The First War Mage: Skyline Trials

"Is everyone ready now?" Tulip's simple statement brought everyone out from their monetary stupor—One which she had directly caused with her dress.

A collective utterance of agreements brought us all to our feet and towards the door out of my room. The only figure who took a moment longer was Akemi, who simply yawned and laid back down upon the bed.

As we walked I naturally fell in line near the front of the small procession, moving almost shoulder to shoulder with Tulip.

Even in my peripheral vision, her dress begged to be looked at. It was her own little slice of the night sky, one which grew all the more glamorous once the walls receded away to the trails within the open estate.

Late afternoon sunlight cast upon her dress, magnifying its brilliance to a degree I could barely understand.

"How did she get that made in two weeks?" I wondered to myself as I made several not-so-subtle, dazzled looks towards her.

"What?" Tulip asked with an uncharacteristic cock of her head.

"S-Sorry…" I muttered quickly, my gaze turning away. "Just… How did you get that made in two weeks?" I asked as my gaze hesitantly returned to her.

"This is a dress I've had made in advance for a while—Just never been free enough from my father to be allowed to wear my own taste." Tulip had audible scorn as always when she mentioned her father—Yet I could almost swear there was something more I felt before it faded away.

"Well it looks amazing," Lucia chimed in with a peppy tone. "It's absolutely something I wish I could afford." She sighed out that last part, sounding more like a thought intruding into her words than an intended statement.

"I do wonder how the teachers will look…" Silva's gentle voice spoke.

"I'd be surprised if any of them end up wearing anything different from their usual," " I answered with a shrug. "I can barely imagine Carmine wearing a dress… Levi might have a shirt for once."

"That'd be a shame…" Lucia muttered, her words cutting me off and bringing all of us to look at her. She met each of our gazes, her face slowly turning red. "What?! I can't be the only one who appreciates the sight of him." Lucia's voices cracked as she defended herself—Her arms crossing underneath her chest while her face turned into a childish pout.

When none of us answered her, only meeting her gaze with confused blinks and raised brows she finally caved. Lucia looked away quickly, her blush growing so intense she was nearly glowing.

"C-Can we just get moving again?" Lucia's sputtering just brought soft laughter from the group as a whole—Even she started to join in with our laughs after only a moment.

It only took moments after that for us to all fall into a comfortable rhythm of bantering laughter. While Tulip and Lucia far more graciously carried the conversation, Silva and I were more content to listen—Adding our little jokes when there was a chance—Otherwise laughing when one was made.

It was only once we reached a building that stood out within the estate that we stopped.

It wasn't the architecture by any means that made the building stand out—It was beautiful, that was to be certain—But it was its sheer size that left us stunned.

What I had first assumed to be a blockaded section of the estate, similar to those found separating the inner sanctums, was just a single structure.

The Ferini Estate itself stood on a small hill at the very center of Ferilis—Or more accurately—It was the hill at the center of Ferilis.

This singular building however took up nearly a quarter of the estate. It was so large that even the entire square where the festival had taken place paled in comparison.

Of course there were also sounds from within—An intense echo of music that could be felt even through the walls. Not to mention the indistinct murmuring of countless bodies and voices speaking over one another.

"Just… Just how many people are in there?—Why is this building so huge?!" I exclaimed, looking towards Tulip for an answer.

"A large portion of Berinia's Noble families. As for the building?..." Tulip trailed off, sighing softly before she answered. "Lets just say… Miss Carmine and her younger sister are outliers amongst the Ferini Estate, not the standards." With that said Tulip walked forwards, meeting the gazes of the guards standing beside the closed entrance with confidence.

"You Highness," The lead guard started, bowing as he spoke. "I welcome you and other esteemed guests to the Harvest Festival. But be warned, violence, use of magic, or any other form of potential harm will not be tolerated—No matter the station of the offender." As the guard finished he stood up, his back straightening while his words took on a dangerous tone.

