’s on the second floor.”

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“Thank you.”

The great hall was filled with abstract paintings, tapestries, and weird little sculptures that looked like several strings and cross strings. Staring at one of the sculptures made her eyes blur. Yuriko blinked furiously, shook her head and looked for the connecting hallway. It went through a wide space, had dozens of little ponds with water lilies. She saw a little green frog jump into a pond, and the splashing water seemed to move in slow motion, taking several seconds to reach its peak and drop. When it did, the ripples travelled so slowly that she could see the little waves moving across the surface clearly. When she blinked, it was as if there hadn’t been a frog, or a splash or even a ripple. The pond was as still as a mirror and it reflected the blazing orb of the sun at the very centre.

“What in Chaos is this?” she muttered under her breath.

She hurried through the hallway, found the second set of stairs and climbed it at a brisk pace. The Cognizance Chamber had double doors made of dark oak that was engraved with runescript. She was just a few minutes early so she knocked on the door. It opened a moment later revealing the cat-eyed instructor.

“Ah, you’re early. Good. Come in, come in.”

“Good afternoon, ma’am.”

“Yes, yes,” Master Alfein stepped back.

Inside, the chamber was spherical chamber, about five paces across and five paces high. The walls were sheathed in silvery metal with green jade discs slotted into it. Runescript lines spiderwebbed between the nodes. The floor was a big circle and there were geometric symbols etched with the same silvery alloy. Yuriko recognized some of the runescript from reading Orrin’s book. Something about…containment?

“Uhm, why are we here, ma’am?”

“I’ll be measuring the strength of your Anima, your Heritage, and your Facet. From there, I’ll draw up a training plan and the proper meditation technique to properly strengthen you,” Master Alfein rattled off absently as she fiddled with a console beside the doors. She latched the doors close and channelled Animus into a panel. “Now, take off all of your clothes, put them in that hamper over there, and take a seated meditation pose in the hexagram over there.”

“Take off all my clothes?”

“Yes, yes, we’re both women here, go, go.”

“But, I’m, uh, I’m er…” Yuriko felt her face flushing.

“What?”

“Uhm, it’s, er, it’s my cycle today. It started yesterday.”

“Oh?” Master Alfein frowned. “Nobody taught you how to control it?” she asked in a scandalized tone. “Your mum should ha--ehem. Ah, well, I’ll teach you how to control your cycle and fertility afterwards. It’s inconvenient to have your menses when you’re in the middle of a campaign, or you know, more than a bit inconvenient if you want to have fun.”

“Uh yeah,” Yuriko muttered, not quite sure what the woman meant. “Do I still...?”

“Yes, of course. We’ll clean up afterwards if necessary. Now, strip.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Yuriko sighed.

She walked over to the side and took off her clothes, starting with her shoes and tights, her overcoat, skirt, shirt, and underclothes. She rubbed her shoulders when she was naked, feeling the cold air.

“Nice and smooth,” Master Alfein noted. “Except for your underdeveloped bosom, you’ve got a beautiful body.” She circled around Yuriko, eyes combing every inch of her skin. “You’re at your easy training cap, aren’t you? Well, go sit in the hexagram please.”

Yuriko did that, trying her hardest not to flush or do something equally sordid. The seated meditation pose had her heels over the opposite knee, legs crossed, with the back of her hands resting against the soles of her feet. She’d never done it without clothes before and she fidgeted in discomfort.

“Pull out your Animus from your core,” Master Alfein instructed as she controlled the light panels. The room dimmed considerably, the only light coming from the runescript on the walls. “Gather it under your skin all over your body and slowly exude it out a tiny bit. Keep it pure, please.”

Yuriko closed her eyes. Doing as the instructor said took up nearly half of her reserves; controlling that much at a time was a struggle. She’d barely used more than a tenth of her Animus at any given point. She gathered it in several strands and directed it towards her limbs. From there she slowly spread it out until she felt a subtle pressure pushing it back. She held it there until she heard Master Alfein.

“Exude your Animus now, please.”

She took a deep breath and held it. Her Animus coated her skin much like the Field technique. She kept it as close to her body as possible and only when she found the right balance a few moments later did she release her breath. She opened her eyes. The Cognizance Chamber was lit up with the glow of her golden Animus. Master Alfein was staring down at the control panel, a strange light in her eyes. Or it could have been the reflection of Yuriko’s glowing Animus against the other woman’s cat pupils.

“Hold this for a few minutes...as long as you can, actually.”

The first minute was fine, but every minute afterwards, every passing moment, her Animus began feeling…slippery. Motes of light drifted out of her control and were sucked into the jade nodes on the wall. The hexagram around her had lit up, giving off a silvery glow that slowly turned gold as a few lumens worth got absorbed.

The control panel had projected a figurine of light, about a tenth of Yuriko’s size, and Master Alfein was staring at it. The figure was translucent and she could see patterns of light inside its head. Exactly where her Heritage pattern was located. Master Alfein didn’t even blink.

Five minutes later and Yuriko couldn’t hold it anymore. The Animus around her dispersed explosively. She tried to recapture a few motes but they slipped out of her fingers. Just like that half of her reserves were gone. The light figurine persisted for only a few moments more before it, too, dissipated. Master Alfein sighed. It took another few seconds before the lights went back on and everything stopped glowing.

“Get dressed please.”

Yuriko got up. The floor was clean, thank the Ancestors. She sighed and got dressed quickly.

“Well, that was quite interesting,” Master Alfein smirked. “I’ll have your personal training regimen ready in a couple of weeks. Thank you for your forbearance.”

Yuriko bowed and said, “Thank you, Master Alfein.”

“You can call me Kiyo when we’re alone,” she replied with an offhand wave. “Well, run along.”

Yuriko held in a frown until she was out of sight. She glanced back at the doors once she was outside, a feeling of disquiet lingering in her heart. At the lobby, she ran into Diya Esras.

The other girl gave her a measuring look then nodded in greeting. “All done with the Master?”

“Yes,” Yuriko replied. “It was strange though.”

“Well, most Sorceresses are. Mysterious, I mean. Well, see you later then.”

“Yeah.” Yuriko sighed and made her way back to the main building. She had a whole hour or so before the start of her next class, History. She hoped she didn’t fall asleep mid-lecture.