#Kou-ko-ri-go

Came the sound of the giant rooster. This signaled the approaching daylight, as well as the official ending of Calf's rites. All that was left now was the evaluation. As if on cue to the rooster's call, the masters materialized at the far end of the first floor. There hadn't been as much as a ripple in the atmosphere, so Calf suspected they'd been here for quite a while, cloaked till the rooster’s call was issued.

For a moment he dreaded the thought of what they could do with what they'd heard of Calf and Goto's conversation and wondered if any among their number would do anything with the information. Had it not been for the events of the 8th Rites, he would've only had two masters to wonder about, but the Warden's earlier conduct guaranteed him a spot on that cautionary list as well.

Now knowing what he knew about The First, it wouldn't be farfetched to think the Warden had been compelled to act in whatever capacity he had. Far from it, it was easier to assume this than to consider the Warden’s previously conceived virtues as compromised.

Seeing as the Emissary was monikered ‘the First's Shadow’, it might well be in his abilities to force the Warden to interfere, especially if he were acting under a First's direction. Thinking this trek unnecessary, he cleared his throat and with it, his thoughts for the moment.

Calf turned to a posturing Goto, who stood guarded between him and the masters, and he instructed him to stand down and take a position beside him. Goto obliged, and they both faced the masters and the junior archivist.

⯁⯁⯁

The combat master was the first to address Calf. He gestured Calf forward before clearing his throat to begin with the formalities. The first part was a back-and-forth exchange where the master asked if Calf understood certain facts, rules, and expectations about the extended rites, to which Calf answered in the affirmative. As formality dictated, the master recited the standard explanations regardless of the answer Calf gave. Having finished with that section he stepped back, giving the floor to the Master of Crafts.

⯁⯁⯁

Remwa the Seer, or 'Old Crafty', as Calf liked to call him in private; was an aged but hail artisan whose musculature defied his advanced years. Though Old Crafty seemed a tad bit bland for one as accomplished as he, the master relished the playful name far more than he did his own.

His name had originally been given in poor taste when he was younger, a time he'd served in lands far from Taur valley. He'd grown stronger in spite of the name and achieved more than would be expected given his circumstances. To everyone's surprise, he'd picked the exact same name when the chance had come, and this had been upon the completion of his own rites.

When questioned on why he still preferred 'Old Crafty' to his earned name, he'd told Calf he preferred the innocent acknowledgment the playful name embodied as opposed to the misguided defiance his earned name still carried up to this day. Calf had been too young to understand back then, but the passage of time had given him enough experiences to understand the gesture from an underdog's point of view, his own.

Remwa's part was to estimate the value of the prizes Calf had managed to earn in the extended rites. He glided forward and stood directly in front of Calf, reciting his part of the formalities without asking any questions. When he was done, he instructed Calf to present all the wares he wished evaluated, to specify which items were to be tallied towards his Rites, and which were intended for personal valuations.

Calf had so much confidence in the broadhead spear that he decided to send only that for the tally. This would also be a strategic move meant to hide his advantages as the evaluation results would be made known to all, be they friend or foe. None in the room quirked a brow at the arrogance in his selection as Calf presented the broadhead for evaluation.

Remwa accepted the spear with both hands and a bowed head, immediately going through his process the moment Calf stepped back. He twirled the spear in both his left and right hand, nodding at the weight distribution. Next, he traced the curves and edges with a finger, nodding at the workmanship of the shaft. He then wrapped a long, filamented tongue around the shaft, tasting it to some end before breathing in. His tongue thickened in response and exerted force on the shaft at multiple points, but the shaft held.

Done with the shaft, he expanded his wings and curved them around the spear's point. He closed his eyes and made a few swings that whistled through the air. The shell-like shape of the wings accentuated the whistles and his ears twitched and shifted at the turn of each swing. For the final test, he held the spear with both hands on the shaft and extended a middle finger from each of his wings, bringing them within an inch of the point, poised to strike. Both nails blurred towards the spear and struck the head at the same time, resulting in a low hum that grew to a whistle at its highest pitch. Old Crafty unfurled his wings and summarily quieted the whistling with a single flap.

Calf had managed a quick glance in the brief moment before the wings closed on the spear again. Its center had remained rigid and unmoved, but the edges vibrated something fierce, giving the appearance of a broader head. The head shrunk back to size when the whistling was hushed.