"We all understand, thank you, Sir." Tulip answered with a bow of her own to the guards. And of course, we all mirrored that same bow.

"Then please, enjoy yourselves and welcome the festivities." With that, the guard stepped aside. The others beside him turned, almost ceremoniously opening the door.

—

Gerald Ulrich sat in the great building with shadows hanging over his eyes and a drink before him. Dozens of empty mugs lined the table—Not all of them his—Hank and three others sat at the table with him.

Their table was upon the second of three open floors within the structure. The bottom most section was nearly exclusively covered with the party-goers, countless people from the esteemed families of Berinia and the city alike. The second and third floors were far quieter on the other hand, being made up of bars and private booths.

Of course, there were also the private rooms. Those rooms all sat on the vestige edges of the building, holding the truly important people for their private evenings. But the four of them? They weren't that important.

They were the survivors, those who were able to recover from their wounds the terrible beast inflicted upon them. It was the four of them, three others and their commander, the only eight… No, nine who survived.

"What do you think… W-What do you think happened, to th-that girl?" Gerald slurred his words out, his face long since heated from alcohol. The three others around him looked up from their drinks, but Hank managed to speak before the others.

"A girl like that?..." Hank muttered, his gaze darkening. "She better have made it… I… I need to thank her." Hank's hands clenched into tight fists, his silver eyes like steel hardened into edges.

"We all do…" Another man muttered—Gerald however, didn't know his name, a fact that only now began bothering him.

The doors below them, down upon the first floor swung open as the man spoke. However, none of them bothered to look as they were opened and closed incessantly throughout the celebration.

"I can agree to that." The other man spoke while Gerald nodded his agreement.

"Am I really about to owe myself to a school-age brat?" Gerald thought to himself. He was almost angry at the fact that his mind went there of all places. "I'm a modest man—I can swallow my pride." He had to tell himself.

"What should I do though? Get her a gift maybe?" It was hard to get his mind under control. After all, he couldn't be indebted to someone! He had enough of those to pay off monetarily, let alone morally. "I wonder what she would even like…"

Gerald only roused from his thoughts when he realized the entire room had fallen silent. The others at the table were exceptionally quiet even amongst the room, their gazes all locked upon one target.

Gerald slowly followed the group's gaze, just to feel his breath hitch in his throat.

Right there, standing beside the Princess of the very nation they served, was the girl who saved all their lives. The night sky itself stood beside a young woman, dressed in intense reds and blacks.

It was by no means an exaggeration to say that the entire room gazed upon them—The Princess looked to take it in stride, while the girl… She looked horrified.

Her visible terror and dread only got worse when the murmurings started.

"Cheater…"

"Criminal…"

"What is she doing here?"

"How could they ever let the Vulender walk free?"

There were so many whispering murmurs—Profanities against the girl just for her name. What did she do? He couldn't remember… Hell, he didn't even know the crime her father committed—Only that it was called "Unspeakable."

"...Should kill her."

Gerald's eyes hardened at that statement—Who said that?!

His gaze whipped around, hardened into sharp glares. The men around him matched this expression, their fists clenching down tightly.

"Who said that?" Gerald hissed out through clenched teeth. The room, to no surprise began turning their gazes to him—The girls included.

"Who sai—" Gerald was about to stand up, his voice raising louder before a much firmer voice spoke. That voice was matched with a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Sit down, Gerald," He looked up, meeting the sapphire gaze of O-Neill. The white wolf, the commander of their group, the man who made those who survived survive. He walked to the edge of the overhang, staring down over the rails with a smile on his face.

"Lets not put this girl in the same league as those who first bore that name," O-Neill spoke confidently. "She is the very savior who despite being in a competition, one which could dictate her fate, she stopped and helped my men and myself."

"I've never been a man who claims victories that aren't my own. And I know, without a shadow of a doubt that, if it weren't for her actions?" O'Neill paused, meeting the gazes of all within the room with a challenging glare. "You wouldn't have time for a festival, and would instead have an unspeakable breathing down your necks." As O'Neill finished the crowds all began murmuring amongst themselves. Most of them sounded displeased still, but more than a handful gazed upon the girl with a vague impression of respect.

