Chapter 34 — The Ritual of the Moon Elf Gardens

Ria’s mind wandered as she repeatedly cast the official version of the Body-Strengthening spell. Already familiar with the spell from her studies under Master Marlow, her main task was to improve her efficiency and casting speed—a task that wasn’t going particularly well.

Beside her, Ranger was also practicing. He had surprised her and the class by insisting to be allowed to use the spell training cube. Even with his new collar, his control was still insufficient to properly form the spell, but he was showing enough improvement that the possibility of success was encouraging.

Though her morning class was meeting in the Garden of Elements as was usual for practicum days, she had still gone to the tower first and met with Researcher Shadwich before class. The egg-like fruit Ria had picked from the High Priestess’ garden for Ranger would have been reason enough to meet with him as soon as possible even if she didn’t have details from her first soul-cultivation session to report—letting the fruit further degrade was something against all good conscience considering how valuable it was.

Researcher Shadwich had been more ecstatic upon receiving the fruit than she expected, giddy even. He also confirmed that the soul cultivation had improved her soul strength but that she should do it as often as possible because Ranger’s bond was still growing stronger faster than she was.

Unfortunately, the soul cultivation was the real reason for her thoughts wandering and her current casting difficulties. Rather than cathartic, facing her traumas had left her feeling stressed and restless and irritable and quick to anger.

With so many new friends and her progress over the past half-year, she had done a lot to distract herself and distance herself from the rage and desire for violence that roiled and lurked beneath the surface of her emotions. But distracting herself had done little to help her to come to terms with her deeper unresolved emotions.

In her currently unstable state, she could feel the energy of her affinity almost within reach, needing just a flare of fresh anger to be called forth. That wasn’t the only change she was experiencing. Her control was frustratingly impaired. For some reason, her energy flows were surging unpredictably, and she had to make continual adjustments to keep her spell constructs from explosively failing.

Ellen was giving her worried looks somewhere between concern that Ria would cause herself to explode in a gory mess and Ria exploding someone else in a gory mess.

Jax, who was in a good mood after having managed an impressive standing jump without losing control of his spell during the landing, gave Ria a concerned look of his own. “I heard about what happened yesterday…”

Her mind seized up and she cringed. Were rumors spreading about her outing with Hulle already? Did some see her when Hulle was leaning close?! Ria had to quickly draw her energy back as the current casting effort began to dangerously unravel.

“…I just wanted you to know that what those girls did was wrong. I had it happen to me when I embarrassed one of the popular boys at the preparatory school I attended. The next day was doubly frustrating because I was upset and my energy control was all out of whack.”

Ria stared at Jax in surprise, and he looked away sheepishly, adding, “I guess what I’m saying is: Just take it easy for a few days. Getting frustrated makes it take longer to get back to feeling normal again.”

Oh. So that’s what he meant. Letting out a stress-filled breath, Ria gave him a bit of a smile. Judging by the hint of molten smell in the air, she had been closer to exploding (in anger and frustration) than she realized.

A glance in Ellen’s direction received a supportive nod, the culinary girl must’ve been thinking the same thing.

Ria felt relieved that her emotional state was being attributed to the attack. That cocky Jax had shared something embarrassing to cheer her up was rather endearing and did raise her mood. “Thanks, both of you. I’ll be alright.”

Having Zena escort her and Ranger to her familiar training class turned out fortuitous because Ria had no idea about the differences between the different arenas and which one they were meeting at for the combat practicum for their familiars.

Of course, the reason the arenas were used was because the familiars would be dueling, and protective “to the pain” barriers would be needed just as her team had used during their evaluations. The arena barrier was stronger than what her team had managed and was powered by something or someone other than the students.

If she’d known about the “to the pain” dueling option, she would have surely chosen that over the “until the opponent can no longer fight” option. Then again, maybe part of why Phaelys seemed to respect her was because she had chosen the option that was closest to fighting a real fight. It would have also been a lot harder to convincingly throw the duel if she was forced to give up because of pain rather than injury. Hulle really could have explained the different options better!

The dueling went about as expected with the rich nobles and their powerful magic beasts trouncing the less impressive familiars of the students with humbler origins. Some of the fights were one-sided enough to be little more than an exercise in sanctioned bullying.

Each familiar was only required to participate in one fight, but Ranger insisted on volunteering for as many tough matches as possible. He was thrilled at the chance to prove his worth and acquitted himself well, particularly when she empowered him through the bond. Overall, with his transformation into a magic beast, his strength was about average compared to the others, but his experiences with real combat were an advantage that helped him grit out victories against a few opponents where he should have been overmatched.

