"Hey, everyone. How's it going?" Tethys asked the group nonchalantly.
Sam stomped up to her and shoved her, "That's all you have to say? After you almost killed Emory?" The group stood by in shock as this was completely out of character for Sam to react so suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Tethys responded anxiously, "We had a light scuffle, but I'm the one who got injured." Sam stepped back and gave Tethys a frustrated look while Emory slowly approached the pair.
"Sam, something's not right. Tethys, can I ask you what you think happened when we sparred?" Emory began questioning, but her eyes had turned bright blue.
"In front of everyone?" Tethys panicked, "Okay, but can we get some food and sit down first? I'm famished." As she walked forward, the rest of the group seemed to part in front of her and stay a few feet away. Tethys found this a little odd, yet she just shrugged and continued to walk forward into the complex. Once she was around ten feet ahead of the rest of the group, they started following her to the cafeteria. "Again with the weird behavior? Why are they acting like this?" Tethys thought. But as she tried to remember what could have happened, nothing came to mind. Then a horrifying image popped into her head of a white room and a mask being placed over her mouth; it sent shivers down her spine.
At the back of the group, Sam whispered to Emory, "Why do you think something is wrong? Why did you stop me from getting some answers out of her?"
"The black energy from before is mostly gone," Emory quietly replied, "I don't how to explain it, but I have this weird feeling that someone removed it. Something is wrong about this whole thing: the way she approached, how she reacted to you, and even her response to me. Trust me for a few minutes." Sam sighed loudly but nodded in agreement. Everyone made their way to the cafeteria and grabbed dinner. Tethys, being at the front of the group, chose to find a table away from most other people, both because she didn't want other people to overhear and because the group was acting strangely.
Once everyone sat down, Tethys took a few bites of food and a drink of water before starting, "Well as I remember, we walked to my benefactor's house and then had a spar in their backyard. You defended well against my Krav Maga combined with my barrier. Then you threw a really powerful bolt that exploded my barrier. I flew back and tore up my arm on the pavement before passing out. Then I woke up this afternoon and walked back to the school."
"That's all you remember?" Emory asked carefully, "You're not lying or leaving anything out because you don't want the others to know, are you?"
"Now, you're scaring me. Yes, that's the truth," Tethys defended. Emory had leaned forward at first but had now leaned back and folded her arms. Tethys had tricked the group up to this point, so it was possible that she was again. Then again, the black magik was gone, and if it was anything like the white glow inside herself, it shouldn't just be gone; enough time had passed that it would have returned to its normal size even if she had exhausted it in the attack yesterday.
While Emory thought of what could have happened, Gatrie surprisingly chimed in, "It doesn't seem like a very intense fight. Why did you sleep until this afternoon?"
"I must have tired myself out," Tethys said as she bit her lip slightly, "You all know I don't have an offensive sphere."
"That's true. Say, I bet you've been an agent of the Commission for a long time. What kind of work have you done with them?" Gatrie prodded.
Tethys was shocked that Emory had revealed this much to them, but then she guessed that Viktor would not have brought Emory in if he didn't expect them to be found out. Tethys began softly, "I suppose there's no point in hiding it. I was raised by the Commission, so I have done all sorts of things for them. Most of my work has been on the bioengineering team though." The group was surprised by the bluntness of the response; sure, they all knew from Emory about the Commission but to acknowledge it as fact so boldly was another matter entirely. Especially given the information they had learned in the library earlier.
"What's their objective?" Innes questioned harshly, "Why come out from the shadows now?"
"Honestly, I don't know what the whole organization's goal is. It's split up into different teams, each with their own goals. Before becoming a solo operator, my old team had recently accomplished their goal, so we were reassigned to other functions," Tethys explained.
"And what did you accomplish?" Sam accused, "Mind control? Human-beast recombination? Something worse?"