"Now, leave the girls alone and enjoy your nights," O'Neill's smile turned treacherous. "Else, I might just have to duel whoever wants to keep that conversation above a whisper."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

With that O'Neill turned, leaving the murmuring crowds to grow louder in his wake. In doing so he returned to the table Gerald and the others sat at.

"Drinks are on me tonight, be ready to move out in three days." And that was all he said before walking away, leaving his men in uneasy, but respect-filled silence.

—

"What just happened?" I thought to myself as I was left to watch the entire interaction.

The moment I had stepped through the doors with the others, I felt the rage of the crowd. It was like a deep seated hatred, itching its way down my back with a volatile and rising tension that threatened to break its way out from me.

Yet, that compound rage and anger faded the instant someone tried to stand up for me—I had no clue who it was, one of the soldiers maybe—But that grew all the greater when O'Neill took center stage and spoke for me.

"Kirin…" Tulip began, her gaze turning to me. "What the hell was that?" She said with an expectant glare.

"Can we… go sit somewhere?" I asked and the others complied. So, with some uneasy silence between us we moved to a place to sit and I began explaining.

"After that… I asked him for help—Just in where Ferilis was and," I raised a hand, the small compass forming in my palm. "He gave me this." The compass still looked the same as ever, a colorless metallic frame with a single arrow. Said arrow was spinning wildly around and around, as if it couldn't tell where it was.

"That… Does explain it," Tulip said with a long sigh. "But why didn't you say anything until now?" Tulip asked with a concerned voice.

"Carmine told me not to say anything!" I spoke defensively, causing both Lucia and Silva to wince from my unintended volume.

"Not so loud!" Tulip hissed back, rubbing at her own ear as she sat across from me. "And alright, but I wish I knew about that sooner—I know I saw something when I flew over… But I was too focused on catching Silva." Tulip looked and sounded almost ashamed of herself, her gaze downturned towards the table.

"I can say the same… I saw fighting but ignored it." Silva muttered in agreement.

"What happened happened—Can't change it now, besides, it worked out," I spoke with a gentle shrug. "Now… what exactly are we supposed to do here?—" I asked, taking a look around the ball room for the first proper time.

The Ball Room was ornate to say the least. It stood with three clearly visible stories just from where we sat at a booth on the first floor—Which itself was divided between a large, empty floor filled with people dancing arm in arm—While two other floors were visible directly above with balconies overlooking the rest.

I couldn't immediately recognize anyone else around the first floor. A few figures looked somewhat familiar, I was rather certain they were other students but I hadn't the slightest idea what their names would be.

"There's not much for you to do per say, but we need to be here for tonight," Tulip answered, pausing for only a moment. "Daedrik will have an announcement for us." She added.

"So… We're sitting around until that happens?" I said with a dreadful tone.

"You're sitting here," Lucia said as she pushed herself from the booth. "I'm gonna go and find Erick, make sure he isn't doing something stupid." She sighed softly before walking away.

"I should go and find Miss Nenema…" Silva said as she also excused herself.

"Well, I don't have anything else I could or should be doing…" Tulip sighed out. "Actually—" Tulip looked up, a slight smile on her face.

"Hm?" I asked softly.

"Wanna go piss a lot of uptight people off?" Tulip said with an all too proud smile on her face.

"Do I have a choice?" I asked in a fearful tone.

"Nope! Come on." Tulip said emphatically as she quickly pushed herself free of the booth seat. As soon as she stood up she reached and grabbed my arm—Wasting no time in pulling me to my feet, and out of the booth to follow her.

"What are we doing?" I once again asked as I desperately stumbled after Tulip.

"You heard what all those people were saying earlier, right?" Tulip asked, turning her gaze towards me as she stopped—I gave a simple nod, barely registering that she had stopped just before the floor where numerous couples were dancing.