For some reason, he seemed particularly motivated against a fox belonging to a rather snooty girl from House Vestra. Ria wondered if that was because foxes would raid the chicken coop he was responsible for guarding back in Shadewood. Whatever the reason, the Vestra girl didn’t take her familiar’s loss well, loudly complaining to her noble friends and shooting glares Ria’s way.

The girl’s objections weren’t unwarranted. Had it been a real fight, Ranger likely would have been physically unable to continue after several of the empowered attacks he took, but her former farmdog was a stubborn sort and fought on.

Between fights, Ria was approached by several of her fellow commoner classmates about Ranger’s magic-beast transformation, wondering if improving their own familiars was also possible. Not wanting to be disliked for special treatment, rather than mention Researcher Shadwich, she recommended Tyrilenil’s shop as where the pills used were purchased from. A girl named Tiela with a cute rabbit familiar seconded her recommendation.

Ria was surprised that so many of her classmates were commoners. Because of what Jarrel and others had said about only rich families being able to afford the services of a spirit mage to perform the binding, she had assumed her class would be mostly nobles and wealthy merchant’s daughters.

When Ria asked Tiela about the number of commoners in the class, the girl explained that many parents in the capital often save up and pay for the binding, hoping that their boy or girl would gain the familiar’s affinity and improve their chance of getting accepted into the academy.

Iselyn tried to stay inconspicuous as usual. But as an actual nature spirit and not a magic beast, Malleron was one of the top performers, only outperformed by a Dawn Chaser like the one Ria thought Keira should get and a sylph.

Seeing the substantial difference in power between spirits and magic beasts, Ria couldn’t help wondering how much stronger Ranger would be if he succeeded at becoming a spirit beast.

“So how’d your outing go?” Orlisi asked with an eager grin as Ria and Iselyn sat down among their friends at what was becoming their usual table in one of the tucked-away reading areas of the Great Library. Ranger took up watch for Ellen, who hadn’t shown up yet.

The elf girl wasn’t the only one of her friends eager to hear about her outing with Hulle. Zena was looking on ready to be amused, and even Faris seemed curious to hear gossip involving his cousin. Iselyn and Arthur didn’t seem to have any interest, each working on their own projects, and Arthur had heard already anyway. Keira sighed and motioned for Ria to get on with it.

Ria took a deep breath, and with the High Priestess’ advice in mind, she tempered her frustrations about the elf girl’s prank as she answered. “It went well, I guess? I bought a new bracelet and material for a new focus tool. And we visited the Temple of Ellnys to pick up some incense that I needed for what Shadwich has me working on.”

“I did a great job on the tel`etia, didn’t I?” Orlisi asked with a proud smirk. “Did it help?”

The smirk made Ria want to be mad, but something about the elf girl’s smugness reminded her more of a craftsman confident in her work rather than a prankster gloating over a successful trick. Maybe her friend hadn’t actually intended to bully her by it...

“I think it helped me get better prices and…” Ria started to say and caught herself before mentioning the High Priestess. “And Hulle did think my hair arrangement was beautiful… but he said it was a style used by Elven maidens to announce they are seeking a lifemate…”

Orlisi nodded, with a serious expression. “Is that not the most appropriate arrangement for a young lady on an outing with a desirable suitor?”

Wha?! Who said she was seeking a suitor?! ...and whether Hulle was desirable or not might be an open question—socially, at least!

Even so, Ria did have to admit that if it meant getting a boy like Hulle or Faris to consider her more seriously, she was interested. But with how she felt when Hulle simply leaned close...

No, no, no. It was impossible! Her brain would melt and her heart would surely explode.

She stopped herself just as she was about to decide it was too much. She couldn’t afford to be that weak. If it meant increased opportunities and influence, no matter how much her heart fluttered, she should doggedly pursue such interest. Not that Hulle or any of the other boys from the Greater Houses had actually shown interest… though Phaelys had given her confections and flowers…

“Oh, my,” Orlisi fake gasped and covered her mouth. “Something definitely happened!”

Dammit! Why did she let her mind wander!

“So… was it you who tried to kiss him first or him that tried to kiss you?”

She knew!!!

“Oh? So something like that really happened, huh?” Orlisi laughed and leaned forward, all ears. “How was it?”

