The barabog toad is a coveted alchemical ingredient. Not because of any exceptional qualities that it possesses by itself, but by its ability to extract them from others. In place of a regular toad's vocal sac, the barabog toad has a transparent container that acts as a refiner before ingestion. The magic process is wildly studied and researched by [Magiscientists] but the truth remains the same. Some of the most highly refined ingredients, if lucky, come from the throat of a barabog toad.

- Encyclopedia of Rare Creatures, The Untethered Tomes

Sunset had arrived and Jayke found himself among a crowd of testers. Many of the faces around him were unfamiliar and new. Hopefuls like him trying to join the Coterie. They were likely from the other branches which migrated here. The ones that had actually arrived at Nubilum within a reasonable time frame.

He spotted a number of faces glancing about as he did. Taking in the competition, noting down who was confident, timid, assured, or lax.

He nudged Oz. "You okay there? Been silent ever since I've seen you." Their conversation was just one among the many.

The blue man looked up at Jayke and seemed to focus. "Sorry. I just met one of my father's old friends. There's a lot on my mind. Nostalgia, among others."

Jayke could understand that. There were times he'd get lost in his thoughts remembering too. "No worries."

He left Oz alone. They'd briefly discussed what could possibly constitute the next test but beyond that, the [Slime Mage] had been silent. This time, instead of the lobby of the Coterie building they had been directed deeper into the building.

The room was something of an amphitheater albeit a small one. Somewhere Jayke presumed often held assemblies. Stone benches rose up in layers from a central dais in which a presenter or speaker could deliver announcements from.

The crowd bustled inward quickly noting the room then eventually deciding to find a seat and plant themselves in it. Jayke and Oz were among the last to seat themselves. The chatter of everyone around him highlighted the acoustics of the room.

"I wonder what we'll be tasked with next?" Someone hissed softly. A lizard person as Jayke came to know them. Or according to Oz, a slith. "The combat tests have been fairly brutal. Putting us up against a Dungeon? Seriously?"

"That's expected of the Coterie." A rumbling voice spoke. A man made of tan rock. "What would you have expected? To shoot a target? To measure your mana pool?"

"Wouldn't that be a good test?"

"Magic is useless if not applied with some semblance of mastery. What good is shooting a target if the target isn't real?" The rock man spoke. "If your magic is applicable to combat, then you must expect to use it for just that."

"They kill off a good number of young talents that way." An older individual said from a row below.

"Then were they really talents?" The rock man spoke. Brutal and harsh as his voice sounded.

"And if they possessed unique magic?" The old individual, Jayke couldn't make him out through the bobbing heads and other speakers, asked him. A sentiment of life rang through the old person's voice, the notions of an old soul.

"Pointless hypotheticals. It is the law of nature. The strong survive. If he dies? Then he was not strong, his magic is removed from the tester pool, the rest is stronger. See?" The rock man rebutted. "If he survives, all the better. His magic is actually useful or the person himself is. Everyone is stronger again."

Jayke chuckled. "Natural selection at its finest, even here." He supposed that made sense. The entire process was a voluntary endeavor besides. Taking the tests was a choice to be made. The readiness of a tester was determined by them.

Oz looked at Jayke with some surprise. "You know about Evo's choice? That's an advanced evolutionary theory. It's apparent in slime colonies everywhere." He said so with slight disbelief.

"The tendency of better-adapted organisms to thrive and reproduce. It's somewhat analogous to this testing process." Jayke responded. "It just begs the question of what we need to adapt to next."

Oz looked quietly surprised. Jayke himself was just amused it was an established theory here. If anyone would've been familiar with it he supposed it would've been Oz. Slimes were adaptable, prolific breeders, after all. "Evo is the God of Evolution. The theory is named after her."

Jayke noted the differing names. "The concept is the same. The better suited prevail."

"I suppose it holds for these trials." Oz reflected.

Jayke watched someone part from the crowd of shuffling bodies that were trying to find a seat. The person simply walked up to the dais. He looked no different from the rest of the testers save for a golden brooch on his chest. The Coterie insignia. He knew if he was closer he would've made out something like a spell tome shining with magic.