"Well, I can't just go out and say I've accepted you—They wouldn't accept that," Tulip's sly smile turned into one as sweet as honey. Her lips curled upward in such a way that it only managed to make her face stand out that much more. "So, will you do me the honor of dancing with me, Miss Kirin Vulender?" Tulip stared at me, meeting my bewildered gaze. My mouth opened and closed, searching for words that barely managed to come out.

"Wh-What?—I don't even know how to dance—Why would you want to dance with me? I-Isn't that wrong?" I could feel how intensely I was blushing, almost as intensely as I could feel the utter hatred the room barely hid for me. They weren't staring, yet I could feel their eyes and their focus all the same.

"Miss Carmine showed you how to fight—That's already half the battle, you'll just be changing your partner from a halberd to a person," Tulip said with a soft tilt of her head. She took a slow, yet deliberate step backwards, her hand which had just let go of my arm beckoning me forwards. "Remember, this looks like a party—But it's a battlefield of actions and words. Let's land an opening blow, yeah?" Tulip let her words trail off, her invitation hanging in the air for several immortal moments.

"Can I really do something like this?" I thought to myself, even as I felt my own hand raising up to slowly meet hers. "I'm nobody… How did I end up here?" I wondered silently, my fingers gently landing within Tulip's palm.

The gently playing music slowed to a halt, almost like time itself was frozen when Tulip reached and pulled my hand into her own. Yet it was only for that longing moment, one which felt like an eternity and a heartbeat all the same—The music began and Tulip took the first steps into her proclaimed battle.

—

"Kendrick…" Lushia spoke in a low tone, swirling the glass in her hands with slow and methodical motions. "You failed." Her words came out like a guillotine. A single, sharp statement that cut as deep into Kendrick as possible.

The two of them sat alone within a private booth at the topmost floor of the ball room. There were others up here with them, but people of their class kept to themselves unless otherwise required.

"How was I supposed to beat a lightning mage capable of embodiment?" Kendrick asked, his perpetual glare sharpening as he talked back. "The race itself was rigged! What else could explain the majority of students landing near me, while almost no one was near her." He hissed, his anger plain for all to see.

"Stop making excuses." Lushia sighed out, her golden eyes only just rising away from her glass.

"But—" Kendrick tried starting, but his words were cut off when Lushia's gaze turned to a glare.

"I said no excuses, Kendrick," She stated, her voice much firmer now. "Do you think I raised you to be a failure? No, I didn't." Lushia answered her own question as she sat her glass down, her gaze slowly casting to the side and over the balcony's edge.

"Then what would you have me do, Mother?" Kendrick asked hesitantly after several moments of silence.

"Win. That's all you should be capable of after all." She answered without even looking at her son.

She left Kendrick sitting there, brooding within the toxic silence that was quickly filling the ball room. Why was everything so quiet?—The music had stopped only for a few moments, the musicians slowly setting to work in changing to their next set.

Yet that silence was too intense, even when the music began the room somehow only felt quieter. It was only once her gaze traveled all the way down, landing upon two silver-haired figures in the dance floor did she understand why the room was so quiet.

The Princess and the Criminal stood hand in hand, dancing to the sway of the music amongst the rest of the crowd. It was far from graceful or elegant, the damned criminal was bumbling around like a wild animal—But people were watching, people understood what it meant.

"That little bitch…" Lushia hissed out, her fist clenching so hard upon the edge of the table that the corner shattered. "Of course she has to throw another issue to be countered…"

—

Dancing with Tulip was a strange experience to say the least—The other dancers immediately around us didn't seem to care or notice, well, most of them at least. A few of them spared surprised glances at us while the rest minded their own business.

It was the other people within the hall that seemed to judge us, those sitting at tables and booths—Those who were here for political intrigue rather than a night out. They were the ones who gazed upon us with malice.

