Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Accidents and Encounters

CHAPTER

2

Accidents and Encounters

I

The accommodations of the initiates were on the east wing of the Mistling Hall. Ryen regarded his designated living quarters: a small room, with a narrow bed with a small trunk in front of it, a meditation cushion in the center, and a wooden table with a chair. There was a small window by the bed, and from it, he could see an ocean of green mist.

On the table was a stack of neatly folded plain green robes, a lightcrystal lamp, a flask filled with eight brown pills, another flask with a single white pill inside, and two ethertears.

After bringing him to his room, Myra had stepped inside and was now standing beside him. Motioning towards the table, she started explaining the items on it one by one.

“These are the clothes you should wear,” she said, starting with the robes. “Tomorrow, I can come to collect your current clothes for disposal, though should you wish to keep them, you can do so as long as you only wear them outside of the sect.”

Next, she taught him how to operate the lightcrystal lamp, which didn’t take long, as you only needed to channel some ethereal essence into it to activate and deactivate them, the same way the medallion could be used to alert Myra. Channeling ethereal essence into objects was the most basic feat of essence manipulation, something magicals could instinctively do after undergoing ethereal awakening.

“Those are fasting pills,” Myra said, moving on to the flask with brown pills. “Food and water aren’t offered to initiates, so they’re what you’ll have to rely on for sustenance. A single fasting pill will last you a month, so take one on the first of every month.” She then addressed the other flask. “That’s a waste-cleansing pill. It should be taken before the fasting pill. It’ll directly destroy all the waste currently within you. Fasting pills don’t result in the generation of any waste inside you, so only a single waste-cleansing pill is needed.”

Myra then picked up the two teardrop-shaped pieces of crystal. “These are ethertears—runic gears made out of neutrality etherite. Thoughts and memories can be replicated and stored inside them. If you imbue ethereal essence into them, their contents will be reproduced in your mind’s eye.” She placed one of them down on the table. “This one contains the rules of the sect and, more specifically, those of the Mistling Hall. They should be read as early as possible.” She then set down the other ethertear. “And this one contains the first five chapters of the Viridian Mist Art.”

She paused. “Do you have any questions?”

Ryen pondered the question for a moment, then asked her what exactly she could do for him as his assigned servant. She answered his question with the stony professionalism he had already come to expect from her, concisely listing all everything she could help with, which ranged from waking him up in the morning before the lectures—which he declined, though she explained that she’d be coming to wake him up tomorrow regardless of his wishes, as attending the first lecture was obligatory—to setting up a meeting with one of the elders. “I’m also familiar with most of the topics taught here,” Myra added at the end, “so I can also answer most questions related to the sect and the magical world.”

She then went on to explain that the servants that weren’t assigned to a particular initiate could handle minor tasks, such as guiding him to a specific facility of the Mistling Hall. These servants, according to her, could often be found walking around the corridors.

At the end of her explanation, Myra offered to show him the baths, but Ryen declined, claiming that he wanted to rest first. Then, after confirming that he didn’t have any other questions, Myra excused herself, closing the door behind her.

Ryen watched her leave. Even after she was gone, he didn’t move his eyes away from the door, a contemplative look on his face. Eventually, he turned away and walked over to the table, sitting down on the chair and picking up the ethertear with the sect rules. Closing his eyes, he started channeling ethereal essence into the ethertear, visualizing its contents.

In his mind’s eyes, a list of words appeared. The first few rules were specific to the Mistling Hall, with the ones later on applying to the Viridian Mist Sect as a whole. The rules were simple enough, ranging from initiates being prohibited to leave the Mistling Hall to disciples treating elders respectfully. There was also a succinct summary of the structure of the sect, with explanations of what the courts, the halls, and divisions were, as well as a list of all sect ranks, from servant to protector.

Finding nothing he hadn’t been expecting, Ryen opened his eyes, set the ethertear down, and picked up the flask with the white pill, which he then took out of the sect and inspected for a few moments before popping it in his mouth and swallowing it. Moments later he could feel something building up in his stomach, followed by a feeling of lightness that was gone almost immediately after.

Ryen then picked up the other flask and took out one of the brown pills. Just as he had done with the waste-cleansing pill, he gave the fasting pill in his hand a brief inspection before swallowing it. After a few seconds, he felt a filling sensation in his stomach as the pill released its nutritional essence. It’d do so again in set intervals for over a month before it was completely used up.

Ryen then glanced at the door, before looking up at the ceiling, drumming his fingers against the table as he immersed himself in his thoughts. After a while, he glanced out of the window. The day had gotten darker, and he surmised that it had been a few hours since his arrival. He took that into consideration and spent a few more moments thinking before standing up, grabbing a set of robes, and walking over to the door. He closed his eyes, one hand on the handle, and waited.

Not yet…

Not yet…

Not yet…

There we go.

Ryen abruptly opened the door and felt it hit something, and he he heard a startled cry followed by a loud thud. Ryen rushed out of the room and turned around to see a girl in gray robes on the floor, her golden blond hair slightly ruffled, rubbing her nose with a pained expression while glaring at the door with her large green eyes.

Ryen knelt down in front of her. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, don’t wo–” She froze the moment the words left her mouth, as if she was only now registering his presence. “I mean, yes,” she said, quickly standing up, acting a bit more respectful.