The person was a feathered ava male. He stood with perfect posture and waited patiently for the room to quiet itself. Once his presence became known it spread like a small fire until everyone's eyes were on the center of the room.

He cleared his throat loudly as if signifying his commencement. "Hello, aspiring practitioners. I'd like to first congratulate all of you on making it to one of the main branches. This milestone demonstrates a willingness to strive under adversity and flourish under scrutiny. Having made it thus far means your proctors have recognized in you an ember of potential. Whether that be by the nature of your magic or the ingenuity in which you apply it. Or perhaps they'd sensed in you a drive that few have."

He looked around smoothly, green-blue feathers swaying gently.

"But, recognition from your proctors can only go so far. Upon arriving here, that potential was tested. For some, this was done against each other. For the late arrivals, the Dungeons surrounding Nubilum. That was your ticket to this point. The Practitioner's Coterie is the forefront of magical application, research, and services. We are an esteemed organization. Entering the Coterie as a recognized practitioner is no small feat. A decade ago, I was in your exact position. I understand our process and organization is very much a mystery to many of you."

"I am Xelfeath. Before I announce the nature of your next test and its reasoning I will be opening up the floor for questions. Any that you might have."

As soon as the words left his mouth dozens of voices dominated the room.

One pierced the din. "Does level matter?" A feminine voice called out.

Xelfeath simply waited for the voices to quiet before responding. "Indeed our most impressive and impactful individuals are high-level. That is the truth of this world found anywhere on Aez. You may have heard of the Rainbow Sorcerer?" The name seemed to mean something to many people, Jayke observed. "I know him personally. He was below Level 20 in his Class when he joined."

"The Rainbow Sorcerer? Really?" Someone said excitedly. "I never would've thought!"

"Wait, he knows him? Who is this guy?" Someone blinked. His voice was drowned out by a clamoring of other urgent questions.

Someone was patiently raising their hand. A convention that Jayke realized was exactly the same from his world. The hand raiser was called upon at the ignorance of all the other yelling people.

His voice was well-spoken and loud. "What qualifies us as a recognized practitioner? What does the Coterie look for in new members?"

Xelfeath rubbed his chin and seemed to take note of the asker. "A sensible question considering your position. I'd only heard at least two others asking the same. To answer your question, a tester is recognized based on magical aptitude, ingenuity, achievement, and skill. Rather than the sheer magical power someone can bring to bear, although sometimes impressive, we focus on those who know how to use it. New magics are also of interest to the Coterie, recruiting those with unique disciplines means another source of learning. Of some note, though many disregard it, is that the Coterie is a strong judge of character."

Lots of murmurs through the crowd. Jayke himself took mental notes.

"Why risk the lives of the testers with dangerous trials? That's throwing away the lives of those your own members consider 'filled with potential'. Wouldn't it be better to have tests where there's no risk of dying? Seems like a terrible model for such a large organization. Young talents could die before they ever flourished." Whoever had spoken had done so in the perfect window. The voice cut through the chatter.

Jayke couldn't pinpoint the voice but was already disagreeing. That was a narrow-sighted view. Jayke's problem with the tests had been their perceived difficulty but never the fact of the chances of death. [Runic Skies] had been a nightmare but that wasn't standard.

Xelfeath seemed to lock onto someone in the crowd. His voice was gentle as if speaking in the presence of those whose lives were lost to the tests. "Aez is an unforgiving world. We pit testers against lethal odds for a number of reasons. Yes, we seek unique magics and young talents. But you must all have some inkling of what the Coterie is. We are a power with many agendas that, quite frankly, have nothing to do with recruiting new members. We have [Arcane Researchers] and [Spell Theorists] on the forefront of knowledge pushing the norms of what we as practitioners know. True, we could devote our numbers to vetting these tests and sifting through the coal for magicite, or we could let them find themselves."