Tethys sighed, "My team's goal was to create successful beasts that had been genetically modified slightly. We were focused on establishing new species of creatures that had been crossed with other species. For example, I helped shape a tiger that had been crossed with a polar bear. The point was to see if creatures could be improved by introducing foreign DNA strands into their cells."
"Very interesting, but I'm not sure how that helps humanity," Gwen contended, "Unless you could do that to humans. Did you test your theories on human subjects as well?"
"Actually, I've never been involved with any human testing. I honestly don't know if they moved on to that stage or if it stopped after we finished our part," Tethys squirmed. Although she had not been involved in projects that tested on humans, she did know they generally moved onto that level if it was ultimately intended to benefit humanity. However, that sort of research was far too secretive to allow Tethys to assist. She continued, "I suppose I understand why you all are playing twenty questions with me; I hid my background from you. But it wasn't out of malice, and the Commission isn't a threat. So, what's with the third degree?" Sam stood up as Tethys said this, but Emory grabbed her shoulder, causing her to sit back down.
Emory spoke gently, "Tethys, I'll be blunt. I don't know if you're lying or you really don't remember, but that's not how our spar went. I didn't tear up your arm." She proceeded to go into great detail about the black sphere she had produced, the destruction it had caused, and how the other leaders seemed to try and pressure Emory after the duel. Then she asked again, more affirmatively this time, "Now, are you telling me you don't remember the black sphere or were you lying?"
Tethys's eyes swelled up as she heard Emory's tale. Unfortunately, she had already begun to suspect that the Commission was experimenting on her, but due to the white mask, she didn't know the full details and chose to live in denial about it. Yet when Emory asked her the question, it reconfirmed everything she had been avoiding. Tears started running down her cheeks, and she slumped in her chair. "I don't remember," she sobbed, "I don't remember that at all. All I can remember is a white mask. Always the white mask." After that, she wailed loudly, confusing most of the group and attracting looks from the nearby students.
Emory, however, understood what the situation was now. Tethys was the victim in this circumstance since Emory concluded the Commission must have experimented on Tethys numerous times to elicit this response, each time removing or erasing her memories of the trial. She stood up from her chair, walked over to Tethys, and wrapped her arms around the poor girl. "I'm so sorry, Tethys. I can't imagine what kind of trauma you're dealing with after coming to this realization. Let us help you," Emory comforted Tethys.
"How can you help me?" Tethys wiped the tears off her face, "They are more powerful and more connected than you can imagine."
Emory softly suggested, "Tell us everything you know about the black sphere. That's the part we understand the least. Otherwise, I have an idea for how to avoid them for the meantime at least."
"I don't know very much about it," Tethys sniffled, "When examining the Mantoan's ship, they found the ship largely ran off this contained system of strange liquid. I have no idea what was strange about it, except that it was incredibly difficult to determine how they had constructed such a device due to the strength of the magnetic field it generated. After some time passed, they were able to replicate the effect on a very small scale. Yet they couldn't ever get it to reproduce the effects they saw on the ship. More testing occurred, and, when implanting this device in humans, the Commission found that it could be used in the human body with magik. The test subjects were able to use the implant to increase their magik power by several orders of magnitude, but long-term use was considered risky for two reasons. First, using the device as a power source proved to be corrosive to the human body, especially internally, and second, they had a limited supply of the original liquid, so more couldn't be made easily or perhaps at all. Finally, they put the project to the back burner for now as several other issues have taken precedence instead."
"Were you part of those testing this power out?" Innes wondered aloud.
"Originally, I would have said no," Tethys's voice cracked, "But now, I'm not sure. I can't be sure about any of it." Tears continued to drop down from her cheeks.
Gatrie bluntly replied, "And how do we know this isn't an act? You fooled most of us throughout our entire lives. How do we know you won't turn on us again?" Everyone's eyes apart from Tethys's opened wide as he said that, but no one jumped to Tethys's defense; they all knew she had betrayed them knowingly even without including the events she didn't remember. Tethys even looked at Emory who had come to her defense before except her somber face said she wouldn't be comforting her this time.