Crap! Ria glanced in Keira’s direction. At first, Keira rolled her eyes at Orlisi’s game, having heard Ria’s earlier story of what had happened, but Ria could feel her face flushing fiercely as she tried to put from her mind the thought of how the two ‘almost kisses’ would have been if Hulle had actually followed though, and worryingly, Keira’s eyebrow raised.

“DID. NOT. HAPPEN.” Ria asserted and started looking around for the fastest escape route to someplace she could hide before her cruel elf friend extracted all her secrets! Maybe Atresia would let her hide in one of the isolation rooms used for attunement testing… she should probably tell the third-year girl about having an orichalum affinity anyway. It might help with finding out more about her bloodline.

“Your eyes are telling us a different story,” Orlisi pointed out, and Zena snorted, looking on the verge of full belly laughs.

So mean!

Keira narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t tell us the whole story, did you? Wasn’t there a chaperone?”

“There was a chaperone!” Ria confirmed, grabbing onto the fact as a lifeline. “He stopped Hulle before- I mean, he was there to stop Hulle from doing anything against the Novidus family’s interest. So, nothing happened!”

“Not even a teeny bit, huh?” Orlisi prompted, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

Ria vigorously shook her head, and to her dismay Orlisi and Keira shared a look that said they totally didn’t believe her!

“Aren’t you teasing her too much? It was probably just Cousin Hulle leading her on as a joke,” Faris stated with a long sigh.

“Aww, don’t be a spoil-sport, Faris!” Orlisi complained.

Ria was thankful for Faris’ intervention… even if the likely truth of it hurt.

Fortunately, Ellen chose that moment to arrive, and Ranger eagerly prompted Ria to relay his lunch request to the Culinary Order girl, which she absolutely did.

While the others were following up with their own lunch requests, Ria took advantage of the distraction to direct the conversation in a less embarrassing direction, motioning toward Iselyn’s note taking. “How’s the research going?”

Orlisi gave her a knowing grin, but seemed satisfied enough with the amount of embarrassment already extracted and granted her a reprieve, “From what we’ve found, there may be a special kind of spatial magic involved in the garden’s construction and a special ritual might be needed to enter the garden.”

“Oh?” Ria voiced, feeling more optimistic about what Desi had said on the subject—maybe the Inquisitors really hadn’t gotten to the garden yet after all. “Maybe that’s why a... third-year I asked said that a group of students who actually made it to the tower’s hidden floor found it empty?”

“Yes! Exactly!” Orlisi agreed, nodding with enthusiasm. “That’s the conclusion we’ve come to as well, but the book we need containing the key part of the ritual doesn’t seem to exist in the library. The Moon Elves were sneaky about hiding the requirements to enter the garden in various unrelated Elven texts, even making it so only people with-”

Iselyn loudly closed the book she was perusing and glared a warning at Orlisi. Malleron joined in with a threatening gesture.

“...er, um, I mean, thanks to Iselyn’s hard work, we’ve discovered what will hopefully be the last tome needed, but… thanks to the Inquisitors’ efforts it might not exist any more,” Orlisi finished lamely.

Iselyn’s warning glare at the elf turned into an eye roll for some reason.

It was a long shot, but… “What about that bookstore that Aldri recommended? It seemed to carry a lot of academy-related books?” Ria suggested.

Iselyn’s eyes opened wide behind her long dark bangs. “Oh… we hadn’t thought to look outside the academy…”

“Oh-hoh! You’re absolutely right, Ria!” Orlisi cheered. “The Inquisitors might not have bothered with discount booksellers and private collections!”

“If you all actually discover the secret to entering a hidden Moon Elf garden, I want in on that adventure,” Zena stated, and the rest of her friends at the table also nodded one by one.

“Wow, a Moon Elf garden. I bet that would be something to see,” Ellen said, still standing next to Zena after having taken the arena girl’s order.

“Don’t worry. We’re probably going to need help getting past whatever tricks the Inquisitors put up to mess with the original method to access it,” Orlisi assured, and Iselyn’s shoulders slumped a little.

Did Iselyn not want them coming along?

“Great! Count me in,” Zena said and leaned forward, looking toward Ria with a conspiratorial grin. “Now that all of the other fun stuff is out of the way, what did Hulle say about you and Iselyn competing in the Divinesday Games?”

“He said it’s fine for both of us. But that I could only use spells I learned in my classes,” Ria reported.

“Sweet! That means we can enter the 4 on 4 competitions.” Zena gave them a thumbs up.