"The Coterie does not attribute much of their resources towards testing. Spare a moment to think of our accomplishments and realize most could not be done if we spent so many of our members searching for more. Most of us are pushing our magics, dealing with magical issues, researching magical phenomena, or in the Uncharted mapping out new lands. This means that while new magics - and there are many unknown practices - interest us, they do not do so unless they survive. The young people who die do so on none other than their own hubris, these tests are voluntary for a reason. You may take as much time to prepare as you want. The dangers have always been advertised."

The questions went on for quite a while. Jayke was content to listen in. Some late testers tried barging into the room but sudden gusts of wind pushed them out as soon as they entered. They were barred. They'd failed to meet the deadline. The scene would always draw the crowd's attention for a moment and no longer.

Jayke focused on Xelfeath. He learned quite a bit about the allure of the Practitioner's Coterie by way of the testers' questions as well as Xelfeath's answers. There was indeed a profit to be made as a member. Recognition and clout were a large part of it. A slith individual had actually asked a rather pointed question about that. Xelfeath had elaborated on any number of situations such a reputation might benefit, citing places and powers Jayke had no clue about.

A few people were more curious about teachers for their magic. A bookish sort asked the question, wondering exactly how such things were handled. Apparently, to seek out a teacher began with identifying one's magical practice and finding the similarities with existing experts. Through the previous inquiries, it was obvious that the Coterie did not have experts everywhere. But, what little members they had were often quite adept at what they did. And the true masters? - they were off doing gods' know what.

Jayke had been patiently raising his hand. Xefleath pointed at him.

"What is expected of a Practitioner?" He asked, adopting the term for Coterie members.

Xelfeath nodded. "The Practitioner's Coterie as a whole likes its members active. Members of our ranks are expected to undertake a variety of tasks or jobs. Some of these are sourced from anyone with the money or favor to request one. As many of you know, we are recognized by the Great Template, and as such, many of these jobs form Quests. These are often done in conjunction with Adventurers where Practitioners will usually take a more niche role."

A good chunk of people were nodding their heads. Common knowledge, Jayke supposed. "Other tasks involve areas of arcane interest, magical beasts or plants, or strange phenomena occurring in some location. These are sourced by the Coterie itself and often require specific individuals. A [Fire Wizard] of our ranks was called for a mandatory task half a decade ago - he had the most control over the element, as practiced [Wizards] often do, that we've ever seen and was thusly sent to handle an encroaching plague spreading through a forest. Jobs from the Coterie may sometimes net rewards and can even be declined but accepting, accomplishing, denying, and failing, all can have some effect on your standing. If not by actual rank then by your peers."

"Unbothered by any pressing tasks, the average Coterie member is encouraged to experiment with and advance their brand of magic. Whether this be by learning from others or forging a path their own. We do have a system for recording magical knowledge but the details of that can be more readily explained once you actually become a member."

The answer, like all Xelfeath had given, was fleshed out and explanatory. It gave Jayke a good understanding of what he was getting into, more so than word of mouth. Putting aside the benefits of joining, he was tying himself down to an organization if he succeeded, so what did that entail?

Well, it looked like if he did join he'd be solving problems and exploring the world. He was fine with that for the time being. In practice, it might further his agenda of looking for other humans from home and searching for the waystones.

"I believe I will stop the questions there," Xelfeath announced. The ava had been nothing but polite, succinct, and accommodating, so despite the grumbles and half-hearted voices still throwing their questions out, the majority of the amphitheater quieted. "And I shall answer the one question that probably just wormed its way into your mind. Your next test."

"First and foremost, I am a Practitioner, a fully-fledged member of the Coterie." He tugged on his golden brooch. "You may wonder what kind of tasks I am often assigned by the Coterie - what niche my specialty fills. Then, you might naturally come to the conclusion that I am, in fact, speaking to you - a tester. " He smiled.

"Once more, I am Xelfeath. Not a proctor as the others were but a [Proctor]. An [Arcane Proctor] at that." He said so with a keen look, as if he was just now measuring the crowd as potential members. "Be assured I am fully equipped to test a group as large as this."