Ryen stood back up, adopting an apologetic expression, his brow slightly furrowed and his lips curled into a slightly strained smile. “I should have opened the door more slowly,” he said. “I’m terribly sorry. Are you sure you aren’t hurt?”

The girl started, blinking, her eyes slightly widening in apparent confusion. Confusion then gave way to suspicion, which the girl then tried to hide. “Not at all,” she assured him, sounding anxious, though her gaze was sharper now. “And it was my fault; I should have been more careful.”

How odd.

Ryen pretended not to have noticed the girl’s strange reaction. “Still, I’ll be more careful in the future,” he said, keeping an eye on her expression and body language. “I’m Ryen. You are…?”

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Again the girl cringed, now not just confused, but startled. A moment later, suspicion once again reared its head, but the girl managed to hide it more quickly this time. “Kyna,” she quickly supplied. “I … Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Well, if you’re fine … I was actually looking for someone to show me the way to the baths.” Ryen glanced down at the new, sect-issued robe he was carrying. “I figured I’d wash up before switching to the new robes.”

“Didn’t your assigned servant already show the way there?”

“Myra offered, but I was too tired at the time. I just woke up, though, so I’m feeling more rested now.”

The moment he said Myra’s name, Kyna’s expression turned sour, and when he moved on to his second sentence, her eyes slightly narrowed again. Quickly composing herself, she nodded, “I’m free right now, so I can take you there.”

Perhaps… Ryen thanked her, and she began to lead the way. They walked down the corridor in silence. Once they were out of the earshot of the other servants, he stepped closer. “So … Kyna?”

“Yes?” She glanced back at him.

“I couldn’t help but notice that you’re a bit younger than most of the servants here.” At that, she gave a small, instinctive nod, and he continued, “I’m assuming you only recently became a servant?

“I—” Kyna hesitated, giving him another look as if deciding whether to keep speaking. “That’s correct. It happened last year. I took to long to comprehend the first chapter of the Viridian Mist Art, so I didn’t even manage to qualify for the second induction exam.”

“And then you were given the choice between staying behind or going back to the organization you were scouted from?”

She nodded her head. “Most initiates are, I think,” she said. “Although most choose to leave. Or at least that’s how it was last year.”

“I see.” Ryen took on a pensive expression. “Then since today is the first day of the third month, you’ve been a servant for about five months now?”

Again Kyna nodded her head. “That’s right. But why…?”

“I was just curious. About Elder Tynwen, I mean. I wanted to know if he was always, you know,”—he frowned, giving the impression he was trying to think of the best way to say his next words—“well, acting like he didn’t want to be here, I guess. I figured that if you had been here for a while, you’d be more familiar with him.”“

“Ah. I’m afraid I can’t help you with that. I also don’t think you’d have much luck asking the older servants, either.”

“Really? Why?”

“Hall Leader Tynwen only became the hall leader this year. Most of the servants aren’t really familiar with him. From what I heard, compared to the previous hall leader, he’s a bit more … reserved.”

“Oh. Never mind, then. I wasn’t aware he was new here.” Ryen then frowned, as if he had just realized something, ignoring the sudden cringe from Kyna. “Wait. Most of the servants? Does that mean there are servants who know him better?”

“Hall Leader Tynwen brought some of his personal servants with him when he took over the position,” Kyna explained. “They’re currently working as servants here. Earlier you said the servant assigned to you is Myra, right? She’s one of the servants Hall Leader Tynwen brought with him.”

“She is?” Ryen asked, appearing surprised. “She didn’t seem like a newcomer at all.”

“I know,” Kyna said with no little bitterness. “It’s like she owns the damn place—” Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth. “I mean…” She glanced around again before giving him a pleading look.

“I heard nothing,” Ryen said, and she breathed out in clear relief. Ryen went on to ask her a few more questions about the Mistling Hall as they made their way through the corridors, most of them about the servants, and he soon got a better grasp of the inner workings of the place.

“So how exactly are servants assigned to disciples?”

“They draw lots,” Kyna, who seemed to have already gotten used to his questions and seemed more at ease now, didn’t hesitate before answering. “Whenever a legate scouts someone, they inform the sect, so we get a list of all the upcoming initiates a while before you arrive. Once all legates have finished reporting on the results of the examination of the vassal sect they’re stationed on, the number of servants that will be working as assigned servants is set, and lots are drawn to decide who will be assigned to whom.”

“So it’s random?”

“Well, yes. Or at least it’s supposed to be. Though…” She furrowed her brow, seemingly wondering whether to continue.

“Yes?” Ryen pressed on.

“It’s nothing, really,” she said, lowering her voice and leaning in closer, “but apparently this year it went somewhat differently. I don’t know the details. I just overheard some of the older servants talking, yesterday, about how the new servants—the ones Hall Leader Tynwen brought with him—had interfered with that somehow. Again, I’m not sure what exactly happened, and I probably just heard them wrong.” She shrugged. “It’s most likely nothing.”

Ryen didn’t press the issue any further, and they walked the rest of the way in silence. Once they arrived at the baths, Kyna was quick to excuse herself and leave, leaving Ryen alone in front of the entrance. About half an hour later, he returned to his room and placed his old robes in the trunk by his bed, before lying down on his bed.

The Viridian Mist Sect wasn’t as he had been expecting, but he didn’t mind. Predictable meant boring, after all.

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