Remwa announced the findings of his assessment, starting with the features of the spear. He noted the exquisite wood the shaft was made of, as well as its composite nature that accentuated its natural properties. He'd moved on to the peculiarity of the material used to wrap around the haft, as well as how the shaft seemed to swallow the tip's neck end, s if the wood itself had grown over the hafting point.

Next was the highlight of the spear, its head. This comprised of a generous amount of blood-glass, folded, and compressed to thin margins in the shape of an arrowhead. Though maroon to black in its natural form, the spear head stood out due to the livened silver that was used in its coating. In relative terms, only the King's silver axe would be comparable.

He twirled the spear a few more times before presenting it to Calf. As Calf made to receive it, the Master of Crafts went to one knee and presented it as he would to a King. The gesture was not lost on Calf, who managed a semblance of grace in accepting the proffered staff, despite the sudden weakness that threatened to overcome his knees. This was as good a vote as he could get publicly from one of the masters.

⯁⯁⯁

Removing the spear to his pouch, head out, he nodded at Old Crafty before stepping back to take them all in in his next address. He gulped his nervousness down and took a deep calming breath before plowing ahead. He informed the masters he'd prefer to perform his personal valuations after all the proceedings.

When the Combat Master had asked why, he'd cited his reluctance to give his detractors any leg to stand on, given the private nature of the valuation. Since he and Old Crafty would use the silent circles to keep the valuation private, anyone opposed to the result could use that to throw doubt at Old Crafty's neutrality, insinuating a possible bribe during the hidden exchange. The Combat Master had nodded, ready to dismiss the issue, but before he could do so-

"If it's the integrity of one master you fear being questioned, then bank on the weight of all of them," said the Warden, cutting in.

Calf understood what the man was suggesting. If he revealed his inventory to all of the masters, then any detractors would be hard-pressed to question the integrity of 4 masters and a junior archivist. This plan wasn't without its downsides though given it ran counter to revealing as little as possible, but instead, it exposed the very information Calf had set out to protect.

What a shrewd man, thought Calf. If Calf guarded his possessions even more after being given 'a way out', then that act would put even more of a question to what exactly the items’ secrets were. He turned his head towards the Warden and met his eyes. The Warden stared back, at first with a questioning look that quickly turned resolute when Calf’s own stare brokered no confusion as to his opinions and stance on the Warden’s strategies. As no answer was forthcoming from Calf at the Warden’s suggestion, the stare off continued for a whole minute until the Master Archivist cleared his throat to break the tension.

He stepped forward and regarded Calf with a warm smile. This was the first show of emotion from the old Master. He had managed to remain stoic and unreadable in Calf’s absence, but right now, his pride was leaking through his practiced demeanor. He managed to reign it in fast, but Calf hadn’t missed it.

The Master Archivist’s part was to get Calf to fill in as much of the blanks in the official record of his rites as he could, and he said as much in his introduction. Though Calf hadn’t thought deeply on how to answer, the pressure he felt as the Master recited the requirements told him of the answer, he’d have to give for most of those blanks, “I am not at liberty to say”.

Disappointment and even more curiosity registered on the other Masters’ faces, but a gleam of pride still shined in the Master Archivist’s eyes. He gave Calf a nod every time Calf repeated that answer, and Calf knew the man considered this the best answer. The Master Archivist got to the boundary in his questioning, and here Calf answered truthfully, giving a detailed explanation of what took place and how the boundary seemed to work, to the best of his knowledge.

The Master got to the question of Goto’s identity and here Calf just mentioned all would be revealed in front of the council. Just as it looked like the Combat Master would step in with more questions on that topic, a brief knock of announcement sounded at the door before summarily opening to admit a group of garbs that were led by Obscure. Obscure moved to flank Calf on the left as the rest of the garbs stood quietly behind them.

The Master Archivist had a glazed look over his eyes for a few seconds before clearing it with a nod towards Obscure. He gestured with a raised hand and the junior archivist brought the minute scroll for the evaluation. Obscure gestured from a couple of meters away and the scroll floated from the junior archivist's hands to one of his own.

He projected the contents to the eastern wall, and everyone turned to read them, each nodding their confirmation after finishing with the contents. He turned to the Master Archivist who then asked if any of the masters had anything to add or amend. Obscure ended the projection after receiving a shake from all of them in the negative.

A two-striped acolyte brought an open box to Obscure, who placed the scroll into it. Once the scroll landed, Obscure gestured and the lid of the box closed, securing its contents. The garbs arranged themselves around the original occupants of the tower and together they formed an organized mass that moved in concert on its way out of the tower. The master’s evaluation was over, and the results would now be forwarded to the King and the Taur council.