And yet, I could hardly focus on it. Not when my face refused to cool off, not when I felt Tulip's fingers intertwined with mine. The dance was a repetitive motion, easy steps forwards and back then side to side. It was intimate, frankly, it was uncomfortably intimate to such a degree that I wanted to run away.

It was awful, I could barely even breathe. I was too close to her, this was too intimate, it was all too much—Tulip had pushed so far beyond anything I could understand, all for some game that I had no stakes within. All I could think about was a desire to run and hide from all of this.

"Just wait a second longer—" Tulip whispered, almost as if she could hear my internal panic. Which… Well, it wasn't hard for her to see how horrified I was, I couldn't even look at her. My gaze rarely even left the ground between us, choosing to focus more on our feet than anything else.

"Wait for what?" I asked in an equally soft voice, one which did little to hide my panic.

My answer however came soon enough when the slow music began to speed up—Tulip's leading motions sped up at the same time, she stepped in and out, side to side and then her hands shifted. She released one of mine before lifting the other into the air—Before I knew it I had been sent into a spin at the crescendo of the music.

The lead violinist began playing rapidly, almost like they played to my barely controlled spiral. It took only a moment for me to be separated entirely from Tulip, sent further and further away until I stopped. By then… The whole room was silent, and looking upon me.

"She was dancing with…"

"Why was the Princess?…"

"She still shouldn't be here…"

The innumerable voices within the room reached my ears, their tones lost amongst the murmurings that override the silence born from the finale of the music.

I was only saved from the overwhelming pressure of the silence when the pressure of raw heat silenced the room.

All eyes turned towards the far end of the room—Towards a podium that I could have sworn wasn't there mere moments ago. Upon that Podium was the familiar, robed figure of Daedrik. He didn't wear a smile like he usually did, instead he had a perfectly calm expression on his face as he spread his arms wide to greet the room.

"Well, hello once more Ferilis," Deadrik even spoke in a lowered tone, far from his usual shouting demeanor. "As you have all grown used to by this point, this evening I will be formally announcing the two competitors for the final Skyliner Trial." His gaze slowly moved down to me, a smile slowly forming.

"To the surprise of no one who watched the race—Our first place victor is none other than Kirin Vulender." Deadrik looked like he was basking in the shocked gasps and outraged surprise from the crowd. One which he basked in even more when a flick of his wrist summoned an incredibly bright flame above me, its ire aimed upon me like a spotlight. He however didn't bask in it for so long as for someone to cut him off, instead his gaze turned up towards the third floor.

"And of course, second place goes to Kendrick Armester." There was last outrage and almost no surprise to that statement.

Yet, as I tried to listen to Deadrik the world was growing almost quiet around me. I could see his lips moving, he was mouthing the words out for something—Yet I couldn't hear it. All I could hear was pounding, a rhythmic beat broken up by gusts of wind.

It was only when the nausea hit that I understood what I was hearing. It was my heart pounding painfully in my chest, it was my lungs desperately pulling in air, yet it was never enough. The world was spinning, my head was screaming and all I could think about was simple.

"I shouldn't be here." That was the only thought that filled my head as I turned around. I felt the mana surge through my body on reflex, and before I knew it was gone from the ball room.

—

"And of course, second place goes to Kendrick Armester." Tulip had a slight smile on her face when she heard that. Deadrik was having fun in his own way as usual, this time it just happened to be in the form of taunting the Armester's.

But, when he started to go on—Beginning his slow process of explaining the previous two trials, Tulip found her gaze locking onto Kirin.

Something was clearly wrong with her. She was hyperventilating, haunched over and… Crying? Tears were dripping from her eyes, bringing much of the room, even Deadrik to silence. Yet almost as soon as Tulip took a step forwards to try and help, Kirin turned and launched herself out of the room. For a single instant she moved faster than she did even for the race.

"Wha?" Tulip muttered, blinking slowly in surprise. The entire room was silent now, somehow growing even more silent when Tulip moved and started to run after Kirin.