"I won't, I swear. Everything they tell me; I'll report straight to you all. Please give me another chance to be a better friend," Tethys begged.
"We've come up with a safety measure," Sam tepidly posed, "A pair of restraints to contain your unknown power. Come with us to the forge under the training deck after we finish eating." The words sounded like a suggestion, but the tone in Sam's voice and the looks on her classmates' faces confirmed this was not a request. With the mood largely soured, the group finished their meal quickly and in silence. Once finished, they all headed to the forging area below the training center. Though it was two flights of stairs down, the temperature increased as they approached the new area. A sign hanging on the door at the bottom of the steps said, "Knock and allow someone to let you in before entering if at least one light is on." None of them knew much about the forging process, so they were a little perplexed by the note. Gwen decided to knock for the group, and they all waited for fifteen minutes or so before a person with a welding mask and gloves on answered the door.
"Can I help you all? I can't imagine you are all forgers," a husky woman's voice spoke impatiently.
"Yes, we'd like a small custom item to be made," Gwen responded, "Can you help us or send us someone who can?" The last statement felt a little direct, so the group winced a bit as they awaited a reaction.
The woman switched her mask up to show her face at the group. She was roughly 5'8" with a muscular build resembling Innes, yet what surprised them the most was the bright blue hair poking out under her helmet. She blew a gum bubble, popped it, and smacked her lips as she sized up the group, "Depends. What are you looking to make and what are you willing to pay?"
"We'd like to make two enchanted bracelets," Gwen calmly explained as if she had done this hundreds of times, "Perhaps as wide as the watch bands. We have the casters here who will be doing the enchanting and will be putting a level four enchantment on the bracelets. We don't know what the fair market value is for this kind of request."
Tethys's eyes widened as she heard what Gwen said. "A level four enchantment?" she thought, "Just what are they planning?" At the same time, the forger's eyes had widened too. A level four enchantment was rare for a student to work on, and it would even be a first for her.
"Who are the people doing the enchanting?" the blue-haired girl questioned. Emory and Tethys raised their hands, albeit cautiously. The forger walked over and studied the two who had raised their hands. "One of these looks capable, but is that the true caster or the transmitter?" she considered as she began walking around them before she said aloud, "Have either of you done an enchantment before? It is a tiring process." The two girls shook their heads, something the forger had correctly predicted; however, the words "level four" kept ringing out in her mind. It would be a great opportunity and could start a future enchantment gig with someone her age that had level four magik. "Okay, I'll do it, but I have a couple demands. First, instead of paying me, I would like your help enchanting two other weapons at a later date. Second, I'd like you to request me for your next project as well," she said surprisingly while looking at Emory and even extended her hand towards Emory to shake.
A little taken aback, Emory returned the handshake, "Of course. Thank you. My name is Emory; it's a pleasure to meet you."
"You can call me Mags. You are the level four caster, correct?" Mags gruffly stated.
"I am," Emory affirmed with a little shock, "How did you know?"
Mags chuckled, "Forger's secret. When you know, you just know. Come with me; we'll get started. I hope you don't mind the heat. Everyone except these two will need to wait out here. It'll take about an hour." The others, hoping to see the somewhat secretive process, sighed sorely but didn't complain and sat down in the small lobby at the bottom of the stairs. Mags led Emory and Tethys into the smithing room; a boiler room of sorts given the temperature had jumped twenty degrees just from entering it. Inside the room were a dozen or so individual stations, each surrounded by a dark, thick blanket of some sort. Based on the sounds of metal clicking on metal and the lack of equipment outside of the stalls, Emory assumed each station had their own furnace and anvil among other tools. The trio walked to the back of the large room, and Mags lifted a cover to welcome the pair into her workstation. They weren't expecting the area to actually go back thirty feet beyond what they could see and to be filled with several highly advanced gadgets to aid the creators.
