Chapter 157: Fire-resistant

[You should see the Citadel up close,] Zeris said, coming to stand beside him.

The air all around Caen grew agitated, and a not-quite-loud chime sounded from the top of one of the taller buildings here. Chimes chorused from many other buildings in the distance as well, and the world seemed to be briefly drained of color. Caen’s mind suddenly felt more alert, and he was filled with a striking awareness of the time.

[That’s the evening bell,] Guinevere explained, leaning her back against the railing. [Startled me the first time I experienced it. Then again, I was like three years old.]

A few minutes later, Nimue called them down. They took the roof access into the building’s top floor, where an official asked for some basic information and had them stand on a scripted platform for ‘scanning’.

They spent the longest time on Caen since they had no records of him.

“Is that your contracted bond?” the official asked, pointing a finger.

Not at his shadow, thankfully, but at his sleeve, under which Chasma was tucked. He answered in the affirmative, and the official waved him off the platform. The scan hadn’t picked up on the shadeling in his shadow. After going through some more formalities, they were allowed to leave.

Hakohnzo took them to a rather luxurious inn. Nimue secured four adjoining rooms with a small shared parlor.

Caen retrieved his bags from Zeris’s spatial storage, then made a quick jump into the Astral Realm to drop a message with Vai, letting his family know that they'd arrived safely.

They had dinner in the parlor together. Caen, Zeris, and Guinevere were tired from the long hours of travel. The Percipients seemed fine, though. 

[Preliminaries start tonight,] Guinevere said, yawning. [But I’ll take mine tomorrow evening.]

The preliminaries were the first stage of the entrance examinations and were designed to cut down the large number of applicants. It always took place in the Astral Realm and would last for a full week, coinciding with the start of the entrance exams.

[That makes sense,] Nimue said. [It’s better to start fresh. I and Hakohnzo are heading out to catch up with friends and all that.] 

Guinevere gave her older sister a faux-stern look. [I won’t have to worry about you guys staying out of trouble, will I?]

Nimue snorted. [Go get some rest. I'll be back tomorrow evening.]

When she left the room, Zeris sent, <Are they gone?>

<I’m checking,> Caen replied. He could feel them retreating. He waited a moment longer.

“What’s going on?” Guinevere asked, looking between the two of them with creased brows. They’d grown silent.

“I have something to show you,” Caen said. “Hold on.”

Nimue and Hakohnzo finally moved out of range. 

“The Seventh Guile,” Caen said in Klakalk. “Come out, please.”

The shadeling flowed out of Caen's shadow, and Guinevere’s eyes widened.

“Holy shit!” she exclaimed.

Caen had spoken with the shadeling some days before, and he had agreed to let Caen introduce him to Guinevere. Caen had explained that she was a better combatant than he was and might be able to help them achieve the shadeling’s goals.

“Gwen, this is The Seventh Guile That Twists Itself.”

“You bonded to a shadeling?”

“It’s not a contracted bond,” Caen said. “I just agreed to help him get more tails.”

“That’s so cool! I didn’t even know they could do that. Sapience in shadelings starts from like four tails, doesn’t it?”

“That’s a clone of a clone,” Zeris said.

Caen nodded. “And he doesn’t remember how many tails his originator had.”

“Wow,” Guinevere said under her breath. Then she turned to Caen. “Can he speak Thermish?”

“No. I had to learn a dead language called Klakalk.”

“I’m kicking Nimmy and Hakohnzo off my channel again.”

Caen spoke to The Seventh Guile. “My friend wants to use a mind ability that will allow her to communicate with you. It is not an attack.”

[Hey there, The Seventh Guile That Twists Itself,] she said, waving at the shadeling. [I’m Guinevere, but you can call me Gwen. How do you do?]

[I am… well,] the shadeling replied. His voice still sounded like echoing whispers, only that it was in Caen’s head now.

Caen could feel a hint of ease through the shadeling’s soul. He would have to ask the shadeling about that later.

[Was he hiding in your shadow?] she asked Caen, and he nodded. [I’m surprised they didn’t say anything at customs. Their scans are so good that they can detect malice.]

[That’s actually related to what I wanted to ask you about,] Caen said. [I want to check if your parents will be able to detect The Seventh Guile.]

[Detection is more my mom’s thing than my dad’s,] she said. [But sure.]

Caen needed to verify whether or not archmages could sense the shadeling in his shadow. If any archmages could note this, he’d rather it be Guinevere’s parents.

[Your parents don’t have any personal problems with shadelings, do they?] Zeris asked.

