Shard

  Rather than just wait around for Morris to eet her, Dawn decided to be productive. Remembering that Niphru still had to be registered properly, she returo where they had met the elder the day before. Fortunately, she mao find it on the first try, and the elder resent, though she could not recall his name.

  Remembering their prior meeting, she bowed and chose her words carefully before remarking, “Greetings, Elder, Niphru here is Awakened and o be registered now that he is capable.”

  The a man o her and spped the floor, causing a small pedestal to rise from the floor before her, a stoablet held atop it. Dawn lifted the ste up towards her hood, where Niphru rested. She the him shift, and one of his paws stretched out to touch the stone.

  Still joyous at his partial recovery, she smiled and waited for him to finish, using one hand to scratch behind his ears once he withdrew his paw. Looking around, she saw a small iion on the wall and poi it while tilting her head towards the elder. At his nod, she pced the tablet within, the stone rapidly flowing over it to leave the wall smooth once more.

  With another bow to the man, Dawn turned a his room. Unsure of what else to do, she decided to return to her room and begarek back.

  As she climbed the multiple sets of stairs, she heard voices above on one of the floors. Si wasn’t any of her business, she didn’t focus on it, but as she reached the floor, three men blocked her path to the stairway with annoyed looks on their faces.

  One of them stepped forward, and if she hadn’t spun to the side, would have collided with her. As she scowled at him, he spat, “Well lookie here, a little bitch who thinks herself superior despite not being properly trained! You shouldn’t have been given such a high position just because you grabbed onto the first man with power that you came across, and we will make sure you get pulled down to where you belong!”

  Dawn was baffled by the accusation, as she had never met these people, let alone cimed she was better than them. And Morris had offered to teach her, she hadn’t done anything but accept!

  As if ohe barrier to the tral shaft opened, and Morris strode in, dispying a scowl of his own. “So,” he rumbled, “I take it you have been eavesdropping where you shouldn’t be to know she still o pass the tests for her position.”

  With a wave of his hand, the floor rippled like a pond when a stone was thrown in. As it reached Dawn, it smoothly split arouhough the men around her dropped to the floor as their footing was lost.

  “For your information, Dawn here accepted my offer, she did not seek me out. And are you secretly a mind mage to cim to know her thoughts? You know that is a serious offense. If you are so certain she isn’t worthy of my cim, why don’t you show up for her testing at the end of the week?” Morris tinued.

  Dawn began trying to speak, but after shaking his head, Morris resumed speaking, “You know the rules, oo take any level of test to instantly rise to that position, with sponsorship of a higher mage allowing a temporary rank of their choibsp; I notice that you didn’t inspire enough fidence for your superiors to sponsor you.”

  After he stopped speaking, Dawn quickly asked, “What is it that I o do to pass the test, Morris?”

  Turning to face her with a smile, Morris replied, “You already do almost everything. The only thing I am not certain of yet is your ability to siphon mana from other individuals. I am pletely fident you figure it out by the time you take the test, however.”

  Surprised by this, Dawn followed up with another question, thinking of how easily she figured out the st challenge, “How long does one have to finish the test, and you try each task more than oher than failing if you mess up at all?”

  Morris chuckled, sensing her i, and responded, “A full day is allowed, and only the e matters. I take it you want to try early? Are you absolutely certain you figure it out? There are sequences if a sponsored person fails.”

  With a determined nod, Dawn firmed, “I am sure. Why not make these people see their lunacy for themselves?”

  “Very well, please proceed to the base of the tral shaft, and I will gather the required individuals. You three, I expect you to be there as well. As my position allows, I decre my right to punish those who interfere with those in my care. If you do not show up, it will be worse than not,” Morris stated before spinning on his heel aurning through the gate.

  As Morris stepped to the side off of the ledge, Dawn turned back to the stairs she had just climbed and began making her way back down.

  Upon reag the base, she found one of the benches fag the nature enclosure aled down to wait. A few moments ter the three who had accosted her also arrived, taking a seat on a different bench while gring at her.

  About five unfortable mier, there was a flurry of activity as half a dozen mages dropped from the inside walls, sliding to a stop before approag them.

  Morris stepped forward and decred, “Now for this level of test, we must desd to the entry chamber. Dawn, take the lead, opening the door on your own is required.”

  Nodding, she stood and walked into the small bubble of forest, quickly reag the stairs and heading down them. Upon reag the bnk wall at the base of the stairs, she waited until the others arrived, then focused on projeg a tendril of mana again. Having ope once already, she found it much easier and faster this time, as she knew where to direct her attention already.

  Momentarily, the door opened, and one of the mages Morris had brought nodded before everyoered the chamber.

  “Now, you must prove initial trol of yibsp; Create a maion of your choice, then manipute it as intricately as you ,” requested Morris.

  Dawn almost screwed up before she remembered she shouldn’t show the full extent of her affinity. Catg herself just in time, she formed balls of fme a few inches away from herself rather than directly toug her skin.

  One of the es nodded, looking impressed at the number and speed of creation. As she began spinning them through a plex dance around herself, that look only intensified. Smiling at such a nice rea, Dawn took things a step further and started using the same teique she had during the Bck Tide, letting the fmes leak through a small opening to further propel the orbs. She was tempted to try to make the fmes orbit the others as well, but she wasirely fident in her ability to do so.

  To finish up, she had all of the balls of fme verge into ohen made it explode into a jet focused in two dires that no one was standing in, nearly reag the walls.

  As Dawn finished showing off, several of the mages nodded, one of them also enting, “Remarkable trol for one so young. Perhaps we have anenius?”

  Smiling at the ent, Dawn shook her head and responded, “No, my mother mentioned how insane some could be. I’ve just spent plenty of time pying with fire.”

  “I see,” the man replied before taking a mana stone from his pocket and tinuing, “Now please partially fill this with your mana.”

  Accepting the crystal, Dawn focused on it, lightly expl it with her mana, verifying that it was in good dition. Afterwards, she quickly funneled mana into it for a couple of seds, theo hand it back before being waved off.

  “I se from here, now try to fill it from the ambient instead. After that, absorb the tents,” the man remarked.

  This task was barely any more difficult, as she had to simply reach ‘through’ the crystal and absorb towards it rather than into herself. Likewise, abs power from a mana stone was something she had done numerous times, and found quite easy.

  Seeing this, the man hen turned a back up the stairs. A dour-faced woman told her to keep the stone, and then requested permission to view her thoughts. While she was surprised by the request, Morris nodded when she looked at him fuidance, so she agreed.

  She shivered at the odd feeling at the back of her mind, and then the womaioned, “Have you been told of the other doors here?”

  Shaking her head, Dawn denied knowing of any but the one she had opened and the oo the outside.

  The woman nodded, and Morris spoke, “, find as many doors as you , and point them out.”

  Dawn frowo herself. This was going to be much harder and more time ing thaher tasks so far.