"So, neither of you have enchanted a piece of equipment before? Are you at least familiar with the process?" Mags asked as she pulled up a rolling circular stool.
"I know the process, I think. We need to add the enchantment both when it's in liquid form and then again when it's solid. I lay down the enchantment magik first, then Emory adds hers," Tethys remembered and repeated aloud, "Is that all?"
Mags nodded her head, "That's the gist of it. However, if it were that simple in practice, there would be gear with every improvement available and readily accessible. I hope you two have the stamina to make it through the whole process. You especially, Emory. I'll get working on the molds for the bracelets; you two should start channeling your magik now." Emory and Tethys began meditating immediately as Mags moved over to some kind of high-tech 3D printer. She drew on a holographic screen that had appeared while the machine was quickly assembling the design. Within five minutes, the mold for the bracelets had been created, but Mags had already pivoted to heating the metal in a crucible in the furnace. As she held the cup with a pair of tongs in one hand, a blue flame jetted out from Mags's other hand at the container in the furnace. Mags would only apply this blue flame intermittently over the next ten minutes until the top began to bubble. She yelled back to Emory and Tethys, "I hope you two have built up enough magik. In just a minute, I'm going to pull out this molten cup of Orichalcum. When I do, you'll have just sixty seconds to dump all your magik into the magma. Now, I cannot emphasize this part enough: the little girl needs to start before you Emory. Otherwise, we'll have to start the whole process again. Okay, get ready!"
Mags swung over with her crucible almost immediately after finishing, and Tethys was ready. When she began casting the Glyph spell, the silvery liquid began sparkling brightly. Once changing, little black lightning bolts began shooting off Emory's hands into the metal soup. It looked like a miniature storm pouring down on a silver sea. "Fifteen seconds, dump all your magik now!" Mags commanded to which Emory and Tethys pushed more energy into the mixture. Then Mags spun around and put the crucible back into the furnace. Emory and Tethys breathed heavily but Mags just chuckled. "Start building magik up again," Mags instructed, "Once I pour this into the mold, it'll cool fast." Due to the level of the spell, it was even taxing on Emory though she had superior stamina to Tethys. But she buckled down and dug deep to find a surprising result. Unlike other people, Emory also had a small well of internal magik constantly empowering her, and, when she meditated this time, she could see magik moving from its normal flame inside to the imaginary cup she usually used for fuel for her spells. It was slow, at first, but it continued to flow faster into the container and filled it within moments. However, Emory felt several times stronger than she normally would; even her body slightly radiated a white glow. "Are you ready?" Mags checked because she could feel a difference in the air around her.
Emory smiled though Mags couldn't see it, "Ready." Mags turned around with the vessel and quickly poured it into the bracelet molds. Tethys looked a little weary still but put her hands over the bracelets as little sparkles of glitter shone on the bracelets. Then Emory added her hands and sent out large black bolts this time that soaked into the molten surface of the bracelets and started turning them darker. The two continued to push their magik into the items for almost two minutes before Tethys started to wobble.
"Okay, you can stop now," Mags said behind a toothy grin, "You both did much better than I expected. Here, take a seat while I finish these up. I don't know what you put into them, but they've taken the color, which means we were successful."
"If it doesn't change colors, is it a for-sure failure?" Emory asked.
"Not necessarily," Mags confessed, "Depending on the exact purity of the Orichalcum as well as the spell cast, it may only change the sheen or possibly not at all. However, a change in color is a certain sign that the spell worked. It signifies that the Orichalcum has accepted the change in properties and that a bunch of magik was dumped in there to do so. I've got to be honest; I wasn't expecting that much of a change for a level four spell cast by a student no less. You're something special." Emory blushed a little because she knew praise from a forger was high praise indeed. Once the bracelets had cooled for fifteen minutes, Mags took them out and set them in water. Because of the 3d printed mold, there would be very little grinding or sanding as they were nearly perfect from the onset. From the water, Mags took them to a polishing station, just to make them shine a little more. Emory stared at the shimmering ebony bands which had little fractures like crystal faces and looked more like obsidian wristlets instead of metal ones.