[Nah. My dad is literally a Nurturer. He’s soft on most magical creatures. And you’ve met my mom. She’s a sweetheart.]

Caen didn’t quite have that impression of her parents. But she knew them best.

After Guinevere said goodbye to The Seventh Guile, he slipped back into Caen’s shadow.

They chatted for a while longer, but Zeris started dozing off. They decided to call it a night and left for their rooms. 

In the privacy of his room, he called the shadeling out of his shadow again.

“Any spikes?”

“I noticed a few of those, but I masked them all.”

“Thank you,” Caen said politely. “You seemed to be at ease while speaking to my friend earlier.”

“I am a creature of darkness and silence. My inherited memories grant me proficiency in this language, but speaking vocally is not my preferred mode of communication.”

“How do shadelings speak with each other?”

“It is impossible to demonstrate without another shadeling present.”

“What about your clone?”

“That will also suffice,” said the shadeling. “When mine returns, perhaps.”

“I have an idea for a different mode of communication,” Caen said. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

Once the shadeling had returned to his shadow, Caen showered, put on fresh clothes, sank into the soft mattress, and was asleep in moments.

***

Caen’s morning rituals went by quickly. After all this time, he hadn’t gotten over how easy it was for him to cleanse his spirit, freeing up more time for his magical training.

It was almost 6 in the morning by the time he was done. Last night, he and Zeris had met up with his family in the Astral. Caen had also spoken with his clone, whose soul structure appeared to be holding well.

Zeris and Guinevere were still sleeping.

After freshening up, he went down to the inn’s lobby and asked for directions to a bank. 

It was a short distance away, so he walked, taking in the busy city as he did. A chime echoed through the city, sharpening his mind and making him very aware of the time. There were overhead railways, bridges on which trains ran all around the city. 

The bank was a five-story building with stone columns. Hovering above the structure was a light display of the Moltenmint emblem: the Vishic rune for ‘infinity’ encased in a hexagon.

The Moltenmint Consortium was the most popular financial institution in the world. They were responsible for issuing world currency: criyl.

There was an arched ceiling within, and people queued at several service points. Caen joined the shortest queue he could find, and it was soon his turn.

The Ereshta’al family had placed Caen on a very generous stipend, but all that would be channeled through Uncle Vai. For this reason, Caen had opened an account for himself back on Ser-gwu Island, and this was where Hshnol would be making deposits.

With the assistance of an accountant. Caen withdrew some money—a few high criyl, as well as a pouch of low criyl and polished pomms. Caen had never held a high criyl in his life. The palm-sized hexagonal crystal shone with rainbow light, being twice the size of a low criyl and ten times its value.

He returned quickly to the inn, feeling very aware of just how much money he was carrying on him. 

Zeris and Guinevere were awake. After having a late breakfast together, they went shopping. 

Guinevere knew her way around Seafront. She’d come to visit her siblings and friends several times. 

He bought writing materials, new and better-quality Scripting tools, Chymical materials, and safety gear. 

Guinevere didn’t bat an eye when he purchased a potency gauge. This one could read to the fourth decimal, of course. He’d already asked Uncle Vai to get a similar one for the commune.

He bought a spatial ring with a third of the space that Zeris’s had, but it still served its purpose. 

Afterwards, Guinevere led them to an armory, where Caen purchased weapons with basic enchantments. Guinevere helped him pick out a broadsword. Caen found a glaive he liked, a spear, a set of daggers, a nice pistol, and some utility items that caught his eye.

Caen was fitted for a set of armor, which would be enchanted for durability and heat resistance.

They picked out all sorts of basic enchanted knick-knacks and trinkets for Chasma to feed on. Variety was vital to the fragment’s diet.

Their last stop was at a clothier’s, where his measurements were taken. Caen specified that everything be fire-resistant. He was not inclined to repeat what had happened with the spider summons. 

Guinevere laughed when Caen explained. 

[That’s an amateur mistake,] Zeris teased. [No serious Fire practician wears flammable clothes.]

[Well, it’s a mistake I’m never making again,] he replied, chuckling.

They went back to the inn and had an early dinner. Guinevere left for her room to take her preliminaries, while Caen and Zeris waited in the shared parlor, working on their own tasks.

Shortly after Nimue and Hakohnzo returned, Guinevere came out of her room beaming. 

“A breeze,” she said, striking a valiant pose. 

They all cheered.

The entrance exams were set to begin in three days. Caen wouldn’t be participating in them, but he still had a lot of work to do. He spent the next two days storing sleep with the repository spell.

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Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading. Been busy planning out future arcs. I'll reply to comments and questions soon. We hit the Citadel tomorrow. See you then.