Xelfeath's feather down seemed to shimmer slightly. An appraising set of eyes roamed over the mass lingering over sections of the crowd at random. The ava muttered something. Suddenly Jayke - and presumably a number of other people - felt as if he was on a pedestal, up for examination. It was a fleeting feeling. A glimpse into his person as brief as a second, but no less invasive than a single eyeballing of his body.

"Anyone else feel that?" A slith nearby hissed. "Did he just use a Skill on us?" He sounded angry.

"Relax, it wasn't anything like an [Analyze]. Trust me, I've been subject to those. This one felt different."

Oz contributed. "Must be something from his Class. It felt like a spell. Arcane. Some kind of magic-based Skill maybe."

Xelfeath looked around. Some people were in outrage, weirdly. They felt as if a personal boundary was crossed. Jayke realized his [Minor Data Sense] had kicked in. Whatever Skill or spell had just affected him hadn't really targeted anything he recognized. It was something else.

"Apologies, you all briefly experienced the effects of my [Group Assessment]." He said patiently. "I've done nothing malicious, you have my word and the honor of the Coterie on that. Simply, I've judged - minutely - each of your strengths and weaknesses as far as my understanding can go. I have a head for these things, and with this understanding, I can test each of you correctly."

"Each of us is getting a specific test?" Jayke asked aloud, curious.

"He might be testing in groups." Someone brought up a good point.

"Strengths and weaknesses? Isn't that a little telling still?" A nearby voice seemed concerned. This particular one Jayke had been constantly hearing complain.

"Gods and goddesses! No one cares about you. You think anyone is gonna care about the strengths and weaknesses of a paranoid little-"

"Ahem." Xelfeath cleared his throat cutting off the rather loud, snappish voice. "Your test will be based on your strengths, weaknesses, as well as what the Coterie generally looks for in new members. I've already stated some of those qualities prior. For some of you, these can be tested in a trial tailor-made. For others, your trials may benefit from the inclusion of other testers."

"How are you testing us exactly?" A suspicious voice rang out. "This sounds really nice and all, but how are you implementing all of this?"

"Did you think my Class gives me no methods to test and evaluate people? I've been doing this most of my life, my aspiring Practitioner. I am thankful that I have a number of Skills to smooth out this entire process." He said. "To answer your question, however, a Skill."

Clasping his hands, "Now, a caveat of this Skill is that I must explain it to you and you must understand what is to happen. My Skill will bring you to a separate space. Yes, a semi-dimensional Skill. I am one of the few in the Coterie to possess one, at least publically, no matter how niche. Once there, you may either appear by yourself or with others. The rules of your trials are dynamic - unique to the participants."

"What determines whether we pass or fail?" Someone called out. "That's what this is all about after all."

"The conditions of success and failure will be detailed in each unique trial. These conditions can be concrete or vague, for example, a popular one - 'Survive'. By the end, you will know whether you have succeeded or failed." Xelfeath answered. "Understand that successfully completing the trial will often simultaneously demonstrate a quality - or even multiple qualities - desirable in a Coterie member. Failure to complete a trial may likely do the opposite."

"Survive? Does that mean we can die in these trials?" Jayke heard someone nearby ask the crowd.

"You're surprised that's a possibility after what he just told us?"

"Powerful Skill." Someone remarked.

"How are you sure your Skill will even give us a good trial? What if it's unfair?" A voice called above the rest. Accusatory, as if on the defensive.

"I am quite familiar with myself and I am never unfair," Xelfeath said pointedly. "Do not presume that I am. As an [Arcane Proctor] fairness is in my Class." The person, Jayke could just make her out, shriveled in response. As if just realizing what it might mean to antagonize the [Arcane Proctor] overseeing their tests.

"With that, I sense most of you are ready." Xelfeath focused for a moment. Then, his feathers really shined. And not only that, his eyes took on the similar blue-green hue of his down. He smiled as wisps of magic seemed to catch against him.

"[Mass Arcane Trials]." He spoke.