Tethys wheezed, "They are very pretty, whatever you put in them, Emory."
"You mean you don't know what you inscribed?" Mags responded in confusion, "I figured you two were friends with how you walked together in the bigger group."
"I put Life Sow into them," Emory admitted calmly, clearly not remotely tired by the process. Mags almost dropped one of them when she heard the comment but ultimately didn't say anything. Tethys, on the other hand, stared palely at Emory and realized why no one had said what the solution was before starting the forging process.
"They're finished," Mags mumbled as she turned to hand them to Emory, "Please don't forget the other part of our deal."
Emory graciously accepted them, "I won't. I saw your information on the rental card on the station's clipboard and just sent you a message with my information. Depending on when you want to do this, you may want to prepare for it sooner than later. There is a good chance I will perform well on this upcoming assessment." Mags nodded, understanding full well that any student capable of level four magik this early in the year was definitely a top contender for her class achievement. The pair thanked Mags again as she escorted them out of the smithing hall back to the waiting room. Outside, everyone else who had come to the forging area was waiting for them, anxious to see the bracelets. They agreed to head back to the courtyard to examine the items though everyone except Tethys tried to get a glimpse of them as they walked. When they arrived outside, Emory fully uncovered the wristlets to reveal them to the group.
They were a little wide to be normal bands, but this was due to the special fitting properties of magik equipment. Each one was clearly made of metal, yet the design made them look more like facets of a dark crystal. On top of the center was a little black lightning bolt though no one was certain if this was because of the magik or the molding process initially. It was still warm as Emory put one on her left wrist which immediately shrank to wrap around her forearm like a watch band. She twisted her arm around to make sure it wasn't too restrictive or weighty before grabbing the other one and extending her hand towards Tethys. "Tethys, this is the solution we came up with before you arrived," Emory began, "I have put Life Sow in these bracelets. You are to always wear this and never take it off. If you attack one of us again, we will activate it and drain you of your magik completely. This is the only way we will trust you at the moment."
Tethys trembled as she slowly took the bracelet from Emory and quietly asked, "Isn't this a little extreme? After all, I don't remember doing anything you described."
"Then think of this to your benefit as well," Sam emphasized, "If we're truly your friends, then you wouldn't want to direct that magik at us. Emory is the only one that could have survived that blow."
"And what about the Commission? Don't you think they'll ask about this?" Tethys responded, seemingly trying to come up with reasons to avoid this action.
"Don't draw attention to it then," Gatrie chastised her, "It just looks like a fancy bracelet right now. Look, for me, this should not be a difficult decision. Either you are actually friends with us and want us to be safe or this is all a ruse to get us to let our guards down." Tethys gulped and decided to put the bracelet on her non-bandaged wrist. When it adjusted to fit her body, she felt a connection to Emory as well. She expected her body to collapse or at least feel weak, but there was no such effect yet. The group, now with this problem contained, talked for a little while about the upcoming assessment because they knew from their classes that they would all be among the ranking students. Still, with scarce information about the rewards, they only had opinions instead of facts. After an hour or so, they had exhausted their ideas and were weary from the day's ups and downs, so they all decided to resume with their normal schedules tomorrow but turn in for their rooms for the rest of the evening.
Emory lay down on her bed when they returned to the room, yet with everything that had happened with Tethys, there was a tangible tension in the air. No one chatted idly; in fact, very few words at all were exchanged between the four. Although Emory could have broken the silence, she chose not to. She no longer felt anger towards Tethys given that her story seemed believable, but on the other hand, she also didn't care to engage with her either. The Commission was an unknown, and she had enough unknown variables to deal with already. Before she knew it, she was drifting off to sleep. "I guess using Life Sow took more out of me than expected. I just hope it was worth it," she thought right before falling asleep.